One thought....

We're responsible for the effort, not the outcome.

S.O.S.

Do you SEE the clicky clacky heels?!
No.....really......

C'mon....do I STRIKE you as the kind to wear clicky clacky heels?
NO. (ohmygosh.......they have BOWS........)
I'm the kind who walks right past the clicky clacky heels and goes for ROCKET DOGS!!
(you jump higher and run faster with those suckers, I'm tellin' ya!......k....well, maybe you just FEEL like you do.....but!!!)
The sister's getting married in the Catholic church and she asked me to stand up with her.
(we'll do ANYthing for some beachtime.....LOL)
And the girl wanted to meet for lunch anyway.....soooooooo..... Smart person that I am--I figured I oughta go shop BEFORE lunch to avoid a whole day fiasco with a 'shop til ya drop' kinda gal.
(Hey.......If I'm shoppin' it's gonna be quick and painless.....)

So....I spent a chunk of the morning sifting through throwback dresses from the 60's and realized--OMGosh....I'm sooooooooooo screwed.....LOL
I looked and looked and looked (k.....so it was close to twenty minutes of lookin'--it seemed like forever, dangitall!) and finally pulled this sucker from the rack, muttered something about "THIS....is an old lady dress"....and put it in the pile of two dresses to try on.
(yes huh! Two IS a pile!!!!)

No, I don't have a clue what possessed me........but I took a photo via the cellphone and sent it on to the girl.
What WAS I thinking?!
Not only did I catch it cuz I was shopping withOUT her--I caught it for the size of me.
(k......the size of me is four dress sizes smaller than the size of me six months ago.....but ALL I wanted was a yay or nay on the ''it's an oldlady dress, right?")
Yeah well.....it took a buncha sassy text messages before she sent one that actually answered the question....(and I bought it?!! Oy .....I'm thinkin' I wanted off the hook and outta the store!)

Sooooooo--I snagged the dress and called it good to go.
'Cept I clearly needed shoes to go with it.
Which himself (who'd finished his shopping and caught up with me) gleefully discovered and announced 'Perfect!'.

k.
K!

K! ! ! !

k.......I let him decide on shoes for me?........the same fella who wouldn't open a map and decide which highway to take outta town!?

.
.
.
O
M
G
.
.
.




And I said "great" and bought the darn things?!??!!!

Oh yeah.
I said "Great!".
And I bought the darn things.

Someone HELP ME!!!!!! LOL

QOTW 6/29

What's in your third dresser drawer?

Which side?


One side is jammies (of the foldable kind).
The other side holds skimpy summer tops to wear on the patio and not for wear out in the general public...

...yeah, I'm kinda weird like that.....LOL

TFTD

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.--Helen Keller

What is available to me today?

Mr. Bunny

Done.

Trip is planned, route is mapped out.

WHY this was so difficult......dunno.....LOL
Took me all of ten minutes.
But ummm....oh yeah...I HAVE lived here all my life and I sorta know the lay of the land?
Himself thought getting across Iowa was going to be a couple hour adventure, onceuponatime.
Getting across the states to find the coast--utterly blew him away.
And have I mentioned he's a neurotic little fella? LOL
Yeah, well, indeed he IS neurotic.
This much has NOT changed!


Ten minutes later--route mapped.

Where we land--is where we land.
We're going on an adventure!!!!! :-)
(one of the two week kind!)

Oh BOY do I need an adventure!!
I soooooooooo need a break from the norm--which implies that there IS a norm....which there has not been....which is what I need a break from?
*scratching head*

Good thing Mr. Bunny understood 'xactly what I was talkin' about.....I'm thinkin' him and me are the only two that do!

Today's Fairy Thought

In a slump, we may find ourselves reverting instinctively to old patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, even when we know better.

We may find ourselves obsessing, even when we know that what we're doing is obsessing and that it doesn't work.

We may find ourselves looking frantically for other people to make us feel better, the whole time knowing our happiness and well being does not lay with others.

We may begin taking things personally that are not our issues, and reacting in ways we've learned all to well do not work.

