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7/29/2006 Saturday, and most things are almost back to normal in the metro area - and update!There are still lots of trees and branches along the sides of the roads here and there waiting to be shredded. Over 10,000 homes went out yesterday (after they had power only a day at most after all this time of waiting since last Wednesday) when 2 transformers blew out again from delayed storm damage - my Aunt Ruth among them. She went to her youngest daughter's home right away until the power is again restored. The rest of the family is still up and running, most of us getting power back on by sometime during the weekend, a few not until Wed or Thur. I know it is not as bad as Florida or New Orleans have had before - but it does not matter. Bad is bad, and I am glad it is over. I hope that the people in other parts of the country who are experiencing blackouts get theirs on soon as well, as it is no picnic in the park! Not with record heat.
On a nicer note, Karina and Frank are enjoying his family reunion in Ohio this weekend. Frank, hope you win the cornhole tournament! (that is a game in which a beanbag - I guess they had corn kernels in the bags at one time or they used corn cobs when the game was first invented, hence the name - is tossed through holes on a board set a certain distance away, it is played in teams just like horseshoes or washers, and it is really fun. It is like the ones at school carnivals for kids, only set a further distance away.) I also hope they bring a game set back with them this time, as it would be great to play at get-togethers here. John and I went to Ohio last year and attended the family reunion the weekend Keegan was baptized. His entire extended family welcomed us as their own, they are the sweetest people, and invited us back whenever we wanted to attend, so we just might do that next year if Frank and Karina say come on along. It was a blast! They also played a game called, ummm, I think it was "Apples to Apples" or something like that. It was really fast and fun as well. What a fun weekend that was. I know they are having a fantastic time at the picnic reunion again this year.
It drizzled here and there yesterday but not enough to give the plants much water, so I will have to water today shortly, when the plants are in shade. Poor things, they either get hit by a deluge or get nothing at all for days if I do not water them, and I have not been the best gardener this year, not like I usually am. That is sad, as I love my gardening. They are still hanging in there though, and next year I should be up to par from spring through fall. :-)
Keegan has gotten very verbal (lots of words, he is really learning well) and walking quite fast now. He is so cute - goes over to their two dogs or to Petie and says "good dog!" I think that is my favorite phrase so far.
The pics that I loaded in the album today are of two subjects. Last weekend we got to babysit Keegan for a little bit. When he plays with cars, he makes a motor sound, and you can see his mouth in action on the pics. Also, I was going to put the music ball away as I figured he would not care for it anymore now that he is older. Wrong! He enjoys hearing the tunes, and knows to just touch the top briefly and move it slightly to get it to play. It is so cute watching him sway and dance every time. The house pictures are to show you the porch - the columns and roof on the porch are from the 1904 Worlds Fair in St Louis, and this house in Kirkwood (a suburb) is one of two that have them incorporated into their home. I just thought it was a cool piece of history to share with you.
Well, I suppose I need to get some things done around here. Toodles until next time!
UPDATE:
We had another storm blow thriough, 40,000+ homes went back out, as of 9 pm there were still 20,000 out but they expected them to be fixed by tomorrow at latest. (Just when you think it is safe...) We were not affected by this storm, but my plants were deliriously happy as thirsty as they were! Just when I started to go out to water them, the distant rumbling was heard, and it was not long until we got about an inch of rain. I even took the houseplants out for a good shower. I know they all rejoiced at the welcome washing. 7/23/2006 what a week it has been...We are back up and running here at home... we had no electric or phone since Wednesday. A huge storm with 80 - 90 mph wind sheer in front of it and many funnel formations within the storm itself came through. Besides damage to homes and trees all over the metro area, there were 540,000+ homes out of power, and that did not include all the businesses as well. With over 100 degrees F (103 one day - 120 heat index that day), it has not been a pleasant few days. I immediately put the frozen food from the fridge into the chest freezer, and put all fridge food onto trays of ice to keep them from getting bad so that we would have food to eat, then waited it out. The univ had to close as we had no power there either, so I was off for 2 days. Petie dog and I eventually got a bit overheated, but we are fine now. We went to Karina and Frank's on Friday afternoon as Karina was concerned about me (rightly so as I realize now that I was getting overwhelmed physically) - and then they lost power within an hour before I got there. Darn! There was a second storm that blew through. The utility company had gotten the number down to 260,000 and it shot back up immediately - to 560,000+ (higher than originally!). With that storm came cooler temps, so it was not as bad to bear. K & F got to go on a generator which a friend lent to them, so the food and fish (in aquarium) were okay. It began to get cooler as well, so the a/c was not as vital either by then - the breezes kicked in and things cooled down. My sis and her family (3 homes), Marty and Joan, John's dad in Cahokia, cousins, friends, lots were without power. Some people went to hotels at up to $300 nightly (!), some went to others who had power, some stayed in basements, others went to malls or wherever it was cooler, theaters were selling tickets at kid's matinee prices all day and eve to give people a bit of break, and cooling stations were overcrowded but very helpful. Marty and Joan took the kids to her mom's timeshare lake condo an hour's drive south of here as the elec was still on (others in her family went too, as they were out as well). Most of us are now up and running again. Whew! It is good to have the convenience of electric again. I used a lot of the list in my last entry the past few days! It is much easier to not have to though. More later, now I am going back to sleep in the nice cooler air. (It was impossible to sleep for the first two nights as it never dropped down past 95 at night inside the house - and was much higher the first two days in the daytime). All is well now though! 7/18/2006 Tuesday, and when does this heat wave end?!?We finally got rid of all the branches that we cut down last week. Frederick and Daniel came over and helped us load it all up on their flatbed trailer and away it all went to their parents' place where there is a burn pit. Just our luck that it would be on such a hot evening! (6:30 - about 7:30). We were all drenched and not just dripping but flowing sweat. ugh...
