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A little blog about my big loves; family, friends, stitching and yep, chocolate!

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Holy Tornado!

I got a call from Matt at work this afternoon asking if I was alright. What? "Mom, it's raining so hard here and the birch trees in front are almost bent over." He then asked me to listen as he held the phone in the air. The wind and rain were really loud so I told him to take the dogs and his brother (gee, I hope I said take your brother and the dogs but I can't be sure) to the basement. Anyway, he was concerned that I was driving in the mess. As it turned out I hadn't left work yet so it was fine. But, about 5 minutes later he called back and said the tornado sirens were going off but everyone was in the basement. When I finally left work, a 25 minute drive took me an hour and 45 minutes. None of the traffic lights were working so it was chaos on the main road I travel AND there was a ton of water in many places not to mention trees down, power outages and just plain rude drivers. We did have some damage and here are a few pics but for the most part, not too bad.

Here's a picture of our back lawn, a few branches down, nothing too serious


But these are our elm trees which are huge and the breaks in the branches are too high for us to get to tonight. More storms are supposed to come through and I hope these branches don't come down on our fence, the neighbors yard or our doggies while they're outside. We'll call someone tomorrow to take care of it.



Here are a few more pics from my subdivision (sorry for the blurry one, it was a drive by)




However, the biggest disaster in my yard is this.......




Yep, I took an outside pic last night, I must have gotten distracted, walked away and forgot about it and look what happened to my tornado stricken Friendship Sampler. I don't think the colors look like they've run so I think it'll be okay but can you BELIEVE it!!! I am a DoRk!!! It is soaking wet!!!



I may be a DORK but I am one savvy, shopping dork! Look what I found at the GW yesterday! I will repaint, stain and otherwise pretty this up but I love it. The best part, there was a sticker on it for $15 but when I got to the checkout the gal said "That's not our stitcker, that must have been someone's garage sale price. Here's our sticker" - can you see it? Yep! $4.95. Whoo Hoo! I love a bargain. Oh, believe me, I love spending money even when it's not a bargain and I have a few very pricey addictions that shall remain nameless but when you find something like this - it allows you to indulge every now and again on those not so bargainy items, right?





And Finally - this was supposed to be the headliner today but the tornado won out.....

LORRAINE and I have decided to do a SB SAL together on Sail Away. She and I have become blogging friends and are going to start this on August 5th which happens to be my, dare I say it, 50th birthday. Aaagh!!! Somehow, Sailing Away with 50 on the 5th just seemed appropriate. Lorraine and I will have to figure it out - neither one of us have ever done an SAL before but we're really looking forward to it. So, if you have this and haven't yet stitched it, I hope you'll join us, if you have it in progress, I hope you'll finish it with us and if you need to buy it to join us, by all means, get going. Let either Lorraine or me know if you'd like to join in - we'll work out the details and keep you all updated. It'll be fun, I promise!



That's it for today - I hope wherever you are that you are safe and protected from the weather. Thanks so much for all the wonderful comments you leave me! I appreciate it so very much and look forward to seeing a new ones and finding new blogs and new blog friends!

Peace!
Terri

36 comments:

Loraine said...

Holy Tornado indeed! Wow, I'm so glad your home and family remained unharmed during the event. Crazy weather you are having! Hope you don't have any more tornado's during the night.
Your stitching! Oh my, I could just die with you. What a shame, but luckily the thread didn't run, and it should be fine when it dries out.
Speaking of lucky, 4.99 for that incredible shelf, are you kidding me? That is a real bargain. Can't wait to see what you do with it.
Woohoo, we have 2 official stitchers added to our SAL. I'm so filled with anticipation, this will be fun.
Take Care, and talk to you soon.

Colleen said...

Thank God everyone is safe! Everything else can be fixed :) I live in western PA and I'm not sure where you live in MI but we got thunderstorms (with hail in some areas but not ours) that came across from MI. All my family lives there. Hope they are OK, too.

Glenna said...

Wow! I'm glad you're okay and your family is ok, and also that the sampler's ok! (hey, we ladies have our priorities: first our families, then our samplers). Love the shelf and I love in advance what you'll do with it--you're amazingly talented and it will be wonderful when you're done!

I have Sail Away and would love to join the SAL.

Barbi said...

Thank god everyone there is ok! And I think with a little tenderness you sampler is completely salvagable, and if it does have a few bruises....what a great story it will have to tell. :)

The Eveningstitcher said...

