The tail of the typhoon

Sorry to be gone so long. It's been finals week at the college, and what with one thing and another, time to blog has evaporated.

The storm really whacked some parts of the state. There were areas that got eleven inches of rain in 48 hours. Some communities have been flooded out. Most of the roads to the coast were closed due to numerous fallen trees, and entire towns have been without power for days. Things are sheltered in our neighborhood, though, so we didn't even get downed limbs in our yard. I spent the worst part of the storm in the Washington County Jail, administering tests, and we had no idea what was going on outside. It sort of reminds me of being in a casino because you have no connection with the outside at all. You can't hear the wind or rain or see natural light. Is it day or night? Sunny or pitch black? There is no way to tell. The drive back to the college usually takes an hour and a half to two hours. Tuesday, my regular route was closed due to high water. Luckily, I used to live in the area, and knew how to duck through the loading zone behind the tire warehouse, then cut through the industrial park and squirt out the side street to get onto the freeway right past the blockage. The whole freeway was closed for hours, but I weasled around it in minutes and made it back to the college right on time.

Yes, this storm has brought deaths. Even a four-wheel drive vehicle doesn't perform well when immersed up to the top of the wheel wells. Cars float. Not well, and not for long, but well enough and long enough for you to lose traction and control and get washed off the road. Also, when you hit a deep puddle at a high rate of speed, your tires will hydroplane like a water skier's skis. It's very difficult to steer a car that is hydroplaning. Go slow. Be cautious. That's how little old ladies get to be old.

Gosh I'm full of good advice lately, aren't I? someone should snatch my soapbox for a few weeks.

Very little knitting has been accomplished, or quite a lot, depending on how you look at it. I'm trying to make mittens for our accountant who is a devoted jogger. He admired the six-fingered gloves, and I am trying to find yarn to match, but failing miserably. So I am doing what TW's husband calls "Catch and Release" knitting. I'll start a mitten, get about a quarter done, look at it and go "Yuk!" then rip it out and try it from a different approach. I may have to go buy different yarn, because what I have just isn't working for me. Ah ha! Wait! Samurai knitter has just done a marvelous blog on light and color. Maybe I will love these yarns more if I take them outside. Maybe I should give up and go with the dusty blue silk and wool I had originally planned on. but gee. . . The red, green and purple wool and cotton will be washable, warm, and colorful. What to do, what to do?

Tomorrow we rise at 3:30 to get to the airport two hours before our 6:30 am flight. I have been packed for days. My traveling clothes are laid out. No blog tomorrow, but the day after will be blogging from the Howard Johnson Hotel in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Via con Dios, my darlings!