Aunts

My mom, my cousin Leona (Lee) and I traveled to Beverly Hills today to see the Beverly Hillbillies, LOL. Actually it's Beverly Hills Florida and my Aunt Mary (mom's sister) and Uncle Larry will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on Monday. Hard to believe because they look like kids in the photo below. In fact, I believe their daughters may be older than them, LOL.

Mary & Larry, Dec 2008

Aunt Ola Faye, another of mom's sisters, who I hadn't seen in 15 years. It was fun catching up with her.

My mom with Aunt Hellen in the background. All these photos were taken in Aunt Mary's kitchen. Her kitchen is always so clean and perfect. How does that happen? I want one like that.

Lee checking out Hellen's grey. Everyone is amaized that Hellen has very little grey and is in her 60's (but you didn't hear her age from me). Lee is my mom's deceased sister's daughter but they were raised almost as siblings.

Finally Aunt Hellen, mom's youngest sister.

Tomorrow we should see another of mom's sisters, Aunt Joyce and her husband Uncle Bob. Also Aunt Mary's daughter and granddaughter should arrive before we leave for home. Mom's mother had 11 children (9 females/2 males) and those mentioned here are the remaining surviving siblings.

Tropical Storm Wind Warning, Tornado Watch

The front page of the St. Petersburg Times this morning says it all "Fay is Fickle". I'm not complaining - I'm glad all this preparation was for almost nothing. I told my DH when he put up the storm shuttes that he had personally guaranteed we would not have a hurricane (by being so proactive). So, now I am off work today because the City closed down. This is what it SHOULD look like today:




Apparently we will get lots of rain, probably some flooding, but since the wind of the storm will be coming from the east (over the bay but not the gulf) it should not present a strong surge causing severe flooding. It's a little confusing because Pinellas county is a penninsula on a penninsula.

It's a good thing work is closed today because I got very little sleep last night - maybe 4 hours. There was some sort of banging noise outside, the ratties had 3 barking fits in the middle of the night so I ended up closing off the dog door, Chloe or the cat wanted out everytime I closed off the dog door, wind was creating movement and shadows (what we could see of it through the shutters anyway), etc.

Luckily the change in the storm means I won't have to put up the last 6 or 7 metal shutters, bring in patio furniture, plants, etc. That's a good thing because I am exaughsted from all the up and down last night. I ended up sleeping on the couch so they wouldn't as easily hear that noise on the side of the house. I went out this morning at 7am to look and I heard it just before going into the side yard and waited but it didn't repeat while I was there. The noise remains a mystery.

Tropical Storm Warning and Hurricane Watch

This is Eddie's favorite perch to watch outside when I am on the computer - which is a alot. Now that the storm shutters are up he still keeps looking. And I thought Daisey was the creture of habit!

Alright, my phone has been ringing off the hook the last 24 hours. Both friends and family are calling to say hi. I suspect they are calling because of the possible hurricane that could be hitting tomorrow and they want to be sure to talk to me in case it is the last time. I told my Aunt Hellen the pressure of saying something profound is enormous because it could become my last words. I'm joking with ya - lighten up. It appears the path has changed and I am as prepared as I can be. Love you all for caring.

See? Me no worry. Although I wish that Jerry and my mom were not out of state at this particular time. I will be strong for the dogs, LOL. Oh, and work is closed tomorrow so I have the day off. Here's hoping it will just be a "free" day off and not needed for storm recovery! Vickie

Hurricane Watch

We are now under a hurrican watch. This morning I decided to update the hurricane boxes. Good thing too - the canned goods expired a couple years ago because I stocked the boxes in 2004.

Here's photos of my grocery store this morning - full parking lot and empty cart section. Store personnel said there have been no carts in the holding area since 10am.

Here are my purchases since I could carry over very little of what we had in the food tote. Canned meats, vegtables, and fruit. We have more water in the garage. Hard to believe I was able to get all that stuff organized to fit in the tote.

I keep a second tote with other supplies. I've read quite a few different emergency lists and try to cover them all. I went way beyond the paper products, batteries, and flashlights to include personal hygene items, paper, stamps, etc. I got all the non foods items packed securely into a second tote before working on the pet tote.

The pet tote needs a little updating but instead of buying new canned dog food, I will just put their kibble in zip lock bags if need be. They aren't fond of canned food. In an emergency I don't want to have to fool with picky eaters. Oh, I have to throw in the binder where where I keep all their records.

Instead of my three sons, here are my three totes. I will wait until I hear that a hurricane is indeed going to hit before throwing important items (such as wedding photos, financial records, and "family jewels" LOL) into a waterproof tote. Both cars were filled with gas in the last ocuple days. If things still look scary tomorrow I might put dog crates in the car just in case; however, my goal is to stay, not to evacuate.

Green Thumb Sunday

My "Green Thumb Sunday" is devoted to preparing my home and garden for the possibility of a Hurricane named Fay. This is what it looks like when you put storm shutters over your windows. Inside, it's very dark. I will post photos of more preparation shortly. In the mean time, enjoy the lovely yard photos, LOL.