Hi Betty, Clay must be really bored. I'm glad he found soap. I drove around Montrose and the museum district earlier this morning, not a sole on the street. It's really eerie. I just went for a walk with a friend through our neighborhood. I was surprised by the amount of homes that were borded up with wood. also, my husband has been driving me crazy. I'm glad he's overly cautious but I've had enought. I'm opening a bottle of wine by 6PM!! Enough for now. thanks everyone. Nancy

Please check in with us from time to time, Nancy and Betty - let us know how it's going.

Stay safe!

Yes, please, Betty and Nancy. Keep us posted along the way.

Nancy,

You don't need to wait until 6!

Stay safe!

Yeah, Kathy's right - at this point my bottle would be half empty!!

Betty and Nancy,
I haven’t posted in so long, but I could not let the day go by without adding our names to those that are concerned for you both. I imagine the rain bands will be reaching you soon, if they haven’t already. As someone who puts up their hurricane shutters 2-3 times a year, my advice would have been to GET OUT! I understand your decision to stay, we always do, too. Of course, we’re emergency personnel, so we really have no choice. I know by tonight you may become a little stir crazy. We always wait until the last possible moment before we put the final shutter on our rear slider, once that sliver of light is gone it is such an ominous feeling. I truly think the waiting period is the worst of it all!
I don’t want to add to your distress, but please don’t think that a strong Cat. 3 is a vast improvement. If the sustained winds are at 125mph, the gusts will be incredible. I know we are all so thankful that you may be spared a direct hit.
Over the years my “hurricane necessity” list has changed a bit. I’m sure you are as prepared as you can be at this point, but here’s my two cents anyway: If no plywood is available, make sure there is nothing in your yard that will become airborne and end up in your living room. This includes things that you believe would never move, such as small tool sheds (yes, they fly), what you believe to be heavy patio furniture, etc. This includes inspecting your neighbor’s yard and “helping” them clear their yard of debris. It burns me up when my neighbors leave “heavy” items out. Our neighbors argued that their teak storage trunk was too heavy to move, well it did (during our Cat.1 Katrina, thank goodness). Much to their chagrin it ended up in their pool, in pieces, no less. Trim the trees so the air can move through them and park cars in the garage, if possible. If not, park them right up against the garage. Down here we’re all so hurricane “screwy” that many park their vehicles parallel, up against the garage. If you have a storm drain near your home, take it upon yourself to clear it of any debris. Lock all the windows and doors securely; check the attic for vents or openings that could allow the pressure to “blow the top off.” Have a battery operated radio handy, we’ve found that they usually pick up through it all. During Andrew in ’92, it was comforting to hear the broadcasters. They would let us know when the eye was passing over (what a calm and eerie sensation), and would say “in the next ten minutes a heavy squall will be passing over,” so you kinda knew what to expect. Lots and lots of batteries and flashlights. I have pretty much done away with candles, the heat becomes unbearable. S.FLA is like Houston – HOT. If you have a laptop, charge it! Turn the frig, freezer, and the a/c wayyyyy down. If the power goes out it will give you a little extra coolness. Don’t open anything; maybe the frozen food will remain frozen, if it doesn’t stay out too long. Do ALL your laundry, if it’s hot and there’s no power, you will change clothes often. Take a shower, fix your hair, shave your legs, etc. Clean your home, you will wish you did later. WATER WATER WATER – fill the tubs, fill as many containers as you can find. Don’t forget about ice, you WILL want it! Fill containers and freeze them. I know you guys probably have enough non-perishable food. Don’t forget about gas for the grill. If everything starts defrosting, cook whatever you can. I have gone so far as to remove the pictures, wall hangings, etc. off the exterior walls. May sound crazy, but when your walls start shaking and your liqueur cabinet starts clanking, you get a little nervous. Ditto, if you have little knick knacks on your windowsills. Bug spray! As in repellent for yourself. Camera – take before pics, you may need after pics, too. Important phone numbers (Ins. Co.), your valuable documents, etc. in waterproof containers, or Tupperware or plastic “glad” bags, at the very least. Most importantly, some sort of libation, you WILL wish you had it!
I hope this is not too gloomy of a post; I am just anxious for you guys and so hope that all the preparations Texas has made will pay off.
I just heard that the levees were breached in NO……if we can just make it through November.
:( :( John and I will be thinking of you and hope it will be all over before you know it....or, before you develop a hangover ;)

Not too gloomy at all. Sound advice from a professional. And free, no less!

Edit to add: Oh, very nice to hear from you K!!

So good to hear from you Kimmi! You and John are so missed around here. You are loaded with excellent advice! They should print your post and put it in a newspaper so everyone could learn from it.

Betty and Nancy, keep us all up-dated!

Kim, what excellent advice! Having been through many hurricanes as I live on the coast (luckily north of North Carolina which usually knock ours down a bit) your suggestions are so practical! I have thrown pool furniture INTO the pool rather than drag it all into the garage, just easier, and got the kids to bring it out again!

Betty and Nancy, I send good thoughts and prayers for your safety getting through whatever comes your way.

Kimmi, thanks for the great advise. We have done many of the things you mentioned. Good news, I have had a beer with some neighbors and a glass of wine around 4:30..ha, ha. More good news...the storm seems to be going further east so we might night be in the cone. Bad news, the next door neighbor of my close friend, died in the bus explosion this morning. althought she was 95, it was a horrible way to die. We are going down the street to have dinner with some friends, more wine!! I'll try and report back later or tonight. Nancy

Nancy, so sad to hear about your close friend's loss. What a horrible way to die, even at 95, not the way I would choose to exit. Keep reporting with information as you get it. We appreciate your on the spot reporting.

We've been glued to the TV watching as events unfold. Hoping and praying that this horrible storm continues to loose strength and the worst will be averted.

Nancy, I am saddened to hear of your friend's loss. Such a hiddeous way to die. Your updates are so very appreciated. Thank you. Please remain safe. Our thoughts are with all who are impacted.

Betty, try as I might, no luck getting through to you on the phone. Stay safe. Alan and I are keeping you and Clay in our prayers.

Wow, Kimmi, GREAT advice. We have been doing a lot of the same, but some of what you said, I had never thought of before! You always get the insert in the Sunday paper 2-3 weeks before hurricane season that tells you how to prepare, but they don't mention those wonderful little tips (only the necessity-type things).

I could not agree more that having a lifeline to the media is crucial. During Charley, once the power went out and we lost our visual, we hung on every word of our local weathermen with our battery-operated radio. You just have no idea where the thing is or where it's headed, and that is mighty petrifying. The few times we could get cell service, we were calling family in Wisconsin and asking them, "Does it look like it's past us yet?" because it just seemed to take forever.

After Charley, we bought a combination radio/black & white TV that also has a built-in flashlight, siren, etc.

One thing I haven't been able to understand, though, is about the pressure inside your house - Kimmi, you mentioned "check the attic for vents or openings that could allow the pressure to “blow the top off.” Does that mean we should have everything tightly closed? Back during tornado season in Wisconsin, we were told to crack a couple windows open to allow the airflow and thus, alleviate the pressure. We did this during Charley too. When I told a friend about it later, he about chewed me out - he said THAT would be what would blow out our windows, blow the roof off, etc. Doesn't make sense to me...Kimmi, or anyone else, do you know what's best to do?

I hate to say it, but I'll add my tip to this: don't always trust what the Weather Channel says. Our local weatherman was lightyears ahead of them in predicting exactly where Charley was headed, and I have seen the same thing happen with other hurricanes after that. If we hadn't switched to our local stations, we still would have been thinking Charley was going to hit 2 hours north of us, around Tampa...they kept insisting it. It was ridiculous. When you can see the thing on satellite taking a strong turn, it's taking a strong turn. Who cares if your predictions were wrong - help those in its path while you still can.

All in Rita's path, you have been constantly in my prayers, and will continue to be throughout this ordeal. Please stay safe!!!

I am crossing my fingers for everyone in Rita's path. I appreciate you checking in, Nancy. I hope we get future updates from you.

Betty, I hope to hear a positive update from you as well!

Nancy, so glad you checked in. I'm sorry about your friend's loss. I'm glad there are other people left in your neighborhood so you don't feel so alone.

Betty, check in when you can.

Kimmi, wonderful tips.

Good luck to all in the storm's path.

Hoping everyone stays safe in Rita's path!

What great tips, Kimmi. I'm so glad our hurricane season is nowhere near as active as that of the Gulf coast.

Just a quick update. WE just took our dog out, it's been windy with rain but not anything terrible. Looks like we are very lucky in HOuston. I believe the SW part of Louisiana and the SE Texas area were hit hard. I'll report later but everything is pretty good here. Nancy

Nancy, GREAT to hear from you that all is well and you are safe! That must mean you have power? Terrific!!!

Just heard from friends in Baton Rouge. High winds but nothing too bad. Lots and lots of rain. No damage as of yet. Thank god since they are on the east side of the eye. Cheers, Anne

Great post, Kimmi. Kimmi, where do you get hurricane shutters?

We have always had a colonial with phoney shutters. We are leaving the shutters off since we have just redone the windows. However, perhaps we should actually replace with functioning shutters.

Has anyone replaced their windows with the new Hurricane windows? I know Anderson has them.

Everything fine on my side on town. Looks like we lost power for 5 hours during the night, but everything up and running this morning - power, water, cable, etc. A few reports of looting, but most have been captured in the process. They are still telling people not to try to return to the city for 2 days. No gas & it is still bad to the north & northeast of us.
We are very grateful that it wasn't bad. Better to be prepare and have it turn out OK than some in other parts of the state and Louisiana that didn't know they would be having problems. Nancy, happy it is fine in your area also. Michele's sister should also be OK.
I want to thank each of you for you thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement. They worked! And meant a lot.
Thanks again.

Great to hear the good news from both of you; now you can relax!

What a relief to know you are both okay, Nancy and Betty. Do you have any mopping up to do?

