Calm Before the Storm

Two days ago we had a rare east coast earthquake which measured 5.8 on the Richter scale and while the epicenter was in Mineral, VA it was felt here in Seaford, DE and even in Canada.  And now we are battening down the hatches in preparation for Irene which is a tropical storm headed directly toward us.

I can remember having a hurricane and my mother's house had waist high water inside her home.  Of course she lives across the street from the Indian River and with the tides, the wind and rain, it was a terrible mess to clean up with mud coating everything in the house, ruined all electrical items and furniture.  While no one is living in the house at the moment, my brother and I still own the house so it will not be a pretty picture after the storm hits.

At my house I've pretty much cleared all the deck furniture off and put it inside the porch, and here is a picture of the left side which, after or during the hurricane will be flooded I'm sure; but this is a picture before.

And to the right of the deck will have standing water as well, if we get as much wind and rain as anticipated. And, as luck would have it, we will be getting rain today and tomorrow even before Irene hits us so flooding is expected.

Yesterday I went out and purchased jugs of water and today will fill up my two tubs and buckets with water so that if I lose power I can at least flush the toilets, take a bath, brush my teeth and drink water.  I have candles but need to go out and buy some extra batteries 'just in case' and will buy more fresh fruit because I can live on fruits and vegetables if I'm unable to cook.

So keep your fingers cross for me and I'll be saying a few prayers myself.