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Hopefully you will be able to see just some of the first pictures of our house and neighborhood. Most of them are on our street, the street at the top of the hill and 26th street, which goes down toward the hospital, just a bit less than a mile from our house. There are some pictures of Dianna's house on here too, if you can pick it out. It's the one with rock and yellow. One pic shows 26th street looking from the east toward the west. Our house was just over the hill. It's hard to imagine it only took a couple of minutes to do all this. And it went on for miles past our house. We were close to the beginning of the storm. There are a few of Mom's house. The first time we got over here it already had the patch on the roof, thanks to someone. We never found out who did that for us. That tree could have squashed her house. I'm glad it didn't, that's where we're living now.
I guess I'm getting used to looking at the mess here. It doesn't make me want to cry every time I go outside like it did for awhile. I think we are doing okay. Still have a bit of 'tornado brain' where you can't remember what you're supposed to be doing or what you were saying. Goofy stuff. Can't talk right, can't sleep, can't work cause you don't know what to do or what you should do. It's been crazy. We shampooed the carpet here at Mom's house.
Other things are starting to get to be more normal. We went out today and put a deposit on a new Toyota Avalon for me. It should be here in the next few days that will be grand. I'll have my own car again.
One of the things that is turning out to be a real pain for me is to make dinner. Geeze, nothing sounds good. We have lots of canned food in the house but you still need other fresh stuff. I can't seem to get myself to make a plan or buy food. I'm beginning to hate afternoon because I know dinner is coming. Like now, I'm delaying because I don't want to go cook. It's too hot to cook, too hot to eat, too hot to bother with food. But Jim still wants food, FOOD!!
It is too hot to be outside working. However we used to be outside all the time working or playing and we were in the desert. The heat is a nuisance to young people, but it doesn't bother them like it does us. It doesn't bother men as much as it does women. It would be nice if no one had to work in the heat, but they do. Our biggest problem with the heat is that we don't drink enough. You should drink gallons of water or maybe Gatorade. Not pop, nothing with sugar or alcohol. That is not a good thing to do. But lots and lots of water is what is needed. We should be used to working in the heat by now. Only takes a few days if you stay away from any alcohol and drink drink drink. I learned how to manage that adjustment in Brazil. Oh man did I learn how to chug water. That's all I drank, but I drank it down by the liter. We had 2.5 liter bottles and I'd drink one down without stopping. I just poured it down. Then it all sweats out in the next few minutes. I was one drippy mess.
The house looked pretty good when those pictures were taken. They were taken before the rain came and brought down all the dry wall and the ceilings and brought in the dirt and insulation. You cannot imagine how bad it looked after that. It was horrible... and stunk. Which I thought was the most awful thing ever. Then it began to mold. Oh man. You didn't even want to go into the house. All our furniture was ruined. NOT the hope chest. We had moved it out by then. And not the old desk. But all our solid oak furniture was being split apart. The water came in and it had so much junk in it that it sort of took the finish off things. All the wood furniture swelled up and then began to split apart at the seams. There are no pictures of that part of this; we were too busy trying like mad dogs to get things out of the house and into some place safe. We ended up with the old furniture and 2 chairs. Everything else is in a landfill someplace. I was broken hearted. I hated to see it go. I don't know if I'll ever have things nice again or not. Perhaps... or not. But it's gone and there is nothing to do but go on with what we have. I have more pictures on the camera. Just none of that part. I don't know if you recognize any of the places on the pictures. They were taken of our immediate neighborhood, quite a few from our front porch. Then up to the end of our street. Winfield is on there. Then Dianna's house and 26th Street. Looking back to the west toward our house. I don't know if you can see the steeple at St. Paul's. That was the church across the street from Dianna's street, just up the hill from us. The tornado took that church apart. But the bell tower was still standing. I called it a steeple; it was really a bell tower. A lot of the pictures you see are there on 26th street by us. It was a huge mess. Nothing is left over there.
Jim is ready to put the furniture back, so I'd better go. Yes, take the pictures. Let everyone see what happens. Maybe they might take cover when they hear those sirens go off next time.
Click here to see the pictures.
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