No mopping here, but a lot of foliage removal from the pool. A good project for Clay And that will have to wait until later in the day. Still having wind gusts and some blowing rain.

So very glad both of you are well. Hope the storm scatters, loses windspeed, moves out of the gulf area quickly & drops the water more in the direction of the drought-striken midwest. Cheers, Anne

I'm so relieved that you both weathered the storm. So gald you reported in. Of course, someone has to suffer the damage from a storm like this and I certainly feel for those people.

Betty & Nancy,

It is so good to hear you are both safe & sound. Let's hope Rita is the last of the season so you can relax for awhile!!! Thanks so much for letting us know you are O.K.

Take care,

Good news to know you are okay. What a frightening experience. Always better to be ready and then not need what you stocked up on. I guess that's why we take so much when we cruise! Hopefully this is the lasst storm of the season!

Hi all. I'm typing fast on the phone line here so hope it gets through. (2nd attempt!)
Thank you all for your thoughtful comments & prayers. We are so happy to read that Betty & Nancy are safe in Houston. Anne, Cyndi & Betty have been so wonderful in keeping us "hanging in there" with their terrific emails. Thank you all. And, Karen, you're the man for helping me out with computer issues. Betty, you could be "live hurricane reporter"! Thanks so much.

We had good news yesterday, too, that my sister is safe. My daughter was able to get through on my sister's cell phone FINALLY. She made it to Hobby Airport (located on the south side of Houston driving AGAINST traffic from the west side) and flew to Dallas Thurs. night. Our cousin was the Southwest pilot (!) and she didn't know it until today! (They- the cousins - had been sending ME emails asking "where in the world is your sister" since they (2 Southwest pilot cousins) would have brought her home with them in Dallas......) What a crazy story..... Anyway, she made it to her friend's place but I didn't have the friend's phone number. From here (Bahamas), her cell kept giving us a "hurricane emergency" recording for two days...... My daughter called us late yesterday afternoon telling us she had gotten through to her & she was fine. Take care all of you who are in the flood zone. Tks again. - Michele

Thanks for checking in a letting us know you are all OK. Let's all hope the very worst is over.

I'm so happy to know that all of you are safe! Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

The past few weeks have been so hard on everyone. I hope that things will return to normal and all of us can breathe a sigh of relief.

Glad to hear you are fine!

Michele,

Great news!!! We can all breathe a big sigh of relief to know your sister is safe, along with Betty & Nancy. She really went through so much and I admire her determination and creativity in finding her way to the airport. That sister of yours can really take care of herself!! I like her spunk. It must be a trait of all Houstonians based on how she, Nancy & Betty handled themselves with calm and courage during these past scary days.

Take care everyone,

Michele, I am glad you checked in! Great news about your sister!!!

Michelle, great news about your sister! Everything is ok here. Nancy

I'm so glad everyone is doing well. Kimmi that advice is excellent, and I'll be sure to refer to it if I ever need it.

Great to hear that everyone's OK. Whew!!

Masaki

We have friends, former neighbors who left here (job change) and built their dream home in Lake Charles. They called yesterday to say they were okay but won't know about their home. It's 10 minutes away from the Lake Charles Airport. He works for Citgo and he will work tomorrow in Oklahoma to get the refinery back on line. They said good news was that all the hotels were taking pets. They had to leave the cats (3 or them) and took the dog.

:banana: :banana: :banana: Glad everyone is ok.
Kristin made a good point about not placing too much emphasis on where the storm is forecasted to make landfall. They certainly do a good job of predicting and narrowing it down to a cone, but hurricanes never seem to hit exactly on target. If you're in the cone - prepare. Kristin, I will not even attempt to explain why you aren't supposed to open windows, lol. From what I understand that was what they did years ago and now they go on and on explaining how a small opening allows the wind to come in, pressure, blah blah blah.....keep it airtight is what I've gotten out of it (scientific explanation, huh?).
As far as buying shutters, here hurricane shutter companies are in abundance. They are required when homes are built (new bldg. codes). The standard ones are available at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They are huge pieces of corrugated metal (?) that are screwed into the wall. Cheapest way to go, they do the job as well as any others available. Lots of downsides...they are very heavy and very dangerous. The edges are razor sharp. You should wear long pants and gloves when putting them up. We have numerous accidents down here of people slicing their legs, feet, etc. We have actually had a couple of deaths. Last year, a women was helping her husband take them out of the garage and they fell on her. Several years back, John was on the roof putting one up. Like I said they are heavy, so he simply rested one on his shin area. Lost his grip, it slide down his leg and opened it...to the bone. Sorry for the graphic image, but it was horrible. So, with the Hurricane forecasted to hit the next morning, he spent many hours in the emergency room (along w/other shutter victims) having his leg sown up. His mother almost had a heart attack from concern and bought us the accordian style shutters (for the upstairs only). Wow, they are wonderful. Simply open your window, close the shutters and lock. Takes no time. Before, it took about three hours for him to get the shutters up...and that was with great efficiency. Enough hurricane talk! No more hurricanes. Glad you guys are okay.