This week started out at a productivity low on Sunday by watching my Miami Dolphins play football. It was a 1:00 game so I thought that by 4:00 I could be getting ready for the work week. Maybe some grocery shopping and food prep, at least. The good news is that we won! Unfortunately it took them 7 hours and 8 minutes to do it … the longest game in history. Check out the highlights and suffice it to say that I got little done afterwards.
The rest of the week has been consumed (besides work) with Florence … the beast of a Hurricane that has been barreling toward my friends and family in North Carolina. This time of year, I like to monitor the storms on the National Hurricane Center of NOAA for most accurate and up to date news.
First and foremost, I hope for safety for all of them and minimal property damage. I’m encouraged that the winds have gone down a little but also know that it is all relative. I have seen the destruction first hand that even a Category One storm can do. All you can do is be smart, prepare, and ride it out.
I won’t go into the necessary preparation, like boarding up and stocking up, since I’m hoping that has already been down. What is going on now for most of those people in the path is the house-bound waiting. Or as my kids liked to call it … game time.
Check out Kid Spot for 12 classic card games that can be played by candlelight even if the power goes out … which it probably will! And because even kids can play them they will work even if you have broken out the cocktails.
Speaking of which, in addition to plenty of water, you probably stocked the liquor cabinet … if you were smart. Here’s Recipe Girl’s version of the famous Hurricane Cocktail, just in case.
If you are lucky enough to keep electricity and cable throughout, then try a binge watch of some show you have heard about. Last year, during Irma, I evacuated inland to a friend’s house. We binged on Game Of Thrones which was perfect while we remained safe in her little fortress of a house safe from the howling winds and rain outside the shutters.
Fortunately all the hurricanes I have lived through have not caused major flooding in the aftermath and I am hoping that doesn’t happen with Florence either. For those of you like me, in areas with exterior damage and loss of power but where everyone is okay, then I encourage you to embrace the sense of community that follows a massive event. Once it is safe to get outside and assess the damage, connect with the neighbors you barely knew. After a day of cleaning up the debris followed by mass grilling of everything that is thawing from the freezer (check out Real Simple’s how-to), it’s surprising how many life long friends you can make. And maybe one with a generator will let you sit in front of his fan for a while.
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