We finally go power back - out almost 48 hours. All is well except for the fishies - they all died. The aquarium is gross. **FCD **will be disassembling it all, cleaning it, then the slow and expensive process of restocking will begin.
Just FYI - being Amish-ish sucks!!! I’ll post more tomorrow!
MWAH!
There she is! I’m glad you’re both okay, but sorry about your fishies. Yup, that’s going to be expensive. 
How did your boat weather the storm?
Sorry about the fishies, FCM, but glad you’re OK.
Glad to hear everyone made it mostly unscathed. I hate seeing the pictures of the places where it hit hard. Sounds like all of Vermont is a mess, among other places.
The Houston area sounds like no fun at all. Hope it remembers to cool off a bit sometime very soon.
Yay for wiki! Hope things defy tradition and continue to go really well.
Had a really fun weekend that included Bacon Camp, a visit to Dave & Busters, nice and fun dinner at one of our local BBQ places (don’t ask me why, but Columbus has several BBQ places that I’m told are competitive with places that are famous for BBQ) and breakfast at my neighborhood diner (which we all love). Also, had a quick meeting at the park to decide on Halloween stuff.
Garden is finally reasonably mulched. Weeding and mulching have been my brother’s obsession for the past couple of weeks (since whenever it cooled off to a reasonable temperature).
We went out for a walk after dark. It’s very pleasant right now. Yay!
ETA: Forgot to comment on OP. Sounds yummy. Will add to blog in a moment.
Hugs all.
GT
So we’ve had thunderstorms all night. I got kung pao for dinner.
Sorry about the fishes, FCM.
Hey wiki!!!
making scrunchy eyes who are you again?
I’m kidding, I’m kidding!
Off to a meeting. It’s bad, isn’t it, when you’re so bored at work that you actually look forward to meetings because they’re something to do?
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffienatin’ YAWN ‘Tis 72 Amurrkin out with a predicted high of only 97 for the day. We’re havin’ a cool front! 
MOOOOOOM glad y’all survived bein’ Amish-ish and sorry about the fishies. Guess there’s not much one can do about an aquarium in a power outage.
gt many people get all 
about the idea of there bein’ good bbq places in places not known for it. Truth is, bbq can be made anywhere bein’ as all ya need to have is the right equipment. it ain’t like chikin, beef and pork have to be flown in to most places unlike seafood. One of the funniest things ever said to me in a restaurant was in Wichita, Kansas when the server asked if we’d like to hear about their seafood specials. I mean, it was Kansas after all.
I go to seek more caffiene and brekkie for rumbly tummy. Then, alas, irk purtification must commence.
Happy Tuesday Y’all!
Seafood buffet?
Blurf.
Despite putting a tarp over the Foomobile, and it staying in place throughout the storm, I’m still vacuuming water out of the floorboards. :mad:
I got nuthin else. Carry on.
Nearly awake. Need to make lunch. Hope to wake up before leaving the house.
Hugs all.
GT
Mmmmm… Bacon Camp.
So FCM, tell me again, was it fresh or salt and how big? One or several? I had a salt and 3 fresh going in college but haven’t got back into it because it does require some regular, if not frequent, attention. I do miss the beauty though. Sometimes I’d find myself having gazed upon them for a hour or more marvelling at their ‘wonderfulness.’
Down to 107 yesterday, summer’s over!
We rolled our Hatch Chiles in tortillas w/ cream cheese, some ground meat and salsa. I’ll keep buying 'em until the stores run out. I wonder if there’s a recipe for Chile Cake?
Mornin’.
OK, **FCD **has gone to work, the critters have been tended to, my first load of laundry is in the machine, and I’ve got a few minutes to get caught up.
First off, the boat did great. **FCD **went to check on it first thing Sunday. One of our boat neighbors who lives aboard said the water rose about 3’ higher than normal. There were a few shredded sails and canvas from folks who didn’t bother securing their vessels, but overall, our little marina did well. To be fair, our side of it is pretty well sheltered, which is part of the reason we chose where we are.
