It’s Saturday and several hundred thousand Connecticut residents remain without power. We were fortunate. The storm did not cause any damage at our house and we only experienced short intermittent power blips. So, we’re going to take Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt to the bar, crank up the generator and try to enjoy the day. Linda gave us:
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘spot.’ Write whatever image the word ‘spot’ invokes. Have fun!”
If we were having a beer, you would have arrived early.
“Cheryl, this glass of John Howell’s Bourbon really hits the spot. Thank you for being here when I need you.”
“Once they cranked up the generator, David, everything returned to normal. Well, you know, the normal we’re living in.”
“And I thought the pandemic was bad.”
“Did you lose power, David?”
“No, but my in-laws did.”
“And they’re staying with you until their electricity is back on?”
“Yes, Cheryl. When my young friend arrives, set him up with a cold Corona.”
“Um, well, yeah, that’s going to be a problem.”
“Problem? What problem are you talking about, Cheryl?”
“Well Dan, today, and for the foreseeable future, we don’t have any Corona in stock.”
“No Corona?”
“None. I think they might be brewing it again, but we can’t get any from our distributor.”
“I should have brought my own.”
“We do have other beer, Dan.”
“Well, I’m not seeing anything on tap that I like. What else do you have in bottles?”
“How about if I pour a Yuengling into a nice frosted glass?”
“That would be good.”
“You still have Corona at home, Dan.”
“I do, David. I think I have one case left.”
“How much did you buy?”
“Enough, I hope. If not, I can still get Dos Equis.”
“We have Dos Equis downstairs, Dan…but it’s past its best-by date.”
“How far past, Cheryl?”
“Dan! I am not serving you expired beer.”
“I just meant…if it expired last week, or in June or in twenty twenty.“
“David, can you talk some sense into him?”
“He’s like a dog drinking out of a puddle, Cheryl, some things can’t be changed.”
“Speaking of dogs, I had to alter the path of Maddie’s walk today.”
“Why, Dan?”
“They set up a charging station in Veterans Park.”
“That was a nice thing for the town to do.”
“It was, but Maddie would have suggested one of the other parks.”
“And I would have suggested one of my wife’s siblings, but her parents chose to stay with us.”
“Oh, David. It can’t be that bad. Would you like another splash.”
“It’s really not, Cheryl. They’re good people, but I don’t like having visitors. Now, I have to go home and cook for them.”
“What are you making?”
“Depends on what looks good at Stop and Shop.”
“I hope you have plenty of cash, David.”
“Excuse me? Why do I need cash, Dan?”
“Stop and Shop is open, but their payment processing system is not working – cash only.”
“I suppose I can stop at the ATM up the road.”
“Nope, that’s out, too.”
“You’re just a bundle of bad information, Dan. Anything else I should know?”
“You could take a couple of pizzas home.”
“Thanks, but they are expecting something a little more interesting. Do you have some cash you could lend me, Dan?”
“Some, and it’s yours, but I doubt it’s enough to bankroll a feast.”
“David, we can prepare a family-style dinner with anything on our menu.”
“You know, Cheryl. That might work. Some calamari, salad, lasagna, a couple of different pasta dishes. OK, you sold me.”
“I’ll have the chef fix you a nice platter, David, and the next round is on the house.”
“Now that truly hits the spot!”
No Facilities 
We were without power for 9 long hours, but there were so many more that were out a couple of days. Lack of electricity can certainly alter life as we know it, even this ‘adjusted’ Covid-19 life. Is a charging station one for electric cars? Happy weekend, Dan, and Maddie better hold on for some wicked humidity while sitting on her deck. :-)
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The charging station is for people who are still without power. CT had over 700,000 without power and almost 300,000 remain without electricity today (including our daughter). Over 50% of the people in our town were without electricity from Tuesday afternoon until yesterday morning when the numbers started dropping. A couple hundred folks are are still without power.
They used to set up a charging station in a Town Hall gym, where people could charge and be cool. Now they feel they have to do it outside.
We walked earlier today. about 70° but 93% humidity. Yuck. I hope you have a nice easy weekend!
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Every time we lose power I realize how utterly reliant we are on it. That was a strange storm, it did a lot of damage for only a Cat 1.
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IT did, and our major utility wasn’t prepared, again, for their guesses to come up wrong. They are scrambling and hoping to have power restored by Tuesday. We were lucky. Lots of other people were not. Still almost 300,000 without electricity.
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We had crazy high winds, which we didn’t need…. and no rain, which we needed desperately. Weird.
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We, too, had more wind than rain.
