Hurricane Florence is tracking to directly impact us here in the Sand Hills. As of this morning, Hope Mills has declared a state of emergency, they have set a curfew in place and have begun lowering the water level in our town lake. The damn reconstruction was completed this past Spring and so many people have enjoyed being able to once again swim or kayak, and it would be pretty devastating to have it damaged in any way. No, I do not have any control over the weather, much as I'd love to be able to do so.
As of this morning, reports say Florence will have winds of upwards of 50MPH when she comes barreling into town, with gusts clocking between 75-90MPH. Rainfall is supposed to be somewhere around 8-10 inches, which will most assuredly be causing flooding in the waterways around the area. I'm not too worried about the flooding, our house is on a raised foundation and it will take quite a lot of rain to reach the doors. I'm more than a little worried about the wind, though. We are surrounded by trees, some of them are NC pines and those are notorious for shallow roots, it doesn't take much to send them toppling. We also have 2 large trees (not pine) in the front yard that could cause some major damage if they come down or any of the branches are destroyed. I'm looking for a place to safely park my car away from the larger trees ...that is still not a settled thing.
I've moved everything that isn't planted or anchored in the ground to the shed in the backyard, however, I'm not sure of the stability of that shed, it's pretty rickety. All the plants that are in pots are nestled securely in the area between the concrete steps and the side of the house away from the direct path of the wind, the water in the pool has been emptied quite a bit and all the pool toys have been secured as well.
Amidst all of the hurricane preparations, I'm also getting things together to go back on the road with Jimmy on the 24th of September. This means everything I have taken before needs to be laundered and packed into the travel bag I use. I haven't been out with him since April and when I came home the last time, I just unpacked, washed and put everything away in its designated spot in the closet or drawers. I'm packing for at least 2 weeks and will need to make sure I have clothes for warm weather and a couple changes in case we go someplace the temps are beginning to feel like autumn. Honestly? I'm hoping for a trip to Vermont! Jimmy was able to get a load there last month and that gave him the opportunity to see his parents for the first time in oh so many years. At any rate, I'm looking forward to seeing the changing leaves and cooler temps where ever we go, I'm seriously over the hot humid weather and long for fall. It's my favorite time of the year!!
I am really looking forward to being back in the Big Ass Truck! I absolutely love the time we spend together seeing places I've never been to and the one on one quality time of talking and sharing dreams and ideas is one of the things I miss most when he's away from home. There has been some talk of me going in the truck with him full time, but so far that subject is still in the discussion stage. And there would need to be a couple small investments made for me to do that.
There are going to be some other changes taking place here at home and there will be some shuffling done to make them work. This is one of the reasons we have been talking about me going with him full time. I'll give you more about that when they become reality.
So, today, I'm spending time sorting clothes, doing laundry, making sure my planner and journal is ready to travel, checking out which books I have on the Kindle app on my iPad, making sure I have all the passwords I may or may not need to pay bills or take care of business while on the road in a safe place and getting Lily to the vet for her final inoculations and rabies shot. She loves to ride in the Edge, I'm excited to see how she does in the BAT!
So, here I sit on Tuesday, checking things off my written list as I complete them, watching every report I can find on Florence and keeping the candles lit for safety and minimal damage that may be coming our way.
