Tuesday, September 28, 2004. 1:00 p.m. The power is still on, and we are all happy about that. Porter is currently up on the roof, making repairs, and is glad that the pool is looking better this morning. Jonathan, Heather and I have a date to see some friends this afternoon, but we hope to get in some yardwork and a swim, too. Jonathan is not yet very helpful with the yardwork, but makes up for it by being incredibly cute as he tries to handle the rake. And he really enjoys the swimming part afterwards.
posted by sursumcorda on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at 01:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:15 p.m. We didn’t get our swim in. We were just finishing in the front yard when Porter came home. Since we had discovered that we were cooler working outside than we had been sitting inside, Porter decided it was time to take the rest of the plywood down so we could open the windows. During the process Jonathan discovered a stream of water in the gutter and got his shoes soaking wet. Leaving him (with his mother watching, of course) to splash and play in his naked glory, I took his shoes in to clean them up. While I was inside, the phone rang. The cordless phone rang. Wait a minute...the cordless phone doesn’t work unless we have POWER! Sure enough, the power was on; our best guess was that it came on around 6:30. Twenty-nine and a half hours without power this time. We welcomed the return of light and A/C and computing power with 100% gratitude, but also with the usual small percentage of wistfulness, as there is something magical about being without electricity. Hot, and dark, and sometimes frustrating, but also, in a way, fun. Not that I’m in any hurry for more of that fun for a while!
Porter made a trip to Home Depot tonight, as we lost enough shingles this time to require some temporary roof repair. I’m glad the store was open; when Heather and I went out, we found most stores closed, including two of our three grocery stores, and most gas stations.
Jon made it safely home. In fact, his was the call that let us know the power was back.
Jonathan is really happy to have the air conditioning back on; he was one hot and sweaty kid! While the power was off, he’d kept staring at the lights with a puzzled look, as if he couldn’t understand why we didn’t turn them on. When the power came back on, he still focused on the lights; this time with a big smile.
Time for a shower and a night’s sleep. Good night, all!
Porter made a trip to Home Depot tonight, as we lost enough shingles this time to require some temporary roof repair. I’m glad the store was open; when Heather and I went out, we found most stores closed, including two of our three grocery stores, and most gas stations.
Jon made it safely home. In fact, his was the call that let us know the power was back.
Jonathan is really happy to have the air conditioning back on; he was one hot and sweaty kid! While the power was off, he’d kept staring at the lights with a puzzled look, as if he couldn’t understand why we didn’t turn them on. When the power came back on, he still focused on the lights; this time with a big smile.
Time for a shower and a night’s sleep. Good night, all!
posted by sursumcorda on Monday, September 27, 2004 at 09:15 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Monday, September 27, 2004. 4:30 p.m. I apologize for the long delay between updates. Just after 1:00 yesterday afternoon, as the storm was nearly over, we lost power. In fact, we are still without power, making it the longest outage for us of the three hurricanes. Porter is working from a friend’s house, the friend having both power and high-speed connection to share.
The airport opened at noon today, and we took Jon to the airport where we assume he had no trouble catching his flight, though we haven’t heard yet. We chose to take the longer, but mostly-expressway route, as uncontrolled intersections made the other roads difficult to travel. With each hurricane we get better, however: many of the important intersections had working lights, powered by generators.
Jonathan is still enjoying himself, though he is anxious for the pool to be open again. I put some chlorine in, and when it has had a chance to dissipate we may indulge. It looks a little gross, with pump and filter not working, but it should be safe and cool. When they ask Jonathan what he thinks of Florida, he’s going to say, “The people are nice, but it sure is hot and dark there.”
I’m not sure when my next update will be. We’re fine, but if you need to get in touch with us, phone is more reliable at this point than e-mail.
We’re off to do some yardwork. It will make the pool and/or cold shower feel that much better, and help justify all the really soft ice cream we have to eat.
The airport opened at noon today, and we took Jon to the airport where we assume he had no trouble catching his flight, though we haven’t heard yet. We chose to take the longer, but mostly-expressway route, as uncontrolled intersections made the other roads difficult to travel. With each hurricane we get better, however: many of the important intersections had working lights, powered by generators.
Jonathan is still enjoying himself, though he is anxious for the pool to be open again. I put some chlorine in, and when it has had a chance to dissipate we may indulge. It looks a little gross, with pump and filter not working, but it should be safe and cool. When they ask Jonathan what he thinks of Florida, he’s going to say, “The people are nice, but it sure is hot and dark there.”
I’m not sure when my next update will be. We’re fine, but if you need to get in touch with us, phone is more reliable at this point than e-mail.
We’re off to do some yardwork. It will make the pool and/or cold shower feel that much better, and help justify all the really soft ice cream we have to eat.
posted by sursumcorda on Monday, September 27, 2004 at 04:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
11:30 a.m. Still here, still fine, still have power, wind is anything but still. Impressive gusts, but sustained winds aren’t bad. We jump mostly when a gust pulls the trap door to the attic open and slams it down, or when a metal piece of the chimney cap buckles and snaps back. Daytona Beach is getting pounded by one of the outer bands, while the center of the hurricane heads for Tampa. Take a look at the satellite picture to see how Jeanne is spread over the whole state and more.
I don’t know where this came from originally—it seems to be one of those things that arise spontaneously from the e-mail murk. But there’s a lot of truth in it!
You might be a Floridian if…
And finally, you might be a Floridian if...
You ask your sister up north to start saving the Sunday Real Estate classifieds!
I don’t know where this came from originally—it seems to be one of those things that arise spontaneously from the e-mail murk. But there’s a lot of truth in it!
You might be a Floridian if…
- You exhibit a slight twitch when introduced to anyone with the first names of Charley, Frances, Ivan or Jeanne.
- Your freezer never has more than $20 worth of food in it at any given time.
- You’re looking at paint swatches for the plywood on your windows, to accent the house color.
- You think of your hall closet/saferoom as “cozy.”
- Your pool is more accurately described as “framed in” rather than “screened in.”
- Your freezer in the garage now only has homemade ice in it.
- You no longer worry about relatives visiting during the summer months.
- You too haven’t heard back from the insurance adjuster.
- You now understand what that little “2% hurricane deductible” phrase really means.
- You’re putting a collage together on your driveway of roof shingles from your neighborhood.
- You were once proud of your 16” electric chain saw.
- Your street has more than 3 “NO WAKE” signs posted.
- You now own 5 large ice chests.
- You’re considering upgrading your 16” electric to a 20” gas chainsaw.
- You know what “bar chain oil” is.
- Your parrot can now say “hammered, pounded and hunker down.”
- You recognize people in line at the free ice, gas, and plywood locations.
- You stop what you’re doing to clap and wave when you see a convoy of power company trucks come down your street.
- You’re depressed when they don’t stop.
- You have the personal cell phone numbers of the managers for: plywood, roofing, supplies and generators at Lowes on your speed dialer.
- You’ve spent more than $20 on “Tall white kitchen bags” to make your own sand bags.
- You’re thinking of getting your wife the hardhat with the ear protector AND face shield for Christmas.
- You now think the $6000 whole-house generator seems reasonable.
- You look forward to discussions about the merits of “cubed, block and dry ice.”
- Your therapist refers to your condition as “generator envy.”
- You fight the urge to put on your winter coat and wool cap and parade around in front of your picture window when you finally get power and your neighbor across the street, with the noisy generator, doesn’t.
- You’re thinking of shaving your head and getting a black Gor-Tex rain suit like Jim Cantore has and so is your husband.
And finally, you might be a Floridian if...
You ask your sister up north to start saving the Sunday Real Estate classifieds!
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 26, 2004 at 11:43 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:45 a.m. We should be at church now, but storm—not to mention curfew—made the 40-minute trip an unwise venture. We did, however, have a great time of singing hymns with Heather at the piano, Jon and Porter singing, Jonathan exploring the living room, and me singing while running back and forth between the living room and the kitchen, so that the lemon-blueberry pancakes didn’t burn.
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 26, 2004 at 09:45 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
11:30 p.m. Okay, now it feels as if I’m preparing for a hurricane: I’m baking a pound cake. I think the Daleys are asleep, but Porter and I are still up, doing odds and ends (like baking, and getting the hall ready for occupation) while keeping track of the storm. It looks as if it will hit here sooner than expected, maybe about 4 a.m. I understand one of the greatest concerns is that so many people have just given up. Like one of our neighbors, who didn’t bother to put up his plywood this time. Compliance with evacuation orders is much, much lower, with many fewer people going to shelters. This despite the fact that the news commentators are saying, “Think the intensity of Charley with the duration of Frances.”
I was worried about Ivan, but Jeanne was weak and wandering for so long that I had all but forgotten about her. However, as we learned from The Hobbit:
I was worried about Ivan, but Jeanne was weak and wandering for so long that I had all but forgotten about her. However, as we learned from The Hobbit:
It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 11:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
10:30 p.m. Just after writing that, I heard some wind gusts, but we still don’t expect much till tomorrow.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 10:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:30 p.m. Thank you again for your prayers—don’t stop just because my updates aren’t quite as frequent as before. It’s harder to find time for computer work when there’s a lovely baby to play with!
I feel simultaneously the most prepared and the least prepared of all the hurricanes. Most prepared because we get better each time, and much of the work was already done. Least because this is the first time I haven’t been running around frantically, getting things done. I suppose it helps that I did some of that (housekeeping, shopping) in preparation for the Daleys’ visit. I didn’t bake this time, however. Yet. Maybe tomorrow if we have power.
HJ&J treated us to a wonderful dinner at the Melting Pot (fondue), which also helped keep hurricane fears at bay. The WMAG was very well behaved for so long a meal. He ate bits and pieces of many foods, and enjoyed making friends at other tables. Our dessert fondue was an incredible dark chocolate with crème de menthe and Bailey’s Irish cream (Heather’s concoction). So maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t do any baking....
When we returned, the forecast was bleak enough that we put up more plywood. Then we did the little things: bringing in the remaining loose objects (grill, pool equipment, hanging plants, and such; filling the tub and other containers with water; making sure the cell phone and computer batteries are charged.
We had been so looking forward to taking HJ&J to church with us tomorrow, and many people there are anxious to see them. They had also planned to see family in Daytona Beach tomorrow, really the only day they can do it, since Jon leaves Monday. Weather permitting, of course. But it will take a miracle indeed to pull off those plans, as it looks as if tomorrow will be the worst day. However, as I keep saying, there’s still time for Jeanne to turn aside, and she’s been nothing if not capricious.
Not that I don’t fear and respect the hurricane’s power, but the associated tornadoes scare me even more. They just gave instructions on the radio for what to do in a tornado, including crawling under a workbench in a room with no windows. The only room with no windows here is the hall, and a workbench wouldn’t fit into it. But that’s okay, because we don’t have a workbench. I’d dig a storm cellar if it wouldn’t immediately fill with water. :) It’s a good thing the brachiation ladder is held up with hurricane brackets. It goes the length of the hall and provides an extra layer of protection. Or entertainment, if need be.
For now, all is calm here, and we hope to get a little sleep before the worst hits. I hope to be able to make an early morning update. Good night, all, and we love you!
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 09:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
10:30 a.m. Porter and Jon just finished putting the plywood back up. It goes much faster when you have two strong workers—and when you already have the boards cut and the holes drilled! They also did not put up all the boards; we’re waiting for more data before decided what to do about the “safer” side of the house. I’d say the house looks weird—but we had the plywood on for so long that it actually doesn’t seem strange at all. It’s no good keeping it up all season, however; there are other risks in life besides hurricanes, and having the windows all boarded up is not good in case of fire, as has been tragically shown in Florida already this month.
I think the WMAG is going down for a nap....
I think the WMAG is going down for a nap....
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 10:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Saturday, September 25, 2004. 8:00 a.m. The Daleys arrived safely last night. Although at the time of Frances I assured them that they did not want to be here if a hurricane came through, we’re very glad to see them! Last time they moved out of the hurricane’s way. We would be very grateful if the hurricane did the moving this time.
The car seat was ready and waiting to receive the WMAG, who promptly fell asleep. After returning home, we followed suit.
The car seat was ready and waiting to receive the WMAG, who promptly fell asleep. After returning home, we followed suit.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 08:00 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Friday, September 24, 2004. 2:45 p.m. Back from a morning marathon shopping trip. Not particularly hurricane-related, though it's hard to resist picking up a few more supplies: an extra flashlight, some batteries.... Just lots of errands that I wanted to do today and tried to fit in before everyone else decided to go to the store. I was pretty successful. It was crowded, but not overly so, and certainly not like last time. Now our library books will ride out the hurricane, if it comes, safely in the library. Now I have what I need to complete Heather's birthday present (except for one piece of information, which is trying to find its way out of Janet's busy life). We're celebrating her birthday while she's here, even though it's a month away yet. Hmmm, by that logic, maybe we should celebrate Jonathan's 10-month birthday, which just passed.
Porter decided that putting up the plywood again can wait till Saturday. We want the house to look a little more welcoming for Heather's first time home in three years. And, not coincidentally, by Saturday we will have someone here who is young, male, and strong. :) Oh, wait. We'll have TWO additional people here who are young, male, and strong.
By the way, Happy 12th Birthday, You-Know-Who!
Porter decided that putting up the plywood again can wait till Saturday. We want the house to look a little more welcoming for Heather's first time home in three years. And, not coincidentally, by Saturday we will have someone here who is young, male, and strong. :) Oh, wait. We'll have TWO additional people here who are young, male, and strong.
By the way, Happy 12th Birthday, You-Know-Who!
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 24, 2004 at 02:45 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Thursday, September 23, 2004. 6:30 p.m. Janet, now back in school, said she misses getting regular updates from us via the website. Jeanne seems to agree, because the latest forecast has her paying us a visit this Sunday. It's not likely—this time—to interfere with the Daleys' flight tomorrow. (This visit is the rescheduling of the one that was cancelled by Frances.) But what it will do for the rest of their visit remains to be seen. I reiterate my statement: Just because we went through one hurricane with Janet, I don't feel any obligation to even things up by going through one with Heather. "Jeanne, Jeanne, go away..."; after what Ivan did, I won't even think about "come again some other day."
We took the plywood off our windows this weekend. It's neatly put away in the garage, behind a lot of boxes. But it can all come out again, and go back on the windows.... Maybe it would be good if you'd add us to your prayer list permanently—or at least till the end of hurricane season. :)
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 23, 2004 at 06:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Wednesday, September 22, 2004. 9:15 a.m. Jeanne is dancing around and driving all the computer models crazy, and more storms are tumbling along around her.
posted by sursumcorda on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 at 09:16 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Sunday, September 19, 2004. 11:45 p.m. Here is a picture from Heather & Jon’s website of what Ivan did to Pittsburgh.
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 19, 2004 at 11:45 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Saturday, September 18, 2004. 6:00 p.m. Ivan is hitting Philadelphia hard, too. NMKB lost a tree, found a couple of leaks thanks to the enormity of the rains, and were without power and phone for a while.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 18, 2004 at 06:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Saturday, September 18, 2004. 7:45 a.m. Jeanne's projected path is looking much nicer for us, and Hurricane Karl, though stronger, is comfortably far away.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 18, 2004 at 07:45 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:45 p.m. The news stories I could find online were slow to provide information, but finally it got Google’s attention. Check out KDKA for Pittsburgh news. Jon said that Bigelow Blvd. was closed due to mudslides.
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 17, 2004 at 09:45 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
7:30 p.m. We just heard from Heather. Jon made it home safely. He was cold and wet, but now he’s warm and dry. :)
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 17, 2004 at 07:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Friday, September 17, 2004. 6:15 p.m. Jeanne is doing her best to assure us that no storm is too small to pray about. At one point, one of the computer models had her looping around and crossing Florida a couple of times! Now the models disagree wildly, though the outlook seems better.
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 17, 2004 at 06:15 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Friday, September 17, 2004. 6:15 p.m. As devastating as Ivan has been, I had though I was done with personal commentary on this hurricane. I was wrong. It’s already reaching up to Pittsburgh, which is enduring flooding, evacuations, and power outages. People are stranded at work because so many roads are closed. Jon is walking home, expected to be about an hour, except that he is stopping to help various people along the way. Theoretically the buses are running, but there’s not much point in catching one, since the traffic is mostly not moving. With the temperature about 60 degrees, and heavy rain, he’ll be ready for the hot chocolate Heather is fixing for him!
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 17, 2004 at 06:15 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Thursday, September 16, 2004. 6:30 a.m. If I'd known that this season's hurricanes were to be of such intense personal interest, I'd have started keeping track with Alex.
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 16, 2004 at 06:39 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Tuesday, September 14, 2004. 6:15 a.m. The word is that our friend’s family on Cayman Brac fared well, though Grand Cayman (which was in a less favorable position) was hit hard. They say that Ivan is the sixth most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record.
posted by sursumcorda on Tuesday, September 14, 2004 at 06:15 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Monday, September 13, 2004. 9:30 a.m. I said that the flooding doesn’t directly affect us, but that’s not quite true. We’ve been making more of an effort to conserve water—a good thing anyway—in order to reduce the load on the sewage treatment plants, which in turn reduces the quantity of water released into the rivers. It’s sobering to realize that one’s toilet flush could contribute to the flooding of someone’s home. The trick will be to get out of the habit of not flushing every time when we have visitors and when we go to other people’s houses. :)
posted by sursumcorda on Monday, September 13, 2004 at 09:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Sunday, September 12, 2004. 10:00 p.m. It was good to go to church today. We had only missed a week, but it felt like a year. I wonder if Albert Einstein considered the fact that hurricanes distort time.
Floodwaters have not yet crested from Frances. Lake Monroe is up to the sea wall in Sanford, and is expected to flood even without any more rain. We stopped at the gas station after church to top up the tank, even though it was more than half full. It will be a while before we take the availability of fuel for granted again. Supplies are still limited: the station where we stopped had only regular grade gas.
Nonetheless, today felt almost normal. Maybe too normal. Ivan’s predicted path is comfortingly away from us, but we know all too well how fast that can change, so it doesn’t pay to get presumptuous. Good night, all!
Floodwaters have not yet crested from Frances. Lake Monroe is up to the sea wall in Sanford, and is expected to flood even without any more rain. We stopped at the gas station after church to top up the tank, even though it was more than half full. It will be a while before we take the availability of fuel for granted again. Supplies are still limited: the station where we stopped had only regular grade gas.
Nonetheless, today felt almost normal. Maybe too normal. Ivan’s predicted path is comfortingly away from us, but we know all too well how fast that can change, so it doesn’t pay to get presumptuous. Good night, all!
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 12, 2004 at 10:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:30 p.m.Now the focus of our prayers turns from Jamaica to the Cayman Islands. We have a friend who is from Cayman Brac,
and her family still lives there. She says that when the hurricanes
come, “you pray a lot and have lots of food and clean water and put up
the shutters.” Some of the families have personal caves in the mountain
to retreat to if necessary, which gives them an advantage in personal
safety over Floridians, who don’t even have basements. But water and
wind are always a huge worry, especially with a monster as powerful as
Ivan.
We tried to break out of hurricane mode and do something normal tonight, travelling to the Orlando Science Center to take in a movie about Mt. Everest. But a power surge had taken out some of the equipment, which—for reasons best known to the engineers—made it impossible to run both the movie and the air conditioner. The air conditioner won, so we went home.
We tried to break out of hurricane mode and do something normal tonight, travelling to the Orlando Science Center to take in a movie about Mt. Everest. But a power surge had taken out some of the equipment, which—for reasons best known to the engineers—made it impossible to run both the movie and the air conditioner. The air conditioner won, so we went home.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 11, 2004 at 09:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Saturday, September 11, 2004. 8:00 a.m. As we wait, keeping a weather eye on Ivan, the floodwaters keep rising from the damage done by Frances. It is not a direct problem for us, here on our little hill, but is an awful mess for many Central Floridians. As true as it may be, this is a cruel time to point out, as some have, that this is only what we can expect if we persist in paving over natural drainage areas and in building homes and businesses on former swampland. Today’s Wizard of ID says a lot:
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 11, 2004 at 08:00 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
3:00 p.m. Another reason to homeschool? I feel sorry for Central Florida’s school students and teachers—at this rate, they will have no summer vacation at all. Often a few “hurricane days” are built into the school year, much as “snow days” are up north. But they lost at least seven days with Charley, and as many with Frances. Teachers and parents are complaining that students (when they make it to class) are lethargic, and that the school year (which started in early August) can’t seem to get started. A week of school, a week off; a week of school, a week off.... For those schools which are using the so-called “block” schedule (in which a year’s worth of material is covered in one semester), the loss is twice as bad. Our schools re-opened today, but many students and teachers are coming in from homes with no power, some with no water. The distraction level is rising with the floodwaters.
For home educators, not only does the school never close, but the hurricane itself is part of the curriculum!
The hurricanes showed one good use for schools, however: If they didn’t exist, what would serve as evacuation shelters? We’d figure something out, I’m sure. But there’s no denying that the schools are handy.
For home educators, not only does the school never close, but the hurricane itself is part of the curriculum!
The hurricanes showed one good use for schools, however: If they didn’t exist, what would serve as evacuation shelters? We’d figure something out, I’m sure. But there’s no denying that the schools are handy.
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 10, 2004 at 03:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Friday, September 10, 2004. 9:30 a.m. We’re into comfort food now. Last night I baked oatmeal cookies (most of which will be put away till next week), and today I bought hot dogs. As part of an effort to improve our eating habits (and because I learned what “mechanically separated meat” really means), I haven’t bought hot dogs in maybe a year. But we are having hot dogs and baked beans tonight, with macaroni salad—definitely “comfort food.”
I went to the store because I realized I had to break out of my “bunker mentality.” I’ve been buying non-perishable foods, and using up food from the refrigerator and freezer, preparing for another onslaught. But I finally realized that the soonest we can realistically expect Ivan is Tuesday, and we have to eat in the meantime! So I actually bought fruit, and fresh vegetables, and meat. Early morning was a good time to go: Not only was the store not crowded, but I had not one but two deli workers attending to my order!
I went to the store because I realized I had to break out of my “bunker mentality.” I’ve been buying non-perishable foods, and using up food from the refrigerator and freezer, preparing for another onslaught. But I finally realized that the soonest we can realistically expect Ivan is Tuesday, and we have to eat in the meantime! So I actually bought fruit, and fresh vegetables, and meat. Early morning was a good time to go: Not only was the store not crowded, but I had not one but two deli workers attending to my order!
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 10, 2004 at 08:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:15 p.m. Things are sticky at work, and Porter is stressed over the possibility of missing days next week. (The previous hurricanes did their worst on the weekend.) There is also the stress of wondering if that will be the least of our problems, but you can’t worry about everything.
The only thing worry is good for is to lead us to action: first to prayer, and then to whatever preparations we can make. “And having done all, to stand.” The stress comes in wondering if we really have done all that we should.
To lighten the mood a bit, I present to you an actual advertisement I found recently. Maybe the humans in Orlando have more to worry about than hurricanes.
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 9, 2004 at 09:15 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Thursday, September 9, 2004. 6:30 p.m. Ivan is getting my attention now, but I will add a few things to Frances. We will need a new roof, and will be getting partial compensation for that from our insurance company. I don’t know when, however, as our need is not urgent, and there is much urgent work to be done in Florida. Although we lost several shingles, it was only the “flap” part and no tarpaper was uncovered. Porter put roofing tar on the exposed staples, and that should hold us for a while.
I am also rejoicing that it looks as if we lost only one grapefruit from our tree this time!
I am also rejoicing that it looks as if we lost only one grapefruit from our tree this time!
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 9, 2004 at 06:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
1:00 p.m. Category 5. I just returned from shopping. (Again! – with each hurricane we think of something more.) I picked up an extra 6v lantern battery, a tarp, some rope, and some propane cylinders. One of our staunchly Democratic friends says that the hurricanes are Florida’s punishment for electing George W. Bush. I’m surprised he hasn’t thought to accuse President Bush of causing the hurricanes in order to stimulate the economy. The roads and stores aren’t this crowded at Christmas.
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 9, 2004 at 01:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Thursday, September 9, 2004. 6:30 a.m. Somehow the Lord’s Prayer keeps coming out, “deliver us from Ivan.” This guy is really nasty, and he has us in his sights. It’s good to know that God has us in His hands. As reassuring as that is, we know that doesn’t necessarily mean we will be spared Ivan’s blows, but that He will see us through whatever happens, and will use it as part of the process of making us into the people He wants us to be. Nonetheless, we continue to pray—and to ask for your prayers—that we will not have to go through another hurricane this year. I’d like to have time to digest the lessons of Charley and Frances before moving on to the next class. Most people here, even those of us with little damage, are still stunned and staggering from the one-two punch.
As disasters go, you could even call this mild. I can’t imagine how horrible it must be in Iraq, or Somalia....
Somewhere out in the water (without passing over inhabited areas first), there to spend itself harmlessly into oblivion, that’s where I want this hurricane to go.
As disasters go, you could even call this mild. I can’t imagine how horrible it must be in Iraq, or Somalia....
Somewhere out in the water (without passing over inhabited areas first), there to spend itself harmlessly into oblivion, that’s where I want this hurricane to go.
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 9, 2004 at 06:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
5:30 p.m. So much for lunch. We had power for an hour and a half, but lost it again around noon. Despite having really looked forward to warm pizza for lunch this time, we have nothing to complain about. The power was restored again around 2:30, and that’s more than many people can say. I hear that about a third of Florida is still without power, and Frances is still not quite done with us, spawning more storms and tornadoes long-distance.
They say Frances did the worst coastal damage in Florida’s history.
Once again, we have supply problems, especially of gasoline. The plus side of that is that it encourages people not to travel. So many traffic lights are out that we are seeing terrible accidents. When the lights are out, you’re supposed to treat the intersection as a four-way stop, and when that doesn’t happen, disaster sometimes follows. The TV people imply that it’s because people don’t know—or choose to ignore—the rule, but having driven to the airport after Charley, I can attest that a traffic light that is not lit is very difficult to see, especially in the dark. Better not to travel, if you can avoid it.
After Charley, my posts became somewhat philosophical. Right now I’m too weary for philosophizing. I’ll just say this: Light—Power—Water—Refrigeration—Air conditioning—Working sewers—Minimal damage to our home—Good neighbors—Hard-working Labor Day laborers—Thanks be to God!
They say Frances did the worst coastal damage in Florida’s history.
