Biblical summer?

It’s a beautiful, warm but comfortable day, the opposite of yesterday’s deluge.  The news had coverage of the flash flooding and the results — and the cleanup — which has been tremendous.  Thankfully we were unaffected, including no flooding in the underground garage.  I think that if that kind of rain were to fall in the fire ravaged areas, things would be better.  We’ve gone from smoke-filled skies to extreme heat to heavy downpours in a couple of months.  Seems like, as someone commented to me, a summer of biblical proportions!  Jerry spent most of last night trying to burrow under me as another storm started overnight.  He hid his face from the lightning and tried to cuddle me.  Don’s good, with no apparent after effects from driving in the storm, which was really unnerving.  He’s throwing Jerry his toy now, and playing with him.

I had a fairly decent night’s sleep last night, which is good news.  I don’t like having to take meds to help me sleep, and I try to maintain good “sleep hygiene” so I get up at the same time every day.  Since I’d had a bad night the night before last, I allowed myself an extra hour in bed, then got up.  My appetite is a bit off today, no idea why.  I’m finding that these days I’m longing for sweets more than savoury, but I continue to be hesitant to eat too many sweets and then send my sugar levels up too much.  Again, I’ll work something out so I don’t faint or throw up or anything like that!

Today marks World Steel Pan Day; I’d honestly never heard of this celebration until today, but the steel pan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, the only new acoustic instrument of the twentieth century and has an amazing range.  Its history is entwined in the growth of Trinidadian society, as it started from empty oil drums that were turned into a variety of instruments that have been used in every genre of music.  In the early days, the players (panmen) were known for being brawlers, and were often looked down on by genteel society.  That’s changed, and it’s taught in schools, accepted internationally and the bands have grown and developed, and I thrill to hear classics played on steel.  There’s one rendition of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus that’s performed on pan that I think came directly from heaven.  Bit of hyperbole, but it’s truly breathtaking.  (That links to a YouTube video; 4 minutes long)  There are many videos available of different bands playing everything from classics to contemporary to the heart-pounding rhythms of Carnival… I won’t provide a history lesson on the pan, but I do encourage you to explore a bit if you’ve only ever heard it played for tourists or in old, cheesy shows.  My friends enjoy playing or listening to Panorama (for Carnival) a lot more than I do — I find the show goes on too long, and my attention wanders off after the 5th time some band plays the same tune.  I confess to being a transitory fan of many things, and I tend to only watch finals, and that includes Panorama — in that case, I really only watch the Champs in Concert, so I skip the heart ache of the full competition.

I’m going to find something to eat now.  I’m starting to have a little empty space in my middle, and it needs filling 😋  The boys are curled on the couch watching something action-based, so I’m not under surveillance just now.  Good night!