Pictures, as promised

For a full view of all the pics we have of the flood visit this link.

Before we get started you have to appreciate the full effect of Fay on our family. The frequency of baths for the boys increased beyond anything they'd ever experienced. S is obviously exhausted from all the excitement...
When MM arrived home this is what he saw. He towed the boat to the drive and put in right here. Anything going to the house had to be boated in.


Until Fay, this is the highest I had ever seen the water rise.




When I arrived home, this is what I saw. The water had gone down enough that three boys and I walked across, albeit not on dry land like Moses... Now the boys were trapped in the house again and the smell, uh, the smell - anyone got a cold they'll share?



At MMs request I began taking photos... This is what I saw when I walked into our "basement" (please help me come up with a good word that convey's the area's true role). Look closely: There's silt all over the floor - and MM has been working hard all day. The sawhorses made it but many other things didn't.





Here's MM pointing out some things that made it. The bikes all received a good washing with WD-40 and they still work. It truly is shameful that we weren't able to put up more of these things.

See what I mean:

This is a view from our back porch. Most everything you see here is now at the dump. Some things were salvagable, but mostly, it was all just wasted.









The two big speakers near the tree on the left were pillaged by L for the magnets. We need to do something with them but for now, we have them and the speakers are gone... Why didn't we just get rid of them before now? Do you hear the regret?


This shows how much lumber we had stored for various reasons. Some was salvaged but some of it was gorgeous oak veneer ply wood that would have made a great TV stand. Some of this wood made up some really old saw horses that were held together by particle board. We had upteen heavy objects stored on them. When the sawhorses collapsed, all of the stuff went under.
Just when we thought we'd never see the light of day shining on our "basement" we managed to remove much of the silt that coated the floor and walls. Many things have been thrown out of the basement by now, but how will we get it to the dump? (ENTER Mr. N.G. himself:)






Through his help and encouragement, we discarded three truck loads of crapola. It's a good thing his wife is so easy going... Before the day was over power was out again :( a line dangled in the wind and shorted the power lines rendering us "powerless". I packed up the HB patties I had just bought, wrangled up some buns and was on my way to their house for the evening. I can't begin to express how much that meant to us. For just a few hours we were able to relax and not worry about anything - except the ebb and flow of the river across our driveway - when will it end?

A few days later another df (didn't get a picture!) arrived to give just a couple hours of her time to listen to me lament our state of affairs - and clean some mini storage drawers. Her presence and the words of encouragement received from friends and family made it possible to look up once again. Father God is so good at meeting me right where I am.

I have one more set of pictures to share about the damage a flood can render on a place, but it'll have to be for another day.

Conclusion of the flood, a few days in one...

Thursday: The water is receeding. Perhaps today we can go to the house. Perhaps today they'll restore power to the house. We've reached the end of the rope at G & Ps house. Not that we're not welcome to stay as long as necessary, but nerves are frazzled.



After a hearty breakfast MM packs up and heads to the house. His intent is to check on the house and encamp at the house. P sold us his awesome generator to run the fridge and a few lights, perhaps a fan. He was able to boat to the house and begin figuring out what needs to be done. Everything was rank. Power wasn't restored until late Thursday afternoon. MM spent the night alone in our stinky house. We spent the afternoon letting the kids unwind in water they could play in. Thank God for DFs who drop everything for you!



Rant: The county required new septic systems to be built above the water table mark in the ground. Down here, that's ground level. Every septic system must be above ground level. It makes sense until you think about it: Why is the water mark at ground level? Gee, I don't know... flooding! I'm sure there's a logical explanation, without a true water table mark because of the flooding, how do they know where the normal mark is? Yet, new houses built here are required to build up a mound into which they insert the septic system. End Rant.



I spent one more night at G & Ps so I could go to a homeschool meeting in town. I woke the next morning to begin repacking our van with all the important stuff that we'd extracted from home just five days earlier. It's amazing what you can fit in a van. Just before lunch the boys and I were headed home - of course we had to stop at the store for a couple things and by our DFs to get a few things from the freezer. So it was early afternoon when we arrived.