This heat is ridiculous... St Louis has set up cooling stations all over the city and county so that people can get a bit of relief from it. I really feel sorry for the homeless as they have no where to go of their own, and people usually chase them out of public places. At least they also can go to the cooling stations. http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=100354
I know that we survived just fine way back when we had no a/c (I did not have any until 10th grade, and we had heat waves before then too. we were able to handle it better as our bodies did not get so used to ideal temps all year long).
Let's see... what did we do back then? Here is what I came up with from memories - feel free to add to the suggestions in the comments (keep it clean - kids come by my space regularly!)
How to keep cool if no a/c:
There is a movie being filmed here in St Louis - "Bill" with Jessica Alba
They have been on campus at my work since yesterday and are filming down the street at some very fancy home. The crews and actors are staying in the Winnebagos whenever there is a break, most of our back parking lot (half of the total campus parking) is a production/acting campground complete with catering tent and makeup areas. It is kind of cool that they chose us to use for their hangout, as Washington Univ is right across the street. But - we are a quieter campus especially during summer, and the lot is secluded and blocked from street view, so they felt it would be better. They may be gone by tomorrow or so - moving on to the next St Louis location for shooting. Saturday they turned the local Oberwiess dairy into "Sweet Sensations". Oberweiss has some awesome ice cream, and has a cool building.
Well, I am off to watch Pink Panther with my hubby (the new one - the movie, not the hubby, giggle). Stay cool! PS to Karen (my cousin in Florida) - hi hun, I hope you are recovering okay from surgery, and I will call to visit with you in a week or two. I know you have your sisters taking turns being with you now and your mom was down the first week, so I will let you enjoy their company and pampering, but you will be getting a phone call soon. Love you!!! 7/12/2006 Wednesday morningHi all, hope your week is going well. We had a bit of rain yesterday and the day before, very good for the plants - we really needed it. My Aunt Ruth sent me this email, and I thought it was good enough to include in today's blog.
An Old Farmer's Advice: * Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong. * Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance. * Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. * A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor. * Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. * Meanness don't jes' happen overnight. * Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads. * Do not corner something that would normally run from you. * It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge. * You cannot un-say a cruel word. * Every path has a few puddles. * When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty. * The best sermons are lived, not preached. * Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway. * Don't judge folks by their relatives. * Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. * Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time. * Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none. * Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. * If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'. * Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got. * The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'. * Don't fix it if it ain't broke. * Always drink upstream from the herd. * Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment. * Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in. * If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around. * Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. 7/8/2006 Saturday morning - plus a Sunday afternoon updateHi all!
It is sunny and by the feel of it will be a scorcher today here. The week went well (with a 3-day work week why wouldn't it?) and now it is time to relax a bit. Well, at least be away from the stress of work! We have some yard work to do, a bit of trimming on the bushes and trees, and lots of weeding in the garden (gosh those things grow fast). I have a feeling we will get done with a bit of it and let the rest go. I got my hair cut this morning, and maybe - maybe - I will get a pic of it to put on here. Not sure at this point if I will get to that, but I do like the new look. John said it is cute, even though when I came home he said "so, they hacked your hair off, huh?" (but he says he was just teasing me). lol. Well, back to life - have a great weekend!
Update:
Hi again! It is Sunday mid-afternoon, and John and I are taking a break... wow, we had no idea how much trimming and altogether removal was needed in the back yard. We have filled the area on our 20 x 20 patio, and the branches & weeds are about 6 feet high! There is still more to go... gosh. We had to cut 12 branches off of the huge evergreen tree in the back yard as the bottom ones tend to die off after a certain amount of time. The tree was planted in 1964 and was about 5 years old at that time from the size of it back then and is now almost 3 stories tall. This is the third time we have cut the lower branches back since we moved here. The tree seems to look healthier after we are done. The honeysuckle took over the garden big-time this year. John has been uprooting them when he can while I have been chopping off the branches. (I have some more perennials to plant, so all those holes John has created with the uprootings will do very well as markers for where the new plants go.) There is plenty of honeysuckle along the back of the yard and they are past the height of the power lines now. (There are power and phone lines on poles about 3 feet back from the bushes and trees that grow along the back property line). Those we are leaving alone for the most part as they serve for a windbreak as well as protection and homes for many birds and small animals. We had a woodchuck there once for a couple years until the neighbor lady (who had very bad perception of animals) thought it was a big rat and threw poison down the hole in our yard. Poor thing (the animal I mean). We will trim back the front branches that hang very low, as John has trouble cutting grass otherwise. I found that one of the black walnut trees did not lose a major branch last year after all, but that it healed itself and that branch is now growing almost horizontally, complete with the biggest black walnuts I have seen on a tree in a long time. (We had a black walnut tree in the back yard of the house we owned before this one, and it did well but not this well). I hope your weekend is going as well as ours. I know one thing for sure - we are going to sleep very well tonight, as deeply as we did last night, lol.
