Tornadoey Weather

From my desk at work, I have a beautiful view overlooking a wide stretch of the Missouri River, and virtually no buildings are "in the frame." It's often a breathtaking sight, but today my breath caught in a different way. I looked out the window and saw...nothing. The river was gone.

It was raining that hard. The only thing visible beyond the covered patio that leads into my office were the trunks of a couple of trees that stand within a few yards of the building. And they were only faint shadows in the pistachio-green blur of furious rain, hail, and wind.

I also heard tornado sirens. On turning on a radio I found out that my county was under a tornado warning. A child in another part of Missouri was killed by a tornado today. Meanwhile, where my Mom lives in Nebraska, they had a blizzard. Good times.

The weather has been odd the last few days. Yesterday when I went to work it was just above freezing, and pouring with rain. By the time I went home it was about 70 degrees and mostly sunny. This morning I headed to work in humid, 60+ weather and came home in a stiff, 40-degree wind. The weather can't seem to settle on one thing; now they say there's a chance of snow tonight!

All the same, I felt like celebrating something...so I went to Sweet Tomatoes, a salad bar restaurant that also serves hot soups and warm focaccia. I would eat there more often if I knew what was good for me. But then, to make sure all the roughage doesn't go to my brain (ha - I know what you're going to say to that), I also stopped at Ted Drewes and ordered a small concrete. By which I mean a 12-oz. cup overflowing with blended frozen custard and the topping of my choice. If you come to St. Louis, be sure to stop there and have a Cardinal Sin (sour cherry and hot fudge). It's an almost spiritual experience.