On the home front, we lost power about 7:45 on Saturday evening. I did good by filling the bathtubs with water, but I wish I’d remembered the battery-operated lamps from the boat. We had one flashlight (thankfully, we also had a pack of D-cells at the ready) and despite my studio being in disarray, I found a box of candles pretty quick. I took 2 random pots and filled them with sand, then stuck the candles in them, since I don’t own candlesticks. When we were cleaning the basement earlier, I’d come across a Bic lighter that worked, so I was able to lay hands on that right away also.
We sat in the living room by candlelight for a little while. The living room windows face west and they’re under the porch overhang, so we were able to open them. The wind was blowing from the north and east, which put it at the master bedroom corner. I opened those windows a little bit from the top (yay for double-hung) enough to let air flow, but not rain. So we did have some circulation inside - that was fortunate, since the house was pretty stuffy.
**FCD **went to bed, but I sat in the living room listening to the storm. I heard a tree hit the front fence between us and the neighbor (chain link makes a distinctive “ching” sound) and earlier when I took Scruffy out, before it got dark, I watched a small dead pine on the other side of our front yard fall down. As I sat in the dark listening to the storm, I heard the distinctive crack of a large tree giving way, followed by a sickening crunching sound. Turns out the house kitty-corner from us, where the woman runs a daycare, lost its carport and maybe a bit of its attic to a huge hollow oak. As of yesterday, it was still just sitting there.
I had a really tough time sleeping Saturday night, but when I woke Sunday, the rain was just about done, although the wind kept blowing all day, even after the sun came out. I’d found an old transistor radio, and with fresh batteries, I was able to get some local news. There was power in Charlotte Hall, so we drove that way and got in a loooooooong line at Popeye’s for a less-than-ideal brunch. A guy from the electric co-op was in line behind us, buying up a mess of food for his crew. Those guys had started working in the storm, and he said they spent the night at the shop so they’d be there for the morning shift. I can’t fault our electric company at all!
Sunday evening, we were starving and grungy, so we went to our marina for a shower (they didn’t have power either, so it was a coooooold shower) and afterwards, we had a nice dinner, then went home to candlelight. I was knitting - fortunately, the pattern I’m working is pretty simple, so I was mostly able to do it by feel and silent counting.
Through the course of the weekend, we watched our fish die, and there was nothing we could do. The main problem was lack of oxygen in the water - if it was just the temperature, they’d have survived. But there was no way we could move enough air thru the tank. At various times, we’d open it up and scoop out the carcasses - clownfish, angelfish, tangs… Wouldn’t you know, the ones who survived the longest were the cheap $3.50 chromis. I’m not going to try to total up the monetary cost of the losses, but it ran between $500 and $1000, probably toward the higher end.
All the corals are gone, all the anemones, one starfish, the shrimp, the eel, a bunch of hermit crabs and various snails. It’s really sad - we had such a pretty tank with an interesting variety of critters - now we have a few snails and crabs. **FCD **will to a search for the remaining carcasses - we know we missed some. He’ll move the rocks around and assess the damages, then we’ll do a major water change, or a series of water changes, and slowly repopulate the tank. On the plus side, we know a lot more about different kinds of critters, and we know what we do and don’t want this time.
On another plus side, there was no water intrusion into the basement, and the caulking that **FCD **did on Friday around the small skylight stopped the leaks there. I’m pretty sure we didn’t lose anything in the freezer - maybe the ice cream, but the cartons were almost empty. The fridge was probably OK, too, but I’ll probably toss the milk, and I bet the salad stuff in the bottom drawer is shot. But all things considered, we fared well, except for the no-power adventure. Last night, we went to the marina again to shower and we grabbed supper at Bob Evans. By the time we got home, the lights were on and the peasants rejoiced!
I can only say good things about the crews from SMECO and the others who came in from out of state. Those guys rock! When the storm ended, about 109K were without power, and as of yesterday morning, that was down under 50K. From this morning’s update, it looks like that’s down to 35K or so - all substations are repaired and only 4 feeders (down from the 82 that were off at storm’s end) remain to be repaired. There were broken poles all over the place from trees falling into the lines, and I’d be willing to bet some of the repairs can’t be done till the ground dries and firms so the equipment can get to the poles. Anyway, they’ll be getting a nice letter from me. I was most impressed!
