Sunset last night.

Was it really just one week ago today that we got our power restored? It seems like such a long time ago. If not for the closed gas stations, all the downed trees and all the leftovers from Sandy it might seem like just a bad dream. It certainly has been a strange couple of weeks here in New Jersey.

We finally have someone lined up to take care of our clogged-with-trees driveway. After getting three different estimates we finally narrowed it down to this: the cheapest! Our insurance company will pay $500 towards the clean up, but with estimates coming in anywhere from $1500 to $3500, we can’t go with our normal tree service people.

Strangely enough, the insurance will also reimburse us for the gas we used in our generator if we give them a tally of all the food items in our fridge and freezer that was saved by running the generator. I think that’s weird. And, they have suspended the deductible which is kind of nice.

“My” turkeys heading out of the yard.

Temperatures today were in the 50’s and most of the snow has disappeared. The weekend promises to be lovely with temps in the 60’s! From snow boots to nearly sandals in one fell swoop. I think we just might have to have a day trip in Mia.

Junco in the snow.

At 3:18 this morning I woke up to a strange noise. I couldn’t figure it out at first. Was it the wind kicking back up? As the sound grew closer I realized what I was hearing. The snow plow. The scraping of the blade on the road combined with the clank of the chained-up tires was a sound I was not familiar with. Yet.

The Nasty Nor’easter was nice enough to pass by further out in the ocean so that we were not greatly impacted. We got about four inches of sticky, heavy wet snow and some wind, but the wind was not terrible. The worst part of the storm was, of course, during Rick’s commute home. It took him 1.45 hours. Many roads are still closed from Sandy, and if they are open some don’t have power and the traffic lights are not working. Loads of fun!

The lights flickered on and off a couple of times and I thought oh no, here we go, but we did not lose power. whew. So many people are still without power. My mailman, Dennis, is still without power but he has a generator. The Fed-Ex guy (who is sweet enough to always put our wine delivery inside the house for me) is still out of power down by Wayne and is living with his parents for the duration. So. Many. People. I’m not sure how we got lucky enough to get our restored so quickly. I am thankful for that every day.

I hate to waste the gas so I haven’t really been anywhere in a week except for just locally to the grocery, the library (which at the time could not check in or out books while their system was down) and the feed store. I really need to go down to Wayne but I think I will give it until Monday before I venture out into the great unknown since Rick is still having difficulties getting to and from work. When I do finally go down I will make it as efficient a trip as I possibly can given the gas situation.

And that’s about all I have for you today!

Bella enjoying the snow.

It’s 7:38 a.m. and I just got back from voting. Thank God for living in a small community as we just parked, walked into the VFW Hall and voted without any lines. We had to pass by the gas station with a small line of about 12 cars with even license plates waiting for gas. I hope my vote counts. I’m nervous. But, I did my part and I can’t change the outcome.

I’m also a little bit nervous about this new storm due to hit tomorrow. We don’t need any more wind, thank you! I really don’t want to lose power again. Please,  no!

It’s interesting that they are letting people who have been displaced (by Sandy) vote by fax or email. I love what Christie said in his press conference the other day about it, something to the effect that this doesn’t mean if you’re a low life and have been kicked out of your home because you didn’t pay your rent, it means if you’ve lost your home during Sandy.

I also found it interesting that in Bergen County they lifted the blue laws on places like Home Depot and Lowes or any other store that is participating somehow in the relief effort.

Our Shop Rite had about ten generators for sale in the front of the store yesterday. The fish counter had some fish but nothing like what they usually have. They are still limping along in getting shipments.

I talked to so many people without electricity. One person said she’s been told it will be Thanksgiving before she gets power back. When I stopped in the liquor store to pick up a few bottles of wine I got to talking to the owner (who also does not have power at home)  he told me that one of the biggest wine distributing centers is under water and won’t be able to restock for a month. No wine? Now that’s scary!!

On Sunday we were getting a little bit of cabin fever so we took Mia for a ride up to our favorite place for weekend lunch, the cafe at the Warwick Valley Winery. They had a very limited menu due to their fridge failing and not getting any new shipments in. We wanted pizza anyway, so we were happy with the selection. We passed so many crews working on power lines and saw lots of transformers, trees and power lines down. They are working hard, no doubt about it.

Another interesting thing I noticed a couple of days before Sandy arrived and that was the birds at our feeder. They were feeding like crazy and we had birds that we don’t normally have. A whole flock of cute little pine siskins flew in and a little red-breasted nuthatch. We normally have the white-breasted nuthatches but not the little red ones. We saw more purple finches too than normal. It seems that the siskins have moved on now but the little nuthatch is still here. This morning the birds are really hitting the feeder crazily again, so I hope that’s not a sign regarding our next storm.

Well, for sure this blog post ended up to be a lot of rambling! But one thing is certain and that is it’s going to be a while before things are “normal” again.

Photo: Door at the Warwick Valley Winery on Sunday.

What the? It took my friend Linda (who lives in Denver) to tell me today that we had a 2.0 earthquake in the early morning hours today right in Ringwood, which is practically next door to us. Huh? Trust me, our bed did not move. The dogs did not sense one thing. We slept right through it. Very weird.

Now we seem to have what they are calling a “Nasty Nor’easter” heading straight for us with more wind, rain, and in our northern location, snow. Come on. Haven’t we had enough, Mother Nature?

When we woke up yesterday it was to TV, internet and phone all working once again. We were finally able to see the destruction for ourselves. Strange to think that last week this time we were still in prep mode for her arrival. I don’t think enough people took the warnings seriously, like our neighbor down the road who left his jumpy trampoline out which ended up speared on his fence. Thank goodness the fence stopped it or it would have made a dangerous projectile!

We count ourselves very lucky. Yes, we will have to pay quite a lot out of pocket for tree removal but we didn’t have any other damage. In places in the back of the house the siding was pulled away from the house some but we were able to pop the pieces back in. It blew down the lattice work that hid the pool pump from view. It took one of our BBQ covers (which was very sheltered up next to the house) and deposited it on the other side of the yard next to the pool deck. We lost a row of shingles on the top of the roof in back.

It deposited hundreds of tree branches and limbs all over the back and front yards. She nicely blew all our leaves into a thick clump both in front and back. A clump so thick that Johnny would not be able to make his way through it so we ended up raking them into huge piles and carting them away on a tarp and with the wheelbarrow over the past few days, because (have you heard?) we have another storm (not a hurricane) bearing down on us in the next few days?

Gas is still an issue but since we filled all three vehicles up with gas before Sandy came ashore (with the thought of siphoning gas out of them if we had to, which of course is impossible as we later found out) and we really haven’t used very much because we haven’t gone anywhere, we are okay on that front. We are now on odd/even rationing days and it feels very much like the 70’s gas shortage.

I have to say how impressed I am with Governor Christie. We watched him in a news conference yesterday and he was brilliant. He also seems to be able to make things happen: now. I am pretty much a Democrat since I align myself on the left on so many issues, but for him I could make an exception. Too bad he isn’t running for President!

The days following Sandy the sky was full of bruised and battered looking clouds, much like the way the people and land in her wake were feeling. It was very strange. Yesterday was the first day in about ten days that we have seen even a little bit of blue sky. Or the sun out in an kind of real display. And even then it didn’t last but for a few hours. The clouds settled in again but this time they looked more like bandages trying to patch things up. It’s going to take time but c’mon New Jersey/NYC, you can do this!

Photos: Monksville Reservoir before Sandy; the sky late yesterday afternoon.