Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike has left Houston and we're doing okay. We're still a little shaken, but for the most part, we're fine and our house only had minimal water damage. I didn't realize that water can go sideways! Well, the house was built to withstand rain that falls down and not go sideways.





We were reading these web sites for information without the hype:
SciGuy at the Houston Chronicle - http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/
Galveston Island webcams (which have been temperamental) - http://www.galveston.com/webcams/
Storm Pulse - http://www.stormpulse.com/





I found this 14 minute video of Galveston the morning of Hurricane Ike showing the storm surge had already begun.
http://www.khou.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=281900





This is the email that I sent out to our friends and family on Saturday.


We’re here!! We made it!! My GOD, that was not fun. The power went off at 10:30pm so we went to bed. The kids were spooked so we had them sleep together in Joey’s room for some kind of comfort.

This morning, Joe and my mom woke up at 4am, lit some candles, made coffee and were chatting when I woke up at 6am. It was pretty dark and I heard this strange humming sound so I asked Joe and my mom what it was and they said it was the fireplace flue. I don’t think so. I walked over to the front door and the single cracked pane over the front door was whistling a horrible tune. Wind was humming through there and bringing in water with it. The floor by the front door had a huge puddle in front of it. We grab a ladder; duct tape and Joe hikes up there to tape it shut and place towels upon the sill to catch water dripping down. Good. Problem #1-Solved.

Next thing that we do is walk the entire house to check for any more damage. The wind is blowing the rain perpendicularly at the front of the house! Rain is supposed to fall down, not go sideways!! We walk into the living room to hear, plink, plink, plink. Sure enough, the copper rooftop on the bay window is leaking. You know…those things always leak. Almost everyone I’ve known in all three states now, have issues with those damn windows. Well, now we did. We grab not one pot, but also a bowl to catch the water dripping from the roof. At one corner, there is water seeping down the wall. AHHHH!! Joe jerry-rigs a Macgyver contraption that consists of a kitchen towel and duct tape and tapes it up. It works!! Problem #2 – Solved.

We continue to walk the house and find that because the wind is blowing so hard and directly at the house, the water is seeping under the closed window. I swear that the rain was going up now!! We grab small towels and lay them on the window sills. Problem #3 – Solved.

The water goes out. No problem. We filled all the bathtubs with water for the toilets. When the kids wake up, I find myself reciting a line from the movie, “Meet the Fockers”, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow, but if it’s brown, flush it down” or something like that. They looked at me like I was from Mars. Joe and I were laughing, but then again, we always are. Problem #4 – Solved.

I look out onto courtyard and the basketball hoop which we put down last night is now broken. Joe has to go out there to get the plastic backboard because it could damage the house. Problem #5-Solved.

Joe looks at the gate and notices that it’s now pushed in. He says that it’s no problem because he can adjust that. Then he looks at the control box and the cover has blown off. He goes out there to retrieve that too. The kids then shout that its opening all by itself. Joe and I argue that it couldn’t happen and all of a sudden we hear a “beep” and the gate opens. The wind is blowing like crazy. We figure that we’ve got a short and Joe goes back out there to zip tie the cover back on. Problem #6 – Solved.

After breakfast, the kids notice that two sections/panels of the fence has fallen. We decided that we’ll wait until tomorrow to fix it because we were expecting more wind and rain in a few hours. While eating lunch, one of the kids yells out, “Hey, there’s a dog in our courtyard. Wait; there are TWO dogs in our yard!” They are not our neighbor’s dogs, no…but the dogs of their adult children who came to spend the hurricane with them. So all of us go out there and jerry rig some type of contraption to hold it up until later. Problem #7 – Solved.

The wind calms down as does the rain so we venture out for a ride to see the damage in our little area. There are downed trees and many fallen fences but other than that, we faired very, very well. We notice that Lowe’s has power and hey….wait a minute so does the Exxon station. Hey!! All of that meant hope, hope that we were going to get our power back shortly, and it did! Our water came back first…thank GOD and then the power. I just got internet and started typing as fast as I could.

We made it. I knew that we would. I was afraid that the power was going to be out for a couple of days and that seemed to be what bothered me the most. I wasn’t worried so much about the house because we live so far north and it’s just a house. I worry more about WHO is in the house and their well being.

After the power came on, my mom started packing her bags screaming, “I’m going home!” HA! I died laughing. Her house is fine and she only lost one board on her fence which I nailed back into place.

Two of the kids are gone. They went to their friends’ homes. Joe just left to go to work to pick up equipment. He received a few calls during the hurricane. Apparently, someone made a decision which didn’t turn out to be a good one and customers got angry. Joe took Joey with him and I gave him my camera to take pictures.

The news says that there is a lot of damage and that the entire island of Galveston is closed until further notice. Last night they said that if anyone is in a one or two story home that it will be covered in water. AH! Today, on the radio, they interviewed a man who lives by Hobby airport, the one that we don’t use and is farther from our house, said that he will not have power for at least two weeks, if not, a month from now. There were 2 million customers without power during the hurricane.

Okay, I’m going to go veg in front of the TV for a while. First, I will send the pictures that I’ve taken in several batches.

Thank you for your warm thoughts and prayers because they worked!!

Friendly Reunion

A friend from the past found me last week. I haven't heard from her in years, the 9th grade to be exact. It was strange to hear from someone from so long ago, but I was very pleased at the same time to hear from her. It really was a blast from the past.

This friend, let's call her "Carrie" was a neighbor up the street who was fun to be with because of her sense of humor, outlook on life and intelligent mind. She had so many things to say, so many ideas that I found myself wanting to hear more. I seem to surround myself with very intelligent people. I discovered that in my senior year in high school after meeting my boyfriend, now husband of 18 years. I guess that my love for learning goes with not only new things but with the thoughts and ideas from my friends.

Carrie and I would walk to the bus stop every day and hang out after school After she moved away, we lost touch and I would not think about her for years until we, my husband and two kids moved to her town. I tried to find her but couldn't. I tried to think of what was stopping me and it was the same things that would hinder anyone trying to find me...she probably got married, changed her name and moved away just like I had done.

Years go by, we moved a few more times and a few more states and an email pops up in Facebook which I recently joined. This person asks if I'm the same "Lucy" who she knew in high school.

I was very happy to hear from Carrie and learn all about her life with her husband and four kids. We compared notes and I mentioned about us living in her town a few years ago. She couldn't believe it. We probably passed each other on the road not knowing the other one was even there. We could have missed each other in the grocery store, just one aisle away. We missed all those years, all those opportunities to play catch up.

Life is pretty funny. We missed all of that and now, we're trying to make up for it years later. Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe this happened for a reason. Maybe we weren't ready before because we were so busy with our families. Maybe we are supposed to discuss our new ideas and outlook on life. Maybe they have changed from what we originally thought.

I don't know. I don't have the answers, but I'll tell you what. I am pretty excited about finding out.

Catch you later. I'm off to find some more friends from the past. I just got another email from a friend, not through Facebook but through our high scool alumni web site. This friend and I haven't seen each other in 16 years. Wish me luck!

Best Birthday Gift!

A friend of mine bought THIS for my birthday and I absolutely LOVE it!! You can find it here: http://www.solutions.com/

Check out the Party Pump. People laugh at first and then realize the versitility and then ask where I got it from. Aha! Laugh. Go ahead and then you'll want one too.