Irene, you great big Toe-rag!!

My last post was all about the freaky weather and how it had it in for me since I moved to the US.  Well, today I can now confirm that, YES, the US weather does indeed have it in for me during my stay in the great US of A.

Irene may have been downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it got past Rhode Island, but my god, did she wreak havoc on my town.

It is now Tuesday, and I am writing this blog post from my brother-in-law’s house with his wife’s psycho weird cat who keeps coming up to moog me and when she does she turns and hisses like a rabid kitty from hell.  And why am I risking my typing digits with a mentally disturbed cat an hour’s drive from my house?   Well, that great big toe-rag of a storm, Irene, knocked out our electricity, phone, internet and (wait for it), water!  I’ve stinking clothes locked in the washing machine, stinking dishes in the sink that I can’t wash. I’ve toilets that won’t flush unless I make the trip out to the swimming pool with a bucket to fill the cistern *sigh*.  My freezer has defrosted and I can nearly see the listeria dribbling from its seal.  By 6pm every night we are shrouded in darkness with only ourselves for company, and as much as I hate to admit it, we’re not great company.

So today I finally abandoned my house and fell on the mercy of my brother and sister-in-law.  It feels good to be one with technology again, but alas, this is only a fleeting moment.  In a couple of hours I’ll be making the hour drive back to my dungeon of stink and dark, to play happy families with my bored children by the overly romanticized light of candles.

Talk soon…I hope.

Leigh

Oh and p.s. Did I mention my kids school has been cancelled too… just saying. *pulls hair out*

Massachusetts, the thrill ride I didn’t ask for!

I ask you, what on earth is going on with the weather in MA?  In all seriousness, I moved to the US after being promised lovely dependable seasons.  Balmy summers, gorgeous autumns, divine springs, and wonderland winters. 

What I’ve got so far is record breaking heat waves with horrendous humidity were even breathing takes considerable effort.  Floods that have ruined homes and destroyed people’s lives. More record-breaking snowfall with absolutely no thaw for three months that had roofs falling in and schools and business struggling to stay open, and me struggling to protect my sanity with the kids trapped in the house with nowhere to go.  Let’s not forget our other little visitors, the tornados.  Those scary buggers had us all hiding in our basements while listening to emergency broadcast that sounded like it was the end of the world.  And for a sheltered little Irish girl, that’s kind of scary, something you only see in disaster movies.  Oh and how about last week’s earthquake? Freaky! And now little Miss Hurricane Irene is on her way, smashing her way up the east coast on a path of destruction and has us all fighting over the last couple of cans beans on Market Basket's shelves.  

The last time MA was hit with a hurricane of this size, the power was gone in places for nearly a week! AGH! Don’t the weather gods know I’ve got a September 1^st deadline?  *shakes fist at sky*

 I didn’t sign on for this.  This wasn’t even in the fine print.  The constant and dreary ‘soft’ weather of the Emerald Isle is looking sort of appealing at the moment.  Wish me luck guys, because this weekend we are battening down the hatches.

Leigh