We’ve been camped out in the den, watching our local stations out of NYC. They’ve been preempting regular programming with coverage of the hurricane and its aftermath. I couldn’t stop watching yesterday as I tried to comprehend the damage to the infrastructure of Manhattan, the horrendous damage to the shoreline of New Jersey, the loss of life, the fire that destroyed over a hundred homes in Queens, a tree falling on a young couple walking a dog – it just goes on and on. It’s really all I can think of right now. We were incredibly lucky. Millions of others were not. This tragedy has just stopped us in our tracks. My sense of humor isn’t working very well at the moment.
Finally, we stopped for a while and played Scrabble. The previous night of very little sleep may have blunted our Scrabbley-wordy skills, but we had fun. I won. I tell you, it’s all in the tiles you draw. I managed to draw Q and Z and that made all the difference.
I really can’t think about anything for any length of time other than those who have lost so much and the heartbreak I feel for this part of our country that is so dear to me. It has been ravaged, stripped and forever changed.
But I try. I took all the plants back outside to the porch, stowed all the flashlights and lanterns. We ate food that Don had precooked the day before when he was worried that all our frozen food might spoil if we lost our electricity. It makes for easy meal prep, that’s for sure. I may keep this alyssum inside for a bit longer. I like the way it looks here. Has anyone ever kept alyssum as a house plant?
And in the ‘Duh’ category, when I was preparing to bring all my potted plants in before the hurricane hit, I cleaned out a few pots that held all-but-dead plants. One of them had a sweet potato vine in it. As I took it to the compost pile, I had trouble dumping all the potting soil. My fingers kept running into something beneath the soil. What was it?
Am I the only one out there who was surprised to see an actual sweet potato underneath the soil?
I felt like an idiot.
I’m charmed by it. It’s sitting in a place of honor in the kitchen right now.
Hey, sometimes the simplest thing can bring a smile to my face. Or make me laugh at myself.
Thank goodness. I need that right now.
Happy Wednesday.
That is so funny! The same thing happened to me the summer before last. I was cleaning out my window box and dug up this huge oddly shaped potato!! Yes, I was SURPRISED! I didn’t know sweet potato vines that i bought in little seed starter containers actually produced a potato! Don’t feel bad…I felt like an idiot too! I am glad all is safe with you and I have been watching the coverage of the destruction in New Jersey and NYC area. Very upsetting and sad. I did not hear about the couple with the dog and the tree falling on them. Horrible!~ Take care, Patti
There are more and more horror stories hourly. Now there are two little boys missing on Staten Island – they were swept away in some sort of marsh. Heart is breaking.
We are so sad for the many people who are living through this nightmare! They need our continued prayers! So thankful you are safe!! We only had rains and winds, no damage in our immediate area! All transportation was closed into DC.
Has it re-opened, Clara?
I agree it is hard to watch and even harder to believe.
I worry for all of thsoe people and the future issues that they will be facing.
I pray that we as a country will provide for them and that the insurance companies are held accountable to do what is right by them.
I love the governor’s ballsy personality!
Stay safe.
Me too. Not always a fan of Christie politically, but I so admire his honesty and straight forward no bullshit way of speaking. He says what he believes. So refreshing!
All the local governors are doing a fantastic job.
I am embarrassed to say that I had no idea who he was until watching the news coverage.
I am watching now and see him going through the neighborhoods surveying the damage and talking to people.
Let us know if there is anything we can do for you, your Family and your community.
So glad all is well at Mockingbird Hill Cottage. That part of the US is going to need our thoughts and prayers for a long time. When the tornado hit Joplin, (my sister lives 15 miles from Joplin) it took so long and was so devasting. I read in the morning paper where our electric company has already sent workers that direction. And also, the Baptist have sent their emergency teams. So sad.
Judy
That Joplin tornado was such a tragedy, Judy. There will be months, years of recovery ahead for this region.
Claudia
Checking in from the Chesapeake Bay region. So glad you weathered the storm and all is safe. I have been following what hhappened in NJ & NY by the internet on my phone since my power is still out. So sad and tragic to NYC, one of my favoritplaces on Earth, in such a sorry state.
Our house is very cold since it is n the 40s so it is definitely flannel pj time. No hot water or indoor cooking since our power is all electric. Fortunately, we lost no trees. Many schools are still closed due to no power and traffic lights are out on many roads. Downtown Annapolis flooded and at each high tide continued to flood. The mountains in our state had a blizzard from the storm. The projection for our power to be on is 11:30 PM tonight. That will be the best Halloween treat ever!
Kim
Oh Kim, I am so sorry to hear you are without power. Our power is electric, too, and this is what happens to us when the power goes out. But I’m not comparing the two because you are faced with uncertainty as to when your power is going to be restored. I pray that it is restored for you very soon. Glad you are safe, that no trees fell and that hopefully your power will be restored tonight.
xo
I’d be just as surprised as you to find that gem in my flower pot! So glad you are safe. We’re thinking too of all of the folks that are suffering and the work to be done on the east coast. Hugs to you and my most sincere condolences to Don on his Scrabble loss. :)
Don was gracious, probably more than I would have been!
In the midst of all that is happening it’s good to focus on something perfectly normal. Save the potato in a cool dark spot, the vine will be that much bigger next year.
I am glad to hear that you are safe, it’s been a very troubling storm, and so many affected.
Jen
Very troubling. Very heartbreaking.
May you always draw Q and Z, Claudia.
Amen.
I am grieving with you over the devastation left in the wake of Sandy. I am watching coverage of the Jersey Shore. It is just awful. And Manhattan, and Queens. Just horrible.
The Caribbean was badly hit as well. Haiti, which has barely recovered from the last onslaught, is again suffering.
The bright spot is the efforts of the recovery crews, the first responders, the folks who are working so hard to help. Even the Broadway performers who came out to sing and lift the spirits of New York – all of them are heroes.
I’m glad you’re safe!
You’re right, Paula. We must not forget about Haiti, a country that has been continually hit with devastation.
I had no idea you could get a sweet potato from a sweet potato vine either…although it is totally logical! What’s hard to believe is all of the devastation to the east coast…have to find those sweet moments whenever and wherever we can!
Yes we do.
I am so glad that you and Don are safe, Claudia. And I can identify with your need to know everything that’s happened. Oh, how I can identify! I have heard from three of my other friends, and all of them did well. I am still waiting to hear from another friend in Connecticut and praying she and her home are safe. I was online with all of them before the storm, making suggestions for storm prep since we go through this during the season, and thankfully everyone’s power (and roofs) held. Even my BFF from high school who now lives in Queens and teaches at Columbia is blessed to have electricity. She’s not sure how she’s going to get to work, but she’s just feeling very blessed that they made it through safely. I’m not sure exactly how far she was from the fires, but it just freaked her out which makes me doubly grateful that she, her husband and pup are okay.
I understand the feeling of shellshock. That terrible year we had three hurricanes in a row followed by Katrina the next did if for me. That changed a lot for me. I always worried about our “things,” but these storms made us even more thankful for our lives. Waiting and waiting to hear if one of my childhood best friends was alive after Katrina was the kicker. I was almost crazy with worry because we (my sister and I) had begged him to leave, but he refused to go more than a few blocks away. Picture Mr. Rogers, and you can picture our friend. When we heard that the water crested at the RR tracks, I panicked thinking he might have drowned in the floodwaters, even at his friend’s safe house. Nothing was safe from all the reports, and each report was scarier than the one before. Miles inland things were destroyed. Back bayous flooded and drowned people. Water everywhere. Horrid wind. It was a worst case scenario if ever one existed.
I had been to see him on my way home from a trip west because he wanted to show us his newly restored house, and as I stood in his front yard, preparing to leave for home, I thought, “This is just gorgeous, but the Gulf is too close for comfort.” Turns out, I was right. His house was the first thing left standing as the two other blocks of Victorian houses before his were GONE. Wiped clean. What they referred to as “slabbed.” His porch, with the little porch swing like the one his daddy had photographed us on as children, was wiped off the earth. Swept away to who knows where! The house had deep water in it, but somehow, the organ his great aunt left him had floated down the hall and blocked the front door, saving many of his beautiful antiques from floating away. He had those things he could have salvaged, mostly wooden things, restored. On my visit there, a week or so prior to Katrina, he took me to his church (he’s an Episcopalian but the organist at the Lutheran Church so we went to both) and played the organ for me like we did when we were kids. And as I stood looking out of the window behind the altar at St. Peter’s By the Sea, I thought, “That water is GORGEOUS, but it’s just too close for comfort.” Claudia, a week or so later, that same organ was found blocks away from what had once been the most adorable carpenter gothic church you have ever seen! The little church was wiped out. Pretty much every Episcopal church on the Mississippi Gulf Coast was wiped out from what I understand. My cousin who was flying with the Hurricane Hunters was landing in Houston as Katrina was heading toward his home to destroy it, too. He said the front facade was standing, and nothing was in the back. His stove was on the golf course next door.
