Hurricane, Jury Summons, Snow, Etc.

This past October, Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida. (The devastation was incredible.) It was a tropical storm when it reached North Carolina on October 11th. It still had a lot of wind and rain in it. We lost power for a couple days (technically about 45½ hours), but thankfully we had a generator. (Our first time having one. Too bad we didn't have one when we lost power during an ice storm in early March 2014.) Many places in NC flooded. It hadn't been that long ago that Hurricane Florence hit North Carolina, and we'd had a lot of rain before and after Florence. The ground was pretty much saturated, which not only caused flooding, but many trees came down. About 500,000 people were without power in North Carolina. The county I live in had the most power outages.

Our generator isn't powerful enough to run a lot of things in our house, but we were able to keep the refrigerator running, a few lamps, some small fans, the TV, cable, and WiFi, use the microwave (if we unplugged the refrigerator first), and keep our phones charged. Thankfully, it wasn't hot out, so the fans were enough for those couple days that we didn't have power.

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I made a quick trip to Hagan-Stone Park on November 3rd to get some pretty fall pictures. We've had so much rain over the past few months that it's been too muddy to walk the trails, so I had to take pictures from less muddy spots. I would've loved to have been able to go deeper into the woods to get pictures.

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A couple months ago, I got a jury summons in the mail. Ugh. I was dreading it so much. I get a summons every couple of years, but only once have I actually had to go. This last summons was for the courthouse in High Point. I understand it's in the same county I'm in, but I don't live in High Point and rarely go there. I think the last time I was there was about two years ago. Prior to that, I can't remember how long it had been. I received a summons for the High Point courthouse once before, but thankfully when I called the night before, I was told that my services weren't needed. I got the same message when I called tonight. As I was listening to the recording, Charlie was standing near me and when they said my services weren't needed, I raised my fist up in the air and said, "Yes!" Charlie laughed. lol I am so happy I don't have to go!

The one time I did have to go, it was the courthouse in Greensboro. It was a long, boring day. I hated every minute of it. Thankfully my name was never called to go back to whatever the other room is. A selection room of some kind, I imagine. At one point, we were allowed to leave the assembly room for a break. I went to the break room to get water and a small bag of pretzels and as I was sitting there, I started feeling sick and faint. All those boring hours on an empty stomach and not much sleep. I don't do well in such situations.

Anyway, I find it interesting that Charlie has received a summons only once and has only voted once or twice. I vote every election and get a summons every couple of years. Charlie said he heard that they don't choose based on who votes, but I don't believe them. lol

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About mid to late October, I brought Pippin to the vet for his bi-annual check-up. At this visit, we found out he has congestive heart failure and his liver and kidneys are starting to not do so great. (He also had the giardia parasite, but medication took care of that.) He's now on heart medication and fluid pills. I've had to bring him to the vet every couple weeks since then and I'm really tired of going. It's been a couple weeks since the last vet visit. Hopefully I won't have to take him again for awhile. Milo is passed due for his check-up, but I haven't been able to take him because of Pippin's visits and the cost involved in that. *sigh*

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On November 27th, I got a text from my bank about suspicious activity in my account. Someone in Paris somehow got my information and attempted to purchase several things. Only a couple went through because I didn't have much in the bank, so most of their purchases were declined. Some of the purchases were some kind of Hobbiton movie set, an expensive dinner, and a boat cruise on the Seine. I went to the bank that Friday to get a temporary card to use until my new card arrived in the mail. The bank is currently reviewing the case. Surely they'll see that I didn't buy stuff in Paris one day, then get groceries in NC the next, then take a boat cruise in Paris after that.

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Sunday, December 9th, around midnight, a winter storm hit North Carolina. It snowed all night (Saturday night/Sunday morning) and all day Sunday. Then turned into sleet and freezing rain Sunday night, and then we got a little bit more snow on top of that. We got about a foot of snow where I live. The kind of snow we get about once every 10 years. Needless to say, everything shut down.

When they finally got to our neighborhood to plow, they only did about half of our street. I have no idea why. They stopped a couple houses before our house. I had to be careful getting out today to bring Kelly to the dentist.

We're supposed to get rain Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (seriously? more rain?!) and the temperature Sunday is supposed to be near 60°. So hopefully the snow will melt soon. Though with it being a foot high and the piles where they've plowed are higher than that (I heard 10 feet high in some places!), who knows when it will all be gone.

