Hurricanes keep messing with my plans!

:cry: Well, I joined the board, had to get ready for Charley, which missed us (I sure that was an over sight), then came Frances, with Ivan hot on her heels. Frances was a direct hit, about 5 days later, we got 3 days of wind and rain from Ivan (ya' know, tarps are NOT waterproof?). Now we have a big, red "X" for another direct hit, Jeanne this time (see St. Lucie County, or Fort Pierce, FL).

Last time we had 6 adults, 3 kids (ages 2-8) and six dogs in a shelter. We sheltered in the high school where I am employed. It is a shelter for 350, we had 1,500 (not counting about 100 deputies, their families and the staff and our families)...we lost power and water on Friday and didn't get out of the shelter until late Sunday. I can tell you, the mess 1,500 people can create when there is no water and no toilet facalities is NOT something you want to experience. The dogs were SO clean (kept going out in the storm to toss the newspapers that we lined their tarp floored pen with).

Our schools were so badly hit, they have not re-opened yet. Plan was to open on next Monday. That was BEFORE Jeanne!

Since we have no roof, half the ceilings are gone or going and the siding is NOT in the best of shape after the last 2 hits, we can't stay here. After the last shelter experience, we're NOT going back (they had the National Guard set up to keep us there 2 more days and I want you to know, we ALMOST had a serious riot on our hands!). With the 3 Pyrs, we can't sneek them into a motel somewhere, and they are NOT being left home to face this alone, so we are sheltering at a friend's home. It's rated to 145 MPH winds and sustained NO damage so far from any of the storms.

The sad part is that my friend is a doctor, who sheltered with us last time and received a call from my boss yesterday. She has agreed to go and volunteer her medical services at the shelter once again. She will be taking her 3 dogs (one of which is one of our pups) with her and they will be safe in the vet lab, which is a state of the art shelter. We will be taking our 3 and another of the pups (my daughter's) to her house with us.

My daughter is an EMT/Firefighter and her husband is a deputy, so they will be on duty the entire time. Her 4 children, ages 9 months to 11 years are with our youngest daughter and HER 3 kids (2 - 8 years) down south.

The only things left to do are to unplug and store the computer, FORCE my mother and her pup to get in the van and head over to my friend's home, hunker down and pray!

For anyone else out there who is in the path, stay safe~Good luck to you and God Bless!

Wonder where the new skylights will be? We have matching ones in the living room and garage already. Perhaps one of the bedrooms or the dining rooom this time???? Ah, well..we wanted to finish renovating.

 

I hope you will be safe throughout all of this!!

 

Praying that all of you in Florida make it safe through Jeanne ...Good luck and thoughts are with you all ...

 

yep another hurricane on the way.. i'm a RN so i have to report to work post-hurricane.. luckily i am in miami-dade county, so even if jeanne does make a turn and hit us, i am located in the area that got hit by andrew, we have great building codes and hopefully the homes here can withstand the storm..
it's crazy to think another storm is to make florida landfall.. lisa and all the other waves developing off the cape verde coast better stay away.. how much can one state handle?
pyrmom, i hope you and your loved ones, human and furbaby, stay safe throughout the storm.. i remember vividly how andrew turned our world upside down, and i wish that upon no one..

 

I hope all of you in Florida stay safe during this most recent storm. WE will all be thinking about you here. And then MAYBE Florida will get a chance to pick up the pieces after this one!

 

May God Bless you and your family Pyrmom. I lit a candle for you and all those in the wake of the storm.
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/enter.cfm

 

:love_y_t_much: :love_y_t_much: :love_y_t_much: :love_y_t_much: big HUGSSSSSSSSSS from us to all of you in Florida. I agree, enough is enough already!! This just seems like a nightmare.... with all the tragedy down there! :cry:

 

OH man...one after another.....I don't know how you can handle it!! Good luck and God bless.