Well. We knew it was supposed to rain on Friday, but seriously, people? One of those crazy mornings. As soon as Cal was supposed to leave the house to head over to his carpool, the skies opened (fortunately, his ride drove to our driveway to pick him up!), and then it didn't stop. Neel was staying home a bit to meet with a guy for our bathroom, and we knew pretty sharpish that he was going to be stuck there for awhile. (Mini Cooper + Flooded Street = No Good.)

We alternated between canceling meetings (Neel), making a salad for a lunch I hoped to get to later (me), watching all of the flooding in town on the news (both of us), and watching all the bozos go plowing through our street, thinking their cars could beat the water (both of us). As a weather watcher I follow on Twitter said, "Pro tip: your car is not a boat."

I've talked about our street flooding before. We're lucky. Our home does not require flood insurance, and we sit on a bit of a rise, so that the street floods rather than the houses or even the yards. What we've noticed in the decade+ that we've lived here is that these flood-producing storms happen more regularly (generally the street floods the worst when coupled with a high tide), and that the water is rising higher and lingering longer. We have little ways to monitor the water, and last week's flood was higher than any we've had other than a hurricane. It's no wonder. Six inches of rain fell in three hours. Once we managed to get out of our driveway (when the water north of us had receded a bit), it was still a struggle to get through downtown.

I have to say, it's fun to watch these floods (especially the idiots stalling their cars), but it's not very encouraging. A sinking city and worsening storms don't make a good combination.

By the time I got home that evening, the sun was out and the street was dry.

And you know what? Norfolk is still pretty freaking cool. I slid down to Ghent on Saturday to take some photos for a friend of mine who was catering a wedding, and right out front, in our Hague, looms our giant visitor. I'll admit, I was skeptical, but you know what? That duck is flipping awesome. He's here to celebrate the grand re-opening of our local art museum (closed for over a year for renovations), and droves of people were coming into town to see him. The Norfolk Police were happy and helpful as we located parking, and I anticipate that this won't be the only time we head down for some fun shots.

Sunday, Funday, baseball at the beach. We're almost ready to start the week.

Wow. Sometimes breaks happen, don't they? I didn't mean to take the last two days off, but there you are. I did. I have nothing productive to report from my time off. Nada.

Calm and peaceful seems to be just what I need these days, so I thought I'd share a bit from a weekend or so ago when Neel and I ran up to the Hermitage for their annual plant sale. I've told you about the Hermitage before. It's close by, an awesome space, and they offer tons of great events throughout the year. We finally, at this plant sale, got our heads out of our butts and bought a membership.

It was a cool and misty day, perfect for wandering around. After Neel mulled over his plant purchases, we headed out along the grounds. And that wisteria! That perfect pop of purple. What a bright bolt of color on such a gray and dreary day.

weekend recap, may 19

wisteria garden {life}