It’s starting to feel normal now. The lack of electricity, water and heat. The generator is great but can only run it about 3 or 4 hours in the morning and the same at night. Gas is becoming a concern for us. We thought we had a good amount, but with the gas stations either not open or running out of gas it’s a problem.


Rick went in to work today dodging all the road closures. He reported that on the way the places that had power was spotty at best. He found a Stop and Shop that was open but not much inside. They were busy clearing out the freezer sections. He stopped at Home Depot and stood in line for gas can rationing. He snagged two more cans, then waited in line for 30 minutes to get $20 worth of gas which is all they would let him have. We’ll have to wait in line for gas every day I guess.


If feels very post-apocolyptic. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is not to be able to watch the news. We stream NPR news over Rick’s iPad and listen, but there are no pictures of the devastation that everyone else is seeing except for all the people who are right in the middle of it. Very frustrating.


This morning I washed my hair which has not been washed since my luxurious shower on Monday morning. We take a hot sponge bath every night just before we go to bed so the rest of me was clean except for my hair. I took hot water heated on the wood stove and poured in in the basin we’ve been using to wash dishes in. Then I poured in some cold to cool it off enough that I wouldn’t scald my head. I then poured it into a large metal bowl and dunked my head in as far as I could. To get my hair completely wet I poured mugs of the warm water over my head, catching the water in the basin. When my hair was wet enough I shampooed it. Then I poured the basin-captured-water over my head in mugfuls until my hair was pretty much rinsed. To end the process I poured a mug of pure cold water over it. While the generator was still on I plugged in my hair dryer and dried it. I could have just scrunched it and let it dry on its own but it lasts longer when I dry it. I put on some make-up for the first time in 4 days and I feel almost human!


I am going out to see if Shop Rite is open and what they may or may not have.



Sent from my iPad
Powerless in NJ and camping in the house

We hope you get power soon. It must be very weird. Also, seeing some places and people with power and then you are without has got to be disheartening for sure. I,too, wish you could see how others fared. It’s staggering to see what happened to NYC and the Jersey shore, especially.

I’m sure you feel better with fresh hair and make-up on! I always do. Try to keep your spirits up.

Maybe it’s just as well you don’t see all the depressing devastation.  The numbers of people without power are slowly shrinking.  2 million down from 8 million.  The power in NYC from 34th street down is still off - although maybe a few places sprinkled through the area might be lucky.  Your time will come!!!  Hopefully sooner rather than later.  We’re all thinking about you!

It must all be really strange. I hope your power comes back on soon. You sound like you’re coping pretty well, all things considered.

Thank goodness you didn’t live at the shore. The devastation there is just unreal. Dave and I were exclaiming over the pictures last night.

Your sponge-bathing and hair-washing sounds like my routine when I was in the Peace Corps!