Last Minute cancellation, Tampa, Danny

Just after I got home from church Sunday afternoon, about a half hour before I was going to leave for the airport, I got word that the workshop in Alabama had been cancelled. The track of the now weakening hurricane Irma was headed directly over Athens, Al. They are under a tropical storm warning expecting heavy rain and strong winds for today and tomorrow. It was a good, albeit belated, decision on the part of the organizers. One of the previous emails sent out by the same group was a warning to check our hotel reservations to ensure our rooms were still available. Due to the influx of people evacuating the Florida peninsula, hotels were filled up and some attendees and vendors had reported not having a room when they arrived late Saturday evening. Fortunately, our rooms can now be given out to those who are in need of them. Mama was not unhappy that I will be staying home for the week.

Since the track of the storm was headed to Tampa, Mama and I were concerned about the children in the Hope Children’s Home. We visited the facility before we drove down to Sanibel Island – which I expect was heavily impacted by the storm. After initially setting up to ride out the storm in their school building, which is a substantial structure, the decision was made to evacuate the home. Staff and children were taken to a location in Tennessee that Bro. Mike knew could house all of them safely. I do not know what they will go back to, but they will all go back to it together. Mama has not heard from Jake but we trust the they made it through the storm safely. All of Mama’s kinfolk – uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. – are accounted for. Now, like in Houston, the long process of cleaning up and getting lives back on track begins. Hopefully, we are done with hurricanes for the season – as Jose sputters out in the Atlantic -  but only time will tell.

Danny and Kim came in Friday evening and stayed the night with us. We had a very pleasant visit. They are headed to Yellowstone Park. She has never been and it has been many years since Danny and I went there as children. Our brother Steve and his wife Diane live in the area so the vacation will include a visit there as well. Mama and I were pleased at the visit and the time we had to share with them. They both really liked the farm. Danny even offered to come over and help me butcher the two pot belly pigs we are trying to get rid of. Mama passed on that offer. They left about 10:30 Saturday morning. Danny took several of Mama’s biscuits with him for a snack later.

I was able to put in several hours on the shop an got all the metal siding up Saturday morning and afternoon. Right out of the gate I cut my left thumb all the way to the bone on a piece of the metal siding I had to take down and recut. The cut edge on this siding has a razor-sharp raised line and the leather gloves I had been using are full of holes so I got a thinner pair of gloves to handle the piece as I put it on the saw horses to make the needed adjustments. Not a good decision. It took about an hour for the wound to quit bleeding. After that I used the mangled leather gloves for the rest of the day. It looks more like a shop now. I also got power to all of the outlets I have wired into the walls on the north, east and west sides of the shop. I have to do some work on the roof to wall seal on the south side before I install those outlets and switches. I had thought that would wait until I got back, but I may get that done tonight.

In preparation for being gone a week, I picked up all my tools a put everything away so the grandkids would have less temptation to use the plyers, hammers, etc. when they got back on Thursday of this week. It should not take me long to get everything set up again.

Better safe than sorry.