Sunday Before Frances, 082904
Monday Before Frances, 083004
Tuesday Before Frances, 083104
Wednesday Before Frances, 090104
Thursday Before Frances, 090204
Friday Before Frances, 090304
Saturday Before Frances, 090404
Wrath of Frances, 090504
Day Two, 090704
1110p - Choir was good, I guess. But the big thing on everyone's mind is (can you guess): Frances. I mis-typed earlier today when I said it was less ominous. Now it's really, OMG we're farked.
I'm so frustrated at work. Thankfully, we finally got some of our phone lines back last Friday. But we still only have 2 of our 5 lines, which means we continue to be without our lifeline, more commonly known as the fax machine. And this morning, the internet was out (thank you Brighthouse). So JG has been freaking out since before Charley hit, and has been stressing all of us out ever since. And I've about had it. I don't enjoy dreading coming to work because people are so cranky and irritible.
1145p - You can tell what's consuming my thoughts this week: the bi-polar Hurricane Frances. Whew, it's missing us. Damn, it's coming straight for us. Whew, it's missing us. Damn, we're farked.
I have been wanting to blog, but I've been distracted. I hope all you Floridians filled up your gas tanks, today was the last day of the gas tax break for the month of August. Jim and I drove our vehicles up to BP and filled both our tanks. Tomorrow, Jim has Photoshop World. I'm jealous. While he's not here (unless he's able to finagle a ticket for me to go to dinner with him, since my ticket fell through), I'll (once again) put stuff away that may become airborn during the upcoming storm. We got lucky (on our street) this morning: when we were leaving, huge trucks and a claw came through and picked up all the yard waste (potential missiles) from our street. I'm quite worried about Frances.
Meterologist Glen Richards was on the radio this morning. He said that while Charley whipped through the state in just a couple hours, that Frances will slow down and take hours and hours (he said 10-12 hours) to go through the area. Ten hours times 3 inches of rain per hour, plus 100+ mph winds = well, it's not a good thing. SD is practically in tears about it - she sustained significant damage from Charley the Wimp. Ma is going to do some hurricane grocery shopping today.
Can someone recommend a FREE dial up internet for us to download before we lose our power and internet this weekend?
1115a - Time for the 11am update from the National Hurricane Center: looks bad for this tiny penninsula. With this map, I'd like to point out that they're predicting it will take 24 hours for the eye to move from the coast to Orlando. We'll feel the bands long before the eye approaches. So... that's probably going to be the entire weekend of heavy wind and rain. Time to look for the oars for the canoe, I guess.
429p - I recognise that I'm feeding off the anxiety in the office, but I'm scared of Frances. JG has already begun her panic she just sent JO out to get gas because she heard that gas stations are already reporting huge lines and fuel shortages. She also told us all to go to the bank and get cash (Does that mean we can get our paychecks early? No.) Ma decided to wait for me to get home tonight so we can go shopping together. Here's hoping the reports are false and we're not waiting in line for water and canned foods. Several counties have cancelled school (again) on Friday. Counties on the coast cancelled Thursday and Friday. Some counties on the coast have a mandatory evacuation already.
All girls want Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.
We're both concerned about PS World for tomorrow, if Frances is supposed to start whipping us tomorrow, are they going to cancel the final day? These things I wonder.
At lunch time, I am going to meet Linda to acquire sand bags to place in front of the sliding door on the driveway, to try to cut down on flooding. That's the only door I'm especially worried about. Thank you to the many out-of-staters who invited us to flee. We're going to ride out the storm. Try to imagine leaving your world behind and not being around to see what's happening. We're insane, I guess. I talked with 2 neighbors last night, and we're all riding it out. We're all worried.
556p - JG let us out of work early. I was the last to leave at around 330p.
936p - I tried blogging earlier, and Rachel just wasn't having any of it. She wanted me to pay attention to her. So, she and I went for a bicycle ride around the neighborhood (we should both sleep well tonight). I also rearranged some stuff in the shed and laundry room in anticipation of losing at least the roof on the shed this weekend and not wanting to lose certain items.
Photoshop World for tomorrow is cancelled, so they tried to cram tomorrow's classes into tonight. It's upsetting, but unavoidable. But I'm glad Jim will be home tomorrow too, because we have a lot to do to prepare for the storm.
I like this picture because it shows Florida and Cuba in the path of Frances.
