Hurricane Irma, Saturday

Irma and Harvey Schluter of Spokane, Washington, ages 92 and 104 have hurricanes that bear their names.

We have been watching television updates about Hurricane Irma, except for taking time to: clear furniture from the lanai and put it in the garage; bake Hogan cookies; make homemade yogurt; cook chicken; fill water bottles and refrigerate them; make extra ice; and do laundry and vacuum, the latter two in case we lose power for a few days.

Traffic going north on Friday looked like this at the Wildwood/The Villages interchange. It's been especially dense in this area because the Florida Turnpike and I-75 juncture right here.

Friday morning, it looked like Irma would make a turn near Miami and then arc straight up through Central Florida, with The Villages being smack in the middle. By Friday night, Irma's track was a turn along the southwest tip of Florida and then followed a more westerly arc, about 50 miles to the west of us.

Early this morning, this message sounded on our cell phones. 

Now the latest tracking has Irma smacking the west coast of Florida that includes Fort Myers, Captiva, Sanibel (a beloved family vacation spot when our children were young), and Tampa.

To document our hurricane experience on this pleasant Saturday morning I'm posting photos from The Weather Channel. We anticipate losing power, so this may be all I am able to share for several days. 

Irma is on the coast of Cuba right now.

This is what is anticipated. I inserted the little yellow star to indicate where we live. Close enough! Though given the huge size of Irma, there's no part of Florida that won't be touched by her.

Here's when it's all expected to play out. We're in the same time band as Tampa, so by Sunday morning at 9-10 am, we may be in full-blown (literally) hurricane mode. We've heard wind predictions of anywhere from 55 to 75 mph, and gusts of up to 100 mph. This is when we'd have the greatest likelihood of losing power, or being caught in a tornado.

But for now, our region...

... and our front yard are calm.

In anticipation of being without power, last evening I machine-sewed binding to the Picket Fence quilt. It's gonna finish at around 98" X 109". I should have many hours of hand sewing ahead of me.

I also have a few books from the library, and have started reading "News of the World" by Paulette Jiles. I just don't know if it will be distracting enough for what's going on around us. At least there's one family member who doesn't seem too concerned. 

Praying is also part of waiting time. Prayers not only for us, but for all Floridians.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. - Psalm 46:1

Linda