Sorry I'm late!! This afternoon, an oak tree with a five-foot diameter trunk from an adjacent property came down in a strong thunderstorm, took out three other trees in our parkland of a back yard, smashed into a bungalow-sized 'shed' filled with family antiques, and slammed through the roof of our newly-county-inspection-approved freaking addition.
AND - I was at work and missed the amazing Woods-Mediate 19 hole playoff.
Yeah. It's been one damn fine afternoon.
Hope nobody else had storm damage today.
I've been reading your comments today as they were emailed to me. I was itching to be on here, answering and talking, but in the office, that's problematic. I wasn't all that worried- because I'm usually on here by 5:30 pm Eastern or so. Then I came home and saw the damage done, and my husband arrived home just after me - we had to take quick action, as more storms are expected tonight.
I'm so sorry I wasn't here a lot earlier. I feel rude (I'm from the South. It's a thing we have - feeling rude. I can't help myself.)
I'll be on either here in a little bit, or very early in the morning. And thanks so much for the great discussion, you all! Seriously. It was wonderful to read it unfolding. If there's one thing I want this place to be, it's the kind of place where people feel at home to speak their minds. (Yeah - even you, Lyle, so don't get on your high horse, and you know you like to get right up on it, about how you're going to be run away on a pole, blah blah blah. Just don't be stinky mean, 'K?)
I'll be giving you more good grief later - rest assured!
P.S. Our shed is behind the tree, in the center of the picture. You can just see it in there. Among other things, there's an old piece in there that my great-grandmother called a 'shiff-a-robe' (she was from rural Kentucky), about 140 years old, and a handmade cherrywood cradle that my father made my older daughter. It looks salvageable.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Fun storm stuff....
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21 comments:
Wait, was the K for Kiersten?
Am I being a jerk? I am really trying not to. Actually, that last discussion thread was great because it forced me to think about *why* Arlyle's comments bugged me. And I think part of it has to do with the fact that I adore you, and I get kind of protective of people I like, and I wouldn't have liked Arlyle's comment directed at me. But it wasn't, so I'll remember that ; )
I like what Ril said about not trying to be offensive and not taking offense.
Also, I'm so so sorry about the tree. Sometimes nature sucks.
No, Miss Kiersten!
I was talking to Lyle! Sorry, honey - I didn't realize you'd read my slangy "OK" that way.
You little sweetie!
Okay, I missed the discussion with Arlyle, so I'll have to bone up on that.
So sorry to hear about the tree and the antiques. That sucks. Hope you are able to salvage the cradle (among other things) !
I read To Kill a Mockingbird. I heard all about them there chifforobes. Get a body in trouble.
Glad to hear no one was hurt and that the furniture might be salvagable. We'll be here whenever you're ready, my dear.
Freddie said~ Arlyle, so I'll have to bone
Such a schoolboy mentality have I at times.
Kiersten said~ Sometimes nature sucks.
Only if you're really lucky.
Sorry about your loss. I collect antiques. The most valuable of which are the little trinkets left behind by family.
To run your hands across an object and have it evoke sentiments that you can only describe as "heart rendering", is special to say the least.
I know that the memories are always there, but the reminders make them all the more sweet.
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but they are wrong. A picture is worth a moment, a special place consigned to posterity; and this moment, money has no measure for.
I thought about you earlier. I have a coworker who lives SW of DC and I was on the phone with her when that storm system blew through and felled trees and street signs and blacked out her neighborhood. I actually thought about you when the tornado went through Arlington last week or so, too. But I saw you were blogging so knew you were safe then.
Glad you're safe this time, too, but so sorry for all the keepsakes. And now you have the salt-in-the-wound hassle of dealing with the insurance company. Iced sweet tea and sympathy all around, girlfriend.
Hope all your stuff's OK — including walls & ceilings.
I know it's rotten when stuff you love gets broken but at least there was nobody there at the time. I hope you can salvage those family things esp. the ones wth the strongest memories.
Stay out of the weather!
That sounds not a good day. I know the storm you mean. It blew threw here around 3:30pm and dropped hailstones the size of big hailstones. I didn't see it, no window zone, but they clattered on the roof and drowned out the sound of our terribly important corporate discussion. When I left after work, the roads and sidewalks were covered with foliage and the skies were still rumbling.
It's easy to say it's only stuff, when it's somebody else's stuff; it's still a big deal when it's your own stuff and when it's stuff that matters to you. But it's still better to lose stuff than to lose people. I'm glad no one was there to get hurt.
What's the deal with your crazy American climate anyway? I don't get it.
Thanks you all!
I felt bad that I wasn't able to come on and talk some last night- so I figured I' d show you why.
Yeah, ril, with the American weather. My husband says the same thing all the time, but especially after he first moved here a decade ago. "What's with the...tornados, hurricanes, freak storms, mudslides in CA, hell, even with the chiggers? Not weather-related, but weird and pianful and odd..."
And Lyle, it's as I expected. There are two of you in there, huh?
(I recognized the symptoms - as I have them myself.)
Anyway - thanks for your thoughts.
Truly appreciated. If I can save that cradle, I'll be happy. My father cut down the tree, lathed the spindles of that beautiful little cradel, and carved Robin Sr's name and birthdate under the body of the cradle. As he is deceased, it means a lot to me.
Oh, gosh, Robin, I didn't see this until now. Like Jane, I am very glad no one was there to be hurt.
We had our own tree incident two years ago. Weirdest thing: the tree just up and fell over on the most peaceful, calm, warm day you can imagine. It fell into the street (thank goodness, as it would have destroyed our living room), directly onto the spot where my children typically played and/or cars were parked. Remarkably, it landed on nothing.
Two years before that, another tree dropped a huge branch onto the roof of my poor, little Mazda 323. Crushed that little sucker like a soda can on John Belushi's forehead. Two in the morning, no wind or rain or anything. Sounded like a small aircraft had crashed into our roof.
I am very glad no one was hurt. Falling trees can do scary damage. I hope your antiques are mostly OK.
Reminds me of good Southern ice storms taking trees down all over the place. I'm glad most things look salvageable. Still sucks.
I put that last sentence in there for R.Lyle.
Thanks, Pete and paca.
Robin, I'm just now coming to your blog. Started with the discussion below.
I don't know what to say about the photos. You've been talking about this renovation for months, so it's got to feel kind of awful. But that can be fixed. I hope your family keepsakes are okay.
Hey, found you by way of Kiersten's blog. Sorry about that crazy storm. Glad you guys are okay, though. That is some scary stuff.
Really enjoyed your Good Girl discussion, as well.
Hey Chris!
The roofer is here now. Unfortunatley, it's not Rod the Roofer, but what can you do??
Anyway, now that the storm is out of the area, and Ive resigned myself to reality, I'm OK.
And - good news- the cradle only has a few scratches and one spindle that needs to be fixed. So, yeah. Pretty good.
Glad to see you're at the new house!
Hi Natalie,
Thanks for coming, and thanks for your thoughts!
What discussion? OK, I'll have to take a look and find out. I've been working, people, working! Can you keep the drama for when things are slow, please? Thanks!
But firstly, I hope all your stuff is OK, particularly the family things.
Thanks, McK.
Hope the work is going well!
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