After Hurricane Irene.

After Hurricane Irene had breezed on in and out in a furious whirlwind she left behind quite a mess.

Huge beloved trees uprooted.  This home had a pair go down

taking the top of an electrical pole with them.

Boarded up homes and hardly anyone in sight.

Boardwalks torn to shreds like paper.

Closed up shops looked like something from a movie set.

It was hard to tell where the ground ended and the bay began.

We were without power for three days. Thankful the weather wasn't hot.

We were more then willing to drive for a hot cup of coffee.  Knowing I had no

internet connection still didn't stop me from hitting the space bar to see,

and half expect, by some miracle the screen would go from dull gray to

vivid color, but, it didn't.  I also couldn't understand why I kept doing it.

Once I knew all loved ones were safe I could handle the no power,
boring dry food,  standing in lines, closed roads,

 needing a flashlight to navigate the house,

 debris in the yard and more, but, no internet?  

While my sweetie obsessed over enough flashlight and
lanterns to light up a barn. I worried about upset Etsy clients.

I mean really who isn't going to understand sweetie said.

Low on cel phone power, I did my best to send short cryptic
messages to customers.I had never used my phone for that before.  I am not
the "texting" type, but in a pinch glad I had it.

 

Hurricane Irene forced me to think. I can choose my work
to be a passion in my life
 instead of my life.

 A more realistic approach is I simply can't do custom
everything for everyone.
I may want to, and maybe I can but the time table needs to be longer.

Handmade is different then manufacturing.

Yep, Hurricane Irene taught me

that I need to relax, take a deep breath and get out and enjoy views like this more.