Ash Wednesday

Have a blessed, Ash Wednesday, everyone. And, for those keeping track, this is the third (or fourth?) consecutive Ash Wednesday we've had snow. Blergh.

Last year's post. Applicable this year too.

The Sound of Wind

The wind is whipping, screaming across our asphalt roof, its pitch frightening and captivatingly terrifying in its volume. The temperature outside stays steady, the mercury assuring anyone who looks that it's not as cold as the wind might attest.

But, oh! The wind! It is a powerful force, and one that cannot be tamed. It can be, with some wood framing, insulation and siding, endured, but never controlled. It hits hard, smacking those in its path, chapping cheeks, moving piles of snow and tossing aside objects left in its path.

Safe in my house last night, cushioned in between panes of glass and surrounded by smells of soup simmering the stove, the wind called to me last night. Its enchanting whistle begged me to come outside and listen, with no impediments, to what the wind had to say. Yes, the TV told me what the wind was supposed to bring, but listening to the wind itself made me certain that the promised snow was on its way.

The wind is a force that cannot be tamed and, sadly enough, it is also a force that cannot be captured; its force, sound and fury cannot be conveyed. Still, though, I tried.

Cool Storm

Crazy November storm. Heavy rain. Wind. Tornados. Warm temperatures. Snow in the forecast for tomorrow. 

Oh! And these really gorgeous pink clouds.

Sunny Day

Sun. Warmth. Magnolia buds, ready to burst open.



Oh, happy, happy day.

Snow

Ack. I'm not trying to scare people, but it just hit me today that we're only three weeks away from December 1. Wisconsinites might remember that December 1 was the date of our first major snowstorm of the year in both 2006 and 2007. And, according to what I wrote on my blog on December 1, 2008, we also had snow on the ground that day as well.

Anyone ready? I'm not.

Zoo

When we woke yesterday the kids and I were greeted with a soft drizzle. Not enough to give any relief to parched grass and plants, but enough to cancel Madeleine's tennis lesson and prevent us from going to the pool. We decided to hit the zoo. (Please, please don't judge Hank by his ridiculous taste in eyewear).



Despite my irrational fear of the birds flying free in the aviary, the kids' interest was piqued by the temporary "Wings from Down Under" exhibit that friends recently described where parakeets, cockatiels and various other birds fly free and interact with visitors. I quickly gave my stick of birdseed away to the kids and was happily ignored for the whole of the time with the birds. The kids, however, quickly got over any trepidation they might have had and were delighted with the birds landing all over them.











I have to say, I think this is the best special exhibit I've seen at our zoo, and I would encourage all Milwaukee area folks to get down there to see it before it leaves.

Storm Tracking

A few hours ago the local TV stations meteorology departments were in full on panic mode talking about the thunderstorms that were moving into the area. I don't know if you know this about me or not, but I'm obsessed with the weather (as a side note, if anyone is interested, my favorite site to check the local weather is WISN 12; their interactive radar is the coolest), so I had the radar up on my computer and had the local news on. I don't do this because I'm scared, I do this because besides my obvious issues of simply being obsessed with the weather and storm tracking, I really love thunderstorms. I was excited and wanted to know when to go to the window to watch the storm moving in.

My kids were excited too. As Madeleine pointed out, "Maybe we can have a cozy book night!" And then it started to rain. We got a crack or two of thunder and then... nothing. The clouds moved out over the lake and the sun came out.

Not long after Hank's friend A______, who lives three houses down, stopped over to see if Hank could play. As I heard them chatting at the door I heard A_____ say, "Did you guys have to go in your basement? We did because of all the bad storms." Hank's response? "No, I guess the storm must have only gone by your house. Or maybe our house is stronger."

Warmth

Yay! It was finally warm enough yesterday to do this...




and this...



and even this!



I love, love, love all this gorgeous weather!

Random Stuff

Our phone works again. Whew. I never realized how many people only had our home phone number and not our cell phone numbers. On the bright side, though, voicemail was able to screen out the 8 gazillion calls we received Monday and Tuesday telling us who to vote for and I never had to listen to the robo calls.

Holy week was wonderful. Each year I am more and more thankful for such a wonderful church, church family and the family and friends we have and who share in our Easter Sunday festivities with us. My house hasn't recovered yet and physically I'm exhausted, but I am so thankful for all our Holy Week services, for a joyful Easter service and breakfast after and for everyone who celebrated at our home with us later that day.

The forecast predicts that we might hit the sixties by the end of the week. Horrah!

Still waiting on a renovation versus moving verdict. I wish our builder would hurry and call back. If we're going the addition route I want to hurry up and start!

