Places I Have Been

Picked up this little diversion from Dave O's blog. Here are maps that show where I have been in the U.S. This one shows all the states I have been to, including ones that I simply drove through:



This one shows states where I have lived, worked, or recreated for a significant amount of time (does not include driving, truck stops, or Waffe Houses):




Both beg the question: Am I avoiding West Virginia?

Rainy day

I love rainy days. It's been raining in St. Paul most of today. Good, steady, puddle-forming rain. We're in a break right now, but there is more on the way.

I feel like it doesn't rain much here. It snows, of course; and there are lots of healthy thunderstorms in Spring and Summer. But it's not often when it just rains for 2, 3, 4 days in a row. The two other states I've lived in, Georgia and Maryland, both get somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-50 inches of rain a year. Compare that with Washington State, home to rainy Seattle, which receives only about 26 inches a year. Minnesota is also in the middles 20s.

Rain and the clouds that go with it just wrap you up like a hug and replenish the ground with much needed moisture. It washes away the snow and ice and sand and sludge. It thaws the ground and wakes up the flowers and bushes and grass. Spring rain is the best.

Taking charge

I mentioned that Mollly had pneumonia, and now I have to do a little fatherly bragging. Part of her treatment was taking albuterol via a nebulizer several times a day. At first she hated it, then she realized it made her feel better, then she took charge or her own treatment, as you can see.