Odds and Ends

The weather forecast predicted tornadoes for our area again today (Thursday), and the skies looked as though it might come true, but despite wind and torrential rains, the violent storms veered to our right and went easterly. Thank Heaven for that (with apologies to those in the path of today's storms.) When I went to work this morning, I drove through one of the areas hardest hit on April 16th. It still looks like a war zone, although progress has been made. I cannot imagine what it looks like in Tuscaloosa right now, since I know that seeing it on television bears little resemblance to the devastation seen in real life. My prayers go out for them. 

The Earth is angry. Whatever it is that we are doing to upset her should be stopped, and quickly. Gaia is rebelling at our misdeeds and bad thoughts. As the old advertisement goes....."It's not nice to fool Mother Nature."

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Are you watching American Idol?  Who is your favorite?  They are all good this season, so it is hard for me to pick one winner. I got excited tonight when I saw (on Facebook) that the tour dates for the summer had been set - and discovered they are coming to Raleigh!! Now I just have to find out the cost of the tickets.....lol.  I guess Scotty fans will fill the arena, and I am one of them. He's not extremely well-rounded as a singer; it seems everything he sings takes on a country flair, but he's so good and so cute it doesn't matter. Country is my least favorite music, but I'll make an exception for Scotty and for Carrie Underwood.

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 I worked for a new (to me) flower shop last week. I was there when I found out my cat had to be put down. Imagine getting that phone call in the midst of people you only met the day before; crying as if your heart would break, and trying to make decisions about burial/cremation/ashes saved or not. It was horrendous - although none of them could have been any nicer to me. I opted for letting the vet take care of the cremation and dispose of the ashes; our land is composed of clay and rock, and I can't even dig in it for flowers, let alone a grave. I didn't ask the vet what all of that would cost, but I should have.

when I went in on Monday to pay the bill, I got a big surprise. It was much higher than I thought it would be. So, on top of being so sad about losing my cat, I had to pay through the nose for the privilege. I will know what to do the next time an animal of mine gets ill. I'll do the burial myself, somehow. Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel as though I've been taken advantage of - and I don't like it. Have you had bad experiences along these lines? What did you do?

Weddings on April 16th

This ceremony was supposed to be held outside, but we were grateful that they had made the decision to move it indoors, since all hell broke loose soon after. More about that later.

I had to make 15 - count 'em - 15 of these kissing balls. Whew!! They are labor intensive.

Mel decorated the arch and made the arrangements to flank the arch.

The bride's tossing bouquet of white calla lilies.

Half of the tables had these tall calla arrangements.......

and half of them had these low centerpieces.

This was one of the pew markers for the first wedding; it was the only decent photo I got of this one. I loved the colors; all purple, lavender  and cream. Raleigh and the surrounding areas turned into "tornado alley" for several hours this afternoon.

Mel and I returned to his shop after having delivered two weddings at 3:00 pm. The storms were brewing, so I left to drive the 13.5 miles home. It was very dark and windy, with a bit of rain, but not too much. As soon as I arrived (3:45), mr. kenju told me about the tornado warnings on TV, and we sat down to watch the reports. Mel called at about 4:15, to check on me and I told him I had heard of damage to an area of town that is only 1/4 mile from his shop, so he drove back there to check on it. The power was out, but the building was okay, unlike many in that area. It gives me the willies to know that I drove home through the eventual path of the storm, preceding it by about 20-30 minutes. We have no damage at all; just some broken tree branches and leaf debris. I did see some insulation and torn shingles in our yard, but it didn't come from our house. I wonder if the storm deposited it far from where it was gathered. I drove out later to go to the grocery and saw a lot more of that foam insulation in the streets and yards of my neighborhood. We were lucky and I am very grateful that we sustained no damage and that I got home without incident. Many people here were not so lucky; five have died and many homes and businesses are damaged. (Don't ask me why the text went all wonky - I didn't do it!)

  

Quotes + Thunderstorms

Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?'
Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?'
Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?'
But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?'
And there comes a time when one must take a
position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor
popular but one must take it because one's
conscience tells one that it is right.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

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A child's education should begin at least one hundred years before he is born.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., poet, novelist, essayist, and physician (1809-1894)

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We've had lots of storms and rolling thunder nearly all afternoon, so I had to turn off the computer. It took me almost 45 minutes to get it going again and I am so frustrated! After running C-cleaner, it is somewhat faster, but I don't know how long that will last. According to the weatherman, we are in for more storms tonight, so I'm cutting this short just in case I have to turn off the computer again. Catch you tomorrow.

Oh, Look ~ Another New Creek

The last time I wrote about the creek that forms behind my house any time we have a storm, it was Hurricane Alberto's fault. This time, it is Tropical Storm Hanna that came to visit. She wasn't as hard-hearted as the weather people thought she would be, so the photos are not as dramatic today, but interesting, nonetheless. We had about 4-5 inches of rain; sorely needed and we are grateful to have it. Last year's drought must be almost abated by now.

I had to brave the light drizzle Saturday morning, to empty at least 4" of water from the pool, as well as a lot of leaves and debris. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, so we must not have had too much wind Friday night (no matter what mr. kenju says he heard). I saw one tree down in my neighborhood, but I haven't driven all the way through it either, so there could be more. With Ike and Josephine hard on Hanna's heels, who knows what we might have next week??!!

Driving to the airport Sunday morning, on the way to pick up my brother-in-law, I passed the small lakes off Airport Road and the water level was higher than I've seen them in almost two years. That's a very good sign! BIL had been on a golfing trip to Pinehurst with his coworkers, despite the threat of torrential rains. Hanna notwithstanding, they were able to play for four days (before, during and after the storm passed). We've had a good visit and I cooked a pretty good dinner: pork chops, crash hot potatoes (recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman) green beans, good bread and lemon cake and ice cream for dessert. Too bad he has to leave this morning, since we enjoy his visits very much.