Monday, November 5, 2012

I'm Alive (post Hurricane Sandy)

Happy Monday, all!
(Truly a happy Monday for me)

As some of you know by now, I live at the Jersey shore. In fact, not far from Atlantic City, where the eye of Hurricane Sandy hit landfall. Our house is still here. Yay!

We got about 2 feet of water in our garage and surrounding yard. So some damage there. Lost a freezer chest and fridge and lots of clean up, but NO water got in the house! Apparently we never lost electricity and we have heat and food and Internet and working toilets and clean water to drink.

So I was THRILLED! (things north of us look a lot worse)
 
Actually, I'm STILL amazed.
If you look around our little barrier island, there are a lot of people having problems with their houses being flooded and some still do not have cable or power. Sand blasted through a lot of garages and some streets are still under water.
But people are really pulling together through this which is really awesome to see.

My hubby's office downtown did not do well either. Serve Pro was in and the office is now gutted. They are looking for temporary office arrangements now until they can rebuild.
~~~

On another note, we were supposed to celebrate my mom's birthday this weekend. But I told her too much was going on and we were going to have to postpone. So she asks me, "Did you get me a birthday gift?"
I said, "No. The week I was going to go shopping I had to hurricane prep instead. So I think we better wait unless you want bottled water, SPAM, peanut butter and bread as your gift." LOL!!
~~

On another another note, life still apparently goes on because I'm still in the middle of edits for my upcoming release from Entangled Publishing. So no breather for me!!!

School starts up again this week, which is helpful. :)

And in case you wanted before and afters of our garage, here they are:
MAN CAVE/garage and workout room






We obviously rolled up carpets and and brought our trashcans in. I guess when the water went out, it moved them and dumped them over and dumped our freezer chest on its side. Sea water is in the bins of the fridge. The futon is done too. Water reached the mattress.
Again, a mess. But if this is the worst, I'll gladly take it!

How about you?
Any effects from Hurricane Sandy in your neck of the woods? Know anybody affected?

.

29 comments:

Maria Zannini said...

I'm sorry you were flooded, but at least your family is safe.

Ref: freezers
Cleaning and disinfecting freezers after an extended power loss is no fun. The smell is horrendous. I've had to that twice!

Everyone I know on the east coast has been accounted for, but one of my very good friends was recalled to duty (with the Red Cross) to help in New Jersey.

I'm a little worried because she hasn't checked in since leaving. I know she was going to a ravaged area so chances are she's too tired, too busy, and without power and cell towers.

Karen Lange said...

I am so glad that you escaped the worst of the storm. Praying for those who fared worse.

My family also lives in your area, but south and farther inland near where we used to live. They lost power for about 9 hours. My sister texted me a picture of the storm damage at their place - one little tree down in the back yard. So we were glad to hear that. And yes, even here in north central KY, we felt Sandy's presence - lots of wind and rain.

Sandra Orchard said...

Jennifer so glad to hear you are all safe and well!

Cheryl Klarich said...

I am so glad you and yours are okay!
The devastation is mind numbing to say the least.

I love how you are forging ahead with your edits!

My daughter enjoyed Sunny Days for Sam (on her kindle)...so here's to sunny days ahead for the Shirks!

Prixie said...

Glad to know things were not all that bad for you! :)

Liz Mays said...

I'm thrilled that you were touched as lightly as you were. Wonderful news!

Jessica Nelson said...

So you don't park your car in the garage...:-)

SOOOO happy to hear your house is still alive! Happy Birthday to your mom and congrats on the book coming out!

CJ Kennedy said...

Glad to hear you are safe.

Kerry Ann @Vinobaby's Voice said...

Relieved to read that you are okay and your house is relatively unscathed. At least the beer in the fridge can't go bad (gotta look on the bright side).

Linda G. said...

So glad you fared as well as you did!

We're fine as well. A big oak fell on the house behind us, but all we got was a little water in the basement.

Stacy McKitrick said...

I have cousins scattered all over the state (many of them near the shore), and all of them checked in okay (most had just lost power).

If that's all the damage you had, you are indeed lucky!

Julie Jarnagin said...

So glad you guys were safe.

Rula Sinara said...

So glad you're safe, but so sorry about all the damage. I thought about you and several other friends I have up in NY and NJ. My sis in NY is fine but hasn't been able to go back to work bc the building is still shut down. In Northern VA, we had 80mph gusts and over 8in of rain but we personally did okay. Nothing like those on the upper right side of the hurricane.

And congrats on having a book with Entangled!

Georgiana Daniels said...

Oh, wow. Sorry you lost your garage, but so thankful that's all. The pictures I see on the news look awful! Your personal story really brings it home.

In AZ, we are pretty insulated from natural disasters.

Carol Kilgore said...

I'm thankful you and your family are safe. And that your damage was minimal. My heart goes out to those who lost homes or loved ones. I've been through hurricanes before, but only one bad one. Thanks for the pictures!

LTM said...

oh, goodness. Well, any damage is hard to deal with, but so SO glad it was only your garage! And you still have power, etc. How wonderful! Take care, and bet of luck to you w/the edits~ :o) <3

Connie Keller said...

I'm glad to hear you're safe and sound. And I hope the cleanup isn't too onerous. We've had flooding before--it's a long a tiresome cleanup.

The last time we had a flood, my kids (they're teenagers) made up a song that they sang the whole time--now I have such pleasant memories of that cleanup. Who would have guessed that flood cleanup would be happy memories.

Anonymous said...

Good to hear you are safe.

Old Kitty said...

Oh look at that water damage! :-( Dear oh dear! But yay that your home is ok and you have power for heat and electricity etc! Awww your poor mum! LOL!!

You take care now and yay for Entangled! x

Kristi said...

So glad you guys are okay!

I had no idea that's where you and the family lived!

Sending *hugs* and thoughts of magical cleaning faeries to help with the garage. :)

Melissa said...

Glad you're okay.

I'm not in that part of the country, but I'm an Ike survivor...and Alicia ('83).

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

I thought about you when the storm was kicking butt in Atlantic City, and am really glad to hear you fared as well as you did. Scary stuff. (Now all we have to do is make it past the election...)

E.D. said...

I am sorry you were flooded and I am glad you fared as well as you did. Good luck with the clean up!

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear your home is still standing and you didn't have lots of damage to deal with. Continued prayers for all those who have been affected.

Robyn Campbell said...

So glad you're safe and that your home is too. Sorry about the flooding though.

We had a lot of snow in Western North Carolina. Tree branches, etc. But when I think about some folks in NY and New Jersey I go to God. He is the only one who can truly work this out. *hugs*

Southpaw said...

I'm sorry to hear about the loss and the mess but you seem to be looking at the brighter side of things (like the water didn't make it into your home).

I hope the clean up is speedy.

Nancy said...

I am so sorry to see the damage you received from the storm. Praise God your house was spared. You have a fabulous attitude. Blessings as you clean up.

We didn't get much where we live except wind. I am so thankful for what we have.

Caryn Caldwell said...

What a relief to know that your house is okay, but so sorry about the other devastation (your fridge and freezer, your husband's work). The ensuing cleanup must take a lot of effort, too. Good luck with it! Most importantly, though, you guys are safe!

Sarah Forgrave said...

So glad you had minimal damage to your house, Jennifer! What a blessing.