AFTERMATH AFTERNOON ... SEE YA, SANDY

Just a quick note here.

Downed barbecues!

Sandy has left us, as far as we can tell. We here in Brewster got off fairly easily. About 7 p.m., the power went out. E, M, and I sat reading by candlelight for a couple of hours. Shortly after J came home around 9:30 or 10, the power was back on, and so, briefly, was the internet, just long enough for J and I to get interested in another episode of Boardwalk Empire, when we lost the cable again. This morning, we had little access to information, gleaning what we could off of our weak Verizon signaled iPhones.

M took me over to get the Honda tuned-up. There's a power line down at the end of the block, requiring careful navigation. We drove around the neighborhood a bit on our return trip and saw lots and lots of sturdy trees down.

E and I are prepping pizza toppings (carmelized onions, roasted eggplant, sherried mushrooms with fresh rosemary, bacon, pomegranate balsamic roasted pears ... stop by if you're in the neighborhood.) The animals are all snuggled up. Nick Lowe is softly crooning at us. I think I am going to get in a quick nap before pizza mode.


But as I sit here, I can see a patch of blue sky to the south.

Not south but east.

Southeast plus highway.

Others did not fare as well, of course. Iris sent me these two shots of her neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens.