Bring it on Mother Nature!

Here is the latest addition to our household, a Briggs and Stratton 7 kilowatt installed generator. Never in a million years did I think I would be in a position to buy one of these things, but after our nearly 6 days without power, flooded basement and mold problem, we are now the proud owners of this baby. It was installed yesterday and Jason was like a little kid with a new toy demonstrating it for me. He shut down the power to the house, and within ten seconds the generator automatically kicks on, and about thirty seconds after that about 75% of our house is powered up.

Our goal was to run the essentials, primarily the two sump pumps, the furnace, the deep freezer and the refrigerator. After that we had requested a few lights in the kitchen and den, as well as a plug to run the microwave if it was possible. When all was said and done, we got lights and outlets in all the bedrooms and some hallways. Only the living room and the back sun room are completely out when the generator is on. But for the most part, our house will be a shining beacon in our neighborhood during the next power outage.

Jason has always been a survivalist at heart which I have never really understood. I still tell people the story about the first winter that he owned a car while living on the East Coast. He asked me where to buy the chains. Huh? You know, tire chains? As an Oregonian he actually used to hear those stories about people going to a doctors appointment and getting stuck in a storm on the way home and dying after being in their car for a week. He was completely serious about the chains, and my response was "Sweetie, you live in Greater Boston, the worst that could happen is you break down about a half a mile away from a Dunkin Donuts." He didn't see the humor in that. If I'd let him he'd have blankets, flares, water and protein bars in his trunk, and in mine. He'll sleep well tonight knowing his Briggs and Stratton is sitting outside, ready to go.