Some See A Hurricane Some See Opportunity

Hello, readers! Here I am high and dry after the hurricane, coming to you from my office where there is plenty of electricity, water, internet access and air conditioning. Unlike my home.

Although our power was in one of the first areas to go out on Saturday about 9pm, we’re going to be one of the last to have power restored. Bonus aggravation: we have no water, either. But don’t worry – it’s not all bad. The California Girls and our son moved into their townhouse on Friday and we moved in with them, complete with dog, on Sunday.

If there was ever a man who knew how to make lemonade out of  50 mile an hour lemons, it’s Sami.  I stopped at our house on the way to the office this morning and what do you suppose I saw?

“it followed me home. can i keep it?”

Hey, look! It’s a free hose reel that blew in on the hurricane. The only thing that would have made him happier is if a free lawn mower or a free vacuum cleaner blew into his path. Of course, we don’t need another hose reel – we’re about +2 the way it is but maybe our son needs one. This townhouse thing has opened up a new realm of trash pile harvesting possibilities. And that, as you know, makes Sami very happy.

The Morning After

Thursday morning:

Close your eyes and think of Las Vegas

The dog , or as Sami calls him “The Dogue” (rhymes with vogue) is not happy. How long can a little dog hold it in anyway? After the weekend snowfall, we did shovel a space for him on the deck and down the steps onto the patio so that at least you could push his unwilling little ass out there for a while. Things were ok until the sun melted the overhanging snow and icicles enough to make them fall off. I think the dog got clocked by it while he was waiting to get back inside because all of a sudden he outright refused to go anywhere near the back door. He dug in like a tri-colored  mule and would not be commanded, coerced, pulled or pushed.

obligatory dog-in-the-snow picture

Now we have to put him on a leash and take him out via the front door and even so, he is not having any of it. Here he is during an unproductive outing, only interested in trying to see over the top of the snow. We cleared the landing and the steps last night and another heavy wet 3″ fell while we slept.  In a cold, dark house with no power. The novelty is wearing off.

Also, my hair salon ignominiously canceled my foil highlights appointment scheduled for this morning. Well, it’s  Las Vegas that’s going have to suffer, not me. I won’t have to look at 2″ of dark roots next week.

UPDATE – Later that same day:

still won’t pee

.

Clear skies for now. Maybe we’ll have a day or two without snowfall for a change.

Christmas Past – Part 1

Turns out that my new-this-year outdoor holiday display was only good for measuring the snowfall. It got blown down by the first decent wind that came along and every one thereafter. Since it was made of brittle plastic, it suffered new areas of breakage each time it hit the deck. After three of four rightings and repairs that involved shoring up with bricks shrouded in supermarket bags, careful balancing and a little bit of string and tape, we gave up and just let it lay there.

snowman down

But it was still connected to the timer that turned the outdoor lights on and off. It made for an interesting display. I’m sure the pilots headed for Newark airport enjoyed it because they were the only ones who could really appreciate it in its new orientation. Even after the timer was disconnected, the solar rock light gave it a nice little glow.

We just got used to it being there and so it lived on longer than it would have if it remained obediently upright. Today is garbage day and we sent it off to its final resting place where it can recline for eternity in the dump. You’ll be happy to know that we did harvest the white lights for reuse.

(Sidenote: I wonder if I can get some kind of Al Goreish government credits for recycling those lights? That might come in handy when my blood pressure medication runs out and I’m on the Obama “olds” list for no refills. Look for them worked into the outdoor  chandelier on the deck this year so that I am in a better position to barter for a 90-day supply of HCTZ. )

Snow, man.

6:37pm

As blizzards go, this one isn’t amounting to much so far.

12:49 am

Uh oh.

8:00 am Sunday

Meanwhile, back inside …

Teh Suck

Central Jersey weather update: it wasn’t sunny today but at least it was dry. I went out on the deck at about 6:00 and as soon as the atmosphere saw me out there, it sent a big dark cloud my way. A very few scattered drops fell here and there so I maintained my deck chair position. After a few minutes of toying with me, the cloud opened up and diluted my martini before I could get under the canopy.

This falls into the category of “a shame”.