326/365 - The First Ice Storm of the Season

Yup, this morning, completely out of the blue.

Because it was 75 degF on Monday, I think we were caught off guard.

After all, I ran outside in shorts on Monday. Today, I'm bundled up in my winter coat with a hood and I was still cold.



Fortunately, the temperatures have warmed up since this morning and the sheeting of ice that covered the cars at work. But it's still cold and rainy out there, so please slow down on the roads when traveling tonight!

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179/365 - Open Windows

After weeks and weeks of oppressive heat, we are enjoying temperatures cool enough to allow the windows to be open. Nice!

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346/365 - Encased in Ice

Wow, it's a cold one here today - it was only 9 degF this morning, with a wild chill of -10. I placed the pond de-icer out yesterday, but it doesn't appear to be working, as the ice is forming quickly, especially at the pond's waterfall.

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330/365 - Here Comes the Rain Again

After a 4 day respite, the rains are back, with a possibility of snow on turkey day!

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285/365 - First Frost

I could feel the chill in the air when I woke up this morning. I knew the overnight temperatures would skirt the freezing mark, but didn't believe it until I looked outside and saw the rooftops sparkling in the sun, the first frost of the season.

I slipped and nearly fell on these icy blades of grass in the backyard.


After marveling at the pretty icy formations, I went inside and turned on the furnace.

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236/365 - Garage Sale Rainbow

Weird title, I know. It's just that the rainbow appeared as we were setting up for tomorrow's neighborhood garage sale.


Hopefully, that means we'll have a good crowd tomorrow - a crowd to pick through all of this stuff:


Even the beloved kitchen set that the kids have outgrown (sniff):


I'm always so sentimental setting up for garage sales. But I'm always so happy at the end of it, when everything is gone.

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234/365 - Storm Front

The last day of summer vacation and it rains.

This storm front passed through our area as I was taking Erica to horse riding lessons. Rather ominous looking, it dumped lots of rain before moving east. The horse stable even lost power during Erica's lesson.



Forecast for the first day of school - sunny, of course.

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178/365 - The Cat Days of Summer

We don't have a dog, so I changed the saying to fit.

This is Rascal and she is at least 16 years old (she was a stray, so we really don't know for sure). She pretty much spends her time sleeping, eating and drinking. And cat-fighting with Hannah, our other cat.

I really don't think Rascal minds the heat too much. Figures.

I'm ready for a cold front. How about a lukewarm front? Just SOMETHING to break the oppressive heat!

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177/365 - It's Hot, Don*

I think today marks our 6th day in a row with temperatures in the mid-90's with high humidity. Even the low temperature of 78 at 5am is still too hot.

In honor of the heat, I took a picture of the back side of our gas grill, hoping to capture some of the heat it gives off. I didn't capture that, so I added a grungy texture instead.


* Catchy Slogan for an automotive dealer near Evansville, IN.

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138/365 - Lightening, Thunder, Rain, Wind, Hail

Earlier in the evening, we were camped out at the baseball field - the game had just started when the black clouds started to roll in. Plop! A single fat rain drop hit my arm. I packed up my camera and chair just as the skies opened up and released a downpour. By the time I helped Brian gather up his things and retreated to the shelter of the car, I was drenched. Seriously - like I had taken a shower with my clothes on.

By the time we got back home, the skies seemed clear but then we heard the rumbles of thunder and the approaching clouds:


The storm hit, and it seemed like another typical severe storm front passing through - all the normal elements: Thunder, lightening, wind, and torrential rain. Then the hail started falling - and hail hitting the house makes a lot of noise. The pea sized hail ripped up my hosta leaves, but didn't leave much more damage.


I did get drenched one more time - on my way to book club at Jill's house, my backyard neighbor. I didn't anticipate the newly formed river running between our lots. Oh well, we all had a great time.

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136/365 - Rain and More Rain

We knew we would receive some rain today, but not a complete deluge accompanied by thunderstorms and high winds. Normally, these types of storms develop in April.

We were all awakened by the rumbling of thunder around 6:30 (well, the kids were awakened - both adults had already showered and dressed when the first storm cell hit). At work, a power outage took down the manufacturing lines and computer systems - something I figured out when I logged in. The UPS (uninterruptable power supply) to the server room failed.

Several more storm cells passed through the area and when I drove home, the slough that runs through our subdivision was clearly swollen due to all the rain:

To give you a comparison view, I took this picture from the same vantage point last August:


Proof of how much rain we received - 4" in our rain gauge.

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120/365 - Here Comes the Rain Again

Scott brought out the patio table and chairs on Sunday - inviting us to enjoy the outdoors in comfort. Oh, maybe not today.

We seem to be in caught in this weekly weather pattern - cool, rainy Mondays and Tuesdays, clearing Wednesday and then dry and warm Thursday through Sunday. Really, not bad for the weekends, but a little bit feast / famine (either sopping wet or bone dry). So another typical Monday has passed - wet.

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99/365 - More Snow? But a Silver Lining

Ugh, more snow this morning. About an inch on the grass, roofs and trees. Even though the roads were generally wet, the overpasses were icy. This afternoon we also saw sleet and freezing rain.



The silver lining? UNC won the NCAA championship, which means Scott wins the Office March Madness pool. I came in 2nd which is not too shabby for someone who really doesn't follow college basketball.

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91/365 - Spring Snow

We can add the re-emergence of snow to our lovely Spring-time weather.
I do feel fortunate that we didn't receive 4", like some of our neighbors, and it had all melted by the time we left church at noon.


Now that the obligatory "Snow in Spring" has occurred, can we bring on the real Spring weather?

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Nice Day

Temperatures peaked today in the 60's and brought the kids outside to play. Brian changed into shorts as soon as he got home from school, declaring "Mom - what were you thinking this morning when you picked out a long sleeved shirt?".
Really, I wasn't thinking about much!



The past four days have been a nice respite from the last two months of cold, snow and ice. We hope it will continue!

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It's Hot Don

When we lived in Indiana, the local car dealership coined and used the phrase, "It's Hot Don" in all of his summer commercials - such a simple, yet genius catch phrase. So, whenever it gets blasted hot, we all go around saying "It's Hot Don". Well, back in Indiana, people knew what you were talking about - now it's just an inside joke between Scott and me.

Well, it is blasted hot here (mid 90's since Thursday), and we are saying it - "It's Hot Don".

Oh yeah, the front page article in the local paper informed us that there is a water shortage and the local water company is requesting we all restrict water usage. The lawn was already looking crispy, so here's our excuse..... here's hoping for some rain.

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