Stormy Days in Iowa

Wind and Rain and Hail..Oh My!

Yesterday,  a cold front came through with all the Panic and Hoopla that any Weather Channel junkie would swoon for.   The day started out fine, but mid-afternoon, the sirens blared and the phones beeped with warnings and emergencies.

30 minutes before the storm

It was a strange sight. The sun was out, and the air was calm.  There was only a small dark cloud in the distance that hinted at a storm.  The warning was for about a half hour, so we continued to score.

Dark skies in the distance.

Eventually the storm arrived and blew  some strong gusts.   Nothing terrible...no downed trees or branches.  The rain was pretty strong too.   We even got a little bit of pea-sized hail!  Fun!

Rain!  Glorious Rain!   I think this is what is mean by "coming down in Sheets!"

Thankfully only pea sized.

Ice in the hand

I'm happy that we did not lose power, have a tree fall on us or have the hail bash our car.  Subie is old enough without being battered by Mother Nature.

Cheryl runs

Better than THIS!

Other than that, the battle to score as much as possible continues.   Both Cheryl and I have had full weeks.   I have not been able to finish the tune up on Subie because of the lack of time.   We still manage to squeeze in an early morning run as well, although the distance is usually shorter.

Wardrobe change

Through the hills.

Speaking of the tune up!   I think my cleaning out the throttle body worked!   I really need to do a "complete job" though.   And perhaps I will have the opportunity this weekend.

 In the mean time, Subie no longer stalls at stop signs and idles consistently around 700 rpms.   The gas pedal sticks now, and I'm sure it is because of my "expedient clean" job.   I really need to take the throttle completely off for a proper cleaning.

Finally! Some Snow in Iowa

Coming from Michigan,  snow is just a way of life.   People exaggerate how "bad" the snow is there but we soldier through.   But here in Iowa,  things get a little more frantic it seems.   Today, for instance,  our work place closed down because of the storm!    This has never happened to me before!   In Michigan,   12 inches of snow falls  and you are still expected to come in!   In Minnesota,   you are still expected to attend school!   And in Alaska...Really?  Do I even have to go there?   NOTHING CLOSES!   Well,   except the summer lodges that cater to the tourists...but that is a customer thing, not a weather thing.   So coming from a several snow environments,  I find it a little entertaining when "warm weather" people shut down over 2 inches of snow.
   So Don't get me wrong,  I'm GRATEFUL that we did NOT have to work today.   Lack of snow does not mean that the wind and the slippery roads make for easy driving.   Not to mention we live out in the farmland so assistance and phone reception is bad.   And I have plenty of stories of driving to work or home from work in a blizzard with my knuckles clamped around a steering wheel and a scraper for the windshield next to me . I really did not LIKE those "required work days in Michigan"  So "Thank you, Iowa!" for being ill equipped and poorly motivated to deal with snow.  There is NOT this culture of "We live in  a Snow State...DEAL WITH IT!"  Mentality. And quite frankly,  I'm to old and tired of this false "Bravado" that is required to live in the north.   I actually learned much by living in Alaska where cold weather training keeps you WARM and COZY instead of cold and stuck in a snow drift.   
     So...on our new found day off,   I'm probably going to origamify something.   Everyone in the building has the day off as well  so it feels a little crowded at the moment.   I'm sure Fleabait and Tickler ( nicknames) will hole up and hide out while the snow blows over.   So...here are the pics....it doesn't look very bad,  but it has picked up since I have taken these pics and the whiteout conditions have increased.  Poor visibility makes for difficult driving ....under any weather condition.   Hope everyone in the Midwest is surviving this little squall as well as we are.   Looks like a fun filed night of wine, cheese, crackers, and Anime.....Perhaps we will bake up that Christmas Pizza   Cheryl has been saving.  

Sunday STORMS!

So Sunday was just a normal day when the dark clouds rolled in. We were planning on carving seats same as usual, BUT a small wind whipped up and put us out of business for two days! We were on the road and I didn't even think the rain or wind was that strong. It lasted 5-10 minutes TOPS! In that time. See what it did to our neighborhood:

The power is back on now, but we lost everything in our fridge because we were out of power all night last night and all day today! The power guys did a great job getting the power back ASAP. Folks all the way from Saginaw and Kalamazoo! I guess one person got killed in Grand Haven when a tree fell on his car, killing him but leaving his wife and baby unharmed! Not to be insensitive, but to me, this proves that when your time is up, it's up! ( the Statistical value of being killed by at falling tree while driving down the road while no one else in the same vehicle was unharmed has GOT to be Impossibly low!) To brighten things up! Origami Hummer! Well, it's late now and we had to burn the Midnight oil to finish the seats tonight. I'll post more tomorrow, when I'm not so tired. ( No power = no lights, internet, carving, airconditioning, or contact with customers who may or may not be sending questions about the orders that can't go out! Talk about stress!