I have a new appreciation for a number of things after living through the Ike aftermath in Houston.

• The ability to go to the grocery store!  Just like the rest of us, most grocery stores were without power for a few days following the storm.  Once they opened up, they were super busy, many running out of essentials like milk and bread.  I went on Wednesday to get milk for the kid (one thing that I can't stock up on in advance) and luckily it wasn't too bad.  But it's a weird feeling to realize that you can't just "run out" and grab something.
• The ability to buy gas (without waiting in a three hour long line). 
  This isn't the greatest picture, but that's the line for gas on Wednesday.  The gas station is way off to the left of the picture.  Today, the husband didn't have to wait in any long lines for gas, so we can breathe a little more easily as we drive from place to place.

• My office.  The complex that houses my office took on substantial water damage, so we spent yesterday moving out.  The building is uninhabitable so we are moving to another building.  It took the better part of the day to get things moved over.  I will no longer have an office, but I will have a space, and my staff will all be officed in one big room.  It could be worse, don't get me wrong, but it will be a bit of a transition for all of us.  As of right now, we don't have any furniture, or power still, so it is unknown when we will get to go back to work.
• My routine!  I always realize in these situations what a creature of habit I am!  I was so glad when the kid could go back to school yesterday and I can't wait to go back to work and get back into a routine.  Though, I am grateful for a day off today.

Those are a few things that I appreciate even more now!  There are still over a million households without power.  My friends that had a new baby on Monday have one of those households, so we have converted our master bedroom into a resting place for a newborn and his family.  I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival as I type.  I know that this isn't what they envisioned when they imagined bringing the baby home from the hospital, but we hope to make the best out of a bad situation!  This is the friend that I'm making the quilt for, so I've also been trying to finish that up!  Just 14 more quilting lines (don't know the formal term for that, if there is one) and then the binding.  I am hoping to at least get to the point of blind-stitching by the end of the weekend!