This room was all straightened up on Friday afternoon but that didn't
last too long. This weekend was a rough one. We spent most of our
time inside waiting for storms to pass. When I got up this morning
I accessed the damage inside and out. Our house is fine except for
a couple to tree limbs on the ground, but thankfully no flooding or
other wind damage.
Check out that stack of newspapers! This is how the family
room looks when we are stuck inside all day. David watched a lot
of the Golf Channel and then we kept checking on weather
conditions. We did go over to our neighbor's house on
Sunday evening and had a great time sitting outside and talking
while our dogs were having great fun playing in the puddles
of mud in the back yard. It was the only evening when we
didn't have a downpour and constant thunder and lightning.
We did consume a few cocktails. Nothing like a vodka and tonic to calm
the nerves. Although David and Bentley are not troubled by the
storms like I am, I am not ashamed to admit that I need a bit
of help to get me through the huge lightning bolts, crashes of
thunder and constant tornado warnings like we have been having
for days on end.
David was parked in his comfy leather chair doing his crossword
puzzles and Cryptoquips. He saves the Sudoku for me because
he knows how much I love doing it. I seldom get to sit in this chair
because either David is sitting there or Bentley is when David is
not home.
If Bentley can't sit there, then he likes to make a bed on top of the
throw pillows on the sofa. He's a "lounge pup".
When I had enough of watching golf and hanging out in the
man cave with David and Bentley, I retreated into my studio to
take a nap or read. I had my desktop computer unplugged most of
the weekend and only used the laptop.
Half the time I was falling asleep during the day because the storms were
keeping me awake at night.
Yesterday David suggested that we get out of the house for a while
and drive to Houston for some shopping and lunch. I was a bit
reluctant to go because I knew that more storms were on their way,
but David convinced me we would be fine. So we drove into
Sugar Land, just to the west of Houston and had lunch at Pappasito's
and did a little shopping then got back on the highway for our two
hour trip home. We were home before dark and shortly thereafter
the weather reports started coming in and none of them were good.
Tornado, severe thunderstorm and flood warnings were going off on
our cell phones, television and the radio. This time there were reports
of three inch hail too. We hunkered in once again.
The storm was quite rough here, but not as bad as it was in Houston.
We contacted family members who live there and everyone is
fine except for my brother-in-law's niece whose home was flooded
with five inches of water. She just had a baby a few months ago and
she and her husband and baby will have to live elsewhere for a
while so that the house can be cleaned out. A shame yes, but
no injuries and that's a blessing.
My heart goes out to those still missing in these violent storms.
Lives have tragically been lost. A man lost his wife and children
while they were staying in a vacation cabin along the Blanco
River. He was rescued, but it is feared his wife and children both
drowned. A young girl was driving home from her prom and was
faced with high water just two miles from her home. She called
911 and her dad, but neither could get to her in time. There
are other stories coming in now too. We just never know what
lies ahead for any of us. All we can do is to be thankful for our
blessings and be good and kind to one another because that's
all we ever really have.
We have more rain coming our way and the meteorologists are
predicting another tough weekend ahead. I have no idea where
any more water can possibly go. The ground is so saturated now.
Riverside Park in Victoria is closed because of flooding from
the Guadalupe River. They had to move all the animals out of
our zoo to a safer location. Livestock is at risk too. I know that
we are all happy to be out of the drought, but not by these
circumstances. All we can do is pray.
Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley
