This is a new experience for me. We’ve lived in the Houston area for a year and a half, and have yet to face a hurricane. Since Hurricane Harvey is headed our way, and expected to hit tomorrow, then that may change. Or, it may not. It’s expected to, though. I first heard of this bright and early yesterday morning, when Brad messaged and said, stock up on water!

So, I did. There was tons of water at Kroger, and the little Walmart nearby. I got three cases, did my grocery shopping, and was satisfied.

Then, Brad came home, and said we need more than this. So we went back, and… there was nothing! Not a thing! It was like the Grinch went through, and took it all. Not even a drop was left. That was crazy to see, and made me wonder if I might ought to take this whole hurricane-thing a little more seriously. The lines were also crazy-long, which I’ve never seen here before. So, we went home.

I still felt we had enough water, in spite of it. Those three cases I bought, aren’t all we have. But… those empty shelves were ominous in my opinion. Do those people who bought all the water know something I don’t? Probably, if they’ve been here longer than I have, and been through hurricanes before. Or else they’re as new as I am, and paranoid to the point of hysteria. Whatever the case, it was an ominous feeling. Brad was anxious for me to get out first thing this morning, and see if anyone restocked.

So, I did. So did a lot of other people! Kroger had nothing, and at the normal-sized Walmart, there was a crowd anxiously waiting around the beverage section. And no, the employees had no idea when the water would arrive.

I picked up a few more cans of stew, and passed by the beverage aisle. Still nothing.

I picked up eggs, which I forgot to get the day before, then passed by the beverage aisle. Still nothing.

I passed by the cutest pink pajamas, covered with cartoon cats. Then, I passed by the beverage aisle. Still nothing.

I picked up two three-wick candles. What’s the difference between that, and a gas stove? A lot of things, actually. But, in a pinch, I’ll bet I could heat stew over it. After placing those in the cart, I passed by the beverage aisle. Still nothing.

I picked up the cute cat-covered pajamas, because they really are just too cute, and hopefully Em will think so too, because they’re hers now, either way. Then, I passed by the beverage aisle. Still nothing.

So I’m thinking, as I’m wandering around Walmart, what do we need most? We’ve got enough drinking water to last way more than a week, maybe two. Wash water, though, that would be nice. And not to be indelicate or anything, but I’d prefer not to be stuck in the house with toilets that run out of water and won’t flush. And, so, I went to the storage container aisle, and got four nineteen-gallon tubs with latching lids. Then, I passed by the beverage aisle.

This time, I saw a guy loading empty bottles next to this fill-up machine-thing. Those, they got in. The cases of water, they were still waiting on. I didn’t mind filling my own bottles, so I filled two of them. Brad’s been informed he won’t mind pouring, since we don’t have one of those big water bottle dispensers.

I came home, lined my tubs up outside the backdoor, filled them with the hose, and latched the lids. Then I cleaned out the big freezer, which hasn’t been used the whole time we’ve lived here. It molded on the way to Texas, and was really disgusting. I sprayed it with disinfectant at the time, and left the door propped open ever since. But, it might come in handy during a power outage. So, cleaned it out, and started it running. It sounds kind of grumpy, but it is running. As long as it doesn’t decide to quit, I’ll freeze bags of water in it, and then can move those to the refrigerator to keep it cold longer. Should the power go out.

Then, I ate all the ice cream. To save it from melting, should the power go out.

The thing that bothers me most about an outage–aside from the food going bad, part–is not being able to charge my laptop. But, I have two laptops and five batteries. So all the batteries are charged up. Altogether, that’s more than twenty-four hours worth of power. The kindle is charged, the continuous glucose monitor receiver is charged, rechargeable batteries are recharged, and… hopefully, that covers it. I can’t think of another thing to do in preparation.

If you don’t hear from me for a while, then… actually, that isn’t unusual at all. But this time, it may be because of the hurricane. If we do get hit by it, I’m paying attention and taking notes. Because it’ll go in a book! The blizzards we experienced in Colorado gave me what I needed to write Disengaged, which is now on page 323.

Now, I’m going to take advantage of the electricity while I have it, and see how many more pages I can get finished before Harvey hits. Or not.

So happy reading, and I’m going to get back to writing. Finally!