Stormy Weather, too.

Yesterday was another stormy day, as the rest of the week is forecast to be.  Yesterday’s storm was kind of unique, though.  We had a “rolling cloud” come directly over us, and I got pictures!

The pictures progress from the time I noticed something weird on the horizon and grabbed the camera, to the point when the cloud had moved all the way over us, and the cold rain started pelting down.  If this works right, you should be able to click on the thumbnail to see a larger version of the picture.

Stormy weather

The weather guy on the telly says it’s because the jet stream has an unusual dip in it, down into Texas, but then flattens out just over the Ohio Valley.  Plus, there’s a high sitting out in the ocean just off the coast, the backside of which is dragging the moisture from the gulf up under the jet stream, and a cold front stalled just to the west that’s causing the moisture to condense and dump on our heads.  Everyone along the southern edge of the jet stream, from western Oklahoma all the way up into New England, is getting it!

We certainly got it last night. About 18:00, the wind started whipping up, and the EAS broke in on the cable to announce a tornado warning for our entire area.  I made the kids (Matt had his girlfriend over) and dogs go down to the basement, and I stepped out into the yard to see what I could see.  What I saw was a huge mass of clouds, very low in the sky, with cloud-to-ground lightning flashing constantly all around it.  I didn’t actually see any rotation, but I think what I was seeing was a side view of the wall cloud which was causing all the fuss.  It was a couple of miles to the north and west of us, near Keenland and the airport, so as it moved east, all we got was some wind, a little spatter of rain, and a really impressive light show.  The Jessamine County weather sirens went off, too, for maybe the third time ever that I can remember in the 17 years we’ve lived in this house.  We actually live in Fayette County, but the Jessamine County line is literally two blocks from us, and we can hear their weather sirens better than the ones in Fayette. After that little bit of excitement, we all wandered back to our normal places, and ignored the weather for the rest of the evening.

A little after 02:00, I peeked out the kitchen window and saw the trees whipping around again, and lighting off to the west.  I stepped out onto the deck and sat down on one of the wicker chairs to watch the light show (bad idea, the water hides in the wicker, and my butt got soaked).  I had been out for maybe 20 minutes when I heard the wind and rain coming in, FAST.  All of a sudden the treetops started whipping around, and the first giant drop of rain splatted on my arm. In less than a second, the rain had swooped in and was pounding on me.  I jumped up and dashed through the door, back into the safety of the kitchen.  As I turned around and shut the door behind me, I saw headlights coming down the drive.  Larry was home.  He said he’d driven through patches of heavy rain, and patches of no rain at all.  It was weird.

We sat up and watched the storm through the living room windows for an hour or so.  Matt got up and wandered in to sit with us shortly after the storm started.  He said that a tornado had been sighted very near his girlfriend’s house.  He was nervous about her safety, understandably. For at least an hour, the Jessamine County weather sirens sounded every 5 minutes.  Unheard of.  Eventually, the storm died down, and we all settled down for bed.

I was jerked out of a sound sleep at 06:13 by a bolt of lightning striking just outside my window.  The thunderclap was nearly simultaneous. I opened the blind, and settled back to watch the show.  It was a good one.  Eventually, I fell back asleep.

When I finally woke, around 11:00, the sun was weakly peeking through the clouds, though that didn’t last long.  Now, there is heavy cloud cover again, and more severe storms predicted for this afternoon and evening.

I like a good storm as much as the next person, but come on guys, don’t you think this has been quite enough?

In between storms yesterday, I went and got my hair trimmed.  The price of the haircut includes a style, and my stylist loves to play with my hair.  I don’t mind. This time he went a little curl crazy, which is funny, because with all the wind, rain, and humidity, it would have done this all by itself! 

My stylist went a little curl crazy after my haircut.

Lost friends, found

I’ve spent a goodly number of hours the last three days catching up with an online friend whom I thought had disappeared from the “blogosphere”.   A mutual friend posted a link back to our friend’s blog, with a bit of really spectacular news, and I had to dig back into his posts and catch up with what was going on.

As with most people, there were good times and bad times, but for now, the good times seem to be in the majority, thank <deity of your choice>.

I can’t seem to stop grinning at their good news, and the fact that I’ve found them once again.

In fact, I’m inspired to start writing on my online journal again (he never would call it a blog, he always called it his ‘online journal’).

How about a picture to start?  Matt is playing Mr. Carnes in the homeschool group’s production of “Oklahoma”.  Here he is in his ‘wedding’ costume (I made the vest and the western-style bow tie, if you can believe it):

Matt's 'wedding' costume.

Notes to Self

Note to Self:
Homemade hummus is delicious, and WAY cheaper than the store-bought stuff.

Note to Self:
You can NOT make hummus in a blender, I don’t care what the recipe says.  Just get the big food processor out to begin with so you don’t have to clean both of them.

Note to Self:
Your finger works as well, if not better, than a silicone spatula to get hummus out of the bottom of the food processor, and it’s easier to clean.

Note to Self:
When using your finger to get hummus out of the bottom of the food processor, take the blade out first.  Fortunately, my brain kicked in a second or so before I shoved my finger in, so I avoided bodily harm – this time.

Someday I’m going to compile all my NtS into a book, and get rich.  Someday.

 

Pies of war?

Do you have any idea how much shampoo it takes to get peanut butter pie out of hair as thick and long as mine?  A lot.

Larry and I have spent the day playing around, teasing each other.  I got the upper hand, and when we went into the kitchen for drinks, he threatened me playfully with the last piece of Supreme Peanut Butter Pie.  I threatened him with dire consequences, all within our well established household version of the Geneva Convention.  Suddenly, the pie hit me in the side of the face, full force!

Matt had reached up under Larry’s arms and shoved his hands, pushing the pie onto the side of my face, glasses, and hair.

After a moment of shock, I suppressed my laughter and decided to take the high road.  As I regally removed myself from the kitchen, I heard Larry squeak to Matt, “What did you do THAT for?!?”

Matt squeaked back, “But… you looked like you wanted to do it so badly!”