The water had receeded from the better part of our yard and out of the basement. Not long after I arrived MM wanted some pictures taken of the mess.

Sidenote: If you are in a purge mode (keep, give away, throw away kind) if you don't know what to do, go ahead and toss it. We had tried to purge before the flood and didn't know what to do with all that you see here. Now we had no choice about it, those things were trashed and headed to the dump.

The stench of our yard and neighborhood was very distinct. It's the kind of smell you'll never forget. I'm amazed that I didn't toss my cookies... The boys haven't a place to play, so "Up to the house and stay there." was the command of the day.

Now our lives are filled with cleaning up. A few DFs were able to make their way all the way out here to help with the clean up. All in all we hauled off 5 truck loads of junk from our house. I sure wish we'd done it before the flood. Our basement is no longer storage area but a play area for our boys. They love it!


I'll post pictures later.

Lessons in obedience...

So I went to bed last night after a df typed in and e-mailed a recipe to me for white chili. It's wonderful use of chicken breast and it's fun to enjoy rather than it's sink staining predecessor - Texas Chili.

If you want the recipe, you'll have to beg...

Back to my dreams of white chili: It was my plan to make it for dinner today. While others, ahem, have been busy redecorating their homes, I've been remodeling our lives! We've been on a roller coaster for the past month or more and it doesn't seem to be ending any time soon. So some semblence of order is necessary to keep S, M and L happy. My first goal is to be up before them, easier done when I don't have a blog to write in the middle of the night.

Today happened to be a banner day. S woke around 7 a.m. hungry at least for milk. I sent him on a bathroom errand and back to bed - it's way too early for you to be up... Do you feel the time change coming? I do. Not much later, L woke. MM had informed me that he'd be making biscuits with sausage and eggs, breakfast wasn't going to be first thing. Making sure that the boys are busy I got L started on his lessons. S got a bowl of cheerios without extra sugar TYVM. M is now awake. I pressure cooked the great northern beans (who needs canned beans?) while MM fried our eggs.

MM laid breakfast on the table and we all ate heartily. Knowing that we needed to get going I did what all good mommies do - call a friend. The boys were all busy playing and working. I pulled out the recipe for white chili and continued my work. Sauteeing onions and celery, boiling chicken with onions, chopping cooked chicken, seasoning and simmering it all. Oh boy, it was smelling great. It was simmering before 11 a.m.

Blah, blah, blah, so you had dinner ready before noon... So what?

So what, at 5:30 this afternoon we were cleaning up (see next blog) the mess left after Fay's flooding and we heard the tell tale sound (that we'd heard at G & Ps Sunday night after Fay) of a tree falling. Sure enough it fell right across the power line to our house and our neighbor's house. Four males trapesed up the road while I did what every woman does when the power goes out... call the power company.

Now I'm really glad I followed the nudge to get dinner done early... The weather has changed recently and with the tables we acquired from our neighbor after the flood we moved our dinner from the semi-dark and cave like house to the front lawn. We watched a medium sized gator play hide and seek. Mullet leaped upstream and breezes blew gently around us making living here worth it.

How was I to know that power'd be out this evening?

Wednesday after Fay

We've taken two of the three boys to see the risen water in our river so far. Today it's time for MM to take M for a survey of the damage. The water hasn't receded yet, but it's no longer rising. Our neighbors, P & K met MM and M at the landing upriver from our house.

M is thrilled that MM bought him a new life vest (his other one was a mile down river!)

At P & K's mailbox MM pushes the boat into their, ahem, "driveway".




But did he strap on his vest? AAAAK, mom just noticed it.

This is a picture of the water after it's gone down a whole foot and a half. At it's peak, the water covered three-fourths of the window shown here. See some of the debris in the basement? Yep, that's the stuff we didn't think would get wet... Thinking, a bad idea.

Just the day before M would have been knee deep in icky water.

"Jack and Diane".. not their real names. MM helped design this deck/dock. (Vowels are important, aren't they?) It was indeed designed just for the purpose of docking during high water. We're just upset that we couldn't stay in our house during this whole event... Not that I'd want the kids to be in it all day every day...

Here is MM standing in the middle of the cul-de-sac behind our house (front faces the usual river basin - away from the road!). Just two days ago it would have been up to his waist/abdomen.




At some point another neighbor drove his 4x4 down the road to check things out and to carry a film crew to see the water.

Next Fay post you'll see the aftermath when MM moves back into the house. I don't care what others say, being away from home is difficult.

Grief...

is an understatement if there ever was one. It's not right for me to blog about it, but suffice it to say that I am grieving with a dear friend whose loss yesterday is verifiably unmeasurable. Please pray for her, her dh and her children.

A Child's View of the World

Things had relaxed a little by Tuesday. I wasn't anxious to work (fortunately all my deadlines had been met the week before!). After a wonderful breakfast, we packed up S and headed to see the river again. What was our fascination with the river? I think MM just wanted to see it for himself. He's accustomed to being home during such events so not seeing it over our road himself is uncomfortable.

Following in his dad's footsteps, click here to see what S does in the river on the road. For those who don't want to see the adorably cute S running in circles around his mother, who was required to be in the midst of the water!, here's a picture of us.

After we had romped a little in the river we loaded up the van to head back to G & P's house for the night. As we left S was rather chatty (obviously tired!) and asked with all sincerity "We go our house?" Proud that he knew where we were and how close we were to home, I replied with the very adult "No, the water's in the way." Realizing that this excuse doesn't phase the 2 yo who knows we have boat, I chase it with "The alligators and snakes are in the way!". About an hour later he wakes from his travel nap and manages: "No our house, 'gators snakes way." Apparently he got the idea!.

Now, for those who care, yes this blog is at the top. Re dating is getting old since I can't get you to scroll and see the latest post that's not dated. And since no one's suggested any names for S, M & L, they'll stay that way until I'm adequately inspired.

NOTICE: Contest Enclosed

Please scroll down past my dingding post and get to the good stuff that I'm trying to keep in chronological order of flood events. That way you can comment on my handsome son, L.

Why don't I assign cute names that represent their personalities? I wonder...

Contest in the Middle of the Remember session

I have three Boys, S, M & L. If you know them and can come up with creative names that reflect something you know about them, please comment with their current initial and the suggested name.

Here's my response to all this meme and youyou and tagtag stuff.
Please don't dingding me again!

Attached or Single? Attached for 12.5. We'll celebrate our 13th next memorial day.
Best Friend? No single best friend. Several very good friends who are the best at different things.
Cake or Pie? Cake.
Day of Choice? Sunday.
Essential Item? DIVA cup.
Flavor of Ice Cream? Chocolate Carmel something with nuts.
Gummy Bears or Worms? Bears.
Hometown? Born in Tallahassee, raised in Tallahassee. Home is now in Tally.
Indulgences? Cookies at my mom's
January or July? January. I have an exciting birth story from January not so long ago.
Kids? Yep. Three of them. Three boys in that order, but the opposite of this: S, M & L.
Last Movie I saw in a Theater? Bourne something...
Middle Name? Karen
Number of Siblings? One. A brother 2.5 years older than me
Oranges or Apples? Oranges. Especially blood oranges.
Phobia or Fear? Fear rising water.
Quote? "Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe." - Lewis Carroll from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872.
Reason to Smile? Knowing my dear friends will fuss over not translating this to a legible text.
Season? Fall. I can feel the coolness long before others are thinking that coolness will ever come.
Tag five more: Purposeful Princess (because she has time to do these silly things!) and I only have a few friends and I'd like to keep them.
Unknown Fact About Me? I used to stare out the window during school lunch.
Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? Omnivore.
Worst Habit? Not doing dishes.
Xrays or Ultrasounds? Ultrasound if I have to, but must I visit the doctor?
Your favorite Food? Mac and Cheese
Zodiac? Aquarius.

