Rain, Rain Go Away

We have had three different episodes of rain over the last two weeks that have left Houston under water! We are talking 8-12 inches or more of rainfall at a time all over the area. I'm not sure why a city this size doesn't have better drainage but flooding is a fact of life for lots of places. But thank goodness not where we are north of the city. Gloria, Gail and I were heading to Harwin today but canceled because Beltway 8 and Westpark where we would exit was on the news last night with the rescue of a lady from her truck. She was up to her neck in water. More showers are predicted for this afternoon. Better safe than sorry. We'll go another time.

Roman finished refacing all the cabinets in both bathrooms. We have gone from painted white ones to a medium brown stain more like my kitchen cabinets. I'm just not big on white cabinets but have lived with them in both houses here for eight years. We had a frame put around the guest bath mirror and beveled mirror edges on the master mirrors and changed out the lights. We're just trying to keep the house a little updated as time passes.

Yesterday was a large funeral at church, well over 100 people. He was a younger man, 54, so many of his colleagues attended and stayed for lunch. They told us 75 people so we were a bit nervous about the quantity of food when we saw the size of the crowd. However, we had enough and were able to send some food home with the family. Trying to get my two dishes into the hall in the driving rain was not easy. We certainly appreciate all the ladies who didn't let that stop them from bringing what they had promised. I was gone for over four hours and brought eight tablecloths home to launder. When we leave for the summer I won't be here to help so I try to do what I can when I am here.

We've made some progress on our summer trip. Trying to get RV full timers to make a reservation is like pulling teeth. After checking with campgrounds in the area where we will be in July (Black Hills, Badlands, Mt. Rushmore) I felt we needed to make some reservations since there are three rigs traveling together. The e-mails flew back and forth and eventually we settled on reservations in Interior and Custer, SD and Island Park, ID (outside Yellowstone). We have some wiggle room before arriving in that area and traveling from South Dakota to Idaho. We're spending a week at each of the first two cities and two weeks at the latter so there's plenty time for exploring and kicking back.

We are headed in different directions the second week in August. Ted and I plan to hit Arches and Canyonland National Parks; Durango and Pagosa Springs, CO; Santa Fe, White Sand Dunes and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico and then the Big Bend area of west Texas as we make our way home in September. But that's just a blueprint. We make changes along the way to fit our needs and wants.

Let's hope our showers predicted for this afternoon are just that - showers, not downpours. We need some time for this city to dry out.