Whenever the phone rings in the middle of the night, the news can’t be good.
But ours rings more than the average family. Matt is often getting calls or texts at 3:15am to report that the baker didn’t show up or the salt is missing…or that the power is out and there are puddles of water on the floor!!
Apparently last night’s storms knocked out the power. It’s still out. We’re closed for the day. And a tree branch knocked a hole I the ceiling that led to water all over the kneading table and floor!
Thankfully the leak is almost fixed but the power isn’t yet on. I’m much more concerned about the food in our fridge than the loss of business today. We had a catering order that we couldn’t fulfill (Matt took them granola + granola bars in lieu of freshly baked sweets) and he’s still there hoping the power returns and our food is still at safe temps. Hopefully our fridge is so big it held in the cold.
I was up from 3:15-4:15 crisis planning, calling the power company and tweeting with Dominion Power in bed, thanks to my smart phone 
I luckily fell back asleep (Matt went in to assess the situation) but I’m still feeling pretty tired.
Better a Monday than a Saturday!
Breakfast was a yogurt, berry + muffin bowl. Ironically I still had a Carrot Raisin Walnut muffin from Saturday to eat!
I bought some Oikos with a few coupons Stonyfield gave me at BlogHer. Forgot how good that stuff is!!! Topped with bluebs, rasps, banana, Warrior Crunch, CRW muffin and sunflower butter
Vanilla Tea by Adagio
Other major events of the day: dentist appt.
Let’s hope that one doesn’t turn into a cavity crisis!
{ 82 comments… read them below or add one }
The phone ringing in the middle of the night always shocks me… it’s only happened to me a few times. I hope the power situation gets resolved quickly! Hopefully a big part of your customers are also blog readers so they’ll know you’re closed today!
I hope it all works out okay and you don’t lose the food in the fridge.
Fingers crossed for you
I’m sorry that you had such a crazy crisis! At least you have a positive attitude and were able to handle it quickly
I read somewhere recently that food is fine in a closed fridge without power for 12 hours. So it should be ok!
Fingers crossed the power comes back on soon.
That’s a terrible way to begin the week! Good thinking to bring your catering customer granola. these have been so crazy storms.
Good luck today getting everything straightened out!
Lucky you could go back to sleep! At times like that, I am UP…or at least up for a while. Here’s hoping everything is back to normal by tomorrow and you sell out the store!
Oh no! …. maybe it was angels trying to get a taste of your granola
What a nightmare of a situation to be woken up to! Glad you were able to still carry out the catering job!
Wow! Hope everything works out! at least you had an awesome breakfast:)
oh gosh that’s terrible! I hope you guys will be up and running asap!
Oh no!!! I hope the food in the fridge is still okay!
Gah, so sorry to hear about the drama – I know that feeling of heart pounding when the phone rings in the middle of the night! It is NOT fun! Glad that everything seems to have worked out for the most part though – fingers crossed for you!
Good luck at the dentist! I used to love it when I was little because there was a treasure chest that we could take toys out of – now I just get nervous for it because cavities = money out the door!
No phone call before 8am brings good news. Always my motto. I had a 7am phone call 2 weeks ago-same thing, no power at work!
Oh no!! That sounds like quite the disaster! We had some thunder and lightning last night but not enough to knock out the power -thank goodness! I hope everything is sorted out and back to normal soon!
Oh no! How big is the hole in the roof?
Not that big – it was a small branch
Sounds like something that would happen at the Turner-Strudwick house. Good luck!
Yup. Leaks pretty much sum up my high school years. Midnight drips on my dresser, gushes in the fireplace, the occasional leak right on my bed!
I am cleaning under your sister’s bed and found her old leaking roof buckets and wonderful essays about Ducky and San Diego!
Oh my gosh GUILTY MOTHER. And I just found YOUR baby book that I never filled out!
I am actually so happy to read this! I am having major guilt about my 3 year old’s blank baby book. It’s nice to know they still turn out okay even if everything isn’t recorded.
