Rain, Rain

Don't go away,

Please stay another day. 

It has been H-O-T hot in Texas for soooo many days.  We’ve already broken an old and set the new record for most consecutive days over 100 at 27.  We’re getting close to beating the 1925 record of 69 days over 100 in a summer (as of 8/16 we've had 62 days).  That should happen sometime next week if things keep on the same track, and according to the weatherman things are headed that way. 

There’s not a whole lot to do in the summer heat beyond going to the pool, movies and just plain ol’ staying inside.  Of course when it is going to be 107 for the day, by noon-ish you already don't want to be outside for too long.  Not even at the pool. 

That leaves you inside wondering just how hot it really is out there, what is that heat really in truly capable of.  Could you cook the proverbial egg on the sidewalk, in a literal sense?  Well not wanting to waste an egg, I thought hey let’s see if we can bake some cookies in a mock box oven. 

I had some cookie dough in the fridge already to go into the oven come November, when it cools off.  So J and I scooped some out into the frying pan

and then placed it outside in the blazing sun.  We covered it with a brown glass lid at first, and then went back and replaced it with a better fitting clear glass lid. 

After two hours we had delicious cookies, that could have taken another 15-30 minutes in the heat to really firm up, but they were quite delicious. 

You know, these high temps even begin to warp your way of thinking because when you hear that it is only 100 or 101 outside, you start to think, hey that’s not so bad.  And then when some clouds roll in and it drops all the way to 95, you really start to think about how cool it is. 

Sunday night we had not only some clouds, but we actually had 10-15 minutes of heavy sprinkles.  We could see the rain falling off to the east and since you usually get the least from the east we figured we would not be getting any of the good stuff.  However, after 30 minutes of us goofing around in the cool outside air it did finally start to actually rain; from the sky. 

See here is some evidence…

…and some more.

Thanks be to God for the gift of rain.  We'd love some more.  You can see how low the tank is getting.  L says we are down to just 4' of water.  In 2009 we went as low as 3'.