Rainy Friday

Rain Drenched Front Garden

 
On days like today, I am reminded of the lyrics of the song, "It Never Rains in Southern California" by Albert Hammond:

"Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours"

Today, it poured!  We received more than a month's worth of rain in one day!  There were mud flows and flash floods, downed trees and power lines, some 110,000 homes and businesses without power,  sink holes including one that swallowed at least two cars, freeways that had to be closed due to flooding and cars that stalled because they ran out of gas while waiting to get off the closed freeways as well as cars that got stuck in flooded intersections on surface roads, several accidents, and, sadly, at least two fatalities:  one man came in contact with a downed power line and another man was found dead in a submerged car.

I was glad I was able to work from home, today, and didn't have to go to the office.  One of the freeways that closed due to the flooding is the one that I normally take to and from office and the flooded area is close to my neighborhood.  The commute home would have been a nightmare!

Instead, I sat by the heater and did my office work.  The lights flickered every so often, but I didn't lose power.  The rain was fairly slow in the morning, but in the afternoon, it poured down in buckets and there were strong winds.  Every so often, I'd go to the front window to cast an anxious eye on the eucalyptus tree in the front yard which was swaying due to the wind gusts:

Eucalyptus Tree: Still Standing!

  
There was a little fast flowing stream of water down the road by the curb - I tried to take a picture, but it's not very clear, as the rain was running down the window:

The Little "Stream" by the Curb

I know those of you who live in areas with frequent rain fall will be very amused, but we've just had 4 years of drought and it's like we received all the rain from those 4 years in one fell swoop, this year! 

There was about 2 inches of standing water in the back yard, near the covered patio area:

Pool of Standing Water in the Back Yard

The poor plants are probably wondering what is going on!  First they were dehydrated and now they are practically drowning! 

The rainy weather made me want a big, cooked brunch:

Friday Brunch

I pulled out the last packet of 3 rashers of bacon from the freezer and cooked them.  Then, I grated the remaining half of the potato (leftover from making those home made chips) and made hash browns with it.  Finally, I scrambled the last egg from the carton of 6 eggs I bought in January (on the 7th).  Then, sliced the orange I had picked, yesterday.  I served only half of a rasher of bacon to my plate, as that was plenty for me.  The remaining 2 1/2 rashers are in the fridge for some other meal.  The bacon grease, too, was saved in a jar and kept in the fridge to use as flavoring when I make something else.  I couldn't finish all of the orange; I ate half of it and kept the other half for later.  I had it after dinner, which was the leftover pasta and chicken from last night.

In the afternoon, I had a cup of tea and a piece of buttered toast.  As I mentioned in one of my responses to a comment on Thursday's post, the rain made me want tea and crumpets, but since I didn't have any crumpets, I had hot, buttered toast, instead!  :D

I had several phone calls from family and friends, today.  My aunt called in the afternoon to see how I was faring with all the rain, then two cousins and a friend called, too, to check on me.  Later, I video chatted with my daughter.  It had rained in Berkeley, too, she said.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The rain!
- Being able to work from home.
- Thus being able to have avoided being stuck on a closed freeway on the commute home.
- The eucalyptus tree didn't topple over or break!
- Family and friends calling to check on me.

The rain has ceased now.  But there is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow!

Saturday's To Do List:

- Finish all the unfinished items from Friday's to do list!
- Attend my friend's memorial service and dinner, if it is not raining too hard and the intersections are not flooded!
- Make a dessert to take to the dinner as my contribution.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?