Friday Comes In With a Boom and a Bang…

The alarm went off at 6:45am this morning followed by a very, very loud clap of thunder. Of course, the ubiquitous freight train was rolling through downtown as well, flanges squealing loudly on the curve, as it often does during inclement weather.

“Was that thunder?” Tracy raised up out of the bed and asked with a deer in the headlights look.

“Yes, it was!” I replied happily and I hurried to the computer room to turn my computer on and check the radar.

One small little complex of thunderstorms was just parked and sitting over the Valley and putting on quite a show.

“Is it raining?” Tracy then asked as she was getting in the shower.

“No rain,” I replied. “We are getting what Sally Lou (dad’s mom) would call an electrical storm.”

The rain and humidity would make Tracy’s hair extra curly and she already has an ample head of curls as it is – my girl with the curls and the curves.

I got in the kitchen and made us a simple meal of cheese toast and fried bacon. Maggie was underfoot the whole time I was cooking hoping to get some bacon as well.  

Tracy left for work about 40 minutes ago and Mother Nature is still putting on a grand show of lightning and thunder. It is music to these old addled ears as long as the power stays on.

The Storm That Could? No, the Storm in Absentia…

I’ve watched a strong line of storms push across Alabama all day. I grew more and more excited as it closed in on the Valley. It finally arrived about the time Tracy was pulling into the driveway after work. There were strong straight line winds, torrential rains, but where was the lightning and thunder? It turned out to be a bust. At least my power and internet didn’t go out like they often will do with a big storm. The storm looked awful nasty on the weather radar, though. I thought we were going to get a big one!

Can You Say Denied? Not a Drop…

Of all this weather activity around us, we didn’t get one drop of rain. I was hoping to move operations to the porch after the rain cooled off this very hot Southern summer day.

Reporting to Kroger, Sir!

My diet got really serious tonight. I didn’t buy 4 bags of powdered donuts and several gallons of whole milk with a side of sugary cereal. The big value boxes of unfrosted strawberry Pop-Tarts got left on the shelf. The hardest thing I gave up were my whole grain and cheddar crackers. Those things were irresistible to me, but six little crackers were 200 calories.

“Oh, I could eat you all up!” I muttered to myself as I passed the Hostess and Little Debbie shelves on my way to get a loaf of bread.

One time, my mother lost a lot of weight drinking those Slimfast drinks and I bought a case of them tonight. It was my biggest expense at $15 dollars and some change. That’s going to be my lunch. I also absolutely love Klondike bars and imagine my elation when they offered a sugar free version. I ate one when I got home and it was delicious. I couldn’t wait to try it.

Some of the other foods I got were fat free black cherry Greek yogurt for snacking, sugar free drink mixes to replace the copious amounts of whole milk I used to drink, and quite a few Lean Cuisine meals. I rounded out my groceries with my two journal writing sodas which were two diet Mountain Dews. I resisted buying the super calorific Baja Blast variant even though I wanted them quite earnestly. They have 380 calories per bottle compared to the 10 calories of the diet variant. I think I picked wisely.  

So, what was the damage dealt tonight? I spent $91 dollars. My father was fine with it realizing I was in uncharted waters with all this dieting food. I bought too many Lean Cuisine meals for the most part. Junk food is so less expensive as well. Four bags of Hostess powdered donuts will only cost you $8 dollars. A big bag of Cheetos puffs only costs $3 dollars. Whole milk is only $2.20 a gallon at Kroger.

“You’ll get better as you go,” my father kindly told me as we headed to our respective cars.

We were both glad we missed the big swath of rain headed our way. It started raining as soon as I arrived home and was unloading my groceries. Dad called me as I was unloading and said we had perfect timing on those regards tonight. I agreed.

Interesting Weather? Denied!

