15 posts tagged “michigan”
Tonight we weathered a very nasty line of storms that traveled from the west coast of Michigan to the east into Canada. I would imagine as I type this, areas of Canada are enduring or about to experience what we just did with this storm band.
Only once in my lifetime have I experienced a tornado and I pray it was the only time. Just the other night when we had a storm, I thought about the sound of thunder and the lightening and calmed myself with the thought that it was "just a planetary event." How is that calming, I can't say. I suppose it was the reminder that it is a part of life on earth.
Imagine for a moment, the pictures or movies or documentaries we have seen of storms on other planets in the universe. Lightning strike after strike, one after the other with no moments of silence in between. Strike, flash, boom, strike, flash, boom. Rolling thunder that seems to surround you, blackened skies, day instantly turns to night in a matter of moments; clouds looming dark and low and roaming across a vast section of the planet or standing still and stirring up debris below it.
Tonight was severe. Watching the weather reports on television throughout the storm kept my mind off of what was transpiring outside. I felt somewhat secure in the lower level of our home and the one thing I noticed was that I wasn't as afraid as I have been in the past. I suppose that's good. Less panic and stress.
Doppler radar showed thousands of lightning strikes (no lie) in a band that stretched from south of the Michigan border, north through Lansing, Flint, and the thumb area. Outdoor weather cams showed black skies with dark and low looming clouds in front of a solid wall of rain so thick you could no longer see the sky beyond or the ground below.
Approximately four tornadoes, 2 unconfirmed. Downtown areas of Fenton are blown apart according to local news reporters walking the streets there. Tornado touched down / spotted just west of The Palace in Auburn Hills. Livingston County suffered a lot of damage and fortunately throughout all of this there has been no major injuries or loss of life reported. A lot of downed electrical lines, trees, homes and some flooding.
Admitted by many, including weather reporters, Michigan hasn't seen a storm like this in many many years. Even if there had been no tornadoes, the clouds, skies and the lightning strikes alone made this the most intriguing, and as one reporter stated it looked like "the end of days."
The fact that there has been no major injuries is something to be truly grateful for. Receiving earlier warnings via television and radio also helped people prepare in advance.
“I believe the proposal to allow increased dumping of ammonia and toxic sludge into Lake Michigan from British Petroleum's oil refinery in Whiting, Indiana is unconscionable. Certainly a company that claims to be "Beyond Petroleum" can also be beyond polluting our waters.
"Please halt progress on this proposal now and find a way to deal with the waste this plant produces other than dumping more of it into Lake Michigan."
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Yo! Haven't been at my blog for a few days. Did ya miss me? ;) Jez checkin.
Where did I leave off? .... oh yea, was working on some images and got side tracked with some other images and some more Flickr art challenges like this one.
And this one...
Otherwise, life is as usual except the recent ice storm added some beauty to the day regardless of the havoc it's wreaking on community power lines and more. Beautiful 50 degree weather over the weekend and a sudden plunge yesterday created ice rain and still no snow to speak of. But I'm perfectly ok with that in case you were wondering. I do, however, worry about those oranges in L.A. 20 degree temps and ice like this...
covering the fruit will be a big concern to our grocery budget. The photo is from a tree in front of my house, taken this morning.
Had to take a break from digital art to help the husband. He can't see the back of his neck you know, when he's trimming up his hair line. (doh, can anyone?) I noticed a spot on the back of his head (he uses man shears to shave is hair short), that looked like he took a wee bit too much. He said, "I can't take too much because I'm using a blade that only trims so far from the head." "Ok honey, then maybe it's a bald spot?" Like that went over well. So he switched blades so I could trim up along his neck. Was busy thinking and talking and not paying attention when "Oh Shit!" came out of my mouth. Thank God the hub has a good sense of humor. He will be wearing a cap with ear flaps for the next 3 weeks. "I said the BACK OF MY NECK, NOT MY SIDEBURNS!" "Damn honey! What was I thinking?" We laughed so hard, my eyes got blurry and I couldn't see for shit. When the tears of laughter cleared, he was absent one side burn. oops. I finished up the back of his neck and handed him the shears. He said, "Are you done?" "Yep, I didn't think you'd want me to even up those side burns."
