Surviving Harvey

Saturday, September 2, 2017

Katy, Saturday, September 2, 2017, 7:30 PM

Another routine day. We're still camping out at Sarah's place in Katy and it looks like we'll be here for a few more days. According to the Brazoria County website, County Road 400 is closed from CR 762 to FM 2004. This is the same closure the County imposed last year. Back then the southeast end of the road was indeed under water but the northwest end, closer to where we live, was actually open -- just "closed" because that was a convenient administrative shortcut.

Reports from friends:

From Phil, southwest of Sweeny near the Matagorda County line: Their house isn't flooded but daughter's house is, so daughter and family (including dogs) are staying with Phil and Susan.

From Mickey, on the banks of the San Bernard River: Their house has about six inches of floodwater. Mickey, her daughter and grandson are currently at daughter's house but planned to evac north sometime today. Husband Sam is still in the house, camping on the second floor.

From Jamie, in Angleton: High and dry. Angleton never flooded.

From Lisa, in Lake Jackson: High and dry in their second floor apartment but surrounding land is all flooded.

From Jim, in Columbia Lakes: Evacuated to his sister's house in Tulsa; not sure about flooding at his house.

We all went to dinner tonight at the local Red Robin. Back home now, watching television. Local stations have preempted normal programming to report on flood conditions.

Katy, Saturday, September 2, 2017, 1:30 AM

It looks like the Brazos River has crested at Richmond. The crest will move downstream and hit Brazoria in a day or two. When it hits it will overflow and possibly hit our house.

I talked with our insurance guy (Texas Farm Bureau Insurance) today. All he knew was that "the river is still rising." He assured me that I should notify him if water enters the house and he'll file a claim immediately. Wow.

Katy, Friday, September 1, 2017, 10:30 PM

A fairly routine day. We're still camping out at Sarah's place in Katy.

I went shopping this morning for a few odd supplies. Biggest Walmart I've ever seen. Tried to stop at nearby McDonald's to pick up lunch for the gang ... still closed except for the drive-thru ... there must have been a dozen cars in the drive-thru line ... gave up on that idea.

Then Ann and Sarah went shopping at H-E-B for groceries. Sarah went to work today for a few hours at Alley Theater, but couldn't do anything because of the flooding. Clint went to work for a few hours for a meeting. Chicken and corn-on-cob for dinner.

All in all, everything is going well except that Sarah's dog Pepper won't accept our dog Robbie and tries to attack him. As Sarah noted on Facebook: "Poor Pepper. First she got infested with kittens, and now there's another DOG in her house!"

Speaking of those kittens...

Not sure the kittens actually want of be covered up.

Friday, September 1, 2017

Katy, Friday, September 1, 2017, 7:30 PM

The Alley Theater, where Sarah has worked for almost twenty years, has been flooded again. The previous flood was from Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. From Sarah's Facebook:

One of the gems of Houston's vaunted arts district have been swamped by floods from nearby Buffalo Bayou and face significant repairs, threatening the fall performance season that would have begun next week. The Alley Theatre, which completed a $46.5 million renovation just two years ago, appears to have suffered the most damage so far, although arts companies will not be able to fully assess the destruction for a week or more. Venturing into the Alley with a flashlight on Monday, managing director Dean Gladden found water slapping at the ceiling of the downstairs Neuhaus Stage and its lobby. Those same spaces were submerged in 2001 during flooding from Tropical Storm Allison, forcing them to be gutted and renovated for $4 million. "You can't drain it. You can only pump the water, but it's already up to the ceiling as high as it can go," Gladden said. The basement level dressing rooms are also submerged -- and, most importantly, the [electrical] power supply for the whole building.

The Costume Shop, where Sarah works, is on one of the upper floors. Even though it was not affected by flooding, she can't do anything because there's no power.

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Katy, Thursday August 31, 2017, 8:30 PM

Perfect weather today! Ann and I sat out on the back deck watching Robbie chase squirrels and doves.

Robbie the Mighty Squirrel Hunter

Robbie Rosco Dog McLain

Owen

Neal, photographed by Owen

Sarah, Ann, and the boys play board games as Robbie snoozes.

Robbie and Ann

Owen, Clint, Nathan

Sleepy Robbie

Sleepy kitties Ruby and Marble

Katy, Thursday August 31, 2017, 3:00 AM

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a busy day for us. Ann and Sarah went shopping and came back with a pile of groceries purchased at H-E-B, our local supermarket chain. They report that the meat department is just getting organized, and that many items are not in stock.

Robbie, the boys, and I went for a walk limited to sidewalk only (I have difficulty walking on uneven surfaces so we stayed on sidewalk ... artifact of my titanium knee).

I went out looking for a new copy of the DeLorme Atlas and Gazetteer for Texas ... I figured Academy would certainly stock it. No such luck. Academy doesn't even stock Texas state maps! Counter guy says everybody uses GPS now. Ok, fine. But GPS doesn't work when numerous streets and closed due to flooding.

Clint went to work for a few hours ... first time his company has been open since Harvey hit.

Sarah's employer -- the Alley Theater -- is all but shut down due to flooding ... entire lower level, including one of the performance spaces, is flooded.
https://www.alleytheatre.org/tropical-storm-harvey

Sarah prepared a wonderful dinner involving shrimp and pineapple.

And we all watched a lot of television ... mostly hurricane coverage or kid cartoons. Cable service package doesn't include MSNBC -- I miss Morning Joe!