Floatin' In A Storm Surge

The world is a crazy place

Have you read the news or watched the TV lately? It's enough to make me want to move to Mars. Democrats and Republicans, the Left and the Right, wars, storms and destruction, the price of crude, and now the news about AIG and more devastation on Wall Street. I wonder if there will be anything left of our 401K when we get our next quarterly statement. I doubt it. I used to work for AIG, so I know how bad things are when a company like that needs a bailout. When a giant stumbles and falls, I promise you, the earth will shake.

I try not to think about it because doing so gives fear a big spot to stick its foot to climb all over me. It is not easy to be a concerned citizen without being a fearful one. I catch myself asking what are we going to do? Really, what can we do? I can't change the price of oil. I can't tell the banks how to run their business. I don't understand most of what is going on down on Wall Street, and if I did, what difference would it make? I can't change the hearts of men nor the policies of nations, so therefore I can't bring about peace on earth. What can I do?

The other night Rick and I were watching The Weather Channel (are you surprised) as Ike approached the coast of our beloved Texas. The guy holding the microphone and repeating himself every 15 minutes started talking to the not-to-bright but gutsy Texans along the coast who chose not to evacuate. He told them that after 9:00 p.m. no emergency calls for help would be answered. He was blunt when he said something like this. "After 9:00 if you decide you need help, you had just better find something that floats, tie yourself to it, and ride out the storm."

That's exactly what I can do! I can't evacuate to Mars, and there is only one thing that I know for sure will float. Psalm 102:25-28 says it like this. "Of old Thou didst found the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. Even they will perish, but Thou dost endure; and all of them will wear out like a garment; like clothing Thou wilt change them, and they will be changed. But Thou art the same, and Thy years will not come to an end."

God alone will float when life's storms threaten to wash us all away. So, I think I'll tie myself to Him and do my best to ride out the storm. I'm not sure what time it is, but I don't intend to wait until after 9:00. Excuse me while I go find some rope.

Passing Storm

The clouds are still thick, heavy, and on the move, but the wind is calming. We made it through just fine with only a few strong gusts of wind and (at this point) only a little bit of rain.

Our daughter in Houston made it through the storm as well. She's without water and power right now, but that is only an inconvenience compared to what many in the area are facing. She still has her windows and doors and flooding is not an issue in her neighborhood.

We've not been able to get in touch with Rick's brother and his family, but we are hoping all is well with them too.

I'm thankful for God's care and protection. My prayers and concern are offered for all the folks whose lives have been drastically altered by Ike. I also pray that God's presence be known and His grace and love manifested through His children as clean-up and recovery take place.

Too bad we are working here in Louisiana at the moment. It would be cool to get to work in an area where we actually have family. But not this time I guess.

Life goes on. I know it does because there are dirty dishes piled in the sink, patiently waiting for me. So I guess I had better stir up some of what my granddaughter calls "Mimi's bubbles" and get them washed. So until next time, keep looking for the Son, knowing the storms of life will soon blow on by.

Outer Band Action

The Gulf is full of Ike. We started feeling him last night. The winds are kicking up and rain blows against our windows occasionally. We are under tornado watches and warning. Water is standing in some places around the campground, and the little lake behind our camper has white caps. The swans are on the bank with their heads tucked tightly beneath their wings. We've packed away all our loose camping gear, firmed up the stabilizing jacks, and have the weather channel on.

Rick is trying to get as many inspections done today as he can because we expect the next few days to be rainy. I took a walk up to the dumpster to carry out the trash. I wanted to get out while I could. All my life I've called the Texas Panhandle home, so 30 and 40 mph winds don't bother me, but as the winds and rain increase, my desire to take a stroll diminishes.

Our big concern is for family living in Houston. We appreciate your prayers for their safety and well being.

We've had a few power surges this morning. Many people in the Baton Rouge area are still without power from the last hurricane. If we are able to keep power and don't blow or float away, I'll try to keep you posted through the weekend. But until you see a new post, know we are doing all we can to stay safe, cool, and dry. You do the same!

Be Careful Who You Choose as Friends

I made friends with the swans yesterday. Even Snowflake. I sat at the edge of the lake, chatting with one of my girls on the phone. The birds came closer and closer until finally they were out of the water and within reach. Snowflake hissed at me then reached out and bit me. I smacked him (not hard) and threatened to break his scrawny neck. After that, we were great friends. He and Midnight had that look that said, "Please feed me," and the poor little duck and the coot just stood back, hoping for a few crumbs of sustenance as well.

I've got a soft spot for hungry critters so I went to the camper for some bread. In a couple of seconds they gobbled up all the pieces I crumbled for them, so I told them to wait right there while I went for another piece. This time when I came out of the camper, both the swans were right there at the door like a couple of trick-or-treaters. I fed them and they ate greedily. My fun with them ended when Midnight relieved herself two feet from my door mat.

So I leave you with this bit of wisdom.

Be careful who you choose as friends. They might just come begging for bread and poop on your porch!

Somebody Prayed for Power!

And God said, "YES!"

