This weekend has been simply beautiful weather. In fact I just got back from sailing for over two hours in Cowpet Bay. Great breeze. I have been talked into sailing in a women's regatta in a couple of weeks and am trying to get in some practice sails. Believe me - there are not enough days for me to prepare for this event as I have done NO small boat sailing - let alone racing in over 20 years. Dark glasses, hat - maybe I'll go unnoticed.
And while you may think I should have had my fill of "breeze" - it still amazes me that not only did we go through a hurricane - but how the weather can change so quickly and dramatically.
Fortunately - Omar did not hit us that hard and moved through very quickly. The two hurricances that did really hit this island hard - Marilyn (1995) and Hugo (1989 )- were not only strong hurricanes - but they sat on the island for a long while, severly clobbering buildings, infrastructure - everything. The memories and experiences from these storms are still very vivid. We frequently hear different renditions of how residents survived the storm. The good news is the island is incredibly organized in its preparation of an oncoming storm.
St. Croix was hit quite hard this week. Much of the island was without power and several boats sunk, docks were lost and there was damage to many homes. Clean up and repairs are well underway.
After weathering the storm at our neighbours home - we returned to our house finding everything in place. No leaks, drips or anything broken. We still had a lot of clean up and getting everything back in place. Shutters to open and everything back out that we had warpped and put away in heavy black plastic bags. But it was all there!
The rest of the week was fairly busy playing catch up at work. I am anticipating some new interest in generators and even running some advertisments next week for some machines we have in stock - Hurricane Omar Generator Blowout.
Last night Mark and I went out for dinner with our friends John and Tara to St. John. We jumped on the ferry and took a taxi to a little restaurant that overlooked the islands. It was actually a fun adventure as well a good meal.
Back to work and school tomorrow.
Did I also mention we had an earthhquake last week that measured 6.8? We were outside on the deck when it happened and our concrete house barely moved but the metal roof made quite the racket.
Hopefully that is our quota for potential natural disasters.
Thank you everyone for all your kind (and frequently comical notes) to us. We love hearing from you.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
omar goodness
My plans to go sailing yesterday were interrupted by a storm. Once out of the August and September period - there is a lesser probability to be walloped by a hurricane. However, this is still very much storm season.
Tropical storms and hurricanes usually start in the south east and move in a north westerly direction. This storm - Tropical Storm Omar - which passed over us in a fairly mild manner during the weekend has been building and is now circling back - first over Puerto Rico and then over the US Virgin Island and BVI. It looks like the forecasters are saying it's still a tropical storm with winds gusting to 70 miles an hour and will not reach hurricane status until it's over us.
Having said that - the island has gone into preparedness / panic mode resulting in many people driving and shopping in the same areas. It didn't help that the cover of the local paper read Forecast paints bull's-eye on islands with a big map circled in red around St. Thomas.
The problem is - if the storm lasts long enough - it may take some time to get new supplies into stores. The power may go down for a period of time and it could be more challenging to get around the island if there is severe flooding (which they are predicting).
This morning - the first order of business was to get a quick lesson from our landlord on how to secure the hurricane shutters. They are very sturdy folding shutters that slide on tracks in front of all our sliding doors and lock into place. I started to work on a couple by myself until various large lizards and other jumping and crawling things started leaping out of the folds. I've decided that Mark can help me with the rest when he gets home.
The second order of business is fill vehicles tanks. I've seen before with storms and other hurricanes - that residents start to get panicky with petrol. Today was no exception and the queues were long. I did, however manage to (over)fill my tank. Unlike others, I didn't fill several jerry cans and load the truck up with extra reserves.
From one line of slightly anxious people to the next - I made my way over to CostULess where I was met with a parking lot overflowing with vehicles, people and carts full of water and supplies. At this point, of course, I had convinced myself there would be no water left except a half case of perrier. Much to my relief, the store was loaded to the rafters with everything as it was their shipment day.
What do I buy? How much do I get? The first few things seem fairly obvious - extra batteries for the flashlights and lanterns. More water jugs because if the power is out - we won't have a functioning water pump. Canned foods, dry foods, juice and UHT milk. Wine.
I run into many people we know - some who live on boats and are getting ready to leave the island to a more protected area to moor in the mangrove protected island of Vieques. I am thankful I don't have to make a four hour open-water crossing on a small boat.
