Tag Archives: thunderstorms

August 28, 2025 · 3:42 am

Thursday Thoughts 8-28-2025

Freepik

We went to see my husband at the nursing home this morning after deciding that we PROBABLY wouldn’t be hit by the awful thunderstorms that have been causing windows leaking in our condos. We didn’t want to leave our places any more vulnerable than possible, and we were ready with buckets and towels to sop up the water. Happily, we only had a regular rain this morning and none since – yet.

The good news is that Harvey greeted me with, “I missed you,” almost causing a meltdown in me. The nasal tube had been removed, and he was able to eat regular food. The owner of the nursing home said she had a doctor look at him before removing the tube, and that he ate a LOT when it was gone. He looked better, though he was really sleepy – probably from eating so well. We left after just a short visit, because he really needed the rest.

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The Telegraph

PROGRESS REPORT: I’ve lost 73+ pounds an 68+ inches from my heaviest now. I’m finally about 15 pounds away from my goal weight. At the gym, I’m concentrating on NOT holding onto the handlebars when I’m walking. This is causing my brain to really work hard, first concentrating on what I’m doing rather than holding on and rather mindlessly putting one foot in front of the other. Secondly, my brain is constantly having to adjust so I don’t lose my balance and fall on my head. I’m watching a video as I walk, and the paths twist and turn, making ME react to stay on the path. I can FEEL that I’m standing straighter and my weight is shifting differently than when I’m slightly bent over holding onto the bars. I’m hoping to retrain my brain and body to improve my balance over time.

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Brian contacted the handyman for the building, sending him pictures of the leaks in Brian’s place and mine during the last big storm. The man said he would contact Brian, but it looks like we might have crews doing some resealing next week! It may be that this is a temporary fix to be shorn up later, but I’ll be very grateful for anything they can do to make our problem less intense. Help may be on the way!!!!

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Today I used my phone for the first time to adjust my hearing aids. When we were in a Grab, being driven to see Harvey, the driver was on the phone with several phone calls. His voice was so loud he made my ears hurt! This is a first since I got my new hearing aids. I got my phone out, accessed the app, and was able to turn the volume down to a level that didn’t hurt! How neat is that!!! (What I didn’t figure out until later was that I inadvertently fat-fingered a toggle icon at the bottom of the screen, turning off the ‘voice boost’ setting that I like and need. When we got home, I found that I needed to turn the volume up again to hear Brian well, and we figured out that I hit the icon, too. We toggle it back on, adjusted the volume, and I’m fixed again. I’m delighted that I can adjust these the way I need (assuming I’m smart enough to use the app correctly….) 🤣

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December 26, 2024 · 9:55 am

Thursday 12-26-2024

AnimalFunFacts.net

I hope your celebration left you satisfied, maybe a bit too full, with a huge grin on your face.

I’m still feeling SO happy that our son and I enjoyed our conference call yesterday morning. Really the best gift I could have gotten. I love his face. I’m still having happiness bubble up that he has several projects going that he is finding fun and challenging, things are going well, and his part of the world is relatively safe.

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Ranger Rick

Outside it’s dark and gloomy here, with thunderstorms on the way this afternoon. If we can do it without drowning, we’ll drive down to get our mail and drag our trash can up. If not, we’ll hope for better weather tomorrow.

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Port Discovery Children’s Museum

I got started on my new wood-burning project yesterday – a cockatoo. This will be a real challenge, as the bird is mostly white. It will be really difficult to give the bird definition. The main color will be the background, and I’m trying to keep that simple this time. I got the outline of the bird wood-burned yesterday. I’ll start the shading today. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. FUN project!

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We had a challenging afternoon, since my husband was determined to get Netflix to stream on our TV. He had done all kinds of things before he asked for my help. We spent much of the time undoing what he had done. We canceled the account he set up on the computer and signed up for another from the TV. We finally got things to work and he watched a movie yesterday afternoon-into-the-evening. WHEW!

