It has been over a year since I last posted, and so much has happened. During the summer of 2018, we took our family vacation on top of Sugar Mountain, and it was fabulous. Being a mile high in the NC mountains meant that we didn't need air conditioning, and we kept the windows open in the resort the whole time we were there. While we were there, Angela saw that someone was needing to find a home for a beautiful 2 year old golden retriever, so upon our return home we picked up Buddy, who is now a member of our family.

Then in September, we got hit by Hurricane Florence. We received 3 FEET of rain over three days. The creek behind our house flooded our back yard and got into my workshop. We had no power for a week. After the storm passed, we could see and hear the Coast Guard and National Guard helicopters doing rescues all over the southern part of our county. A woman died in her vehicle when she drove into a washed-out section of highway about a mile from us. Life was...rough. My lovely bride got pushed to her breaking point, but she did an amazing job of trying to keep life as close to normal as possible. My stepson drove all through the night, finding back roads when necessary, to bring us a generator that could power much more than the small one we own. Then, each morning, I would head to work while Angela would load up gas cans and seek out gas stations. We were burning through $70 in gasoline every day in order to keep an A/C, fridge, freezer, and an entertainment center running. The storm felled a 60-foot tall birch in our yard, along with several 20 and 30-foot pine trees. Miraculously, none hit the house or the thee outbuildings. All things considered, we got off lucky. Nobody lives on the southern part of my road, anymore. 8 homes flooded, and those families never returned.

And now? We are entering the busy part of the hurricane season....