Hail hail the gang's all here

Just as I walked back into the stall where Hank and his herd were waiting out the storm, 

lightning struck the ground somewhere in the vicinity of the front gate. 

We all jumped pretty high. Torn between wanting to run for their lives and not wanting to be

 pummeled by hail, the herd elected to stampede in place. It was tense but nobody got hurt.

I hadn't seen any flames or sparks, so I was pretty sure the lightning hadn't hit the power pole 

or the electric lines. But the second I walked into the house, I wasn't so sure ... 

I smelled fried wiring. I went from room to room, trying to identify the source of the smell. 

The power was still on and most things electrical still worked...how bad could it be? 

What I couldn't figure out was why the electricity worked in some rooms and not others. 

Then I remembered my dad talking about GFI outlets – maybe I should check those? 

Sure enough, they had all tripped and needed to be reset.

So now we're about an hour post-lightning strike. Everything works except 

the garage door opener, the washer, the dryer, and three outlets in the kitchen. 

And I still smelled fried wiring. But there wasn't any smoke...how bad could it be?

It was a tense weekend, waiting for the fried wiring smell to get worse or go away. 

I'm happy to report it went away. Based on where the smell was the strongest, I'm guessing 

it's related to the three outlets that aren't working. The electrician who wired the house originally 

is coming out later in the week to investigate.

Professor Google told me that garage door openers are usually the first things to fry 

in a "proximity lightning strike," and the Genie man confirmed that when I called him on Monday. 

A new circuit board is on its way.

The appliance repairman will be here Wednesday to diagnose the washer and dryer. 

I've got enough clean underwear to get me through the week. Not a problem.

I filed a claim with my insurance company – with any luck, all of these repair bills

will be covered. Even if they're not, I consider myself lucky. 

Nobody got hurt, the house is still standing, and best of all – it rained!