A New Hampshire friend gearing up to deal with the Nor’easter forecasted to arrive tomorrow sent us an email. He thought that maybe having spent two months in a warmer climate was having a negative effect on our weather.
Not likely. If we could influence the weather at all, it would be 70 and sunny throughout New England. 🙂
Storm check list:
- Hair appointment changed ✓
- Doctor appointment changed ✓
- Shovels in the garage and handy ✓
- Ice melt ✓
- Gas for the John Deere snowblower ✓
- Pellets stacked near stove ✓
- Bottled water ✓
- Foodstuffs not requiring cooking ✓
- Wash caught up ✓
- Library books (plural) ✓
- Hunkering down mode engaged ✓
If the power goes out, there is no heat – furnace or pellet stove (needs electricity for starter, igniter and blower.) Bring on the quilts.
A couple of years back, we had the power boxes torn right off the house twice and had the privilege of paying $$$$ to have them replaced. Then they decided to grant us a power pole in our side front yard that keeps the lines higher especially during serious storms. We named that beautiful pole, Steve. So, tomorrow I’ll be checking out the window to see that Steve is standing tall and holding those lines because that means even if the power goes out we’ll be back on line in a normal time sequence and not 7-10 days later. I love Steve.
Photos tomorrow.
Thanks, Dan, for letting me borrow the title. 🙂
NewEnglandGardenAndThread 
Good luck with the storm. I have a society dinner tomorrow in Manhattan and even here things can go wrong, like no trains. Nothing like your problems.
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Wow! That much snow this late in the season – the weather is crazy everywhere, I guess. I hope you are safe and sound and that Steve is still upright after the storm!
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When the pole was first installed, a neighbor walked over with a disgusted look on her face to tell me she thought it was ugly, and I should have complained about them putting it there. I looked at her, smiled, and said that was the most beautiful pole I’d ever seen, and I was just going to landscape right around it. Unless you’ve paid to replace electrical boxes attached to your house and gone 7 days with no power, I’m sure you don’t see the beauty. 🙂
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Take care. Hope all goes well for you. I missed the weekend dusting in the Upstate and was glad to escape DC last night, missing the nor’easter too. We can’t avoid the bitter cold, however…3 frigid nights in this week’s forecast.
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Keeping my fingers crossed that you guys ride through this storm without a scratch. Great to see you again Judy.
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I had to chuckle at your to do list. Living in the Sierras I could totally relate to it. We rarely have blizzards at my elevation but we do have heavy snow and lose power frequently. We finally got a generator for the house and a gas stove for the living room. We are ready! Stay warm!
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We’ve got a generator too. Just one problem. It won’t start. 🙂 After the storm, it needs a visit to the generator doctor to get put on life support. 🙂
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As a native New Englander, I speak from experience when I suggest that another thing to remember to do is to rush to the supermarket to get bread and milk, and then waiting in the long line to check out with everyone else in town.
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You are so right, and I thank you for the chuckle. What I always love is watching the carts with all the items that need refrigeration and thinking about how if the power goes out you will be replacing all that food. 🙂 I did my quick run to the store this morning for non-perishables and did the self checkout. 🙂
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I had just returned from the store before I made the comment, I bought the last loaf of bread the store had!
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but, if the power goes out, put it out in a box on the porch…………
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Required activity – even if you don’t need milk or bread.
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We’ll be thinking about all you New Englanders tomorrow. Hope it’s not as bad as predicted.
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Thank you. 🙂 And, to think I bought the first grape vine wreath over the weekend to create that great planter you have. I’m thinking spring even if it hasn’t arrived yet. 🙂
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Aw, I look forward to seeing it!
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I hope you weather the storm without damage or loss of power!
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Our checklists are similar 🙂 I did three loads of wash today. Even put the sheets on the line outside (ah!). Filled the bird feeders (can’t forget my feathered friends). Snowblower filled and set to go. Wood stacked on front porch. Might make a pot of soup in case we can’t use the stove. The snow doesn’t worry me, it’s the wind. 😦
I hope Steve stands strong!
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Your list is similar to mine – including feeding the birds lots of extras.
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Hi Jodie – what a blow, eh? I had a flock of about 40 goldfinches that ate all day and went through 3/4 of TWO thistle feeders. Hungry! That’s probably 4# of niger seed – yikes! Hope you weathered the storm without mishap. 🙂
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Good luck, Judy. Our son and family were up there skiing this weekend. I guess they left just in time before the storm. He said it was really freezing up there, although I’m sure New Jersey will probably get some very cold weather too.
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If they were skiing this past weekend, they are hearty souls. The temperatures were very low, the wind was gusty, and that was down here in the flatlands. I cannot imagine the cold at the top of a mountain. Skiing is for the young of body that is for sure. Hope they enjoyed themselves. 🙂
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I haven’t even met Steve and I love him!! Forecast in our part of the Hudson Valley is 18″-24″. WTH?!! If we lose power (more than likely) we also lose our water. We’re in a mobil home park (NOT a trailer park!😡) and well water is regulated by electric pump. Drinking/cooking/bathing water can be provided with bottled water. But flushing……well that’s a sticky wicket. Where are those pastel port-a-potties when you need them? Lol. 😂😂😂
Like you, laundry is done. Lemon loaf cake ready to eat. Picked up two books at library today. Flashlights, spare batteries, candles and matches on kitchen counter for easy access.
Best of luck riding out this storm. Stay warm under the quilts. You have to send all of us a pic of Steve!!
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I certainly hope you don’t get that much, and if you get any, I hope that young shoveler of yours shows up with lots of energy to clear you out. My grandparents had well water and electricity was needed to to run their pump – I understand. I can remember filling buckets of water and even the bathtub. And, there was that tacky saying about if it was yellow…I know you understand. 🙂 I could start by telling you Steve is very tall, dark, and handsome. 🙂
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We have a well, too – That’s a whole other degree of inconvenient when the power goes out.
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Yes it is always good to have a check list. I live in Florida and I even have a evacuation box of important items. Stay safe and warm.
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When we were in SC, there were signs denoting evacuation routes. I cannot even imagine the bumper to bumper traffic when that is necessary.
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Good luck! Here’s hoping you don’t lose power! I know all about those evacuation routes and losing power.
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Good to both of you and to Steve as well! We have snow, but only a small amount and not enough to even be annoying. I saw a cute meme today on FB, put out by a library, that had the weather map demarcations, but instead of inches of snow, it had numbers of books needed. 🙂 Of course, that’s me all the time, but…
janet
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I went to the library yesterday, picked up three books and a stack of magazines. 🙂
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Good move. Are you getting dumped on? Despite the grim predictions of possibly lots of snow, we’ve only had a couple inches total since yesterday and I’m OK with that!
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The dumping is going on right now. Light snow started early morning and 2e have been in a total whiteout for about an hour now. There’s got to be about 8″ on the ground right now and it’s suppose to keep snowing for several more hours.
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😦 Hope you’re using those books and magazines!
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I missed hot choclate and tea and hot dogs on your list…I don’t know about you, but that is what I crave in a blizzard! Stay safe and warm xoxox Johanna
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Well, I’d give Steve a big hug every time you go by! To be without power in such cold conditions seems absolutely dreadful to me….do you rely on the generator (when it is kicked started)?
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New Hampshire is 80+% treed so in a big storm trees inevitably fall down and take the power lines with them. We’ve used the generator a couple of times to get us through the power outages. We can run the refrigerator, coffee pot, and electric space heaters that keep it from getting too cold inside. It will be off to the generator doctor once we get through this storm.
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I shall love your Steve for you. Best of luck with the hunkerin down! 🙂
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Seven days?!!! Ouch! I suddenly don’t feel much like a pioneer anymore after enduring 3 days.
We are also hunkering down waiting for the worst of the storm to hit. We’ve had light snow all day, but I understand it’s going to get worse overnight.
Thankfully we have a gas fireplace and a gas stove. During the last big outage, we at least had a source of heat and could cook on the stove top.