I had prepared myself for the worst. When we left Arlington, the last word we had was that there was no power at the campground where we were able to get reservations, and power was not expected to be restored for at least 10 days. We do have a generator, but it burns costly gasoline, is noisy, and it can run only a few things at a time. So to live on generated power meant no morning coffee, no blow dryer, (which with my curly hair and Louisiana humidity, that was no big deal--you can't tell that I try to fix my hair anyway) no washing dirty clothes, no microwave cooking, .........

But praise the Lord, power is back on in the area and I've had my morning coffee! Last night when we checked in, the lady at the desk said that the reason they were able to get power restored so soon was because the owner of the campground "knew somebody."

Yeah, me too! ;) God is good isn't He?

So here we are in Livingston, LA just a little east of Baton Rouge. We're all settled in (except for some major cleaning I need to do, and I still have to talk Rick into putting the awning out for me) and Rick is hard at work.

Me? Like I said, I have some house cleaning to do. I already scrubbed the toilet this morning! And I've been out to take a few pictures so you can have a look around too.

The campground is full of insurance adjusters. We are camped next to some we call friends. Amarillo is home for them too. It is always a pleasure when we get to work a storm with people we know. Our rig is way down at the end of this row.We know we are in the coastal south when we catch millions of love bug on the front of the trailer as we go down the road. Rick spent 3 days washing and waxing our "house" while we were home. Oh well...Love bugs are SO annoying! If you've never encountered them, let me know and I'll get you a close up picture. (of live ones in action) But if you really want, I can snap a close-up picture of the dead ones caught on the camper. lol. It's up to you.You know we've settled in when the chairs and little table and BBQ are set up. We've been on the move some much lately, and when we were in New Hampshire it rained every day, so we've not had the chairs out in a while. (Rick never takes time to sit and relax, but one chair looks so lonely.) But...we are watching Ike and hoping that we won't have to bug out.Do you remember my single-pot flower garden? The whole time we were in New England (practically all summer) it never got enough sun. So it pouted and refused to bloom. In just the few days we were home, with the nice bright Texas sun and hot temperatures, it came out of it's funk and started putting on new leaves and blooms. It is glad to be in the South again!

This is the view from my chair on the patio. We were lucky to get a lakeside spot. The campground has a few pets. This is Snowflake. He is quite taken with himself. The last time we stayed here (passing through almost a year ago) he chased us, but today he was happy to pose for me when he saw my camera. He turned his head to the left, then to the right, then back to the left...Talk about a bird with an attitude! I expect he will chase me again before our time here is over.Snowflake has a friend. Midnight is a little more humble and hospitable.Then there are these two little guys. I don't know if they have names, but they trail along behind the swans peacefully. Wanna-bes I guess.

Okay, I've killed enough time. It's time to drag out the broom and mop and dust rag. Or maybe I should have lunch first. Ya think? Yeah, me too.

The Best Came Last

The best part of our vacation came last--at home with our children.And grandchildren.Of all the places we go, home is always the best. And nothing can ever compare to the love of family. God has blessed us so!

As I write this post we are in Arlington. Rick had his meeting on Tuesday, was assigned claims on Wednesday, is contacting his insureds today, and Friday we will head to Baton Rouge, LA. If you think about it, you could say a prayer for us. I'm expecting to have to "rough it" for a while because the area where we are headed has no electricity due to the storm. We do have a generator, but it will only run a few things, and gas for it is costly. I may not get to blog much. Oh No!!!

As always, it was hard to leave the kids, but we've got to make a living. I leave the pencil marks on my table and the hand prints on my mirror for weeks, just to remind me of those sweet little ones who call us by our REAL names--Mimi and Pawpaw.

Grandeur

After we left Plymouth, we drove out to Cape Cod and went up into a lighthouse. The view was wonderful. I'll spare you the pictures here, but someday they may show up as a puzzle.
We started for home but decided to make one more "vacation" stop. There are no words to adequately describe the beauty...The campground where we stayed was on the shore of Lake Ontario. You know me--I just had to put my feet into the water. Just so I could say that I did. So far I've dipped my little piggies in the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Ontario. I lack 4 of the Great Lakes being able to say that I've waded in all the bodies of water that surround our great country. Across the lake we could see the buildings of downtown Toronto. We sat in the grass, holding hands, and watching the sunset. Though it was a little late, it made up for the bowl of blueberries I got for my anniversary.
Wow! I love it when God shows off!
The next day we spent the entire day at Niagara Falls. If you've never been there, put it on your bucket list. We had such a good day. I can't come up with the words I need to tell you about it. I've never seen anything like the falls. They are so beautiful and so grand. Powerful. Majestic. Loud. Mesmerizing. Here are only a few of the 100+ pictures I took. I had a hard time deciding which I should share with you. I hope you enjoy these, but keep in mind that no picture can do justice to the beauty that we experienced.

Above is some of the more gentle rapids leading up to the falls. Below I'm getting drenched by the Bridal Vail Falls.

Across the gorge is Canada. We didn't have our birth certificates, so we couldn't cross the border. If you go, make sure you have your passport or birth certificate and picture ID.

In all my wildest dreams I never dreamed that I would have the chance to be here. It is one of the "perks," I guess you could say, of the gypsy lifestyle.