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Points north
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 12:44PM 
My three girls with me at church on September first
Let's start at the end and back up.
Well, not technically the end but by that I mean, the present. Sort of.
And that would be, Hurricane Helene and its ever-unfolding aftermath.
I am grateful and humbled to report that we had no damage to our property.
Our power went out during the wee hours of Friday morning but was back on by ten o'clock that same morning.
Our internet service disappeared shortly after that and was MIA for the rest of that day and into the night.
When TG and I went out on Friday to do some grocery shopping, we were shocked to learn of the extent of damage -- mostly downed trees and power lines -- in the neighborhoods surrounding ours.
Old haunts: site of Comiskey Park, where TG and I had our first date
Our major retail outlets such as Costco and Walmart were closed due to no power.
So many friends and family members throughout South Carolina have reported power outages, even remaining until today.
Audrey's and Erica's and Mike's households lost power too but it was restored on Friday evening, so they got off easy, much as we did.
It's devastating to see the pictures and video footage of western North Carolina, where our Stephanie lives.
Her family escaped any significant damage to property too, although their church was without power all day on Sunday.
For us it was the promise of a rainy day on last Thursday. I like rainy days so I switched around some plans to run errands to the next day, so that I could remain at home and enjoy it.
The forecast was for an extremely stormy night following that pleasantly rainy day.
We rode the CTA to Clark and Addison
As said rainy day progressed, I consulted the weather app on my phone and noticed that the prediction of a wild and stormy night had been removed, replaced with promises of calm and partial clearing.
Oh, I said. I don't know how they consistently get it so wrong. Oh wait. They're meteorologists! That's how.
(It's one of the few jobs where you can be ninety percent wrong one hundred percent of the time and still get paid.)
Anyway then I received a text from my dear friend Sara up in Virginia.
She said she was praying for us because she'd read that Columbia was going to get ninety-mile-an-hour winds during that night.
Whaaaaaat? I thought. Wait.
So I consulted my weather app again, and saw that it had once again been amended to reflect a wild and stormy night in Columbia.
On Labor Day we celebrated our Stephanie's birthday
I texted back and said I thought it was more hype than anything else for our area, but that we would see what transpired.
Still, I was grateful for my friend checking up on us. I thought that was special. And she wasn't the only one.
At any rate the thrashing winds and heavy rain did come during the night on Thursday. Residents in and around Columbia sustained a great deal of damage and the power outages were outrageous.
But we found a Walmart that was open on Friday, and we dodged cars in many an intersection devoid of functioning traffic lights, to shop there.
If I hadn't had TG to do the driving, I would not have been able to manage that.
Learning of the devastation north of us, in North Carolina, was shocking and disheartening. I cannot imagine what those people are going through. God please help.
I have no pictures of destruction to show you in my neck of the woods, because I didn't take any.
Crustless quiche! So light and yet filling.
However, I can report that on Labor Day, we had a birthday party for our Stephanie. I made her cake from scratch.
Steph and Melly came on the Sunday before Labor Day and went to church with us that night.
I made all of my girls pose for pictures with me, except for Melanie who was disinclined to acquiesce to my request.
Melanie, who will turn twenty in December, is disabled. She does not take kindly to standing, sitting, or even being next to anyone but her mother and father.
No way will she stand for a group photo, hahaha!
Ahhh Melly. Do your thing, Melly. We love you anyway. In fact we love you more.
And I can show you a crustless quiche I made a few weeks later, in fact early in the week of the storm. Why crustless? Fewer calories. Low carb. And just as delicious.
Talk about filling ... a late lunch at Eleven City Diner
Mine had, in addition to eggs and heavy cream, spinach, ham, and Swiss cheese. You just layer your ingredients in a buttered baking dish and pour the seasoned egg-and-cream mixture over the top.
About a week before I had that idea of making crustless quiche, TG and I pointed our car north and ended up in Chicago. The entire trip took four days, but only two of those days (and nights) were spent in the Windy City.
The other two were spent going halfway and then stopping for the night.
Our Cubbies' summer is over now -- no October baseball for them -- but we took in two late-season games at Wrigley Field.
It was hotter in Chicago while we were there, than it was back here at home. But the evenings were lovely and it was cool and comfortable within the Friendly Confines, the oldest ballpark in the National League.
The Cubs won the first of the two games we saw, and lost the second one. A wash. But still thrilling, just to be there.
I was prepared with my W flag (at Wrigley the song Go Cubs Go is sung after a win, and many fans "fly the W" which is a white flag with a big blue W emblazoned upon it. I sang (yes I know all the words) and held my flag aloft and it was exhilarating.
Interfere with play and you'll have to go into hiding
The second night, my flag stayed in my clear purse and that was too bad but we still had a great time.
On the second day of our visit we visited another old haunt: Eleven City Diner.
I love this place. We rode the CTA several stops from our hotel and walked the rest of the way and enjoyed a scrumptious afternoon lunch.
Then we rode the train again back to our hotel and rested for a bit before that night's game.
The next morning we left our hotel right on time and promptly became ensnared in a backup on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
And not just any backup. A tractor-trailer had overturned in the road and there was a diesel spill. Eventually TG expertly exited and we drove many miles through South Chicago neighborhoods until we could get back on the Interstate at a point past the wreck.
Several more slowdowns and total stops plagued us that day and it was nine thirty before we reached our hotel in Richmond, Kentucky.
We felt welcome in the Friendly Confines
We were deflated and so tired and hungry but we got some food and ate and then went to sleep and all was well.
The next day we got started a little later than perhaps we would have if we'd not had the hard day of travel on the day before, but we made it home by five o'clock in the afternoon.
Audrey and Dagny had stayed at our house while we were gone, to look after my pets, and we were glad to see them.
We had shopped for souvenirs for everyone while in Chicago, but prices of such luxuries have skyrocketed, so we did not buy anything Cubs-related.
I bought three of these
Instead, at a big truck stop in Indiana, I got myself and Audrey and Erica each one of these Indiana Hoosier State mugs.
Something interesting about me and my children is that all five of us were born in Indiana.
I was born in Kokomo. Not because we lived there to live there -- both my parents and all of their people were from Louisiana -- but because my dad was a pilot in the USAF and was stationed there.
My children were all born in Northwest Indiana -- the Chicagoland area -- because for the first twelve years of our marriage, after our wedding in Atlanta, that is where TG and I lived.
Where did September go?
And no one needs another coffee mug, least of all me or my girls, but a new one is always fun to have and the girls loved them. I got fridge magnets too, for my born-state of Indiana and TG's born-and-raised state of Ohio.
We're so totally middle-America. I love it. Wouldn't have it any other way.
At any rate here we are back at home and since we've been home, in addition to historic Hurricane Helene, we have had yet another birthday party.
I'll tell you all about it later in the week.
And that is all for now.
=0=0=0=
Happy Tuesday :: Happy October
Reader Comments (18)
I am SO happy to hear that you all were unscathed by that horrible storm. It is just terrifying what high winds and so much ran can do. We had 60 mph winds here Friday and about 6 inches of rain. Nothing but a lot of small branches and a ton of leaves to clean up though thankfully. I am glad the Cubs pulled out one win so you could pull out your flag and sing go cubs go, I just wish they would have won them both. I love your photo's, especially the one of you and all four daughters. You're all just gorgeous. I can't wait to hear about your next adventures. Big hugs!!
@Lori ... hello friend and as always, thank you for your kind words. I'm so glad to hear that you and TBG didn't have significant damage. I had no idea the high winds and rain went that far north! Mercy that was an unusual storm. Yes our Cubbies did what they could and it's always exciting to be there. xoxo
I am very glad to hear that you and yours were spared the worst of the storm. My neighborhood was devastated during Superstorm Sandy and so I have lived that nightmare; it is very hard. On the positive side, how nice to have all of your girls together; the photos are lovely. My daughter and I had a special and lovely time in Ireland. I know you love cemeteries; we visited my family's burial grounds on an island off the coast of Ireland that includes the remains of family going back 8 generations. Our roots there are deep. Memories made to last a lifetime. I would like to go back next year but instead I and my wallet are thinking of a closer long weekend trip where I can get all of mine together to celebrate my 70th birthday. Happy to say they are all excited about this adventure; we will be going to Quebec City. Close enough to be relatively easy to get to and different enough to feel exotic. Got to celebrate life while we are here and able. Looking forward to hearing about more of yours. Onward.
@Maryellen ... WOW your trip to Ireland with your daughter is in the past! I was looking forward to that with you and I'm so glad to hear that it was a success. I would love to walk those cemeteries! Amazing. But going to Quebec City with your family for your 70th birthday will be so special! My sister Kay lived in Quebec for many years and she loved Quebec City. Yes I'm as I said, humbled and grateful to have not been called upon to suffer in this storm. So many are desperate. I pray for them all xoxo
I'm so glad to hear that you are alright, and no damage! The photo of you and the girls is beautiful! Maybe because you are all such beauties. And they look so much like you. and then adding Dagney makes it even more special! The quiche looks delicious, did you get it at the diner?
Well, I'm not a very good friend! I didn't know Columbia was in the line of the hurricane. I was worried about Florida and Georgia, and later North Carolina.
Reading this, I can tell you that I'm thankful you are all ok, and Stephanie too. That was a terrible storm and what people are still dealing with is awful.
Glad you had fun in Chicago, even with one loss and an accident to go around!
The pic of you and your sweet girls is a keeper!
Sounds like you were very fortunate to be spared during this storm with so much destruction near by. My nephew just moved to Asheville NC a month ago and the damage there was pitiful. They were without electric for 3 days and still don't have water- but they evacuated and flew back to Pennsylvania. The photo of you and your three girls is stunning and so is the photo of Stephanie behind that gorgeous birthday cake. 44? wow she looks younger. I'm intrigued by the quiche in the heart shaped dish. Nice that you got to get away to the baseball game.
