“For true love is inexhaustible; the more you give, the more you have. And if you go to draw at the true fountainhead, the more water you draw, the more abundant is its flow.” ~ Antoine de Saint Exupery



This image from NASA and published in the New York Times shows green spherules of “moon water,” a lovely form of volcanic glass, originally collected by Apollo 15 astronauts, and recently found to contain small amounts of water dating from the period when the glass was originally ejected from the Moon’s mantle. The discovery means there may still be water in the interior of the moon. This came as some surprise to scientists, who had previously thought that the process by the which the Moon was probably formed foreclosed the possibility of discovering water.

A great late night treat, and because it’s water, no calories. Enjoy.

So, here was the scene when I looked out my back door this morning.



Well, actually, it wasn't quite that bad, but it was close. (Those are ducks on the branch, by the way.) When I arrived home after last evening's storm, which is described immediately below, a quick check of the rain gauge revealed about a quarter of an inch had fallen in about a ten minute rainfall. Not too bad, I thought smugly, dodged a bullet this time. About a half hour later, I heard the local weather guy say that everything would clear out quickly, and the rest of the night would be fine, if a bit muggy.

That sounded great, but if you have read my "hook echo" blog, you know that meteorologist is one of my many fantasy occupations. From the suspicious radar actually showing on the television screen, it looked to me like the weather guy could be wrong. But really, what do I know?

Well, I guess I must know something because along about 1:00 a.m., another bad storm hit, and along about 4:30 a.m., another one hit. When I looked out the back door this morning, not only did I see those ducks, but I also saw about 2.75 inches of rain in the gauge. A quick check of my computer radar revealed another storm on the way. In the distance, despite closed windows in my house, I could hear the ominous sounds of a wood chipper. Oh, Boy. Those were some storms, I thought, and it looks like another bad one is on the way. Hmmm. That's a clue that there may be some flooding. Being a part time amateur sleuth, in addition to a junior meteorolgist, I surmised that the ducks already floating in my backyard were another clue.

But, ironically, those ducks also gave me a good idea. I fired up the old amphibious vehicle (aka "duck") and hit the road, hoping to avoid getting drenched again. A lot of people seemed to have the same idea, as this was the view on the freeway.



But, as described in the posts below, my luck has been running mostly against me this week. So, needless to say, the heavens opened once more and poured forth a few buckets of rain. By the time I got to work, this is what the parking lot looked like.



As I sat in my car, nervously chewing on my latest manicure and contemplating how I would cross the parking lot river (they really ought to give that thing a name and put it on the map), I happened to look down at the car seat next to me, and there was my rain coat, still where I had apparently left it when I came back from vacation. Well, I thought with satisfaction. From Duck Soup to dumb luck. Maybe fortune has finally turned in my favor. Buoyed by this coincidence (pun intended), I threw on my raincoat, popped my umbrella, and successfully navigated my way through the river to the entrance. Sure enough, when I finally got into my office, shook out my umbrella, shed my raincoat, squeezed the water out of my shoes, and checked my horoscope, this is what it said (no lie):

"There is a wonderful opportunity knocking at your door. Why don't you answer it?"

Now, that sounded like an awesome idea, so I think I'll just head home early and wait for opportunity to arrive. More storms are expected tonight and tomorrow, and it is hot and muggy out there, but at least for now the sun is shining. After the rest of this week, I'll take sunshine anytime.

"I'm no angel, but I've spread my wings a bit." ~ Mae West



All right. Let's try this once more. After returning from a relaxing Northwoods vacation, I had a couple of days of really crummy commutes. To escape, I tried flying to the moon. But, I still had two crummy commutes after that. So yesterday, I tried flying beyond the moon to the stars. On my commute home, we were gridlocked on the freeway when a strong thunderstorm struck, with 70-mile-an-hour winds, torrential rain, hail, and what sure looked like rotating clouds to me. It's obviously time to change my strategy.

But what could possibly be a better fantasy than flying to the stars? Flying with the Blue Angels.

It's definitely worth a try.

“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road.” ~ Dag Hammarskjold



Fantasizing about flying to the moon did not prevent me from having crummy commutes both last evening and again this morning. While I was looking for an image that might capture the moon as I really saw it last night, I came across this stunning image of the moon as seen over the curve of the Earth. Almost immediately I knew I had not set my sights far enough. Tonight's fantasy will be past the moon .... past the far horizon ... to the deep blue beyond ... to the stars.

If I never come back, you'll know it worked.

Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars ....



Coming back to work after vacation has not been all that amusing. Last night, for example, the commute home was so bad that I missed my haircut appointment and had to reschedule. But tonight looks to be beautiful, with mostly clear skies and cool temperatures. My fantasy destination tonight -- every night really -- will be the moon ... we should have a beautiful waxing quarter. I'm hoping it will look a little like the image above. (The moon is the little white smudge in the upper left center of the picture.)

Fill my heart with song
And let me sing forever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore ....

And when I finally get there, it should look more like this ....



It feels like a great night for fantasy by the light of the moon.

In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you.