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SpiderWeb of Flourish
Aug. 27th, 2023 09:46 pmMy extended silence was on account of we had a really big thunderstorm that turned into some mini-tornadoes in some parts of the area, though not closer than, oh, maybe eight miles to my house. The power was off for 24 hours--this was much better than for a lot of other people!--but the internet stayed out for three whole days. We were very lucky because no trees or anything fell down in our immediate neighborhood.
I had just started to post on Wednesday night, when the Sparrowhawk arrived back from the train station after picking up the Diva and Muffinhead! Yes! They decided to take a break from Chicago and come see us for a couple of days! I was so happy. Thursday was fiendishly hot and humid, like a very thick, scratchy, grey wet blanket pressed down over the whole sky. The Sparrowhawk was tired from staying up until midnight to pick up the kids, so he nominated me to take them to the mall for some necessary items. Muffinhead is going to Finland on Tuesday for a semester of study in his specialty, and wanted to buy a hoodie without logos. We spent a lot of time browsing in the Barnes and Noble, and then found a his hoodie and a pair of pants with lots of pockets for the Diva to wear at work. We decided to go out to dinner, had a nice time at a favorite spot, and were congratulating ourselves on having arrived home at the perfect time, before the rain started. Yes, it's so cozy inside the house when it's raining . . . until the sky turns green and the tornado sirens start wailing, and the trees lash about in a frenzy and you end up in the basement with your flashlights, and then the power goes off. We have lots of battery powered lanterns and candles. We sat up for awhile telling spooky stories and finally went to bed, and were not too uncomfortable, because we'd cooled the house off pretty well before the AC stopped.
On Friday, the power was still off, so we decided we might as well have beach day. Muffinhead didn't have a suit, but I found an old one of the Sparrowhawk's that fit him all right if the drawstrings were pulled tight all the way. We ate breakfast out and then took off. We could see that a lot of trees had come down on both sides of the highway. Probably a lot of them came down IN the road, but they'd been cleared off by the time we arrived. The day was actually cool and overcast. This made swimming a bit chilly for some, but not for me. They all went in gamely for a time, and then I swam around for a lot longer. We lay around on the beach hoping the sun would come out. It did--just as we were packing up to go to the Whippi Dip and have ice cream. Back home, the power was still out. Off to another restaurant, with outdoor seating where we watched the sunset clouds until it was dark. But when we got home--triumph! All the lights were on at our house! Oh boy, we were happy. The Diva got a chance to wash her clothes, and everything was pleasant and easy again. Still no internet or TV, though.
Yesterday, the Sparrowhawk again drove to the train station and they went back to Chicago to see the Philosopher and his family for another day. Today they flew home, by way of Florida, where they had a long layover, which Muffinhead used to work on the revisions to a paper he's been asked to present at a conference--as an undergraduate. He's not only a very intelligent young man, he's also handsome, kind, well-spoken, a charming traveling companion to his mother, and generous with his conversation to the old folks who are busy doting on him. We gave him a bunch of euros we had left over from our last trip, a Finnish phrase book, and some adapters for his charge cords. And about 6 pm, the internet returned. Honestly, I think I was better off without it in most ways. But I was still frustrated when I didn't have it. "The food here is terrible--and such small portions!"
I had just started to post on Wednesday night, when the Sparrowhawk arrived back from the train station after picking up the Diva and Muffinhead! Yes! They decided to take a break from Chicago and come see us for a couple of days! I was so happy. Thursday was fiendishly hot and humid, like a very thick, scratchy, grey wet blanket pressed down over the whole sky. The Sparrowhawk was tired from staying up until midnight to pick up the kids, so he nominated me to take them to the mall for some necessary items. Muffinhead is going to Finland on Tuesday for a semester of study in his specialty, and wanted to buy a hoodie without logos. We spent a lot of time browsing in the Barnes and Noble, and then found a his hoodie and a pair of pants with lots of pockets for the Diva to wear at work. We decided to go out to dinner, had a nice time at a favorite spot, and were congratulating ourselves on having arrived home at the perfect time, before the rain started. Yes, it's so cozy inside the house when it's raining . . . until the sky turns green and the tornado sirens start wailing, and the trees lash about in a frenzy and you end up in the basement with your flashlights, and then the power goes off. We have lots of battery powered lanterns and candles. We sat up for awhile telling spooky stories and finally went to bed, and were not too uncomfortable, because we'd cooled the house off pretty well before the AC stopped.
On Friday, the power was still off, so we decided we might as well have beach day. Muffinhead didn't have a suit, but I found an old one of the Sparrowhawk's that fit him all right if the drawstrings were pulled tight all the way. We ate breakfast out and then took off. We could see that a lot of trees had come down on both sides of the highway. Probably a lot of them came down IN the road, but they'd been cleared off by the time we arrived. The day was actually cool and overcast. This made swimming a bit chilly for some, but not for me. They all went in gamely for a time, and then I swam around for a lot longer. We lay around on the beach hoping the sun would come out. It did--just as we were packing up to go to the Whippi Dip and have ice cream. Back home, the power was still out. Off to another restaurant, with outdoor seating where we watched the sunset clouds until it was dark. But when we got home--triumph! All the lights were on at our house! Oh boy, we were happy. The Diva got a chance to wash her clothes, and everything was pleasant and easy again. Still no internet or TV, though.
Yesterday, the Sparrowhawk again drove to the train station and they went back to Chicago to see the Philosopher and his family for another day. Today they flew home, by way of Florida, where they had a long layover, which Muffinhead used to work on the revisions to a paper he's been asked to present at a conference--as an undergraduate. He's not only a very intelligent young man, he's also handsome, kind, well-spoken, a charming traveling companion to his mother, and generous with his conversation to the old folks who are busy doting on him. We gave him a bunch of euros we had left over from our last trip, a Finnish phrase book, and some adapters for his charge cords. And about 6 pm, the internet returned. Honestly, I think I was better off without it in most ways. But I was still frustrated when I didn't have it. "The food here is terrible--and such small portions!"