I haven't made an oops like that in a long time. There is one time that I will never forget and it took place a long time ago. Mom had made roast beef for dinner and I hate the stringy type of roast, but I had to choke it down. Today, it doesn't gross me out as much but it has to be really really lean before I'll indulge. Anyhow, I was busy talking while clearing the table and somewhere in my mind, I heard my mother say to put the leftovers away for Dad's lunch the next day. Maybe it got buried quickly in the deep recesses of my mind when another command was made to feed the dog. Ok, so multi-tasking was new to me back then and I messed up somewhere along the line. Clear the table, do the dishes, put away the leftovers and feed the dog. Life was simple then and I still managed to screw it up. :)))
Dad walked into the kitchen for a drink when he noticed the dog mulling over a huge chunk of roast beef. "Uhhh, is that suppose to be my lunch for tomorrow?"
'Nuff said? At the time it was hilarious. You had to be there I suppose. ;)
"For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land." A grateful people concurred. ~ Stated by: President Carter on his Inauguration Day
Sudden unexpected change in mood has brought about a sundry of concerns.
1) Tired of the automated political phone calls from only one of many persons running in the election here in Michigan. I suppose our governor hasn't heard of the "Do Not Call Registry." Initially, these calls were ok to receive but after awhile, they turned on the pre-fetch and many calls had no one on the other side. With all things added up, I'm 1/2 tempted to vote and to vote against her.
2) I do not like any of the political choices that are presented before me, this election. So does that mean I still have to vote? I would, however, vote to prevent dove hunting from passing. Save the Dove!
3) Negative news media. Need I say more? Turning the news off now and going to my happy place.
4) Can you believe that it's almost Christmas? ugh. What happened to fall?
Woo hoo! Yesterday I actually learned how to make some cool things in Adobe's Photoshop. I've struggled with this software for awhile and it was pretty cool to learn how to finally do something so simple that I instantly become addicted to making circles. Circles? Yes. I'll post some soon. In the meantime, my order for Paint Shop Pro 8 finally arrived and I'm going to sign off for a bit while I install and play. I currently own version 7 and understand there's been a few improvements with 8. Regardless, it was a good price for an older version of Paint Shop, so I can hang with it.
I have a great husband. Have I ever mentioned that? Let me count the ways.....
Is performing a holiday spectacular and charity CD release concert. Wish I could go! Tickets go on sale 11/4/06 at 10 am (Ticketmaster.com). The concert is December 2, 2006 at Masonic Temple in Detroit.
Today just seemed appropriate with the world series games beginning today in Detroit. Although, I won't be attending any of the games, I wanted to share some enthusiasm for the Detroit Tigers and what better way.... with a little bit of John Fogerty...
Show us some concert photos.
Submitted by Abigail Road.
I don't know who these people are. I was just clicking away at some of the sights and people diggin on the sounds. The smell of spring and "schtuff" in the air. ;)
What's your favorite restaurant?
Near my neighborhood, hands down.... The Clawson Steak House in Clawson, MI. Their filets are the best I've eaten shy some of the steak houses in Texas. I really like Baked French Onion Soup and fell instantly in love with theirs. I use to order French Onion Soup as one of my lunch favorites, at the Belcrest Hotel when I worked at WSU back in the 70's and have never tasted another onion soup like it until I had it at The Clawson Steak House. They also serve an excellent salmon dish; and only my sister can attest to their escargot. ;)
Aside from the food, their nightclub like setting is one other reason that it draws me. As I've mentioned in my previous blog entries, I enjoy jazz and their live entertainment varies in jazz styles and is tops for dancing or just watching, listening and toe tapping. The ambience, food and entertainment are all great.
So did this look and sound enough like a plug?