Once again, we have supply problems, especially of gasoline. The plus side of that is that it encourages people not to travel. So many traffic lights are out that we are seeing terrible accidents. When the lights are out, you’re supposed to treat the intersection as a four-way stop, and when that doesn’t happen, disaster sometimes follows. The TV people imply that it’s because people don’t know—or choose to ignore—the rule, but having driven to the airport after Charley, I can attest that a traffic light that is not lit is very difficult to see, especially in the dark. Better not to travel, if you can avoid it.
After Charley, my posts became somewhat philosophical. Right now I’m too weary for philosophizing. I’ll just say this: Light—Power—Water—Refrigeration—Air conditioning—Working sewers—Minimal damage to our home—Good neighbors—Hard-working Labor Day laborers—Thanks be to God!
posted by sursumcorda on Monday, September 6, 2004 at 05:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
11:00 a.m. The power came on, apparently for real, about 10:35—after two previous attempts. Believe it or not, neither the A/C nor the water heater activated when we turned them on. It’s not that hot inside, thanks to the lack of sun and the fact that our computers were off. I’ll be happy when the A/C does come on, however, to take some of the humidity out of the air. We’re not rushing it— no point in overloading the newly-restored power as everyone’s A/C kicks in. It was certainly good to hear the refrigerator come on.
Porter had been on his way up to the roof to assess damage and fasten down the vent that had blown loose, but the heavens opened up again with some of the heaviest rain yet. The wind is pretty much calm now, though we are under a tornado watch.
We are beginning to clean up and put the house back in order, with a few exceptions: the plywood, for instance, is staying on the windows, at least until we see what happens with the approaching Hurricane Ivan.
The fact that Hurricane Frances caused much, much less damage than she might have is little consolation to those who have been hit hard, especially in the coastal areas. But that’s no reason not to be extremely thankful that she was less than a Category 1, instead of a Category 4, when she finally came through here. Unlike hit-and-run Charley, most of the local problems were due to the fact that Frances simply wouldn’t go away. That and the weakened infrastructure because we had not recovered from Charley’s blow.
Thanks again to all of your for your concern, thoughts, and especially prayers. Back to work—and lunch.
Porter had been on his way up to the roof to assess damage and fasten down the vent that had blown loose, but the heavens opened up again with some of the heaviest rain yet. The wind is pretty much calm now, though we are under a tornado watch.
We are beginning to clean up and put the house back in order, with a few exceptions: the plywood, for instance, is staying on the windows, at least until we see what happens with the approaching Hurricane Ivan.
The fact that Hurricane Frances caused much, much less damage than she might have is little consolation to those who have been hit hard, especially in the coastal areas. But that’s no reason not to be extremely thankful that she was less than a Category 1, instead of a Category 4, when she finally came through here. Unlike hit-and-run Charley, most of the local problems were due to the fact that Frances simply wouldn’t go away. That and the weakened infrastructure because we had not recovered from Charley’s blow.
Thanks again to all of your for your concern, thoughts, and especially prayers. Back to work—and lunch.
posted by sursumcorda on Monday, September 6, 2004 at 11:00 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
8:30 a.m. As I said before, the best part of a hurricane is the neighborliness. A neighbor we hardly know just stopped by and handed us a package of dry ice!
Okay, it’s time to try our battery recharge procedure.
Okay, it’s time to try our battery recharge procedure.
posted by sursumcorda on Monday, September 6, 2004 at 08:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Monday, September 6, 2004. 7:45 a.m. Apparently there was a fair amount of wind and rain last night, but for the most part we slept through it. Porter heard a news report in the middle of the night, which said that the number of people without power in our county has greatly increased, which probably decreases the probability that we’ll get ours back anytime soon. The main problem is that the crews can’t work in winds over 30 mph. One good thing: Porter remembered the power converter we have in the car, and now that we can drive around the neighborhood to charge the battery, we can use it to run the TV for short periods of time, and to charge the laptop battery. We’re being conservative, not knowing how fast the car battery will drain, but it’s a comforting thought. In the meantime, I’m thinking of several projects that I can do without the computer and with less than optimal light—maybe I can accomplish them since I don’t have the computer to distract me. They wouldn’t be my top priority if we had power, but we don’t, so they get bumped up on the list.
Maybe today we can make contact with more friends. Some we reached yesterday and found they are doing all right, but with others we couldn’t get through by phone. They are probably fine, but they live in areas with less robust infrastructure (one reason we can’t reach them by phone), so it would be nice to know for certain.
In the meantime, it is still amazing to contemplate the fact that the rest of our family and friends are going about their normal lives. That includes their own problems, of course. I don’t think Frances can be blamed, but Aquillo snapped its mooring and ended up on the causeway! It’s okay, and safe in the boatyard now.
Maybe today we can make contact with more friends. Some we reached yesterday and found they are doing all right, but with others we couldn’t get through by phone. They are probably fine, but they live in areas with less robust infrastructure (one reason we can’t reach them by phone), so it would be nice to know for certain.
In the meantime, it is still amazing to contemplate the fact that the rest of our family and friends are going about their normal lives. That includes their own problems, of course. I don’t think Frances can be blamed, but Aquillo snapped its mooring and ended up on the causeway! It’s okay, and safe in the boatyard now.
posted by sursumcorda on Monday, September 6, 2004 at 07:45 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
8:45 p.m. I could almost ditto the previous entry. Frances—the Energizer Hurricane. It keeps going, and going, and going. Just when we think it’s been calm long enough that surely it must be over, another feeder band comes through with more wind and rain. We went out again, to visit neighbors, and to take a look around. We were surprised to note that areas that traditionally flood in heavy rains were clear. We did see some downed trees, but in general things looked pretty good.
We are a couple of crazy nerds, for sure, feeling all at sixes and sevens without our computers. Leisure is great when you are supposed to be working— but not nearly so much fun when you CAN’T work. For a while it was light enough to do a little work, even if not on the computer. After dinner (cold pizza) we read and did puzzles for a while (my World of Puzzles magazine came just in time!), and are now going to be early. Good night, all!
We are a couple of crazy nerds, for sure, feeling all at sixes and sevens without our computers. Leisure is great when you are supposed to be working— but not nearly so much fun when you CAN’T work. For a while it was light enough to do a little work, even if not on the computer. After dinner (cold pizza) we read and did puzzles for a while (my World of Puzzles magazine came just in time!), and are now going to be early. Good night, all!
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 5, 2004 at 08:45 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
2:45 p.m. We’re still here, still fine, still without power, still getting squalls and gusts with periods of relative calm. We’re under a tornado watch (no warnings since the one mentioned above) until 9 p.m. We made a brief reconnaissance venture outside during a lull, finding small branches down, one screen section flapping, and a few shingles blown off—not bad at all so far.
I’d better go now, and save this laptop battery for later. Love to all.
I’d better go now, and save this laptop battery for later. Love to all.
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 5, 2004 at 02:45 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:10 a.m. Looks as if that's it for the power; it's time to turn off the computer. See you on the other side! Keep praying! We love you all!
