Goodnight Irene

A lot of rain, some flooding, lots of leaves and limbs down - that was it for us. We lost power for just under two hours this morning. It's now very windy; just remnants of the storm going through now.

The white bin on our deck collected over 12 inches of rainwater. 

I had lots of bowls out on the deck collecting rainwater in case our power was out for an extended period of time. We're on well water so no power also means no water.

Heavy winds passing through now.

We could still lose power yet if trees come down over wires. The ground is soaked. But, fortunately Irene has been a non-event for us - just an excuse for a hurricane party last night, a few blog posts, and a relaxing weekend overall! We hope other communities and families along the shore have their lives back to normal as soon as possible.

Awaiting the brunt of the storm

Lots and lots of rain - no strong wind yet. Just back from a "Waiting for Irene" hurricane party, where Hurricane drinks were served. Hoping for power tomorrow morning for coffee maker!

Come on Irene

It just started raining steadily about 1/2 an hour ago. No wind yet.

Calm but rainy - front yard

We are mostly concerned about losing power for an extended period of time. I'll post new photos as weather changes, especially if it gets exciting!  Hopefully no disasters. Behave Irene. Stay safe.

Harvest time

I just harvested a big, plump, juicy tomato from my deck:

As you can see, its huge! The tomato plant went into the pot on my deck in early June and took all summer to produce this one tomato. One. Un seul. Solo una.

Let me give you a little perspective:

A farmer I'm not. I know the tomato plant "requires a minimum of 6 hours of sunlight per day" and my deck doesn't provide that during a dry summer. During a wet summer, like we've had, this is what we got. We're going to eat it all tonight. At this rate we will not be self sustaining - ever.

Bermuda cruise - asea

Don and I took our first-ever cruise this summer. We went with another couple who recommended the perfect first-time cruise: NYC to Bermuda on Norwegian because its "free style." It was such an easy vacation. Bryan dropped us off at the terminal in NYC and off we went with music blasting, people swimming and dancing, and cameras clicking.

Cruising down the Hudson R. out of NYC harbor

Sunsets were beautiful!

6am on our third morning we finally saw land again! Bermuda was beckoning.
Celebrity cruise ship followed us from NY.

Norwegian Gem docked at Dockyards, Bermuda

The cruise ships dominated the island shorelines of Bermuda. There were many activities that we took part in on board, including, shows (comedian, juggler, Second City), parties (70's dance, white out), pub crawl, relaxing (on balcony, at pool), games (trivia, Quest, craps lesson) and eating! More on beautiful Bermuda next posting.