On Sunday (Solstice), the power inexplicably went out.  The weather was clear and calm, no storms anywhere near us.  But everything flickered and died.  The power company's phone line said there was a 51 minute wait for a representative, which told me that the problem was wide-spread.  A bit of web surfing on my iPhone told me that power was out for most of Ypsilanti.

The sun started to set.  I gave Aran and Maksim a stick of incense each and took them out to the back altar for the sunset portion of the Litha ritual.  It was more explanation than ritual, but you have to start somewhere.

You get a wish on Litha, which the boys liked.

By ritual's end it was getting fully dark and Mackie was getting nervous.  The gathering darkness in the house was scary for him.  We had lit candles all around the house, of course (no breath of air stirred inside, and it was getting very warm), but it wasn't bright enough for his tastes.  Finally, Kala decided to go to bed and said Mackie could stay with her until he fell asleep.

Sasha, meanwhile, was going into serious withdrawal from the lack of electronics.

I realized that the next day was trash day, and the trash container was in the garage.  The electric door opener garage.  Dangit.  I went out and popped the door so I could open it manually, heaved it up, and at that moment the lights came on.

Well, at least they were on.