UPDATE

Due to Hurricane Gustav, we've not been able to work on uploading the store. There have been serious power outages and flooding in Monroe, where we live, and we've no Internet connection at the house. We hope to have the site up and running by this afternoon, now that we have Internet again, but we'll have to wait and see.

We moved to Louisiana five years ago, in 2003, so we were here for Katrina and Rita. We didn't see much action from those hurricanes, other than the influx of evacuees into town. The Fant-Ewing Coliseum at the University of Louisiana at Monroe was used as a special needs shelter then, and it is now. During Katrina and Rita, the University itself took in almost 1,000 students so they could graduate on time. Monroe also has two other big shelters, so there were a fair amount of evacuees in town, some of whom stayed. We were in Jackson, MS, over the weekend, so I couldn't say how the evacuee numbers this time compare to those last time.

But I know this: we've seen a lot more action from Gustav. A LOT more action - power outages, flooding, gators, snakes. It's been raining since Saturday, so I understand, and it's barely let up. We've gotten almost 7 inches of rain in the last day and half, which has caused a lot of problems. Not only does a river run through Monroe, between Monroe and West Monroe (the Ouachita River), Monroe is surrounded by swamp. And the whole state is either at or below sea level! So a little rain can do a hell of a lot of damage.

Yet, we're lucky - as a state, and as individuals, we are lucky. This hurricane has not been nearly as catastrophic as Katrina and Rita were. But it's done its damage, and now we must assess.

Keep checking back - hopefully we'll be online today, at www.ruestdivine.com. You can email us at ruestdivine@yahoo.com if you have questions!