Okay, that’s two nights in a row with no sleep. First it was ants, which I didn’t even discover in my kitchen until 1:30 am. Then last night it was the most spectacular December thunder and lightning storm that has ever knocked me out of bed at 2:30 in the morning. What’s up for tonight, locusts?

Not only was the lightning bright enough to read by, but the thunder sounded like bombs bursting in air. The noise literally made the roof shake, along with all of us poor souls underneath it. And the sound of the rain battering the house and grounds was a mighty roar as well. It’s not as if we get these kinds of storms on a regular basis around here. This was one to stay up for.

When I walked outside this morning, a branch broken off from one of the birch trees was blocking the walkway near my front door. I had to move it to get to the garage and out for my trip to the post office. I looked around, but that was the worst of the damage. It was slippery on the road, though, and the drainage ditches were full and beyond.

But at least I could get out. Yesterday I even made it to the Big Store for that one item I needed to help me through the day. I used some of my Christmas money to replace the tuner/receiver I burned up in the brownout. Now I can watch DVDs again.

More importantly, I can play CDs while I work. You have no idea how much that helps me get through the day. (But somebody should have told me the traffic is worse the week after Christmas than it was the week before. I might have stayed home.)

However, I would like to sing (or at least chant) the praises of my Launchcast station, which got me through the few weeks I didn’t even have a radio I could play. I can always count on my station to play songs that mean something to me, and the more I like them the more often they play. There’s nothing like programming your own life.