Sandy

I know it has been a long time since I have blogged but things have been quite busy! 

If you have been living under a rock for the past two weeks I am here to inform you that New York City was hit by a Hurricane called Sandy.

The city took a devastating blow from this storm and still a week later we are trying to get things here back on track. 

Before I get into the storm, let me back track a bit to the days that led up to it.  As I had mentioned in the last blog I had a Harvest Festival which I was selling my jewelry at just days before the Hurricane hit the city. 

The hubby and I started out very early that Saturday after a little partying at church the night before.  Our church has a party for the kids every year.  This year, kid less, we showed up as empty nesters!  Although we were probably the only couple there without children we had fun watching others get into the spirit of things. There was even a pumpkin pie eating contest!

The next morning we got up very early and headed out toward Staten Island.We lived there several years ago, and I hadn't been there since we moved!   It was very cloudy and windy and you could tell a storm was on its way. We arrived late to the venue because there were several detours due to construction but we still had a good pick of spots left so we were happy!

Such a supportive husband!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/feithhodgecreations

 

My husband is the master at setting up the table, so he started arranging things right away as I checked in with the venue coordinator.  The clouds continued to loom as we set up and we kept praying we would not get any rain because we had no tent (Yes, we do plan to get one in the future)!

On the way home we heard the news on the radio regarding the storm headed our way, so since we had the car for the day we went and stocked up for the following week.  People of course were cleaning off the shelves when we arrived at our local Target.  We got the few provisions we needed and headed home.

At church on Sunday we got to connect with friends and discuss with them the preparations they had made for the upcoming storm.  Everyone was taking the necessary precautions of having extra flashlights, getting extra canned goods in and making sure they had candles.  Most of us  had our 72 hour emergency kits and we were ready for whatever came our way.

That Monday morning I checked on a few sisters from my church to make sure they were okay and made sure they didn't need anything before the storm.   Around 6pm the storm hit full force.  Our lights flickered and we prayed together.  We felt safe and we were ready in case the lights went out.  Our block became strangely silent as we heard the howling winds through the empty streets.  Public transportation had stopped earlier so the streets were dark and bare. There were torrential rains.  I could hear branches breaking and falling in the garden next to my house and we continued to pray that our power held up and that the large trees in the yard would not take down the power lines.

When there was some calm on Tuesday we made it out to combat the feeling of cabin fever we were starting to have.   Public transportation was still down but we walked around to see what damage had been done. Our block had relatively no damage at all!  Surprising considering the community garden has several large trees in it which could have been a problem.  But other area's had a lot of falling trees, and power outages.

Those who suffered the most damage were those on Staten Island, Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey.  Also, City Island in the Bronx got hit hard.  It was very hard for me to see my old neighborhood in Staten Island under water.  It truly bought tears to my eyes. People lost their homes and others lost family members.  My husband and I became totally humbled and  grateful for our blessings of heat, hot water, and shelter.  We are praying for those who have been deeply affected and challenged by this storm, that they may overcome this tragic disaster. 

I extend this to all of you, please pray for those at this time who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy.  There are so many ways you can provide service as well.  Here are a few links to sites if you would like to help.

http://www.ujafedny.org/hurricane-sandy-volunteer-opportunities/

http://www.nycservice.org/#s

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/own-this-city-blog/how-to-help-in-new-york-city-after-hurricane-sandy

I hope that you all are safe and doing well.