PLEASE CHECK IN !!!

[AGBF]

Deb its good to hear from you and know you're okay too. Its funny, even though you knew you would fall "off the grid" for a while, we still worry until we hear from you... Its great that you checked in and even greater that Skippy reached out to you.

Thanks, minousbijoux...you are very gracious. I thought I would share this link to my hometown newspaper in case anyone has not, yet, had a surfeit of storm coverage. I realize that most of you have had far more than I have since I have been sheltered from TV and Internet, so feel free to ignore it. I found it just now when I finally got on-line.

I had known that four (I had thought it was four) houses on the water burned down the night that Sandy hit because firefighters could not reach them. (That area was under mandatory evacuation so I had assumed that the houses were already empty of people.) Now from the article in the newspaper; photos; and video; it looks as if people did have to be evacuated! The video (which the article says would not be releasd due to legal concerns) has obviously now been released because one can see it on-line. That event really took all of us here in town by surprise. We aren't used to losing four-or three- houses to fire right under our noses with the fire department standing by helplessly watching! Storm conditions-as you can see-had to be absolutely terrible for a fire burn down so many houses!

http://www.greenwichtime.com/default/article/Superheroes-Firefighters-praised-for-halting-3994018.php#item-12443

Deb/AGBF

 

[minousbijoux]

It seems so counterintuitive that there would be massive fire in the middle of a hurricane; I can understand the wind fanning flames, but what about the dumping rain?

 

[AGBF]

It seems so counterintuitive that there would be massive fire in the middle of a hurricane; I can understand the wind fanning flames, but what about the dumping rain?

Where we were there was very little rain. The massive flooding came from the tidal surge. At one point meteorologists actually thought that the water level might actually not only break all records (about 14 feet, hit once back in 193, but go as high as 17 1/2 feet. At that point I still had cable and was watching television. At first the governor (Governor Malloy) ordered people in towns like mine on the western end of Long Island Sound who were in mandatory evacuation zones and had not evacuated to remain in place. Then, at around 10:30 PM as high tide approached, he called the mayor of Stamford, CT, Mayor Pavia, and told him he had new information. They feared the surge could be 17 1/2 feet. They had to evacuate more streets-from other zones-at almost midnight. And they had to reverse their policy on the people who had not left the evacuation zones. (They had been told to go as high as they could, if necessary onto the roofs.) The governor wanted everyone evacuated. The concern was that a tidal wall in Long Island Sound would be breached by the surge (if I understand it correctly).

AGBF

 

[Starzin]

Pleased to hear you're safe Deb and that you now have power back - it will make life just that little bit easier.

 

[zoebartlett]

Thinking of you, Kaleigh, Soocool, and Deb!

We watched the telethon last night and even though we've been glued to the news and had seen photos of the devestation, I teared up through the whole thing. I have family who live near the shore and it took almost a week, but we found out that they're okay.

I also heard that the NYC marathon was cancelled after all. Good. I was dumb-founded when I heard that Mayor Bloomburg wanted it to go on. Talk about bad timing.

 

[AGBF]

Pleased to hear you're safe Deb and that you now have power back - it will make life just that little bit easier.

Thanks so much, Starzin. What actually made me feel the most loss here on Pricescope was to see the political thread on elections gone when I returned. It was locked during my absence and I was left to infer from the postings that had not been removed from it and from Ella's final comment in it what must have happened. I guess the worst nasty comments were removed, though. It really is a pity. I had been enjoying that thread and trying very hard to keep my big mouth under control so that this wouldn't happen.

Deb/AGBF

 

[zoebartlett]

Deb, I agree. I wish threads wouldn't be closed.

 

[04diamond<3]

Praying for all of you on the east coast! And anywhere that got attacked by Sandy! I'm so sorry. I hope everyone stays safe.

 

[wildcat03]

AGBF - thanks for the picture of Bridgeport! I live in New Haven and work in Bridgeport some days, so had the surreal experience of driving through Bridgeport with no streetlights and no stoplights. The hospital was the only light I could see other than what my headlights illuminated!

