Life In Baton Rouge....

Every day a bit more of "normalcy" comes back to us.

"Normalcy" - being within certain limits that define the range of normal functioning.

People are starting to get their power on in Baton Rouge....very SLOWLY but it's happening.
Out of all my husband's employees, only our son Caleb had power as of today. Thankfully they all have generators......but it's still not the same as full power. Believe me I know first hand!

Today I went and worked at our Church to help with Food Distribution.
The Church we attend has a MAJOR Food Bank called "Streams Of Life" that distributes DIRECTLY to Churches, that then distribute to people.....
in and out of their churches.

have been arriving daily before and since Gustav hit.
Every day Semi loads of food and personal hygiene and other relief supplies

Two Semi trucks of food and relief supplies had just come in from Ohio this afternoon.




It doesn't take long to unload the supplies tractors to unload the pallets......then we form a "conga line"....I mean vehicle line.....and people drive through the various points on the driveway and receive the various items at each point.

Vehicles picking up various relief and food items at "Streams"....



Ms. Dianne, Pastor Steve's wife giving instructions to David for the distribution line.

David is a sweet little guy that attends our church. His entire family is from Nigeria. His Daddy is an Evangelist and is always going back over there to put "CLEAN Water Wells" in their village and surrounding villages.
I love that.

These are two sweet ladies from Alabama that I worked with today and Mr. Luther.
Mr. Luther is a Katrina Evacuee that moved into the area and helps at "Streams" and attends the church as well.

These woman are with an organization that sends volunteer workers into
"Disaster Areas" all over the United States....these workers have been "camping out" in the warehouses and it is very HOT inside of those metal buildings.

Today an Air Conditioner was set up for them so I was GLAD to hear that.

Pastor Steve has been receiving Chemo everyday still...today was his last day for this week...so it's been hard on him but he's STILL been out there working EVERYDAY!! I saw him today and thought I was going to have to throw a fit.

He and his wife are VERY dedicated people to the poor and down and out of Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas.

When a disaster strikes.....you can't just think of yourself you HAVE to (or should be) think of others as well. I can't stand it when people are self centered or selfish and greedy.

I tell my kids all the time..."it's not about us....it's about THEM!!!"

Right now.....alot of the "thems" need help....we are seeing it every day, BIG TIME right now.....and it's not just food and supplies and new roofs they need.
Some just need a cup of cold water....literally.

Many are tired and just need some kind words spoken to them.

Tuesday After The Storm.....

IF your going to live along the boarders of a coastal State....
you have GOT TO HAVE one of these.
"Our Trusty Generator"

It will become your "life line" after a hurricane.
Six days with no power for my family and this little powerful thing kept us with a few lights and our refrigerator and freezer going. We didn't loose any food.....many of my friends and neighbors did.

More hurricane "Must Haves"......"Window Air Conditioner and Coolers"
AND it's fabulous if you can get your family one of these things. We didn't have one after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and had made a decision to GET a window Air Conditioner and put it in the front room window.
We didn't cool the back of the house or power it. So it was HOT and DARK back there.
We ALL slept in the front room for all those days!

We didn't power up our generator right away after the storm passed. We decided to SAVE THE GAS which is very important after a hurricane......because it becomes scarce due to the fact there is no power to power gas pumps. So we just kept our house shut up tight and got through the night with a power cord from Ms. Karol and Mr. Joe's house.

They had power. Only because they have a gas "WHOLE HOUSE" generator that they had installed this Spring. VERY SMART.
Once the power goes off for any given reason....their generator kicks on in like 3 seconds and powers their entire house as if they never lost power. If we continue to stay in Louisiana.....we are getting one of those. HA!

The very next morning, Tuesday. We keep forgetting what day it is here because we've lost track.
We got up early to survey the damage outside and start the debris clean up.......and not just for us...but for everyone.

And this is what I LOVE about the people here.....we help each other. I mean I know it happens other places as well.....but this
IS the "Spirit of America"...people helping people.

Times of disaster, times of crisis, and times of heartache....they make for great opportunities to show the love of God to others.

About 25 people from all over our street came to Ms. Karol and Mr. Joe's to help get the tree off their house!!

My husband Don up on their roof....ugh! He was having a HUGE adrenaline flow at the time. HA!
My crazy son Luke and my husband Don on the roof being cowboys....

Miss Priss

Trying to pull the last part down.....
Finally they decide that they have to hook Caleb's big truck up to it and pull it that way....
Luke riding on the back of Caleb's truck as Mom starts to get nervous....ugh!
Hooking up to the tree......
Miss Priss and Myself....while serving lunch to the crew!
"Lumberjack Luke"
Ms. Karol, with Justin and Nick our neighbors on the other side of us.

Then most of the crew started on the neighbors behind us....until my husband got a call that his Warehouses and Offices were being LOOTED!!!! Then he and my boys and some friends left quickly to head to that part of town.....heavily ARMED.......to see what was happening and try to secure the buildings. UGH!!!

Me and Miss Priss had been serving sandwiches to the crew when the call came and we just continued to do so. But that call nearly robbed my joy at that point. I had been so very proud of everyone in our area here that were working so hard to help everyone around them......and then to get a call like that.

I was soooo angry that people would do such a thing. But some people use their lives to help others and some people use their lives for evil. That's just how it works.......sadly.

Long story short.....the warehouse doors had been "knocked in" etc. etc. and things in one area were secure and they weren't so sure about another area that wasn't looking too good. So they secured and boarded everything up the best they could for then. It was so frustrating to have to deal with that type of thing.Then it took them nearly 2 hours to get back home because the streets were so tree strewn and flooded. They ended up pulling one man out of a flooded ditch.
Once they got home.......we started back on working on people's yards.

Oh....did I mention it was raining pretty much all of this day?? No one minded the rain it kept us cool.....because it was hot and steamy here.

I will have more to talk to you about next time......

Day One....Which Was..Ummm??? Last Monday I Think.

Hurricane Gustav came rumbling into the Baton Rouge area around noontime.....and we could tell......once the higher winds came the power failed.
We learned later that the wind "gusts" hit 91mph and the "sustained" winds were at 61mph.
And this thing went on for hours........

My family is awesome and they work together like a "well oiled machine" especially in a crisis. So we were ready for Gustav......all that was left to do was "ride out the storm."

View outside our front door during the hurricane.......
A couple of things happen once the power fails....you hook up your radios to hear what is going on around you....and you "nap" or eat. HA!
Because it's BORING and you hear that unforgettable "ROAR" of the winds outside and you can't do a thing about it. So sleep is good even above eating.
View from our outside Patio.....
Then we started to hear the "damage reports" on the radio and we could hear things happening all around us.......we went out on the patio and saw this.......
Ms. Karol and Mr. Joe who live beside us....lost their big tree in the back yard. It feel on their kids car who had evacuated from New Orleans and were staying with them. And it feel on their house. Ugh!!!



Then we went outside a bit later during the storm and saw this...UGH!
Our neighbors behind us lost their very nice storage shed and it blew into our backyard fence knocking it down and over into our yard.
The storm raged into the night so we couldn't really see totally how Gustav had taken it's toll on our city....but the next day we learned of the HUNDREDS of trees that fell into and onto people's houses.....

We recieved roof damage and damage to our trees....but we consider ourselves VERY fortunate compared to many here in the area and outlying areas.
I'm going to write more tomorrow to tell you what happened the very next day.....that is where the very cool stories come it because this town we live and the surround areas are amazing and the people are amazing.

I have to tell you.....the people of the State of Louisiana are highly "Resilient" and you can tell it if you live here...or even if you don't.

They have a big "Come Back" spirit and they help one another and I love seeing it...and I love being a part of it.

More photos and stories tomorrow.

I have to space this out a bit because there's so much to show and talk about!

Update, Update......Whew!!!

I will write more when I get the chance......
We just got power back on LAST night.....so we've been without it six days and I have to say that this family is doing good.
Many haven't been as fortunate.

It's been an AMAZING week and I have alot to tell you all...lots of great stories...and some not so great...so hang tight and when I get a moment later on this evening probably...I will write more.

And I will try to get some photos on here as well....for now....we have a ton of clean up to continue to do and some major housework now that we have power.
YAHOO.....you really don't realize how addicted we Americans are to electricity.

That is until you LOOOOOSE it. Ugh!

And we had a GENERATOR too...but it didn't power everything.
I will explain more later.

We've personally had up to FOUR people over here living with us through this time....so it's a bit messy even though we have tried to keep up with the clutter and such.

Now it's time to vacuum and mop and wash and dry clothes....big things. HA!

The husband and boys are taking care of the outside things. And I'm working on the inside with Miss Priss.......although WE ALL have been working outside for DAYS trying to help our various neighbors and others....many who we don't even know...who have gotten hit much worse than we did.

This was a HUGE and TERRIBLE storm.....the worst hurricane/storm whatever to EVER hit Baton Rouge....and we are coming through it. Many still haven't power and some won't have it for upwards of 21 DAYS...YIKES!

THANKS SO much for your prayers and concern!

We love and APPRECIATE you all!!!

We Got it Going On......

I thought I would see if I could get this on here before the power goes out....it's been "flickering" quite a bit so I know it's coming at some point.

I'm having my "cup of tea" right now.
But they are still sleeping and it's nearly 9:50am but it's very dark like a "cave" in our house because of the "boarded up windows."

We left a few windows "uncovered" (not boarded over with plywood) so that we can see what's going on but only on the safe areas...such as our front room window and the dining room window. I woke up at 7:30am....and I thought it was the middle of the night. HA!!!

