Coming up for air

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Sandy is history…almost….in my area. We were very fortunate. While we had 4 inches of rain, we did not have flooding. The high winds did cause massive power outages but not the tree damage we saw last year. We were out of power for about 26 hours (and 38 minutes but who is counting???). Many others are still out. There are some predictions that it may take until Sunday until all power is restored. We are again considering a generator.

This is nothing in comparison with what the New Jersey coast received. Most of us who live on the east coast are very familiar with all the towns. It breaks our heart to see such damage to places that we visit, love and have given us great memories. Hugs to them.

I am not a pioneer woman or a camper. I do not do well without power. I need hair dryers and hot water. There are many people who can turn it into an adventure but not me. Even though the temperature in our house never went below 65 degrees, I slept in flannels with 4 blankets. Ok, I am always cold unless it’s 80 degrees but there is something about dreary, rainy weather that makes 65 a lot colder than when the sun is shining.

There are a few things I learned this round. First I am able to identify all my comfort foods. First off my comfort foods MUST BE HOT! We had food to eat but it was cold. Bummer. I craved potatoes, preferably French fries but those were not to be had. I also craved chicken soup and pizza.

I also learned that if you have any friend with power you MUST visit them to warm up. It not only helps your body but it helps your disposition. My brother had his power come back a full 10 hours before me (the power company always did like him best!) so we went over to use his computer.

People aren’t any nicer when there are no parking places left at the only restaurant open. Enough said about that.

I actually can wait in line for 45 minutes for a cup of plain black coffee. It’s enough time to make new friends (as long as there are no parking spaces involved!). Can you believe all the Starbucks in our area were without power? That was enough to make me think this was a terrorist attack.

My cats are not fond of bad weather and this storm was no exception. All three were stuck under beds for the duration of the storm. They couldn’t understand why we didn’t put the lights on at night either. There were no night lights by their litter boxes! Poor babies.

I don’t think I have been this grateful to see electric power, at least since our last outage. It’s something we take for granted until Mother Nature pulls the plug.

Hope all of you on the east coast have survived and will see power soon. Now I have over a hundred emails to read!

Photo credits: Raritan Bay (NJ) by hpaich courtesy of Flickr

 

 

27 thoughts on “Coming up for air”

  1. A day without power sounds like a LONG time. I know how annoyed I was when I lost it for just a few hours. I can only imagine how painful this is for all of your neighbors who may not get any until Thanksgiving! So glad you bounced back so quickly!

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  2. My thoughts have been tuned towards you and several other blogging buddies I know live in the affected areas. I was glued to CNN the other night and really can’t completely comprehend the degree of damage. The New Jersey coastline and some of the more iconic areas of the boardwalk just decimated–hard to take in. I’m so glad to hear that you at least can begin to return to normal living, but I am sure the overall rebuilding will still be disturbing. There are a lot of us far, far away who do care and send our prayers. oxo

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  4. Kate, we’ve weathered a few hurricanes. Fortunately, none were as bad in our area as what we’ve seen on the news. I’m glad you and yours are OK. My prayers and thoughts also go out to those who need to rebuild their spirits, their lives and their communities.

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  5. Another Halloween…another storm leaving me without power for 4 days…last year it was 5. Each event I learn a lot about myself and even more about the kindness, generosity, and ingenuity of my neighbors. For me, no power means no heat, no water, no lights, and no cooking. When the power came back on, I did the Happy Dance…and I haven’t stopped!

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  6. Glad to know that you are safe and sound!
    Oh my, I cannot imagine my humans without coffee. Indeed, my human’s husband reaction was that if they lost power, they wouldn’t be able to make coffee… Thank Ceiling Cat we were very lucky! So sad that so many people still are without power and water though.
    Hope you’re feeling warmer now 🙂
    Lots of purrs

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  7. So glad to hear that you are safe. I’d be right with you, waiting forever for a cup of coffee. Glad you now have electricity as well. We know all about outages here and it doesn’t require any sort of natural disaster to create them.

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  8. So glad to know you’ve made it through – and your kitties as well. The scenes of destruction are so heartbreaking. I hope everyone will make a donation to the Red Cross.

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  10. Glad you survived. Being without power is no picnic . . . well, you might have to picnic . . . but it’s not a fun in the sun kind of picnic.

    And now you have proof positive that the electric company always like your brother best.

    It’s been really hard watching the scenes from my old stomping grounds ~ Manasquan, Point Pleasant, Seaside Heights. Very sad. Our family members are still without power.

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  11. Great to hear from you!
    I thought about wining about the cold this morning and then remembered how lucky I was that I was dry and could turn on my heater, 2 space heaters, and electric blanket.

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  12. Glad the inconvenience of Sandy was only loss of power for you. I totally understand the not being a camper wilderness kind of woman. My idea of camping is a Motel 6. When Hugo came threw here a few years ago I was without power for 5 days! I learned from that experience that just as a watched pot never boils–watched ice cubes never freeze. Important in SC.

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  14. Oh Kate, I love it that you admit you need hot water and hair dryers! 🙂 We didn’t lose power with Sandy, but this summer the Derecho did us in and we lost it for 5 days. Our little generator helped to preserve the freezer contents in 95 degree temps. I still don’t trust generators though and wind up storing water anyway. I’m so glad you and yours fared well through this monster storm that caused so much devastation.

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  15. Coffee is essential, damn straight you were waiting. My sister had a knock on the door yesterday informing her it could be 10 days before she has power in Lamberville, NJ. Her 50th birthday is Sunday and yes, I will be getting her a petticoat. For once living in the hood paid off for me…business as usual around these parts.

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  16. I agree that we really do learn something about ourselves under adverse conditions. I guess we can learn a little something about ourselves in any situation that is different from what we usually do. I have never been in a potentially life threatening situation and hope I never have to experience what you went through.

    If I do, I hope I can write about it as you did and still keep a sense of humor. Nice post!

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