100 m.p.h. winds!

That's what we had going on in my neck of the woods, which explains why I didn't blog last night. No electricity. I was driving home from my yoga class when BAM! It hit. I was stuck in the middle lane on Hampton Road. The crossing gates had come down and the lights were flashing as if a train were coming, but no train appeared and the gates stayed down. Then the tornado sirens went off. People were panicking, driving over the medians, driving over debris. I finally was able to drive around the gate (since visibility was about three feet, I just had to trust that no trains were coming).

I pulled into a parking lot and called home to let Rob know I was okay, but the phone just rang and rang. I was afraid I would come home and find no house. I dodged downed power lines, trees and flash floods to get home. The electricity was off and our phones don't work without it. (I think I should buy a non-cordless phone.) Rob was safe and sound and calmly (perhaps smugly) reading an e-book (his e-book reader has a light).

So that was yesterday's adventure. The power came back on some time last night. I found out I was luckier than many. We lost a hundred-year-old elm at the end of our street. My friend Martie had half a tree in her pool; my friend Becky lost part of her fence; my friend Dean had her neighbors' patio furniture in her yard. And my friend Vicki was still without power, last I heard. What a total mess!

This morning I decided to go birdwatching at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve. Big storms during spring migration often bring in unusual surprises--at least, this is what I hear. I did get three new birds out of it--tufted titmouse (common yearround resident, so not rare), golden-crowned kinglet and brown thrasher. The titmice are the cutest little birds I've ever seen and very friendly. Some came within a couple of feet of me. After birdwatching I went on to Wishcraft, then coffee, then I went to Home Depot and bought new knobs and hooks for the cupboards and a new birdfeeder.

This afternoon and evening I worked on business cards for my friend Martie Conley, the artist. She will be publicly displaying a piece for the first time--she's donating it for a silent auction charity thingy. She makes these very unusual vases. I got so engrossed in trying to get the darn cards to print correctly that I lost track of time and forgot to eat dinner until 8:00. (I never do that!)

Thanks for stopping by,
Kara