This has been a weird night.

It started out pretty normal, but then it got strange. Nils was working a little bit late in his studio, so I took Amber for her normal evening walk. We went around the neighborhood like we usually do, but the atmosphere seemed really heavy. By the time we got home, I could hear thunder in the distance.

It started raining maybe an hour after I got in. I was thankful for that. Of course, I didn’t make any preparations. After all, all it was doing was raining. Then, there came a dreadful bolt of lightning that lit up the whole house. It was followed immediately by a tremendous clap of thunder. Amber cried out and went into her kennel, whining.

Only a couple of seconds later there was a big “POW” and all of the lights went out. Not a flicker, total darkness! Even Thomas let out a howl and I could hear Amber whimpering.

I knew I had some candles in a drawer, but I was just a little confused as to where they were. I used my cell phone to look in some little-used drawers until I found them. There were even some little votive candles there. In the cupboard above the stove were a couple of candlesticks. There were also a couple of saucers for the votives. I was almost in business, for I knew where the matches were, and after I put the candles in the candlesticks I really was in business. I appreciated the warm glow the candles gave off.

Of course, they were totally useless for reading, and I couldn’t do very much. I tried to call Nils, but he wasn’t answering. He must have been too busy creating. He would get like that and nothing could disturb him; well ... except maybe sex!