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 5, 2004 at 09:10 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
7:00 a.m. Good morning! Porter's checking out the news while I bring up the computer and let people know all is well here. The winds have picked up a bit, with some impressive gusts, and occasional bouts of heavy rain. Believe it or not, our newspaper was delivered today (I guess that's part of the media's exemption from the curfew), and when Porter ventured out to retrieve it, he saw no damage yet in his hasty survey. The worst is expected to come early this afternoon, but the good news is that Frances has weakened a bit.
Hmm, just took a brief power hit. I'd better post this while I can.
Hmm, just took a brief power hit. I'd better post this while I can.
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 5, 2004 at 07:00 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Sunday, September 5, 2004. 12:30 a.m. I just awoke from a two-hour nap. It's pouring now, but the wind is still low. Frances is still inching along, so we are both going to try to get some sleep. I'm bringing the computer down now, in case we lose power overnight, but I hope to be able to bring it up in the morning. Good night, and God bless!
posted by sursumcorda on Sunday, September 5, 2004 at 12:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:20 p.m. We just returned from a short walk outside. If I hadn't been thinking that at any moment a gust could blow a piece of debris at my head, it would have been great fun. If you're going to have a hurricane, you might as well enjoy it a little before it gets nasty. It's quite warm outside, warmer than you'd think from listening to the wind. Just a little chillier and it would have been really delightful. I love wind—in moderation, however. Having grown up in the northeast, where storms often provided a moderate amount of wind without fear of lightning, my favorite place at the onset of a storm (wind but no rain) was up in a tree, rocked by the wind. But a wind that rocks HOUSES is more than I want.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 4, 2004 at 09:20 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
8:00 p.m. Still hanging in there, as Frances is essentially stalled. It's pretty nasty on the coast, though. And Grand Bahama has been pounded. It's the length of the bombardment more than the strength of the winds that is so stressful. What a contrast to Charley, which blew through here at about 45 mph. We're very thankful to have power still. I'll take advantage of that to show you a couple of pictures; not of the storm, which isn't here yet—and during which I won't be taking pictures!—but of preparation.
The back porch is now in the living room
Boarded-up window
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 4, 2004 at 08:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
6:15 p.m. Just to let you know that we dodged that one. It went a bit to the north of us.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 4, 2004 at 06:15 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
5:40 p.m. We’re in a temporary lull, as Frances has stalled. Some places in Central Florida are without power already, but so far we still have ours. I used the time to burn several backup CD’s—you never know. Porter’s been keeping an eye on the reports while doing some AT&T work.
We’ve been gradually furnishing the hall again. It’s too narrow to hold everything until we really need it, but our supplies are close so we can hunker down fairly quickly.
Odd as it will seem to those of you who know us, we are actually considering getting a portable TV if they’re reasonably inexpensive. The TV stations do a much better job of covering the storm than the radio stations do, and we really felt information-deprived when we had no power during Hurricane Charley.
After posting this, I’m going to have some leftover pizza while we still have the luxury of heating it up. Then maybe some Poor Man’s Cake. Yum!
Porter just reported that a storm “with a tornado in it” is headed our way, due to arrive in about 15 minutes. (I put that in for you, Andy.) I hope I have nothing particularly exciting to report when I return. I hope I can return soon! Thanks again for your prayers.
We’ve been gradually furnishing the hall again. It’s too narrow to hold everything until we really need it, but our supplies are close so we can hunker down fairly quickly.
Odd as it will seem to those of you who know us, we are actually considering getting a portable TV if they’re reasonably inexpensive. The TV stations do a much better job of covering the storm than the radio stations do, and we really felt information-deprived when we had no power during Hurricane Charley.
After posting this, I’m going to have some leftover pizza while we still have the luxury of heating it up. Then maybe some Poor Man’s Cake. Yum!
Porter just reported that a storm “with a tornado in it” is headed our way, due to arrive in about 15 minutes. (I put that in for you, Andy.) I hope I have nothing particularly exciting to report when I return. I hope I can return soon! Thanks again for your prayers.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 4, 2004 at 05:40 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
3:45 p.m. More rain and gusts. Something hit the roof, sounded loud but, as I said before, a squirrel running across the roof sounds like stampeding horses, so it was probably a small branch. We had our first power hit; no worse than during a thunderstorm, but a reminder of what may be coming. Porter was out earlier helping a neighbor board up his windows. (There was quite a break between the first rain and this.) I’m glad he’s back now. Okay, to work again. “Work for the night is coming.” One good thing about hurricanes: they encourage me to clean my office!
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 4, 2004 at 03:45 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
11:30 a.m. First rain. A brief squall, with some high gusts, though not unusual for a summer storm. But it represents the first of the rain bands, and shows how big Frances is, since landfall is still several hours away.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 4, 2004 at 11:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Saturday, September 4, 2004. 6:30 a.m. Perhaps I should apologize to you for having nothing of interest to report, but I can’t be sorry about it. News reports this morning are struggling to find something of interest to say. You can tell the primary fear right now is that people will let down their guard as the hurricane delays. (Landfall is now predicted for after midnight tonight.) The weakening of Frances is good news (she’s a strong Category 2 at the moment), though her slow progress has people focusing on potential flood problems, because the slower she moves, the more rain will fall on already-saturated ground. Translate 10-20 inches of rain into snowfall (one inch of rain = roughly one foot of snow) and picture it in a Northeastern blizzard! Flooding is not a direct concern for us, as we live on what in Florida is called a hill. However, because Florida is such a low, flat state, it is of concern to a great many people (including those just one street over from us), and can have a significant impact on life in general here, even if we are spared the worst winds.
Here’s an interesting tidbit: About 14.6 million of Florida's 17 million people are under either a hurricane watch or a hurricane warning.
Here’s an interesting tidbit: About 14.6 million of Florida's 17 million people are under either a hurricane watch or a hurricane warning.
posted by sursumcorda on Saturday, September 4, 2004 at 06:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
10:00 p.m. I may make it to bed at a reasonable hour tonight. There’s still more to do, but the news has been good enough I may treat myself to a longer sleep. Frances’ slow movement has provided a little more time, and what remains is more “would like to do” than “must do.”
We’ll be under a curfew tomorrow! That will be a new experience for me. Not that we’re thinking of going anywhere. Good night, everyone. And thanks again for your prayers and encouragement!
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 3, 2004 at 10:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
6:30 p.m. Porter has finished with the windows, which means he added our bedroom, the living room window over the piano, and the bathroom. He decided to skip the small windows around the front door, and the large, sliding glass doors in the back, all of which are a bit more protected. This meant that we had three pieces of plywood left over, which a friend (the same one from whom we borrowed the trailer) was glad to take off our hands. Now we just have to figure out what we’re going to do with the rest of the plywood when we take it off the window. I see a reorganization of the garage in the future....
