Mariana T. is OK After Gustav

Thank you to Isabel who called me last night and to Mona who called as well - blessings to all who thought of me. I am so grateful that things turned out the way they did for Franklin. We have not always been this lucky. Salud

Glad you survived the storm! Thanks for the update. Nice you got to spend time with old friends too.

Mariana, I am so glad that you made it through the storm safely. What a beautiful home up above, glad it is well too~

I'm so happy to see you on here.

Nothing like huddling in with a full "beverage" refrigerator, tons of food and old friends.

You sure know how to weather a storm.

Mariana - I'm so glad you are safe and your home is too. I got my Rand-MxNally out and looked at all the small towns right in Gustav's path and was afraid for them.

We're gitten perty far down on the list o' names for 'canes, ain't we?

Hurricanes are a blast, unless you own a mortgage.

I'm so relieved you're ok. I thought about you and listened for news of St. Mary's Parish.

Great news. Glad to hear you are OK.

Glad everything is okay for you.

Mariana, I was so worried about you! I'm very happy hear from you today. With Ike on the way to somewhere, be safe!!

just had to know you were ok, love. and thank the heavens for your dear husband for keeping me informed. sending dry, calm thoughts!

Glad to hear it Mariana.

Have a cold one, and remember your Gather friends.

Good to hear your voice, Mariana. :-)

Glad you're safe and well and had a good time! That wraparound porch on your mama's house is lovely!

Stubborn old gal...not gonna let Mama Nature stop her from living and living it up. I kept looking toward the sky here waiting to see if you go flying past on the wind. You're alright, so lots of your Gather friends can breath a sigh of relief now that you've checked in again. They should have known you'd be headed off to where a party was laughing in the face of Gustav.

So glad to hear from you, Mariana.
Looks like everything is snug and fine at your mama's house, too. Good news.

That's certainly good news! Just remember, while you're stocking up on beer for the visitors, don't forget the mud bugs and rice, too; you need to have something for the beer to wash down, after all!

I was glad to see this note from you this morning. I didn't use to pay a lot of attention to hurricanes as I am so far away. Now when one is approaching the mainland I think of all the Gather folks I know who live in the pathway. Sounds like you passed the time having fun. Your mama's house is lovely! Glad it weathered another storm well.

Aw, so good to see that everything's okay. I called your house twice with no answer, so I was in hopes that meant you were somewhere safe. I'm so glad your house didn't suffer any damage and that you both made it through.

Glad to know you and your mama's home survived so well!

girlfriend! mona told me you were ok - WHEW! i was sure worried. i am so glad you - and mama's house - are ok. love being sent your way!!

Blessings to all of you wonderful kind folks out there, Jessie - yes, girl, I weathered the storm - please do me a favor - please - if Lilly needs to do a project about water, Louisiana Wetlands would be a good one. I highly recommend a book by Mike Tidwell or anything by CC Lockwood. We are losing valuable coastline due to man, oil companies and of course, the levee system - it's complicated but the main thing is awareness - there is an urgency - it can be saved but we have to all be aware that in less than ten years, the boot could be flat!
Ellie, thank you girl so much - all is going well.
Miz Vicky - I will send you my cell phone because some land phones were off for a while.
Wilma - thank you so much. It's scarey but things are better regarding evacuation routes. This could have been much worse than it was and we had to leave - it was mandatory evacuation and now we're on a strict curfew.
Roy, all is well but I have a flat and the police here fixed it but the spare needs air - I'm waiting on someone with an air compressor.
Bobbie - I've been painting but there was a little paint knocked down on one side - it's ok because that wasn't the side I had just finished!
Rob - you're so sweet and yes, I will catch up on everyone's posts - I have lots to do and of course, I'll get back to everyone in time!!
Miz Dorine, blessings my friend - yes, I love this house

Susan, thank you so much!!!

Peter, I thought of all of you during the storm and was happy to know that I had a Gather family out there.
Mona, Melinda, Sue - it means the world to me that you were all thinking of me - thank you.

