THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Try not to be shocked: It didn't rain Tuesday. We even saw the sun for a few hours. I'd forgotten what it looked like.

 Tropical Storm Elsa should arrive in a few hours and stay all day. I hope she departs quickly on Thursday.

Here's Lake Junebug at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. It's a big improvement over the video I took on Sunday. The pump, which I circled, has been working steadily. 

I can go down the deck steps to the concrete without getting my feet wet. 

I've put away the pump for now and will get it out again when Elsa has passed. I'll try to get another photo of the backyard at the same time Wednesday so we can make a comparison.

In addition to all the fun items I ordered on Prime Day, I also placed more practical orders with Amazon and other companies having sales. 

My emergency weather radio no longer worked, so I replaced it.

If I keep this little guy turned on, he'll automatically provide alerts about urgent matters. He also has a flashlight (the bright light coming from his bottom in the photo) and a horn I can blast that's so loud it frightened all three of us when I tested it. I doubt I'll use that, but I will keep him close.

All of my gadgets are charged. We expect high winds and heavy rains.

I'll enjoy this addition to my kitchen:

I now have two of these Mason Jar drinking glasses with glass straws––that's right, glass! No plastic to add to the world's garbage pile. 

This one is filled with my favorite drink, Diet Pepsi and lemon, but if I should decide to switch to a margarita, the lid makes me less likely to spill when I'm tipsy.

I have plenty of clean water in the house and enough to eat.

See you post-Elsa!

Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug