Record Flooding

The rains started last night and we knew flooding would follow.

It it going to be a record flood for us, parts of the closest real town 

will be underwater before it is over and if the situation is the same

as in 2008, we'll be blocked on the other side too.  The house will be fine,

we're on a ridge top but the roads around us will be under.

And here we have our granddaughter, Taylor, with us

and the power is blinking

and we have a well.

No Power, No water, No toilets!!!

Except, I filled up the deep claw foot tub with water to flush with

and we have a couple of large water coolers (construction site size)

for drinking. We ran to the gas station during a lull and got fuel

for the generator and milk and the required beer for the hubby!

The county road was just about to go under when we were out,

one lane flooded in some places, both lanes but shallow in others.

When my husband went down to check out situation later, it 

was under. The next county road borders a creek and it

was under too.  There is a low water bridge there that we

use to judge how much rain we have had.  You always turn

your head to look, even on nice days. 

Our neighbor's place- down on the county road.

There is a deep culvert here with huge pipes.

They lost the drive last year, as did the neighbor to their

right.  This one is holding although under water now but the

other drive is lost again. They may be able to go across

the grass and use this drive once the water recedes, 

as long as this holds too.  The heaviest rain is yet to arrive and 

won't stop until Monday night.

The ground was already saturated before the rains .

This is the driveway across from our road,

they have a creek that goes through their place

and it's normally shallow but way over its banks now.

This is their creek today.

This is the run of from the small lake/pond along

the county road.  Our lake will likely go over the spillway which will put

even more water down the road.  There are some people

that will be building just below the dam (something 

I would not do).  They have a metal shed down actually below the dam.

They seem to be staying in it, not sure if all the time 

or just from time to time; however,

I would not want to be in it with this water so high.

When the previous owners lived there water took out

that area and the driveway.  The house, which was higher

up the hillside burned down

(when he set it on fire after trying to shoot his wife!!)

Yeah, glad they are not there anymore.

This is their place.  The water rose a lot.

My husband said it went down but with 

the heaviest rain the next two days, it 

will get right back up again.

This is the water coming down our

culvert onto the main road, really

coming down fast.

We will be fine up here but we keep losing power 

for short periods of time.  I have flash lights ready

plus an Energizer flash light that plugs into the wall

and turns on like a night light if the power goes out.

The light will stay on for a good bit of time so you are

able to navigate.  It is always plugged in so always charged.

I hope we can get Taylor to her mom tomorrow, it's not fun

for her to be trapped here if we lose power, especially on

winter break when she could be having some fun with her mom.

Warning from the City of Pacific Police Dept.

Pacific Residents and those living around the Meramec River. With the latest expected rainfall totals we are projected to see the Meramec River rise above flood levels that could affect the southeast corner of town like in 2008. If you or someone you know live near the Meramec River within the southeast corner of town please use caution and keep watch of the river at all times. Last time we reached these levels 20-30 homes were affected, some of those were bought out by FEMA and have been torn down, some of them were raised to stay dry at this level. Just exercise caution as flood waters can rise quickly. We are expected to crest on Dec 30th at 6 pm we will see roads (Hwy N, Hwy F/O, Denton, Jefferson and possibly Rt 66 near east end plaza) close temporarily until the water recedes.The water is supposed to recede between Dec 

31st and Jan 1st. DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH FLOOD WATER! Stay tuned to your local news stations for any further developments and we will keep you updated via social media.

Sunrise Dec 20 2015

I had my first glimpse through the bedroom window,

the sunlight barely inching over the ridge top, simply

a deeply pink, thin line.  I knew I would never be able

to capture it because it exists for only seconds, which

was the case.  Pre-dawn is so beautiful.

I found the camera and memory stick (which is 

never in the camera) and as quietly as I could, 

walked out to the deck to snap this shot.  

It's a great camera but I only know Auto settings right now.

It was truly gorgeous, more than the camera shows you.

Suddenly the whole sky turned purple, pink, yellow and orange.

Now, just a few minutes later, I am starting to see the bright spot

where the sun will soon pop over the hills.  The breeze is starting

to blow with the trees swinging left to right and deep purple turns

to a lilac blue.  

Pretty soon my little guys will start to dance,

swinging back and forth, all day until the 

sun goes down.  It sort of makes you want

to mimic them which would be great exercise!

Yes, I know Halloween is over but Santa wanted a 

dancing partner and we get a kick out of watching them.

It doesn't take much to amuse us.

It might be a little nontraditional, but our favorite Santa rides a Harley.

And where do you go to visit a Harley riding Santa?

To Bourbeuse Valley Harley-Davidson where, in December,

children of all ages line up to sit on Santa's Harley and spend

some quality time discussing how good (or bad) they have been.

I'm sure ALL the children who visited Santa this year were 

very, very good. I know Taylor has been.

You can read about our first experience at the link below.

It's funny how things work, one little snow storm changed

my whole view of those "dangerous" Harley riders!!

Santa Rides a Harley

What more can you ask for than a selfie with Santa?

While Taylor loved the purses, stuffed animals and clothing

she and Pops started scoping out their next bike.  No, not

this one, which is really great looking, but a nice comfortable

one where grandma would be happy riding.

We're not really getting one, it's just Pops and Taylor daydreaming!

Taylor's New Old Bike

Taylor has a great new-old bike!  How pretty is this?

A friend of ours (from elementary school) came into town

to help his parents clean out the garage and other things.  He

contacted us and asked if we could come over because there 

were some really interesting things that he wanted to know

if Tom would like to restore.  One of them was this great

old bike that had been his sister's.  It still had the receipt and

full instructions with it.  The receipt looks to be dated 1987.

This was a super way for Taylor to have a new bike

and to learn to work on one.  It was an unusually warm 

weekend so Taylor washed and dried it.

My husband purchased the tires, brake pads, etc. 

and they set up shop in the garage.  Pretty soon it

was looking brand new again and it was time to ride.

But it's dark!

No fear, Tom hopped on his 4-wheeler and

followed Taylor down our gravel road!

We're a dead end road on a ridge top

with only about 6 houses on the road,

 all either family or friends of ours.

She'll need some practice on a 10 speed,

she really hasn't had much bike experience

so even starting and stopping are challenging for her.

We'll take her to the state park where it is paved

and let her practice then she'll be ready to 

ride the bike trails with us when the weather improves.

  

Possum Grape AR

Possum Grape, Arkansas

In all the years we have driven to Hot Springs, AR I have 

always loved the name of this town.  I know it's a horrible

photo but we were in last week's driving rains as we 

drove back to the St Louis area.  It was the best I could do

under the circumstances.  

It appears that the residents couldn't decide on what to 

call the town:  Possum or Grape, so they just joined them

together.  What a great address to have- Possum Grape!

It would make a great topic of conversation when 

you meet a stranger, especially one from a large city.

We also drop the ball every time we travel to Hot Springs.

There is a junction in the road with one leading to 

Success, Arkansas. It's not as if the sign isn't staring us

in the face.  You would think we'd learn but we 

never take that road to success. 

Some day I would like to stop into these towns with 

unusual names, take a few photos to remember them and

learn a little about the history.  Then when we retire we'll have

to give Possum Grape some thought, or maybe we will finally

take that road to Success!

  

The Sort of Mail I Am Starting to Get

I am doomed!

This says it all.

This is the sort of mail I am starting to get.

It's no secret, I've used some of these already!!

Uggggh.