girl at large

Missed it by a Cheeseburger

Grain elevator on Saturday, same location on Tuesday.

 

We left Edgar on Monday night, said our goodbyes to Grandma Eileen and Grandpa Bunny as clouds gathered overhead. Before heading to the hotel, we stopped at the "Not Dairy Queen" ice cream stand by the public pool in Sutton for our favorite meal of the annual trip--a real hamburger!

The storm really rolled in as Paulie and Dad waited under the little shack's tin roof for our order. I waved them to come to the safety of the car (and it's rubber tires as the lightening started to crash), but they waited in the rain. The poor gal behind the counter said, as more customers rolled up, "Where is everyone coming from? Go home. I'm going to die in the Sweet Treat!". (I'm glad to learn the name of the place--there's not a sign to be seen that it's called something other than "the ice cream place"). Dad jokingly said "God be with you!" as he trotted back to the car with the burger bags.

Little did we know that just down the road in Edgar at that very moment, a tornado had touched ground and was pulling up grain elevators and rooftops on the south side of town.

Paulie was up in the middle of the night to take in the storm sights as a second storm front moved through. We didn't think much of it as we hit the road for the long trip back to Wisconsin at 6am. But at 7pm, when we arrived at Dad's in Fond du Lac, we learned that Edgar had been damaged by a twister. Everyone is alright, but there's alot of damage to that little town. The old Hotel roof is gone, which means the Hotel is gone. The grain elevators are tossed to the ground, trees and limbs are scattered everywhere. And power may be out for a few more days.

I'm relieved that everyone is safe and sound....but I have to admit, I'm a bit disappointed that the one time something exciting hits Edgar, we miss it!

 

 

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Finishing up the Fluff and Fold

The laundry room is coming together at last! Both machines are working. They hum like an old Chevy; so solid and smooth. I LOVE these machines. When we took the previous "new" washer out to the garage (on it's way to a new craigslist owner), I was reassured that my choice of 30 year old machines was a good one. The 3-year old new set was tin-y, plastic-y and cheap. These, by comparison, are built like tanks. So appropriate for this little brick house.

I painted the block walls today. Yes, I already owned a gallon of the spot-on oatmeal color to compliment the Maytags. Then I added the grey rug previously in the Wildwood nursery, a hanging rod and a classic chair to hold the laundry basket. Just need the permanent dryer vent hose connected and it's all set. There are plans to put up "walls" of pegboard in the dark, creepy corner to the side of the dryer, and to paint the entire basement floor, but those projects will wait for now.

Now, I have another (and another and another) load of laundry to do!

 

 

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Appreciation Under Duress

I thought it was bad when the daycare sent home a list of instructions for "child week" last month---wear this color on that day, dress up as your favorite character, and more. I have enough to do ---work, baby, home. Do I really need assignments for my six month old? But I thought, it's only one week, it can't be that bad.

And then another note arrived in my daycare "in box". This time, it's Teacher Appreciation week. Complete with instructions on writing the required note to the teachers and participating in the pot luck (with food or check---a blatant request for a check?!). I don't like forced appreciation. I was all for bringing in some cookies for the ladies and writing a thank you note to the director who is leaving for another position soon, but that was before I was informed of my obligation to do it!

Of course, Viv is appreciative, and a considerate child, so she wrote her letter:

 

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Sun's Out, Roll Your Sleeves Up!

In true midwestern style, the neighborhood kids were in shirts and flip flops during this early warm spring weekend. We couldn't stand to spend another day working in the basement on a sunny day, so we tackled the yard.

I dug up enough rocks and gravel to fill the freshly repainted flower boxes. Moms old wrought iron planter looks amazing after a coat of Rustoleum. Paul restacked the retaining wall blocks so they were less "boob like" in their shape. The fussy-looking, non-functioning gas light post fixture was yanked out, as well as the stake lights. Yes, we already owned a lawn edger before moving in. How is it we (or maybe just I) doubted that home ownership was for us?

For a tiny little front yard (we don't have any back yard at all), it was a lot of work! Paul isn't keen on my suggestion to make the flower bed a rock garden, so we have more work yet to do.