My tulips are getting ready to bloom!

It's here! My first task? Boil water. I think I can handle that.

Finally. We haven't seen much moisture here over the past few weeks, and the temperatures over the last week have been over 100° F. My poor lawn has been suffering. I've been trying to keep it watered, but the heat is just really tearing into it. I think next spring I'll overseed with some drought tolerant seed. This rain is going to help a bit, though. The bad part about the rain: I was just getting ready to take the boys to the park so they could chase the ball. Unfortunately, with the rain, I'd wind up with two mudballs masquerading as dogs. They wouldn't mind, but I think Brian would be a bit annoyed at mud all over the inside of the truck. Well, that, and I really don't feel up to giving them baths today. At all. So, we have sad dogs. This is Ares being a sad dog. He's being very good at it this morning.

New flatware from my contest prize! This is my comparison shot... the old stuff is on the left, the new stuff is on the right. These are huge compared to my old flatware. The small spoons are about the same size as the soup spoons in my old set, the salad forks are about the same size as the dinner forks in the old set. All in all, I'm rather impressed. They're quite heavy and sturdy, and I like the larger sizes. The soup spoons are definitely soup spoons; eating a bowl of cereal with them will be pretty much out of the question. Much too big. They're very comfortable in the hand, and I think I'll enjoy using them. Brian seems to like them, we'll see once we actually get a chance to use them. In case you're wondering, the brand is International, and the pattern is called "Satin Danford". This is a service for 8, with steak knives and extra pieces. I'm definitely happy with them. Thanks again for the contest, Kitten With a Whiplash!

I now have "Riding the Storm Out" stuck in my head. Why? I just went outside with the trash, looked over my shoulder and WOW! Storm clouds on the horizon, and I can hear the thunder as I'm typing this. That's what I get for not looking at the weather report. I was not expecting this. It was nice and sunny outside just a minute ago as I took the picture, and the clouds are already rolling in over the house. I should go put the dogs to bed so the thunder doesn't freak them out. They hate it.