From a HuffPo write up:
"It's like lifting cement. They say it's 2 feet, but I think it's more like 3 feet," said Michael Levesque, who was shoveling snow in Quincy, Mass., for a landscaping company.From WCVB.com:
In Quincy, front-end loaders were used to rescue residents on Narragansett Road in the Hough's Neck section of the city Friday evening, and residents along Shore Road were evacuated. The storm left much of the city in the dark.
By two PM Saturday the snow had mostly quit but there was no sign as to when power (electricity and heat) would be restored It became pretty damned clear that we, Jen, Oni, The Amazing Bob and I, would have to abandon ship -- head over to Jen’s sister Erin’s wood stove heated home. TAB, Coco and I were huddling in bed under a pile of quilts and blankets when Jen texted with the word -- time to pack up and go. We had to vamoose while the tide was low -- at the water’s height the road onto the Neck as well as the street in front of our houses were under six inches of icy, slushy ocean. Not knowing how long we’d be away from home and wanting to be good guests, Jen and I threw enough food and wine to last a week or so into bags. We brought extra blankets, sweaters and pillows. Poor, gracious Erin probably figured we were moving in.
While TAB and I settled in, laying out the Scrabble board and surrounding it with tea lights, Jen and Oni drove to Scituate to rescue Jen and Erin’s mother Donna (yes, yezzzz, Madre McMurrer’s name is the same as mine. Don’t go all Freudian on me now -- K?).
Dinner prep began when Donna and The Rescuers (sounds like a ‘60s doo-wop band, doesn’t it?) arrived.
Despite the great horde of tinned soups Jen and I had brought, Erin began making a big pot of it from scratch. Of course she did! Cooking is what she does. She is, after all, the Test Kitchen Director for Cook’s Illustrated. Yes, I am incredibly, amazingly lucky to have so many fabulous chef friends. I truly am.
What did she make? The most awesome Broccoli Cheese Soup I’ve ever had. It was so incredible that Jen, a life long broccoli hater, is now a convert to the wonders of tiny green trees. Afterward, for dessert, we had TAB’s pumpkin/blueberry pie. Christ, what a feast!
By this time, it was full dark out. Across Quincy Bay we could see Boston’s city lights twinklingly taunting us. Bastids!Our blithe, candlelit, warm gathering of six -- Jen, Oni, Mama Donna, Erin, TAB and I (Erin’s partner PJ was still at work) -- should have been a grand party, eh? It was lovely but I found myself all tense and sad. Warum?
Think about it. I’m deaf. I need light to lipread and, even with illumination, I’m no good in large groups -- too many people talking, often overlapping. It’s too much for me to follow. Two individuals, besides myself, is my lipreading group limit. ‘But Bob and Jen were there -- they could ‘terp for you,’ you say. Yes, yes. True, true BUT it was still dark and I just couldn’t follow their signing. Very isolating.
We woke this morning to POWER! The street lights were on, the porch lights on the houses across the road were glowing, lamp switches responded positively AND I know longer felt so cut off from our slumber party. Huzzah!
High tide, when Sea Street would possibly be under water again, was still a few hours off -- there was time for coffee. Jen and Erin made a fab breakfast of eggs with avocado and chives, English muffins and a glorious dark roast.
Time now to leave Saint Erin's compassionate and generous hospitality and head home to the inevitable guilt trips from all the cats. How dare we leave them alone in dark houses with nothing but dishes of Fancy Feast and treats!
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