Another beautiful morning!
That being said, my concerns at the moment are with Milton, the hurricane headed toward the west coast of Florida. More specifically, towards the Tampa Bay area, which is where my sister lives. I foolishly hoped I was overreacting, but Mere, who is a seasoned hurricane veteran, told me I wasn’t overreacting and that this is a serious threat. That area was impacted by Hurricane Helene. And now this – coming directly from the west. It’s supposed to hit land on Wednesday. Schools have been closed. I’m not sure if evacuations have been ordered yet. Mere lives a bit inland. She probably won’t get an evacuation order. She said that hotels are already full because of Helene.
I’m going to check in with her later today and also watch The Weather Channel. Though, every time I’ve tried to check in on Hurricane Helene or Milton, they’ve not been live. Instead, they air ‘specials’ that have nothing to do with what is happening now. Seriously, all weekend long and after 8 pm every evening. Hello? Weather doesn’t take the weekend off.
I don’t have anything much to share other than my worries about the hurricane. Life is sweet here at the cottage, but neither of us is working and there’s not a lot going on. Once again, I am wondering how much longer I will continue blogging. It’s been on my mind lately. But no decision has been made yet.
Something sweet:
The littles playing in the leaves.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
For excellent, no-hype hurricane coverage, check out The Eyewall, a web site produced by two Houston meteorologists who cover the storms thoroughly with updates during the day when something serious is brewing.
Oh, thanks so much, Margaret. I’ll definitely go there.
Stay safe.
thanks very much, margaret!
hope you are someplace safe and comfortable, well and happy.
kathy
Thanks, Kathy. No worries here as Milton is far southeast of us and headed straight at Florida. Unhappily, we do have family within the storm watch area as well as a dear nearly lifelong friend who lost her husband Friday and is expecting their far flung children to arrive in Naples today and tomorrow.
glad you are safe, margaret. i’ll be praying for your family and friend. condolences to your friend, too … very sad.
thanks for letting me know.
kathy
agree about what gets covered (and what doesn’t) on supposed-to-be/advertised-as-news channels, including the “weather channel”. priorities! argh.
praying here, too, for everyone, including your sister, her sons and my cousin (who is fighting cancer) and his wife. they live just outside of tampa bay proper.
glad life is sweet for you and don, even without work you both want and have earned. i hope you both get good news (job offers) soon.
as for blogging … please know you are very much well thought of, appreciated for all the beauty, kindness and interesting things you share, are missed on days you’re not here and will be missed whenever you decide to stop blogging … but i hope and ask you to blog or not in whatever works best for you! xo
happy, safe days to you, don and everyone else.
kathy
Thanks so much, Kathy.
Stay safe.
I have friends also in the path of Milton and praying for all in its path. Love your photos as we finally head into Fall. Hugs!
Thank you, Linda.
Stay safe.
This is all such a worry! I’ll be praying for your sister and all in the area where Milton is expected to hit.
Thank you so much, Jenny.
Stay safe.
Your lovely sister and her boys are the first I think of when a storm is headed toward Florida. I think that she knows how to handle the hurricane okay .I hope that she doesn’t lose cell service or the internet so she can let you know how she is doing after it goes through and so she will know what is going on around her in her area. That was our problem after Helene. I had no sense of the devastation to other places because we were not affected too much and because I couldn’t get any news of anything. The not knowing was frustrating. Neither of you need that. I will be thinking of you both during the storm.
Electricity will most certainly be out. As to cell service, who knows?
It’s now a Category 5. Very worried.
Stay safe, Beverly.
Sharing your weather worries. I sure hope Florida doesn’t get hit again, and that your sister is safe.
Thank you, Lynda.
Stay safe.
I was wondering where your sister lived. Please know that I will be praying for her as well as my own family members in Florida. Hopefully everyone makes it through safely! ;)
She lives in Clearwater.
Thanks, Donnamae.
Stay safe.
Oh, dear, Claudia. Praying that your sister and her family will stay safe during Hurricane Milton. It is so difficult not to be able to do anything against the wrath of nature. The littles are so cute playing in the leaves. So many people would miss your blogs but you need to do what is best for your well-being. Hugs, Elaine
Thank you, Elaine.
Stay safe.
Praying for everyone in the path of the storm in Florida and especially for your sister and nephews.
Thank you, Dee Dee.
Stay safe.
I live in Gainesville, and while the hurricane is not expected to be bad here, our town is filling up with people fleeing the storm. It’s generally one of the safest spots in the state because we are so far inland, and almost every time there is a hurricane south of us this happens. We’re more than happy to help out, but it does create chaos for us. I have to go into work tomorrow and traffic is going to be hellish. It was already starting to get heavy today. I work for the university, and this is the third time since August that we’ve had to close due to a hurricane. It puts every class behind, so instructors have to work hard to catch up and the students have the same amount of work to do in a much shorter time frame. Plus we felt the effects of the last storm just a couple of weeks ago. Most of us still have brush piles sitting in our yards, which could become projectiles if the wind is bad enough. The rain ahead of the storm is also saturating the ground, which can cause more trees to fall, so we’re definitely in for a long night. Not to mention that we are all worried about our friends and family to the south. We are more than ready for this hurricane season to end. It is shaping up to be as bad as the one in 2004, when four storms hit the state.
Thanks, Bridget.
Stay safe.
I hope your sister and her family are safe and that no harm will come to them.
I’ve said this many times I find you and your blog interesting, informative and inspiring. I have learned many things from you , you have enriched my life.
Take Care,
Kaye
Thank you, Kaye.
Stay safe.
Hope your sister and her boys will be safe from this storm.
Thank you, Ellen.
Stay safe.
I am beyond worried and stressed between the flooding in our town and surrounding towns, Helene’s hellish sweep thru N. Carolina and now watching Milton predictions. I have heard thru the grapevine here that there are not enough FEMA dollars and FEMA workers.
Praying Milton will move away from land.
Be careful what you ‘hear’ – the right and Trump are trying to make this political.
The fact is there are enough FEMA workers and there is enough money. They could use more money for sure, but Mike Johnson, the far right Speaker of the House, won’t bring Congress back in session to approve it.
Milton will not move away from land.
Stay safe, Betsy.
I’m so sick of politics I could spit! I know this storm is a bad one, but most people are doing what they feel they must. There has been nothing on television for several days but hurricane and politics and we are slowly going mad!
We have friends on the gulf coast who are staying in place and so I hope they and your sister are safe. We’ll stay put, too, but we know it will be a bit milder on this coast. Crossing fingers for electricity and water to behave. Ugh.
I just want the election to be over. With the right results, of course.
This storm IS a bad one. Meredith is frightened and she’s usually not.
Stay safe, Shanna.
Claudia: Do what you must as far as blogging. I just want to say that I look forward to your blog every day that you post one. You would be VERY MUCH missed. Maybe when President Harris is sworn in (insert praying hands and crossed fingers emoji) we’ll all feel a little lighter and better. Chris (your friend you’ve never met!)
Thank you so much for your kind words, Chris.
Stay safe.