Not as much attention was paid to what happened on the Coast as NOLA, but some of those Coast residents were left clinging to trees that washed away and then leaping onto roofs that were floating away, etc. There are incredible stories. Some were in houses that surivived Camille so they felt safe. Substantial homes, some being brick. But the hours and hours that storm lasted is what did them in… it just wouldn’t quit. Some people who drowned were sent away from the coastal area itself to more central coastal locations which later became inundated with floodwaters from creeks, rivers, and bayous. Then those homes filled with water, drowning people who thought they were out of harm’s way. One was the mother of a city official. He kept her little dog with him, and he did everything he could to save it. When his office gave way, he found himself clinging to a tree with one arm and hanging onto a chihuahua with the other. All the while he was thinking his mother was safe when she had drowned in the place he sent her to for safety. I read the stories and wept for the people and for what was one of the prettiest coastlines in the US. Fine Victorian homes gone. Gorgeous live oaks oblitererated or left to struggle, filled with salt. But worse, many, MANY lives lost. The warnings wren’t really there because the storm switched courses before they had time to consider preparing. It was headed for us. We would have felt a sideways punch had it hit where it was originally going. There but by the grace of God go I.
Then there was my niece in NOLA, the same niece who had JUST had surgery and was called to a lockdown at Oschner’s because they needed the medical staff there. All hands on deck. Some fled. She did her duty.. Her roommate, a NOLA native and attorney who owend property all through the city, left for Atlanta and came back to a devastated mess. My heart ached for her, and it still does. My niece wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital for three weeks. They were eating K-rations. Finally, she got to help move patients to Baton Rouge. But your heart is in your throat. Then the relief turns to exasperation, the waiting for them there… no one was allowed in certain areas… and learning that her home in NOLA had flooded and that friends/family on the Gulf Coast found nothing left (one person found NINE spoons from a three story, solid as a rock Victorian house). It is just a feeling beyond words.
My BFF’s 90 year old mother was alone in her home in Pensacola when Ivan switched gears and slammed them. As I recall that was a CAT 3 storm. I prayed all night long that angels would use their wings as windshields and protect her property. When her daughter left to go get her mom, she had to park three blocks away and climb over felled trees to get to her house which was without electricity. Some neighbors had trees on their homes, others didn’t have roofs, but her mother’s house did not have one tile disturbed, not one single leak, and not one tree blocking a path. Now one tiny tree did fall, and it fell over into the neighbor’s yard and didn’t hurt anything. We had a true miracle, and I thank God daily for it. But that was the siren call for her. She left her home she had lived in for most of her life and moved further south to live with her daughter. I have a naturopath who used to practice in NOLA, and I couldn’t get to her because the BRIDGES were down in Florida. IINTERSTATE bridges. We would have to drive through Georgia, Alabama, and down through Mississippi to get to her. It not only changed the look of things, it changed the course of life as many of us knew it. We can no longer take the train west that used to run to NOLA because the track was WIPED out and never repaired. I love train travel, but I can’t go where I need or want to go. But life moves on, and you are oh-so-grateful to move with it.
The one thing this clarifies is the preciousness of life and the fact that each moment should be lived to the fullest. And in terms of safety, where can you really move that’s safe? There are tornados in middle America, wildfires in Colorado, avalanches in Canada, floods in the North, South, East, and West, earthquakes in California. So you do the best you can and just keep muddling through life with a grateful heart. Grateful for friends and family and pets. Grateful that the sun is shining today and that there are good and decent people who care enough to help. Even if it’s a prayer said. Especially if it’s a prayer said because prayers move mountains.
Thanks for letting me share. I’ve been thinking about it ever since this storm kicked in, and especially since it headed north towards friends I love. So glad to hear from you.
My heart to yours…
XO,
Sheila
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Sheila. xo
Claudia– this may make you smile.
YOU WROTE:: ” I may keep this alyssum inside for a bit longer.”
I READ: “Asylum” (as in refuge or sanctuary)…
So the business with the plant was lost on me! … sounds like your time hunkered down, was restful… despite the turbulence going on elsewhere.
Nice ‘tater! :)
Pat
I may stay in my asylum for a bit longer, as well, Pat.
I’m so glad that you and Don are safe and sound in the midst of the devastation from the hurricane. I love cozy games like Scrabble, too. My husband and I also play a lot of Backgammon!
Too funny with the sweet potato…I have never experienced this either and would also be surprised!
Silly me.
I’m glad to hear that you came through OK. I was worried about you with all the trees you have.
