Cleanup Monday
Here are the Cleanup Monday notes; or at least, I think all this was Monday, the day after the storm. I didn’t have a notebook (I mean a real paper notebook) with me; or I could have taken notes for my blogs!
The morning after Ida had passed, “B” and I headed back for her house, even though we weren’t quite sure that we could get there. Of course there were trees down, possibly blocking the roads; and the (battery-powered) radio mentioned that, at some points, police were turning motorists back.
But we decided to try anyhow; and had no problems getting there. When we got to B’s place, it was a different matter. A pine tree had fallen, and was blocking her driveway.
Already some neighbors were there, using a chain saw to cut up that tree. Another falling tree brought down all the power lines to B’s house. There were twigs and branches all over the ground; and B said it will take a year to clean it all up.
We went to work picking up the litter on the ground; and that was some hard work! It was already hot early in the day; and by afternoon the heat index was in the triple digits. We needed some personal cooling devices!
Cleanup Monday saw both B and me very hot; and tired; and sweaty. B has some trouble with nerve pain one arm; and this work wasn’t very good for her.
Post-Ida Woes
To make it harder, B has a well; and without electricity to run the pump, there was no running water. We had to go to bed that night all hot and sweaty.
I didn’t bring many clothes with me when I evacuated; and had to keep wearing the same grungy blouse and socks over and over. I’m glad I brought my battered old sneakers, because the ground was wet and muddy; and those shoes got so filthy that I threw them away before I came out to my sister’s place.
With no electricity, we couldn’t cook. We tried to use up the stuff in the fridge and freezer first; and we had canned and packaged food (e.g. crackers). But we couldn’t dirty up many dishes, because we couldn’t wash them! B had paper plates; and we had to be careful not to use them up too quickly.
B had boarded up as many windows as she could; and that made the house dark. Even after she and I got at least some of those boards down, it was too dim in there for me. Dim lighting is oppressive; and it makes me feel tired and off balance.
There wasn’t enough light to read; and of course we had no access to either Internet or WiFi. B does have a gasoline-powered generator; and she used it to run the fridge. Unfortunately it ran out of fuel faster than we liked.
And that was just Monday; cleanup Monday or not. We had a long week ahead!