Boom!

At 2:53 this morning, we were awakened to a boom that sounded like the world had split in two. All our lights that come on just from touching them came on. Rob and I sat straight up in the bed.

From then on, it was flooding downpour and then a brief slow down and then flooding downpour again, with the timpani of thunder and bright flashes of lightening. Rather like what we've been taught to expect from the end of the world...think The day after Tomorrow kind of violent storms.

And, we huddled in our beds, with the covers pulled up, waiting for it to pass (or the earth to swallow us up). Sleeping when we could and waking to more rumbles of thunder.

That's what rain is like in Texas. Seems we don't get it for a really long time and then we get it all in a few hours. This morning, my rain guage, which I emptied yesterday morning to make sure and get a good reading, said 5". It might have been more, but there's a screw hole in the back at 5" so that's all I can measure at one time.

When I got up at 5, there were several inches of water puddled outside the dining room and it was still pouring. By 7:30, it was pretty much over and I went for a hike in the yard. The water washed all the mulch away along the back of the house. We live at the bottom of the hill, so that's the drain for several houses above us. It's not unusual to to have to pull my mulch back over there.

But, doesn't seem that we got any water in any structures. And, the gardens didn't seem any worse for having that much water dumped on them in so short a time.

We were lucky. I took Sydney to school, despite the temptation to send her to the bus stop in a lightening storm with a metal umbrella (mwahahahahaaaaa!). Traffic was light. I know that lots of folks are without power and this much rain always sends Austin's runoff creeks out of their banks somewhere. Lots of low water crossings were under water. When I talked to Rob, he was mopping up water at his office that had come under the doors.

It's rude in Austin to complain about rain. But, it is okay to complain a little bit about dangerous weather, so long as you don't reference the water that comes along with it. Eventually, it will help with the lakes and dry wells will have water in them again in a week. But, it's kind of scary, too.

On a lighter note, the Story Time Stars quilt is almost finished (I'd show a new picture, but we didn't have sufficient internet access at home to upload it because of the storm). I've got the final border assembled and just need to get it attached to the quilt.

I made this as a baby quilt, thinking it would take less time than the feathered star baby quilt I was working on. NOT! It has taken at least as long, and I'm not exactly sure why. Everything was so easy and it all seemed to go so fast, but as for the number of hours, it's been about 12 and I have about 12 sunk into the feathered star quilt, too. Of course, the feathered star quilt isn't finished yet and it could double in time before it is. But, the last borders are made and it's just finding time to start attaching them. After a brief pause to buy more fabric.

Because, really, as much effort and brain power as I have in this quilt, there is absolutely no point in cheaping out at the end because I don't want to buy another half yard of the medium green. I'm doing really, really good at not buying fabric. I don't need fabric. I don't need quilt tops. Most of the fabric I've bought this year has been backing sized pieces at half off the half off wall prices (about $2 a yard). I need to quilt. I need to quilt lots of quilts. My goal is to stay focused and quilt as many of my finished tops as possible. I have not counted, but, I know it's a lot. Shorter term, this weekend, I want to pin baste two; the story time stars and Sydney made a quilt last year. I'd like to get it in the machine. She got discouraged when she realized she would have to piece the back, too. So, she's had time to rest. Maybe I can get her sewing some this weekend. Maybe her choice will be sewing or washing windows. That sounds like it might work, right?

And, I've been asked to make something for a church raffle. Nobody's ever asked me to make a donation quilt like that. Now that I know this feathered star pattern, maybe one in blues? Or reds? Who knows. As they say at the awards..."It's a pleasure, just to be nominated."

Okay, so that's it for me today. I can already feel my eyelids drooping. Maybe I'll go get another cup of coffee. Lane