Am I really as neurotic as I feel?

The water is going down.  Slowly.  It's gone down much faster in CR.  Everything is muddy, icky, stinky, moldy, and gross.  And pretty much trash now.  Some businesses may not re-open.  Others will, eventually.  Some bridges are still closed.  Some roads are washed out.  Billions in crop damage.  Some of the university buildings were hit really hard.  A friend will be out of her house for a long time, and they lost a bunch of stuff.  But people are safe.  Now everybody downstream is getting our leftovers.  Look out, New Orleans.

I made an awesome potato soup last night.  My own recipe.  So delicious.  I also made a Greek country bread.  I'm not sure how Greek it actually is, except for the little bit of honey.  But it was delicious.  And it would have been more delicious had I remembered to add the salt.

Posted by: greeneyes at 18:03 | link | comments (2)

It's bad.  So bad.  I can't even describe it.  People have worked so hard, and they're still working hard, to keep the water away, but it can't be stopped.  You can barely see the tops of some houses.  My university, library, student union, theater building, art building, Hancher Auditorium...they're all facing serious damage.  Up in Cedar Rapids, the current is so strong in the streets blocks away from the river that the rescue crews are afraid to go there.  A small town by CR is completely under water and is accessible only by boat.  There is a 280 mile detour to get from Iowa City to Cedar Rapids (normally a 20-30 minute drive).  It will be another week before the water is down to normal flood levels.  I feel so helpless, so hopeless.  I'm still fine, but my heart is so broken for everyone and everything else.

Posted by: greeneyes at 18:56 | link | comments (8)

A mo'friend inquired about how I am and how things are up here.  Here's my reply...

Personally, I'm fine. My home is in no danger of flooding. A friend and I went driving around town and took pictures...it's just incredible and even though I saw it in person, it still doesn't seem real. Iowa City still has a lot of flooding to go...they're anticipating at least another 5 feet (assuming we don't get the 3+ inches of rain forecasted for this weekend) on the Iowa River, and cities north are being evacuated (one town about an hour north is completely isolated because all the roads are covered in water). The university will take a really hard hit when it's all done. Even if we don't get a drop of rain for the rest of the summer, we'll still be above normal levels.

I got home not too long ago and heard about the tornadoes (we heard about some tornado warnings on NPR while driving around, but didn't hear about the scouts until home). It's just terrible. My parents are currently getting hit with a nasty storm, but the radar isn't showing any tornado or potential tornadoes, so that's good. In fact it seems to be breaking up...I always swore my hometown was a bubble for weather). Some relatives in the NW part of the state also got hit tonight.

One good thing is that whenever disaster strikes Iowa, everybody comes out to help. People are sandbagging, helping people move things to higher ground, taking in misplaced people.

So I'm fine...people around me, not necessarily.

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One of the major roads in town is closed because it's completely under water.  I imagine another main road will be closed tomorrow because water is seeping onto it already and the river is right under the bridge...the water will probably be on it tomorrow morning.

Some businesses have closed for the time being.  Some have relocated.

My heart breaks for the Boy Scouts and their families.  I can't imagine.  I don't want to imagine.

Water was bursting through manholes in Iowa City and Des Moines.

Here is a picture of a tornado well north of here from Tuesday night...you can kind of see a mouth and tongue in it...I think God's sticking Her tongue out at us:



My nephew lost his top left front tooth tonight.

Posted by: greeneyes at 22:25 | link | comments (3)

I'm just sitting here, waiting for Noah and his ark to come by and pick us all up.

Posted by: greeneyes at 20:26 | link | comments (5)