I bypass most fresh produce and nothing more for the freezer just in case we are without power for a while. I keep doing a double-take at my cart - it's quite unbelievable that I am actually buying these items. Someone has replaced the real Charlotte with a canned vegetable and chef boyardee consuming mother. I watched one fellow walk down the aisle with a case of SPAM and decided that it would have to become pretty desperate before I reach that stage. I opted instead for some canned wild salmon. It should go quite nicely with the chef boyardee. Maybe some canned peaches for dessert?
Then some things are a little less obvious like making sure we have enough cash on hand in the event the banks are closed. Mark has called me twice to ask me how much to take out. $1000? more? Do we need to worry about having cash on hand for the business? Neither of us know the answer to these questions so we'll have to guess.
Max's school has just called me and asked to have him picked up at lunch as the school will shut down early. All the public schools were closed all day and I don't know what the plan is for Julian's school.
Never a dull moment! Fortunately - we feel fairly prepared and the other option for us is our office building which is not only connected to city water and a generator - but it also has an apartment with a kitchen and full living facilities.
If you are interested - you can track the storm on http://www.wunderground.com/ or on the national hurricane website. But remember, it's not a hurricane.
Tropical storms and hurricanes usually start in the south east and move in a north westerly direction. This storm - Tropical Storm Omar - which passed over us in a fairly mild manner during the weekend has been building and is now circling back - first over Puerto Rico and then over the US Virgin Island and BVI. It looks like the forecasters are saying it's still a tropical storm with winds gusting to 70 miles an hour and will not reach hurricane status until it's over us.
Having said that - the island has gone into preparedness / panic mode resulting in many people driving and shopping in the same areas. It didn't help that the cover of the local paper read Forecast paints bull's-eye on islands with a big map circled in red around St. Thomas.
The problem is - if the storm lasts long enough - it may take some time to get new supplies into stores. The power may go down for a period of time and it could be more challenging to get around the island if there is severe flooding (which they are predicting).
This morning - the first order of business was to get a quick lesson from our landlord on how to secure the hurricane shutters. They are very sturdy folding shutters that slide on tracks in front of all our sliding doors and lock into place. I started to work on a couple by myself until various large lizards and other jumping and crawling things started leaping out of the folds. I've decided that Mark can help me with the rest when he gets home.
The second order of business is fill vehicles tanks. I've seen before with storms and other hurricanes - that residents start to get panicky with petrol. Today was no exception and the queues were long. I did, however manage to (over)fill my tank. Unlike others, I didn't fill several jerry cans and load the truck up with extra reserves.
From one line of slightly anxious people to the next - I made my way over to CostULess where I was met with a parking lot overflowing with vehicles, people and carts full of water and supplies. At this point, of course, I had convinced myself there would be no water left except a half case of perrier. Much to my relief, the store was loaded to the rafters with everything as it was their shipment day.
What do I buy? How much do I get? The first few things seem fairly obvious - extra batteries for the flashlights and lanterns. More water jugs because if the power is out - we won't have a functioning water pump. Canned foods, dry foods, juice and UHT milk. Wine.
I run into many people we know - some who live on boats and are getting ready to leave the island to a more protected area to moor in the mangrove protected island of Vieques. I am thankful I don't have to make a four hour open-water crossing on a small boat.
I bypass most fresh produce and nothing more for the freezer just in case we are without power for a while. I keep doing a double-take at my cart - it's quite unbelievable that I am actually buying these items. Someone has replaced the real Charlotte with a canned vegetable and chef boyardee consuming mother. I watched one fellow walk down the aisle with a case of SPAM and decided that it would have to become pretty desperate before I reach that stage. I opted instead for some canned wild salmon. It should go quite nicely with the chef boyardee. Maybe some canned peaches for dessert?
Then some things are a little less obvious like making sure we have enough cash on hand in the event the banks are closed. Mark has called me twice to ask me how much to take out. $1000? more? Do we need to worry about having cash on hand for the business? Neither of us know the answer to these questions so we'll have to guess.
Max's school has just called me and asked to have him picked up at lunch as the school will shut down early. All the public schools were closed all day and I don't know what the plan is for Julian's school.
Never a dull moment! Fortunately - we feel fairly prepared and the other option for us is our office building which is not only connected to city water and a generator - but it also has an apartment with a kitchen and full living facilities.
