Outside My Window ~ 8.29.11

I had actually completed this post last night however prior to publishing, I saved it as a draft…and all but this paragraph was gone afterward.  😐  Beyond frustrated because of what happened, I wasn’t up to recreating the entire post so I went to bed.   I’m leaving the first paragraph as it was….and will begin it again today.

Outside my window ~ 8.28.11…is the close to our first day with no worries over an approaching hurricane.  It was a beautiful albeit hot day….blue skies, sunshine and plenty of wind left over.  Our forecast high was 91°F and it was still a bit humid since the storm passed.  There are leaves, branches and limbs everywhere but surprisingly the trees still look pretty full.  The fact that they were so full was a huge concern in this storm….trees lush and full of leaves topple much faster than those with far less.  I had some decent sized limbs in my backyard but no real damage that I can see.  I was even fortunate enough to hang on to my chimney too!  Another huge concern with this storm on my part…the last one that went through like this tore off several in the neighborhood.  It looks like everyone made it out of this one intact.  It was a wild ride…lots of groaning but the chimney stood strong.  I walked outside Friday before midnight and could see the outer bands swirling by in the night sky.  The rain and wind came not long after that, continued throughout the day Saturday until the rain finally slowed around 10 or so last night…the wind never really eased up until later today.  And as always…blue skies after the storm.  But you know, while you are sitting there listening to the wind howling, the rain pouring down for hours on end ~ you begin to wonder if it will ever stop.  It is exhausting and stressful.  I felt as if I had been holding my breath for the last few days and was finally able to exhale.

Outside my window today…is another beautiful day ~ even better than yesterday.  The temperature is at 78°F and there is a breeze (and yes, some wind gusts but not too strong) causing the wind weary trees to sway softly.  Sunshine, blue skies and as I said mild temperatures.  We do have a chance for afternoon thunderstorms today…I’m not so anxious to go through wind and rain but at least I know it won’t go on for hours and hours if it does rain.  Our week is full of mild temperature forecasts ~ seems we are easing our way towards fall and cooler temperatures.  I can honestly say I’m ready for fall…maybe not so much winter…but fall will be a nice change.

I am glad…we are finished with the hurricane and I’m hoping we don’t have to experience another one this year.  These things….hurricanes….are fascinating but they are also mentally exhausting ~ is it coming this way….what do I need to do….is everything secure…how long will it last…what was that noise…will the wind please stop howling.  These are just some of the thoughts your mind has to process.  It. is. exhausting.

I am thinking…that everyone I have spoken with made it through Hurricane Irene with little to no damage.  It could have been much worse.  Sadly I lost the sunflowers and the zinnias.  The sunflowers had just about run their course this year.  I planted some different ones than previous years and I won’t lie, I was a little disappointed.  They were much smaller and while the package indicated large blooms with various colors, I wasn’t that fortunate.  In all fairness, I was a little late planting everything this year so that may have had something to do with it.  I may give them another try next year but I do know I will need to include some type of support system for them if I do.  The zinnias were looking really good….and while what I had was beautiful, I was a little disappointed in them as well.  When I purchased the seeds I neglected to notice they were just one color.  The flowers last year were several different colors…this year, all one color….yawn.  Happily, the morning glories made it ~ flowering just as beautifully the day after as they did the day before. There were some branches and limbs in the back yard…the tomato plants didn’t stand a chance against that wind so they will produce no more tasty treats for me.  I did pull off the green tomatoes and have set them in a sunny window sill to see if they will ripen.  No shingle loss…chimney is good and I kept my power the entire time however my land line is not working now…constantly ringing busy….but my internet is working ~ and the DSL is connected through my telephone line.  Weird huh?  I attempted to solve the problem without success….I will deal with that tomorrow or the next day.

From my kitchen…is a recipe for Bolognese sauce.   Click the link and Enjoy!  🙂

I am working on…scanning my photographs…cleaning out closets…straightening up the attic…far too many things at once.  I make myself crazy doing this ~ so why do I do it….I do not know.

I am hoping…everyone is recovering from the storm as well as can be expected.  I know for a fact the electricity is being restored at a quicker pace than with Isabelle.  Perhaps this was a case of lessons learned from that particular storm and the state was ready for this one.

I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks….The Closer on television….the sound of the keyboard tapping this post.

Plans for the week include…back to work on Tuesday ~ the campus was closed on Monday…I was suppose to pick up my youngest from the airport this evening after visiting her father but the plans were changed when they ran into flight issues due to the storm…looking forward to the holiday weekend that is coming up.

One of life’s little pleasures…making it through the storm in one piece.

From my camera…after stopping by my mother’s house on my way home Friday afternoon, I couldn’t resist the urge to drive to the boat dock near her home and check out the sky.  What started out as blue skies and sunshine had turned into the cloudy skies and outer bands that preceded Irene….