not that we could go anywhere , our town was hit hard, actually the county was hit hard in NJ
more than 90 % of the county was without power when Sandy hit. OUr town was 100 percent without power as well as 10 other towns in our county. ANd we are in North Jersey where your not even seeing on the evening news reports everything is about South Jersey. Things are BAD When you see them after 2 days evacuating an assisted living care facility with school buses and ambulances its sad.
The hospital was still running on a generator after 2 days, wheres the priorities????
ok so I will vent a little here....stop reading if your don't want to hear it. I usually keep my blog upbeat and happy and all about quilting but this time I just have to speak :) First let me say we are fine , very thankful for that, and yes life will go on but.....
We are still without power and the town is starting to no longer look like a war zone with the amount of trees down but still no power in 90% of the town, they are hoping in the next week we will all have power.
This is crazy that they can't get the power on faster then this in mho. How they chose to return power to customers is just not understandable. this is the 3rd time in just over a year we have been without power for over a week.
There are no hotels available in the area , most of them are without power too.
Gas station lines are miles long, people running out of gas before they even get to the pump
The stories about this storm are true , the damage is incredible, so hard to explain in words..
we were so lucky the tree didn't hit my car less then 4 ft from where it fell
or the house we consider ourselves so lucky to have faired another storm without any damage that can't be replaced but I still think in this day and age and the US Gov't could be helping more by sending in more troops to help in the clean up of trees and more equipment from all over the country and power crews to help turn the power back on sooner . this is truly a national disaster in NJ.
I feel so bad for so many families that have lost their homes and businesses that are lost or damaged
the workers with no job now too....
I know once my power is back on I would love to make a few quilts to donate to those families that lost everything, hopefully a few quilt guilds in the area will have set up some programs for us to donate thru...anyone here of a guild doing this yet????
hopefully will be back in a few days with quilting news soon....
THANK YOU for all the emails asking if we are ok...
I truly appreciate it.
69 comments:
Kathie, my heart goes out to all of you! Both my brothers live in Northern Jersey and are also still without power. Here where I am in CT, we were quite lucky, unlike last year. We are much further inland than the shoreline of CT which also was decimated. Please know that I am thinking of you and wishing your power comes back soon. I know that when we were without power for a week last year, at least our utility company had the presence of mind to prioritize... hospitals, businesses were up and running first, that way if people needed gas or food it was easily attainable. Houses came last. It got cold, as we have no generator, but with places to go it made it easier. I am praying for you and all the others. Keep your head up! If you should need anything, do not hesitate to contact me.
This storm, unfortunately, has proven how unprepared the agencies are to respond to the needs of the people who support them in better times. I am truly sorry that you have had to go through this horror. My hope is that you are well and trying to stay warm and healthy as best you can. We here in the central part of NY state seemed to have escaped major damage, but we are awed by your devastation. May you fare well and return to normal soon.
Thank you for your blog. Quilts have always been a part of my life, along with sewing. I find myself designing new ones and really enjoying the challenge. I look forward to exploring more here.
Kathie, mi corazon y el de mi familia esta con todos vosotros, y todos estan en nuestras oraciones.
Kathie, my heart and my family is with you all, and all are in our prayers.
Besos desde Sevilla, España
Your post breaks my heart. I did find a link to a young woman collecting blocks for quilts through Carol of Brown Quilts http://vesuviusmama.blogspot.com/
Take care!
K- now I understand why people from NYC were staying in PA hotels. So sorry to hear about all the damage. I really worry about older single people.
Take Care. Thinking of you!!
Love from another Jersey Girl.
I'm so glad you and your family are safe...THE most important thing! It's so hard to see all the devastation. So tragic. I will keep my ears open for a group accepting quilts. I will also keep you and your whole state in my prayers! Take care.
Yes, I have seen the utter devastation and feel so sorry for all having to suffer. But I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned depending on the govt. to take care of all this. I think WAY more gets done when the Red Cross, Salvation Army, local volunteer organizations and other groups like churches, etc. come in and begin the clean-up/restoration. Unfortunately, we depend on our govt. for EVERYTHING and so often they fail miserably. Prayers that someone will get to you guys soon and get you back on the path to normalcy.
