How are we all doing with Irene

[DammitJanet]

Well I went to sleep about 2 am and woke up around 10 am and now most of the rain is just a drizzle but the wind is still up around 25 mph. The upper coast of NC is getting battered but thankfully not as bad as it could have been. Several small tornadoes went through and damaged or destroyed homes. They say there are lots of shingles down and siding off but as of now it is really hard to assess damage before this thing actually gets gone because it still has to leave and get the back side off the coast because that will push water back into the sound.

More fun to come!

I think VA Beach should be getting hit by the heavy bands right now. Terri?

 

[TerryJ2]

This is the BEST book to read during a hurricane, when the wind is howling and the lights go out:
http://www.amazon.com/Miss-Peregrin...n/dp/1594744769/ref=pd_luc_top_sim_04_02_t_lh

The power has been on, off, on, off. Had enough time to make tea and bacon and check online.
Take care, everyone!

 

[CrazyinVA]

Rain and wind here in Richmond, maybe around 20-25 mph gusts. Some areas have lost power, but fine here for now. I'm north of the city.

 

[TerryJ2]

Oh, I just realized I hadn't answered your Q, Janet! Yes, it's been blowing and raining since about 2 a.m. It really picked up around 5, and it's picking up again now. There was a nice lull where I took the dogs out and assessed the yard. My golden retriever is such a nut--he was crouching and bristling at all the new creatures in the yard--unrecognizable magnolia clumps. He went after several blowing leaves with-a vengeance. Go gettem, killer!
The rain is coming down so hard, it feels like needles in my skin. I had on a windbreaker but didn't think to wear long pants.
Gotta type fast b4 the power goes out again.

 

[everywoman]

We are clear now except for some residual rain and clouds---slight breeze---lost one piece of trim off house---but it came off in one piece, so it can be nailed back on.

 

[DammitJanet]

EW...I was so worried about you! It really took its time battering the South Carolina coast didnt it and it was a dang long way out to sea! Lord...now the rain bands are showing from just above me to just above NY. Whew.

Oh...some idiot in a sailboat had to be rescued from Va beach. Idiot! And a tornado watch there too. Already one touched down there.

 

[keista]

I just woke up and haven't seen any reports yet.

Fortunately I was able to educate one sister in preparations. and she in turn educated some friends an coworkers who weren't taking the threat seriously. Other sister will probably be OK. She tried buying water, but they were out so she bought beer instead. lol

I do have a distant friend who I am concerned about. She's been ordered to evacuate and is still dilly dallying around. If it were just her it's one thing, but she has two kids. One with Down's and one with ADHD. Funny since she is on LI, and I was just telling sister (in NYC) that the ppl on LI are more used to this stuff and therefore prepare better. Apparently not.

 

[TerryJ2]

Janet, I just saw that about the sailboat rescue. Idjit. I think he should be fined.

Keista, so sorry about your friend. I hope she knows what she's doing.

 

[DammitJanet]

They just reported the first fatality in NC. Man feeding his animals in Rocky Mount. Now dont listen to the Weather Channel about where Rocky Mount is though...they just said it was near the Appalachians. LOL...it is on 95! I drive right through it every time I go to Richmond.

 

[DDD]

Janet, I heard about the man who died in NC on tv. They said they he went outside and got killed by a falling tree branch. I was unkindly thinking "why to heck would anyone go outside after all the warnings?" but if he was taking his dog out during a lull at least it makes sense. Now they say a Va. man has died but no explanation. If you have power you are luckier than 200,000 other Tarheels.
I hope that inconvenience is the worst part of the system. DDD

 

[LittleDudesMom]

You know where I am in the City Janet and the wind is really picking up - I've just begun to be able to detect occasional howls. There are a lot of large "twigs" and leaves on the yards and my street. Since we have soooooo many big old trees around here, a power outage is almost a guarantee! I have two thermoses filled with coffee - one for this afternoon and one for tomorrow (even though it will be cold by then). I have a cooler filled with two bags of ice. I roasted a chicken last night and pulled it so that difficult child and I could have more than just PB&J sandwiches! We have our "storm box" ready, all the laundry is clean, the house is vacuumed, I ran the dishwasher this morning and the disposal is clean (lost power one time with food down the sink in the disposal - yuk).

We are as ready as we can. Since the storm is moving a tad more west than anticipated, we are ready.

easy child stopped by earlier on her way home from teaching swim lessons at the gym. She has to go back at 2 until 7 to work in the daycare and is a little worried about driving around the city when the storm is supposed to be at it's worse. She is hoping they will call and tell her they closed the daycare!