Heather, David, Marge - believe me, it could have been so much worse - the authorities scared everyone half to death but we're ok - the town next to us is without any basics and listen to this - even Wal-Mart is closed here!

d.g. well, I am hearing that Ike, Josephine and Kyle are out there waiting to blow some winds!

Ruth, Kate, Sharon - bless all of you for your thoughts but it wasn't that bad at all - it was a bit scarey coming back and other than branches and a bit of damage to a window - all is well - however, the winds do blow in and one year - a year later after the storm, all the ceiling tiles in my bedroom fell! Houses shift after these violent outburts.

Priscilla - thank you so much!!! Marianne - you and the others are such blessings to me - just knowing that yall were thinking of me made me feel really good - I appreciate all of you and your comments and will soon be up to visit your posts and lovely lovely images.

Blessings and love to you all. Salud

Hey girl! So happy to hear all is well with you! Off havin' a hurricane party huh? ;)) I've heard from Stephanie, lots of damage in her neck of the swamp, but blessed in that they are all alive and well.

So relieved to hear you are safe & sound, Mariana! You are one of Gather's "special" people ... loved by all! Blessings to you!

I am thrilled to see this article and to know you are OK, -- you and all your LA friends and family have been in my prayers. I am so happy to know your mother's house survived, -- it is a beautiful home....reminds me a lot of my grandmother's home!!

I was just thinking of you when I woke up this morning, Lady Mariana! Glad to know you're safe and dry.

This came to mind just now... it's a painting by John William Woodhouse, one of my favorite painters. It's called Mariana In The South. :-)

I'm very glad you are okay, and that your friends gave you shelter from the storm!

I am so happy to hear you are safe and well. i hope more people will be able to say the same thing soon. Take Care and Blessings!

Stoppin' by to offer my gratitude that you are well.

Glad to hear that you survived Gustav virtually unscathed. Your writing makes it sound as if you made an adventure out of it. Good For You!!

Peace -

So glad you are home safely, weathering yet another storm with humor and good will.
Stay safe!

Cajuns are tough, thank God, since we insist on living on the coast where we face hurricanes and such. I'm glad you are safe Toes. My sister, and all of my other relatives and friends, in Eunice also made it fine.

Happy to hear things went okay with you...I didn't know if you were still hanging out in these parts or not. We went up to BR where things were worse than here on the Westbank. We arrived home on Wednesday afternoon. The power came back on about 2 hours after we returned. If you have time, check out my last post for the "whole" story.

I'm glad to hear you and yours are safe....I did not realize you lived in Louisiana....!

Of course my spies (Mona) kept me up to the minute on your where-abouts. We were chewing and chaffing over every weather report. I am so happy that things worked out as well as they did and that you and the critters fared okay. We do love you, girl friend and can't possibly do without you even temporarily. So here's to keeping those hurricanes outta there and a having a safe and peaceful forecast from now on!!!

Your mama's house (now your house) is beautiful!

Mariana...so happy that you are well. The hurricane "party" sounds fun as well! I know that the storms bring devastation, but it's magic how people get together. We experience a bit of that as we ready for two or three feet of snow in NH every winter!

So glad you are ok. I'm also happy that the storm didn't do the damage that many feared it would.

I'm glad that all is well.

Raising a glass to celebrate! Good to hear from you again.

This is the best news I have had all day. God bless you and your friends. Take care and be sure to write when the storm passes and things are back to normal.

Beautiful news Mariana. You make the relocation seem like fun. It is a wonderful feeling though to know you are safe as the storm rages round you. I remember driving through a terrible white-out blizzard one night with hundreds of cars sliding off the highway. We made our way to an exit, where there was a blessed little motel with one room left. Oh, how I loved that room.

I'm grateful you are alright.

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Thank you all. I always try to make the most of every situation. Life is what you make it and I didn't know what I was coming back to - I let myself enjoy the folks I was around and let every drink and morsel of food taste delicious. I appreciate the kindness of strangers and of friends and everyone who has helped us all here in Franklin, La. and surrounding towns. Blessings. Salud

dang, I love that house! I am so glad all is well!

