offT: Kat, you ok?

Aaron wrote:
>> I read in the paper that power is out in Pacifica, and the Bay Area is
>> being hammered by wind and rain. Freeways closed, etc. You and Jesse
>> and the kitties ok?
>
> Megan, are you in the 10 inches of rain, or the 10 feet of snow area?

Rain. I'm not close enough to the coastal mountains that encourage weather
systems to dump massive water... although, if what I'm getting is the mild
version of this storm system, whoo-eee. It's a doozy. I've just had to
nail up a bit of fencing that fell, retrieve some trash that came visiting
(darn plastic bags), and dispose of some mushrooms that sprouted. (I know
people who have lost their dogs, because the dogs ate mushrooms that
sprouted in their yards.)

The dogs have been wiggly all day, since they haven't had their walks. Not
wiggly enough to go walking in *that* weather, though. I've had to shove
them to get them to put a paw out of doors. Literally. Shove.

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
>
> I read in the paper that power is out in Pacifica, and the Bay Area is
> being hammered by wind and rain. Freeways closed, etc. You and Jesse
> and the kitties ok?
>

We just got back into town. Our garbage can was on the opposite side of
the yard as where we'd left it- LID STILL ON!!!- part of the fence
knocked down at the side, the front gate is missing the latch, and a
board on the door frame needs pounded back down. Some helpful (?) person
has also set someone else's garbage can and recycle bin inside our
fence. Oh, and the cable line isn't down, but it needs tacked back to
the side of the house. The only evidence that we'd lost power is the
microwave. The house is still intact, and the kitties are fine, if glad
to see us.

Now, if you want to ask about the last leg of our trip today that SHOULD
have only taken 4 hours, as we stopped last night just W of Reno, but
ended up taking us 5 hours just to get past the mountains.... About 2
hours of that was spent at or near the chain check point. By the time
we got to the point and then put on the chains, they closed 80 at the
chain check point just as we got our chains on, to clear up accidents.
*sigh* The road itself, honestly wasn't that bad, not even at the
summit of Donner Pass- just some slush, but everyone was reduced to 30
MPH because of the chains. We HAVE all-wheel drive, so Jesse says that
if we are ever foolish enough to drive to his parents in the winter
again, we WILL just pay for snow tires and be done with it.

Once we were out of the mountains, though, it was smooth sailing,
despite hitting both Sacramento and San Francisco during rush hour. It
had even stopped raining in Pacifica and the sun peaked out to set as we
came around the bend on 1.

Kat
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

Kat Hein wrote:
> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
>
>> I read in the paper that power is out in Pacifica, and the Bay Area is
>> being hammered by wind and rain. Freeways closed, etc. You and
>> Jesse and the kitties ok?
>
> We just got back into town. Our garbage can was on the opposite side of
> the yard as where we'd left it- LID STILL ON!!!- part of the fence
> knocked down at the side, the front gate is missing the latch, and a
> board on the door frame needs pounded back down. Some helpful (?) person
> has also set someone else's garbage can and recycle bin inside our
> fence. Oh, and the cable line isn't down, but it needs tacked back to
> the side of the house. The only evidence that we'd lost power is the
> microwave. The house is still intact, and the kitties are fine, if glad
> to see us.

Good to hear you are all ok.

I bet the kitties were happy to see reassuring humans. Kitties are not,
traditionally, fond of wet.

> Now, if you want to ask about the last leg of our trip today that SHOULD
> have only taken 4 hours, as we stopped last night just W of Reno, but
> ended up taking us 5 hours just to get past the mountains.... About 2
> hours of that was spent at or near the chain check point. By the time
> we got to the point and then put on the chains, they closed 80 at the
> chain check point just as we got our chains on, to clear up accidents.
> *sigh* The road itself, honestly wasn't that bad, not even at the
> summit of Donner Pass- just some slush, but everyone was reduced to 30
> MPH because of the chains. We HAVE all-wheel drive, so Jesse says that
> if we are ever foolish enough to drive to his parents in the winter
> again, we WILL just pay for snow tires and be done with it.

