Hurricane Irma Conclusion

We had lost power around 10:00 pm the night before but never lost water so were able to use the toilets. Justin had pulled a box of our Christmas candles (I think about two dozens or so) and I bought batteries to load into them. When we lost the power, Kerry got busy and placed these candles around the house, lighting the hallway and kitchen, etc. Justin taped the refrigerator door shut so we wouldn't accidentally open it, forgetting there is no power. I can't tell you how often I'd enter a room and reach for the switch. We had plenty of foods out on the counter for us to eat, no one was going hungry in my house!

The wind was wicked, far more than any experienced here before. Rain was being pushed under the sliding doors and when it got lighter out I could see it puddling. I got sheets out to lay down to soak up the water. Thankfully the windows and doors held during the fiercest times of the winds, with Kerry sitting in the river room during part of that, expecting the doors to blow in. In our building, no windows were broken though most had intrusion from under the sliding doors. 

In the morning, Kerry went out to scout around and see what was happening. It came to her attention that Susan needed help, plus I believe the fire dept. came by and warned that a three foot surge was expected. Justin and she went do to help Susan and her son go to battle against the water that was accumulating in her river room, and looking to get into her rooms. They took the plywood Mitch brought to us plus our tarps downstairs and the two guys built a barrier wall to hold the river back. When Lori got up, she went down to help move Susan's stuff to higher ground, as Susan feared what the fire dept. told her. I sent out notices to neighbors that she needed help and some others went to help. Pretty soon pieces of artwork and other treasures were being hauled into my home by people I didn't even know. Love that!

Also, I had to sent out notices to the neighbors to stay off the sundeck because some of the roof tiles were breaking off and crashing down, narrowly missing my boy! Certainly that would kill a person or seriously injure anyone hit by those concrete tile. With no elevator, I had to stay upstairs so I helped in those ways. Kerry was back and forth so often, nothing but adrenalin for her!

After things calmed down a bit, Kerry was outside directing 

traffic so folks didn't drive through the deepest water or get

a nail in their tire from all the wood floating in our parking

lot or in the garages. She got my keys and moved my car up 

the hill further, suggested by the fire dept., so she parked it 

on the grass up near the entrance to the property. Thankfully

that storm surge never came, so all the prep down on the first

floor was for naught. One man refused to obey and ended up

with a flat tire, having run over a board with nails in it. What

a mess! 

On Tuesday, the original day they were scheduled to fly home, 

Justin and I drove them to the airport. Kerry had been watching

the local news (she loves the news and weather stations) which 

told about the flooding in Jacksonville so was concerned about 

our drive to the airport. I don't think she understood how large

Jacksonville actually is and we saw little to no flooding as we 

made our way there and back again. The flooding was downtown, 

taking over shops and hotels along the river, a really big mess. 

But we were good on the westside of that mess. 

After Justin dropped me off, he took off to the farm to help his boss 

rescue the equipment which was under water. We had gotten our 

power back about 5:00 pm on Monday (the 11th) so had A/C and use of our 

refrigerator with zero loss of food. His boss, on the other hand, was 

yet without power and would be for almost a week due to the switch 

for the community being under water! They were able to move the trucks and 

equipment to higher ground, losing only one truck at that time. 

Later the insurance company would total all the trucks but they were 

able to save most of the equipment. I got busy here at home with 

making phone calls to their clients, explaining the situation

the landscape business was facing. Almost all calls were left as messages, and 

those with whom I spoke were sympathetic. Most people had branches and such

to remove before the yard could be done anyway but I was glad to be 

a helper to him. 

Thanking the Lord for saving our building, my windows, my nerves,

and for the limited loss to our building. We will need to repair our 

bulkhead and certainly much cleanup in the lower units will occur. No

windows broke here or at The Club, which is simply amazing! Thanks be

to God for His mercy on us!

Hurricane Irma summation Part One

Well, Irma was here and gone. Gone for most of us, some are still cleaning up or bailing out their homes and businesses from the high water left behind. This morning I spoke with a neighbor from the 1st floor, a tenant, who has endured quite a lot since moving in here, most recently, water intrusion from the river during the storm. She told me of the floor being pulled up from her living room and tossed onto her veranda. She told about not being able to access her dishwasher, washer or dryer (I offered the use of mine) due to her patio furniture being in the way. She told about the drips from her ceiling which landed on her TV speakers and entertainment center. And then said, "All in all, not too bad, compared to what others are going through...." Yes, that's pretty much the way we feel here at The Palace. A broad statement, to be sure, but it really could be worse!

