What a Mess!

Oh no! Another storm is on the way. It should be here by mid week, bringing 35-50 mph wind and more rain.

We have the contents of the utility rooms strewn across the yard. Tomorrow, we'll secure what we can keep and discard the rest.

Today we made two trips to the recycling yard. They took the refrigerator, washer, dryer, microwave, expansion tanks and water heaters, an air conditioner, the mantis rototiller and other assorted stuff containing metal.

We also filled up a "bagster" with debris. We're using the bagster in lieu of a dumpster to see how the system works.

The electrician has paid us a visit. He capped off the service in the utility rooms so we'll be able to use the houses when electricity is restored. Speaking of electricity, Atlantic City Electroc came by to check the meters. Both are toast due to water intrusion. They are about 6 feet above ground level. We think the water was blown in by the 89 mph wind.

The well guy will be here on Monday to decontaminate the wells which were fouled by salt water intrusion.

We stopped by the township offices to find out we'll need permits for all the work that needs to be done. Bummer!

The FEMA guy stopped by to tell us to register. He is from northern California and has seen a lot of hurricanes, including Katrina. He thinks the devastation he is seeing in NJ is worse than anything he has ever seen. That's not such a comforting thought to me!

The local volunteer fire company has been active since the recovery has started. At first, they checked every house for gas leaks.

For the last two days, they have driven by on a pick up trick offering everyone a nice hot cup of chicken soup to the folks who are cleaning their yards and houses. The has been an army of people working on the clean up. Every house has six to eight people cleaning the yard, equipment, etc.

There's concern that loads of displaced people won't be able to vote. The Gov has authorize electronic voting via the internet or via fax. It would be a crime if the strongly democratic majority didn't get a chance to vote for President Obama's reelection!