Sunday, June 23, 2013

It Never Ends

Stormlets have given way to Mega-storms.  Here I was, blissfully prepping for the open house to show my peeps my new abode (it was supposed to happen in January but kept getting delayed) when The Storm of the Century hit the night before the party.

I know it's an overused phrase, but it really was a big storm.  Mine was among 500,000 plus homes without power Friday night.  And Saturday.  And half of Sunday.

Normal view on a nice day
View after the storm
Street-level view

I saw much, much worse, but I feel so sorry for those people with trees on their houses and sidewalks ripped up with trees down I just didn't have the heart to stop and shoot pictures.

Of course, this all means that the party did NOT go without a hitch.  Girl-child had to let people in the door manually since the door wasn't working, and then she lead them up the stairs since the elevator wasn't working...in the dark because the lights weren't working ... until Elizabeth saved the day by having a flashlight in her bag (a good scout is always prepared - she qualifies as a good scout!).

The good news is I will no longer be hauling ice up the stairs, the bad news is that I have to throw out food.  I hate throwing out food.  And just for the record, I think there is no foodstuff more disgusting than an overripe banana that has been frozen and then thawed.

Weird meals abound when salvaging food during/after a power outage...
yes that's a ton of cocktail meatballs with corn for lunch

People brought things even though they were not supposed to ... and I received flowers from afar too.  The beer, wine, tea, soap, mixed nuts, chocolates, full-spectrum lightbulbs and vinegar (yes, vinegar - how clever was that?!?) will all be put to good use.  Oh, and I got a sack full of lace-weight yarn that I forgot to offer to the knitters, which means I'll have to take it to Knit Night.

Amazing box of flowers spotted in the lobby;  couldn't believe it when I saw my name on it!
Turned out to be a box of sunshine!
My new best friends - the guys from the electric company
One funny story... so I was fretting myself to distraction Saturday morning ... went to a coffee shop to get Internet ... went to two places to get ice because the first was already sold out ... went to Midtown Farmers Market for breakfast to get my mind off having 30 people over with no power ... was chatting at the market with a woman who politely asked, "So, do you have your top on inside-out on purpose?" to which I replied, "No! Only because I got dressed in the dark this morning!"  I'm happy to say I had my shirt on right-side-out by the time my guests arrived.

6 comments:

kmkat said...

Glad the party happened, sorry to miss it. But I don't know that I could have handled three sets of stairs. One, yes; three, no.

Rose the Gypsy said...

You must put flashlights on your next wish list!

soxanne said...

Right? I think I have a flashlight but the batteries are probably spent ...

Silvernfire said...

I'm surprised that stairwell passes inspection. In case of an actual fire, if the power went out, are you just supposed to grope your way down the stairs in the dark?

(And the nifty hi-techness of my flashlight is because I'm always forgetting to check the batteries until it's too late. Better for me to have one that can charge off of manual labor or sunlight!)

soxanne said...

Actually, that's a good point. I suspect that the split-grid thing has something to do with it because when ALL the electricity was out the stairwell had backup lights.

Unless it's because it thinks no backup lights are needed during the day?

Silvernfire said...

Oh good, I'm relieved to learn that it usually has lights. I caught a glimpse of the emergency lights when I came up, and they were, of course, out. Which did not reassure me about your safety.