Thunder, Lightning and Hail

So it's about 10 minutes before my normal time to leave work and I glance out the window and see really, really ominous clouds and realize that the noise I've been hearing is thunder. It's been a while since we've had a good rush-hour thunderstorm, so I gather K--- (who I'd promised a ride back to Maryland), and try get beat the rain across the parking lot.

So we make it to the car and get on the road; no troubles. About a mile away, however, the rain blows in. A few minutes later: grape-sized hail (and I'm talking big globe grapes, not little champagne grapes) starts to pound the car. The slushier ones splatter on the windscreen, but the icier ones start to pile up on the hood, and it's hard to talk over the din of hail hitting the roof.

By the time we reach I-395, the rain/hail had 99% stopped (although there was a long line of people messing up traffic by trying to pull off the road below the underpasses near the Pentagon to wait the rest of the weather out), and it's sunny with a rainbow or two by the time we're across the river and into D.C.

After taking a long detour through Capitol Hill and Northeast to avoid traffic tie-ups downtown, I drop K--- off at the Metro and get home to check the garden. Although the ground was soaked and the water level in the pond was higher than before, it seems the hail stayed south of the house. Nothing looked too battered, thankfully.

Other Things

Pregnancy: Evelin has been feeling more and more movement. It'll be a while before I can really feel anything, I'm guessing, but there have been some times when I have a hand on Evelin's belly and have to wonder if I'm feeling movement or digestion …

Home Repair: I've also been puttering around the house on a few tasks. I replaced the defective dimmer switch in the dining room Monday night, and I'm slowly prepping the media room/guest room for painting. There are a fair number of cracks in the ceiling and I'm going to try this spray my father found in some catalogue. It's a flexible coating that goes over the spackle and is then painted. Theoretically, it'll help the surface "give" a little if there's any shifting or changes in the plaster over time, keeping the cracks from reappearing.

Garden: We're eating our way through the spinach pretty well, and the second crop Evelin sowed last weekend is starting to peak out of the ground. The peas are starting to climb up their various supports. The strawberries and blueberries look good; the raspberry canes look healthy, but no signs of budding.

The apple tree is swaddled in the net I usually use to keep leaves out of the pond during autumn/early winter. Hopefully that will keep it safe against damage by the cicada horde whenever it emerges.

BoSox: Okay, so the last five games were painful (although last night the bats awoke just a few swings too late). Tonight looks pretty good (bottom of the 8th, and we're up 8 to 5) to snap the losing streak, and the fact that we've had a little bit of a bad run isn't the end of the world. It's way too early in the season for thinking anything like that. Just keep up the positive visualization and the BoSox are sure to beat whichever team the National League sends to the Series come autumn.