Musings on Rainy Days and Sundays....

....never get me down (to misquote the old Carpenters' song).

Actually, I love rainy days, especially if it's a Sunday.  Sundays are kick-back days.  Sleep in a little, have breakfast in bed (thanks, sweetie!), and have nothing more planned than reading a book.  Maybe put a movie in the DVD player (although, I love watching the old Black and White movies on ACM).  Popcorn, sliced apples, can of Coca-Cola....yeah, that's the way to spend a Sunday.

Rainy days are like that, too.  Unless it's a work day, if it's raining, you think twice about going out -- do I really need to buy school supplies today?  Kinda gives you a Sunday on another day of the week.

The thing I like the most about rainy days is how everything looks.  The grass seems greener, the red bricks of the houses on my street (we all have red brick ranchers) are darker, the asphalt of the street gets back to black as the dust and dirt from the road is washed away.  There's a huge spider web on the bush at the front of my porch, underneath the awning---but I can see the water droplets in it, making it seem ephemeral and other worldly.

I love the misting rain that you almost can't feel on your skin, but will soak you through in a few minutes.  I've been caught by the sudden downpour that makes you run for the nearest doorway or store.  I've driven in rains so hard you can't see five inches in front of you--actually, you just look for a place to pull over and wait for the rain to pass.  I've danced in the rain a few times, and I've rushed outside just after the rain to see how many worms were called up.  I've splashed in the puddles and laughed with the joy of it.

My dog, Cricket (he died while I was in college--he was a Good Dog!), hated rainy days.  He hated having to go outside and get his paws wet.  It'd be funny to watch him go outside, daintily lifting his paws as if to say "Ew, ew, ew!"

In Florida, sometimes you hate the rain, because it's a hot and humid day, and the rain doesn't cool things off.  As a matter of fact, it makes it steamier.  So bad, sometimes, you can see the steam rising from the ground.

Sometimes, I like to go shopping when it's overcast and light showers are expected, especially to niche stores--because it's not in a mall area, the crowds generally stay away and I can browse and chat with the employees.

When I worked for GMAC, you could tell when there was a storm between our office (in Linthicum, Md) and Detroit....the computers either died on you or they ran really slow--good old satellite dish technology.  Customers used to get really upset, and sometimes got nasty with me.  I understand their frustration--especially if there was no storm in our area, but really, do you think I want to be uncooperative?

I love sitting on my porch on a rainy day--it's where I am right now.  We have an aluminum awning extending over the porch and I've always loved the percussive sound of the rain hitting the aluminum .  I studied in Taxco, Mexico for a few months one summer before my children were born.  We'd get a few storms and the thunder would boom and echo off the mountains.  Made you realize why the Aztecs thought their gods were mad.

I'll admit, I don't live anywhere where I've had a solid month of rain and overcast skies.  Never seriously had to worry about the rivers rising to flood levels and the levees not holding.  Maybe if I did, I'd be less fond of rainy days.

Well, the rain has stopped for now, the sun is peeping out and I can see blue skies...must be time to aMuse myself....maybe with a book, maybe with a good movie.....something black and white....