A Ripsnortin' Welcome Back

I have returned to the Great White North.  Except right now it would be better labelled the Great Green North.  I guess this much beautiful foliage is the payoff for ridiculous winters, eh?  My return trip wasn't quite as adventure filled as last time (no fires blocking the highway, accidents, etc.) although I did have an A-MA-ZING Fourth of July.  My dear sweet mother bought tickets to Stadium of Fire, so we went with JD and Megan to see the Beach Boys and a fireworks show partially dedicated to celebrating the 50th anniversary of James Bond.  Yeah, it was as cool as you think.

Anyways, my return has been relatively uneventful, with the exception of a head cold which developed the day before classes started.  But even that's going away now, so no big.

No, the major event that Edmonton threw to welcome me back to the north countries was, in true Canadian form, weather related. 

Now, it's not like I've never experienced a thunderstorm before.  We don't get a TON of them in Moreno Valley (although apparently a lot more since I've left), and the ones we do get aren't as loud and powerful as they get in, say, Texas (although we did get those tornadoes that one time).  They knock the power out, sure, but our power goes out in a high wind, the box is so old, so that may be more wussy-power box related than the strength of the storm.

I've also experienced the "monsoon season" during the summer in Arizona, where a high wind storm kick starts the evening before the thunderstorm begins.  I'm still not sure what Jonny and I were thinking, continuing to shoot in the archery range after the power went out.  At least we had the sense to call out when one of us went down range to retrieve the arrows.

But last night...oy, last night.

Mum was up here, so I was sleeping on the couch in the basement.  Since the cats are used to having their litter box down in the basement (we moved it while I was down there), I kept the door closed.  I am not one of those cat owners who allows 24/7 access for my friendly felines.  Boundaries, people, boundaries.  I also sleep with a fan on every night - I need the white noise to fall asleep.

So imagine my surprise when I awoke early this AM to what sounded at first like...applause?  I was dreaming, but I think it had to do with zombies (thanks, Walking Dead black and white series premier!), so...who's applauding?  As I became fully conscious, the sound sharpened to water falling.  A lot of water falling.  My first thought was that a pipe had burst in the basement by the washing machine, and any second I would feel the rush of water move through the room.  I got up to check - no water in the basement, but I was definitely hearing pouring water.  My next thought was that someone was running the shower upstairs and had the door open, but I checked the time (3:33 - really) and that seemed highly unlikely.  So I went upstairs to check.

And walked into a dance club.  At least that was my first thought. (I was still a little sleepy, okay?)  Then I realized that the strobing effect was due to the lightning flashes outside.  Really, I almost wanted to start blasting "Evacuate the Dancefloor" or some other club-worthy song.  Once I realized that there was a serious storm happening, and that the noise I was hearing WAS water falling - a LOT of water falling - my brain gradually worked out that the volume wasn't solely due to the amount of rain happening, but also because the windows were open.  All over the house.

A quick check of the (south facing) kitchen windows revealed that very little water was coming in - just a little mist, but I closed them anyway.  The living room windows (north facing) were a different story - things were definitely getting wet, so those were closed as well.  I almost went back down stairs, but was stopped by two thoughts:

1. I should totally get my camera and take some video of this ridiculous storm (it had started hailing by that point) - crap, it's in my room (where Mum was sleeping), and

2. I wonder if Mum and Cathie have realized it's pouring out, and if they've closed the windows.

I went upstairs and saw Cathie looking out her window, so I didn't bother pointing out the obvious.  Mum looked like she was asleep, and I tried very hard not to startle her awake (she sleeps with earplugs) - I failed.  I explained I was just checking the window, and sure enough, the water was coming in and misting everything on the desk...including my lappy (aah!). 

Thankfully, there wasn't enough water to do damage.  I wiped my stuff off, said goodnight to Mum, and walked back toward the door...and into a...puddle?  On my floor?  NOT by the window?

Turns out the reason the water didn't get all over my desk and lappy was because there is a slight tilt to my windowsill.  The water collected on the sill, then ran down the wall to the side of my desk and across the floor.  Yup.  I had a waterfall in my bedroom last night, and a river running through my room.  I wanted to take pictures, but I was too worried about my stuff.

This is another time when I'm grateful Heavenly Father is watching out for me, because while it was annoying to have to wipe up the water, nothing was damaged.  It went straight down the wall by the desk, under my plastic storage bins (which were easy to wipe), and straight across the floor - missing the power strip with multiple electronics plugged into it by less than two inches.

After cleaning up the minor flood, we joined Cathie in her room to watch the death of her beautiful garden - the hail was going all Red Queen "Off with their heads" to the flowers.  It was very tragic - much flora lost its life last night.  I did get a couple of pictures, once the hail had calmed down - but for some reason the resolution on them sucks, so I apologize for the blurriness. 

Oh, hail.

Um, weather?  It's not winter!  Stop it with all the white!

I was just looking at the weather forecast...seems we are due for more thunderstorms.  They're all the rage this summer, from what I read on Facebook.  Stay safe, friends!