For those who took the time to scroll, copy and paste the text into your text editor. Change the font should be somehting normal like Courier and read all about me.

Laura, I couldn't resist the challenge. Yes I did copy some of your first answers but corrected the numbers. If I had the patience I would have translated this to hex or binary and then you'd really need Scott's help reading.

I didn't get meme'd

Ah, the sweet sound of me not typing 26 things about me from A-Z. When I first saw Meg's post about herself, I thought, she didn't hit me with it this time. Then I read some other friends posts and they'd been meme'd. Thank you Meg and PPP and Kelley, for not meme'ing me.

I'd tell you that you could meme me on some numbering system like 0-9 or 010101, but the responses would all have to be numerical and then translated to something my readers could understand. Thus, meme'ing me just won't work.

As another break in the Flooded Blog cycle, I will say that I had dinner with neighbors tonight that really blessed me. It's not often that you meet neighbors that you really enjoy spending time with. Our neighbors are great, not perfect, but great. Out here in the sticks we all take care of one another. My cup runneth over...

Good news. Looking towards "THREE" - Mommy get's a clue.

S, the youngest of our clan, turns three in January. Yes, it's 4 months away, but we are beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel.

For almost a year and a half we've struggled to get him to eat dinner at all. We've battled many nights as he won't touch his mashed potatoes (what kid won't eat them?). It's not just the potatoes. It's everything. About the only thing he would eat is rice and meat.

Why have I struggled with this for so long? I have no idea, but last night and tonight he actually ate all that we put on his plate (which is next to nothing).

Note to self: It was the milk he got in the mornings.

After all the flooding, his last bottle ended up "rotting" in the car ewe! I had warned S that the milk would end when the last drop in bag was used and it just so happened that Fay worked her magic and the bottle was lost, for good.

We've graduated to sippy cups but really, he doesn't care so much for them and his milk. He wants to be just like L and M.

So for all you mommies wondering why your toddler won't eat, is he still getting the bottle?

This post really counts for today...

Two ways to relieve stress when things are out of your control...

#1. Call DELL (insert trademark symbol here!). Complain about the order you placed but never received. Hang up, call again, hoping to speak to someone sitting over American soil who understands you. Hang up, call again, "breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Internet." Hang up, tell them in no uncertain terms to listen to you... Get the picture? For what it's worth, I did receive my $50 worth of gift card redemption.

#2 I can't remember what it was but I did something else totally un-called for that week and it wasn't any prettier than #1. I'm sure we can all live without repeating my shame. I'm confident it did not involve tagging anyone.

It's Monday. Normally, I go into the office and work the day a way at my computer (which we did take with us out of the house). Today, I get up and my parents are preparing pancakes for the evacuees. Did I tell you how great my parents are? About that time I decide it's high time I check in with our insurance man (knowing full well that our homeowners does nothing for the flooding). What a gracious man he was. He took the time to listen to my story and encourage me that our house has stood for the past 40 years on the existing foundation and weathered many floods, it's history is on our side. An hour is past and it's time to get back to the kids at G & Ps.

Not knowing what really should be done, we pack up with L and head to the river, just to see where it is. Along the way we call our neighbors to check on their accomodations. They are in a friends house and have a roof and a bed and they are all alive. When we arrived on our road we were met with the officers in charge of keeping people off our road. This is what it looked like:

L is standing in the road. Just in front of him you might make out the yellow lines on the middle of the road.

MM and L walking up the road. This is 1 mile from our house. Water covers the road right here. The white spot in the way background is road that isn't wet, yet.

I had never seen the water this high. Knowing that this is a very exciting time for L we asked if we could take a tour of the dam.

Here is a picture of the top side of the lake. On the far left you can see the flood gates are all wide open.