Sorry Greenwich was hit so hard, but glad you have power back. Oddly enough, the storm hit East Haven hard (Cozey Beach lost ANOTHER 4 houses I believe, after losing several last year during Irene) but Milford wasn't hit nearly as hard.

If you need gas, etc. you might consider heading towards Bridgeport/Milford. The stations at Exit 40 on 95 have power and gas, no lines.

 

[missy]

Glad you guys are safe Kaleigh, socool, LV and Deb! And for those of you without power sending lots of power dust that we all get it soon. The prediction for us at the beach is another full 2 weeks at least. Though I cannot say I am surprised after witnessing the devastation all around. I just hope that everyone who doesn't have power is somewhere safe and warm right now.

I am hoping the gasoline situation gets better soon.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Still no power and it is 2:30 am. Just turned the generator on again and DH is worried because hevhad problems stating it. Yes on mobile device and recharging right now as I write. Peco now says power should be back by 3pm Sat, a few hrs earlier it said 6 am Saturday. They needvto replace 4 or 5 poles and 2 transformers and remove 3 trees first. One homeowner hired a company to remove her tree that was sitting on one of the downed lines to help expedite things.

soocool - Did you get power back today?

 

[soocool]

Still no power and it is 2:30 am. Just turned the generator on again and DH is worried because hevhad problems stating it. Yes on mobile device and recharging right now as I write. Peco now says power should be back by 3pm Sat, a few hrs earlier it said 6 am Saturday. They needvto replace 4 or 5 poles and 2 transformers and remove 3 trees first. One homeowner hired a company to remove her tree that was sitting on one of the downed lines to help expedite things.

soocool - Did you get power back today?

Power finally came back on about half an hour ago. Without power for 6 days total. My sister is coming soon because hers is still out and she is less than five miles from me. Also, my generator died during the night and have to get it fixed now before we need it again.

 

[minousbijoux]

Wow, who would've thought that electricity would feel like such a luxury?!! I'm happy to hear that at least yours is back, Socool; sorry for your sister

 

[missy]

Wow, who would've thought that electricity would feel like such a luxury?!! I'm happy to hear that at least yours is back, Socool; sorry for your sister

Oh yes, electricity is the biggest luxury of all IMO. I have been without it before and that is why we got the Generac because it is very difficult for long periods of time. I appreciate having electricity- I really do. Just spoke with my neighbor at the beach and the projected date of restored power is another 10-14 days! We are leaving our Generac on for them so they can have some electricity but I am nervous about leaving it running for so long. Our neighbor has been checking the oil and shutting it off for an hour a day as recommended by the Generac personnel so hopefully that is good. Expecting a Nor'easter this coming Wed and we really do need the electricity generated by the generator to keep our sump pumps working. Fingers crossed no more damage for anyone with the upcoming storm. My other neighbor was trying to fix the foundation of his house himself and having a very difficult time of it.

Hope your sister's power is restored soon Socool.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Still no power and it is 2:30 am. Just turned the generator on again and DH is worried because hevhad problems stating it. Yes on mobile device and recharging right now as I write. Peco now says power should be back by 3pm Sat, a few hrs earlier it said 6 am Saturday. They needvto replace 4 or 5 poles and 2 transformers and remove 3 trees first. One homeowner hired a company to remove her tree that was sitting on one of the downed lines to help expedite things.

soocool - Did you get power back today?

Power finally came back on about half an hour ago. Without power for 6 days total. My sister is coming soon because hers is still out and she is less than five miles from me. Also, my generator died during the night and have to get it fixed now before we need it again.

Yay, glad your power is back!! I was curious, since your power company was giving out estimates. Ours no longer do so because they overestimated during last year's storm, and many people were angry about it.

Is your generator new? If yes, wondering why it stopped working so quickly. Were you using it for heat and that's why it was running overnight? We have a wood stove insert (purchased partly because of the outages last year), so weren't planning to run the generator overnight (though it wasn't cold enough anyway on the days that our power was out.)

