Normal

Normal is a weird concept. Like how we have a certain neighbor in the complex behind us who has a medical emergency pretty much any time the weather’s awful, without fail. So when an ambulance and a firetruck showed up to that building mid-Sandy, that was normal.

God bless those emergency workers, though.

The kids playing in the flood waters downtown within minutes of the rain ending? Also totally normal.

Photo courtesy of Tracy Woodward via the Washington Post.

Then there are the things that people try to return to normal after a major event, but don’t quite make it. For instance, we were back in school yesterday, but the kids were so wired there was probably not a speck of learning done. Or the fact that within hours crews were clearing away the tree in the through-way out of our parking lot,

Freedom!

but that giant chunk of the sidewalk the root ball took out and the sad hole in the treeline where the behemoth used to live? Definitely not quite normal.

Then there’s the stuff that’s totally not normal at all. For some involved in this storm that’s a really sad thing, but for me? It just means I got a ridiculous amount spun and dyed on Tuesday while I had no where else to go (or could go). Now what to do with this thick and thin mess?

I made this!

AND this!

Sandy Continues

Still here, unscathed and fully powered! I think part of the reason we’ve been lucky so far is because we are so darn used to flooding in this town. We are all prepared.

Picture by Monique Lyons via Patch.com

Other places have not been so lucky. My aunt an hour and a half east of here has had more than 3 inches of rain already, and her power has been off and on since 11 last night. Believe it or not, the western (mountainous) side of the state is under blizzard watches. Lots of “snowicane” jokes from my colleagues out there. Pretty much everything in the area has shut down today and preemptively for tomorrow too. It seems a little odd while I’m sitting here warm and well lit, and the outside looks like this:

The leaves are pretty much gone now.

It is indeed blowing out there.

But while plenty’s been blown about, and there are some trees starting to fall, nothing’s been majorly damaged here. Inside, I’m working happily on this,

I have high hopes for this one.

and my biggest worry is that there’s a hurricane outside and I have exactly this many rain beads left for my Sky Scarf:

NOT ENOUGH!

Frankenstorm

Hurricane Sandy has apparently set her sights on Virginia, although she’ll likely be nothing but remnants by the time she gets here. This in itself is nothing special. We live on the coast. It’s a bit later in the year than normal, but not notably. Apparently she’ll be arriving at the same time as a cold front from the opposite direction though, which I’m told makes it a big deal. Local media is making a huge, dire-sounding drama of it, and many of my coworkers have already decided we’ll have Monday and/or Tuesday off. There are long lines at all the grocery stores too, and since it’s very dark and a bit drizzly here people are screaming that the storm’s hit early.

I am not yet impressed. Wind, rain, and mild to moderate flooding are pretty common things in this town. This so called “Frankenstorm” mash-up could turn out to be every bit as big a deal as they’re saying, but it seems equally likely it’ll just be 3 days of rain. At least it doesn’t seem like it’ll miss us entirely, the way some doom-and-gloom forecasts do.

Nonetheless, I have made sure I’m well-stocked on all the important things, at least:

I think you’ll agree I’m well prepared.

I’m not holding my breath yet, but if you don’t hear from me for a week or so, you’ll know we lost power.