After Ike!

I forgot to bring the camera to work so no pictures yet. Sorry.

We still don't have power so this is the first time I am able to get a real post in. I tried the mobile blog thing and couldn't get it fully posted until I got to work today.

More later. Gotta get caught up on the 78 emails I arrived to.

Mobile Blog: after Ike

Looks like I can blog from Ryan's phone. We survived Ike but don't
have power. Entergy says this is the worst outage in their history and
means 2-3 weeks for some. Hope that's not us. I sat in line and got
free ice today... Always seen that on tv but never thought it would be
me. Ike was a Cat 2 but he sure packed a punch on the 4th largest city
in the US.
If this works, I'll try to post later.

Ike: Friday Night (part 3)

1am Update:
Winds are very strong. The power has gone off a few times but always comes right back on. Rain has finally started. Ryan and I are sitting on the patio. The wind direction keeps us very blocked from much of it and we feel okay sitting and watching the trees, for now.

Original Post
It's almost midnight. The radar maps look like The Woodlands should be getting rain, but we have not gotten any yet. The winds are definitly picking up and the tree tops are sort of swirling around. I think Admiral knows something is up. He just went out back with me and instead of running off into the yard to bark at the shadows (his normal evening routine) he stayed right next to me the whole time.

Not much more to update. We obviously still have power. Ryan is still playing XBox. I am watching the news. There have been a couple of little "flashes" of lights that make me think the power outage is likely coming soon.

Thanks to everyone that has checked in with us. We'll keep y'all updated however we can!

More later(??).

Ike: Friday Night (part 2)

Quick addition to the original post. The above picture shows the radar of Ike. We are in that little green box area, pretty much the one spot that is not getting any rain, yet.
The sky was beautiful right before dark. I hope that isn't too much "calm before the storm". The wind is picking up here. Probably getting winds 30 to 40mph.

We are still pretty bored but want to stay up so that we are aware of what's happening. So what do you do when you are bored? Well, I bake... then eat.

I just finished up one of my standard Cookie Cakes with Wilton Butter Cream Icing. I made a cross between the stiff and medium consistency, using 3/4 c shortening and 1/4 cup butter. I also only used 1tbsp milk because I like a little heavier icing, not so fluffy. It was and still is yummy. At least we will have some good comfort food if we are without power
Ryan is playing XBox while he can. I could watch the news all night because I am a hurricane nerd but he is very much tired of it. I might sneak to the bedroom soon!!!

I think we might have at least an hour before we start to get the nasty stuff. Hopefully I'll get one more post in tonight.

Ike: Friday Night

The winds are picking up here. Still haven't had a drop of rain. Galveston is reading close to 70mph winds according to the TV. The eyewall is still about 4 hours from hitting land.

We are already getting a little stir crazy. We don't want to pull out the books and bored games so that we aren't tired of them when we actually need them. But Friday night TV, when all the majors are on Ike, is pretty boring.

Whoa, big gusts of wind just now, it's coming down the chimney and really making a sound. I hate that its dark outside and I can't see the trees. We just went outside and looked around some. The taller trees are really swaying and if we get the 80mph sustained winds that are predicted, there will be lots of down trees in our area. We think our house is pretty safe as most of the tall trees have been cut down!

More later, I hope.

Ike: Beginning to Make Landfall

Ike is beginning to make landfall. The winds down in Galveston are sustaining at about 60mph from what I hear on the news. The eye is still 5-6 hours out.

We have still not felt much up in The Woodlands yet. The wind is definitely picking up in gusts, but no rain yet. It's actually a kind of pretty sky view from the back patio.

We have eaten dinner, what may be our last electricity cooked meal for a few days, lets hope not.

More later, I hope.

Ike: Friday 4pm

The 4pm model looks just about the same. I think the target is set and Galveston's likelihood of being spared as it was by Rita is getting slimmer and slimmer. There might be a slight shift to the south/west which does nothing positive for Houston or Galveston.

Everything here at home is about the same. The clouds are getting heavier. SciGuy said in his 2pm chat that the east side of 45 will likely get the worst wind. This is good news for us I guess, but not good for several of our friends that live on the east side of 45.
I have been talking with my friend Suzie today, her family has a house in Sea Isle. She is really sad and fearful and I worry with her. Please keep Suz's family in your prayers, along with the families of our friends Steve and Ashley (Jamaica Beach), and one of Ryan's close friends Ben. All 3 homes are definitely in danger.

Ben's family has a house on Bolivar Peninsula. Here is a shot from the Chronicle of Bolivar. The water is already getting high and again, its only 4pm. Ike is 130 miles out from Galveston.
This picture from the Chronicle only says its from Galveston Island. It looks to be on the west end of the Island somewhere. Two hard sights. Obviously the fire, and then the water. There is no beach, these houses now look like they are in the ocean.Watching all this unfold brings back the memories of the pictures after Hurricane Ivan in Pensacola. My mom's family had just had a big family vacation at a condo on Pensacola Beach. It was the last big family trip we had with Pop before he got sick and was just the best time for all there. Only a couple of months later, Ivan hit Mobile, putting Pensacola on the dirty side. It devastated Pensacola Beach and the condo's we stayed in were completely gone. There was nothing left of the front few units, the storm surge just washed the buildings away.

It was Ivan that got me so obsessed with watching hurricanes when they come in, and my mom is even worse!!! :) It became so much more personal because I was connected. And Katrina, too, fueled my awareness and interest of these storms. With Katrina, I just sat in my air conditioned apartment in Houston and cried because I felt so guilty and so helpless, seeing my home state suffer so much with damage so far inland.

All we can do is pray and hope the best for those with homes in Ike's path.