Missy - I didn't even know that generators could be fueled by oil! I'm learning so much about generators. Hope you have plenty of oil to get your house thru the next 2 weeks. How are things where you are now? You have power? Is the nor'easter confirmed? I haven't been tuned in.

 

[missy]

Still no power and it is 2:30 am. Just turned the generator on again and DH is worried because hevhad problems stating it. Yes on mobile device and recharging right now as I write. Peco now says power should be back by 3pm Sat, a few hrs earlier it said 6 am Saturday. They needvto replace 4 or 5 poles and 2 transformers and remove 3 trees first. One homeowner hired a company to remove her tree that was sitting on one of the downed lines to help expedite things.

soocool - Did you get power back today?

Power finally came back on about half an hour ago. Without power for 6 days total. My sister is coming soon because hers is still out and she is less than five miles from me. Also, my generator died during the night and have to get it fixed now before we need it again.

Yay, glad your power is back!! I was curious, since your power company was giving out estimates. Ours no longer do so because they overestimated during last year's storm, and many people were angry about it.

Is your generator new? If yes, wondering why it stopped working so quickly. Were you using it for heat and that's why it was running overnight? We have a wood stove insert (purchased partly because of the outages last year), so weren't planning to run the generator overnight (though it wasn't cold enough anyway on the days that our power was out.)

Missy - I didn't even know that generators could be fueled by oil! I'm learning so much about generators. Hope you have plenty of oil to get your house thru the next 2 weeks. How are things where you are now? You have power? Is the nor'easter confirmed? I haven't been tuned in.

Hi LV- we have a natural gas generator- it gets natural gas from the pipes underground. Not propane or gasoline. The engine has the oil in it (about 2 and a half quarts or so) that needs to be changed every so often. We had the Generac generator installed after the Irene storm since we flooded due to no electricity to run our sump pumps. It was quite the ordeal to get it installed. Permits, waiting period and backorders galore. Then it arrived damaged and we had to wait all over again. We had an electrician and plumber to install everything necessary but it was worth it. I never in a million years thought we would need it for so soon after Irene and for so long. The problem is we are not there full time yet so cannot check it like you are supposed to every 24-30 hours. However, we have good neighbors (who are benefiting from us having it as well) so it is OK but still makes me nervous because it's not the same as if we were there checking. I cannot believe how long it may be till we get power back there. I feel for everyone who doesn't have a warm and safe home to stay in and are in shelters for so long.

 

[soocool]

Still no power and it is 2:30 am. Just turned the generator on again and DH is worried because hevhad problems stating it. Yes on mobile device and recharging right now as I write. Peco now says power should be back by 3pm Sat, a few hrs earlier it said 6 am Saturday. They needvto replace 4 or 5 poles and 2 transformers and remove 3 trees first. One homeowner hired a company to remove her tree that was sitting on one of the downed lines to help expedite things.

soocool - Did you get power back today?

Power finally came back on about half an hour ago. Without power for 6 days total. My sister is coming soon because hers is still out and she is less than five miles from me. Also, my generator died during the night and have to get it fixed now before we need it again.

Yay, glad your power is back!! I was curious, since your power company was giving out estimates. Ours no longer do so because they overestimated during last year's storm, and many people were angry about it.

Is your generator new? If yes, wondering why it stopped working so quickly. Were you using it for heat and that's why it was running overnight? We have a wood stove insert (purchased partly because of the outages last year), so weren't planning to run the generator overnight (though it wasn't cold enough anyway on the days that our power was out.)

Missy - I didn't even know that generators could be fueled by oil! I'm learning so much about generators. Hope you have plenty of oil to get your house thru the next 2 weeks. How are things where you are now? You have power? Is the nor'easter confirmed? I haven't been tuned in.

Our generator is about 14 years old and it started leaking oil 2 days ago. We just wanted it to get us through this outage. We're going to grt it fixed and probably buy another one as well. We had only been running it in 3-4 hour intervals to make sure we had water in our tank and truly to make sure sump pump worked, plus run the fridge and freezer. We ran the heat intermittently since it wasn't really too cold until last 2 nights.

