The weather gods are angry

Holy moly, it has been a chaotic two days here in north Georgia. On Friday night, a tornado hit downtown Atlanta. I was watching basketball when the warning came on that there was a severe thunderstorm moving through the downtown area and that rotation had been spotted by Doppler radar. We are far enough south of the city so that there was no effect on us and we went to bed shortly after I saw the information.

Yesterday, Saturday morning, we were looking forward to sleeping past our usual weekday rising time of 6:15 am. Nature had other ideas: around 6:15, we were hit by a loud thunderstorm that woke all three of us up. J went and got A from his room, and the three of us cuddled in bed while the storm flashed, thundered and rained. Not a fun way to start the day!

I was shocked when I accessed the Atlanta Journal-Constitution web site later in the morning and read that a tornado had struck downtown, causing substantial damage. The forecast for the day wasn't much better; we had to be on the alert for more powerful storms that had the potential to spawn tornadoes. It rained here off and on, and the sky often got very dark and ugly, but we did not get additional storms until right around dinner. North of Atlanta, however, was a different story: apparently more tornadoes struck and at least two people are confirmed dead.

April may be the "cruelest month" but March, so far, is certainly no picnic.

Blahg

I just don't have anything particularly interesting to blog about lately and nothing about which I am particularly fired up. So here are some odds and ends:

• A's birthday is in less than two weeks, so I am getting preparations made. We are not having a party, but will have a fun outing on the weekend following to a science museum in Atlanta. He keeps changing what he wants to bring to his class on his birthday - this morning he told me doughnuts.

• I am more than halfway done on the ribbed scarf I am knitting. The ribbing is going well; I have only had to unknit rows a few times to correct mistakes. I adore the deep turquoise color of the yarn, but the scarf will be a bit scratchy so I don't know that I will use this particular yarn again. It is also very dense and will definitely be a scarf for the coldest weather.

• I had coffee this week with a woman from my mommies' group, who is 8.999999 months pregnant with her second child and started her maternity leave from work last Monday. It was only the second time we had ever met in person but for two hours, we talked non-stop. Despite an age difference of about 12 years, we have many interests in common and think similarly on many issues. It was a treat to find someone with whom I can discuss politics and social issues seriously and without righteous indignation.
  

• March Madness is upon us. I am a lukewarm basketball fan at best, but I suddenly become an avid fan in March. All things being equal, I much prefer to watch women's basketball rather than men's (they play a more strategic game) but men's certainly gets more coverage. The ACC men's tournament is this weekend and in honor of my friend and former boss Cathy, I will be cheering for the University of North Carolina Tarheels.

And tomorrow is, of course, the 15th of March. Beware the Ides of March!