September 26

We continue to move back towards a normal life. The new kitchen floor has been laid. All of the appliances have been moved back to their normal locations. The side fence has been replaced. The tree has been trimmed to remove all the broken branches. The yard has been cleared of all the debris. Well, actually it is all piled in front yard at the curb. The city has not yet come by to remove it. We did see a truck working to do just that yesterday in the other side of our subdivision. The grocery stores are pretty much back to full operation. They are still missing a few frozen foods we normally eat. Elizabeth is back to preparing her normal delicious and nourishing meals. This morning I plan to get back on the bike. I have not ridden since September 7. I must admit, I am quite stiff this morning.

However we are not quite all the way back. I still have some work to do in the house. I have to install some baseboards and then paint. Yesterday I got a very badly needed hair cut. I had to go to a new barber shop as the one I normally use is still not back in business. Driving is still a challenge with many traffic lights not working. I heard of one location where they are worse than not working, they are working in one direction. In this case two cars approach at right angles. One driver see the traffic lights working as normal. The other sees the lights flashing red. As you can guess, this resulted in an accident. Now who is at fault? Both drivers were doing the right thing.

We really were very blessed. There are still over half a million people without power. There are still unknown numbers of people with no homes left at all. I try real hard to remember this when I feel like complaining.