Emily–I actually kept baby calendars for each of them, but do fill in the baby book! Wish I had, especially since when I got it, it was so pretty. Now it’s kind of yellowed..
no – middle of the night calls are never a good thing
I’ll cross my fingers for your food – I remember when we had a huge black out in Ontario a few years ago (no wait it was like 8 years ago) and the news kept saying that if we had kept the fridges and freezers close during the power outage (it lasted something like 20 hours) that we could still safely use the food
I don’t think there is anything worse than waking up to an emergency call!
Except maybe the dentist…which I am off to as well!
I hope that your power is restored soon and that the food is still good!! I’ve been going to the same dentist all of my life, and I love all of the dentist technicians and people at the office. I actually look forward to my appointments.
I hope yours goes well and no cavities are found!
Oh no, I hope the power comes back on soon! I feel your fears, now that I’m the chef at a private school and it’s my responsibility to feed the kids and staff, I’m a freak over the temps on the fridge and freezers. It freaks me out to not be there on the weekends to check them. Good luck today Kath.
Oh I don’t miss those midnight calls! My husband would get called all the time when people wouldn’t show up for the night shift (happened a lot) and have to go in to work from 11-7am. Not fun. Owning your own biz definitely has some ups & downs! Hope you guys get power back soon and can save the food!
Oh no! I hope everything works out okay. The weather can wreak havoc on just about anything!
Question: I notice that you use a lot of sunflower butter. I’m a peanut butter fanatic, but it’s not the best thing to eat in quantities other than a tablespoon at a time, if that. Do you consider sunflower butter a better alternative health-wise? Or do you just prefer it?
I think they are equals, but I just love the taste of sunflower butter. I try to eat 1-2 tbsp max per day
My pulse ALWAYS quickens when I hear the phone ring at night. I get so scared and worried!
Sorry to hear about the power and the hole. Hope it all gets fixed soon!
PS – Good luck at the denist!
Good luck with the dentist – never a fun appointment!
Yikes! Hope everything gets resolved today. Sorry you lost a day of business. Good luck at the dentist – I think you are due for some good news!
I used to love the dentist, but once I started getting cavities in college I hated going! Good luck!
oh no! I hope everything turns out alright and you’re back in business tomorrow!
Ugh. I have this intense fear of the dentist, although I’m in slight recovery after changing where I go (no more heartless poking and prodding..lol!)
I hope everything turns out okay with the bakery!!
Hope the power comes back on soon and you can save your food! The dentist gives me the willies…big time! Hopefully you will be cavity-free.
Sorry about the bakery! I hope everything turns out okay! Good luck at the dentist!
I don’t know the cost or logistics, but have you looked into getting a generator to run the cooler in this circumstance? We live in a rural area with many power outages, so generators are very common out here.
We haven’t but we should..
A 5000-watt gasoline powered generator is about $750 and only uses a gallon of gas every two hours.
Yikes!! That’s good to know. I don’t know if we even have $750 worth of refridgerated products. Thankfully wheat is room temp!
You could ask your ‘business’ neighbors if the power is out frequently. If so, it might be worth the initial investment. Also, the products might not have been worth $750, but if a generator would prevent loss of business for a day–I’m sure it would pay for itself. Just need to check how large of a generator would be required to run the refrigeration and ovens. Also, you would have the cost of securely ‘housing’ the unit and getting permission from the property owners to have a small ‘shed’ or fenced containment behind your shop for a generator.
kath, I have to say that in spite of a few minor crisis’ you still manage to maintain a positive attitude! that’s one of the reasons I absolutely love reading your blog! That and your amazing oatmeal concoctions
You set a great example.
Mama Pea’s Tweet this morning actually reminded me of your positive spin on your crazy Monday thus far! : “Eliminate your negative thoughts! Your life will not change until your way of thinking does.”
Good luck at the dentist and Happy Monday!
I totally agree with what Sarah said. You’re so positive Kath and that’s why I’ve always loved reading your blog for many many years!
What a way to start your Monday, eh? Glad everything seems to be working out!
WOW!!! What a start to a week!!!! I forget all those aspects of owning a bakery. Hope everything gets fixed in time and good luck!!!!
Oh man! I really hope all is well at the bakery. I’ll keep y’all in my thoughts today.
Have “fun” at the dentist! Happy thoughts all around today.
Oooh no! I hope that everything gets fixed ASAP and that power is restored in time so all of your food is saved! Sending lots of positive thoughts your way today, Kath!
