Normalcy

Monday began Houston's return to normalcy ... somewhat. We headed back to school. Our commute has always been gross (Houston has a ton of TRAFFIC!), but it has been beyond ridiculous ... it took us 2 hours to get home last night! This morning the HOV lanes were open and we felt like we were flying ... Townsends are thankful for HOV lanes! Instead of giving "school closings" on the radio, they have resorted to "school openings" because so few schools are actually open and they will be staggering them over the next few days (rather than holding out the entire district until every school in the district is ready). Torrey came home from school tonight and said that 24 kids in her class still don't have power ... there are about 80 kids in her class. I teach Kindergarten, so the math to get to the percentage of kids without power is beyond me ... but, suffice it to say it is high! I have 2 kiddos in my class without power ... one word ... troupers. They have lived this week without complaining. Our streets are lined with trees and branches ... who knows when they will be picked up. We are tired ... no, we are weary. And, yet we hope ... when 2 of the friends in my class got power the entire class did the "power dance" (we made it up right then and there ... oh to be 5 again!), the dome on top of Second Baptist is slowly being repaired, traffic is easing up, residents are being allowed back to Galveston for the first time since Ike hit 12 days ago, and, our local T.V. stations are no longer showing 24 hours of Ike coverage! Our lives are getting back to normal too ... Dean is in Baton Rouge for the next few days, Torrey has a cross country meet on Saturday, the Schwann man arrived to bring frozen food, and we are going to watch the Astros play on Saturday night. Slowly. Slowly. Slowly. We are getting there.

Best Hotel in Pinehurst, TX

We thought we were getting our power back on Saturday night ... the lights came on and then immediately turned out (oh how we cheered in the second they were on!) When it became clear that power would not come back anytime soon, we headed to Linda and Paul's ... who had power and were most gracious to share. We are so thankful to them and for the fun times that ensued !Not quite sure who loves the water more ... Torrey or Zack. She was heard to say more than once "I guess I'll go put on my bathing suit since Zack wants to go swimming!"
And, while this was going on in the pool, this was going on down the hill ...
Linda (and Gussi) removed every weed in the lower part of the yard (I did the top part ... it was relaxing!) Gussi is the sweetest dog, but, she does not really care for Zack or his craziness. Everytime Zack would go near her food dish she would growl at him ... I'm thinking the next time we come she may take out a restraining order to protect the dish (We are no longer there, so I can now admit that she growled for good reason ... I saw Zack snitch a piece of her food!)
And Paul cleaned up the branches ... and was on ant patrol. Who knew that after a hurricane fire ants could be so vicious?! I'm sure about now he was wishing he were 12 and could have been in the pool with Torrey and Zack!
Thanks Linda and Paul for letting us stay with you ... for five nights! You went above and beyond the call of duty! Have we said lately that we are so glad you moved to Houston?!

Scenes from the Hood

This is just a little of what was in our neighborhood after Hurricane Ike came for a visit. These pictures were taken on Sunday morning as we left the neighborhood to go to Linda and Paul's (and power!). I took them in the car because it was raining. No descriptions with the pictures because words are not necessary!

Inside the House

And, from inside our house in the morning hours, this is what we saw. No pictures were taken during the height of the storm for two reasons ... first, it was pitch black and you wouldn't have seen anything and secondly, it was the last thing we were thinking of!Looking out the side door towards our neighbors house. We are thankful the whole tree didn't fall because it would have hit their house.
Looking out our front door around 8:00 in the morning. The wind was still going and it was still raining, but it was definitely nearing the end.
The ceiling fan ... which started to drip water on Dean's head at 5:30 in the morning! There is usually a shade on the bottom of it, but that was filled with water. Amazingly enough, the thing still works!
And, the reason for the leak ... this vent cover blew off in the middle of the storm. That something so small could cause so much trouble!

Believe Me ... This Was Our Greatest Miracle!

He slept! He didn't bark (too much)! He didn't run the house like a nut! Sounds like a silly thing to be thankful for, but after our experience with him during the last storm that was miles from us, this was much to be thankful for! (ps ... this is his "I'm not a dog, I'm a rug" pose!)

And, we keep forgetting to mention one other miracle for Houston ... the weather! It has been in the low 60's at night and 70's during the day. What? This time of year it should still be in the low 90's upper 80's with a humidity that will make you think "not quite Hell, but same zip code". We have been thankful, thankful, thankful for the cold front and know that it came from God!

Sisters

All I wanted was ONE good picture of the three of us. Two people (who shall remain nameless) would not cooperate. Don't worry, I took care of them. Laurie got a poke for her behavior. That was enough to scare Jen ... but, the ONE good picture was not to be.

Tonight I sit in Houston and Laurie is in Derry, NH and Jennifer is in Tampa and I am missing my sisters. They were my lifeline during the hurricane ... Jen was working, so it was her I texted in the middle of the night ... in the middle of the storm. Um, Laurie could you join the 20th century and get texting on your phone?! Growing up we were each others worst enemy and best friend ... we have since dropped the worst enemy (I guess that is what happens when you are no longer sharing a mirror in the mornings!) They are the first people I want to call when something great happens ... and when the world feels like it has fallen off its axis.

Next weekend Jen is going to NH for a fun "fall weekend". I am jealous. No, I am JEALOUS! I would say I hope they are miserable, but, Ben is going and the fun is all for him, so I hope they have a fabulous time and say every ten minutes how much they miss ME!

I love you girls ... and, I bet you are wishing you hadn't been fooling around during the picture! I told you you would be sorry! (insert evil laugh here)

In the Land of Irony

Our power was out ... had been for 4-5 days ... no sign of WHEN it would be restored and Dean received something on his blackberry email. Our electric bill. Huh?