Blogging Rita- part 6

We have spent the past two days getting ready for Rita.  Yesterday we stocked up on nonperishable food and water.  I can easily say we have more food in the house than ever before.  No matter what happens I am confident we will not go hungry.  This morning we removed all loose items from the front and back yards and stowed them away in the garage.  We only have a porch swing and trampoline left to disassemble and stow away.  We have not boarded up the windows on the house– there are over 50 windows and this is just not feasible.  It doesn’t help that plywood has been going for $20 a sheet when you can find it.  We have cleaned out a walk-in closet for us all (2 adults, 3 teenagers, 2 dogs) to huddle in if the wind gets really bad.  It’s the safest room in the house.  All notebooks and Tablet PCs have been fully charged, all iPods and cell phones too.  Unfortunately the 10 hour battery that was to be delivered this morning will likely not show up as UPS has announced all deliveries are cancelled until further notice.  I was really counting on that battery to keep me online longer. 

Cell phone service has already been spotty since last night due to overload, it seems many people are calling in and out which is no surprise.  I hope Verizon’s EVDO keeps rocking for a while. 

The Houston Chronicle with the help of columnist and blogger Dwight Silverman have started a blog called Stormwatchers that is following Rita news through a team of bloggers in the Houston area.  This experiment in citizen journalism by a major newspaper is an excellent “first person perspective” of those in the throes of a major storm like Rita.