Rain, rain go away...

Raindrops keep fallin on my head! I can't believe that they changed the forecast again! When we got up this morning, the forecast was for rain Friday, decreasing Saturday, and Sunny and dry and almost 90 on Sunday! This evening...it has changed again....it is now forecast to rain Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and most of Monday. I spoke to my brother on the phone this evening...the small town that we are from (and Marvin's family and mine still live in) is on the verge of real flooding trouble. Both underpasses are closed due to high water, several streets have now been closed...and several more will be closed before the night is over. What a mess! According to the news this evening, Wichita is even beginning to see flooding of creeks, and some streets in low lying areas! Here is the flood report for Ark City (our hometown) this was before the weather service decided that the rain will continue until Monday, so the times and depths for rivers cresting will change dramatically:

The Walnut River is right at flood stage (18 feet) and is predicted to crest at 21.6 feet early Saturday morning. The Arkansas River currently sits nearly a foot over flood stage level (17 feet). It is predicted to crest at 19.1 feet early Saturday morning.The high waters on the Walnut forced the closure of Walnut Park on Thursday.
Road closures: Chestnut (West of Eighth to 10th Streets because of pumping;
parts of Sixth Street because of a water backup.Forecast calls for rain until Sunday.

Road closings
Road closings due to high water, according to the county engineer Dale Steward and the office of Emergency Management, are:
*11th Road, north of U.S. 160, the first road east of the Sumner County line.
*Cowley 2 (22nd Road ), west of Rock.
*Cowley 14 (231st Road), south of Dexter.
*Cowley 20 (202nd) Road, west of Dexter.
*Junction of Cowley 3 and 4 ("McClung's Corner,"), five miles west of Strother Field.
*Cowley 1 and Cowley 6 in the Silverdale area.
*Old W. Chestnut Road on the west side of the river, Arkansas City.
*Cowley 1 and Cowley 6 around Silverdale.
*Cowley 3 and 18 intersection 1/2 mile west.
*Cowley 1 and 6 intersection east of Arkansas City.
*Cowley 3 north of U.S. 160.
*11th Road north of U.S. 160.
*All county roads around Dexter are closed. K-15 is open.
*Oxford did not have any road closings, according to the police chief. Water is over the roads, and drivers are discouraged from taking these.

It looks like a good weekend to drink hot coffee and watch movies...while snuggled under a nice soft blanket!

Be Well!

The day after...

Last night’s Council meeting was…interesting. Tempers flared, people yelled, it’s possible that there may be gavel cracks in the counter top and things were hurled through the air. The fun ended at aprox.10:30 p.m. All in a night’s work I suppose. On the upside…I completed the first draft of the minutes before I left today! I turned down the offer of yet another evening meeting at which to take minutes…I hope my reluctance doesn’t cast a bad light on my review…which I’m told is forthcoming.

Another cloudy, gray day is upon us…it seems that it may never end. I’m sick “nigh unto death” of rain…I desperately need some sunny, warm days! My soul and spirit are beginning to feel dreary…and I hate that! I heard a commotion yesterday, in the midst of another downpour, and I went out on the deck to investigate. Across the way (actually two houses over) were six children, jumping on a trampoline…in the pouring rain! The commotion was their squeals and laughter! It was awesome! I soooooo wanted to join them!!

A while back I complimented Candy on a great jacket that she was wearing, and she told me that she bought it and several others at the Goodwill store. So, yesterday as I was driving home from Ultra Modern Pool and Patio…I pulled into the Goodwill store to check it out! I left with three dresses…which I only paid $4.99 a piece for! It was awesome! They are pictured above, First the Gingham checked one, with two pleats in the front at the bottom (just above the knee), then the flowered one (ankle length) with a split up each side, and the black one (middle of the knee) with a split up the left side. The black one has really fun detail on the back…in the form of 22 small, fabric covered buttons (they don’t really button, but are attached to the zipper flap), and all three are simple A-lines, fitted a bit at the waist. Perfect for work, church or just about anything! Thanks for the tip Ms. Candy!

Be Well!

Early morning blog! Everything’s better in the first light of day! That time when the air is fresh and still…and void of the acrid scent of auto exhaust and the shrill complaints of human frailty….ahhh…bliss! I walked under an overcast sky this morning, a sustained wind of about 25 mph cooling my skin as my feet kept time to the tunes in my head…made possible by the miracle of the IPOD shuffle. I left the house a bit depressed…but returned smiling, contented and encouraged. Above are pictures of the pond which has become a constant source of joy and discovery for me over the past year. I have done some “powerful thinkin” and have shed a lot of tension walking around it and sitting beside it! A few months ago it began to take an ugly turn…curly leaf pond weed and an aggressive algae had almost overtaken the calm, tranquil waters. Even though official, chemical treatment of the situation has not yet begun, nature seems to be saying ‘enough’! The weeds and algae are receding! I suppose this constitutes a certain aspect of the natural cycle of life.

Tonight is Council meeting…so I am off until 6:45 p.m. The agenda looks fairly benign…but personalities being what they are…who knows what may develop. Retrospect seems to be tugging at my mind today. I have pondered Poverty Syndrome for several weeks now…in the beginning it was just a curiosity, but the core of it has sparked questions in my brain that I cannot answer. The very state of humanity is such a massive, overpowering thing. Why are we ‘who’ we are? Is it nature or nurture…or something else? Which choices do we really ‘make’…and which are thrust upon us by forces beyond our control? Is anything really out of the realm of possibility…for any of us…if we have the proper motivation? Why do some people dig in their feet and ‘make’ their way…while others are content to be pulled along in the current, bouncing off the boulders of life …offering no resistance? And in the middle of it all….."yet I wonder…still I wonder…who’ll stop the rain?”

Be Well!

Fast trip...

Coffeyville was good this weekend! The Relay For Life was very nice and much more than I expected! There were many luminary tributes to Becky, and the booth hosted by my sister-in-law was at the top of the list of contributors! The theme of the booth was Hawaiian, and in keeping with that...there was a roast pig. I had never seen one before and seeing the head still attached was a bit disconcerting!

We had the pleasure of meeting my dad's new 'friend' this weekend. She is a lovely woman. Not only was she personable, but she had a great sense of humor and kept us all laughing! Everyone liked her very much...and most importantly...she seems to make him happy!

As I watched them together, it was obvious how different she is from my late step-mom. My dad is now doing things and going places that I would have thought completely out-of-character for him before....because he is adapting to someone new in his life. He has never been alone (except for the few months since Becky passed away) in all of his 70+ years. As I pondered these changes...it occured to me that he has spent his entire life adapting to whoever was in his life...and has never really just been 'himself'. I wonder at the confusion and conflict that must surely be swirling around in his mind and heart now, and I realized that it is entirely possible that even he has no idea...what is truely 'in character' or 'out of character' for the man...who even he...doesn't really know.

Be Well!

Busy Monday...

It's good to finally be home for the day! I am really beat! Work was very busy, added to the stress of knowing that I would be tackling things that I've only done once or twice before (and that was weeks ago) if ever! Being the 'fill in' person is harder than it sounds. I don't get to do things often enough to get really good at them, and it is usually weeks between each time that I do have the chance to do them. By this time in any other job...I would have put the 'notes' that I took during the first few days on the job away in a drawer...because I would have learned to do the tasks. But...in this situation...I keep the notes handy...because many of the tasks that I have notes on...I have never actually done yet.

Dinner just wasn't appealing tonight, so I fixed pancakes and eggs, then spent some time on the Gazelle. The table has been cleared, dishes are done, kitchen is clean, laundry is folded, and the bed is turned down. I am looking forward to putting my feet up and watching a bit of TV.

Be Well!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you father's out there! This has been a good day, in fact a good weekend! Chas and I took that 'itty bitty drive' to Ark City on Saturday to take my step-dad his gift, and did a bit of shopping on the way home. Chas bought an absolutely fabulous jacket, and the cutest blouse, and I picked up a sundress and pair of shorts that actually fit...pretty much. Marvin and Shane spent Saturday putting in two more windows, and despite a few unexpected complications...they got the job done! Only one more to go!

We went to early service this morning, then came back to the house for lunch and swimming. Lunch was great! Marvin grilled chicken breasts, burgers and ribs outside and I fixed baked potatoes and salad and sliced tomatoes inside! The weather was not cooperative...it was cloudy, cool and windy...not exactly pool weather! So, we watched several old episodes of WKRP and ate cake, then tried to get Marvin's new toy to fly! Unfortunately, there wasn't quite enough room in the house to launch it, and it cannot be flown outdoors in more than a four mile an hour wind. Kansas summers are notoriously windy, it us not uncommon to have sustained winds of 30-35 mph and gusts up to 50 mph...so it may be a while before we get to see it fly! We ate, talked, laughed and watched TV until around 4:30, when it began to absolutely poor outside! It was still a great day! Anytime I get to spend the day with the people most precious to me in the world (my husband and kids)...it is a great day! We have been blessed with the two most wonderful kids on earth...and like Marvin said today, they make it easy to be good parents!

The rain has stopped now...and the kids will be glad to hear that we have turned on the air conditioning! We had to close the windows when the rain began and it pushed us right over the edge! I think this is the latest that we have been able to put off the inevitable air-conditioner for several years. I will miss the fresh air and hearing the birds sing in the mornings...but I won't miss the sticky afternoons.

The coming week will be a tough one, I am working 40 hours this week. It will be good for the paycheck though! Next Friday...off to Coffeyville for the cancer walk with my dad and my late step-mom's sister. It will be nice to see everyone again...but the occasion will be a sad one and Becky will be uppermost in our minds.

