Irene Damage

Asbury Park Boardwalk

Hello Hurricane Irene!

This is a picture of Long Branch - a few towns over- during the hurricane. So far we have been very lucky. Brief power outages, nothing severe. The trees look like they are holding up pretty well. Just branches and stuff down. My back and side yard does look like a lake but if that is the worst of this hurricane I'll take it.

I did park my car under a tree I thought might fall. I am looking to buy a new one so I thought "Instant Kelly Blue Book Value"! Of course that guaranteed that the tree is still standing tall.

Hopefully everyone is staying off the roads. I doubt it. While watching the news reports, I saw pictures of people on the boardwalks in Long Branch, Asbury Park, Avon-by-the-Sea, and Belmar. We have a certain strain of stupidity here in New Jersey that apparently must be upheld for the whole nation to see.

PANIC

This pretty much sums up the feeling around here for a lot of people. I did go and fill my gas tank up this morning. I sure hope it doesn't flood too much. I would hate to see my car with a full tank of gas floating away.

Everything is put away, tied down or nailed down. It is truly the calm before the storm. We are supposed to be hit with Irene tonight. I know we will lose power - we have been pretty much guaranteed that. So this could be my last post for a few days.

I have to give kudos to our governor, Chris Christie. Upon seeing pictures of people still laying on the beaches yesterday he stated,"Get the hell off of the beaches and get the hell out of your beach houses." Perhaps if someone had been this forceful in their statements during other hurricanes the loss of life would not have been so great. You know, many people complain about our governor but you have to admit he tells it like it is. People just sometimes don't want to hear the truth.

Anyway, good luck my fellow East Coasters....see you at the end of this mess.

Batten Down the Hatches

The warnings are out, the evacuations are in full swing, all the water and bread is gone and now it is the calm before the storm.
Literally. We are sitting waiting for Hurricane Irene to hit. We have voluntary evacuations but we are sticking it out. We are being told to expect no power for three days or so after this hits. If someone sneezes around here we lose power so this is pretty much expected.

It should be interesting.

Hurricane Season Begins

The above picture is probably what will be occurring tomorrow and absolutely Saturday here at the Jersey Shore. We have so many stores right within walking distance. Nos shortage of eggs or milk or bread. But the people here -- they hear the word "hurricane" and they go ballistic. They buy more food than you would need for a week, a month!

Now I'm not downplaying the damage a hurricane can do. But dear Lord, you could reach out and touch your neighbor here. The good thing about jersey people, when the chips are down they will give you their shirt....unless it stops them from getting their bread or milk.

Earthquake On East Coast Today

There was an earthquake today in Virginia. My daughter called me on my cellphone (I was in the JC Penney dressing room).

"Mom, the house walls just moved I think there was an earthquake!"

Of course I laughed and said,"Earthquake? Really?!"

Little did I know that there was an actual earthquake and it was felt as far away as Maine.

I get home and pull into the driveway and you would have thought Armageddon was just beginning. Neighbors running out of the house shrieking and crying about the earthquake. Neighbors thanking God that they had their children with them. Asking if a tsunami would be forthcoming.

I started to get a little nervous. I have a friend who lives in Virginia..should I call her?

I dialed the phone and my friend Denise answered. Immediately I asked her if she was OK. She said she was in the hen house cleaning and she didn't feel a thing. Huh.

I turned on the TV. Must have been a slow news day. People reporting on a non event. No damage, no one hurt but there were the reporters interviewing everyone asking if they felt the earthquake? How did the earthquake feel to you? What did you think as you felt (or didn't feel) the earthquake?

Only one guy on FOX News had the guts to tell everyone to calm down. It was a non event.

There were shots of a water tower that had crumbled some in NYC. Let me tell you, from the picture of the water tower a chipmunk could have sneezed on it and it would have toppled.

I went on Facebook and the posts were hilarious. People posting songs like "I Feel the Earth Move", "You Shook Me All Night Long", "Shaking". Someone suggested they should show the movie "Earthquake" from 1974. Someone posted a picture of toppled yard chairs. Someone else wanted to sell "I Survived the VA Earthquake 2011" t - shirts for $15. I laughed. It was good to see people with a sense of humor and a sense of not blowing some small thing out of proportion.

