7 Days

Since the last time I managed to post anything here.

Froggy, you must be slipping.  You haven't reminded me once.  :)

Last Thursday, there was a really bad storm.  It was pretty much totally unexpected and it was actually starting to become tornadic at one point.

There was almost no warning.  It was lunchtime and I had thought about going out for lunch but decided to stay in and I'm glad I did.  We had rain chances but nothing bad was expected.  The first hint was when my cell phone started making the Alert sound - it is very loud and very shrill.  The entire screen said "TORNADO WARNING. TORNADO IN THE AREA."  It wasn't raining or anything, I turned the radio on and they were doing the normal mid-afternoon show.  I thought that the cell service provider must have had a problem and sent out a bad message by mistake.  And that's when the Tornado Sirens started sounding.  When they go off, it's best to pay attention and take cover.  The boss was in his office but had heard my phone alert so he was coming up the hallway to see what the noise was, when the sirens started.  He ran back towards his office for his phone and I was already in the area we decided is the safest spot - the bathroom which is on a north outside wall but the center of the building is a glassed-in atrium and the glass makes it a very unsafe spot.  Bill called me at that point, he was at home and was watching the noon news.  They were on the storm warning by that point and they were calling out the exact area of Tulsa I work in as being in the firing line of a rotating cloud.  He was telling me what the news said and I was telling the Boss.  Then the cloud started to move more south and not southeast, and the rotation stopped.  At that point, they cancelled the tornado warning but were still putting out a lot of warnings in the direction the cloud was moving because of the fact the cloud had shown rotation already.

The Boss opened the garage door to check the sky and by that time,the cloud was right there.  It was well east of us and we were safe, but it was still pretty scary to look at.  These pictures were taken with my cell phone and make it look a lot lighter than it actually was.

No, these are not "Hey Y'all Redneck Last Word pictures!

After the cloud had moved a little further south, that's when the real storm hit.  The one that was behind the rotation.  The rain was very sudden and very, very heavy.  The wind was even worse.  There were trees ripped out of the ground all over Tulsa and the surrounding areas, trees that were broken into pieces, limbs thrown everywhere.  It was a very, very severe storm.  I've seen rain forced sideways by wind before, but not like this.  Of course, Otter was at J's house and that particular town was right in the direction the cloud and storm were headed next.  They were aware of the weather and stayed inside, ready to take cover.  J's house was ok, but there were two incidents that were confirmed to be the work of a small tornado in the general area.

When I got home, which took a while because of several street lights that were out and also because of debris in the road in some spots, we still had power but we also had limbs down in the back yard.  But  there was one place in particular, a church in south Tulsa that literally had a wall ripped off just because of the wind.  Bill's dad had a tree limb down in their back yard - but they don't have any trees.  It was split off of a neighbor's tree, then the wind carried it over the fence and into their yard.  It was not a small limb, either.  Parts of the Tulsa area and surrounding area just had power restored today, Monday.  Bill cut up the limbs from our tree Saturday and also helped his dad with the one in his yard.  Most of it is now in our woodpile, Bill thinks we got about 1/3 of a rick out of it.

Yesterday, Sunday, Bill mowed the yard.  I was standing beside the rock garden when a grasshopper bounced by me.  And landed right in the center of a zigzag spider's web on the trellis!  I had not even seen the web, it was so well camoflauged in the honeysuckle.  Pretty much as soon as the grasshopper landed, the spider was on it.  She moved like lightning and had the grasshopper wrapped completely in silk in just a couple of seconds.  It was amazing to watch her.  Then she moved it to another spot in the web and then a few hours later when I was walking around the yard with the beagle I checked on the spider and she was happily consuming the grasshopper's innards which were probably liquified by that point.  I hope she stays around.  She's probably not quite quarter sized yet, and they can get much bigger.  She can stay in our trellis and eat all the bugs she wants!

Vacation Recap

I actually had intended to blog more last week when I was off work.  Didn't happen, obviously. :)

Anyway.  It was a good vacation.  Last summer's vacation was dominated by some really bad stuff that was happening at Bill's job and it was really bad.  Last December's vacation wasn't as bad, but Bill was sick for several days and that wasn't fun.  I really, really, REALLY needed a good vacation.

Otter had a car trouble incident that turned out to be somewhat minor.  When I was still driving that car, last summer in fact, there were two times when it wouldn't start.  Bill thought maybe that it wasn't totally in park - or at least the sensor didn't think so.  Bill suggested that I try to move the gear to R and then back to P if it did it again.  It did and I did, the car started fine after that and then we didn't have any more problems with it.  Then it started doing it again after it became Otter's car.  The trick worked for her, then it stopped working and Bill went to where she was a few times - and it worked perfectly as soon as he tried to start it.  He did some researching and thought maybe it was the starter sensor or possibly the starter itself.  Then it was fine again and we all kind of forgot about it.  Last Wednesday, Otter came over and we went to the not exactly next door town to pick up J.  We shopped there, then went into Tulsa and shopped some more, then we eventually wound up back at home.  Otter and J left in her car, and they eventually wound up back at his house.  She was going to leave about 8:30 p.m. to head home and the car would not start.  At all.  She tried Bill's trick and after about half an hour, she called me.  She said she really didn't want to call because she knew the car would be fine as soon as Bill got there.  But this time, it wouldn't start for him either.  He spent about 30 minutes attempting to start it and he took the starter sensor from my car to see if that was the problem.  But the sensor for my car wasn't the same size as her car's sensor.  Since her car was in a safe spot - J's mom's driveway, we wound up leaving it there.  We took her home and looked up Chevy dealers that were within her AAA towing limit.  There was one in the small town the car was in, I picked her up very early (like 6:00 a.m. early) and we went back to the not exactly next door small town.  The car started on the first try, so she drove it to our small town and I followed her.  We went to a local Chevy dealership and they thought it was either the starter or the sensor.  They never could duplicate the problem, but they agreed with Bill that the sensor was the most likely problem because the starter itself looks good.  Which is a good thing, as the starter would be about $900.00 to replace.  The replaced the sensor and Otter's been watching it since then.  So far so good, but she's not going too far from home.

Bill cleaned the carpet in the living room last week, when we moved the loveseat to the opposite side of the living room a few weeks ago it was very obvious that the carpet needed to be cleaned.  The last time we cleaned it was 3 years ago I think.  The area under the loveseat was much lighter than the rest of the carpet.  Now it all matches.  He's going to get the hallway in the next few days.  I would like to do the yarn room again but he just cleaned it in January so it's probably ok for a while.

I did a little shopping in the area but didn't really buy much.  I spent some time crocheting, which was good, and we mostly just goofed off.  It was a pretty good week, actually.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

It was actually a very tall, fluffy pile.

I think I should have gone just a slight bit shorter, but it works.  I like it and that's what matters.  But my hair is doing what it is known for - springing up and I still have my TEXAS Big Hair!

Tuesday. Day 2 of Stay at Home Vacation

Not a staycation!  I dislike that word intently.

Anyway.  Yesterday was a lot of fun, we went to Bill's dad & stepmom's for the 4th.  Bill's niece, her husband and kids were here to visit and it was nice to get to see them.  Otter had to work, but she came over to join everyone when she got off work.  Bill and I both try to stay out of the sun, redhead complexion and sunlight don't mix very well.  He was not really in the sun very long but his face is pretty red.  I was not in it at all, but I was sitting close enough to the pool that the reflected light got me a little pink as well.  Just on my right side.  Bill said I have one raccoon eye (because of my glasses) and I have a patchy sunburn on my right shoulder because of my shirt strap plus my upper right arm.  Not a bad sunburn for either of us and we've been using a lot of aloe vera gel but Bill has to be very careful because he tends to get skin cancers.

We slept in a little bit this morning, we both woke up around 7:00.  After breakfast, Bill got the back yard mowed and I did a little work on the honeysuckle bed/trellis.  Yes, he wore his hat with the flap covering his neck.  And he also hollered at me because I forgot my hat - I'm always getting on him about his, so he wasted no time in returning the favor!  :)

I had to run to wallyworld for carpet cleaner, since we're going to clean the carpet on Thursday.  Possibly Friday.  Anyway, since I was there I went ahead and got the few grocery items I needed.  Walmart is already clearing out the summer stuff - pool toys, sun block, etc., and stocking school supplies.  It's only July 5!  But I did discover half-price chocolate candy, since the holiday was yesterday and the packages were decorated with the American flag.  I grabbed several bags, I don't have a deep freeze any longer but it WILL last us a while.  Yes, Bill.  IT WILL.

Tomorrow is my play day.  The only day I actually planned an activity during my vacation week.  I'm going shopping with Otter!  Bill is going to stay home, he's not into the shopping thing.  I don't think it's going to be an all day event, but we are going to one of the not exactly next door but close (sort of) small towns because they have a couple of antique stores I've been wanting to check out.  We may go to a book store in Tulsa and we may go to a thrift store or two.  We'll figure that out tomorrow.

And now I'm going to go back to my crochet.  Then I might just follow Maggie Moo's example and take a nap!

July 4, 2016

Once a Week

I have been posting here about once a week, on average.  There just isn't anything spectacular or unusual going on.  Just normal life!

But I'm on vacation as of 3:30 this afternoon.  We aren't going anywhere, I'm having a stay-at-home vacation and I really need it.

One day next week is set aside for shopping with Otter.  Beyond that, I don't have much of anything planned.  I'm just going to enjoy not having to get up and go to work.

Otter was over here this afternoon to do her laundry.  She was still here when I got home, Bill was working on a pachinko project and Otter was following Maggie Moo's lead:  napping!  She went to Wallyworld with me and then we stopped at Subway to get dinner to bring home.

That's about as exciting as it got this week.  :)

I really don't know if I want to continue this blog or not.  There just isn't all that much exciting going on, however we are enjoying the un-stressful times.

This is from a couple of weeks ago:

Bill spilled a bag of nacho chips on the floor.  The beagle was in the kitchen but I'm pretty sure she got to the chips before they even hit the floor.  I picked up most of them, but Maggie Moo was in full vacuum mode and there was nothing left to clean up in just a few seconds!  She was a very happy beagle that evening.

Maggie Moo had an ear infection which the vet discovered when she got her annual shots in early June.  I fought with her for several days in an attempt to get the ear drops in her ears.  Mostly, I missed because she did NOT want it to happen.  The vet said that since I didn't think very much of the medication actually got in her ears that I could bring her back and she wasn't too happy about that.

This is what happened when I took her back for the follow up:  She became a brick!  Can you tell she didn't want to be there?  And she especially did not want to have to have her ears checked.  I was right, very little of the medication actually went where it was supposed to go.  So the vet used a plastic syringe similar to a medication dropper used for a toddler, and filled up both of her ear canals with the medicated ointment.  She was not amused!  She was also a little dizzy, I guess her ears being clogged threw off her equilibrium.  I had to help her get in the car when we left, and she was a brick then too!  It's been about 3 weeks, which is what the vet said is the average length of time for the infection to clear.  I think he was right, she was sluggish and grumpy for a few days and then she got over the grumpies but she was still not very playful but I've seen a big improvement the last couple of days.  She had a small case of the zoomies this afternoon and I'm hoping that the infection is cleared up.

But she's still a brick.  Or at least a bowling ball butt!

Yes

I am still here.  Just busy lately.  Normal busy.  Not anything spectacular or blog-worthy.

I have one more week of work left, then I'm on vacation for a week.  We aren't planning on going anywhere this year, but it will still be a week where I don't have to get up and go to work for 5 days.  Possibly I may suggest we go to the zoo for my Mother's Day trip, but I'm thinking that will probably be put off until Fall since Summer is here with a vengance.

I saw Otter for a few minutes today.  I had to take some stuff to her, since she was at work I put it in her car and then I stopped in the grocery store in the same shopping center she works in.  She came down to the grocery store to see me when she got off work.  It was a short visit, but it was nice.

Yesterday, I went to the flea market at the fairgrounds in Tulsa.  Bill went with me this time.  It was crowded, unlike the last time we went.  I bought two fabric bags to bake potatos in the microwave, the crochet lady sells those and I meant to get some last time but I forgot.  We tried them yesterday, they worked very well. Washable, reusable and microwavable.

Bill got the grill out this afternoon and drilled enough for several days.  4 hamburgers (we each had one tonight), hot dogs, brats (sausage links) and chicken breast.  I won't have to do much in the way of cooking for several days!

Maggie Moo is snoozing at my feet at the moment.  She seems to be lazier than normal when the weather is hot, but she's so good natured and fun.  She's been extra goofy lately.

OK, Froggy - I don't want to hear one word about me not blogging lately!   :)

I Don't Know

Seems like this has been one looooooooooooooooooooooooooong week.  Glad it's over.

The funeral service for the Boss's sister was Thursday.  Other than that, it was a normal week.

Just boring!

And warm.  Not hot by TEXAS standards, but humid enough to just about shut my asthmatic lungs down as soon as I go outside.

Today is Billyboy's birthday!  He's 55.  He got his birthday bacon this morning and then he decided he wanted a pizza for dinner tonight.  He chose strawberry shortcake for his birthday cake.

OK, Froggy - before you get on me - I did blog!

Thoughts on Orlando

I am a conservative Christian.  That has not and will not change.  But I'm realizing that I have also been very judgmental.  That is something that needs to change.

I still believe and always will believe that some things are not right, they are against what the Bible clearly says and as such they are against God's laws.  Man can make his own laws but that does not change God's laws.

However, we can all make our own lifestyle choices.  And we shouldn't be judged for that.  We should be respectful of each other and each other's choices.  I don't have to agree with specific choices that people make.  They don't have to agree with mine.  What we all need to do is accept that we are not all the same and that we don't have to be.

What happened in Orlando on Sunday night was an act of terrorism.  There is no doubt about that.  At this point, it may have been anti-gay or it may have "just" been anti-American.

But the actual reason for the shooter's actions don't really matter in the long run.  Innocent people were murdered.  Families are torn apart and everyone of those people had parents, friends and people who they loved and who loved them.  Parents and families that are now having to deal with the worst pain possible.

No matter what choices we make in life, we are all special to God.  And we are all, hopefully, special to other people - friends, family whether family is by blood relationship or not.

And nothing, NOTHING, can excuse the taking of another's life.

We are all diminished by the death and pain caused Sunday night by a madman.

Odd Week

Yes, Froggy.  I know.  It's been over a week.

But it's been such an odd week.

The Boss (formerly known as Younger Boss) was out of town on vacation this week.  On Monday, his sister passed away unexpectedly.  He was able to get back in town on Tuesday.  The week has been spent dealing with all the fallout and most of the fallout concerns The Teenager's widow (she's the Boss's mother and that means that it was her daughter that died).  Miss Dorothy is 98 years old, nearly 99 and is very fragile.  Her health is good, considering her age, but she is diabetic and has some other issues.  And now, she is having to deal with the absolute worst nightmare of any parent - no matter what age.  Miss Dorothy was hospitalized on Wednesday, she is better but the doctor wants to keep her there for the next couple of days.  I have not spoken to her, but she is having to deal with the loss of her daughter and it's rough.  The funeral for the lady who died is next week.  At this point, we are all pretty much holding our breath and crossing our fingers that this horrible event is not what causes us to lose Miss Dorothy.  It's hard for me to even type those words.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Froggy's middle child and his fiance are now parents!  Their little boy was born Thursday.  There were some issues with the baby which resulted in expectant mom being hospitalized for a couple of weeks and then she had a c-section yesterday.  He's 3 weeks early, but he made it to the 5 # mark which was the milestone the doctors were hoping for.  His small, but he's perfect.  I am absolutely itching with anticipation and can NOT wait until I get to snuggle him!  She texted me several pictures, no sign of red hair unfortunately.  :)  Otter says he's an adorable little squishy, so I think that Squishy may well be his blog name.  The new dad's nickname was Skipper when he was little so I'm going to continue to call him Skipper but I haven't come up with a good blog name for his fiance, the new mommy.  I'll get there eventually.  For now, we're just all over the moon with happiness.

Yes, I am Still Here!

Just beating Froggy to it, now you don't have to nag me!!  :)

Miss Maggie Moo went to the vet today.  It was time for her rabies and distemper shots, plus it's been two months since her last "read alignment" and that is about how often she needs them.  As usual, she also get her claws trimmed.  Because this was a shot day, she also got an exam and the vet thinks she's actually very healthy and doing very good.  She doesn't quite look her age, she is still a "young" older dog and that's a good thing.  She does have slightly yeasty ears again, so she has an ointment which I will start using on her ears tonight.  We'll see how that goes!  She weighs 34 pounds.

When Otter got the 2008 impala from us, she also got the remote that goes with the car.  The remote had come apart on me a couple of times but then I forgot about it.  It came apart a couple of times on Otter and I looked on eBay to see if I could find another one.  The idea was to take the guts out of her remote and put them in a newer one.  I found a couple but they were either more shipping cost than I thought it should be or the feedback on the seller was bad.  Then we all kind of forgot about it.  Until yesterday morning, which Otter texted me that the remote had come apart again and this time the chip that makes it all work fell out.  She realized it when she was at home as she was unlocking her door, and she thought that it fell out when she was checking her mail because she had used it to lock her car when she got home from work.  She looked for the chip around the mailbox and she retraced her steps but couldn't find it.  Well, it was green and it probably fell in the grass so that's not surprising.  She had the key so she could still lock/unlock/drive the car.  The most that someone would have been able to do would be to start the car but without the key it wouldn't be driveable and it would only run for 8 minutes anyway.  I called Chevy about a replacement.  $150 - $250 for a replacement, or $60 to rewire one if she got a used remote and they wouldn't guarantee it if it didn't come from them.  She was thinking she'd get a used one but then she went back to the mailbox area one more time to look.  And she found the chip!  It was still green and still in grass, and we've had rain, so it was surprising a) that she found it and b) that it still works.  She put the remote back together and was trying to figure out how to keep it together but still be able to open it up when she needed to change the battery.  Then I remembered that I had a car years ago which had a burglar alarm and the remote had a pouch that held it.  I looked online and found a few, and today I ordered her one.  It should be here by the middle of next week.  She will put the remote in the pouch and then it attaches to a key chain but it should keep the remote from coming apart; if it does manage to open up it won't be able to move apart enough for the chip to fall out and the chip won't fit through the opening anyway.  I ordered one for myself as well, maybe it will make it harder for me to accidentally hit the trunk release button!  I did that a lot at first, not so much anymore but I still do occasionally.  I actually have two remotes but I only carry one at a time.  Bill has the 2nd key to my car but he didn't want to carry the remote because his keychain is already pretty heavy.

OK Froggy - I managed to blog this week!

Memorial Day 2016

Let us not forget them.  Any of them.  And what they were willing to do for us.

I Know...

Been a while since I've blogged!  As Froggy reminded me.  (I already knew, Froggy.)

Anyway.

It's just been normal life lately, which is not what it looked like for the last 2 plus years.  We've basically rearranged a lot of things in the wake of Bill's job, the contract buy-out, his position being officially eliminated after he'd taken the buy-out and all the associated stuff.

One thing we are doing differently:  Bill's not looking for a job very hard at the moment.  Beyond me reading the Sunday paper with the employment ads, that is.  His original plan was to take April as the catch-up time since he had several restoration jobs waiting (pachinko machines all over the living room again!), but since then he's been getting very regular calls for restoration bids and quite a few of those calls have resulted in jobs.  More machines all over the living room!  Business on the parts for sale and dvds for the do-it-yourself restoration has picked up considerably.  The booth was not doing too much but then since about April 1st, we've had several dvds and pachinko ball sets sold.  In fact, pretty much everything has picked up since April 1st.

Which was his official last day of unemployment.  Can we say God's blessings?  I think we can.  And we do.  Often.

At some point, he will need to find a job.  But not yet.  In fact, we can go for several months and quite probably for the rest of the year before we need that to happen.  And possibly even later, depending on how well the pachinko business does.  We are NOT taking anything for granted.  But we do have several plans in place.

We went to a local art fair in downtown Tulsa last Saturday.  Actually, we went to two.  They run concurrently and are in the same area so that people can walk from one to the other easily.  It was a lot of fun.  We didn't buy anything, we usually don't, but we always enjoy it.

Otter went to the Renaissance Fair in Muskogee last weekend.  Muskogee is not really next door but it's not too far.  Well, the locals might think it's far.  But we measure distance by TEXAS standards, so it's not that far to us.  Anyway, J was dressed up as a pirate and Otter had a long red skirt with a black net overlay, and she had a black corset with a white short-sleeved blouse underneath it.  Their faces are in the pictures so I'm not posting them, but they had a good time.

Otter is finished up with her dental work.  The original estimate at the not-good dentist was about $7,200.00.  Our "old/new" dentist gave her an estimate of $3,200.00.  The final cost was actually just over $2,500.00.  And that included a few things that the not-good dentist simply missed.  Otter has also been officially put on full-time at her job.  Which means she now qualifies for their insurance plan.  She's on ours still for this month but that is fixin to change, she has been self-sufficient since October 1, 2013 but we still carried her on our health insurance because it is expensive and she was part-time.  She still managed to support herself on a part-time salary, but she did not really have a lot of extras.  We didn't mind covering her insurance, but now we won't have to.  She had considered moving to a different apartment complex way back when she knew that she was going to tell Roomie they needed not to be roommates any longer which would have been this coming July or August - based on the lease when they moved into the 2-bedroom unit.  Then Roomie pulled her stunt and moved out in October, Otter stayed in the 2-bedroom unit until the end of November and then transferred to her own 1-bedroom unit with a lease ending November 30 of this year.  She likes her apartment and the complex, it's pretty close to work for her and not too far from us.  But she was thinking that she might need a cheaper rent, since she was still part-time.  But now that she's full-time, she is most likely not going to move.  Which is fine with us, it was hard enough to recover from helping her move the last time!  :)

Memorial Day is this coming weekend.  IF it's not raining, we may grill some steaks or burgers.

OK, Froggy.  I blogged!  By the way, I also went to Braums for lunch today.  In case you are interested.

Stepping

Mother's Day 2016

Today is Mother's Day.  My day actually started yesterday.  Otter had to work today, so she came over yesterday.  We made pizza, went to a church sale and a couple of estate sales, visited with her local grandparents and went to Michael's.  She made me the best brownies!  We had a really nice day and I think everybody enjoyed it.  Even Maggie!

Maggie got a bath Friday evening, she had probably rolled in something and she was way past ripe.  But she was so glad to see her Otter yesterday.

So was Bill, he hadn't seen her since her last dental visit because of her work schedule.

Today was nice, too.  I have had a quiet, relaxing day and I've really enjoyed it.  We went to a local hamburger place for lunch and had chili/cheese fries.  They should probably be their own food group!

I'm having a drink and parked on my couch for the rest of the day.  It's been really nice.

Day Two

Day One started yesterday!

Today, Day Two is the Recovery Day.

It hit at 8:05 yesterday morning.  I was at work, ironically making coffee!  I fought it until 10:30 before I realized that Resistance is Futile and headed home.

I've pretty much been parked on the couch from them until now, just after 6:00 p.m.

Bill got me a taco salad for lunch yesterday, sometimes I can't eat but yesterday it helped.

I hate migraines!  I had 15 millions stress fairies visiting me last year (actually for the last 2+ years) and only had one migraine.  This year?  The stress ran away.  And I'm on # 3 for the year, and it's a multi-day attack.

Sometimes the recovery is worse than the actual headache.

Teeeiiiiirrrrred!

(Texasspeak:  Tired)

I am pretty well exhausted.

Tuesday night sleep was pretty bad.  Having had what was discovered to be an F1 tornado forming over/going over my house kind of made sure of that!

Then Wednesday was Otter's 3rd of 4 dental appointments, which went well.  She didn't get sick this time, the dentist had a newer type of happy gas that worked better for her.  It still took a couple of hours, more or less, for the appointment itself but she recovered much quicker.  She spent a couple of hours on our couch with a blanket and then was able to eat a late lunch with us.  After I took her home, she spent a couple more hours resting and then felt well enough to go run an errand.  She has one more appointment which is in a couple of weeks.

After I took her home, I bought groceries.  The store wasn't very crowded, but I was pretty tired and it took me a while.

When I got home, I parked on the couch with the idea of not moving until it was time to go to bed.  But of course that plan changed when Otter called because her car wouldn't start!

Last summer, it acted up a couple of times and Bill thought it might be a problem with the starter ignition.  Then it started acting right and we forgot about it.  But it's done it a couple of times lately for Otter, so we are probably going to have to see about fixing it.

Last night I think I was in bed before 9:30.  I did manage to sleep last night but I was still tired when I woke up and I'm really tired tonight.

But I keep thinking of the fact that we had a very near brush with a tornado and then I realize that being tired is probably not all that bad at all!  Not when I consider the alternative.

Close. Way Too Close.

Last night, Tuesday, April 26, 2016, we unexpectedly had to play this.  We got over 15 spaces!

Including the one about circulation - and it sprouted right over our house.

It was an ugly night.

But let me start at the beginning.

We knew a few days ago that the conditions were going to be right for bad stuff on Tuesday afternoon, evening and night.  The forecast kept changing and by Tuesday morning, it looked like we would probably not have the bad stuff but still could get thunderstorms, hail and wind with a much slighter chance of bad stuff.  We had a thunderstorm with hail midday.  Then the sun came out and that is actually bad, because warm air was not a good thing to have.

