Good News and Michael Traffic

Monday, I went to Gynecological Oncologist and was told my six-month visits could be moved to once a year because I am still cancer free two years later. YAY!

Today, I went to breast doctor and received good news--I do not have breast cancer. Double YAY! I was stunned when she told me that my problems were from my diet. 

Both days, Tommy came up from Hueytown and took me to the doctors. Then, he brought me home and went back to Hueytown. That is 220 miles each day. 

As we headed back, the interstate was congested in the northbound lanes. People are evacuating. It seems half the people on the road had tags from Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, and Michigan. There were quite a few people from counties in South Alabama.  It took us an hour and a half to go 25 miles. I am about 4 hours from the coast. 

While heading northbound we watched as at least 30 utility trucks headed south. They will be at the ready and close by when they are needed after Michael hits. 

I told Tommy I would fix him a meal for Monday and he could take it home. Well, I was just too tired on Sunday. I gave him a package of hotdogs and wished him luck...lol. He said he had vegetables that I had frozen for him.

When I got here on Monday, I rested a bit and put a chunk of frozen ground round into the crockpot along with half a cup of water, dehydrated celery, garlic, salt and pepper. When the chunk of ground round was done, I put a can of Dawn Fresh Mushroom Steak Sauce over the meat. Around this I put carrots. When the carrots were done. I went to bed and left the crockpot on low. 

Tuesday morning, today, I put potatoes in the crockpot.  When he got here, I dished up beef, carrots, and potatoes for his lunch while he waited for me in the car. According to him, the meat was especially delicious. When we got to my house, I gave him enough for another three meals. Once again, I forgot to put in onion!

The crockpot will soon have carrots and potatoes for me, all cooked in the beefy juice and Dawn Fresh. 

Getting Ready for Irma

Even though I am in the northern third of Alabama, I am getting ready for a hurricane. Well, the remnants will be here and possibly cause trouble. High winds bringing down trees onto power lines and tornadoes are all we have to worry about. Where I live, there is no threat of heavy rain.

I have had the water and food covered for anything. I needed bread, just because I needed bread. the shelves are three quarters gone. People had left all the whole grain wheat that I cannot eat. Finally, I found a white bread that looked tolerable, not one I have eaten ever. A loaf of rye looked good, so I got that. This is not hurricane prep! I just wanted bread and only had ends left.

What am I doing in prep?
*washing clothes
*making sure every dish is clean
*gathering all the flashlights, electric candles, and headlamps and putting batteries into one
*making sure the car is not parked under a dead limb...lol.
*feeding Dominique early tomorrow and again just before the wind is dangerous
*filling up the car early tomorrow
*secure lawn chairs trash cans.

The last time I lost electricity, it was from a tornado and my electricity was out for five days. So, I wash clothes.

Paper plates, bowls, and glasses are at the ready. I just don't want rotting dishes sitting around. I will wash each few pieces I use all day tomorrow.

All the flashlights and batteries are within arms' reach, but I just want to make sure they are ready.

It is dicey finding a place on this tree-filled lot where the car is safe! I may park on the street in front of my neighbor's house since she moved.

I will not feed Dominique in a strong wind. There was a knife with a 10+ blade that flew in my yard during the last tornado. Enough said.

I should have put gas in today. Tomorrow, there may be lines and some gas stations may be out. I doubt the last, but who knows?

Maybe I will get up as soon as gas stations open and fill up the car. My car had just been filled before the tornado that turned out the lights and gas pumps.

There is no way I want to lose my lawn furniture or trash cans or have one thrown through a window. I will put them against the retaining wall. They may blow over, but they will stay here in my yard. If I can, I will get someone to turn over the larger of the two tables. I can turn the smaller one over, legs up. The picnic table will be fine. If it blows away, we have real trouble! At any rate, I cannot turn it over.

I did buy six bananas. It is cool enough  they won't get too ripe right away. Plus, they are tiny bananas, the kind I need to eat.

I can eat bananas, apples, grapes, crackers, cheese, applesauce. Some cans of food I can eat without heating: tuna, chicken, green beans, peaches. So, I will not starve at all. There were many shoppers at WM buying for the remnants of Irma. They thought the electricity might go out if there were a electrical problem. I just went for bread.

And, it is my birthday! I suppose I will stick close to home tomorrow on the 11th, but I had no great plans, anyway!

Are you preparing for winds or rain from Irma? What are you doing? If you are not preparing and do not need to do so right now, what would you do if you were fearing electrical outage or too much rain?