really terrible weather

I'm a little worried about the people I know in and around St. Louis, because of all the flooding. I guess one of the upsides to being active on Facebook is you find that stuff out quickly and without having to call or e-mail (or, as I tend to do in "bad" situations, wait for the person to get in touch with me, figuring they have bigger stuff going on). I don't really have time for Facebook and I admit I have railed against some of the tendency for it to be a bit "cliquish" in some ways. But it is a good way, I guess, of finding stuff out fast.

We had some bad weather here in Illinois - Monday morning it started to ice, and the power went off around 10 am. My parents have a generator, which is good, as it kept the sump pump running (then again, they don't have a finished basement, so it would be mostly water on the floor and maybe a few things sitting on the floor damaged). It also allowed the starter for the gas furnace to run and the blower to run, so we had heat. This is the longest they've ever had to rely on the generator, so we learned how many lights (spoiler alert: not very many, especially if the fridge is running) we could have on without the generator starting to make aggrieved noises. Apparently many branches came down on power lines, and while the lines right in their neighborhood are buried, a lot of the "feeder" lines in surrounding areas are not. The power finally came back on yesterday evening, just as we were trying to figure out how we'd manage dinner.

Also, I found out this morning I will have what is called a "bus bridge" to get back to Mineola. The story I was given was, we get off one train in St. Louis, get on buses, are driven to Little Rock, and then get back on another train. (I'm hoping that's right, I might be able to catch a *little* sleep between Little Rock and Mineola then. I'm also hoping the buses are motor coaches - given that they had a bit more lead time to prepare - and not city buses, like the last time this happened, back in 2007 or so). Also, the tire place has not yet called me back about ordering the new tires - I decided just to have two new ones put on. I'm hoping the guy calls soon; I called again today and he said he was "getting around" to ordering them. (This is the kind of stuff that overwhelms me the most; all of the logistical planning to try to make things work out, and me just one person and the fact that I will be far from home and probably tired and stressed out* when all of this is happening). I've already decided Tuesday morning that I'm going to call the nearby motel in Mineola (I stayed there once before) and see if I can reserve a room for Wednesday night, on the assumption I will be too tired to drive safely back home. (And even if I'm not flat exhausted, I will have to deal with the tires too.)

Break was good but there were just a lot of little things that went wrong. But yes, I know, very big things could have been wrong and we have no flooding here and had no tornadoes so I am grateful for that. But I will be happier when the tire guy calls and says that the tires will be there waiting when I get in on Wednesday...

(*One of the big reasons I get a roomette on the train is that being around strangers for long periods of time stresses me out a lot. People are loud, people want to talk when I'd rather be quiet, and so on)