Rita is 24 hours out - "Camping Out" time

Hurricane Rita is about 24 hours out. It is now a Category 4 after hitting Cat 5 about 3 a.m. The good news is that the storm has shifted to the East, moving us out of the dangerous “dirty” side. But we still face 70-90 mph winds.

I just found out from a friend who knows someone at Centerpoint Energy that controls our power grid. They plan to pull the plug on electric power when the storm hits – to avoid transformers blowing out, etc. So we are going to be without power for some time, days or weeks.

So our representative who thought Katrina survivors were “having fun camping out” at the Astrodome (see earlier "Camping Out" blog entry) may get to personally get a taste of how much “fun” it is not to have A/C or take a shower for days on end. I doubt he’ll put up with it long before bailing out of town.

A funny note. We decided to stay put and moved all our yard stuff inside on advice from the weather guys to avoid them from becoming flying missiles. That included moving in the dog house. Guess who took it? I discovered Minou (“Me New”) our 10-pound cat lounging inside. Henri, our 100-pound dog that fears nothing --and likes that house-- has not dared enter. Come to think of it he does fear one thing, and she is only 1/10th his size. He's found that she has a mean left hook.

It proves the adage that “it's not the size of the cat in the fight but the size of the fight in the cat!”

I will try to make one more entry before we lose electricity and start having “fun.”