I went to Publix (again) this morning to get some meat to cook this weekend. We wanted to wait until the last minute to buy meat, and only enough for a couple days since we anticipate losing power. I wish I had brought my camera with me to take a picture of the long line of cars outside Lowes waiting to get plywood. After, I braved the line at the gas station - one of the few (I understand) stations in town that actually had gas. I thought it was appropriate that my car only accepted $6.66 worth of gas. Is that an omen? The middle school around the corner is now an emergency shelter, in case any of you were curious. While I was out and about, I was noticing all the houses and businesses that are all boarded up. It was really creepy, frankly.
I think it's about time for me to start a Frances page.
I just checked the current projection, and am so amused by what isn't making news (yet). Sometimes you just have to laugh along with God's sense of humor.
As with Charley, I will continue to blog and post pictures, although after we lose our Road Runner and power, it's going to be more difficult. Thank you to J'Lynn for letting me use one of her AOheLl logins... I'm not sure how user friendly it will be for the uploads I like to do. Quick reminder to check out J'Lynn's site for updates in case you lose track of us. My Aunt Joan is staying at her house and said she would like to answer the call if they are looking for more nurses. My Uncle Richie and Rhena took a hotel room (news reported from his neighborhood this morning, glad he's not there). Jonna and Jim and the kids headed up to his mother's house in Ocala. Todd and Julie are in Atlanta with J'Lynn and Randal. Tony and Linda are (I imagine) hunkered down in Clermont. Janet and Dan and family (I imagine) are hunkered down in Tampa.
Meanwhile, have you guys been tracking Ivan? Don't events happen in 3s? Births, deaths, hurricanes... Say a little prayer for us Floridians.
We've had the television on non-stop since yesterday morning. And while you non-Floridians are likely having normal programming, we're having nothing but hurricane coverage. It's depressing. ("That man would depress a hyena") I insisted on a movie break last night, and we encouraged Ma to come out of her room to watch the movie with us, just to break up the doom and despair generated by the media. It's like watching the Twin Towers fall repeatedly. Eventually, you have to turn it off and find something healthier to watch.
1038p - Well, we're finally really starting to feel Frances. She sure has taken her time coming ashore. I decided to try to get some sleep early, since Frances wasn't doing much to Orlando, and wouldn't really hit us until around midnight. I awoke around 1015p to the sound of heavy wind and rain pounding the window, and filling the flipped canoe outside the window (nothing like the sound of dripping water to make you have to get up and pee!). What really helped me open my eyes to investigate was worry for my poor bunny, Petri. After Charley, Petri didn't let me touch him for a week because he was so upset by the storm, so I'm making a point to pay more attention to him this storm to try to help him stay calm. My poor bunny. Jim was already outside on the patio, getting wet. I hugged my bunny for a few minutes before joining Jim outside. It's cold and wet and dark. But we still have power and internet. We keep hearing strange noises coming from outside. I may have to put my contacts back in so I can see what's going on. Orlando is on the "bad side" of Frances.
In the eight o'clock hour, WESH finally reported on Tropical Storm Ivan. Ma started freaking out. Meteorologist Dave Marsh said, "I really hate having to tell you this, but we need to talk about Ivan." And anchorwoman Wendy Chioji said, "Oh Dave, I want to cry." Oh well. I feel badly for little Rachel - another year that her birthday is going to be ruined. September is apparently just a bad month.
927p - 12 hours and 45 mintes: the amount of time we were without power (and internet). I'm so pleased that the power is back on so quickly. That being said, how come no one else I talked with today lost power? That's not fair! I know I said this after Charley, but... what a long, strange trip it's been. It is still incredibly windy and rainy outside. The water in our back yard, when last I checked several hours ago, was above my ankles. Our canoe, which was empty yesterday afternoon, has been overflowing. That's a lot of water. Our roof has lost a lot (more) of shingles. Which makes me glad we didn't have it repaired after Charley. It's been a long, long, monotonous day. With no power and constant wind and rain, we've been going stir crazy. Our neighbors have been too, I think. Some dumbasses on the street behind us allowed their children to be out riding their bicycles. This may sound harmless, until you consider how frequently the wind would pick back up and throw debris around. Idiots. We were listening to the news on the radio all day. At one point, they advised people not to be outside in between storm bursts, and to especially not be up on their roofs trying to fasten tarps or whatever. Not five minutes later, when we were outside again, two morons down the street were up on their roof tying down a tarp! We took video with the hope of catching them flying off in the wind. It didn't happen. The house across the street had a plastic sheet across their roof. It made horrible scary noises in the wind this whole time. I think he lost part of the tarp fairly early. They say we still have several hours of this wind and rain ahead of us. Good times, good times.
