Wednesday, June 22, 2011

I'm exhausted. Do I say that every update? Because I'm starting to feel that every update.

1.  For those who have been telling me to pack up and move out, this should make you a little happy...

For those of you who have been begging us to call you when we move out, relax. We are not moving out yet. We are simply getting things ready to go out the door. Five precious friends helped me make 40 lunches for workers today, and then stayed and helped me box up the contents of the play room/school room and things we don't need to have access to for a while. They--were--awesome! One even drove over here from Nebraska, all the way around thru St. Joe! (Thanks, Kristi!!) And honestly, if I'd have had any more people, it would have been too much. So don't worry, if you've offered to help, we WILL call you when Dustin says it's time to pull the plug completely. But for now, we're just getting a few things into boxes....

Two things I have come to realize, WE HAVE A LOT OF STUFF. Wow. And it's really too bad I don't have about three fifty dumpsters parked out back of my house. Or if I lived in town I could just put it on my street corner and put up a sign that says FREE, and then watch it disappear. Maybe I'll put it out in my driveway, and let the river float it down to St. Louis or something.....

So, that's what I did today. I did take a little drive this evening and get a few photos for you all. (Yeah, like I'm really taking photos just for you all...)
These were taken not quite 3 miles from my house.

I'm sure the Army Corps of Engineers will be thrilled to see they have saved the wildlife. (Heron standing on the side of the highway--click to load larger photo.) Going along that lines, I found this article quite informative and a little maddening.

Yep, this is a highway. That 55mpg Speed Limit sign is for VEHICLES, not boats. This is the intersection 2.7 miles from my driveway.

As far as status for the day goes...
1. The issue with the tube 1 mile to the west of us continues to be an issue. I think they've tried just about everything to fix it, to no avail. So I believe they're building a dike around the area the tube is draining into, and may just have to keep it pumped out. Pray that this gets resolved, because it could develop very quickly into a much bigger problem.
2. About 9 miles of the levee has been closely inspected for badger holes, and any that were found have been filled in. Not to say we saw every one, because these levees are covered with tall grass. But at least it has been inspected as much as possible.
3. The river reached a new all-time high today and is currently at 26.82 feet. The graph will about scare you to death...well, at least if you live around here.

4. Great news (not) from Gavins Point (the dam releasing all of the water affecting us)--they increased their release from 150,000cfs to 155,000cfs today, and will go up to 160,000cfs tomorrow. They say that water will be here sometime around the weekend. I assume this is going to be their release rate thru late August, of course unless they increase it again. I'd still like a copy of that news show I watched that said the ACOE said the river would not run more than 25 feet. Yeah.

Tomorrow, we have between 20 and 25 prison inmates coming to help fill, tie, and stack sandbags. Some of "my ladies" are coming back to package up meals for these guys, and whoever else comes to help from the community. Should be another exhausting day.

Every day there are funny things happening. One is things that are said.  Someday I'm going to start keeping track of things said at our house that are hilarious, if you don't know what the context was. For example, today my friend Pepe (pronounced Peppy) said, "I wouldn't leave anything behind that you don't want raccoon poop on." Sometimes I truly feel like I live in the twilight zone. Especially since this was said in the midst of a conversation about whether or not to move the mattresses from upstairs out or not.