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Glad to see you’re okay! And that you still have some Corona at home. That does look like an eerie entry into Target. We’ve heard, in our area at least, aluminum cans are hard to come by. All the micro-breweries are having a hard time getting cans for their growlers or six-packs – barrels aren’t being purchased as much as takeout beer. Cheers to your stock of Corona! PS – cute bunny shots too!
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Thanks Shelley. It didn’t help the market that the big brewers all introduced a line of hard seltzers this summer. Those tall and narrow aluminum cans are in very short supply.
I look for beer in long neck bottles. If I can’t find Corona, I’ll make due with something else. I have about six beers that I really like, so I’ll survive,
Take care!
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Ah, that’s right … we have noticed that there’s been a shortage of White Claw variety packs. So far the wine bottles have been plentiful. ;-) Bottled beer always tasted better than canned beer to me.
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Cheryl was spot on with THAT idea!
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Haha – good one, GP. She is remarkable.
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We were very lucky here…no power outage. But some areas around us don’t expect to have power before Sunday. We’ve been in that situation and it’s not a fun place to be!
Good thing you thought ahead and stocked up on some Corona! You may have to broaden your taste in beer Dan. 🤗
Smokey and the bunnies don’t seem phased by Covid-19 or the aftermath of the storm. Lucky them!
Apparently today and tomorrow are going to be very hot and muggy. Oh! Joy! Maddie may not get much of a ‘sit’, but she’ll be quite content on the couch with you in the a/c. Murphy hopes you have enough Corona to drink the humidity away!! Lol.
🐾Ginger 🐾
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We lost power for 10 days in 2012. After that storm, the utility agreed that their process and procedures needed to be improved so they would be better prepared. Now they are saying Tuesday before all of the 700,000 who lost power will be enjoying electricity again. I’m glad they put all those rate increases to good use.
Our daughter is without power, camping in her apartment, but she seems in good spirit. She can visit if she likes.
I’ll make it through with the supply of Corona I have. I like several other beers, so I’ll be fine.
The critters outside are hungry. They’ve never seemed this hungry before. The long hot/dry spell has left them with very little to eat. When we sit, we have to take a good throwing arm outside with us.
Maddie and I walked, but sitting might not be the long relaxing deal it has been. It’s in the 70s now, with humidity in the 90-some percent range – yuck.
I hope Murphy can stay cool, along with the humans. I hope you enjoy the weekend.
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And I almost forgot….
Bunny!
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:-)
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Love your photos of Smokey and the ‘dog drinking out of a puddle’ line made me lol. I’m getting wary of saying “Things could be worse” because it feels like every time I do, the universe decides to prove me right.
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I’m glad you enjoyed this. Mother Nature smacked us when we were already on the ropes. Just when you think things couldn’t be worse, they are.
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Mother Nature was certainly having a hissing fit over there. Glad you were relatively unscathed.
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Thanks Pam. She tore through our little state and pulled the plug on 700,000 homes. Our electric utility has always proven to be clueless when it comes to preparing for the big storms. In between storms, they raise rates and give themselves raises.
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It is weird here in sunny FL. Once we realized the hurricane wasn’t going to do much to central/Eastern FL, the weather people stopped talking about Isaiah (sp?). I didn’t realize the extent of the damage you all had. It is pretty horrible being without A/C in the summer. Cheryl really came to the rescue for David–that dinner sounds great!! Smokey looks so tiny on Maddie’s porch. She is such a sweetheart to share with him. All your little ones are so cute–MiMi, MuMu and little Bun-Bun. Have a great weekend, Dan.
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Our electric utility, in a butt-covering announcement, said this is the third worst storm ever in terms of outages. They thought it would be a lot less damaging, and that’s what they prepared for. So, they don’t have nearly enough people to make the repairs. Our daughter has been without power since Tuesday, and the official status is “Evaluating” – not much help.
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I question all electric utility companies, Dan. I’ve not received an electric bill since April. April! I called Gulf Power this week because I am a little frantic that I am gonna get a $1000 bill due RIGHT NOW! Gal on the phone said, “Yes, you’ve not received a bill b/c Gulf Power is having some problems.” Really? My backyard neighbor has received her bills. My son has received his bills. I get ebills. Any idea when I will receive a bill? No. You guys have no power. I have power but no bill. What in the heck is going on???
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An electric company that can’t send a bill? I think they’ve been taken over by aliens.
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Sorry to hear the storm gave you guys a beating. I have a feeling we are going to go through rolling outrages of all sorts of unexpected things before things return to normal. Like right now there is an exceptionally bad shortage of common sense and cooperation in Washington working trough the economic situation and the virus. They cannot comprehend the importance of virus testing and contact tracing. Or its effect on the economy. And they think throwing sacrificial minions at the workplace and school systems will ‘fix’ things. They also seem to think minions have a large replaceable source. I will stop before I get carried away.
