I have more respect for my pioneer ancestors. (Assuming there are some of those on the white side of the family.) Either that or I have more respect for any ancestors that didn't have electricity. The first clue was that the streetlight wasn't on outside my house when I pulled up. The second clue was the realization that the christmas lights down the street weren't on either. The third clue was that none of the neighbors had ANY lights on.
Coming home to no eletricity is kind of fun (so long as it's an occasional thing). The heater is gas, so the house was warm, even if it was dark. I walked in the front door, put my stuff down, and went right to the candles and lighter near the door and lit 2 candles. One I left where it was, and the other I took with me as I walked over to the table to take my coat off and hang it over the back of a chair. (Luckily it wasn't raining too much when I walked in the door - I got the garbage and recycling carts in with only wet hands.) Even though it was dark in the house, it wasn't scary. Rather it was cozy.
It was strangely light outside for having no electricity and even though it's been stormy all day. I lit some candles in the living room. And I found a couple votives in the other room and put them in various holders. And I lit all the little tea lights in the black wrought-iron-leaves-candle-holder-thingy. With all of those lit the living room was cozy and pretty. Would have been really romantic if there had been someone there to share it with. I lit candles and carried them to my bedroom and the bathroom (just in case I needed to find my way to those places.)
I grabbed some cold food out of the fridge. The power must have been out for a little while. It wasn't warm in the fridge, but it wasn't super cold either. I brought the food with me and curled up in the chair in the living room. And I listened to the secret sound of the rain, sort of comforting, but sort of a little scary too, with the wind moving the branches outside. And I realized that I need to buy some non-scented pillar candles. Those last the longest and look the coolest, but if you have a couple lit and they are different scents, it gets a little overwhelming. I considered doing a tarot reading because it'd be cool and atmospheric. And then I realized that the light on the Tivo was on, so I didn't have to wonder what people used to do at night before there was electricity. I could turn on all my electric time-wasting devices. Woo hoo!