Bringing Paradise to Me

After all the anticipation, preparation, and hype, Hurricane Irene turned out to be a dud in my neck of the woods. We did have quite a bit of rain and the wind has been whipping pretty good, but we never even lost electricity. Some areas saw more damage than others—downed trees, flooding, storm surge and the like. Some of these areas are only minutes from me. It’s strange how Mother Nature works. But I thank each and every one of you for your concern, whether mentioned here on my blog or on Twitter.

In the last few days, with all the bad weather yet to come, I often thought about my favorite place to be. Well, if truth be told, I often think about it anyway. I had come up with an idea this past summer, that if I couldn’t be there every day (at least for right now), that I’d bring a bit of my paradise to me.

While on vacation this year, I bought several postcards of Vermont scenery to use in my Filo.


My stock of postcards.

I punched each one with my Filofax personal punch. Since the postcards are a bit smaller than the personal paper, it isn’t an exact science. I just lined up the holes evenly to the postcard as best I could. I keep one card in the front of my Filo at all times.
The current postcard in my Filo.

I have a transparent fly leaf lying overtop the postcard to keep it nice for as long as possible. It is the first thing I see when opening my binder. It always makes me smile. I will change out the postcard with the seasons, though I am lacking in a winter scene. They are hard to come by in the summer time. But it’s the perfect excuse to visit again in the late fall (though maybe I should have thought of that when I was there last fall). In any event, this small addition to my planner makes a huge difference to me.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, whether in a hurricane or your own paradise.

*Update: Since writing this post I have come to learn that Vermont has experienced great devastation due to Hurricane Irene. The area my family and I visit every year is one that was heavily impacted. The videos and news coverage show just how much destruction the state has endured. It is heartbreaking for me to see it. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone the terrible flooding has impacted, my own family especially.

Comments

  1. Love your use of postcards! They should hold up well in your planner. And while Irene wasn't all she was supposed to be, I am grateful you and others I know in the NE area are well. :)

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  2. I love the idea of adding a postcard to the front of your filofax! I have some stuck in the back of mine, mainly as a place to write down lists of a more permanent nature (long term goals, etc).

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  3. Thanks!

    Sandra - Thanks for thinking of me (us). Some places got hit fairly hard, mostly with flooding. Since I am not directly on the water, we were spared that problem.

    Emilia - Thanks! On the back side of my current postcard I have a list of things to keep in mind when anxiety strikes. That list is on a post-it though so it too can be changed when need be.

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  4. Thanks to Irene... that mystery woman... my knowledge of the geography of NE USA improved this weekend.. I watched her progress and worked out which Philofaxers it was passing by.

    I had some long FB chats with Nan, yesterday and today as she was posting lots of videos and pictures of the rain falling in her neighbourhood.

    I'm pleased that it was only a bit of rain and strong winds, and that you are all safe.

    Great idea with the post cards...

    Stay safe and have a good week

    Steve

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  5. When I was 13 or 14 living in the Gers in France, we had a storm. I don't know exactly what it was, but it was quite an experience. Me, my dad and my brother were out, and we were just going back home at about 8pm, so it was dark. We were in the car park about to get in the car, when it started raining, which is quite normal. We were driving home, a few minutes down the road, when the winds started really violently and broke some tree branches off into the road, so my dad had to swerve around them. I remember the rain hammering at the windows and it was quite scary. Then by the time we got home 15 minutes later, it was all over. My mum was waiting at the gate, and she told us the rain had got through the roof into my brother's bedroom light, so he wouldn't be able sleep in his room. The next morning, we went outside to look at the damage, and saw that the wind had broken some roof tiles off the house and the garage into the pool, and the pool cover (which wasn't attached) had been picked up, turned around and thrown over the 2 foot-high wall! So we figured there must have been a small tornado in our garden! We were worried about our parents' friends, one of whom lived on the edge of a hill. Their house was fine, but another friend's house, a little while down the road, had been really damaged, with the roof ripped off the house and the garage destroyed! Funny what the weather does!

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  6. Steve - In my previous post, when mentioning other areas (North Carolina and New Jersey), I added links to them for that reason - I didn't want to leave anyone in the dark about the geography to which I was referring. But I'm in the same boat when UKers talk about different areas - I don't have a clue. I should really take a geography class since I'm now interacting with people on the other side of the world. ;) I saw Nan's videos but didn't get a chance to watch them. I was thinking of her and Zoe all day, wondering how they were faring.

    TPS - Wow, that does sound like a tornado. I've never been near one myself (and hope never to be, as they scare me to bits), but I have heard they are very sporadic like that, destroying one side of the street while the other looks as if it hadn't been touched. Crazy stuff out there.

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  7. TPS that must have been really scary! So far (knock wood) Trinidad has managed to escape from very sever hurricanes as we are so far south in the Caribbean.
    Kanalt I enjoyed your postcards. Maybe one day I will travel to that part of the world.

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  8. CP - I wondered how Trinidad fared during hurricane season. If you do travel here to the US, let me know - I'd love to meet up with you!

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  9. I am glad you are safe. Just wondering how many scenes of your post cards are the same now in Vermont after the horrendous flooding they are experiencing now.

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  10. Thanks, Crofter. Actually, I was going to do an update post on that, or at least a comment. The town where we stay every year has been destroyed by flooding. And not far away, there was so much flooding that it took out streets and covered bridges that had been there for more than 100 years. It's really very sad to see the destruction. I have been looking at videos on YouTube and the news, and it's just heartbreaking to see what everyone there is going through.

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