After Rita's Landfall

Although we were without electrical power for a couple hours yesterday afternoon, things were normal by the time we went to bed. We had some cool winds but very little rain. This morning we see no damage from the windows of our apartment. Thankfully, we still have air conditioning, cable, etc. I would post photos, but the only cameras we have are our cell phones and the video camera (for which we cannot find the owner's manual. Gotta get a new one online.) Such photos would be rather unimpressive, anyway.

The dogs have handled Rita well. I think they were more disturbed by the reappearance of our suitcases than by any phenomena directly related to the storm. There was no thunder, and any other outside noise was masked by the loud air conditioners of the apartment complex. Elliot seems to be curious about the state of our tiny fenced yard, and asks to go outside frequently. I raised Jesse's phenobarbital dose slightly in an effort to reduce her anxiety and neediness, but the only measurable effect was to make her occasionally unsteady on her feet. Given that her only goal in life is to lean against her family, a little ataxia doesn't slow her down.

We definitely made the right decision by not evacuating further. Although we have not heard damage reports from Hot Springs where our reservations were, our apartment complex is probably in better shape than the area to which we would have gone. I said earlier that I did not want to settle in a city where a hurricane could occur, but at this point I am not entirely ready to rule out Houston. Of course, any home that we buy here would have to be well-elevated, made of bricks, and boast storm windows. I don't know that we will be able to find such a house inside the Loop with sufficient dog space, that we can afford. And if Houston's health care economy takes an inordinate amount of time to bounce back from this hurricane season, then all bets on Houston are off.

So now we wait for normalcy to return to Houston, and for the roads to Metairie to be cleared. The 'Net says that I-10 is closed at Winnie, TX so there's no way to get back east to Metairie, even to visit. We'll certainly be able to donate some food to the local food bank, from the odd mix of foods that Joel bought two days ago.