Along Came Irma

More than once, I have described this downsizing-retirement slo-mo-relo move from NC to GA using the analogy of a roller coaster ride (comparable to the Zippin' Pippin*!). As of today, nothing about that analogy has changed. Ahem.

(Still laughing about this Tweet!)

The good news: we got our stuff all moved in 8/31 (in spite of a prolonged visit by Tropical Storm Harvey, who had been wreaking havoc in Texas). Boxes, boxes everywhere. Lotsa boxes. 

We had planned to get Casa 303 all ready for Mr. T to take the dogs with him and stay in the Loganville house while Missy M and I traveled today-Sunday to Walt Disney World (her birthday gift to me!). And we've made great strides toward that goal with our unpacking and setting up: the electricians came and finished the fan installs; the kitchen is now open for business; the beds are set up, the bedding and towels boxes have been located and opened; and the washer and dryer have been hooked up and are operational. All ready, right?

And then along came Irma.

{Sigh}

Missy M (who had taken today off work) has been working since 9:00 this morning to rebook our trip with the least amount of financial loss...and she has done a remarkable job! She was on hold with Delta for over 2 hours and managed to get our flights rebooked for January with NO CHANGE FEES...even on my companion ticket that was set to expire at the end of September! Way to go, Delta! She's now well into her 4th hour on hold with WDW Guest Services (but she has spoken with someone in Reservations who said there shouldn't be a rebooking fee). Way to go, WDW! 

Bottom line: it's an inconvenience, but we are safe and sound and avoiding the chaos that a Cat 5 Hurricane creates. 

Of course, some of the spaghetti models now have Irma skirting the east coast of Florida and then turning north...toward Atlanta! Soooo...Mr. T is currently at the grocery...for bread and milk, of course. Treating the threat of a hurricane just like the threat of snow.

Just one more hill on our roller coaster, right? To recap the ride, so far:

> Decluttering & getting ready for the Great Downsizing Sale = going up the first big hill. 

> Big Sale done! = going down the first big hill.

> Prepping the NC house for putting it on the market = up the second big hill.

> For Sale sign in the yard! = down the second big hill.

> Showing, showing, showing. Waiting, waiting, waiting = clattering along the flat rails.

> Deciding "we have had enough of this! Take the house off the market!" = up the third hill.

> Selling the NC house! = down the third hill.

> Househunting in GA = the loop-de-loop near the end of the ride.

> Finding & "losing" 4 GA houses = up the last BIG HILL.

> Buying the "right" GA house = down the last BIG HILL!

So, now as we come clattering into the station, we are experiencing those last little ups and downs that make all riders go "woo!" as their stomachs attempt to reach equilibrium. We are so close to being able to exit the roller coaster ride and finally get our feet on the ground...and our bodies in our own bed once again. 

So very close...

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*Memphis-area friends of a certain age will remember the Zippin' Pippin roller coaster from the Fairgrounds and Libertyland. It was said to have been Elvis' favorite. Read more about it here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zippin_Pippin

It's Raining...It's Pouring...It's Raining Some More...

Do you know when the Atlantic Hurricane Season officially begins? Those of us who live in states that have a coastline know the answer to that one: June 1.  And, it looks like we are going to have an active one, if this week is any indicator. We barely had flipped over the calendar before the weather wonks began with the storm updates.

Here's what our map looks like on the News 2 Weather ap. No Grasshoppers game for us tonight!

The first Tropical Storm of 2013 has arrived and been strong enough to get a name: Andrea. Oh Joy. Of course, she's been a mild one as Hurricane experiences go (remember...we were in NC for Hugo and Fran), bringing only rain to our doorstep.  Buckets and buckets of rain.

Still, I don't see rain as a bad thing. It has supplied the gardens with glorious gallons of H2O..and allowed me to do more inside than out...for the first time in a long while.  I finally got around to cleaning out, rearranging, and organizing my desk, workspace, and bookcase. Made it easier to concentrate on writing. Deep-cleaned our bathroom, which has only received a lick-and-a-promise lately, sad to say...casualty of a gardening obsession. Got the laundry all caught up. Made a 7-Up Pound Cake for Mr. T's return home from DC area.  Even found time for two new eBooks: The Bookman's Tale and The Kingmaker's Daughter.

But, I can't stay out of the gardens completely, don't you know? When we have had a break or two in the showers, I grabbed my camera to take some shots of the fat water droplets on the green and growing kingdom of the Way Back Garden.  I shared these shots over on my other blog, Gardening With Giants, which is why they all have the GWG watermark. No matter...here they are again. Hope you enjoy!

First, the flowers:

Always and Forever rose

Edith Ann daylily

Spanish Lavender

First Zucchini

Now for the veggies:

Goliath (green) tomatoes

Before...and After

The Before...


Hurricane Irene


Before I get too deep into this post, let me reassure those of you who are here because you are concerned about how Hurricane Irene might be impacting us.  We here in the Piedmont of NC are high-and-dry, and only a wee bit wind-blown.  As of mid-morning on Saturday, we have had wind gusts reach 32 mph, and if any raindrops have fallen, they have escaped notice.