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Monday, December 10th, we got the news that Charlie's aunt Louise in Tennessee passed away that morning. She was 80 years old. She had been battling cancer for awhile, but it didn't seem like she was sick enough to die yet. She seemed in good spirits, smiling a lot, from the pictures her daughter was sharing on Facebook. Her death was a sad surprise.

The funeral is tomorrow (Thursday). Charlie would like to go, but he can't because he's the only one who will be at work. Others have taken time off/vacation time and they need someone there.

Charlie had said several times over the past few months that he'd like to go visit his uncle Richard and aunt Louise and family whenever we get the chance. It's been awhile since he's seen them and he misses them. Now if we ever get to go, he won't get to see his aunt Louise. He really loved her. :-(

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Since my last entry, I stopped reading Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon and read two other books. Warm Bodies and The New Hunger. Both by Isaac Marion. I ordered the third book (The Burning World) from Barnes and Noble almost a week ago, but haven't gotten an email yet telling me that it's come in. The fourth book (The Living) is only available digitally through Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I don't read digital books. I went to GoodReads and found out that you can order the hardcover from the author's website. I'm waiting for that to be shipped.

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I will end this already kind of long entry with a picture of our Christmas tree. :-)

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Florence, Clothes, Books, and Music

Hurricane Florence made landfall on September 14th at Wrightsville Beach, NC. Not far north of my hometown, Southport. Thankfully, it was a category 1 storm and not the 4 or 5 they were expecting. So eastern NC was spared the devastating winds they could've gotten, but because Florence was so slow moving (about 2-3 mph once it made landfall) it dumped tons of rain. There has been a lot of flooding, causing many roads to be washed out and destroying many homes and businesses. Not all the flood waters have receded yet, but I think the rivers have crested and are going down now.

But now do they not only have to rebuild and get water systems working properly, among other things, but they are being swarmed by millions of large mosquitoes. They are spraying to try and kill as many mosquitoes as possible.

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Following are clothing purchases I've made from about mid June to late August or early September. So it may look like a lot, but these purchases were made over about a three month period.

Calvin Klein skirt. Purchased at Belk 2-3 months ago.

Reversible top by The Limited. Purchased at Belk 2-3 months ago. I wear a tank under it.

Got this at Hot Topic a couple months ago.

Vera Wang dress from Kohl's. Clearance. Paid about $11-12, over a month ago.

Purchased this at FYE over a month ago.

Khari top from Belk. Purchased about 2-3 months ago. I wear a black shrug over it.

I think I ordered this from FYE. Purchased about 3 months ago.

From FYE or Amazon. Purchased almost 3 months ago.

Khari top from Belk. Paid about $12-15 for it, 2-3 months ago.

Vera Wang dress from Kohl's. Purchased over a month ago. I wear a black shrug over it.

Eliza J dress from Dillard's. Purchased 1-2 months ago.

Blush tank by Soprano, bought to go under the dress above to make it modest. Purchased at Dillard's, after searching several stores for a tank the right color, about a week after buying the dress.

I also bought a blue Wonder Woman T-shirt with a pocket on the left side (my left, when I'm wearing it) at FYE, but I can't find a picture of it.

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When I wrote the entry before the one about Sadie, I was reading The Martian. I finished that one and liked it. I've since read A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir (very good), third book in a four-book series, and The Trickster's Lover by Samantha McLeod (it was okay; would've preferred less sex), a book about Loki.

I'm currently reading Seven Stones to Stand or Fall by Diana Gabaldon (short stories), Unfinished Tales by J. R. R. Tolkien, and Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman, second book in a trilogy.

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The last time I listed new iPod song purchases was October of last year. I've bought several more songs since then.

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~*~Nocturnal Queen~*~
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Hagan Stone Park and Too Much Rain

The kids and I went to Hagan Stone Park last Thursday. It was overcast, but the radar showed that the rain was passing south of us and the local weather said that it would start raining that night. So, we went, hoping that the rain would hold off as predicted. And it did for the most part. Kelly and I felt a few tiny drops while walking the trails and then there was a very brief shower/misting as we were getting ready to go to the car.

