Well, I'm thrilled to report that we survived the hurricane this weekend. It got scary at points, but we made it through unharmed. I know not everyone can say the same thing. Many of my friends have flooded basements, downed trees, and a young girl even lost her life when her car was washed away in a neighboring town. So, I'm definitely counting myself lucky.
It was certainly an interesting week here in NJ. We had an earthquake on Tuesday afternoon. I was at the office at my part-time consulting job. I figured I was just dizzy from drinking too much Diet Coke then quickly realized it wasn't in my head! Then there was the hurricane - during which we had some tornado warnings. Following the hurricane we have some extreme flooding. Many roads and bridges are washed out. I've seen pictures all over Facebook. I haven't been out yet. At one point during the evening, there was a tornado warning for our little town of Elmer. We quickly rushed to the basement where we actually HEARD the streams of water pouring into our basement! I looked down and saw a small river of water flowing into the drain in the middle of my basement floor. Then I realized there was a similar sound coming from my left. There was a pinhole leak through the concrete blocks and you could see a stream of water! It was too low to the ground for a bucket, but we found a pot. Then we had to identify the source of the stream into the drain. We had some leaks at the front of the house. So, for about an hour we were taking turns vaccuming, emptying pots, and using our utility pump to get rid of the water. But, we soon realized that the water was no longer coming in! The hurricane hadn't officially hit our area yet, so we took turns checking the basement every 30 minutes. By morning, not one additional drop of water came in. I don't know why it stopped, but I'm grateful. We actually had far more water in our basement several weeks ago. And, because of the work we did to clean that up and get damaged junk out of the basement, this seemed like a walk in the park! But, because of the tornado warnings, we now know where our problem spots are. Things happen for a reason!
What an adventure - not one I wish to repeat any time soon. So, I'm Giving Thanks today because God is great and protected us! The sentiment is a brand new stamp from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog - Hand-Penned Holidays. The leaves are from French Foliage. The colors were inspired by a card that I made for my In-Color Club - Pool Party, River Rock, Cajun Craze, and Whisper White. LOVE these colors together!!!
Love the colours in this card!! Glad to hear that you are safe and things are well!
Posted by: Anne Granger | August 30, 2011 at 09:12 PM