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“Common sense and cooperation” – Oh, John. Those shelves have been bare for a long time, and sadly, not just in Washington.
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Glad to hear you guys made it through the storm without major damage.
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It took me less than an hour to clean up the yard. Our daughter is still without electricity, but it looks like crews have moved into her town.
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Oh wow, hope they get the power working for your daughter soon.
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She was reconnected early Sunday morning.
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Great to hear.
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Good news all is well. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android
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Thanks Cheryl.
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Smokey and the bunnies look like they weathered the storm well.
Horrors! They’re not just out of your favorite beer, but haven’t even been brewing any? I was calling this the Covid Apocalypse, but I see it really is the Corona Apocalypse! I hope your personal stock holds out. I’ve been missing my gin martinis, but at least I’ve been able to get wine! Hugs and cheers!
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Mexico deemed the brewery non-essential back in March. I’m not sure what they were thinking, but. I think they might be back in operation, but the supply chain is a mess, so it may be a while before I see it at the bar. I’ll fal back on some of my other favorites. If they would put Brooklyn Lager on tap, I’d be fine.
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I remember those lengthy power outages well, Dan. I a, glad you were able to maintain power. I am mourning the loss of my favorite Wicked Weed beer this summer. They only seem to have it in a growler — I am too much of a lightweight for that. We have discovered we enjoy kölsch beers, though. Glad to see the animal menagerie looking so fit.
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The animals are fit, Maggie, but they certainly are hungry. I’t really hard to sit out there. Maddie gets some rest, I have to keep tossing peanuts. All in all, we were very fortunate to get through this storm without incident.
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My goodness. I remember the power being out at the coast after Harvey. Almost everywhere you turned the absence of electricity was a pain. Gas pumps didn’t work so one of the refiners brought in a huge tanker and pumped gas for free. There were no credit card transactions so volunteers brought in all kinds of cleaning and hardware supplies and they were free. Food was free, ice was free, and water was free. It was nothing short of amazing. I hope the power gets back to normal and the Corona restocked. Great post, Dan
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Thanks John. Hopefully things will get back to “normal” by early next week. We are counting our blessings. Lots of people are scrambling to find the basics, at a time when they don’t really want to be going to placed like Home Depot. Our gas stations have power (the ones around us) but they are running out of gas. People are lined up buying gas for generators. In general, things have been calm and most people seem to be taking this in stride – there’s always a couple of outliers, but…
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The same on the coast. Everyone knew they were in the same pickle so there was an element of calm.
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I remember being at the charging station and feeling overwhelmed by the kindness in the room.
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Yeah. Kindness was everywhere in my experince too. I did call the cops on a couple of looters and the police were kind to them too. Of course, they were handcuffed and tossed in the back of the patrol car but not shot.
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Not shot is kind.
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😂
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We lucked out here in the mid-Atlantic. The last time we lost power for any length of time in my area was in 2011 (thanks, Irene!). That was for a week, though — long enough to make me eye hurricane updates fairly closely ever since. Hoping everyone is up and running again before the weekend is out.
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We lost power for 10 days in 2012, Paul, due to a freak snowstorm. We were extremely fortunate this time. The utility says most everyone will be up and running by Tuesday. There are still 260,000 people without power.
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Whoa, 10 days. That week when I was out of commission was early in social-media days for me — would be interesting to see what it would be like in today’s even-more interconnected world. Sure do pity those waiting until Tuesday.
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It was very early in the life of this blog. My attempt at humor was the first post I ever had with more than 100 views.
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It’s Caturday 💛
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🐈
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I see Smokey up there. Nice post. It is hard having staying guests. Not good if you can’t use plastic and can’t get cash either, yikes. I like IPA.
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Yeah, it was like Target and Stop & Shop needed to merge. Target was accepting credit cards but had no food. Stop & Shop had food but required cash. We told our daughter she could visit if she needed to, but she’s treating this like a camping event.
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Crazy. Hope it is resolved ASAP.
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Me too. Thanks.
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Aww beautiful fur babies and woodland creatures in the gallery today. Glad the storms missed you, Hope the rest of the state gets back on track if not there already. We can barely stand a hour outage. No idea what we’d do if that went on for days.
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This is day-5 and there are still over 250,000 homes in the dark. The crews are out in force now, so maybe they will get ahead of it. The critters came out after the storm looking for food and water (we didn’t get much rain).
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Oh my! I feel for all involved. Add one more thing to the crazy which is 2020.
