Our Home Property Before and After Hurricane Michael

My family has been through many hurricanes since 1963. Most of those I was living in South Florida (where the palm trees tend to bend with the wind). We left and went north before some storms and a couple we road out as my husband's job had him on call. We suffered some roof and screen porch damage from Frances in 2004 when we still lived in Jupiter, Florida. Many of our friends agree that we have never seen anything like the destruction left by Hurricane Michael. The storm came up quickly, moved through quickly (thank the Lord) and wasn't overly wet. But the winds were terrible.
Here are some before and after images of our house and surrounding property.

BEFORE: This is an image of our back yard and doesn't fully show the lush trees behind us.

AFTER: We were thankful the chicken hutch (white roof) was not damaged at all! The close up trees are mostly down, several uprooted, and many trees in the acres beyond are snapped in half.

BEFORE: This was a shot of suntipped trees along the right (east) side looking from the back of the house out to the front.

AFTER: Most of the trees along the east side of the house are down. The scraggly tree might be the shorter suntipped tree from the "before" photo.

This is the west side showing the downed trees along the side of the house where they took down an awning over the basement door. Normally you could see the chicken hutch from this view but not now.

I don't have a matching picture for this but here is one from the RV to the garage - the east side of the house. There are two cars under those trees. Our son-in-law's car was crushed but fortunately my husband's Jeep only had one window knocked out and our EasyGo suffered no damage under a tent covering to the left.

BEFORE: This is looking at the house on the front, north side from the right (east) side of the curved driveway.

AFTER: This shot includes the driveway at a slightly different angle. Our Granddaughter is about to step onto the driveway.

And this shows trees down and uprooted along the right side of the drive. We can not use this access out yet as the cable lines are still blocking the way out to the road.

BEFORE: This is an image looking out the west side of our curved drive. There are two dogwood trees beyond the oak on the right:

AFTER: This is looking from the drive to the house. The big tree and the dogwoods would be on the left side of the drive in this view but they are down.

BEFORE: This was our front walk way with my Versa where I usually park.

AFTER: This was early the morning after the storm. My Versa is under the trees; it was declared totaled.

These trees had branches that went into our roof. The first poked holes over our garage.

This tree stuck branches in two places: over our living room and over the guest bedroom.

We were fortunate that this damage in the guest bedroom was the worst of the damage inside the house other than a few other ceiling stains from leaks.

The insurance will cover the trees on the roof and driveway that blocked access. They do not cover the downed trees in the yard.
Our Well Pump Shed was crushed. It housed my husband's water treatment equipment which includes the chlorinator and water softener necessary to give us clean water rather than hard well water full of iron. It also housed our four wheeler which we have not been able to extricate yet.

Many in our area and surrounding counties suffered even worse than we did as can be seen by the complete destruction of homes in Mexico Beach where the hurricane made landfall.
As I mentioned in my previous post, we were blessed to have the RV and generator power, plus hot water, for the 18 days before power was restored. There are still some people and businesses without power. We are comfortable that God is in control and we trust Him in this storm and all others!

I'll share pictures and an update about my office next week.

Audible Book Review: The Lilac Bouquet by Carolyn Brown

This is a lovely, engaging story!

The Lilac Bouquet
By: Carolyn Brown
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley


Length: 8 hrs and 31 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 03-28-17
Language: English
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Small Town
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Overall, Story and Audio.

Publisher's Summary
Come hell or high water, Emmy Jo Massey will have a wedding. After three generations of Massey women with children out of wedlock, she wants the whole town of Hickory, Texas, to witness the legitimacy of her union with Logan Grady. But dream weddings aren't cheap. So she accepts a highly lucrative stint as a home health assistant to retired realtor, and town recluse, Seth Thomas - a decision her great-grandmother Tandy is dead-set against.
Seth isn't happy about it, either. The eighty-two-year-old doesn't want a "babysitter" - much less a Massey - something he makes clear when Emmy arrives at his house, an empty mansion built for the woman who broke his heart. But as Emmy stays and the two eventually open up to each other, she learns the reason behind a feud between Seth, Tandy, and Logan's grandfather Jesse Grady that goes back six decades. She also uncovers a secret that forever changes how she sees her past and her future...
©2017 Carolyn Brown (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Review:
Emmy Jo Massey is a young woman who comes from a family of unwed mothers. Emmy is determined on getting married to her fiance, Logan Grady, so the whole town will know about it. The problem is that their great-grandparents are part of a long time feud, which includes the town recluse, Seth Thomas. These three won't be in the same room together, much less speak to each other. Emmy takes a job as a home health provider to Seth over the objection of Her great-grandmother, Tandy. Seth isn't thrilled with having a Massey in his home either. Emmy is intent on earning the money to help cover her wedding costs and now she is intent on unraveling the secret of the animosity of the people she wants to share her joy with.

