We have plenty of water. We’ll fill our bathtubs with water tomorrow in case we lose power so we can flush our toilets. We have food and a way to cook it in case we lose power, and dog food. We have batteries for our radios. We won’t have a battery-powered lantern or a hurricane lamp, because there are no lanterns to be found and there is no oil to be found for Tim’s lamp. Our cars are fully gassed, but we won’t be evacuating. We just hope the wind and the flooding don’t come or aren’t too bad.
Mark G. Harris is here, so I guess Hurricane Ike is doing all this in his honor. Welcome back to Houston, Mark! Mark, Tim, and I will be sewing our Runway Monday designs by candlelight if we have to. No doubt Tom will read aloud to us and all the dogs from something like Dickens or Thackeray. Just like the first hurricane!
Meanwhile, all day long, two things have dominated my thoughts. The first is that I don’t have to worry about my mother’s situation should things get bad. She was always our first concern, and I send out all good thoughts for the elderly and those caring for the elderly during storm preparations.
The second… Well, no matter what’s going on here with Ike, I’ll never forget the day my beautiful great-nephew Steven was born in 2001 while the country watched events unfold in D.C., NYC, and Pennsylvania. We still continue to heal.
I understand how you feel. I was able to get everything for us. I THOUGHT I was being smart by ordering a hand-crank radio (with other gadgets) and having it delivered today. It is still “in transit” according to UPS. I’m guessing they let their drivers go home. Dammit. So much for THAT bright idea. We’ll sit in the dark and hum.
It’s so good to know that we’re only five minutes apart instead of all stuck on the road (or the ER) in different directions like with Rita.
Fingers crossed we’ll keep power and have no flooding!
Amen. Oh! And the radio came after all. Let’s play a fun game: Can we walk to The Compound during the eye and not get caught? Hmm…maybe we’ll just play Rumikub.
The gas situation is insane. We’re all prepared here too. We’re charging up ipods and batteries as we speak.
OMG–gas! I whipped into my car wash and got gas there–Shell for $3.35 a gallon, and someone else pumped it. Two blocks later, passed a Shell–$3.53 a gallon and insane lines running into the street while people waited to pull in. And they had to pump it themselves. I’m glad more people hadn’t figured out the car wash trick at that point.
But the rest of it–I have only myself to blame for not thinking of a battery-powered lantern sooner. And I swear I have lamp oil somewhere, but damned if I know where it is. We do have lots of candles.
We’re all charging our phone and camera batteries now, and trying to eat up some of the food in the freezer. I have a ton of frozen fish, and if it comes to it, our dogs’ll be eating fish for a day or two.
Hurricane fun for everyone!
$3.35 a gallon??? I don’t remember when it was that low here.
Gas has stayed pretty much below $4 here–way below what they pay in CA, for example. Remember, we have all those oil refineries here, so we don’t have to pay the same kind of freight costs as other areas of the country.
I paid $3.47 Monday night in Franklin, KY on the way home from Chris’s show. It’s always 10 cents or more cheaper that BG. The next morning to jumped to $3.75 in BG. I think it got down to $3.43 in Franklin a few weeks ago, but that’s our lowest since last summer probably.
I didn’t gas up at all. I had enough fun today trying to get some dry food at Whole Foods earlier. I’ve had enough of lines!
Johnny–if y’all should need anything, the TJB cell is 713-818-2329.
Take care.
thanks Becky! same goes for y’all too, mine is 713-292-3679
Ya’ll are in my thoughts and prayers becky!!!
Thanks, Gary. =)
Duck and cover! Just be safe.
And it’s so wonderful that you have this living reminder in Steven that there is always hope for the future.
Thanks, Steve. (Steve/Steven/Stephen has almost always been one of the names of great people in my life–as has Timothy!)
I’m keeping all of you guys in my thoughts.
– Crash
Thanks, Crash!
Oh, do be safe, darlings.
Thanks, Greg.
Stay safe. Keep away from the windows.
Our gas here in the midwest was down to 3.67 yesterday, today…3.89 thanks a lot Ike.
When you were describing sawing by firelight, you sounded like it was the 1800’s. Working on your sawing skills.
Ok, let’s see how many time I have to post before I get it right. Geesh.
I meant SEWING. Not sawing. Although, that is 1800s like too.
Tom could play the saw while we sew. Hoe down!
We’ll be taping the windows in the morning, I think. But yeah, staying away from them, too. Honestly, I worry about all the tall trees more than anything–as in, one of them falling on our house or cars.
Hopefully this will pass through quickly with minimal damage. Thanks for the good thoughts.
Stay safe (and hopefully cool). Take good care.
Thank you. You, too. Let’s hope we don’t lose power so all the Houstonians can periodically reassure each other that we’re all okay.
Sounds like the only things you’re missing are BBQ Fritos. Batten down the hatches and take care. And if you need anything, give me a shout out.
We’ve got BBQ Fritos, thank goodness. I brought some back with me from the Southeast. Thanks for the good thoughts.
So this is really Hurricane MarGIE!! Is that what you’re saying?
Stay dry. We’ll be thinking of y’all.
–Famous Author Rob Byrnes
I’m thinking we need a sound file of some sort of Brady saying that–so we can play it now and then and make Mark twitch.
Thanks for the good thoughts, FARB.
Thinking of you . . . stay safe.
Thank you.
I’ll be thinking of (all of) you! I hope that you manage to avoid the worst of it!
Thank you.
By nature, I am not the praying type, but in this case, I will make an exception.
Jeffrey R.
Thank you.