Lighthearted Storm Prep Observations

 

Some of my readers have already contacted me to ask where we are in relation to Hurricane Helene's projected path. We are in the red, but understand this can change for better or for worse at any time. 

Living some 60+ miles from both the Gulf and the Atlantic spares us concerns about ocean storm surge, but damage from wind (tornados included) is taken into consideration as we watch the forecasts.

😏 I like to quote the late husband of Terri D (Your Friend From Florida) at this time of year who said he wanted to go to the water but did not want the water to come to him! This is one of the reasons why I live in the middle of the peninsula.

We may get some rain later today but expect more symptoms of the storm on Thursday. My Bible study leader sent out an email regarding this week's meeting:

"Revelation 13:1 states that John saw a beast rising up out of the sea. We also have a beast coming from the sea called "Helene" that has caused everything to be shut down for safety reasons, including our study..." (I will be safe at home with Gary, watching the wind and the rain.)

patio chairs 

We have made the necessary preparations here at our house. The cast aluminum patio furniture is just too heavy to haul into the house (although we've done that in the past), so Gary turned it all over to a more wind-resistant position against the house, and then tied all the pieces together with rope.

statuary 

We also have a pagoda, a couple of fountains, and some potted flowers that have been disassembled and/or relocated to sheltered places against the house. In the past we have brought some of that into the house, but those small, bothersome Geckos often hitch a ride, unseen, and then startle the beejeemies out of us when they suddenly dart around indoors. 

[time out] 

our Geckos aren't this cute

I hit "save" on this blog post to have lunch with Gary. During that time, we discovered to our dismay that one of those Geckos had, indeed, made it into the lanai. Ugh! Grabbing a fly swatter we keep on hand for these kinds of invasions, Gary slapped the lizard silly multiple times and then picked it up with a paper napkin and dropped the body outside. It looked like he had lost his tail in all the mayhem, so I disposed of that.

I don't know if murder or just serious mutilation occurred, but once the creature was outside and we were back indoors, I didn't care. 

today's dessert

A notable aspect of hurricane preparations is assessing the food and water supplies. We are good on that. Gary prefers that we not buy just a whole lot of frozen food in the summer months just in case we were to lose power for a long time in hurricane season. We have been fortunate that we seldom lose power here but it's wise to keep that possibility in mind. 

With that thought, Gary pulled out the last of our ice cream sandwiches for our dessert. 😋 We do have a solar-powered energy source, purchased a few months ago and have not tried that out yet..... hoping it won't be necessary.

Orlando TV station

Getting back to the storm reporting, all the TV stations talk about not much else. Gary has made some astute observations about the weather people. Usually one weather person is sufficient, but when a hurricane is brewing, there are two, sometimes even three, on duty at the same time. I suppose that is reasonable.

But what is really interesting is that for normal day-to-day forecasts, the men wear a suit with a tie and the women wear either a dress or dressy pants with stiletto heels.

But you can grasp the true seriousness of a storm when the men shed their suit jackets to work in just their shirtsleeves, rolled up cuffs. They mean business when those wardrobe changes take place. 

One thing I am looking for this year is to see if and when the gals shed their stilettos for bunny slippers. Why would they wear those tortuous heels for the duration of the storm reporting? My guess is that the glam shoes will be shed but the cameras won't give us the full-length views we normally see.

Other than the storm, there's not much new to report since my last post. Somebody's birthday is fast-approaching but that will be blog fodder for another day. 🎉 😉

I close with this graphic that fits today very well:

Until next time, grace and peace.

P.S. 2pm EDT The rain has begun!