We're in a slump.

It won't last forever.

These periods are normal, even necessary.

These are the days to get through.

These are the days to remember to persevere, whether or not the rewards occur immediately.

These are sometimes the days to let ourselves be and love ourselves as much as we can.
We don't have to be ashamed, no matter how long we've been working our way to different things.
We don't have to unreasonably expect "more" from ourselves.
We don't ever have to expect ourselves to live life perfectly.

Get through the slump.

We can never judge where we will be tomorrow by where we are today.

A bit teary but very touched, indeed......

One of THE most beautiful gifts I was handed today--and I'm needing to pass it on.....just cuz.......




Thank you, Kiki.

From my heart to yours......Thank you.

Free Hugs

125 days and counting!!!!!!!

Fairy wisdom......

Do what you can do,

with what you have,

every chance you get.

OhthethingsIwannadotothereadingfairies

Imagine that you're full of energy and enthusiasm, excited and positive about the day ahead.

NO comment.


Imagine that you're highly effective, able to achieve whatever you set out to do with confidence and ease.

NO COMMENT!

(k........I have no ability to imagine today......and I'm about to toss the fairy book over there........)



over there ------------>



Which is far, far away from me...........
k....I'm havin' one of 'those' kinda moments............

(yathink?!?!)

....whazzupwiththat......

Yup.......going to see the sister in a couple of weeks.
I get the privilege of standing up with her when she renews vows and gets recognized in the Catholic church.
I guess in the church's eyes, they're not renewing vows--but it's all good.....and we're getting in the car and making an adventure of it cuz we can.
We had such a fun time of it last year, putzing our way to L.A. in the Jeep.....undoubtedly it'll be another fun adventure.

But whazzupwiththat?! Himself is lookin' at me and all kindsa nervous and irritable because we don't have a route/places picked out to go to along the way.....
Hello?!
Open up the map and pick?

*shaking head*



Whazzupwiththat?!

Reading Fairy's Thought for the Day

Do not set yourself up as a hostage to your circumstances or your inventory of possessions. Choose right now to live richly and fully no matter what.
Make joyful and thankful use of whatever you have, wherever you are.

There is so very much you have going for you.

Pay no attention to those who scream that you must have this thing or that experience in order to be happy.

Ignore them, and simply choose to be happy by creating your own interpretation of happiness all around you.

Keep in mind that most of the people who tell you how bad things are, seek to gain their own power or profit from your dismay.

Life is good, life is rich, life is joyful and fulfilling to the extent you choose to make it so.

TFTD

Messages of perfectionism are tricks because we can never achieve their goal.

We cannot feel good about ourselves or what we have done while these messages are driving us.

We will never be good enough until we change the messages and tell ourselves we are good enough now.

Who we are is good enough.

Our best yesterday was good enough; our best today is plenty good too.

We can be who we are, and do it the way we do it - today.

Whole lives.......

I can't do it.

I did it yesterday......and it just plain broke my heart.
I sobbed my heart out last night--I'd avoided doing it yesterday afternoon for as long as I could.....




People's lives stacked on the parking--4,000 homes transformed, whole lives changed....



Yesterday a dad walked into our central office where there's a Red Cross Station set up.
And I watched as he asked one of the gals to please..... take his son.
He told her he just couldn't do it any more.

His son.......
No place to sleep, no means to provide for his son with his worksite destroyed by the same flood that destroyed his home......too proud to ask for help for them both--he asked for someone to just take his son....

I can't go down there.
Doc had at me yesterday because he doesn't want me down there with the bacteria that's rampant--not 'safe' for an immune compromised/deficient person like myself....

I'll hide behind that one and do what I can from where my feet are today.....

But the TRUTH is......
(wax on, wax off.......)

It's too hard on my heart.

I can't do it.




I just can't do it.

Things that make me happy

....a surprise card in the mail.....sent by a loving and loved person....

....happy sticky notes around the work monitor on an 'ick' day.

....bare feeties on warm concrete.

....knowing that I always have a choice.

