September 27th, 2024

I'm here, so obviously, we have power.  Yay!  As far as we are concerned, Hurricane Helene is all over except for the clean up.  Sadly, many other people weren't as lucky.

The morning of the storm was so mild that it was deceptive.  We decided to take a little early morning drive to see what was open, what was closed.  Lo and behold, our favourite donut shop was open so of course we had to stop in!  The lower right donut you may recognize was the hurricane icon that weatherpeople use on their big old maps.  We think it's clever and hilarious that our donut shop makes those for every big storm.  It's also absolutely delicious.

The day continued with rain on and off, gusty wind periodically and occasional sunshine which really threw us off, because that was not anticipated at all!  Just didn't seem to be that big of a deal. But still we took it seriously because Hurricanes are something to pay attention to with respect if not a little fear.  I tucked all my potted garden into a protected corner in the courtyard and Tim stacked all the patio furniture in front of it.  He took down the Sail Shade so that the wind wouldn't tear it away.  We put sandbags at the front and back door, just in case.  And then, there's nothing left to do to get ready.

 I never really know what to do with myself the day of a storm.  I don't really want to get anything big started like laundry or baking because if the power goes out mid-stream so to speak, I am  left with a problem. So I piddled around doing little things and feeling quite unsettled.  Eventually I had done everything I could do that didn't require power. And after that? I played with the cats, paced a lot, read a little bit.

As mild as things were at our house, we were getting reports from the other side of the island (we are on the east side, gulf is on the west side) of flooding. Pre-storm surge.  Dang.  Crazy stuff.   Eventually the rain and the wind picked up and we, safe and dry inside, just kind of enjoyed the Mother Nature show.  Even the cats spent most of their day in various windows watching.  

Throughout, we checked in with several different weather reporting sources to keep track of where the storm was exactly, how strong it was, and so forth because, I don't know, somehow it helps. I don't know why but it does.  We kept checking in with friends, family and neighbors back and forth and that texting is definitely a comfort!   The lights flickered over and again, but stayed on, thank goodness.

Eventually,  when the storm had settled a wee bit and the rain had let up a mite, a little after 10 pm we decided to try to get some sleep.  Tim was already comfy with his side of the adjustable bed adjusted just as he likes to watch a little TV.  I hadn't quite gotten that far yet when pop!  Full dark.  Dang.  We held our breathe waiting to see if it would come right back on. It did not.

First things first, I got on my phone, went to the Florida Light and Power website and reported the outtage.  Then I put on my shoes, went outside and looked down the street to see who else had no power.  Everyone on our side of the street and about 3/4 of the other side of the street was also dark. However, houses right across the street from us had all their lights on. Colour me jealous.

Meanwhile, inside, Tim managed to McGyver a way to re-adjust his bed back to flat. (think about it, power bed needs power!)  He is such an evil genius :)  Well maybe not evil, just genuis :)  And we wandered around the house, tentatively opening windows, hoping for a cool breeze now and again.  The coolest part of the house at that point was the living room as it's in the middle between the kitchen (which has windows- now open) and the family room (which also has windows - also open).  Cool air sinks, so of course we want to be low to the ground.  We made pallets on the floor and added our pillows and tried to rest.  
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The kitties were very entertained at the idea of their humans being down on their level.  But we were absolutely Not Resting.  This old back is not happy on the floor. Eventually we got up and tried to sleep on the family room sofa.  No go.  Tim moved back to the bedroom, again, windows open, but I stayed in the family room and played games on my tablet until it's charge ran out.  I couldn't sleep and it's dark. The entertainment possibilities were limited.

At some point a few hours later, Tim came into the family room and began shutting windows. My assumption was that it had begun raining again so I jumped up to help then realized...Power was Back On!  Great Words.  Finally, once the house cooled back off, we were able to catch a couple hours sleep.

This morning is sunny, still a bit windy and more rain is expected this afternoon.  I need to start the yard clean up as there is a great deal of tree debris.  But first I took a walk.  I could hear chain saws so some big things must have come down.    I wanted to go to the beach even for just two minutes but the sidewalk in front of the access boardwalk was flooded still.  I will wait. There are reports of flooded areas here on the island this morning and the destruction of an adorable little food shop called Jetty Jacks that, obviously, was on the jetty. So sad.

Keep in mind, this storm made landfall on the Florida Panhandle which is about a 5 hour drive north of us.  We were only hit with the outter bands!!! And yet we are hearing from people who had thigh deep and chest deep water.  Homes that simply no longer exist. It's absolutely crazy.

But we are safe and dry and I'm going to go outside now and start filling up bins with tree debris.  Let's see how far I get.   Hurricane Helene has done her work here and has moved farther north to plague and harass other folks in other states. She is a busy girl with a very bad attutide.

Ya'll have a great weekend.  Hugs all 'round.