Oh , the North Wind will blow....

A New Year's Eve not too many years ago, when our house on the hill was just a shell, we decided to see the New Year in, camped in our new house.  We drove the truck up and parked it in the yard, got out our gear, and built a fire outside.  We watched as dusk turned into night.  The wind grew stronger and the temperature began to drop.  We snuggled deeper into our blanket and ate a few more snacks before we made our way inside the house to bed down for the night.

We had heard the weather forecast for high winds but didn't pay much attention to it.  Our new house was just four walls and a roof at that time.  Flashlights and headlamps helped us see our way into the area that was to be our bedroom.  No walls inside, just bare studs.  Spreading out our sleeping bags we prepared to see in the New Year and then get a little sleep.  Right about midnight the wind began to howl.  We could hear something up on the roof begin to flap and bang.  What was it?  A loose board?  Some part of the house that was giving way to the strong gusts?  We turned on the  weather radio and were informed that high winds were hitting our area.  Actually we didn't need to be told that...we already knew it!

We tossed around the idea of leaving right then.  Packing up the  truck and heading back to town to our safe and cozy home on Second Street.  But it was just too bad outside to even think of venturing out.

Andy got up and sat in a chair, keeping track of the weather on the radio and every now and then walking around and checking on the inside creaks and groans.  Not a very restful time for him...or for me.

As usual, I stayed in my warm and comfy sleeping bag.  I have always depended on Andy to keep me safe and secure.  I was feeling very sleepy.  Even with the horrendous whistling of the wind overhead, the creaking and crashing sound of trees losing limbs in the nearby woods, and the ominous groaning of the rafters above me, I could feel myself relaxing there in the warm cocoon of my sleeping bag.  I pulled the hood up over my ears to muffle the sounds around me and went blissfully to sleep, there on the floor of my new home.

I don't know when Andy finally got into his sleeping bag.  I was out like a light.  When we awoke on New Year's Day the sun was bright and the sky was cloudless.  We had spent our first night in our new house.  Rode out a wind storm.  Nothing was damaged.  Not the best experience but one New Year's Eve we will remember for a long time.