Have you ever had a power outage?

[IrishAyes]

13. Me too

Although I don't know all the details of the local setup in this small town, we do have our own plant. It's associated somehow with a large regional utility, and costs are higher than in outlying areas. But most of our utilities are buried also, and the rare times something goes wrong, we're back online in a jiffy. For all its flaws and drawbacks, I could've picked a worse place to retire, no doubt.

I'm still trying to save up for a whole-house backup generator, though. Don't like to push my luck. Since I have low tolerance to heat, I suppose if the power went out for an extended period in August or such, I could place old quilts and blankets over the swing set frame, wet them down, and use that for a cool cave. I know this summer I'll be able to afford a solar powered fan. I've also invested in gel-filled cool pads that wick off body heat.

But what in blue blazes became of the Bloom Box? I'd hoped they'd be economical for home use before I, uh.... don't need them anymore.