A few things I learned this past weekend --

Stock up on UNSCENTED votive candles -- they last longer than tealights and won't make you nauseous. A fat pillar candle is even better for a windowless bathroom. A radio with the TV channel band using 4 C batteries is much easier on the ears than one running on AA batteries. Listening to the the local TV news audio feed is also more comforting and calming in the midst of it all. At 3 AM, people calling in saying they were scared and hearing Bill Balleza, anchor turned storm therapist, on KPRC-TV Channel 2 telling them it will be OK and it would be almost over soon made us feel we were all in this together and not alone. I also liked his telling us, "Of course your house is making strange noises, it has probably never been in wind this strong this before and it will creak for awhile afterwards, too." (True!) (And true again I'm switching my local TV news allegiance to KPRC nowafter) The $32 we pay Verizon every month was worth every cent having our land-line hooked up to an "old fashioned phone"...with a 24 foot cord able to reach into the hallway. Keeping old towels on hand, even the hand/face size, to shove against the window and window sills. Some did get damp, and I'd rather deal with washing them afterwards instead of wet carpeting. Buy small jars or packets of mayonnaise to mix with canned tuna or chicken. Also purchase an Oscar-Mayer size slim packs of ham to slip into the cooler. Next time I'll get those cheese dipper stick packages, too. We craved salty and savory more than sweet afterwards. Adrenaline is a powerful drug -- As Hurricane Ike approached, the early rain band winds knocked down one of three panels of our front cedar panel fence door gate. To keep the gate from swinging or worse detaching and blowing away, I hoisted a 6 foot by 4 foot section and jammed it against the door and remaining section. Then I stepped back, concerned about its placement so close to my gardenia bush and repositioned it again. After the storm, I collected a lot of the shingle sheets in our front yard into a 8" pile and carried them all in a pile towards the curb grass. I wanted to move them later and couldn't even nudge them with my foot. Texas women are strong and capable. I hope my daughter learned that, too.