I've been getting emails from folks who wanted to know just how close Katrina was to us.
So, with that said, here is a picture of the map of where we live and where Katrina made landfall.
I am so amazed at how big of a distruction area Katrina covered. The distruction pretty much starts in our area and spreads all the way to Ala.
Just mind boggling.
Liisa, Thanks for the map...now it is a little clearer...what a terrible thing to happen...I'm just glad all of you and yours are OK...I started to say "fine"...but how can anyone be FINE with all this tradgey all around you?...it will just take time.
Love, Hugs and Prayers...
Jo
Thanks Lisa, that was WAAAAY too close.
yep, remind me of this next time there is a hurricane heading my way SO I CAN LEAVE ..
Just remeber to take poor Hurricane Hambone with you.
Janett
Lisa, that's a BIG change in attitude for you. I remember us encouraging you to leave for the last 2-3 hurricane seasons.
Hopefully you will move away from hurricane territory before another one comes your way.
you got that right darius, I'm done up with sticking it out..how stupid and careless it was of us to stay here. We took a very bad chance, I'll never do that again...
as of right now I am tryin' to figure out how I'm gonna make our lawn service trailer turn into a critter evac. trailer!
Lisa, I really believe folks who 'stick it out" have NO real thought that they could actually die. You, your husband and daughter (and even Hambone!) deserve a chance at survival, and this nightmare made that obvious. Mother Nature has few favorites.
Even my sister in Central FL who had 3 hurricanes damage her house last year has been sobered by the Katrina nightmare and is planning to move away.
it does catch you attention, that is for sure! I'm shell shocked now. I told DH he could stay if he wanted, but we(dd & I) are outta here next time...DH slept through the whole thing! He said "it wasn't too bad"...All I know is I saw trees do things I never thought a tree could do without snapping like a toothpick! I don't wanna see that again!!
Just talked to Rich....http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/help4katrina/
ha, just sent you an email!
It is so good to hear from you, Lisa. And so glad you are willing to evacuate next time. How about just plain moving permenantly to somewhere less in the path of those storms? I know central MO is tornado ally, but tornados don't have as much water involved in them. I don't think Mary has any really bad weather patterns where she lives. Or do you, Mary?
Lisa, so very glad to hear u won't stay for the next big one. A few of us were emailing the night before landfall, praying for u and wishing there was a way to convince u it wasn't worth staying. It was terrifying opening dave's those first days and hours, wondering who had and who hadn't made it.
leafladay,
((good to hear from you))
yep, we are hoping to move from here within the next year. I'm shell shocked, so no tornados!!LOL. We need to get back on our feet before we move, we figure it'll take about a year or so.
The hurricane pattern here in the gulf states will remain intense, we will see many more of these killer hurricanes. I honestly don't wanna stick around to wait and watch. I don't gamble at all. We shouldn't gamble with our lives and that is what we did. I shudder to think what would have happened if we were hit head on, we haven't any more barrier islands to protect our parish. Our home would have been splinters.
As for where Mary lives...it snows..lol..a lot..! Although DH has been talking about Baker City a whole lot the past few days..
kooger, I'm sorry if I put you through worry. I ask for you forgiveness :-) I honestly didn't realize how many folks from our area left until after it was all over with. You have my word, I'll not do it again.
Smiling and tears at the same time - again...seems we've all done that a lot the past 2 weeks. Praying the Lord will lead you through the next phase of your life... psst, snows here too! doubt you would like the cold! :)
I've been thinking about this alot, Lisa - not just the hurricanes, but all predictable natural occurances. We have occasionally been "blessed" with the remains of hurricanes - Agnes sat over the Northeast for nearly a month and flooded the southern tier of NYS so badly that some of the Corning Glass Museum's ancient glass collection ended up several miles down river. We finished our first cutting hay in mid to late August that year. The winter of 1976-7 was so bad here, that Stan stayed at the barn for a week night and day. I was 4 miles away in a trailer with spotty electric, no water and a wood stove for all the heat with no view out the front windows because the entire front of the trailer to about 3 feet above the roof was under snow.
Stan and I talked about leaving/not leaving and with animals that are your living, you don't leave. We would be in the position of having to stay with our farm - and to be honest, I'd rather deal with 15 feet of snow than even a mean tropical storm any day! But that is the way it is.
I'll be VERY HAPPY to have you move inland some - I'm pretty sure that I'm WAY too inland up here! But, please, at least somewhere that isn't below sea level!!
Lisa,
I'm so glad that you are OK. I knew the storm had not hit you directly, but glad to see the map you posted. I was praying for you and I had my daughter's family praying specifically for you. You really might as well paint a bullseye on your house with the way these storms are becoming. So now I can specifically pray that nothing will harm you until you can get moved. You might consider North Carolina. Similar climate, mild winters, lots of open spaces for your animals and it's really a pretty state. No earthquakes, few tornadoes. I came here in 1987 and only one hurricane came far enough inland to hit my city (Fran in 1996) and another one came through South Carolina and hit Charlotte (Hugo). So the trick is to find a place you love in the middle of the state, halfway between me and Charlotte, I guess. They don't seem to have any really bad weather and it's beautiful land. Best wishes to you and your family, and to Hambone of course.
Diane
thank you Kathleen and Diane.
I haven't considered NC, but it is an option. We don't know which way to go. Just know we want out. Lots of prayers are needed so we can be guided in the right direction.
We thought about leaving here about 3 years ago, but I just couldn't leave my roots. Now I am ready.
