Wind and Water aka Hurricanes

Remembering the song Peace, Be Still. 

The winds and the waves shall obey My will, Peace be still! Peace be still!
Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea,
Or [devils], or men or whatever it be,
No water can swallow the ship where lies the Master of ocean and earth and skies;
They all shall sweetly obey My will;
Peace, be still! Peace, be still! They all shall sweetly obey My will: Peace, peace be still!

My heart goes out to all those who endured Hurricane Irene this weekend. Until you have lived through a hurricane and its aftermath, you really don't know what it is like.  The TV coverage and all the pictures of the wind damage and high water show a lot, but until you've been there and experienced it first hand, you really can't imagine the trauma.  Our area was hit by Hurricane Ike three years ago and by Hurricane Rita 6 years ago.  Rita hit about a month after the famed Katrina.  We personally did not suffer a great deal of damage from Rita.  But I can tell you that coming back to a town that had sustained extensive damage, had no water and no electricity, and a temperature of 100 degree that day, was overwhelming.  It really seemed like it would be months before we even had power again.  Since this is a wooded area there were trees down everywhere. I have to applaud the electric companies and all the workers who came from all over the nation to help.  They had our power restored in just a few days. It was still depressing and I can't even think how people felt that lost their homes or had extensive damage from a tree falling through the roof.  On the way home, we saw one place that was flying a flag with a smiley face on it.  Sort of a bright spot of optimism there. 

       I hate to say it, but our area is still in some ways recovering from Rita and especially from Ike.  Our town did not suffer as much from Ike, and everyone, individuals and government planners, seemed better prepared.  That's what experience does for you!  Ike was much worse in the coastal areas south and east of us due to the tidal surge and the winds from Ike were worse to the west of us where the eye hit. But it was still a bad experience here. Like Irene, Ike blew long and hard.  It took forever to move over us, it seemed. So, I have real empathy for those who experienced the worse of Irene this weekend.  I pray they will make a quick recovery. I know it will affect their lives for a long, long time. 

Our ESN scavenger hunt this week is about hurricane Irene and wind and water.  I tried to find some good things pertaining to wind and water. 

I found  this novel with Wind in the title at Mystery Lane Books. It might be a good read if you can find a sunlit place to read while the electricity is off.  Without electricity, internet, or telephone we discovered a lot of things to do. It is possible.  The board games come out, the handcrafts that have been untouched for years......

                                                                     

                                                                                                  Black Wind: A Dirk Pitt Novel

At Barb's Bargains I found this elegant wind chime and the Buddha fountain. 

Two things that use wind and water to help you relax.  Barb's Bargains has a good selection of fountains.

Beautiful Wind Chimes

Soothing Buddha Fountain

And lastly, to remind us of the beautiful days to come after the storm. I found this jigsaw puzzle from Eccentric Thrifter.  Something else to pass the time during and after the storm. And a good reminder of the rainbow promise God gave to Noah.

After the Rain Jigsaw Puzzle

As usual, shop ESN for whatever you are needing. Membership is open to shoppers as well as ecrater store owners.   Also, be sure and stop by my store: Hazel's HodgePodge.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

The ESN scavenger hunt this week is about water.  How appropriate??

We've had a couple of really rainy days here in SE Texas. And a really long stretch of cloudy dreary days.
We needed the actual rain, but truly, it is time to see the sun. It rained hard Monday, but we've had a lot of misty, drizzly, cloudy days.
It makes me think of the rhymes we used to say on rainy days.
Like,
Rain, rain Go away
come again another day
Rain rain Go Away
Little Johnny wants to Play.
Or,
It's raining, it's pouring.
The old man is snoring.
He jumped in bed and bumped his head,
and couldn't get up it the morning.

Of course, a rainy night makes for good sleeping and it's no wonder the old man couldn't get up in the morning, even without bumping his head.

And, there's
The Rain in Spain falls mainly on the Plain.

Here it seems to be falling everywhere.
So I am off to search ESN for rain gear. Anyone have a good umbrella or raincoat?  How about Galoshes? Or how about a doormat to keep from tracking with wet or muddy feet?
I found this nice coat for wind and rain at La Petit March

A handsome green pull over with 100% nylon shell

For the ladies, I found this vintage black and white parka/coat at Griffin Garb

1960's Parka/coat



And look at these cute "weather" labels from Made 4UbyFaith.

Cloud and Sun on mailing labels

Here's a nice doormat from Cleo's Collectibles to catch the drips at your back door.

This doormat features vintage wine labels, grapes and vineyards.

Since I started this the rain has gone away and we are enjoying some beautiful sunny days and a light south breeze. Just a bit cool. Like most places, the saying here is "If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute." How true that is here, especially in the winter.

Whatever the weather where you are, you can find a lot of nice items on ESN.

Just think, spring will soon be here. We are already putting seeds in peat pots to sprout for our "front porch" container garden. And the rain IS good for the gardens.