On April 27, 2011, I watched through my studio window as an EF-5 tornado (one of many that day) approached the back of my neighborhood. It was rain-wrapped, so although I couldn't really see the actual tornado, I knew it was there by the lightning and debris cloud that circled it.

I didn't watch for long. As I saw it coming closer, I grabbed the dog and went to the center of my house - a small coat closet. I sat there, holding on to the doorknob (really? That was going to help? LOL) as the tornado passed within 100 yards or so of my house, hoping and praying that I would be one of the lucky ones that day.

Fortunately, I am one of the lucky ones. My house and my family were spared. We have some minor damage to our property, but that's just a small inconvenience. Many surrounding us lost everything. Our neighbors in the back of our subdivision lost portions of their houses. The neighborhoods just north and east of ours which were in the direct path of this tornado lost more.

Because of the tornadoes that day (more than 50 in Alabama alone, by last count - and I'm not sure they're done counting yet) most of northern Alabama was without electricity for at least a week. There was no phone service, no cell phone reception. Luckily, we had water. The hard part is that we had no way to contact family and friends to check on them, or to let them know we were okay.

If you want more information on the tornadoes, you can Google "Hackleburg tornado" - this is the tornado that affected us. It is classified as an EF-5 (maximum winds of 210 mph), got up to at least 1.25 miles wide and traveled for over 132 miles on the ground. This tornado alone killed at least 70 people, seven nine of them in my community.

We now have electricity although we all need to conserve as the power grid is very fragile right now because of storm damage. Neighbors are still helping neighbors clean up and cope. If you believe in the Red Cross or other charities that help in disaster situations, please consider donating if you can.

And one important suggestion: I cannot stress enough the importance of having a weather radio with fresh batteries in it. We lost power at the house early in the day, hours before the tornado that affected us came by. The weather radio is the only thing I had to let me know what was going on. It told me that a tornado was on the ground and I was able to take shelter. If you don't have one, they're only about $30 and believe me, they are worth it.

And that was more than I intended to write about that. Suffice it to say that we are indeed very fortunate and I count my blessings every day!

Truly, there's no place like home.