Rainy Day Barn View from the Dentist's Chair

I know it feels like it was a million years ago already, but it was just a few weeks ago that I found myself in the dentist's chair, admiring the red barns of South Atherton, and dealing with two broken crowns. First there was the day of the dental exam and cleaning. The next day found me back in the chair, getting provisional crowns, a process that took far less time than anticipated.

Well, guess what: it was time for part 2 of the crowns, the part where they pull the provisionals off and put the real ones on. The trick, sometimes, is the timing of things. I've had temporary crowns that just would not come off at all - and had the dentist and two assistants with all six hands inside my mouth at once, yuck. I've also had temporary crowns that fell off rather too quickly before I even made it to the second appointment.

But in the continuing saga of Goldilocks (as my dad used to call me, or Goldie) and her crowns, in this particular case, the provisionals stayed on just long enough, and came off just easily enough for everything to work out perfectly. "BOOM!" the dentist practically shouted, as he placed the first one and it slid into place. "PERFECT!" he announced, as he finished the other.

And so it was that in about a half an hour, I was outta there, and on my way to go shopping and (eventually, when my numb mouth woke up a bit) out for a fine lunch of hot cheeseburgers and crispy, golden fries! Hooray!

But I am ahead of myself, as usual. The first thing that happened when I sat down in the dentist's chair is that the rain began pelting down, hard, and the winds whipped up like crazy! I quickly grabbed my camera and shot TWO SHOTS of the red barn across the road.

The dentist himself walked in and cast a concerned glance to the window that you see here, with a barn view beyond. "I sure hope the power doesn't go out!" he said. And his thoughts echoed my own. I sure hoped so too, though to be honest, I'd never even considered the possibility of that happening! Great, even MORE things to worry about. . . .

And so the big story of the day, to most of us in the area, was the huge storm that whipped through and hit us hard. First with heavy rain and then with great big winds that set up an amazing sky show for the afternoon, followed by falling temperatures.

But the good news is that the power stayed on and the two new crowns got installed successfully and we accomplished our errands in town (and even bought eggs!). And so with the dental business concluded for the year (hallelujah!), when I got home, I went for my walk.

My thoughts were light and my mind rested easy. For I had been worried about the whole crown thing, even though I hadn't been talking about it. And I was really really really really glad it was all over. (I wasn't allowed to eat sharp or crunchy or hard or gooey things for weeks; my husband even hid my bag of Middleswarth bbq chips!)

So when the sky turned wild, I was right there for it! I stood on a corner where I could watch the dark clouds chasing the light, and the sun coming and going, and I pretended I was summoning the clouds and telling them what to do!

I whipped my hands around like the sorcerer's apprentice! The clouds came and went and did my bidding! (Now, if you should be a neighbor who sees me doing thusly, please just walk on by and pretend you did not see. Thank you.)

There was also standing water everywhere, which was awesome for reflections-addicted photographers such as myself. I don't have a lot of advice for others who go out into the world on a daily basis except for nuggets of wisdom like this: Stop from time to time to watch the sky on the puddles!

I find I must include this favorite tune as my soundtrack song: REO Speedwagon, with Riding the Storm Out.

P.S. I must also note the passing of Fleetwood Mac legend Christine McVie, and so I include my favorite song of hers, which is this one: Songbird. She wrote it and she sang it beautifully. She said the song came to her in the middle of the night. She got up and wrote it in half an hour, and then stayed awake until the next day so she could remember it and record it! She did not know where it came from. Here are some of its lyrics:

For you, there'll be no more crying
For you, the sun will be shining
And I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
To you, I'll give the world
To you, I'll never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright, I know it's right
And the songbirds are singing,
Like they know the score
And I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before

Farewell, until we meet you in the Next Place, songbird.