For the curious, here’s the window-covering procedure: Measure windows, cut plywood to size. Holding plywood in place over the window, drill through the plywood with a regular drill bit, using drill #1. Switch to drill #2 and drill through the concrete block with a special bit. (Believe it or not, the bit that works on concrete does not work on the wood.) Taking care not to let the holes become un-aligned, screw in the Tapcon, using drill #3. Repeat many, many times, each time getting slower and harder, until you finally switch to new drill bits. (Each box of Tapcons comes with a drill bit, which tells you something about how long they last.)
My contribution to the afternoon, other than occasionally lending a hand with the plywood, was mostly cooking and other indoor prep. Two pizzas and several quesadillas later, most of the perishables have been used, and we have several things to eat that will not require heating.
There’s still more to do, but we’re both taking a break—Porter to check out the news, and me to write this update. Although it’s still too early to know what will happen, right now they’re talking about more damage from flood than from wind, although there will probably still be enough of the latter to make us happy we put up the plywood. We’re grateful that Frances is looking a bit more disorganized, and is currently a Category 3 instead of Category 4. Thankfulness helps me keep my mind off the fact that I SHOULD be picking Heather, Jon, and the WMAG up at the airport tonight....
Note: Hurricane preparation is good exercise.
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 3, 2004 at 06:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
12:30 p.m. It’s getting dark in here. No, it has nothing to do with the weather; plywood window-covering is not transparent, nor even translucent. Porter has covered the front windows, the garage, Janet’s room, my office (Heather’s room), and the kitchen so far. Why cover the windows? That’s the question someone asked in line at the store this morning. Why cover the windows when the hurricane could take your roof off?
It’s a matter of risk calculation. Yes, the hurricane could take the roof off, and then having covered the windows looks silly. But high winds are a lot more likely to heave a branch through a window than to take off a roof. We make reasonable preparations, but no one can prepare for everything that might happen.
Back to work.
It’s a matter of risk calculation. Yes, the hurricane could take the roof off, and then having covered the windows looks silly. But high winds are a lot more likely to heave a branch through a window than to take off a roof. We make reasonable preparations, but no one can prepare for everything that might happen.
Back to work.
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 3, 2004 at 12:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Friday, September 3, 2004. 6:30 a.m. Good morning! The good news this morning is that the freezer is still working. I was a little worried last night over how hard I had worked it yesterday. This is a chest freezer from Sears, which we bought in 1977 or so when we lived in Rochester. Despite our initial doubts about subjecting it to the stress of working in the heat of a Florida garage—there was no other place for it to go— it has served us steadily without complaint all that time. One of the many blessings of life that we take for granted until we contemplate being without at a critical time. Such as electricity, water, and a working sewer system.
Perhaps the best waking-up news is that Frances has diminished slightly to a Category 3 storm, though there’s still plenty of time for change, good or bad, before she hits us. And Category 3 is quite bad enough!
Question for my youngest brother: I’m seeing a one-to-one correspondence recently between your visits to Maine and hurricanes plowing through Central Florida. Can we persuade you to stay home when Heather, Jon, and Jonathan next plan to visit? :)
Perhaps the best waking-up news is that Frances has diminished slightly to a Category 3 storm, though there’s still plenty of time for change, good or bad, before she hits us. And Category 3 is quite bad enough!
Question for my youngest brother: I’m seeing a one-to-one correspondence recently between your visits to Maine and hurricanes plowing through Central Florida. Can we persuade you to stay home when Heather, Jon, and Jonathan next plan to visit? :)
posted by sursumcorda on Friday, September 3, 2004 at 06:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
10:00 p.m. The end of a long, but not unpleasant day. The worst news of today is that Heather, Jon, and Jonathan will not be coming as planned Friday night. Under the circumstances, maybe that’s good news. With the Orlando airport closing at noon tomorrow, they have no choice but to reschedule. As disappointed as we are by not getting to see the World’s Most Adorable Grandson and his family, we are happy to keep 1000 miles between them and Frances. Plus—well, it’s one thing to go through an unknown number of days without power, and quite another to go through the same number of days with a baby in diapers and no functioning washing machine. :) It’s almost bedtime. Edging past it, actually. But I’m going to do a few more things while I’m still inspired. Porter did make it to the landfill, after a few adventures (such as the nearest one being closed), and disposed of both a load of debris and a weight from our shoulders. We have two windows boarded up, and will tackle the others tomorrow. I need to clean up from the Poor Man’s Cake baking, and empty the ice cube trays once again so that more ice can form overnight. The big freezer will be happy to have the night to recover, as well. I’ve been making it work hard, opening it many times today to put in yet another jug of water or bottle of tea.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and words (e-mails, phone calls) of encouragement. See you in the morning.
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 10:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
6:30 p.m. Porter just left to take a huge trailer-load of neighborhood tree debris to the county transfer station. We’re hoping he gets there before they close—they’re open till 7:30, but last I heard the line was at least an hour long. We hope they will be generous, since they’ve asked people to help with the debris-clearing. Our city is still sending their two little trucks around, but FEMA pulled all their trucks—which I understand were doing the bulk of the clearing—out of the area today. I don’t understand the reason behind that decision. They could have gotten two good days of debris-hauling in, and left on Saturday in plenty of time. But who knows?
But it doesn’t matter for our street, now. Thanks to the help of several neighbors, we were able to put much more in the trailer than I had thought, and have only one load, instead of three, which makes a great difference. Neighborliness is the best part of a hurricane!
But it doesn’t matter for our street, now. Thanks to the help of several neighbors, we were able to put much more in the trailer than I had thought, and have only one load, instead of three, which makes a great difference. Neighborliness is the best part of a hurricane!
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 06:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
3:00 p.m.We’ve just had it confirmed that the city is unlikely to be able to remove the debris from our street before Frances hits. The tree that our across-the-street neighbor lost during Charley is now cut up into missile-sized pieces, which are lying at the street awaiting pickup—if not by the city, then by Frances. We’re contemplating borrowing a friend’s trailer and hauling it to the county landfill, though there are at least three loads to be removed, and each trip would be take two to three hours....
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 03:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
1:30 p.m. Nero fiddled; I cook. Poor Man’s Cake (a promise is a promise, hurricane or no), cereal (I make my own), gallons of tea to freeze (will provide cooling as it thaws, and then be a great refreshment). Later I hope to fix a couple of meals that will use up some of our fresh foods and provide leftovers that can be frozen and then eaten, when thawed, without further heating. Pizza comes to mind. We’ll see how the time goes.
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 01:30 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
10:30 a.m. Porter let his boss know that he’ll be a little distracted today. But as long as the power and phone lines hold up, he can keep an eye on the home front and do his job at the same time.
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 10:30 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:10 a.m. At 7:00 we learned that Home Depot had plywood, so we rushed out. This is definitely a two-person job. I arrived first, and got in line. I had the wrong kind of cart for carrying plywood sheets, but they were out of the right kind. Porter followed later, after having taken the seats out of our Venture and equipped himself with rope and gloves. Home Depot was out of Tapcons (special screws to use with concrete block), but I learned from someone in line that Lowes had them. (Both had been out of plywood clips, which we would have preferred, for a long time.) So Porter went to Lowes and obtained Tapcons while I continued to wait in line (with the wrong cart). When he returned, he stood in a different line for the proper cart. The procedure is this: you follow a person who has just purchased his plywood out to his car, and help him load, after which his cart is yours. A very nice win-win situation. We coordinated all of this with cell phones, by the way, as did most of the people there. By the time Porter had secured a cart, we had only about another 20 minutes to wait, during which he browsed the store for anything else we might need. We had wanted 12 sheets, but will make do with the 10 we were allowed. As per the drill, a nice man followed us to our car, helped us load, and gratefully took our cart. By the way, a 4 x 8 piece of plywood fits exactly, flat, in the back of the Venture.
Although we waited in line nearly two hours, it was not unpleasant, except in thinking of all we could be doing at home. Everyone was friendly, talkative, and eager to help one another out. We made a point, as we left, of thanking the Home Depot employees for working today, when I’m sure they would much rather be working at their own homes.
Although we waited in line nearly two hours, it was not unpleasant, except in thinking of all we could be doing at home. Everyone was friendly, talkative, and eager to help one another out. We made a point, as we left, of thanking the Home Depot employees for working today, when I’m sure they would much rather be working at their own homes.
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 09:10 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Thursday, September 2, 2004. 5:45 a.m. Time to face the new day, and the prospect of standing in line for hours at Home Depot while awaiting plywood shipments. I’ve been trying to take the advice I’ve heard Janet give herself: Look forward at what you have to do, rather than backward at what you should have done. We were in Home Depot as recently as Saturday, and could have bought plywood then, easily. But we didn’t even think of it. We remembered to buy “D” batteries—which was good, as I didn’t see them in any store yesterday—but that was to replenish our stock; we weren’t thinking we would need plywood so soon! I’ve decided that the truly lazy people are not the procrastinators, but those who have their preparations made early. It takes much more time and effort to do the job later. :) To quote George MacDonald, “Neither is it any use to turn aside; it only makes the road longer and harder.” Not that writing this update isn’t a form of procrastination in itself....
posted by sursumcorda on Thursday, September 2, 2004 at 05:45 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
9:00 p.m. Hurricanes don’t allow you to say, “I’ve had a wearying day, and I need to take the evening off.” Fortunately, keeping the webpage updated allows me to sit and rest. :) Porter was up on the roof tonight, attempting to remove the partially-broken branches left over from Charley’s visit. He found the situation reminiscent of climbing in the Adirondak Mountains: Seen from the ground, the broken branches looked a certain distance away. Seen from the ladder, they looked the same distance away. Seen from the roof, the same. From the ladder on top of the roof, still the same. Porter climbed higher and higher, but the branches got no closer! At least, not nearly close enough to reach with the chainsaw-on-a-pole he’d borrowed from our neighbor. He managed to trim one branch, but concluded that we will have to call in the pros for the rest, whenever they can be spared from more critical work. Or maybe Frances will take care of the problem for us. (Which was the inspiration for Porter being up there tonight in the first place.)
It’s dark, so it’s time for indoor work: making ice, cleaning, organizing, updating the website.... We’re working optimistically to get the house ready for The Worlds’ Most Adorable Grandson. I promised a Poor Man’s Cake for our neighbor who is recovering from surgery; guess I’d better get to work. See you in the morning!
It’s dark, so it’s time for indoor work: making ice, cleaning, organizing, updating the website.... We’re working optimistically to get the house ready for The Worlds’ Most Adorable Grandson. I promised a Poor Man’s Cake for our neighbor who is recovering from surgery; guess I’d better get to work. See you in the morning!
posted by sursumcorda on Wednesday, September 1, 2004 at 09:00 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
5:45 p.m. Whew! People here are definitely taking this more seriously, sooner, than last time. On no day before Charley, not even the day it hit, did I find the stores particularly crowded. But I just returned from a marathon shopping event, and some of you know how much I dislike shopping. Nearly every store was a madhouse: Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target, Albertsons (grocery), and Pinch-a-Penny (pool store). I waited in the check-out line over half an hour at Albertsons; if I’d known how long it would be, I might have decided we didn’t really need any more supplies. I managed to get a large roll of plastic sheeting at Lowes, but both they and Home Depot are out of plywood clips. I knew they were out of plywood, but I had been hoping to get the clips and be prepared for whenever we could get plywood. But no go. As it turns out, a plywood supply truck had arrived between the time I called them and the time I arrived at Home Depot (less than two hours)—but the new shipment had sold out in 15 minutes! The only store that was not crowded was Office Max. I commented to the check-out clerk that I guessed other people didn’t think printer ink was an essential hurricane supply, and she replied, “No, but you should have seen it here before we ran out of “D” batteries.”
posted by sursumcorda on Wednesday, September 1, 2004 at 05:45 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
12:45 p.m. Too late. All the Home Depots in the area are out of plywood. THAT’s what we should have done last weekend instead of yardwork (Saturday) or Disney (Sunday). We’re fine with batteries—good thing, because they’re out of those, too—but I’ll need to make a trip to the pool store and the grocery store. I had been planning to go grocery shopping Friday, to buy what we need for the Daleys’ visit next week. I guess that had better wait, but I should pick up a few staples while I can.
posted by sursumcorda on Wednesday, September 1, 2004 at 12:45 PM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
Wednesday, September 1, 2004. Yes, it’s true. While we are still recovering from Charley, Frances has us in her sights. Not locked in, I trust—but right now we are sitting on the bull’s-eye. We are praying that Frances will take a harmless turn out into the Atlantic, not only because we don’t want to deal with another hurricane, but also because Heather, Jon, and Jonathan are supposed to be flying in Friday night. Jonathan, of course, has never been here, and Heather hasn’t been home since before she got married. We’ve been looking forward to this visit for a long time. However, just because we went through a hurricane with Janet, that doesn’t mean we’d like to experience one with Heather to even the score!
We still have many of our jugs of water in the freezer from last time. I’ve started freezing more, because we discovered that they are a wonderful way of having both ice and a fresh water supply. I just finished measuring our windows, and we hope to go out for plywood later today. (For those of you new to these updates, when Charley came we discovered that our window-protection boards had disappeared with our move.)
posted by sursumcorda on Wednesday, September 1, 2004 at 09:00 AM
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
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Category Hurricanes and Such Everyday Life