A family member of mine lives near Reno. He has snow tires. :>

I saw photos of I80 over the Sierras. Looked cold, and snowy, and like an
un-fun day to travel that freeway.

> Once we were out of the mountains, though, it was smooth sailing,
> despite hitting both Sacramento and San Francisco during rush hour. It
> had even stopped raining in Pacifica and the sun peaked out to set as we
> came around the bend on 1.

Smooth sailing, in part, because everyone who could stayed home today.
I've been inside with my visiting brother and a pile of rented DVDs.

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

In article <jEBfj.33808$lD6.1663@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net>,
Kat Hein <katenigma00 DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote:

> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
> >
> > I read in the paper that power is out in Pacifica, and the Bay Area is
> > being hammered by wind and rain. Freeways closed, etc. You and Jesse
> > and the kitties ok?
> >
>
<SNIP>
> Now, if you want to ask about the last leg of our trip today that SHOULD
> have only taken 4 hours, as we stopped last night just W of Reno, but
> ended up taking us 5 hours just to get past the mountains.... About 2
> hours of that was spent at or near the chain check point. By the time
> we got to the point and then put on the chains, they closed 80 at the
> chain check point just as we got our chains on, to clear up accidents.
> *sigh* The road itself, honestly wasn't that bad, not even at the
> summit of Donner Pass- just some slush, but everyone was reduced to 30
> MPH because of the chains. We HAVE all-wheel drive, so Jesse says that
> if we are ever foolish enough to drive to his parents in the winter
> again, we WILL just pay for snow tires and be done with it.

Sounds like your trip was even more fun than ours! We arrived home this
afternoon from San Diego, right through the storm. First there was the
huge dust storm, with car-sized tumbleweeds to dodge. Then came the high
winds--we saw at least one overturned semi, and several near misses
(including one right behind us). Last was the blinding rain.

The rain washed into our garage, but just barely, so the few things
still in cardboard boxes are okay (the cardboard was wet, the contents
were not). The newspaper people decided that despite my vacation hold
request, they were going to deliver the newspaper every day while we
were gone (except today, of course), so we have a huge pile of soggy
newspapers and nothing current to read. The garbage men very
thoughtfully decided that we had forgotten to put our can out, so they
dragged it out to the curb and left it there for a week-and-a-half (they
won't stop service for less than two weeks). So much for my efforts to
make the house look occupied...

Edna

Edna


---|)--- Edna Huelsenbeck (huelsenbeck@gmailDOTcom) ------------
---|---- Goddess of the ABML Out-of-Practice-Musicians Band -----
--/|---- Member, Brute Squad, Mommy Division --------------------
-| |')-- Provisional Member of the Sisterhood of Mess -----------
--\|/----Official Bard of the Book and Bridle -------------------
|
'
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
> Kat Hein wrote:
>> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
>>
>>> I read in the paper that power is out in Pacifica, and the Bay Area is
>>> being hammered by wind and rain. Freeways closed, etc. You and
>>> Jesse and the kitties ok?
>>
>> We just got back into town. Our garbage can was on the opposite side of
>> the yard as where we'd left it- LID STILL ON!!!- part of the fence
>> knocked down at the side, the front gate is missing the latch, and a
>> board on the door frame needs pounded back down. Some helpful (?) person
>> has also set someone else's garbage can and recycle bin inside our
>> fence. Oh, and the cable line isn't down, but it needs tacked back to
>> the side of the house. The only evidence that we'd lost power is the
>> microwave. The house is still intact, and the kitties are fine, if glad
>> to see us.
>
> Good to hear you are all ok.
>
> I bet the kitties were happy to see reassuring humans. Kitties are not,
> traditionally, fond of wet.

I think they probably didn't like things being blown against the house.
The wet, at least, stayed outside. Thank goodness for a modern roof and
new windows!

