Perhaps I Spoke Too Soon...?

...or perhaps not. It's too early to tell. But we did finally get some wind, and the rain is starting to spit.

If the little blue chair blows over, that's when I'll start to worry

Anyway, it's exciting!  I was actually starting to get angry that all my prep was for naught.  Finally at least a little redemption.  

Also, the cement worked really well in keeping the roof on.  There was a bit of creaking and straining as the low pressure passing over tried to lift the roof off, but unlike the cinderblocks of the last storm, the roof didn't even budge this time.  Woohoo!!

Here's the connection to the roof:

 And here's the cement in plastic (in case of leaks, either from within or without):

Anyway, nothing fancy, but it certainly got the job done.  

And now, as I'm wrapping this up, the wind has all but stopped, and the rain is starting to fall in earnest.  And to make things more fun, I just heard the first distant roll of thunder.

I'll leave you with some random pleasantness:

Hawaii

Shhhh

Mmmhmm

Hidden

Awesomeness

The Power of the Blog Compels You!!

Wow!  Just like that, the storm kicks to the north, away from Hilo.

Well.....sorta.

It seems now, by some fluke of nature, that the storm center and all the wind has moved north, but the rain/thunderstorm part is still right on track to arrive here.  So, while the blog has saved us again, I think the universe is going to test my "Rain? We can handle rain." attitude.

Still, here's what sunrise looked like:

While that storm is certainly brewing, it's hard to believe that it's not going to just be another day, perhaps with a little rain around lunch.

Although if you follow #Flossie on twitter, you can see the same sorts of dramatic overstatement that is also on the local television news, only with fewer commercials.

Anyway, it appears this is another non-event for us.  If anything changes, I'll let you know.

Batten Down the Hatches

Long time, no post.  I know. And I know no one is even looking here anymore, so no one is reading.  But that's ok.  My purposes will be served simply by posting this, and thus (if my posting affect on weather stays true to form) Flossie will flop.

That's right, another exciting weather event.  Tropical storm Flossie is on her way here, due to arrive tomorrow morning.  Maximum sustained winds are currently at 60 mph, but every indicator says that wind speeds will drop significantly by the time she gets here.  They're also predicting 15 inches of rain, and that's no problem.  We're used to rain here.  Kona side might have some flash flooding/landslide issues, but we here on the Hilo side are all set with rain.

For me personally, it's the wind that's the scary part.  Wind + tent = trouble.

The last time we had a hurricane in the neighborhood (just after I moved here) it veered off and only brought some moderate wind.  But it was enough to threaten to lift the roof off of the yurt.  I had three cinder blocks tied to the center ring of the roof, and some gusts were still strong enough to just barely lift them off of the ground.  This time, my plan is to use bags of cement to hold it down. If that doesn't do the job, then I guess I'll have more to worry about than just no roof - the neighborhood will be in shambles.  Already the neighbors are apologizing for trees that might fall on things off of their property - honestly!  It's weird....

Good thing FEMA is ... whatever.

Also, to help keep the wind from blowing the walls off of the yurt, I did some basic maintenance type stuff: tightening sagging walls, resetting windows, etc.  I also dropped the window covers for the first time ever.  Wow, that makes it dark inside! And it's very odd to not be able to see outside.

Anyway, none of that matters now, as I've written this and posted this, and the storm will be another non-event.  I'll post updates as things progress, and as I've taken tomorrow off (so I can be here to hold my roof down), I'll have plenty of time to do so.

On a final unrelated note, the potato rake has been resurrected, and is now better than ever!!