Happy to be Back after the Hurricane!

Hurricane Sandy has come and gone and left us all on the east coast with quite a trail of destruction. Thank you so much to those of you who sent me emails inquiring about our fate here on Long Island where we were all struck quite badly. I am happy to report that our home and family came through it all just fine, but we do have our share of horror stories and it's bewildering to see the destruction around us.

As for my own home here in Commack, we sustained heavy branches falling, a power surge that caused a small flood and power outages that lasted for two weeks. No phone, electric, heat or internet can be quite a humbling experience albeit a good one as I realize how much time is lost on the internet and phone. I am grateful to be up and running once again since this past weekend. It was quite a harrowing experience. Caitlin was very distressed as the storm was happening and there was just noplace to hide from it. It was loud and the sound of things crashing was unnerving to say the least. A utility pole fell in front of my house as did two trees. One tree crushed two of my neighbor's cars and another tree crushed their front porch. Further down my block, a ranch was demolished by falling trees. All in all, at least three houses down my block were struck by trees and on the block over from us more than five. There was no easy entry into my development for days. It was truly terrifying to see the winds raging and the destruction before us. Nine utility poles in all fell JUST ON MY BLOCK!  Again, a whole lot of clean up but even more thankfulness that our damage was superficial. School was closed for two weeks because during all of this mess we also got hit with a n'oreaster! We received about 5 inches of snow on top of the downed trees, poles and wires. It was brutal. I was thinking "what's next? A tidal wave?  We are on an Island!"  Then more sadness....

To make matters worse, the day after the storm hit, our beloved cat Dutchess passed away. Dutchess, aka Dutchie or Dutchie Doodle Bug was the calico I joke about in the last post that enjoyed pillaging my Halloween village. She was a super sweet old lady who passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of approximately 18 years. Sadly, we had to hold on to her for three days as veterinarian offices were closed due to no power and streets were impassable. It was just another incident in a time of distresss that made us sadder and helpless. On the third day my husband was finally able to get her to Commack Animal Hospital for cremation.They had limited power and were still closed but Billy knocked on the door and told them of our situation. They took Dutchess from us.
 Life went from being easy to  extremely hard that week dealing with such situations. Rest in Peace my  Dutchess. We adopted her from a vet's office years back and she was a wonderful, loving pussycat.
Gas lines and empty food stores were another complication.

It's so sad to see the damage to our beaches and complete neighborhoods washed away. I would listen to a transistor radio and hear about New Jersey's devastation and about Staten Island (which is about an hour or so from me) and it is mind boggling. Our schools and community have organized different drives for help and our Brownie troop is collecting pajamas and books for kids. Another group is collecting coats and hats. Yet another is collecting toiletries.
The goodness in people is shining through.

Before the hurricane, some good stuff had been happening at our house in October! Check out these sweet guys! And also my popcorn monster cups! I made so much more stuff but as is the case usually when you host a party, you don't get to take photos!

 

 We had our Halloween party two days before the hurricane hit and the kids had a great time! About 15 guests came mostly our Brownie troop.
Caitlin helped make party favors and some of the treats. We also made goody boxes instead of goody bags. We used Halloween decorated popcorn boxes and filled them with little toys and candy. It was a nice change! Caitlin cut out black paper bats from a template and we glued eyes and added black tulle to attach our fruit roll ups to! Hence we made Fruit Bats! I had bought three big rolls of black tulle from a garage sale this Summer for fifty cents a roll, and I knew I would use it for Halloween in some way or another!
Here are some photos of our table with just SOME of the goodies we had. The kids had so much fun. A very old fashioned party with games like hot potato, musical chairs, a pinata and simple backyard games. I enjoy our Halloween party so much. I was also glad that we had it because no one in our area could go safely trickor treating! That was such a let down  but the wise decision to make since clearly there were wires and limbs blocking every inch of the streets. Since the hurricane ended I have heard from three different Moms thanking me for the party, and they said that our party made it less painful for the kids missing trick or treating!  Made me smile :)

Here's what I worked on during the storm!

While I had no power and just  generator for a few hours of the day (before she died ) I did do alot of crafts and cleaning! I started making gourd bird houses and I did some arrangements. We have to keep busy right? I used my dried hydrangeas for several projects. I wish my camera took better photos of them.

I  also put all the Halloween away and decorated for Thanksgiving!

I made the display above with branches from my yard that I sprayed with sealer. Hey, I can keep myself very busy during a storm! I'm quite good as a shut in :)

Now I am concentrating my efforts of Thanksgiving. I make a big breakfast on Thanksgiving morning that we enjoy while watching the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade and then we are going to my sister's house for dinner. I hope to blog again before Thursday!

Have a wonderful and safe day!