Shake, Rattle and Roll with a little Good Night Irene...

I love inclement weather. I love when a storm rolls in, when forecasters use phrases like serious conditions, take precautions...And this summer hasn't disappointed. Thunder and lightening have woken me on more than one night. Short power outages and fire trucks on our street (all is well, no worries, just a scare for a neighbor's house.) And this week...well this week gave an extra special dose. On Tuesday there was an earthquake! 5.8 - 5.9...Yeah, I'm sure you heard. I'm also sure all of the folks that live on the west coast think we're a lil silly. I mean this is a tremor compared to what they've been through. But - it was here and not typical and let me say... wow.

I'll try to stick to the facts here and not be too dramatic. But, things started shaking and at first, I thought big truck? then, maybe something hit the building? I'll admit I did wonder about a plane crash or possibly something destructive at the local Army base. Wish I could've grabbed my phone quick enough to record but it just happened too fast. There was no damage and I don't know of anything that actually fell over but it was a very odd experience that's for sure!

The center was close to Lake Anna - a place we've spent a lot of time. Hoping all is well there.

Not to be outdone, reports of a powerful hurricane headed in our direction began to roll in. Not the typical one that brushes by and barely touches us...but more significant. Now I have to say that living in the western part of the state spared us from the real force. But, It still made for an exciting Saturday night watching the news and making our own storm center in the garage to watch first hand as the rains and wind rolled in. Tucked safely in bed, the windows were rattling a little and with rain pelting against them. And I will happily admit that I love it!!!

Today we woke to gray skies and rain. The last band from Irene was wrapping around to bring her final punch to Maryland.

By a little after noon, there was pleasant blue above us. With a lil of those white happy clouds mixed about.

We drove to the river where we put the boat in and were surprised to find no signs of what the night had provided.

Only difference was that today, the parking lot was empty and there wasn't a line at the boat launch. Guess folks weren't sure what to expect from Mother Nature. And I guess the word painted on the ramp says it all...

We're promised to be repaid with a few days of nearly perfect weather. Low 80's and bright sunshine. Hope you have a great week!

Strasburg as a Sun...

I think in the 7 summers we've lived in Htown, we've been to 1 - maybe 2 Suns games. But this year...well, this year there's been more excitement. Or I'm paying closer attention. Who knows - anyway, you remember we were Harperstown for a time this season...well Harper moved on to bigger and better things. But behind him came more excitement...the town was a buzz. Turns out the Nationals star pitcher underwent elbow surgery which meant he needs to rehab before he can return to the big show. Where better? So along with half of Hagerstown and a ton of other places, we went...

we saw....

Stephen Strasburg, ladies and gentleman....

Impressive...

He's started two games so far, pitching an inning and two thirds in each. He's scheduled for at least one more. Good times in Htown!

Catchin up

It's been a minute since the last post. I've been busy or preoccupied...anyway, some highlights from the past week.

We had special visitors last weekend. Jim's Mom and Dad and our niece Morgan were in town. Morgan has been spending part of her summer vacations visiting for a few years now and it is always so good to catch up with her! Amazing how grown up she is. Makes me proud to be her Aunt! And let me just tell you that they weren't out of the driveway before there was a tear or two in my eyes! I miss her and always love spending time...once a year doesn't feel like enough! But I'm thankful for that time. Here are a few pics from our time together.

We set out for a lil family game of putt putt on Saturday morning...I thought it only fitting to include a pic of the winner! Congratulations to Jim's Mom... :) I love the way he looks like he's studying her technique in this pic - looking for some pointers? (picking :))

And keeping with the recent weather theme, it was hot! HOT!....but look at this sky! Love days like that!

transitioning....

