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More Midwest Weather and Cute Photos

I'm getting pretty tired of this weather...

Wednesday when I went to town, I was able to see some of the tornado damage. It really is unbelievable. Two of our church families lost their homes, and a third home burnt up when it was hit by lightening.

So last night, the weather alarm goes off and says a dangerous storm is over Tuttle Creek Lake and anyone living nearby should go to the basement and instantaneously, BANG! the lightening and thunder and wind hit! Not much of a head's up on that one. Then the hail came and of course, Gene manages to sleep through most of it, until I wake him up and say "it's getting too scary, the dogs and I are going to the basement". He went back to sleep. It was so loud, we couldn't hear each other talking, in the same room. When it finally blew over, we had a broken window and 3 trees down. In the light of morning, we saw my veggie garden totally flattened. Bummer. Lots of limbs down and 2" of rain in the rain gauge. Neighbors in the canyon lost shingles and Aggie's vinyl siding looks like Swiss cheese. Christel asked me to keep my eyes open for her laundry (it was on the clothes line...outside). We spent all this morning cleaning up, chainsawing and checking on neighbors. What a mess, but at least we still have a house! I'll be glad when severe weather season is over and it's just hot.

And...I've got some cute photos from Father's Day. I'll just post a few and make real copies to mail out.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend, keep your fingers crossed for good weather in the midwest, we could all use a little break.

Joan

Wild Weather!

Well, last night almost did blow us away! First of all, Monday morning brought softball size hail to parts of Manhattan. Out at the regional airport, all the parked cars had windows smashed out and vehicles destroyed. Luckily, we only got 2 1/2" rain, no hail. Tuesday, another 1/2" of rain. Then all day yesterday, they kept warning us of "deadly weather" expected. It hit us at about 5:35pm and I've never seen such violent weather. The dogs and I were hiding behind the kitchen bar first and peeking out the big windows, and when it got too scary, we went downstairs. Tornadoes were being reported all around us, just across the lake and outside of Manhattan, but again, we dodged the bullet. Gene got caught in it, just at the mailboxes and when it hit, he said he couldn't see anything!

This morning, on my inspection lap around the canyon, we had several large tree limbs come down on our property, and the road down to the lake is blocked with a tree. One of the boat docks has come loose, as the lake level is way up, so tonight after work, we need to go down and coral the dock. My poor little gardens sure took a beating, they're looking very flat. And our next door neighbors cabin took a hit when a big tree broke off and crashed through their screen porch.

All in all, we were very lucky. The horses are fine, we're fine, a little soggy (3 1/2" rain yesterday in about 20 minutes) and so far, it doesn't sound like anybody got hurt in any of the funnel clouds. So we'll count our blessings, and spend the weekend doing clean-up.

So, that's what happening here, have a good weekend and I'll see some of you next week.

Love, Joan

No, we haven't blown away...yet

Just thought I'd check in with some recent photos, and let y'all know that contrary to what you see on the news, we have not been blown away by any tornadoes. Lots of rain, lightening and thunder, along with big wind, but that's May in Kansas. The neighbor's house, up on top, did get hit by lightening last week. Another advantage to living down in the canyon.

Since I don't understand photo placement, I'll just tell you what I'm posting and you'll have to figure it out for yourself. The garden photos are from the other day...I really like this time of year. We've got iris on the hillside, some roses and the jungle is getting into it's rain forest mode. Last weekend, we saw Andy and Kristin for a few hours, which means we saw the munchkins. Brody inherited the John Deere tractor from his cousin; it's a crack-up watching him drive around, he knows how the accelerator works but the steering wheel is just ornamental as far as he's concerned. And I've also included a recent pic from The Enchilada Lounge. Did I tell you...we're actually going to be paid to play at a new businesses open house?!