I wanted to be awake for when the storm comes inland which is supposed to be around 10:00am....so we are just a few minutes away from that moment.

I wanted to hurry and get breakfast made for my family and do one last load of laundry and do a few quick things before the power goes.

When it's like this....all nasty outside....you really do feel "Snug As A Bug In A Rug."

You hear....that "Big Bad Wolf" is trying to "huff and puff and blow your house down".......but you feel safe and secure and your all "cold (we want to be cool...because it's still so hot down here) and snuggly inside."

Safe from those hurricane winds. Well, until they make the power fail that is. Then you get all sweaty and become hot and crabby.
NOT FUN.....Ugh....

That's why I just turned that Air Conditioner down REALLLLLLY low right now....in preparation for that. Because once the storm passes...it's nasty and HOT and HUMID!!!

Okay I just heard a big LOUD "thump" outside....like something hitting the roof. Ugh.....dare I open the door and look??? It's so tempting but it's also dangerous. I hate that.

The wind is WILD right now and the rain is coming down really hard but so far so good....
I hope it stays this way. This we can handle.

Although I think it's going to kick up a bit more as we are just now getting into the landing of this thing.

Oh Lord!!!
I just heard another big loud creepy noise outside!!!!
That is what is the hardest thing all the weird noises and you don't know if the roof is coming off or what.
Oh MY GOSH!
I just opened my front door to peek out because I couldn't stand it anymore...and what do I see but my NEIGHBOR lady across the street outside in her PAJAMA gown walking down the street in front of her house!!!
So I yelled at her.....
"WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY??" And she said......"I heard a BOOM"......I said "So did I but I'm not going out there to see what it is...." and she said.....
"It's my neighbors......they lost a branch."

Then she waltzed back towards her house with her arms up in the arm embracing the winds....HA! Then she yells to me....."I'm soaked" and I yell back...."Yeah I guess so"...and I see her husband looking out of their doorway not venturing out himself but just looking out to make sure she was still alive.

Are people nuts or what.....HA!
That's how you get killed you know....you hear those odd noises and you can't help but want to go look and then you get bonked on the head by some flying debris.

Next time I hear a "thud or a boom".....I'll just call Kim across the street....she'll go look for me. HA!

NOW the weather is much worse than when I first started this..soooooo we will see what happens.
It's going to be a LONG day I can tell...... And this Gustav hasn't even made landfall yet.

I think I want to go BACK to bed!

And So It Begins.....

Thanks to all of you all that have called us and written personal e-mails to me today and that have left sweet and thoughtful comments on my site today.

My family totally appreciates your prayers and the thoughts and the support that has been shown... NOT JUST for us.....but for ALL Louisianians right now.
And many are spread all over 7 States right now. Can you imagine that?
It's amazing to see how everyone in the Nation is once again coming to the aid of our State.

And for that we say "Thank you" in advance.

The winds have begun.

And we are currently under a Tornado Warning...and will be for probably the next day or so.

I think we are ready.

Well as ready as a person can be.

The men got the windows on the house boarded up.......

*We've checked on our friends and neighbors to make sure they are going to be okay.*
Then they got the vehicles all into position....


Stripped off all the patio cushions and pillows off the furniture and moved the patio bistro set.
Moved all the plants in tight.....and brought in all the "yard art." So they don't become "PROJECTILES".....
We've stocked up on all the "hurricane supplies" that you might need.....believe me...we know what happens AFTER the storm.
Some of the hardest items to find are..bread, milk, ice and water of course.


Today I made a HUGE "Chicken and Sausage" Gumbo so that we could share it with my friend Nora and her husband......oh yeah and we have a lovely potato salad with that....and French Bread.


Where we used to live before in very South Louisiana.....I learned from the people there to "make a Gumbo and potato salad" for hurricanes.....and to "boil a dozen eggs."
Not sure what the "egg reasoning" was but they put boiled eggs in their Gumbo there so ....maybe that's it. HA!
A good friend of mine and I agreed tonight that "this is so surreal."

It feels like when you get on a roller coaster....you KNOW it's going to be scary...you know there will be ups and downs and turns and wind in your hair.

And at some point you just want it to END.......that's how I feel right now. I just want it to be over......and we haven't gotten far into the ride yet. Ugh....

Our neighborhood seems to loose power very easily. We lost power a few weeks ago in fact for several hours in the night from Hurricane Dolly that just hit Florida.
Sooo.....we have our generator we bought right before Katrina ready to fire up.

So you all probably won't be hearing from me right away although I will will try to post something and let you all know how things are going....as soon as I can.

Obviously when the power is out.....you have to run the most important things on the generator like the freezer and fridge, and FANS!!!

I'm exhausted....so is my family. I think we will sleep well tonight.....
For a little while at least.

To everyone that can read this in Louisiana and other affected States......
Hang in there!