I live in Florida and I hope I can explain a little of why they don't put troops in to clear trees and some of the other things that we think if there were more manpower it would be better. Most of the tree removal requires experience since if done wrong there can be death or much worse infrastructure damage. Clearing roadways of trees with with wires in them is a very dangerous thing since each wire needs to be properly tested. I know that ranting makes me feel better, so rant on, but in some cases the things we don't understand are in fact based in sound logic. I hope you and all the others get power soon. Our longest stretch without was about 9 days and that was just a small portion of the grid. They have huge maps that tell them how to get the most people and those with the highest priority back on the grid quickest. I was very upset when the people just 4 houses away had power 3 days before us, but a friend at the power company explained that the damage on our street only effected the 30 houses on our street but would take 5 hours to repair, and that there were lots of things that took less time and fewer manhours to get more people power. I didn't like it but it was the right thing for them to do.
Kathie, I'm so glad to hear that you all are okay, but it really is horrible to be without power for so long. (Been there; done that) Will keep you and your community in my prayers. xo
Kathie, still praying for the whole situation, but now I will pray more specifically for your area! Wasn't sure where you lived before now.
Let me know, please, if you find a place for quilts to go. I'm part of a group that makes quilts to give away, and we were wondering where the current quilt could go! We would love to send it to someone who would appreciate it!
Blessings and keep us posted.
Kathie, so good to hear from you and your status. I thought of you. We lived thru a catastrophic event 8 years ago with Ivan, I know exactly what you're going thru - except that we didn't have the cold. Hang in the best you can and know that many people around the country are praying daily for you all in the NE.
I'm so thankful to hear that you are fine and your house didn't sustain any damage! I was traveling last weekend here in Florida before the storm hit and I counted so many power trucks and cherry pickers going north to help - even before the storm hit. After this is over, I would invite you to seek answers to your questions from your Emergency Preparedness Organization - I know here in Florida there is most definitely a plan to prioritize who gets power back first, assuming they have the ability to do so!
My heart goes out to you...my son is up there in the middle of the mess too...praying for your safety. Blogged about you last post, by the way!
I'm so happy to hear that you are OK, but have been frustrated in the TV reports of what people are having to go through. It is ridiculous that we don't have better systems in place in this country. I just hope and pray that power will be fixed very soon.
SOOOO glad to hear that you are OK...this storm has been so devastating for so many. I don't think a storm has hit such a population-dense area in a long time. My in-laws live in a suburb of Philly and don't have power or phones yet either...just on their block. A neighbor's tree fell right on a line in front of their house. It is taking so long to get their power on because most power crews have gone to NY, NJ, etc. They are in their mid-80's and are holding on, but the storm happening with the cold weather is a double whammy. Cold temps are something we southerners never experience in association with hurricanes. There is so much devastation, I don't think there is any way that every area can be addressed at once, and setting priorities is always hard to do. The lack of gasoline makes rescue and recovery even harder...first responders were having trouble getting enough to fill their cars/trucks. I worry about all the seniors cut off in those high rise apartment buildings in New Jersey with no elevators. We didn't have power for 13 days after my daughter was born...it was very difficult. My husband drove miles to find a generator in stock to buy, just to run the breast pump and a hot plate. There are so many areas where the houses can't be entered but whole families are camping in the yards because they have no where to go, no way to get there, and they are afraid to leave what is left due to looting, etc. They don't have toilets, coats...nothing. I heard my home state was sending some mobile showers and toilets that they received when the tornadoes went through last year. But that is a drop in the bucket when there are millions that need help. I hope you guys stay safe until your power is restored. We even had 65-70 MPH winds here with some power outages, and most of our line crews had already left the state, heading east. I never thought I would experience a hurricane in Michigan! My prayers are with you...you are all being asked to endure extremely difficult circumstances with patience and grace, and sometimes that is just not possible!
Teresa :o)
I'm so glad you are ok! And you're right.....we are not hearing any news of your area.....just the coastline. Until I heard some ladies at a local quilt show saying they were staying over longer if their power was still out, I didn't even know that CT had been hit that hard!
And I agree that the priorities for the crews to get power on should definitely be the hospitals and nursing homes, and any other life/service related business! That just makes sense, but I guess we aren't in charge of that.....so who knows what they are thinking.
Stay well, and I hope it all gets back to at least semi-normal very soon.
My heart goes out to you and all of the people going through this. Glad to hear that you are OK and damage to your hope was at a minimum.
Glad to hear you are all OK Kathie. Being without power for a few hours can drive me crazy - I can't imagine being without for so long. Keeping all of you in my prayers during this awful time.
Hugs - Karen
I am so happy to hear that you are ok and hope they get your power on soon. I have another friend in Jersey that hasn't been on, so I assume it is just the power. We were really blessed, never lost power in our area, but everyone else did. We did get a tree on our fence, but no major damage in the area. I saw that Victoria is doing a drive for families, she mentioned equilter sponsoring it.