 

[soocool]

Still no power and it is 2:30 am. Just turned the generator on again and DH is worried because hevhad problems stating it. Yes on mobile device and recharging right now as I write. Peco now says power should be back by 3pm Sat, a few hrs earlier it said 6 am Saturday. They needvto replace 4 or 5 poles and 2 transformers and remove 3 trees first. One homeowner hired a company to remove her tree that was sitting on one of the downed lines to help expedite things.

soocool - Did you get power back today?

Power finally came back on about half an hour ago. Without power for 6 days total. My sister is coming soon because hers is still out and she is less than five miles from me. Also, my generator died during the night and have to get it fixed now before we need it again.

Yay, glad your power is back!! I was curious, since your power company was giving out estimates. Ours no longer do so because they overestimated during last year's storm, and many people were angry about it.

Is your generator new? If yes, wondering why it stopped working so quickly. Were you using it for heat and that's why it was running overnight? We have a wood stove insert (purchased partly because of the outages last year), so weren't planning to run the generator overnight (though it wasn't cold enough anyway on the days that our power was out.)

Missy - I didn't even know that generators could be fueled by oil! I'm learning so much about generators. Hope you have plenty of oil to get your house thru the next 2 weeks. How are things where you are now? You have power? Is the nor'easter confirmed? I haven't been tuned in.

My girlfriend told me that they shut the gas lines to Lavallette and that they are not allowing people in. Apparently officials there took photos of each house by street name so people could see if there was any exterior damage so that eased her mind. They are finishing up clearing her street of all the sand. It is a good thing the house is empty. They were going to put it up for sale in the spring. Now I don't know what they will do.

 

[soocool]

Still no power and it is 2:30 am. Just turned the generator on again and DH is worried because hevhad problems stating it. Yes on mobile device and recharging right now as I write. Peco now says power should be back by 3pm Sat, a few hrs earlier it said 6 am Saturday. They needvto replace 4 or 5 poles and 2 transformers and remove 3 trees first. One homeowner hired a company to remove her tree that was sitting on one of the downed lines to help expedite things.

soocool - Did you get power back today?

Power finally came back on about half an hour ago. Without power for 6 days total. My sister is coming soon because hers is still out and she is less than five miles from me. Also, my generator died during the night and have to get it fixed now before we need it again.

Yay, glad your power is back!! I was curious, since your power company was giving out estimates. Ours no longer do so because they overestimated during last year's storm, and many people were angry about it.

Is your generator new? If yes, wondering why it stopped working so quickly. Were you using it for heat and that's why it was running overnight? We have a wood stove insert (purchased partly because of the outages last year), so weren't planning to run the generator overnight (though it wasn't cold enough anyway on the days that our power was out.)

Missy - I didn't even know that generators could be fueled by oil! I'm learning so much about generators. Hope you have plenty of oil to get your house thru the next 2 weeks. How are things where you are now? You have power? Is the nor'easter confirmed? I haven't been tuned in.

I don't think the generator isfueled by oil, the oil is needed to make sure the components of the combustion engine does not seize up,like in yourcar. The oil in a generator should be changed about every 40-50 hours of usage I believe.

 

[Skippy123]

socool, I am glad it is back up but I am sorry about your sister! prayers outgoing!

 

[AGBF]

Our generator is about 14 years old and it started leaking oil 2 days ago. We just wanted it to get us through this outage. We're going to grt it fixed and probably buy another one as well. We had only been running it in 3-4 hour intervals to make sure we had water in our tank and truly to make sure sump pump worked, plus run the fridge and freezer. We ran the heat intermittently since it wasn't really too cold until last 2 nights.

Let us know how you progress, soocool...and how your sister does, too. And please remind me of where you live. I have been told many times and I know I'll hit my head and say, "Of course!", but my memory has gotten worse and worse and worse as I age. (I am in southwestern Connecticut, on the Long Island Sound, by the way.)

Deb/AGBF

 

[soocool]

I am in SE PA, Bucks County, near New Hope, PA near the Delaware River just across from NJ.

