Monday, September 11, 2017

Batten Down The Hatches!



We have no power and the wind is blowing very hard.
The expression "batten down the hatches" is an English expression from sea faring days.  On a ship, the doors were usually left open but when storms were threatening, the doors were closed and then, a rod placed across them to hold in high winds.  I may not be explaining this correctly, but you will forgive me, the winds are whipping against my window with such force, it is hard to concentrate. Since my front door is trying to fly off its hinges at the moment, I can see the common sense of using that metal rod across the door of the ship.  Now, I am in Georgia and this is the first time I have ever experienced a tropical storm, which is what they tell us Hurricane Irma has become now.  Since the wind speed is only 5 miles or so less than a category 1 hurricane, you will forgive me for not appreciating the semantics of the wording...it is just all high winds and rain to me.  I am thinking of what it must have been like for those in Key West, Cuba and Barbuda...some of the places the hardest hit.  


We were in England this time last year...I think the photo above is the same church where they filmed the funeral scene from "Chariots of Fire".  I love that movie so much. If you have never seen it, watch it! You will be glad you did. 

Nave, central and principal part of a Christian church, extending from the entrance (the narthex) to the transepts (transverse aisle crossing the nave in front of the sanctuary in a cruciform church) or, in the absence of transepts, to the chancel (area around the altar). In a basilican church (see basilica), which has side aisles, nave refers only to the central aisle. The nave is that part of a church set apart for the laity, as distinguished from the chancel, choir, and presbytery, which are reserved for the choir and clergy. The separation of the two areas may be effected by screens or parapets, called cancelli. The term nave derives from the Latin navis, meaning “ship,” and it has been suggested that it may have been chosen to designate the main body of the building because the ship had been adopted as a symbol of the church.

Now, I will leave you with a song. (You knew I would!)  It is a most comforting song to me and one that I sing in the car when there is bad weather or bad traffic and I feel afraid.  You are welcome to learn it and sing it also!










36 comments:

  1. Please let us know when it is over that you are safe. I have been thinking of you all day.

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    1. Thanks, all is calm now. Just a lot of folks cleaning up after trees falling. There are still people who don't have power yet. We got ours back on Monday night, thank goodness.

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  2. We came through ok. One tree down in driveway and yard and street flooded, we're right across the street from the Ogeechee, but it's receding now. Stay safe.

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    1. Good, I am glad you are okay! It was scary wind to me, don't know what you think!

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  3. Great sense of humor you have. I loved Chariots of Fire. Stay safe and may the good Lord watch over and protect you.

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    1. God gave me an oversized sense of humor(among other things...LOL). Love Chariots of Fire! Remember the church right in the middle of the road with cars on either side of it? There is another one just down the same road, so it is either this one or the one near it...close enough for me to pose with it.

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    1. Ha, ha...yes, I might be closer to Gilligan than any of the others. Shame, I wish I could be more like Mary Ann or the movie star! (Richard would be the Professor!)

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  5. Yes, Gilligan is funny enough and silly enough to cheer someone up, but i don't want it as a song running through my head.

    Praying it's all over soon and no damage for you.

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    1. Funny, I only think of this song when I am in stress while driving, and then, it goes clear out of my head!
      No damage for us, but many of my friends still have no power.

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  6. Kay, It's hard to believe a tropical storm could go so far inland. I am thankful it is finally dying down....But oh so much damage from Irma and Harvey....I sure Jose goes out to sea. We have had enough...and all those forest fires. Yikes. Blessings, xox, Susie
    p.s. It's been a long time since I have seen that movie...but I would like to again.

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    1. NEVER have I seen a hurricane come right up to Georgia, especially Atlanta! (Even a tropical storm is scary to me.)
      So many things going on in our country, we need to pray, very hard! Blessings to you, Susie. Watch Chariots of Fire again...you know you want to!

