Blown Away

Another week is already done? Didn’t this one just begin? Let’s see…as I write this late Saturday afternoon, Lars is in his exersaucer on the floor, not entirely happy, but not all together ticked off yet, either. Eden is having quiet time on our bed, looking at books. Al is at church, working, and Samson is at my feet, rubbing his head up and down my leg. Out my window, a white poodle pees on my mums and “the sprinkler guy” is here, installing our underground sprinkler system.

Per usual, our week held lots of exciting adventures.

Eden decided that if the back yard is good enough for the dog to use as a potty, by golly, she’s going to take advantage of it, as well. So, as I was on the phone with my dad one day, I looked out and saw, to my horror, my beautiful daughter with her back to me, squatting 10’ from the dog, pooping. My neighbor was out dumping trash in the alley and the sprinkler guys were here installing. I’m sure everybody was impressed.

At 0630 on Tuesday morning, I awoke to people talking outside the bedroom window. The voice was familiar, and as I looked out, I saw ‘the city guys’ assessing another water main break on our street. This is the 6^th one this summer on our block. This time, it was across our whole driveway, and I ran out to move the vehicles before it was too late. A few jackhammer strokes later, and our garage was inaccessible until further notice, at least for parking cars. They got right to work on it, repaired it, and put up road blocks so that nobody falls in. Anybody remember that Pickles book where the car falls in the hole? The week after next they are going to tear up the whole street and replace the pipe. They were going to start on Tuesday after Memorial Day, but, being as I have ‘connections’, I asked that they wait till the next week when we are gone. Besides, that really would have put a crimp in my garage sale next weekend.

Our big excitement of the week, and also our largest purchase, was a 2002 Dutchmen camper. Since the old one was totaled out in the hail storm, we upgraded. You can see for yourself in the slideshow below. It is significantly cheaper to buy RVs in Michigan, so we again went that route. Found one right in Attica, so Dad went to pick it up. Since we really have no time to get it this summer, I think it will sit in my parent’s driveway until next spring. Hopefully, they or my siblings can use it this summer and enjoy it while it’s there!

Wednesday, the winds came. They started strong and got stronger as the day went on. I can’t ever remember a day here in Nebraska when the wind has been sustained that long without dying down once. A non-lover of storms, I stayed inside and paced most of the day, all afternoon, and constantly throughout the evening. Shortly after 10:00p, I made Al go outside and walk around the house, checking on ‘things’. He found a heavy piece of greenhouse in the middle of the street, checked on my little tree, looked around for the top to my garden hose box (no luck) and noticed that our back door neighbor’s 40’ pine tree was resting comfortably on his garage. I had to come outside to see this for myself, only to then panic over the thought of OUR pine tree coming to rest in the kids’ bedroom. I made Al watch the base of the tree for 5 minutes, analyzing it’s ‘trunk sway’ in a manner consistent with his physics class 10 years ago. Lars was sleeping sweetly, but Eden wasn’t. The wind was loud and she was scared, so I put her on our bed and she instantly fell asleep. I slept fitfully that night, sure the house was going to blow away. The next day, the rain came and kept us inside all day again. By evening, I had to get out for a few minutes. I took a walk and the photos are what I found in a three block radius of our house. I missed the up-side-down trampoline two houses down, but got a few other shots. The Star Herald reported Bridgeport’s wind to be 80mph that day, and both Windsor, CO and Laramie, WY reported tornados, which wiped out homes and businesses. Bridgeport had several trees that have been uprooted and tipped over, business signs blown away, and 'stuff' everywhere.

On Friday, Al wanted to go to Denver to see the twins he’d recently baptized and see how they were doing from their heart surgery. We got a sitter and headed down for the day. It was a long drive, but was a beautiful day and we had a nice chat in the car. Stopped at a favorite restaurant on our way back for a calm and quiet supper. After paying, Al left his wallet on the counter, which we didn’t realize until this morning. They assure us it will be kept safely until he can retrieve it on his next visit. Until then, he can’t run to the grocery store for me, buy beer, get gas, purchase bolts for the broken slide, or anything else that requires an ID or credit card. Part way home, Al thought the tires felt like they were going to fall off, so he stopped to check them out. Our new tires were nearly flat again in the rear. We nursed it back to Bridgeport, the nearest town, and filled them with air.

Tonight is Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in which the Wings will, undoubtly, pummel the Penguins. We’ve even got steaks for the occasion.

Now it is Sunday. The Wings, naturally, defeated the Penguins. We enjoyed the steaks that Al grilled, and enjoyed a fairly peaceful evening. This afternoon, I finished mowing and dumped the clippings. Mark came over to measure our door, only to find out it was 6” too short for the new door we just bought. We then went to Douthit’s to help Mark install his new back door, which was also 6” too short. Eden had fun with Kyra flying a kite and chasing the wind. Samson riled up their chickens, Alexis played with Lars and Laura and I sat in the shade. When we came back, I worked hard at cleaning up the yard. I had pine branches everywhere, not to mention trash. I had two weeks worth of dog poop that needed tending, and Eden helped me every step of the way.

To Veterans and Soldiers everywhere, thank you for your services. This day is for you, even though some of you are working!

Eden helps herself to some more pears "I git it myself, mom!"

Eden cleans her outdoor toys...and herself...with the hose.