Just a brief message to up-date all my on-line friends about Gustav--HE HAD LANDED, in a small community in Terrebonne Parish, the parish right next to my hometown in Lafourche Parish.  Cocodrie  is the name of the town, and they are going through a rough time right now.

Our daughters informed us this morning that they have been without power since around 6am today, having rain and strong winds through the night and, of course, still today.  Thankfully, they haven't experienced any flooding where they are.  One of our sons is farther "down the bayou" and probably has experienced some flooding or soon will--we haven't heard from him yet today.

We are experiencing some rain (not very hard, but fairly constant) and high winds in gusts.  There are many broken branches around here, but we haven't seen anything too big on the ground--YET!  We have filled our watering tank with water in case the power goes out--this will give us water for cleaning and flushing toilets and so forth.  Of course, we also have a supply of drinking water and water for cooking as well.  Of course, if (when) the power goes out, cooking will not be an option until the bad weather passes completely.  I have an electric stove, so that will go out with the power.  We do have a generator ready to be put on if we need it, but that will not allow us to use the stove; however, we do have a microwave which can be used on a temporary basis with the generator.  Also, when the weather clears, we can use our gas grill outside as needed.

As far as we know, all our kids are doing OK; Mom and Paul are fine, too, and Rick is in AR with his family and doing OK.  Sandie and Ben are here, as you know, and the rest of their family is doing fine.  Todd, Sandie's husband, is at Ochsner Hospital because of his work responsibilities there (he's a computer specialist); Kate and Jeremiah are with his family in North Louisiana, so they're OK, too.

Speaking of Paul, TODAY is his BIRTHDAY!  I did call him this morning and I want to wish him a fantastic birthday.  He'll surely have something to remember in his future--he celebrated with Gustav!  Love ya, Paul!

That's it for now.  More as I can!  Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes.