Vicster

[vicster605]

Like I said Desi, nice place to visit but wouldn't want to live there.....same as I feel about our home. We have great food...of course I can cook it....great music but there's CD's we have wonderful people but not sure after this hurricane season how many will stay as I have heard soooo many times I can't count after Katrina....I'm rebuilding this time but if this happens again anytime soon I"M OUT OF HERE!!!!What about the 30 yr storm theory....well looks like that one is out the window.....and to me and I've lived in the New Orleans area.....ALL of my 48 yrs....seems the hurricanes and storms are happening more frequently and are getting way stronger as we all saw with Katrina....CAT 4-5's. Its only been 3 yrs since Katrina and we are seeing what 3 more storms brewing!!! THATS ALOT at one time.......IKE may get us yet and then theres one behind IKE.....We get road weary and tired and I think more than half of everyone I know never has gotten over being tired from Katrina and rebuilding.......a friend of mine today that had 12-14 ft of water in their home got 8 inches this time.....LOL still alot of work even with 8 inches...got to pull carpet out, cut sheet rock, replace it and cabinets etc. LOL on the screened in enclosure.....we just replaced 6 pannels due to Kyra and over half had to be replaced due to Katrina.....I'm sure we will have at least that this time.....nope not cheap and yes, you have to wait....... darned enclosure guys have hit the gold mine huh??? Can't really enjoy a pool down South with out it due to bugs. I'm with you I could leave there and not miss it, would miss certain things....friends, way of life, seafood etc but I could always visit and not have to run and risk loosing everything we have worked our entire lives for every single yr. Oh well, Kearra and I are very tired so off to bed again......it hasn't and i"m not kidding stopped raining since yesterday......miserable due to the Chows getting wet everytime I take them out....they can't go for walks and neither can I.....darn, thought we got far enough away....ummm thats the problem with running early....they don't know exactly where the storms are going in and then don't know where they are going after landfall....ummmm I guess Arkansas was it and then to Dallas from what I hear.

[pfordeb]

If you can get out of LA -- I agree with Sandy, Nashville is a nice place to live == you can be in the city or country. It is hot in the summer and they can get tornados, but I think the tornados may be more rare than hurricanes in LA?

[Nita F.]

Well we survived but this hurricane added some new experiences. Thankfully we had no damage but the in-laws had part of their metal roof peel back early Monday morning. So had to watch it flap in the wind and rain. This morning hubby and BIL repaired what they could and used a tarp to protect the rest until the insurance company can come out. My family had no damages either.

But As Vicki heard the winds were worse here than New Orleans. For about 4 hours they averaged 60 - 70 mph with gusts up to 85 or so. And normally the winds come from the southeast and then the northeast as the hurricanes pass. Since this one traveled inland at an angle we got winds from the east and it lasted well into the night. Most of East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes, as well as many other locations, are without electricity. We probably won't get ours back for at least a week. There are more downed lines this time than for Andrew or Katrina. By some miracle our phone line stayed even though a neighbor's pine tree took out the power line. No DSL for about 24 hours and hubby was about to go nuts. Back now but land lines and cell service is sporadic at best.

Generator is able to charge up frig and freezer, run central A/C and a few lights as well as my BIL's frig. We have about 60 gallons of gas now but it is still hard to find. So we can't run the generator 24 hours. My mom is here until her power is restored as she needs to keep cool. Our house is well insulated and stays cool all day as long as the doors stay closed.

Mimi did better than I did. She wasn't nervous and stayed close to me for lots of tummy rubs. I let her out during lulls in the rain and she would hurriedly do her business and return.

Since there is no power in Hammond, my employer SLU is closed until Monday. Good in one way but can't do anything else either. Just my luck!

Vicki, I can't tell you what Ike or Josephine are going to do. I would probably come home Sunday but not unpack the car until you know where they are going. Tell Keith to get busy building a house on that property in Mississippi. Then he can commute and you can be safe at home with the grandbabies.

Thanks to everyone for thinking of us.

Nita

[janet]

vicky and nita, glad you and yours are all safe and sound.

[pfordeb]

Yes, I really can't imagine what you all are going through (and I meant you all in the Northern Way .

[Dogdad]

Nita,

I am glad you weathered the storm without major trauma.

Vicster, I know you want to move up to the great white north. You want to experience sub zero temps and many feet of snow. There is a house for sale a few houses away from mine. We have 2 acres lots, we live in the country. Come on Vicster, persuade your dh to move here and we can go for walkies together at 4:30am

[vicster605]

Oh Nita, I'm so glad you & yours are ok...I was worried Glad you have the generator for now, hopefully they will get on the power lines ASAP and you will have gas left over. I know they were staging help. I'm soooo worried about my Aunt & Uncle in Baton Rouge, my cousin was on bedrest due to her B/P about to have her 2nd baby and I know they probably HAD to stay.....haven't been able to reach them Have you heard anything about Baton Rouge??? Saw ALOT of trees down and power outages there??? Must of scared the daylights out of you with tin flappin'......I still say the SOUNDS of a Hurricane are the scariest sounds that you can hear, especially if you board up your house Scares me just thingin' about it.....bet you didn't get much sleep Or Marty either for that matter......sounds like Mimi did great, poor baby I'm sure she knew you would take care of her, and keep her safe. I'm glad she didn't get scared or freak out.
Sounds like a plan Nita, don't think I will be unloading my SUV until IKE decides where he is going.....have a bad feelin' since everyone is road weary already......I imagine alot of people will stay if that one comes our way.....due to money, work, tired or just don't want to leave again Hopefully he will go to Mexico.....not to wish bad things on others as I feel for anyone that is faced with a Hurricane or storm. Sure hope my dh decides to get on the building of the house in Ms too. We took down ALL the trees when we cleared it so we could put trees back in all the RIGHT places LOL!!! A storm cellar and we would be good to go since it doesn't flood there. HUGS Nita & Marty glad you are all ok and am praying that IKE (geez what a name for a Hurricane) GOES SOMEWHERE ELSE Hopefully I will have skin left after all of this as I still feel like I could completely jump out of mine
LOL David, I can't get dh to move to Ms, much less Tenn. which is where I would LOVE to be, and I know for a fact he ain't movin' way up there......much less somewhere where it freezes like it does up there where you are......LOL I wouldn't make one winter without FREEZING TO DEATH either And like I told you before about your 4 AM walkies.....ONLY if someone was holdin' a gun on me would I walk ANYWHERE at 4 AM But David, if we ever get enough money for a summer home....wouldn't mind spendin' the summers up there LOL!!!

[Roxana]

Nita & Vicki,
Soooo glad to hear you're both okay. We just returned from 2 weeks holidays in the States and I was thinking of you guys and hoping you'd be okay.

By the way Dogdad, guess what?? We drove through Wisconsin on our travels and it is beeee-utiful there! Totally not what I was expecting. We camped in a State Park near Madison and it was just gorgeous. We hit 12 states in 2 weeks so we visited a lot of places I'd never been before. Minnesota is beautiful also.

Oh p.s. Vicki, Neelaa also does not like to go to the bathroom anywhere but home so she did not poop or PEE for the first 2 days! Two whole days and no pee, I was getting so worried I was about to place a long distance call to my vet. She finally decided to go though and she would pee & poop once a day after that. What little buggers they are!

Glad you're safe.

[Mia]

Vicster and Nita - so glad you are OK.

I can't imagine what you both have been through - these hurricanes just seem to be getting WAY to frequent and more scary everytime!

[CoraP.]

Hi Vicki and Nita,
I'm glad you both made it through o.k. Hopefully the other storms will taper off and go somewhere else!

[TJordan]

Nita Happy to hear you and your family are safe. Hopefully they get your electricity on soon!!

[ciaobella]

Glad to hear you are OK too, Nita.
Vic, tell DH we rarely even have snow anymore, if we get one good one per season it's a miracle. Also, plenty of deer to shoot IF HE MUST, and quite a few wild turkeys in my mom's backyard that she'd be willing to sacrifice for a good cause.

Listen to reason Vickie, you must move to Tennessee so you can inservice me on making a roux that doesn't taste like burned dirt.

[fillyok]

Thank goodness everyone is safe! I received a text message last night from an unknown number (local San Antonio) saying the family survived, power would be out for 2 weeks and the hometown looks like a war zone. Initially I thought it was my friend from Lafayette, but her number is in my phone. I think it's my other friend that retired last year to Baton Rouge. I've been worried sick about so many people I can't keep track of everyone!!

