Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Ike's Aftermath

I rode my bicycle through the neighborhoods nearby yesterday and it is quite amazing the amount of damage done. You wouldn't think that wind could be powerful enough to peel bricks from a building, but in fact, that happened to many buildings and homes.

Of course, tall, heavy trees cause significant damage when they fall on structures as well, and we have plenty of fallen timber around.

It's pretty amazing that our house really suffered no significant damage and it's good to see power in the area being restored bit by bit. We still don't have any, but aren't really missing it too much. Normally the heat would be unbearable without A/C, but because of the cold front it actually hovers in the very plesent mid 70s and we even needed blankets last night as it dropped into the low 60s.

We've eaten the food in the fridge, then went to the freezer, and today we have polished off the deep freeze. Tomorrow we start on the pantry.

There are restaurants open and they are doing a very brisk business. Some grocery stores are open and they are also doing well, but the rumor is that there the perishables go quickly and ice is almost impossible to get. I don't know as we have enough food in the house to last us several weeks (those who know me well know how true this is!).

The water is on and works fine. The gas is on so we even have hot showers and yesterday Madeleine did a load of laundry "pioneer style" complete with clothes line. She loved it. I figure the passion for hand washing clothes will vanish by the second or third load.

Our phone lines are working as is my cell phone. We have hand powered flashlights, lanterns, cell phone chargers, and radios, so we can hear all the news reports, but remember that they sell "sensational" and so they always make it sound worse than it is.

No comments: