No Sleep Tonight!

Since sleep is completely out of the question, I decided to blog a while. Hurricane Ike might have made landfall in Galveston, but he's leaving his mark in my area too. We've had gusty winds, heavy rain (occasionally) and more tornado warnings than the law should allow. Thanks to Ike's outer bands producing thunderstorms and tornadoes I'm going to have a very long night. So far today we have had three tornado warnings in area alone. (Those are just the ones I happen to hear, I'm sure there were more.) Our surrounding parishes have had their share too. At one point my son and I were in the closet (not that it would do much good, I live in a very old tiny house and there are no doors on my closets- only curtains. Every room in my house has windows. So a "safe" place is not in my home. We only get in the closet because I feel like I have to "do" something. So instead of writing or even reading today, I've been glued to the weather channel, local news channel and weather bug to try to stay one step ahead of these tornados. Did I mention that I am abolutely terrified of tornados. So much that I frequently (even in good weather) have nightmares about them. Hmm.. I wonder if dream interrpretation would say I have them because my life is out of control. LOL. Could be.

One the lighter side I'm going to a ball tomorrow. A virtual one that is. Harlequin Presents International Ball will be held in Second Life at the Dessert Prince's Island. Or something like that. I have never used Second Life before, but since I had to sign up and make my avatar to attend, I explored the site and all I can say is: How Cool! This is the neatest thing. You get to make your own clothes, avatar, and explore all kinds of places. Thanks to Jenny from the e-harlequin board, I finally managed to find the Abbey Courtyard where Harlequin has set up books, and a virtual tiki island. I've taken the liberty of taking a snapshot. See how cool! That's my avatar- Jaci Lannack (you have to pick a ficticious name) looking at some of the awsome presents books. If you are a member ( or want to be) of Second Life, then come join the fun tomorrow at 4:00. Maybe I'll "see" you there. I plan to take pics so check back in a few days and you can see the party for yourself.

Yikes! Here Comes Ike!

As one fellow moves on another one moves in. Last week we were weathering Gustav as he stormed through our state leaving a mess that hasn't completely been restored. Today we are all hunkered down and bracing for Ike. Again, I'm thankful that I'm in the northern part of the state, but as Ike makes landfall (within the hour) near Galveston, due to his monsterous size he will also deteriorate Lousiana's Southwest coast. At the moment several parishes are under water due to surges, as well as Texas counties. Here in North La, we are once again expecting torrential rain, flash flooding, tropical force winds and my worst nightmare-tornados. So for the next couple of days I'll be monitoring the weather via The Weather Channel and hope we don't get it too bad up here. But, of course in preparation I've stocked up on can foods, water and flahshlights. Now, we are in the "wait and see" mode. Of course my thoughts and prayers are with our coastal neighbors as well as those inland also in the path. Everyone stay safe and wait this monster out.

Unwanted Guest at Party - Hurricane Gustav

My son turned seven on September 3. I can't believe how fast the years fly by. This year he didn't get to have much of a party. Due to family health issues I hadn't planned a big bash anyway, but considering the unwanted guest this year it is a good thing. We simply had a small gathering at Granny and Papaw's. He enjoyed his gifts and cake.

Hurricane Gustav marched through our state the week of his birthday ( a day or so before) wrecking havoc from one end to the other. Many coastal residents evacuated through our area. Our little town has never seen soooo many people. I'm just glad they were able to get out of harm's way. Though we are in the northern part, we still had major problems. One wouldn't think you had to worry about hurricanes this far inland. But, we do. Go figure. Luckily, my particular parish seemed to have dodged the bullet sort of. We had plenty of rain and tropical storm winds (not your ideal weather for a child's birthday) . We also were under several tornado watches. Our neighboring parishes ( even those just a few miles away) weren't so lucky. Many flooded, had major power outages and downed trees and power lines. One parish in particular less than an hour east had water waist deep in most of the parish. Schools were closed across the state( none of us are complaining about that- LOL) for at least two days (some parishes more). Basically, it was a nightmare and the southern part had it two fold. We still have power outages across the state, but things are slowly getting back to normal.

Now we all have our eye on Ike. Yikes! Another major hurricane heading this way. At this point, no one knows exactly where in the US it will make landfall, but the weather map show its path straight toward Louisiana's coast. Again! It seems we have another hurricane that has a beef with our coast. Right now its a wait and see process. But, I'm stocking up on water, batteries and canned goods all the same as I nervously watch the weather and its projected path. Of course, my thoughts and prayers are with those who have to evacuate each time too. I hope they all get out of harms way this time too. Ike seems to be monster at this point.