Getting things back to normal......

The mandatory curfew (8:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.) for our county has been lifted. Stores in the area are beginning to be inspected and reopening. All schools in our immediate area will be back in session starting Monday! :)

We are slowly getting our property back pre-Ike. Allen, our subdivision handyman, came by yesterday and replaced the shingles on our roof. Joe, our fence guy, came by last week and is working up an estimate to replace our fence. We are still counting our blessings that our subdivision received only minor damage.

I did have some problems today talking to a representative from Dish Network about our HD channels not working. When I called in, of course I get an automated voice telling me to enter 1 for English, then in a brief statement say what type of problem I am having..............WELL, about the time I get ready to say "HD channels are not working", Eli takes a huge drink of water and comes to sit beside me. (Anyone who knows anything about Bulldogs know that they have very short noses, so most of the time water goes up the nose when they drink.) Eli starts this woof-sneeze, woof-sneeze sounds and the automated voice says, "I am sorry, I did not understand you, in a brief statement please say what type of problem you are having."

Again, I try to state my problem and Eli starts the woof-sneeze, woof-sneeze stuff. The automated voice then politely says, "I am sorry, I did not understand you, please try your call again later." Then we are disconnected!

I call back, get to the same place in the conversation and AGAIN Eli is sneezing! It took me calling them three times before I finally got Eli to stop trying to state our problem and was able to talk to a REAL person. Our satellite was damaged by Ike, and Dish will be sending our a service person next week.

Please continue to pray for the people of Bolivar Peninsula. They were allowed back into the area today, only to see first-hand that there is nothing of their property left. They may visit the peninsula from 6:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. each day, but no one is allowed to stay.

Thanks to everyone that has called and sent messages asking how we are doing. Things will be very different in the area for a very long time. The area isn't "home" to us, it is just where we are living at the time, but to so many people this is home. These people had not even fully recovered from Hurricane Rita yet.

Our pastor told everyone Sunday in his message that "while the privacy fences are down, meet your neighbors and help each other recover together." Sunday afternoon Jim and I counted 13 children and five dogs in our backyard! (Did I mention how glad we are that school has started back!)

(The pictures in this post were taken at Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula before Ike, and the way that we will fondly remember it.)