....getting to tell a special person just how special they truly are.

....dead mosquitos.

....flittering butterflies.

....Harry watching me, one branch up, while I'm filling his birdie feeder.

*sigh*

WPIML says:

"Tell the truth.......all the time."

He does it with this 'wax on, wax off' motion of his hands.
The first time he says it, it's slow and deliberate.

The ensuing repetition oughta be a clue to me.
I'm a repetitious learner kinda gal.

What am I saying....I'm a two by four learning kinda gal who needs repetitiously whapped to 'get it'.....

Wax on.....wax off.

Tell the truth.....all the time.

*limping*

Dustings...

Real friends are those who, when you've made a fool of yourself, don't feel that you've done a permanent job.
--Erwin T. Randall

Seemore returns!

The little booger... Seriously...I've missed that squirrel. He's so much more friendly than Seeless and he's such a good little chatty fella!

BTW--
He told me to stick with both/all feet on the ground and don't EVEN get on those upside-d0wn rides at Six Flags in Missouri, or Illinois...or wherever.....

*nodding*



Oh, the validation!
*chuckling*

Today's Thought from the Reading Fairy

Expectations do not change the world around you.

They illuminate certain specific and highly useful portions of your world.
Positive expectations enable you to see the way forward.
And they keep you motivated as you do the work necessary to travel that path.

Reality is what it is, and conditions are what they are.
What you expect of yourself and what you expect for yourself will strongly influence what you make of your reality.

Carry the very best of expectations with you at all times.

Yup.....it's Frank!!!!

Frank is a funny one!
He's taken a liking to us--it might have something to do with the food supply around this joint.
He's living underneath the neighbor's shed....and dining out at our place.
Much like Mr. Bunny--who lives under the same said neighbor's porch!

I've decided I'm going to do some itemized billing for the critters and present it to the neighbor--seems right to me..... I mean, if the neighbor hadn't fenced in those peas and beans-- or if he'da been thoughtful enough to supply them with the appropriate food for their discriminating tastes, the poor little creatures wouldn't be ransacking the goodies in our yard, would they!
Yeah, well....he's getting an itemized bill. LOL I've decided.

I suppose he'll try to counter and hand me an 'entertainment' bill. LOL

True. They are amusing...and rather theraputic, methinks.
Mr. Bunny has listening skills that are right up there with Seemore Squirrel!
But Frank.....is just too cute!
And seriously, he's getting used to me.
Notsomuch himself, mind you.....but that's probably cuz I holler a greeting at Frank every time I see him.

Or......maybe it's the obvious!

Frank likes me better.

HELLO Frank!
C'mon Frank! C'mon...it's okay......c'mere Frank!

Yeah, yeah......undoubtedly we've gone from the 'little yellow house on the corner with all the lights' to the 'little yellow house on the corner with the looney woman who thinks she's Dr. Doolittle'.

But Frank's makin' himself at home....he comes to the edge of the patio even! Leastwhile he does when I'm the one sitting on the patio.

Yup...he definitely likes me better! :-)

And he hasn't even dug any tunnels or holes in the yard.

Himself adds a "YET" to that one.
Ever the pessimist, that one! I swear....
But he did say he thought Frank was smarter than to dig tunnels in a saturated lawn.


What?......canals aren't ground squirrel material?!!?

Oh, c'mon.......
Can't ya just envision Frank in a wee ground squirrel raft, shootin' the rapids? LOL

QOTW 6/22

What are three things on your agenda for today?

1. 1. Meeting with a buncha old farts and some not so old farts. I'll get my head rearranged, I'm sure.

2. Sitting on the patio and watching the critters (undoubtedly talking with the sister who's become neurotic-er over all this wedding jazz she's doing).

3. Catching up on weblogs that I haven't been able to get to. (the old 'pushed for time' stuff that I'm so NOT fond of........)

It's stuck and it won't come loose!

ACK!!!!!!!!!!!

It's STUCK!!!!!!



