Hurricane Irene Likely (60-70%)

[Waitman]

Another advantage of hurricane predictions -- was able to get a last-minute table for 5 at 8PM at Proof, usually one of the least rational reservation attempts in the city. Had we not had friends to consider, we would have essayed Rogue 24 or CityZen.

[Anna Blume]

Now my question - why do people buy vegetables when storms threaten? Really - they want to eat all the broccoli that Harris Teeter has to offer?

Harris Teeter, no. In my case, because the summer is drawing to a close and even fresh green beans from the supermarket in December are nothing like the green or any other type of bean you can buy in season at the farmers market. Today? Organic Dragon's Lingerie beans, I kid you not, grown by Sligo Creek Farm. (The farmer and I tried discussing how "langue" might be translated as "tongue" instead of traded in for a more familiar French word). Same for eggplant, corn, yellow peppers. Peaches and tomatoes are fabulous, but it's not just summer fruit that I love.

Plus, the long, tapered orange frying pepper, stuffed w Spanish rice (flavored w saffron, onions, chicken broth, orange mint...) and stuffed zucchini baked in yellow plum tomato sauce beside whole wheat couscous w slivers of garlic and ribbons of braised beet greens were all quite comforting after being reheated in the microwave, inside, with a dry change of clothes after a morning spent outdoors.

[Barbara]

A good night for that pot of chili I made. Ready for the inevitable blackout that I'm predicting to happen at 11:47 - fresh batteries in the flashlights, lots of ice in the freezer, plenty of food and drink, etc.

But if Channel 7 makes me miss Bristol because of the round the clock hurricane coverage, I'm gonna be PISSED!

Rotsa Ruck with that. I'm listening to "Hot Jazz Saturday Night" which has a whole list of rain/trouble songs from way back. Perfect.

[goodeats]

Thanks all for the lantern suggestions - found one at the Casual Adventures store in the Clarendon/Va Square area. I have to admit, this is the first time I have really prepared for an outage, mostly based on instinct and not being so worried before. So far so good, though.

[KMango]

...and now for a check in from Virginia Beach.

Power outages and lots of debris, but nothing like Isabel. My street kept power, so I assumed nearby businesses remained operational. What a mistake---driving out briefly this morning was a hair-raising trick with very few stoplights functioning until mid-afternoon.

Perhaps a half dozen people in this city understand the right of way rules during a power outage.

Five of those six people have sense enough to stay home. I felt as if I were some lawful loner during the 2011 Virginia Beach Brake and Race .

Which leads me to my #1 hurricane prep tip. Hours before cyclonic rainbands arrive, brew coffee. Lots of it. Put it to the side. Your cooler of ice, milk, a touch of maple syrup, and your shake-it-like-you-quaked-it cocktail mixer will pour refreshing light into any power outage. Thankfully, my mother remembered to conduct this sacred caffeine conservation. Others did not, with lines flowing out the door and down the street at the handful of businesses that lucked into, or generator-ed their way into, having electricity. We heard stories of convenience stores activating numbered wait systems for coffee service and gas, a shocking but essential step for maintaining order.

We wound up having to take a relative to a hospital in the middle of the storm (she's OK now) and discovered another something shocking. The staff suggested that she remove her rings, and not to leave anything of value in her hospital room, because apparently people come in and loot the belongings of passed out patients during the worst storms (!).

Despite that glimpse into opportunistic criminality, the most frequent scene has been neighbors helping neighbors. The official soundtrack seems to be asynchronous echos from generators.

(when your parents live in the area)

(hurricanes)

(become hurryheres)

[JPW]

Rotsa Ruck with that. I'm listening to "Hot Jazz Saturday Night" which has a whole list of rain/trouble songs from way back. Perfect.

I was off by 39 minutes. Power went out at 12:26. Bristol was shown on ESPN, so I was good there, as well. Power came back on at about 10:15 Sunday night. Preceded by a storm block party which is kind of becoming a tradition here given how often we lose power. I contributed a salad, some sauteed eggplant from my next door neighbor's garden topped with melted parm, and some grilled chicken marinated in olive oil, lime, fish sauce, garlic, and a couple of other things. We also had some shrimp kebabs, tomato salad, kimchee, among other things.

[Heather]

Got back at 8 PM Sunday & the power had been out for 24 hours already. It just came back on last night. I threw out almost everything in the refrigerator & freezer on Monday, and restocked last night. Giant on Arliss St was looking pretty cleaned out of some items.

[thistle]

I thought I'd pull this thread up, because the storm was similar (oh right, it was a derecho, which differs from a hurricane in that we had no advance warning). I will admit I slept through the storm, & didn't think it looked bad Sat morning (other than the power being off). I headed off to the library, to get something to read, first stoplight I hit at Rt. 1 was out, so I went to the Sherwood Hall library-no wi- fi, but they had power. Finished Pynchon's 'Inherent Vice', while sweating at home, I'm glad I've purchased several flashlights recently, & warm beer is better than no beer...

[bookluvingbabe]

Power was out for about 24 hours. I'm out of town so Mr. BLB has been tasked with deciding what to keep and what to toss. He did get the most perishable stuff into a cooler full of ice pretty quickly. While we lose power often, it rarely staffs off for long.

[squidsdc]

Power went out Friday night, and Pepco is telling us we may have power back on this Friday by 11pm. Great. Only have internet now because we went to my in-laws for dinner and they have power. We grilled turkey burgers last night, but if we cook anything else, I don't know who is going to eat it!