big wind
November 18, 2013

We didn�t stray far from home this weekend; our luck ran out and we finally had a bad-weather weekend. I came home on Friday and walked the dog, then ran over to get my hair and eyebrows done, but was napping comfortably by 2:00. Got up when Spouse came home, and we made homemade pizza for dinner. Pottered about, early bed.

Saturday was misty, but it was warm, and it was likely to be the best we would get for the weekend, so we took the B to the dog park in the morning, then we ran all our various errands. Made a small Shalom Center donation, and made it home just as the thunderstorms were rolling in. I took a nap, but got up at 2:30 and baked a batch of pecan-chocolate chunk cookies, as Spouse had requested that I bake something over the weekend, and I had a bag of chocolate pieces and some pecans that needed to be used up. While I baked, he did some housework, vacuuming and dusting. Spouse made his favorite cocktail-y kind of foods for dinner: barbeque chicken wings, and barbeque meatballs (with a tossed salad alongside). I read for a while, watched some British panel shows, and went to bed.

Sunday, we knew we were due for heavy weather in the afternoon. After a lovely homemade breakfast of scrambled eggs, grilled ham, hash browns, toast, juice, and coffee, I got started on the laundry, and Spouse took the car out to Woodman�s for an oil change. When I had the wash underway, I figured I had time to take the dog for a walk before the rain started, so I went to clean up and get dressed. As I stepped out of the shower, the sirens went off, so I turned on the TV to see what was up. Tornado warning at the other end of the county, but it looked like everything was going to be okay at home. Not entirely comforting, since it looked dicey for the area where Spouse was, and quite evil for the area where Niece and Nephew live (the ones who lost their house in the January �08 tornado). But I maintained cool, and kept going on my housework and laundry.

Spouse came home a short time later, after doing a couple more quick errands, and we went out back to secure a couple things, and then settled in to ride out the storms. I gradually worked my way through all the laundry, and in between I read and played some word games. Spouse made a lovely beef roast with mashed potatoes and gravy (and corn-ugh, but hey, whatever. I didn�t cook, I didn�t choose the menu.) and we ate early, around 5:00, and then shared clean-up duties. We were hit by several rounds of thunderstorms and high wind, and at one point the B actually took refuge in the closet (poor pup was not having a good day), but we rode it out pretty well. After dinner, Spouse chilled in his room with the TV, and I watched a BBC documentary about Blackadder (online.)

I did get a shock when I went out to go to work this morning, though. When I came around to the driver�s side, there was a large tree branch blown up against the car�almost as long, and as tall, as the Taurus! I dragged it to the curb, and checked the car as well as I could in the dark, but it looks like there was no damage. I guess we lucked out!