Pneumonia Anyone?
Thank you, internet, for exactly expressing my thoughts. And a million other people’s thoughts. But seriously. I meant to post this last week when it was 90 degrees on Friday. And sweltering. Sunny. Hot. Humid. Then 40 degrees on Saturday. And raining. Thundering. Lightning. Hailing. Ice and tornadoes. Where else in the country can you run the risk of having both heatstroke and hypothermia within a 24 hour period? And potentially having all your fresh, green, spring, grass wither and turn brown today, and maybe have your house completely demolished tomorrow?
I only bring it up today, again, because yesterday was another rainy, humid day of varying temperatures. Sixty-ish. I’m told. Because I can’t remember. I was at work, and my work city doesn’t always reflect my home city. I drove in weather that ranged from so severe I could barely see through the downpour, onto a stretch of road so bone dry it looked like a wasteland. And I only commute 26 miles. Last night, cold. Well, chilly. And damp. It’s a peculiar wet-type feeling that’s not exactly uncomfortable but raises the hair on your arms. Not tropical but not mountainous either. And it was foggy. Like, ghost foggy. Scoop it up in a cup foggy. Things that jump out of the dark foggy. Say, like, dinosaurs running out from the forest. (Movie plug! We saw Jurassic World late last night. It was good. If you like dinosaurs or even think you might, just GO. It’s not a waste of your money. End of plug.) Our weather is so accommodating, to give us that slightly scary, element of surprise and effect while driving home. Then rain and thunderstorms predicted for morning, and all day long.
Actual wake up weather today: sunny and gorgeous. Like, perfect. It’s 80 degrees already. Blue sky, white fluffy clouds. Soft breeze. It’s ridiculous.
I’d love to have a point here, or a guide for predicting and planning for the weather, but it’s mostly just observation and a little ranting. Tonight we are going to a wedding. I have no idea what the outside will be like. That’s the beauty of my little corner of Illinois. We could go in hot and come out cold. It could rain. Or it might not. Glancing outside it looks like the weather is getting ready to shift right now. I mean, it has been a whole hour. I need to go get ready and stop this foolishness. Everyone stay safe and enjoy these days and nights as you can. Later.
This Is Really The Last Picture Of The Famed Icicle
Mostly because it is totally gone. All of it. The icicle and the snow. We are back down to the sidewalk and rocks. I took this right before I left for work. By the time I got home, winter halftime melted almost everything around this majestic beauty. In Chicago, we get a few days every winter, smack dab in the middle, to remind us why we live here or don’t live here, or why we need to get our pneumonia and flu shots every fall. Temps go up, dumbasses walk around in summer clothes, and then can’t figure out why they are deathly ill the next day when the temp drops back into the teen range. Except that it only stays there for a few hours before going back up into the 50’s and raining like it’s springtime. Not raining like you might have. That’s baby rain. That’s amateur hour outside of the Illinois borders. But raining with thunder and lightning and 50 mph winds that are blowing the half melted icy snow across the road to cause some kind of watersleetsnowicefog mix that causes us all to crash into each other on the expressway. And then at night, just a touch more snow, like the icing on the cake. It’s actually more like vanilla powder on a cake that already has icing, flowers, writing, sprinkles, shavings and maybe some glitter. It’s overkill and we are not impressed. Only Indiana can rival us with snow weather. They get a lot. Mostly due to our strategic placement of Lake Michigan. Ha. Suckers. But their biggest problem this year, I hear, is something called “expansion joints.” Apparently they keep popping up in the middle of the roadway and causing a bunch of flat tires and accidents. It’s not funny at all. But it kind of is. How about you all do it like we do it in Illinois (and everywhere else) and just make the road in one long piece? Then all you have to worry about are the giant potholes that can swallow an entire Mini Cooper in one bite! Come on Indiana! Step it up and get all those flat tires the good old fashioned way. By driving into, and out of, a huge hole in the ground! In Illinois you get a 50/50 chance of coming out of it ok. Whereas in Indiana, I don’t think you have even a slim chance of not getting a flat, or worse, when the whole roadway separates into two, non-connected, pieces. It’s probably because our roads go through our state, not over it. Let’s bring it to the ground I-N.
Anyhoo, let me end here. I don’t want to start any wars. Winter blows all over this middle part of America. Every place around here has their own private hell. Sometimes you win, mostly you lose. So it’s a draw. I think I have one ugly pic of the front of the icicle and a blurry pic of the road that I drove home on the next day. (More snow. Can you believe it?) I’m not using them. I want to forget. I’ll just post some of the other random pictures from the camera and phone and call it a wrap for this wave of weather. It’s holding steady around 30-35 degrees. For 2 whole days now! A little melt. A little freeze. I don’t know why I stay here. Later.
just shy of pretty 