<p>“I went out got a steamed lobster, so I am all set.”</p>
<p>Now I’m jealous. </p>
<p>Trying to plan out some sort of menu with real food on it for the next few days. I was thinking of making a big pot of pumpkin soup that I can throw on the grill to reheat if we lose power and maybe roasting a chicken tomorrow that I can throw in our cooler with a bunch of frozen water bottles.</p>
<p>You can make pretty much anything on a grill, soup, pizza, etc. What I would suggest is making soup and freezing that in some of those Glad Take Along things and use those to freeze other food. It will give you more food in your coolers, but then again, the extra water is good too.</p>
<p>If you have more than one bath tub, line the bottom of the tub with a blanket or two, fill it up with bags of ice, put more blankets on top (and all around the sides of the ice so it isn’t touching the tub) and the ice will keep for several days and you can use that to cool drinking water or add to coolers as needed.</p>
<p>Speaking of soup, when I was at Burning Man, one of our campmates made a really yummy soup with just leeks, potatoes, water and salt. Nothing in there that would spoil quickly and it tasted great at any temperature.</p>
<p>This is getting real. Jim Cantore is in NYC.</p>
<p>Well…they say that you KNOW there are going to be weather issues when Jim Cantore is in your town!</p>
<p>I think we are as prepared as we are going to be. We have a ton of bottled water. I just have to fill jugs for the toilets. I’m hoping we don’t have damage…I can live without power for a few days. Our house has many trees closeby. And they are big. But hopefully we are inland enough. The latest weather forecast says we are on the side for the worst wind, but less rain.</p>
<p>My guess is there will be no school here Monday or Tuesday.</p>
<p>Keeping all of you in my prayers. Hope you make it safely through the storm and suffer minimal damage.</p>
<p>We lost power for 8 days from the derecho in late June so I feel for you all who may lose it next week.</p>
<p>Best of luck hunkering down!</p>
<p>My Philadelphia son doesn’t think “it’s going to be that bad.” Of course, he’s invincible.</p>
<p>Steve, good tip re the soup but it’s got cream and not the best kind to freeze. Maybe making it isn’t such a good idea. :(</p>
<p>Do they say when it’s supposed to make landfall? Is it Sunday or Monday or unknown?</p>
<p>O.K. I sent 28 boxes from Cyprus at the end of June. They ended up in England until October 16 when they were supposed to be loaded on a vessel headed to NYC. I wonder if I am ever going to see them again? I am sitting in Ohio on this rainy eve and wondering.</p>
<p>We also have a place on LBI, ocean front. Relatives were down and brought the grill and chairs in. Not much more we can do. The windows are hurricane proof which means they can withstand (supposedly) a 2x4 coming at them at 50 mph or something like that. </p>
<p>I do think the Island will flood badly and I would get the heck off as soon as possible. The casinos in AC are even being closed, so you know that is bad!</p>
<p>Here in suburban Philly, I don’t know what to expect. We have public water so we should be okay. We will be fine without power for several days - it won’t be pretty but it won’t be an emergency situation. My D’s boarding school is nervous about what they will do if they have to evacuate (she is a day student, so maybe we’ll be hosting some kids, although if it’s that bad, I don’t see how they can get the 20 min ride to our house!)</p>
<p>Every year I feel like we hear about “the storm of the century” and “unprecedented” storms. WIll it be like the boy who cried Wolf??</p>
<p>We had the storm of the century last year in VT with Irene. I just hope we don’t have another one this year. Lives were lost and many homes.</p>
<p>Even though we live more or less in the country, we are on public water. (They ran a line out to the county fairgrounds, which are about a mile from us.) That makes SUCH a huge difference in this kind of situation…first time we’ve ever not been on a well.</p>
<p>I just want S to make it to his visa appointment in Boston on Monday morning. He has to catch a train at 5:35 AM. If the trains aren’t running, I will drive him, come hell or high water. If necessary, he and I have friends he could stay with in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville.</p>
<p>Bethievt, I keep thinking about all of those little towns in VT that were devastated by Irene. Please, do not let it happen again.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t count on having water if you are on city water. I would stock up. If there is flooding or the water treatment plant loses power, you won’t have water or the water could be contaminated and not safe to drink. It will still be ok for flushing toilets though.</p>
<p>It’s not looking good. I am currently at our beach house on the shoreline trying to figure out if we are high enough. We can handle maybe 3 feet more surge than we had in Irene. But Geoff Fox is saying more storm surge than '38 (never mind Irene). And there’s a bad tree next door.</p>
<p>Tomorrow I go to work to do all the things I need to do while we still have electricity. And initiate the Emergency Action Animal Care Plan. Then – home for the duration. We’re going to lose power. The question is how long. If the beach house is devastated, and there’s no power at our inland home, I guess we have a condo that’s empty at the moment. And there’s also a on-the-market house on Long Island. It looks like we’ll have a roof over our heads – but where?</p>
<p>On our way to Hilton Head today, we saw dozens and dozens and dozens of utility company trucks heading north on 95 in SC. Looks like help is on the way to those who may need it further north.</p>
<p>^yay! .</p>
<p>Thinking of you all, from out here on the west coast. Stay safe, and take care of yourselves and each other!</p>
<p>^^ I’m glad to hear it, alwaysamom! When we lost power after Irene, it was a crew from SC who came to our neighborhood and repaired the lines.</p>