Crown Molding

The "guys" are supposed to come tomorrow morning "nine-ish" to put in the crown molding. I hope to spend the day in my craft room purging it. There are things in there that I will never use and I need to post them on ebay or barter them on the MJF chat room.

I am hoping that by letting go of some of the things that I am holding onto tightly that I will let go of other "things" I have been holding onto in my psyche. If I "lighten my load" by ridding myself of unnecessary things hopefully I can lighten my load physically and mentally. I need to become more organized and focused in my room.

I am looking forward to tomorrow!

Clearing out rooms again?!

Just when I thought we would have peaceful moment in between doing the floors and painting -- my husband tells me that the painters are coming on Monday between 8 and 9 am to put up the moulding. What?! OK I am chilled out now... Then I ask the million dollar question, "When are they coming to paint?"

Now you would have thought I was asking the sphinx a riddle. I get a blank stare, you know it, the deer in the headlights look. So I repeat my question. At this point he says that he isn't quite sure. Could be this week, could be next week.

I am no leader in industry, but I have to figure if you are running your own painting business you have some type of a calendar so you can, you know, schedule out your work jobs.

Is it just men? Is it me? Am I expecting too much to be let in on the mysteries of the universe? I know everything is going to look so much better when this is done. But I just want it to be done. I want to put my clothes in the closet. I want my bookshelves with my lovely books back in the living room. I yearn for my teapots to be gracing the top of my cabinets in the kitchen. I just want everything to go back to "normal". Whatever that is.

Am I being too demanding to ask that it is done by Labo Day weekend so that I can get ready for school in my own bedroom? Am I being needy ? Am I being so self centered because I don't want to live out of boxes anymore?

Am I having a pity partty? Anyone want to join me?

Ewwww! That smell!

The feeling of joy yesterday when I knew I could get back into my house. SJ and I went home, opened all the windows and strarted cleaning, dustin, moving, dusting, dusting.(Did I mention dusting?)

After several hours of this, with the windows open, we felt ill. Just dizzy and nauseous.

So SJ and I headed back to Grandma's and spent the night there. Peaceful, quiet bliss. SJ would like to live here with Grandma and Grandpa.

This morning we are going to try to head back home again. Hopefully the smell has abated and all will be well with the world again.

The Saga of Sanding Wood Floors

I woke up this morning at 6am to a buzzing alarm clock that was across the room and no idea where I was. Ahh yes, the beginning of Day 1 of the actual finishing of the floors. I rushed, umped in the shower, got dressed, ran out the door stopped at Starbucks and got an iced passion tea lemonade(yum) and a morning bun(yum yum) and drove like craz to get to my house to let the workmen in. And...nothing. I was a little early. I went downstairs where we are keeping the cats and opened the door and, in a flash, Jasmine was up the stairs and trying to find somewhere to hide. But there wasn't any furniture about and SJ's door was closed. I scooped her up, put her back in the room and fed and watered the cats.

Ring Ring! I hear the phone ringing. Now you have to understand that the only operational phone in the house at this point is in the kitchen. Sounds really easy EXCEPT there is a sectional sofa (apart) a dining room table(legs off) an easy chair and various other sundry items stacked higgidly piggidly in my kitchen. My shoulder was still sore from the day before moving all aforementioned stuff, I took a dive , leaping across the furniture, grabbing the phone on the way down.

"yeah" I say

It is my husband sounding annoyed. I don't have my cell phone (which is why he is annoyed). He is lucky I was conscious enough this morning to get dressed! But he wonders aloud how I mangaged to get to the phone in the kitchen. I tell him I took a bullet for the team. He is noot getting my early morning humor. He tells me the workmen will be 30 minutes late.

To their credit, they do show up on time, 30 minutes late. I show them around, explaining how there was no way on God's green earth that we could move the hutch. No problem he tells me.

I head back down into the cat room, turn on the tv, and sip my iced tea. I hear the sounds of thunder, explosions , I can't even explain it coming from above. They are sanding the floor. The smell of wood and whatever else they are using fill the air. I open all the windows in the cat room,(with the air still on), open the sliding glass door and turn on the fan. Better.

But I haven't actually seen Josie (cat) and I start searching the room for her. Under , over , around, behind, on top, underneath. No sign of her. She is houdini like in her ability to escape into cat space. I figure she has got to be somewhere in the room.

I am just drifting off into sleep when I hear SJ at the sliding door. I let her in and we begin anew in our quest for the missing cat. 30 minutes later (this is not a big room we're talking about) we find her wedged up and under the couch, refusing to move. Fine.

I want to leave the house in the worst way but my guilt about leaving the cats to endure the noise, smell and rumblings overtakes me. If they have to go through this hell then I should have to also. Finally I hear the men go. But maybe I shouls stay longer in case they need some talk or pet therapy for enduring this. It is at this moment that I finally get a grip on myself. What am I? The Mother Teresa of cats? No. I just need to go home (mom's) and double up on my meds.

Wood Floors

We are having our wood floors refinished. How can 7 simple word strike terror in the hearts of men and women? Just ask me. Let me share the hell that has become my life. All summer long I was home, not really doing much of anything. Home all the time. Then my husband takes a week off, not really doing much of anything, just home. Now I have a jib and a classroom and new texts that I have to look over. Now my daughter has to finish up the last day of class. Now my husband is going off to work..long days at work. NOW we are having the floors redone. I can't tell you how long I have been on my feet wrapping everything in bubble wrap, cleaning out closets, carrying boxes and lamps and furniture into the garage. Moving furniture into my daughter's room(carpeting) while she is trying to complete her final project. Moving furniture unto the bathroom - YES the bathroom (tile floor) trying to catch two wily cats and out them into the downstairs TV room (carpeted). It was all set to be a go on Tuesday but they called today and asked if they could start tomorrow. No problem. I just had to move at lightning speed. To top it off, my husband does not do well under pressure. Remember the seizure incident with my daughter, uh huh, he doesn't respond quickly to "dial 9-1-1". And he did not respond quickly to evacuate the house and pack it up by tonight.

I sit, for the time being, in my mom and dad's house(they are in Maine). I would try to explain our circumstances here but it would involve 3 level air conditioning and a television even NASA could not decipher. But it is quiet. Even better - there is a large basement where my husband will spend his evenings.

With luck on Wednesday we will be able to enjoy our new floors, I will realize it was all worth it.
Then painting in two weeks.....

Returning to What I Love

I was so happy to get the news that I was hired to be the new 4th grade teacher at a nearby school! I have been out of education for about 5 years and I have missed it (at least the teaching part). I have been having so much fun going to my classroom and setting it up. I have so many great ideas and the technology that is available to the kids is awesome.

I am so excited I can't wait for September to be here! (SHHHHHH! Don't tell any one that or they will think I am crazy!)

Happy Birthday Month

I do love the month of August because it is my birthday month. I embrace my sun sign. I really did identify closely with it. I am loud. I am talkative. I am loyal.

I also love the month of August because, ever since I was young, it makes me think of new beginnings. I operate around the school calendar. When I was a kid it just seemed natural. Your year began in September and ended in June. July was just a beautiful free form time and August was the time to get ready to go back to school and September was like January 1st - New Year's Day.

Of course I felt this way all the way through college. Then I had my first job teaching and it still felt that way. The only lapse was when I was vice principal and principal because, unfortunately, I had to work all year long. But I could still see the teachers coming in and out to set up their classroom. I could smell the clean waxed floors. I could smell all the new books.

Then came the year, about 6 ears ago, when I didn't return to school because of health reasons. Wow. That first September was rough. I could feel the empty pang in my chest as I watched all the kids get ready for their new year- September!

It got easier to deal with the loss of my "September" as the years went on. I still tend to buy new clothes in August. I love browsing through all the notebooks, folders and organizational stuff in Staples in August. And I still hang a student calendar that starts in July on my refrigerator. I still tend to look at this month and this time as a time for new beginnings.

I guess I always will.