Lift Up Your Hearts!

8/13/04 4:00 p.m.  Janet and I just returned safely from her voice lesson.  It had looked as if we would have plenty of time, but while we were gone Charley suddenly strengthened to a Category 4, and made a turn directly for us.  So the lesson wasn't quite as long as we had hoped, but was still very good and now that we're home safely I can say it was worth it.  :) I'm going to make this fast and get back to work, but I wanted to get something new up.  We drove through heavy rain on our way back from Janet's lesson, but right now it's raining lightly.  More later...thanks for your prayers!

8/13/04 11:00 a.m. We awoke this morning to the eerie, sultry pre-hurricane stillness, though if I hadn't known a hurricane was coming I might not have been so sensitive to the odd mood of the weather. The sky is completely overcast (unusual for here) and there is not a hint of a breath of wind. The latter is supposed to change this afternoon. Latest predictions are for 65–70 mph winds. I went out to run errands this morning and didn't see any unusual activity; perhaps I would have if I had gone to the grocery store. I filled the car with gas because there were no lines at all, contrary to reports. Supposedly there are few empty hotel rooms in the Orlando area, thanks to the 400,000 or so people fleeing the Tampa area. So far none of our Tampa-area friends have taken us up on our offer.

8/12/04 10:00 p.m. Janet just creamed us in Quiddler, so it's time for bed. We'll check on Charley in the morning.

During our 20 years in Central Florida, we had experienced no more than the outskirts of a hurricane, although in 1999 Floyd was enough of a threat to induce us to board up our windows and make other preparations. This year, when Hurricane Charley set us in its sights, I created an online diary to keep family and friends informed—and continued the practice for subsequent hurricanes.

8/12/04 8:00 p.m. Hurricane Charley is projected to come in our direction. You can follow the Three-day forecast track, the Strike probability map, and local Orlando area news.

Janet and I spent a couple of hours shopping for hurricane supplies this afternoon. Unlike the rest of Central Florida, we weren't stocking up on food, water, and batteries. We were buying knitting needles and yarn.... If we're stuck without power for a while at least she'll have something to do. We have several jugs of water in the freezer, more jugs to fill should the need arise, and a 22,000 gallon container of water in the back yard. There's gas in the cars and propane for the grill. When I finish this, I'll check the inventory of other supplies. I know we have a boatload of AAA batteries, so our Palm organizers will work even if nothing else does. I wonder how much you can see by the light of a backlit screen? Tonight or tomorrow we'll move inside those things which might become UFO's in a high wind: back porch furniture, garbage cans, and the like. Alas, our specially designed plywood window protectors got lost in one of our moves, so we'll have to improvise on that if necessary. It looks as if the worst will hit tomorrow in the late afternoon and evening, so I expect tomorrow morning will be a bit busy. Janet's supposed to have a voice lesson in the afternoon, but we'll see. If you can whistle for a wind, can you sing for a calm?