Emmy is a lovely character and her determination and sunshine break down the walls of the frozen, bitter hearts around her. The secrets of the past are slowly revealed and evoke emotions of anger and sadness at the wasted years. There were choices that were made and some terrible treatment, even, or especially, by some so-claimed Christians. There are Biblical themes gently shared through the story. The story was an easy read/listen with engaging twists that kept it interesting. It addresses more family, people issues than just a romance. I hope to read more by Carolyn Brown.

Audio Notes: I was very comfortable with the narration by Brittany Pressley. I can't speak to the accuracy of the accents but I enjoyed the voices for the characters. THe narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

Source: Audible January 2018 Daily Deal $2.95. This qualifies for my Audiobook Challenge and a 2018 title for Alphabet Challenge.

Sunday Post October 28, 2018/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday October 29, 2018

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date (at Wordpress).

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

We have spent 18 days living on generators after Hurricane Michael hit on 10/10. We were blessed to have a generator system that my husband installed a few years ago to run the well system and refrigerators. We lived in the RV which had its own generator and propane for hot water. Our power was restored 10/28. I will post some pictures showing our experience a little later this week.
This post was ready this morning but I had to meet the adjusters at my office early. That news isn't good as they determined there is structural damage and use of the office may be limited until a structural engineer gives us further news.
Later today our internet was off again. I think (hope) they were working on the lines. I hope this will post as sites are not opening again at this time. 

My reading and listening was up since I had spare time while dragging tree limbs and going to bed early. I finished 18 books in three weeks: ten audio books and  eight ebooks. I only had one review posted before the storm hit and of course I couldn't post my usual memes.

No blogs visited over the past few weeks and no shout out this week.
Thank you to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post October 7, 2018/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday October 8, 2018.

• ATBR- Audible Book Review: Gallagher's Pride by MK McClintock; Historical Romance, Victorian, Western; my rating: Overall 4.25 of 5.0; Narration: 4.25 of 5.0.

• MBS September 2018 Reading List Wrap Up

Hurricane Michael hit our county 10/10/2018.

• (10/19/2018) I Am Well But With Very Limited Power and Internet.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement October 28, 2018.

Finished Reading:
Finished by Sunday 10/14
1. eBook/Kindle (NG2018)

Once Upon a Heartbreak
by Cassie Rocca
Read 10/4-9. This is a cute story although a little annoying at times.
Source: NetGalley 2018.
Click on book title for full description.

2. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

(Counted as two books)
The Extinction Cycle Boxed Set
Extinction Horizon, Extinction Edge, and Extinction Age (The Extinction Cycle, Books 2 - 3)
By: Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
I finished Book 2 10/8-10 and listened to Book 3 as part of my Fraterfest list of books 10/11-13.
Source: Audible February, 2017 credit selection.
Click on book title for full description.

10/11-16 READ FOR FRATERFEST (even though I didn't get to participate officially as I was off internet).
3. TBR2012 Haunted by Willow Cross (30pgs) 10/11





4. TBR2012 Island Ghosts: A Will Castleon Adventure by David Bain (30pgs) 10/12

5. TBR2012 Lilah’s Ghost by Deb Logan (18pgs) 10/12

6. TBR2011 A Walk in the Woods: A Horror Short Story by Rebecca M. Senese (9pgs) 10/13





7. A2018 Where Wolves Run by Jason Parent (1hr 55min) 10/13
8. A2018 First Death by AD Starling (44min) 10/14

Finished by Sunday 10/21

10/15-16 READ FOR FRATERFEST (unofficially as I was off internet).
1. A2018 The Wolves of Winter by Tyrell Johnson (8hrs 53min) 10/15-16

2. TBR2012 Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts (Ten Tales Fantasy & Horror Stories) by Tracie McBride (Author), William Meikle (Author), Douglas Kolacki (Author), & 6 more (87pgs) 10/15-16

3. ATBR2017 The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna (4hrs 36min) 10/17-19

4. eBook/Kindle (TBR Ladies Book Club)

The Evidence (The Mars Hill Classified Series)
by Mr. Austin W Boyd
10-7-16. We didn't get to meet for Ladies Book Club meeting 10/13, so we will discuss this in November.
Source: Print books picked up prior to 2017. eBook picked up on sale 2017.
Click on book title for full description.

