I am glad you are OK and the losses minor. I do question the idea of thanking the god who brought the hurricane, but I will leave that alone (other than the fact I just mentioned it ;-). More seriously, I am very happy you are well. From what I can tell the devestation and loss in the area is so large that it is almost beyond comprehension. I am glad you had the good sense and ability to leave when you did. It has only been a week or so since you left so I wouldn't be surprised if you find most of your plants doing well also. Don't be shy around here. If you did lose some plants, just tell us about it and I bet you get a big green care package in no time from fellow gardeners. Doesn't really matter what your beliefs or where you live, if you need some plants there are gardeners willing to help out.

Update on my advice above to actually visit the country(ies) you are thinking of moving to, and our friends' advice that establishing foreign bank accounts BEFORE moving was something they should have done to avoid six months' worth of delays: The IRS is cracking down hard on ALL foreign investments, whether real estate, investment accounts, checking/savings. The penalties are huge, and although you can try to wrangle them down, it is a fact that taxpayers with smaller balance accounts are proportionately paying LARGER penalty fees than multi-millionaires who are deliberately hiding assets. The WSJournal had an article on this issue June 2014, but as it's subscriber only, I'll just post some excerpts: Expatriate Americans Break Up With Uncle Sam to Escape Tax Rules Record Numbers Living Abroad Renounce U.S. Citizenship over IRS Reporting Requirements WSJournal June 2014 U.S. offices abroad reported that 1,001 U.S. citizens and green-card holders had renounced their allegiance in the first three months of the year, according to Andrew Mitchel, a lawyer in Centerbrook, Conn., who analyzes Treasury Department data. That figure puts 2014 on track to top last year's total of 2,999 renunciations, he said, which was the most since the government began disclosing the data. Helping boost the exodus, experts say, is a five-year-old U.S. campaign to hunt for undeclared accounts held by Americans abroad….The tax dragnet has also swept up many middle-income Americans living abroad, prompting some to give up their U.S. citizenship. While people who renounce are NOT freed of taxes due for past years, they don't want to risk sizable taxes and penalties for them and their children in the years ahead, experts say. Nearly 8,000 taxpayers have renounced U.S. citizenship in the past five years, Mr. Mitchel found, compared with fewer than 5,000 in the preceding decade. ….U.S. officials launched their campaign after Swiss banking giant UBS AG admitted in 2009 that it helped wealthy American taxpayers hide money overseas. To avoid criminal charges, the bank paid $780 million to the U.S. and turned over information on more than 4,400 accounts, ending decades of Swiss bank secrecy. In May, Credit Suisse Group pleaded guilty to similar charges and agreed to pay $2.6 billion. Dozens of other Swiss banks are currently negotiating penalties with the U.S. Department of Justice, officials said. Following the UBS revelations, U.S. officials announced they would begin vigorously enforcing both new and long-dormant tax rules. Unlike other developed nations, the U.S. government taxes citizens on income they earn anywhere in the world. … The most common mistakes usually involved Americans failing to submit a form called the Foreign Bank Account Report, or Fbar. Since 1970, U.S. taxpayers have been required to file if they held one or more foreign accounts totaling more than $10,000 over the course of a year. Until the enforcement push, many Americans never filed an Fbar. The law is more than 40 years old, but "no one ever heard of it" before the crackdown, said Edward Kleinbard, a former chief of staff on Congress' Joint Committee on Taxation, and an expert in international tax law at the University of Southern California. Fbar penalties are as steep as 50% of the highest value of the account for each year no report was filed. The IRS fined one taxpayer for Fbar violations in four separate years, and a settlement reached this month in the case yielded $1.7 million in penalties, which was more than the account held at the time. …The typical taxpayer with less than $45,000 in undeclared accounts paid nearly six times the back taxes owed, while the typical taxpayer with more than $7 million in such accounts paid closer to three times their back taxes, Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate, an IRS ombudsman, found. … Scrutiny of Americans abroad will intensify, however, under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or Fatca, which Congress passed in 2010. The law's main provisions, which take effect in July, will require foreign financial institutions to report income of their U.S. customers to the IRS, much as U.S. banks and brokers file 1099 forms. Middle-class Americans "face overwhelming problems when they try to engage in standard financial practices, such as having a small business, saving for retirement, investing, buying life insurance, and making wills and trusts," because of the laws governing assets abroad, said David Kuenzi, a financial planner with Thun Financial Advisors in Madison, Wis., who works with expatriates. The U.S. tax code, for example, doesn't recognize Australia's version of an individual retirement account, Mr. Kuenzi said. American taxpayers with these accounts must file at least two forms a year declaring the account a "foreign trust," and paying taxes on annual appreciation. The penalty for failing to file can be as much as 35% of both contributions and withdrawals each year, plus 5% of the assets, said Mr. Hodgen, the Pasadena tax lawyer. *********** Hope this info is of use to others.

