Candles, Lamps and TORCH

We had some rain and wind on Tuesday, and as nice as it was to get that rain, we sure didn't need the wind that accompanied it. Living in such a rural area means that a strong wind will often result in a power outage. This was the situation Tuesday night. The power flickered a half dozen times before finally going off. To compensate for the lack of electricity we lit candles and kerosene lamps. I always try to keep a good stock of candles in the house for this type of event. I have about half a dozen kerosene lamps, each about half full of kerosene. Of course if there was a possibility that the power would be out for more than just a few hours I would have made sure that I had a full 5 gallons of kerosene available to fill those lamps. That is what we did during the 3 days we were without power courtesy of Hurricane Katrina. I pulled out my wind up travel alarm clock and set it wake us up the following morning. Electric alarm clocks are great but obviously completely useless in this type of situation. Even though the power was restored in about 45 minutes I still left a candle burning in the living room to give us some light should the power go back off during the night.

It rained again yesterday, but without the wind. This batch of precipitation was slower moving and therefore was more beneficial than the storm that came through on Tuesday. Despite this we are still in a rain deficit. The current forecast calls for a chance of rain 4 of the 7 days in the next 7 day forecast. Slow and steady rain over the course of several days would really help conditions.

Randy has been feeling better this week. I am hopeful that it is a sign that his health is improving. Progress is slow, and this frustrates him. His frustration is understandable. It can be hard to see improvement when it takes so long between each stage. I have suggested that he keep a journal as a way to review and map his progress, but he hasn't done so. He has been more consistent in taking his medicines and vitamins. He has also tried to incorporate a small amount of physical exertion to his daily activities.

Jacqueline is going to a type of talent show today at the local community college. This event is called TORCH although I'm not sure why. Perhaps the letters stand for something, but what that might be no one has ever explained to me. She is going to play a piece on the piano. This is something she has basically taught herself, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Her Band Director suggested this and I'm sure the suggestion wouldn't have been made without full confidence in her abilities.