I just wanted to wish all of you, who are in the path of Hurricane Isabel, Good Luck and Stay Safe!
As the days go on, anyone who wants to post on how their area is being affected, I would be interested in knowing!
My brother is in NC
We are enjoying crisp sunny fall weather right now in NY.
Wishing you well!
Scarlett~

Thanks for thinking of us Scarlett! It's all we can talk about for the last few days - watching it head right at us.

We are battening down the hatches here in N.C.

I live southeast of Raleigh, and we are supposed to be getting wind gusts of close to 80 mph tomorrow afternoon and evening.

They are telling us to prepare for 6 to 10 inches of rain in 24 hours.

We hope that our hurricane ties will hold the barn roof on once again.

I'd bring the horses up to the house if my husband would go for it! <)

Thank you for thinking of us, and my thoughts and prayers are with all of those people on the coast right now.

My thoughts are with everyone having to deal with Isabel, as well. I was just dodging her myself a few days ago, and know very well what it's like to be facing a major hurricane strike.

Stay high, dry and safe! Be sure to let us know how things go as soon as possible.

Yes, Statia. You usually are the ones who have to worry about these storms before they ever get here.

I was so relieved when Isabel missed all of the islands because you guys unfortunately lack the infrastructure to get things back to normal quickly. We have lots of friends in the islands, and worry so much this time of year, but we have been getting hit so much over the last 10 years - Fran, Floyd, etc.

I'll stay online as long as I have power.

Thanks again!

Thanks for your good luck wishes Scarlett. It is surreal preparing for this storm since it is such a perfect September day here in Williamsburg. Just light, fluffy clouds in the sky and a little breeze blowing. It is hard to believe that tomorrow at this time it will be a completely different story. Some schools have closed, the colleges have sent their students home and the Navy and Air Force is sending a lot of their force to safety. We aren't concerned with flooding in my neighborhood but others nearby are evacuating because of concerns about flooding. We're worried about all the large trees that surround our homes. The ground is already very wet from all the rain we've had. Trees will fall. It will be a gamble as to which way they fall. The eye of the storm is not due to pass directly over us. It is supposed to hit NC and then pass west of us which is actually worse since we will bear the brunt of the northwest quadrant winds, the strongest in the hurricane. We are sure to lose power so I have my propane stove ready. Hurricane party anyone?

To all of you in the path of the storm, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Please do whatever you need to do to be safe and out of harms way as much as possible.

We are very lucky that the storm will not hit this area, and also lucky that the storm has lost much of it's punch, but even a Cat 2 storm as the forcasters are now saying Isabell is going to be alot of wind and water, and both can be deadly.

Please let us know if you still have power that you are ok.

Scarlett - I hope your brother evacuated to higher ground. Surely he did, however, you can't take it all with you. Hope he doesn't suffer any devastating losses.

I will say a prayer for all who are being threatened.

My problem is getting over the MD Chesapeake Bay Bridge before they close it. Son-of-guns are keeping us hanging yet the Orioles still plan to start a baseball game at 12:30 at Camden Yards.

The winds are really picking up here, and they have now moved my area into the path of the 50 - 74 mph winds - oh boy!

Believe it or not, I am at work since we're open, but my husband's place of employment is (wisely) closed.

All of the schools are closed, and the state govt. non-essential personnel people are off too.

The gusts are causing the eaves of the building to make noises, and the rain is getting heavier and blowing quite a bit.

I'll leave to go home in an hour or so when things get really bad, but I'm not looking forward to the almost 40 mile drive.

I lived at the beach for years and have spent a lot of time on the barrier islands. I'd NEVER stay there for this storm. Most of them are 5 to 10 feet above sea level, and the surge is supposed to be 10 to 12 feet and be hitting at the same time as high tide at around lunchtime.

I am praying for those who decided to stay.

Isabel is still a few hours away. So far just strong gusts of wind and rain. Already lost our chimney cap. I feel so badly for the people with homes in the flood zones.
A correction to my earlier post: the strongest winds are in the "northeast" quadrant.

Diana, as a horse owner, I can understand your concern for your horses. I know all that blowing and barn rattling can make them very jumpy. Nothing like a little wind to convince them there is a horse eating monster after them. I hope all turns out for you and your "babies". I'll be thinking of you. I say, bring 'em up to the house!

Thanks jette! (I mean, how much trouble could five horses in the garage be, right?!)

We've shut up the horse trailer tight and parked it right next to the barn and moved all pointed implements - pitch and muck forks, etc. - into the tack room.

I just talked to my husband, He said they are pretty nervous, but some alfalfa hay went a long way toward calming them down...

It's hitting the coast hard now, and the wind and rain are getting much worse. Not long till I hit the road!

If the horses can't come into the house, could you move into the barn?

My brother lives right outside of Charlotte so his problems will be flooding and big old trees falling.

He will let me know how he is tomorrow, fingers crossed!

And from the Virgin Islands, another place that dodged Isabel's bullet last week - STAY SAFE AND STAY INSIDE. The television coverage shows all these people walking around outside and cars driving through very deep water. They must be crazy or really like to live dangerously.

It's so strange to be here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where Isabel has only given us a stiff breeze and some clouds, and know that on the other side of the state people are in trouble.

You want to do something, but there's nothing you can do.

Diana, everything alright over there finally? How many trips to the barn did you make during the night? I think I'd been out there every 15 minutes just to hear their welcoming nickering.

Now that Isabel is only a memory please let us know that you all faired well and are ok.

THANKS so much to everyone for the thoughtfulness that helped get us through the storm.
We lost power Thursday afternoon, and the wind was really howling.
We have a lot of trees, and lost quite a few limbs - both small and large - and some shingles off the roof that resulted in a small leak, and our screened-in porch is now pretty screenless!
BUT, everyone is safe.
The horses were a little shaken up, and we did spend a lot of time down at the barn with them, but when the winds got really bad, we stayed up at the house.
Thanks again everyone, for your concerns.
My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones and whose homes were damaged or destroyed.

Glad to hear that everything is ok on your end, Diana. However, my thoughts are with those suffering tragedy during this time.

From Richmond, VA, originally 94 percent of the area lost power, and they say 80 percent is still out. We lost water until yesterday and the water we have now can't be used for drinking or washing hands or dishes (but we can flush the toilet now- happy day!) No phone service yet and schools will be out indefinitely until they get power and water back. The few gas stations that have both power and gas have long lines. Most stores and grocery stores aren't able to open.

People seem to be hot, but in good sprits. In our neighborhood and elsewhere people formed groups and went house to house cutting up all the trees that fell. But I tell you, it's a real blessing that this didn't happen in the summer or winter when the lack of heat or air-conditioning would have been a real problem! And it's interesting to see how many luxuries you can do without. It really isn't too bad (of course we just got our electricity back on or I might not say that!)