>
>> Now, if you want to ask about the last leg of our trip today that SHOULD
>> have only taken 4 hours, as we stopped last night just W of Reno, but
>> ended up taking us 5 hours just to get past the mountains.... About 2
>> hours of that was spent at or near the chain check point. By the time
>> we got to the point and then put on the chains, they closed 80 at the
>> chain check point just as we got our chains on, to clear up accidents.
>> *sigh* The road itself, honestly wasn't that bad, not even at the
>> summit of Donner Pass- just some slush, but everyone was reduced to 30
>> MPH because of the chains. We HAVE all-wheel drive, so Jesse says that
>> if we are ever foolish enough to drive to his parents in the winter
>> again, we WILL just pay for snow tires and be done with it.
>
> A family member of mine lives near Reno. He has snow tires. :>

If we lived near Reno, we would too. Not that it matters, to not have to
deal with chains on those highways, you have to have 4/all wheel drive
AND snow tires.
>
> I saw photos of I80 over the Sierras. Looked cold, and snowy, and like
> an un-fun day to travel that freeway.

When we went through, it was mainly rainy and slushy. Or some wet snow.
The worst of it, we got as pouring rain on the way down the mountains,
I think. Poor Jesse got soaked and then had to drive the rest of the
day like that. He DID have dry clothes to change into, if he'd wanted to
stop for it, but not dry shoes. :-/ Partially my fault, as I'd thought
of that, as precautionary winter supplies driving through the mountains,
and then forgot to grab his old pair. Water, food, blankets, chains, a
flashlight- those we all had. Not the spare shoes.

It looks like we got through in the nick of time. I-80 is now closed
entirely from the beginning of the Sierras to the Nevada border. We
ended up coming home a day early, too- thank goodness. We'd never have
gotten through tomorrow, I don't think, and that with all the other
post-holiday travelers on the road with us.



>
>> Once we were out of the mountains, though, it was smooth sailing,
>> despite hitting both Sacramento and San Francisco during rush hour. It
>> had even stopped raining in Pacifica and the sun peaked out to set as we
>> came around the bend on 1.
>
> Smooth sailing, in part, because everyone who could stayed home today.
> I've been inside with my visiting brother and a pile of rented DVDs.
>

I gladly would have been one of those. Of course, the timer on the
lights tell me that power was out for over 2 hours, so I might have been
somewhere else then, instead of here in the cold and dark. (This house
really needs a fireplace!)

Kat
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
> Kat Hein wrote:
>> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:

<snip>
>> Now, if you want to ask about the last leg of our trip today that SHOULD
>> have only taken 4 hours, as we stopped last night just W of Reno, but
>> ended up taking us 5 hours just to get past the mountains.... About 2
>> hours of that was spent at or near the chain check point. By the time
>> we got to the point and then put on the chains, they closed 80 at the
>> chain check point just as we got our chains on, to clear up accidents.
>> *sigh* The road itself, honestly wasn't that bad, not even at the
>> summit of Donner Pass- just some slush, but everyone was reduced to 30
>> MPH because of the chains. We HAVE all-wheel drive, so Jesse says that
>> if we are ever foolish enough to drive to his parents in the winter
>> again, we WILL just pay for snow tires and be done with it.
>
> A family member of mine lives near Reno. He has snow tires. :>
>
<snip>

Hoy, that is what we have been trying to explain to the bloody French
and Italian and German visitors coming to Switzerland during winter: GET
SOME SNOW TIRES !!! Mind you, if you do not and are Swiss, you get a
fine ! And it may not be very useful in the city here, but mind you, to
get to Lausanne for example, there may be snow on the motorway...

Ha, well, at least you are all safe. I still get a little confused
geographically speaking about where everyone here (we should do a map, I
think).

Aphrael...

--
http://www.loutan.net/blog/
http://www.ludivers.ch
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

I seem to remember there being one at one time. This was in the
pre-myspace/facebook days when you had to PAY for a social gathering page.

