Brazoria, Saturday, September 9, 2017, 11:00 PM

Well, we made it back to Brazoria yesterday, arriving around 2:00 PM.   No water entered the house!  Hurrah!   Apparently we never lost electric power either -- the digital clock on the stove still displayed the correct time.    

Ditches have mostly drained.  Lawn littered with sticks.  Grass must be 6" high.  Rain gauge says 3.5 inches ... Ann thinks that's too low.  I tried to mow the front yard (the part inside the fence where Robbie chases squirrels) but gave up -- too hot and too many mosquitoes.

Before we left we put everything valuable (and portable) on shelves, tables, or counters.  So now it seems like a good time to clean the floors.  Mop, sweep, vacuum, mop, sweep, vacuum, mop, sweep ... ugh.   

Also a good time to start going through stuff in the storage room.  Do we really need all this stuff?

• Old computer monitor.  Will take it to Best Buy for recycling.
• Three ancient laptops (two Apple and one ...).   Maybe the County historical museum would like them?  If not, they go to Best Buy too.
• Several hundred USGS quad maps.  Still planning to try to sell them on eBay.   
• The "fish mirror" (a huge heavy wall mirror that belonged to Ann's grandparents).  Has a minor damaged spot in the silvering layer that more-or-less resembles a fish; hence the name.  Maybe Sarah will want it someday?  Hey ... every costume designer needs a big mirror!
• Two four-drawer file cabinets full of stuff.  Uh... put it off till tomorrow.  Or the next day.  Or....

    

Katy, Friday, September 8, 2017, 1:30 AM

The latest from NOAA:

Looks like the Brazos dropped below flood stage earlier today.  Hurrah! 

Katy, Thursday, September 7, 2017, 10:30 PM

Still in Katy but we plan to return to Brazoria tomorrow, September 8.   My friend Phil assures me that roads are open, and he thinks water did not enter our house.   We hope that's true but we won't know until we get there tomorrow.  

I suppose the grass must be a foot tall by now.  It seems to grow an inch a day during hot humid summer days with an occasional showers (our friend Ellis calls them "sun showers.")

We all went out to dinner tonight at Red Robin to celebrate.  I ordered shrimp-and-slaw ... not the best choice ... more breading than shrimp.    But it was fun to celebrate with the family.

Robbie Rosco, our four-year-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi, has been a good boy throughout.  He chases squirrels and doves in the back yard and participates in barking matches with a white dog on the other side of the back fence (I've never actually seen that dog ... just flashes of white in the cracks between boards as it runs along the other side of the fence). 

Robbie always comes back in when called even if he's in the midst of a barking match.  Good boy Robbie!

Robbie Rosco Dog McLain

My next report will be from Brazoria after we get back to our house.

Katy, Wednesday, September 6, 2017, 9:30 PM

An uneventful day, still in Katy.  Sarah left early to head to her Alley Theater job at a temporary location ... took the boys and dropped them off at day care on the way.  Clint left a bit later.  I headed out to get a haircut and pick up some stuff at Wallmart ... Great Clips near Walmart was busy with maybe a dozen people waiting ... gave up, went to Walmart with my list of random items.   Walmart almost vacant ... seemed like there were more employees than customers ... guess everybody was trying to get haircuts instead of groceries.  Picked up a copy of the Chronicle on the way back. 

Brazoria County road-and-bridge map still says roads near are house are closed.   Decided to stay another day or two in Katy.

Called my buddy Phil in Brazoria.  Phil says most of the roads are open, no matter what the county says.  Says downtown Brazoria is returning to normal ... Stewart's grocery is open ... Buc-ee's monster gas station is open.  He drove past our house; says he thinks water didn't enter the building.  Hurrah!  

We will probably leave Katy and head home on Friday.

Katy, Tuesday, September 5, 2017, 1:00 PM

Pete sent the following message earlier today:

1. We were flooded here in Houston, but are recovering with mostly floors and lower walls damaged. Little loss of property as we moved everything up and protected it in tubs or plastic. Relatives are here helping clean out while I am fixing various broken or drowned items.      2. Neal very nicely created a blog spot where he is keeping up with various people's status. When a bulletin came through that all Brazoria county buildings were to be closed, there was a brief discussion online and the notice was posted canceling the meeting.      3. Kristine has been occupied with family and recovery efforts, as have most of us. Generally the thought was that our efforts were better directed to more pressing issues.      4. I should have remembered to email a cancellation notice since I knew how Kristine was occupied. I totally forgot that there are still people out there who aren't on FaceBook.      5. Let's all press forth with recovery efforts and we can regroup next week to see where things stand (or are still floating). 👻😀 Thanks, Pete!

Katy, Monday, September 4, 2017, 3:00 PM

I finally got a copy of the current Houston Chronicle!  Chronicle has been unavailable at newsstands since we arrived in Katy ... maybe because they all sold out so fast or maybe because they quit printing it for a week.   Anyway it's back now, as familiar as ever, except that the color comics are grayscale.  I can live with that.

On the way back ... meandering around the neighborhood...

Sarah and Clint's home on Dabney Manor Lane, Katy.

Another street in the neighborhood
John Rolfe Lane?  The real John Rolfe?

Go Texans!

  

A familiar number except for the area code
Rohn Tower Company, Peoria, Illinois  309-697-4400
During my years in the CATV industry I probably called that number hundreds of times ... mostly to order parts for towers but occasionally to discuss a new tower.  

Clint's truck ... equipped with kid seats for Nathan and Owen

  

Katy, Monday, September 4, 2017, 4:30 AM

NOAA profile of the Brazos River at West Columbia (the monitoring station nearest Brazoria).

It looks like the crest will arrive at Brazoria tomorrow and last two days.

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Clint and Nathan spent the day at Georjean's house helping repair damage.  He reports:

• The damage to my mom's house was minimal at best. A section of the wall to the back half of the house had blown off letting water in. This was old and falling apart anyway. The roof had leaks and the storm made them worse.

• Several people helped: Jason, Robin, Shawn, Justin, Robin's mom (Vicki) and stepdad (Tom), Jason's friend Richard, Nathan, and me.

• I tried and failed at fixing the kitchen sink clog. Nathan and the others cut down a large bush (really was a tree now.).  The first floor and kitchen still have issues. 

• I removed an old A/C unit from the side of the house and installed two replacement light fixtures in the barn. Shawn and Tom patched the hole in the back wall. The house needs to be leveled (that's my two cents.)

• Everything she wanted to be safe is safe now.

Georjean is Clint's mom.  Shawn and Jason are Clint's brothers.   Robin is Jason's wife.  Justin is Shawn's son.  Nathan is Clint's son.