11/3/12 Update...lines for gas are still very long here in New Jersey...easily 50 to 60 cars with a 2 plus hour wait. It is expected to get even colder and there is possibly another storm coming our way. Please keep the northeast section of our country in your prayers!
Rosemary Lane is wrapping up day four post the rage of Hurricane Sandy, and is still without power. Gasoline is becoming even harder to come by in New Jersey, where gas lines are sometimes 30 to 50 cars long with state troopers directing traffic.
There are also walk up gas lines where you can fill gas containers to fuel small generators. With undying gratitude we have my sister and brother-in-law's back up generator, this is enough to keep our refrigerator running, provide a few lamps with power, watch a movie in the evening with the kids, and oh yes...give us Internet access!
As far as damage to 21 Rosemary Lane, well we lost two trees in our backyard. Above is a picture of what they looked like early on Monday morning. The tree in the foreground is right outside my daughter Grace's room. The tree in the background, the one without the tire swing, is directly outside our bedroom window and adjacent to the screened-in porch.
We were extremely lucky on both accounts as both trees fell away from the house. The tree next to the porch went down first. Immediately I told Chris to have Grace sleep in Michael's room in case the one next to her window goes down. Not 10 minutes later we lost the second tree.
Other damage to 21 Rosemary Lane occurred in the way of losing part of our roof!
Cooking has been a bit of a challenge...my kids are use to hot meals but that can't always be the case when using the grill to cook. Not only do we have to conserve our gasoline for the generator but we have to do the same with the propane gas.
I can't tell you what a God send my cast iron skillets and pot have been.
Our latest challenge with this storm has now become the effort to stay warm. As I write this the temperatures are expected to be in the low 40's to mid 30's at night and daytime highs are only suppose to reach the upper 40's to the50 degree mark over the next 4 days. We have a small space heater up in Michael's room where both kids are currently sleeping, that keeps them pretty toasty! Chris and I pile on the extra blankets for warmth. Small flame less candles are on over night to provide some light when navigating to and from the bathrooms. I plan to purchase more of these little lifesavers once everything gets back to normal.
The schools were closed all week and Halloween has been postponed to Friday the 9th. Power here in our township is expected to be fully restored by next Wednesday.
But all in all we are pretty lucky!
Stay safe and God bless to all who are suffering in the wake of Sandy's path of destruction.
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Barbara- I am so glad you are safe- that is the best blessing of all. Just think someday your kids will look back and tell their kids about Superstorm Sandy...can you imagine?
ReplyDeleteI hope you can get all the fuel you need and that you can stay warm. Thank goodness you didn't get the snow some parts of the country did- Blessings- xo Dian
Wow, how scarey to have those trees come down so close to the house. So glad you are all safe. Praying your electricity is restored sooner than is expected and that you can get back to some sort of normal.....
ReplyDeleteWow, that lineup for gas! It reminds me of one part of "The Left Behind" series, with Max Lucado, after everything started to become hard to come by.
ReplyDeleteYou were very fortunate! Although, I have to say, that roof of yours ain't lookin' too good, if ya' know what I'm sayin', lol!
Take care, and try to stay warm!!
Oh Barbara, I am happy you and your family are safe, but your photos of the home and property damage makes me so sad. You are doing a wonderful job there with meals. One thing I am seriously thinking about is installing a gas fireplace. Friends of mine in NJ have them and they are toasty warm. Flameless candles are wonderful. Sending prayers your way. I hope the power comes back even sooner than they told you. xo
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear of your downed trees and roof. I pray your power gets on soon. This is so heartbreaking and reminds me of four years ago when hurricane Ike hit our little island.
ReplyDeleteStay safe and I send my prayers,
Shelia ;)
Oh Barbara, thanks for the update on you and your family. Trees and shingles can be replaced. Family can't. Glad you were all safe and hope within the next few days you will have power again.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching the news closely and it is unbelievable was Hurricane Sandy has done. I am so happy to know you are all safe, I hope your electricity comes back soon. I'm also so glad you have a backup generator, it is so heartbreaking that so many don't. Your all are in our prayers!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear of the trying circumstances from the storm. Praying that life will soon be back to normal. Being cold is not fun. We were without power for 3 1/2 day due to a snow/ice storm in iowa a few years ago and i was never so thankful to have power again. janita
ReplyDeleteIt is terrible that Alabama sent teams of utility workers there and they were turned away. so they went elsewhere to help, something they were told because they were not in the Union... How silly to turn away help when it comes,and then complain cause no one is coming to help.
ReplyDeleteIt's terrible that Alabama sent utility workers to your state and they got turned away for not being in the Union, so they went elsewhere to help, and then you see people on the tv complaining cause they have no one to help.. You guys need to complain to your representatives.
ReplyDeleteHi Barbara,
ReplyDeleteWow! I am so glad you all are safe and sound. This is such a tragic thing. :(
Space heaters scare me. I hope that the children are very careful. :)
I hope that you get your power back soon and that everything will be ok.
Praying for you and everyone back east.
Take care, Janet W
Prayers for the affected area in this storm!
ReplyDeleteBrooke
So glad to hear that you all are okay and are making the most of the situation. Rebuilding will begin, people will come together. Tragedy brings out the best in most. Wishing you well. Tammy
ReplyDeleteI am your newest follower. Living in south Louisiana, I know this drill all too well. Please stay strong and positive. Help is on the way from LA (if not in the area already). So happy that you are safe and alive. Godspeed to you!
ReplyDeleteNancy
Barbara,
ReplyDeletePraising God for your safety! Praying for your warmth during these next few cold days. Wish we lived closer so we could be more of a help. dee dee
Stay safe and hopefully warm. Hope they get your power on soon. Hope also that the next storm is mild and you get a chance to cover up that roof before the next rain.
ReplyDeleteSo happy you are all well and making do. God bless you all. Tenn. is sending help and the churches are praying for all of you. I also wish we were closer and could be hands on. Take care and know that thousands are holding all of you up in prayer daily. Regena in TN.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you are okay. I went through a similar episode when we had the ice storm down here a few years back. I went 8 days without power and I'm old! LOL! The bad part was I had been sold green wood so I couldn't get a good fire going. I had no generator or heat of any kind. Now, I am better prepared. I'm not into generators but I have good wood now and I bought tension rods to hang in the doorways to hang blankets to keep the heat from the fireplace in one room. I have lots of battery operated candles, hand crank lights and radio. I also found some wonderful "camp" led lights to hang that really light up an area (Wal-mart). I used to criticize my Dad because he never planted many trees in the yard where I live now but during the ice storm I was very grateful as many people had damage to their homes, cars, etc. because there are so many trees here in AR. I got a book at Lowes afterwards about being prepared for "disasters" as they seem to be so common today.
ReplyDeleteI live alone and many elderly here died because they couldn't get to them for all the trees down. I stayed in bed a lot under lots of covers! It was scary because no one came to help at all. Only electric people from all over but there was no food, no gas, no water...nothing was ever was brought in and no one ever came and checked on me. The one nice thing was the Eagles Club in town got electric first and they cooked and gave people meals for free and hot coffee and breakfast and that was wonderful and they had heat!
I didn't realize you were in NJ...I have been praying for all of you and will continue as it is very scary! I'm so glad you have your family there to deal with it all together. Thanks for posting even during your trials! God Bless you all!
Hi, So glad you're ok and had minimal damage. We just got our power back, we're in Morris County and had very little damage Sending prayers to those that lost so much.
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear you and yours are safe!! Praying that things get better quick with power and gasoline!! God Bless!
ReplyDeleteLou Cinda
My thoughts and prayers are with you all. From someone that has seen and witness many hurricanes in Louisiana, I know first hand what you are going through. Gods grace has seen and protected me and mine many times. Wish I could swap our balmy warm southern winter for your cold days till everything is restored.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear that you are ok and not in such terrible distress! Stay warm....and keep your chin up:D
ReplyDeleteVisiting from Cedar HIll Ranch. Glad to know you and your family are safe with minimal damage to your home. Having grown up on the Gulf Coast, I know the pain and stress of a hurricane's destruction. I wish you well. Stay safe and hopefully warm.
ReplyDelete