Frankenstorm

I'm lying in bed trying to think about going to sleep while the western edge of the infamous "Frankenstorm" rages outside.

North central Ohio is under a high wind warning through tomorrow. With gusts expected around 60 mph it's not quite as bad as what New Jersy is dealing with, but it's certainly enough to shake the upper floors of this house and make me cross my fingers that we won't end up losing power...or have one of the front-yard trees smash our cars. There's also supposed to be some flooding up by Lake Erie and in low-lying areas around local rivers, but I think Rob and I should be mostly high and dry...though we just received an email from the owner of the house warning us to watch for flooding in the basement from water seeping up through the foundation.

...and the house continues to groan, and shudder...

It seems odd to me that this is the second time in about a year that I've experienced the outer reaches of a nasty tropical storm...and in both cases, I was quite a ways inland. The last one (remnants of Irene & Lee in Ithaca NY) gave us quite a show after its departure!

I'm not as afraid of storms as I was when I was a kid, but this one is really giving me the shivers for some reason. Maybe its because I can't find any of my flashlights (must still be in one of my unpacked moving boxes). Or more likely, it's because the house shakes with every sustained gust of wind...I may be less bothered by storms, but earthquakes are still high on my list of most potent phobias, and right now my brain doesn't seem to be making much of a distinction between the two.

At the same time, I know that somewhere up there a big, beautiful full moon is illuminating the tops of some incredible cloud formations. Jupiter and its moons should be up and about as well. I'll bet the view above the storm is incredible!