Anyway, Sean went fishing from the pier on the lake while Kelly and I walked. We took a few turns we'd never taken before and then wondered how to get back. lol I got my phone out and turned on the GPS. We were practically on the far northern/northeastern reaches of the park and heading further out. lol But we eventually saw a tree we'd seen before (it stands in the middle of the trail) and knew we were finally going the right way.

Kelly and I walked for about 2 hours or so. I love the trails at Hagan Stone. You're basically walking in a forest. Tons of trees. And spiders. Ick. I almost walked into a web at one point. It was then I grabbed a stick to wave in front of me whenever we came to low-hanging branches or narrow areas where a spider could easily make a web across the path.

After about an hour and a half or so, Sean texted me, asking where we were and saying that he was hungry. I told him we were on the trail and trying to get back. When we finally got back to the pier, he was trying to untangle his line and said that he didn't catch anything.

The kids wanted to swing on the swings (which are at the far end of the park, not near the lake), even at their ages (18 and 15), so we went to the swings after we left the pier. We didn't stay at the swings for long. I was hungry and ready to go home.

I didn't bring my camera with me, so the pictures I took aren't the greatest quality. I'll take my camera when the leaves are at their peak.

Sean going fishing. The man on the right caught some catfish.

Kelly.

Saw this deer on the way to the swings.

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It did start raining that night. And it's rained almost constantly since. We got a bit of a break yesterday. We even saw the sun for awhile. But then it started raining again last night. We've gotten about 5 or 6 inches so far I think and we're supposed to get another 5-7 inches by Sunday. Part of that rain will be from Hurricane Joaquin, which is supposed to make landfall on the Outer Banks on Sunday night and then go through Washington, D.C. 

I told my kids that it'd be nice if the hurricane blew away all the bad politicians. D.C. would be empty. Hurricane apocalypse. I was kidding, of course. :-)

Some areas are already flooding from the rain we've had since last week and some people have lost their power. They're calling for more flooding and possibly more power outages (due to trees falling because of the wet ground and the wind that may come) over the next few days. I don't know when the rain will finally stop. Maybe next week sometime.

Hanna, Books, House update

So I went grocery shopping on Thursday, as planned, (after paying my life insurance) in order to avoid the wind and rain from Hanna that was expected on Friday. As it turned out though, the forecast changed and Hanna didn't come through until late Friday/early Saturday. It was further east than I'd heard it would be. We got about 3-4 inches of rain (added to the 7 or 8 we got last week, and we're only about 2½ inches below normal now) and very little wind.

Anyway, as I was saying. After paying my life insurance, the kids and I got groceries at Target and Food Lion. We went to Borders after bringing the groceries home and I bought The Silmarillion and The House of Mirth in hardcover. I bought The Bourne Betrayal (in paperback) at Target.

Charlie got home late that night (after 11 PM) because he'd had to work in Charlotte. After he ate a bowl of cereal and went to bed, I did a little more reading of The Age of Innocence. It's a bit of a stuffy book so far, but I suppose that fits the 1870's New York society it takes place in. I'm only on chapter seven, I think. This one could take awhile.

When Charlie got home on Friday, we all went to Monterrey's for supper. It tasted especially good for some reason. I don't know if they'd done anything different or if it was just me.

We had to get a few things at Wal-Mart, so we stopped there on the way home. We got some drip pans for the stove (I want it to look good for the open house), milk, razor blades and vitamins for Charlie, the kids each got a coloring book (Enchanted for Kelly & Star Wars for Sean), and a book (John Adams - paperback) for me. I had wanted to get A Thousand Splendid Suns, but they didn't have it. :-\

Charlie had to work yesterday and will be working again today. I had hoped that he wouldn't be working and could help get the house ready. When he got home last night, we all went to Mario's Pizza for supper. It was very good.

I dozed on the couch for about 30 minutes some time after everyone had gone to bed. When I woke up, it was about 12:30 AM. I ate an apple and watched a little TV before doing some cleaning. I cleaned the hall bathroom, dusted the living room furniture, cleaned the dining room table and coffee table, vacuumed the living room, dining room and kitchen, put the new drip pans (black porcelain) in the stove, and emptied all the trash cans. (I also put a load of laundry in the dryer and started another load in the washer. I'll put those clothes in the dryer before going to bed.) When I get up later (around 10 or 11 AM), I'll vacuum the rest of the house, clean the master bathroom, make the beds, dust the furniture in my bedroom, and clean out the litter boxes.

