The Levee Broke!

Around 4:00 a.m. this morning the Birdland area levee broke. The pictures of the homes and business that are now surrounded by floodwaters are heartbreaking. As I last wrote, Abby and Justin voluntarily evacuated their home on the South side. The news reports indicate the waters are receding in her area. Praise the Lord!

One can only wait and hope that things will continue this way for the Des Moines area. Those poor folks with homes and businesses in the Birdland area are probably not knowing what to do. How does one deal with such a degree of stress and helplessness? You don't really know what it is like unless you go through it yourself. I know from experience that you can read or hear about something, even feel bad about it, but until it happens to you, you have no idea.

I know this from experience. When my brother and his family were killed in an automobile accident, I thought, "So this is what life is all about." There were five of our family who were in that car and none survived. One nephew was not in the car, thank goodness. It was a terrible tragedy (woman drove the wrong way on the interstate hit them head-on). Enough on that.

P.S. Steve and I have been making our will out. You have to enter a lot of info from your life insurance policies. If you're ever in need, here's a link for life insurance quotes as everyone needs to have a good policy. Halfmoon

Floods of '08, Part II

I made it into West Des Moines for Abby's appointment. She had to drink glucose and wait for an hour, then have her blood drawn. The good news is she doesn't have gestational diabetes. We then went to look for a dress for her to attend a wedding.

After that she went with me to shop for a gift for Steve for Father's Day. I finally got a brilliant idea for him, just needed to track the item down. Can't tell you here what I was looking for because Steve gets invitations to read my blog entries so I can't spoil it. After three stores, I finally got it.

The trip back home really brought the flood situation back to the forefront. I drove on I-80/35 and was distressed to see the waters nearly to the road. There was a warning sign earlier stating 'Traffic delay ahead, be prepared'. I thought the traffic was nearly normal until I neared the NE 14th Street exit. The delay began. It turned out the reason for the delay was the people slowing to see the near devestation on both sides of the interstate.

By that time I was talking on my phone with my nephew in Alabama. He could hear my words of dismay. He had heard about Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, but not Des Moines. I had received a call from Steve earlier that he was helping Abby and Justin move things from their basement to the main floor of the house. While he was there someone connected to the police came to the door asking for voluntary evacuation.

From then on, they loaded Abby's vehicle with the things that would be hardest to replace (computer, television, stereo equipment, etc.). It must have been a hard move to make. They were told if they didn't leave soon, they wouldn't be able to leave.

I explained all this to Mike and he couldn't believe it. He promised to pray for our families which I coveted dearly. With Abby being six months pregnant, they didn't need this. I offered them our home and she responded they were going to Justin's mom's house. I relaxed as I know Theresa will take care of them.

By now, I was driving near the Merle Hay exit. They have the letters M H created by plants right before the exit and the water was nearly halfway up the M. I couldn't help but exclaim when I saw it. Mike felt my pain. Because I got a lump in my throat, it was hard to talk, and I didn't want to start crying, I told him I'd only call him back if I didn't make it home. You know 'no news is good news'.

I saw the pictures Heather took of the flooded areas yesterday on her blog (http://digiscrapping.net/blog). The great news is those pics will be on the front and inside pages of the Nonpareil newspaper in Council Bluffs, along with her name and my sister's (and her husband's names). She deserves any acclaim she gets! I am so proud of her! Although the pictures show how bad the flooded areas are, they are great ones! Congratulations, Heather! Halfmoon

Father's Day is Sunday

Well, I'm still no nearer to an idea for Steve for Father's Day. Any input would be appreciated. I saw a really neat grill at Home Depot, I think, that has four burners plus another burner for placing pans on it to cook. The drawback was that the cost was $199. Man!

Steve normally won't give me hints for gifts for him. One idea I had was for me to add things to the garden to make it neater, but that would really be for me, not him. Bummer! We really haven't talked about it yet, with all the problems we've had keeping the crawl space dry and the problems with my tooth.

For those of you who didn't read yesterdays blog, I ended up having a root canal done due to infection in two cusps of a bottom molar. Anyway, back to Father's Day, if you think of something cool but not too expensive, give me a call or email me! (Or comment on my blog, LOL) Maybe I should look at some plus size lingerie, that would give him a kick, huh? Halfmoon

Floods of 2008

They're talking about closing I-80 east and west of Des Moines due to the waters being forecast to cover the bridges. Just great! I'm supposed to go to an OB appointment tomorrow at 8 a.m. I'll be able to get into Des Moines, but leaving it to return home will be a problem. I will be going to the appointment. I guess I'll have to figure out how to get back home.

