We just got word from Sonja and Ted Decker letting us know they are ok and so are the Sherwoods.  Here's what they wrote:
Hi Jane,

Just saw on the blog that you were concerned about folks on Long Island.  We talked with Diane Sherwood yesterday and she and Don are doing well.  They still don't have power back but no damage was done to their home.  She said they have been "camping" the last few days, using their fireplace and candles.  We were fortunate here in Woodstown, NJ to escape without any damage.  It's difficult to believe the pictures we are seeing just 50 miles east of us in the shore areas.  This was truly a horrific storm.

Thanks for your concern.

Sonja and Ted Decker

We are very glad to have that information to pass on to other members of our Joe's Pond Community.  It's difficult when the power and phone systems are interrupted, and from the news we're seeing, it's hard to find a place to charge one's cell phone, and in lots of places there's a severe shortage of gasoline.  

We had snow on the colder surfaces this morning, and there are snow showers going on.  The hills in Walden are white, and I expect it may be white with snow on the Plain, just a little above us.  We haven't been up there, but there is often snow there when we're still green.  The thermometer is still hanging out at around 30 degrees, and there's a sharp north or northeast wind that is biting.  It's not a very pleasant day outside, and if it's also getting colder in the areas hit so hard by Sandy, it's going to be much worse for those poor people.  I took this picture a few minutes ago while the snow is coming down fairly steadily.  We may have more white showing up by tonight.

We heard today from Fred's brother that his son Dean, who lives in Gilford, `Connecticut, is ok but they lost power during the storm, and last night the wrong transformer was installed which sent a power surge into their home starting a fire at their electrical box.  The fire department responded, and Dean was able to get an electrician this morning to put in a new box, but now none of their appliances work including furnace, fridge, computer, hot water heater, etc. - apparently all damaged by the surge.  Dean said the crew who installed the wrong transformer was out of Canada.  

Speaking of Canada - did you see the piece this morning on CBS about President Chester A. Arthur possibly having been born in Canada, not in Fairfax, Vermont?  We had never heard there was any doubt about where he was born, but apparently there's also some dispute about the year, as well.  I found the following on Wickipedia: 

  William Arthur's frequent moves would later form the basis for accusations that Chester Arthur was not a native-born citizen of the United States. After Arthur was nominated for Vice President in 1880, his political opponents suggested that he might be constitutionally ineligible to hold that office.^[9] A New York attorney, Arthur P. Hinman, apparently hired by his opponents, explored rumors of Arthur's foreign birth.^[10] Hinman initially alleged that Arthur was born in Ireland and did not come to the United States until he was fourteen years old, which would make him ineligible for the Vice Presidency under the United States Constitution's natural-born citizen clause.^[10][c] When that story did not take root, Hinman spread a new rumor that Arthur was born in Canada, but this claim also failed to gain credence.^[10]

According to the folks in Canada, he was born in 1830, while Arthur always claimed the year was 1829.  Unfortunately, just before his death, he burned most of his personal papers that might have shed some light on this dispute.