Hey everyone! Got power back around 2:00 today, but had to wait for the cable service to be restored since my internet service is through the cable tv company.

We lost power shortly after I made my last post on Monday, which was around 11:30 am. The storms started rolling in and the worst of it came through between 3:00 and 3:30 pm. I kept my daughters in our closet and DH and I watched it all through the front storm door. Really scary, unbelievable sites and sounds! At one point the winds became a deep rumble like a caravan of tractor trailors was passing through. You could feel it in your bones!

Luckily, the southern part of the eyewall had collapsed so that after the eye passed through we didn't get the usual round two of winds from the opposite direction. When the winds subsided enough to venture outside, we walked around to assess the damage. There was quite a bit of water on the ground, but it drained quickly We couldn't believe that we hadn't lost any shingles! A neighbor's mobile home suffered pretty extensive damage, another neighbor lost a large number of shingles. A home across the street had water coming in through the ridge vent on the roof and he and another man got on top of his roof and nailed down plastic to keep any more water from coming in - and they did this in the middle of the storm! If you're familiar with Louisiana architecture, then you know that we tend to have very steep roofs. I have to believe that those guys must have been enjoying adult beverages because I can't image a sober person doing something like that! Our local community has a lot of broken and uprooted trees, with some areas suffering more extensive damage than others. But considering what could have been, I'd say we fared well.

There are a lot of places that didn't make it through so well. My aunt lives in Baton Rouge and she said it looks like a war zone - much worse than what they experienced with Katrina. And since the hurricane was travelling at a faster speed most, its damaging effects were felt much greater inland than expected. Many of those affected areas were the very areas that people evacuated to. In many cases they experienced worse conditions there than if they had stayed home, but of course hurricanes are unpredictable so you make decisions based on the best information you are given.

It's so great to be back on CC. I missed all of you. I'll post a link to my hurricane pics as soon as I get them posted. I couldn't get many because I didn't want to get my camera wet and there was no dry area outside due to the swirling winds - believe me I tried!

I hope everyone else came through the storm OK. Thanks for all the concern and prayers. I won't be unpacking the photos and stuff just yet, since we're at the peak of the season and Ike and Josephine may decide to pay us a visit!

Gotta go for now...Hubby's shopping for a natural gas, whole house generator online and needs me to help him make a decision!

We got back our electricity around 4:00 p.m. today. Just in time because our brand new Generator stopped working. Now we start the clean up inbetween going to work. My dogs are a nervous wreck and have not been eating and are walking like shadows to my dh and me. They are so tired but will not leave our sides.

I hope everyone is doing okay now and just keep supplies stocked in case of another one.

I did forget to mention the dogs. We had our dog and Sporty, the Dog Who Adopted Us, in the house with us. Our dog was a nervous wreck and refused to eat. She finally ate a little tonight. Sporty, being a "dog of the streets" took it all in stride, enjoying the fact that she got to sleep inside with us.

Glad you're OK and have power.

I did forget to mention the dogs. We had our dog and Sporty, the Dog Who Adopted Us, in the house with us. Our dog was a nervous wreck and refused to eat. She finally ate a little tonight. Sporty, being a "dog of the streets" took it all in stride, enjoying the fact that she got to sleep inside with us.

Glad you're OK and have power.

Good to hear from ya kim!! You had me worried for a second. I'm glad to hear all is well and glad that there wasn't much damage around you. Don't forgat about Hannah, she's out there too. We aren't even experiencing watches of any kind and i'm a nervous wreck.

OMG. I just went and looked at your pics! They are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You can really take some awesome pictures. What is your secret?

And you children are beautiful. They have your eyes.

Glad you are ok and have the power back. Still saying prayers for those hit hard!

Thanks, everyone, for your concern and kind words.

Parable, I wish I could impart some great words of wisdom, but I have none. I do think that composition is important. You must look at things from a different perspective and decide what feeling you wish to convey to the viewer and then capture that in your picture.

