What did you do today?

[zannej]

I wanted to take my mom to the grocery store today so she could pick out some tv dinners she wanted but she wouldn't get up all day. So I decided to stay home & I cleaned up in the living room some & got a bunch of trash out.
I was up for awhile cleaning, watched Halloween Wars marathon on TV, and then took a nap. Mom woke me from a dead sleep around 9:20 wanting something to eat, but she rejected everything we had in the fridge/pantry. I went in there to talk to her to find out what she wanted to eat & she kept turning away to watch TV and ignoring me. I told her if she wanted me to go into town to get her something she needed to tell me asap so I could call in an order and go get it before places closed. She wasted 10 min starting to say something then looking at the TV. I asked her to use her computer to find the number for a place so she could find out closing hours & call in an order & she started screaming at me like that was the most unreasonable thing ever. I went and looked at closing times on my computer & paged her- she ignored it. So I went in & told her place closed at 10 (it takes me 20 min to drive in and some places start shutting off their ovens around 9:45pm if they close at 10). She screamed at me that she didn't want anything from in town. She whined that she'd already eaten the TV dinner meal types we had left for 2 days. She didn't want sandwiches bc she'd eaten them for a few days... She tried to guilt-trip me for not being able to magically make food appear that she wanted while she couldn't even communicate what she wanted. I decided not to feel guilty that a grown woman can't communicate & decided to act like a spoiled child.
I still can't find the necessary cooking utensils & don't have the ingredients to make stuff she usually likes so she was having a tantrum. I'm sure she'll stuff her face with snacks & then whine tomorrow about me not feeding her or some BS.
Sorry, venting. I'm slightly cranky. LOL.
At least my cat is purring for me.
I'll have to see if I can get her to the store tomorrow.

 

[Floorist]

Looks likes you have another hurricane coming.

 

[highup]

Passed by Field of Screams today on way home. It’s a cornfield with people trying to scare you. Line of traffic 1/2 mile long and we’re a month away!

Ranked in top 10 horror amusement places in country.

I drive by just like you did Tom.
I'm perfectly fine keeping my adrenaline level flowing at an even rate.

 

[Floorist]

I have been considering selling my tools. Was going to try to do repairs and restretches this year and then the covid hit. Only one installer left besides me and he is not busy. I have not done anything in months.

 

[highup]

Things have been slow for me but I have work in the future.
I could have two jobs in a row, but lack of painting progress is going to make both jobs ready at the same time.
I got lucky this week. No work was available, but carpet one needed some assistance because the warehouse guy is on vacation. $300 is better than....... not $300.

 

[Floorist]

I joined the 21st century, logged in on my phone for the first time.

 

[highup]

You must be kidding. Nobody uses computers anymore.
......well, I would, but I can't afford a cell phone plus internet. I hate using a phone for internet. Screen size is nasty, keys are hard to hit, and worse than everything is the results I get when googling.
The results are limited in scope and focused on giving me results I don't want. I search DIY subjects and Google takes me to places that sell products....... exact opposite of what I want. I don't get those results on a confuzer.

 

[Floorist]

My old buddy, he is both voices,

 

[zannej]

Highup, I feel the same about using the phone for internet. When I was trying to use my phone while evacuated, it kept going to other pages, moving my cursor, autocorrecting stuff multiple times. I'd go back & fix it & it would change it again. Sometimes I would hit the checkmark to keep what I typed but it would still change it & I was about to smash my phone. I literally punched my phone in the screen a few times out of aggravation of how slow it was going.

We were told there's a mandatory evacuation notice for our parish but eff it. We don't have anywhere to go. It's not as hot as it was & I refilled the water. When I asked about the consequences for not evacuating it was that they won't provide any aid/rescues if you get trapped. Well, that's what happened with the previous hurricane so there is no difference. My mom didn't want to go & my gut is telling me to stay. Might be wrong, but the way this year is going I don't care anymore. Plus, knowing my luck, if I evacuated it would change course to follow me.

At least we didn't pack our freezer & fridge & only have a few items that should fit into coolers with some ice packs. I'm just hoping the storm will downgrade enough to not take power out again, but that's not the kind of luck I have. I wasn't able to sleep much the past couple of days so I will catch up on a nap.

 

[DarisMulkin]

Good luck Z, rooting for you.

 

[Jon]

Good luck Z, rooting for you.

I agree with you Daris
Z stay safe

 

[highup]

Watched the news tonight and learned about the storm. How far inland are you? If I was going to ride if out, I'd want plenty of meals that don't need cooking........ Or a lot of propane and a cook stove.
That auto correct is impressive sometimes but also very annoying.

