We decided to go to bed (there being little else to do other than stare at candles (which both cats DID do, staring with big round eyes as though they were hypnotised). Just as we made that decision, the lights came back on. YAY! I fixed the clocks in the kitchen (stove and microwave) and *just* as I finished doing that... the lights went out again.
And stayed out.
We followed the original plan and went to bed. The clock by my bedside was, of course, dark; when next I opened my eyes to look at it, it was on, and it was 10:34, so they restored the power by that time.
There was nothing in the news about this in the morning although
rdeck did find mention of a lightning strike in Tacoma which had an effect - but didn't seem to be powerful enough to cause a state-wide disruption lasting at least four hours (and apparently considerably more in some areas - I heard them mention, by name, Bellingham, Sedro Woolley, Renton, Redmond, Issaquah, Olympia and South Bend which really is most of Western Washington) and when I called up the power company to see what I could find out, all they could tell me was that their machines told them it was "equipment failure", which, frankly, doesn't fill me with confidence.THis might be a long, long winter. Perhaps I should stock up on candles and buy a couple more fleece blankets...
