8:26. Slept through the wind, woke at eight to the sound of the heat kicking in. I took a walk around the house to survey the damage, of which there was mercifully little. We have lots of branches down but all seem to have missed the greenhouse. The water in the basement got no bigger and the water by the outside stairs never breached the sill. The garage is mostly dry. Overall we made it through in great shape.

11:08. Sacked out in front of a dying fire. The girl is zonked next to me and Pique is curled up at her feet. Wind is still howling. There’s some water leaking in through the concrete in the ice room, but it hasnt gotten deeper since 9pm.

8:13. We all had dinner, took showers, and moved beds down in front of the fireplace. The girls just popped some popcorn, and we have bug-out bags next to the door.

5:41. Ran outside to bring in the feeders. Our gutters are working well, but water from the west flowerbed is emptying down the basement stairs into the concrete well. I dropped a pair of sandbags bags of potting soil over top of the puddle, but there’s still some drainage underneath. I also cleared out the artesian drain and that seems to be working. Otherwise, there’s only a 2″ sill between us and a flooded basement.

5:22. Still here. Gusts of wind are getting stronger. Jen just reminded me the bird feeders got left outside, so I’ve got to run out and save them. I still see people on the road here and there.

4:20. The girls are back up; the Weather Channel is pointing at New Jersey with sad faces and playing insurance ads in a non-ironic way. It’s gray and rainy outside, and getting darker. Our downspouts are working nicely, though.

1:09. About the same amount of wind. We’re all fed, and the girls are headed upstairs for a nap.

12:01. Wind is picking up. Lots of utility trucks going by. All of the leaves are now off the tulip tree. It’s stopped sprinkling and really started RAINING. Let the countdown to power loss commence.

11:03. Working from home. The governor told us all to stay home and they declared a state of emergency for the whole state, so I’m in my PJs using the VPN. What leaves haven’t fallen off the tulip tree out front are blowing sideways, and rain is hitting the windows intermittently. Were stocked with firewood, non-perishables and clean clothes, and the gutters are as clean as they’re going to get, so all we can do is hunker down and have fun.

Date posted: October 29, 2012 | Filed under general | Leave a Comment »

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