You can see the effect of so much water flowing. What you can't see is that the gates are wide open, but the water in the lake doesn't even touch the bottom of the gates.

On the way back to G & Ps we stopped in to see our displaced neighbors. We were all in shock. None of us was able to focus on much of anything let alone work. So we gathered around the kitchen bar and ate a few chips.

Until you've lived through something like this, you can't fathom the feelings that flow through you. Tomorrow: A child's view of the world.

The Wake-up Call You Never Wanted

Sorry: no pics right now because I'm on the wrong computer.

By now you've figured out that I'm cheating, and I am part of the biggest loser contest.

Before I move forward, I must say that Saturday afternoon we spent the better part of an hour lifting our generator up higher, but still in the trailer. I didn't get pictures of it, but it was a redneck joke waiting to happen. Our future disaster plan involves a wrap around porch and a permanent home for the generator. Our next storm will be much easier to endure.

Saturday was a long day for us, but not so much that we couldn't enjoy a nice dinner with each other and catch a show or two. We made our way to the comfort of our own bed and went right to sleep - amazing what a good nights rest will do. This respite was soon abruptly truncated. At 6 a.m. Sunday our phone rings.


"KKK, this is P, your neighbor, they are taking the river to flood stage by noon today. They expect the river to go to 7 feet above flood stage before this event is over."


I'm awake now. The Lord is good to me. What if my kids had been here? I wouldn't have been able to get everything done that needed to be done... What if I hadn't done so much work yesterday cleaning the floor of all the oil that would have coated the walls with it's ick? What if... That's where I had to stop. The "What ifs" were beginning to rack my brain. What about our books, our pictures... What about our house?


In a state of panic I made a few phone calls: "Dad, please help!" was the first. Before long Dad was here with BB and a couple trailers. Another couple, B&MW, showed up with their truck to get things belonging to them. Moving as quickly as possible, we loaded our trailer with large items that just must go up and out. Quickly - that's an interesting word. Remember, water is rising rapidly over our entire yard. Our driveway is a low spot. I have on crocs and my waders. Everything is slippery.

I look around the basement. I see all the things I could have done if I had just obeyed over the past month. Oh to only obey. I start pitching junk:

Cardboard boxes
Plastic Grocery Bags
Plastic plant pots
Tarps that are torn

Over the course of three days we pitched three truck loads of trash - it all came from our basement. Shame on us.

My dad, being of sound mind and body, insisted that the freezer and little fridge be unloaded and trucked out of the house. Apparently he's seen a few rotten freezers in his day. So, before they left, B&MW helped us unload all the freezer contents into coolers (of which we have plenty). They have a freezer that they hadn't hooked up in a while and it was ready to be filled. See, God is good to me. I'm really glad my dad was there.

At the end of the day we had loaded our truck and trailer with all the expensive equipment and moved it to higher ground. Power had been cut by about 3 p.m. and there was nothing left for everyone else to do, so they went back home (and BB prepared to go to NY... I wonder how his trip went?). In the next few hours I prepared to evacuate our personal stuff. Laundry to be folded, computers, curriculum (all the good books we read), a few final groceries, and all the essential papers we need.

Why did it take three hours to load our van with what we felt was important? We had to boat it all to the road. The river is now three feet deep in our driveway (remember the low spot?).

Next time: Two ways to relieve stress when things are out of your control...

I love the waterfront view

The river level right where we like it.

Well, the kids have left. What do you say we catch a few shows before heading to bed? Sci Fi looks fun tonight. Sound like shock yet?

Rewinding a few weeks: About a month before Fay arrived I had this nagging urge to organize my basement. Nesting is a form of PMS for me. I chalked the nagging up to PMS, and politely went about my days taking care of the kids and our living space. So much to do so little time. "The basement can wait. It's not that bad." I kept repeating this to myself. Talking to your self is bad! Exactly a month before Fay arrived in N. Florida, I actually did spend one afternoon tidying up a little. MM came down to supervise and got us into the mess with the rancid oil and moth ball laden grains. Two weeks before Fay the grains actually made it to the dump. What a mess! So while I didn't complete the task of getting the basement purged and ready for high water, I did eliminate a major source of yuck.

