rainforest and the polymer clay smooshers guild

A couple of months ago, after Dave and the dogs had gone to bed, I was sitting in our family room reading a book.  I was still wide awake and did not want to disturb Dave, so I was relaxing on my own.  I was quite enjoying my quiet time.  It had been raining on and off for days – or was it weeks? –  in a row and it had finally stopped.

necklace by catswire

During this time, my life had revolved around cleaning up muddy paw prints (and footprints – “Dave!  Take your shoes offff!”), scolding dogs, (“Brandy!  Don’t drink the standing water!”), and discovering (up to now unknown) wildlife that had been washed out of hiding in my backyard, (“No Brandy, toads are not good to eat.  Ginger, put that stic…SNAAAAKE!”).

necklace by desertrubble

So, a good book, a quiet mud free moment and I was happy.  What could make this time a little better?  A glass of wine.

coasters by artmarkersworlds

I smiled to myself and headed to the kitchen.  Just then the house said, “mmmMMMMBBBRAAACKchew!!!”.  I froze.  Huh?  “Beg your pardon?”,  I asked, (I wanted to be polite just in case a poltergeist had decided to pop by (I must stop watching Ghost Hunters.)).

earrings by bluemorning expressions

Silence.  I bravely toured my little home.  Walls, roof, fireplace, furnace, water heater, all major appliances, everything was still standing quietly in their assigned spots.  Huh.  What to do?  Wake Dave?  “I heard a noise….”  Every sitcom ever made flashed through my head.  No.  Dave leaves very early for work, long before I’m awake, maybe leave him a note?  “I heard a noise…”  No.   I decided to wait until the next day to discuss the noise.  I sat back down.  With a glass of wine.

“It’s the sump pump,” Dave said the next day,”it’s very old and it can’t keep up with all this rain.  Now that the rain is clearing out, it should be okay until we can replace it.”  But the rain didn’t clear out and two nights later, while I was making supper, Dave came bounding up from the basement.  “We have about an inch of water in part of the basement.”  Yep.  We did.  It was very minor flooding compared to what many folks had to deal with, just a small section of the basement had water.  Dave had seen it just in time and was able to repair the sump pump within the hour.

All that rain did wonders for our plantings.  The yard and trees are greener than I’ve ever seen and our flowering shrubs are bold and vibrant.

earrings by rivervalleydesign

necklace by lifeartdesigns

Just look at this hostas:And…a surprise appearance by a snap dragon!  The previous owners had planted snap dragons (about a decade ago) and one has returned:Yes, if you look very closely at this photo, you can see Brandy peeking out the front door:

The moral of my story?   If it is not a poltergeist, it’s most likely the sump pump, but keep wine on hand just in case it is a poltergeist.  One must always be a good hostess… no matter what.

pendant by artsyclay

By the way, many of the polymer clay creations featured in this post are currently on sale!  Please see my entry of July 8 for a full list of shops participating in the Christmas in July sale and/or visit the Polymer Clay Smooshers Guild blog.