Spring Things

Storms mostly . . . all those April showers--tornadoes and hailstorms--bringing May flowers? and drainspouts pouring new roof nails onto the driveway . . . ahhh, spring! Lol :)

I'm not sure how far to back up to begin; oh, I know! Let's go to Brennen's house. He has a house! Well, he and lots of other guy have a house . . . they call it the 5Guys house, but I'm not sure that is an accurate number. I know there are a couple of extra guys subleasing over the summer while Brennen and C are away up north. We were excited to see his space, deliver the requested four dozen eggs, and pick up some car parts Chase left there for G$. It's a nice house! Way nicer than Buck or my first rental spaces :) They even have a unicycle (Idk why, though :)

It was a brief visit, although we did get to visit with most of the residents. This was the big meet-the-parents day for Brennen. Sarah invited him to an anniversary celebration where Brennen got to meet several family members, including Sarah's mom, dad, and brother. He said it went well and they've spent more time with her family since then :)

Back at home, I was in charge of taking care of the neighbors' pets while they had a little getaway to the south. The puppy didn't bite me this time, so that was a big win, lol! I also delivered eggs to our in-between neighbor (three dozen) and left another dozen on the counter for when our neighbors returned--have I mentioned we have a lot of eggs?

We also had a lot of meetings and appointments--at the dentist, I found out that my "golden tooth" as my nephew calls it, is actually a discolored three-surface filling. There's no way to make it match the rest of my teeth unless I get it removed and redone. It's crazy that this one has been on since I was, like, 12 and is still in good shape--just outdated technology, as my dentist said. It may be time to get it upgraded for the next 30 years of use! 

Buck and I both got bloodwork done and passed with flying colors--woohoo! My appointment with a new doctor at a new clinic (thanks insurance) was made slightly (underexaggerating) more stressful by the roofers . . . the roofers, you ask? Yes, the roofers. They showed up BEFORE 7 a.m. Oddly, Buck was already at work for an early inventory. I woke G$ up to move his car; he left for work not too long after. The dogs and I listened to the pounding on the roof for approximately four hours (it was fast and furious); the dogs did great! Then the roof guys took turns cleaning up nails and debris (it was crazy windy that day!) before heading out just before noon--well, my appointment, that I'd waited a month for, with a new provider, since all the other providers got scooped up when everyone else with our insurance lost coverage at the only other place in town to get healthcare, was at 1:00. And while not far away by car, it would constitute a 45 minute walk--and my van was trapped in the garage with an entire debris-filled dumpster blocking it in. I exhausted every ride option I could think of (including my bike with the flat tires), and then started ringing the neighbors' doorbells. At 12:35, I got one to clock out of her at-home job, grab her keys . . . and a truck showed up to pull the dumpster out of the way! I made it to my appointment on time and my neighbor got to go back to work. Was my heartrate elevated when they took my BP? Why, yes it was.

Three days later--a hailstorm rolled through. Actually, Buck and I were not home. We were invited to a Passover Seder meal at our friends' house. We'd never been to a meal like this before, so we didn't know what to expect, but it was really cool! Our Wedding Czar made me a table host, so I was in charge of pouring the grape juice for our table at each stage of the meal. The kids took red post-it notes and covered a door frame to represent God's instructions to the Israelites on the night of the original pre-Exodus meal. 

Everything on the plate represented something specific that the Jewish people prepare to remember those times--hyssop (represented by parsley) dipped twice in salt water (to represent tears), matzah bread (unleavened, because they were told to prepare quickly--no time for yeast), some sort of sweet walnut and apple concoction that represented the mortar in the bricks the Israelites used while they were in slavery in Egypt, of course lamb . . . everything was surrounded by Bible verses that Dan printed ahead. He spoke the traditional Hebrew blessings over each course of the meal. The children asked the traditional questions and the parents gave the traditional answers (all written on the papers that we got before the meal). 

The egg was a Christian addition to the ancient meal, representing an empty tomb after Jesus's resurrection (it was baked not boiled, per tradition). This is the meal Jesus was eager to eat with his friends before his death, where He introduced Communion--which we also took together with our friends. Buck especially liked the bitter herbs (horseradish). There was a seat at our table with Jesus' name on it--a traditionally reserved space for the Messiah. Buck asked me if I thought Jesus was going to eat his horseradish or if He'd be okay to share. Lol :) 

Allthewhile, the storm, with tornado sirens (G$ said they went off at home) raged around us. We drove home through green dusk with lightning strikes the brightest and closest I've seen. Chase and Gabby sent a video from their house, very near where a very large tornado formed and touched down, but didn't do any damage to structures or towns. We were thankful for God's protection on that crazy, crazy day of weather!

I'll jump forward a week to recall the next big round of storms--we were actually at a restaurant and as we sat down at the table EVERY phone in the place went off at the same time with an emergency alert tornado warning! And, of course, everyone ignored it and continued on as usual--as we do :) I did check a couple of weather stations, just to make sure it wasn't sneaking up on us. Turns out, back at home, there was a ton of hail (good thing Buck's car wasn't there to get dinged up), but apparently specifically just over our neighborhood! The local college sent kids to the basement for the second time in a week; G$ was at work and out of the fray. Look at all the nails that washed out of our gutters and downspouts onto the driveway though!! This is only about half of them. Yikes!!

Olive is managing all the *extra* pretty well. Seven weeks pregnant and looking roundy! Just two weeks to go. She did eat the nice note my boss sent me with a surprise gift from Amazon. But, paper has been kind of her thing lately; and I need to learn to like brewed tea ;)

Buck and the boys (young men) are getting excited for their upcoming multi-day hike. There's been much prep, sharing notes and ideas, polos back and forth, and even a practice tent in our living room! Camping food made it into most of the Easter baskets; the available supply for such adventures is actually pretty impressive!

I'm not sure I recorded the last vacuum switcheroo, but the time has once again arrived to swap the Shark. I know we are a lot for the carpet-cleaning machines. A LOT. I've tended this one's issues and worked it through several google-search-necessary concerns . . . but when the brush stopped rolling, I had to call in fully-functioning backup :) We're back to pink! And the previous one still works great on hardwood floors--which Brennen has at his new house. So full circle, back to the first topic of this blog, booooom! Brennen and his buddies welcomed our old Shark into their fold (I did see R sweeping when we visited, so they're doing a good job already keeping the place neat--but it's a lot quicker to use the vacuum :) 

Taadaa! Shark 1,235,653.0