The river bed with our boat anchored out in what will become 15-18 feet of water in less than two days time.

We woke up Saturday morning and notice the river has fallen several feet... what are they doing? We got busy in the basement putting up somethings and considering what to get rid. It was hard to understand that the water will rise when it was actually falling. It's like telling a kid they'll go to the amusement park when the car is headed for home. It just doesn't make sense. All the feelings I have are unpredictable, one minute we have a feeling of calm because it isn't raining right now so let's not fuss so much. It won't get as high as the bottom shelf. The next minute we are worried about the house falling down on top of us if the water does really get as high as is predicted. Mixed in constantly was the feeling of being a wet trapped rat. Nothing that needs to be done makes sense.


The boat was anchored near that tree that is out in the watery background. Now it's moored at the edge of the hill.

You may not know this but our house is where MM grew up. His dad built it in 1955 and raised it up 12 feet in 1969 to prevent repeated damage to the living quarters in future floods. We live here by choice and love it. Others however, are not native. If I ever had to buy a house, waterfront wouldn't be my choice, not because it isn't pretty, but because it would introduce so many variables (Meg, variables = things that are unknown or can change). There are many homes in our area that flooded and only saw an inch of water, but that inch ruined the first 4 feet of drywall in their home along with their carpet and hardwood floors. One of the most basic necessities for life is as destructive as it is vital. One neighbor in particular has lived here less than two years. This is their first major flood and only their second high water and both happened within 6 months of this year!


A side view of our house. Notice where we had the HVAC ouside unit placed?

Tomorrow's installment: "The Wake-up Call You Never Wanted"

Overflowing River...

Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater. YES. I am unashamedly cheating. By the time this is over, I will be the Champion Blogger... if only I can learn to modify my blog like PPP does.

You might be a redneck if, know when to wear your waders...


My brother, BB, and I "wadin' in the water, children just wadin' in the water. The Lord's gonna trouble the water.”

Fay (Tropical Storm) meandered over the entire state of Florida late August. As she made her way over the panhandle she tarried and poured water all over the eastern part of Florida, but more importantly South Georgia. Thus begins the story of When Fay Strolled through Town.

Chapter 1

The water for our river flows directly from South Georgia. As Fay approached, we lost power for two days. Nothing compared to the loss of a lineman in the line of duty; May God bless his family. We had watched as reports came from all over Florida recording how much rain Fay had distributed. We were sure that our river would get in our first floor (aka basement/storage area). We needed to get ready. In effort to ease tension and allow us to work unfettered, I took the kids to G’ma's. They might just as well have been on their way to heaven.

However, by the time we arrived, trees were down all over the place. (Has anyone considered questioning our town's perpetual partiality toward trees? What about my sanity – driving in that storm, what was I thinking?) Power was out! What would they eat? Here I had taken them from our generator and grilling heaven to granola and fruit and no microwave. What would G and P do with three young'uns, no power and no entertainment (Politically Correct word for TV)? Should I just take them back home, Ma? They'll be fine. We'll be fine… "duh duh duh duh duh..." (What G says when she's played too long!).

During all the storm issues, I had chatted with some friends about phone service during power outages. How wonderful it is to be able to make a phone call to report an outage when there is one! I remembered that G didn’t have a corded phone. I hit the local dollar store and found almost the last one they had. Good, now at least we can call and check on each other. With the boys and their stuff settled into G’s and the phone hooked up, I was ready to get back home.

I kept telling myself this wasn’t so bad. The linemen were at work and being in the city I was sure power would return shortly. We’ve had worse rain than this. We checked the radar and the hydrologic predictions. They won't raise it tonight, will they? Oh this self talk is bad. Just go to sleep. See what it looks like in the morning. Get some rest.

Check in tomorrow for the next chapter: "I love the waterfront view"