Ike's Aftermath

Well as the sun makes its downward descent on the fourth day after the eye of Ike swept through Galveston and Houston, things are far from back to normal but still considerably better than they've been. We did finally get power back last night, which was a relief, but that good news was tempered with the realization that our refrigerator had been fried either in losing power or regaining it. So...today we went shopping for a new one. One of the stores we tried didn't actually have electricity but they had a veritable crowd of associates on hand to escort people around the dark cavern of a store with flashlights. Little tip: it's mighty difficult to try and pick out a fridge with the use of only a standard flashlight. It didn't take us long to abandon that option. We ended up buying a floor model from Best Buy and my husband just brought it home in his truck. Now he needs to corral some neighbors to try to help him move the old one out and the new one in. What I'm missing most is my cold drinks and ice.

Despite the boys' school not looking too bad from a cursory, drive-by inspection, a recent district website update indicates it requires 'major renovations', and school will not be back in session till at least next Tuesday. That will be almost two weeks of missed school. Our house did pretty well, which amazes me, considering that Technicolor swirling mass we watched inching closer to the Galveston coast late Friday night (right before the power went out). A few shingles have detached themselves from our house and we've had a bit of water leaking in...and then the refrigerator. But it could have been so much worse. I'm very thankful. We went up to stay with my mom, and they had no damage--just a lawn littered with pinecones. Still, trees are down everywhere and power is still spotty all over the city. Lines for water and ice are long, and grocery stores and gas stations are swarmed. I haven't even tried to deal with that yet. One day at a time.