 

[AGBF]

I am in SE PA, Bucks County, near New Hope, PA near the Delaware River just across from NJ.

Thank you, soocool. I ask you whenever there is a snowstorm, and I hope I don't ask you again if there is a nor'easter on Wednesday or Thursday of this week! I was thinking, "Pennsylvania", but I do not know Pennsylvania well at all so I cannot really visualize where you live. I think that keeps me from remembering where you are. I have no trouble remembering that Danny is from Hawaii, because it is exotic to me and I visualize that easily!

Deb/AGBF

 

[VRBeauty]

My girlfriend told me that they shut the gas lines to Lavallette and that they are not allowing people in. Apparently officials there took photos of each house by street name so people could see if there was any exterior damage so that eased her mind. They are finishing up clearing her street of all the sand. It is a good thing the house is empty. They were going to put it up for sale in the spring. Now I don't know what they will do.

It's encouraging to see how gov't officials and relief organizations seem to be learning from each disaster, and learning how to use technology to help people cope better - like letting people evacuate with their pets (a lesson learned in Katrina) and this example, of taking pictures of homes in evacuated areas.

 

[Autumnovember]

just checking in -

My MIL and FIL still do not have power at their home. Thankfully, they have a fire place to keep warm.

No word still on how their house down the shore made it through. We do know that their boat/backyard and pool are gone. If the only thing damaged is their backyard and all the stone there, thats pretty damn good and I don't think anyone will be complaining. Although, it will be costly to fix...it could always be worse.

My best friend came this weekend and gave us gas she got from our hometown in PA (near soocool).

I also found out I am able to get free gas at several gas stations in jersey if I have proof that I'm a nurse. That helps a lot.

I'm going back to work on Tues/Wed and I'm hearing from my friend that works there that it's total chaos - but I am very glad I'm able to help in any possible way.

I tried to get an appt to donate blood but no luck yet.

It's far from normal here still and it really puts a lot into perspective. I'm thankful the only thing I can complain about is the crazy gas situation and the misery its causing on the roads. Small potatoes in comparison to those who lost all of their memories/homes.

Also, soocool .... a friend of mine is a very well known and very reputable weatherman, I found out the snow storm will not be bad at all. Finger crossed he is right.

 

[soocool]

I am in SE PA, Bucks County, near New Hope, PA near the Delaware River just across from NJ.

Thank you, soocool. I ask you whenever there is a snowstorm, and I hope I don't ask you again if there is a nor'easter on Wednesday or Thursday of this week! I was thinking, "Pennsylvania", but I do not know Pennsylvania well at all so I cannot really visualize where you live. I think that keeps me from remembering where you are. I have no trouble remembering that Danny is from Hawaii, because it is exotic to me and I visualize that easily!

Deb/AGBF

If you can remember "Washington Crossing" the Delaware on Christmas Day that is where I live....

 

[soocool]

just checking in -

My MIL and FIL still do not have power at their home. Thankfully, they have a fire place to keep warm.

No word still on how their house down the shore made it through. We do know that their boat/backyard and pool are gone. If the only thing damaged is their backyard and all the stone there, thats pretty damn good and I don't think anyone will be complaining. Although, it will be costly to fix...it could always be worse.

My best friend came this weekend and gave us gas she got from our hometown in PA (near soocool).

I also found out I am able to get free gas at several gas stations in jersey if I have proof that I'm a nurse. That helps a lot.

I'm going back to work on Tues/Wed and I'm hearing from my friend that works there that it's total chaos - but I am very glad I'm able to help in any possible way.

I tried to get an appt to donate blood but no luck yet.

It's far from normal here still and it really puts a lot into perspective. I'm thankful the only thing I can complain about is the crazy gas situation and the misery its causing on the roads. Small potatoes in comparison to those who lost all of their memories/homes.

Also, soocool .... a friend of mine is a very well known and very reputable weatherman, I found out the snow storm will not be bad at all. Finger crossed he is right.