My name is Mendie and I'm a gadgetholic. Not at all made to poke fun - I mean I seriously think I have a problem because I get the biggest high from new gadgets. So...when Jim came home to announce that he had dropped his phone in the parking lot and the screen was no longer working there was a lil part of me racing inside. But, doing the right thing I took it to the store to see if there were hopes of a resurrection. No such luck (ha)...so, I did the only thing I could do for the family - I took Jim's upgrade, got myself an iPhone and gave him my phone. I mean it was the easiest thing on him. We had the same phone prior to the crash so it would require no learning curve for him and I'd suffer through learning a new way of doing things...ok enough of that, I'm excited! :) Did you notice the new addition to the top right of the blog? See it there? That's an app! Have to admit it's not a lot different from my Droid but there are some things. Enough things for me to admit I'm in gadget love....here are a few of my favorite Instagram shots.

Ok, special attention to this pic please! I'll attach the original and the Instagram one....

Do you see it? In the cloud in the center? A face? I was playing around with different effects and all of a sudden it just popped out to me. And now that's all I can see when I look at it. I promise it's an unaltered picture - took from my iPhone sitting on our patio at dusk. Kinda gives me chills - good chills...love that Someone is watching over us!

We're looking forward to a good weekend. Nothing big planned for Saturday which is fine with me! Sunday is shaping up to be pretty action packed though - Julie's work shower for baby Jude and then maybe a baseball game. Rumor has it that a pretty famous Nationals pitcher might be warming up in our own back yard. Worth seeing!

Hope you've had a good week and will have an even better weekend!

Gitty up!

I am blessed to work for Wells Fargo - not only do I like my job but I'm proud to be a part of the organization. Yesterday was a special occasion, we had special visitors. Not the kind you take to lunch and show the operation to, the kind that draws team members out into the heat to look and pet and talk sweet to....these kinda visitors...

Please take special notice of the horses, I swear it looks like they're talking to one another! I'm sure it's just me! ;)

These guys travel in luxury as they should!

Complete with climate control and plenty of room to spread out, they arrived in style!

After taking a few folks for a ride, they were calling it a day, after all it's a little warm out there for them!

So, til next time and I hope there's a next time real soon because I ❤ them!

Off to a great start!

Every morning when I wake up my phone is flashing with notifications...emails, tweets and sometimes texts. Rarely are there things that are really exciting but today?! Well, today, I had a facebook note..hmmm. This is what is said:

Men Men, i just have to tell you - we went to a winery tonight for moms bday and i ordered a grilled cheese that had chips so with my chips, i asked for a pickle, they brought me a huge pickle that looked like they just picked it, all the people looked at me and had a very confused look, so you problly know what i was doing.. i was squeezing the juice on my chips, they must not know how we eat our pickle juice and chips i said all this because even mom and daddy knew right away where i got it from... YOU! & i remember when you first taught me when i was 8 years old. love you and im very sad i havent seen in a long time :((

This is Cierra, she's Luanne's daughter (you know Luanne, yesterday's birthday girl!) and I've known her since before she was born. And for some reason there's always been little things about Cierra that remind her of me. Just little things - personality traits...all the good ones, of course! :) Anyway....

To explain her note a little bit, it happened by accident years ago. I do not like pickles! If I bite into one, well you can have the sandwich it was on because I'm done with it...YUK, but one day buried under my grilled cheese and chips was an innocent little pickle. With all the good food resting on it there was bound to be a little pickle juice sharing going on. Let me just say OMG :) that's some good stuff! Abusing the heck out of the pickle to get every last bit of juice for your chips and grilled cheese is a science that takes work! It needs to be perfected. And let's just say, I've got it down to just that....a science. Yes, I'm sure it seems a little odd to most but don't hate until you try it! ;) And don't expect me to eat what's left because crunching into a pickle isn't happening!

But honestly, none of that is the point. It always makes my heart smile when you know someone has paid attention. I know it's just a little pickle story but it's so much more to me than that. :) Cierra Jade - you made my day! Thank you for sharing and for making me smile!

Happy Birthday Luanne!

Sending special birthday wishes to Bev who I've called Luanne for as long as I can remember. There's no reason why - it's not her middle name, I just like it. I'm sure she loves it! ;)

Hoping you've had the bestest day ever, Luanne!

If you haven't already, stop by Crockett's Corner and catch up with her!