After the storm...

Well Irene did a number on us, but thankfully we got away pretty good compared to lots of places. So many other states got hit so very hard, and I feel just awful about them. We’re on day 4 with no power…and don’t tell my family , but I’m kind of having fun living in the dark….considering my work has power, as well as my father and step mother, we’re much better off than a lot of people.  We’ve been able to shower and get fed by them for the last few days, and I can charge all the electronic devices while at work.  We run on propane at the house, so we still can cook, but no showers or flushing…unless we dump buckets of water in the toilet tank and get “things” to slide down via gravity LOL Given that we didn’t have the money at the time to stock up on food, we managed to not lose anything in the freezer besides some waffles that my daughter said tasted funny anyway.  Whew! But that’s another thing I’ll be keeping in mind as any more storms get closer.

My poor city boy, Warcraft addicted husband is having problems coping with this…he’s also out of work….we came home the other day to find him doing puzzles at the kitchen table. Daughter has been coming to work with me, and is getting very bored sitting behind me in the world’s smallest office all day. My mother and her husband decided to hole up at the local casino, having enough wampum points for 2 free nights…unfortunately they are on the list as not getting power back until the 4^th of September.

I also think the bit of tea-light magic I did throughout the storm really helped out.  We had very few downed branches in the yard, just one tree lost its top but it stayed hanging, waiting to be pulled down by us and be hauled off, and one branch that fell on the fence, but we were able to roll it off to the woods and straighten the fence before the dog even noticed he could have escaped.  When it was all over with, I also made sure I lit a candle of thanks also…considering the amount of trees that surround us, the Goddess was definitely listening to me this weekend.

One of the things that is making me angry is the outpouring of hatred towards the electric company in this neck of the woods…why can’t they get it on faster, etc etc….I do think it’s an east coast thing, we’re miserable and cynical (some of us anyway) and we always want something done yesterday and tend to whine and moan and blame the government when we’re effected by anything.  Good grief, I can’t imagine if these people had to go through something of a Katrina like crisis…strange though, they are managing to get themselves on the news paper website to complain about their lack of power.  These men and women of the electric company, as well as the tree trimmers, etc…really are out there working hard, handling large trees that could crush them, or wires that could electrocute them, and they’re doing it to help us out.  Sending them positive energy and good vibes for a safe time with things.  Next times, those complainers should be more prepared.

Speaking of prepared…anyone else hear that Tropical Storm Katia is on the way next? LOL!  This weekend I’ll be making a trip to the Dollar Tree to get some fall decorations for my altar and house…I’ll also need some more tea lights!  I’m definitely going to get the D batteries ahead of time (that particular lantern only crapped out last night) and another case of water before we need it…just in case. 

At least Mabon season is approaching…I could always use another power outage to start seasonal crafting LOL

Come on Irene!

I'm a weather nut..I love it, I obsess over it...it keeps me amused.  I come by it naturally, my mother has the same problem and so did her father...he practically floated away during the big one of 1938 up here.  So we'll be spending the next few days hunkering down and locking up everything that isn't nailed down in the yard..just in case. 

There will be a garden gnome rescue mission..they shall be evacuated to reside on the sun porch to ride things out.  Candles are ever present in my house and I'm taking the opportunity to work a little tea lite magic and made up a weather protection spell in the hope of any damage that we might get stays minimal. 

Should things go really bad, there are bottles filled with water so we can flush and I still have the old fashioned hurricane oil lanterns that my grandmother had, complete with bottles of oil and extra wicks...the best thing about moving into a grandmother's house is that there is always something you don't know you're going to need, sitting on a shelf somewhere waiting for you to need it LOL

I'm also starting to gear up for Mabon.  I'll be putting out my new fall altar cloth soon. I trimmed up the edges with crimping shears (left by Nana of course) and am starting to make lists of what I want and need for decorating.  Amethyst stones and gnomes are two of the things that will go out on the big and little altars and eventually I'll hit the dollar store for mini gourds and pumpkins, leaves and flowers for my seasonal wreath. I still have to decide which tarot card "speaks" to me for this holiday...I'm sure it will come eventually.  I love fall and I'm really psyched that the season is almost upon us!