Tropical Storm Hermine

It's hard to think about food when you are sitting in a condo on the Laguna Madre with the hurricane shutters banging hard with the sustained 50mph winds as well as 70mph hurricane force gusts of wind.  I am, however, thinking about coffee...and the lack thereof!  I got up at 3:00 a.m. after laying in bed for 3 hours tossing and turning.  I felt happy that I had my hurricane supplies handy and up to date (plenty of batteries, water, battery-operated fan, solar charger, small electronics battery charger, and best of all - roll down hurricane shutters, etc.).  After Hurricane Dolly, I bought many supplies and they are kept in the "hurricane kit" in the attic.  I didn't want to drag down the propane stove and drip coffee maker until I knew I could go outside to use them!  I decided to take a shower to soothe my nerves...and it worked.  I used my handy battery operated lantern which really lit up the bathroom and there was plenty of hot water in my tank, despite the electricity having been off for several hours.  I ended with a cool shower because, of course, no air conditioning comes with no electricity!  My haute cuisine breakfast was a Diet Coke and a Chewy Chocolate Chip Pure Protein bar.

After calling AEP to get an ETA on electrical power reinstatement (they estimated 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday), I got to check my email and Facebook via cell phone for the first time.  I don't have a fancy cell - 3 year old flip phone works just fine for me...except times like this.  It is laborious to have to use a non-QWERTY keyboard for posting updates and texting the family that I survived...and that my teen slept right through it all - bless his heart.  I feel so disconnected with no electronics - no television, no computer (well, I could play solitaire for a while if I wanted), no "sounds" other than wind and rain.  No a/c running, no fridge running...all those little background noises we grow so accustomed to hearing!  I felt extreme happiness and relief when the power returned shortly after 6:00 a.m.  Thank you AEP workers!!!

I'll get back to reviewing restaurants later this week.  For now, I'm thankful to have survived another night in the tropics during Hurricane Season.  Time to re-set the clocks and get that coffee maker going!