Hurricane Laura

In the wake of Hurricane Laura, Kim and Kovi are headed to Oklahoma.  The house is quiet.  I'm home alone.  I'm going to finish trimming some tree limbs that could potentially strike the house.

 I surfed TS Marco yesterday until sunset and this morning as well.  I hope to catch some surf from Laura too.

 Kim is leaving.  I'm staying.  We can do the opposite things and get along with that. When it comes down to it, the evacuation road trip is more of a pain for me than the real possibility of emergency due to a Cat3 Hurricane is for Kim.  I'd feel cooped up doing the evacuation and Kim will be filled with anxiety as the storm approaches.  We let each other do what the other wants which isn't necessarily together.

Too bad that Kaley isn't living in South Padre!

Bill

Uninspiring NASA up there making movies of a stupid hurricane that didn't even hit us. For goodness sakes, we are only at 'B' and it's almost September. Can't NASA do something like --- make more hurricanes??? Neil Armstrong could generate a hurricane with his own lungs... through a straw! These yayhoos won't even lift off when a hurricane is hitting Bermuda.

New Canvas -- 18x11 -- Where To?

Think another beach trip is in order.

I got my hammock packed. Think I can hang it on the posts under one of the houses that is falling into the ocean.

Surf is knee to thigh high. That'll do.

Unfortunately, I had a meeting on Friday, so missed the Hurricane Dean swell. And then the guy I was supposed to meet didn't show up anyways since he was tied up in another meeting. /:^O

I think Hurricane swell days should be holidays. This may be a new company policy. No work if the #19 Bouy reads over 8 feet. Period.

But in the end it is my fault, because my guilty conscience won't allow me to enjoy being off... I think I need therapy... but overall I'm freaking glad I have a good job and that I'm not Ann Frank.

Update

Kovi was sick for the last couple days. He threw up twice last night. He seems fine today. Kaley put herself in quarantine fearing she would not make her soccer game on Saturday. Her soccer practices were supposed to be in the park that is adjacent to our neighborhood. Because of hurricane Ike, the park is closed and her practices are now pretty far away. I took her there this evening. I whined the whole way there about traffic. Kaley wore her PSV soccer shirt from Holland. The coach was familiar with the team. I really like the coach. He is one of those that barely raises his voice, has things under control, knows what he is doing and teaches well. Unfortunately, because of hurricane Ike, Saturday's game was canceled.

Each night this week I have been painting one of David Curtis' paintings. I painted over the painting of the shrimp boats I did at Quintana.

I has been totally enjoying working with Mark, the new Spoonbill employee. It is like having four cylinders added to the engine along with a tuneup... riding shotgun, windows down... Right now I am doing voice dictation over a spare laptop that he brought over and set up.

Got Kinda Weird

I just *had* to add eyes and buttons. Then I made a hat. That was three trips back and forth. I was sorta trespassing. It's hard to imagine getting fined for building a snowman in a public park closed due to a hurricane.

Couldn't get the mouth right. Everybody is asleep. Not me.

I decided that Snowmen are kinda scary - especially at night - especially when owls are hooting and you are all alone in a field -

Big black eyes. Had to stab a spike in his head for a hat. Teeth kept falling out. Put'em back in. Fingers blue. Scraping the teeth back in. Falling out.

Drip drip. Ahhhh!

Bracing for Edouard

Kim, Kaley and Kovi are safely in Austin. I am here. I helped Larry board up his windows. I did not board up my own. I said something like, "I want to see all of mother nature's fury blasting through my house." But last weekend, I also said, "I'm ready to die." I am not ready for either.

It is very calm outside right now. If the electricity goes out, this blog may be quiet for a bit.

My house is pretty much dead center on the path. I know it shouldn't be, but this is kind of fun. It's like the night before Christmas.

By the time you read this, who knows what will have happened. More than likely, I'll be blogging tomorrow.

One can only hope. Who knows? Maybe I'll experience the eye of a hurricane. Maybe I'll see a blue sky above in between 85 mph winds.

I wish I could block the storm from everybody who doesn't feel likewise. I don't mean to make light. Single me out. May the force form a singularity and pinpoint this house. Grab and toss me into the stratosphere. Pulverize all my possessions. It's all good.
1

Vacation

1. Contract for Oct 1 still undone
   
2. Group insurance - the going back and forth - the wait - the paper
3. Picking up from airport
4. All baggage now being unloaded - all over house
   
5. Lots of washing
6. Repacking

1. Hurricane closing in
2. Decision about when/if to get there... flight canceled???

1. Eleven hour flight with two year old
2. Jet lag
3. Falling into middle of wedding planning

1. The family is in a state of Disney withdrawl too
   

But really --- today I got some hiking boots. Gortex! I just love to hear that word.

