WAKING UP TO ICICLES ON MY NOSE

I woke up this morning at 3:30 for some unknown reason.

I looked out my window, and it seemed DULL outside ... like everything was dim.

What I didn't realize at the time was that my street was undergoing a brown out, and that the noises that woke me up were probably transformers or some such stuff exploding.

Good thing it was -2 degrees this morning! Good thing my furnace refused to work in the brown out and subsequent power outage. That was very invigorating ... the whole WOWEEE IT'S COLD ENOUGH TO CAUSE FROST BITE, AND WAIT A MINUTE, WHY ARE THERE ICICLES HANGING FROM MY CEILING FAN!?

I must give a SHOUT OUT to Joe and Erin, who let me come to their house at 6 a.m. (after I woke them up at 5:15 a.m.) so I could get a hot shower. They are the best, and I owe them a wonderfully, home-cooked meal or something!

Now, I'm just crossing my fingers that:

1. My pipes aren't frozen.
2. My cat, who is still sick, has enough sense to bury herself underneath my down comforter.
3. My power is on when I get home.
4. My furnace wasn't fried ... because it was making a terrible noise when I realized what was going on.