Uncle Richie said his mobile home survived, but there was no power, so they were staying another night at the hotel. They both have to go to work tomorrow. Tony and Linda never lost power. Duane and Margaret never lost power for more than a few minutes at a time. Janet and Dan lost power around 3. Since they're in Tampa, they started feeling the storm way after we did. And the eye is in their general area right now.
Meanwhile, it's about time to start working on an Ivan page! I laugh every time I hear about Ivan. I have to laugh at life.082904 - 842p - Would anybody like to contribute to our "Frances Is On The Way, We Need A Generator Fund"? I'm thinking we should hold off a week to repair our roof. What do you think?
083004 - 950a - Looks less ominous today.
083104 - 1218p - And Orlando breathes a sigh of relief... and continues to cross their fingers.
090104 - 859a - My co-workers are far more anxious than I am. Now that I've spent the entire week obsessing about Frances' ability to dramatically affect the scenery, I'd like you all to appreciate just how beautiful Frances really is. Please visit Nasa's site, where I obtained these pictures.
090204 - 1031a - So, Jim is at Photoshop World, and I'm jealous. He said yesterday was awesome and I would have really enjoyed myself. Sigh. I made my decision, and I have no regrets. That being said, I have the most wonderful husband! He got me Bert Monroy's autograph!!! I'm so excited!!! He bought me (at a great discount) the book I've been wanting: Commercial Photoshop with Bert Monroy, and told Bert that I'm a big fan and watch him all the time on TechTV, and how sad I was that I couldn't attend PS World to take his classes. And so Bert signed the book "Rachel, hope this inspires" and his name. I'm so excited! And Jim also got me a tee shirt. He came home with all kinds of goodies last night. I'm glad he's able to attend.090304 - 324p - It's been a hectic 24 hours (since I left work yesterday). The good news is Frances has slowed down, giving us more time to prepare. The bad news is Frances has slowed down, meaning she'll take even more time crossing Florida and dumping on us. The equally bad news is Frances has slowed down over warm water, which will likely strengthen her wrath. The good news is we have sand bags and Jean and Chris kindly gave us a sheet of plywood. And Tony and Linda were here all morning helping repair our roof from Charley's wrath in preparation of Frances' wrath. Jim is taking video of our house and belongings, for insurance purposes. We've had some wind and rain, but Frances won't be here until tomorrow sometime. The forecast changes often. And the slow down is giving us a false sense of security, and the media are warning people not to get complacent.
090404 - 1134a - Hi kids. We've already had power surges. Good times, good times. As I've been sitting here preparing pictures to post, we've had 4 power surges. Jim and I walked around the neighborhood taking "before" pictures. We went up to Walgreens to buy a newspaper, but they were sold out. We picked up a few first aid type things (in anticipation of our stupidity). Then, we took a picture of the vacant Publix parking lot and drove out to Winn Dixie to see if they were open to get a newspaper. Yes, we waited in those long lines for 20 minutes just for a 54 cent newspaper. While we were there, Ma said the power went out. We took a picture of that mobile home community across from Eckerd (Curry Ford and Goldenrod) - the caption should be "airplanes awaiting take off". On our way home, it started a band of heavy rain. I got drenched while Jim creatively parked my car in front of the house and I "helped" by making sure he didn't scrape the house. We're in for a long, wet, windy weekend.
090504 - 714a - It was a rough night of inconsistent sleep. Tony said they just lost a branch from one of their oak trees. Ava and Dave (neighbor on the corner) said they survived the night about as well as we did. It was difficult to sleep. The storm really started picking up around midnight, and the noise from the wind and rain made it difficult to sleep. Jim and I took turns getting up to pet the bunny and investigate the house. In the 6 o'clock hour, as I dozed, all of a sudden the wind got really loud and conquered whatever my dream had been, and I started thrashing around in bed as an enormous spider was thrown at my face. It scared the hell out of Jim (he loves when I have spider nightmares). Now that it's light outside, I intend to take some pictures. I wish you could hear the wind as it whistles through cracks in the house. It's quite disconcerting.
