Ready For a Hurricane? When In Doubt ... Cook!

I woke to the most unsettling news bites yesterday morning. As I booted up the computer to look at the latest radar images of this hurricane dubbed 'Frankenstorm', my husband was tuning into the local weather on the television. "Widespread power outages are expected", ..."urged to prepare for the worst", " take a picture of your immediate vicinity before and after ...when you can, send them to 9 News update", and more churned from the television.

Holy Smokes! This was being handled as a real 100 year storm! Already, the sky was literally grey-pink all over, which brings new meaning to the old weather adage, "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning ...". As the sun rose, we wondered, just what the next two days would bring. I prayed that everyone of my large extended family and all my friends up and down the Eastern Seaboard were safe and ready for this storm and that Hurricane Sandy calmed down quickly once she made landfall ... and then it was time to get the house ready and ourselves prepared for the worst!

We stocked the water, wood, and got the candles and flashlights and lanterns ready for action.  Then, we watched the wind pick up. The phone lines went dead midmorning, but power held. We used our sketchy cell phones to make garbled phone calls to family and friends and then, showered and got things cleaned up (just in case we couldn't for a couple days). Then, I cooked ... bread for sandwiches and a roasted chicken for a meal and soup stock. We boiled some eggs for an easy egg salad or green salad meal. That was it ... the plan was that meals would center around those three main ingredients over the next few days and we would eat what's in the fridge ( this, assuming a power outage made using things up necessary before they lose their integrity).

Last evening, the power flickered on and off, but held. We were able to watch in horror as NYC braced for record high tides and storm surge. I shot a fast FB message off to Kate in Brooklyn, hoping to hear from her. Sara called from Boston to say she was buttoned up tight and trying to salvage a chicken soup (epic noodle fail). She was safe and sound. Eric was incommunicado over in the wilds of Rindge where he has just moved ... I hope he didn't park his car under any trees! That remains to be seen, as I still haven't heard from him. We've made it through the night and still have power ... it's weirdly calm now with occasional bands of wind that pass through, but the rain has finally let up and things seem to be calming down.

Time to make some soup and contemplate just how lucky we have been! Chicken soup and matzo balls will be comforting today, as we clean up the property and carve a Halloween pumpkin. I keep hoping everyone else has been as fortunate as we have been ... the phones are still down. Small change compared to many others ...