High and Dry (well, almost...)

Thank you all so much for your concern for us and for your prayers during the Great Iowa Flood. I wanted to give you an update on what we're experiencing personally.

We had water in the basement of the Blue Belle when the flooding first started - not that much, but enough to make the carpet wet and soggy and anything that was on the floor wet. A mess, but not that bad, considering! Aside from the inconvenience of not flushing toilets, doing laundry, washing dishes, and showering when we want to, we've been fine. Mark and I have been being extra good all week so I don't have to feel guilty when my guests use more than their fair share this weekend.

We've spent a little time in the basement during tornado warnings, but the most we have lost from the storms is a third of the tree outside my office window. I'll miss the shade, but we'll have a great bonfire when things dry out.

We've had several cancellations for the restaurant and B&B, mainly because the customer was in jeopardy of getting flooded and couldn't leave home, or because they were not able to get to us because of closed roads between their house and the Inn.

I've had employees unable to get to work and one who canoes from her front door to the nearest open road and either walks from there or has someone meet her in a car to take her to town. (Amazingly, their house doesn't have a drop of water in the basement.) But we are open and serving and using our commercial dishwasher very sparingly to sanitize dishes. We've been rinsing off the dishes and washing hands over tubs in the sink, then dumping the water outside. Kind of like my Bohemian grandma who used water three times and then threw it on the garden to water the plants. (It makes me realize how much we could be conserving all the time if we tried.) 

The pile of laundry is growing higher and higher, but thankfully, we own enough sheets, towels, tablecloths and napkins to keep us going for a month if need be.   (That may be a slight exaggeration, but we're getting by.) If a person is trying to get out of doing your laundry and washing your dishes, Iowa is the place to be.

Mark and I have been showering and washing clothes at my parent's house (15 miles north of here, in southern Minnesota, and the parsonage (45 miles west), where things are not so bad. Paper dishes don't have to be washed. We've had to take detours because the bridge on the main route between the Blue Belle and the parsonage is under water, but again, a minor inconvenience compared to what other further south are experiencing.

It's heartbreaking seeing the fields underwater. The crops were way behind already due to the late spring. Not a fun year to be a farmer. But again, we are counting our blessings that we are all safe and fine.

I really feel for the people down river. It's like The Perfect Storm. They're getting it from all directions, especially up. The forecast is finally for some cool, dry weather. Thank you, God! Hopefully things will dry out quickly.

Please continue to keep everyone along the rivers of the Midwest in your prayers. And thanks again for your well-wishes and prayers for us!