Counting Our Blessings, Others Not-So-Lucky

Basically the Irene experience here at TOPH was anti-climactic.  We lost power for about six hours during the day yesterday, but, thanks to an energetic romp at the through-the-woods neighbors' house, the kids crashed for a long nap and we got some reading in.  Excellent Sunday afternoon, by all accounts.

The power came back on in time to cook dinner.  I hedged my bets with a pressure cooker. I figured as long as it got up a full head of steam, it would keep cooking even if the power decided to conk out again.  Yummy barbeque pork.

So TOPH came through fine.  No major roof leaks, no major basement flooding and no major tree damage. Unfortunately, some of our friends and family were not so lucky.

My hubby's aunt and uncle lost their dream home on Cat Island in the Bahamas.  They've spent the last few years managing the massive logistics of building in that remote locale.  Finding building materials and skilled contractors is not as easy as picking up the phone down island.  Materials were brought in by horse and mule and brandless motorized contraptions. Managing opinionated local and migrant laborers from afar was even harder.  Getting furnishings to a home there requires IKEA-like palette packing, generous relationships with  customs officers and scarce-vehicle transport.

Formerly "Rainbow House" on Cat Island in the Bahamas.

They had painstakingly installed a whole-house solar power system there, transporting it piece-by-piece friends' sailboats as they came through over several cruising seasons.  And it's all gone. 

One of the major points of contention with the building laborers was cement.  The house was constructed of concrete block, but they were stacked and fastened together with mix-on-site materials.  The quality control when it came to the consistency and content was impossible.  The challenges were either opinion or shear laziness -- it was never clear which.  But, physics always win.  A structure is only as strong as its weakest point.  And Irene found it.

Not quite as dramatic, but equally devastating, our friend Dave was home with is dog Cyrus when a good-sized tree was uprooted in the yard of his rented cottage near Annapolis.  Thank goodness they were not hurt!  And here's hoping he is able to salvage some of his soggy belongings once the tree is stabilized or removed.

Dave's House in Edgewater, MD. As my hubby
put it: "You sank my battleship."

When you see destruction like this, you really start to think what might easily be lost. In the corner of the house where the tree hit was a curio cabinet stuffed with trophies and pictures and memorabilia spanning several decades of sailboat racing, his lifelong passion. We are truly grateful that he and Cyrus are OK, and hoping that much can be salvaged. There are some things insurance just can't replace.

And, some rays of hope, if you will.  As we were all watching Irene make a slow-motion, full-on mess up the east coast,  folks farther south were coming out of their shelters and things were looking up.  The air was dry, the atmosphere "scrubbed" and the colors amazing.  Thanks my to uncle and cousin for sharing.  It was nice to have a preview of  the light at the end of the tunnel.

Sunset in Wilmington, North Carolina as the
final bands of Irene spin onward and upward.

We've heard from the folks down on the Cape and all appears to be fine, altough there is no power.  No surprise there.  No word yet from our friends in coastal Connecticut and Vermont.  Hoping you stayed high and dry, y'all.