Whatever happened to that?
"Aphrael" <aphrael.nospamplease DeleteThis @isuisse.com> wrote in message
news:477ef57a$1_1@news.bluewin.ch...
> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
>> Kat Hein wrote:
>>> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
>
> <snip>
>>> Now, if you want to ask about the last leg of our trip today that SHOULD
>>> have only taken 4 hours, as we stopped last night just W of Reno, but
>>> ended up taking us 5 hours just to get past the mountains.... About 2
>>> hours of that was spent at or near the chain check point. By the time
>>> we got to the point and then put on the chains, they closed 80 at the
>>> chain check point just as we got our chains on, to clear up accidents.
>>> *sigh* The road itself, honestly wasn't that bad, not even at the
>>> summit of Donner Pass- just some slush, but everyone was reduced to 30
>>> MPH because of the chains. We HAVE all-wheel drive, so Jesse says that
>>> if we are ever foolish enough to drive to his parents in the winter
>>> again, we WILL just pay for snow tires and be done with it.
>>
>> A family member of mine lives near Reno. He has snow tires. :>
>>
> <snip>
>
> Hoy, that is what we have been trying to explain to the bloody French and
> Italian and German visitors coming to Switzerland during winter: GET SOME
> SNOW TIRES !!! Mind you, if you do not and are Swiss, you get a fine ! And
> it may not be very useful in the city here, but mind you, to get to
> Lausanne for example, there may be snow on the motorway...
>
> Ha, well, at least you are all safe. I still get a little confused
> geographically speaking about where everyone here (we should do a map, I
> think).
>
> Aphrael...
>
> --
> http://www.loutan.net/blog/
> http://www.ludivers.ch
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

Aphrael wrote:

> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
>
>> Kat Hein wrote:
<snip traveling in Sierras story>
>> A family member of mine lives near Reno. He has snow tires. :>
>>
> <snip>
>
> Hoy, that is what we have been trying to explain to the bloody French
> and Italian and German visitors coming to Switzerland during winter: GET
> SOME SNOW TIRES !!! Mind you, if you do not and are Swiss, you get a
> fine ! And it may not be very useful in the city here, but mind you, to
> get to Lausanne for example, there may be snow on the motorway...

Visitors always do inappropriate things for the local weather. That's what
makes them obviously visitors, and not natives. :>

> Ha, well, at least you are all safe. I still get a little confused
> geographically speaking about where everyone here (we should do a map, I
> think).

"Thataway", "thisaway" and "over there" not precise enough? :>

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

Kat Hein wrote:

> m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage] wrote:
>
>> Kat Hein wrote:
<snippage>
>>> Once we were out of the mountains, though, it was smooth sailing,
>>> despite hitting both Sacramento and San Francisco during rush hour.
>>> It had even stopped raining in Pacifica and the sun peaked out to set
>>> as we came around the bend on 1.
>>
>> Smooth sailing, in part, because everyone who could stayed home today.
>> I've been inside with my visiting brother and a pile of rented DVDs.
>
> I gladly would have been one of those. Of course, the timer on the
> lights tell me that power was out for over 2 hours, so I might have been
> somewhere else then, instead of here in the cold and dark. (This house
> really needs a fireplace!)

Someone I know went out for a loooooooooong lunch on Friday. Restaurant
had power! :>

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

Edna wrote:
> Kat Hein <katenigma00 DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
<snip Kat's trip from Reno>
> Sounds like your trip was even more fun than ours! We arrived home this
> afternoon from San Diego, right through the storm. First there was the
> huge dust storm, with car-sized tumbleweeds to dodge. Then came the high
> winds--we saw at least one overturned semi, and several near misses
> (including one right behind us). Last was the blinding rain.

At least Kat and Jesse didn't have small kids to keep quiet and reassured.

Car-size tumbleweeds? Dang, they grow big down south! I just saw a few
person size specimens holding a Tumbleweed Derby in the high winds.

