Weather, Music, etc.

I need to set the record straight about the number of tornadoes we’ve had in the state in 2026. My comment last week was inaccurate, but now we know we have had 72 tornadoes so far this year.

During the March 10–12 outbreak, a tornado killed three people in the Lake Village–Roselawn area along the Illinois/Indiana border. Only one tornado was ranked as an EF-3, 32 as an EF-0, and 39 as either an EF-1 or EF-2.

One of the highlights of the week was attending the Franklin Symphonic Council’s concert featuring the Directors’ Jazz Orchestra. I was not expecting to be entertained as much as I was, and I found myself tapping my foot to the music and enjoying the vocal renditions, too. Some of the talented musicians had cameos featuring their expertise on trumpet, trombone, saxophone, or drums. You can listen to two short videos, below.

On Thursday evening, after our afternoon of Bridge, we attended the Remembrance of the Augsburg Confession service our new pastor arranged. He invited other clergy and their families, and they came to the service, and we all enjoyed a bowl of ice cream afterward. On June 25, 1530, the writers of the Augsburg Confession presented their writings to Roman Emperor Charles V.

Enjoying ice cream after the service

We had tickets compliments of Thrivent Financial for the Indianapolis Indians baseball game on Friday evening, but the weather forecast called for all-day rain. When we called their weather line, there was no indication the game would be postponed, so we headed downtown in light rain. By the time we parked and entered the ballpark, we didn’t need an umbrella. However, the infield was still covered with a tarp. The signboard said the game was on a delay status. We enjoyed our picnic lunch and eventually found our seats. Not long after, the grounds crew came out and removed the tarp. The game’s first pitch was thrown after a 90-minute rain delay. By the end of the 4th inning, the game was still 0-0, but it was getting late, so we left for home. Today, I learned that the Indians lost the game 8-3. We missed seeing scoring action, but wanted to be in bed at a reasonable time.

We waited under the stadium's canopy.
Later, Kylie handed us all lightweight ponchos
to protect us from the light drizzly rain.

My Everyday Life - June 21-27, 2026

Until next time, stay cool during the heat dome we'll be under during this week, and be sure to drink lots of water!

Father's Day and More Storms

The third Sunday of June is the traditional date to honor fathers in the U.S. and several other countries. If you are a male and have no children, you can be thankful since you are the product of a father! The same is true for women; we are thankful for our fathers, too. Thanks to all the father figures in our lives who have had an impact on us or on others they come into contact with.The third Sunday is June is the traditional date to honor fathers in the U.S. and several other countries.

Today is also the summer solstice, the day with the longest daylight. It’s also reminding me of all the storms we’ve had this spring. As I’m writing this, meteorologists are tracking a tornado south of us, and we are also under a thunderstorm warning. We have had 21 tornadoes and many more tornado watches this year, which is about twice the average. It seems like we have a thunderstorm or tornado watch at least once a week, if not more often. 

All these storms and watches have interfered with some of the regular TV shows we watch. Last Tuesday, we weren’t able to watch Episode 3 of America’s Got Talent, since most of the show was interrupted by weather warnings or “Technical Difficulties.” Luckily, I realized that the program was rebroadcast on Saturday evening, so we were able to view the portions we had missed on Tuesday.

I had some technology issues that interrupted part of my day last week. At one point on Wednesday, when I couldn’t send a text or make a phone call, I realized something was wrong. I eventually spoke to an agent, and he tried resetting my network, but nothing seemed to work. To resolve the issue, it was suggested that I visit the Xfinity store in the morning. However, during the night, when I was either dreaming or half asleep, I came up with the idea to do a Google search on resetting my network settings. That’s the first thing I did when I woke up in the morning. Within a few minutes, everything was working fine, and I was able to read several texts sent the previous day, avoiding a trip to the store.

My Everyday Life - June 14-20, 2026

Goodbye, until the next time! Have a great week!

Ball Games and Storms

 Today is Flag Day, and our neighbor is honoring it by hanging his flag. Flag Day is celebrated on June 14 in the United States, marking the adoption of the national flag by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. The flag's design features thirteen alternating red and white stripes and a blue field with thirteen white stars. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring June 14 as Flag Day. Then, in 1949, an Act of Congress officially established June 14 as National Flag Day, although it remains a non-federal holiday.

Our Neighbor is Displaying the Flag Today

Not all readers of this blog may be celebrating the Knicks’ win over the Spurs and game 5 of the NBA championship. We watched the beginning of game 4 when the Knicks appeared to be losing by nearly 30 points, then turned off the TV and went to bed. The next morning, I couldn’t believe what I heard on the radio. The Knicks had won the game in the biggest comeback in NBA history. Then, last night, they cinched their first championship in 53 years!

Speaking of exciting games, when we watched a recent WNBA game, we thought the Indiana Fever were winning, but the Chicago Sky sank a three-pointer with time running out to send the game into overtime. The Fever won 114-106 in overtime. Yesterday, we watched them play the Connecticut Sun, who have a losing record, and the Sun players made it a tight game in the fourth quarter. In the last two minutes, Sophie Cunningham of the Fever scored 11 points to win the game. She had three 3-pointers and a field goal. The Fever now have a three-game winning streak and are 8-5 this season.

