Counting down the hours/minutes until I leave for Lockport tomorrow morning.  This evening will be a very busy time with packing for the trip, so I decided to put in my journal entry early today.

Believe it or not, it is POURING outside right now.  We've been having showers, with accompanying thunder and lightning, most of the day.  That is fantastic!  We even had little puddles of water between the rows in the garden for a little while, but it has been so dry, those puddles dissipated very quickly.  Perhaps with the shower we're having, the puddles will return.  In any case, the rain came just in time to keep Sid from having to tote the huge water tanks to the back for watering the back orchard.  Thank you, Lord, for that favor!

As I mentioned previously, I think, I cooked a huge spaghetti sauce yesterday to bring on our trip.  Today, I cooked some spaghetti and packed it for the trip.  My crock pot roast cooked throughout the night, and Sid and I made sandwiches of that delicious meat for our dinner at noon.  Tonight, we'll eat some of the gravy with a side dish yet to be determined--probably peas or corn.  I also cooked a big old pot of rice and will be packing that for the trip as well.

All the foods that I've cooked--sauce, pasta, roast, rice--are being toted in zip-lock bags for easy placement in the ice chest.  I'll also be bringing lots of fruits and veggies, which I haven't decided exactly how to pack that.  Of course, I'm also bringing our drinks and some milk and lots and lots and lots of water.  I refuse to pay the prices they ask for a small bottle of water at those baseball games--ridiculous!  Anyway, Sid and I hope to pack everything tonight and load up early tomorrow, because I have to leave here by 8am.

Jess and Jan sent me info on what they were bringing, too, so I know we'll be well stocked with food.  Bec wrote that Randi wanted some baloney (about the only thing I DIDN'T think of), so Randi will have that as well as the other things I've brought especially for her.

Speaking of Randi, I just got an e-mail from her.  (Let me check that out!)  She just wanted to share a little smiley with me that her Mom sent to her--that's how she is, always sharing whatever little things make her happy--and that makes me happy, too.

(Boy!  That rain is really coming down now!)  Sid is in the barn doing some cleaning up.  The lawn mower guy was supposed to pick up the mower today, but, like yesterday, he didn't show up.  Of course, there's still time, but I doubt he'll come with the rain falling the way it is.  At least this time, he has a legitimate excuse for NOT picking it up.

Sid is working on his plans for our carport.  I think we've just about decided to put it at a slight angle to the house, just to be a little different.  It will also make it easier for Sid to attach a little sidewalk cover to get us from the carport to the Cottage.  Boy!  We surely could use that today!

Well, the lightning and thunder are increasing, so I'd better stop for now. Hope you have a great weekend.  I may or may not be able to get back to my computer while I'm gone; if I can't, I'll probably have a lot to write about when I return.

A LESSON FROM THE MOUND:  "In our day, when a pitcher got into trouble in a game, instead of taking him out, our manager would leave him in and tell him how to pitch his way out of trouble."   --Cy Young

NOTE:  I think that's a good role for parents/teachers/counselors, too--teach our kids how to deal with their problems instead of teaching them to run away from them.  Teach them about consequences of our actions instead of excusing them.  Teach them by examples instead of just getting angry.  Guess we can learn a lot from those old baseball players, huh?