Book Board Chat

Good Morning from Penn's Woods where we are now in the eye of the storm. All is calm after a very windy and rainy yesterday. While the rain was not too bad, the winds and the wind gusts were high. Just received a phone call from my hairdresser wanting to know about Swifty. How nice is that! Although my one aunt did call to ask about him, not a peep from my brothers. Guess they figure Swifty isn't stupid but still...:-)

Haven't had time to read the board since around the last time I posted so I'll be back a bit later after I have had a chance to do so.

Jim @dainisjg ~ The mini-office area is so cool, but what DH and I really, really liked is the pull-out pantry. BTW when I said good thing that DH was slender to that he could fit in the broom closet - I meant sideways . Closet was 12 inches wide. I sent an email to Swifty to show him your pull-out pantry. that in case he finds himself in a place where that would be workable. When DH saw it he liked it so much that he said that it wasn't too late and he could build that for Swifty's broom closet where he just put in the shelves. AGH! Enough! It would have been one thing to have had the idea before but to do it now??? He has enough other time-consuming little things there to take care off as it is. And don't get me started on all the things around here! LOL

I did receive an email from Swifty on Sunday saying that the pantry was now full and that now he had some empty cupboards and could order more food. I had to laugh at seeing about 10 boxes of Organic Mac and white cheddar cheese. He said, "Do you know how much cheaper things are when you order by the case?" For someone who used to do nothing but takeout, it is nice to see that he is starting to cook a little - even if it is only box and frozen stuff. He made lunch time his main meal.

He called early this morning. I was so glad to hear from him. Last we were in touch was last evening around 9 pm when he emailed to say that he had posted some pixs on facebook. Not the greatest since he wasn't using his good camera and it was very dark, but enough to make out that the Starbucks across the street where I get DH and I coffee was flooded. Swifty had told me that his building was right on the edge of A zone and mandatory evacuations had been ordered. I found a map where I entered his address and yep, not just one the edge but the pin was right on the line. One either side of him was B zone. He said that residents of his building last night were saying they should petition to get changed to at least a B if not a C. The building behind them is a C and given that the waters once again never got past the far edge of the British Garden which has never flooded in its history. Yesterday the water reached the same point and then receded.

I heard those words that mothers know will come, "You were right, Mom." He found out that the battery operated emergency lights in the stairwells only stay on for 2-3 hours and it would have been nice to have a flashlight! Seems the residents of the building who stayed went down to the lobby at high tide/surge around 9pm. On his way down the stairs, he met two people who were wearing 'head lights' so that lit his way down and on the way back up 9 flights he used his phone flashlight. Now I have several Christmas gifts to put on his list - 2 head lights from Gander Mts., flash light, box of matches and a candle! He did say that he met lots of his neighbors now.

On the reports of there being 4 or 5 feet of water on the floor of the Stock Exchange - false. I heard that flipping channels and it was on the one that Nancy Grace is on so that might it suspect right there. But as DH and I discussed we could not figure out how there could be all that water on the stock exchange floor when it was located behind where Swifty is and is up a hill. Best we could come up with is that maybe the water from Battery Park had surged in there. Swifty said that the water was in the sub-basement or basement, not on the main floor.

Speaking of Battery Park, we are so glad that he did not buy there! The prices looked so good (relatively speaking) and you got a larger, newer place for the money. The downside was that it was quite a distance from the first subway stop. Swifty had told us that it was built on fill. DH and I thought it was similar to the Back Bay in Boston where it was fill from the 1700s or at least the 1800s. Turns out the fill was from the 1970s when they built the World Trade Center! We had just driven by there on our way home on Sat. and to think it was then 13-15 feet under water.

Helen @10bbg10 You and others might like looking at these maps. It shows how the tip of Manhattan has been filled in over the centuries. Swifty lives on solid ground - it was there since 1690 when the Dutch settled there. If you look at the map in the area with the bold black outline on the right hand side, you will see a triangle. That is Hanover Square where he lives. The sorta star shape down below near the tip is the fort and the bold line with 'jagged' edges is where the wall was. If I knew before, I had long forgotten how Wall Street got it's name. A wee bit of American history with these maps. I've always enjoyed reading maps.

Growth of Manhattan: 1650-1980

http://tinyurl.com/8zlkld8

Layers of Manhattan

http://tinyurl.com/97ur9sv