Desert Magnolia

When it gets around to precipitating in the high desert, it can go a little overboard. We don't often get the gentle, soaking rains that last for hours and replenish the earth with fresh, clean, nourishing water. Instead we get the gully washers that prompt streams to overflow, streets to become rivers, and plants to hang on for dear life on any sloping ground-the ensuing runoff will threaten even the heartiest of root systems following one of these deluges. Yesterday afternoon marked one such event, and from what I can tell our roses were pummeled by hail, the ground is very wet, and GG's decision to wait one more week to plant the seedlings was a solid one. In the southern part of the state big flooding happened. The morning news showed main street in a small town completely flooded..and vehicles sitting up to their axles in water. Nothing gentle about these climes, yes? It's all or nothing, most days.

Daughter has decided she really really needs/wants a car to drive her Senior year of college. Our first response to that was to ask around and see if anyone there might be selling a used car that she could pick up for a reasonable amount that would do the trick. She did, and nobody is. Well, one person was, but it's a long story involving a car belonging to a friend that used to belong to that friend's Mom, now deceased (the Mom, not the friend), and them asking way too much for it. So it really doesn't count anyway. And also, there were were vibes around that car that I think are best to avoid entirely. Trust me on this. Weeks pass, and the car thing keeps coming up in conversations, so we go to the next place, which is should WE buy a new car (that we can't afford right now and with my going to school more and working less certainly won't be any better positioned to afford a year from now) and give her mine? Then we dismiss that because it's just a bad id...