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December 18, 2015
IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!
The rains came down and the floods came up - and so it goes. It has been a crazy week down here at the coast. First we didn't have any electrical power, but that came back on. Then we didn't have any water, that came back but we had to boil it before we used it as drinking water. And then that was fixed. After the water repairs were made, Dave drove up to Kelso, Washington to deliver the city's water samples to the testing laboratory so the state health agency could approve for use. Dave was busy up at City Hall most of the week, chasing leaks in the water system, making phone calls and handing out water that had been donated by Pepsi and Sheldon Oil. Also a friend in a neighboring town delivered 6 gallons of drinking water to our front porch after hearing we had none in the city. It was wonderful to see the response we received - not only from our community but the surrounding communities as well. People really stepped up to help all week long. The Red Cross came in to help as well, but left after they saw how well we were handling the situation.
The damage to the town has been pretty extensive. The water flooded the Post Office so we now have to drive to the neighboring town of Nehalem to get our mail until they can assess the damage. Some of the basements in downtown buildings were flooded so that was a huge mess to clean up. The muddy water in the photos next to those buildings filled the cellars. Our Waterfront Park was heavily damaged too. The pathways through the park have all been scoured by the high water and we don't know how many shrubs or plants we may have lost. We're going to have a lot of work to do next spring.
We were isolated from the rest of the world for a while. The highway caved in about 10" deep just south of us on Hwy. 101, so they had to close the road. The only time we could go north was at low tide because the river was so flooded it covered the road during high tide. The highway to the south is now open to single-lane traffic while they try to make repairs and the river level has receded enough so the flooding danger to the north is behind us. But, there is another storm a-brewing today, so we are all getting ready for yet another hit from Mother Nature.
Oh no, our kitty is missing! Our feral cat, Jerry disappeared during the storm. I kept thinking about his brother and how he disappeared last spring and I was hoping that Jerry hadn't met the same fate. I missed him so much and kept looking out the window hoping to see him waiting for me to feed him. Well, guess what? After three days, he finally re-appeared. He's never been gone more than one day before. I was so happy to see him. He is one tough street cat and somehow managed to hunker down someplace out of harm's way. When he finally came back, he wasn't very hungry but he still wanted to be petted and brushed. So much for his image of "tough street cat"! Anyway, I was very glad to see him - I thought he might have headed south for the winter! Dave was getting ready to build him a nice, warm shelter when he disappeared, so now that's back on his "to-do" list.
Dave and I did manage to drive up to Warrenton to go shopping at Costco and Fred Meyer earlier this week. While we were out, we stopped at a marine supply store in Astoria and bought a Christmas present for ourselves - a weather station. Now when the wind blows and the rains are pounding down, we can tell how hard we're getting hit just by looking at our weather station. It doesn't take much to entertain us!
We're going to try to get over to the valley for a few hours today to do some shopping and see the family. With all that has been happening, I am still trying to get into the Christmas spirit. I did manage to make some cookies this week and did buy a few presents. I am also counting my blessing and feeling fortunate that all is well and bright.