Gosh Terri...you must have gotten it much worse than we did in the downriver area. It rained and it did get windy, but no trees or branches down. Glad you made it home safe and sound!

Saw your punch needle box on Deb's blogs and it is beautiful! I like all the little accessories you stitched up too! Very nice...

Bobbie

valerie said...

Wow...tornado! Very scary indeed! Glad you are ok and it's just a few broken branches. I hope yourproject can be salvaged! Awesome find at the GW!

Holly Hills Primitives said...

Wow! You sure got hit by the storm. We didn't get anything like that at all. I went to Grand Blanc to visit my dad and had some rain, but I don't think it did any more than sprinkle in Holly. Hope everything is okay by tomorrow. Have a great day, Dawn

Nancy said...

Hope your bad weather leaves soon! Stay safe if you get more storms. Now every time someone looks at your Friendship Sampler you'll have a story to tell them. Love your Goodwill find!

Barb said...

We lost a huge branch tonight on our sweet gum tree. We had just had an estimate done on removing the tree! There is one more large branch left and I hope we can get to it before it falls too. When it started to storm, I called DH from work and asked him to put one of our cars in the garage. He did TG and that is exactly where the branch fell! The "new" used car would have been toast.

Hope the stitching survives!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad that you and your family are OK, even though your poor sampler took a bit of a battering! I hope that your stitching will be fine once it's cleaned up and dried out.

That shelf is wonderful; I'm looking for something similar for our bedroom - I hope I can get such a good bargain (highly unlikely!)

Anonymous said...

Ouch, driving in that sounds very scary. Hope your sampler is ok - but the main thing is that you all are ok. Happy SB stitching!

Unknown said...

What an 'eventful' evening and what a blessing that everyone is safe and the damage was minor.

I hope your friendship sampler is ok! You have put so much work into it.

Great bargaining hunting find! I can't wait to see what you do with it.

Margaret said...

Oh my! I'm so glad everyone is safe and sound! Believe it or not, we had something like that here in NY as well -- a tornado right outside my DH's work, 20 minutes away! And yes, the streets were impossible just like you said. Sometimes even wind storms can cause trouble around here with downed trees. Anyway, glad all is safe -- but lady! How could you forget your Friendship Sampler outside?! I take that back -- that's something I would do too! lol! I'm glad the poor thing is going to survive ok -- whew! Love your bargain piece too!

Sail Away. I want to stitch this soooo badly! I'm not a good SAL person, but I'll have to think about this one. :D Have fun with it!

Cari said...

Oh my gosh Terri - I am so glad your family is safe. I've spent some scary moments in my closet when we get nasty storms like that. Sorry about the sampler but it looks like it will survive. That's a good thing. And you are truly a GREAT shopper. $4.95 ....how cool is that? I'll have to dig out my Sail Away. I'm just about finished with Finch Song so I should be good to go. Love your blog... Be Safe and have a great weekend!!

Julie M said...

Terri, I'm glad that everyone was okay and the damage to your home was minimal. Tornados are very scary, although I'd rather that than an earthquake. I can just imagine the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you found your sampler. I'm happy to hear you think it will be fine.

Love the thrift find. I would have bought that also. So much charm. I posted thrifting finds on my blog just the other day. Must be something in the air.

Again, glad everything is fine!

Cathy Lloyd said...

Thanks for all the pictures of your scary storm. Wow! We don't get anything like that here, usually. Glad Friendship is okay...you should put the story about it and the picture of it on the back after you get it framed! Glad everyone is okay! Love your bargain...can't wait to see what you do with it!

Cindy said...

Wow...that is scary! Glad that everyone is okay and the damage wasn't too bad. Hope your sampler cleans up okay :)

Annie Beez said...

OMG you are so funny!!!That just totally seems like something I would do. I hope your sampler will be ok!

I LOVE sail away! I have been drooling over that design for months!!You have me more tempted than ever!!!

Jan said...

So glad you are safe, you and your family, with no severe damage. Your backyard looks like mine did last week, when we had a pretty severe storm go through here.

Oh that poor sampler, you are not a dork, Terri, if you are, then you have company, I would do something like that! So glad that there was no running of the threads, it looks like you have it about half done, and that would have been a tragedy!!

Oh boy what a deal, looking forward to seeing what you do with that shelf, I have one that is longer, but not as deep, that I need to do something with.

