I guess most of us are watching closely the path the hurricane is taking. It's hard to imagine the damage it caused in the Bahamas. I wonder if they will ever be able to recover - and if they do, will this just happen again some other year soon. These monster storms just get bigger and more fierce. It would seem wise for people to give up and move to the mainland - preferably to high ground. Storm surges of over twenty feet will damage most coastal communities, let alone islands that are barely above sea level.

I remember a few years ago Fred and I were approaching southern Portsmouth, New Hampshire and we had our GPS registering the elevation. As we were driving along one of the streets just outside of the city, we noticed we were actually below sea level. Even though it was a beautiful sunny day, I was really uncomfortable thinking about what could happen in a storm. I suppose flooding is fairly common in most seacoast communities except along some of the Maine coast where there are high cliffs.

Our weather has been pretty nice today. I was at my computer most of the day until mid-afternoon, so didn't get to enjoy it except from inside. We are all tending strictly to business trying to get everything finished up on our history book It's looking good - our editor is steaming along and we're feeding her material as fast as we can. I think we have a good chance of publishing late this fall.

 Our granddaughters, Jo-Ann and Tangeni, are with their mom and dad in London tonight. Their trip home from Namibia has been full of adventure, at least from their perspective. For their parents, it's probably more like a nightmare that doesn't want to end. They made the 8+ hour drive from Monika's home town to Windhoek without mishap, caught their short flight to Johannesburg the following day ok, and expected to leave that evening for London and then on to Boston, to arrive early this afternoon and be home by supper time. Instead, there was a 4 1/2 hr. delay in Johannesburg; however, they arrived  with time to spare in London, only to find that their London to Boston flight was cancelled. We don't know why - but Bill got in touch with us this morning to say they were staying over in London at the airline's expense. They were excited to get to see some of London. Bill didn't say what the weather was, and I forgot to check, but today, Wednesday, is supposed to be rainy there. No surprise, it's London, after all. They have cool temperatures, as well. It was no doubt a big change from the sweltering heat in Namibia. Anyway, we expect they'll be home sometime Wednesday - if all goes well. We'll be really glad to have them back home. They've been away a full month, but I'm sure they've had a great time with relatives there. There are lots of aunts, uncles and cousins - plus a grandmother and great grandmother!

We've had a pretty good soaking rain the past couple of days. I measured .85 inch on Monday and another .50 inch on Tuesday. I can't say "this morning" because it's after midnight as I'm writing this. I find I get a "second wind" and can get quite a lot done late at night. Of course, I don't get going very early in the morning when I do that, but most days I'm not going anywhere, so it's ok. I'm usually at my computer by 9 o'clock. Once we are finished with the history book, I'll need to find another project so I won't be wandering about the house aimlessly looking for something to do. Housework is probably not going to take up much of my time. Right now I only do the bare minimum. Bathroom and kitchen kept clean, dusting only if someone is coming to visit. That seems to work pretty well, so I probably won't change. I gave up spring and fall house cleaning years ago. Now I do the "deep clean" routine only when the spirit moves. I do like clean windows, and rearranging furniture - which always leads to extra cleaning. So it gets done, but piecemeal. We'll see how or if things change when the time comes.