A Shocking Night!

Friday the 15th we awoke to quite a shock!  Around 12:30 am we were struck by lightning.  Though it was some time before we knew where we were hit, the damage had already been done.  Outside our bedroom window (not more than eight feet from where we lay our heads), the TV antenna, affixed to a long pole, was struck by lightning.  The impact of lightning and thunder with no seconds between them will cause a person to sit up in bed with a bit of heart-thudding.

I was warm in bed and quite asleep when it happened, so my reflex was to pull the covers back up and listen for Tom's movements and updates.  He jumped up with a flashlight and started looking for smoke, smoldering anything, black streaks.  He circled the house, not seeing anything in the dark, and then started inspecting inside.  Our bathroom fan popped out of the ceiling, and the force of energy erupted the push buttons from the bathroom fan timer out of the wall:

The GFI in the both bathrooms was dead, along with CFL bulbs over the dining table.  The front security light switch was fried:

I continued to listen to Tom pad around, switching things on and off.  He joked about never being so relieved to hear the ice maker kick on in the night.  Admittedly, the smell was unnerving, for which I did get out of bed just to check it out.  Eventually it went away.  After Tom came back to bed, he "punnily" said he was too charged up and was going to watch TV.  I never heard it come on, and he was back to bed soon enough to say that the old TV and digital converter box and DVD player had all been fried.  The VCR was still okay.  I can only presume it was because the charge went through the coaxial cable and lost its fizzle by the time it reached the VCR. 

We made it to Santa Fe and back with our replacements after church on Sunday.  Unfortunately, the TV screen was discovered cracked upon turning it on, but Tom has even taken care of that.  We have survived the strike and will soon have a new whole-home surge protector.  The antenna is probably going to be moved and mounted differently, too, rather than serving as a lightning rod.  Oh - and no surprise that when thunder struck this afternoon, I jumped in my seat and nearly pissed myself!  How fun!

MAY!

It was good to get home on the first of May - and then buckle down to all the work that needed tending to - in the office and at home.  In my absence Thomas hung most all the blinds on the windows - a real plus at night. We got to work on hanging the shower rod and head over the clawfoot tub and cleaning up my poor edging job around the guest room windows.  This was all in anticipation of my parents arrival last week.  My mom hasn't been out since we put the decking down for the floor (three years ago!), and this would be their first stay in the new house!

We've been getting lots of water - rain as well as two water runs in April.  Our third is slated for this Friday, and in anticipation of it, I got the great idea to dig an upper pond.  This meant clearing out a couple dead trees and digging up a new pond closer to the property line where the well is.  My dad certainly doesn't need an excuse to play on the tractor.

The weather was pretty crummy Friday and Saturday, but they were able to get the stumps out and move some dirt.  The rest was accomplished Sunday when we finally had some sunny weather.

Monday the clouds returned and that night we got three inches of rain!!  The pictures of the rain gauge are proof - and it was a swampy mess to get to it Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning we awoke to a call from the neighbor saying that his pond was overflowing and would be filling our new pond.  When I went out to take pictures, the flume, which we just cleaned out, was up to 10" and the pond was already overflowing!

What a muddy mess!  I know several little boys back in Oregon who would have loved to slosh around and play in the dirt Tuesday.  Gratefully, Mom and Abba made their way south and got some golf in before the weather turned so wet.  Thanks God for the moisture!

A busy month!

My last update was actually posted from San Diego!  I had the privilege of helping a friend with her 10 month old during an out of town conference.  I enjoyed the sunny (and the overcast and rainy) weather, mucho gelato, and, best of all, time catching up.  The baby and I went for multiple walks a day - my girlfriend and I had fish tacos at least every other day - and I read a few books during nap time.

The baby and I checked out the USS Midway - an aircraft carrier turned into a museum.  It was pretty neat!

Following San Diego, I spent several days hanging out with my niece and nephews, getting to meet my newest nephew only a month old!  There were special meals out, trips to different parks, and some good ol' rough-housing.  Before I left, everyone got together for a gorgeous evening - eating and playing.

Those two weeks were a great deal of fun, but I'll admit coming home a little pooped.  All my traveling seemed to begin earlier in the morning than sunrise, but after an early flight and a long drive home, I was sure delighted to see my Thomas!