Thursday

Today we took Bison up to the vet to get his rabies shot and a health certificate.  The vet said he was in good shape (especially since he got kicked in the head a couple of months ago) and that he was probably lab / asian (akita, chow, or some such breed).  He was VERY well behaved... except for not wanting to get back in the truck when we were done.

By the time we get to Arizona, he'll be an old hand at this stuff!


Meanwhile, the guys spent the majority of the day sitting around waiting for a load.  They are now on their way to just outside Detroit.  Jim has never been to Michigan before, so he's looking forward to adding another state to his list.


And, of course, Irene.  She brought lots of wind today.  Even though I have lived in Florida for 30 years, when I walked out of the office and felt a stiff warm wind, my very first thought was "ooooh, a chinook!"  LOL  Like when you smell a crayon and it takes you back to kindergarten, no matter how old you are.  Not much rain, which is ok, we've had plenty lately... 


"They" are predicting some pretty scary stuff for the New York area though.  Irene is supposed to be between a Category 4 and a Category 5 by the time she gets up there.  The storm surge is supposed to be 5 - 11 feet which means lots of flooding.  And with all the tall buildings, the wind gets in there and creates wind tunnels.  Sounds like it could be pretty bad.  They are making evacuation plans.


We are too.  Evacuating, that is.  From Florida to Arizona.  (grin)

Wednesday

Wow.  Time is really moving on.  Since I'm at the office all day, I don't really see all that Kyle is doing to get ready to leave in THREE DAYS, but he tells me he "has it under control".  LOL  Today he is working with Bison to get him comfortable getting in and out of the truck bed.  And getting the liner out of the pool.  Yesterday he unloaded all the "extras" out of the back seat of Rod's truck and is also going through all that and sorting it into stuff to put back in the truck, stuff to put away where it belongs, and stuff to ... get rid of.  (grin)

Meanwhile... Irene.

Still looks like we are out of the woods.  The local radio station is predicting rain and wind Thursday afternoon/evening (like we don't get that daily in the summer anyway) and through the night and early morning hours on Friday but then she will move on up the coast and we should have bright blue skies and a little lower humidty.  (She will drag everything up with her... I love hurricanes!) 

However, looks like Irene won't be visiting us, but neither will Rod and Jim.  They had some scheduling snaffoos at their pick up and deliveries last night and today (the folks they are driving for are trying something new and still working the bugs out...) so they got pulled off the Orlando load.  Boo hoo!!!  But that's the life of a trucker.  You just roll with it.

This morning Bison decided to check out the neighborhood - and took Ozzie with him!  The miscreants!  They were down the street about a quarter mile.  Luckily a friendly neighbor stopped by and let me know where they were and then another pulled over and nabbed Bison until I could get there.  I will MISS my boy, but NOT his dog!  LOL  I read somewhere lately that a good deterent for keeping dogs out of your yard/garden was moth balls, so we will be buying a BIG bag of moth balls and when we get the fence put up, lining it with them.  Hopefully it works to keep dogs IN your yard/garden as well!  (He is the king of digging out...) 

Tuesday

The preparation goes on.  Kyle returned all his shirts to his old job today (and met his replacement...)  He was planning to spend part of the day training Bison to get in and out of his crate in the back of the truck, but Bison doesn't really "do" thunderstorms and we've had lots of that today.  So he is hiding in the back of his crate in the "dog room".  No amounts of bacon will get him out.  LOL  (big baby)

Meanwhile - Irene is still churning away out there.  Bahamas (Nassau) is preparing for a pretty good hit later today.  And then it's open ocean (90 degree water - PERFECT for hurricane development) and on up towards the U.S.  They are predicting it will stay out in the ocean and we should just get the tropical storm winds.  Nothing big. 

Meanwhile we are being watched over.  Rod and Jim got their new load assignment.  Left Atlanta and headed north to Chattanooga, TN to pick up a load, then to Chicago, IL to deliver it and pick up something else.  That load gets delivered on Thursday.  In ORLANDO!  So they will be there in time for the storm and if it looks like it's going to "bobble" to the west, they'll put in for emergency time off and come help us get the house prepped.  (Not that there is much to do...  I already dumped the swimming pool this week...)

Stay tuned... never a dull moment around here.

(And sure glad to hear nobody was hurt in the earthquake in NY and DC!)  Signs of the times.......

Countdown Monday

This is Kyle's FINAL WEEK in Florida.  So Florida is planning a SEND OFF.....

Introducing Hurrican Irene!

For those who aren't familiar with Florida geography, if you look at where it says FL, to the right is a little "nose".  That's Cape Canaveral (home of NASA - well USED to be home of the space shuttle program...) and just below the nose is Malabar. 

