To Quote Tina: I've Had Enough Of You, Ike!

We're fine. I'm not sure the rest of the country realizes what's going on down here, though. Millions of people were without power and though it's slowly being restored, there are a lot of communities that will be without electricity for weeks.

Galveston Island is completely off-limits. It's uninhabitable at the moment and no one is allowed on. We were looking to buy a beach house east of Galveston, on Bolivar Peninsula, which was the area hardest hit by Hurricane Ike.

We were literally weeks away from making an offer on a house. and now the houses we walked through just a couple of weeks ago may be completely gone. We've seen video of the area and it's just one cement slab after another where houses once stood. It's so sad.

My little family went without electricity for 3 days, so we got off easy. The only damage we sustained was to our fence. No biggie.




The hurricane hit during the night. We slept in the living room because it was the safest place to be and at times the wind rattled the boarded-up windows so loudly, I was afraid they were going to crash in on us.

Henry started to cry at one point, so I went inside his penned-in area to comfort him and fell asleep with him on his dog bed! That's where my husband found me in the morning.

I missed fresh brewed coffee in the morning. I missed TV. I was surprised by how much I missed my blog! I wound up putting pen to paper like a freakin animal! That's right! An animal!

Here is my pathetic missive:

Day 3: No electricity and no phones. Not even cell phones. We have water, thank goodness and natural gas, so we can boil water on the stove.

Need some boiling water? I'm your go-to girl! Actually, we're OK. We have plenty of food and water. We have a battery-powered TV, so we can keep up with the news.

It's driving me nuts though, being cut-off from family and friends. Our neighbor's friend had a phone that worked the morning after the hurricane, so I did speak to my sister up north to let her know we're OK.

This morning, Greg's blackberry rang for the first time in three days. It was my other sister, so he was able to give her an update. But after he hung up, his blackberry went dead again. He can feel e-mails getting through occasionally (it vibrates) but if he tries to respond, his message won't go through.

Occasionally, I glare at my impotent phone and it looks back at me, ashamed. Good! I charged the damn thing the night before Ike hit, so it has plenty of juice, but no signal.

I miss my blog. I'm sure people are worried by my silence. I think Taylor should come down here and do a show to lift my spirits. That's right, a show just for me! Right here in my backyard (which has become our living room). Think of the publicity! On my blog! haha. At least I haven't lost my sense of humor.

But seriously, I think he should get right on that.

I miss RHS, too. See what you've done, taysharmonica? I'm sitting here in my yard (because it's dark and hot in my house) with today's food in a cooler next to me, an impotent phone staring at me and what am I jonesing for? A peek at your blog.

Well, we did find a newspaper yesterday, so I'll sit back and enjoy it while I sip on a hot cup of coffee. Damn! Now I miss Starbucks. Guess this tepid bottle of water will have to do.

Day 4: I've lost the will to clean. Maybe you read about my Big Birthday Extravaganza that I've been planning for months? Well, guess the friggin what? It's this weekend.

My Mom arrives today and I don't even care that the house is dirty and we still have no power and no phones. Cell phones work occasionally. You can manage to get about one call thorough a day. I got through to Mom last night and she said she still wanted to come.

I have five other people flying in in three days!! Mom says they still want to come as well. The bathrooms work and I think we can find beer, so they told me they're good.

My son just yelled that the electricity is back on, so I'd better go see if it's true!

Glorious electricity! That night I had a cold soda and watched the finale of Big Brother. It's all going to be OK.

Some photos from my neighborhood: