The Calm Before the Storm

 Literally the calm before the storm. I live in central Florida and we have been watching hurricane Ian for days. I have lived in Florida pretty much my whole life and have lived through many hurricanes and, the scariest thing about them - in my opinion - is that their exact path and intensity can seldom be predicted with 100% accuracy. And, when the worst case scenarios happen, you have to be prepared. And so today, instead of showing you a welcome to my home all ready for Halloween, I am showing you its current situation.

I just spent the last hour and a half taking down what I have now decided is way too much stuff...Lol. I love all of my outdoor adornments but boy are they a pain when they have to be removed...and they will be even worse when they have to all be reinstalled. In fact, this might be the perfect time to EDIT and not put everything back. And, as I have been looking at these pictures, this will also be the perfect time to give everything a nice cleaning - maybe even a pressure cleaning - before it goes back.

I am sad that I will be behind a week on my Halloween decorating and I am even sadder that this was supposed to be homecoming week at my grandson's high school not to mention that the oldest - who is a senior - is in a Big Man on Campus competition, on the homecoming court, playing in the big game and then hosting a pre-dance dinner party at his home. And, of course, I was going to be there for all of that fun. But, when Mother Nature speaks, we listen and safety of lives comes first. And so, we do what we are asked to do...sometimes with less of a smile on our faces than usual...but we do what needs to be done.

As I posted these pictures there were a few things I saw that still needed moving and I have now moved them. For the most part, I take down anything that could become a projectile and move as much away from the pool as possible. My thinking is that if I put it up against a fence or wall, it may not take to flight. I don't really know if that's true but, that furniture is heavy and I can only carry it so far. lol I've got it done and for now, I think I'm good. The only thing I couldn't get down was my rain chain. Apparently that is attached through the gutter and the gutter on the sunroof is too high for me to access without the extension ladder and I just didn't have that in me today. I took the chain and twisted it into a nearby bush and I think it will be fine.

As a matter of fact, the latest update just came in and, for this very moment, there is a hint that Ian may make landfall a bit more to the south than has been expected. That is good news for my family in St. Pete and probably good news for those of us in north central Florida as well.

Again, things change hourly so it is still a big "wait and see". We are supposed to start seeing some rain this afternoon but other than that, things are pretty much status quo around here. The kids are in school but will be off starting tomorrow. My daughter is "stranded" in NY because her fight home has been canceled and my son-in-law is our county engineer and will pretty much be based at the sheriff's office as this storm goes through so I will be heading to their house tomorrow to spent the time with the kids. Hopefully we won't lose power but that is a pretty common occurrence so we'll be ready with flashlights, candles and lots of games.

Prayers for everyone in Ian's path. Stay safe and stay tuned.