When I was in my early teens, I aspired to be a professional photographer. I even subscribed to Popular Photography magazine. But then life happened and those dreams went by the wayside. My interest in photography was rekindled when my husband came home with a Minolta 35mm camera one day back in the early 90's. Then my first daughter was born and I had a whole new subject to explore. My picture-taking was curbed in the last few years because it was getting too expensive to develop film. But I acquired a very nice digital camera last year and my passion was reborn. Then I discovered Flickr! and a whole new online community was introduced to me. And now I find myself baking cakes and decorating cookies - again new subject matter and CC is a new community that allows me to share my thoughts and photos.

I enjoy sharing my photos with anyone who wishes to take the time to view them. It is said that eyes are the windows to the soul. I think photos allow you to view the world through the eyes of the photographer, giving you an even better view of his or her soul.

Thank you again for your kind words.

Thanks for the update and I hope that all of our Southern CC friends did not experience too much damage or hardship.

hey guys! we are still without power, ever since monday at about noon, thankfully we have a generator and a laptop!! There's no damage to our house and my family is safe, but outside of our neighborhood looks like a warzone,, trees uprooted and snapped everywhere. there are powerlines down everywhere and many of the power poles are snapped, its bad. Suzy Im in denham springs, its right outside of baton rouge, thanks everone for your concern, Kim im glad you guys are safe, and so lucky with that air conditioner! Ill check back in in the next day or two hopefully by then we wil have electricity.

edited for double post

I'm so glad to hear from everyone and sorry to hear that you are still without power vanna. The power situation seems to be the worst problem for everyone. I know how awful the heat can be.

Kim, I too looked at some of your flicker photos. They were great. Your childhood picture looks exactly like your youngest daughter. You two could have been twins. That is so cute. Oh, and I loved your big hair wedding party!

I am so glad that this storm was not too bad and so glad everyone is recovering. All our friends and relatives both here in Mississippi and in Louisiana seem to have fared pretty well.

Here are the pictures I said I would post. They don't really show much, just a few limbs down, lots of green leaves blown down and plenty of leftover puddles...oh, and my baby son who likes to ham for the camera.

Vanna and Kathy - glad you're OK, although I have to admit that being without AC is the pits! We have definitely decided that since we plan on living in our house for the rest of our days and will surely live through several more hurricanes, we are buying a natural gas powered, whole house generator. They aren't cheap, but are a worthwhile investment and you don't have to worry about trying to locate gasoline when all the gas stations are closed or sold out. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll get it installed prior to Ike's possible visit. Hopefully he'll stay away.

Here's a direct link to my Gustav photos and videos. http://flickr.com/photos/kim_thibodeaux/collections/72157607046134673/

I'm so glad that all of my CC friends made it through Gustav in one piece. Let's hope Ike and friends decide to take their party elsewhere!

That's funny that you should mention those whole house generators. They have been advertising them like crazy the past few days on TV. Funny, but the people who need them the most don't have TV to see the commercials.

I think that a whole house generator is a great idea. You know they did a much better time keeping up with the gas this time. All the stations here ran out a couple of times because we are on the evacuation route but there were constantly tankers pulled up to the stations refilling. I think generators are a great idea, unfortunately after everything we have been through, I still cannot convince my husband to buy one. He is one of those people who don't believe in buying something he doesn't need right at this moment.

Glad everyone is safe. Gustav definitely took an unexpected turn. Lots of people from our area were in Shreveport and Hot Springs and were delayed getting back because of bad weather there. Our hospital opened 1 hour after the evacuation order was lifted. I was the only xray tech that stayed so I had to go and get our dept opened up.

My hubby is looking at those generators too. we have never had to board up windows in the past, but are ready to invest in some plywood and clips so we don't have to worry about that. Those hurricanes are looking bad. I hate to wish them on other areas, but this has been the week that never ends. LOL! All my stuff is still packed so It won't be as bad if I have to get out quickly.

