You've probably been wondering what happened to me. Or rather my excellent record of posting a blog each week. Well, nothing really happened. Except I didn't post for like a month. I don't even have a really good reason - just that every time it came up on my mental list...I did a quick scan of my brain and realized I was having a lack of good stories.
Oh, great news - I still have a total lack. But...today I thought maybe if I just started plugging away, something would come up.
It has been an interesting few weeks here in the Carolinas. If you're into natural disasters.
Everybody knows we had an earthquake - that's no longer hot news. Well, I think I was one of two people in Raleigh who didn't feel a thing. Or rather, I was at the gym at the time - so was probably pumping so much iron that the weight of the weights prevented me from bobbling around like a Weeble Wobble.
And, yes - it was the talk of the town. Much to the amusement of my West Coast friends. Hey, give us a break - this is not our norm. I tried to be really still for the rest of the day so I could maybe feel aftershocks. No dice.
And then there was that little storm - Irene. That was more exciting than the earthquake. This is something we are good at here - prepping for hurricanes. We call it hunkering down. I never even knew 'hunker' was a word until a decade ago when I moved south.
The thing about hurricanes - is that they aren't as predictable as you'd like them to be. Anything that rolls onto the weather map surrounded by a Cone of Uncertainty is just that...uncertain. So depending on where you sit in the cone, you either pay no attention to the reports or you stock up on water, beer and books.
In this case, I hunkered down at my parents' house (yes, I went closer to the storm) and we pretty much planned on a Saturday of sitting inside listening to the rain and wind. They are on well water, so we were ready to not be able to use the water should the power go out.
We got up for the day - and waited. And waited. And waited. And eventually got bored of waiting and went out and about. As it turns out - there house sat right in the spot where no rain fell and the winds only gusted to 25 mph. Which was gusty enough to turn off the power for a few hours, but nothing serious. Although we were mere minutes away from pulling out a board game before the lights came back on.
Obviously we got the best of it. I have had to shake my head several times at the arm chair quarterbacks going on and on in days that followed about the 'overhype' of the hurricane. I'm pretty sure most of the state of Vermont would disagree. And isn't the point of evacuations to save lives? And didn't that work out pretty well?
So now our minds are on Katia - the next storm out there. Which has a rather large Cone of Uncertainty pointing our way.
If that comes along next week, I'll be hunkering down Noah style. I'm currently loaded up with guest pets at my house - and am a little nervous that TLC is going to drop by to film an episode of "How many animals are too many?"
Months ago, my friend asked me to keep her cat while she was off learning to be a doctor in Colorado. Of course! No problem!
What I failed to realize was that the exact time she would be gone would coincide with my parents' trip to Alaska - during which I'd be caring for their two dogs and kitten. So I've got three cats, three dogs and a tiny square of room on the couch.
The biggest challenge? Picking up three poops without, well, messing up.
Mainly it's just hilarity though. Especially with the little kitten (and I just realized I did not put him in his crate before I left this morning, so am now panicking a tiny bit). Yesterday morning I was making a turkey sandwich for lunch. There was a white streak up and across the counter and suddenly I was making a sandwich with much less turkey. Then there is a the nightly playtime - when the collies use the kitten as their plaything.
And then there's bedtime. When every dog and cat decides there is plenty of room to hop on in. It's tricky to find enough room for my own arms and legs. And then even trickier to lay very, very still so as not to disturb the masses.
Yes, my heart did jump a little this morning when I heard of an earthquake in Alaska. And being geographically inept, I had to pull up Google Earth to figure out that my parents' cruise ship was nowhere near it. That sure would be a wild vacation story.
The real shocker right now is that it's already September. How the heck did that happen? I'm already feeling glum at the chill in the air each morning. I really do prefer hot and humid. There is a bright spot, however. My toes.
About the only think I like about the switch to fall is the switch to close toed shoes. And I only like that because it means not having to keep my toes pristine for a few months. It's a lot of work to keep your toes sandal worthy from May to September.
Next year I may start a campaign for naked toes.
Okay scratch that. I was going to put in a picture here of naked toes. Here's something I do NOT recommend - searching Google Images for "Toes".
I now have to go wash my eyes out with soap.
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