Really having trouble deciding on a name for our new daughter. Joe and I just aren't reaching a consensus and while we still have lots of time I wish we had a shorter short list. I feel as if I scour our family trees in vain one more time that I just might scream.

Good-bye, Warm Sun

Spring in Wisconsin is a fickle beast. One day it can be in the seventies and lend itself to wearing flip-flops and leaving light fleeces in the closet, the next you can be outside in heavy coats with light gloves and hats.

Our warm, seventies-ish air is traveling east now. Perhaps at this moment a family in Ohio is excitedly preparing to sip their morning cup of coffee outside while the kids play with neighbor friends and bask in the sunlight and warmth while forever remarking how warm it is for March and how a single second of it must not be wasted.

I don't begrudge anyone else the warm weather. I miss it, but I accept that this is, and always will be, spring in Wisconsin. Warm one day, cold the next. It is what it is. And, in some ways, those glimpses of summer-- those quick flashes-- maybe help us appreciate the gift of them even more than those who live in the sameness of gorgeous weather day after day after day. Perhaps those warm weather residents think to themselves that the sun is too bright one day or the breeze too strong the next; something--anything-- to break up the sameness of sunny, seventy degree days. But not Wisconsinites. A a seventy-degree day (heck, sixty-degree!) in March in Wisconsin is something to behold.

But I hope that hypothetical family in Ohio (or wherever our warm weather has settled) does what we did yesterday: spend every available second breathing in the fresh scent of spring, confident that, even if it's only temporary for now, the weather will return, more permanently, in a short, short time.

Not Spring

I shouldn't have said it felt like spring here. I should not have even thought it.

Yesterday we were treated to another dusting of snow and temperatures in the twenties are predicted this week.

*Sigh* It is March now. Maybe soon...

Spring?

The thermometer is reading just below sixty degrees. I saw tulips (or were they daffodils?) just poking out of the recently snow covered earth just this morning. The sun is shining.

Dare I even say it? Has spring arrived?

Peaceful Day

I came here to post about what a wonderful, peaceful day we are having. Everything that could go right has. The snow is falling gently outside, the kids and I are at home, safely, wrapped in our pajamas, bathrobes and slippers (and this at 11:28 a.m.!) yet we've had an amazingly successful day schooling already: catechism, math, spelling, reading, grammar, Latin, piano, handwriting; whatever was on my to-do list for school today is done.

And yet...

And yet I can't write the joyful post I had intended. When I checked my email moments ago I came across something that changed my mood entirely. I learned that somewhere out there a family I don't even know just lost their son, a newborn baby whose name is the same as my own son. I don't know the family; I don't even really know the family who posted the message from my dear list-serve of Lutheran home-schoolers, but I do know that somewhere out there a family has just lost their new son. And while I am still thankful for the wonderful day we've had and while I know that bad things happen every day in many different ways, I also know that some things touch us different days more than others and, today, this news touched me.

Today I will enjoy the peaceful day we're having, but I'm also reminded to hug my children a bit closer and to remember a grieving family out there-- somewhere-- who needs some extra prayers.

Pool

Yesterday we joined a pool for the summer.  Oh, a third of the summer is already gone, you say?  Yes, yes, but we love to swim and want to use it for as long as we're able.  So yesterday we joined and zipped up for a swim.  Closed.  Closed because a small child unloaded in the pool what should have been done in a toilet or, more appropriately given what happened, the swim diaper this child apparently should have been wearing but wasn't.  Closed for sanitization.  And today?  Today it's cloudy with almost certain prognosis of thunderstorms shortly.  Figures.

Rain Update

The basement seems to have dried up in most spots, thankfully. To put things in perspective, the local middle school is closed because of flooding and numerous local houses that have never experienced water in their basements had trouble during this last storm. These were extreme circumstances.

But, there's more rain in the forecast today, but tomorrow looks sunny so far. And, from what I hear, the violent storms producing the flash flooding and tornados are over. At least for now.

Long term I don't know what we're going to do. The drain tiles and palmer valve should take care of the wetness problem, just apparently not when we get 2.5 inches of rain per hour which is very, very unusual. I suspect we'll start with some regrading and mud-jacking the driveway in some suspicious spots. My answer Saturday night while moving the contents of our basement to higher ground and cleaning up gross messes was just to chuck it all and move. But given the reports I'm hearing of wet basements abounding, I think that's a pretty extreme reaction.

I'm in clean-up mode today. Throwing out old carpet remnants that lined my laundry room floor and washing rugs from the family room. After the basement is cleaned up and normalcy is returned to our chaotic house then we can start mulling over long term solutions.

Some good news: Elisabeth is feeling better. Completely recovered, I'd say. Oh, and we had the most delicious sandwiches ever last night. I'll share the recipe later today. YUM!

UPDATE: This is mere moments from our home. See why I feel thankful the damage wasn't worse?

It's raining, it's pouring, an old man is snoring...

I don't usually like to use my blog for whining, but today I'm going to make an exception.

Last night it rained. Buckets and buckets of rain. So much rain, in fact, that interstates were shut down and basements got much wetter than ours. But oh, our basement. Our formerly fixed and dry basement was soaked. We're talking standing water eeeeeeverywhere. But guess what? It's supposed to keep raining here until Wednesday. WEDNESDAY! And today is Sunday. Then we're going to have a day of reprieve, and then, yep, you guessed it- MORE RAIN!

Then, the frosting on the cake: guess what else happened this morning? Elisabeth is sick! YAY! Yes, throwing up, making messes kind of sick. Only problem is that my washing machine is in-- wait for it-- the basement. The very same basement that I have to wade through to get to my washing machine that I can't use because the laundry sink is alternating as a catchall for wet rugs and pillows at the moment.

I'm sorry for whining. While watching the news it appears others got hit a lot harder than we did, but it's my blog so I'm going to whine about stuff that affects me. At least for today.

Oh, and Big Brown lost yesterday. I was so hoping for a Triple Crown winner. *Sigh*

Cool Down

Yesterday we drove home from Silver Lake in our shorts and T-shirts contentedly, enjoying the memories of a more than warm but less than hot eighty-degree day spent under the warm sun playing bocce ball and croquet.  For Memorial Day, it was warm.  Summery, even, and we had the flushed faces and tired bodies to prove it.

We pulled into the drive around 6 p.m. and decided we needed to take advantage of the warm weather and get the lawn mowed.  The kids, tired though they were, scooted up and down the block while Joe and I finished some mundane tasks in the yard.  

A few hours later, quite suddenly, the wind shifted.  In an instant the warm, eighty-degree breezes plummeted and no longer was my T-shirt warm enough.  We herded the kids back inside after a few moments and within the hour the temperature dipped down into the forties.  The forties!

Last night's experience reminds me of an old Wisconsin saying: If you don't like the weather, just wait ten minutes.

Yesterday T-shirts and capris, today jeans and sweatshirts.  Gotta love spring in Wisconsin!

Waking Up

Is there any better way to wake up then when a sunny, cloudless spring day coupled with the smell of freshly brewed coffee greets you following a solid, eight-hour night of sleep?  

Stormy Book Night

Last Friday night we experienced typical Wisconsin spring weather.  It was wet and rainy with various bouts of thunder and lightening, which just happened to coincide with dinner hour.

While reheating our vegetarian lasagna the lights flickered now and again in time with particularly bright bolts of lightening.  Oooooooh! shrieked the older kids.  Maybe the lights will go out! suggested Madeleine.

And then we started to reminisce about the time the lights went out for two (or was it three?) whole days on the entire south side of our village.  It was fall, so heating wasn't really an issue, and it felt like a huge, fun adventure (well, OK, it was an adventure for the first day, then it just became a pain.  But time in a salve, is it not?  All we choose to remember is game playing by candlelight, eating by candlelight, inventing new ways to store and prepare food or, in other words, all the romantic aspects).

We waited awhile, but we never lost our electricity, so we decided to institute a self-imposed ban for the evening.  We gathered all the candles we could find in our house, brought them to the dining room table and ate by candlelight.  This is what it would have been like for Laura, Madeleine declared.  We decided to pretend we were the Ingalls family, of The Little House on the Prairie fame.  That lasted about two minutes, until which time Madeleine started complaining about the spinach in the lasagna.  Now Mary, I said, you eat what's given to you with no complaint.

Mom, replied Madeleine, How about we don't play that anymore.  Let's just be us with no lights.

Deal.

After we ate, we decided it was a perfect, stormy night for a major book night (explanation provided in the first paragraph of this post).  Shall we read by candlelight or the lamp? I asked.

Candlelight!

We broke the no electricity ban to pop popcorn (well, technically, our gas stove doesn't use electricity except to ignite the flame, so we only sort of broke the ban) and then brought what felt like eight thousand blankets downstairs and settled in for The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis.  We read really, really late because with the flickering of the candle, the violent wind, thunder and lightening outside and the warm and cozy blankets inside no one wanted the book night to end.  

We still have about a third of the book to go.  Who knows, maybe we'll be treated to another stormy night soon!

You know you live in Wisconsin when...

anything above fifty degrees is considered "shorts" weather.

Not by me, mind you, but by the rest of my family and, apparently, the rest of the state who was sporting summer attire during the nice, but spring-like, weather over the weekend. Brrrrr!