And that brings us to today. First load of laundry is on the line, second in the washer. Much ice is melting in the sink. Today’s plans include, apart from laundry, cleaning both bathrooms and running the vacuum, as well as general tidying. Apparently being Amish is messy. Oh, and Rebo, you were lucky to have reached me - my cell was going dead and my car charger broke, so I was on the last few drops of juice… :eek: But hearing from you gave me warm fuzzies!
Happy Tuesday! Dang, that was long…
loo - Yay for Hatch Chiles! Please write out the recipe?
Did I tell y’all the AC was out yesterday? It’s still out. It’s only 79° in here so far. My arms aren’t sticking to the desk yet. Thanks God for my box fan!
Swampus, don’t forget to take a sweater along. You might get chilly! 
Sorry about your fish, Moommm. Did you lose any food in your fridge/freezer?
Sorry about the wet vehicle, Bobbio. I hope it gets dried out soon!
Glad to see you, reeves! Come around more often!
Nava, that is very bad. I hate being that bored.
gt - WAKE UP!!! You must be awake to leave the house. Trust me on this one!
**lieu **- it’s salt - 125 gallons. The first 3 photos at this link were taken last week. At least I documented it before it died.
Sad thing - we have a generator. In the shed. It hasn’t been started in over 7 years. 
We’ll be taking it to Amish Dave’s to be overhauled, then we’ll do what we must to get power to the house - at least the applicable circuits - should we have another emergency. Had we had it ready to go, we’ve have been OK - the well, fridge, and fish would have had power. Lesson learned…
No recipe, a friend said she’d done that so we just pulled those items out of the fridge and built from scratch. I did roast the chiles on the grill though until they were a little scorched on each side and then threw them hot into a ziploc to let 'em steam. That made pulling the skins off real easy. After rinsing off the seeds I keep them in the fridge and just try putting them in everything that sounds good, like eggs, tortillas, etc.
That sounds like it was one exceptionally nice tank, FCM. We’ll welcome updates on how you set it up anew.
ETA: Just saw your post n pics, yep, it’s as pretty as I imagined.
I am at irk. I am drownin’ in a sea of mail outs. Medicare open enrollment begins October 15th. In the grand scheme of things that ain’t real far off. Thus, we begin to get the word out. Yee and Haa.
Well, if you’re going to hard wire it, or set it up to feed the house through the breaker panel, you’ll need a transfer switch to disconnect the line feed.
Feeding the panel without a transfer switch means you feed power to the line, whether it is live or not. You’ll provide power to your neighbors, and makes life rough for linesmen and first responders.
Your alternative is to run extension cords and plug in what you want to have power.
**BBBobbio **- you just gave me the same lesson in generators that **FCD **gave me yesterday. There’s an advantage to living with someone who worked a lot of years as a plant engineer. Even tho he’s mechanical, he knows lots of electrical stuff too. Lucky me. So we know how to not feed the grid. We just need to decide where it’ll live, and maybe build a small shelter over it - after Amish Dave gets it running, of course.
Three loads are hanging on the lines, and the fourth is in the washer. I just finished scrubbing toilets, sinks, and the guest bathtub. I really should clean both floors, but I don’t feel like it right now.
I also just pulled 3 more dead fishies out of the tank. They got stirred around, then caught on one of the power heads. They’ve all been given a respectable burial in the septic tank. I can see another dead starfish in there - really sad. I’ll leave it to my sweetie to deal with what remains of the remains. On the other hand, the crabs that survived are having quite a feast…
I’m up, I’m caffeinated, and Tuesday is my Saturday.
**doggio **- just wait till you retire - EVERY day is Saturday!
Fifth and final load for the day is in the washer. I gave the milk a sniff test - it’s good - YAY! I do need to clean the fridge - lots of puddles from ice. But not right now, thanks. I’ll get to it. I also need to decide what we’ll have for supper. We haven’t done spaghetti in a while - maybe I’ll try that?
Kitchen needs some attention. And I’ll probably drag the vacuum out before too long. But it’s almost lunch time, since I breakfasted before 7 and I’s hongreeeeee!!
Mmmmmmmooooooooom, Glad you survived your adventure. RIP, Fish.
Today is blurf. That is all.
Amen to that! BLURF.