“In like a lion, out like a lamb.”

A week ago today we woke up to no power and this:

Can you see the tree that fell in our backyard in this next picture?

School and work were cancelled! It was cold, but cozy to be hunkered down with everyone on that first day.

To their great chagrin, I insisted that the kids wear helmets to play out in the snow. There were trees down everywhere and I kept hearing the ominous creaking and cracking of limbs:

That night my oldest son said he would “test” his hardiness by roughing it in his own cold bedroom. My husband did the same. The sybarites among us, (including me), camped out in the living room with the gas fireplace going:

By the next morning the lack of power was getting really old. My husband and I had both done huge separate shopping trips the day the power went out to stock up for the storm. We made a pathetic attempt to salvage some of the food:

My husband tried valiantly to cut up a huge tree that was blocking our road with a rusty old saw. A neighbor with a chainsaw took pity on him and helped him clear the path:

Two and a half days without power left us feeling like primitive cave dwellers.

A week later, the bees are buzzing, the birds are chirping, and our yard looks like this:

What a miracle that this was hiding underneath all that snow!

Here’s that tree that fell. Over the weekend another kind neighbor with a chainsaw surprised us by performing this act of mercy:

I’m so thankful for good neighbors, a warm house, electricity, and signs of SPRING!