Lori and Kerry were scheduled originally to depart from FL on Tuesday, the 12th. With the storm pending and being unable to get their tickets changed or postponed, they came anyway. Once here and looking like the hurricane was going to cause us a problem, they changed their departure flight, at no charge, to Saturday, the 9th. That should work! NOPE!!!  On Friday Lori got an email saying that flight was cancelled and they were rebooked for later in the day. NOPE! Cancelled again. No chance to get out, they were stuck. This is what I so wanted to avoid but here we were. Lori was scared out of her wits, fearing she would die. I knew we would not, our building is so strong and we are up high, but I do/did fear my windows breaking and damage ensuing. I'm all about my stuff!

I had tarps, I had food and drink supplies, buying more to have on hand since my sisters were going to be here, too. Hurricane foods consist generally of non-perishables that will sustain a person for the duration of the expected power outage. Speaking of that, my friends, the Chappell's, don't lose power as freely as we do, and had agreed to take in my houseguests for that reason. Judy checked in with me several times to find out if they were coming or not, eventually deciding to stay with Justin and me. Lori said she'd promise to not whine about the heat. I made a promise to not whine about being cold due to the A/C being set cooler for their comfort. It was a struggle, but with my heated blanket and Packer cover, I was good!

Anyway, back to the prep---I had ordered tarps from Amazon, regular blue tarps you see all over, one for each window on the river side. I knew the sliders would be okay, being newer and stronger. I bought a bladder to put in the bathtub which would hold 100 gallons of drinkable water. Typically we don't lose our water, but I felt comfortable having it. We did not fill it, however. 

Because Lori was so scared and had told people on the phone more than once, "No, they don't board their windows..." I asked Mitch from The Club to bring some plywood for the two windows. He came Saturday, his nephew helping him, but he refused to destroy my lovely woodwork with putting up the wood. He left his tools in case we needed to quickly put up boards but just couldn't justify doing it. He said much that calmed Lori and having the boards at the ready helped, too. Nothing on The Club was boarded up, he told us and it's older than The Palace. God bless him!

After watching both our football teams win their games, Justin and Kerry put up the tarps. Kerry was a willing and able worker, loves to be busy. Justin used the screw gun Mitch left to put up the tarps and then leaned the plywood sheets in front of the windows. Justin made room for me in his bedroom, clearing off his little loveseat and even putting a comforter over the top of it for more cush. Last time we had such a storm I stayed across the hall but that's where Lori was. Kerry had an airbed set up in the living room where the TV was (she is like me). At one point after we lost power we moved her bed into Justin's room so it was more quiet. 

Something woke her up and she moved out to the living room again. It was in there she heard the drip drip drip behind the loveseat. Nuts!  We had the other catch basins in place but didn't go back there. I got Justin up and together we moved the loveseat out and put down a plastic layer plus basins. Kerry had added some more on the other side as they were filling up quickly. Like I said, she was a little fireman running around and taking care of business!

My sisters are coming!

Well, it took a little while, crippled by the fact that Kerry was at work, but the two ladies have decided to come for their visit anyway. Lori and I were talking forth and back, actually talking on the phone while I messaged with Kerry who was working the pm shift. Because of the pending hurricane and the uncertainty as to direction, and so on, Lori wasn't sure they should come. She had purchased trip insurance but it seems that does not cover concern over possible bad weather. I told Lori to please not figure me into this decision at all, I would NOT blame them for not coming. Those WI girls would be miserable if the storm did affect us and we were without power for a period of time. Lori assured me she was not good in emergencies---I think it's brave of her to know that. 

Lori was going to let Kerry decide if they should postpone but Kerry didn't want to be the one to make that decision. She had the most to lose, like her vacation days, etc. since Lori is retired now. Finally, I got the message from Lori that they were going to come and face whatever they had to face. YAY!!!

