We are fine.

 Well, sort of. No power, but otherwise no major damage. A tree fell at the house, my “son-in-law” says he can borrow a chainsaw and deal with it and fix the fence panels it took out. I said I’d pay to hire a redneck so he can do his fancy important day job, but he’s basically Bob Vila in his spare time and I know chainsaws are fun, so I won’t spoil it if he really wants to do it  Thank GOD it fell on the fence and not the house  

Orlando fared pretty well, we were lucky Milton weakened and went a bit south, but for some reason our entire neighborhood of about 1000 homes is dark.  Hopefully we’ll get an update on restoration tomorrow  

I am writing this on my iPad by lantern, using my phone as a WiFi hotspot. I’m old enough to miss having a real keyboard so I’m going to grab a flashlight and take the dogs for a walkie, then we’re going to bed crazy early. 4 hours of disrupted sleep last night. Tomorrow, no coffee, a cold shower, and the office.  Where there will be coffee. 

Fingers crossed for power tomorrow. 

Oh shit.

 TD 14 is now Milton, and it's projected to hit us early Wednesday morning as at least a Category 2. I've been through a few Cat 1 storms and they were bad enough, thanks, we really, really, REALLY don't need this.

Lots of people along the coast are still trying to recover from Helene, the barrier islands were heavily damaged this could finish them off. Central Florida barely got some rain and wind from Helene, but THIS is going to be an entirely different experience. 

We'll be as ready as we can be. 

Helene

 So, I don't need to tell you all about the absolute mind-blowing devastation this storm left behind. I don't think we have the entire picture or the final death toll, and may not for days. Entire tiny towns in the Big Bend area (the part of Florida where the peninsula turns west out into the Panhandle) are basically GONE. They took a direct hit at landfall. 

But the damage is all along the coast; the worst seems to be from Tampa north. It wasn't the wind and rain, it was the storm surge. 

But Helene continued north, and my beloved Asheville is in a horrible situation, with basically all the major roads into the area washed out, and not in an "Oh, a road crew can fix that as soon as it dries out" way. I mean, a chunk of I-40 is gone. It fell off. It can't just be repaved.

I lived in Asheville over a decade ago, and I know the roads and neighborhoods that have been destroyed. I mean, all you see are rooftops above the water. It really is a Katrina level disaster there, and it couldn't have happened at a worse time. Asheville is a fall tourism destination, and a lot of small businesses, including my son's, are going to have financial insult added to injury. This is when they make the money that sustains them through the winter. Yeah. This is much more complicated than just the flood.

My son and family in Asheville are okay, at least their house on high ground sustained no damage, but there's no power, water, cell service, etc. They do have a generator and he went scavenging today for more food and water and more gas for the generator so they're in okay shape for now. He was able to text me from the gas station while waiting in line, so a few cell towers are functioning, but this is going to be a long, slow, expensive recovery. 

I had a day off today, because my storm "catering" team (that's what I call us, we have a fancy official name) is working together to not kill ourselves. Yesterday was an 11 hour day that started in the pre-dawn, and I came home totally wiped out. My pedometer app says I walked nearly 30k steps in two days, and that was almost ENTIRELY INSIDE THE OFFICE BUILDING. And it wasn't just walking, it was dragging carts, lifting, etc. I'll spare you the gristly details, but it involved all sorts of seat of the pants planning, and oh, yeah, the AC in the building was out until about an hour before I staggered home. We were zombies by 6 pm, seriously. I got today off, but got called this afternoon about the plan for tomorrow.

Grandma's too old for this shit, but I remind myself several times a day that this is my last year of storm duty, because I'm damn sure going to retire before next hurricane season. And of course, millions are dealing with far, far worse, so give my bitching the weight it deserves. I'll drag my ass back to the office tomorrow before noon to let the leader of our motley catering crew get a break tomorrow afternoon. Monday I'll be the first one on site at o-dark-thirty.  At least the AC is working again.

Still Here, Writing Postcards and Stuff.

If I had the energy I'd write a long rant, but I just don't. I'm writing postcards and staying positive. Ignore the polls. They're missing basically ALL of Gen Z and also everybody not dumb enough to answer calls from unknown numbers.

We are not in the path of Helene, which is a monster and a nightmare. We will either get brushed by or smacked with a tropical storm tomorrow. Schools and public offices are closed, no trash pickup, etc. I'll be working. My employer is responsible for a lot of stuff, none of which I'm qualified to do, yet I have a storm job. 