 

[zannej]

I'm in the southwestern part of the center of the state. It's right in the path. They'd been evacuating people to Alexandria which is also in the path. There apparently was a bus that came by earlier in the day but it had already left by the time I found out about it. I convinced my mom to consider evacuating but by that time it was too late-- roads are already too flooded & river is flowing across the road. The loggers filled in the ditches to get to trees to cut & didn't bother to dig them out when they were done so the roads got covered.
Effin' raccoons got in and ate all the MREs. I should have put them in the pantry but it was such a mess I wanted to clean it first & procrastinated. I saw some drawers open next to the stove & went to close them but hit something behind that was squishy & pushed back. I was afraid one of my cats got in there so I removed the top drawer, pushed the bottom drawer in & opened the middle drawer. Up popped a raccoon. I shouted aspersions at it and told it to GTFO. I stepped back so it could have room to flee. It took off, but it keeps coming back in even after we tried to block the back door off. I pushed some plastic bins in front of the drawers to keep them shut. I moved a few things to safer locations in the house, moved the truck, etc.
The one good bit of news is that I posted about my situation on social media to let my friends/followers know what was up & the campaign manager for a guy running for senate asked permission to DM me and gave me her personal contact info. She wanted to know if we had food, water, a generator, etc & said that if I'm able to contact her after the storm & need help that she knows people who will be willing & able to help. She knows some tree cutting company people who she can send down for us if the roads get blocked again.
I feel very sorry for the people in Lake Charles who were just fixing up their homes (those who still had them) after Laura. A lot of people were still homeless & there's an entire area no one can go back to bc some sort of chemical plant leaked/exploded & there's deadly toxic waste all over the place.
If we make it through this we will definitely need to get enough pet carriers for all of our pets & come up with an evacuation plan & have bug out bags or stuff that we need to take with us in emergencies & figure out what route we want to take.
I've noticed that if New Orleans isn't at risk, the rest of the country barely reports about these hurricanes & there is very little coverage. I'm really hoping this thing will downgrade again. It went from Tropical storm to category 4 then down to category 2 then back up to category 3. Crossing my fingers & hoping for tropical storm status before it gets to us around 3 to 4pm.

 

[Floorist]

Good luck.

 

[zannej]

Storm downgraded to category 2 & slowed down a bit. New ETA is around 6 or 7pm. Damn raccoons got our MREs & we can't seem to keep them out. I boarded up the sliding glass door with plywood (as much as I could cover- there were obstacles in the way & 1 sheet didn't cover it all but it's what I had so it provides at least some cover). I used up the hamburger meat last night so it wouldn't go bad. Made shepherd's pie & my brother ate 3/4 of it. I got the generator moved into the shed by myself bc I couldn't get my brother to help. It was under the lean-to. I'm trying to get through some TV dinners before power goes out.
It's been raining hard since yesterday & internet has gone out a few times. Power blinked a couple times too.
Really hoping the storm will downgrade again & not do any damage.

 

[highup]

Hope all is well Zan. I read the intensity level dropped, but still heavy rains.
We had over an inch last night. Probably the second time it rained in the last month. I don't believe we had any rain in July or August. We normally about 65 or so inches of rain per year and so far this year we're over 2 ft short so it's been extremely dry.

 

[Floorist]

We were 10 inches ahead earlier in the year and are now below average a bunch. Now starting to have large fires.

 

[zannej]

Power went out at 5pm friday. Power pole fell over on the flooded road. Got pics before a fireman showed up to check on us. Someone in the area asked for help evacuating bc the roads had been too flooded to leave. Not sure who so he was checking everyone. Said a neighbor had posted a video of himself chest deep in water. No flooding in our house or yard. Apparently someone chopped up the power pole and pushed it off the road. My road is still badly flooded where loggers filled in the ditches, but we can drive over it. Alternator got splashed at 1 point but seems to be OK now. Need to get this truck in for checkup soon. Skid plate sloped down and drags on the groundno power in town but 1 grocery store had a generator so we bought ice. Roof flew off the leanto near pump house so I think rain shorted wires to pump house. Got a weatherproof outdoor junction box that I will put in when the sun comes up.
All pets are OK so far.

 

[highup]

We were 10 inches ahead earlier in the year and are now below average a bunch. Now starting to have large fires.

Oregon currently has about eight fires still going.
Adding half of those fires together totals about 650,000 acres. They range from 46 to 71% contained. That means a couple of these are going to be put out as the colder damper weather sets in. They have been burning for months. They're all 150 to 250 miles away from me so it's never been a concern or a worry for me, but we have had a few periods of extremely smokey weather, with one late afternoon bad enough that I had to turn my headlights on early. It's amazing how far that smoke can travel.

 

[highup]

Hey Zan are those pictures of a road?