The scenes they show on the tv of the flooding, of the New Jersey coast, of buildings and cars and boats washed away… Awful! I can’t get the shocked look in people’s eyes out of my head, as they talk about how everything they knew has changed overnight. Not just New York and New Jersey, but Haiti and Cuba and the other islands that got hit first. I feel so bad for everyone. Being so far away the only thing I can really do is contribute money to the Red Cross and hope that help gets where it is needed most. I pray it does.
Take that sweet potato, stick a couple of toothpicks in it’s side to balance it on a jar of water and let it root and you will have a very lovely houseplant all winter long.
I will!
Thanks for your wonderful post, Claudia. I have been feeling completely washed out and unable to get much done today. I think it is the shock of seeing so much devastation. My heart and prayers go out to all those affected be this terrible tragedy.
Hugs,
Laura
I feel the same way, Laura.
Ha! That’s like last year when one of my potatoes sprouted so I cut that part off and plopped it in a pot outside. never in a million years did I think an actual potato would grow but grow it did. It was a little thing but I was so excited. I think taking it easy and relaxing at home is the best thing to do. Best wishes and blessings, Tammy
I love this little sweet potato, Tammy.
Hi Claudia, I’m glad to see that you have been spared. Here in ct we have tremendous devastation. Most of the area is without power or water and we were just able to get out of our driveway today because of all the trees and wires on the ground. Now on the way to YMCA for showers and the firehouse for more water. Haven’t been able to see the pictures yet of the city. I feel terrible for the people who suffered so much from this storm, when all I am missing is water heat and light. I am remembering to be thankful. Linda
Oh Linda, my heart goes out to you. Thank goodness you were able to get a shower and some water. I am praying that your basic needs are restored very, very soon. Hang in there, my friend.
Claudia, I was worried about you and Don, and so happy to hear it passed by you. It is so hard to even begin to fathom the devastation back east, the horror that has wreaked up and down the coast. I awoke yesterday to a beauitful sunny day here in So Cal, and it made me think of the year we had the big EQ out here about 7 miles from us. My house was not damaged, just tossed around and messes everywhere, but the earth shook all day, and it too was a beautiful day. I remember thinking how life goes on and people back east or anyplace had no idea what the people here were going through, the devastation and losses. I am so sorry for the loss of lives and destruction going on all over back east, and still more to come w/the flooding. I pray these people find some relief in due time. I hear the people of NY are hearty people from great stock, and bless their hearts all up and down the East Coast.
I think it’s that way in any tragedy. You wonder how everyone else can go on with their lives in other parts of the country when you are facing such loss and devastation. I even thought that when Riley died. How can life be going on around me like nothing has happened?
I can imagine how much relief you feel that you and your home made it through this storm unscathed. We’ve also been watching the news coverage from our farmhouse in Oregon and are shocked at the devastation. As a historian, it makes me so crestfallen to see the loss of the old homes and the boardwalks and amusement parks. As a person who is empathetic, it breaks my heart to hear of the loss of life and of people living in flooded out homes. ::sigh::
The only thing that brings hope is to know how resilient Americans are and that rebuilding will start as soon as the mess is cleaned up. Hugs, Teresa
So many beautiful buildings and so much history lost. It’s heartbreaking. So many people lost their lives. And every time I turn on the television, the count goes up. Oh, it’s so very sad.
I’m just glad the three of you are safe.
Brenda
we are very grateful
Glad you are safe..I am too..Yay..Sweet potato vine = sweet potato…Duh :)
Glad your threesome came through it all okay Claudia. I sit here now on the West Coast and watch the images which have been familiar to me for many years of living in FL, but somehow it seems so much worse because of where this storm made landfall. As a kid my parents took me to the Jersey Shore in the summer where we met up with NJ relatives and I remember the boardwalk and the amusement park. My heart breaks when I see the destruction and loss of life a storm of this magnitude brings, but those of us who are not directly affected should take a lesson that while devastating, homes can be rebuilt, electricity will come on, memories cannot be taken away and we need to grieve for those who died or those who knew someone who died. And we should all help in whatever way we can. Ann
It has been so shocking to see the damage to the East Coast and the loss of life always makes me so sad. I have a blogging friend on the Jersey Shore I have not heard from yet. I am assuming they have no power. I pray they and so many others are ok and that their loss of property was slight. I fear it might not have been. I would not expect a sweet potato so I’m an idiot with you! Hope tomorrow is a better day.
hugs, Linda
I’ve been living in the parlor for 4 days, too, Claudia, switching between CNN and the Weather Channel on the television. The news has been heart-breaking, and only seems to get worse. We can only be thankful that we were so lucky, and continue to pray for those who were not.