Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey has come and gone.  Needless to say, it was a terrible experience for most of Houston and the South Texas Gulf Coast.  We made it through with no flooding in the house and minimal storm damage, but many Houstonians weren't as lucky and will spend months, if not years, recovering. 

It only drizzled Friday and Saturday during the daytime.  Matilda and Jason made paper boats to race down our gently flowing ravine.

Matilda had a dance party and then we went for a walk down to the bayou.

Saturday night was when it got scary.  I went to bed around 9 pm because the storm was pretty loud and I was worried about the girls waking throughout the night.  At 10 pm, I left the bedroom to check on Jason, and he had jumped up to come find me.  Within 15 minutes of hard rain, our ravine had completely filled.

We spent the rest of the night watching the ravine in case we had to leave the house. 

The meteorologists were still calling for substantial rain Sunday and Sunday night, so we went ahead and lifted as much furniture we could.  Our plan was to head down the street to our friends' house on Sunday night so we could get some sleep.

But, the rain somewhat subsided on Sunday, and we were fairly confident the ravine would be able to sustain the projected rainfall Sunday night.  By this time, we were stir crazy.  We had to shelter in the hallway several times because of tornado warnings.

On Monday, Matilda and I went to a playdate in the neighborhood because we were itching to get out of the house.  She and Jason also collected donations from the neighborhood and took them to the big shelter at George R. Brown convention center.

Tuesday was spent lounging around the house waiting for roads to clear.  I think we got 37 inches of rain during the storm.  Much more than anyone had predicted.

On Wednesday, the sun was finally shining and we cleaned up the yard.

While my office was working from home the entire week after the storm, I went into the office on Thursday and Friday to get some actual work done.

I'm very grateful we made it through alright, but my heart is with those who did not.  I truly hope this was a 800+ year storm.