Windy and waiting

Well I have the day off even though in hindsight it probably wasn’t necessary. It looks like the storm won’t hit the mainland until late Saturday at this point. The winds have diminished as well. Hopefully this isn’t a head fake. Even though the storm is over a day away, today we already have some strong winds coming from the north as the outer limit of the system is starting to spin over us.

Last night I didn’t get back home for good until close to 9. We stopped at Sam’s, the grocery store, the gas station and then after I dropped Ali off I went back out to get gas for the generator. Each stop was busy and required waiting although it wasn’t mobbed. The only grocery item I was unable to score was bread, there was none to be found. Gas was also rather hard to come by. There were a large number of stations that had run out. When I got the generator gas I waited a good 20 minutes till I could get to the pump, ugh.

This morning I started my prep work. The low areas that have been under water for weeks have finally dried up so I took the opportunity to mow them down tight since there is a good chance that they shortly will be back under water for a prolonged period. I attached steel poles to several thin trees and cleared off the lanai again.

It seems like with as slow as this system is moving we could get a ton of rain, more than I have ever seen at one time since moving here. I used to freak about getting a foot of snow. They are talking about the possibility of a foot of RAIN. So we’ll be in a holding pattern now for the next 24 hours or so. I am almost afraid to say that things are looking not as bad as they had been because Charley smacked us in the face after we were all but assured it was going to hit Tampa. I plan on getting caught up today on all utility power required chores so if we do go dark it won’t be such a big deal.

I have my fingers crossed.