It seems like the winds from Ike have FINALLY died down. It’s amazing how big the storm was. The tree that was leaning towards our house after Gustav is thankfully NOT leaning on our house after all the additional wind. And I’m glad to report our friends Simon and Suzanne in Houston made it through the storm with only minor damage and with power!

I ventured out this morning to the Farmer’s Market downtown. The streets were quiet but the market was bustling. It was moved next door, inside an old one-story building. I took my kitchen knives to be sharpened. I had to hang out and wait a little while after I finished my shopping, but there was good people watching. I did learn today if you see something you want buy it then, don’t wait or it maybe gone. I had my eye on some cut sunflowers but wanted to get them last but they were all gone when I got there. When I picked up my knives the guy apologized for taking so long. He said he had (former councilperson) Peggy Wilson’s to do first and that they were a lot duller than mine. When I told G this story he said “I always thought she wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.” (rim shot) After the market I hustled over to Parkway Partners. On the second Saturday they have talks and sell plants. Today was about fall gardening and free seeds were given out. Since I got there late I missed out on the plants for sale but did take home an aloe plant. They had a chicken coup in the garden there; when I was in Albuquerque, I visited one of Dorie’s friends who raises fancy chickens in her backyard. It’s got me thinking… fresh eggs from my own backyard. I asked G to think about it. I also stopped by Green Parrot to replace my herbs that died during Gustav. Many of the plants there were pretty battered. They are located at the end of Nashville St. next to the train tracks and it’s very exposed. I then visited the community garden to see how it fared. A few small trees got blown over and a big branch is dangling over part of my plot. It looks like it bounced on my okra plants. I think they are goners. It’s time to pull them out and get the soil ready for my fall garden but the wind was still gusting and it was so amazingly humid. It’s always humid here but this was like 120% humidity. I decided to spend the rest of the day inside. Laundry and my road trip travelogue were calling.

I’ve been lying low since returning home. Things were strange those first few days, but to expected. Not nearly as strange as coming home after Katrina. Local businesses, especially groceries, restaurants and bars, were quick to open. Monday was a nice, normal day. I got up, went to work, worked, came home from work, made dinner, and drank wine. It was good. We don’t see the National Guard in our area of town any more. The power has gone out for short periods of time, just enough to have to reset all the clocks, but nothing major. Some Katrina flashbacks: piles of debris on the side of the road; that horrible stench from everyone cleaning out their fridges before leaving and then the garbage sitting out in the heat for a week; random traffics lights being out.

We started feeling some effects of Ike as early as this morning… sporadic wind gusts and rain. Saw some pretty dark and nasty clouds on my way home from work and briefly caught some heavy rain. My father called me at work to see if we were leaving or what. No. We should get some strong winds and rain but nothing to leave for. The worst should be tonight through Friday night. I’ll be happy once is gets past us. Best of luck to my friends in Texas!