Hurricane Sandy: A Haunting...

Image courtesy of Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Hurricane Sandy's {a.k.a. "Frankenstorm"} remnants are still "haunting" the Pittsburgh area this Halloween season. 

We mostly got rain (a lot of it) and wind. Our lights flickered a few times but the power never went out.

I did do some "prepping" or as the professionals call it - "disaster preparedness" before the storm by purchasing enough groceries for 72 hours (3 days) per guidelines provided by emergency services. However, I felt like we were woefully unprepared if something of disaster proportions truly hit. So, it's time for me to hit the books. I have compiled an easy resource for you (and me) to find these disaster preparedness books all in one place. Click here to view them in my store. You can find some or most of these titles at the library. So, feel free to check them out that way for free first. But, with these type of reference books, it may be prudent to at least keep one or two handy in your personal library! If you feel so lead to purchase them, please do so from the Mom's Rambling in PA store. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Flooding is a big concern in the city of three rivers!

It brings back "haunting" memories to me of the flood of 2004 a.k.a. "The day before my wedding". We barely made it across the river before the city closed Allegheny River Boulevard due to flooding. We weren't sure if we were even going to make it on that road because the flooding was so bad. My soon-to-be husband and I had to spend the night at the Days Inn Hotel in Harmarville with one of our bridesmaids after the rehearsal because we couldn't make it back home due to the road closures.

Anyway...done with the flashback...back to Sandy...

My older son, Evan's, school closed today. But, my younger son, Tyler's, preschool remained open. So, he still gets to enjoy his Halloween party and costume parade today. He's a monkey (yes...it's a recycled costume from his older brother but he was excited about it...so it was a win/win!). Evan is excited he'll get to see Tyler's parade today since he normally would not have been able to attend due to school.

Halloween Trick-or-Treating has been rescheduled for most (if not all?) of the local areas from this Wednesday to Saturday. For many families a true challenge will be to stay away from the candy stash for that long! The rescheduled Halloween gives procrastinators (like moi) some extra time to pick out some really cheap pumpkins for the kids to carve up, too.

And, we certainly can't go one Halloween without baked, salted pumpkin seeds, now, can we?!

I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Halloween!

~ Rachael