An Unwelcome Visitor

I’ll be more than usually quiet here for awhile. Hurricane Irma is expected to make a beeline up the Florida peninsula, and even the north central area will get a “friendly visit.” We’ve been busy preparing for our first major hurricane by doing the usual things (cleaning up outside; moving lawn furniture to safety; stocking up on water, gasoline, matches, LP gas, and non-perishable foods; keeping in touch with family, neighbors, & friends; preparing important stuff for emergency evacuation if necessary), and the unusual–checking ALL the screws on our metal roof, replacing the ones that aren’t grabbing, and then caulking around the remaining unanchored screw heads.

It’s a lot of work, and tedious. Can’t be up there past 10 am if it’s sunny, and can’t go up until morning dew or rain showers dry off the metal. And of course, it’s senseless to be up there past dark. So it’s been slow going. So slow. Painfully slow. Did I mention it rained yesterday? I was up all of 20 minutes before the showers ran me off.

Preparing for the solar panels showed us how loose our roof was–but we didn’t panic. We thought we’d have plenty of time to deal with the rest of the roof later. Then Irma came a-knocking, and now…having just finished up this morning…my back is aching, but darn it! That roof is gonna stay put! (Yay for new life skill?)

Anyhow, no one here is expecting it to be nearly as bad for us (inland as we are) as it will be on the coasts–which is why we’re staying put. Let’s hope I’m right. Regardless, though, we’ll likely lose power for some time, no knowing how long. I’ll post here once things calm down and power is back on. But really, don’t fret too much for us. If you’re really looking for some folks to fret over, try those who got nailed first–over on Barbuda and St. Martin. (I’ve been to St Martin, and it was a great place, full of great local people.) If you’re really feeling the need to help me out, try donating to help them. It’s what I’ll be doing, and I’d really like to be able to do more.

Ciao for now. Stay safe out there, everyone.