My Life So Far 

and Something I Need You to Help Me With

Let me start out with the most obvious thing: The Weather. The following is today's report from our local TV channel.  Notice, before you skim over this, two things: 1) More than 3 months worth of rain fell in June and 2) wetter weather will be easing off (not stopping mind you) later this week before starting again next week. They are calling this the Monsoon Summer and have said that we have gotten more rain in June since records have been kept with a month's worth of rain falling in one day!

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/110245-people-warned-to-prepare-for-more-bad-weather-as-amber-alert-issued/

Heavy rain and flooding warning in east as wet weather continues

STV 10 July 2012 13:59 BST  

More rain: The Met Office have issued an amber alert for Edinburgh.

"More flooding is expected as heavy and persistent rain is forecast from Tuesday onwards.

South-east Scotland will bear the brunt of this latest weather front which is likely to cause flooding.

Edinburgh has been issued an amber weather warning from the Met Office for Wednesday with a possibility of 50mm of rainfall. (that's nearly 2 inches to you)

The Borders, Lothian, Central, Tayside and Fife have a yellow alert for Tuesday and Wednesday.

The forecast comes just three days after major flooding in the capital which affected up to 40 properties in the Stockbridge area with some residents unable to return to their homes for months.

STV’s weatherman Sean Batty confirmed that persistent rain was predicted for Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday.

He said: “The heaviest and most persistent rain can be expected across the south-east of the country where flooding is likely. A few inches of rain are likely to fall over parts of Edinburgh, Lothians, Fife, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire and the Borders during Tuesday and Wednesday.

“With high water tables in eastern areas after such a wet start to summer, the additional rain from this event will lie on the surface and create flooding. Low-lying fields and streets with bad drainage are the most prone areas for flooding.

“Drivers may find driving tricky tomorrow with a lot of surface water expected on the roads. Visibility will be severely reduced, especially on motorways, and my advice to motorists would be to allow extra time for journeys and drive with extra care.”

In addition to the heavy rain in the east there is also the risk of localised flooding in the west including Lanarkshire and Glasgow on Wednesday afternoon.

However, later in the week the wet weather is expected to ease off. Sean said: “From Thursday showers should be easing off with a good deal of dry weather around. This should hopefully allow the rainwater time to soak into the ground before more rain comes in later next week.”

More than three months worth of rain fell in June alone at the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden which was the wettest place in Scotland that month."

Here are a couple of pictures I took out back last month:

My wet garden

Some of the flowers Kailee planted when they were here are up on the bench so they don't flood.The blue bucket in the back is brimming over with rainwater.

I know, I know, back in the US most places have been having severe drought and hot--as in hotter than Hades--or as my favorite quote from the movie "Biloxi Blues" says: And believe me, I know what this feels like because I've been in Mississippi when it's been that hot (Pascagoula but we shopped in Biloxi) and it was February! 

So I have been having a debate back and forth for a couple of months with my Facebook friends: is it worse to be hot & dry or cold and wet? Right now I know which one I'd choose and I've been telling people I'll gladly trade places or send you ALL the cold and wet weather you'd like if you'd only send me some SUNSHINE!

You may remember a post I wrote back in November 2011 about having S.A.D. (Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder), if not the link is: http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=992117099817378061#editor/target=post;postID=883195533008176249 and even though this mostly effects people in the winter months I think our long periods of sunless days lately have hit me hard. I have really been at the point where life seems pointless and everything is useless. I am used to, and expect long days (more than one at a time!!) of warmth and sunshine in the summer. I want to eat tomatoes off the vine and watermelon and iced tea. Don't get me wrong, in the temperatures you've been having over in the US lately, I'd be the first one running for the AC! I don't like to be hot, hot and sweaty. I've lived in Virginia summers without air conditioning and it's NO fun! Yes, I feel your pain but I also feel a bit envious too right now.

I also know part of my depression, "blues", "slough of despond" ("swamp of despair", John Bunyan--look it up), "black dog"  or whatever you want to call it, is a reaction to the kids, Ben & Kailee, going back home after our wonderful visit. I regret not blogging about that but anyone on Facebook could follow along on our photos and trips and we were so busy it was hard to write at the same time.

Still, whatever the cause, I need to snap myself out of it, as my S.A.D. post kept saying. I've wallowed long enough I think. Since the weekend I've been looking for a way to get myself out of this quicksand of despair. I posted my status today on Facebook and wanted to follow it up in a blog post. This is a quote I read today: "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." GK Chesterton and I followed it up with this as a comment: I need to get more gratitude in my life to combat these "blues" I've been having for a couple of months. I could blame it on the weather or the depression of missing my loved ones but whatever is causing it, I can't wallow any more. I HAVE to start focusing on what's good in my life and let the rest of the messy stuff go to sort itself out!

And that just about sums it all up. Yes, there has been a bit of drama but it's not really for public consumption and I can't really go into it here. Needless to say, I can get myself really wound up by focusing on the wrong things and forgetting what's good in my life.

Now here's the part where I need your help. I need as many people as I can get to keep me accountable and remind me of my blessings when I forget. I am going to resolve to be more grateful and talk about it more and I need you all to keep me honest. Is it a deal? And along with that, I hope it will remind you to look for the blessings in your life and be more grateful too. Remember: