Easter Sunday

April 24-25 - Since the Good Friday post, it has continued to rain every day.  Cathy and Joe drove down Saturday afternoon, and we made  a drive just before dark back down to the Decker Chapel area to show them the power lines that were down. 

There were also several irrigation lines that had been turned completely over, or on their side.

There were service trucks lighting up the landscape down there, the fields are flooded, and it continued to rain.

We topped the levee at one place and the river was right at the base.  Fortunately, there was room to turn around, because there was some kind of pump station right there on the creek, and that creek was running full into the river.

It rained all night Saturday, all day Easter Sunday, and all night Sunday night.  The lid to the trash barrel on the carport blew away Saturday night, and it still hasn't shown up.  We all looked for it, but I told them I thought it was probably in Kansas, along with Toto.

We didn't make sunrise service (which was just as well, since the sun failed to show itself all day), but we did attend the 10:00 service.  We've been to church 4 times this week including last Sunday.  Lucille was up in time for the early service, but none of the rest of us were.  However, a family from church had car trouble and pulled in here about 6:15 to borrow her car to get to church in time for the early service.

We had a big Easter ham dinner, I think 20 people were here.  You don't do meals on a small scale here.  I'm having a little difficulty converting my meal planning from 2 to 20, but it all worked out (except that I forgot to make the gravy).  Lucille loves to have family around, and the little ones were able to play outside part of the time, when it was only sprinkling.  We finished the day with 5-handed euchre with Fred and Judy, so a good time was had by all.

Joe wants to take his mother on a drive, either down through the Decker side to let her see all the places she lived, or on the Decker Chapel side to see where the two rivers come together, although those roads may be flooded now.  The river was raising 6 inches per hour yesterday, and since it rained all night again, I would guess that it's continuing at least at that rate, if not faster.

Today is Kaylee's 10th birthday, so we are very sorry not to be home to share that with her.  Being 10 is a pretty big deal.

In the meantime, I am working on my exit route from here to go try to find the sun.  I was thinking we would head toward St. Louis and Branson, on our way back to Texas, but St. Louis had tornadoes this weekend, so I'm not safe there either.   I've learned that in retirement, weather has taken on a new level of importance, and it's either too hot, too rainy, too windy, or too cold.  I'm thinking Hawaii is sounding pretty good.