I really don't feel this big, so when I saw this picture, snapped by Pippi unbeknownst to me, I was surprised. It must look big because I'm so (ahem) flat, you know, on the top...
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Belly
I really don't feel this big, so when I saw this picture, snapped by Pippi unbeknownst to me, I was surprised. It must look big because I'm so (ahem) flat, you know, on the top...
Hitting the floor: a mess report
I mopped 24 hours ago. Since that time, courtesy of Bardo, we've had the insides of a can of pineapple, Pippi's dinner, a chocolate bar, turkey, the dog's tongue, and several ice cubes hit the floor. I think I'll be mopping again tonight.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Enough already.
I know, I know. But I have to get it out. Please bear with me through one more post about Hurricane Ike.
Here's one of my journal entries:
In the wee hours of the morning Saturday, September 13, 2008 hurrican Ike blew through our neighborhood. We knew it was going to pass though, so we did our best to make sure that our pantry was well-stocked. We put the kids to bed in our master bedroom closet, Pippi in her princess sleeping bag, and Bardo on a crib mattress. Bardo had a hard time settling down and would only fall asleep beween the Warlock and I, in our bed. In our bedroom we could hear our windows creak and flex. When the wind howling became a little too noisy (and scary) to allow for sleep, we moved to the closet where it was virtually silent. Occasionally we would hear the bending of the house. The Warlock was up all night, roaming the house, checking for leaks, listening to the storm, protecting us all. We made it through the night, all windows intact (though one was leaky). No trees fell on our home, though our three front trees had been blown over by the wind. The following day, when the storm finally subsided we stood them back up. I think they'll be fine. Our roof also suffered a minor leak. Nevertheless, I cannot complain about the way my home weathered the storm. So many were less fortunate.
Now, here are some additional thoughts:
I'm not the greatest at well, anything, but in this case, I'll note that I'm not a great pantry stocker or food storage guru (yet). But, every little thing (stock up on flashlights, put the kids in our silent closet, bring all tools and repair supplies into an accessible place, gas up our cars) that the Warlock and I did to prepare for the storm blessed us. Over the course of this time, we used 40 D batteries. We had 24 on hand, and did not need to purchase more until we were well into our second week without power. For the days after the storm, when travelling was difficult, gas stations and grocery stores were closed, our family did not need to go anywhere. We had more than plenty of food and water to sustain us. Our trip to San Antonio was not necessary, except for maybe to save the Warlock's sanity.
I will start storing plywood. Ike was only a category II. I can't imagine the damage it would have cause if it had been greater. I also think that I would evacuate for anything greater than a category II. (Can I come to your house Jess?) Hopefully that will not happen again for a very long time. The storm was scary, and I'm not anxious to relive it. But, during the whole thing, I never felt unsafe. I knew the Lord would take care of us, and he did. Pippi, before the storm, offered a simple prayer: "Please bless us that the storm won't harm us too much." I thought that was pretty inspired.
And will I get a generator? Not yet. But I think we'll start saving for a good one so we have a refrigerator and a washer and dryer if we have to go through this again. The more children we have the more critical this preparation will be.
And life without power? Well, I like life with power better, but we were okay without blogging and TV and AC, for a little while. I washed a load or two in the sink and hung them to dry on a makeshift clothes line. I cannot imagine doing all our laundry that way, all the time. Anyway, we're back (as of Saturday morning) and appreciating it big time.
I was impressed by how well my children handled this. Bardo definitely was stressed out the night of the storm, but the powerless nights both children handled the dark and the lack of AC very very well. In fact, I think they slept better than ever. What a blessing that was to my pregnant body!
I'd also like to note that my dog did not freak out during the storm and slept soundly through the whole thing on the floor by my bed. But he did get stinky. I think I bathed him twice last week. It doesn't sound like a big deal? You try to bathe a 100 pound lab. I dare you. You will get wet.
Here's one of my journal entries:
In the wee hours of the morning Saturday, September 13, 2008 hurrican Ike blew through our neighborhood. We knew it was going to pass though, so we did our best to make sure that our pantry was well-stocked. We put the kids to bed in our master bedroom closet, Pippi in her princess sleeping bag, and Bardo on a crib mattress. Bardo had a hard time settling down and would only fall asleep beween the Warlock and I, in our bed. In our bedroom we could hear our windows creak and flex. When the wind howling became a little too noisy (and scary) to allow for sleep, we moved to the closet where it was virtually silent. Occasionally we would hear the bending of the house. The Warlock was up all night, roaming the house, checking for leaks, listening to the storm, protecting us all. We made it through the night, all windows intact (though one was leaky). No trees fell on our home, though our three front trees had been blown over by the wind. The following day, when the storm finally subsided we stood them back up. I think they'll be fine. Our roof also suffered a minor leak. Nevertheless, I cannot complain about the way my home weathered the storm. So many were less fortunate.
Now, here are some additional thoughts:
I'm not the greatest at well, anything, but in this case, I'll note that I'm not a great pantry stocker or food storage guru (yet). But, every little thing (stock up on flashlights, put the kids in our silent closet, bring all tools and repair supplies into an accessible place, gas up our cars) that the Warlock and I did to prepare for the storm blessed us. Over the course of this time, we used 40 D batteries. We had 24 on hand, and did not need to purchase more until we were well into our second week without power. For the days after the storm, when travelling was difficult, gas stations and grocery stores were closed, our family did not need to go anywhere. We had more than plenty of food and water to sustain us. Our trip to San Antonio was not necessary, except for maybe to save the Warlock's sanity.
I will start storing plywood. Ike was only a category II. I can't imagine the damage it would have cause if it had been greater. I also think that I would evacuate for anything greater than a category II. (Can I come to your house Jess?) Hopefully that will not happen again for a very long time. The storm was scary, and I'm not anxious to relive it. But, during the whole thing, I never felt unsafe. I knew the Lord would take care of us, and he did. Pippi, before the storm, offered a simple prayer: "Please bless us that the storm won't harm us too much." I thought that was pretty inspired.
And will I get a generator? Not yet. But I think we'll start saving for a good one so we have a refrigerator and a washer and dryer if we have to go through this again. The more children we have the more critical this preparation will be.
And life without power? Well, I like life with power better, but we were okay without blogging and TV and AC, for a little while. I washed a load or two in the sink and hung them to dry on a makeshift clothes line. I cannot imagine doing all our laundry that way, all the time. Anyway, we're back (as of Saturday morning) and appreciating it big time.
I was impressed by how well my children handled this. Bardo definitely was stressed out the night of the storm, but the powerless nights both children handled the dark and the lack of AC very very well. In fact, I think they slept better than ever. What a blessing that was to my pregnant body!
I'd also like to note that my dog did not freak out during the storm and slept soundly through the whole thing on the floor by my bed. But he did get stinky. I think I bathed him twice last week. It doesn't sound like a big deal? You try to bathe a 100 pound lab. I dare you. You will get wet.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
POWER
We have it. Yup. I never thought I would sit under my bedroom fan weeping tears of joy for the moving air around me, but there you have it--the power of, uh, power. Whatever. Anyway, I have several loads of laundry, an empty dishwasher to begin to fill, and vaccuuming to entertain me today. Hooray for power!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
It's Not My Birthday
The Warlock and I have decided that holidays CAN and SHOULD be postponed--even birthdays.
Monday we decided to head out of town, towards San Antonio for a little birthday celebration for me. And then Nick found out that the ward was in need of a chainsaw; our trip turned into a rapid hunt for chainsaws with the hope that we could get the Warlock back to use the new chainsaw on some road-blocking trees. (There are many.) Finding a chainsaw was a trick and we did make it all the way to San Antonio before finding one...but, not before stopping at a MacDonald's for breakfast. "Excuse me," I remarked, "This is where you're taking me for my birthday breakfast? Let's trade birthdays. It's not my birthday."
Thursday, I rolled over to Nick. "Happy Birthday." I kindly whispered. "It's not my birthday..." he grumbled with a smile.
So there you have it. We're still 30--NOT 31, yet.
Monday we decided to head out of town, towards San Antonio for a little birthday celebration for me. And then Nick found out that the ward was in need of a chainsaw; our trip turned into a rapid hunt for chainsaws with the hope that we could get the Warlock back to use the new chainsaw on some road-blocking trees. (There are many.) Finding a chainsaw was a trick and we did make it all the way to San Antonio before finding one...but, not before stopping at a MacDonald's for breakfast. "Excuse me," I remarked, "This is where you're taking me for my birthday breakfast? Let's trade birthdays. It's not my birthday."
Thursday, I rolled over to Nick. "Happy Birthday." I kindly whispered. "It's not my birthday..." he grumbled with a smile.
So there you have it. We're still 30--NOT 31, yet.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
We're back!
The Warlock here again, with a final word on hurricanes: they are about as much fun as a root canal. We made it through just fine - no power yet (I have absconded to work to charge various devices, as the power is on there), but no major damage. We had a minor roof leak and a window leak, so a total of 8 cups of water got in illicitly. Bardo does more damage on one of his good days.
From what little I can gather, we had sustained winds of 100 mph, with gusts in the 115 range. It blew down all three trees in the front yard (we just stood them back up, and they should be fine) but (and I haven't been up yet to confirm) I don't think we lost so much as a shingle.
Others around us were pretty much the same. A few people got trees in houses and will no doubt be making insurance claims, but nobody got hurt in my area that I know of. There is a lot of clean up to do - I'm planning on going out this afternoon to finish some more stuff - and just about everybody is still without power. Lines for gasoline and food are long. But we'll be fine once power goes back on. That's when the real clean-up begins - Galveston, Beaumont, Orange/Chambers counties got absolutely devastated, and we will be cleaning them up for months.
In the meantime, we are hanging about the house, reading books, grilling up massive quantities of meat before it goes bad, taking frequent showers (we never lost water and our water heaters are gas, so we never lost hot water either), and enjoying what has turned out to be some of the most fantastic weather I've ever seen. Absolutely spectacular temperatures, blue skies with minimal clouds, cool at night - you couldn't ask for better weather, especially when you've got no power.
One last thing: I have been impressed with the city of Houston (politicians and people) in handling this disaster. It's my first real disaster, so I am somewhat new to this, but I haven't seen complaining or griping or yelling. I see politicians putting extreme pressure on government to get things done NOW, and I see people pitching in and helping everybody. Long live Houston!
From what little I can gather, we had sustained winds of 100 mph, with gusts in the 115 range. It blew down all three trees in the front yard (we just stood them back up, and they should be fine) but (and I haven't been up yet to confirm) I don't think we lost so much as a shingle.
Others around us were pretty much the same. A few people got trees in houses and will no doubt be making insurance claims, but nobody got hurt in my area that I know of. There is a lot of clean up to do - I'm planning on going out this afternoon to finish some more stuff - and just about everybody is still without power. Lines for gasoline and food are long. But we'll be fine once power goes back on. That's when the real clean-up begins - Galveston, Beaumont, Orange/Chambers counties got absolutely devastated, and we will be cleaning them up for months.
In the meantime, we are hanging about the house, reading books, grilling up massive quantities of meat before it goes bad, taking frequent showers (we never lost water and our water heaters are gas, so we never lost hot water either), and enjoying what has turned out to be some of the most fantastic weather I've ever seen. Absolutely spectacular temperatures, blue skies with minimal clouds, cool at night - you couldn't ask for better weather, especially when you've got no power.
One last thing: I have been impressed with the city of Houston (politicians and people) in handling this disaster. It's my first real disaster, so I am somewhat new to this, but I haven't seen complaining or griping or yelling. I see politicians putting extreme pressure on government to get things done NOW, and I see people pitching in and helping everybody. Long live Houston!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Ike
Here's the live-blog. Or at least the start of it, while we still have power - the lights are flickering, and I don't think we have long until we lose it all together.
Winds are gusting to about 60 or so, sustained at 30, perhaps. I expect that to change rapidly.
I took before pictures of the house and the neighborhood. I am pretty sure we are going to lose at least one of the trees in the front yard. We are about to put Pippi and Bardo down in our closet (the safest room in the house) to sleep. They are excited.
Update:
It's midnight here in Houston now, and we still have power. Some flickering, and we lost it for a few seconds a few minutes back, but it's still here.
Crazy wind and rain outside. Ike is making landfall right now at Galveston (which I still think is toast). We are definitely in the hurricane-force wind zone, by my estimation, but the house is holding up fine so far. I'm still worried about one window (although not as much as before, as the direction of the wind is shifting) and the one tree in the front (which is now definitely Pisa-esque).
I can't sleep because of the noise. Neither can the Witch. The kids are asleep in the closet, where it is virtually silent.
The Silly Witch and the Blustery Day II
The Warlock here again, with another hurricane update for you. First of all, a bunch of good news: after a stretch last night where the official track had us meeting the eyewall at our front door at about 2 am, it turns out that Ike decided to meet me at my office instead of my home. Good thing its Saturday tomorrow!
The best news of all, I think, is that it's not going to be a strong as they originally thought. Probably a Category 2 instead of a Category 4, like they thought days ago.
This is good news for us.
The bad news: this storm is going to hit Houston/Galveston very, very hard. I am watching the weather channel right now, and it's not looking good. I mentioned storm surges yesterday - the more room a hurricane has to build up a surge, the worse it is. Ike has had the entire gulf. The forecast surge is 20' or so, which is higher than the seawall down in Galveston. And Galveston already has flooding due to the waves (distinct from the surge).
So you are probably going to see reports of widespread devastation down here. I expect billions and billions of dollars of damage. I expect Galveston and other close-by cities to be crushed. And - here's the really big deal - what this storm lacks in pure intensity it makes up for with its massive, massive size, so you are going to see damage all through the South.
(Indeed, Mississippi and Louisiana currently are experiencing tornadoes as a result of Ike).
I will probably not be sleeping tonight, so I will live-blog the storm until power goes out (maybe not until tomorrow morning). After that, I will try to post via my blackberry - as long as the data services remain up.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Silly Witch and the Blustery Day
The Warlock here, with a word or two about hurricanes. We've had a few calls inquiring as to our well-being, what with Ike on the way (I would think it's a better question for us after Ike is gone), so I think I'll give you a status report, both on the storm and us.
You have probably been hearing that Ike is big and mean and nasty. You have maybe heard that Ike could cause billions in damage, spawn tornadoes, flood all sorts of places, kill people, and generally make life not very fun. You are probably reading things like "Category 4" and "125 mph winds" and such. And that Houston is going to get the worst, "dirty" quadrant.
You may have even heard that Ike's current course is the near-worst case scenario for Houston.
All of these things are true.
What is also true is that we will be staying put, right here in Houston, weathering the storm out.
Many of you know that I've weathered more than a few of these things (most while I was in Japan). What you may not know is that I have been heavily involved in emergency planning for our ward over the last few months. Turns out we picked a pretty prime spot to live in, as far as hurricane prep is concerned.
First, a map of evacuation zones for the Houston area:
http://www.hcoem.org/HCMap.aspx?P=Evacuation
We live just above the "n" in "Sheldon Reservoir" (look just above the top of the orange). What that means that, unless they change their criteria, we will NEVER be issued a mandatory evacuation order. Not even if a category 5 storm has us dead in the headlights.
In other words: you know that nasty storm surge? The wall of water that does most of the hurtin' and such? Not our problem (although certainly a major concern for Houston as a whole).
(For the record, people in the yellow and green areas are evacuating now).
So that leaves wind and rain to worry about. They are forecasting 2-6 inches of rain, with up to 10 locally (I expect we will get 10, based on tracks and historical precedent). However, we live right next to a brand-spankin' new drainage canal built just for storms like this, which runs into a reservoir nearby - both of which are very good things. Our roof is new and has been inspected, and we've had heavy rain before. Drainage on our lot is very good, especially with the new patio. I am not worried about the rain at all, if it wasn't for the fact that it will knock out our TV dish and prevent me from watching football this Saturday.
Oh, and did I mention that we live on what appears to be the highest land in Houston proper?
Now for the wind. I checked the quality of our windows: turns out they are supposed to be able to withstand 120mph winds (note that Ike will likely weaken before it slams us, as we're 80 miles inland from the projected landfall). Also, our house faces the best possible way: the biggest windows are on the side of the house that will get the least wind. We have repair materials handy in any event.
Hurricanes do, of course, spawn tornadoes now and then - but if we were going to panic at the thought of tornadoes, we wouldn't be living here in the first place. There is a greater risk of tornadoes during the rest of the year. We have a plan in place to deal with them.
Hopefully that puts your mind at ease a bit. Here's what is likely to happen, in my opinion: Houston will be hard hit in the southern part of the metro area. You will see stories of damage and destruction. We may have damage to our home, or we may not. We may lose power for a few days, or we may not. We may not have any capability to use cell phones (although texting usually works), or we may be as usual. But I think we will be fine. We could live without power for two weeks with little trouble (although it would be hot and sticky) and we are adequately insured. After talking it over, the Witch and I both decided weathering the storm here is our best option (which, by the way, is the advice of the local authorities for people in our area).
I will post status updates as I can on Saturday - perhaps from my Blackberry, if power is out. In the meantime, if you would like to track Ike, I recommend www.stormpulse.com.
You have probably been hearing that Ike is big and mean and nasty. You have maybe heard that Ike could cause billions in damage, spawn tornadoes, flood all sorts of places, kill people, and generally make life not very fun. You are probably reading things like "Category 4" and "125 mph winds" and such. And that Houston is going to get the worst, "dirty" quadrant.
You may have even heard that Ike's current course is the near-worst case scenario for Houston.
All of these things are true.
What is also true is that we will be staying put, right here in Houston, weathering the storm out.