A blessing on your head
(Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov)
To see a daughter wed
(Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov)
And such a son-in-law
Like no-one ever saw
The tailor Motel Camzoil


And I'll be DOGGED if I know how it got in there in the first place!
Rest assured that putting it into print did absolutely (as himself would say) 'bugger all' to make it get unstuck.

ONE MORE TIME!!!!!!!!

A blessing on your head
(Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov)
To see a daughter wed
(Mazel Tov, Mazel Tov)
And such a son-in-law
Like no-one ever saw
The tailor Motel Camzoil.....

*holding head*
*going to look for something to play on the CD player in hopes of jarring this one loose*

Fairy dust......

Who you are now is enough.

What you have now is plenty.

Here in this moment all is well.

This is Harry.

And we're keepin' him!

Ain't he just too cute!

Cunning, baffling......

There but for the grace of G-d go I.....

It's okay.
And I know it'll BE as it'll be.....



I've known the man for almost ten years.


Five and a half years of 'well fought for sobriety'--three of which were lies.

So when I was outside reading contact notes at the worksite....when he handed me that bottle of Fiorinal and asked if I knew what they were--I answered correctly.
Capsuled insanity, bottled death traps.

And when I asked if he wanted me to take those off his hands for him......I 'knew' the answer was going to be a resounding and deliberate "no".

15 a day.....it's something he's worked up to in short order.
Doctors are involved, pharmacies are involved.
He's been able to successfully manipulate them for three years.
And he doesn't want to tell the truth--because they're just victims of his manipulations, dontchaknow....."unless when to do so would injur them or others".

He didn't much like it when I told him that was bull**** and he was saving his sources 'just in case'....if it's even a case of 'just in case'......

I didn't much like it when he smiled at me and said "I should have asked you to marry me five years ago--but back then I was a raging alcoholic..."

It's all BS.

And I'm gonna watch another one dance with denial.

Today's Fairy Thought.....

If we really stopped to think about it, we would be astounded to discover how much of our time is spent trying to avoid pain.

We are afraid to say what we think or tell others our needs because we fear rejection.

We are afraid to face the pain of our own anger.

We are afraid of telling others who we are.

When we are afraid of opening up to others for fear they will hurt us, we are not free, we are prisoners of our own fears.

Pain is a natural part of life, and we are gifted with the ability to feel it.

Pain teaches us, makes us work harder sometimes, and it helps us appreciate pleasure.

When we accept pain, and stop exhausting ourselves trying to avoid it, we will be free to live life more fully and without so much worry.

Friday's Fairy Reminder

What you hold most firmly and consistently in your mind, you create and become.
Keep your thoughts focused on moving toward the desirable, enjoyable and fulfilling things.

The most effective way to move away from what you don't want is to actively move toward what you do want.

A bit of fairy dust.....

We learn to admit our mistakes and expose our imperfections - not so that others can fix us, rescue us, or feel sorry for us, but so we can love and accept ourselves.

This sharing is a catalyst for healing and change.

Note to self

Get taller straws!
OR.....shorter bottles maybe?

Antioxidant water with vitamins and electrolytes hazzta come in shorter bottles, right?

WAY cool straws need WAY shorter bottles.

MUST look for smaller bottles............

Wednesday's TFTD

Master the lessons of your present circumstances.

We do not move forward by resisting what is undesirable in our life today.

We move forward, we grow, we change by acceptance.

Avoidance is not the key; surrender opens the door.

Listen to this truth: We are each in our present circumstances for a reason.

There is a lesson, a valuable lesson that must be learned before we can move forward.

Something important is being worked out in us, and in those around us.

We may not be able to identify it today; but we can know that it is important.

We can know it is good.

Overcome not by force, overcome by surrender.

The battle is fought, and won, inside ourselves.

We must go through it until we learn, until we accept, until we become grateful, until we are set free.

Things that make me happy.......

....watching baby woodpeckers get fed by their daddies

....secret compartments in new cars

....new budding flowers on the bugglia plants

....that first viceroy butterfly in the garden

....NEW BUBBLEGUNS that make a bazillion bubbles....woooohooo!!