I just got back from my third lesson, on the therapeutic riding horse. I'm doing better, trying hard to remember to breathe in and out and relax in the saddle. Today, we rode up and down a hillside without incident. Maybe this weekend, I'll feel up to working Boaz, in the round pen. My fear issues are not completely resolved, but I'm working on it.

Well, that's all the news that's fit to report for now. I'm looking forward to visiting so. Cal. in 2 weeks, and seeing the California family. An In-and-Out Burger would be good too...

Take care, all my love to you!

Joan

The John Perrys have not dropped off the face of the earth, although Nashville sometimes feels that far away. We are all well. Rachel is counting down the days until junior high is over-- 13 more days. She's telling us she'll become a catholic in the Fall, as she'll be attending Father Ryan High School (the Fighting Irish)! Here's a picture of her last tournament in Chattanooga where they won it all. (If you click on the picture it gets bigger and she's #9--the trophies were iTunes certificates). Friday we'll be traveling to Atlanta for the last tournament of the year. The spring is more glorious than ever with our dogwood tree singing. Although John's allergies are in full bloom as well. We're all busy with our new church. It's a family affair-- John is the treasurer, Rachel organized an effort to help persecuted Christians in Afghanistan. She's talked the last three sundays and the whole congregation took part. I'm working part-time (yeah, right) pulling things together. We're happy to be pioneers in more ways than one. Here's our website if you want to pay a visit-- www.ImmanuelNashville.com Life is good! We love and miss you all. Thanks, Joan for the updates!

Weekend Guests

Andy, Kristin, Brody and Hadley came to Camp Nelson this weekend. It's the first time Kristin has been here in 2 years (with pregnancy/nursing, she can't take her allergy meds and she's allergic to planet earth) and neither of the little ones have ever been here. Grandpa Gene was really anxious to take Brody fishing, turkey hunting, tractor driving and horse riding. Due to the weather, the only thing they did, was tractor driving and I think Brody thought that was pretty cool. We took them to the barn and just as we came in the door, Lawrence (pictured here) cleared his nasal passages which scared the daylights out of Brody! After that, he was mighty leary of the big horse. No way, Grandpa Gene was getting him on top of that! And Brody loves Maggie; he practically lays on top of her. Every chance he gets, he's sitting on the floor next to her, with his arms around her neck. You got to love a lab for patience. And how pretty is baby Hadley? Both kids have Gene's blue eyes, and Hadley has the sweetest little rosebud mouth.

All is all, a good time was had by all. The dogs are tired out, Bella came too so Birdie and Maggie had a playmate. I'm wiping little fingerprints off of everything 3 feet and under and Grandpa Gene is napping.

I hope y'all had a good weekend and we send lots of love, hugs and kisses.

Joan

ENCORE!

I've had a request for more photos, so these are all taken in Jenna's home. Gene is preparing the floor for some repair work. The spiral staircase was moved and left 2 holes in the hardwood floor. He loves a project... Then, this is the guest room. The tiny side table is up against a wall, on the right, and you can see the orange wall on the left. That's how big the room is. Jenna does plan to repaint... Below is the view from Jenna's bedroom windows on the second floor. Big, floor to ceiling windows, all along the wall. Lovely. And then finally, this is the downstairs. I'm standing where the dining room table should be (it was waiting to be picked up and since Jennna doesn't have a car, she was waiting for a friend with a truck to help), the windows to the sidewalk/street/canal are at my back and I'm looking through the length of her home. Dining area, TV area, kitchen and bath at the far right. Not a lot of space, but that's how they live. We didn't see any big houses. The Dutch also leave their draperies open all day and into the evening. They are saying "my house is clean and we have nothing to hide". You better hope so! Well, now that I've given you a glimpse of a Dutch home, I'm going to bed. We're expecting severe weather tonight, which means no sleep for me...crazy dogs lose their minds and keep me up. Of course, Gene sleeps through it all... Later, I'll post some more. Take care and have a good weekend. Hugs and kisses to all.

Love, Joan