Tornado monsoon

July 1, 201416 Comments

June 29

2014-06-29 10.16.03 I went upstairs to put the boys to bed a little after 8:00 p.m. and the sky was dark. Like middle-of-the-night dark. Given that it’s been staying light till somewhere around 9:00 p.m. lately, this was odd. But it had been raining, so I didn’t worry too much about it. I had just started reading Fox in Socks when the emergency alert went off on my phone – a tornado warning had just been issued. I hollered down to Seymour to find out what was going on and he said he’d check the radar, so I went back to reading. A couple minutes later, Bubbles thundered up the stairs and said we were supposed to head down to the basement.

After yesterday’s monsoon, we woke up to find our basement submerged beneath three inches of water. We managed to drain it eventually, thanks to our cousins – they came to Cricket’s birthday party this afternoon packing a pump. The basement is once more flooded in places, but that’s fodder for another post.

I may even write it one day.

2014-06-29 21.57.54 Anyway, the boys were happy…

Photo Friday again already?

May 30, 2014August 22, 20141 Comment

So…how did that happen? Wasn’t it just Monday yesterday? Not that I’m complaining, mind you, it’s just that I’m now left wondering what in the world happened to the month of May. It was just May Day last week, right?

Right? No? Okay, fine.

Well, today’s theme is movement. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know I’ve been spending quite a bit of time out in my yard taking pictures of all the pretty things sprouting up from the ground. We’ve had quite a lot of wind lately, too, so getting those great shots has been something of a challenge.

Yesterday, though, I headed out across the driveway and got down in the dirt to get a shot of the pretty green shoots coming up in the neighboring field. I’ve been wanting to do this for a week or so, but I just haven’t made the time for it. Until yesterday, that is, while the boys were occupied with the cat.

It’s the little things. 🙂

Of all the shots I took yesterday morning, this one is probably my favorite, and features tiny little corn stalks waving in the wind.

2014-05-29 11.38.49

Don’t forget to stop by Charnele’s blog – she’s got an amazing photo to share with you all today. 🙂 Happy Friday, everybody! Have a fantastic weekend!

¡Hace calor!

August 30, 20139 Comments

Well, it’s late and I’m exhausted after a long day. I hope you’ve all been enjoying the poetry! Most of them were written on our last camping trip. We spent two hours waiting for our boat to get fixed and, after my phone battery died, I whipped out my handy little purse notebook and started writing. (If I’d have had The Lokana Chronicles with me, I’d have started revising, but that didn’t work out.)

Anyway, I’ve got loads to tell when I’m less tired and more coherent, so for tonight, I’ll just leave you with this. It hit 105° today at work, and in Des Moines, apparently it hit 108°. I heard that was a record, but I don’t know for sure.

What I do know for sure is that when it’s this flippin’ hot out, there’s only one thought that runs through my mind, and it goes like this:

Chatty Trees

August 24, 2013August 21, 2013Leave a comment

Birch leaves wave gently
In the summer breeze, chatting
With the nearby pines.

Weekend exploits, or Double Trouble (times two!)

August 13, 2013Leave a comment

Good friends and good food – what more could a girl ask for on a rockin’ Friday night?

Well, here I am, sitting at my desk on a lovely Tuesday morning, trying to recover from yet another action-packed weekend. When I look back on the summer of 2013, I think that’s what I’ll remember – it was a summer of action. This time, though, instead of a family camping trip, the weekend revolved around time spent with great friends (and loads of good food, naturally).

One of my oldest and dearest friends is back in town. Well, not my town anymore, but I’ll get to that. See, she moved cross-country to sunny California after high school, putting a serious crimp in our hangout schedule. Last time she was back in Iowa and I actually got to see her was four years ago when her sister got married (sadly, she couldn’t make it back for my wedding a few months later – stupid circumstances). Clearly, we needed to get together again, and that’s exactly what happened this time, as she spent her trip to our hometown crashed on my couch. After the “excitement” I had at the beginning of July, this was just the sort of excitement I needed.

Campfire tales

July 25, 2013July 25, 20134 Comments

So, after my last post, how about something a little lighter? I’ve been camping three times in the last month and I don’t think I’ve recounted any of our grand adventures! How the heck did that happen?!

Okay. Enough exclamation marks. Maybe. 🙂

So in June, we had planned to visit the (I assume, having never been there myself) lovely Volga Lake. Thanks to Mother Nature, we were forced to change our plans and we wound up visiting scenic Pine Lake instead, right smack in our own backyard. It was such a nice park that we decided to return in July, which turned out to be perfect because I got called into work (our camping trips straddled the week-weekend divide). So in June the weather was lovely, the river was perfect for tubing, the hiking trails were excellent, and we had a great time.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

But our first trip in July was a little more eventful…

Campers away!

July 5, 2013July 5, 20137 Comments

Aaand we’re off like a herd of turtles! At long last, Camping Adventure No. 2 is officially under way! 🙂

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Tuesday already?

July 2, 2013July 2, 20134 Comments

Hi, everybody! Thank you all for stopping by. I know it’s been a bit quiet here lately and unfortunately, I think that trend may continue for a while longer. Between the upcoming holiday, my impending camping trips, the new job, recovering from Saturday’s successful garage sale, and something else that I’m not quite ready to discuss in detail (though I did vaguely mention it on Twitter yesterday), I’ve got a lot on my plate at the moment and something’s gotta give. Sadly, I think my writing is it.

So, I’ll try to pop in here as often as I can. I’ll try to do the same for Facebook, even though I know my presence there lately probably isn’t what it ought to be. And Twitter? I’m still searching for a mobile app to replace my beloved Tweetdeck. If anyone has any suggestions for apps they love, I’m all ears (though for the record, I’ve tried HootSuite and I just don’t like it as well). Let me know in the comments! Maybe then I’ll at least be able to keep up there.

Until next time, folks, have a happy Fourth and stay safe.

Gone fishin’

June 13, 2013June 13, 201310 Comments

The boys are at the babysitter’s, the camper’s loaded up, and Camping Adventure Number One has begun! See you next week, everybody! 🙂

I’ve got sunshine

June 11, 201315 Comments

It’s another beautiful day here in Central Iowa! We’re still dealing with some flooding, but at least the rain has stopped coming every darn day. Unfortunately, that happened a little too late for a lot of people, some of my family among them. I’ve been adding pictures to my Flood of 2013 Pinterest board – the water levels are just amazing. Even now that the constant rain has stopped, more or less, the rivers and creeks are still awfully high. A lot of fields still have standing water in them.

But that’s not what this post is about. My brain is currently being pulled in three different directions, so today’s post is going to be light and pretty. That’s right, it’s another photo post! After all, who doesn’t love pictures?

“What? Haven’t you ever seen a guy eat cake before?”

A little bit of sunshine on a cloudy day. 🙂

No, it’s not blood. Someone had fun with the ketchup while Mommy’s back was turned.

And Cricket’s frown got turned upside down…literally! 🙂

Gotta love silly father-daughter pictures. She makes the best faces. 🙂

I don’t know why my face is in focus and Thumper’s face isn’t, but it’s still super cute.

So that’s a brief look at what we’ve been up to lately – eating cake, playing in ketchup, and making faces (and writing like mad when I can find a few minutes of silence). This weekend we leave for our first camping trip of the season and I’m looking forward to family togetherness and more camera fun. And my Tomcat will be returning from two weeks with his dad, which will make it extra special. So if I’m even more absent than normal in the coming days, zat’s why, my lovelies. I promise to return with pictures a-plenty and perhaps even a fish tale or two!