WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 23:47

He said a boat... not a kayak!

uwanna61 · Post by **uwanna61** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 00:36

Ross
Leave the kayak, bring the boat, cuz if Tom & Jerry come along from the peacock saloon, we will need the room and a bigger toilet

vagreys · Post by **vagreys** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 03:13

Hi. Lost power for good on Saturday about 2:30pm. No word on when we will have power restored, not even an estimate. They think they will have everyone restored by Saturday. My brother drove over from Salem, and brought us his generator. So I got the fridge and freezer back on-line and then our phones/internet/TV. We aren't running the generator overnight, to conserve fuel.

As of Sunday morning, after Irene had pulled away to the north, just under 1M were without power statewide, and about 390,000+ in the Richmond area. We ended up having higher winds in Richmond (71mph) than out on the coast where the eye passed over Norfolk and Virginia Beach, and about twice what was forecast. Those remaining without power tonight, last I checked was around 570,000+ statewide, and about 270,000 in the Richmond area. We are told that the damage was extensive in our grid, and we may not have power for 1-2 weeks. I hope they will get it restored sooner.

Otherwise, we are ok. Nothing fell on our house or cars. No flooding, as high as we are above the creek. Just having to wait for power. Much better than Hurricane Isabel.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 04:24

How are your nerves holding out Tom? Have you been through a few of these bad guys before? I'll bet your local emergency services have been busy. Glad you're ok ol' pard!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 04:41

I have been through more hurricanes than I remember but I have seen enough to know that in my neck of the woods we were vry lucky but even here the lights ares still out in many areas. Almost all of the damage in Harford county has been from wind thrown trees and downed power lines.

vagreys · Post by **vagreys** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 15:00

Chuckwagon, we're about 120 miles inland, and don't usually get much from the hurricanes that pass. More often, we get river flooding on the James, from the remnants of hurricanes that run up against the Blue Ridge. It's interesting that from the Blue Ridge, east, Virginia would be a temperate desert if it didn't have the hurricane season and the remnants of storms running up against the Blue Ridge to drop rain and recharge the water table. That's why, when everyone is so happy to have a quiet hurricane season, I'm generally not happy, because it means we're having a drought and the corn and peanut crops are going to suffer that year.

However, Hurricane Isabel came into shore on an unusual course and went directly over Richmond as a Category 1 hurricane. This year, for whatever reason, even though Irene went directly over Norfolk and Virginia Beach, we had some of the strongest sustained winds in the entire state, way over here to the west. That's very unusual, since the strongest winds are usually around the eye and in the northeast quadrant, not on the west side o the storm. Today, I'm hearing the post-hurricane song of chain saw buzz, hammers on lumber, and generators.

Ross, the damage was the same, here. Mostly trees. We had one fatality in the area from a tree falling on a guy while he was trying to clear another fallen tree. Same happened in Isabel, too, except the guy was watching the tree that fell on him, and just didn't get out of the way...Darwin at work, I suppose.

Now, we've got our eyes on Tropical Storm Katia, which is forecast to be come a Category 3 hurricane headed for the east coast. A lot depends on a large trough that is moving across the US, right now, and whether the timing works out for it to nudge Katia out to sea; otherwise, it looks like we are already setting up for our second coastal hurricane of the season.

vagreys · Post by **vagreys** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 15:50

story28 wrote:Has anyone ever heard of vacuum sea salt??

Made in large-scale industrial evaporators called vacuum pans. Sea salts generally contain some measure of iodine, among other things, that can discolor the meat and create off flavors. I save sea salt for cooking and at table, and prefer non-iodized, purified salt for making sausage.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 21:18

Bietzpadlin as I bought has she was launched.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 23:34

Wow! Now that's what I call some kind of canoe! But where is Uwanna's uhh... uhhh... "porcelain facility". That is a gorgeous ride Ross! Does one sit in a saddle to "steer" the thing?

Can ya toss a lassooo from the deck? Does it ever buck? Wow, just like its name... I'll bet it just beats paddlin' the Bietzpadlin. Beautiful craft, skipper!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 23:47

Mighty interesting stuff Tom. I just couldn't believe it when the newscaster said there was another one behind it. You've got to be kidding!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 03:04

I can remember back to back hurricanes from the fifties.

The Hurricanes of 1955: Connie and Diane

Hurricanes Connie and Diane occurred on August 12-14, 1955 and August 17-20, 1955, respectively. "These two hurricanes caused little damage to the coast but their combined maximum rainfall of 27 inches caused catastrophic flooding in western Connecticut"5

I grew up in Connecticut and was starting my senior year in high school that fall.

vagreys · Post by **vagreys** » Wed Aug 31, 2011 18:39

The evening came and went, as evenings do. It was a cold, hard fact: power is a fickle mistress. She'll leave you with no warning, in a heartbeat, see? And it could be days before you get her back, that is, if she comes back. This doll had been gone for four days, and was supposed to be back, last night, but she didn't show. I waited until they turned out the lights and locked the door. No dice. Today, I hear through the grapevine that she may not be back until tomorrow night, if she even shows. So I wait for her. Sitting in this joint, staring at my cuppa joe, waiting for another evening to come and go, as evenings do.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 09:42

Tom, I hope you get your mistress back today. There's one thing about that damned storm... it gave lots of folks time to reflect! It's just too bad that it took more than 30 lives! Our prayers and hopes are with their families. Just remember, "This too, shall pass". Hang in there buddy.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 13:06

I am going to have to get a genny. Eight years ago I canned the contents of my freezer but that was about 200 jars of meat and soup. Today I have two canners but still.

vagreys · Post by **vagreys** » Thu Sep 01, 2011 19:42

ssorllih wrote:I am going to have to get a genny. Eight years ago I canned the contents of my freezer but that was about 200 jars of meat and soup. Today I have two canners but still.

Having my brother's available has certainly made me consider one, when I have the funds. A friend of mine had a whole-house generator with a very large underground propane tank attached. He could run for about 30 days on a tank. I'd love to have the cash to throw around on something like that.