NEWFOUNDLAND UPDATE

Hi Gang! Just thought I'd give you a wee bit of an update while we have power. Not that we're going to lose it or anything but I'm guessing that with winds forecasted for 120 kms/hr tomorrow we may have a wee bit of a problem. I've had the boys tucked into the barn since 5 this afternoon. I'm betting they're more than happy to be in right now as it's been pouring, and I mean like torrential downpours since about 6. I went to the drug store at 6:30 to pick up my meds and already there was so much water on the road that you disappeared in a cloud of rain (not sure what the term should be here!) whenever another car passed you in the opposite direction. It was a wee bit frightening as you were totally without any vis for a few seconds. Good thing I'm so brave ... actually, there was NO way I was going to go through a storm WITHOUT my little round friends!

The schools have been shut down for tomorrow. Not bad, eh? First snow day of the year and there isn't even any snow! Kayla is VERY excited about it. We celebrated tonight by having popcorn, chocolate cake, sprite and also playing some cards. We've set up a fort in the loft area and are camping there for the night. I may just have to add that she has lent me her bunny sleeping mask for the night to make sure that her little lantern doesn't keep me awake!

I spent the better part of the afternoon getting everything ready for Igor (or Ivan or whatever his name is). Sorry Val but I didn't use any duct tape to secure things - not sure how it holds up under water! I did however use a fair bit of baling twine. OK, ALOT of baling twine. Poor Gord got home at supper time and started worrying about what needed to be secured. Every time he asked about something I replied ... "tied down already!". The property sort of looks like one big arsed spider web!

I'll take some pictures tomorrow to keep you up to date on what's going on. I figure the boys will be spending the day in the barn, munching on hay and thanking their lucky stars that they don't have to be outside. Especially Stretch. He has an issue with getting wet!

GOOD LUCK TAMMY/...........I'm sure you learned from your last big storm when your shed and tractor went gallavanting..........baler twine is as good a tye down as anything.....works for me most times......and we get lots of winds......the rain thing though is another story.......and you are close to that river.........keep an eye out for that........do you have a canoe.....ark???? and I'm sure you still have lots of blueberry pie to make it through any storm...............I'll be thinking of you guys.

I hope Igor passes over quickly and doesn't cause too much upset...sounds as though you are ready.....I must read up and see if the duct tape is waterproof or not....have to agree though that baler twine must be the #2 all time Canadian Fix All tool!!!!

Hope you an Kayla had a nice campout and a fun "HurricaneDay"!!!! Stay safe!!!!!

so far so good. non-stop rain but the winds are still fairly light (for newfoundland). I'm sure that'll change! Kayla and I are officially ready - we popped popcorn, made blueberry pancakes, filled up the water jugs, baked some potatoes and got all the candles ready. The river level is rising but so far we are OK. I just checked the basement and no water yet. We DO have a rowboat available if needed. Last flood we had to chase our building materials around the yard using the boat. Hopefully it won't be that deep this time but I'm wondering, the amount of rain that's come down already and Igor isn't even here yet!

Hey Tammy,hope Igor blows all that heavy rain away with him.Good that the school is closed as a precaution.Is it to last for the day or will it improve in a few days? I can just see you and kayla under camp and munching away on all that yummy food.

We have had the opposite here.So far we've had a dry week with good sunny spells since Sun.It's been warm also bout 15-18 degrees.This is our last bit of summer i think-The calm before the storm.

Have fun and keep as safe as you can,Horses can swim.Ha,ha.

On this side of the island it rained a bit overnight/early morning, but now the sun is shining. It's still a bit windy out, but nothing to complain about. :P

Hey Gang! We got our power back last night around 11. A tree had blown down and taken down the power line up the road. We had lots of candles though. Mind you, today I have to pick the wax off the leather couch. Damn drips! I tried to cook supper on the fireplace in the livingroom but it was a wee bit crispy to say the least. Kayla ate pancakes and chicken nuggets and Gord made himself a sandwich. I ate the burnt offerings just for spite! Not too bad when washed down with a beer.

School was closed again today because some of the roads that the bus goes on weren't cleared of trees yet. Kayla was pretty pleased. I, however, am more than ready to send her back!

Our water level was really high last night. The road by the big paddock was underwater as well as about 1/3 of the big paddock. It's the highest we've ever seen it (including the last flood) but luckily we didn't get any water in the basement. Our basement is only a crawl space with crushed stone so it's no big deal if it DOES flood. Two trees beside the house fell down. One was blown down including the roots, the other one snapped at the base of the trunk. Luckily they fell parallel to the house so nothing was harmed. One other tree snapped off about midway up it's trunk but again no damage. Just more firewood for this winter!

The trampoline did it's very best to try to get free from it's bonds. The binder twine that I had secured it with snapped so I had to go out during Igor and put on thicker ropes. I'm amazed that we didn't lose it because it spent most of the past 24 hours lifted off the ground. But it survived and we just have to do a safety check on it before Kayla can get back to her flipping around.

We don't have any satellite signal but I haven't had a chance to even see if the dish is still there I didn't see it flying by in midair so I imagine it just needs to be repositioned to get the signal. That'll be a job for a day when there is a wee bit less wind. Otherwise it won't be the dish that'll be flying through the air!

I'll try to get the pictures and video posted tonight after the evil little one is asleep and it's actually quiet!

That news just in from our NLD Correespondant Tammy Webber stationed at Peetree Stables. great insight Tammy, thanks for the update.......back to you Joe.