Who thought we would have to go through this again. The rains last night were hard for a while, then they would lighten only to hit hard again and again. My square of garden near our entry door looked like a little swimming pool, passing the sidewalk and edging closer to the foundation of our house.

Steve told me today that the gopher, or whatever crawls around under our grass making tunnels, actually helped us by doing that as the water would go down into those tunnels and flow away from our home. At least something good came out of that, huh? I hope Abby and Justin remembered to stock up on dog supplies for Daisy. Halfmoon

Under the Drill Again!

If I didn't have bad luck, I would have no luck at all. I have been dealing with pain at the nerve areas of my teeth for quite some time. Once it starts, it quickly spreads to surrounding teeth until all of them are throbbing.

I normally chew ice, which backs the pain off. Lately, however, the two crowns I just had done have been driving me crazy. The ice shoots pain straight through to the nerves instead of helping. I finally went to the dentist yesterday. Today, I found myself at an endodontist at 7:50 a.m. for a consult.

Yep, something wrong at the nerve root. The tooth has four cusps and two of them had infection in them. The tooth was dying, great, huh? My root canal appointment was at 11:50 a.m. and I walked out of there after 2:30 p.m. Luckily they have blocks to hold your mouth open instead of having to force your muscles to hold it open. Plus, they use a rubber dam that keeps the water away from the back of your mouth so you don't feel like you are drowning.

Let me tell you the relief I feel from the pain! Wow! What a difference. Now to face the pain of the bill when it comes. They make you pay your portion up front. AND since I already had two crowns done this year, my insurance would only pay a little over $300.

Now, back at home, I'm wondering if I need to check into Santa Fe dehumidifiers
for the humidity problem in this house. Steve bought a new sump pump for the crawl space and will hopefully have it installed soon. Hope you're all keeping dry and safe! Halfmoon

Is It the End Times?

Iowa has been hit again with heavy, continuous rains. Des Moines television stations predicted these storms are going to be worse than the Floods of '93. Anyone who lived through that flood knows how bad it was. Will it truly be worse than that?

Only driving on the I-80 bridges over the Raccoon River reinforces the fear of how close we are to the big flood. The outdoors even smells like mold. We have had too much rain.

Steve and I stocked up on food and water yesterday in case we are cut off from Des Moines. When we came back home, Heather called me and said her neighbor reported West Des Moines water would be cut off that afternoon. That worried me as we no longer operate with well water. I asked Steve if we should collect water in 5 gallon buckets for flushing just in case. He suggested I call Xenia and ask the outlook of our losing water.

Xenia responded, "We have other sources besides Des Moines for water, we have wells and other cities to draw from. No need to worry." Thank goodness for that. Well, I don't think this is the end times, however, the outlook is grim...keep your prayers going up, Iowa covets them! Halfmoon

Steve and Syd

Sunday Steve (II) brought Sydney out so he could help his dad put the air conditioner in the dining room window. He was getting concerned because it was forecast to be warmer in the next week or so. I was happy because usually it takes me a few weeks to get things lined up to put it in.

It's always great to see Sydney. She's one of my two granddaughters to come running to me and hug me without prompting (ok, sometimes Alyce does too). Syd has such a sunshiny smile, her whole face lights up. Since I don't see Sydney as often, it's always a treat when she comes.

She and I talked a lot while the guys worked on getting the window and air conditioner ready. I talked to her some about Jeff Dunham and his puppets. I wished I could have shown her the first DVD which wasn't quite as in need of bleeping as the second.

Finally, the guys had the truck backed up to the back door and since I'm the doorman, I went into action. After ensuring that the air conditioning compressor was located in its correct spot (and clean as a whistle), I let them pass into my domain.

It's a little trickier (this year and last) to get it into the window as the buffet is directly in the path. It's a pain to move, too, so I guess Steve's decided that leaving it in place is the lessor of two evils, huh? I'm all set for the hot weather now. Hope you are too! Halfmoon

Alyce & Kat - At the Doctor

Well, today I drove in to take Heather and kids to Alyce and Kat's well check-ups. Most of you know I used to work at that doctor's office. I always have trepidition about going there, but it always turns out nice to see the girls I used to work with.

