Hot, Sweaty, Stormy - Summer goes out with a roar - literally!

Even though I wasn’t working, I still rolled out of bed fairly early. It was just ahead of 6am. It was imperative that I treat the morning as if it were a work day so I could have my exercise and run out of the way prior to Mindy departing for school. To that end, I busted out my calisthenics then took Frankie out. I remembered it was trash day, too, so before doing anything else I placed our can at the curb. I enjoyed coffee then delivered a cup to Mindy. She was already out of the shower and busy getting dressed. I headed off on my run right before 7am. I hadn’t checked the temperature but knew it was warm. I still wore a long–sleeved wicking shirt which proved a tad warm. I later learned that it was 66 degrees. No wonder I was warm! More than once I thought about tearing off my shirt but ended up keeping it on. I ran the full 4.1 mile track. Mindy’s Honda was already gone when I got back to the house. It was quiet. Frankie was in her pen, although the door still open. The kids apparently weren’t yet awake. There was a note on the microwave from Mindy advising that my breakfast was inside and that she had an early meeting. I sat down at the PC with another cup of coffee enjoying the solace. Jacob was up minutes later. Bella wasn’t far behind. She was curious of her mother’s whereabouts. School, I explained. It was already 805a. We were expecting the neighbors (Jake, Makayla, and Lillian) around 815a. It was my turn to manage the late start. Turns out, they didn’t show up until almost 825a. Once they were there and settled, I headed out to organize myself for a busy day in the yard and tree house. I pulled the John Deere and trailer from the shed, and then loaded the three bundles of shingles I still had from 6 years ago when I built the shed. I planned to use them on the tree house. I dropped the trailer back by the tree house then headed back inside. It was already time for Jake to catch the 7th grade bus – 850a. He headed out. The others weren’t scheduled to be out to the bus stop until 1005a. I decided to mow the lawn while waiting. I did the tractor piece first, backwards from my usual process. Kenny stopped over to give me a key to his shed so I could have access to the air compressor and an AC outlet. He then bolted for his job site. Still only 920a, I got out the push mower and was able to cut all but a small area of the front lawn before it was time to get the others on the bus. Just before heading in to get them, neighbor David stopped over. Said the walk through was scheduled for 1130a today. I walked back and showed him the tree house, which again, straddles his property line. He was very impressed. Asked if it was really for Kenny & I .  Time to get the kids. I hollered in the front door that it was time to go. The kids were slow to get moving but eventually filed out. Bella was the least put together. She hadn’t yet fixed her hair or put on her shoes. Once at the bus stop she pouted about Mindy not packing her lunch. Said she’d starve. When asked if she could simply buy, she cried that she hates their pizza. Odd, Bella hating the pizza? It must be awful. She ran back inside to grab a Lunchable and juice box. She felt better once she had some food for lunch. As soon as the kids were on the bus, I headed back to finish the lawn. It didn’t take too long. I finished mowing in five minutes, but I still had to whack, edge and blow. I finished that by 1040a. I took a very minimal break before starting to shingle the tree house. Last minute I decided to take Frankie out with me. I drove her spiraled stake into the ground within eyeshot of my work place. I placed a bowl of water nearby expecting it to reach 90 degrees. I installed shingles for the next 3 hours. Lots of cutting given the small area and the hip-style roof. And wouldn't you know, I smacked my thumb with the hammer right off. I decided not to use Kenny’s nail gun. As luck would have it, I was about 3 or 4 shingles short with what I’d have to make a run to Lowe’s for more, but I already assumed that. And actually, what I had went further than I expected. IN addition, I still would need cap shingles for the hips. I took Frankie inside and secured both sheds before driving off to Lowe’s. I chose to visit the Georgesville Rd store. For whatever the reason, the Hilliard Lowe’s routinely is out of a lot of stuff. At Lowe’s I grabbed a bundle of Driftwood dimensional shingles, and then a bundle of the same color only in the 3-tab variety to make the caps shingles. They sell cap shingles pre-cut, but they’re ridiculously expensive. I would’ve needed two boxes at $44 ea. The bundle of 3-tab shingles was only $20. I picked up a small box of longer roofing nails too then headed back home. I was back on the job by 3p. It was quite toasty. I decided to leave Frankie in the house. I put down the last few shingles then turned