FLOODING AND HIGH WINDS FROM MICHAEL

Amen !!
At least we know the national alarm system works and will wake us up from a sound sleep. This morning a little after 5am my phone went off with the loud alarm waking both hubbie and me. He said see if there is a tornado but it was a flood warning for our area. We could hear the pounding rain on the roof as I dozed back off. Hubbie said he could never get back to sleep.
Daughter came in at 7:15 saying they had just called a 2 hour delay for schools but she had to go on time because the buses were already dropping off kids at school.
There was a different plan for g-son and RL this morning anyway as g-son had a 9:00 dentist appointment and d-in-love was going in to work late after dropping RL at her pre-school.
Hubbie and I fed IR and then I braved the pouring rain to get the morning feeding chores done.
The bottoms are completely flooded already and  when I passed the rain gauge there was almost 4 more inches in there.

I have several cake and egg orders for today so hubbie, IR and I made our way through the main road into town highway 64 which wasn't flooded anywhere.
There was only a handful of vendors at market when we arrived. We got set up and then IR had fun chasing some balloons someone gave her.

Business was very slow but I am thankful for what we did sell. Actually I was surprised at the number of customers who braved the rain and wind to come in.
The rain stopped about 11am but the wind got even harder knocking down tree after tree in the soaked ground and causing mud slides on many roads.

Hubbie and IR left about 11:30 so she could get a nap on the way to get his errands run on the way home.
The flood waters at our place are higher than we have seen them since the new road was put in.

 G-son enjoying his day off from school.

 The view from d-in-love's front porch.

The decision was made to close schools for the day even after many students had already arrived creating havoc for administrators and teachers in each school. Daughter said there were 85 students stranded at her high school who couldn't leave until the buses could take them home and there was no definite time for buses to run or if they even would run.
I left market at regular time and ran my bank, PO and Aldi errands. I saw many flooded roads on my way home while I tried to find a way home off the crowded highway 64 route.
This was 7th avenue.

And this was Dana road, thankfully this was in the opposite direction that I needed to go so I did find an easier less crowded way home.

There were  40 roads in Henderson county under water today from all the rain from Michael.

 This is a road I travel each day taking RL to her pre-school and I didn't even realize there was a stream near this road.

I also pass by this little waterfall and old mill at Highland Lake but I have never seen this much water coming over these falls.

Hubbie helped me get unloaded when I got home and daughter came in from school right behind me.

Also d-in-love brought RL and g-son up here to play with IR for a little while.

After they all left hubbie and I got chores done and thanked the Lord that we have no damage at least that we can see yet. As the sun set the water was still out in our bottom front pasture.

There was another 3.5 inches of rain in the gauge bringing the total at our place to 4.85 since yesterday morning.

Thankfully the wind is calming down this evening and the storm has moved in Virginia but is still dropping massive amounts of rain with high winds.

The devastation in Florida is mind boggling and I am praying that there are no people in all of this destruction.

 Many houses are completely gone leaving only the cement slabs behind.

Praying for all these folks who have lost everything and for the families who have lost loved ones as this massive storm left it's ugly mark .

Thankful for the blessings of this day as we dealt with the flooding and wind and felt the protective arms of our loving Lord.

God Bless and Good Night

HURRICANE MICHAEL MAKES LANDFALL

This is another thing I miss about my long walks each day because this was always my time to talk and pray with the Lord.

Up early to get this day started with breakfast for g-son and the girls then I went out in the rain to get chores done. Thankfully it's a light rain so far from the outer bands of hurricane Michael as he closes in on the Florida panhandle.

I dropped RL off at her pre-school and came home for a hurried breakfast for me. I have my annual regular physical exam this morning in Asheville at Dr. Vickory's office.
I left about 9:40 to make it to my 10:15 appointment time. Thankfully with the rain this morning there was very little traffic and I made it with time to spare.
I didn't have to wait long and the visit went okay. Only problems I have are that my bad cholesterol has risen sharply from 109 last year to 153 this year so she gave me the name of a supplement to go get to try until January with a better diet and we will see if that helps. Also my vitamin D level is still just out of the lower limit and she said to double my dose of that.
I made a stop to pick up the new cholesterol  pills and headed home.
On the way home is usually one of my favorite Fall drives through the mountains but not today.
The rain and fog was thick so I couldn't see the mountains anyway but where I could see told me the same story as everywhere else that the  leaves haven't changed color this year.

I made it home just in time for lunch with hubbie while IR napped. Other g-ma has RL today down at #1 son's house.
After lunch I started baking , 2 chocolate, 2 pound, 1 blackberry wine and some brownies. While baking I watched the news feeds on TV showing the arrival of the hurricane as it hit Florida about 2:00 this afternoon with winds just a few mphs less than a category 5 storm.

The devastation showing in these broadcasts was terrible. This area of Florida has never been hit with a storm this strong and entire houses were swept away by the high winds and storm surge that was predicted to reach 14 feet in places.