Now, that's a mixed blessing in a way.  We are sooooo dry here that we almost wish we could get some of that rain that is falling currently at the coast...over 6 inches already at Wilmington, which wasn't even in the direct path of Irene.  Further inland, before this is all over, there will be significant flooding, especially in the towns on the sounds. I noticed yesterday that they were letting water out of Oak Hollow Reservoir (close to our house) and into the oddly-named Deep River, I suppose in anticipation of getting more water coming in than it could hold?  Don't think that's going to be an issue, though.  Ah, well.

And now to the After of the title.

I am happy to report that Mr. T survived his first major earthquake and the aftershocks.  On Tuesday of this week when the 5.9 quake struck the East Coast, he was in the Richmond area (of ALL places...:-), about 6 miles from the epicenter, preparing for a New Dealer Installation.  He sent me a text right away...and that was my confirmation of what had just rattled our house here in HPNC, long before our own news channel began to report it.  I was just sitting down to a late lunch when the house and all its contents rumbled and shook...and I thought "was that an earthquake?"  Don't think I've felt one of those since my Memphis days!  Of course, I grew up practically on top of the New Madrid fault, so earthquakes like this one were not unusual.  He, on the other hand, has only felt a few in his lifetime...and none as strong as the one this week.

As an aside, I do have to report something I read in the GSO paper on Wednesday.  They couldn't tell us what the magnitude of the quake was in the Piedmont.  Know why?  Well, it seems that the seismometer at NCA&T (the only one in this area) wasn't even turned on.  "Didn't need it." Wonder if they've plugged it in yet, after the fact?

Well, three weeks after Momma's death, I feel as if I am stepping out of a fog into the sunshine.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I am concentrating on volunteering to draw me along my path through grief.  I have been participating in a variety of Master Gardening volunteer activities and have signed up for several more.  One of the major commitments I have made is to be on a committee of three that will bring the new Earthkind(r) Rose Trial Garden to life over the next year...a first in the state of North Carolina!  I won't go into great detail now; you will be hearing way more about that in the next 12 months, I'm sure. If you just can't wait, follow that link to the home of the Trials at Texas A&M. (Oh, I know that set one Aggie's heart a-flutter, didn't it?  :-)

And yesterday, I had my first session with Amanda, the Hospice Bereavement counselor...lovely lady.  Thankfully, she had boxes of tissues placed strategically about her office; however, I didn't need quite as many of them as I had anticipated.  She asked me several thought-provoking questions, listened to my answers, and in general made me feel that I was on the right track.  She gave me some suggestions and a reading list.  I will have another one-on-one session with her, then I will join a group called Healing Hearts.  More on that in future posts, too.

I can also report that I have made it through the clothes in Mom's closet.  ATT, my BFF from childhood, gave me some great advice based on her own grief experience:  don't be too quick to complete this chore.  After her mother died, circumstances required her to move quickly on going through her Mom's things, and now she wishes she'd been able to take a little longer. Thanks, A, for sharing that with me...and giving me permission to slow down!

It's so much better to know these things before...rather than after, don't you agree?

Feelin' Weak, Earl?*

*With apologies to the Dixie Chicks for twisting the lyrics to "Goodbye Earl," throughout this post.

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OK, I am in full planning and packing mode here.  Vacation on the horizon. And what should leave the coast of Africa with intent to stop us? 

Why, a Category 4 Himmicane named Earl, of course.  Followed closely by a potential Hurricane named Fiona.  You must be joking.

Timing being everything, this Bad Boy appears to be barreling through the Caribbean as I write these words...with predictions for a brush with the Outer Banks late Thursday.

All I have to say is you'd better be gone by Friday, good buddy, Earl.  Na-na-nah na nah ah.

Just like the saying goes for having a nervous breakdown, I've worked hard for this vacation...I've earned it...and no one (or no tropical depression) is going to deprive me of it!  [Read that last sentence with the proper amount of passion...almost borderline hysteria...if you will.]

As Mr. T says, our leaving home for even a day is akin to planning for The D-Day Invasion.  And, for a week or more?  Good grief, Charlie Brown.  Even my To Do Lists have Lists of their own.  Wonder of all wonders, however, this special trip to commemorate a special birthday slowly but surely has come together.  With a lot of help from family (what would we do without Missy M?) and friends (what would we do without BFF AW?), all the pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place.

And, then...?  What...weather?

You might say, big deal.  Why are you worried about a Cat 4 'Cane that is out in the Atlantic?  Well, you see, here in The Old North State, we do worry about stuff like that, especially when it comes so close to our shores.  Wind and rain disrupt lives in the interior of the state almost as much as the initial landfall and storm surge do the coast.  And...and, this is the most important element for us...high winds and rain can disrupt air travel into and out of the Raleigh airport. 

And, we need RDU to be blue skies, clear flying on Friday. We're on a schedule here.

We need a break*!