(image from abc13.com, KTRK Houston, of Hurricane Laura… from definitely not right now!)

According to the Doppler radar, the outer bands are not too far from me and playing with Beaumont right now. I’m probably a good 40ish miles westward from there, and the wind has been gradually picking up throughout the day. I’ve also been picking crap up from the yard most of the day, and prepping for when the power goes out and I can’t even flush toilets.

Well, plenty of water buckets and a full bathtub will help that out. I can live without air conditioning a few days–if needed–without too much of a problem. Running out of drinking water/food or having to smell sewage? Hells no.

I just hope the energy companies around here haven’t gotten lax the past few years and let a bunch of limbs grow over the power lines, like used to be the case back in 2005. It took five days to get power in my neck of the woods after Hurricane Rita because of that crap… and with all the work crews out, you can tell the companies just up and went trimming everything they could.

Hurricane Laura’s supposed to be mostly wind compared to the deluge-versions we’ve been used to in this part of the world. I do think it’s neat that the faster it’s traveling, the more it’s a wind event. Of course, I sure hope people got out of the way as the storm surge gets going. That’s the worst thing ever, but somehow, even after the thousand or so documentaries about storms, it gets ignored or forgotten about as people do what they can against the wind and the rain.

Still, I’m sure I’ll be up most of the night. Had to get new flashlights because the batteries corroded and destroyed the ones I had, and got ice in case the fridge goes out and I can keep food cold as long as possible. One good thing about it is when the wind dies down, the meat will be thawed out enough I can fire up the pit and make some hella good pork chops and beef strips.

Gotta figure out a way to make it enjoyable. Other than the total lack of useful oxygen in these times, the boredom is the worst.

Actually, the worst thing about hurricanes around here–to me–is that after all the disruption and the prep work and cleanup afterward, we don’t get to see the darn things.

Seriously, they always show up in the middle of the night. Very aggravating when you’re a weather bug who wants to watch the show. I think it would be worth it to see what’s been putting the whole area in a reasonable tizzy, watch the trees do the mambo in the front yard, the changing direction of the rain and wind, smell that crazy natural smell that only a hurricane seems to provide.

Dunno how I can describe it, but it just feels like it has it’s own smell, at least when it’s not whipping so hard it’s trying to steal your breath.

Anyway, I’m sure my luck will run out in the next few hours and I got some tealights to set in certain areas, ready to go. With clumsy pets, I don’t do the kerosene lamp thing, but in certain areas of the house, if I just need to not trip over dogs, tealights in small clusters work just fine.

And when I can’t sleep anymore, having the lantern next to me, ready to go so I can read a book is a good idea.

Be well, folks, and hope those who have to ride this thing out, too, don’t have a tough time of it. I’ve got peach wine chilling in the fridge if I need a sleep inducer, so it shouldn’t be so bad… the pups, on the other hand, I’m not sure about. Probably gonna be an all-nighter regardless, but I’m willing to give it a shot to watch the show when it comes around.