Terrific thunderstorm last night led to no power again! Also a very restless night of sleeping since it was so hot without a fan. Surprisingly, it came back quickly - it was out for only six hours. This morning I was in a panic because nothing in the livingroom was working. The storm was definitely a computer fryer, in the days when the lightening rod cable was hooked up -- but now that all is wireless, could it have been zapped through the electric wires? (It was off and plugged into a deluxe surge protector.) I know the answer is yes, of course. Turns out it tripped the circuit breaker and all is well. What a relief! Our driveway suffered some damage again, although pretty minor compared to the past two weekends. Hopefully Castleton fared OK too.

Every storm stuff washes down into our yard from the upper road. Over the years, we've found numerous basketballs, footballs, etc. This latest round included two basketballs from the hail storm two weeks ago and most recently, a whiffle ball bat from Irene. Some kid's loss is Sam's gain! He is thrilled.

I believe West Shokan is still without services; most significantly, electricity. My sister's BBQ was great, tons of food, drink and fellowship and the rain held off (wow, it was so humid!). Day eight of no electric is beginning to wear them all down, though. I remember the times when I was without power for days and days, beyond when others have had theirs restored...your life revolves around the lack of electricity, trying to figure out how to wash, how to do dishes, etc. Still, everyone's thoughts are with the folks in communities just to the northwest who have lost everything.