10:08 a.m. - May 19, 2006
When The Rain Comes, Smed Runs And Hides His Head...
Be careful for what you wish for.
You�re always gonna get it.
When our softball schedule was released a few weeks ago, I said, to no one in particular, �It would be nice if the first few games got rained out.�
You see, because of the makeup of our team, our games in May are always tough for us to field a full squad. We have a lot of the high school coaches in the area and a lot of parents with activities, and May is just chock full of schedule blockers.
I should have kept my mouth shut.
Well, our first four games were rained out, mainly because Indiana has been transported to Seattle, with thunderstorms!
Yes, it has rained for 10 straight days.
And not just piddling drops of rain either. There has always been one cloudburst or significant storm pass through the area.
I tried to order an ark, but I found out that they�ve been backordered. Dang it.
Yesterday, there were three different thunderstorms that hit this area. One of them contained hail, which is always a bonus. I immediately called home, just to see how people were holding up there with the hail.
When you live in a house like mine, you worry about EVERYTHING! So hail always gives me the heebie jeebies.
The basement is a bit moist, sure. Of course, there�s not a lot we can do about that. The basement of the house was dug out in the 1890�s, I think, AFTER the house was built, and it�s a real fun place to tramp around. It�s about a six foot tall space, so even I have to duck in certain spots.
Around the water softener, it�s always wet, and right now there�s a small stream between the water softener and the drop off that gives access to the heater. It�s not a raging rivulet, but a small waterbug could have a nice sail on it with his lemonade and parasol.
Tuesday, it hadn�t rained all day, so I got to go outside and mow the lawn. If I didn�t get a blade on the grass at that moment, I was going to have to hire some goats to till it.
I wanted to be sure to mow the lawn, for the sake of the neighborhood. Long time readers know about the houses across the street. I wrote about it here. Well, there is one strip in front of each house that is mowed. Yes, one strip. Otherwise, the grass is about calf high, and it looks more like wheat than grass.
(While I was out cutting the grass, I saw the dude that lives in one of the house. He drove away in his car, and he looked like he was an extra in Tad�s �Wood Goblins� video (Ok, that�s really obscure, but work with me.))
So I get done with the lawn on Tuesday. I had an event to get to, and was about ready to take a shower when I heard that familiar pelting. Yep, a sudden shower had cropped up and it rained pretty hard for about 10 minutes. Our softball game (which I would not be able to attend) was cancelled yet again.
I guess I shouldn�t complain about the rain. There have been no floods here, like in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It�s not a drought (oh, no!). We�re not in the summertime heat, humidity, and haze. It�s not FREEZING RAIN, the scourge of the Midwest. So it could be worse. And I realize that.
And I do like the rain, on occasion. A nice gentle spring rain is amongst the best weather things ever! A summertime thunderstorm to break a spell of 90/90 days is quite welcome. If the storm isn�t that close, looking out my bay window at the lightning is pretty cool.
Of course, if it is close, then I shouldn�t be near the window, should I?
But ten days straight of rain, and thunder, and gloomy skies? Well, blah!
It does affect your mood. You get sour and grumpy, especially when a nice sunny day is interrupted by yet another sudden thunderstorm.
It affects the kidlets as well. Well, not so much Kristin. She�s happy just crawling around and trying to stand up and pull things off of the little Pottery Barn table cubes we have in the living room.
But Katie definitely likes her sunshine and blue sky. Of course, she likes going outside, but recently, she�s been a real pistol lately and I wonder if the weather has something to do with it.
I had a night this week where I just was grumpy and grouchy and growly. Liz tried to cheer me up, but I felt like a petulant teenager.
�What do you want to watch?�
�I dunno.�
�Can I pick something?�
�Whatever.�
�How about SVU? Care for a dose of UnStabler?�
�Oh, I guess.�
Since when did I become 15 again?
It had to be the weather. I had NOTHING to be upset about. (OK, yeah, there is the home invasion coming next week, but I mean, I have a lot to worry about this weekend, since it will be prep time (as I wrote yesterday) but otherwise I should have been OK.)
For the past ten days, we�ve been stuck in a rut. Some days it was bright and sunny and then it rained. Other days, it was gloomy and cold all day, and the rain was on and off.
That sunshine was a tease of course. Yesterday was even worse, because it was bright and sunny for most of the day, but all of a sudden on three occasions I saw clouds through my office window and then BAM! Storm!
It really deflated me.
So today, we are supposed to have sunshine and blue skies most of the day. Saturday, we�re supposed to have clear skies as well. Sunday, it may rain, but after two days of sunshine the rain won�t bother me. Much.
But why am I worried when I see this white fluffy cloud outside of my office window that has covered up the sun for the time being?
