Unplanned vintage home keeping:

Yesterday, our area had an all-day storm that was briefly violent. Many area trees went down, and we lost the electricity to our house.

I had planned several hours of house cleaning, which I really needed to get done. So, lacking use of the lights, dishwasher, garbage disposal, washing machine, dryer, and vacuum cleaner, I wondered for a few seconds just what to do. It dawned on me that my great-grandmothers started their married lives without any of these things. In fact, it's said that at my maternal great-grandmother's wedding, the first coal oil lamp in their county was used, and people were afraid to go near it for fear it would cause a fire.

I decided that during yesterday's power outage (which lasted until the middle of the night) was a good time to become a vintage home keeper. So, I did my best to clean without modern inventions. I did manage to get several things done. However, the bright sunlight of today shows that some things will need a little re-doing today.

Last night, we ate sandwiches and chips, and we tried our best not to open the refrigerator too many times. Later on, we read books and played cards by candle- and flash-light. We went to bed early.

How about you? Were you affected by yesterday's storm, which reached well across the Southeast? What did you do during the storm?

Enjoy!