Monday, August 22 – Looks like we might get Hurricane Irene sometime this weekend.  I enjoy watching the “meteorologists” on TV trying to make sense of early storm computer projections.  But it’s kinda difficult to feel threatened by a storm that’s projected to track somewhere between Aruba and Idaho. 

Tuesday, August 23 – Wonderful!  An earthquake in central Virginia gets the whole mid-Atlantic region in an uproar.  My Left Coast family members snicker at the Chicken Little easterners.  Meanwhile, the “meteorologists” have integrated a new way of looking at the This-Thing-Could-Go-Anywhere computer models.  They are now described collectively as a “Cone of Uncertainty“!  I’ll say … Now Hurricane Irene could come ashore somewhere between Cape Canaveral, FL and Greenland! 

Wednesday, August 24 – Spent the whole morning listening to the office’s Earthquake Ernie going on and on and on about convergent plates, thrust faults, and liquefaction.  Note to self: Avoid engineers following dynamic earth events!

Hey, nice dress, Cecily Tynan!  Not so suddenly now, the Cone of We-Don’t-Have-a-Clue is much more concise.  East coast all the way!  Earthquakes, smurfquakes … All those Left Coasters would just slide into the Pacific if they had to endure one of these storms!  You can sense an impending Bread and Milk Panic.  When will they smarten up and start building cows and bread factories in snowless, earthquake-less, and hurricane-free locales?!?    

Thursday, August 25 – Geez, this thing is looking like a huge storm!  Better sit down and get my Storm Supply List organized … flashlights – Got ’em, batteries – ditto, adult beverages – check, animal crackers? Yes!, milk & bread???  OH MY GOD, WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH MILK AND BREAD!!!!! 

Friday, August 26 – Drag myself into work after getting to bed at 2 am.  Spent four hours last night combing every store in a 10-mile radius for milk and bread.  All I could find was three packages of pita pockets and a half-gallon of goat’s milk!  But at least I know, we will survive!!  Then I spent the whole morning at work listening to Hurricane Harry going on and on and on about wind forces and water dynamics.  Note to self: Just avoid engineers!

Found out my sister, Joanne – who was working in D.C. when the trembler hit Tuesday – was supposed to head to North Carolina’s Outer Banks this weekend.  Asked her if she was going to Tripoli next week.  If you are, I have this engineer …

Get home; cut the grass (You prepare for a hurricane your way; I’ll do it mine!); clear the home environment of potential missiles; and – what the heck?!? – It’s already raining!!  Rush to the store for more pita milk and goats pockets.

Saturday. August 27 – Well, it’s here.  Spent most of Friday night squinting at CNN, The Weather Station, Action News, and Cecily’s dress trying to pick up every subtle shuck and jive of Irene’s eye from the doppler and radar images.  Why?  I haven’t a clue!  Concerns abound for sis’ family already bearing the heaviest brunt of the storm and friends living in low-lying areas near creeks and streams.       

Aside from that, Mother Nature is awesome.  The power and fury are both anxiety and wonder-inducing.  Spent part of the day painting closets in one of the bedrooms – a good day for that!  Decided to try to stay up all night to watch the storm.  Tornado warnings send my son, Brian into a frenzy of impending doom and a profusion of survival tips.  I make it to 4 am before heading to bed.  Seeing nothing other than wind and rain gets boring after a few hours.

Sunday, August 28 – All over here, save for occasional showers and fits of high winds.  No dramatic damage anywhere.  The worst effects are more insidious from accumulating water.  One of our windows leaked upstairs.  We were lucky.  Several neighbors were dealing with inches of water in basements; and the section of housing behind us was without power until Monday afternoon.  And even with that our area was much luckier than others.     

Until next time …