First Day of Summer

 Well it has been a while since I have checked in.  The crazy weather is over and summer is setting in.  Today is actually the first day of summer and we got the boat out!  After the storms were over we made a decision to try and have a storm cellar installed on our RV lot in Cedar Blue, Sulphur, OK.  The Environmental Committee approved it and now we wait and see if it can be done or if they hit too much rock.  I sure hope not.  More to come August 9th when the install occurs.  John and I staked out where we wanted it put in abiding by the rules of the park which dictates it has to be at least 5' off the back and side lot lines.  So we had it measured for 5' off the back line.  When the committee of two showed up they were very nice and told us no problem as long as it was 10' off the back line.  I questioned them on this and they stuck to their guns.  Later in the day when I had a chance, I pulled up the rules from the Cedar Blue web site and sure enough - 5' off the back line!!  So I texted it to one of the Board members who took it up with the two environmental guys and they agreed they were wrong.  So I didn't embarrass them and we got our 5' measurement approved. 

As long as I was on a roll, I decided to take on the Murray County Road folks to get some trees trimmed.  While travelling down Cedar Blue Road in our motorhome last weekend we encountered some low hanging limbs and sure enough bang bang as they hit the things on the roof.  Luckily no damage.  So I dropped a letter in the mail to the County Commissioners this past Monday and amazingly as we travelled down the same road yesterday (Thursday) not only had the ditches been mowed but the low limbs were also trimmed back!  Wow - how great was that and within four days of mailing off the letter.  We have also had to ask our RV park at Cedar Blue to trim trees back so they won't tear up the RV and they have come through as well. 

Today John took the old boards off the waverunner trailer, carpeted new boards, and installed them back on the trailer.  We didn't even have to take the waverunner off it.  He just jacked it up a bit so he could lift the boards out and put them back on.  How nice.  While he was doing this I got the hose out with some cleaning solutions and cleaned up the boat.  No black junk on the seats this year thank goodness - just tons of dirt.  In the years past we have always put a tarp over the pontoon boat and not only does it get torn up from the weather and wind but the seats seem much harder to clean.  So for the past two years we have just left it uncovered and it has been much easier to clean.  It sits under a canopy so it doesn't get pelted with snow, ice and rain. 


April Licking John's Wet Suite

This afternoon we picked up a new Nikon Coolpix S6500 camera and can't wait to get started using this.  We have a wonderful Nikon camera with multiple lenses but it's not a point and shoot and too big to just carry around with you.  This new camera is so small that it will fit in my purse or pocket and I can always have it with me.  It has a 12x zoom, video, any many other wonderful options. 

Tonight we took the girls for a sunset cruise.  They got to wear their new life jackets and go for a swim as well.  They seemed happier on the boat than in the water.  I probably should have gotten the pic with the life jackets BEFORE they went for a swim!  Well we had a great first day of summer as I hope you did as well.  


Bailey Looking Fierce

April with a Fish Face








The Girls Warming Up

Sunset on Lake Arbuckle





The Storms are Finally Over



It is Friday, June 7th, and the sun is shining!  The storms have finally come to an end.  I think everybody's nerves and emotions are a bit frayed.  As many of you know, we lived in the house that we sold in January 2012 for 16 years.  It was located a few houses down the street from Briarwood Elementary in south Oklahoma City/Moore which was destroyed by an EF5 tornado on May 20, 2013.  The picture you see is taken from our old lot looking out over what is left of the neighborhood.  The other pictures are what was left of our old home.

 It was very sad to walk through the rubble.  We built the house and had put a lot of hard work into the backyard as well and all that was left were a few patio blocks and a tree stump.  The icture of the tornado shelter that was in teh garage floor is proof that you are safe in one of those.  It's still there and intact.

So many of our friends lost their homes and/or cars or had a lot of damage done to them.  The help that is pouring into these areas is amazing.  So many people from other States have flocked into the area to clean off the slabs and organize donations in all the different centers and churches.  In fact most of these donation sites are not taking any more as they are full.  If you are working at the site of your home it won't be long before somebody comes by with food and drinks at no cost.  Many of the groups helping on sites are also handing out gift cards to the families to help buy clothes and other necessary items.  For the most part I think that insurance companies are coming through for them and I've also heard of folks getting help from FEMA.  I think the folks that are struggling with claims are those whose homes are not considered totaled by their insurance companies. 

It will take years before this area is back to normal.

 

We now live in our motorhome 14 miles SW of our old home in the middle of three small towns called Bridge Creek, Blanchard and Newcastle.  The May 20th tornado started about 2 miles to the west of our location.  Several of them that come into the Moore area come from out our way.  We have a large tornado shelter here and the girls and I were in it on the 20th.  It wasn't long before we knew the storm had missed us and back in the RV I watched in horror as the monster ground into Moore, OK.  It was hours before we knew what had happened to family and friends as phone service was at a minimum.  John's son, Paul and his family live about 2 blocks south of its path and took shelter in their garage floor shelter.  Thankfully, they had very little damage - just a lot of debris in their yard.

 There were several storms and tornadoes that hit the night prior as well in some communitites east of Moore doing a lot of damage and then on the 31st they hit again west and north of us but in the metro area.  Although the El REno tornado was the largest on record in the world and was also an EF5, it did not cause as much structural damage as the Moore tornado because it was touching down in a less populated area.  At one point it was headed directly for downtown OKC and turned south before it hit.  There were several tornadoes that night and straight line winds.  At one point it appeared that possibly Moore would be hit again but I think all that came in was wind damage.

 

Unfortunately, with each of these storms there were several lives lost which is so very sad.  On May 20th we lost several children in an elementary school and in other locations as well as adults.  Thankfully, many people were still at work as it hit mid-afternoon or there may have been more deaths.  On May 31sth the storms were very strange and unpredictable and several people lost their lives in their vehicles when they got caught in them.  Several people, including children, also sought refuge in drainage ditches and because of the immense amount of rain we had they were swept away in flash flooding.  Our prayers go out to all these families who have lost loved ones this past month in these monster storms.

 

We do have a storm shelter at the RV park we live in and we are installing one on the RV lot we own in Sulphur so we are never caught in a bad situation.  I urge all our Oklahoma friends and family in Oklahoma to please please please install storm shelters if do not have one.  Do not rely on a neighbor or getting to a safe place that you have to drive to.

 

I hope now we can enjoy the rest of the summer uneventfully.  OKC is completely out of the 2-year drought and the area that we have our RV lot in near Lake Arbuckle is about back to normal as well.  That lake was down 7' and only has 2' to go before it is at normal level.