Last week we geared up and got prepared for the coming of Hurricane Ike. I had all the necessities that we needed and B was trying to decide whether he wanted us to stay here or go to NB to ride out the storm. As of late in the week, the forecast for CS and NB looked almost identical. So B and I decided that the girls and I would stay.
The girls and I created an indoor camping area in the living room since I was not going to let them sleep upstairs during the storm and I was not going to sleep in our bedroom due to the possibility of a post oak falling on the roof of the master bedroom.
B braced the tree and secured all the patio furniture as well as cleaning up the back patio (we needed it bad).
We had our weather radio, water, flashlights, food, etc. ready just in case we needed them. We did not lose our power - we were able to cook - and we were glued to the coverage of IKE on the tv. It broke our hearts to see our Galveston that we visit every summer just get smashed to pieces. It also made us question some humanity that refused to leave - but that is a whole other blog post in itself.
With B off to work on Friday to sell generators, the girls and I braved the storm at the house by ourselves. There was lots of wind and lots of rain. At one point I even thought the sky light in one of the bathrooms was leaking...later found out that R (our beloved dog) just drank out of the toilet and made a complete mess everywhere.
I do however remember telling B that I thought we might lose the willow tree in our backyard during this storm. He did not think so. But two hours into the severe part of the storm, I heard a boom and low and behold the willow was completely uprooted and leaning over the fence into the neighbors yard.
But we are blessed. By losing the tree it gave B a chance to get his hands on a new chainsaw (can you say manly man!), a chance to communicate with our Chinese neighbors (this rarely happens), and a workout for momma while taking the leftover tree to the curb!
We are all safe. We are all healthy. Our house is fine. We have electricity. We have a lake in our backyard (more frogs to find!) And we have many great memories of Galveston that we will always treasure.
