Rita, Hello, Good-bye. Hurricane warnings went up yesterday morning, and so we closed the office at 1:00 PM, having learned a thing or two after Katrina's surprise visit. (I should say "relearn" a thing or two.) Came home, pulled the shutters out, and up they went. (Carol did a yeoman's job. Pioneer woman material.) I also took down the two vertical antennas I had left up during Katrina. Stuffed everything in the garage.

Some pretty stiff winds came by, but we got only the northern edge of the storm. Instead of the center passing over our house, it passed below Key West, threading the needle between that island and the island of Cuba through the Florida Straits. By the time it was about due south of Key West it had cranked up to a category two storm - Katrina had been barely a category one when it toured Miami Springs. So Rita is serious business.

About 3 this afternoon I went out and took down the shutters. We never lost power. No trees blew over or branches broke off - I think because Katrina had already done the pruning. So we were fortunate.

Now, however, Rita is breaking out into the Gulf of Mexico, with a track that could take it up to Texas and LA. We pray that it will simply blow itself out before it makes it that far.