Hurricane Season Haiku

Hurricane season
Bringing angst to weathermen
Which Gulf breeze will bring
The next Ike, Gustav, Rita?

Newspapers, TV
Furnish lots of lists for us
Preparation is the key
You must help yourself

QG and El Jefe
Built a house of stone and brick
No trees around it
A generator behind.

Water in garage
Canned goods in the pantry
Hoping not to open
Any this hurricane season.

QG's Bed and Breakfast Re-Opens

QG's Bed and Breakfast re-opened yesterday for our niece, her husband, their three little girls and two dachsies who are STILL without power. The girls' school now has power so they returned from our bay house. All three are happy to be back in school!

They've been told they MAY have power by Sunday. And maybe not. This is really a stressful time for them and everyone in their position. In the meantime, they will be with us until the lights go back on.

Beatrice is very excited about our guests--especially her old littermates, James and Dolley, who she hasn't seen for a while.

El Jefe and I are going out of town this weekend, so they can have the house to themselves, which ought to be a good thing for them. We are really happy to have them and blessed that we have the bedrooms upstairs to make them comfortable. Our pool will keep the girls entertained. It is really nice to have little girls around the house again!

It's amazing what a big hurricane can do. This is the fourth largest city in the US and there are still major power outages in many areas of town. Never mind the devastation in Galveston and on the coast which will take many years to repair and restore. See today's update on the PNC Hurricane Recovery blog (link on sidebar) for more news about volunteer opportunities, ways to help, and church damage updates.

In the Department of Can't Blog About It, yesterday I was reminded that not all hurricanes are acts of nature. Some result from the fallen nature of man, but cause much devastation in their own way.

QG Embed Report: Children and Pets at Work

As Houston area employers regain power and resume business, they are finding creative ways of helping their employees return to work. Schools and day care centers remain closed, so children are coming to work with their parents.

Yesterday at El Jefe's law firm, they opened up the moot courtroom to the kids, found snacks, ordered pizza, and ran movies on the big screen. Someone found some folks to supervise the whole operation. Other employers were doing the same. See the full story here in the Houston Chronicle.

Intrepid Houston area RevGal zorra reported that pets spent the day at her office. Methinks the law firm isn't ready for Beatrice and Olivia--but who knows? Things are different after IKE.

Our church is still without power and doesn't expect to have it restored anytime soon because it is in an area where lots of trees and utility poles are down. Services are planned for Sunday in the Fellowship Hall (which has lots of windows) rather than the Sanctuary (which has no windows other than stained glass)--power or no power.

UPDATE: El Jefe just emailed the movie schedule for today for the kids coming to spend the day at his firm.

Courtroom Movie Schedule

10:00am- Daddy Day Camp

12:00pm- Alvin and the Chipmunks

2:00pm- The Incredibles

4:00pm- Madagascar

For the older kids in Courtroom B:

12:00pm- Enchanted

2:00pm- The Prince and Me

Hmm. Maybe I can make it down there in time to catch the 2 pm show and then follow it up with the 4 pm show!

NCP Church Damage Status Report

For the benefit of those of you here in the New Covenant presbytery area who can access this (and for anyone else out there interested) here's the status report on our churches I received by email from the General Presbyter of New Covenant, Rev. Mike Cole.

"I have set up a temporary office at Clear Lake PC (Houston), which has both electricity and internet access. The presbytery office is structurally fine, but there is no electricity. The staff will not be in the office until we have electricity. Meetings scheduled for this week canceled.

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance will be setting up temporary offices at Clear Lake Presbyterian Church – 281-488-6731 – for the purpose of coordinating response efforts in the Greater Houston area. Our Disaster Response Team is discussing the possibility of setting up work camps in our presbytery for the most heavily affected areas – north of Galveston, the Beaumont/Orange/Port Arthur area, and north of Houston. We’ll know better where the work camps will be as we assess damages.

Reports are still coming in from affected churches. Here's what I have heard thus far - a universal concern is no electricity:

Texas City, FPC - they did ok.

FPC, Galveston - information on the church is scattered. The congregation will worship with FPC, Dickinson on Sunday. About half are accounted for.

Galveston, Westminster - no report
Galveston, West Isle - no report
Galveston, Emmanuel - no report

Dickinson, FPC - no significant damage. They are hosting FPC, Galveston for worship on Sunday.