I'm setting out on foot. I'm going to disappear into I don't know what. Just the thought of it is a vacation. I don't even care if we get there. I'm already hiking. I'm already on the train, in the misty fields, streets, dives, in front of Van Gogh's work! Rembrandt! The levees!

I made it through another year as a contractor!

I'm not a tourist! It's new family, and they're excited about meeting us.

Ike Strikes - Run To The Hills

1. Changed flight to go out of Austin (under hurricane watch too!)
2. Rushing with the packing
3. Got contract signed!!!
4. Hoping to beat the madness out of here
5. Just got phone call from League City with voluntary evacuation

Everybody is nervous and really busy! I'm always like that. I feel like everybody is on the same wavelength. CVS was a mad house!

Board up and run to the hills!

1. Am I forgetting anything???
2. Stop
3. Think
4. Breath in
5. Breath out

Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lights Out

Since hurricane Ike, finally the electric company came to mark where the electric lines are so the fence dudes could poke holes.

I got a knock on the door. My neighbor, Bart, was all excited. The fence dude hit an electric line. He said, "It went sha-pow! Lucky he's okay!" I said, "You mean after all that, they marked the lines wrong, could have killed the guy?!?"

Of course it was my line. The electric company came out and fixed it. Bart and I talked to the guy for an hour or so while he did his work. They told stories. I never saw the whole movie, and don't know exactly why, but something about the guy reminded me of the black character in "The Green Mile" withTom Hanks.

It was kinda weird at one point. The man was laying down in the hole working on the wires (which he kept hot the whole time). He was missing his small crimper. Bart said it was probably in a pawn shop. That went into thievery. The man said, "They'll get what's comin' to them." Bart said something about getting some lead in 'em. The man said, "Once a thief, always a thief" Bart said, "Well no. I stole everything when I was young." The man stood up tall, leaned back, and said, "I told ya, you gots what comin' to ya." Bart said, "I was only a kid, I didn't know." The man said, "You knowed."

On another note... this is the third night in a row I've woken to spitting up. My stomach has been acting up for a few days so I think it is temporary. I hope so. It burned my esophagus this time. I coughed for about 15 minutes with this crap all lodged in the back of my throat.

Kovi At OU During Hurricane-Pandemic

 

Kim and Kovi fled to a b-n-b in Norman, Oklahoma. I stayed home, trimmed trees and surfed.

Laura veered east.  All we got was a breeze, then good clean surf Thursday morning :)

Peter Pan Speedrock

Saw these guys last night. They played at an invite-only grand opening for a club. I was a lucky invitee. They´re really good musicians. They rock. They are a cross between Motorhead and AC/DC... and are about hotrods and driving fast. Erik was the sound engineer for the band, toured the states... met Connie... and wallah!

I owe this trip to Peter Pan Speedrock. Sometimes you just can´t see the side effects of starting a rock band. The Vetter Family is in Holland, and Keith gets to see Van Gogh´s work... fleeing from a hurricane... etc.

This picture may have been from last night. He wore that shirt with the General Lee.

Redbud

Man... this is great! I think the whole family is ready for home. I don´t miss JR´s hair yet, but I miss the boring suburb routine of waking up and dealing with traffic... I miss neighbors. Wanna know what the latest scoop is. The most ridiculously small thing is just so good. Did tree hugger wear a bandana recently?! Did discount-tire dude drive by on his Harley? Has Mark broke out the hats? Is Bart mad about dogs? Are illegal aliens still mowing lawns? Is anybody in rehab? Has Jo tried to scam something for ebay? Has anybody gotten busted? Has Kara been out in her pajamas? Any more wrecks? Has new dude with black police car gotten locked out again? Is Myles awake? Has he taken steps to fix the electricity leak? Where´s Luda? How about New Age Elf Girl? Wadda about Hanky? What about missing shingles? Downed fences? Is Janis doing the Zen trance thing to bring peace to the world? Larry, are ya biting your finger nails over the state of the universe? Has Winston Cup got the complete stink back? Is munchkin in preschool already?! Mike Jones! Who? Mike Jones! Gotta hear Mark tell the hurricane story.

Along The Sea Wall

Painted this in Galveston right below the memorial for those lost in the hurricane at the turn of the century.

I missed going to the art walk. I got absorbed in this.

I really put a lot into that painting. I don't think it shows. Oh well.

