Goodnight, Irene (plus I am now officially a denizen of Pottermore)
By midday Wednesday they were saying Hurricane Irene was going to hit NY and New England. So I went out and topped off my gas tank (no lines, no price gouging), and then went to Ocean State Job Lot and bought a whole bunch of batteries.
They still had a good supply of batteries, but I did notice that flashlights and battery lamps were in short supply. I also got a bunch of candles even though I already had some at home, cuz OSJL had tapers for 50 cents each.
I then went to the grocery store and bought 10 1-gallon bottles of spring water, because I'm on well water and when the power goes out, that means the pump to get the water from the well doesn't work.
I already had a goodly number of bottles of seltzer and various canned goods (hey, this is New England, if it ain't a hurricane it's a nor'easter or a blizzard!), but I picked up some more seltzer because it was on sale, and canned tuna because it also was on sale.
Friday I went out and bought a couple of bags of charcoal and a can of starter fluid, so I can cook on my landlady's grill if necessary.
Today all the local news channels had stories about people who waited to today to buy the above items, and how they're shit out of luck. Store shelves are empty, and there's price-gouging on gas, water, batteries and flashlights.
Earlier today I moved my car into the garage, I set both the freezer and fridge to their lowest temps, took a hot shower, did laundry and then left the washer filled with water. Neither bathtub where I live holds water, so I've filled buckets and a large flower sprinkler with water. I also filled empty seltzer bottles and a couple of plastic tubs with water and put them in the freezer, if we lose power I'll move those into the refridgerator to help keep it cold.
So I've done about all I can do. Last hurricane we got, Gloria back in 1985, knocked power out for most of the state, and many areas didn't get it back for almost two weeks. I hope that doesn't happen to me, I remember back then that this area was only without power for a few days.
It's a given that I will lose power (altho in 1985 I was lucky enough never to have lost power), it's just a question of how long I'll be in the dark -- and without internet access, unless I go to some library that has power restored. Hopefully no more than two days, since while I live in a woods, those woods are on 40 acres in what is a fairly well-developed area -- and it is surrounded by a large commercial farm, so hopefully that will put my neighborhood at the top of the list for power restoration.
Right now we're just getting torrential rain bands, then nothing. There's no wind at this time. The last weather report stated that the rain should be "moderate" by midnight, and then by 3am Sunday it will be torrential. That will be the same time the winds pick up, and by dawn both rain and wind are supposed to be their worst. This will last at least thru midday, and then slowly slack off from midafternoon to evening.
Our ground is drenched -- sorry, Texas, the rains you haven't been getting have fallen on us in the Northeast. We are at a SURPLUS of around 10 inches of rain. Latest reports state we're supposed to get 10 to 14 inches of rain from Irene. There will be flooding.
And almost to mock me, the Pottermore people sent me my Official Pottermore Entrance email last night! I spent perhaps half an hour on the site, and found it rather confusing. The backstory of Petunia and Vernon is sort of neat, tho, and I'll work it into my own fan fiction.
But Pottermore will have to wait for Irene to depart, and power to be restored, for me to delve into it in any sort of depth...
They still had a good supply of batteries, but I did notice that flashlights and battery lamps were in short supply. I also got a bunch of candles even though I already had some at home, cuz OSJL had tapers for 50 cents each.
I then went to the grocery store and bought 10 1-gallon bottles of spring water, because I'm on well water and when the power goes out, that means the pump to get the water from the well doesn't work.
I already had a goodly number of bottles of seltzer and various canned goods (hey, this is New England, if it ain't a hurricane it's a nor'easter or a blizzard!), but I picked up some more seltzer because it was on sale, and canned tuna because it also was on sale.
Friday I went out and bought a couple of bags of charcoal and a can of starter fluid, so I can cook on my landlady's grill if necessary.
Today all the local news channels had stories about people who waited to today to buy the above items, and how they're shit out of luck. Store shelves are empty, and there's price-gouging on gas, water, batteries and flashlights.
Earlier today I moved my car into the garage, I set both the freezer and fridge to their lowest temps, took a hot shower, did laundry and then left the washer filled with water. Neither bathtub where I live holds water, so I've filled buckets and a large flower sprinkler with water. I also filled empty seltzer bottles and a couple of plastic tubs with water and put them in the freezer, if we lose power I'll move those into the refridgerator to help keep it cold.
So I've done about all I can do. Last hurricane we got, Gloria back in 1985, knocked power out for most of the state, and many areas didn't get it back for almost two weeks. I hope that doesn't happen to me, I remember back then that this area was only without power for a few days.
It's a given that I will lose power (altho in 1985 I was lucky enough never to have lost power), it's just a question of how long I'll be in the dark -- and without internet access, unless I go to some library that has power restored. Hopefully no more than two days, since while I live in a woods, those woods are on 40 acres in what is a fairly well-developed area -- and it is surrounded by a large commercial farm, so hopefully that will put my neighborhood at the top of the list for power restoration.
Right now we're just getting torrential rain bands, then nothing. There's no wind at this time. The last weather report stated that the rain should be "moderate" by midnight, and then by 3am Sunday it will be torrential. That will be the same time the winds pick up, and by dawn both rain and wind are supposed to be their worst. This will last at least thru midday, and then slowly slack off from midafternoon to evening.
Our ground is drenched -- sorry, Texas, the rains you haven't been getting have fallen on us in the Northeast. We are at a SURPLUS of around 10 inches of rain. Latest reports state we're supposed to get 10 to 14 inches of rain from Irene. There will be flooding.
And almost to mock me, the Pottermore people sent me my Official Pottermore Entrance email last night! I spent perhaps half an hour on the site, and found it rather confusing. The backstory of Petunia and Vernon is sort of neat, tho, and I'll work it into my own fan fiction.
But Pottermore will have to wait for Irene to depart, and power to be restored, for me to delve into it in any sort of depth...