Lull between the storms

What a spring we’ve had here in southwestern Illlinois.  We’ve had more severe storms this spring than any other spring, at least it surely seems that way to me.  I can’t count the number of times we’ve gathered up our stuff (laptops [to keep us entertained], cell phones, portable radio, dogs … and of course Diet Cokes ha!) and headed to the basement.  I’m so ready to be done with the spring storms!   And those of you who are tired of reading about the wacky weather we’ve been having here over the last 4-5 months are probably wishes we could be done with these storms as well!  ha!

Yesterday’s storms (yes, I said storms) were probably the fiercest of the season.  The morning saw round one, bringing large hail, damaging winds and significant rainfall.  There was 1 1/2 inch hail reported at the University (thankfully I had the day off, so my van was parked safely in our garage).  DH had gone to Sam’s to purchase the food for Easter breakfast at church tomorrow; thankfully he got back into town just as the hail was petering out.  

After that storm passed through, we headed to our church where I basted the newly completed quilt top to the batting and backing (as a deacon, DH has a key to the building, and I can pull together several folding tables in one of the classrooms and have enough room to lay out the layers for my quilt).  It was probably the most difficult top to baste … I’m not sure why … I certainly didn’t have this much trouble with the queen sized quilt I finished last December.  But I persevered and got it basted and am ready to start the hand quilting.  I’ll share a picture of the finished top, with the warning that #1 my trust assistant wasn’t in the mood to stand on the couch and hold the quilt top … he told me that I could take one photo and that was it (I don’t have a lot of confidence in my picture taking so I like to take several … in hopes that one of the bunch will be worth sharing ha!) and #2 I finished the top late at night, so I took the photo in a less-than-ideal setting (nighttime with indoor lighting); as a result the colors are a little washed out. 


After we got back home from basting, round two of yesterday’s storms arrived.  There were tornadoes reported west of St. Louis heading our way.  We had strong winds and heavy rains, and when the sirens started, we head for the basement (oh how I’ve missed a finished basement this spring! ha!).  A tornado hit Lambert airport (about 35 minutes from here), virtually destroying one of the concourses; thankfully no one was seriously injured.  A tornado touched down in a town here on the East Side, just 12 miles away from our house … and it was making a beeline toward our little village.  Praise God that the tornado didn’t touch down and there was no further damage in our area. 

There are more storms in the forecast for the next several days.  We’re praying that they’ll just be your standard-issue thunderstorms, without the hail, high winds, and tornado sightings.  In the meantime, we’re going to enjoy the lull the between the storms today.