post-storm check-in...

As many of you know from my occasional check-ins over at the full plate FB page, the storm last week devastated our town. This is what our town looked like, multiple times over, on almost every street.

But we, personally, were lucky. We didn't have light, heat, or any of the normal creature comforts we enjoy every day... but we had a safe home, lots of firewood, enough funds to eat out, warm clothing, and very generous friends with generators. And so, we made the most of it.

We spent a lot of mornings and afternoons cozied up next to warm fires...

...and a whole slew of art projects and creations came out of the week.

P.S. That's not an empty packing tape dispenser. It's Santa's sleigh. But you knew that, right? It's ok, I didn't the first time I saw it either.

Anyway, most amazing, perhaps, was that the kids didn't skip a beat. They remained happy, and relatively un-phased by the state of affairs.

Then again, what kid do you know that wouldn't love huddling up in bed, eating trail mix and fruit leathers, (and, ok, fine, maybe a lot of Halloween candy too...) and watching movies from the library?

But the best part of the week-- because, honestly, there was one-- were the evenings spent with friends.

This was the silver lining in a dark week. We feel thankful, and truly lucky, that we were invited in each evening to a different friends' generator-lit home.

While I wish the storm had never happened, our family is eternally grateful for the amazing neighborliness that shone, because of it.