....himself handing over the brown thingies outta the Gardetto's bag cuz he knows I like 'em bestest

....awakening my sister with a 6a.m. text message *snickering*

....a whole block of sunset orange houses

....A DAY WITH ABSOLUTELY NO RAIN!!!!!!
YIPPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Car buying 101

There's a little PT Cruiser in the driveway this morning.....

That's cuz there's a dead car in the garage--one that I've walked past for near a week.
One that's totally ruined with deer hair stuck in the door handle....
It's made me wanna throw up every time I've walked past it--and I've walked past it enough times, trust me....

Himself is like a dog with a bone, I tell ya.
He says/thinks--he does.
There's not a whole lotta lapse time in there.
Did I call the insurance company? He's on the phone.
Don't I think the flowers need water? He's got the hose going.
We ought to look at cars..... We're in the Jeep and on the road in ten minutes.
And seven hours later--car dealership after car dealership......a new car followed the Jeep home.

Himself was a bit 'perplexed' with my car buying skills.

Keep in mind one thing---

I HATE SHOPPING.
This applies to groceries and appliances and clothing--and especially cars.
Get in, get it, get out.
Yup....that's how I shop.

What do I want for a car?
......Ummm........one with front wheel drive, one that'll keep me alive if/when I hit a deer...and definitely not red...oh, and a Dodge/GMC!
Yup......that's what I want!
Oh......and it has to have a secret compartment or two...yup....that's what I want!

Yeah, well......he thinks I'm nutz. I think he's weird......thinkin' we're even!



Why he felt the need to go to Mazda, Ford and Subbaru dealers, I'll never know.....

Why he thought having a compass in the mirror was a good thing, I have no clue.

Why he felt compelled to make me drive the car before I took it home--dunno that either.
(I appeased him and drove it in the lot, tyvm!)

So.....there's a silver car in the driveway with a candycorn Mickey Mouse eared antennae dealy bobber on it now.
Yup......that seals it!

......and it has TWO secret compartments!


Mine!

:-)

Some words from the reading fairy

Seek to understand before you attempt to judge.

Opinions formed in haste can often be the source of great trouble and needless hostility.

Take the time to think and to plan before you act.

Though it is essential that you do take action, it is best when you've carefully thought it through.

Replenish what you need before it runs completely out.

You'll avoid wasted time and effort as well as much anxiety and expense.

Think about your true purpose before making any commitments.

You're much more effective and fulfilled when following a path that resonates with who you sincerely are.

Look carefully and thoughtfully at where you're going long before you actually get there.

Not only will you be more fully prepared once you arrive, you'll avoid any wasted effort spent getting to where you don't even want to go.

Scramblings.....

I'd been missing the squirrels (Seemore and Seeless).

I knew they'd return.
Some things......ya just 'know'.

So when himself asked if I'd seen the two trouble making squirrels who terrorize our backyard zoo--I informed him they were visiting their cousins in Missouri.

*nodding* Missouri.

He accused me of makin' it up.

Sheeeeeeeeeeshhhhhhhh.......

Oh, ye of little faith!!

Seeless has returned.

I'm sure Seemore won't be much longer.
He's probably stayed to go to Six Flags and ride one of those upsidedown roller coaster thingies that make me wanna upchuck.

Seeless, however...is back and raring to go!
Obviously, he rested up during his vacation.
He was up the trees, down the trees, racing across the lawn, sliding down birdfeeder wires and leaping from table feeders to branches in short order.

Birdie food flyin' in all directions, he seemed to care more about making his presence known than he did about manners.

I'll admit that I missed the little booger.
I even told him that while he sat, intently listening to the update I provided him, chomping away at peanuts he'd managed to fling from the woodpecker's feeder....accidently, of course....

That'll happen when ya dive from a branch, land briefly on a 'squirrel proof' baffle and promptly slide off despite all four feet just a flying and scrambling to hold on.....

