Homebound and Safe

The rains from Hurricane Sandy began overnight, and have been increasing in intensity as the center of the storm aims for landfall soon on the New Jersey coast.  Lots of rain has fallen, and the wind gusts have been in the 40 mph range so far (according to the TV weatherfolks).  We expect the wind gusts to increase through the evening.

As of now, we have power, our basement is dry (and I expect it to remain that way), and all of our trees are intact.  I don't want to jinx things by talking about it too much, tho.

Waiting for the worst of it to arrive, and planning for the possibility of being without power for the next few days, has been weird.  I have to stay inside, and I can't get involved in anything that involves electricity, because I don't want to be caught in the middle of something vital if the power goes out.  So I've been piddling around, doing whatever home-body stuff strikes my fancy.

I washed and dried a load of jeans.  Both The Husband and I wear jeans most of the time, and our hamper was pretty full, so it seemed prudent to make sure that we have clean jeans.

While I sorted the dirty jeans, I got the idea to sift through the rest of my jeans to purge any that don't fit right ... so I tried on every pair on the jeans shelf in my armoire ... and only one pair went into the Goodwill bin.  (This must mean that I've shed a few of the extra pounds that I've been carrying ... which is an unexpected bonus.)

When confronted with the possibility of a power outage, I always get the urge to cook.  This morning I put a pot roast into the crock pot for dinner.  The house smells lovely!

 

While I made a last trip to the store yesterday evening, I noticed that the bread aisle was totally wiped out ... good thing we have bread, or so I thought.  Discovered when I got home that we were nearly out of bread, and sandwiches are a lunch staple around here.  Have no fear, we still have power and I can bake my OWN bread ... which I did ... four loaves of white sandwich bread, so we should be good for a while.

I have had the TV on all day (which never happens on a normal day) so I can keep up with the progress of the storm.  All of our critters are napping their way through the day ... cloudy, rainy days are good for that.  We are fortunate that our dogs will go outside to do their 'business' when it's raining.  I feel for those of you who have dogs that won't. 

In the time it has taken for me to write this, the bread is done and out of the oven, and the pot roast is nearly ready ... comfort food on a rainy day ... Yum.

 

 

Here is the bread recipe I used:

 

4 cups all-purpose Flour

1 1/2 Tbsp. Yeast

2 Tbsp. Sugar

2 Tbsp. Oil

1 1/2 Tbsp. Salt

4 cups Warm Milk

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5 to 6 more cups of Flour

 

Mix the first six ingredients in a large bowl (I use my Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook attachment.)  Add 5 to 6 more cups of flour, one cup at a time, until you have a soft dough.  Cover the bowl and let rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size.  (I put it into my over-the-range microwave for this, with the worklight turned on.)  Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead gently.  Divide dough into 4 parts and place into loaf pans.  Let rise until the dough doubles.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes, until bread is golden brown.

 

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(5pm)  The folks on the TV news are saying that the eye of the storm is coming ashore in NJ, and we are getting another heavy band of rain here.  (I really feel for all of the news people who are stationed out in the storm.)

 

Our daughter works at the hospital Emergency Room, and she is a volunteer medic with the county Rescue Squad.  She is working a full day at the hospital today and tomorrow, and pulling full rescue shifts both nights, too.  She just checked in, saying that the ER has been busy today, but everything is fine so far.  Please keep her, and all the other first-responders everywhere, in your thoughts and prayers.

 

We are hunkered down for the evening, with a good dinner and a warm,dry place to sleep ... I feel blessed.

 

Battening the Hatches

Hurricane Sandy is coming.  The weatherfolks on TV and radio are warning that we can expect damaging winds and heavy rain Sunday night and into late Monday or early Tuesday. 

Hartwood is right in the center of the cone of probability on this diagram, just south of Washington, DC.

 

 

Tomorrow, I will finish putting away any items outside that can be picked up and damaged by the wind.  We are used to dealing with life in the dark after storms ... at least it's not air-conditioning season, so the house will stay comfortable.  Our generators are on the ready, and we will have power for our well pump, refrigeration, and a few lights and the DVD player. 

 

We will prepare whatever we can to the best of our ability.  It's the things that we cannot prepare for that worry me.  I pray that this storm spares our trees.

 

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Edited on Saturday morning .... as of this morning's predictions, it looks as if the track of this storm is going to be a bit more toward the north, and we are now on the southern end of its projected path. 

 

 

I am still going to spend today securing things outside and preparing to be without power.  (We were dark for 5 days in July with the Derecho storm.)  Please keep the folks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and New England in your prayers.

 

Good Morning, Morning After

Hurricane Irene has come and gone.  It rained, and it blew, and our house and our trees are relatively unaffected.  We lost power for a brief time at dinnertime last night ... very brief. 

The only damage I can find is to our front fence.

For those of you who haven't seen it in person, our fence posts are made of poured concrete and they are almost six feet high.  The fence was built in the mid-1950s, and it is a very prominent feature of the property. 

It looks like the earthquake on Tuesday compromised the posts, and the wind from yesterday's storm finished off this one.  I can see that it was hiding some damage ... cracks in the concrete had been letttng water in, which corroded the angle iron in the center of the post.  One big puff of wind, and over it went.

All of the pieces are here, so I think I can fix it.  Using adhesive and worm-drive band clamps, it should go back together like a big, heavy jigsaw puzzle.

Then, I will turn my attention to stabilizing the other damaged posts.  These cracks look pretty ominous.

I am incredibly thankful that this is all we have to deal with.  As I went to bed last night, I said a prayer for our trees ... our trees are my favorite feature of our property, and I worry about them more than just about anything.  No damage to them ... I am grateful.

So, all of our preparations were for naught ... thank goodness ... except for the cake.  German Chocolate Cake is the best thing to have while listening to the wind and rain outside.  It's also good for breakfast.  :)

Happy Sunday, Everyone.

Connie

Battening the Hatches

As of earlier this morning, we are on the dividing line between the Moderate and the Severe portions of the diagram that shows the probable course of Hurricane Irene as she makes her way north along a destructive path that only she knows.  In preparation, I spent the morning picking up and stowing anything outside that could potentially be thrown about and damaged by the tropical-storm-force winds expected to arrive here on Sunday.

My greenhouse is completely open to the weather right now.  I removed its plastic covering earlier this summer, hoping this would motivate me to complete its renovation before cold weather comes in late October.  (I haven't had a chance to do anything but work on the plans on paper as of now, but I'm still hopeful.)  It took quite a while this morning to dismantle and store all of the plants and supplies and tools inside ... including my set of stained glass windows.  I certainly don't want these to be damaged!

We are now about as prepared as we can be.  I have a little bit of shopping to do later today, and that should be the last thing we have to do.  The word around the blog world, according to Diane and Kat, is that an additional hurricane-supply necessity, along with the traditional flashlight, batteries, radio, candles, generator, etc., is CAKE.  We have a generator to use if we lose power, and it will run our well pump and enough outlets for the refrigerator and freezer ... and the TV and DVD player.  It would sure be great to have a piece cake while we watch movies.

I will be thinking about everyone in the Outer Banks (one of my very favorite vacation spots), and everywhere else along the path of this storm.

Be safe, Everyone.