Hey Girley lovely picture of Miss T. Glad you had no damage other than a few tree branches. All is well here too. Just one piece of siding flew off above the duck room.Luckily we found it in the back yard. The guy's, my son Jason and one of his friends, Budda, showed up today to help put it back in place.They also helped pick up the massive branches from all my cypress trees. My new wooden fence stood proud and strong.
Thank God we made it once again.
Cajun Goddess

Mariana!

Great photo of your house, what a survivor! You must take after that proud structure given your "wit n' grit."

Interpolating the National Weather system data, it appears the eye of Gustav came within 5 miles of your Mama's porch at 1:23 PM Labor Day. By that time it was a CAT 1 with 90 mph winds moving NW at 16 mph. Fortunately, you were in the southwest quadrant which is best if you find yourself anywhere near these badboys.

Take care and clean up little by little. Soon it will be all better.

Cheers,

Colonel Possum

Yay!! I am glad you are ok!

Welcome Back! Glad to here that you fared well

Glad to hear that you, and your Mama's house, are both fine.

So glad to hear you are safe Mariana, and your house is too!

hello sweet Mariana... i'm soo glad to hear you are okay... thank God...
i guess there's another one called Ike... i pray he does not touch you...
lots of love and hugs... Salud... Blessings to you and yours... stay safe...

Christian Glitter by www.christianglitter.com

great news! you sure know how to throw a hurricaine party..
glad you are safe..salud!

Hola my lovely friend! I'm soooo happy that you are O.K. Thankfully we did well also. We ended up going back to the New Orleans house where everything was just fine (Our stay in the Prairieville House was quite exciting, let's just say that being stuck with teenagers and young twenty-something's is not easy, especially when a couple of them decided that they wanted to"Experience the Hurricane" which by the way passed very near us, and ventured outside and almost got taken by the chimney vent which blew right by them landing on the neighbor's roof and making a huge hole ). Our lovely daughter almost wilted, not used to ever having been without power. My husband and I are in full agreement that the pets were the best behaved of all the family members. The Baton Rouge Area looked like a war zone. Hundreds of massive oak trees were uprooted all over the area and there were many power outages until today. Several people lost their lives after trees fell on their homes or cars. Even the LSU Tigers had to postpone their game, since the campus had some serious damage. Slowly things are returning to normal, and we are all very happy that Ike is going to spare us ( Not wishing any harm on our neighbors in Texas, where it is expected to go). Salud to you, Mariana!

Glad to hear all is well there. Its sad to see weather affect so many people in terrible ways. Hugs

Thank you Mary G. I appreciate that comment very much - oh mi querida Isabel - I am glad you are ok and so sorry about B.R. being torn up - I need to write to my friend and see how she is holding out - also, my niece and nephew attend LSU as well. Glad things weren't too hectic and I'm sure those kids had the time of their lives! I bet they won't be out in the wind next go around! Take care and will talk soon again. Salud

Mariana - I'm so sorry I didn't find this sooner. I tried but my computer is sooo slow that I gave up on bringing up your page and some other folks' too. I'm so glad you didn't have anything bad happen to you or your property during Gustav.
One thing I often wonder about - how do the wild critters make out when storms come? Do they sense it ahead of time and flee the area? I would think that snakes and gators must become displaced and become a problem.
I'd love to have been at that hurricane party with you listening to Zydeco.

Good news is always a blessing. Take care. Let's hope another hurricane doesn't come through this year.

I had been following you here to just make sure you were ok and can't believe I didn't stop to comment. What an eventful season you've had down there. And I am glad that through it all you have been safe.

I am back in Calif folks - thanks for all the comments! SAlud

Wphew! :-) XO

It must have been scary. I can't even imagine having a storm so bad that you would have to leave your house. take care and thanks for the comments on the article I wrote about my Dad.