Stay safe everyone!

Sharon

 

[gcvmom]

Stay safe, everyone!

 

[1905]

It seems like we're all ready. A little superficial damage we can handle. I'm hoping it won't be that bad. I was reading my local newspaper this morning and I cannot believe how many people are not leaving. One lady tried to leave, and the hotel wouldn't take her pet, the hotel couldn't find another hotel for her so she just went back home. She's 72.

 

[klmno]

I. DON'T. LIKE. HER!!

I went out to run a couple of errands, and this is from the place I evacuated to, earlier today and thought I could finally see "The Help" at the local matinee before the bands got bad. Nope, by the time I finished the errands (one being to find a grocery store and apparently they don't eat at home in this suburb), there were signs of flash flooding, winds were picking up, debris was on the roads, and there was minor flash flooding at road intersections. I ordered a pizza, bought beer, got gas- just in time too because the gas pump was only working intermittently and I was down to my last drop.

So, I'm back in the hotel with the dogs with WIFI service that only works 25% of the time. I'm debating on staying until Monday. I am trying to catch enough time online to see how bad things are "at home" but I'm almost certain my neighborrhood streets are flooded and power and communications are down. Oh- and my cell hasn't worked since I left home yesterday but oddly enough, it says "emergency calls only" yet it says I have no available service and I have plenty of charge and mins on the phone.

I'm not so sure I'm meant to see that movie...

 

[tiredmommy]

My cousin W is our family hero today. His youngest sister, B, lives outside of Wilmington, DE right on the PA border. They are sure to lose power for at least a little while and are prone to basement flooding so they called around this week and located a generator 1.5 hours away in a warehouse store in Lancaster, PA. They were assured it would be held for them until close of business Thursday evening.

Of course it was gone when they arrived.

So my cousin W (who lives near me in Buffalo, NY) went to Home Depot yesterday and bought one. Packed up his van with all the extra supplies he could think of and met my cousin-in-law halfway between here and Wilmington.

What a great guy!

 

[Hound dog]

I hope everyone makes it out of this safely.

I checked in with sister in law when I updated her on husband. They're being hit now, waves and waves of rain. husband's bro has made trenches around their patio to help keep water out of the apartment, so far it's working......when there is a lull in the rain he goes out and reinforces it. They have their supplies and are doing good. I'm not sure how close to the coast they are, Williamsburg Va....I think their main worry is flooding and wind damage.

Has anyone heard from Star?? I'm worried about her.

 

[keista]

klmno, I hope you can see this update. My phone did that while I was on vacation. Your phone might just need to be reset. Turn it off, take battery out for a minute, then reinstall and turn on. If it doesn't work, try calling customer support (from a regular line, obviously). They will walk you through that process and do something remotely to get it working again.

 

[bigdmomof3]

Well I am 40 miles west of Seaside Heights NJ. Rain heavy at times no high winds yet.

We are in a mobile home and are hoping for the best! The 2 ponds in the park are on the rise. It is supposed to get much worse over night. I hope not though I have to be at work by 8:30 tomorrow morning!

Stay safe everyone!

Dee

 

[DammitJanet]

Williamsburg is fairly close to the atlantic ocean as the crow flies. I hope people understand that saying.

And I swear...I think NC is really ready to share the wealth with this storm!!! It was supposed to be gone by now. It has ripped the roof off a mall and the mall is about 50 miles inland.

Oh I am not amused at the people standing around in lower Manhattan with umbrella's thinking this is funny and laughing as they watch the news reporter on TV. When she asked them if they were going to leave, they said no, they were going to just sit and watch. Yeah good idea. More deaths. Sigh.

 

[hearts and roses]

We are ready! All laundry is done, dishwasher ran, house clean, cupboard and fridge stocked, deck cleared, all potted plants in shed, garden kotchkes and tools put away. All that's left to do for H (when he finally gets his rear end home) is to put away the patio furniture and drag out the generator to be ready should we lose power. difficult child and boyfriend are staying here tonight and tomorrow, I'm so relieved. They're the type to drive in it! Besides, boyfriend can help H if anything major happens, which insulted H when I said it last night, lol. Driving around running errands today I saw some taped up windows-that was a surprise. Maybe the owner of that store is from down south, lol. Honestly, I think most ppl up here know what to do for a winter nor'easter, but are not quite sure what to do with a hurricane. Batteries, flashlights, water, all supplies were wiped out here days ago. However, I was happy to see that Stop&Shop got a HUGE shipment of water in this morning, nice. I hope we are all safe as can be-hang tough!