Superstorm Sandy sails on through

The lights here went out for about 30 seconds total and somehow the modem got fried, but we were otherwise unaffected by Superstorm Sandy. Family in South Jersey made it through without any damage, cousins in North Jersey lost power, friends who live on Long Beach Island were not so lucky. Last I heard they were still not allowed back on the island to assess the damage, but online photos pretty much tell the story (see above). If the flooding didn't cause enough damage, the sand washing over the island created a true disaster area.

The new job at the Freeman's Journal/Hometown Oneonta weekly newspaper(s) is going well, even though it is only about 20 hours a week. My job is simply to create ads. I don't do all of them, and most of them use existing templates, but I am starting to see a difference—all the vast improvements I have made (hehe). The real benefit is that I am learning InDesign and how to work on a PC. Being a Quark girl who has only dabbled in ID, and only ever worked on a Mac, I felt like I had moved to a foreign country and had to learn a new language, or 2. Almost 3 months in, I am feeling a bit more comfortable.

Goats and pigs and chickens are all thriving, although the hens are either taking a winter vacation from laying eggs or are back to hiding them or eating them. The Husband and I have searched everywhere, and have yet to find the buried treasure chest. We were collecting 7 to 9 eggs a day in the summer; now it's 2, maybe 4 on a good day. My one little araucana who lays blue eggs hasn't given one up in a month.

The Wood Man is settling in. As long as he gets a good run, or 5, he is a happy well behaved dog (mostly) but there are those days where he is just not satisfied with the world. When I was on the phone with Verizon for an hour trying to get the new modem connected, he barked/howled almost the entire time. When I let him outside to try to get some peace, he jumped the back fence and ran like a kook through the back 40—and that was after he had already been out there for a good run just a few minutes before the phone call.

I am currently reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. I am hoping to learn some of Edgar's dog whispering techniques by the time I finish. Problem is, it's hard to whisper and be heard over a howling hound! Here he is, the Wood Man himself, in a more peaceful moment. Quite the handsome boy when he settles down...