If you are interested - you can track the storm on http://www.wunderground.com/ or on the national hurricane website. But remember, it's not a hurricane.
Monday, October 13, 2008
long weekend
Long weekends are good for many things. They provide that little extra time to accomplish projects or activities that don't normally fit into a weekend. And I must say, one of the best things about renting a house is the time that has been freed up by not having to do gardening and house maintenance tasks. When I now hear a local Home Depot advertisement suggesting some nasty sounding clean-up or maintenance project to do over my holiday weekend - I can completely ignore it - guilt free! Of course, I am not getting off quite that easily. There are still plenty of other "chores" to fill my time. And what we don't have to maintain at the house - we are fixing, cleaning and repairing at the building that houses Import Supply and our tenants.
This weekend, however has been a nice balance of play and work. Julian and I started the weekend on Friday as his teachers had a professional day and there were no classes. We got most of the errands out of the way - buying Julian some soccer cleats, going to doctor appointment for immunizations, and the almost daily visit to the grocery stores. Our local Marina Market is a small place with fairly good selection - a one-stop-shop where you can get everything from a loaf a bread to a bottle of wine. Depending on the day however, there may only be wine as the bread, dairy and produce shipments have not arrived.
Another humourous aspect of living on such a small island is how people get to know you and your family. Should I actually go shopping in Marina Market without children - the first question any of the check-out cashiers will ask me is "Where are the boys today?" or "Where's Max?". Clearly, the boys' have established a reputation for being enthusiastic connoisseurs of their produce...or something.
Mark raced a laser in a dinghy regatta this weekend. There was a variety of weather conditions - some gusty winds and pretty impressive rain squalls. We went down to the club and watched everyone rig up their boats and set off from the beach. Max pulled all the boat trailers in and out of the water wading in the water until he was neck deep. Julian fed fish from the dock with his friends.
The concept of Thanksgiving seems foreign to us right now - first of all as Canadians in a US territory but mainly as we don't have any major seasonal triggers. No sudden changes of colours or leaves to rake. We did, however see some perfectly shaped pumpkins in the store - all set to be carved. I can only imagine how much they cost - but that is something I am getting used to. In fact, I barely batted an eyelash today when I bought a loaf of bread for...$7.00. Let's hope it isn't stale.
I found a scorpion (mainly dead) in the living room this weekend. Julian was very excited. I was a little less enthused when I watched Mark take it away with our BBQ tongs.
Very stormy weather now - rain that reminds me of driving through a car wash. We'll have to watch this storm.
This weekend, however has been a nice balance of play and work. Julian and I started the weekend on Friday as his teachers had a professional day and there were no classes. We got most of the errands out of the way - buying Julian some soccer cleats, going to doctor appointment for immunizations, and the almost daily visit to the grocery stores. Our local Marina Market is a small place with fairly good selection - a one-stop-shop where you can get everything from a loaf a bread to a bottle of wine. Depending on the day however, there may only be wine as the bread, dairy and produce shipments have not arrived.
Another humourous aspect of living on such a small island is how people get to know you and your family. Should I actually go shopping in Marina Market without children - the first question any of the check-out cashiers will ask me is "Where are the boys today?" or "Where's Max?". Clearly, the boys' have established a reputation for being enthusiastic connoisseurs of their produce...or something.
Mark raced a laser in a dinghy regatta this weekend. There was a variety of weather conditions - some gusty winds and pretty impressive rain squalls. We went down to the club and watched everyone rig up their boats and set off from the beach. Max pulled all the boat trailers in and out of the water wading in the water until he was neck deep. Julian fed fish from the dock with his friends.
The concept of Thanksgiving seems foreign to us right now - first of all as Canadians in a US territory but mainly as we don't have any major seasonal triggers. No sudden changes of colours or leaves to rake. We did, however see some perfectly shaped pumpkins in the store - all set to be carved. I can only imagine how much they cost - but that is something I am getting used to. In fact, I barely batted an eyelash today when I bought a loaf of bread for...$7.00. Let's hope it isn't stale.
I found a scorpion (mainly dead) in the living room this weekend. Julian was very excited. I was a little less enthused when I watched Mark take it away with our BBQ tongs.
Very stormy weather now - rain that reminds me of driving through a car wash. We'll have to watch this storm.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)