It’s been a hectic several weeks here at String Central, encompassing major transitions and a very small crumb of  Hurricane Sandy.

First on the transitions – I’ve left my job to concentrate on our India migration preparations.  I’ve not made a secret of being a professional proposal manager, but I’ve avoided naming my former employer here to date.  I will miss my colleagues at iRobot, where I worked on the defense and safety side of the house.  I supported robotics research; and the various robots used for bomb disposal, infantry support, and nuclear clean-up.  It’s hard to beat the combo of brilliance, passion, and creativity at a place like that, or knowing that the work you were doing helped people save lives on a daily basis. 

In the midst of emotional upheaval of leaving, the recent storm provided a reality check. 

We had it nowhere near as bad here as folks further south in New York and New Jersey.  Shout-outs of support and sympathy to those in my childhood neighborhoods of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn and Teaneck, NJ (Bergen County); to Long Time Needlework Pal Kathryn in New Jersey and to Mathilde, also near the landfall area; and to all others suffering the storm’s aftermath.

AN ASIDE:

Please join me in offering assistance to those in need by donating to the charity of your choice, or to the American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/

Unfortunately, times like this bring out lots of bottom feeders. I strongly suggest heeding the advice here before unlimbering your wallet.

We were without power until Thursday here – the result of a small but spectacular power line fire in front of our house, that occurred at the height of the storm.  It took about 2.5 hours before the utility had a truck free to turn off the electricity.  In the mean time, we had a leaping, sparking power line; and a spreading turf fire. Luckily the ground was wet, so the fire burned down into the lawn instead of spreading the short distance to the house and cars, but it was so intense that the copper itself burned (green flames) and the turf vitrified into solid, red-hot masses.  When the power was safely out, the fire department came to dig out and extinguish the blaze.  The only casualties ended up being a swathe of grass, our collective nerves, and some refrigerator perishables that didn’t survive the lingering power outage. 

Thanks to the first responders who came to shepherd the hazard and stayed with it through the worst of the wind, and to the crews that dealt with the fire and its aftermath.

We still have no land line phone, but that’s just a minor annoyance.

Halloween did happen here, although with a dark street, only the most intrepid and candy-hungry kids came to our door.  But we were ready:

(Sadly, the head sensor gizmo on Younger Daughter’s pumpkin Dalek did not survive the first wave of trick-or-treaters).

And finally, after all this blather – report on what needlework progress I was able to manage by candlelight:

The finish of the cotton Kombu Scarf:

And most of yet another Lattice Wingspan:

I plan to invest my new found daylight hours in additional post-storm clean-up, attending to India related preparations, fixing the vintage yarn chart/needle size chart for reposting here, studying Hindi, and working to get T2CM out the door.  In more or less that order.