This is looking down our street. The barricades are due to a downed power line. All the trees are out of the street now and lined up along the curbs. The tree canopy in town is destroyed. It looks so weird to see split in half trees. I wonder if they will survive or need to come down. Kelly

Side view of the van. The storm damaged 3 of our vehicles. One only needs a new windshield. The van is totaled, and my dh's car needs a new windshield, new tires and body work ( just a few dents). Some friends of ours found a trampoline on their roof and a canoe on their porch 🙂 So many trampolines blown around. We talked to a guy while on a walk yesterday who has a tree through his bathroom. Something I have never thought about is that the businesses we need to help us (roofing, electricians, tree service...) have also suffered damage. Some of those businesses aren't open.

Me too! I really thought our roof had things falling through it. It must have been the noise of the tree falling.

Attaching pics of our back yard before we cleaned it. I will take some pictures of all the tree debris lined up along the streets tomorrow. We have 2 holes in the roof from tree branches getting lodged in, but they aren't huge. We got some water in, but only in the hallway. All day you hear chain saws and chippers. All night you hear generators. My dh's boss offered his generator. I think we'll take him up on the offer. Hoping to get some fans going upstairs and my dh will be able to work. Because there is no power, the flood lights weren't on when I had the dogs out for their bed time pottying, and we could see bats flying around. That was cool. If this rambles it is because I add stuff as the pictures load 🙂 It is hard to see, but our power line was under all of that. You can lined of see the line against the blue of the house.

We were hit with the Derecho storm on Monday. We haven't had power since noon that day. The electric company has pretty much stopped putting out possible reconnections times for our city. I have heard it could be up to 10 days 😞 It could be worse, at least it is only 84 degrees in the house. Attaching a picture of our van after the tree was removed. An entire tree ripped out of the ground. It could have fallen on the house instead. We were lucky. We will see if it works. We also don't have wifi. The cable for the internet is hanging off the house. The power line to our house is almost touching the ground. We do have hot water still. That is a plus. Along with a gas stive and a grill. We grilled pizzas tonight. Our city is also hauling away all the tree debris as long as we get it to the curb. Our town looks like a disaster. It is crazy. That storm was crazy.

I am so angry for your daughter. I agree with her that she should not have to go to another neighborhood to walk. I have no advice.

Here is another layer to this question. If she declares bankruptcy and I have her car would that constitute fraud? We planned on hanging on to it because she doesn't need it with my sister and she'll be going overseas for 3 months to stay with my brother's family. We aren't buying it in case she needs it next year. But, if we are holding it and she claims bankruptcy is she hiding an asset? If she does claim bankruptcy she can't give us the car or sell it to us. I've been reading up on it to make sure nothing is wrong. I totally want this above board. She owns the car free and clear. Kelly

As I posted a couple weeks ago, my father passed away. When I say their finances were a mess I am not joking. My mom has moved in with my sister in CA. For the time being I am holding my mom's vehicle. She doesn't need it nor can she afford the insurance and upkeep. Maybe by next summer things will be different. So, how do we do this? Do I have her sign the title over to me? The plates are AZ and I am in IA. Can I renew out of state plates? Any thoughts? Kelly

My daughter is going to buy my dad's ipad. Unfortunately, we don't have my dad's code to get into it. As I said a couple days ago he passed away. What can we do? Kelly

Before your spouse dies please make sure that both spouses know all about the finances. My father passed away on Tuesday. He paid all the bills, had loans in his name only that my mom didn't know about, etc... It is a mess! Kelly

This is one of my son's Senior Pictures. I asked for this specifically. I thought this would be an interesting way to remember senior year..

My dad is back in the hospital. His oxygen levels were so low we think he passed out. My ds17 has been visiting and was able to help him and get the paramedics to the house. My mom was gone at the time. They transferred him from their smaller local hospital to a Phoenix hospital last night. We are going to be there Friday night. My sister who is a nurse in CA is going out there today until we fly in. Kelly

I want people to wear masks in public so that we can keep the hospitals open for people that need to be there for things not Covid related. Back in April I posted about my dad. I was concerned that if he got Covid he wouldn't survive. Well, he doesn't have Covid but he keeps getting pneumonia and also has Valley Fever. VF sounds like something you would die from on Oregon Trail. They keep sending him home too early from the hospital and he keeps ending back in there every 2 weeks for 2 or 3 days. Unfortunately, AZ hospitals are getting full especially where they are. It is frustrating. Kelly

No, I wouldn't have even thought about it.

My daughter's school is doing online, hybrid, and on the ground classes until Thanksgiving and then they go all online. My dd is a double major in Exercise Science and Dance. Her ballet class and Dance Kinesiology class need to be in the classroom. All of her other classes will be fine online, except her Chem lab. The dining services will all be grab and go with some delivery. My dd is in a apartment on campus so she'll be making her own food. She might stay on campus for Thanksgiving break, especially if one of her apartment-mates stays also. Our house isn't set up to have her home. It is possible, but she shares a room with her sister who is a sophomore in HS. Kelly

I swear the emails we got from our school district sounded like: we are actively planning the plan for the plan needed for the plan of the plan that is due July 1. After July 1 we have gotten an email about how they are still planning the plan of the plan and will be sending out surveys to help guide their planning. I would like to HS again but I have a kid graduating this school year. He wants to graduate from that school. My youngest gets good grades but she really just wants to go for the social aspect. ETA - My guess is that our district will say that masks are voluntary. They will give some BS about how they won't let kids be mean to kids wearing masks. And, there will be school as usual. Kelly

Yep, that's how it works. I asked my oldest because we bought her a ticket in November and we used the confirmation number. Now I can get everyone ready. Hopefully, I will remember this for the next time 🙂 Thanks! Kelly

My son's flight is tomorrow and I want to get his boarding pass on his phone. Does he need his own account for the app or will we just sign in using my account since I bought the tickets? Tried Googling this but couldn't find an answer. My girls and I fly out on the dame day he gets back. Is it going to be an issue signing in on more than one phone if it is the same account. I haven't tried it yet because I'm afraid I'll screw something up. Kelly

I don't think it was just that he had to call his mom to get pizza. Here is the quote. Sounds like it was threatened and happened. I know meal cards can be declined for all sorts of reasons, but it does seem like it could have been connected. “I was threatened by Kirk Ferentz that my meal card would be taken away and I will not eat nor be able to sit with my teammates during eating sessions. He did follow through on his threat. I went to use my meal card and it was declined." Why do they still have their jobs? Because Iowa Football is huge. Kirk Ferentz is huge. Athletics are too big to go up against until is can't be ignored. Kelly

I grew my last inch my freshman year in college. To answer the original question. My son has grown a lot in the last year. He's 17. My dh was the tallest kid until puberty and stopped growing. My oldest dd was the same as her dad. The tallest until 14 or so. My son seems to take after my side for growth. Mostly the men in my family. Although I did grow an inch at 18 I'm still only 5'5. Kelly

For sure, agreed.

Wow! I remember watching the news one night about meth labs. Our neighbors in the townhome had all of the signs of having one. I was so happy to move out of there. The fear of an explosion was very real. Kelly

In the 20 years we've lived on this street we've had police activity twice. So, when someone says 2-3 times a month isn't unusual, some of us are concerned. I don't think anyone was trying to be rude. I'm guessing they were shocked. We all have differing comfort levels. Kelly

Yes, we are aware, but it is not part of our daily life. In fact, most of us probably only see neighborhoods with more police activity depicted on cop shows. We lived on a street that did have more police presence about 21 years ago. We shared a townhome with some guys that were doing illegal things. Dealing drugs for sure, possibly making them. Also, there were too many scantily clad young ladies meeting cars out front to not assume there was prostitution. Thr town we've lived in for 20 years now has got to be so boring for our police. So, that living experience and cop shows are my frame of reference for more police presence. Kelly

I've been warning him to exercise early and drink extra water. He is coming from high humidity. There is a pool so that will hopefully help him get outside. Thanks!