Isaias and Other Oddments

 I feel doubly sorry for the people in Pensacola, Destin, and Ft. Walton.  Not only do they have to deal with the incredible damage of being hit by a hurricane, but also by one with an unpronounceable name:  Isaias.  Some commentators managed to get it - our governor said he wasn't even going to bother to try because it was too weird (considering that it's Spanish and a lot of his constituency is Hispanic, that was rather rude).  For the record, it's "ee-sah-EE-as."

So of course I've spent a lot of time this past week doing storm prep.  There was a low chance of a direct hit, but these things have been known to change direction.  This time we were on the east side, which gets the biggest load of rain sucked up from the Gulf (of Mexico!).  It was funny to notice my two highest priorities, the first being water.  I have a couple of cases of drinking water, and I filled up my recycled seltzer bottles that I keep for the occasion and have them in the fridge and freezer.  And then my collection of kitty litter buckets.  I know I live in the woods, but I've gotten civilized in my old age and I want flushing water.

My other high priority seem to be my phone.  I have my big battery (useful also for filling tires and jumping the car if needed), the two power packs that go to my electric spinning wheels, and my weather radio, all of which can charge my phone.  

All those got charged, along with my headlamp and camping lamps, and other flashlights got old-fashioned batteries in them.  Basically, I was preparing to be without power for a few days.  I have my camp stove, and food in the pantry.  I've got the big tarps where I can grab them (in case a tree falls on the house).  I brought the cat carriers up from the barn.

I updated my State Farm app on my phone.  My rule during power outages is to not open the freezer door - it can hold for 3-4 days if you don't open (especially when crammed with ice packs and frozen water bottles).  I keep my bread in the freezer, but I pulled out a few day's worth.  I also got a small cooler and dumped most of the ice out of my icemaker and turned it off so I wouldn't have to deal with a cinder block of thawed and refrozen ice cubes.

I did keep enough in there to give me information if I needed it.  If they melt enough to just stick together a bit, then the stuff in the freezer is safe.  If they've melted and refrozen into a solid block, some stuff will likely have to be tossed.

When I was rattling this off to my brother, he said "this ain't your first rodeo."  Nor, alas, will it be my last.

After all that,  pretty much nothing happened.  Some wind and a good amount of rain.  But what does one do while waiting?  If you're me, you finish knitting, then washing and blocking yet another shawl  (yes, I seem to be addicted to knitting shawls - they're so delightfully mindless)

But I'm having my post-storm restlessness.  I was ready to handle whatever got thrown my way - and nothing did.  So the last couple of days I've just sort of putzed around taking care of small stuff.  Among other things, today I installed the new smoke detector.  My old one died a couple of months ago, and I got as far as buying a new one and it's been sitting on the counter ever since.

In the Before Times,  it would have found its way onto the wall by now.  But there it sits.  So I finally got the small ladder, drill, screwdriver, etc. and got it put up.

Yes, there's a feeling of satisfaction to being able to (so far) handle everything that comes my way.  But also a bit of sadness, because if I don't do something, or at least arrange for it to be done (I can't quite put a new roof on the house), it won't happen.  It's all on me, every decision, every action.  I'm competent.  But sometimes I wish I didn't have to be, not quite so much.