Many of you know that I've weathered more than a few of these things (most while I was in Japan). What you may not know is that I have been heavily involved in emergency planning for our ward over the last few months. Turns out we picked a pretty prime spot to live in, as far as hurricane prep is concerned.
First, a map of evacuation zones for the Houston area:
http://www.hcoem.org/HCMap.aspx?P=Evacuation
We live just above the "n" in "Sheldon Reservoir" (look just above the top of the orange). What that means that, unless they change their criteria, we will NEVER be issued a mandatory evacuation order. Not even if a category 5 storm has us dead in the headlights.
In other words: you know that nasty storm surge? The wall of water that does most of the hurtin' and such? Not our problem (although certainly a major concern for Houston as a whole).
(For the record, people in the yellow and green areas are evacuating now).
So that leaves wind and rain to worry about. They are forecasting 2-6 inches of rain, with up to 10 locally (I expect we will get 10, based on tracks and historical precedent). However, we live right next to a brand-spankin' new drainage canal built just for storms like this, which runs into a reservoir nearby - both of which are very good things. Our roof is new and has been inspected, and we've had heavy rain before. Drainage on our lot is very good, especially with the new patio. I am not worried about the rain at all, if it wasn't for the fact that it will knock out our TV dish and prevent me from watching football this Saturday.
Oh, and did I mention that we live on what appears to be the highest land in Houston proper?
Now for the wind. I checked the quality of our windows: turns out they are supposed to be able to withstand 120mph winds (note that Ike will likely weaken before it slams us, as we're 80 miles inland from the projected landfall). Also, our house faces the best possible way: the biggest windows are on the side of the house that will get the least wind. We have repair materials handy in any event.
Hurricanes do, of course, spawn tornadoes now and then - but if we were going to panic at the thought of tornadoes, we wouldn't be living here in the first place. There is a greater risk of tornadoes during the rest of the year. We have a plan in place to deal with them.
Hopefully that puts your mind at ease a bit. Here's what is likely to happen, in my opinion: Houston will be hard hit in the southern part of the metro area. You will see stories of damage and destruction. We may have damage to our home, or we may not. We may lose power for a few days, or we may not. We may not have any capability to use cell phones (although texting usually works), or we may be as usual. But I think we will be fine. We could live without power for two weeks with little trouble (although it would be hot and sticky) and we are adequately insured. After talking it over, the Witch and I both decided weathering the storm here is our best option (which, by the way, is the advice of the local authorities for people in our area).
I will post status updates as I can on Saturday - perhaps from my Blackberry, if power is out. In the meantime, if you would like to track Ike, I recommend www.stormpulse.com.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Handwriting
Is there anything quite as tedious as handwriting practice? Not for Pippi.
Unfortunately, since Pippi is a 2nd grader now, the amount of "stuff" she's required to handwrite and the speed at which she wishes to write it has taken a giant leap.
So today, I sat down and showed her some cursive. She loves it. Counter-intuitive, eh?
But it still takes forever. She's so talented that I guess it's good for her to have some hurdles.:-)
Unfortunately, since Pippi is a 2nd grader now, the amount of "stuff" she's required to handwrite and the speed at which she wishes to write it has taken a giant leap.
So today, I sat down and showed her some cursive. She loves it. Counter-intuitive, eh?
But it still takes forever. She's so talented that I guess it's good for her to have some hurdles.:-)
Sunday, September 07, 2008
When Pippi Grows Up
Friday Pippi said, "If Grandpa's still alive when I grow up, I'm going to move to Montana. And I'm going to build with him."
Me: "Are you sure you want to live in Montana? It gets really cold there."
Pippi: "Oh yeah, well not as cold as it gets in Utah."
Me: "Actually it gets colder in Montana than Utah."
Pippi: "It's okay. I like the cold. And I'm going to be a builder."
Me: "Are you sure you want to live in Montana? It gets really cold there."
Pippi: "Oh yeah, well not as cold as it gets in Utah."
Me: "Actually it gets colder in Montana than Utah."
Pippi: "It's okay. I like the cold. And I'm going to be a builder."
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
First Spontaneous Prayer
If anyone has to really think in order to find something to be grateful for, you should give Bardo a call and ask him for some ideas. Today he gave his first spontaneous prayer, and it went something like this, "Dear Heavenly Father thank you for the day, thank you for the floor, thank you for chair, thank you for Becca, thank you for Mommy, thank you for Daddy, thank you for Hunter, thank you for meatballs, thank you for noodles, thank you for salad, thank you for dressing, thank you for Becca, thank you for Becca, thank you for Becca (Becca in the background whispers "Amen.") Amen."
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