@Ginny ... Yes we are so grateful but so many need prayer and help! No I made the quiche just a few days ago! At the diner I had the corned beef and pastrami hash bowl which was potatoes, that luscious hash, and two eggs on top! It was huge and so scrumptious and filling! It ought to be for $21 ... can you believe? Hahaha it's madness xoxo
@Mari ... girl don't feel bad because I myself did not know, hahaha! I just was not paying attention and it slid right by me. But all is well, at least for us. The news in Asheville and other Western North Carolina towns is the heartbreaker. Isn't it miraculous though, that Stephanie's place suffered no damage either? I am amazed. Chicago was amazing as always and I'm glad to report that millions live there safely and don't walk around riddled with bullet holes, hahaha! Not being necessarily frivolous but you have to know where -- and where not -- to go in Chicago! Hahaha xoxo
@Judee ... oh I'm so sorry about your nephew but it's good that they got out and had someplace to go! Yes our Stephanie is 44 and as hard as that is to believe, we are so thankful for her. And that cake really was good! Although I will say that our Erica made a birthday cake the other day that tasted better than mine! She gave me her tips and I listened, hahaha! xoxo
For the most part, you seem to have missed the surrounding destruction. 👍
For the most part, I am pretty impressed with the meteorologists who get difficult predictions right so much of the time. Yesterday, Alexa informed us that it might rain from midnight on until morning. Sure enough, it did.
Glad you weathered the storm well. My best to all of you there.
Hello Jenny! We really enjoy crustless quiches here too! I have several recipes, but really, once you get the hang of making them, the possibilities are endless.
You did a great job on Stephanie's birthday cake. I'm sure it tasted just as delicious as it looks.
I also enjoyed the pictures of you and your girls. That Dagny is such a beautiful young lady.
I have a friend who lives in the Greenville area, and she was without power for four days. My heart goes out to those who have lost so much and am still praying that they find everyone who is still missing.
Your trip to Chicago sounds like fun!
I hope you have a blessed remainder to your week! xx
@AC ... Yes, even a broken clock is right twice a day, hahaha! Just kidding ... I know their job is hard but honestly pretty much you have better luck knowing the weather by just looking out the window! xoxo
@Mike ... Thank you and yes we are so relieved and grateful. xoxo
@Dianna ... It's so delicious and guilt-free without the crust! So light and tasty. I tend to get in a rut because I just don't think you can beat ham, spinach, and Swiss cheese, hahaha! To me that is just about perfection in a quiche. Thank you for your kind words and yes, our Dagny is growing up to be such a lovely young lady. She's such a joy to all of us. Stephanie's cake was good but then I always zhuzh boxed mixes up by adding an extra egg, butter instead of oil, buttermilk instead of water, and a small packet of instant pudding mix! It really elevates the taste and texture. Of course I made the frosting from scratch. No one complained, hahaha! My sister Kay lives in Greenville and their power came back on after about 36 hours but several of her children who live in the area did not fare so well. It was an amazing event. xoxo
Hello, First I am so thankful to hear you and family are well. We have friends in FL who lost the lower level of their home. Their full freezer went floating on by, along with gym equipment and more. The downstairs was a man cave.
Praying for all, right along with you.
We enjoy crust-less quiche as well.
LOVED seeing all you girls. You are all BEAUTIFUL!
Prayers, Carla
@Carla ... oh my it struck me yesterday and I mentioned it to my girls, we haven't heard much at all about those suffering in Florida from this storm. We're inundated with video and pictures of the Carolinas and Florida seems to have been forgotten. I'm so sorry about your friends and I hope the rebuild is not too stressful and difficult for them. At least they are safe. Watching a full freezer float away must be a sobering moment, though! That's a lot of money and preparation right there, down the tubes. Ahhh so you like crustless quiche! I knew you had good taste. Thank you for your kind words, my friend. xoxo
Hello Pirate, an update on our Florida friends. They also have condos that they rent out, two have been condemned.
In good news, they are well and healthy .. and they received a forbearance on their mortgage until February 1st.
@Carla ... ugh that is tragic about their condos and good that they are well and safe. I guess we'll have to take the bad with the good, as per usual! For every tragedy there is a blessing, and we wait on God. That time between now and Feb 1 will go like an ice cube melting in the sun but I hope that by then, they have a lot of things resolved. My heart goes out to them, especially since in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... it's holiday time! Love you friend xoxo
Good to hear you were unaffected by the hurricane.
Happy Birthday Stephanie. You all look so lovely in that photo.
I was borning in Chicago proper but haven't' been back in over ten years. I still have many family members that live in the various Chicagoan suburbs.
@Hena ... Thank you! Yes it was a relief but we have some survivor guilt. You were born in Chicago? How special! I put your date of birth at maybe 1987 (only guessing; you are a lot younger than me, haha), so I lived there then! I hope you get to go back sometime and see those family members, and take the boys to see the many wonders of the Windy City! xoxo