I guess these storms do not fray my nerves as I have been raised in them most of my life. I am from the panhandle and was about 35 miles from the gulf as the crow files. I have been through more storms than the law should allow. I even sat Hurricane Elena out in a rented red Ford Mustang under the I-10 overpass in Gulfport back in the 80's. I also stay busy with the Red Cross doing preliminary disaster planning and working as a member of the rise-out team at Disney preparing for the storms. Between all of theat I ensure my plants are safe, my husband is safe and know we will be fed by Disney, the Red Cross, our church or all the canned food I keep on hand 365. I keep cases of water rotating them as we drink them and well, that is how we prepare. To me this will be a good thunderstorm with rain and I would be more concerned about tornado threats than the storm itself. I am proud of all of you for taking it seriously and preparing. it is better to be prepared than not. I would rather over prepare 200 times than be unprepared once. Stay safe my friends. LADY, you have been missed. FAWNRIDGE - rise 'em babe. Linda

JULIA: They are saying some parts of New York may get 2 feet of snow from this storm, too. Winds on the back side of it.Every one in its path, please stay safe and away from trees.Hope all of you are prepared for power outage with food and water and heat to be warm. Let us all know how you are as soon as possible and we will be praying for your safety. RITA" I am glad you are on the north shore of Long Island, since the weather channel says the south shore will be hit with 20 foot waves..They been saying all day about how dangerous this storm is. Jean

"I didn't realize the ASHI Reporter was available online to non-members. That was an interesting article. That article was a bit of a wake-up call for me. I haven't had many close calls, and that has led to some complacency." Talk about close calls.... I have friends in Ohio who were looking at houses. They found a nice wooded property built in 1907 but didn't buy because they couldn't build a garage on the property. They sent me this story. I'm glad they didn't get it because they have curious kids. The present owner is lucky he had a friend with him that day. 911 Call: 'My Friend Fell Down a Well; Can't Get Him Out' WESTLAKE, Ohio -- A man came close to drowning in his own sump pump after his basement filled with water Wednesday. A friend who was nearby when the accident occurred at 851 Bradley Road, told police that 53-year old Hal Seagraves, fell head first into the 8-foot hole. "I've got a friend that fell down a sump pump well...he's submerged and I can't get him out," the victim's friend said to the 911 dispatcher, "Too heavy." When police arrived at the home, they found Seagraves not moving, wedged upside down at the bottom of the 8-foot well. According to Lt. Ray Arcuri with Westlake police, the man's head and arms were submerged in two feet of water. A link that might be useful: www.fox8.com/news/wjw-news-westlake-well-fall,0,2597403.story

The thing to remember is that at least inland a bit, we're not getting hit by a hurricane. We're getting hit by a big rainstorm. Five inches so far here, but creeks are not flooding as the rain is spaced out in time. But that's right, we're looking at heavy rain for a week. Temps won't get higher than the mid-80s for more than a week so, who knows, my held-over tomatoes may actually pollinate!