In yesterday's entry I said,

Luckily, my job is of the nature that I can do 80% of it at home -- thanks to technology that allows my co-worker to e-mail me all the files I need.

Until the power goes out.

And, it did -- before noon yesterday and it has yet to come back on.

Fortunately, we learned our lesson in the March '06 storm that put us in the dark for three whole days and we bought a generator. It was not easy for us to fork over $650 for that thing, but when you live where we do and your power is out as often as our is -- you learn that a generator is nothing short of an investment.

Yesterday, that noisy sucker finally paid off. Soon as the hubby got home & hooked it up, we were able to operate the furnaces (one at a time), the fridge, the oven, the water pump (ah...the joy of a flushing toilet). We were able to make dinner, give the kids baths and go on with our normal nightly routine (albeit gathered in one room since we couldn't turn too much on or we'd overwhelm the generator).

Used to be when the power went out, we'd sit in our house, shivering and staring with envy at the all the neighbors' houses that had generators rumbling outside and lights on inside. "Oh, my God, Dan...I think their watching TV over there!"

Now, we're among the fortunate ones and for that, I am eternally grateful.

I've been trying to live a more grateful life, so every morning I've been making it a point to wake up and think of three things I am thankful for.

This morning's top three? Gasoline, generators and my master electrician husband who can get the lights on even when Penelec can't.