More Stories from Stormville: Reflections on a Batty Week

An art gallery on 23rd St. Note black plastic trash bags.

As people who read this blog often probably realize, I spend quite a lot of time wandering about. This is partly because of the dog and partly because we don't have a car. The city is recovering from the storm a lot quicker than the communities on Staten Island, New Jersey and Long Island. We are lucky: herewith some recent pictures.

Trash piled up all over the place. Here on 23rd St. Note the toys and the child's crib.

Long lines for gas --here the corner of 10th Avenue and 23rd St.

A utility truck from Illinois in Union Square. There were also ones from Arkansas -- in fact from all over the country and also from Canada. Thank you. Thank you.

Barnes and Noble......thinking of Christmas.

One of the few good things about all this is perhaps people without power are getting a chance to catch up on their reading -- except by now they are probably so incredibly miserable they might have lost interest in even doing that. Those whose power is restored, are glued to the thill of having TV. (Us too!)

On Monday Frances and I took a break from all the gloom to enjoy the glitter of ABC Carpet which was all Christmassy and glittery and magical.

I've started being very fierce about trying to buy things not made in China. It really is quite possible --though sometimes challenging.

We had coffee in Le Pain Quotidien which was rather empty and peaceful

then went to the greenmarket which has moved to 23rd St and Madison Square Park from Union Square.

On the way home, I went to Trader Joe's which had incredibly long lines......... 

On Tuesday we waited to vote for over an hour in the chilly afternoon. It was all very disorganized, though the volunteers were doing their best. (Other people elsewhere had to wait far longer!) HOORAY for the results!

So, the day after that, it started to snow

and snow some more

until it covered the lawns.

I think this shop window dummy has the right coat on.

In the bus I see wooly hat season is upon us.

Yesterday evening the ESB was bathed in celestial light

and this morning CON ED is back at work. Look at all that complicated equipment! If it was left to me we would still be in the Dark Ages....

Sorry for such a long post.

Lewes, England/ Serena Penman

Time to take a break from a depressing new storm heading this way and look back on my October trip to England

where I did a great deal of rushing about --here Guildford Station. On my last Monday I went to Lewes in Sussex near where I went to University. 

It sits on the River Ouse

and has lots of charming old houses 

a blue door (as in Essouira) and is where my friend the artist Serena Penman lives. She met me at Lewes Station and we had a wonderful couscous for lunch. Serena and I went to Sussex together and both studied at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. (She was Puck and I was Helena in a garden production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.)

Serena documents the Sussex landscape in her lucid and luminous paintings

which capture exactly the quality of light

in a country I miss more and more.

This is a picture of the Ouse in flood. Oh dear......

As we approach Christmas a snow scene is appropriate

and another one.

Do go to Serena's website here to see more of her pictures.

Recovery Mode: Thank God

We got our power back on at 5:40 last evening. Really, really thrilling because we were getting cold and miserable. I can only begin to  imagine how awful it still is for so many other people.

Herewith some snapshots from yesterday.

Heading uptown on the bus. Buses were free. 

In the 50's, where I went to get warm, you would not know anything was amiss at all. 

Below is either Patience or Fortitude from outside the public library.

Both of them sorely needed lately.

What a collection of candles on the dining table! Thank you, thank you, Jo Paley!

Thursday night 9pm 23rd and 8th Av.

As above

Friday: Food distribution center 10th Avenue and 27th Street manned/peopled (!) by really lovely college age women. Did I need granola?  --they were out of whole meals. I had the dog with me --did I need dog food? baby food?  Luckily I did not need anything, and said I was just  wandering round taking pictures, but thank you so much for asking.

As above. Excuse awful quality of picture.

Water from the fire hydrant on 10th Avenue opposite the swanky Avenues School.

No traffic lights still on Friday morning.

On 22nd St in the gallery district on the way to the dog park......

I discover whole galleries were utterly flooded

and liked the grafitti

and saw guys working on flooded freight elevators

and plain old junk.

Then the lights came on!

This morning is bright and crisp and cold. The High Line is shut and there is all sorts of debris to be cleared up. Note to dog: Avoid delicious smelling spoiled food.

 Excuse long boring post!

Halloween and Thursday

More chatter from the land of the powerless.
So many kind comments which I will try to respond to when power returns to our house (currently at a friend's for an hour or two).

Yesterday was Halloween but there were few trick-or-treaters about.

The lobby was a bit dim and spooky without light.

Soup and grilled cheese done in the frying pan for supper. Rest of  several containers of home made soup will probably have to be abandoned since it can’t be refrigerated. We are running out of clean plates and mugs. Will soon have to hike north to eat out --everything south of here in complete blackness.

the moon and the clouds looking Halloweeny

Jimmy’s brother from Queens has brought in astounding LED lights all up the stairs --thrilling since it makes trotting up and down the four flights almost a joy and much less dangerous. So glad we don’t live on the 12th floor. Much merriment in the lobby.

Very brave traffic cops in yellow vests with red batons directing traffic and a vivid moon and a planet above the Empire State Building. A Con Ed truck on the corner of 8th Avenue and 23rd Street ---wouldn’t it be thrilling if......

Rather chilly so sitting reading Dorothy Whipple book and knitting by candlelight under a quilt. One guttering candle as I type this up. Very 19th century.

After ten o’clock so can start thinking of going to bed pretty soon.

Very few planes overhead.

shadow of spooky person in house....

Thursday Morning

Well, I wake up at 4:30 and think about Bobby and family who have an electric stove therefore no warm drinks.

At 7:30 I take the dog for a walk and run into Jez Coulson who is taking photos on the corner of 8th Avenue. He just drove here from Ohio. He has been a photographer in war zones like Bosnia but says it’s all rather dreary when it is in your own home and one isn’t prepared....

At least half the building have decamped to places uptown --the Hilton for example. Therefore their newspapers are free to take and peruse. The NYC schools will be closed for the week. New Jersey is devastated.

But Dallas BBQ is taking the tape off the windows and is going to reopen......

ps Yesterday's post was #800 !