Crazy traffic and stormy weather

The week started off quietly as I've about finished with the projects I had planned here at my son's house. I packed some clothing to take home with me and packed some gardening items (tomato cages and a hoe) into the car. D asked me to make a Costco run for dry cat food and a jar of peanut butter. Both Eli and I like peanut butter, and the jar we had will be empty soon. There are no plans to return to the city for a couple of months.

As always Costco was a mad house; it doesn't seem to matter what time of day or day of the week one goes to the store, the parking lot is always full and the aisles are busy. The latter more so this week as the workers were clearly re-stocking shelves. With only two items, and having a good idea where they are located, I was distracted only once, by Deep Woods Off on sale. I picked up the third item and was through the self check-out in a just a few minutes and headed to the car.

One of my other pet peeves is the traffic in East Regina. My brother and I were chatting that morning, and he mentioned, I could likely take the highway just beyond the upgrader and turn off on Tower Road. Well, I turned the wrong direction on my way there and ended up in the traffic I dislike so much. However, I decided I'd take the route on the way home. It was fine on Tower Road though slower because the road turns from pavement to gravel. When I reached the highway, it became apparent that the traffic was busy there too...but instead of cars/trucks/SUVs, it was semi-truck traffic. Either way, I've got traffic to deal with, it was nice to return to our small town where traffic means three cars in a row. :p

I might have headed home sooner, but decided I wanted one more visit with the women at Stitch and Chat. There were five of us that day, including B. Her husband passed away unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. As she said, she felt the need to be back to a more normal schedule. It was good to see her.

When I returned home, I'd barely been in the house for more than 10 minutes when the sky opened up. I could hear the hail pinging down the furnace chimney. I tried to link a video, but Blogger was having nothing of it.

Thursday morning I was up about 6 a.m., to get a hug from C before he left for work. There were a few chores to be completed before I left, but even so, I was packed up and heading out the door shortly around 7:30 a.m. I was heading east out of the city, and tried to avoid the construction and morning traffic. Ha! By the time I was on the highway, with a stop for an iced coffee, it was nearly 8:10. Normally a 90 minute drive, it was extended by a detour and later a bit of construction. The four seasons in the city are winter, spring, construction, and autumn. Not so in our little town, though they do a bit of road repair every spring and there is an occasional water main break.

At home, I unloaded the SUV and sorted out my room, before D and I went to the school to pick up Eli. He was very excited to see me, as I was him. Later we did a bit of packing for Halifax, determining what needs to be packed in our carry-ons and what will go in our checked bags. So far, I think we won't be overpacked, and will have room to bring home a few items from our trip.

We had a severe thunder storm on Thursday evening, about 9:30 p.m. I could hear the sound of continuous thunder, see the sheet lightning flashing in the windows, and then the rain came down. It continued for just over a half hour before the storm moved on. When I went out to check the rain gauge on Friday morning, it showed just over 2" (about 50 mms.). We did get a bit of water in the basement but it was mostly contained to the laundry room which has a cement floor. 

Friday was mostly spent doing indoor chores. I swept/vacuumed and mopped floors, unloaded the dishwasher and washed a few dishes in the sink. Eli was off school at lunchtime so he and I hung out while his mom got a short nap. We went outside for a little bit; while I did a bit of weeding in the garden, he jumped on the trampoline and attempted to catch bugs in a jar. I was excited to see a few carrots and onions growing...not a lot so I may plant a few things when we get back from our vacation. Only two of my sweet peas came up, so I'll definitely be adding a few more seeds this weekend.

Our peonies and poppies took a beating in the storm. I was glad I'd taken a photo of the poppies the day before. Look at the size of the bloom - it's nearly as big as my hand! 

 

Today, there is little on the agenda. More rain is expected so there won't be much outdoor time. I'll do a bit of knitting or crocheting, perhaps start a book, hang out with Eli, and watch football and baseball. In other words, an easy day. We'll finish our packing on Monday, while Eli is at school.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone!