Anticipation

 

Saturday, October 27, 2012 – Anticipation

We’re making preparations to our trip to Arizona, with our departure scheduled for next Wednesday, Elliott’s health permitting.  Or perhaps I should say weather permitting because we’re also preparing for Frankenstorm, the inauspiciously named weather event that is predicted to affect our area starting on Sunday.  The likelihood of heavy rain, strong winds, flooding, etc. has definitely complicated our plans. 

We scrambled to reschedule our Monday activities for Saturday, so we’ve already done our early voting.  Katie voted, too.  She can’t remember what I told her five minutes ago, but in this election, every vote is important. The afternoon was devoted to storm preparation.  This involved moving trash cans, lawn chairs, flower pots, wind chimes, and the bird feeder to areas out of reach of the storm’s fury.  I got out the rake and cleared the leaves out of the storm drains.  Elliott and I worked together to repair some torn screens.  We’ve located flashlights, candles, batteries and a phone that will work if the power goes out. 

Actually, it’s a foregone conclusion that we’ll lose power.  Whenever we get strong winds, trees and limbs come crashing down, taking power lines with them.   My prediction is that we’ll lose power sometime on Monday.  An imminent power outage triggers a frenzy of eating, as everything in the freezer and refrigerator must be consumed.  Mushroom ravioli, falafel, Swedish meatballs and chickenless nuggets would make a strange meal, but that’s what’s on the menu for Sunday night.  Thankfully, I can count on Elliott to finish up the two containers of ice cream all by himself.  And instead of waiting a couple of days to do laundry, I’d better start on Sunday morning or we’ll be packing dirty clothes to take to Arizona. 

And speaking of our trip, I sure hope the weather won’t interfere with our travel plans.  Elliott has been feeling better, with his back pain relatively under control, for the past few days.  He’s really looking forward to getting away, as am I, especially since we had to cancel the September trip to California.  But we’ll just have to wait and see what happens during the next 72 hours.