Not a good day!

August 4 – Back to work!  Bill went in at 9 and I made blueberry muffins that I shared with a few folks here.  I put another pint of berries in the freezer and we still have a lot to munch on or bake with.

I was schedule 2 – 7 today so I put a chicken breast in my tiny crockpot with some seasonings and let it slow cook all day.  The plan was refried beans and chicken tacos.

My first hour of work today I cleaned the rec hall.  Tuesdays I can’t go into the office area until 3 as a friend of Pam’s comes in and does a list of things and she doesn’t like distraction, which works out OK that I get my “dirty” work out of the way.  Once she left I started working on phone messages and website emails.  The weather was getting VERY windy and we had to shut the rec hall doors due to all the debris coming in.  I had one poor RV come in once the rains started and got him in but since the storm was getting worse we shut down all of the computers and unplugged everything.  Well, it got worse before it got better!

Limb that missed us!

The power went out around 3:30 so I stayed in the Rec Hall with Pam and Laurie and we thought it would just pass on and the power would restore – NOT!  The wind started really howling and we had the back door open for some ventilation and one of the work campers came in and said some tree limbs were down.  One hit an RV and put a dent/scratch in it and one almost hit another couple’s truck.  They guys all moved their vehicles down to the open parking lot away from any trees.  Our little lane looked like a disaster area but it could have been worse as there are huge oak trees all along it.

At 6 Pam said to go home or I could stay and visit then her and Laurie but I opted to go

Debris on our Row

home and see what I could do for dinner.  Bill let the RV run off battery power but that means no AC.  The windows were open so it wasn’t bad but we didn’t want to run out our batteries so I turned on the generator and before we went to bed we closed it up and put on the AC.  Everything was calm by bedtime and Bill helped our neighbors unload their portable generators that they hooked up to their RV’s.  I think all but one of the work campers either has a built in generator or carries a portable. 

I shredded up the chicken and decided to “can” the beans and just made extra greens to put on the tacos.  Bill was very pleased with the dinner.  It’s been along time since I made them and it was a nice change of pace!

Bill used his new headphones and was very pleased with them.  Now I don’t get blasted out of the room and we can keep the AC running while watching TV.  I do think the rechargeable batteries are not very good so will see if I have some that size or get some the next time we’re out and about! 

I felt really bad for the family that arrived just before the onslaught of bad weather as being in the cabin there is no propane stove, just a grill and no lighting or anything.  Pam gave them free ice to keep in their cooler and Steve attempted to go to Dollar General for flashlights but they were already shut down also with no power. 

What a crazy day, but we’re safe and no one in the park suffered any major damage that we know of.