Post hurricane, we're fine!

We had no damage during Hurricane Irene but we did lose power, internet, and all phone service for 32 hours. It was a fun candle-lit evening last night. Just got power and internet back - hooray! Thanks for all your concern and comments.

Just to compare to my photos from Saturday's post before the hurricane...



Here's the same view on Sunday around 1:30. The hurricane-force winds were down, but we were without power... it was still blowing hard, but other folks were out walking and gawking so we went out, too. It wasn't raining but we got covered in sea spray. I don't know if you can tell by this photo how much bigger the waves were, but I couldn't stop and take too many photos because the wind kept blowing me back a few feet. Seriously. Had to keep walking! It was a little scary.



And then today brought typically gorgeous post-hurricane weather. This is what the ocean usually looks like right here!

I am ashamed to admit that I only wrote a few letters and postcards during our 32 hours without power. Frankly, I was just nervous and unsettled. There were little things to do, like get all the perishables from the fridge to the cooler, pick up branches in the yard, unstow trash bins and pots and bikes from hurricane-yard lockdown, make sure candles were in place ready to be lit for sunset, etc... I lost myself in a good book and played with the cats, and tried to keep my mind off not knowing how long we'd be without power, and without a phone to call my family and let them know we were okay. So. I'd like to say I was a flurry of letter-writing activity, but that is unfortunately not the case. Oh well. I guess a hurricane is sort of an excuse, no?

Oh, and one last thing: I couldn't get my mail today! To their credit, the postal trucks were out and delivering, but as some of you know, I get my mail at a UPS store. Most of Newport was without power today, including the UPS store, and people in our area were urged to stay home from work because stop lights weren't working, etc... not to mention flooding here and there. So, although the mail was delivered some places, my UPS store wasn't open to accept or sort it. I hope they have power tomorrow so I can get my mail! I know we are lucky ones who got it back quickly, because I can still hear generators humming a couple of streets over...