Battening Down the Hatches

[AnnaMatrix]

...for the big blow, AKA Hurricane Irene!
The East Coast Divas are taking it on the chin this week- first an earthquake, now this!

Thought I'd post this thread for those in the path to let those who are not know how we're doing...

I'm staying put here in Virginia Beach. We're fortunate in that our house has a basement, so I have a safe place to go. We also have a natural gas powered generator that automatically kicks in when the electricity goes out, so I'll have light, AC, hot water, and even TV unless the cable goes out. Am well-stocked with water and other provisions. We're not right on the coast or in a flood plain, so flooding's not an issue. Our only real vulnerability is wind/tree damage, and for that I have plastic tarps, duct tape, and a staple gun! LOL

As many of you know, my DH has just finished a cycling event in France, and is due to fly back tomorrow. He'll be staying in Boston until the airport here re-opens, and has a room booked, so he's well taken care of, too!

Major pain in the you-know-where, but that's the price of living near the ocean!! I'll keep you all posted!! Gail

Hope all you other Divas stay safe and sound. You're in my prayers!

[craftygirl]

Sounds like you have a great plan, Gail. Now, just if all goes according to plan! I certainly hope so!

[AnnaMatrix]

Amen, CraftyGirl!! Life certainly doesn't always go according to plan! Gail

[Deleted]

Thanks for checking in, Gail! I was just getting ready to start a thread if I didn't see anything.

Good throughts and prayers for all of you on the East Coast...may Irene just take a giant right turn and leave all of you alone!

[1whoscraps]

Well you can certainly tell this isn't your first wagon ride. Glad to know you are well prepared and doing ok. Just keep us posted.

[AnnaMatrix]

Oh, Leslie!
No it's not!! After you've been without power for a week or more, the cost of that generator seems more and more reasonable!! ;D

We've lived here through Bonnie and Isabel, and the main thing I remember thinking was - how come room temp water seems so warm when you drink it, but so cold when you shower in it???

I've never been able to figure that one out! ;D

Diane, thanks for the prayers - maybe we can all steer this thing out to sea! Gail

[actos]

Will be watching the news and praying that all will stay safe. My sister-in-law was in Cancun, Mexico when a hurricane hit. They had cement walls but were confined to there bedroom literally on the bed with a flashlight as the water poured in through the windows. They were glad to get home after that. Take care. Love, Deborah

[midmiscrapper]

Sounds like you have it a covered! I hope you don't have to put any of your bigger plans into action (i.e. tarps). Keep us posted....I'll be thinking of you!

Pam

[vederekutz]

Oh, good! Some news stories make it sound like Armageddon. I'm glad you're in a good place where you shouldn't have a lot of flooding. My boyfriend's family lives in Springfield near D.C., so I've been wondering how it'll affect them, if much at all. Just lots of rain, probably. You, on the other hand, are much closer to the coast, so that worried me a little...

[Karen W]

Glad for the update Gail. Stay safe!

Pat and I have prepared the yard for the high winds. We are further inland and are not in the direct path.

Stay safe all of the Divas along Irene's path

Karen

[Basketlady]

Karen and Gail (and anyone else in the path!), stay safe! Gail, it sounds like you are all covered.

We have water pulled for drinking and flushing, batteries for flashlights, bread for pnb & j, and lots of movies if the power holds out. No generator, but we are farther inland than Gail. Ivan dropped a tree on our house when we lived in Alabama, so we've done this before. But it still leaves an anxious feeling in my stomach. A hurricane and an earthquake in the same week--I've had enough excitement for the MONTH!

[Cat]

Oh My! Please stay safe ladies!

With Christy living in Layette Louisiana and now in Katy Texas for the last several years, I have come to understand just how much damage a hurricane can cause. The damage even if you don't live really close to the coast can be really bad. (Not to mention Really Scary for a Mom hundreds of miles away.)

Yep Gail, sound like you are prepared except for the extra large plastic trash can or plastic storage thingy. I heard from Christy they work really good to funnel water from the attic, when you use those plastic tarps to funnel the water coming in when you lose part of your roof during the storm. (yes she built a tarp funnel with duct tape "during the storm" when she heard the damage being done) Crazy, but save her house from tons of water damage.

Everyone in Irene path know your families and you are in my thoughts and prayers!

Please stay safe and I hope no one suffers from a lot of damage to their homes.


Cat

[Nikki]

My parents are already having a heck of a time in Eastern NC. In 1999, the hurricane knocked over their biggest oak tree and it split the house in two! They say it should be up toward VA in about four hours at the rate it's moving, and they are just sitting tight waiting for the eye for a few calm minutes before the back half. They are just getting started good!
Good luck to all!

[AnnaMatrix]

So far so good here, but things are just getting started. Thankfully, Irene's been downgraded to Cat 1, so less wind damage... Flooding seems like it will be the biggest issue for most, thankfully, not for me.

Glad to hear everyone's prepared. Thanks Cat and Christy for the tarp funnel hint - I do have some huge trashcans I can use if it comes to that - hopefully it won't!! I'm hunkered down with the cats, and so far, power's still on. May even do a bit of scrapping to take my mind off of things.