NOW I’m trying to get him to really understand that this account is for STREAMING a movie right then, not taping for later. This will require a real change in his habits. I set him up with a pad of paper and a pen so he can write down what he wants to see and then access each when he’s ready to watch. We’ll see how this goes…

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Enjoy your Thursday, safe and warm and dry, if possible. :0)

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March 15, 2024 · 10:00 am

Storms

Pixabay.com

We had some wild weather last night with waves of storms coming through. We had the back door open, but we shut the front door and the garage door.

It would rain HARD, with thunder and lightning, and then it would slowly quiet down and stop. And then another wave would come through. This went on for several hours – an unusual thing for us. It was still doing that around midnight when we finally gave up and went to bed.

I didn’t know what we would find when we headed for the store this morning to get food for Amber. Sometimes we get just to the top of the driveway and have to stop, go out to the shop to get our chain saw and lots and lots of extension cords to connect in order to cut our way down our driveway with all the tree branches, and sometimes whole trees (!) that have blown down.

This morning we lucked out. With all the rain we got, NO branches or trees down in the driveway. You could see where it is trying to wash out on one edge, but that’s it. I’ll try again to find someone to help us repair the driveway as much as we can afford soon. We’ve had money flying out in all directions lately, so we’ll have to be careful to make sure we have it all covered before we contract with someone.

I hope that you came through all the bad weather from last night and that you enjoy your day.

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March 31, 2023 · 9:02 am

Lunch Bunch?

Forbes

It looks pretty ominous outside right now. We’re supposed to have thunderstorms this morning.

DIY Value Picture

We’re supposed to go to Lunch Bunch in about an hour and a half. I haven’t heard from anyone, so that USED to mean we were all planning to come. Since Kay and Linda aren’t good about carrying their phones, it’s like throwing a bottle in the ocean to reach them. I can leave a voice mail on Kay’s phone, but she says she doesn’t get it. The voice mail isn’t set up on Linda’s. I can’t text either of them. So we’re down to smoke signals. :0)

Happily, my husband’s attitude is that we can go anyway, even if we’re ‘stood up’ by the others, eat our lunch, and then run errands or come back home, so that’s what we’ll do.

We aren’t under imminent warnings at the moment, so I’ll just keep an eye on things and we’ll make our decision later.

Stay safe and dry if you can today.

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March 2, 2023 · 8:53 am

Thursday 3-2-2023

5News

As you can see, red and yellow blobs are coming for us today. Right now it’s just cloudy. We’re hoping that the used computer we’re expecting to be delivered will come BEFORE the blobs arrive.

Our pest spraying guy is supposed to be here around 11:00 this morning. Finding what was Tri-Hill Pest Control and is now West Termite, Pest & Lawn (with the same wonderful man coming to the house) was one of the best things we’ve done. I was stung/bitten (?) by a scorpion in our bed several years ago and still have nightmares about it from time to time. These people spray for everything – including elephants – at my request with stuff that is very deadly for bugs but safe for Amber and Abby. I feel quite lucky we’re so well taken care of.

I had a very happy thing happen yesterday. I received a birthday card from a dear friend who lives in Virginia. She used to be on my Creative Artworks website and is so talented that it wouldn’t surprise me if she crocheted a bus. It was great to hear from her. I’ll reach out to her today.

I discovered this morning that folding our laundry upstairs on our made bed is a time-saving and easier way to handle the task than using my fold-down table in the laundry room or asking my husband to help me and then hauling the full basket up the stairs. Especially easier was folding the sheets and the comforter I had washed. It has only taken me about 36 years to figure this out….

Happy Thursday!

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February 22, 2023 · 9:25 am

Rainy Wednesday

Ranger Rick

It’s quite rainy here this morning with possibly severe weather with gusty winds forecast for much of the day. We will stay in where it’s nice and dry.

My husband is still working on our computers. He finally gave up on the rebuild of the computer that lives in our shop, finding a used one he could order. This will hopefully arrive soon. Meanwhile, he’s working on the networking between his computer and mine in the office, and is having a hard time with it. He has been working with the techs at Microsoft, and I’ve been typing for him because he gets frustrated with typing since his strokes. I’ll be glad when we can get our problems fixed and we can go back to what passes for normal around here.

I will move between working at the computer, reading, playing in my art room, and cleaning things today.