One Arm Pump

I woke up this morning and threw a hand out, slammed it down and up and said "kkk xxx!"  I was picturing a shotgun throwing out a shell and reloading.  I'm gittin' my second wind.  Felt myself flying down a hurricane wave.  Got up.  Freaking ankle caught and I hobbled around a bit. I didn't say, "dang, I'm gittin' old."  I said, "Ankle, screw you.  We've got stuff to do."  Lock'n Load!  Rock-n-Roll!

Airline Mayhem

I'll just make times Texas time, so you get the idea.

Maybe I should preface this with the fact that we had two one-way tickets to begin with. Due to Ike, had to reroute last minute. Went through dense hurricane traffic to get to Austin. Because of the diversion to Austin, ended up with 6 legs for the trip there and back. That's with a two year old, stroller, carry ons, diapers... and a bouncy 9 year old.

For the trip back, we started at 2:00am. Walked to the train station in Eindhoven. Took train to Amsterdam.

There, security took my Veritas angle finder that I use for woodworking and painting. Clerk demonstrates how I could use it as a knife to "stab people". I don't know why exactly, but that really upset me. I love that tool. I'll say that my pencil sharpener with razor made it through... and thought that much more dangerous.

Flight was delayed because of WIND! Ended up stuck on the runway. Finally flew out at 9:00am. Flight over Atlantic is l-o-n-g.

Got to Detroit at 9:30pm. Connecting flight was at 10:05pm. In a mad rush we tried to get through customs and missed the connect. Ticket stubs for four all over the place. Baggage tickets off and on. Kovi crying!

Got re-routed to Houston! Still had to panic to get to that connect. The people told us to run! It's foggy but I remember running with Kovi and Kovi yelling FASTER!!!

Got to Austin at 11:55pm. Thanks Mamaw!!!

This is where we find out that our baggage is lost. Still lost... so not sure about today.

Got here at 1:15am.

Still have to get home.

Roofing Etc.

Now that the foundation is fixed, the roof is next. Redbud Circle adopted a certain roofing company which will remain unnamed because I don't have a lot of good news about them. They weren't horrible, just seemed like the three that used them, including a dear Vetter Family blog reader and anonymous :), had to ride them to get things done. I don't want to deal with that. It is unfortunate because had the guy done what he said he was going to do he'd have had several more houses and maybe a couple free beers... and everybody would have cashed in on referrals. Oh well.

I want a local company, no Paulos that are staying at the RV parks and such. I don't want a door-to-door group. I also want a roof before next hurricane season... which is only a few months off!

The slate guys never returned our calls. I figure they must be too busy.

Kim has talked to a few who recommend Bay Area Roofing.

After that, I may have a really good lead on somebody for the kitchen. I asked my next door neighbor who is a cabinet maker, but he is swamped. I need to meet with that wood worker dude I know at Starbucks. I *really* want custom cabinetry from somebody who cares. This guy seems perfect. Ideally, I'd like to do it myself, but the project overwhelms me. I want to put what energy I have left after work, kids etc. into drawing/painting. I have energy for that and want to keep it going. I feel sorta stupid for having all the woodworking tools and not using them. I've even thought of trading the tools for the guy's work. I keep thinking I'll use them once I get some paintings... but that keeps not materializing.

Kim has been more than patient. I can't wait to give her a beautiful place to cook.

Ike - Scare Crow Or Projectile

I put up the hurricane scare crow before leaving. It's not attached, so now concerned it may become a projectile if it doesn't do its job.

Dissonance And Clarification

I got a lot of feedback (not just the comments, but e-mail and live real human comments here in the Netherlands) with a post I did a couple days ago. I decided to change:

The problem is that I think I relax best when I peg the speedo at 184 or something like that.

to the following:

I like looking over the edge and feeling like I could if I wanted to. It´s more alive. There´s a striking difference between the beautifully manicured villages here, like Nuenen, compared to the thriving seedy downtown Eindhoven. It´s embracing both that causes this dissonance, like pop Nirvana.

And I´ll add, it´s managing the safety and security while taking risk, and offering the potential, which yields growth. It´s offering security where it´s needed and not confusing liberty with the lotto or a hurricane, but allowing it and working like heck to inform (and helping). It´s giving security for those who ask, or who can´t ask, in ways that make sense. Lotta work.

What would I do with the liberty to do just about anything I wanted? Would I spiral into an abyss? Would my daughter? What about spiralling abysses?

It´s funny that I fear myself and assume given liberty I´d choose self destruction, but over and over again things keep sprouting and flowers, like Van Gogh´s sunflowers, keep popping up...

Well night night :)

Wait a second... it´s only 1:00am ;)