I was shocked to find all the Starbucks closed here in Gainesville with signs saying “Closed Due to Weather” — weird. All schools were closed, also, but I get that — they didn’t want people trying to get back in town from the Labor Day weekend, causing further traffic problems with those trying to leave the state.

I ended up not doing anything to prepare other than making sure we had water and gas in the car. The highest winds predicted here are 20 mph. Don’t need to bring in lawn furniture for that! Of course, there will be branches down. The live oaks around here are so stressed from all the rain that it won’t take much for limbs to snap.