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  7. I was thinking about you when I heard Georgia was going to be hit. As always, you have the.best.attitude. Hope all will be fine. I never watched G'sI. Amazing.

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    1. What! You never watched Gilligan's Island! It was a favorite of mine as a kid. The man who wrote the story behind the show also wrote the theme song, his name was Sherwood Schwartz. He also wrote The Brady Bunch!

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  8. We batten down our hatches here too, when a tropical cyclone looms. Hope you stay safe and the storm passes soon. I am sure you were well-prepared for the power outages. Good Luck!

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    1. Yes, I read that you call them cyclones in Australia! Well, thankfully we got our power back late on Monday night, some of my friends aren't so lucky.

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  9. Hope things go OK for you. I've a step-niece and her husband in St Petersburg who made it through alright. And a cousin (retired Coast Guard) in Lake Wales and his wife who were staying put and I haven't heard from them yet.

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    1. Hope all is well for your loved ones, Dennis.
      We are fine but the wind was scary.

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  10. Hi Kay - there's been lots going on and I certainly hope everyone comes through safely - take care ... oddly it's been pretty stormy here in Eastbourne - but nothing compared to the hurricanes tearing through the lands and life ... thinking of you all - Hilary

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    1. I heard about the high winds in Eastbourne. Stay safe!

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  11. I had to laugh! Gilligan's Island theme is something I would have never thought of! Ha! Hope you all didn't suffer any damage from the winds. Seems being with out power is the worst of what people have been experiencing. Take good care !

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    1. Well, sit right back and think about it! HA!
      The schools are still out today because of many having no power and all the trees blocking some roads. Still, it could have been much worse.

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  12. Wishing you safety, Kay. Take care, and let us know how when you are through the storm.

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    1. All is calm now, the storm is past. Folks are now cleaning up. Most of the Florida people have driven back home, I hope their Georgia neighbors showed them every kindness.

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  13. Cyclones aka hurricanes (we call them "cyclones" down this way) aren't fun to be part of. We get our fair share here in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia.

    Stay safe...stay dry, Kay. :)

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    1. Thank you, Lee! And guess, what...Harvey, Irma, Jose...the next named hurricane will be...LEE! That one will just distribute good recipes and kindness, I hope!

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    2. Let's hope I behave myself. The latest I heard is those other two renegades are heading east. I might end up in Portugal....exhausted!! :)

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    3. Lee, I am happy to report that the storm they named "Lee" is going to blow itself out and not make any landfall, thereby causing no harm. I am so glad for your name!

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  14. I hope the storm passes by without too much damage.

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    1. The schools have been out all week but I think most of them will start back tomorrow (Friday). This area had a lot of trees down and the power lines went down with them. We lost our power for just that Monday, but some folks are just getting their electricity back today!

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  15. I have been thinking about you and other blogging friends as Irma has worked its way north. What an awful storm, and it has harmed so many people and devastated lives. I'm glad that you and Richard came through all right.

    I still remember my first which was Hurricane Hazel that hit Canada in 1954. The center of the storm hit Upper Canada, but we felt its effects in Charlottetown, PEI. I remember Dad going outside with a hurricane lamp saying that he had to batten down the hatches. The storm toppled the big chestnut trees across the street. But I remember it most because the Tooth Fairy couldn't fly through the hurricane to get my tooth waiting under my pillow.

    Have a good one, my friend! Glad you're safe!

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    1. Oh poor Louise, looking under her pillow for the gift from the tooth fairy and finding just her tooth! Perhaps she made it the next night?
      Take care yourself and I thank you for thinking of us!

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    2. She did make it the next night!

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  16. Well it's been a few days since you made this post, so I hope the weather has calmed down and you're doing much better now.

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    1. Thanks, Mark. It is all clean up now, there are leaves and limbs everywhere!

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  17. I hope you were not badly affected by the hurricane. Brings back memories for me of sheltering behind Cuba when at sea with my husband.

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