And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

And light there is in our humble home. What a luxury. After one day of living like a Pilgrim, you would have thought I was without electricity for a year. I am a material girl living in a material world, and I need appliances and electrical comforts! Now that we have switched back from daylight savings time, dusk and darkness arrive promptly on the Roman skyline at 5:00pm. I had the romantic notion that I would by candlelight but 45 minutes later a was on the same paragraph with a monster headache. I then remembered smugly that we have a gas stove, I wasn't ruined yet, I may have to do it in the dark, but I could still make food! Who needs a toaster or a microwave when you have the power of gas! Again 30 minutes later, a raging headache, and now I had wet feet. I had opened the refrigerator to take inventory of what wonderful things I might make, only to be shocked with the gushing of freezing water all over my socked feet. My refrigerator had spend its day without electricity defrosting itself and slowing creating a mini hoover dam in my crisper drawer. Finally I had enough, patted the cat on the head to wish him luck (he can see better in the dark after all) and left the house to go forth and enjoy someone else's sweet electricity... I went to the movies.

Our electricity was restored on Monday, but only at the sacrifices of another important modern comfort, our hot water heater. Apparently our boiler exploded sometime during the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, knocking out our power completely. After a good hour of fumbling around and sticking screw drivers into sockets and making a general mess of plaster as he knocked about on all my walls, my friendly building technician delivered the bad news. Our hot water heater died a brilliant death and could not be fixed. Sure enough, I spotted a tale tale water spot in the ceiling where the poor boiler had made his last stand. We would need a complete replacement, which would take at least two days. So after this experience of what life must have been without electricity, we now know that the Pilgrims must have had an awful stench, no one wants to take a cold shower in the middle of November!

The two maintenance men are now in hour two of project "acqua calda" and so far no old water heater has come down from its perch, let alone the new shiny one gone up. I am starting to get the feeling that they intend to just leave the old one to rust in its former home until the end of time. In the meanwhile, they have been hammering large holes in the wall knocking plaster and bits of paint everywhere.

This morning as I longed for a hot shower I amused myself with prose:

Ode to Water Heater

Without you we shiver in the cold dark marble,
I miss the sight of your glowing red light to match my glowing red skin.
The dishes are left shuddering after their chilly bath.
Nothing is the same, without you.
Oh, Water heater.