Stormy weather

Monday morning, before my week was shot to all, Laura & I and our blessed children loaded up in the Ford and headed to Cheyenne for a day of shopping. Surprisingly, my kids were very well behaved for the duration and we had a great time. We went to a mall, which I haven’t been to one in eons, and Kohl’s, a woman’s wonder world, as well a few other places.

Laura bought our lunch at a Mexican place and I got gas in Wyoming for $2.22 a gallon, 50 cents cheaper per gallon over the border! Gotta love the state with no gas tax.

The car ride home was a continual torrential downpour with flooding streets and a slippery interstate, so everybody was feeling the pressure and the kids were getting ornery. Especially the driver, who despises rain more than death itself. I think that’s why God put me in West Nebraska, b/c it rarely rains. But anyway…we made it home just before weight watchers and my EMT class. Of course, I couldn’t get the power point to work, but nevermind.

Lars cried for 3 days straight unless he was attached to my hip, which has caused Eden to suddenly want to be held all the time, as well. Al seems to be busier than normal with pastoral activities, and I’m preparing lesson plans for the EMT class, which, though time consuming, should be fun. However; with two kids hanging on me, it’s been frustrating.

The suddenly stormy weather has caused the barometric pressure to rise and the storms have made being indoors more of a necessity this week, as well.

I took a walk all by myself on Tuesday night and the cool air was so wonderful, I about walked right out of town and kept going. Except, I’m terrified of the wide open country spaces out here and I never made it past the city limits, where the street lights end!

On Wednesday, I took Eden to daycare and told Al we should pack the camper and get out of town for his day off. Unfortunately, everywhere in Western Nebraska had a chance of T-storms from Thursday evening through Saturday night. Fearing an even WORSE time if we were out in the rain and tornados, we decided otherwise.

Instead, we spent Friday cleaning out the garage for our upcoming garage sale. It’s going to be a combined effort with some of our stuff, some of Laura’s stuff and some stuff from yet another parishioner. Tornado watches were in effect all Friday evening and it was stormy with hail during supper, but Al took Eden to the races and Mark took his girls, as well. So, it was fun for all and the wives got some time alone. Well, after Lars went to bed anyway.

After two very hot summers here in Bridgeport, one in which I was very pregnant, Al & I finally came up with a plan for the back deck. If you’ve never been to the parsonage here, you’ll not know that the house is what the locals call a ‘raised ranch’. (Split level for those of you back east). There is no main floor. If you come in our front door (east side), you can choose to go up 7 steps or down 7 steps. In the back of the house (west side), there is a flight of steps, one story, outdoors leading to a wood deck, 20’ in length, 10’ in width. Off the deck is a sliding glass door which leads into the kitchen. The grill is on the deck, along with a couple chairs.

If you’ve never lived in Western Nebraska, you will also not know how extremely hot it gets here. Because of it’s height from the ground, and our lack of shade trees, our back deck gets all the sun in the middle of the day and is routinely over 110 degrees throughout the summer. I never turn the lights on up stairs and never open the blinds, to help keep it cooler in the kitchen and dining room. We try to grill out a lot, but yesterday the grill got to 900 degrees in 5 minutes and our pork chops were rather ebony.

Lastly, if you’ve never lived in Western Nebraska, you simply have no concept of how breezy it gets here. Ground level is bad enough, but up on the deck, its gale force winds strong enough to regularly blow my children off the top step. (Lars was the most recent victim, but only fell 3 steps on his head before I caught him).

So, getting around to the solution; we have ordered a “Coolaroo patio sail”, Ocean Blue in color to add some pizzazz to our deck. With my red geraniums and the American Flag flying nearby, we thought some color would brighten it up a bit. It’s an Australian made weave that blocks 90% of UV waves and provides some shade, hopefully making it tolerable to be on the deck during the evening and cooling the kitchen/dining room at the same time!

It’s due to arrive this Tuesday and I hope to get it up soon after. I’m very excited for it!

Saturday, the kids & I hung out mostly indoors as it was warm and humid out. I did clean out the truck (pick up) a bit, as we’re hoping to sell it on the garage sale and buy a car that gets better gas mileage for some of the preacher’s out of town visits and trips to Winkels. Had to replace the water pump first, but now it’s in good running condition. Of course, he’s already found the convertible he wants, but I’m holding out for something practical. We’ll see.