To put this hurricane in order of strength of all the hurricanes that have hit anywhere in this country it comes in as the fourth strongest.

I finished baking and then played with IR until her mom came after her.
I did chores and dumped 1.35 inches of rain from the gauge.  The wind is picking up here some now as the storm moves inland and its still a strong cat 3 hurricane even as it enters Georgia.
I did weekly paperwork and paid bills before icing cakes and getting things ready for market. Hubbie loaded everything in the Honda tonight and moved it to the barn out of danger of falling limbs.
The rain has really gotten heavier tonight as I get ready for bed.
This was a map of what to expect from earlier today so I hope they are correct.

To add to the concerns for this hurricane season there was another storm named today as Nadine makes her way across the ocean we hold our breath to see where she goes.

Thankful for the blessings of this day and praying for all the folks who are dealing with this storm.
God Bless and Good Night.

INSIDE PLAY DAY

This verse today reminded me of how much I miss the walks I used to take everyday and that I should find time for these again as I miss seeing all of God's handiwork and beauty .

I heard my alarm this morning and was waiting for g-son with his waffles ready. Daughter came in with all 3 kids later than usual and I put the waffles on a paper plate for him to eat on the way to school and they were off leaving the girls behind.

I got chores done and took RL to pre-school in a light rain. IR rode along with us as hubbie took the mattress to the dump early this morning before the heavy rains get here.

IR got to walk with RL to her class and she loved that.

We came home and were having our breakfast when hubbie got back from the dump.

After we all ate I did some ironing while hubbie and IR played .

I picked RL up and we came home and both girls took short naps while hubbie and I had lunch then the girls had their lunch together. 

Some days they are such sweethearts to one another and at lunch today that was true. RL announced that she thought she was a very good big sister as she shared her strawberry pieces with IR after they had mac and cheese  for lunch.

We spent a cloudy misty afternoon playing in the living room with only one trip outside to help Pawpaw let the dogs out.

There was only a little over 1/10th inch in the rain gauge this afternoon from the misty rain.

Hurricane Michael is now a cat 3 storm and is quickly moving through the gulf giving little time for folks to evacuate the coastal areas where he is predicted to make landfall.

Some of the models have Michael maintaining hurricane strength all the way across land and when it goes back out to sea off the east coast.

A devastating storm surge is expected in areas that haven't seen a major hurricane in many years.  Since 1950 there have only been a couple major hurricanes that have made landfall along the panhandle with Eloise in 1975 hitting Destin and Opal in 1995 hitting Pensacola as a cat 3 storms.

Praying tonight for all the folks in this storms path.

Thankful for the blessings I received on this day.

God Bless and Good Night

LAST REGULAR SEASON SOCCER GAME

Amen !!

I must have been sleeping so soundly I didn't hear my alarm this morning and the alarm I did hear was RL shouting for me to wake up after she arrived.

IR was also here and g-son had already eaten the waffles hubbie fixed for him and was gone with daughter to school.

I did chores then took RL to pre-school. Today is picture day and she was wearing her chicken shirt her mom had just gotten her.

After I got back home I had my breakfast and then hubbie, IR and I made a trip to Walmart. I have been putting off going here so today we had a buggy full by the time we finished shopping. IR was good as gold the entire time we shopped .

We got home and got things put away then I had time to gather all the laundry and get the first load started before I went to pick up RL.

She was in a good mood today and went to sleep as soon as we hit the road home.

IR was asleep on the couch when we got here but both of them woke up after only short naps.

I did 2 more loads of laundry while they all had lunch. I have a nasty case of indigestion and don't feel like eating anything.

Hubbie played with the girls while I finished the laundry. They had fun taking turns wearing this bandana all afternoon.

We got ready and went to g-son's last regular season soccer game. His team won the game against cross town rival Flat Rock 3-1 to take the conference title.

After the game hubbie went with daughter to pick up a new mattress for their bed and I came home to get chores done.

The clouds are building and distant thunder can be heard this evening.

Hubbie brought the mattress here and backed the truck in the barn to wait for son-in-love to get home to help him get it into their apartment.

We moved the chicken tractor again and I planted more green seed in the areas it had been. I planted turnip greens this time to go along with the mustard greens from the precious moves.

When son-in-love got home we went over to their apartment. On the way over there we saw lightening and heard thunder and they just got the new mattress inside when a hard rain storm hit.

They waited until the rain slacked before they loaded the old mattress in the truck for hubbie to haul to the dump.

We brought it home and he backed his truck into the barn so it wouldn't get wet and weigh a ton.

We watched the news tonight about hurricane Michael now that is quickly gaining strength and is predicted to become a cat 3 before it hits land.

If the predicted track of the storm is correct our area will be spared a lot of the damage as we will be on the weaker side of the storm and are predicted to only get around 3 inches of rain and light winds.

When this storm clears our area we will finally get some Fall temps for the weekend.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night