Freeport, FPC - Church did not sustain any significant damage.

Lake Jackson, FPC - no major damage to the church

Tiki Island (Galveston) - the church is ok - Red Cross will be using the chapel

La Marque - there doesn't appear to be major damage

Angelton, FPC - Angelton is still closed to access. No water and no electricity. no reports of major damage

Alvin, FPC - the church did ok. Tress down but no structural damage

Beaumont, St. Andrews - no major damage to the church. Beaumont sustained about 10% of the damage they had sustained from Rita. work teams for the Golden Triangle are being organized

Beaumont, Westminster - the church is ok

Beaumont, Pioneer - no report

Nederland, Providence - the church where they are worshipping sustained no major damage.

Port Neches, Trinity - the church does not appear to have sustained major damage. No on site assessment has been done.

Orange, FPC – front door on church blew off. Some leakage in the sanctuary. They did get water in the first floor of the sanctuary building. The dome is ok. No major damage.

Orange, Drake – no report

La Porte, St. James – Some water in education building and sanctuary

Pearland, FPC – Casey Jones reports they have lost some shingles, an ac unit was destroyed, one roof leaked, and we have water damage to carpets in 3 buildings. We have electricity, but most of Pearland doesn't. All members we know of are OK.

Galveston, West Isle –the church still intact. Many shingles missing and we have flood damage. As far as church members, they are scattered to the wind.

Galveston, Emmanuel – most members are accounted for. There are reports on the church building itself.

Pasadena, FPC – most congregants are without electricity; no reports of significant problems or injuries. Some minor structural and water damage to facility.

Sugar Land, FPC – they withstood Ike with minor issues: they had some leaks in Sanctuary and in Education Building. Most of the trees on the property were damaged - Providentially, every single tree limb that broke off fell away from each building!

The Woodlands, Timber Ridge – Timber Ridge weathered the storm. Many large trees are down in the area including one that punctured a hole in the church roof. However, it was found before much damage occurred. We did have Sunday services in the dark. All members are accounted for and fine. Word is those of us in The Woodlands may be without power for several weeks.

Jones Creek, Gulf Prairie – One of the town aldermen reports that there appeared to be no damage at Gulf Prairie.

Orange, Drake – there is no significant damage to the church building.

Presbyterian Service Center (Center for limited income individuals with disabilities) – Georga Thomas reports that they need help with tree removal and general clean up. This would be a great spot for a local crew who is eager to “do something”."

As I receive more reports, I will update you.

The magnitude of all the damage is slowly sinking in with all of us, but so far the report on our churches is much better than feared.

Tuesday at QG's B&B

Here's a picture of the tree that crashed into our fence, courtesy of IKE. It just missed the roof, the AC unit and the pool equipment. How fortunate was that?

It is owned by our neighbor who came over yesterday to let us know he is calling a tree service to come remove it. He hopes that will happen in a day or two. Oh well. Beatrice and Olivia have found it a delightful place for their...um...toilette.

We have a new guests. Babs and the BF each have power at their places and returned there. My niece's husband moved to his mother-law's which now has power.

They were replaced by Portia and DK and our good Doctor Mickey, who all don't have power. Portia and DK rented a car and drove back from Colorado where they had gone for a vacation. They found a downed power line in the front yard of their home, but had no damage to their house itself.

Portia and DK's employers are closed today for lack of power or building damage from IKE. Dr. Mickey's office had power but no internet, so she's off to see patients.

El Jefe is downtown viewing the damage to his office from IKE and absorbing the damage to his law practice from the financial failures of Lehman Bros., Merrill Lynch and AIG that went down whilst we were distracted with IKE. His crackberry is working again, so he read through a chain of emails from his partners and associates. Many are now in Austin because of damage to their homes--never mind the lack of power.

I just had a call from a friend from church, letting me know that the church doesn't expect to have power restored for at least a week. Maybe two. I need to call my BSD group ladies, if I can find them. Many phone lines and cell phone towers were damaged, so it is hard to get in touch with people. Yesterday I sent out a group email to see if anyone would be able to respond. Only one did.

However, it is a beautiful day in the neighborhood with clear sunny skies and mild temperatures. As Scarlett O'Hara said, "Tomorrow is another day."