Debbie
Good to hear from you, Kathie. I've been without power for a few days in high heat, but never in the cold. I can't imagine how hard that would be. Hang in there! I asked my mom if we used to lose power in the past as often as we do now and she said no. I think we are having more powerful storms now. That coupled with more people and the power companies can't (don't, won't) keep up. Stitchinpenny's comment makes sense, but doesn't make it any easier for you. I, too, was wondering about quilts for those who've lost everything. Take care.
Kathie, so glad you are safe, hope things will be back to normal soon. All those affected by the storm are in my prayers! I heard that crews that came to help that were not unionized were turned away and not allowed to help. If this is true it's unbelievable and shameful. Thanks for your blog report, it's important to hear from someone in the area affected by the storm. Best wishes, prayers and blessings!
I'm sorry. Is the red cross there. I like to give them money for this kind of awfulness.. Is there anything else we can?
Kathie, so sorry that NJ got hit so badly. I hope your power comes back on very soon and also that gas and provisions arrive soon.
Kathie I am so glad to hear that you made it through the storm. Ever since moving to this home we've had power outages at least three times a year due to wind or rain and even though it was a small area of outage it took three to five days to get the power back. Several years ago when the national power grid failed for several surrounding states our area was without power for a week. We finally put in a generator that is directly connected to the natural gas supply so we don't need to worry about gas and have been very glad that we have it. Unfortunately we've had to use it several times for up to five days at a time and it's such a relief to have it run automatically so we have power and heat or air conditioning. I wonder why nursing homes and assisted living facilities don't have them since their residents really need power.
I hope you will get your power back soon but know it will be a challenge with so many people affected by the storm. Fortunately our niece who lives in NJ only a few miles from the beach only lost power for 24 hours and was able to take in people from the beach who lost their homes. Thoughts and prayers will come your way until everyone has their power back and gets some relief.
I have been through enough to hurricanes to last the rest of my life. So watching this storm hit millions of people was VERY sobering. And on an island of 62,000 people it ll has taken over 4 years to put back together.
QUILTS: read of this
http://www.equilter.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/quiltrelief.html
for quilt relief....
Glad you and your family are safe. It is heartbreaking to see all the devastation of Sandy. We here in the NC mountains were lucky to only deal with snow and very little power outage.
With a storm of this magnitude I don't think there is any way to be completely prepared or to fix it quickly. We need to realize how vulnerable all of us are no matter what part of the country we are in.
My prayers are with you and all of the people affected by this super storm.
Louise
Check with bumblebeans blog ,something to do with equilter.com .
I have to say I think the area where you are is in the dark ages! Jill has a lot of power issues too and always takes forever to get it back on! Hang in there! I hope you got lots of your binding done.
Glad you are ok Kathy, hope you get some power soon.
We are still getting lots of news every day about the storm bit mostly about NYC.
Sending you warm hugs from across the pond.
I'm so glad to know that you and yours are safe. I'm terribly sorry that power has yet to be restored - I don't get it either. Know that I'm keeping you and yours in my thoughts and prayers.
Take care, Kathie!
Well all I can do is send hugs. We were in Hurricane Andrew in Miami..without electricity for 3 weeks..the problem is that everything is destroyed, just everything. Just like Stitchinpenny said..each place has to be evaluated less the gas is still on and a fire could start or someone could be electrocuted. Because everything is ruined, getting the word out is very difficult which is why Staten Island was not realized for a few days. Hang in there..folks are doing the best they can. I can see that only in retrospect, certainly not in the middle of it all. I do see the Equilter link..that is probably the best way to go. My heart can feel with you..so I am sending hugs...
You are enduring a very difficult situation, Kathie. Glad you are well physically.
I have a niece in a hard hit area of Connecticut--no electricity or water and trees down everywhere, so roads are impassable. They are expecting to be without power at least two weeks--and they have 3 little girls. I can't imagine how hard this would be. Prayers are with you all.
Glad to hear from you. Sorry to hear about all destruction in your area. Of course they are concentrating on NY city on the news. Espn said they had lots of their company people affected in Connecticut and they are talking about New Jersey, but like you said in the south region. They are sending generators from Nebraska to the polling booths to make sure people can vote. Hopefully--people will be able to get warm in the buildings. We have lost power during snowstorms & it is terrible. Last big storm, my parents were without power for 10 days. We have underground power--so we only lost it for a few hours. But we did not deal with a hurricane at the same time--it was an ice storm. All the trees that fell took forever to get removed. There is only so much power to go around. My prayers and thoughts are with you and your town.
Kathie, I am so relieved to hear that you are safe, but so sorry to hear that you have such a challenge without power and in the days ahead. I have no stories to share about such weather-related hardships, but I have been glued to the TV and send you all the hugs, prayers and positivity I can from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I will tell you that yesterday I read that Erin whio blogs at http://vesuviusmama.blogspot.ca/2012/11/taking-action-wanna-help.html
has started a campaign for quilters to make quilt blocks and send them to her. She plans to make finished quilts to donate to some families who have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy. The pattern is wonderfully easy. I pieced 6 blocks in less than an hour and they will be mailed off tomorrow. It's the least I can do to help just a tad. All the information is on her blog. Take care...will be thinking of you!
I'm so sorry that your area was so hard hit and I totally understand the rant. We live in Virginia and got off with only wind and rain, nothing like you all. I can hardly believe all the damage! My husband is in the army, and he has been working until 11pm or midnight every night this week as well as this weekend. His unit is trying to help out with communication outages. The problem is that they cannot send in too many people as there aren't enough resources to support them--places to stay, etc. They are staying in Philadephia and driving down to the locations where they are needed. I hope you get power back, soon, though! Prayers are continuing.
Oh my gosh....so sorry....kinda quiet out there isn't it...kinda eerie.
Glad you are okay and hope you get power soon.
Having gone thru this with Irene - I understand the frustration, but things do take time. Not just a matter of turning a switch. Each house and area has to be cleared/inspected for the safety of the workers - if any water or oil/gas, that is the priority before any electric. Appeal to your local officials - they need to get on the ball with pushing the 'higher ups' to take note; Rural does seem to take a back seat to cities. Thankful you have faired and well.
I'm so glad to see a post from you, we are watching with utter disbelief at the disaster area and how people are struggling with no power and cold nights. I'm getting a quilt ready to send east. Thoughts are with you.
It's great to hear from you. It's been awful seeing watching on the the TV what Sandy has done and wondering how you are all going.It's hard to fathom being without power for so long. Hopefully it will be back on soon! thinking of you.
How wonderful to know that you're okay and survived the carnage. My heart goes out to you and and all the other residents of NJ and NY who have experienced the worst of the damage and are still having to live with it.
Stay safe and be well, my friend. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Our news here in Canada shows power crew from Ontario and Quebec going now to help restore power.
I agree with you though, why does it take so long.
I am glad you are safe and sound, and sorry I can't do more. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Glad to hear from you, just vent to all of us! So glad your home sustained no damage. Maybe this storm will be a wake up call that we need to work on our countries' aging infrastructure. I hope power gets to you soon, you and your neighbors are in my thoughts and prayers.
Cheri
Hope it is quick getting the power back on and clearing your tree - such a terrible shame. And don't worry about the venting...least we can do is hear you out!
All the best
Every Stitch
Thinking of you, Kathie.
We were without word from Andy's 83 year old mother for 5 days. It took her that long to get power. I was calling her town and church every couple of hours, unable to get any word.
We have now made emergency call lists for her and she for us, with more numbers to gather information after disasters. (We also have convinced her that her cell phone, that she bought for emergencies only, can be used to call us. She thought it was only to call 911!)
Stay warm. We in Chicago are working on quilts for the recovery.
Kathie
So glad that you are OK . It shounds really terrible and I'm sure must be devastating to be helpless at a time like this. It does seem unfathomable that services take so long to be restored. Of course it's this time when things can really deteriorate as power stays off and food supplies get low and people get desperate. My thoughts with you and your community.
I'm so happy to read that you are safe!
Glad to hear you are OK Kathie.
Take care.
Binky Patrol is collecting kid size quilts that will be delivered to New Jersey. You can read about it on my blog
http://northhillsquilter.blogspot.com
or at binkypatrol.org
We hope to bring some comfort to the kids at least. Are you guys getting mail? I imagine without gasoline the mail trucks are having a hard time getting through. I will keep watching your blog to see if there is an address to ship quilts to.
So glad to hear from you Kathie. The damage from these storms can be so devastating. We had three back to back hurricanes in 2004 here in Florida. It was not pretty, and sadly there are still many homes with blue tarps on the roof down the I 75 corridor. We were fortunate to only lose power for one day, but I agree with the others, there has to be some kind of system to determine where the power and gas lines are. And if they can repair something in a couple of hours as opposed to many hours. I am mostly sorry for those who lost their lives. My sympathies go out to their families. Take care.
Kathie my heart goes out to everyone and I wish I could do something.
I have some quilts I would love to donate.
Would have thought the troops come in and help get things sorted, him maybe their minds are only on the election.