my attention to the cap. Mindy arrived home just ahead of the kids’ school bus – about 355p. I stayed busy working on the roof. It had to be around 445pm when a huge and sustained wind blew up. Surprised and caught completely off guard, I glanced skyward only to discover dark gray clouds moving our way and fast. The wind was fierce, and what I later learned was 60 mph. Accompanying the fierce wind was this unexplainably loud rumble – not thunder. It dawned on me that it might very well be a tornado. And here I was, not only up in a tree 16’ above the ground, but also amongst lots of old trees that were swaying, bending, and creaking in the storm. I made my way off the roof and out of the tree house in a hurry. I was in full panic. In an instant, I had to decide whether to tough it out amongst the trees or make a dash for the house. I decided to run for the house. Just as I was approaching the deck I heard a faint scream, faint only because of the winds loud roar. It was Bella making her way towards the house from Emily & Evans. She was hysterical. My first instinct was to keep moving for the house, but I stopped and waited for Bella at the foot of the deck. We both thought we were in a tornado. Presumably safe and Inside, I hollered for Mindy. I was aggravated that she didn’t think to warm me of the approaching weather, knowing full well that I was out in the tree house. Jacob looked dumbfounded as Bella and I were causing all sorts of commotion. He shared that Mindy was already in the basement. Oh really? Leaving us to fend for ourselves. I later learned that Mindy was none the wiser and down the basement rummaging through the deep freezer for dinner meat. I still gave her an earful for not being attuned to the horrendous weather. She wasn't too pleased, and Bella still crying hysterically didn’t help matters. I quickly tuned the TV to the radar which was just announcing a thunder storm warning and then a tornado warning. The tornado warning sirens sounded soon after. We tuned the TV to WCMH-4 for a better local spin. Sure enough, they were sensationalizing the storm. Appears we were on the southwest tip of the ‘pink’ area (the worst of the storm). They announced that that is where tornados typically form. They never did confirm any tornados – just warnings. But I’ll tell you this much, I have never in my life heard wind like that – a loud unmistakable roar, and it wasn’t the sound wind makes when it gushes through trees either. This was something far different. It might’ve rained for 10 minutes but even then only lightly. Word had it that areas to our immediate north were getting pounded with heavy rains, wind, and hail. Itchy, and still in my tree house grubbies, I was anxious to get back out on roof to finish. Once the rain subsided I headed back out. Kenny came over at the same time. He offered to assist, but the rain started up again. I decided to call it a day. I had had enough. Kenny helped me get everything put away in the shed, including my tractor. I headed inside for the night. Inside, Mindy was starting dinner. I headed off to the shower. It felt good to get that itchy roofing material off my skin. I ached head to toe, most likely from crawling around on the roof and lugging the shingles up the ladder. After my shower I took two Advil to help ward off any potential carry over into tomorrow. Dinner wasn’t ready until 630p. I said wasn’t hungry earlier, still reeling from the storm, but by the time it was soup, I was ready to eat. Mindy prepared skinless buffalo chicken breast topped with cheddar cheese. As sides, she made broccoli rice and the red skin potatoes and carrot concoction we bought at Whole Foods Saturday. Dinner was delicious! She out did herself. I was careful not to over eat. I am already down to 172lbs, and it’s no coincidence that my stomach symptoms almost nonexistent. I did kitchen clean-up duty while Mindy & Bella started making an apple pie from scratch. After finishing the clean-up, I took Frankie out back for an evening walk. Chrissy was out with Woody at the same time. She asked if Frankie could come in and play. I agreed and promised to send Mindy over to get her later. All the kids, save for Bella, headed out to the tree house until dark. But once Mindy & Bella had the pie in the oven, Bella joined the others. Mindy headed down to get Frankie around 830pm. She was back quick. The kids readied for bed over the next half hour, and then were tucked in soon after. During that same time, I watched the Science Channel, though the episodes were all reruns, and reruns I’ve seen two or three times previously. Mindy headed for bed just after 9pm. I planned to stay up at least until 945pm. Feeling too lazy to read, and seeing that the Reds were losing 10-1, I opted to watch trash TV – SouthPark. I made a bowl of cereal and watched about 10 minutes. It was stupid. I gave up, put Frankie in her pen, and headed up for bed.