Hanna is Gone. Presenting Brother Ike

September is said to be by far the worst month of the hurricane season and that seems to be the case this year.

Still no electric power in many places around the Gulf following Gustav (including many neighborhoods in NOLA); if Hanna had not come ashore in NC, but skirted the coast on its way northward the damage in the mid-Atlantic region would have been much worse, indeed.

Meanwhile, Ike is tearing across Cuba and into the Gulf threatening more damage along the coast of 5 states.

And, let's not forget that all three of these storms ground up and spit out residents of Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and a few island chains - please keep them in your prayers.

And it's only September 7th.

A whole lotta cookin' has gone down these past few days. I (heart) my smaller crock pot, I really do. As you know from earlier posts yesterday I made a stroganoff; this morning prepped a pork roast for pulled pork sandwiches later in the week; the crock is presently bubbling with a fall-from-the-bone barbecue chicken recipe to be ingested in great quantities this evening with a beer and side of cole slaw.

Unfortunately, the slaw isn't my own. (sigh!) I lost the full size Cuisinart in the break-up and have only a small unit that would make perhaps 1.5 cups - hardly worth the effort, IMHO. The small one is just fine for my needs and present living conditions. I have no use for many small appliances and gadgets anymore. In fact, I wonder why I ever had them in the first place.

Admittedly, I do long for a grill. I haven't had a grilled steak, ribs, or vegetables in two years and without an oven I can't even broil. (sigh, again.) Apartment life isn't conducive to outdoor grilling.

Haven't surveyed the tree damage here yet, but I'm sure things will be under control by this afternoon. I'm still recouping and tomorrow is a work day.

It's cocktail hour somewhere. I smell a martini in my immediate future. Cheers!

And so it goes.
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