Thunderstorms

I really adore summer thunderstorms. Way back in the olden days when I was a kid, we all would go sit on the front porch, (which faces west) and watch the storms roll in from the south. The view of the lake was somewhat less obstructed back then, and watching the lightning dance over the lake was a real treat. So whenever the thunder begins, some one in the family says "SHHHH!" an then we listen to the thunder, and then in something resembling unity: "Ooooooh!" It's weird, but it's what we do.




Occasionally, there is a storm in the middle of the night - like last night. Ok, maybe not the middle of the night, but if I'm still sleeping, it's "the middle of the night." Around 5 it woke me up. My first thought was, wow! that's good thunder! That was followed by, No . . . that can't be thunder. There isn't any pause between. So I went to investigate. (It is important to note that my bedroom is in the basement.) Not only did it prove to be thunder, but it was THE BEST thunder, accompanied by THE BEST lightning. It was HUGE bolts of lightning, seeming to touch the ground over in Saratoga Springs, and the accompanying thunder crashes were so loud! The whole sky would light up when the lightning would strike, and the thunder just rolled and rolled . . . like one on top of another. It was a thunder storm that hasn't been equaled by these eyes in quite some time. Eventually the skies opend up, and did it rain! I sat and watched all this majesty for about 45 minutes and then went back to bed, only to get up again a half hour later to get ready for work.




Then it all started up again this afternoon. It rained hard again, with some hail, and the thunder was again magnificent. The lightning wasn't quite as good, but it also wasn't as dark. I love the storms! Our plans to go to the pool after dinner were spoiled, but that's ok when the trade-off is so worth it.




Taylor and Jack (mostly Jack) made tacos for dinner. I must say, it is pretty great to come home and have dinner at least started.




I finished another book. That makes 2. Oh yeah, count them, baby. 2 books. Since June. If you really want to be generous, I listened to "The Magician's Nephew" at work today. There are a few books (mostly The Lord of the Ring series and Harry Potter) on the network at work, but luckily they also have the Narnia series. I'm already getting tired of my music, and the network music, and the pandora.com music . . . I just needed a change, and I do like the Narnia books so it worked out good. So if you count that, it's a whopping 3 books. I have 2 books loaded up on the ipod to listen to tomorrow. The book I just finished is "Gods and Angels" by Jeff Shaara. It was really good to begin with, but towards the end (the war chapters) it got a little too . . . um, what's the word . . . detailed? I don't know what I mean. I love the Civil War period as much as the next guy, but it just really seemed to bog down in military strategy, which I didn't care much for.