Sophie Cunningham

     

We’ve had two major thunderstorms pass through our county last week. We heard thunder and sirens on Tuesday night and again on Thursday night. We didn’t have any damage, but I picked up some leaves that had blown off our neighbor’s tree. Our church sent out an appeal on Friday for help in picking up debris at the church. When I went there on Saturday morning, I could see firsthand that shingles had been lifted from the former parsonage, which is now being used as a preschool. This morning, I could see that some of the larger trees had damage with limbs still on the ground. Areas west of the church also had tree damage, and it may all have been due to straight-line winds, but it could have been a squall, much like a tornado.

My Everyday Life - June 7-13, 2026

Until next time, may you avoid storms and enjoy the cooler temperatures the latest front has brought to the Midwest. If you are in another area, may your days and nights be comfortable with less heat and humidity.

Visiting Southern Indiana

The biggest event this week was our trip to Evansville for the Indiana State Games, where I planned to compete in two events to qualify for the national games in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2027. The trip to Evansville is less than 2.5 hours, but they are in the Central Time Zone. We were on our way before 2 p.m. and checked into our hotel shortly after 3. The time change was to our advantage.

After the 6 p.m. race, we found a local restaurant and enjoyed our evening meal, capped off with a huge dish of ice cream topped with caramel for me and chocolate sauce for Ray. We slept late and missed the breakfast hour at the hotel, but they found muffins, an apple, and a banana for our late breakfast.

When we read that a nature preserve was nearby, we headed that way to check it out. The Wesselman Woods Preserve has a small visitor center and a variety of trails. 

Tulip Poplar, Indiana's State Tree

One highlight is the Nature Playscape, which offers children opportunities to pursue their own ideas and interests within a wooded landscape of rocks, fallen logs, and native plants. With just over five acres of natural landscape, the Nature Playscape is one of the largest in the country. Unfortunately, we didn’t venture into this area, but we did walk other trails in the preserve. Many of the trails were hardwood boardwalks.

Another attraction is The Arwood Family Treehouse, which came to life in June 2024 after ten years of planning. The ramps, rock walls, rope bridges, and climbing ropes give people of all ages many ways to adventure. But it was easy for us to walk to the highest point and walk across the swinging bridge.

This photo is from the Wesselman Woods website
(I wasn't able to capture the entire Treehouse in one photo)

Friday evening was the Athlete’s Banquet at the Bally’s Casino. Parking is free, but we were only there for the meal and didn’t enter the casino. Jim Scott, a retired astronaut, was the keynote speaker, reviewing the history of our space program. Jim grew up in southern Indiana, where he graduated from high school. He has also participated in several National Senior Games, and his first book, Pathways of Life, is scheduled for publication this summer.

A balloon creation of an Olympic cauldron

Ray usually has a better smile
(but I didn't want to crop him out of the photo)

The next morning, we were up early, had breakfast at the motel, and were on our way to a local Middle School track where I participated in the Power Walk at 8 a.m. Again, I was the oldest competitor and was the last one to finish. After the race, we began our trip home with a short stop for lunch.

In other news this week, I visited the retina specialist for a 3-month check and was happy to learn there was no major change in my age-related macular degeneration. I’m scheduled to return in 4 months for another evaluation.

My Everyday Life - May 31 - June 6, 2026

Until next time, may you find time to explore and enjoy nature, and don’t miss breakfast the next time you stop at a motel!

 

An Unplanned Event

Today is June 1, and I’m thinking the year will soon be half over. There are activities I hope to complete before the year is over, but sometimes other events get in the way, and I end up taking a step backward. For example, yesterday I planned to spend the afternoon writing this blog, but I didn’t. I’ll explain what happened.

We were sitting down to lunch after attending the Sunday morning church service. Ray had to leave the table for the bathroom to “poop.” However, he couldn’t accomplish the deed even though he’d come back to the table and then leave for the bathroom again. It was upsetting for him, and the medical term is that he had an “altered mental status.” It wasn’t the first time I saw this condition, and our family doctor had suggested calling 911 if it happened again. So, I called 911, and within a few minutes, it seemed like there were 8 or more EMTs in the house. I didn’t actually count them. I’m sure it was a surprise to them to talk to a man sitting on the toilet. I suspect that many 911 calls are for heart attack victims or someone who has fallen and broken a bone or has sustained a gunshot wound.

They transported him to the hospital. In retrospect, I might have been able to take him myself, because just interacting with the EMTs seemed to shake Ray from his altered mental status. All of this had a happy ending, but it took a few hours in the emergency room. A scan showed that he had a mass in his bowel that eventually was cleared by taking medication, followed by an enema. We left the hospital at 7 p.m. and picked up a sandwich on our way home.

Last week, we watched three movies. The first was a documentary about America's entry into WWII. Nadine Ramsey and over a thousand young women answered the call to defend our lives and liberty. They came from all walks of life to join the experimental Women's Airforce Service Pilots Program (WASP).

Saturday evening, we found the Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant movie “Charade” entertaining as a couple caught in a web of intrigue and deception. It involves a stolen treasure, a murder, a mystery, and a romance in Paris.

We also watched Wicked: For Good, which was available on Peacock. I’m not sure I understood the final scene. Can someone comment on that?

We both visited the dentist during the week and drove home in a torrential downpour. We had more rain in May than usual, and are appreciating the dry spell expected this first week of June.

My Everyday Life - May 24-30, 2026

 Until next time, may you find some juneberries to enjoy (we always had juneberries at our house in Morgan County), and may you come home from your next dental visit with the report “no cavities.”