The Latest News

I don't think I mentioned that as of Thursday, we don't have to boil our water anymore. We also were able to find some meat, eggs, butter and milk at the store yesterday. We actually managed to get some ice cream on Wednesday, so at least the most essential thing was taken care of early...

We also had fun yesterday when we were on the road and suddenly heard a loud thump from the back end of the car. But we didn't see anything, so we went on--we were almost at the store we were headed for. When we left, though, we very quickly realized that something was wrong. We pulled over, and sure enough, the left back tire was very flat. I put on the spare tire, and we saw a nail in the tire, so we assumed that was the culprit. But when they tried to repair it, they discovered there was also a large slash in it, so we had to get a new tire.

Church today was rather different. Sacrament meeting was left open for people to share experiences and gratitude from the events of the storm. Then the Primary kids went to have a combined meeting, and everybody else gathered in the cultural hall to discuss what needs are still in the ward, and other assignments. We have a few people with roof damage, and so Tuesday I'll be going with some others to clean out any wet insulation, to prevent mold. Thursday or so we'll probably do some more tree limb removal, and then we may be sending a crew to Beaumont on Saturday to do clean up. We may eventually (likely) be involved with efforts in Galveston as well, but from what we've heard crews are coming in from San Antonio and Austin. So I guess it makes sense from them to handle Galveston, and then we can go to Beaumont, since it would be much longer for them to go all the way there.

The current plan is for the schools to start up again a week from tomorrow. Many of them still don't have power, and almost all have at least some damage (except, apparently, one). A few are going to be unusable for the near future, and they also have to take care of kids from Galveston or other areas who don't have schools to go to. So, I'm sure we'll have a shortened summer vacation this next year. Although right now, Jessie and Brennan are happy enough to have the extra couple of weeks of vacation right now.

Before Ike came, we had been really working with Brennan on riding his bike without training wheels. He's gone as far as six or seven pedals around before he gets nervous and puts his feet down--he really could just do it, but he lacks confidence. Of course, sidewalks either covered with or lined with enough tree limbs to populate a small forest are not good for beginning bikers, so that project has taken a sabbatical. On the other hand, one of Jessie's friends gave her some hand-me-down rollerblades a month or so ago, and we found a pair at Goodwill in Lafayette for Brennan, and the two of them have enjoyed rollerblading through the house or on the sidewalks across the street (which are a little more clear).

Dee does go back to work tomorrow, but not full days. I guess they felt like it would be helpful for parents to have a place to take their kids for a few hours. Jessie and Brennan will be going with her, and are excited to help with the two-year-olds. I did go to work Thursday and Friday, but it was very sparse, so I don't know how much got done.

That's about all I can think of for now.