Greetings from the Florida, the Hurricane State!
No power expected chez moi until as late as next Tuesday. I am writing this at the office on Word, then will cut and paste as E2 is quirky, much as it was last November when we had the big glitch and downtime. I suspect it is my local server, however, and not E2.
As Servo5678 said in yesterday’s Day Log, Hurricane Frances is behind us and we are waiting for Hurricane Ivan, although it looks as if it will pass well to the south of most of Florida.
Statistics for Frances? See your local paper; I’m sure you are being bombarded with post-hurricane news.
Bronco and I did not ride out the storm sitting in the Honda in the garage, as I threatened to do. We walked up the street to spend the time with some friends. Unfortunately, which I had forgotten, said friends are heavy smokers. It was not-too-bad as long as the power was on and the AC running, but once the you-know-what hit the fan, it got very, very fuggy for me in their house.
My dog and I spent the night on sofa cushions laid out on the floor of the spare bedroom. Power went out around 3:30 Sunday morning. The winds were very, very strong. Reminded me of the mistral in France, except that is a steady wind and blows in one direction. Bronco seemed to feel at home in the wind; every time I took him outside to do what dogs have to do he wanted to stay outdoors.
We saw one screened porch go sailing. The wind got under it and lifted it off its foundations several times, then the porch literally folded in half and blew right over the main roof of the house, landing on the driveway of the house next door. That was the most exciting thing I saw happen.
The couple I was staying with started fighting between themselves; no matter what she said it was the wrong thing. Finally, on one of Bronco’s outings, I walked back to our house. It was still there, still intact, but I had forgotten the keys. So we walked back to our friends’ house, picked up the keys and my carryall bag, politely said our goodbyes, and went home.
We’ve been there ever since. No power, but that’s okay. We have candles and flashlights. I went out and found some more ice yesterday, so I am keeping stuff cold in an ice chest. My neighbor fires up his propane grill once a day and I throw on a chop or a steak, whatever is the most thawed. When all that is gone, I’m going to order in Chinese.
Still no volunteers showing up at the office. I've kept the hotline going on my land or cell phone since Wednesday afternoon. Now I’m checking to see if the phone volunteers can at least take it from me at night. Until I get power back at home, I’m signing off.