We would like to continue our landscaping/lawn service business where ever we settle. However, we do know it would take time to get established. My husband worked for an Armature company, rewinding electric motors. He could go back to doing that for a time, but his heart is in landscaping. My heart is being a homemaker. I don't want to open up a new nursery anywhere, I've had my fill..lol.
We want land, we have animals. We live on 2 acres here, but would love more. I don't care about a fancy home. A nice big barn would be a great asset...these are just some things on my wish list.
thank you for caring,
Lisa
Hi Lisa
When i was growing up I was ALWAYS saying that I never going to move from the archipelago of the swedish Capitol. Its a beautifull place to grow up in, never leave huh?
Know what I DID. I moved.LOL
One thing that I have learned that GOD friend always somehowe come with you,Through visits-mail-telephone and s.o.
One very positive thing with changing location is that you will always have a vacationspot to go to. your family and friends will also get a new vacationspot, visiting you.
In according to your old friends you will also get even more friends.
You can take the barn and make a piece of it into a small guestarea and make it accesible from the outside.
You will get yourself out of harms way. AND the best of all if and when the next hurricane strikes your friends and family already have a safe place to take cover in
Janett
This message was edited Sep 10, 2005 8:03 PM
It doesn't snow much here. Some years we have hardly any, and some years 2 or 3 feet. Lisa has seen my winter pictures. She sat here and shivered while we looked at them. I think she would like a warm place but I would love for them to move here. She'd have to learn to wear shoes which would be a big adjustment.
Knowing what your wishes are make it easier to pray for you. You can research online and check out different areas. Any city that I know of has need for good landscapers. I can't believe how many I see around here in my area and they all seem to be making a living, based on the trucks/trailers/equipment I see. You have time to make decisions. I love something I read once a long time ago: God gives His best to those who leave the choice up to Him. God knows what you need and where your hearts are with all of this.
One of my daughters lives across the border in So Carolina at Pageland. They purchased 3.5 wooded acres and have cleared enough to put their trailer on (which they will be building onto some day), build flower and veggie gardens, a wood shop for her husband and a regular storage shed. They are getting ready to add a greenhouse for her plants. There is a lot of land available around them and a beautiful lake. She drives about 30 minutes into Monroe, NC to work and he drives further than that to his job, but to them it's worth having the peace and the stars at night and the space to do what they want.
This is a great and glorious country we live in. I've lived many places and there is good and bad everywhere. Someone above mentioned Oregon and it's truly lovely. I'd love to go back there, but they used to not be real open to newcomers. Maybe that has changed. The climate there is very different from what you are used to.
Please keep in touch.
Diane
Lisa,
Glad you and yours made it through o.k. Stay well!
Close shave!
LIsa, I would love it if you moved our direction. Land in my neck of the woods isn't too much money and we are lower in altitude than MaryE so not quite as cold and if it does snow that snow doesn't usually last long. Recently we have heard rumors that our zone is now considered a zone 7. We don't have hurricanes, only one tornado in 17 years we have been here and it didn't do much damage, snow is minimal, churches galore, good schools and the opportunity to put S into a private school if you want. We have great shopping within an hour's drive, great restaurants, wonderful museums, good libraries, and plenty of other things and places to go and do.
Oh yeah, there is me here too!
Hugs,
Lani
Lisa, I remember several years go when Louisa (margaret) and I were at wits end trying to coax you out of that area during a hurricane. Do you remember? You had a close call.
I was thinking about North Carolina, but my sister reminded me that there are hurricanes there too. so, I m back to the drawing board. Imay just end up going back to Oregon or Washington, it will be hard after being in a climate where youse the sun everydayof the year, so I will probably still continuing to research my options.
In north carolina, the areas of Chapell Hill, Durham looked good. It seemed that chapell hill had some good schools, and since i am moving back to the states for my daughter's education, that was my one big criteria.
Oregon and Washington are very nice, wholessome clean living areas, but the lack of sun would really depress me. Ideally I would like to be on the east coast so its easier to go back and forth to Turkey, and ideally it woul be a sunny place.
I'll keep you posted of what i find, and you let me know what you find, and with all of the DG family to help us out with information, we should be able to find you a place to settle down in. Good luck, and I am so glad that you came through without too much damage, although, girl...I've seen your photos......youdid have quite a bit....
Maybe Virgini or West virginia.....I think I'lll look at that option again.
good luck!
The Richmond, VA area has plenty of snow in the winter months and it rains a lot. Our dd lives there and I get to hear about it every week. We were there one winter and a snow storm kept us housebound most of the visit.
hi all, thank you for the encouragement.
We are praying about where we should be, we are not going to rush into things. We don't want to make anymore mistakes. In a couple of weeks we are going to check out the TX area. It is close to home, same climate and perhaps we could re-establish our landscaping company there. We honestly don't know which way to turn at the moment. I'd love to live in the TN area. But I just dunno....
Lani,
Between you and Mary, ya'll make a good sell!!
Well, let me break in here and tell you we would love it if you would move to TN. There is nothing about this state that I don't like. I should work for the state Tourism Bureau because I am so sold on it.
NC does have hurricanes, but if you stay inland you don't have to deal with them. Tennessee and Kentucky are GORgeous and have good climate. TX might make a good choice, and it has hurricanes too, but I've not seen a whole lot of it. I loved the area around Tyler with all the flowers and I think it's called the rose capital of the world or something like that. When you go further west, like into the plains states, you have that constant wind, tornadoes, and unbelievably bad winters. Like I said before, everyplace has something. We'll just keep praying.
Diane
Kentucky's really pretty and warm (compared to Ohio). Come hither, little Cajun.
Awww Lisa I had to try didn't I?
;o)
Lisa,
Wherever you decide to put up, my good wishes are with you.
Dinu
