Snuggles & Storms

It's lovely to read and snuggle kitties when the monsoon storms roll in in the evenings.

What's also lovely is that our house does not leak!

This is the first monsoon season with our new roof and our first monsoon season with our all updated interiors, and it makes me happy to hear the storm blowing away outside and know that we are all inside, safe and sound and dry.

As you can see, it makes Allistair happy, too.

We've had quite a lot of storm activity over the past couple of weeks.

The cats don't love it, but I do!

Even when we lose electricity!

Monday night we were watching "The X-Files" (I had forgotten how much I love that show) and everything blinked off . . . then on . . . then off again.  Eventually everything stayed off.  From nine that evening until about 3:30 the following morning!

Happily, the storm cooled things off so it wasn't unbearably hot.

We did have trouble sleeping because of the house being slightly on the warm side and because the storm was noisy, but we were safe and dry!

Greg has prepared us well for emergencies, so we have some devices hidden away that store power and we were able to charge our phones up overnight even without electricity.

Here's some great lightning!

We all survived!

We had another big storm last night around 3 AM . . . 

I heard the thunder and wind and got up to check on stuff, and wanted to bring Juvy inside (she doesn't like thunder and lightning).  She's black and our flooring is dark and it was dark in the house and outside, so I didn't see her.  As I made my way back to bed, she was right there around my feet, happy to be in the house, so I let her sleep in the guest bathroom until morning.

Juvy's food is right outside the sliding glass door, and the birds come to eat it, so Allistair and Stephen like to sit right there on watch guard duty.

Sometimes it gets a little sleepy . . . 

Last week and so far this week has been BUSY with getting a bunch of Chirp Curriculum sample packs ready for a special needs meeting that's taking place today here in Arizona AND a training that's taking place in Indiana within the next few weeks.

Each box contained THREE full lessons, each of which can be used for four weeks.

The lessons are not meant to be used in order, though; they won't make sense to the students that way because they're not meant to be used consecutively (they're lessons 1, 10, and 25).

I'm praying that the churches represented at these get-togethers see how unique and valuable the teaching strategies in the Chirp Curriculum are, how much easier their students will learn, and how much easier their teachers will find teaching!

Stephen helped by guarding the shipping boxes:

He's very serious about his job!

He also found a new place to droop like a tree sloth:

I bought a few new blouses (yay for Target!)

I love the bright color of this green one:

And the cute little bee pattern!

Though I'm going to see if the next size down works better - this size doesn't nip in at the waist the way I like my blouses.  It might not be obvious in the pictures because my mirror is a little skewed (it makes me look skinnier than I am), but they're a little wide in the waist.  I have that trouble a lot with blouses.

I don't know if I'll keep these if the smaller size doesn't work out because bigger tops can make me feel like a hippie, and that's not my style.

And I like that it's long in the back so that it covers my butt when I wear slim-fitting pants.

I also got this gray patterned one.

Look at this amazingly cool pattern!

And the button part has a different pattern - love it!

I tried a new meal last night - falafel!

It's ground up chickpeas and spices.

Greg crumbled up the falafels and put them in a tortilla with hummas.

I didn't eat them last night, but I will, and I will eat them crumbled on top of a salad or with lettuce and tomato on top.  Yum!

They look like peanut butter cookies 

(which makes sense, since chickpeas and peanuts are both legumes!)

Hope you are safe and dry where ever you are!