after the storm

well, we survived hurricane irene with little to no damage, except for some windblown plants in the yard (and me feeling alittle stir-crazy because i've been limited to the couch and bed in a reclining position, since that's all my back can take).  there wasn't a drip of water in the basement, and the power must have gone out sometime after 2 p.m. but come right back on, since my bedside clock was blinking this morning.  (interestingly, the power had gone out pre-hurricane on friday morning and stayed out longer and been more of a hindrance -- i had to manually open and close the garage door to even leave the house -- than apparently the hurricane had been).  so overall, i have no complaints.

several of my friends though, were not as lucky.  i've heard of a number of basements flooding and power outages throughout our area -- my parents' included.  and speaking of my parents, they had a rough night themselves when they were stuck in knee-high deep rain and the car flooded.  luckily, emergency services responded quickly and escorted them home.  the only thing which didn't pull through was the car.

the other thing going on this weekend are my in-laws' birthdays.  today's my MIL's birthday, and since we could not see her, we sang happy birthday to her over the phone.  she and my FIL were over the house yesterday to celebrate, since it was his birthday (yesterday).  it was nice to be able to treat them to lunch since they're usually the ones cooking for us.  i liked that they could sit and relax while my husband and i busied ourselves in the kitchen.  they deserve time for themselves since they're the hardest working people i know, although they're always doing stuff for others.

if there is one thing i could wish for them both -- it would be for a sense of peace, much like the calm after a storm.

whirlwind

there's nothing like an impending hurricane to stir up some excitement, especially in our area where we are not accustomed to storms of this magnitude. 

the last hurricane (that i remember) which touched down around here was hurricane floyd in my freshman year at college.  i don't think we expected it to hit as hard as it did.  classes went on as scheduled so my suitemates and i were still out and about when the rush of rain and subsequent flooding came.  the wind blew our umbrellas inside out, making them useless.  we sloshed through several inches of water crossing the street to the sidewalk.  it didn't help that our dorm was at the top of a long and moderate hill, so by the time we made it up we were completely soaked from head to toe.  that was nearly 12 years ago.

now, you can't turn on the news without hearing updates on irene.  channel 10 was doing live coverage from the shore points when i got up this morning and is still talking about it at this hour.  there have been mandatory evacuations, road closures, shutting down of transit lines, and red cross disaster preparations.  grocery stores have been flooded with people buying the usual: milk (why milk?), eggs, and bread (according to the comic from last night, it seems people want to be ready to make french toast during storms).  and apparently some gas stations have run out of gas.  what i want to know is where anyone would be going in the middle of a storm anyway.

so i've made my few preparations: stayed inside and decided what book i want to read.  my husband made his: brought in the grill and the non-potted plants.  we're ready.

and i'm set on staying dry this time.