Gavin and I started preparing for Hurricane Sandy on Friday after work. We went grocery shopping after the gym to start stocking up on some non-perishable essentials. (Fresh Direct deliveries were already booked. Gavin checked.) Luckily, we had a head start on our “emergency bag” from Hurricane Irene, earlier this year so it was mostly about gathering food and storing water.
Sunday (formerly known as “pajama day”) ended up becoming church day this week. Gavin and I just decided to go. Mostly we wanted to see our priest. He was there and we chatted after mass; so was one of Gavin’s friends from RCIA class. He invited us to a youth social. We skipped coffee hour in favor of more hurricane prep (it takes several trips to do sufficient pre-storm shopping.) I started gathering mason jars- we have a lot of them.
And every single container we could find was filled with water: mason jars with lids got the filtered water and plastic containers were filled with tap water.
Then we made a list. Gavin wanted me to bake… a lot! So we had to divide and conquer on our second shopping trip of the day (the first had to be aborted due to some claustrophobic encounters with the locals.) I stayed outside the store to take a call for work (Yes, it was Sunday. Yes, it was important.) while Gavin got started on his part of the list. Then, I met him at the pizza place, where he picked up a large pie (jalepeño + peperoni for him; mushroom for me.) We brought backpacks to the store this time and it was a wonderfully brilliant idea. I was hands-free on the way back and able to text Karin to let her know we were okay.
Then, the baking ensued. (Well, after I made a THIRD trip to the store for some butter.) I made so many things:
– banana bread (2 loaves)
– chocolate chip cookies
– morning glory muffins
– chocolate chip muffins
– brownies
– crêpes
I think we’ll be set for a week. At least.
Next, we piled together all the flashlights, candles, matches and batteries. Gavin even made sure we had our coats ready and the cat houses in case we had to leave suddenly. Now we’re just waiting to see if our power will go out and watching Lower Manhattan flood (on TV.)
Note to Moms: We’re not in any of the evacuation zones. We’re not close enough to any water and not high enough for any wind. There are no trees outside out windows. There’s no way we’ll starve. (The cats have food too.)
