What was left of Hurricane Humberto was given the name Storm Amy before slamming into Ireland yesterday, with Donegal most affected. The wind was whipping, whining, whistling, and howling. We were under a status red wind warning for a couple of hours so public transport stopped and businesses closed early. I charged up my headlamps, desk lamp, mp3 player (has my audiobooks on it), phone, and e-reader. In case of power outage I'd be able to read and/or listen to an audiobook without external light or wifi/mobile phone signal. And the power did indeed go out just before 4. It stayed out for about 5 hours, so we had a cold supper and were both eager for a cup of tea. When the power came back on, I raced to turn on the kettle and had just enough time for it to come to a boil before the power went out again. But I had my vanilla chai (Tesco has some really nice vanilla chai tea bags--not the sweetened chai powder) and Bill had his black tea and it was so good. The power came back on again an hour or so later. The wind kept going though. I'd gone out before the storm to lay down the garbage and recycling bins, with the lids jammed against the wall and rocks on top, so they didn't go anywhere. I also filled buckets and various containers with water, which I didn't need, thankfully. I don't want to waste it though, so we'll be using that throughout the day. Still windy, but not like it was. Hopefully things are calming down now. Tragically, one man in Donegal died in the storm.
Thursday was windy, but in a normal kind of way. It was also raining. I knew this would probably be the case, so when I went to the library Wednesday night for book group, I told the librarian I might not make it to the knitting and crochet group the next day. Don't get me wrong--I don't mind walking in the rain and I often enjoy it. And light rain is fine in any case. But when I'm walking to a gathering of some kind I'd rather not be drenched when I get there and then hang around soaking wet for a couple hours and dripping all over carpet and furniture. I was bummed because I really enjoy the group. On Thursday morning, I was having my first cup of coffee when I got a call from the librarian saying that one of the women had just arrived and was offering to come and pick me up if I wanted to go. Wasn't that nice? I accepted, gulped down my coffee, grabbed a crochet project and stood in the doorway to meet her. Once again I had a great time. We exchanged numbers and she said she's happy to swing by and pick me up any time and I should just let her know.
When I went to the book group on Wednesday night, I walked through the mizzle. I was damp when I got there, but no big deal. It's always such a pleasant experience walking in the misty air. The next book we're reading is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. When I heard this I immediately remembered that someone had recommended it to me, but I wasn't sure who. Then I had a vague memory of sitting in a cafe with a friend and her telling me she loved the book. I messaged her and asked if she recommended it. She said she may have done, since she loved the book. So it was her and I can stop wondering about it. It was one of those unimportant things that just kept hanging around in my head and I was glad to answer the nagging question. 😏 My first inclination was to not even start the book, especially since I likely won't be at the next meeting. It's a chunky book--the copy I borrowed is just shy of 800 pages. It's not the length that bothers me. It's that this doesn't seem like my kind of book and the time it would take to read it is time I wouldn't be spending with books that are my kind of books. Then I thought the best thing to do is to just begin and see how I get on with it. If I don't like it, I'll set it aside and if I do like it, I'll be happily surprised. Have any of you read this book? If so, what did you think of it?
And now I'm off to pour another cup of coffee and enjoy the rest of this rainy day at home with books, yarn, and Bill--my kind of day! Hope you're having your kind of day and doing things that bring you joy.
8 comments:
I am glad that you survived the storm, Shari, and I am very pleased that you didn’t waste the water you had stocked in case of emergency. This whole exercise reinforces the value of drinking wine. No power required! How lovely that someone picked you up so that you could enjoy the group at the library. Maybe you have made a new friend - and that’s always a good thing. Have a great weekend - David.
Glad you were both able to have your cups of tea. You were luckily you raced to put the kettle on. And I know so many people who love The Prayer for Owen Meany, but I tried it once and never was able to get into it. I still have the paperback though, so maybe I should try it again. Hope the wind dies down for you today.
I hope your Saturday stays just that way! It sounds like quite a week, Shari. I'm so glad you two got your tea before you lost power again! And very smart about tipping the bins and turning the lids. I guess you've done this drill before! Nice to get to both your groups, too. All in all, a good week, I think!
I'm almost obsessive about avoiding waste, David. I get teased about this, but I think wasting things is disrespectful (and there's no hostility in the teasing). Ah wine. It used to give me severe headaches, so I was never really into it. Next time I'll make some coffee in advance and have it cold :-) Yes, it's nice to make new friends. The people I've met at both book group and the yarny group all seem quite nice. I hope your weekend is a good one so far!
I was glad I got to the kettle in time, Erika :-) Of course, when we were unable to make tea, it was exactly what we wanted. I'm honestly going into Owen Meany expecting not to like it, but I'll give it a shot. The wind is still strong, but in a way that's normal for here. I hope you're having a nice weekend so far!
It was a good week, Jeanie! It was busier than I've become accustomed to, but it was good nonetheless. We learned the hard way about the bins when we lived here a few years ago. That time we were on top of a hill and we went outside one day to find the recycling everywhere, including down a slope where we couldn't get to it. The bins were far from where we'd left them. We're not on a hill now, but if the wind catches stuff it could easily be blown over to a gully and into a stream where we wouldn't be able to get to it. Or the bins could end up in the road (this happened at the other place after they'd been emptied), which would be dangerous for anyone driving.
That was a very very nasty storm ... parts of our town experienced power cuts and oh my I do miss a nice warming cup of tea.
Thankfully Sunday has been better.
Take care and may the coming new week bring some drier and less windy days.
All the best Jan
Isn't it always the way, Jan, that the cup of tea becomes even more desirable when you know you can't have it--LOL That's how it is for me anyway. Glad you're OK after the storm. Things are calmer here, but some people in Donegal are still without power. :-( I'm grateful that we got ours back when we did.
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