I am so sad and forlorn tonight. Sniff! Not a drop of rain fell at my house today despite storms being all around us. I didn’t get to hear the sweet sound of thunder rolling across the sky. Laura texted me that they had a big thunderstorm in LaGrange tonight. LaGrange is just up the road from us. It came in and built up with a boom and quickly dissipated on the radar, spent.

Excited About Tomorrow…

Tomorrow heralds in a new weather pattern for the South. Our summer popup thunderstorms return! I hope to be seeing some rain when I leave the Humane Society around lunch tomorrow. We have a 60% chance of storms tomorrow evening. It was so dry and hot today.

T-storms
Likely

A Prelude to Fireworks…

The night skies are all lit up around here. Especially to our South and East. Some severe thunderstorms are lighting the horizon in a glorious fashion – the clouds showing a burst of color. This is our version of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. I’ve just come inside after sitting  on the steps outside on this humid  and hot Southern night. I had to call my father and let him know about it. He loves weather watching as much as I do.

“You can see lightning for 100 miles and hear thunder at 30 miles,” is what he told me walking outside with his cellphone to his ear.

Feeder’s Club Local 36801…

The phone began to ring and I hurried inside to answer it. I almost didn’t hear it at first. The wind was just howling outside. 

“Just what are you two doing?” Charlie loudly asked me over the phone when I answered.

Maggie and I had been sitting on the porch awaiting some storms to arrive. I had my tablet computer and was checking the radar with it periodically. The storms bypassed us, by the way, much to my chagrin.

“I’ve got you three Chick-fil-a sandwiches and a big Coke,” Charlie said. “I will be there in five minutes.”

Charlie arrived and came inside for a little while. Maggie was in ecstasy at this unannounced visit. Charlie was joking and laughing and so jovial in general. It lightened all our moods. Especially my disappointment over the storms fizzling out

“Now, I’ve got to go to the dentist tomorrow morning and then I am bringing you and Maggie breakfast biscuits and hash browns around ten. You’ll get a big Coke as well.”

I couldn’t thank Charlie nearly enough. This was such a nice surprise this afternoon and will be a nice diversion in the morning as well.

Bless Maggie’s heart. She gets so tired of that dogfood and wolfed down one of those Chick-fil-a sandwiches or should I say inhaled it then spit out the pickles.

I Hope Your Sword Strikes Truer Than Mine…

I was up and early this morning at 8 AM. Today is hopefully the big day. I didn’t want to miss the HVAC guys laying in the bed. I scrambled my last three eggs and added the last of my shredded cheddar. I took some buttered toast and made a sandwich out of mine. It sure hit the spot. Tonight is grocery night. It is time to refill my depleted supplies and my cherished breakfast foods. I mustn't forget my cheese on wheat crackers I am so enamored with at the moment.

Maggie sat hungrily on the floor next to me. If she’s not careful, she might get a paw stepped upon. We both ate our breakfasts and I took a short cold shower. It was so chilly in here this morning that I was wearing a jacket to accompany my khaki shorts. It will quickly warm up, though. It is already 85°F outside at this early hour of the day.

“Call me when they get there,” Charlie told me shortly over the phone.

“I sure will Charlie,” I replied, glad he was in on the program.

It is almost 11 PM and they still haven’t arrived. I am starting to lose hope. We are supposed to have big storms every day the whole rest of the week – more of a summertime pattern for the South. I hope they are aware of that fact.

I Spoke Too Soon…

It got downright hot in here today at 83°F. The sun has set and it is a wonderful 66°F outside and I can feel the cool air blowing in from the bedroom fan. Maggie’s conked out in her favorite place on the rug in the computer room enjoying the cool air as well. It is supposed to get up to 91°F Saturday. I hope they get that HVAC installed in the next day or so or lord have mercy on my soul.

Pleasant Calls…

Janice called me tonight to thank me for her new to her computer. She said she was astounded at how fast the computer was.

“I’ve always had to wait on my computers,” she said to me. “Now my computer waits on me.”

She offered to pay me, but I would have none of that. Charlie has done countless similar things for me over the years.