My Bellaire Blog

During the night that hurricane Ike blew over Bellaire, I spent half the night in bed and the other half sleeping in the closet.  You could not hear the storm from the closet so I slept better the second half of the night.  Next time, I’ll start the night in the closet, so there won’t be any interruptions to my sacred sleep or a rude awakening when the winds shift direction.  Or even better, I’ll evacuate! 

Thank God the damage was minimal to our house, but figuring out life without electricity is puzzling.  When I woke up last Saturday morning from that infamous night, it was later than usual, and I had missed my usual caffeine intake.  As I slowly made my way to the kitchen while admiring my torn-up yard and discovering rain water that leaked in from the kitchen window, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to use the coffee maker.  No problem I thought, I’ll just use the manual coffee press. 

I filled up a mug to heat some water in the microwave.  Wait a minute!  Can’t use the microwave either.  No problem.  I’ll just have a cup of tea and use 2 tea bags instead of one: this will bring the caffeine amount to about the same as coffee.  But how can I brew tea on an electric stove when the power is off??… 

Oh well, there is always Starbucks,  even though I think their coffee is too strong for my taste buds.  I can easily dilute it…  While I am thinking that I would have to wait before going on the road, the battery-operated radio is talking about the generalized power outage in the area.  Surely no Starbucks is open now…  Well, let’s see.  I wish I had a gas stove.  I was going  to switch to gas a couple of years ago when I remodeled the kitchen,  but I liked the easiness of cleaning my electric stove’s glass surface too much to give it up.  Now I wish I had switched. 

What else works on gas in this house?  The water heater of course!  But you won’t catch me drinking tap water after the hurricane, even if it is scalding hot… Then I had this great idea.  Since the barbecue grill is still locked up in the garage and I am not venturing outside for at least the next couple of hours until this pouring rain stops,  how about I go back to the days of the Little House on the Prairie, and do all the cooking in the gaslog fireplace??  Genius idea.  All I would have to do is suspend a pot with chains above the fireplace and I’ll get boiling water.  As I am walking to get the toolbox from under the stairs  with my flashlight, I hear my husband strongly demeaning my idea as the silliest on earth:  The fireplace? Do I want to heat the house some 5 to 10 degrees when I cannot foresee how long we’re condemned without air conditionning or fans?       

After pondering the situation, I remembered that last year (or was it the year before?)  I had purchased a jar of instant coffee, and I had no idea why.  Nevertheless, I could make my own Frappuccino – without ice, it’s ok…  So I leaped for some milk that was not so cold any more, and whether it had spoiled or not, I did not care.  Half a cup of milk, half a  cup of bottled water, and two teaspoons of – a bit stale, I must say…- instant coffee.  Yummy in my tummy!!  Never any liquid concoction has tasted any better.  I had my caffeine fix without power!

The second day, as the milk was gone and I was reduced to plain cold stale instant coffee with water,  I had to become more creative.  By then, I could use the outdoor grill to boil water for a good cup of tea…!  But looking back, I think I figured out another way to make hot tea when you don’t have electricity or gas.  Put three “tea-light” candles (or more)  under a rack pulled out from your unuseful oven. Put a metal container on the rack and pour some bottled water in it.  If you’re patient enough, the water will eventually boil.  I thought of this idea because I had stumbled on a bunch of these candles. 

When I shared my brilliant solution for the next hurricane with my husband,  he recommended not to tell any children about it, and suggested that when things get to normal, we just go buy a propane camping stove…

A week and one day has passed since Ike and still no power…  At least I have water to shower, and it is warm.  But why do I see you staring at my wet and lifeless hairdo?  Guess what!  I’m starting to like it… It’s uh… natural…  I am profoundly blessed.

This is a reminder that you need to register by September 11, 2008 to be able to participate in the Bellaire Fall Fever 5K Run that is taking place on Saturday, September 27th at the $17.00 rate.  After that date, it goes up to $20.00 until the 20th of September and to $25.00 after that.  This should be a well attended event, followed by a great post-race party.  Kids can register for the Children’s Run which starts at 7:45 am, followed by the adult 5K Run/Walk at 8:00 AM.  Proceeds benefit Bellaire High.  See y’all on the finish line!

The climate for home sales should be improving soon, thanks to the law signed in July.  Here are the main components:

• Starting October 1, 2008, FHA will be able to refinance up to $300 billion of subprime loans that have become unaffordable to borrowers.  Lenders will take them off their books, although at a write-down.  This should lower the number of foreclosures.
• High-cost FHA Loan limit is permanently raised to $625,500 on 1/1/09.  It was temporarily raised to $725,750 from $417,000 as an economic stimulus.
• The government will expand the line of credit to Fanie Mae and Freddie Mac. It can also provide an equity infusion through the purchase of stock.  This will help investors’confidence and their interest in Mortgage Backed securities on the secondary markets.
• Last but not least, first-time homebuyers will get a $7,500 tax credit for purchases made by July 1, 2009 and it will be retroactive to purchases made since April 9 , 2008.  So, if you’re a first time homebuyer sitting on the sideline, make sure you get in touch with a realtor to close on your home before July of next year.  This opportunity might not repeat itself, especially in the context of still relatively low interest rates!

It’s that time of year again…hurricane season.  If you read the paper, listen to the radio or watch TV you are constantly reminded of past, present and future dangers of hurricanes.  Don’t get me wrong, I want to know if there’s one coming ashore and headed straight for me but I’m beginning to feel like there is a constant bombardment of “scare” tactics out there to make us worry about what would happen.  But I suppose that I would rather know about what’s going on than have it hit full force with no previous knowledge.  But being a native Houstonian, I have lived through many hurricanes and tropical storms and flooding.  My first real recollection of a hurricane was Hurricane Carla and I spent one full week living with my brother and mother at the elementary school they had designated as shelter while my step-father helped as a volunteer fireman.  I realize that there was terrible flooding, our house had the carport ripped off and a week after moving home the ceiling in my bedroom collapsed under the pressure of the water that had gathered in the attic due to a roof leak.  However, even with the limited access we had to the news (since there was 24-hour news station in existence) we knew when to leave and when to prepare.  I sometimes long for the good old days when you knew there was a real threat and not just maybe a real threat.  Having said all that…are you prepared?

 The Houston Chapter of the American Red Cross has a great list of preparedness tips to use for all sorts of disasters.  I suggest you log onto www.houstonredcross.org and click on the tab for disaster services.  Under that tab you will find the disaster preparedness list with all of the Red Cross’ recommendations for surviving possible disasters.  It’s worth your time and effort to protect you…for real and potential disasters.