Oh, Karina, Frank and Keegan got home safely. The flight was 35 mnutes early, but I had been watching online and so we were there when they got in. They looked relieved, as who wants to sit 35 minutes or more waiting for someone to show up after a long flight? They said the trip was so fun, and they had a marvelous time with Geno, Sarah, Derrick and Xavier. They went to the ocean - Keegan loved it, Karina went parasailing (not sure who else did that), and they did some other things, and the time to leave came way too fast. I am so glad they got to go, as it is difficult to get a full week coordinated with jobs nowadays, and traveling with a baby is not always easy even though Keegan was a dear heart and caused them no problems on the trip. (I can attest that he is a joy anyway!) They looked happy and relaxed, so I know everything went well for them. :-) 7/4/2006 Happy Independence Day!Hi all,
To those who live in the USA, have a happy and safe fourth of July. 85,000 children were treated in ER's during a 5 year period during the fourth of July holidays - 11 year old boys topped the list. Burns to hands, face, and arms were the most common injuries. Supervise your kids if you HAVE to let them play with fireworks. Better idea -- shoot the fireworks off safely yourself. Best idea -- go to an expertly planned public event to watch a fireworks display. Remember what the day is about rather than just an opportunity to shoot off fireworks and have a picnic with a cute red, white and blue theme.
To those who live in Canada, I hope you had a great Canada Day on July 1st.
To all others, hope the weekend was great, and that you are enjoying the week so far.
John and I spent much of the day with my sister JoAnn and brother-in-law Ed. It was a relaxing day, and we are back to work tomorrow. I can hear the fireworks going off all around us, both large and small, and every once in awhile there is a splash of beautiful lights in the sky, glorious colors, and too soon it is gone. It was raining just a bit ago, but it seems not to have dampened anyone's spirit of fun. The professional displays are going off, as I can hear the booms and even feel them a bit. Oooh a red one just went up with a whistler effect attached. I love them all, but maybe the multi colored ones with all the different effects are my favorite.
Have a great day and talk to you soon! 7/3/2006 July 2 at Tom and Jenny's place at Goose Creek LakeSunday was a really nice break from all the craziness, stress and sadness lately. My nephew Tom and his wife Jenny invited the family to their lake house at Goose Creek Lake Resort about an hour's drive from here. My niece Amy and her partner Simon are in Texas visiting his family, and Karina, Frank and Keegan are in North Carolina visiting Frank's twin brother Geno and his family so they did not get to come this time. Marty, Joan and the boys, my sister JoAnn and her hubby Ed, and John and I went. We had a great time! We went out on the pontoon boat twice (you will notice a different set of people on the boat in the pictures, and Annie the great dane was with us on one trip - Sydney the poodle stayed back with Ed both times - Sydney was dyed red/white/blue for the holiday - Jenny dyes Sydney's hair to match each holiday). The lake is huge, with lots of penninsulas jutting out so that there are many coves. We all swam in one cove for awhile, and then later Clayton swam first with me at the dock and then with John after I got kind of tired. That boy is a fish! He would have stayed in the lake the entire day if permitted. He has to have an adult with him, so that kind of limited his swimming as we seem to get out too soon, giggle. Boats were all over the place on the lake, but it was not crowded as only the home owners can have boats there. There were lots of waves from the wakes, so we bobbed around quite a bit at times, giggle. It was fabulous to get to swim, and when we got a bit tired we had life jackets to rest on. The kids of course wore theirs at all times while on the boat or swimming. At one point we had to stop for dinner. The food was delicious, sliced pork loin for the adults, foot long hot dogs for the kids, corn on the cob cooked in husks on the grill, veggie tray with dip, chips, hash brown potato casserole, beans, tomatoes, grapes, watermelon, and brownies. Marty caught several bass. One, the biggest one of the day, got away right after I snapped a pic of it. I wanted one more pic as the first was too dark, so Marty turned around as everyone was coming from the house with their cameras before he let it loose again,and darn the fish flipped right out of his grasp and dropped back into the lake! I felt horrible about it as I was too anxious about taking that second pic and he would have been in the grass instead of on the dock a few seconds later, but he said not to worry (after he yelled a bit about it getting away, lol). It was a beauty. Marty releases them unless they are going to eat the fish that day. Clayton and I found a caterpillar and let it crawl on our fingers for awhile before putting it back on a tree. We saw ducks and a hummingbird too. It was a wonderful day, and I hope we get to go again soon. I put some pics on the album for now as they were from the digital camera, and took a couple rolls with my film camera - to be added later when developed. |
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