Meteors, ice cream, wash-n-wear house!

I LOVED seeing even just a few streaks of the Perseid meteor shower last night. I was up way too late yet again, but just before I went to bed (midnight!) I remembered the Perseids. For the first time in years, it was a clear night.

I turned off all unneeded lights in the house, and stepped out into the backyard. After about 10 minutes of meteor- and star-watching, I was able to see many more stars than when I first stepped outside. I believe I also saw the Milky Way! I live at the southern edge of our town of 100,000; there are only a few much smaller towns beyond us; our subdivision property backs up to a 7-acre park; the land falls away gently in that direction (southwest), and... it was quite lovely.

I'm thankful for "earthgrazing" midnight meteors, not too many lights, and a cloudless and starry sky.

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Recipe for a happy kids-and-mom moment yesterday: serve ice cream as snack and call it good. Son1 and Son2 were sooooo happy, and I love doing crazy things like that. Makes for joyful times.

I'm thankful for midday ice cream, "why not?" decisions, and happy kids.

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It was windy this afternoon, and the clouds looked suspiciously rain-showery in an unorganized way. Then! Suddenly! The skies opened and big fat raindrops drummed on all surfaces! I ran to close the open windows near books and carpet (all upstairs), and afterward got around to closing the front windows in the dining area. No worries, even though it had rained about two feet into the house through those windows. No problem!

Our floors in the living areas are finished concrete and there was no furniture or anything else near those windows. I got a cleanup towel, wiped the windowsills dry (and clean -- bonus!), and dried the floor. The concrete is our foundation, which previous owners had prepped, stained slate gray, and finished to a gloss that's not slippery. It looks good, feels great on bare feet in our hot summers, and stands up to anything. Spilled oatmeal? Play dough? Bright colored drinks? Ill children? Super easy cleanup, and no worries about stains or what stayed in the carpet.

I'm thankful for the gift of a wash-n-wear house!