Raining Lions and Great Danes

I just made a fresh hot cup of tea and now it is time to sit and relax. Won’t you make yourself a cuppa too and join me for a little visit?

I am counting my blessings today– let me tell you why.

It didn’t just rain cats and dogs last night it rained Lions and Great Danes!!!! Yes, Lions and Great Danes! We were dumped on but good. Loud crashes of thunder and bright flashes of lightening woke me up around 3 am and I couldn’t get back to sleep until 7 am. Not nice that! Usually I find the sound of rain in the night relaxing, but not last night. It was such a bad storm and it lasted for so long, I couldn’t get back to sleep.

Last week we had a demented robin flinging itself repeatedly against our patio doors, and last night one of the foil pie plates I hung up on the deck to keep said robin away, broke off its string. It landed in such a position on the deck floor that the water cascading off the roof during the storm, hit it like a bongo drum. A rather large and loud bongo drum, I might add. When the rain let up a bit, the pie plate drum took up the task of keeping me awake. GRRRRR.

I finally got up at 4 am, grabbed a coat and threw it over my head then stormed out into the wild thundering rain to move that blasted pie plate. The air was cold and wet and the wind was blowing at a fair clip. I managed to reach the pie plate without too much trouble, but the string which I had attached to it, was all tangled in the rose bushes. I fought with it for a couple of minutes but couldn’t get it loose, so I finally tucked it down beside the rose bush and hoped it would stay there silently until morning. I ran back into the house cold and wet, only to be greeted by a howling cat. He was convinced it was breakfast time and made it very clear that he would keep me awake with his caterwauling if I didn’t take a minute to dish out his “first breakfast”. I think there is a bit of Hobbit in him, because he likes first and second breakfast. By this time I was wide-awake, damp and cold. Not a happy camper at all.

About 15 minutes after I first rolled out of it, I crawled back into my warm bed and pulled the thick blankets right up to my chin. Brrr, I was cold. I buried my head in the soft pillow and tried to relax and enjoy the sound of the falling rain just outside the window. Maybe it would lull me back to sleep. At least that blankety-blank pie plate drum had been taken care of. Now, if the thunder would just co-operate I should be able to get a few more hours of sleep.

No such luck! The storm continued to build in intensity and got louder. The downpour was so heavy and prolonged, I started to wonder if I should get up and look for those directions on how to build an ark. Goodness, what a night.

Well, the storm finally passed and as it got quieter and quieter I snuggled down deeper a deeper under the quilt and finally drifted off to dreamland once again. I slept most of the morning away and by the time I rolled out of bed for the second time, the rain had stopped completely and the sun was trying to peek through the clouds. It was a valiant effort, but not very successful. Looks like more rain now and I think I hear rolling thunder off in the distance.

Once I checked to see what was going on outside I padded down to the basement to survey the damage down there. Whew! Everything was ok. The sump pump had worked perfectly and the little bit of water that did find its way inside was just a trickle in a corner of the laundry room. No damage done at all. Thank goodness.

I was upset at having my sleep so rudely interrupted last night, but when we walked around our neighbourhood after lunch, I counted myself lucky to have a dry basement and to have gotten off so easy. We saw people moving soggy furniture out to their driveways, or stacking up wet boxes outside their front doors. Piles of wet carpet and other odds and ends were everywhere. Our neighbour just two doors down came to her front door and threw a bucket of dirty water out onto the lawn as we walked past. She didn’t look happy at all. Oh dear, lots of people had major flooding.

Yes, I am counting my blessings and have added a few new things to my list today. I am so glad for eaves troughs,and shingles; a house on a bit of a hill; a sump pump; down spouts and drain pipes. All the dull, little thought of, parts of my house that helped me weather the storm last night are worth their weight in gold today.

What can you put on your list today? Is it time for a second cup of tea, while you ponder that one? Talk to you later. Cuppa