Day 10

Yes, we're on Day 10 without power. Same with Jeremy's parents, where we're currently staying. Same with my mom. Thankfully my dad got power back on Friday evening but had no running water until yesterday! We worried what the already long commute would be like from the 'burbs, so we opted for no power but a 10-minute commute for me! We found out in Tony & Judy's zip code, only 23% are still without power. In our zip code about 65% or so are still without power. We can't decide which group might mean a faster fix!

Yesterday we tried to find anything to do outside the house because it was so warm, so Judy and Tony (Jeremy's parents) and Jeremy and I ended up at the Mad Potter in River Oaks. It was 2 hours in the a/c with cold drinks and I think the guys really did enjoy their arts & crafts time! I made a vase, Tony painted a cute piggy bank with wings, Judy painted a small plate with a landscape of their streets and a sunset and it said "Goodnight Ike", and my creative husband painted a picture frame in remembrance of Ike, complete with our nosy neighbor peering over the fence, fallen tree in the front, chainsaw, and broken power lines. It's a real masterpiece! Judy took a cute picture of our art that I will try to steal and post later.

Also this weekend, on Saturday, we were able to escape the heat by seeing one of my oldest friend's Adam Fryfogle get married! It was so special to see him start a new chapter in his life! The wedding was beautiful and so much fun - funnily enough it was similar to mine, at Northwoods Presbyterian then reception at Champions. It was fun to see lots of people from high school and family friends I haven't seen in a long time! Unfortunately I suck and took no pictures. Ooops!

Funny story about our house - Jeremy went by after work on Friday and called me asking if I pulled the hose out in the backyard to use it, and also that our back gate was open. Since we do have a tree through a fence and power lines in the back, I assumed Centerpoint needed access and maybe used the hose to fill up water bottles or something. Later that night Jeremy got nervous because he couldn't remember seeing our grill in the back, so he immediately thought the gate was open because it had been stolen and the hose was out because the theif cleaned it off before stealing it (obviously a grill theif would want it clean!). We went back by the house later in the evening and I chatted with our neighbor while Jeremy check on the grill. I explained why Jeremy was there and our neighbor said he could explain it all! The night before, about 1am, Centerpoint turned the power onto those lines which set the tree on fire! Our neighbor heard a noise and saw flames outside his window, so he called 911 and the fire department and Centerpoint came. They used the hose to wet down the area and I guess the gate was left open inadvertently. (The grill was in its place, no worries!) Since then Centerpoint has been back to mark the gas line that runs under the power lines with flags and paint but again, we can't decide if this bumps us up in line or moves us way back! According to the news, both our area and Tony and Judy's should have power by Thursday. Here's hoping.