As we were driving there, Jordan asked if Jaimy would be there. He is the only male in the check-in/check-out section and Jordan likes to go when he is there. When I used to work there, Jaimy would give Jordan things to do while his mom had the girls in seeing the doctor. (Sometimes it was finding paper clips, other times dusting with a feather duster.) At one point I began to worry when Jordan said he was going to be a janiter when he got older. I told him he's going to be a doctor or a lawyer (someone to take care of Grandma when she's old).

The visit seemed to go quickly while we were there. I was amazed when I saw what time it was when we got back to the car. The other amazing thing was how Heather removed all of the marker off her daughter's bodies before I picked them up. She must have had the girls under multiple shower faucets as the marks were pretty faded. Believe me, if there's a marker in the house, one of the girls will find it.

After the doctor's visit (and the nurse's shot for Alyce :( which really made her sad), Heather took us to eat at Taco Bell!!! Unfortunately Alyce slept through most of that visit. Heather did pretty well, though, eating with one hand (ahh, I remember those days). Finally Alyce woke up and ate, too. Surprises me how much Kat eats now. She always ate a minuscule amount of food and then said she was full. She ate her whole kid's meal (minus the chips she shared with her favorite Grandma).

Alyce shared chips with Grandma too (the last one she ate most of and gave me about 1/8 of the chip). What a crack-up...it's the thought that counts, right? Both girls are healthy, keep trying to get Alyce to drink milk. The doctor seemed happy that Alyce has 18 - 20 words in her vocabulary now. (We're happy too!) We were counting the words as we waited for the doc to come. I sure love my grandkids! Halfmoon

Pato Is Home, What a Difference!

It was a long three months, but Pato is home! We all are happy, but he and Heather's three kids are very, very happy. Not to mention Heather being on top of the world. I thought for a while there I was going to have to move in with them so she could keep her sanity.

There were a few calls with Heather near tears and she thought she was going to need an acne treatment before long. Jordan called me once asking if I would come get him because his mom didn't understand him. I felt so bad for them all.

But, now that Pato is home, all is well. Of course, we have the threat of them moving to Ohio looming at us, but hopefully they won't have to do that. Alls well that ends well. Halfmoon

Message to the Powerball

All right, listen up! We need to make Las Vegas travel plans so run those numbers the right way! If I have my way, the entire family will go with us expenses paid (courtesy of Mom and Dad) and money to play.

This is Tuesday so I am giving you 24 hours notice to play nice. I've tried being gentle before so now I'm getting mean. No more mister nice guy (gal)! There is no reason not to give us a break. I've got a granddaughter who wants tumbling lessons, a grandson who wants to be in football, and two granddaughters who want to participate in soccer.

P.S. Nice houses and cars for the family would be nice too. Halfmoon

She's So Cute Pregnant!

Heather and I were together for a few free hours for her without kids (appendages - Alyce). Abby and Justin joined us and Abby is soooo cute pregnant. Heather and I were talking about that fact before she walked in.

Heather is getting plans together to have a baby shower for Abby and it is so exciting. Now we'll need to start looking for baby shower invitations. How neat is that! This will be grandbaby number eight. I can't wait 'till September! Halfmoon

Celebration of Birthdays

I'm really enjoying the hours Steve is working right now. We have been getting DVDs to watch together on his days off and sometimes during the day when he is home. I can't say the DVDs have been fantastic but just spending time together is excellent. Seems like we just keep getting better and better. Who knew that by the time we spent (almost) 31 years together it would be greater than when we first married.

I'm looking forward to Sue and Wendy (and her kids) coming up. Sue and I are going to celebrate our birthdays since we both just had one in May. I picked out her card in April and it is one of those that has music when you open it. She had mentioned she was not really looking forward to what her age will be (can't tell what that is, that would be telling). I can't say what it plays cause that would spoil it for her, but it's really cute and it's a song that I love. When I received her card for me in the mail, I had to laugh because it was a card that played music too! Brilliant minds think alike, right?

Another note on the home front, since Heather quit nursing she is looking for top diet pills to lose weight. Poor Alyce doesn't like milk. I worry about her not drinking it. I told Heather to start buying Alyce milkshakes, then start making them at home with less and less ice cream. Who knows, it might work. Hope you all have a great day! Halfmoon