5. ATBR2017 The Last Colony, Old Man's War, Book 3 by John Scalzi 10/19-21

Finished by Sunday 10/28
1. A2018 The Ghost and the Graveyard, Knight Games, Book 1 by Genevieve Jack (8hrs 35min) 10/22-23

2. NG2018 Unwritten by Tara Gilboy 10/17-23


3. CATBR2017(Christian Audio) Back in the Saddle: A Novel (Double S Ranch Series, Book #1) by Ruth Logan Herne (4hrs 56min) 10/24-27



4. ATBR2017 The Hospital, The FREE Short Story: The First Mountain Man Story, by Keith C. Blackmore (1hr 37 min) 10/27

Currently Reading:
1. eBook/Smartphone (NG2018)

Light’s Dawn: A Novella (Light in the Darkness)
by Yvette Bostic 
10/21- ___ Source: NetGalley
Mikel, a young merchant with the East India Trading Company, always considered fortune to be his mistress...until the Amboyan Massacre. The Dutch spare his life, but he’s forced into the deep jungles of South America to act as bait for a hidden menace picking off their scouts one by one. It works all too well: a demonic horde, drawn into the open, annihilates the entire Dutch battalion, leaving Mikel running for his life.
As he flees from the grisly battlefield, he falls in with the only other survivor of the demon attack, a Portuguese army scout named Raphael. Together, they scramble to escape the dangers of an impenetrable jungle, the pursuing demons, and their masters, a shadowy group of cultists intent on destroying the world.
Exhausted and disoriented, Mikel and Raphael are drawn to a mysterious stranger. But his gifts come with a choice: accept their destiny to fight against the darkness or allow it to consume humanity.
Light's Dawn is a stand-alone prequel to the Light in the Darkness historical fantasy series.

2. eBook/Kindle (NG2018)

For Us Humans: A Tale of Alien Occupation 
by Steve Rzasa 
10/24- ___ Source: NetGalley

Caz Fortel is a great liar. In fact, he's a professional.

It's his job to lie to people who steal works of art, and to get the goods back. But when Caz gets the big call from the FBI—a million bucks to recover a stolen statue of significant cultural value—it comes with a downside. His assigned partner has more of an interest in Jesus than Caz is comfortable with. Oh, and he’s an alien with four arms and a tremendous sense of smell.

When aliens showed up fifteen years ago, Earth cut a deal to join the Panstellar Consociation as a protectorate, allowing their new neighbors to set up a warp tunnel in orbit, in exchange for advanced tech secrets. Now Caz is caught up in the retrieval of their missing statue, and they want the mission kept quiet.

Or Earth could be in very, very big trouble.

3. Audible Smartphone (ATBR)

In the After
By: Demitria Lunetta
Narrated by: Julia Whelan
Source: June/July 2017 Audible Credit Purchase. 10/28- ____
Publisher's Summary
Attack.
Not isolated.
Fate of Americans: unknown.
Amy is watching TV when the world is attacked by Them. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to survive - and even rescue "Baby" - a toddler she finds in an abandoned supermarket.
Then, after years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream, with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she'll lose Baby - and much more.
You'll tear through the pulse-pounding narrow escapes and horrifying twists of fate in this thrilling debut from author Demitria Lunetta.
©2013 Demitria Lunetta (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

October 28, 2018 - I am still up to date and enjoying my Bible reading through You Version App.  I am on track with my morning reading the One Year Bible plan on my smartphone. You can check out audio of the One Year Bible Plan on the companion commentary online.

I completed all those books and posted NO reviews. That puts me at many reviews to post! At least I was able to prepare several while offline.
Obviously I have all of these reviews to add to Goodreads, Amazon and Audible so I am way behind again. I still have older ones to catch up on too.
My NetGalley shelf is now at 7. I still have one author title in queue. Still many through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
I have no new review titles.
I picked up several Audible Daily Deals plus some credit picks. I did get a couple of credits because I have had trouble participating in the sales.
I didn't pick up any Kindle paid titles.
I picked up a few free kindle titles through my phone internet when we were near internet. (Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

10/29/18 Audible Daily Deal $4.95
The Girl with All the Gifts
By: M. R. Carey
Narrated by: Finty Williams
Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
Release date: 06-10-14


10-24-18 Daily Deal ($5.95 less $5.05 credit) $0.90

Agincourt
By: Bernard Cornwell

10-18-18 1 Credit
The Mapmaker's Apprentice
By: C. J. Archer

10-18-18 1 Credit
Exile
By: Glynn Stewart

10-18-18 1 Credit
Hecate
By: J. B. Rockwell

10-13-18 Daily Deal $4.95 with $5.00 credit) $0.00

Space Knight
By: Michael-Scott Earle

Free

I received this from Pelican Book Group while I was away in Illinois but I forgot to list it. It sounds like fun reading.
Preserving Liberty: Pure Amore: Sweet Romance, Pure Enjoyment
by Candice Sue Patterson





10/29/2018 Free Audible Original

Lullaby
By: Jonathan Maberry
Narrated by: Scott Brick
Length: 37 mins
Release date: 10-04-18

I added 68 free titles to my Kindle library over the past three weeks. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement October 28, 2018

We started this morning in our RV getting ready for church with the aid of the generators. We arrived home from church to discover we have power again! We praise the Lord. We still don't have power at the church but we meet with generator, sharing needs, worshipping and praying.

