Power outage sewing machines
Looking at the scenarios for power outages from Sandy reminded me of some that we've suffered through in the past. Being without power for long periods gets to be tedious (though I'm sure the people facing flooding would be happy with tedious!) so I was thinking a treadle machine would be great to cut the boredom. Then I remembered that lighting is variable during the day.... I'm thinking a hand crank machine could be a nice thing to have around, all ready to go, if we ever went through another long outage. Move it from window to window throughout the day and use the concentration needed to sew well (at least I have to concentrate) to help the time pass more quickly.
For all of our friends in the affected areas - be safe!