I had told EVERYONE at the pool for weeks about them coming, some of the ladies remembering Kerry's visit from 2010 and others remembering Lori from my birthday party in early 2016. My other friends knew about it too, plus I joke about standing up on Hwy. 17 with a sign to let people know I was getting company. My two sisters were e-mailed the proposed plan for daily activities, including websites so they could check the venues and the time of day for the events. Lori did write back in acknowledgement saying, "I like you are making plans for us, but not the 9:00 am stuff..." I know that already but I hoped she'd be able to rouse herself on those occasions. Kerry and I are early to bed and Lori is a late to bed/later to rise person. We'll make it work. 

One day a while back I was having lunch with Terri and her sister, Gayle, at Longhorn. I mentioned that I had sent the schedule of events to my sisters for their pending visit. Gayle looked at me quizzically, and said, "I don't know if I have ever visited anywhere, or hosted anyone where there was a schedule..." Of course, there's a schedule! We are packing as much fun into that week as we can endure!! Terri and I laughed a bit since Gayle is quite a planner, too. Perhaps she didn't quite understand what I'd done, but it was funny at the time. 

Justin is still staying over in Mandarin as a house and dog sitter, but has taken time to be here to make sure things are ready for the ladies. I went to the store and got the items they asked to have on hand (I asked them what they wanted) plus I got a few things to have on hand in case the storm does come this way. Justin has the guest room made up, the housekeeper has been here and polished things to within an inch of its life. All that remains is setting up Kerry's airbed in the living room. She needs the TV just like I do. He said he will also drive to get them from the airport tomorrow evening. They land, Lord willing, just be 6:00 pm so our plans are to dine at 4 Rivers, a bit of local flavor for our guests, on the ride home. He'll have to head right back to Mandarin then to let the dogs out to potty and I'm sure the ladies will be tired from a long day of traveling. 

Kerry has to work tonight until 11:00 and then go home to try to sleep. In the morning she is driving an hour and a half to Manty, leave her car at a friend's garage, and then our sister, Jill, will pick her up and take her to Mom's house where Lori and Lynn are. Whew! Why they didn't fly from Green Bay escaped me, closer for Kerry and I think Lori could have gotten a ride up there from Manitowoc. Since Lynn broke her ankle, she cannot take them to the airport so other arrangements needed to be made. Kerry found a private party who knew her father-in-law who will drive them to MKE. Neither lady likes to drive in the big city so other arrangements need to be made. Like I said, a long day of traveling for the ladies. Oh, I sure do hope that storm misses us!!! 

From my friend, Mary

Rules For Our Sons:
1. Never shake a man’s hand while sitting down.
2. There are plenty of ways to enter a pool. The stairs ain’t one.
3. The man at the grill is the closest thing we have to a king.
4. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.
5. Act like you’ve been there before. Especially in the end zone.
6. Request the late check-out.
7. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.
8. Hold your heroes to a higher standard.
9. Return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas.
10. Don’t fill up on bread.
11. When shaking hands, grip firmly and look him in the eye.
12. Don’t let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be.
13. If you need music on the beach, you’re missing the point.
14. Carry two handkerchiefs. The one in your back pocket is for you. The one in your breast pocket is for her.
15. You marry the girl, you marry her whole family.
16. Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like crazy underneath.
17. Experience the serenity of traveling alone.
18. Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
19. Never turn down a breath mint.
20. In a game of HORSE, sometimes a simple free throw will get ’em.
21. A sport coat is worth 1000 words.
22. Try writing your own eulogy. Never stop revising.
23. Thank a veteran. And then make it up to him.
24. If you want to know what makes you unique, sit for a caricature.
25. Eat lunch with the new kid.
26. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.
27. Ask your dad to play. He won’t let you win. You have to earn it.
28. See it on the big screen.
29. Give credit. Take the blame.
30. Write down your dreams.
31. ONLY THE REAL SURVIVE (You dont Work you dont Eat)
32. Look a person in his eyes when you're talking to them.
33. Walk closest to the curb when walking with a female.
34. Love your mother because you won't get another.
35. Say it with your chest all the time!
36. Never break your word.
37. Never use a urinal next to another man.
38. Learn how to cook. Feed yourself.
39. If you walk in your fathers' footsteps, make them bigger!
40. Be a father to your child one day.