About 7:30 or so, it was a little rainy and it was windy but not bad.  About 9:00, it was obvious that we were probably going to get some storms out of the system that was rapidly moving in from the west.  There had been a few rotating areas, but the one spot that could possibly cause us concern was going to far north to bother us at home or Otter at her apartment although we expected that she could get a harder storm because the southern edge of the storm track was going to be pretty close to her.  Shortly before 10:00, I texted her with that information since I had the tv on and was watching it.

Almost immediately, we heard the worst sound possible:  the sirens going off.  We went to the laundry room (our safe spot) and I called Otter.  I told her to head down to their basement immediately.  She said the sirens in her area were not sounding but she got her shoes on, grabbed her purse and her radio, locked her door and started heading down.  She texted me as soon as she got downstairs and said that their sirens had started almost as soon as she had locked her door.

From then until 10:30, we texted back and forth with updates and the reports kept getting worse and worse.  The storm in her area was tracking north enough that it looked like her area would be safe.  She stayed in the basement with most of the other residents in her building until it was safely past them.  But by then, another "pop up" had happened and it was heading our direction.  It had produced at least one small tornado but it didn't stay.  However, the track was still coming towards us and we were waiting to run back to the laundry room if we needed to.  We weren't sure if we were going to get hit or not.  The wind was pretty strong at that point.  But it suddenly increased and it sounded odd - somewhat like the train sound associated with tornados but not exactly.  At that point, I commented to Bill that I did not like the sound of the wind and at that time the reporters started calling out street names and they were right where we live.  We hotfooted it back to the laundry room - and Maggie went right along with us.  We had taken her back every time we went to the laundry room, but animals frequently seem to sense things like that - maybe they hear them.  When she started heading to the laundry room pretty much ahead of us and on her own, we knew that something bad was happening.  The sound of the wind increased and it was very loud.  That was probably when it was sprouting.  It blew past us in a matter of a few minutes; it did actually develop into a tornado and it touched down probably less than a mile from our house.  I had been texting with Otter because she had heard the same reports we did and she knew we were in the firing line at that point.  When it passed us, I let her know that we were safe.  It was around 11:00 p.m. then.

Otter stayed in their basement for a while, there were a few dogs that were also their with their owners and they did what they always do - she's a magnet for them.  She was playing with a chihuahua that lives in the 1-bedroom that was originally her apartment before she and former roommate moved to the 2-bedroom unit.  Let's just say that she is very much my father's granddaughter!  She went back upstairs after a little while and let me know.

We were both exhausted by that point, but also Thankful.  It was after 11:30 before I managed to get to bed.  Bill was up for a couple more hours, he knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep.  I was awake until well after midnight.  It was so hard to get up at 6:15 this morning when my alarm went off.

Otter had her 3rd of 4 dental appointments today, otherwise I think I would have just turned the alarm off and gone back to sleep.

But we are safe and their were no injuries associated with any of the storms.  There were several small tornados, in Tulsa as well as assorted surrounding areas.

Thoughts on the Loss of a Musical Genius

When the world lost the brilliance that was David Bowie a few months ago, one of my comments in my blog entry was that Prince had always been one of my favorites and that I considered him to be very much like Bowie.  They have a lot in common; immense talent and being very much the trendsetters although in Bowie's case he was the trend and the rest of the world followed.

Prince was at the very least a trendsetter and very much "ahead of the curve" in terms of his talent and the art he produced.

It probably sounds odd that a middle aged, conservative white female likes Prince's music.  But I always have.  Music is very important to me and always will be.  I chose not to be boxed in the a particular genre, style, sounds, etc. but prefer to just enjoy and immerse myself in nearly all styles.

Prince was a very unique person and performer.  While Bowie was the background music and soundtrack of my childhood (and really all of my life), Prince was the type of talent that was the same for a later generation or two.  I think if I have to pick a favorite song, it would be When Doves Cry.

I think it's a very appropriate song for this week.

Talent like that does not come around very often and it's frequently not recognized - at least not always in the artist's lifetime.  But sometimes it is, and the loss of a gifted, brilliant artist like Prince is a hard one to take.  He was truly a musical genius.

Sneezy Friday

This picture perfectly represents my week.

Pass the kleenex please!  (Texasspeak:  any brand of tissue is kleenex.  It just is.  Deal with it.)