And as they say in NO, geaux away Ike.

[pfordeb]

OK Vicki -- this is how you do it. You give your husband choices, all of which benefit you. First you tell him about Wisconsin, then move south so by the time you get to Tennessee, it will sound like paradise. If he likes water, Tennessee has like the second greatest number of lakes in the country (after Minnesota -- hey, there's one to throw into the mix). Of course, this is coming from someone who still hasn't figured out how to get another dog.

[Desi]

OK Vicki -- this is how you do it. You give your husband choices, all of which benefit you. First you tell him about Wisconsin, then move south so by the time you get to Tennessee, it will sound like paradise. If he likes water, Tennessee has like the second greatest number of lakes in the country (after Minnesota -- hey, there's one to throw into the mix). Of course, this is coming from someone who still hasn't figured out how to get another dog.

I'm starting to appreciate my dh more by the minute,lol
First I talked him into getting me a cat .Six months later a poodle.A year after that another one.
Then I talked him into moving to Georgia (there were only 6 months between my first "maybe we could move there one day,preferably soon" and our move.
Here we got another cat,and to top it all off not one but two !!! more dogs,and Chows!!!! which he always claimed he hated

Either I am great at convincing ,or he's just extremely easy to convince !

[chris]

Glad everyone is ok. Im actualy waiting to hear if my new husband has to go down there. (will find out tomorrow). He is an insurance adjuster for SAFECO and was down there the day after Katrina hit and was there for months. If he has to go and is there for more than 3 weeks, they will send me down to visit for a weekend. I sent message to Vicki, where did everyone evacuate to?

BTW:.... Wisconsin isn't THAT bad...

[Jeff&Peks]

I hope everyone is ok. Im actualy waiting to hear if my new husband has to go down there. (will find out tomorrow). He is an insurance adjuster for SAFECO and was down there the day after Katrina hit and was there for months. If he has to go and is there for more than 3 weeks, they will send me down to visit for a weekend. I sent message to Vicki, where did everyone evacuate to?

They ask me a couple of times if I wanted to go to Lousyanna, 2 times permanent and now temporary for a month but no Chow expenses or Chow housing, Like I would leave Pekoe. Pekoe knows which homes are safe or not she won't go into unsafe homes or homes with dead people past or present.

Are you going to visit me on weekends if I go?..Saturdays with me then Sundays with your husband, Sorry don't do the church thing.

[Sharons Chows]

Vicki and Nita,

Glad to hear that you are all ok. How horrendous to have to keep going through this every few years.
Vicki...only you can take a situation like this and make me really laugh regarding Kyra's or was it Kearra's "woooooooo thang"...that really hit my funny bone. Guess now that I am recovered now I needed a laugh.
I will sell you my house in Cleveland...you can have all of the cold and snow...I will give you a great price. My ex-husband has been hinting about me and the chows moving to the east coast of FLA where he lives...maybe if he gives me all the right incentives $$$$$$$$ and more $$$$$$...I will think about it...just am afraid that JR and Cheyenne might eat his Bichon. Now if I could live here in the summer and there in the winter!!!!!

Take care of yourselves and we send big hugs and chow kisses!
Sharon and the "kids"

[vicster605]

Well, still raining and its one of those rains that is steady and NEVER even slows up, just keeps on coming.....very depressing, 3 days & nights straight now Finally tonight decided to take K & K out for their last walk of the night to potty TOGETHER finally just a steady mist for a few minutes. There is only one place left in between the condos for them to walk and do the business....that isn't flooded. So we are all calm and I have both girls and the umbrella. LOL!!! so all of a sudden I see a white critter move Right about the time the girls see it too . Both leads get crossed umbrella goes flying and I'm hangin' on for dear life.....with about 90 lbs of Chow pullin' me in about 2 inches of water.....I'm one condo away in between the buildings from the family who is sitting on the back porch LOL!!! Only one that hears me are the other family about 4 condos away that are sitting on their back porch......here we go again We much of been a sight with BOTh girls making the funniest squickin' yelpin' noises I ever heard, being ski'ed around the corner hollerin' HELP It was a cat....GEEZ Now we are ALL WET and nobody went potty......if it would quit rainin' already, would make me a happy girl You have to laugh....LOL ok so me and both girls are soaked AGAIN and nobody did any business WOW we are having soooooo much fun!!! WAAAHOOO LOVE Hot Springs.....I'll put this in my journal....First Trip to Hot Springs Arkansas.....RAIN, WET CHOWS, RAIN WET CHOWS, RAIN, WET CHOWS etc.
Anyone jealous??? LOL I didn't think so LOL!!!!
Please say prayers that IKE goes way away......already a CAT 3 expected to be a 4 and its way out there still, they will know better where it is going over the weekend........PLEASE DON"T COME INTO THE GULF IKE......PLEASE PLEASE GEAUX AWAY!!!!

[Nita F.]

Vicky,

You should be able to start back home now. You still may not have power or water, but you may want to empty the frig as soon as possible. Click on http://www.WWL.com for local information. Bless your heart, you tried to get away from Gustav but he just followed you to Arkansas. So come on back but don't unpack just yet.

Baton Rouge had a lot of trees and power lines down. It has some of the prettiest old oak trees but unfortunately many were not in good health. So the roads and driveways are blocked and many of the trees fell on houses. Since Gustave has affected most of Louisiana, I imagine Chris' husband will be busy for at least 3 weeks. Chris, if you get to come down PM Vicky and me so we can get together if you have time.

Sharon, as much as I love the state of Florida, I do not recommend moving there, even for the winter. Due to the high cost of property and insurance, it will be an expensive place to live. Plus Florida is a popular target for hurricanes. Just rent a condo when you want to visit.

Power is still out here but we did see someone assessing our line damage. One of the bad things of being on a private road is you are usually one of the last places to get power restored. We're using the generator to keep the frig and freezer charged but are using ice chests for drinks and sandwich makings, etc. So ice was the big challenge of the day for us. Thankfully several stores received refrigerated truck loads. But other foods and gas are still not easily available. Hubby went into Hammond and saw lines for gas 2 blocks long. The local Winn Dixie was running on generators and lines there were at least 15 people deep.

I'm having flashbacks to the time after Katrina. Nearby Hammond, Louisiana was a quiet mid-size college town. Since Katrina hit, Hammond has forever been changed. Now the population has at least doubled, possibly tripled, from folks moving up from the New Orleans and surrounding areas. Their homes were destroyed, or like Vicky, they were tired of leaving. Many businesses have also moved up. Two days after Katrina you couldn't drive around town because of all the utility, military, and other rescue personnel as well as Red Cross, etc., using us as a staging area. Had to wait in huge lines and the traffic horrible. Since then, houses and subdivisions have been built to accommodate the new people whose lives were forever changed. Schools are overcrowded and the infrastructure isn't designed for these numbers. I'm guessing we'll have a new wave of people moving here since Gustav.

I don't wish a hurricane on anyone but I'm hoping Ike chooses to pick on someplace other than Louisiana.

Nita

[Sharons Chows]

Nita,

If I move to FLA because of my ex husband....I would have no intention of spending a dime to live. That would be the ONLY way!!!!!!!! He can afford it.

Vicki...Nita is right...time to go home with all of your chow girls "wooooooooooo thangs" intact.

Good luck and my thoughts and prayers to you both.
Sharon

[momtobear]

"What about the 30 yr storm theory....well looks like that one is out the window"


Not to down play Gustav or anything. But the 30 yr theory is based on storms that are a cat 4 or above. Katrina, cat 4 Cammille I think was a cat 4 too. ( a little before my time) Gustav was barely a 3. Not that He wasn't dangerous or anything.

[chris]

GEAUX AWAY!!!!

G E A U X...... I take it that is GO.... but how are you pronOUNCing that please.....

[Nita F.]

Chris,

The Cajun French pronounce "eaux" as a long o. So "geaux" is pronounced "go". Just another way these folks make themselves unique!

Nita

[chris]

I will be sure to let you guys know if I am coming down. AT the moment, they are holding off for IKE. if IKE hits GA... then we will... or DH will be in GA. I will keep you posted.


Jeff... lets see.... Saturday with you, Sunday am with hubby and Sunday pm with Vicky & Nita... Sounds like a plant... SORRY HUBBY.. YOU ONLY GET FRIDAY AND SUNDAY AM.... LOL