We had a surprise showing today. While I was napping on the couch, the listing service called at 2:54 saying that someone wanted to look at our house between 3:30 and 4:30. I got the house as ready as I could (swept up the kitty litter, made the beds, cleaned the mirrors, put things away, sprayed Febreze), it wasn't too messy really, and we left the house right at 3:30. Hopefully we'll get an offer from them. Even better if we get one from them and one from someone who comes to the open house. It'd be pretty cool to have a little bidding war. :-) *sigh* Dare to dream.

I hope we get a lot of people at our open house and that at least one of the people/couples/families will like our house enough to make an offer of no less than $120,000. I'm really just tired of it all now. Tired of trying to keep the house clean enough at all times for showings (some of which, like the one we had today, only give me about 30 minutes notice), tired of having to go to Mom's house while people look, tired of not getting any offers (in spite of the compliments and positive feedback), tired of still being in this house and not being in our new (to us) house, whichever one it will be. *sigh*

Well, I expect the dryer will be done soon and I can get that other load in. I'm pretty tired and want to go to bed.

More books, Fayetteville, Hanna

On Friday, Kelly and I ate an early supper at Olive Garden. It was very good, but I couldn't eat as much as I normally do. Not that I usually pig out or anything. I just got full faster.

We then got groceries and gas and after bringing the groceries home, we went to Borders. I bought hardcovers of Gone With the Wind, The Scarlett Letter and The Age of Innocence. Kelly bought herself a journal.

My mom, the kids and I went to Fayetteville on Saturday to see family. I really don't like that area. We visited her brother Tony first. He lives in a trailer out in the country. He's been single (divorced) for a few years now. His place was surprisingly clean, for a bachelor. lol We then went to her brother Dusty's house. (His real name is James.) He wasn't there when we got there, but arrived later. His wife/girlfriend (Lisa?), her daughter (Rachel) and her granddaughter (Lexi?) were there. Lisa and Rachel were smoking cigarettes. Ick. I felt like I needed a shower when I left.

Uncle Dusty, as I said, arrived a little later. As did his son Justin and Uncle Tony's son Steven. Uncle Dusty is the father of Chance. Understandably, he's still having a hard time dealing with Chance's death.

The air conditioning wasn't working well at Uncle Dusty's house and I sometimes get a little nauseated if I'm hot for too long. Shortly before we left his house, I started feeling kind of sick. I'm sure the cigarette smoke didn't help.

We went to mom's sister Sherry's house next. I relaxed on her couch and eventually started feeling better. Aunt Sherry has a doberman named Harley. She's always liked dobermans. He seems to be a good dog. He came to me whenever I made a kissy sound to him. He would want me to rub his head and then he'd lick me. :-)

Then we went to my cousin Rachel and Aunt Nancy's house.
 
We headed home after leaving Rachel's. I had driven to and around Fayetteville (we took my car) and Mom drove us home.

After getting home that evening, Charlie, the kids and I went to Mario's Pizza on Wendover Ave. near Circuit City. It was pretty good. I like Pizzeria L'Italiano better, but whenever we don't feel like going downtown, we can go to Mario's (or Brixx) instead.

I finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo a few days ago (good book) and then read The Kite Runner after that. I finished it early this morning. Loved it. One of the best books I've ever read. I'll be starting The Age of Innocence tonight.

Since I couldn't find Tess of the D'Urbervilles in hardcover at the bookstore, I went ahead and ordered a copy from Borders.com. (They had emailed me a $5 off coupon.) Hopefully it'll arrive within the next few days. I'll probably end up having to order a lot of books online (Borders.com and Amazon) since I can't find most in hardcovers at the bookstores.

They're expecting Hanna to come through North Carolina on Friday and Saturday. Hopefully the winds won't be too high and there won't be any tornadoes. We really could use some more rain. I'll be getting groceries tomorrow instead of my typical Friday grocery-shopping so that I don't have to do it in the wind and rain.

Well, supper should be done in a little bit. Baked whole chicken, deliciously seasoned. I can smell it cooking and it smells so good! My stomach is growling. We'll be having broccoli (Kelly's favorite vegetable), black eyed peas and Uncle Ben's Country Inn chicken rice (love that stuff). One of my favorite meals. :-)