If there is a silver lining in losing power in the winter, all the perishables can be put outdoors in coolers.
Good luck – hope Steve does his job well and this storm isn’t as bad as they are suggesting.
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Gas fireplace and stove would be real winners when the power goes out. Yes, we’ve piled the perishables outside before. Hope to avoid it, but we’ll see. Stay safe. 🙂
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The storm appears to just be grazing us. We’re not getting much in the way of snow … but it’s really cold.
Good luck to you and stay safe!
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Laundry done , fridge is stocked , got my blanket ,books and movies. Am ready to be snowed in. 🙂 Stay warm and safe!
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We don’t go far without power. No water without electricity. But we’ve been okay, so far, for the past 16 years. And I think we’ve taken down all the weak trees … and the rest already fell. So it’s New England being New England. Not a whole lot new here. 70 degrees would be so nice.
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I hope Steve stands strong and does the job for you. Stay warm and cosy. Here, we’ve had a day of rain and thunder storms and the thunder is rumbling again this evening. It’s been great to have good soaking rain after so long with none.
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That’s not a knocking at your door; it’s a pounding and kicking. That’s one cosmic bully coming at you. I am hoping hard that you don’t lose power — that so compounds miseries — and that you will be safe. Despite my concern, I heard myself laugh out loud when I got to the part about naming the pole. You have a pole named Steve? Well, I hope he guards you faithfully. May all go well.
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It took a couple of years of convincing the power company that we needed a pole in our yard so when they finally agreed, it was a big moment. When your boxes are pulled off the house you have to coordinate return of service with the power company and your own electrician – it is a long, painful process during a storm period.
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Unbelievable. No wonder you named the pole.
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Oh, ugh–we’re in line for the storm, too, and our checklist looks a lot like yours, with the addition of brown liquor. 😉 We made a decision, a few years ago, to spring for one of those hard-wired generators so at least we don’t have the worry of going without heat. I hope Steve hangs tough and your power stays on!
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With a hard-wired generator you are going to be in good shape regardless of what is flung at you.
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We, too, are prepared for the storm. I made a big batch of soup, Clif hauled in wood, and we are well stocked with other supplies. Stay warm, be safe, and may the power be with you!
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🙂 You too.
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We are similarly hunkered down and waiting. The snow is just starting here. Big fat flakes with little bursts of wind. Now they are saying that it may turn to rain. It would be kind of funny if the whole thing fizzled after the anticipatory shutdown of transport, offices, and government and everyone’s cancellation of all appointments for the next two days! Good luck and hooray for Steve.
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We’ve had light snow since about 8 this morning, but in the last hour or so it has turned to a complete whiteout. It is good there is zero traffic on the road, and it appears everyone is staying inside. I’ve been out twice to do a little shoveling so the John Deere doesn’t have to get so close, but I’m in for a while now enjoying some hot coffee. Stay warm and safe.
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I hope you don’t lose your power. We’re in full-on blizzard mode now.
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Wow. We haven’t had a storm worthy of that amount of attention here in quite a few years, but I remember the worries and empty grocery store shelves! I just hope your power stays on because otherwise, snuggling up to read sounds very good to me!
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Power is on right now – thank you to everyone whose tree branches haven’t fallen down on a wire. We have a total whiteout right now. It is a blizzard. It’s vicious out there. But, I have a really good Faye Kellerman book so I’ve been busy immersed in that.
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VERY happy to hear that you are a snug little reading bug in a rug! (er, I mean quilt!) – one hand made by you!
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We are hearing of your wild weather on our news, hope you and yours are all safe. Happy reading. You can take solace in a good book and being as organised as your list would suggest! Take care!:)
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We here in NJ seem to have escaped pretty well. Hoping you get through it as well.
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I hope Mother Nature was kind to you, Judy. she dumped a lot of snow at our place, but the power stayed on. I hope Steve did his job. Thanks for the mention. Now for that other New England favorite activity – digging out. Stay safe and stay warm.
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just saw a blogger in new york say she measured 22 inches outside her kitchen door; hope you got less! 🙂
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