I know this cuz that's how I've been 'dealing' with what's gotten tossed in front of me, lately.
Leaping from one mess to another, diving in, slip sliding around on the baffles that're in place to keep me from going where I ain't suppose to go....desperately sliding and scrambling to hold on to what's not mine to hold on to....

And landing on my feet, of course--cuz I'm well practiced at landing on my feet.

And equally well practiced at looking at those around me and professing "Yup....meant to do that....."

I'm betting I was equally entertaining to watch...LOL........but not nearly as cute. ;-)

TFTD

Frustration is just the way you respond to certain situations.
Frustration is useful when you first feel it, because it calls your attention to the conflict between your inner values and your outer situation.

But once it has your attention, frustration has done its job, and it is then time to let it go.

As soon as you feel frustration, ask yourself what that frustration is attempting to tell you, and listen carefully to the answer.

Once you truly get the message, the frustration has done its job and it falls naturally and easily away.
By immediately understanding and appreciating what your frustration has to say, you can quickly get beyond it.

Then, with a new sense of purpose and positive direction, you'll be even more effective in moving past it.

QOTW 6/15

From a brand new box of crayons, what color would you choose to use first?

......ummmmmm....... *checkin' out all the colours* ......ummmmmmmmm..... *reaching to pluck one from the box* .......ummmmmmm..... *checking out all the colours again* .......ummmmmmmmmmmm........

Serious........pick ONE?

......k........

Yellow.

Wait.....red!

No! Purple!!!

Wait!!

......ummmmmmm......
Orange!

Waitwaitwait!!!!!!!

*checking out all the colours*

*giggling*

*dumping all the colours out*

:-D

Yeah, yeah....I got it......

My pain is greater than yours!

What an easy trap that can be.

We don't need to prove our pain and suffering to anyone.

We know we have been in pain.

Most of us have been legitimately victimized.

Many of us have had difficult, painful lessons to learn.

The goal is not to show others how much we hurt or have hurt.

The goal is to stop our pain, and to share that solution with others.

There is no particular award or reward for suffering, as many of us tricked ourselves into believing.

The reward is learning to stop the pain and move into joy, peace, and fulfillment.

Letting the sun set.....

I forget.
I get wrapped up in all this 'stuff' going on around me and with me-- and I forget the things that MATTER.

Please excuse Mel for having a 'chat' with Mel:



10 minutes of your time was all that was requested when the phone rang--
You said yes.....so you said all the right things........
.......And then you promptly got off the phone and started muttering and kvetching.

TEN minutes of your time and a bit of help with something you KNEW the other person was struggling with doing....
And you're muttering and mumbling and carrying on like it's your whole day---gone?.....Because one person asked for ten minutes of your precious time?!

k.....

I'm a schmuck.
Really.
I am.
k......so I haven't had a week chalked full of funfilled moments.
Could it maybe be what I'm keeping track of......what I'm paying attention to and giving my energy to?!!


Yeah, well.......because I'm well trained (that's a good way of putting it--I really have been well trained) I showed up.
I even showed up practicing patience and tolerance. I was kindly.....I was supportive.
And ten minutes turned into two hours.

And when I left.....
I left humbled.
I left 'right sized'......

I do not know what's going on in the life of another person....
To wallow in my own self indulgent, self pitying crud so much that I think my woes and my stuff and my plans are paramount......

The best thing I can do for me when I'm 'there' is to GET UP and go help someone else...get outta my own crud......
I know this.
I got this affirmed again today.
(LEARN IT, dangit!!!!!!)



Oy.

Yep.
Humbled.
And I don't have to be pleased with myself for those grumblings and mumblings and piffy attitude.

But I do have to own it:



There is a G-d.
I'm not it.
He knows all.
I don't know ....... .....sick'em.

She's baccccckkkkkkk......

And the girl hath returned!

Oh, nooooooooo......she didn't bother to tell me she was enroute.
She figured I'd be buried in 'stuff' with all the crisis and chaos.
(she's sorta kinda right....)

She returned early--cuz her company flew her back at her request.
And now......she's waist deep in flood waters, working on a disaster relief team.

