Author: boomingbanter

Around midnight the weather app alarm on my phone woke us up. As soon as we were in the land of the living we realized there was a great storm happening and almost immediately thereafter the tornado sirens sounded.

Aaron was already in the basement as he hibernates there when there is no school. So he was safe.

Dibley was silent as a mouse in his crate most likely petrified. We knew if we got him out he’d have to have a pee and we couldn’t take him outside.

So we started to watch TV on the iPhone to see the track of the storm. After ten minutes or so the tornado warning for our county was lifted. By this time We were wide awake and hooked on what was happening elsewhere in the state so kept watching.

Something really unusual happened about thirty minutes later. The sirens went off again. Another tornado? Again we decide to watch and wait. This too passed and we were fine but many others were not.

The city of Dayton, birthplace of aviation, that is about one and a half hours drive away was hit very hard. One person has died and five million people were without power. Homes and schools, shops and gas stations are devastated.

Such was the havoc on the interstate that the snow ploughs had to be brought in to sweep it away.

This morning we realize that one tornado after another was pounding the state including an EF3. It is a miracle of modern technology that all but one person escaped the wrath of the storm thanks to the early warning systems.

The wildlife also seem to have been impacted by the storm. Dibley and I had a big surprise as we went out for our constitutional today.

One of the deer who treat our yard as their ice-cream parlor had decided that we could also serve as the maternity unit.

She had given birth right in the middle of the grass in our back yard. Dibley and I almost fell as we tripped over the fawn but it was in great shape and took off into the bushes before we could get it’s pic. All we can offer is the Hay Where It Lay

Thankful for its health and beauty we decided since Mom or a close relative had trampled down the sedum we might as well pluck it and take it as a birthday treat for the sweet baby. Hope they’ll enjoy and come pose for a photo soon!

Blessing # 351 – Safe Delivery

On this Memorial Day a big shout out to all those who sacrifice so much for our safety.

The thanks we owe the forces who go to foreign shores and those locally who leave their homes each day to work for us in the police, fire and first response services is beyond measure.

The families of these brave souls also deserve such respect and gratitude as they worry each day about their loved ones.

For those, like me, who have never had any desire to sign up and who have little personal experience of what it means to serve in these ways we can only imagine and empathize with those who do.

Years ago in Northern Ireland I lost a childhood playmate who was a Policeman to a terrorist explosion. We had been out of touch for years but hearing his name announced on the radio that day was such a shock. What must his poor family have felt.

More recently it was an honor to know a young man who decided soon after graduating high school that he was going to sign up as a Marine.

Both his parents were my colleagues and also very good friends. The concern they had on his deployment to many war regions of the world over the four years he served was palpable so too was the joy on their faces on his return. Thank God he made it back home for good.

Blessing # 350 – Best of the Best!

It costs nothing to check the weather forecast or to carry a raincoat in a car. So wouldn’t you think we’d have the sense to do that. Oh NO!

My friend Laura had come to stay with her daughter Laurel and we were all going to see Laurel play in the semi finals of the state women’s rugby championships.

We all headed off dressed in shorts and short sleeve tops for the very hot weather we had yesterday afternoon. I went one step further than the rest and wore shorts over my swimsuit!

No sooner had we arrived at the stadium and dropped Laurel with her teammates than a storm rolled in. The temperature fell by at least 20F and we were feeling wet and miserable.

Laura and I headed back to the car to warm up for ten minutes and pick up umbrellas. The only protection we had though that could serve as clothing was two baseball caps, a pair of gloves, two shopping bags and a security vest.

Not being prone to embarrassment   I put on the security vest and matching orange shopping bag which perfectly match my gloves and umbrella. Laura chose the IKEA shopping bag. Aaron and his girlfriend took an umbrella and the baseball hats and moved to a far away seat.

We figured if they happened to need an umpire maybe I get a job!

Blessing # 349 – Tears of Laughter

This morning at Zumba there was a lovely group of teenage girls. They reminded me of disco days of the seventies when four friends and I would regularly go dancing at the weekend. The very last thing in the world I could ever envisage though is my Mum dancing disco!

How times have changed! Girls now work out to the latest hits with women old enough to be their moms or even like me their granny!

Better still the grannies do just as well as they do in keeping up the pace. Not claiming though that we could kick our legs quite as high as those youngsters this morning.

When we were kids our parents seemed so different from us. They wore grown up clothes, they had sensible flat shoes and they had funny hairstyles so unlike ours.

Now we all look alike from the back. The only clues to age are posture and maybe grey roots if you haven’t been to the hairdresser in a week or two.

Face forward given that dentistry has come such a long way our teeth may even look better today than they did when we were spring chickens. I know mine do!

Of course time tells it’s story in every face! That radiance fades even with all the magic potions we slap on each day. Wonder what the future will look like for today’s teenagers will they Zumba when their grannies too!

Blessing # 348 – Mixing it Up

The pool opened at 11:00 and by 11:45 I was all set for a good tanning session and possibly a dip.

Aaron and his girlfriend were joining me later but I couldn’t miss a moment.

In a yard sale a few weeks ago Krishna had found a book for me. A new Maeve Binchy. It is a compilation of some of her short stories that her husband and editors had published just recently.

Its a hard back so not ideal for sun loungers but heh it is a new publication so that’s not going to happen again!

