We rode the scooter over to Country Mart in the morning yesterday after Donna got back from her walk. She wanted to pick up more fresh produce and also buy dried split peas and smoked pork hocks to make pea soup. We knew we would be shut in for most of the afternoon as heavy rain was in the forecast. Coincidentally, we ran into a new friend – Leann from the pickleball court at Branson Sports Club was at the store. She told us about another market nearby that’s known for its superb meat counter.

I had a mostly sedentary day as the rain fell off and on from about 11am when we returned from the store. The heavy rain came around 4pm and continued into the night. This is why we spend most of our time in the west – to avoid this type of weather. Texas was hit hard again by tropical storm Bill. The remnants of that storm will hit the Ozarks over the next couple of days. We can expect heavy thunderstorms and wind tomorrow and Friday. The forecast calls for better weather over the weekend and through next week.

On Monday, my friend Peter Swingle put a haiku challenge on Facebook. Haiku was originally a Japanese form of poetry expressing a fleeting thought in three lines. In English, the haiku typically has 17 syllables in a 5-7-5 pattern. The lines are cut into two juxtaposing expressions. I’ve never tried writing a haiku before, but I bit on the challenge. Here are some of my favorite responses to the challenge:

Leigh Ritchie Steele –

No shower today
Means a cool dip in the pool
Because it’s summer

Vickie Brutschy Stokes

A lime popsicle
Golden sunshine rays of fire
Green droplets toe bound

Peter Swingle

Sun which was welcome
Now insulting the senses
Tone it back a bit

Laurie Suiter

Fur flies and claws rend
Rough tongues brush to soothe again
Feline peace restored

I wrote

Warm summer rainfall
Sitting dry in my cool coach
Writing a haiku

It was a fun diversion. Yesterday I started another novel – The Third Option by Vince Flynn. It filled most of the afternoon.

By bedtime, I felt like I had been sitting around all day – probably because that’s what I mostly did. Ten years ago, I was in the habit of exercising regularly. I would run or bike and do 50 pushups and 50 abdominal crunches almost every day. I got out of that habit when we moved to Michigan in 2009. Last night, I tried to do pushups and could only do 19 before my core strength ran out. I’m challenging myself to build back up to 50 pushups.

Today we’ll have a dry period this morning, but thunderstorms are on their way.