Mom dropped us off at the bus stop for a long ride to the university where we went to a school taught by professors and undergraduate students earning credits. The subjects changed depending on the undergraduates coming in and out. We even had a sweet guy named Venus who taught literature. I didnt know about being gay then, just thought Venus had interesting choice of colors in his wardrobe. We stayed overnight in the dorms and Rocky taught us to play his guitar a little. My friend stole beer out of his fridge and he had to endure 9 year old drunken humor all night. So we rode the bus with university students and talked politics, the environment and music. 8-9 grade I rode my bike. It wasn't a trendy bike so I quit riding it and walked unless the weather was bad. Those years were miserable. I couldn't understand why kids couldn't get along like we did at the university school. The teachers were grouchy and everything so regimented. I missed my friendly easygoing undergraduate teachers. High school was far away so we took the bus. Most kids at that school were rich and had cars or they got rides from housekeepers, moms or friends. It put you in a certain category to stand in line to wait for that bus. My best friend finally found someone to drive her home in exchange for gossip and homework help. I stayed late for after school programs a few times and had to walk 4 or 5 miles home. The shortest way was past some strawberry fields. The last time I walked home alone, a migrant picker chased after me and I ran into the nearest neighborhood and ran into the second house when I saw he was still following me. I didnt know anyone there. I just waited behind the front door scared and listened to the shower going in the next room. After a while I looked out and he was gone. I ran all the way home with a sick feeling in my stomach. After that I always took the bus and just missed special programs. One time we came under attack by avocados. A few times some boys used to sit in the back and yell racist stuff at the people in the fields as we passed. One day as we passed some men ran up and threw unripe avocados at the bus and broke the windows. We had to wait for the supervisor, a new bus, the name taking, reports before we could go. My mom said, do you just want to ride your bike now but I was scared having been chased and I never said anything about it. What a change from walking all around the university in grade school and never a thought of any harm. One time near the bus stop, I saw a rabbit killed by a coyote and got faint and fell. Students took me to the university clinic and got my scrapes cleaned. They took me to lunch at the cafe and gave me a ride back to school. Now parents are afraid to let kids out of sight.

when I went to school the sun was out. When I drive to work, sunny, dry roads. It started snowing at work (in Commerce City) about three and when I left at 6 pm there was skiff of snow on the ground and on my windshield. I hit Brighton about 6:30-7:00 and like you had Barb, it what white out conditions from about 144th to just north of you in Lupton (right there at “the north station”). It wasn’t snowing terribly but definitely not the “20% chance of 1-3 inches” they had been calling for. Not to mention there wasn’t a plow in sight until I got north of Platteville and there was ONE coming south from Gilcrest on 85. Needless to say it was BRUTAL drive home last night, I didn’t get home until after 8 pm. When I did finally get home we had about a FOOT (that’s 12”) of NEW snow. My car got stuck in the driveway, after nearly crashing into the gate. I had to pull it out with the tractor and then spend the next hour and half plowing between the road and garage so I would be able to leave for work in the morning. Every inch of road road between my house and Brighton was a solid sheet of ice. I never went faster than 25 mph and the cars (mostly 4x4 trucks) were off in the ditch like mile marker signs. Wen I finally got to work there was only about an inch of snow on the ground.