Friday, August 26, 2011

Getting Ready


By 8:30 am today our house was filled with the sounds of a jackhammer and Jake’s barking. There were multiple workers trudging in and out because we had stupidly scheduled the basement lighting installation and the installation of a sump pump at exactly the same time.

I thought the electrical guys might pack up and leave, but instead they put in their earplugs and continued to do what they came to do. Everyone was very cordial, but there was a hint of friction in the air.

We desperately wanted the sump pump to be installed since the basement has recently become a sieve in one corner and we are going to have hurricane rains dumped on us over the weekend. We may still be in trouble if the power fails because the sump pump is electrically operated and a backup battery would have cost us an additional $500.

We had purchased lawn tickets to see Mary Chapin Carpenter at Wolftrap with friends tomorrow night. We have wisely decided to bag that and just have a hurricane potluck instead. It’s fortunate we hadn’t paid big money for the inside seats because there are still going to be gale force winds to contend with. The Wolftrap people say the show will go on whatever the weather, but that remains to be seen.

My husband commented tonight how wonderful it would be to know if and when we will lose electricity and for how long. But what would we really do differently if we had that information? I will be doing my cooking for the potluck early just in case the power leaves us.

We are very much looking forward to our daughter coming home hopefully before Irene arrives.

But tonight we can say, “Goodnight, Irene. Please let us off easy this time. After all, we’ve already been through an earthquake this week.”

4 Comments:

Blogger e said...

I hope all goes well tomorrow. Thanks for the info regarding the router, etc. I can't find your contact info...

Will be away from the blog for much of the weekend.

11:59 PM  
Blogger Steve Reed said...

Yeah, you guys are really getting hammered there in the DC area -- hurricanes and earthquakes in a single week! It's bad karma from the politicians, I'm telling you. :)

I'm surprised Wolftrap didn't cancel that concert, given that other areas are holding mandatory evacuations or ordering people to stay home.

3:29 AM  
Blogger Pauline said...

May as well get all your natural disasters over with at once! Hope the storm is not too bad your way. We're expecting some strong winds and lots of rain. Enjoy your potluck! What're you cooking up?

2:15 PM  
Blogger Barbara said...

E -- I sent you contact info.

Steve -- Wolftrap just canceled the concert and refunded our money. That was the right thing to do!

Pauline -- It's coming your way after we get it! I made a corn-tomato-lettuce salad. I also made "broccamole" -- a healthy dip I came up with that is mostly avocado and broccoli.

2:51 PM  

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