Talk about a rude awakening! As always, you seemed to manage to keep an optimistic view on everything. I’m pretty sure your fridge will have kept cool enough, if the door wasn’t opened! Bigger fridges or freezers should stay cool longer… Last summer, the power went out in the building I lived in for about eight hours. I didn’t open my fridge until the power came back on, and when I did, the thermometer read 7 degrees Celsius… Only slightly off from what it should be!
Nevertheless, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you – as I’m sure many others will!
Have a good appointment at the afternoon! Surely the day will go well, what with that positive attitude and outlook of yours.
At least your breakfast was yummy looking (and tasting I’m sure too)!
Oh my goodness, good luck getting everything squared away! That had to be so stressful receiving that call in the middle of the night! Hopefully you have a good dentist appointment and a better rest of the day
Im hungrrrrry and your breakfast sure looks yummy. I commented 2or3 weeks ago you had rubbed off on me concerning exercise, Im still at it. And glad to report down 7 pounds.
Nice!!!
Oh my! Our power actually was out last night as well. I hope yours comes back on soon, and the frig stays cold. Good luck at the dentist. I’m kind of strange- I love that clean feeling walking out of the dentist’s office.
Sorry to hear about the stressful start to the day! Hopefully things get sorted out soon!
argh! sorry about that!!! the other day last week our car had been stolen from our driveway. we found it a few hours later from lojack, but it was a horrible way to wake up!
Ugh I am so sorry, what a lousy way to start off the week
Hopefully the power get’s back on soon and tomorrow is back to normal for you guys!! Good luck with the dentist…after a cavity and wisdom teeth removal and less than a month, I am sooo over that place! Thinking of you guys today!
Ugh – NOT a good way to start the day!! Praying that things get better and not too much damage was done!
What a great husband you have btw!! Sounds like he’s a keeper!
Hope everything works out for you. That is no way to start a week!
Blehh sorry to hear that that happened!! I am crossing my fingers that it gets fixed asap!
What blah way to start a day! And the dentist to boot! Hope the food is okay & the dentist is cavity free
EEK!! I hope power at the bakery comes back on soon for the sake of your fridge food! Our power lasted through the evening storm with all the hail, but went off sometime during the night! Showing up to work with wet hair = classy
I lost all the food in my freezer/fridge earlier this year. I feel for you – your loss would be so much BIGGER. Got my fingers/toes/eyes/etc crossed for luck.
That is totally not a fun way to start the week. Hopefully that’ll be the worst of it and the rest of the week will be a piece of…muffin?
Sorry to hear about the bakery! Hope everything is back up and running soon!
I’m sure some good exercise and lots of veggies will cure a little sleepiness, but you obviously know that! I also had quite the exhausting weekend but just got a glorious 11 hours of sleep and am raring to go for the week ahead!
my fingers are crossed for the food in the fridge! I’m sure those people were happy to receive the granola and bars cause I bet all of your stuff is delicious and crowd-pleasing!
Aw, man. No good. At least it can only look up from here? Good luck!
What a nightmare! I hope everything gets resolved soon.
Must have been crazy storms in the US this weekend!! The stage collapse at the Indiana State fair also made the news in England this weekend. I’m from Indiana and it was so sad to see.
Yikes! Fingers crossed that everything gets resolved quickly! Hopefully some things are salvageable. At least there was a good Oikos breakfast when you had to crawl out of bed.
WOW! I guess I never think about the other side of running a business. It is stories like those that make admire small business owners! Hope it all gets worked out soon!
I hope everything gets back on track soon!!!:)
Our power goes out pretty frequently, as in multiple times a year. So I’ve looked up freezer times in the past–food should be good for 48 hours in a full freezer, 24 hours in a half-full freezer. More info here:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/keeping_food_safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp
Thanks
Oh no!! I hope everything at the bakery is okay and that there’s not too much damage. Yikes!
Hope everything gets resolved quickly!
Oh no I’m so sorry to hear that Kath! I hope everything is fixed now!
Sorry to hear about the hole in the ceiling! I hope it is fixed soon!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
Way to keep calm! I would have been running around the city like madwoman by that point
Wow, you seem to be taking it very well. I hope that no big damage was done.