Friday 21 June 2013

Things to do in a storm

The weather frequently makes the news here in New Zealand. We love impending weather bombs. Then there was that time it snowed in Wellington. It may seem trivial, but I'm actually grateful that we live in a country where there is little 'real' news.

We're used to a bit of wind in Wellington. Sometimes the trees really do look like the ones in this picture. We certainly saw (and felt) a lot of it while driving home last night, as well as a huge flash that took out the street lights in several blocks close to home. Clichés like "the worst storm in 40 years" really grate on me, but we really did experience that in Wellington overnight. The point of reference is the infamous storm of 1968 when the Wahine sank and passengers were washed up on the rocks near Eastbourne, with 53 losing their lives. Apparently the strongest wind gust (admittedly up a hill) was 2 kmh over those experienced in 1968. That's serious stuff.

Our house held up really well. Being concrete, it's pretty solid and we escaped with only minor damage to the garage door. The new roof pretty much paid for itself last night. We also manage to avoid a power cut, but 30,000 other homes in the region weren't so lucky. The roads into town were a mess and damage along Island Bay's coastline is phenomenal.

Due to the chaos hitting roads and rail this morning, I'm working from home and enjoying the super-productivity that results when there are no interruptions and no commuting to fuss with.

Things to do during a storm:
  • Work from home in your jamies and dressing gown. No-one will know.
  • Have a(nother) shower to warm up and get dressed in front of the heater, just like you did when you were a kid.
  • Eat vegetable soup. I'm really glad I made a huge batch a while ago and filled my freezer with it.
  • Drink six shots of espresso. (Ok, that's not ideal, but my 3-cup caffettiera is at work so I used my 6-cup one instead. At least I didn't use my 9-cup!)
  • Listen to Ella Fitzgerald while you're working. She's awesome. Especially when she makes up the words.
Have I forgotten anything?

1 comment:

Kiwi Baker Girl said...

Glad to hear you are safe and sound. Here in Palmy, we have got off pretty lightly. The wind wasn't too bad, we have just had a huge amount of rain. It is also really chilly, just like everywhere else in the country. Keep warm, keep safe and keep baking !