Smoke on the Water

Ah, yesterday was certainly interesting! I actually got some things done yesterday. Imagine that! 


First step was weeding my "garden" for a wee bit. Of course, I had the idea that I would go outside in the early morning, before it got too hot, to do this task. Easy enough. But, I ALWAYS wear bug spray when working outside, because we live pretty much in the woods, and ticks scare the crap out of me. Little did I know when I started this adventure that the bug spray SOUNDED like it had a bit left in the container, but when I went to spray it, it was pretty well empty. Sheesh. I risked it, and opted to leave my weed-bucket full to empty another day instead of going in the woods to dump it and risk ticks galore up my legs. I ended up getting two mosquito-y bites in 15 minutes, though, so there's my sign.

Anyway, here's the before and after!

Doesn't look like much, does it? Oy, I have a lot of work to do. But, I ripped the grass out of the un-flower-y section so that's a start. Of course, later in the day, a storm of storms ripped through the area and made my progress pretty much null and void, whipping my pots everywhere, throwing leaves and limbs all up in my business. Sheesh, Mama Nature, work with me here!


:)


Aaaanywho. Once I managed to rouse the boyfriend out of slumber, we ventured to Walmart to get new tires on my car, which is due for inspection by the end of the month. Last year the mechanic told me the big ol' gash in the side wall (I think is what it's called) of one of the back tires wouldn't pass next year, so instead of taking it back and having it fail and having to go get new tires anyway, we just got new tires before taking it to get inspected. Also on the to-do list was changing the oil, which was well overdue - "it was low on oil," we were told at payment. O RLY? You don't say?! :X  I am such a slacker at taking care of my car.


BUT. New tires on the back, complete with little nubbies! *squee*

Yippie!


While we were there, a fella' from Craigslist met us so Ian could check out the truck this guy posted for sale. Time will tell if that sale works out, but it helped pass a bit of the hour+ waiting around at Walmart. I ended up returning some glasses I had bought there ...last week? because one of them had a wobbly base, which is like asking for me to dump liquid everywhere. We saw a handful of people we know, too - this town is so small! - and got our walking in for the day by meandering the aisles. 

After a bit, we walked across the parking lot to Burger King for a snacky meal. They seem to have changed up their decor and atmosphere to try to make it seem more... I don't know how else to explain it, except, more like Panera, but with fast food. Very odd. I ordered chicken strips, which was also odd because I'm not a huge fan of chicken. And of course, a vanilla milkshake that gave me a brain freeze and sat in my gut... when will I learn? Nevarrr!

Ian has this uncanny ability to tell when the weather is changing, and noticed that we should hustle back to Walmart before the storm started. This is what it looked like after we got my car and headed out:

 

Grey skies of doom! Ahhh! We hurried home as fast as the monsoon would let us (as in, not fast at all). On the way, we got the OMFG excitement of seeing a power line pop from lightning. I guess it was a generator? I don't know these technical things. *waves hands* It was only slightly terrifying, though! At least one tree was down and there was plenty of debris flying about, but once we got to the road we live off of, I guess we had made it through the storm because it brightened up a lot and the rain calmed down. Alas, no rainbows to be seen, though. When we arrived home, there was a large branch across the driveway that thankfully, was easy for Ian to move, but there was HAIL in the yard. Not just a couple blobs, but big ol' piles!!!

I have never seen anything like this before! :O Big ol' ice balls all up in my garden space. We ventured out back to the lake - okay, Ian did - I stayed on the deck. Some pagan I am, don't even want to walk through nature. *whine* The ground was squishyyy! ;) But it looked so freaking cool, since it was steaming from the storm and humidity! Smooooooooooke on the waaaaaaater!

...and that was the adventure of the day!

I'll leave you with some pics of the pretty hydrangea bush that needs trimmed like crazy. The blooms are so heavy that it's droopy (you might be able to tell from the first pictures in this post). It's amazing, some of the flowers are blue, some are pink, and some are purple. It's like a tie-dye plant! :D

☮ ♥☺
~ Cara