<---will not take credit for the fine human being she's evolved into

She IS one cool human being though.

And the beat goes on.......

(shot by a friend taking his flying lesson yesterday)
(yes.....life still goes on.........)

There's no post--in or out.
"Neither rain, nor sleet, nor hail, nor dark of night......" Note it says nothing about flooding....

Everything's rerouted around the city......which means the highway that goes around this little town is jam packed with traffic.
And I mean jam packed.

What normally takes 30 minutes--take 2 1/2 hours.......so the neighbour that ignored the 'no travel advised' for this county tells me.
You could hear traffic into the wee hours.....that's so unlike the norm around here.

But little seems to be normal at the moment.


The good news is--the sun is shining.
There's dryness in this bitty town......at least in spots.
And we have working water, sewers and electricity--which is more than the neighbouring town has.......which is why I'm about to have company.

Which is good!
It'll give himself something different to fret about.
Maybe he'll actually set that silly plastic tub with our treasured trains DOWN and breathe for a moment or two.....

Fairy Thought

Get up and get going.

If you feel lousy, it will make you feel much better, and if you already feel good, it will make you feel great.

You know all those things you've been meaning to get done for the past six months?

Pick one right now and make it happen today.

Life is much more rewarding when you actively participate in it.

A birdseye view of a bitty town....and a messy Brit

It's still all pretty surreal.

Monday's flooding of this bitty town was enough to shake up some folks.
Himself--who'd never been in a flood of any magnitude, was clearly rattled.
Truth is, he's still rattled.....

I well and truly feel bad for him.....cuz he anticipated nothing like what he's had to contend with.

He boxed up our most cherished trains, in a plastic tub--which he promptly stored downstairs in case of tornados......which he promptly carried upstairs in case of flooding......which he promptly carried downstairs when we had tornados DURING the flood....which he has now placed in our livingroom next to all those books he carried upstairs-- because he just can't figure out what's 'safest'.
He ain't sleeping....but who can when lightening is striking the house three houses up from you and sirens are going off at odd hours....

And that's just one fine example of how insane and out of control the neurotic himself feels at this very moment in time.
One.

Mind you, that's an example of his insanities....I ain't EVEN gonna talk mine! LOL

30 miles away is a town that's forever changed, that's literally buried under water.
The photos here are of the bitty town we live in--the one himself was so concerned would become disasterously flooded.....the one I could not, for the life of me, explain was NOT under the same threat as the big, water buried city.

I'm still not sure he gets it--but I'm pretty clear he's shellshocked by it all.
Heck, I'm an Iowa gal and I'M shellshocked by it all.

And because there are surrounding small towns that are without water and power and working sewers, we've put our names on a list of places to land at.....especially for the staff whom I employ....some of whom won't get home tonight because of closed roads and evacuated small towns.

Monday's flood that he was so worried about--'small stuff' in his world now.

But we ain't done yet.


Cuz water moves downstream.......

Yes--I'm safe!!!!!

Really......it's not suppose to look like this........

Flood stage is at 12 feet and the river's yet to crest.
It's currently at 31 feet.

It's just not suppose to be like this.

The good news is people are safe--even though whole lifetimes are destroyed.

Now, keep in mind I'm not in the middle of this....
But this is where our central office is.
This is where I managed to escape from yesterday just as they were closing the highways.

That trip over earned me the "dumbass" label from my boss.
He's a smart man. I walked in, he called me the above--and told me to get on the road OUT of the city NOW.
The state troopers were in wait--truly.....they let six more cars after me pass on the highway out of town before closing the highway.
Had I been seven cars back-- *sigh*

He's right.
I was a 'dumbass' for making the journey to meet about contingency plans for the flood.
G-d love him.......

They're all safe this morning.
No power, 'cept for the generator.
Plenty of food and water.
And I'm watching the waters rise in this bitty town a half an hour away......
Five inches of rain running off already saturated earth will create more flooding.
So.......

Here we go again!!!!

Can someone PLEASE talk with the Big Guy on our behalf and let Him know we really could use a break from the rain?