She's blowin' a gale out there!

She's blowin' a gale out there!
Those are the best words to describe looking out your window at a hurricane.

I'm from Ontario.  We don't get hurricanes.  To me, those kinds of storms were for tv shows like Gilligan's Island.  Now I live in Newfoundland.  Now I understand what a hurricane is.

Today, as many people are remembering the events of 9/11 people in NL are bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Leslie.  Forecasters say she'll pack quite a wallop.  Heavy heavy rains for the western part of the province, crazy winds for the east.

It's being covered all over the news.  Why the big deal?  Hurricanes come this way often.  The answer to that is IGOR.

Two years ago Hurricane Igor hit Newfoundland with a punch.  So much flooding.  So many power outages.  Where I lived at the time we were right in the middle of it.  Being the storm lover that I am, I was looking forward to it.  Then it came.

The winds were so powerful that the dishes were rattling in the cupboards... the windows were bowing... I was sure our living room window would come crashing in. It didn't.  Water was running through our basement like a river.  Hubby was staying ahead of the flooding with a shop vac... till the power went out.  Our basement flooded.  Our church basement flooded.

Our main road was washed away... along with the water main.  It was surreal standing on the road after the storm, looking at the huge gaping hole that used to be the road.  Part of our community was cut off.  People's yards were underwater.  So much water.

I remember seeing the military driving down the highway.  Help was on the way.  But it had an eerie war like feeling to me.  So many military vehicles... even military helicopters taking off and landing from the grocery store parking lot... my grocery store... where I shopped.  Like out of a movie.

Roads and main highways were washed out all over eastern Newfoundland.  People
 were stranded. But the people of this province are amazing.  They rallied together.  Helped one another.  Generators were hooked up.  Food was delivered.  Water and power were restored.  Repairs were made.   Many lost their homes.  Some, their lives dramatically impacted...  but Newfoundlanders are a hardy people.  They move on.

And now Leslie is on our doorstep.  People are prepared... hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.  I heard a Newfoundlander say on the news this morning...  we're tough... we'll bring the garbage in and we'll be fine.

As I write this, it's a very dark, very wet morning.  The kids are home (all NL schools are closed this morning).  We're keeping a close eye on the weather.  There is a sense of...  what?  excitement?  expectation? in the air.  What will Leslie bring?

I'm enjoying this adventure called life that we're on.  Hurricanes and all.

Think I'll pour myself another coffee now and look at the weather from inside our nice, warm and dry home.

We are blessed.