NOW YOU SEE IT!

Everyone knew where they would be on Monday.  Everyone, except me!  Sunday was a beautiful day and the water was perfect.  Perfect for me!  The 'big' event was talking about, and neighbours had planned an 'eclipse party' at the top of our complex.  The slight chance of rain had diminished until later in the afternoon, if at all, and a gazebo had been erected in case the forecasters had it wrong!

I made some 'eclipse cup cakes' on Monday, with the full expectation of coming home and watching the event from the top of our complex, but as the morning progressed, I realised it would be just as much, if not more, fun to see it from the car park at the office, surrounded by my family.  Samantha and I went outside, glasses in hand, and looked up at the sky, hopefully.  At around 12:50 the clouds parted, and we could see the start of the moon covering the sun, and could feel the start of the strain it was taking on our necks!  "Hang on", she said, and produced a blanket from her truck, and opened the tailgate of Grant's.  We spent the next half an hour watching the clouds go over the sun, and then the moon covering it more.  The postman drove by. "I want y'all's job!" he said, "laying down on a truck bed all afternoon seems like a good deal!"  More and more people appeared, and finally, most that were in the office buildings, from ours and the others surrounding, came outside.  Dana and Grant appeared and everytime the clouds parted and the moon shadowed a little more, an 'oooh' could be heard, like a Mexican wave, starting at one end of the car park and going up into the neighbouring hills.  It got darker and colder, and the street lights came on, as their sensors thought it was dusk.  Probably the most significant and exciting thing for me was when we saw an owl take flight, obviously not that wise!  

The 'event' lasted a little more than a minute, and it was quite dark. I was on facetime to my sister, who was watching it on satellite television.  "Do you know a place called Kerrville?" she asked.  "I went for my birthday a few years ago!" I responded.  As Samantha was videoing through her special filter, Grant called Richard and Steph, and the boys, and we all experienced it together.  After the moon started to move away, Grant took the filter and they saw the shadow through the phone.  It was a good experience, despite the cloud coverage.  Pretty soon, the excitement was over, everyone agreed "That was cool" and we went back inside, and continued with our day!

The rain did come in a little later, but the morning started warm and quite bright.  Traffic was not as bad as we thought it might have been, but the threats of severe weather were still very much upon us.  Dana took his car home at lunchtime, and Samantha drove him back to the office.  Suddenly there was a steak of lightening that looked like a laser.  The thunder that followed was a hollow crack, like I had not heard before (although perhaps I have) and then the sky started to go dark.  Were we experiencing a second eclipse?  

Hail is not uncommon here in April, but the size differs.  Thankfully, up until now, I have not been victim to damage, but it started to come down so ferociously, it once again brought everyone to the front of the building, although this time we did not venture outside.  The sound of it hitting the cars made it obvious that some damage had occurred.  "My car is a month old, and just had hail damage repair!" said one woman.  I was more concerned about the possibility of losing a windscreen than I was about dents.  The storm went on for sometime, and it looked like we were standing at the side of a driving range with golf balls landing and smashing, or not, as they hit the ground. The car park looked like the end of a slalom, and there appeared to be no end in sight!

Eventually, the sun shone through and we were able to go out and see the damage that we feared had been caused.  My car had a few dents, but the main one looked like a tennis ball had been hammered in so hard, I was surprised not to see some of the covering stuck to it.  Other vehicles were also full of dents, and not small rivets!  At the end of the day the heavens opened once again, and although the hail was not as large the storm was just as ferocious.  I drove home and visibility was virtually nil!

Amazingly enough, with all the 'ice' that had been pelted into the ground, the water was still quite warm.  I did not swim on Wednesday, and the pool looked like someone had been tree-felling! However, all seemed to be quite peaceful!

Grant had won tickets to see Tim McGraw on Thursday, and of course, the rules state that if anyone wins, they have to take the person who spent the time entering!  We had known about the concert for a couple of months.  However, upon opening another email, I saw that Samantha had also won!  She was very excited, as she had been hinting at wanting to see the show since the winners were announced in the office!  She was quite adamant that Edward would enjoy it too, but the problem was the baby!  This is Austin!  "The website says....". Indeed the website said that for most shows (presumably not those that are for children) kids under two do not require tickets, but like on a plane, they must sit on the lap of a paying guest. She had earphones, and cowboy boots!   The two only go together if you are taking your toddler to a Country concert!  

We all jumped in one car, drove downtown, and went into the building. Our seats were very high and to the side.  Although it appeared to be further away than the seats I would have preferred, we actually had a better view of the stage.  The first performer, Carly Pearce, was already on stage when we took our seats, and she belted out several songs.  Then the 'main event' started, and we bopped in our seats with the rest of the crowd.  At the end of 'regular time' we left, and were told "He still has three more to sing".  The idea that a 'playlist' is available is both helpful and not!  I like the idea of being surprised by the songs, and not knowing what the 'encore' will bring is part of the excitement but as he had already sung the one song I wanted to hear, I was ready to go, as was the rest of our party.  The only other song that I am very familiar with is so sad, that I would not really have wanted to be a part of a live performance!

Once again it was Friday and the weekend loomed.  It was a busy day, but not overwhelming.  I just wanted to go home and sleep!  However, we had promised we would watch Teddy overnight, and much as he is a very good sleeper, most of the time, my 'mum' ears would not allow me to slumber.  I heard him chatting at six, but he went back to sleep.

Breakfast with the grandson was quite the treat for us, and we watched as he threw scrambled egg on to the sheet that I had put down in case of 'fallout'.  He seemed to be quite happy sitting in his highchair, whilst I had a cup of caffeine! He seemed to be mimicking Dana eating and it was all quite amusing.  

Samantha arrived and we went on our weekly trip to the stores.  Nothing much changes in that respect!  I was looking forward to a quiet afternoon, which I did have for a while, but then a party arrived, and it was a very loud party!  I am not usually bothered by noise, but a table had been set up with a sound system that defied the sound barrier! I got up and gathered my things together, as it was about time for me to leave.  Although my neighbours and most of their guests are usually very friendly, this crowd was not!  I smiled as I walked past the mass, and they looked as if I was cramping their style!  "Don't look, you will only encourage her", I could feel them thinking.  Perhaps I was wrong, but it was quite a cool reception.  As I left, a young girl shouted over, "Hey, so good to see you!"  I was unsure as to whom she was talking but then realised it was me!  It was the old roommate of the girl who was having the party, and the person I had nicknamed 'The ice queen".  She had invited me to paint last year, and I was so grateful!  She gave me the biggest hug, and all the 'don't' crowd looked on in amazement.  We chatted long enough for those around to start to defrost, and then I really did leave!  There had been a couple of complaints, and one other neighbour and I asked the hostess to turn the noise down a tad, which she was very happy to do! I do not think she was expecting the crowd that had formed!

Dana and I enjoyed dinner, and then I fell asleep rather early.  I was quite exhausted! 

Sunday, Sunday, and hoping for a not much day.  There will be whispers about the 'party' and then it will all be forgotten, until the next time.  The weather is glorious, although it could be a tad cooler (on the 'something you never think you will say' list) and it would be nice to have some more rain (on the 'something you never think you will say' list) and I am waiting to see what next week will bring.  It will need to be quite spectacular to beat an event a day (or almost) that this week brought, but who knows what I shall have to say in ...... another story!