An Unwanted Houseguest Named Irene

It look like she's coming for the weekend whether I want her to or not.

Here's Irene's path.

Here's me in that little red area.

See the Southern Outer Banks?   Morehead City.... cross the causeway to Atlantic Beach.  I'm 7 miles inland from there.

When you live this close to the coast, in my area anyway, there are not a lot of store options.  There are no malls, one Lowes, no Home Depot, no Gill Roy's got it.  There is is a Belk and a Walmart.  No Target.  So I spent my morning at Lowes and Walmart trying to find an expandable extension for my downspout  that soaks my back yard right by the house.  Remember, I live in a condo community, and it so happens that my backyard area has a man made burm about 15 feet from my sun porch that is planted with Crepe Myrtle.    For my sun room,  think 3 sets of sliding glass doors across the back of a  room.  It is built on a cement slab on the ground.  The down spout send tons of water right there Yep, if the heaven pour down on us, as well as that down spout,  I will get wet.   The extension needs to go across the yard area and over the burm into a large football field size area.  It's only about 25 feet that I need.   No such thing.  Lowes has 10 feet or 100 feet.    So I called Terry at work.  It's all him now.  As is getting cement tiles to raise the two bookcases out there.  UPDATE:  He found what we needed and the bookcase are raised.  All my photo albums are in my bedroom.
So far, the only N.C. mandatory evacuations are from Ocracoke Island.  We took the ferry last fall (about an hour ride) over there, spent the night and went on up to Cape Hatteras ( which is at the point that sticks out like an elbow on the map. and on to Rodanthe. I was disappointed in Rodanthe.  I was looking for Richard Gere ( Nights in Rodanthe)  I think and I didn't find him.

I would imagine, as time goes on, more will be evacuated.  I was at my Dr.'s office yesterday and the nurse there lives in Beaufort, which is on the water and you can see it on the map.  She said, " I am 57 years old and have never left, but this time, I am."    Okay..... That gave me something to think about. 

So for now, I am doing last minute getting ready stuff.  Food that can be cooked on the grill.  We have plenty of bottled water.  I bought a new "sun tea" jug so I won't go through tea withdrawl.  Bags of ice in a cooler.  Bring in the grill, the chairs off the porch, the gazing globe, etcl.  All that stuff.   After all this preparation, she will probably blow right by and we won't get much.  I'm hoping!   Mother Nature is a contrary woman!


I do have to thank Laura from A Simple Happy Life for drawing my name as the winner of her Frankenmuth, Michigan  Give Away.   I lived about 30 minutes from there, most of my life, so this is such a piece of home.  Lucky me!   Please vist her blog.  She is a treasure to read.