I really don't think we will get any snow, but you never know. Hmm, I am wondering who the weatherman is you are referring to. I know Walter Perez from6ABC lives in the area, I used to run into him frequently at Genuardi's in Newtown. Boy he is tall and very good looking

 

[AGBF]

I am in SE PA, Bucks County, near New Hope, PA near the Delaware River just across from NJ.

Thank you, soocool. I ask you whenever there is a snowstorm, and I hope I don't ask you again if there is a nor'easter on Wednesday or Thursday of this week! I was thinking, "Pennsylvania", but I do not know Pennsylvania well at all so I cannot really visualize where you live. I think that keeps me from remembering where you are. I have no trouble remembering that Danny is from Hawaii, because it is exotic to me and I visualize that easily!

If you can remember "Washington Crossing" the Delaware on Christmas Day that is where I live....

I am a former high school history teacher (although I never taught American history), so I really think I can train myself to remember that if I concentrate! Thank you for your patience!!!!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[AGBF]

Yesterday afternoon I finally got my best friend to leave her house. She had been without electricity for a week. (It was Monday and she lost power on Monday or Tuesday of last week.) She left her cats and six dogs at home with her husband. She is chronically ill and shouldn't have stayed in a cold house at all. She had considered bringing the cats, about whom she had been worried. She felt the dogs would be all right in the unheated house with her husband. We both urged her son (who is over 21) to come over, but he said he might do so today. She did, however, bring her 14 year-old pet chicken whom they had been keeping warm with a hot water bottle.

We really had a lot of fun last night. In fact, we stayed up all night. I didn't go to bed until 6:00 AM. We watched "The Big Bang Theory" on DVD (she had never seen any of Season Five) and she bought a lot of things on eBay. My daughter played with her chicken. She played with my Newfoundland, Griffin, whom she knows well until he got sleepy and retired to bed outdoors where it was sufficiently frigid for him to be comfortable sleeping. I fed everyone.

This morning we received word that her electricity was back on...and she and I were very sad. We had really been looking forward to another sleepover. She had suffered a lot, but we finally had one lovely night together, and then it was over. It reminds me of the quotation about happiness being a butterfly that comes and sits on your shoulder. You never know when you will experience a moment of it, so you should be awake to enjoy it. She left with her chicken a few minutes ago. I never got to bake the pumpkin bread I had planned to bake for her today (although I did make her spaghetti the way she likes me to prepare it for breakfast!).

Deb/AGBF

 

[minousbijoux]

Yesterday afternoon I finally got my best friend to leave her house. She had been without electricity for a week. (It was Monday and she lost power on Monday or Tuesday of last week.) She left her cats and six dogs at home with her husband. She is chronically ill and shouldn't have stayed in a cold house at all. She had considered bringing the cats, about whom she had been worried. She felt the dogs would be all right in the unheated house with her husband. We both urged her son (who is over 21) to come over, but he said he might do so today. She did, however, bring her 14 year-old pet chicken whom they had been keeping warm with a hot water bottle.

We really had a lot of fun last night. In fact, we stayed up all night. I didn't go to bed until 6:00 AM. We watched "The Big Bang Theory" on DVD (she had never seen any of Season Five) and she bought a lot of things on eBay. My daughter played with her chicken. She played with my Newfoundland, Griffin, whom she knows well until he got sleepy and retired to bed outdoors where it was sufficiently frigid for him to be comfortable sleeping. I fed everyone.

This morning we received word that her electricity was back on...and she and I were very sad. We had really been looking forward to another sleepover. She had suffered a lot, but we finally had one lovely night together, and then it was over. It reminds me of the quotation about happiness being a butterfly that comes and sits on your shoulder. You never know when you will experience a moment of it, so you should be wake to enjoy it. She left with her chicken a few minutes ago. I never got to bake the pumpkin bread I had planned to bake for her today (although I did make her spaghetti the way she likes me to prepare it for breakfast!).

Deb/AGBF

Oh Deb, this is the sweetest thing! Thanks for sharing. I guess one thing good came of Sandy

Big hugs to you.