Maeve was one of my all time favorite easy read authors and like many of her fans when she passed to the big library in the sky more than a few tears were shed.

Everything she wrote offered complete relaxation. No need to think too hard or ponder the depths of the universe. Just pure enjoyment and a bit of dreaming.

What better than a book of her short stories for the pool no need even to concentrate on where to snooze off.

So all set for an afternoon of Maeve and sun bathing I dug in.

Well the second story was not even finished when boom in rolled a thunder storm.

Everyone out of the water and undercover for thirty minutes. Just enough time to do a bit of banter and let the rain pass.

We have the all clear to take the plunge again but there’ll be no need for the aloe vera tonight!

Or maybe just a little bit!

Blessing # 347 – Base No Burn

The Memorial Day weekend has arrived at last. Schools out for Summer as Alice Cooper once said and there are two brothers very happy about that!

We are now set to do all things that spell summer. The fridge is full of sweet corn, brats to make dogs, burgers and all sorts of salad stuff.

The seasons first watermelon was  brought home today along with some peaches and mangos so it will also be a fruity fiesta too.

The local water park Zoombezi Bay opened today and our pool opens tomorrow.

My friend Laura and her daughter are coming to see us so we’ll have some good girl times tanning too!

This time of year is the very best. The whole summer lies ahead. We want to feel warm and lie in the sun and swim.

We just hope those scary storms stay well away

Blessing # 346 – Favorite Weekend

The bench is still a work in progress. Over the weekend some rope was purchased and some decorative braid to make the seat.

Monday a first attempt was made to weave these together into a masterpiece.

It was robust but ugly.

The work was a step in the right direction but that rope hurts. It gave me two huge blisters on the old fingers.

Pain resulted in a brainwave though. Could both additional strength and more appeal be achieved by crocheting the rope into a chain?

Yesterday the fingers were given a rest but today a second attempt to make the seat started.

Well this turned out to be a disaster.  Half way through it was deemed appropriate to test the strength of the seat. It was not nearly as strong as Monday’s effort and I went straight through it. That really hurt!

Next up came the weaving of the braid into the rope. You would think with a grandmother and mother both weavers by trade it would be in the blood. It’s not.

After multiple attempts the only way to describe the work was weak and woeful!

So after three hours plodding out came all the pins and we are back to square one.

Saving grace of today got to use my little sander and paint the bench again. Lesson learned anything requiring this level of patience and attention is not for me.

Blessing #345 – Mistakes We Learn From

Last week at our Tuesday Morning Group we came across an intriguing question.

In our study of Saint Peter we had come to the point in the Gospel of John where Jesus appears to Peter and several other disciples after the resurrection.

The disciples had been out fishing during the night and caught nothing. When Jesus appeared to them at dawn he asks them to cast their nets again and low and behold this time they catch a whole load of fish.

The question we encountered was why did John record the exact number of fish that were caught, specifically 153.

Had I read this alone I doubt I’d have given it a second thought but because we talked about it as a group it took on a whole new significance.

The number bugged me. Was there anything special about it? After a little playing around I found it could be divided by 3, 9, and 17. As 9 is a the square of 3 and both 3 and 17 are prime numbers it already took on a different aura.

A google search showed even more  intriguing things most of which I don’t understand. Two stand out though it is the 17th triangular number and also surprise surprise The Measure of the FISH!

This called for an email to my mathematical genius friend Michael to see if he agreed that this was a special number.

Happily he did and better than that he revealed the most interesting thing of all.

If 153 is turned into a binary number it becomes 10011001 that reads the same in both directions,  a Palindrome and a reminder that God is everlasting and unchanging.

Blessing # 344 – Puzzle Solving

The mint is doing a good job keeping the deer away from the other plants and is growing like a weed.

Time already for the first harvest and for the chef to get busy blending.

With the finesse of a maestro Krishna has transformed an armful of the green stuff into what can only be described as heaven.

Subtly blended with chilies and cilantro plus who knows what else we now have a load of chutney that will keep us hot and spicy for weeks to come.

Just a dab of this potion is sure to transform the blandest bite into a rip roaring riot.

It’s such a vibrant green it must be good for the body as well as the soul. If only we could get it to burn a few calories that would be magic!

Blessing # 343 – Versatile Veggie

The furball was awake at the first streak of dawn.

With his Cushing he is thirsty all the time. Now, with the beautiful warm weather finally here he is absolutely desperate for his breakfast bevy. He got a few ice cubes tossed in this morning as well.

Of course the consequence of the rapid intake is a rapid output so off he went to do the necessary.

The moon was really big and bright but it is so hard to get a good picture of it. Why is that?

Since it was cooler outside than in Dibs and I decided to toss the windows open and chill together he will his iced water and me with my coffee.

In the still of the morning we got to listen together to the birds chatter. They really did have a lot to say today.

Reminded me of the first time I ever heard a cuckoo. I was just four and had broken my wrist playing. I had to go to hospital a few times to get it checked on and on one of these trip with my Mom we heard the cuckoo.

We stopped to listen and Mom told me a sweet little rhyme that came back in my mind today just to let me know she hasn’t flown too far!

The cuckoo come in April 

She sings her song in May

She whistles her tune at the end of June

And then she flies away

Blessing # 342 – Early Call