I'm a caterer, we feed the people doing the brain work. No kidding. That's my role. I'm not even the real caterer, that role belongs to an admin who has a knack for it; she plans and orders the food. I just do as I'm told and haul stuff and find stuff and set up buffets. It's sweaty and boring, and I may be doing it through the weekend. 

My employer is very sane and responsible and if conditions deteriorate overnight I am NOT expected to go out into high winds and rain, but assuming the forecast will remain the same, I'll be on the road before 7 a.m. Oh, joy. I'm too old for this shit.

Anyway, Helene is going to be a nightmare for a huge swath of the Southeast, but not too hideous for us, she says with fingers crossed.

And a small rant: I participate in a lot of Disney forums, and I'm ready to knock heads together right now. So many people (who probably don't live here) are telling people who ask about Disney and the hurricane that, "Oh, it won't affect Disney, it'll just be a rainy day here!" when the entire peninsula is under a tropical storm warning. Shit is closed. Hotels are full, because people evacuating from the west coast of FL head in this direction. It will be at best mighty unpleasant, and Disney is not insane and has canceled the Halloween party and other things. The amount of blithe misinformation being shared was truly insane.

Otherwise, everybody's fine. My daughter went back to work and the Prince started baby school. HE LOVES IT! They send pictures of him doing his "activities" during the day (tummy time, swing, bouncer, etc.) and he's obviously having a great time.  The school sends pictures during the day, and he totally understands the camera and has learned to ham it up! (This one is home in the dining room.)

 

His big sister competed in her first volleyball tournament and her team won. It was just a small club tournament, not a big competition, but still, yay!

It's nearly 7 p.m. and Eddie is throwing a fit because I'm still at my desk. I must try to get a video of his performance. I am not allowed to work past 7.

I really do have a new Bossy Little Dog. 

 

 

Hi, Sorry, I've Been Busy Joyscrolling and Stuff.

And this post has been languishing in draft for nearly a week.

This summer has been quite the year. I'm exhausted and it's only August.

First, the Prince is absolutely splendid.

He's bright, smiley, already babbling away, (his mom reports he interrupts as much as his big sister), and is hitting all the developmental targets and then some. He even SLEEPS THROUGH THE NIGHT!! I have no idea what that's like; both my kids were lousy sleepers, like me but on a different schedule, so I didn't get more than 5 consecutive hours of sleep in the 80s. I mean, in the entire decade. This kid is truly splendid. 

Funny story added: It's hotter and more humid than the exhaust fan at Satan's Laundromat, so my daughter has been driving The Kid to middle school, saving her the torture of waiting at the bus when it's already 90 degrees and you drip sweat in 3 minutes. They take the Prince with them. 

They were in the front chatting, while the Prince babbled along from his seat. When The Kid got out of the car, the Prince stopped babbling. A mirror check showed he was still awake, but done talking. My daughter realized he'd been participating in the conversation. When his sister got out, the "conversation" was over. He's 3 months old, y'all. We got ourselves another early talker here, for sure.

In other grandchild news, the eldest NC girl is starting high school??!!! at the end of the month, and The Kid started 7th grade last week. Jesus, I AM old. I now have a High School Freshman, a 4th Grader, a 7th Grader, and The Prince.

And on that I'm Old note:  I'm starting the exciting-yet-tedious journey of prepping for retirement next year. I'm so ready.

Meanwhile, I'm SO full of joy watching the DNC! That was the best convention I've ever seen! The people who put it together should be able to write their own ticket for everything they produce from now on. I'm old enough to have watched quite a few of those in my life, and they were always so freaking boring. Blah blah, speeches, blah blah, people wearing silly hats, blah. 

This was a freaking PARTY!

We're taking back the flag, God, and just basic damn decency! And yes, I watched the roll call of the states, with the DJ and the appropriate tunes, and I LOVED it!  This was FUN and energized, and as someone I've forgotten said, this will be the new standard, and states will compete with each other to have the most fun and surprising presentation of their votes. (I'd still greatly prefer that we remove the useless, gross, infected appendix that is the Electoral College and burn it like the diseased medical waste it is.)

And Kamala and Tim are the perfect people for this time: smart, experienced, plain-spoken, highly capable, and taking no shit, but with smiles and positive energy. I'll be spending the next 80-some days doing whatever I can to get people to the polls. AND VOTE BLUE ALL THE WAY DOWN THE BALLOT, PEOPLE!  We can do this, and we can give Kamala a Congress that will do their damn jobs.