Now, Kim, I am going to look at your pics.

Susan

Yes, lots of commercials for generators. But I realized this morning when I contacted the local Guardian dealer that they aren't marketing the whole house generators effectively. The company that I contacted is primarily a security company and sells them as part of their commercial security products. In fact, most people around here have never heard of a whole house generator or the fact that you can run them off a natural gas line or hook it up to a propane tank.

If someone was smart, they would market whole house generators as a residential solution to consumers. People around here have no problem spending money on ATV's and hunting camps and bass boats. With the busy hurricane seasons and other power outages that we have in this rural area, I would think they could convince these same people to invest in these for peace of mind!

It's all in how you market it. Hmmm...maybe they'll pay me a commission if I sell some for them.

Oh, Kim, those clouds look fierce! I know that was scary for you. Your picture of hurricane supplies reminds me of my sons myspace blog he wrote about observing what was in people's carts at the store getting ready for hurricanes. I have done nothing but eat this week. Guess that is my reaction to the stressful situation. Gotta stop it now.

susan

Hey everyone, Just checking in after the hurricane:

I just got electric and cable turned back on at 12:00 midnight. They had to replace 3 downed poles on my street and remove two trees that took down lines. I cant wait to take a hot shower...bathing in cold water sucks...lol We lost electric, phones and cable Monday around 11:00am. The wind and rain was scary but no damage, Thank God. I am glad everyone else in Louisiana is doing ok. Now that it is all over I have to move my 200 potted plants back outside...my DH wants to wait until Hannah and Ike are gone too, but I dont want to risk loosing my plants because they are in a 2 room shed with no way to water them. Tomorrow will be a busy day.
Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes.

****Kim_in_CajunCountry
If you want more info on the full home generators let me know, My DH ownes a residential contracting company in New Orleans and he installs one in every home he builds. He just built a 7000 sf home for my brother with one and my brother didn't go without electric for even 2 seconds. His company is going to installed one in our home before next hurricane season or we will be fighting over our 130 year old house in divorce court...LOL Not really but it sounds good...LOL
Again I'm glad everyone is safe and sound.
Polly

Hooray, Polly! Isn't electricity WONDERFUL?! When you're hot and sticky you think taking a nice cool bath is a great idea - until you try getting in a tub of cold water. YIKES! Hypothermia! But you do feel nice and cool afterward - for about 5 minutes.

Glad you're OK and working at restoring some normalcy around the house.

On the topic of whole house generators, I received a call this morning from my friend's company and they are meeting with us Monday afternoon. I think my biggest question is going to be what does it cost to run the thing per day. Someone told me they heard it will cost about $300 per day for the natural gas. That sounds really expensive. I'm hoping that they misunderstood and maybe it was one that runs on liquid propane, which costs around $4 per gallon.

Great hearing from you and hopefully we won't have any more hurricane threads from anywhere for the rest of the year.

At the top of my hurricane shopping list is GAS for the generator, lots and lots of gas. Did you know you canât siphon gas from a car anymore? With 5 family cars parked around the house we though we would have plenty to spare, but those sneaky car manufactures put some kind of anti-siphon device in the gas tank.

PS: can we change the topic of the thread to IKE has me worried?

I do not normally purchase junk food, but for some reason I felt compelled to do so. I guess I thought the kids would be thrilled by it and it would comfort them. Hubby insisted that my chocolate chip cookies would make things better so, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I baked 8 dozen on Sunday night.

