at 9 pm on monday night, greg and i loaded up the car with a cooler stuffed with leftovers, our bags and the laundry and headed out to montauk in the rain. hurricane isaias was on its way and a large swath of wind and clouds preceded it. i had been at the dentist in the late afternoon and had strolled slowly home, taking photos along the way (it was a path i hadn't walked in months due to the virus), so, it was only at around 7 pm that i finally acknowledged a hurricane was almost upon us and would be hitting montauk soon. my sister had left with her family on thursday, and had done a tremendous amount of work fixing up the house. i knew that my nephew had repaired all the deck furniture and arranged it beautifully for the family to use. i also knew that it needed to be gathered together so as not to become flying projectiles during the storm.
the eye of the hurricane ended up passing west of the city, but the winds that blew out of it were incredibly powerful and frightening. montauk was hit by a strand that had broken off of the tail end of the main storm, which didn't hit until tuesday afternoon around 3 pm. it blew so powerfully that it felt as if the window panes would burst in. i took refuge in the hallway and was glad we had turned all the outdoor furniture over. greg worked on at the dining room table, seemingly unperturbed . . such a florida boy. my sister in connecticut lost power for three days and a huge tree in her front yard came down. she was thankful it didn't hit the house.
my sister, brother-in-law and nephews did so much work on the upstairs of the house, and i was incredibly moved by how they transformed it into a home for us again. my oldest nephew painted the entire upstairs and sanded around the skylights. my youngest nephew trimmed the trees so we once again had a view, and cleared the non-native brush from the perimeter of the yard. they all worked so hard, and everything looked beautiful and cared for.
the trimmed trees were stacked into firewood for cooler days . .
the garage was sorted and cleared . . (a huge accomplishment . . it was last straightened in 2015 by morgana) . .
and my dad's tools and supplies in the downstairs closet were also organized (just thinking about this closet would give me nightmares).
my sister made up the bed in what was my parents' room with the beautiful shell quilt we bought together for my mom for christmas in 2012. (i didn't realize it was so long ago!)
it was a tremendous transformation, and i'm so happy and grateful.
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it was a tremendous transformation, and i'm so happy and grateful.
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greg's and my tuesday night dinner: leftover soup with a fresh lemon cucumber from the green market . .
sautéed bok choy and leftover eggplant risotto.
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who's here???? on wednesday, pluto came out with chanda and emily. they caught a 10 am morning train to montauk, with the usual transfer in jamaica. however, at jamaica they were told all trains to montauk were suspended! (trees were down on the tracks east of southampton due to the storm). there were several frantic phone calls back and forth, with a final decision to hop on the train to babylon, upon which they were to check with the conductor on any possibilities to get further east. at babylon, they were able to get a shuttle bus to patchogue, which is where i picked them up with the car (an hour and a half drive from montauk). obviously, long island railroad was having terrible communication problems.
barbecueing late thursday afternoon . .
thursday evening i finally decided i couldn't procrastinate washing the dining room blinds any longer . .
chanda carefully unhooked them and handed them down to me in batches of six and seven. . i washed and dried them and handed them back up to her . . it felt wonderful to have them clean again. (i also cleaned out the dust above the kitchen shelves thursday night; a very hot and sweaty job i was glad to check off of my list.)
pluto was curious . .
but stayed inside for this visit, which he seemed contented to accept. the room he really wanted to explore was the garage . .
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back at the house, since the dust had been cleaned from the upper cabinets, it was time to wash my mom's spice jars.
washing the jars is fun and easy compared to everything else . .
chanda returned them to their old places . .
pluto had fun monitoring the work from his special abode in the pull-out pantry.
after cleaning, it was time for the beach; unfortunately, the weather wasn't the nicest.
but we persevered . .
and even went for a swim in the rain - just us and the lifeguards - it was wonderfully refreshing! i felt so good afterwards; especially with the hot outdoor shower i took when i got back to the house.
pluto listening to a bird outside . .
and curious about what i'm unpacking from the boxes and placing in the corner cabinet . .
succumbing to fatigue and taking an afternoon nap in his carrier . .
greg and i finished up the hot dogs for dinner . .
i was glad i remembered to bring the hawthorne valley sauerkraut with us.
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saturday was another beach day, but sunny and, thus, much more crowded.
swimming in the sea is one of the most wonderful things to do. i wish it was possible to swim in the river here at home . .
good-bye until next time . .
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back at the house, it was time to finish the laundry, gather the books and clothes . .
and pack up the car to head home . .
with a picnic stop at hampton chutney for lunch . .
and finally over the bridge and back to manhattan . . from one end of the island to the other.
