June 28, 2008
This morning, we heard that the sandbagging effort had failed, and that more homes were affected… decided to go down and walk the train tracks. This is some of what we saw:
small talk
Archived Posts from this Category
June 25, 2008
It feels like my flood-related postings have been going on forever, but floods aren’t exactly the quickest natural disaster. My next post will be stitchy, promise ;)
Thank you all so much for helping me with this little fundraising campaign!! Your Studio Twenty purchases enabled me to donate $196 towards the MOHS Disaster Response Team. That’s right.. ALMOST TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS! The rescue workers are still finding animals– today they logged 16, one of which was a poor kitty who had been in a tree for who knows how long. Like I said before, I’m very impressed with what they are accomplishing here. Here’s a thumbnail of the donation receipt, click to read:
The deer have also been having a hard time…they are either getting stranded on the levees or bolting out onto the main road. (video of a bunch on a levee) The highway department has posted signs that read, “Crash Hazard Ahead Deer on Road” and today we passed a few hand-made signs, like this one:
Today’s pictures are all a bit blurry/crooked but I was trying to drive, watch for deer, and take pics at the same time.
June 21, 2008
OK, photojournalist I am not… but I needed to run up to the post office this morning and thought I’d snap a few pics along the way. The National Guard has the roads blocked so I couldn’t get near enough to the flood water to take pictures of that (which is just as well– I felt a bit vulture-ish as it was) but I was able to take pics of some of the helpers we have here. I saw insurance trailers, The Red Cross, The Salvation Army, The Humane Society, and The National Guard.
I stopped and talked to the Humane Society and had a look inside their mobile rescue unit… while I’m sure the animals would rather be home with their families, they are certainly well cared for. The trailer was air conditioned and clean, and the cages were plenty big for them. But like the guy said, “we got ‘em outta the water and that’s the most important thing”. I asked about donations, and he said that because their needs change so quickly, monetary donations through their website is the best way to go. Edited to add: The Humane Society has built a much larger temporary shelter at the Pike County fairgrounds. This is just one of the mobile rescue units in operation; they accept the pets (either from rescue workers or owners) here and then drive them up to the main emergency shelter.
I’ve decided to donate any money I earn through Studio Twenty for the next few days to the Missouri Humane Society. (so if there’s anything in my Etsy shop you were waffling about, now would be a good time to un-waffle) Every cent made on sales will be given to the Humane Society. Please feel free to post the link http://studiotwenty.etsy.com on your blogs or message boards you frequent, too. I’ll keep everyone updated on how much we raised ;)
Thank you SO much for all of your sweet comments and emails!
June 20, 2008
At 10:23 Wednesday night, the Winfield levee broke. Emergency evacuations were ordered for those living on the East side of Hwy. 79… the high school has been taken over by the Red Cross to become a shelter, and the National Guard has been supervising the sandbagging efforts to reinforce the secondary levee. There are 24-hour sandbagging effort, military troops at the intersections, and a continual buzz of helicopters in the background. Here are a few links to videos, but I suspect you’ve seen it all before if you watch CNN at all. According to them, Winfield is due to float away any second!
- news video of Winfield sandbagging
- helicopter flood tour video
- You Tube video of Winfield levee breach
The good news (for us) is that we are safe & dry and in NO danger of flooding… we live on a hill, near the high school/shelter. Our power has been going off, and we may become slightly stranded if the main road into town floods, but those are very minor inconveniences compared to people who are watching their houses fill up with water. The flood stage here is 26ft and we are currently at 35.6ft, and rising.
June 12, 2008
It has come to my attention that TODAY is Thursday, which makes yesterday Wednesday, which makes the title of my last post an error. The good news is I’ve gained a day :)
I was just singing while making our lunch and my daughter said,
if you came in a bottle, you’d have a warning label that said “too much happiness”
There are worse problems to have, I think. Have a lovely (extra) day today!
June 8, 2008
I just signed up for a PIF from Sonda and now I want to find a few PIF victims recipients of my own! The first 3 people that indicate interest by commenting on this post will get something made by me in the next 365 days. In return you’ll make the same offer on your blog… and so it goes, Paying It Forward. Of course I’m thinking that I can get them done in much less time, but I am glad for the 365 day cushion :)
A question for you: how do you usually respond to blog comments? Do you post a comment on the other person’s blog, post in the comment section of your own blog, address the comment in your next blog post, use email, or…?
I ask because I almost never re-visit blog posts that I’ve already commented on. Yet, I have noticed many comment sections including responses from the blog’s own author! I read a few hundred blogs (hurray for Google Reader) and just don’t have time to go back to things I’ve already read… heck, I barely have time to read them once. And while it might be easier/quicker for me to respond to my visitors in my comments section, I prefer to use good old-fashioned email ;) So, what am I missing? Am I doing it wrong? Is there a handbook for blog etiquette?
We are expecting severe weather AGAIN… I’m so tired of these storms and I’m getting to be as nervous as a lobster eyeballin’ a pot of boiling water. Tornado warnings on then off then on then off again… this is the craziest weather season I can remember. Ever.
May 31, 2008
I saw this amazing cloud rolling in… but by the time I remembered that my camera was in my purse, I had missed getting a good pic of the front edge. Grrr.
I checked the NOAA website and saw this report:
DOPPLER RADAR HAS INDICATED SOME WEAK ROTATION WITHIN THIS STORM. WHILE NOT IMMEDIATELY LIKELY...A TORNADO MAY STILL DEVELOP. ADDITIONALLY FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THIS STORM! THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION.
And so like all good gawkers, we opened the back door and stood there watching the funnel clouds forming. Too bad I didn’t get better pictures! We saw a bunch of little ones and about 6 larger ones, but I kept getting dark or blurry images. I really need to read the instruction book to see what settings I’m supposed to be using for evening outdoor pictures.