Have a great week!

Be Well!

Gazelle...

Chas called this afternoon, one of her friends was trying desperately to give away a Gazelle! How awesome is that?! I have been wanting one, but frankly, since our incomes have been reduced...I don't spend money on many "wants". So I was very happy to take it off her hands!! I offered to pay her for it, but she really just wanted to get rid of it!! It wasn't until after I saw the photo above that I realized why it is called a Gazelle! It's in our family room downstairs...just to the left of the T.V.! I am looking forward to some diversity in my cardio!

In other news...the new neighbors came over to introduce themselves this evening. We had a nice chat on the porch, but I couldn't help noticing that the girl looked a bit terrified. Her husband was totally relaxed and extremely outgoing, so the whole thing was a bit odd.

When I left for work this morning, the sky was grey and heavy with clouds, so I closed all of the windows. By the time I got back at 3:00 it was hot as heck inside! I spent an hour or so in the pool, then at 5:00 I fixed a quick dinner of fish, baked potatoes and carrots, which we ate on the deck where the breeze was blowing nicely! After we got the Gazelle cleaned up and carried downstairs, we got back in the pool for an hour or so! It was great!

All in all...the day turned out a lot better than I anticipated!

Be Well!

Monday

Every other day, every other day,
Every other day of the week is fine, yeah
But whenever Monday comes,
but whenever Monday comes
You can find me cryin' all of the time...

(Well...maybe "cryin' all of the time..." is a slight exaggeration...but I do hate Monday! )

Another week is on the horizon! So far it is shaping up to be a 'not so good' week. the forecast is for rain every single day, and Tuesday is looking like it will be the meeting from hell. Our best hope lies in hoping that it passes quickly! Our neighbors of 11 years moved out on Friday, and although I did meet the new owners (briefly), they have not begun moving in yet. Getting new neighbors is always scary...they could turn out to be anyone or anything...from the Adams family to the Cleavers! We'll just have to see how this goes! The old neighbors have moved to Texas, and will be a short distance from South Padre Island (how cool would that be)! I wish them all the best...and we will miss them! The only thing that I really know about the new people is that they have 3 dogs....I am a dog lover...but 3 seems like a lot! Perhaps they are all very well trained and will behave nicely...and perhaps pigs will fly.

Have a great week!

Be Well!

Like a Hoover...

Well, this day sucked like a Hoover. It seems that my car is having issues...possibly a new starter is needed. We will find out for sure tomorrow. While we were at the auto parts store, I was approached by a woman carrying a gas can, and asking for money. I was hesitant to open my purse while standing within reach of her, so I said "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't have any money." I went on in the store and retrieved a dollar from my bag, then headed outside to give it to her...when I noticed that she seemed to be staggering. I decided NOT to give her the dollar. Marvin was standing in front of the car talking with the salesman and when they finished...she approached him. He handed her a $5.00 bill straight away! I felt a bit like a cad...but was glad that he was more charitable than I had been. We got into the vehicles and headed several blocks over to a different auto parts store...and there she was...already that far down the street...carrying her can and panhandling! I was irritated, and at the same time...vindicated.

This has been a long, tired day! We didn't get to sleep until well after 12:30 last night, and then I awoke almost every hour all night long. At 5:30, we were both awakened by a terrible crash inside the house...which scared the heck out of us! We both flew from the bed, and after grabbing the pistol and phone...we 'cleared' each room on both floors. Nothing was amiss. We finally gave up, put the gun away, hung up the phone and headed back to bed. I stopped at the bathroom on the way (I think it scared the pee out of me), and there in the bottom of the shower...lay the source of the crashing sound...the shaving mirror and both razors...and a huge spider! The upshot is...that I'm glad we didn't shoot the shower!

Here's hoping for a better nights sleep tonight!

Be Well!

Just a quick note...

Just a quick note to catch up a bit! The weekend flew like the wind with working at Shane's and church! It was a good weekend, just too short! His window's look great and hopefully the rest will follow soon!

This has been one of those Monday's! Every single thing that I have touched...I have screwed up and had to redo! It happens! Tonight is Park and Recreation Board and Tree Board, and the way that the day has gone has left me a bit apprehensive about the evening! It would be fabulous if a quorum was not forthcoming and we adjourned early...but that probably won't happen...so I will make sure the tape recorder is on and hopefully it will provide the necessary backup for any disasters!

We had neglected the pool over the weekend, and it was a mess today. I vacuumed three times and skimmed repeatedly. It finally looked decent, just as the sky clouded over and it threatened to rain! I decided to go ahead and shock it anyway, so hopefully whatever falls from the sky will be sufficiently neutralized!

Dinner is almost ready, then the second half of my work day begins!

Be Well!