Pastor's sermon addressed Life with Discomfort or Need.
We all suffer through trouble, illness or problems. Often, we learn to adjust. We adjust our expectations,; accepting a "new normal". (This hits home as the doctors have repeatedly told him that his health difficulties are his "new normal". The message was based on John 5:1-8. This scripture tells about the pool of Bethesda which people believe had healing power if a person could step into the waters at the right time of stirring. There was a man with a long time illness; a 38 year invalid. Jesus asked only one question: "Do you want to get well?" Instead of a yes or no, the man claimed: 'I have no one to help me into the pool.' But one moment with Jesus changes everything.

Sometimes we have adjusted to our situation and may not really seek help to change. Jesus can still change lives in a moment. Sometimes he changes our lives and sometimes he leaves us in a situation when He wants us to keep seeking Him.
What are you carrying that you can release to God?
There are at least three reactions to problems:
1. When people are Discouraged makes it more difficult for them to become encouraged. Help is needed - from others or Jesus.
2. Sometimes people Blame someone or something else rather than accepting responsibility for their circumstances.
3. A third choice is to Tolerate and Accept the new normal. This is a dangerous place to be.
Clearly attitude matters.

Do you want to get well? What pool are you waiting for? Or are you willing to seek help from God?
Earthly resources are secondary to a moment with Jesus. A series of moments can create momentum!

John 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

Pastor mentioned this old hymn: Just a Little Talk With Jesus.

John 5:8-9 (NIV)
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.

I pray that I may always be willing to accept help from Jesus!

I Am Well But With Very Limited Power and Internet

Hi to all my blogger friends.
I have been hoping to get on internet to let you know that my family and I are all fine after Hurricane Michael tore through last Wednesday 10/10. We had three trees fall on our house putting small holes in the roof. Only one caused ceiling damage in a guest bedroom. There are ceiling water stains in three other rooms.

Our son-in-law's car was crushed by a tree across the midsection. It is totaled. My car was hit by one tree knocking out the rear windshield and another smashing the roof, front windshield and passenger front fender. The insurance adjuster has indicated it will be declared totaled. :-( We are waiting to learn how much they value it at so we can then look for a new used car for me. My husband's jeep also took damage with a busted out rear passenger window. That is repairable and fortunately left us a vehicle to drive.

Our yard looked like a war zone after the winds either blew over, tore from the ground or broke about 90% of the trees in the yard and surrounding woods. Our son-in-law, two of his brothers and a friend were able to remove the trees from our roof and clear out our driveways within three days. It took two days for neighbors to clear our private community road so we could get out to a main road and others could get in. Out of 17 homes in our community only three did not have roof damage. Some had trees through portions of their houses and one had a tree down the center of the home!

My office building was also damaged with brick falling from a fake second story facade and a couple of small windows broken. Water damaged has caused about six ceiling panels to fall in the front room. All equipment had been moved to an interior room so it was untouched. I have been trying to get someone up on the roof to access the condition and cover it with a tarp if needed. I will try again tomorrow. Two offices to the east of mine took terrible damage, more severe than mine.

Our town was hit very hard with trees and powerlines down throughout the county. The responders and volunteers have worked hard getting streets cleared and the main traffic lights operating. We are still on curfew from 7pm to 7am and they are saying that some of us may not have power for 30 days.

Our RV was under a large metal garage cover and it suffered no damage so, unlike most people, we have had generator power and water since the storm. My husband's water treatment center for the house was in a shed that was crushed. Fortunately he was able to re-route the water lines and get water back to the house within two days. We have a generator which my husband had connected to run the refrigerators, the TV and the corner light where I work on my computer. We were running short of propane and gas fuel for the generators but were able to get out on Monday 10/16 to refill the fuel so we should be good for another week.

Our duaghter's home and second office are located in Panama City Beach. They were on the west side of the hurricane and suffered NO damage - just power outage for a week. Heather was able to get back to work on Thursday. I drove 63 miles west to another agent's office to work on a closing on Tuesday. I did not have time to get online then.

Although our modem shows as "connected" we still do not have internet service. I learned today how to tether my phone internet to the computer.  It is extremely slow but at least got me to the blog so I could post this update. It may still be several weeks before I can get back on for normal posting. I am reading on Kindle and listening to Audible on the phone. I will post some pictures when I have better internet capability.

All in all we feel blessed! God protected our lives which is the most important thing. I am hoping to do some work each day as we wait for power to return to the office and home.