Hugs and prayers to all of you in harm's way! Stay safe and keep us posted!! Gail

[Basketlady]

Nothing is happening here yet. All the lawn furniture is in the garage and I've been working on unpacking the studio. And DD has the Disney channel going. Remind me again why I was so anxious to have the cable hooked up?

[vicki7]

stay safe everyone
Vicki

[peterpan]

Gail, I only wish I'd thought to have a staple gun handy when Ike came through here a few years back! My house is about 65 miles inland and I lost most of the shingles and tar paper on the west side of the house--minor damage compared to what many experienced. Water poured in through a slot about six feet long and a quarter inch wide or so where the decking on the roof pulled apart apparently due to the low pressure or wind (or maybe both). I had to use string, tiny finishing nails and duct tape to hold the funnel in place. You know duct tape does not stick to wet wood perfectly, especially under a load! At least I had finally bought that giant trash can Brother thought I needed!

I'll say it was terrifying being up in the attic with the roof decking and what shingles were left vibrating in the howling wind. Definitely not the smartest thing I've ever done, but like mom said, it did save a lot of water damage to both the upstairs and downstairs of my house. I'm still not sure which was scarier, Ike or the F4 tornado that hit Pampa, TX the summer I interned there.

Well, enough about my adventures! East Coast Divas, stay safe and good luck! My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

Christy

[AnnaMatrix]

Thanks for the advice, Christy!! I think you were terribly brave to do that - not sure if I'd have the nerve to try! So far, I haven't needed that kind of courage here. Lots of rain, gusty winds, power went out, but thanks to the trusty generator, I still have most of the comforts of home!! We're in a bit of a calm now, so I checked the yard. A bunch of moderate-sized branches are down, but otherwise things seem to be in good shape. Thank goodness! Sounds like the worst will be over by 7 or 8PM. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, girls!

Michelle, and all you Divas further north - stay safe!! Gail

[Basketlady]

Here, it's really starting to blow now. They say the worst will be at about 7 pm, so we still have a few hours to go. But so far, the drains are all working and it all looks good. And the power is still on--I'm showered and am doing laundry--dinner is cooking. All is well here and I'm trying to prepare if we lose power.

[Cat]

Karen, I hope your safe......the weather channel is saying NC is without power and winds are bad.


Hugs & Prayers
Cat

[Cat]

East coast Ladies I hope you are all safe and sound.....


Hugs & Prayers

Cat

[peterpan]

I wouldn't call it brave, Gail. Dumb, sleep deprived, desperate to save the ceilings, thrilled to have something to do besides sit in the closet under the stairs listening to the radio and the fence smacking into the wall outside. I was all of these things, but definitely not brave--particularly when measured against my company's safety culture!

And then consider I lost my nerve for sitting upstairs watching the news as soon as I felt the house swaying in the wind!! No way was I going to sit through that for hours!! I'm actually kind of a chicken... I couldn't tell you when I lost the satellite because it outlasted my bravery!

Hope all is well with everyone. Hang in there.

c

[joselle]

Praying that all of you are save!

[animal]

Hey Hon - I'm glad to hear your more than prepared. My prayers are w/ you and all the Diva's going thru this crazy storm.

Thank you for letting us know your doing okay. Please continue to give us some updates.

[Karen W]

Well that fun packed day is over! And I'm glad. Hoping all that are north of me stay safe.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts and wishes.

Karen

[luv2scrap]

I have been up watching the wether on the East coast. I have to get some sleep. Praying for all still in the bad weather area. Be safe!

[Cat]

Aug 27, 2011 23:48:28 GMT -5 Karen W said:

Well that fun packed day is over! And I'm glad. Hoping all that are north of me stay safe.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts and wishes.

Karen

I'm so glad to hear from you Karen....with everything the news was saying about NC I was worried you were being blown away or was a float in the floods.

Now waiting to hear from the other east coasters .......Michelle ?, Gail ? and any others?

Hugs & Prayers
Cat

[jenn]

We took all the stuff off the deck last night. Irene seems like a bust in Maine. The weather forcaster said to "watch out for big puddles today."

Jenn

[Basketlady]

We are good here. We never lost power and I went to bed about midnight when nothing seemed to be happening. Our bedroom is on the top floor with windows all around the bed in a sort of alcove setting--it was a bit like being up in the storm! Even Alexandria and Annapolis escaped the flooding like they feared. Luckily, the storm fell apart fast once it reached land.

Jenn and the other New Englanders, I hope your storm continues to be a "bust" too!

[Karen W]

Just wanted to let you all know that I have been texting Gail over the last 36 hours and she is doing just fine. Right now her cable is out and that means no internet, so she couldn't be her herself.

She lost power early yesterday, but her backup generator kicked in. This morning she was checking out the yard and there were down branches but no trees down. I think she said her neighbors were doing okay as well.

She was going to venture out to her office to see how things were there and if the office could open tomorrow. As you know her hubby was away during the storm. He made it to Boston where he will be staying until Monday morning.

Pat and are fine, we had some things blown around, but roof looks good - we had a shingle fixed on Thursday that had come loose - good timing right! Funny things got moved around - one of the large bins on the deck, but the chairs didn't move. Go figure.

Karen