Power Outage

Power Outage, a photo by Guzilla on Flickr.

So Uncle Grant and Leighton watch a movie on a laptop.

Hurricane Prom Date

Hurricane Prom Date, a photo by Guzilla on Flickr.

Leighton and Hunter

Baby's First Hurricane

Baby's First Hurricane, a photo by Guzilla on Flickr.

Inside Gramercy Park

Gramercy Park

Madison Square Park

Blizzard

The Czarina in Snowy New York

Snowed in at Granny's House!

Yet Another Reason Manhattan Rules

Ahh the "Hotel Manhattan"... Why live anywhere else? You can get nearly anything delivered, around the clock and - because it's a blizzard - Delivery.com is even running a 25% off special. Fabulous. You don't even have to talk to anyone & you can get world-class food and booze delivered.

Shut-ins get a bad rap...

Blizzard in New York Promotion

Get 25% off!

Offer valid through February 27, 2010.

You have enrolled in the Blizzard in New York Promotion.

Baby's First Blizzard

16.9 inches & counting in Central Park

Snow

In Manhattan. Plows & accumulation & such.

HUGE Waves!

Hurricane Bill mostly missed us but kicked up HUGE Surf @ Surfside on Nantucket

Storms Destroy Parts of Central Park

wow... article HERE.

“Central Park has been devastated,” Adrian Benepe, the city parks commissioner, said in an interview on Wednesday morning. “It created more damage than I’ve seen in 30 years of working in the parks.”

Monika Graff for The New York Times

A walkway in Central Park. The damage, which was concentrated in the northern third of the
park, included pin oaks, American elms and tulip trees dating to the turn of the last century.

It's SNOWING!!

No, no, no, no, no! I am ready for Spring!  

Also, woke up this morning & my sternum hurts.  Not nearly the type of "chest pain" that would cause alarm (also on the wrong side) but not quite the musculature pain I would expect either.  Can one sleep on one's sternum wrong?

"NOLA on a deserted Saturday Night"

the latest from Marvelous Matt S. who spent most of the night at the Spotted Cat:

"I'm wandering.  Jackson Square is all boarded up.  The museums are all claiming to reopen on Wednesday.  I'm alone on Pirate's Alley.

A lot of the hotels are closed and have booted their guests.  The Bourbon Orleans has a notice on its doors saying that as mandatory evacuation happens at 8am that all guests have to check out prior to that.

Just walked over to Frenchmen Street which is pretty much shut down with shows cancelled.

This town is creeping me out as I am pretty much alone on the streets.  Sticking to Bourbon on walk home."

The Latest from New Orleans

from our dear friend Lucy: 

"Hello everyone,

Just to let everyone know that Ivette and I are fine we are in the French Quarter and depending on what happens tomorrow we will make a decision whether we have to leave as of right now in Orleans Parish is not mandatory to leave but most likely a mandatory evacuation will be announced tomorrow, right now everything is fine in new orleans and the hurricane is not coming to new orleans it's headed west of us.  we are worried about the rain and the floods it will bring, though the French Quarter is the highest grounds, I'm going to work tonight and I'm staying upstairs at the bar, a lot of our friends are here: Bliss, JO, my bosses are here too so I think we'll be safe and fine in the Quarter.

so please don't worry about us if we have to go we'll keep you posted."

Not as thoroughly convincing as I would like, but a local report nonetheless...  Meanwhile the science says Gustav is at the upper reaches of Category 4 strength and could strengthen to a Cat 5 soon.  Although current models predict it will hit west of New Orleans at Cat 3 strength, thoughts & prayers please...

Gustav

This is profoundly not good... Gustav looks to be gathering strength and on a dangerous course. Marvelous Matt S. is in New Orleans right now and both he & Jeffrey have described the mood down there as tense, with Matt even scheduling an earlier return flight just in case. According to nola.com Governor Bobby Jindal has upped the timeline and phased evacuations could begin as early as Saturday. Thoughts & prayers, please, thoughts & prayers. Remember that Katrina was also a Category 3 when it hit and was also only a glancing blow to New Orleans. Plus, not all of the necessary repairs have been made...