Babies, wineries, and a power cut

Babies

Josh arrived home from school with a "baby" this weekend. As part of his Child Development class he has to feed, burp, rock, change, and generally care for a doll that cries at pre-programmed times.

He couldn't fob it on us, or just leave it in his room, as it's linked to a wristband he wears for the weekend. And it's just not him that it wakes. One of dogs started barking when the infant cries started emanating from his room early in the morning.

He's done a really good job waking and caring for it. Fingers crossed for a good grade as this is one class I don't want him to re-take.

Wineries

I've never been to a winery before. But having the chance to hang out with some workmates from my first job over here (Optiem, now The Adcom Group), was a good excuse to try them out.

Braving the High Wind Warning, I drove the 40 minutes to Madison. Along Route 307 there's seems to be a winery every 100 yards or so. Small lodge-style buildings surrounded by rows & rows of cultivated vines.

I met up with Linda, Adam, and Tom at Cask 307. We enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Noir & a charcuterie board there, then moved on to Baci Winery (formerly St. Josephs) which is just down the road.

Another bottle of delicious Pinot, and an hour of memories later, it was time for me to head home. It was fantastic catching up with some the "the coolest co-workers" again.

I stopped in to The Indian Kitchen on the way. It was about 6pm by the time Josh & I enjoyed out Chicken Tikka Masala and Balti style Lamb. At 8pm the lights went out.

Power cut

Come 9pm it was getting quite cold in the house, even with all the candles we had lit. As with most of these types of power cuts, I could still see some lights on in the street behind us, but pretty much everyone else was dark.

With no update from the power company I turned my phone off, to conserve the battery, threw on some extra blankets and went to bed early.

Waking up multiple times—The crying baby, dogs scratching to go out, and the dropping temperature, made for a long night.

When I did turn on my phone as it was getting light outside. The power company still estimating 11pm Sunday when service would be resolved. I texted my Mum to say I wouldn't be Skyping her. We still had hot water which meant a nice shower to warm up with, and a fast dash to get dressed.

Julie drove to Starbucks and returned with coffee and a warm breakfast sandwich. She was still in the car, charging her phone and keeping warm, when everything sprang back-to-life around 11am.

We'd lost everything in the fridge, but the frozen food was still solid.

I did wonder if getting a gas oven would've helped. Turns out our technical and safety advances means they don't come with pilot lights anymore, but with a "glow plug" which needs a certain voltage running through before it will light the oven. We could still use the hobs though.

I also looked at gas heaters. Some of those need some kind of power to ignite. And even if they are labelled for "home" use, you still have to watch out as it means tent or covered porch.