Just when I thought my daily routine was getting back to normal – the snow and ice came, not once, not twice, but 3 times in the past two weeks.
The latest storm left many in southeastern Pennsylvania without power. It is not until you don’t have power in your home that you realize just how much you take it for granted. No heat, no computer, no internet, no microwave, stove, laundry, lights, hot drinks, or hot food.
When the house started getting cold, we layered on the sweatshirts. When we got hungry, we ate cold cereal. When we realized the power was going to be off for a long time, we put the food from the fridge in boxes and placed them in the garage where they would stay cold. We used the outdoor grill to boil hot water for tea and made soup for lunch and hamburgers for dinner in the freezing cold rain. I lit candles to eat and read by when it got dark. Luckily the power went back on in my neighborhood last night, but many in the region are still without and may not get it back for a few more days.
I was so excited to get the powder room painted this week and show you my progress today, but with no power, I had to take a step back and work on something that didn’t require electricity to get accomplished.
Since I could not get online, I tried to be productive in other ways. I put the Christmas decorations back up in the attic, cleaned out my file drawers, took a few photos, and wrote a few letters to friends using a pen and paper.
As much as these tasks were nice to check off my to-do list, what I really wanted to work on was getting a few posts written so I could get ahead of schedule. I also wanted to finish a new project gallery that will be unveiled soon.
Earlier in the week, I had been working on the new Project Gallery and realized under the “Room Makeover” category that I didn’t have a post showing my updated Studioffice all in one post. I only have the complete room in posts showing how it looked when I first starting blogging. I will be posting that over the weekend.
As I put the finishing touches on the gallery, you may see a previous project post or two show up here or in your inbox if you subscribe, as I do a bit of back end reorganization.
While I have been working on all of this, I have been doing it using two laptops. I got a MacBook in January, my first Mac. I have been a PC girl up until now and have been trying to learn the ways of the apple while transferring files from my old laptop.
It has been a little frustrating at times, but I am getting the hang of it. If you are a Mac user, I would love to hear your best Mac using tip or trick.
Before I sign off for the weekend I wanted to share…
My Writing Elsewhere This Week:
My latest post is up over on My Colortopia. Click over to see how I created the art that hangs in my Studioffice.
So now that I have taken a step back this week…the only way to go now… is forward.
See you on Monday with something colorful.
Jeanine says
I have to admit i just found your blog the other day. So far i love it here btw –especially now woth this post. I have left the link to our own “deep freeze” or “polar vortex”; whatever the weather men are calling this disruptive cold winter temperatures… & shared our experience with the ice power too! Firsthand I underatand the difficulties & frustrations of no power & with two children. Anyway thank you for sharing your experience here with us on top of all of your great DIYs & colorful ideas!! Your New Reader, Jeanine from Canada;)
Joanne B. says
Glad to hear you are warm again! I would NOT be a happy camper! Also glad to hear you mad the switch to a Mac- you will love it! I am not savvy enough to offer any tips but just a bit of confidence that you will not regret your decision! It is so user friendly and intuitive, you will soon HATE your old pc! My husband and daughter (a graphic design student) made the switch years ago and I was always calling them “mac snobs”, because they have absolutely no patience for pc’s now and would not want to help me with problems I was having with my old pc. I am happy to say I am now a mac snob too and proud of it. If you already have the iPhone it is a no brainer to switch to a mac. Bravo for you- you’ll get the hang of it and
won’t ever look back! As creative as you are, you will be a natural!
Laurel Stephens says
I switched to Mac a year ago, and I adore it. Make sure you set up your finger pad thingy exactly how you like it. Try out all the possibilities. The absolute best thing is to be able to flick my fingers and fly down through a page. I don’t scroll anymore, I fly! In no time at all it will seem very intuitive to you even though it goes in the opposite direction of a PC. It saves so much time and aggravation. Enjoy! I’m honestly happy for you to have a Mac because I know how much you’ll love it.
Diane Henkler says
Thanks for this tip Laurel. My pad seems very sluggish and after clicking on it, it takes a few seconds for anything to happen. I will try out a few different settings.
Lori B. says
So glad to hear your power is back on. Maybe it was a needed break from the hustle and bustle of life. :-) Although, it sounds like you were hustling and bustling in a different way trying to warm that hot water. I have a question regarding what looks to be a rolodex on your desk. Where did you get that or did you make it? :-) It looks adorable.
Diane Henkler says
Hi Lori –
I semi-made the Rolodex. I posted about how I made in when I first started blogging. You can find the post here: https://inmyownstyle.com/2010/06/in-artful-order.html
Bobbi says
Hi Diane. I’m so glad that your power is back on, and that y’all have thawed out so that you’re able to “Get Your Craft On”.
I too use both a PC and a Mac. However, I am using my Mac more and more as I wing myself from the PC. My professor husband is determined to turn all the residents of our home into Mac users. :) That’s a “good thing.”
FYI- You don’t have to worry about viruses on a Mac. So, don’t waste money buying protection.
Have a Beautiful weekend.
Bobbi
Kristin // Modish and Main says
My absolute favorite / “go-to” feature on a Mac is the multiple desktops. Simply press your F3 button (looks like it has 3 little boxes on it) and you’ll see your current screen shrink and little box appear at the top. Click to the far right where another mini screen appears with a plus sign. This means you are launching another desktop. I have upwards of 5-7 going at one time and have my email on one, calendar & messaging on another, internet on one, etc. Simply use 2 fingers to swipe (you can customize your trackpad in System Preferences) between desktops! Voila!
Barbara in CT says
We endured three eight-day outages in 2011 and 2012 in Connecticut. I feel your pain. As a result, there has been a lot of tree trimming and we escaped this time. It was not so deadly cold for our outages and we were eventually able to get out.
Enjoy your new Mac. It will be an old friend in a few weeks.
Kim says
Diane,
You’ve been in my thoughts as my husband was on business in Phillidelphia this past week and he relayed stories of power outages and such. So glad you survived the worst of it and it makes us all appreciate our power that much more.
Pamela says
You will love your MAC! I have had MACs from the very beginning, although used PCs at work. My best advice is to take advantage of the free classes the Apple Store offers and when in doubt Google it. I have learned more just from Googling or Youtubing a question than anywhere else. Enjoy and try to stay warm!
Hunter W. says
Oh my!! I love how you used color in your Studioffice…zi am goibg to start by hooking up all those black a.d navy and burgundy binders. Enough! I finally am
realizing I will enjoy crafting even more if I pump up the color volumn. Thank you for having such a neat blog!
Beth Coburn says
Glad to hear you have power back on. Living in NC we’ve had our share of ice storms which result in outages. Fond memories of cooking meals on the grill in the snow and ice ;-). I did want to pass on about having a Mac to purchase the apple $99/year training is the best way to get up to speed. Especially if you’re brain’s been on pc mode. If you haven’t signed up for it, look into it. You do have to take your mac into an apple store, so you need to have a store nearby. When I did it, the training folks were so helpful. I will always be a mac user. You’ll love it.