Note to my Gentle Readers: This blog may be hurricane-pre occupied for a while.

Beatrice Blogs:My first hurricane

Woof! Woof! Woof!

There's a lot of barking required during a hurricane. I have to bark when:

the wind blows really loud
the big tree falls on the backyard fence
the security alarm wails because the power went off
Flashlights are being used
the security alarm wails because the power came back on
QG and Babs have a Come to Jesus Meeting with the alarm and cut its wires
Olivia took my toy squirrel
Strange people are spending the night
Strange people are using computers in the kitchen
QG is giving ice to the workmen across the street
the doorbell rings
Olivia is sleeping in my bed
the phone rings

Whew. I'm tired. Time for a nappy-pooh.

Note from QG--it's been hard on the pets, too.

QG Embed Report: Hurricane Ike Aftermath

Now that we have power, we can catch up with all the news.

Apparently downtown Houston, Sugar Land and Katy are the only areas affected by IKE that have power. Broadcasters are telling people that it will take up to FOUR WEEKS to get everyone back online. OMG, it looks like we will have Babs, the BF, Portia, DK and maybe more at our house for the duration. Just call me Martha.

Did you see the spectacular pictures of all the broken glass in the high rise buildings downtown? Picture El Jefe inside one of them. He had a call from the business manager of his law firm letting him know that one of the glass walls in his office is gone. Thankfully there is no other damage. Portia and BF's office building was also damaged. Babs doesn't know about her clinic yet.

So they all may be at home for a few days. With El Jefe trying to work from home. Fun.

Portia keeps calling from Colorado, desperate for news about their townhome near downtown. We tried to drive down to check on it for them, but were stopped by high water. Babs and BF will go tomorrow morning when the water should be gone.

I'm not sure there are enough trucks in the known universe to haul away the debris in just our neighborhood. Never mind the rest of metro Houston.

Feeling very, very blessed to have power.

QG

PS. Just got a call from my niece's husband. Long story short, he asks to come stay with us, too. Welcome!

We're BAAACCCKKK!

God be thanked. Our power is now restored, after a scary night. The house is not damaged. We lost part of a back fence to a downed tree and a downspout. That's all. Hooray!

We and all our family and friends got through it fine. Beatrice and Olivia were frightened, but are slowly acting more like themselves.

Many thanks for all your thoughts and prayers--it was very comforting to know you had our backs!

And now, the answers to the Quiz--

Matching the Drinkee-Poo With the Hunkeree:

Double Glenfidditch with a few rocks: The Old Marine
White Wine: St. Betty, QG
Beer: Babs BF and El Jefe
Hard Cider: Babs
Red Wine: QG, El Jefe, Babs and St. Betty

But who's counting?

We didn't sleep well, due to the noise of the storm, so now it's time for a little nappy-poo.

Love to all my dear readers, QG

Time for a little Drinkee-poo

We're still waiting for Ike to show up. The winds are gusty, but that's all.

Here's a little quiz. Match the drink with the hunkeree:

Drinks

A. Double Glenfidditch with a few rocks
B. White wine
C. Beer
D. Hard cider
E. Red Wine

Hunkerees:

A. QG
B. El Jefe
C. Babs
D. Babs BF
E. St. Betty
F. The Old Marine

Note that some drinks will be matched with more than one hunkeree.

Update: Some hunkerees will be matched with more than one drink!

Random Bullets Waiting on IKE

• The internet went out for a couple of hours. Not weather related, but frustrating for El Jefe who was trying to work.
• Beatrice and Olivia have had TWO walks already. We're stir-crazy and nothing has really happened yet.
• El Jefe is bringing the last piece of furniture off the patio and sweeping it up(?). Nervous energy methinks.
• I'm posting again. Yes, nervous energy
• Cloud cover has moved in. There is a steady breeze with occasional brief gusts of wind and the occasional drizzle.
  

Let's get on with it.

Waiting for IKE

All the patio furniture and plants are sitting in the hall. We have Olivia with us because Portia and DK left Thursday on a long-planned weekend trip to Colorado with friends. Hey, kids--wish we were THERE, too.

