Tornadoes and Vacations, Birds and Gardens

Just a quick update before we go to Tennessee for a week! Lots has happened.

Thanks, Why S? for thinking of us! Luckily the tornadoes in Colorado yesterday skirted my city (as they always do); being nestled against the foothills does have its perks. My husband was teaching on the last day of school when a tornado hit the town he teaches in, however; it missed the school by 2 blocks, but destroyed the homes of many students. We wish we were not leaving town tomorrow, as we would head over with our truck, work gloves, and tree saws to help out.

We are personally lucky that our Corolla only sustained a severely cracked front windshield and a large collection of dents from the hail; cars a few spaces over were relieved of their bumpers, windshields, and more. We planned on driving it into the ground anyway, so the dents aren't too much of a problem; it will just be the UGLY, DENTED tan Corolla now.

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On birds... I realized while reading Chile Chews that I missed a perfect opportunity to try roasted robin on Monday. Ah, well... I AM a vegetarian. I thought I saw the other baby robin up on the fence today; I am hopeful that it at least will make it to adulthood.

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My parents came to visit this week, and brought quite a few seedlings to plant. We found spots in the front gardens for all of them, and mulched them with leaves in the hopes that they might survive a week without care. No pics, but I will take pictures of what survived our absence when we return.

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I FINALLY picked my book for Green Bean's book challenge this month. I will be reading Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic by John De Graaf et al, and Con$umed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Ifantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole by Benjamin R. Barber. Reviews to come after my hours traveling.

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Finally, we are going to Knoxville, Tennessee, for a week! This is the first vacation in quite a while for us. We are going with my husband's parents, and it should be a blast! We are already planning to visit such attractions as the Biltmore Estate, and no trip with my father-in-law would be complete without ogling finely cut stone accents and architecture, so I should have LOTS of pictures when we return.

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Look for the removal of the siding when we return... it will be a BIG surprise that you don't want to miss! We know there is brick... but what else? Stay tuned...