Look after yourself and let's me know if there is anything I can do
Hugs
Thinking of you and your area. I live in NE Iowa and in the 8 yrs I've lived in this town, we've had a flood and a derecho- which was 130 mile straight line winds for 20 minutes. Our town lost 75% of it's trees. You do feel like you don't know where to begin to clean up, especially when you don't have power. Once you've been in a disaster, you develop a keen appreciation for our government services and for volunteers who come to help, and you ache when you see other people experiencing these things. Hang in there, it does take time to recover, even on the best of days.
Kathie, so good to hear from you. I have been thinking and praying for you to be safe. I'm glad you okay and only a tree down and lost power and nothing else. Take care and will drop by again later - Hugs Nat
Kathie, if you hear of a local group that is making quilts, let me know. I can't afford to donate the fabric for the back or the batting, but I CAN offer my machine quilting skills. Let me know...
I was thinking of you yesterday and wondering if you were safe. So glad to see your blog post.
From what I've seen on the internet the devastation is really huge. Hang in there, hope the power comes back on real soon.
Kathie, I didn't realize how close you are to me! We didn't do too badly here; we do have some gas lines, but that's about it.
I'm so sorry to hear that your power still isn't on.
The only one I've heard of that's doing quilt donations is Luana Rubin of EQuilter.com She's trying to get 5000 quilts to send to NY/NJ.
Take care and I truly hope you have power soon.
I did not realize North Jersey got hit as badly as the shore points. I am glad you are okay but am truly worried about all those who lived at the shore who will be returning to no homes. I am glad you are safe.
Couldn't agree with you more IMHO. Very sad, hard times and glad to have a post from you. So thankful you and family/friends are safe. .
When Hurricane Opal hit Georgia a huge tree came down across my driveway. Thankfully, my truck was in the garage, but it could have been much worse. So I'm glad the tree did no serious damage. I truly wish you could get on a bus to Virginia and I would pick you up and bring you here where there is light and heat and plenty of fabric to play with until your power comes back on. Do take care!
I work for a power company and I feel your pain. Part of the problem is that our power infrastructure needs to be revamped. Most of the power transformers totally exploded or melted down. They need to be replaced. They come from far away. Our power lines should be underground for the most part but that hasn't been a priority. I wonder if the next president will see it as a priority now....Mary A.
So happy to hear you are well... I can't even imagine what everyone affected by this terrible storm is going through!
Take care!
Sherri
Your vent all you want, that is what your quilting friends are here for. Life is not all about wonderful times and quilts, and you certainly have been through a lot this past week. We have a niece in Far Hills, all we know is that she is without power but all are O.K. Please know that all those in Sandy's oath have been in our prayers and at this time the rest of the country just doesn't know what to do except donate money. Hugs and keep venting and we will listen.
Kathie, I'm so glad you are safe. I live in South Jersey and we are fine. If you need anything, please let me know and I'll see if I can help.
When I saw that storm headed that way, I thought about ll those big trees taking down power lines. We are so accustomed to typhoons here and trees are pruned back every year and hold up well. I hope your situation will improve soon.
Kathie, I didn't know you were from NJ. What a terrible storm! I know that many people are still affeected by it. I received news from friends in Ewing letting me know they are well though they had material damages in the area where they live. I also received news from a colleague in New Canaan telling me he is safe and sound.
I am thinking of you and all those affected by the storm and will pray for the situation to improve quickly.
Take care,
David
Same situation in Westchester County, NY. Nuff said. And I agree -- ridiculous. Happens way too often too.
I am so sorry to hear of your situation. It certainly makes it much more real when it is someone whose blog you read and feel you know. Prayers are with you and so many suffering from the storm. I did not realize you were right in the worst area. Hope things will be back to normal soon.
Hi we live in south Jersey , we didnt lose power but our town Moorestown is an old Quaker town 300 yr old , and those trees did come down !! We could not walk the streets in some places because of the debris. I hope you are warm and safe now , we are thankfull.
Sending positive thoughts your way that this mess is over soon, and life returns to normal. Take care, and glad your home and family are safe! My husband does tree work, and he says he really wishes we lived closer so he could help you out. So sorry to hear the powers that be aren't more on top of this. Hugs to you, Dixie
i'm glad to read that you are okay and that your home/property suffered no damage. i hope that your power is restored soon and that this doesn't leave you feeling hopeless and angry for long.
i'm happy to read within the comments that there are a few things in the works as far as getting quilts to those that need them. i have an upcoming guild meeting and will have to remember to mention this as we are a great and helpful group of quilters whenever we see a need.
please take care.
:-)
libbyQ
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