Saying yes...

It is 63 and raining again... and it’s July 8th. WTF??

While not a fan or the scorching heat and oppressive humidity that often accompanies a Midwestern summer... this eternal Meh is bizarre. My heat-loving annuals are losing the battle to the cold and moisture-loving weeds.

We think we're in charge. We're not

This past Thursday was a hot and sunny day. Rain was in the forecast, but it didn't seem like it was a possibility. At some point after 3, the sun was replaced with an ominous black. I was thinking of my eldest lamblet who was walking home from school. I knew she didn't have an umbrella. Then the sirens went off. I ran for the car hoping I would find her, wondering if I was stupid for leaving. She was a mere house away from home when I went out on the driveway. I hauled her and the dog into the basement when it sounded as if all hell broke loose. Not a more than 5 or so minutes later I went up to see what it was. It had not sounded like a tornado, but stuff was obviously being tossed about. The patio chairs were everywhere, the garbage cans were across the street in the neighbor's yard and trees had been beaten to pieces. Although there were tornadoes in the area, none had touched down. We had been hit with freakish, out of nowhere, 80 mph winds. The 6 inches of rain came throughout the rest of the evening.

Luckily, we were all safe. My eldest lamblet got home, Grizzled made it home many hours later on a train that was still working and was able to go across a bridge that was not yet washed out. Our youngest lamblet spent the worst portion of the storm on school lockdown. After she was finally released she was driven home, along with many other freaked out kids, by a bus driver that had to improvise his route due to the fact that nearly every street was blocked. He got her here though. He looked as if he had seen the face of God.

Again, we were very lucky. We were only without electricity for 20 some hours. Many around us still don't have it. Our cable, phones and internet were back up after about 40. The lamblets and I drove around a little bit on Friday since school was closed. Grizzled had gone out earlier in the morning and reported that tree debris was everywhere. You could not look down a street without seeing massive tree debris or entire uprooted trees. I thought he was exaggerating. He was not. Almost every street I went down looked like it was lined with lovely hedgerows, the hedgerows being 5 ft piles of limbs, leaves, etc. The streets were all covered with wood splinters. It looked like a mulching truck had been driving around with it's back gate open. It was amazing. I've seen tornado damage, I've seen storm damage, but I have never seen so much tree damage... block after block for a couple of miles in any direction of severely damaged trees.

I keep stressing how lucky we were. Unlike many others who experience damage from storms, my family sprang back fairly fast. The day or two though without power, a connection to the outside world, no use of gas stations or stores, was a reminder of how fragile our daily framework is and how so much of our comfort is just smoke and mirrors.

Ho-ly crap

I'm back. We were very, very fortunate. I'll write more about it later. In the meantime.

The 2am thunderstorms have GOT to stop!

I was snapped out of my blissful sleep in the wee hours by yet another "raising the dead" thunderstorm. We've been having them consistently for about a week+. I can't take much more. I usually love a good thunderstorm and even love sleeping to them, but these... these are of a different caliber. These are not the mellow, rumbling storms, these are the gun shots beside your head storms. These are the storms that threaten to waken you with a heart attack.

I awoke around 2 AM to the sound of something LOUD only to notice the dog was standing on the bed right next to me. I then looked out the window and noticed the view was clear. Didn't there used to be a big maple out there?? Oh! It's back, it's just bending like a palm in the wind.

Around 4 AM there was the unmistakable noise of thunder followed by all power going off. In the calm of the house I heard Grizzled say, "The electricity is out and it's the first day of school. This ought to be interesting." I drifted back to sleep around 5 only to have Grizzled wake me at 6 and tell me he had gone out and bought coffee. It was waiting for me downstairs. He also removed the large branch that was blocking the neighbor's driveway and had called ComEd to report the outage. He's a good man.

It's sunny right now... sunny and extremely humid. There are storms in the forecast for tonight. There are storms in the forecast for the rest of the week. I just hope some come during the day. I can't take much more of being awakened like that in the middle of the night. It's taking its toll. I seem to be developing two lovely streaks of gray up the sides of my forehead.

Odds and ends

I have a smattering of things to put forth... none of them fully-baked... so I'll just ramble which is what I do best anyhow. Grizzled calls me the Queen of the Non Sequitur. I guess someone's gotta do it or be it.

Anyhow, I am proud to announce that I am kicking off the new season of Celeb Dream Cameos over at 3Bulls! Woo-hoo!!! Who knew that dreams that were well over a decade and half old... (maybe even older), would bring me such riches, such honors! I still cringe a tad thinking about them, but know the possibility for *cringement* has significantly been upped now that they are in Pinko's twisted hands!

Weekend blogging will be light if not missing altogether... lots of stuff going on. I think I'd rather sleep, but apparently sleeping is not in the stars. It may be January, but the holidays keep rolling along. I should have been a bear.

And... speaking of January, it's raining. AGAIN. It's in the 50's and has been for the past 3 weeks. December started out so promising. I actually thought we might get a winter! I know, I know, it's early. I would just like to have my winter during winter. I am not fond April snow and it seems like that is usually what we get when we have this kind of weather at this point in the season.

I'm almost jealous of Denver. I'd like at least one snow day this year... just one day where you have permission to turn off the the responsibilities of the outside world. The way it looks, we won't be having a snow day, but maybe a mud day...

Okay, I'm off.

Blah, blah, blah

I had a couple of ideas about things to post, but it's gray and rainy... again... and I just can't seem to keep a thought in my head. Maybe later today I'll get something down... maybe tomorrow... maybe next month.