I've been meaning to post this blog for awhile but have had so much going on lately, I haven't gotten around to it. Hurricane Gustav came a few weeks ago, and here is my account of what went on. From my perspective, anyway. We didn't suffer too terribly, beyond being out of power for around a week... I know some were dealt a much more severe blow. This is what went down from OUR perspective. Gustav in the Tigerland Ghetto :o)
Well, Luna got all dressed up for the occasion...
Carrie invited her friend Mike to come evacuate and hang with us since he lives in Metairie and that's where the storm was SUPPOSED to hit the worst. Turns out, Mike's apartment complex never even lost power. heh... Anyway, he brought his friend Fred along with him.
We all went up to the levee to see what was going on in the river as the storm was coming in. The wind was blowing hard and it was raining like crazy!
So we went home and took showers and a nap. And when we woke up, the biggest blow of the storm had hit. Lots of water in our street and in streets in the area.
This is our neighbor Bruce. He's awesome. His dad's name is Rodney. He's okay too. :o)
A limb fell on the lines in the backyard... Mike and Rodney got it down later.
A little nest fell out of a tree and Carrie picked it up. She values the simple things in nature, even small birds' nests... just one more thing I love about her.
And through the entire storm, the barbecue pit stood firm. heh...
Of course we had bought important non-perishables to help us through the storm... So we bore through the days and nights and days of no A/C and far too many mosquitos. Sometimes I would go in the hot and stuffy back of the house and lay down to chill, and visit with the cats. And take pictures of my feet. heh...
Sometimes I would go on photo-journaling walks just to get out of the house, even in the rain. It rained and rained and rained...
Our house itself was fine, but lots of buildings around us had damage to the roofs.
And not one Port-A-Potty was left standing.
Businesses closed...
I love Carrie. We got along just smooth, smooth the whole time. That's a good sign for us. Some people would have gotten all stressed out and fought like cats and dogs. We were just like... cats.
Rocco, however, was driven to take up smoking...
When the power finally started coming on here and there around the city, we went to King's Buffet and got a good meal and... uh... we also both were kinda sick for awhile afterward. Um... heh...
Still, our power stayed off and finally we'd had enough. We packed up and took off for Texas, where some of Carrie's very awesome and kind relatives live. And so we made our way to Port Arthur, right across the state line. Stayed at an *AIR CONDITIONED* Ramada... with TV and everything, heh!! The weather was so beautiful, and I got to re-live the awesome feeling of existing under the vast Texas sky!
Got to meet Carrie's groovy uncle Kenny... and her equally-groovy aunt Beth... Rocco liked them too. We had a very enjoyable visit. And a very nice evening! When the, uh, room stopped sp-sp-spinning... hehe...
The next day, at Carrie's Grandma's, I saw Rocco on TV... and I liked the bathroom... because it reminded me of MY grandparents' bathroom... so of course Nicole had to take a picture of the bathroom. Ha.
Luna made friends with Grandma's neighbor's dog...
So a good time was had by all. Those 2 nights we spent there were a heavenly degree of refreshing and Carrie and I both credited that brief escape for the maintaining of a good percentage of our sanity. But on Saturday, we packed up and headed home, hopeful that our power would be on.
Yeah, Luna's great to travel with. She has the great "It's All Good" attitude. We had fun on the ride home, chillin' in the back seat.
But alas, despite our hopes, we came home to the same dark, hot and stuffy house we left. Pooh.
Yes, and it was hot...
But at least sweet little Vladimir took my mind off of it whenever I picked him up and held him awhile. My sweet little guy.
And the rain kept on coming...
So Carrie in all her awesome splendor scored for us a generator and a portable a/c. It was a definite degree of bliss. Luna thought so too. :o)
You know, Carrie lost her entire house underwater in 2005 with Katrina. She got a souvenir... a "Chocolate City" t-shirt... *elbow, elbow* hehe... Ahh, though, we had a nice evening on the sofa with the room somewhat cooled down.
The next day, we went out to the levee again, this time with Rocco, to get out of the house and get some fresh air.
THEN, the very next day...
We had restored to us power AND air conditioning. About 7 or 8 days without those things makes you a truly grateful little being.
Taz, however, was characteristically unimpressed.
And that... (drumroll)... was that.
I love my girl. She is wonderful in every way, even in less-than-accomodating circumstances. And her family kicks ASS.
So now all you funkadelicks can stop wondering if I was ever going to blog again. Fear not, I'm still here.
But now... I'm going to BED!! LATER!!!!!!!!
