It all started with a big BANG!

I can't believe that we are already whizzing along in August, which happens to be my busiest month in terms of maintenance and household chores....where has the first half of the year gone?
I have been so busy that I haven't had the chance to post until today.
It's Saturday, my day, but unfortunately I'm grounded today since the rain is pouring down, and the sun is nowhere to be seen.  Fortunately, this means that the Sahara dust will ease off for a little while.
We had some serious thunder and lightning earlier, and "you know who" found it convenient to lie at my feet under my desk.

  "Just keeping you company," he said, but I know different.
Thunder and lightning always remind me of my dear old dad, who taught me that as soon as I saw the lightning flash, I should count the seconds (One Mississippi, Two Mississippi etc) until I heard the thunder. I would then know how far away the storm was.  For every five seconds the storm is one mile away. Today the storm was roughly 6 to 7 miles away.  Dear old dad, I've learned so many interesting facts from him.....facts to treasure for a lifetime.
Well let's keep you up to date, shall we?

BANG!!!!
Sunday afternoon, while I was outside cleaning the walkway to the kitchen door, there was an extremely LOUD noise outside the front wall.  It woke Daughter dear, who was having her Sunday afternoon siesta. We wandered outside to check on her vehicle which was parked outside the front wall, only to find our bad neighbour standing there. When he saw us, all he said was "hi" and made his way inside, so we came back inside as well.
Two seconds after entering the house, the phone rang, and our good neighbours informed us that daughter dear's vehicle had just been struck by the neighbour's wife with her car, before she drove off.  Why he could not have said this much to us when we went out at first, I'll leave that to your personal deduction, but I have my own.
We took a stroll over to the house where he was barricaded at the front of the house. After we told him that the neighbours had witnessed the accident, he admitted that yes, his wife had struck the vehicle. We all wandered out to view the damage, and insurance  and contact details were exchanged. The police were called, but we have not seen them as yet........please don't ask.
There is more to the story, but I will keep that for the outcome of this story at a later date.

That was Sunday.  Then on Monday, the news of the passing of one of my favourite keyboard jazz masters, George Duke. He was only 67 years old.
He excelled in other genres of music as well, but of course I loved him most when he performed his jazz numbers.

George Duke

I remember the first time I saw him live, it was in a little smoke-filled jazz cafe in Washington DC.  He shared the stage with leading bass guitarist Marcus Miller.

He was already one of my favourite "jazzists" but after that performance, I loved him even more.
Along with his friend Stanley Clarke, they made one of the best love songs in my day....."Sweet Baby."

Rest in Peace, you will be missed.

Continued working hard every day with all my summertime maintenance chores.  My keen nose picked up an awful scent coming from the fridge upstairs. Cleared it out, and removed the  inside freezer panel which revealed some old meat drippings hiding there.

 A thorough cleaning with bleach, and it was good to go again.
The microwave on the other hand was a goner, so it had to be replaced.

On Thursday, there was lots of concern for a school of dolphins that swam right ashore at one of our local beaches in Carlisle Bay.

 

 Image borrowed from Nation News.com

For over an hour sea bathers and marine biologists tried valiantly to usher them back out to sea.
This can't be good. They were obviously trying to get away from something.  Who knows?  Maybe they lost their sense of direction or maybe they were sick. However, I immediately thought of the tidal wave that was foretold several years ago that will cause destruction on our island.
Signs and wonders?
The rescue mission. 

This was the day too, that a recommended workman came by to give me a quote on replacing the back patio ceiling.  I had to chase him away with his crazy repair estimate.  As always, he just looked at the house and pulled that figure out of the air.  You know what, Alakazam!!!  I'm a better magician than he was, for I made him disappear in an instant.

Friday, my dear Beast was coughing and spluttering like an old man about to bring up a million pounds of phlegm.  Poor thing was not idling well at all.  Off to my friendly mechanic who informed me that Beast needed new plug cables. "They're beginning to break down, they're old," he said.  True,  for I could not ever recall changing these cables since I had purchased my jeep.
Everything was immediately put on hold, my baby was sick.

 Off to the parts store to get the medicine...a new set of spark plug cables.  The old ones were black (in photo), but the new ones are a brilliant blue colour.   Beast perked up immediately as soon as they were installed. 

I'm still conducting eviction duties with the bats, and the grass is still growing, and the house continues to throw lots of surprises my way, but heck I'm handling it all.
What a week !  What a week!