Most of you have been seeing my Facebook posts, so you've seen plenty about our day. But, we're getting closer to the time when I'm just not sure how much access I will have to the internet, and by the time I get it back, I probably will have forgotten most of the pre-storm madness, because I'll have lots of druing-storm madness and post-storm madness to tell you about.
Our current situation, with the 8pm advisory, isn't much different than it has been all day. The storm is still projected to come through here and be a Cat 3. That could change, obviously. Again, what we're hoping for is landfall as far south as possible (sorry Naples), and then staying over land to slow the storm. I think we're past the part where we hope for it to just swing off to the west all together, because that's just not going to happen.
We are, however, under a Hurrican Warning, meaning hurricane winds are expected within the next 36 hours. That happened around 6 this morning. I know that because every phone in the house started making a god awful noise that had me up after sleeping for an hour or two (the 2 am advisory came out just before I intended to go to sleep, and it was sort of terrifying, which made it pretty difficult to sleep). So, I'll be trying to go to sleep soon. I was hoping for a nap, but that never happened. Really, what we've heard over and over again is that we should expect to have the worst of it Sunday night into Monday, so sleep tomorrow night will be very hard to come by.
Making matters not so great is a cold that seems to be circulating. A few days ago Hayden got sniffly, then Peyton's throat hurt. And last night Asa was complaining that we didn't have nyquil. So, I knew that we'd have to go out one more time this morning to get supplies, because who knows how sick everyone will get, and when the next time we'd even have access to OTC medicine will be. (Holy geez, this storm is getting real expensive and it isn't even here!)
Asa got up before 9 and we headed out. As soon as we stepped on the front porch, you could feel a sort of tense vibe in the air. Neighbors all around me were busy pulling things inside and making last minute preparations. We took a minute to talk to some of them and see how everyone was doing, it was a lot of nervous tension, but nobody around us had any intention of going to a shelter, or evacuating (really, that should be left for people in evacuation zones).
We got in the car and headed to Costco. But it was weird. Except for the sand bagging area at the Rec Center, and a few stores that were open (Publix, Walgreens and Costco), there was nobody on the road. Those stores were only open a few hours today, though, so by now if you don't have something, you're not getting it.
About every 5th house in the neighborhoods we passed were boarded up. Gas stations that had gas still had lines, but the roads were pretty clear. The sky was beautiful with whispy white clouds, but they still had an ominous feeling to them. It was slightly breezy, a trend that continued all day.
Costco was pretty empty too. We were there for things like kleenex, nyquil and airborn. But we did figure it couldn't hurt to pick up more bread, and Gatorade something they still had plenty of. The store was making preparations though, moving all the TVs from the front entrance and wrapping up the checkout lanes they weren't using. There were few employees working (the food counter was closed), but we did score a rotisserie chicken we put in the slow cooker when we got home for dinner tonight.
We made a stop at Publix too, and we were able to get plenty of ice, silk milk and some fruit that will last awhile. Shout out to Publix and Costco employees for keeping what they could in stock and always being super helpful and friendly! (And shout out to my favorite Publix employees Jen and Kayla who checked in on us to see if they could get us any last minute hard to find items!)
We hadn't gotten the boys up before we left, because we think the next two nights could be rough for them. But, when I got back I found Hayden without a care in the world, sitting in the hammock in the living room watching TV talking about 'this is the life'.
There was work to be done, and as tired as I was, I really didn't want to do it. But, we all worked together to pick up anything left in the yard and back patio, and clear out our closet so we would have a safe, interior room to go to tomorrow night. We could all fit in there, but I also have an abnormally large toilet room (which I used to be like 'why in the world is this so big?' and now I'm like 'oh good, another safe interior space!) So we'll probably split up, but we'll have to see how it goes.
We also filled up some containers with more water. Hopefully we'll have enough warning to fill the bathtub (full of non drinking water), but I didn't want to be caught off guard and not have anything to help flush the toilet. Fun fact: A couple of weeks ago, Asa told the boys he would give them each $5 if the next water bill was $20 cheaper than the last one. (He figured he'd still gain $5 out of it). Since then, they've been obessed with water usage. So now they're all 'the water better go out or you're really running up the water bill, mom!'
We have our last load of clothes (the stuff we all wore today) about to go in the washer and then everything we have will be clean. I also cut everyone's hair so they would have shorter, cooler haircuts if/when the air conditioning goes out. The plan is to turn it way down tonight and not turn it back up tomorrow and just keep the house as cool as possible, so hopefully it will buy us some time before the inevitable. We also cooked some plain pasta, so we'd have that in a pinch.
You might notice that headset. Yes, Asa is working from home. The help desk is at Storm Con 4, which he had never seen above a 3 before, meaning you have to work from home if you're coming in. His boss has been in touch and very nice about it all. So, as long as we have electricty, he'll be working. Once it goes out, so does the pay (we've discussed how he's out of vacation days). So that won't be ideal. But, we'll deal with it. Peyton, meanwhile, is soaking in the computer and internet while he still can.
Delano (our tortoise) was the last thing to come in from the patio. His cage is also out there, but he's like never in it, because he just wanders the screened in area. That's obviously not going to work for the next few days (or depending on how the screen holds up, weeks), so he is safely inside along with his cage. (The cooler is also stocked with drinks, but we're waiting to throw the ice in until tomorrow).
We've lived in this house for less than a year, and we haven't quite formed relationships with our neighbors like in the old house. Teresa, two doors down has always been very sweet to us (and this hurricane situation is no exception--- she's offered to help keep us fed), but on one side we only really ever talked to them about the fence. (She wanted to make sure she could keep her bushes, so now I'm hoping since she loves them so much, they weather the storm ok!)
But, we chatted a lot today. Wade grew up here, he's a seasoned hurricane vet. He was giving us tips and tricks. He was boarding up his front window, and offered to use his extra plywood to do ours too, since we had no idea how to even begin with it (stucco is weird). We said to let us know if he had extra, and we'd love to have it for our front window, and then mid-day we all just heard a drilling noise, and there he was putting it up for us. So awesome of him! Our backyard neighbors checked in on us, as did some of our friends. It's a little tough when you don't have family around, but we knew that's what we signed up for when we moved here. People are good to us though. Fun fact: I also live down the street from a guy who grew up down the street from me in Fremont, Ohio. Crazy world, right? We checked in on each other too.
So, back to the windows. All of us agreed the side windows were probably good. (I mean, ours has to be- we don't have anything to cover them up- but we will stay away from them just in case) With the houses so close together in this neighborhood, we're all sort of protecting each other.
We have a few small worries. In the overall scheme of things, they aren't big deals. But, Asa's papaya tree he's had for years just finally got out of it's pot and into the ground in June is growing fruit. It'd be really sad to see it go now.
And our back screen has been in rough shape since we moved in. I'd be shocked if it makes it out ok. (I'm just hoping the frame stays in good shape). Calib told me to look on the bright side, I've wanted to replace that screen since we moved in!
My biggest outside concern, besides anything happening to the roof, is the Fit. We only have room for one car in the garage, and I had to make a judgement call. The Accord runs better, has a realitively new transmission and newish tires. But, the Fit was my dads. It was a head over heart decision there. We parked it as close as we could to the house in an effort to protect it a little. Send good thoughts for this one, please!
After dinner tonight, we stocked our spaces, with lights and snacks and drinks and games and kleenex and such. (Asa was like 'oh my gosh, I always want a bowl of snacks in the toilet room!' He's weird like that). They are saying tropical storm force winds could begin here around 8 AM, so I don't want to be scrambling. Our safe spaces are good to go in a pinch if need be.
We had some wind on an off today, but we had a pretty sunset through the clouds.
We took one last look down the street, and I took some pictures (in case there's need for before and after shots). I am really hoping Land O Lakes and Tampa make it through this as unscathed as possible, not just for obvious reasons, but because I really love my city. Like, I just really, really love it. It's home.
Tomorrow we're hoping we'll be able to watch some football. Losing power isn't really a matter of if but when. Of course, part of our hurricane prep involved setting our fantasy team rosters. Priorities, you know? And if we can, we're going to try and squeeze in tacos. But tomorrow is a great big play by ear type of day.
I will keep everyone as updated as I can. Facebook is easy, because everyone can see it at once. We are making sure everything is charged tonight, but there's no guarantee I'll be able to post for the duration of the weather. We really appreciate everyone keeping tabs on us and checking in.
Next Up: Hurricane Irma is going to make landfall somewhere. Hope for as far south as possible!
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