Safe In St. Augustine

Hello, my friends. The hatches are battened down here at the Green Acres Garage, as we await the worst effects of Hurricane Irma. That's not due to happen until tonight and early tomorrow, but we are already experiencing some gusty winds and heavy rain. It's a gloomy day for sure. I'm thankful to have my wonderful garage to live in, especially on occasions like this. Gary expects that we will experience power outages at some point, so I thought I'd better give you all an update as to how things are going before we lose power and our wi-fi service. Gary spent the last few days preparing for the storm. So did most other folks in our area and throughout Florida. Supplies were limited at every store, and there were lines at most gas stations for fuel. He rounded up enough non-perishable food and water to last for at least a week. We have a well pump since we live in a rural part of town, and if there's no power, there's no running water. So, twelve 5-gallon buckets were purchased from Lowe's and filled with water for bathing, toilet flushing, etc. Yesterday, my sisters Bernadette, Jackie, and Caroline were moved from the potentially dangerous tree line in the back yard. Bernadette and Jackie are now between the garage and the storage container. Caroline has a flat tire and didn't want to go with her sisters, so she is on the opposite side of the storage container. All of them should be safer where they are now. My baby sister Poppy got moved from behind the two vans (Connie and Max) in the carport, to next to Connie. She feels safer there. That is the spot normally occupied by Casper, the white cargo van. Casper decided to hang out in the yard next to the house. He will constantly get wet, but there shouldn't be anything close enough to fall on him. And as usual, my best buddy Dodge is inside the garage right in front of me. Gary will hang out with us in the garage throughout the storm. The garage is rated for 200 mph wind loads, so it will definitely be safer than the house in case of disaster. The camping porta-potty is readily available if Gary needs it. He also brought a mini-fridge out of the house, so he has cold drinks right outside my door, and there's plenty of food stashed in my cabinets. If we do lose power for awhile, the freezer is stocked with 60 pounds of ice for the safe keeping of the remaining perishable food, and we have a wide variety of coolers to keep everything in. We're as ready as we can be for whatever happens. During the last couple of days, the projected path for Irma has moved from the east coast of Florida where we are, to the west coast of Florida where we have family and friends. We will pray for their safety, and we wish the very best for everyone effected by this ENORMOUS storm. I'll check in with you again if I'm lucky enough to still be here. Love to you all, near and far, your buddy, Toaster.