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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Listen To The Rhythm Of The Falling Rain ....

On Saturday Night we got pounded.
Crazy Irene came to town.
She blew and she spat and she sounded
Like she wanted to blow the house down.
Irene, Goodnight.
Irene, Goodnight.
Goodnight Irene, Goodnight Irene.
Stop giving me bad dreams!


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Okay, I promise, no more bad rhymes or songs.
At least not today.

It is 4:00 in the morning on Sunday, and Hurricane Irene is not done with us yet.
According to the weather dudes, she hasn't gotten up to speed around here.
Oh joy.

Howard is in Manhattan until Monday night, so Anne and Dion and I are holding down the fort.
It's awfully noisy; we have a translucent ceiling in the sunroom and every drop can be heard.
The winds are just now picking up, there have been a few thuds outside, and I can't settle down to go to bed.  Yet.  Or, at all.

So what's a gal to do?  Blog, of course.

I'm recycling a post from August 2009, and it's about rain.

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What does this look like?


No, it is not a bad painting of Niagara Falls.

Stay tuned; all will be made clear. Well, not really clear. . . you'll see!


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We look through a glass darkly.


See that long piece of granite on the left? It is the step from the lawn
behind the house, down to the patio outside the conservatory.


Look closer.
There's our Niagara Falls, at the end near the steps:


On Saturday, when we traveled down to the Jersey shore
to pick up my 99-cent high-class Hooker coffee table
(read about that here, if you are curious),
we had brilliant sunshine on the Garden State Parkway.

That was Saturday, August 2009.  It didn't last.
On Sunday. . . I took these pictures through our conservatory windows:


The last time we saw this much water swamp That Old House this quickly, was the first day we owned it.
We ran for our soggy lives from the driveway into the sunroom.
It was also the day we discovered that rain on a conservatory roof is really loud,
and that the boiler room gets puddles during very heavy downpours.

Welcome, Mr and Mrs New Mortgageowner, to your new home!


These pictures aren't great, because they were taken through rain-spattered glass, but you can see the water
a couple of inches deep on top of the patio pavers, with ripples from the wind on the surface.

How big is a cubit anyway?
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And that's my lazy post for this Sunday, linked to 
Sunday Favorites, at Chari's Happy To Design blog.

Click here!


Since I fully expect to lose power when Irene really begins
blowing in about an hour, I thought I'd better post now.

Irene is already causing our shutters to flap and tree limbs to go flying,
and odd things to thud against the house.  And our patio is already covered in a few inches of water.
Can't wait to see what else she has in store.
And she's spawning tornadoes.  Charming.

I hope that all 65 million of us in Irene's path use our God-given common sense, and stay indoors and safe.  And Irene?  You've made your point; go home.  No, really.  GO HOME.  Thanks.  -- Cass


20 comments:

  1. Cass,
    I can't sleep either. It is raining here. Heavy rain. We will most likely go to Jack's house for the night. There is a generator there. It will be a long day.
    Stay safe.
    Carol

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  2. I hope everyone stays safe. I can't imagine how scary it can be.

    Ally xxx

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  3. That's lot of water in your yard and I expect you'll get a repeat today. I hope your new French draninage system works well. It is calm up here in N.B. with light rain. We're to get a lot of rain and wind on the tail end of Irene. I put all my plant, pots and baskets in the garage last night! I'm praying for those in the storms path. Stay safe. Blessings, Pamela

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  4. I have had you all on my mind and can't stop watching the coverage! Stay safe!

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  5. Cass -- Thanks for keeping us up to date on your "date" with Irene!!!! I've been thinking about you -- worrying about your -- praying for you. I do hope the tornados stay away from your neck of the woods -- we Kansans know tornados and they are not to be reckoned with!!!

    Aren't you glad you put the new drains in the basement!!! Irene will certainly give them a test!

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  6. So far just a lot rain here and some small branches on the ground. I was worried last night when the news talked about possible tornados! Let's hope the worst is over! Take care!
    -Shelley

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  7. Best of the luck for everyone, hope you keep power and no damage to homes.

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  8. I've been thinking about you throughout this mess, Cass. I can't imagine having to go through it with your husband located elsewhere! I'm glad to hear that Anne is there with you, though. And Dion, too, of course.

    Keep posting so we know you're still connected!

    This storm event makes me think I should finally break down & join Facebook or learn to Tweet. We need to be able to communicate easily with our friends & family!

    Be Safe... Hugs,
    Rett

    p.s. Belated 'Happy Anniversary', too!!

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  9. Great post and funny that about your FIRST day in your new house. Nasty little surprise that!

    I hope and pray that you are safe and that the hubby is safe. I am watching on the news and see that Irene has been downgraded to a tropical storm and the rain is going to be awful! xo Diana

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  10. Oh my, that is alot of rain, my son text me this morning that they were ok but his backyard looked like a battlefield. He lives on the Chesapeak Bay about 5 mins. from Annapolis
    Glad you old house and you are okay too!

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  11. Glad you checked in. Watching the news this morning, I was wondering how all our fellow bloggers up that way were doing. Stay safe.

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  12. Hi Cass,
    Well, I can relate and I hope you all faired well through the storm with not much damage. It was pretty amazing the amount of rain that fell in a few hours. Lots of flash floods here and downed trees. Those pictures of yours are pretty amazing.
    Hoping you are okay!
    Marianne :)

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  13. I hope that everything turns out well.
    Stay dafe and stay inside.

    melinda

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  14. Oh My, I have been there with river flooding. Never fun. Stay safe. Richard from My Old Historic House.

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  15. I'm not even there and I'm worryin' about that glass conservatory!!!

    Maybe you'll have to go join the hungry ghosts in the basement to be safe from those tornadoes.

    I'll be waitin' on pins and needles to hear - - - -

    Take snacks, enough to share with the g's, down in the basement with you.

    I used to hide in my pantry during tornadoes in IN and I always took cheese in there with me.

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  16. Dearest friend...

    I do hope that my note is finding you and all of your family all doing well...and That Old House too! I thought about you when I heard that Irene was coming your way...sooo terribly sorry, my friend! Sending many thoughts and prayers your way! Oooh...bet Howard is enjoying Manhatten through all of this...eeeks!

    Girlfriend, that is alot of rain in those photos! It looks like a small stream running across your patio. Bet you are very happy right now that you got your french drain (think that is what you called it?) put in a couple of months ago. I hope that it is successfully diverting all the water! So glad that you joined in with the Sunday Favorites party this week, my friend! Ohhh..and I hope that you didn't lose your power! I really can sympathize...living in south Texas for 30 yrs. I went through a couple of hurricanes while there...not a pleasant ordeal at all! Do take care, dear friend!

    Love ya,
    Chari

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  17. I'm glad that you and yours are safe. As I write, we're watching the news of the storm as it hits Quebec and our Maritime provinces. What a mess!

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  18. Hi Cass,
    Stay safe, that must be scary!
    The pics are really amazing and I imagine it's even more now.
    Hugs,
    Cindy

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  19. I hope all is well with you all this Monday morning!

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