> The rain washed into our garage, but just barely, so the few things
> still in cardboard boxes are okay (the cardboard was wet, the contents
> were not). The newspaper people decided that despite my vacation hold
> request, they were going to deliver the newspaper every day while we
> were gone (except today, of course), so we have a huge pile of soggy
> newspapers and nothing current to read. The garbage men very
> thoughtfully decided that we had forgotten to put our can out, so they
> dragged it out to the curb and left it there for a week-and-a-half (they
> won't stop service for less than two weeks). So much for my efforts to
> make the house look occupied...
'
Getting newspaper delivery to stop and start is, evidently, a hit n miss
affair. A co-worker had to call 2-3 times to get them to stop.

Slow roasting apples for a hot dessert tonight. :>

--
Megan
Journeyperson Dancing Barbarian
Keeper o' the FAQ: http://home.earthlink.net/~m_thomas3/abml/
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

Edna wrote:
> In article <jEBfj.33808$lD6.1663@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net>,
> Kat Hein <katenigma00 RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
>

>
> The rain washed into our garage, but just barely, so the few things
> still in cardboard boxes are okay (the cardboard was wet, the contents
> were not). The newspaper people decided that despite my vacation hold
> request, they were going to deliver the newspaper every day while we
> were gone (except today, of course), so we have a huge pile of soggy
> newspapers and nothing current to read. The garbage men very
> thoughtfully decided that we had forgotten to put our can out, so they
> dragged it out to the curb and left it there for a week-and-a-half (they
> won't stop service for less than two weeks). So much for my efforts to
> make the house look occupied...
>

You had the opposite problem that we did- somehow, the light had gotten
left on, and before we left, the mail carrier had obviously misread the
stop mail notice, and stopped delivering 2 days before we left!

We were without power for over 4 hours this morning. Luckily, we
discovered that our landlady was wrong, and our heat does continue to
work when the power was out. We had hail, a deluge of rain, thunder and
lightning- the whole works.

Then I noticed a headline on Yahoo News when it came back on, about a
levee breaking last night and flooding a town "near Reno" The town? The
one we stayed at the night before and where we were SUPPOSED to be last
night.

For those of you that are the praying type, say a little extra prayer of
thanksgiving with me, will you?

Kat
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

Aphrael wrote:
..
>
> Ha, well, at least you are all safe. I still get a little confused
> geographically speaking about where everyone here (we should do a map, I
> think).
>
> Aphrael...
>

It's easy enough to make a map, using GoogleMaps. I will even start one
for us.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=37.524975,-122.1...08&spn=

That's where I am. If anyone wants added, just let me know with your
approximate location.
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok? 

In article <13o0h2ogbqor8ea RemoveThis @corp.supernews.com>,
"m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"
<"m_thomas[numBksInLastHrldMage]"@earthlink.net> wrote:

> Edna wrote:
> > Kat Hein <katenigma00 RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote:
> <snip Kat's trip from Reno>
> > Sounds like your trip was even more fun than ours! We arrived home this
> > afternoon from San Diego, right through the storm. First there was the
> > huge dust storm, with car-sized tumbleweeds to dodge. Then came the high
> > winds--we saw at least one overturned semi, and several near misses
> > (including one right behind us). Last was the blinding rain.
>
> At least Kat and Jesse didn't have small kids to keep quiet and reassured.

Fortunately, our kids are no longer small*, and being modern kids, they
have a more-than-adequate selection of entertainment to choose from
(DVDs, GameCube games, DS games, and actual books). It's a definite
improvement from the family vacations I remember as a child. Hour upon
hour in the car, unable to read because of carsickness issues...

*If I ever get my cards out in the mail, you'll see exactly how un-small
they are becoming

> Car-size tumbleweeds? Dang, they grow big down south! I just saw a few
> person size specimens holding a Tumbleweed Derby in the high winds.

We were very impressed, too.

Edna


---|)--- Edna Huelsenbeck (huelsenbeck@gmailDOTcom) ------------
---|---- Goddess of the ABML Out-of-Practice-Musicians Band -----
--/|---- Member, Brute Squad, Mommy Division --------------------
-| |')-- Provisional Member of the Sisterhood of Mess -----------
--\|/----Official Bard of the Book and Bridle -------------------
|
'
 >> Stay informed about: offT: Kat, you ok?