I have no idea of where to start with my adventuresome hurricane tale.  Perhaps a peek backwards can help cipher some of the happenings of the last week.  I had the un-privilege to experience the 3 hurricanes of 2004.  Not one was pleasant.  My family owned orange groves then and not only was the clean up a nightmare but the oppressive heat was almost debilitating.  I spent a week, in-between hurricanes, picking up barn roof shingles in a 30 acre orange grove.  We managed to find our negligent renter's garbage totes blown several acres into the grove.  I had the job of dragging them back to owner.  Never did find the lids.

So, with dear sweet Hurricane Irma barreling down on Florida both my husband and I knew what to do.  We have 5 buildings, all but one are under metal roofs.  Our house has hurricane windows and all the huge overhead doors in both shop and on house garage doors have bolts at the bottom to lock down the doors for stabilization against wind.  I always keep a well stock pantry so had plenty of bottled water, pop, ice, and tins of tuna, ham and jars of peanut butter.  I sent Stephen on a last minute run to get extra crackers and maybe some kind of bread.  What does the man bring home but a bag of M&M's.  He never went to the grocery store but saw the candy isle in Walgreens.  So much for hurricane food at our house.

Our power went out Sunday night.  What a blow it was.  I was up and down most of the night.  Our garden doors on the front sunroom were never meant to take 100+ mph winds and water blew onto the tile floor from under the threshold.  I simply stacked towels along the threshold and soaked up what came in.  I glanced out the huge window at my big clay flower pots.  Stephen wanted me to bring them into the garage but they were so big that I simply decided to push them into the corner of the house and, "root hog or die."  Darn if they didn't shelter a huge old toad.  He was safe from the incessant rain and hailstorm of debris pounding the house.  And the pots with plants actually came through the storm in good shape!

Monday morning Stephen and I walked window to window throughout the house trying to assess outside damages.  All looked good until we saw the barn roof.  Part if the roof metal sheeting was rolled up like a tootsie-roll.  Stephen put on his rain coat and floppy hat and went out to see if anything else was damaged.  He came back in about a half hour later, wet, but smiling.  Other than a trashed yard and the barn roof everything else was fine.  The barn was not leaking either!  Metal sheeting had blown over the fence but the rest of the sheets had either rolled up or were in back of the barn.

Our basset hounds were eager to get out by Tuesday.  They had been cooped up in the sun room for 2 days and wanted outside to explore.  We started cleaning yard.  Luther, the big old dog, was very helpful.  He'd drag a small limb over to his "spot" and crunch it into small pieces.  He'd then retrieve another little branch and do the same.  I couldn't get him to pick up a rake and actually clean up the mess.  His contribution was to make branches smaller only.

Power was out until Friday evening.  We saw dozens of engineers in little cars running up and down, up and down roads but none seem to understand that we simply needed a lineman to come to our road with a long pole and reconnect the fuse that was hanging.  Stephen was disgusted.  He called OUC (Orlando Utilities Commission) and begged for a lineman not an engineer who didn't know a kilowatt from a cumquat. Our neighbors down the road had full power on Tuesday but we suffered in the 90+ heat until a lineman finally showed up with his pole and reconnected us Friday night.  As I write there is still one house about 1/4 mile down to the lake with no power.  They had a pole uprooted and line snap.

I daily called my elderly neighbor and she was madder than a hornet that such an easy line fix wasn't done.  On Wednesday she told me she was "hotter than Hell."  I imagine she was!!!  She and I exchanged stories over how to take a shower.  She dumped a bucket full of water on her head.  I stood in a tote and later reused all my shower water!  We both had a good laugh and I found she is quite a feisty lady!!

Our friend down the road is a contractor.  He too lost most of his roof as did his son.  Wednesday he had roofers in to seal up his place and his son's home and then Ted sent the roofers to us.  This company has done extensive work for us so we know and trust them.  They put sealer paper on the barn roof, cleaned up the metal sheeting and will be back very soon to put a new metal roof on the entire structure.  Oh yes, hurricane brought about 9 inches of rain.  Thursday night we had another 2 1/2 inches pour down.  Barn held tight for which we are grateful.

With power on we're back in sync once more.  Grocery stores are not up to par yet.  The local Publix had a power surge that blew out all its generators.  They lost EVERYTHING in all the refrigeration and freezer units!  Winn-Dixie had very little in the freezer isle.  Cows seem to be making gallon sized jugs of milk but no quarts, ice cream or yogurt.  Butter in short supply too.  I did get eggs.  Chickens must be happy.  I saw cases and cases of eggs waiting to be bought.  Bleach was low and of course bottled water was nil.  I lost everything in my 2 refrigerators and 2 freezers.  I'll be restocking!

So, praise the Lord, we are fine.  Lawn is finally cleaned up, hounds are back sleeping in the shade and Stephen is happily out to the shop working on Baby is '67 Mercury.  We are blessed!!!