Outside My Window ~ 8.8.10

Outside My Window…is a partly cloudy morning, about 77ºF outside at 8:30 this morning.  The humidity right now is 90%…which is typical for the early morning hours….it will drop down to about 60% later today.  I knew it was pretty humid out by the amount of moisture on the car windows and my eastern facing windows.   Our high today is forecast to be 90ºF with sunshine.  We has some pretty rough storms again this past Thursday evening.  I haven’t heard officially but I believe we had a micro-burst in the section of the city where my mother lives.  My sister saw a gas station with part of the roof torn off not too far from my mothers home.  The trees around my mothers house were bending and twisting fiercely in the wind.  As I was leaving her house right before the worst of the storms rolled in, a large limb broke out of one of the trees on her street and landed in the road in front of me.  It was a bit unnerving considering the length of the street out of her neighborhood is lined with trees.  I paused and wondered if this was not the best time to be on this road, but decided to continue on since I was already on my way.  Fortunately there were no other incidents.  There was quite a bit of debris in the neighborhood when I went by to see her yesterday…mostly large tree limbs and stray branches.

I am thinking…about how nice it will be to sit on the back porch while having a cup of coffee and enjoying a South Carolina morning as I sit and talk with my dad.  Yes folks…I am South Carolina bound again very soon to see Papa and Nina.  🙂

I am thankful for…what appears to be good news coming from the Gulf of Mexico about the oil spill.  What makes me incredibly happy is no more images on television of oil pumping into the water from that damaged well.  I don’t think anyone can really know the extent of the damage that has been done, but at least they have stopped the gushing flow of the oil.  Hopefully things can only get better from this point on.

From the kitchen…French vanilla coffee this morning ~ and perhaps a breakfast combination of whole grain rice, eggs and broccoli for me.  I’m quite sure the teenage vampires that reside here will want something else once they rise.  I’m not sure what is on the menu for the rest of the day….but I do have a treat in the freezer for us ~ homemade ice cream made without an ice cream maker.  Intrigued?  Well stay tuned, I will be sharing the recipe with you later this coming week.  🙂

I am going…to be cleaning the house today and getting things together for my trip.  I have already started pre-packing, but more to do today before I go.

I am reading…the Blogs that I follow….trying to play catch up after a busy week.  I really can’t figure out where all the time goes sometimes….does time speed up or do you just get that much slower as you get older and you don’t realize it?  My mother and I were talking one day not so long ago about all the things we once could accomplish in a days time and now we only manage to get it partially completed if lucky.   I don’t feel any slower, so it must be time has picked up the pace.  🙂 

I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks….the quiet hum of the ceiling fan….the sound of laundry in the background….an otherwise quiet house. 

Around the house…laundry in progress….clutter here and there that needs to be picked up and put away….the beginnings of a pile of ‘things to take’ on my trip.

Plans for the week include…a road trip to Catawba, South Carolina….visiting with Papa and Nina….and relaxing time! 

One of my favorite things…if you have been here before I take time off ~ you know the answer to this one.  If you do not, I will tell you that one of my favorite things ~ Relaxing Time!  Oh yea!  I can’t wait to have a relaxing week….time off from work….no schedule….time when I will try to put everyday worries out of my head and all I have to concentrate on is getting that million dollar shot this year of the hummingbirds that visit the feeder.   Camera set to multiple images…high speed…here I come hummingbirds!  🙂

A picture I’d like to share with you…I’m officially in love with zinnias…….so easy to grow….so pretty to see….