Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!

Another first!  A cyclone is headed our direction.  Growing up in West Texas, a cyclone is not something of which we are accustomed.  Needless to say, life is pretty exciting around here.  Cyclone Marcia is currently a category 4, possibly becoming a category 5 when it hits the coast early Friday morning.  Yesterday, I went to the store for hamburger buns. Fortunately, I thought that maybe I should get a "few" extra items to have on hand, just in case. 

A "few" items

Today the girls had their opening mass for school.  As I sat in the pew with my new friend, Eileen, she suggested that we might want to be prepared for a power outage. She recommended that we make sure we have some torches (flashlights) and batteries available. She also offered their home if we felt in danger in ours'.  As soon as mass concluded,  I ventured to Big W to get the essentials:  flashlights, batteries, a small portable gas stove, gas, rubber boots, and lanterns.

Stocked up

And while I was at the shopping center, I thought maybe I should get a few more items for the pantry, so I headed for Woolies.  Boy am I glad I had the thought yesterday to get a "few" items.  There were several empty shelves.  No more cold milk, no more loaves of bread, no more bottled water.






No more bread

No more water

No more milk

Almost no toilet paper.  Yikes!

Torches going fast

Don't worry Mom, we are all stocked up with several days worth of food, but I did buy a few boxes of almond milk, just in case. 

All loaded down with my "just in case" items, I headed to the car.  On my way home I had the thought of possibly needing to fill the car with gas, just in case.  As I pulled into the gas station, I realized lots of people where thinking about the "just in case."  Lines were quite long and there were attendants outside directing traffic around the gas pumps.  Finally feeling more prepared, I headed home.  Much to my surprise, I got a text from Peter announcing that he too would be home soon. Watching the weather, Henk, one of the  Rocky ED doctors, sent him home, just in case.  The road between Yeppoon and Rocky is known to flood, and Peter did not want to be stranded.  About the time he arrived home, a few more of our new friends, Corne` and Natalie along with their children, came by our house and brought us a lovely flower and some words of cyclone advice.  We followed their advice and moved all of our outdoor furniture.  They also offered words of reassurance and calmness, having experienced such an event. We are grateful for wonderful new friends who are kindly helping us find our way here.  As of now, the kids have been picked up from school and all schools have been canceled for tomorrow. We are at home, hunkered down,  just in case, waiting for the storm to pass.  We will update tomorrow or Saturday (or when we have power) with the rest of the story...

Settling in for the storm,
Tricia




We're at Yeppoon



Tropical Cyclone Marcia