After Sandy….

I survived Hurricane Sandy…

I made all of the preparations that I could.  The house in Maryland was winterized, fridge cleaned out and unplugged and everything that I wanted to bring home in the first trip was loaded into the truck.  I unloaded it here in Parkesburg and began to prepare for what the experts said could be days or weeks without power.

I had stopped in Maryland with a couple of large containers filled with gasoline.  I had another one here at home and filled it, too.  All in all, I had close to 15 gallons of gas to run my little generator.  I had brought a large container filled with drinking water up from Maryland… I had used it to store water for toilet flushing in the winter in Maryland with the water turned off.  I also had 2 gallon jugs filled so I was ahead of the game once I got home.

I pulled items from the front of the house (flower pots and flags, etc.) so they would not get blown away in the strong winds of the hurricane.  I also buttoned up the back deck.  I tied things down and took things off the tables, put little things in the garage or back deck and bungee-corded lids so they would not flop open in the wind.  I took my cordless drill and used screws to secure the boards and bench that were going to serve as the generator cover so it would be more wind resistant and yet guide the exhaust out beyond the deck roof.  I filled large buckets, soup pots and other plastic containers with water for cleaning, washing hands and flushing.  I had a couple of oil lamps ready and flashlights with batteries/spares at the ready.  There were non-perishable foods available, IPad was charged, cell phone was ready, laptop charged, portable DVD player charged, Nook charged… I was ready for Sandy.

The rain started Sunday night, first as a drizzle and then more steadily as Monday wore on.  The local TV stations were broadcasting all day about where Sandy was located, what we needed to be ready and all of the possible things that might… or might not… happen.  The wind picked up all through the day but there was no loss of power during the day and only a flicker around dinnertime.  Then Sandy turned to take dead aim on the New Jersey coastline.  Around 9:00 PM, everything went dark.

I listened to the wind blow and blow at the front of the house.  I had the oil lamp lit, but it could not mask the sound of the storm.  I was not going to run the generator until the storm had passed as it needed to stay dry, so I headed to bed around 10:30 PM.  Molly was really pretty good through that time.  She even went out to pee in the back yard a couple of times.  It is always so sad to see her go out, squat and pee while the wind blows her ears back, the rain pelts her head and she looks at me with eyes that say “why are you making me come outside to do my business in this horrible weather?”

I opened the front window a crack so I could get a little fresh air without rain.  We curled up in the bed and listened to the wind blow.  Somewhere later the wind stopped blowing for about an hour or so.  It could very well have been the area close to the center of the storm… the eye, as it is called.  Later on, I could hear the wind and rain blowing against the back of the house, so we were obviously transitioned to the back part of the storm.  It was a long, restless night.

I woke up earlier than I had hoped.  But the wind was still blowing and poor Molly had to go out again.  Same blowing ears and sad face….!

I have cooked at this house using propane for 30+ years.  I am always happy with that choice when the power goes out.  I can use the top of the stove without the need for electricity.  I also have a lovely Corning Ware drip coffeepot where I boil water in the bottom part, put coffee in a filer in a container under the upper chamber.  When the water boils, you pour it into the glass top, put it on top of the now empty bottom, pull out the little stopper so the water drips down through the grounds, and voila… hot coffee.  I had an insulated carafe that I filled with the coffee and was able enjoy hot coffee all morning long.

I fired up the generator and was able to follow along on the news broadcasts that were beginning to uncover all of the devastation that Sandy had dealt to the New Jersey coastline and to the heart of New York City.  The pictures were amazing.  I felt very lucky to have just lost power.  There were many more people who lost far more that I.

I was eating my dinner when the lights in the house came back on.  A little over 17 hours and the crews dispatched by PECO had restored power to my house and I was ready to get back to normal.

I did not dump the water right away.  I just could not see wasting all of the valuable resource by pouring it down the drain and into the septic system.  I moved the big containers out of the way, but just could not dump them.. Today proved to me that there was a grander plan in place.  I was going about the house, today, starting to find homes for all of the items that I am going to be removing from the Maryland house.  Molly began barking and barking.  The pitch of her bark told me it was not the normal UPS truck or mail truck stopping briefly before going on.  I looked out and there was a tractor trailer in the turnaround in the front of my house.  The hood was up so he was obviously having mechanical issues.  Shortly after, the doorbell rang and a haggard looking man explained that his truck had blown off a couple of hoses and he was in need of water.  I asked how much and he indicated that it would be several gallons.  Rather than letting him draw it directly from the well, I offered him the containers that were already full.  He found a way to transfer them to smaller containers to put the liquid into his truck’s radiator.  I then offered him my bathroom when he asked where along the road there might be some and he told b=me that I had been an angel in his day!  I knew there was a reason I did not pour the water down the drains.  Still have some pots full, but I will find a way to use them too.

So I was blessed.  Loss of power but I was prepared to have what I needed.  My house is still in one piece.  My belongings are safely inside.  The house in Maryland suffered no damage wither.  Power was restored in less than 24 hours.  I was blessed.

So now I start to get ready for a quilting retreat that I am looking forward to attending very, very much!