Flood Update - part two

What a difference a day makes. On Friday, the DOT reopened the north and south-bound I-5 lanes. We were free to travel again. We drove by the Chehalis Inn (see last post's photos) and we saw that the water had completely receded - it was as if someone had just pulled the stopper out of a drain (apologies for the over-used analogy, but hey it fits). So, as my dad says, we blew this popsicle stand (i.e. got the heck out of town).

We drove down to Longview and ate a late lunch at Muchos Gracias. And then it was on to Black Buggy Furniture. The furniture shop is hidden back in the woods near the hamlet of Rainier, OR. To be honest, we drove by it and Scott considered forgoing the stop. The shop is just a metal shed-type building and there are a couple of Amish buggies parked nearby. I told Scott we needed to stop since this was the whole reason we had left home for the day. So we parked the car and went inside. What a contrast between the outside of this business and the inside. The interior was warm and cozy and smelled like wood and cinnamon.

The owner has family living in Ohio that takes care of many of the dealings with the Amish craftsmen and the inventory on the floor is just a sample to get you thinking of all of the possibilities that are sitting in catalogues - one for each craftsman or company back in Ohio. We went in to the store looking for a dining table and buffet but walked out instead with an order for a Mission style secretary, a chair for the desk and also a quilt rack in that matching Mission style.

I'm probably just as excited about the quilt rack as the secretary. I think that quilt racks are very country-decor, which is just not me, but I really want some way to show off the quilt that Great-Grandma made for us when we got married. I hope the rack we bought won't seem out of place in our house. The quilt is really too beautiful to be in a closet.

Flood update

Well, here we go again. Another winter and another flood. Claire and I went out for a little while today to see just where we could get to and how bad the flooding was this time around. This winter, compared to the flooding in December 2007, the water seems to have come in more slowly (last time a dike broke and the water just rushed into Chehalis) and people appear to have taken the warnings to heart and gotten out while they could. I think that the situation is infuriating. You don't hear people asking why or demanding solutions. And that is exactly what I want for this community - answers and solutions. I can't imagine how communities here in Lewis County can keep rebuilding and finding ways to survive these yearly floods. We are once again cut off from the remainder of the I-5 corridor by freeway closures to the north and to the south of us.

Of course, there are businesses that may be benefiting from the isolation. The Safeway parking lot has been packed for two days - with the closure of Fullers it is the only grocery store accessible during flooding. Claire and I ate lunch at the Chehalis Deli today and we certainly weren't alone. I think all of the likewise flood-gawkers had detoured there to get a warm sandwich and a cup of soup. The Deli was packed and every table was occupied by people talking about the flooding. It is a sad source of conversation, especially in these dismal economic times.