Have a super weekend, dear Terri!

Pam said...

Holy Tornado, Batman! You're lucky your house was not damaged in that wild weather! If it hd been me who left my stitching out in the rain, I know I would have cried. At least the colors didn't run, so it just needs a good rinsing and some drying out. I'm glad that you're all safe. Take care!

Melissa said...

Oh my, this was a post with mixed blessings! first, I'm glad you guys are alright even if stitching, trees, etc were hurt.

That's a shame about the stitching and it looks so good. Maybe like you said the colours will dry fine - and give it a vintage look, I dare ask?

I love SB sail away and will think about joining the SAL although I don't know if I can keep up!

Anyway, you got a great bargain on that shelf! Wish I could find things like that.

Have a good weekend, and stay safe!

Bertie said...

The weather in the USA sounds horrific and glad you are OK,

Your sampler will look primitive and you did not have to do anything, what a tip:-))

Your shelf is indeed a bargain, looks fantastic, and 50 is the new 30 now LOL.

Have seen the Sail Away and it is a lovely sampler finished.

Tammy said...

OMG, the stitching got left out in the storm??!! LOL--that's too funny, but not really! Great shelf and have fun with your SAL. Awesome project for it!

Sherry said...

Thank goodness everyone is alright! And how lucky about your sampler!! I love your plate shelf! I have been looking for one.

Maggie said...

Glad everyone is safe, it must be very frightening, we don't have tornadoes in the UK, just high winds and they can cause enough damage.
Your poor stitching!! i dosen't look as though the threads have run from the photo so perhaps you were lucky!
I love your shelf find can't wait to see how you treat it:-)

doris said...

Oh, your poor sampler. You've made me feel so much better about my own distractability.

We've been having crazy storms in Colorado, too. Be careful out there!

Good luck on your SAL.

Deb said...

Thanks goodness the damage wasn't worse! We didn't get it that bad over here - just torrential rain! And thank goodness the Friendship Sampler wasn't ruined. You've made such good progress it would have been a shame. Don't call yourself a Dork though - I think we've all done things like that - us busy moms just can't remember everything!

Love your shelf - my SA never has good things like that. I can't wait to see what you do with it. I need to send my stuff to you because I'm not getting any painting done - I found one this week similar to yours at BB&B in the clearance section - but it's blue - doesn't go with anything.

Anyway, glad that the damage from the storm wasn't any worse than what it was and most of all, that the FS wasn't ruined.

And danged, I'd love to join the SAL, but I already did mine. Oh well, perhaps that's best - you know how I stink at those things. It will be fun to watch everyone's progress!

Anonymous said...

So glad that you all are ok. Sorry to hear that you forgot about your stitching project...I hope it is fine once it dries out.
Great find and price on the shelf!!

Cindy

Karoline said...

Glad to here that you are all OK and that Friendship sampler has had a lucky escape, you'll have a great story to attach to it.

Love the shelf, looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

BronnyB said...

Glad you and your family are safe, but I'm amazed the sampler did not blow away in the wind! Are you not so lucky??? I hope there is no lasting damage on it - you will have to stitch a little tornado emblem into it somewhere to remind yourself of the story it will tell in years to come.

From the Attic said...

Oh Terri, how scary that must have been. I am glad your damage was not too major but your poor stitching. I really hope it will be okay.
Good luck with your SAL. I am sure it will be fun.

Chrissie

Katrina said...

I just wanted to say "Batman", LOL. Glad you are okay the damage was minimal. Hope your BOAF piece dried out okay!

I am interested in the Sail Away stitchalong. That piece has been calling my name :-).

Andrea said...

OMG, I'm glad you're OK! I'm amazed that your sampler didn't run, that's great news! You sure do have a story now for that one!
What a great shelf, you are Queen of Thrifting!
I sent you a message earlier in the week but not sure if you got it. Can you email me at deepfriedcupcake(at)hotmail(dot)com?
Thanks!
xoxo

Tanya said...

Thank goodness everyone is okay and your sampler made it.

mainely stitching said...

YIKES! So glad you and your family were okay and that the worst damage was a sampler ... although that is a pretty bad loss to take. Stay safe!!!

Marjo said...

That weather is horrible and glad you were all okay.
I would love to join you on the Sail SAL as my son is leaving for college and I thought it was appropriate.