I hope that your day is a fun one.

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February 21, 2023 · 9:18 am

Tuesday 2-21-2023

Cheezburger

We picked up our truck yesterday around 2pm. It was a delight driving it home because there was NO noise when I put on the brakes. NONE. :0) We had to have the rotors replaced on the front, but they said the back ones were fine. We have new brake pads all around. A new lease on life!

Today will be a quiet one with nothing we HAVE to do, other than pull the emptied trash can back up where we can tether it to the pole. We are due for thunderstorms tomorrow and don’t want the can to blow away. My husband scoffed at me when I mentioned that, but then had to admit we’ve learned the hard way about gusty winds here. Our 200+ pound robot has been blown off the side of the driveway and it about killed us to get him back up where he belonged. We now have a chain around his neck, tying him to poles front and back so he jut LEANS when the wind hits him just right. Straightening him up is enough of a job.

Women’s Health

A shout-out this morning to my dear friend Marsha. She has started walking each day and is ordering a pedal-type exercise thingie to use every day in order to build up her muscles and make her stronger. I know how hard it is to make the decision to move more and not let aging take your quality of life. Harder still to actually DO it every day. Walking and pedaling for her – yoga, elliptical and weights for me. We’ll encourage each other to keep it up. GOOOOO, MARSHA!

I’m trying to deep clean something each day. I’ve just finished the kitchen now, and today I’ll scrub the two half-baths on the first floor. I’ll try to contain my excitement. :0)

I hope your Tuesday is a really nice one.

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June 26, 2022 · 10:19 am

Slept Like a Baby

Ana Maria Navarro Leitao

I absolutely LOVE this photo. I’ve kept it in my pictures on my computer, enjoying looking at it for days and days now, and wanted to share it. I’ve never really been sure where the expression, ‘sleeping like a baby’ actually CAME from, since in MY experience, it was always a very short-term RELIEF when our babies slept and we could rest, too, but –

Since it means that you slept really well, I’ll happily tell you that that was the case with ME last night. I awoke feeling rested before the alarm was due to go off, something that always puts me in a good mood.

We’re supposed to have a cold front and thunderstorms today! (We’re right below and to the right of Fort Smith on the map.) I say this happily because the heat indices have been pretty hard on us, and we’re ready for some relief – kind of like when babies finally get to sleep – you’re SO happy with whatever you can get. :0)

Jessica Gavin

I’m going to make beef stew in the crock pot for our dinner tonight – much heavier on the veggies than I used to make. My husband really liked the last batch I made, so it’s nice that we can meet our veggie needs with a dish we really like – plus I’ll make enough we have some good leftovers to heat up another night or two.

I feel empowered this morning! I solved a problem with my computer for which I used to have to go to my husband for help! I have two monitors. (I move things all around from screen to screen when I’m working.) This morning my left-hand monitor was dark and wouldn’t turn on. It’s the MAIN monitor, so all the controls for the computer are on that one. The right-hand monitor only turns on when the LEFT one is on. So I concentrated on not panicking.

I tried rebooting the computer. It came on, but I still had the same problem. I got under my table and checked the connections in the back of the computer box. All good. I checked the connections on the front of the box. All good. I carefully checked the connections on the monitors. Right one good. Left one LOOKED good, but one connection was a bit loose. The monitor finally winked on! Then the right one came on. Windows had added upgrades and rebooted my computer – the reason all wasn’t as I left it, but I FOUND the reason the monitor wasn’t working. All is restored now and I DID IT. :0) I’ll try not to be insufferable. :0)

123RF-Anton Dotsenko

Have a wonderful Sunday!

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June 7, 2022 · 10:47 am

This Morning’s Exercise

moving.com

We wanted to get our trash down to the bottom of the driveway this morning for pickup, but as I told you, we’re trapped up here, with a humongous pile of crusher dust in the driveway at the point we wanted the guy to spread it on down the driveway. It is impassable.

SO – my husband backed the truck down about 1/4 of the 650 foot+ steep driveway. We each took a trash bag and started walking down to the bottom. I have seriously thought about buying some football cleats to wear when trying to walk up and down our driveway. The gravel rolls, making it really hard to walk without falling on my head. I walk down on the edge on one side where there is a bit of grass for more traction.

Anyway, I got down to the bottom with my bag, then took the smaller bag I had brought in order to gather several days worth of mail from our box. I started up and saw my husband trying to gather stuff. His bag had ripped, spilling stuff all over. I went up and we gathered it up, and each took part back down the driveway. We got things bagged up for the trash men and started up again. It’s MUCH harder to walk UP the steep driveway than come down!

I had to stop three times on the way back to the truck to catch my breath. Since thunderstorms are imminent, the humidity is fierce today, too. I guess this is showing me I need to do this much more often in my efforts to get healthier – if it doesn’t kill me first… :0)

The truck is back in the garage now, safe and sound from the coming storms, which are forecast to last until about 2pm today and then start up again this evening. Oh, GOOD!

wildremoval.com

We caught raccoon #6 overnight, OF COURSE, when we are unable to get out to relocate him. We’re trying to decide if we should simply let him out of the cage or what.

Another piece of news is that our dog, Amber, was barking like a nut at our trailer we have by the shop. GUESS WHAT! We have a mama SKUNK and her babies under there. My husband managed to get Amber back in the house without her getting ‘skunked,’ thank goodness. We’re not sure what to do about the skunk family, either. This may have happened before, but we’re not aware of it.

The rain has started. It’s quite dark and ominous-looking now. I’ll close the garage door soon, but we’ll leave our front and back doors open as long as we can so we can enjoy a possible cool-down as the storms move through. It would be good if we don’t get any damage from the storm. We have enough on our plate already, thank you very much.

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May 16, 2022 · 10:19 am

Monday Morning at ‘Our’ Beach

ML Lewis

Ahhhhhh! I can almost HEAR the waves!

It looked like we were going to be blown away several times yesterday afternoon and evening, but we’re not really sure we had rain at all during the ‘storm watch.’ We heard rumbling and bumbling after we went to bed, but the windows were dry this morning. We have lots of leaves and small branches over the yard, but nothing else.

I’m late getting here this morning. We had blood work in preparation for a routine doc appt later this week and then treated ourselves to our semi-annual breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants after. We just got home a bit ago.

The weather is nice today, so I’m planning to get out soon and see if I can finish pruning and anchoring my tomato plants. There is always something to do in the garden, but I’m taking things slowly.

I hope that your Monday is a nice one.

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July 9, 2020 · 12:44 pm

Nice Morning

Can Stock Photo

I had a lovely massage this morning. I asked her to just leave me there and let me drift off to sleep, but she made me get up, pay her, and leave. Imagine that! She is truly a miracle worker. I feel a lot better.

It was getting dark as I left – at 11:00 in the morning!  I got home just before storming started. I shut the garage door, and closed up the house. It has rained, but it doesn’t seem to be severe at this point. We have more waves of storms coming this afternoon and tonight.

I chatted with our son in Thailand this morning briefly. There is 12 hours difference in our times, so we have to chat quickly sometimes. He sounded really happy. He said, “last night when i was falling asleep i was listening to the rain, and i think i heard some kind of religious singing from somewhere, maybe the nearby wat, and i was feeling the breeze from my fan, and i thought to myself how fortunate i am.”

We are on our official whole first day of the South Beach Diet today. (We started after lunch yesterday.)  So far, we’re doing fine, although we’re fumbling around some. We like the shakes, and the ‘ice crushes.”  Mine are chocolate, of course. :0)  I got home from my massage late for our morning ‘snack.’ We went ahead and did that, deciding we would delay lunch for an hour or so. I have keto chili in the crock pot for one of our DIY dinners for the week. I’m interested to see what we think of our lunch options.  I have found that their ‘peanut butter bites” (a package of small cookies) is delicious. I am trying to record what I eat and drink on the tracker on their website. It’s different that the other I have been using, but I’m determined to make it work.

I received one of the new wooden earring shapes I ordered yesterday, and am eager to get up to the art room to see what I can do with it. :0)

I hope you’re having a wonderful day.

 

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