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It looks like a mess, but not a horrible mess in your area. How’s Faith doing? Does she have power yet? Are her kids having to sleep all day in the dark?
I hope that’s it for the East coast as far as heat and stormy weather. It’s time for a little relief and quiet. Have a great weekend, Dan. Stay dry, cool and keep the liquid refreshment within arm’s reach.
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Faith is still without electricity. Crews are in the area, but still working on major transmission lines. He cat has to sleep in the dark and warm apartment. Not too hard on him.
I hope this is it, but NOAA says 14-15 more named storms are likely.
I hope you’re having a good weekend. You’re getting close 🙂
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I hope Faith gets her power back by Monday and that the 14-15 storms run somewhere else. Yes, I’m getting close, but work has been so crazy busy, I am getting anxious about wrapping everything up before I leave.
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Her electricity returned very early this morning.
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Yay! 🙂
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We’re expecting our power shutoffs next month as the fire season starts. Always a good idea to have a lot of nonperishables and cash on hand! I’m with you about the humidity.
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This is when we realize the difference between hoarding and being prepared.
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The whole southwest lost power for about a day in 2011 and you would have thought it was the end of the world. I can’t imagine if we would lose it for 10 days. I’m glad your home and area was relatively unscathed. Love the cats’ ho-hum attitude.
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Haha – the cats really can’t be bothered. It was funny, after a few days, we fell into a routine and, 8, 9, 10, it didn’t really matter. But we we’re happy when it came back on.
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Technology is great until it goes out and you have to remember how you used to do things…
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We take so much for granted, John. It’s always a shock when it’s removed.
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No corona sounds good about now —- well, in another context . The company probably considered the name temporarily bad karma . Maybe switch to Estrella or Tecate , Dos Equis , or Modelo .
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Dos Equis is readily available, and I like it quite a bit.
There was a meme going around that suggested they were considering changing the name to Ebola :-)
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Thank you for using the word, “electricity,” instead of, “power,” a couple of times. I was thrilled that we only lost electricity for 16 hours this time instead of days. I hope your supplies come in soon.
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I was cognizant of the choice. Power seems right sometimes, but not always.
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Oh my Dan, I’m so sorry to hear about the rough weather and power outages. We were well prepared for the possible hurricane damage last week but it barely kissed us. I have been enjoying our daily thunderstorms though. I hope things get back to normal soon. I mean we can’t have you slumming it with Yuengling forever now, can we?
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Haha – the bartender’s perspective, I love it. Faith is still without electricity, but she’s doing ok. We got way more wind than rain, and we need rain.
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No Corona!! Oh, that’s bad, especially in all this heat. I would have no problems with expired beer. Our local market is in the same boat. He tells me it’s the virus, and the workers aren’t going in to make the beer…something like that. We had to drive a bit farther to a larger market. So far, in stock (and Dos Equis, and hubby’s beloved Negro Modelo). The weather did a number on your area. Poor David, but good thing you warned him about the cash, and Cheryl to the rescue!
Stay cool in the (yet another) heat wave approaching. Love the Maddie photo.
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Thanks Jennie. I have Corona at home. I might check with my package store to see if he has any left.
Our daughter got her electricity back early this morning. Still over 125,000 without a connection. Eversource says by late Tuesday they should be all up.
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Good news on the beer, shaky news on the power. Our town of Groton took advantage of “the last mile”, towns that were too far away to be hooked up when electricity became available, and could start their own electric department. As such, we rarely have outages. They are working 24/7 and are always on call. Three cheers for the independent electric departments!
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That certainly was a good idea. Otherwise you’d be waiting forever.
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Exactly!
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Good to hear you didn’t lose your power for too long. Are they really running out of Corona?
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They really are :( Mexico declared the brewery to be non-essential (wtf?) back in March. I’ve heard that they have begun brewing again, but that it will take a while to fill the pipeline, as it were. I have enough to last me for a while (yes, I was hoarding).
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That’s crazy! Glad you’ve got your stock. :)
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After our last power outage, I sprang for a backup battery for my CPAP machine. If I don’t have my CPAP, I have to sleep sitting up. I’ve gotten to where I do that pretty well, but my back doesn’t thank me. Beer — I wondered why you had gone off Yuengling for Corona. Have you ever tried Dragon’s Milk White? It’s pretty good, for a pale beer.
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I used to drink Corona during February as a way of honoring the memory of my sister-in-law. One year, I realized that I like it better. I don’t like light beer, but Corona is a light lager. If I see Dragon’s Milk White, I’ll give it a try.
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Loved it! I also love the design of your blog. Did you design it yourself or is it a WordPress theme? Awesome photos!
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