Andrea

Subtropical Depression Andrea is churning in the Atlantic. Let's hope that this is not indicative of the Hurricane season which doesn't officially begin until June 1. The winds from the storm are actually making the winds in Tampa come off the Gulf which is a good thing. There were over 250 wild fires in Florida yesterday. On Monday the wind was from the north and the air was thick with smoke. Even going outside to simply get the mail caused my eyes to water and my throat to burn. No sitting out at the pool on Monday.
Yesterday and today were gorgeous days. Unfortunately, no rain. We are experiencing serious drought conditions. And unfortunately, Andrea is not dropping moisture on us. We could use a small tropical storm to sit upon us for a day or two and drop some rain. Wildfires are a serious problems. One in Sarasota on Monday was apparently caused by someone throwing a cigarette butt in the median of I-75. The windy conditions are making containing the fires difficult.

The in-laws' 60th Anniversary party was wonderful. We arrived home about 1:30 am on Monday morning, totally exhausted but very happy we went. They were very surprised and having most of their children show up at 7 am Daily Mass on Saturday was probably the best gift we could have given them. It was great to see so much family. Hubby's sister, Chris and 6 of her 7 (one is in Iraq) children (plus their children) all showed up. It was heart-warming to see all the little cousins running around. And all but 2 of my in-laws' children came, too. It was a full house and lots of laughter and catching up.

The girls are in the middle of exams so the house is full of stress. Mother's Day is fast approaching and they are torn between working on things for Mother's Day and studying. They'd rather work on Mother's Day things, but know that school comes first. The temptations to procrastinate abound. The best part of Mother's Day is that my birthday follows shortly afterwards. SO I get a whole week of "Queen of the House." The best part of being queen is that I don't have to plan any meals, grocery shop or do laundry. I get a week off! Normally, I end of doing some of all of these things, but to know I don't have to is quite rejuvenating. I think a trip to the beach come Sunday may be in order.