Camping out at home - Barry, the storm

[hensylee]

Had a hurricane - small and not much rain, but MUCH tree damage in our county, knocking out power lines. Was without POWER for 3 days and that, my friends, is just awful. I had water to drink and water in the tub to flush, gas stove to cook but you don't cook because you can't wash the dishes. And HOT? You wouldn't believe. Phones worked, but not the handheld ones and who wants to be tied to the desk. We are truly spoiled Americans - but ain't that nice!

Peter, did you say you are from Tallahassee? Bet you got all the rain! I am in DeFuniak, that small dot on the map.

 

[strayze]

Hensylee,
Congratulations on getting your power back! We used to pay to camp out in primative camping grounds. Up here in MD when we do get one of those hurricanes that escape from FL our penninsula turns into an island, and we're lucky if the boats don't escape.
Strayze in hot MD

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Hi Henslyee

Hope things turn around for you quickly.

Thankfully you are not on Coumadin. That would have really thrown you off!

Take care

 

[hensylee]

I had plenty downtime. Sat on my front porch in my underwear, watching the humming birds divebomb each other, the wrens feed their nestlings just outside the porch, listened to the battery powered radio a lot, lit batches of those little church candles but you can't read by them, took the flashlight to bed to read - but don't ever put it far from you at night because if you do you will never find it in the dark and you may kill yourself hunting it, hunted for those matches I bought after the last storm so I'd have them for next storm but instead found many, many things I forgot about and some I didn't even know about; did find a candle to light the stove because I got tired of burning my fingers with lighter, then was afraid to use the lit candle for fear I would drop wax on the burner and have an eternal flame like on Kennedy's grave. Watched sporadic traffic way out on the highway but didn't get so bored that I counted the red cars. Only way to get cool was a trip in the car with the air on. I never did like camping!

 

[Nancy]

Move to New York ya'll. Most of the time it's cool, but right now you'd feel at home.

No hurricane weather yet, and don't blow any our way!

 

[hensylee]

Have been seeing the horrid weather up there and feel so sorry for the citizens of NY. Been to NYC - a wonderful place to visit but couldn't live there. I am too country. Have lived in big cities before and that's why I am here. My sister and her husb might move to Rochester. I hear it is a wonderful place. If they move there, I will go and see for myself. I love the north part of the country.

 

[Tammy]

What a trooper.

What a trooper.

Hensylee -

You certainly know how to turn lemons into lemonade. Glad to hear you have power back. Now you can put some clothes on. LOL.

The main thing is you are safe and sound.
I know what a pain not having power can be. We lost it for 2 days during the winter storm last year. We slept in front of the fireplace but it got cold brrrrrr when the fire went out.

We are a spoiled bunch...I don't know how they did it way back when. Thank Goodness for the Ben Franklin's of the world.

Tammy

 

[Peter Easton]

Tallahassee the soppy

Tallahassee the soppy

Yup, Hensylee, all the wet stuff came this direction.

In fact, we were on one of those outer bands well to the northeast of Barry's eye, and one squall after another lined up to have a shot at Leon County (aka Tallahassee). Once they got on shore, moreover, they just sort of stalled there. Result was that rainfall amounts for the three days totaled between 8 and 11 inches, depending on just where you were. (We got 10 inches, gauge in hand, in our backyard.) The pond behind the house -- a retention pond -- overflowed onto the county road and I took the kids down to see our own local version of Niagara Falls. Happily our house is farther up on sloped land, so everything headed downhill from us, but there was considerable erosion left, right and center, and we spent a good part of last weekend out reseeding ground cover and anything green that would hold the soil in place!

At least we made up our drought deficit for this year in spades, and are now working on last year's, I guess. The daily thundershower reflex which is normally as Tallahasse as collard greens during summertime in these parts has also finally kicked in, so we get more wet stuff every afternoon. At least it's all holding the temperatures down to the very tolerable low 90's. Of course, we don't think about humidity (except as a cut-rate sauna) -- that just goes with the territory.

Peter

 

[hensylee]

My condolences for losing power in winter, of all times! We do find out pioneering spirit when we have to, don't we.

Back in 'the olden times', my dad took Mother from Miami to the back woods of Ga where she had to wash clothes outside, battle them, hang on clothesline and in winter they would freeze, use wood burning stove, fireplace, milk cows, can vegetables, smoke meat in a smoke house, but she lived through it; I would never be that strong and like you, I just don't know how they did it, especially a greenhorn like Mother - To this day that part of her life is painful to me because she hated it. She finally got us all back to Miami when I was 11. So, guess we ought to be so thankful for what we have, everyday.