Escape from Grey Gardens

Interrupting the already interrupted Copenhagen narratives to think about Gustav. I don't like him at all. Here are the latest models:

But also note the discussion put out just a bit ago by the National Hurricane Center in Miami:
SINCE TRACK FORECASTS ARE
ALWAYS SUBJECT TO LARGE ERRORS AT 3-5 DAYS...IT IS SIMPLY
IMPOSSIBLE AT THIS TIME TO DETERMINE EXACTLY WHERE AND WHEN GUSTAV
WILL MAKE FINAL LANDFALL.

But anyway we are beginning to prepare. People are waiting in long lines to buy generators. Tomorrow I will get my prescriptions filled (it makes me crazy that one is advised to get a month's supply when most medical insurance will only let you do that once a month--but hey, at least I have insurance....I am about to veer into politics but will stop). We will clear all the junk off the porch that has accumulated from the renovation project, somehow. The bathtub arrived and evidently the kitties are sleeping in it, so it should probably be brought in anyway, along with the new potty & bidet, neither of which I'm willing to see go sailing off across the yard. There's a lot of stuff we need to secure in the yard and Gary's forge, which is kind of half outdoors. Gary will move the generator from out back close to the house and go get some gas for it. I'll fill up a bunch of water bottles this weekend, get candles and flashlights in position, and hit the grocery for non-perishables. We have one of those crank-it-up radios that has weather band, which was a godsend during Katrina. Too late to get the planned tree-trimming done, but I suppose Gustav will take care of that. At least we had sense to take out trees that were too near the house and not in good health when we moved in, and it doesn't look like anything that will fall could remotely hit us. I'm likewise glad we had the front roof redone and that Gary fixed the shutters for the big windows. Also need to see about Gary's mom.

Hattie will freak, since even tiny thunderstorms make her panicky, so I will call the vet and ask if it would be okay to give her benadryl to calm her or if I should get something else. I'll make a good nest for the kitties in the garage, make sure nothing will fall on them and that they will be out of the wind. Stock up on dog and cat food. Sonny the parrot will move to his inside cage.

My guess is LSU will close Tuesday--they will announce tomorrow afternoon--and that the football game Saturday won't happen, since contraflow on the interstates will probably go into effect then, and parts of LSU are major evacuation centers. Anyway we'll be ready, we'll be fine, it's not us I'm worried about since we are far enough inland not to have to think about things like surge and the worst of the winds, but so many friends and colleagues and students are in much worse position. Not sure how ready NO is; I would get out now, but then I am pretty darn conservative on just this one thing: hurricanes.

I love Louisiana and am sad to see us having to do this again, but at least this time it looks as if FEMA et al are anxious not to be caught with their pants down, and then sitting on their hands for days on end.

Am avoiding the Weather Channel since they do hysterics as far as I'm concerned. I'll stick with the careful, thorough resources available from the LSU Hurricane Center website.