So for the first time since we’ve been here, we headed out of the house after Fuzzy got home, not to see a Realtor (wonderful as ours is), or go to Kinkos or anything else businessy, and not to see a movie or wander around a bookstore, or anything else largely insular, but to see a friend’s art exhibit.

The friend in question, is Rana, who writes Notes from an Eclectic Mind, a witty and entertaining blog I’ve been frequenting for about a year now, and the exhibit was at her local Starbucks. Her digital photos are as wonderful as Clay’s, but in a totally different way, and it was wonderful both to meet her (and select members of her circle of friends) and to see her work hung on the wall, instead of the web. She’s as warm and witty in person as she comes across in text, and I wish we’d been able to chat longer, but it’s a decent drive from Lewisville to Fort Worth, especially in Friday night traffic, and a storm.

Oh, right, the storm.

As we left the apartment, we both looked at the weird color of the sky – rain-pregnant gray-green over sunset-orange – and decided it looked ominous. But there was no actual rain, until the last five miles of the trip, although there was much lightning.

Just outside Fort Worth, though, the rain came. At first it was normal rain, heavy, but not scary, and the lightning was bright, but festive (well, if you’re me, and attuned to stormy weather). Almost immediately, however, it was as if someone opened all the fire hydrants in the universe, and the water was landing on us. We missed an exit from one freeway to another, because the rain was coming down in such thick sheets that we couldn’t see the signs – we could barely see the ROAD. But Fuzzy’s an excellent foul-weather driver, and I was more annoyed at being late, than scared.

I was momentarily startled, when a lightning flash revealed a giant skull on a building, but then we moved around a curve, and the Haunted House sign on what is (apparently) a club, was visible. Once I realized what it was, I thought it was cool, and nicely spooky, it being October now, and the Dracula ligtning being better than special effects.

We finally made it to Starbucks after circumventing an ACTUAL blown hydrant that was gushing into an already-flooded intersection, and met everyone, and had coffee. We were graciously welcomed, and made to feel very comfortable, and of course the art was beautiful. (Also of course: the rain tapered off as soon as we arrived.)

After visiting a while, we crossed the parking lot for a nice quiet dinner, enjoying the dim lighting and flickering wall sconces, while the storm, quieter but still present, continued outside.

When we got back here, it was still raining, but in a good way, and while we did lose power for about 15 seconds, it came right back on.

The plans for the weekend include shopping local stores for the best prices on a washer and dryer, and taking the dogs out to really RUN.

For now, though, it’s nearly 1:30, and time to sleep.

Happy Friday.
Happy October.