Beatrice is happy, as always, that Olivia is staying over. Both seem a bit clingy, no doubt because of all the stuff in the house and the empty back yard. We'll take them for a walk this morning before the winds get too bad.

Babs came home to weather the storm with us and is having her boyfriend come as well because his place is in a flood-prone area.

I made a Grace Cake after all. Too much nervous energy.

Last night we went out for Tex-Mex and margaritas. That made us feel better.

Dear Readers, thanks for your concern and good wishes. We should be fine--just inconvenienced. I'll post as along as we have power. We're planning to leave after the storm if the power will be out for an extended period of time. Pray for the folks who will be MORE than inconvenienced.

For now, just waitin' on Ike.

You Know It's Getting Serious When....

Your homeowners' insurance company calls to tell you that you are in the path of the storm and give you their phone number so you can make a quick claim for damage.

Ironically, a "Thank You Houston" celebration organized for this weekend by Katrina and Rita survivors has been canceled....

Trying to be a non-anxious presence, but needing some adult beverages,
QG

Hunkering Down for IKE

We're distracted from remembering 9/11 today as we prepare to hunker down in advance of Hurricane Ike. It looks like it is headed to Freeport, just southwest of the Houston area, which puts us on the storm's "dirty side."

Sugar Land is not in an evacuation zone, so we are going to stay here. It's important to leave the roads clear for those who live in storm surge areas and must leave.

Lots to do today! I won't have time to bake a Grace Solidarity Cake, so if you are so inclined, bake one for me and everyone in the path of Ike.

In Case You Were Wondering...

We don't like Ike.

What's In a Name?

Yikes!

Now they've named one after me.

Here's hoping it is not an omen.....

Never Mind...

Edouard came onshore earlier and a bit farther east than expected. All we're seeing here in Sugar Land is a light rain, which we desperately need. The local TV stations are still All Edouard All The Time despite the fact that all those disaster declarations were (ahem) somewhat premature. And we're grateful for that!

Since Babs has the day off, we're thinking about spending the afternoon at the movies. Maybe Mamma Mia? Although El Jefe is staying home to work, he refuses to come with us saying that "its shameful to go to the movies on a workday." Whatever.

Edouard's On The Way

Signs that Tropical Storm Edouard is heading for Houston:

• Portia's office closed this afternoon and will be closed tomorrow
• Babs' clinic will be closed tomorrow
• El Jefe's law firm is considering being closed tomorrow (neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night etc!)
  
• Sugar Land canceled trash pickup for tomorrow
• M.D. Anderson (the cancer center) re-scheduled my SIL's MIL's chemo from tomorrow to next Tuesday
• Local TV went into All Edouard All The Time mode about 3 pm
• Digital Highway signs are flashing: Hurricane Forming In the Gulf! Fill up your gas tanks!
  

Favorite TV Weatherperson quote so far :
"It could be not so bad, or maybe not."

Things I am grateful for:

• It is not a hurricane
• We're on the "good side" of it
• St. Betty stocked up on white wine
• I've got plenty of tequila and margarita mix
  
• Babs came to stay with us until it is all over
• I still have lots of water left from last year's hurricane season
• There will be no mass exodus from the Houston area this time
• Our power lines are buried in the ground
  

Heads Up for Edouard

Edouard may be coming this way.

Here's hoping it stays a Tropical Storm!

Battening down the hatches,

QG

Humberto Blows East

Thanks for the comments and concern about what turned into Hurricane Humberto. Fortunately for the Houston area, the storm veered east and made landfall right at the Louisiana/Texas border at the last minute. Those poor folks are still recovering from Hurricane Rita of 2005, too. It doesn't seem fair. As for us, we got no wind, no rain, no nothin'. Today it's beautifully sunny and slightly cooler.

Now we're feeling a bit foolish as we
--put the patio furniture back on the deck
--take the potted plants back outside
--put away the lanterns and flashlights we had at the ready yesterday evening
--remember that we didn't go to choir practice and Bible study last night because we thought Humberto would be here as we tried to drive home.

Oh well. Better safe than sorry. At least now all my flashlights and lanterns have fresh batteries!

Vamos, Humberto!

This little fellow blew up today just off the coast of Galveston and is predicted to hit our area later tonight. We're more concerned about flooding than winds at this point. Vamos, Humberto!

*scurries outside to secure the yard*