It's early in the forecast week, but so far they are saying it should hit on Friday.

We plan to leave on Saturday.

We aren't "evacuators".  Being small business owners, we always stuck close to home to be there for the business - to protect the building in case there was damage and against possible looting.  The only time I ever loaded up the kids, dogs, and computers, we headed across the state to Tampa to shelter with my sister-in-laws family.  The hurricane skipped across to the Gulf of Mexico and hit us in Tampa!  (And our home in Palm Bay didn't even get rain...)  So I'm a "ride it out" person.  My home is a sturdy cement block home (unlike the "stick house" built by Hallmark, yes a CARD company, we weathered the 2004 hurrican season in...).  And, really, if Irene or any of her sisters wants to take it out - BRING IT!  My mortgage is so underwater... I wouldn't mind!  LOL  (Arizona, here I come?)

Anyhow - we'll be watching the weather and making our plans as the weekend gets closer.

In the meantime, Kyle is getting a water pump today (12 volt, runs off his solar panel and allows him to transfer water from the 55 gal drum into the bigger "permanent" barrel...) and dreaming of mountains, desert, and DRY heat.  LOL

The guys made a surprise visit yesterday!  They were running from Atlanta to Nashville to Miami, but didn't need to be in Miami until 7:00 this morning.  So had 20-ish hours to spare.  Parked the truck at a company drop yard 5:30 Sunday morning.  Kyle and I drove over and picked them up and we got to spend the entire day with them!  It was WONDERFUL!  (Shhh, don't tell anybody, we skipped church - just sprawled on the couch all day and laughed and talked and enjoyed each other's company...)  Jim and Kyle spent a couple of hours in his room talking and playing a video came - getting lots of "brother" time in before the big move.  Jim picked Sabrina up after work and they came back for dinner about 8.  Steaks, mashed potatoes, broccoli and salad.  Then we tried to catch naps and headed back to Orlando at midnight. 

This morning they are driving back to Atlanta, but this time going up the Turnpike (in the center of the state), so no "drive-by" honking. 

But it was sure good to see them!!!!!

Food, Glorious Food!

Kyle is getting ready to go.  And, of course, as a growing young man, part of that means making sure he has something to EAT!  He has been slowly accumulating stuff over the last couple of months. 

Beans, corn, fruit, veggies, and the ever present Ramen Noodles.  Jars of spaghetti sauce, pounds of noodles and even more pounds of rice.  Black beans galore. Canned potatoes and carrots... and a really nice cast iron fry pan and dutch oven.  (And a regular pot for the other stuff...)

 

A nice new sleeping bag for the cold nights (goes down to 30 and he has LOTS of blankets), 2 solar power kits, a fancy new Yamaha generator, a big blue water jug and the world's coolest garden thingie.  It looks a little like those old fertilizer spreader things you walk behind, only it has MORE.  Two hoppers.  A little v-shaped thingie that digs the row, then as you walk there is a plate that turns and depending on what you are planting, at the right time, it drops a single seed, then the other hopper drops a little fertilizer, and the rear wheel covers it all over!  Sheesh!  That will come in SUPER handy since he is planning on a BIG garden.  (Oh and a stick that hangs out to the side and draws a line in the dirt for your NEXT row!)

Oh.  And last week he picked a rose for me from his plant right outside his bedroom window.  What a sweet guy!

Gardening in Florida

Gardening in Florida should be easy, right?  Stick stuff in the ground and it grows?  Well... maybe for other people.  But for me, it's been a bit of a challenge.  

Our spring garden, for example, didn't do too well.  First it was too cold... then it was too hot!  The peas just barely produced.  The carrots were a TOTAL no show.  The tomatoes did really well for awhile - we only planted cherry tomatoes this year, maybe that's the secret?  Okra?  It did well, but I didn't ever pick it at the right time, so ...  whatever.  Oh, and the watermelon.  OH the WATERMELON!  They are growing WILD! 

Anyhow.  It's now time to get started on the fall garden.  I'm hoping for better results this time around.

It's a complicated process.

First you weed the garden.  (Weeds are the ONLY crop I grow well consistently...)  Under all the weeds?  Watermelon.

Ok, Buddy is a little shorter than Andy and CJ, but he's back there...

Those are some TALL weeds - you can just barely see Buddy behind Andy's, uh, rump...

CJ really DOES have a tail - it's just busy getting rid of flies.....

Then you fertilize the garden.  (sorry... LOL)

Thanks Andy!

Next step will be to put some weed killer on it and then till it under.

Good to have help though!