We have quite a collection of coolers, acquired here & there for a variety of events and reasons.  So when the power goes out, they do come in handy for packing up and icing down the contents of the fridge.  Like the last 2 days, for instance, when a thunderstorm knocked out one of the transformers at the park and we were without power for 30 hours.  Not that I mind really.  The weather was sunny, 80 and breezy.  Just beautiful.  We have a gas stove and a gas hot water heater, so we can cook and have hot showers.  We just didn’t have a computer (although Pat did have his iphone).   I like unplugging now & again and to be able to do it from the comfort of my own home is nice.  I got a whole bunch of things done that I had been meaning to do, like weed the garden, sort through all the end of the year papers that came home with Edie, among other things, without the distraction of checking facebook and email and blogs…..I need to remember to do that more often – just unplug myself.

And, if nothing else, being able to use a bunch of those coolers when the power goes out, does make us realize having coolers in every shape and size is really a good idea.