Some of the stuff I bought on Friday included:
3 gallons of milk
ingredients to bake chocolate chip cookies with pecans
huge bags of chips and six jars of dip
Ritz crackers and three cans of cheese (the kids are amazed by it)
Oreos
Saltines
2 loaves of bread
packaged deli meats
a 2 qt jar of salsa
applies, grapes, and bananas
Chef Boyardee Ravioli
smoked sausage, onions, and 20 pounds of potatoes
large bags of mini Twix, Milky Way, and Snickers candy bars
and other important things like an air mattress and a rechargeable pump


The first things the stores ran out of were flashlights and any battery powered lights, batteries, bottled water, gasoline, cans of potted meat and vienna sausage, and bread. And, yes, beer is a comfort food in the south, so it was pretty scarce, too, although it wasn't on my list.

After Hurricane Katrina hit, there was a news story about the types of items that see sales spikes at WalMart right before a hurricane. One of the top sellers was Strawberry Pop Tarts so now they know to stock up on them when a hurricane is looming. I thought that was interesting.

Anyway, I'm still trying to come down from my carbohydrate high. I think there are two pitiful little chocolate chip cookies left. I'll probably have to go back to South Beach Phase I to get my sugar levels back in check.

Hey, we buy pop-tarts for hurricane food! But I normally have a well stocked pantry and fridge. I'm not a meal planner so I keep a little of everything on hand so I can cook. That said, I don't buy food at all for hurricanes. We eat all the stuff in the fridge and pantry and they both get a much needed cleaning out.

Kim, you forgot peanut butter. That is another thing that sells out for storms. I didn't see vegetable oil on your list Kim...where'd all the vegetable oil go.

our power is back!!! YAY! It came back on thursday afternoon, but ive been so busy with the family that was here i haven't been able to post until today! We were only with out power for 3 days, and we had a generator, i feel bad for those who are still without. Those 3 days were really long but some people wont have their's back on for 4 to 6 wks , i cant imagine! Hubby and I are also talking about the whole house generators, and maybe getting one by next season, that wont help us for Ike though. Luckily we have natural gas, it runs our fireplace and hot water heaters so we were able to take warm baths, not that it did any good, by the time you step out of the shower, you're sweating again. Im glad everyone seems to be doing okay, i was worried about ya'll

I was just watching the latest weather forecast for Ike and there is a very good chance we could get hit again. Maybe this time it will get rid of the lovebugs. (Just joking) It is amazing what creatures can survive a bad storm. We were amazed how the hummingbirds withstood the storm. My husband said he was watching a squirrel hold on to the bark for dear life. I guess he was out gathering pecans and got caught in the weather. After all the weatherman had said it would hit Tuesday and it came Monday. I bet the squirrel watches another weather channel next time.LOL

Every time I turn on the news they have Ike forecast to come closer, ugh, not again! I agree about the lovebugs and the freeakin' mosquitoes, will nothing kill either of those?? The sad part is I haven't noticed mosquitoes all summer, because they spray the city for them, but since the storm if you go out at night you get eaten alive, I guess the city has better things to do right now

I have to agree. IKE GO AWAY! I'm so tired! Ugh! Is it time to move to the land of tornadoes or ice storms? I don't think I can take the stress of another storm this week!

Hey you guys~
Glad to hear that everyone is doing fine. The winds & rain hit us Sunday. We didn't have alot of rain but we had winds. We live in a pecan grove so bunches of limbs fell but thankfully no big ones~ We only lost power for a few hours on Monday. Probably to get others power back on. Sad to say before the storm hit my computer died!! I haven't been able to check out CC till today. I'm using my dd's laptop.

We have family in Walker, LA. Near Baton Rouge. They didn't have any damage to their homes but the do not have electricity, said it won't be back on for possibily 6 wks. They said it's crazy down there. I hate it for everyone. I'm praying that Ike just falls apart!! Ya'll take care~

hey tc, whos your family in Walker and where in Walker d they live? Im not the crazy stalking type, but i did live and work in walker for a while, and now i live 2 minutes away. The walker schools go back tomorrow, along with most of livingston parish(all but 4 schools), lucky you, only with out power for a little while, good luck getting that computer fixed

I'll PM you vanna1487