THREE is a CROWD!!

I'd love to show you more lightning pictures today, but I'm exhausted.  It's that no-sleep tiredness that makes your whole body hurt and breathing an effort.

Everything went swimmingly yesterday as I gadded about town for five hours, enjoying the stores Tucson has to offer.  It's when I got home that things went south!

About 5:00 I got a thunder storm warning.  No biggie ... been there, done that.  When the winds began, I beat a hasty path to the motorhome to close the vent.  Then I settled in on the couch with the puppies.

Miss Jessie, in her exuberance, has hurt one front leg.  She's jumps around like crazy when it comes to food, and appears to have sprained her shoulder.  I helped her in and out the door since the steps are rather tall, but figured she would be fine.  Not so much.

She was okay until the thunder began.  As the wind geared up to epic proportions and I feared the motorhome would tip over, the lightning began, lighting up the sky continuously.  Unfortunately, it was quickly followed by thunder that literally shook the house like an earthquake.

Then the rains came.  Have you ever seen horizontal rain?  It looks something like this and lasted for over two hours as storm cell after storm cell came screaming through the foothills.

In a flash, Jessie was on my lap, shivering like it was -30 degrees.  Again, Cooper could care less as he slept on the other side of me.  Remember, I have one cushion on the floor and only two on the couch?

By bedtime, lightning was still flashing overhead like strobe lights at a rock concert.  With Jessie hurt, I didn't want her jumping off the bed.  You know what that means!!  It's COUCH time!!  Determined to get a good night's sleep, I hauled the jail to the living room and planted them both firmly inside.

The first big crack of thunder had Jessie coming unglued.  Okay ... big sigh ... we will ALL sleep on the couch.  Three is definitely a crowd ... with two dogs and one human on two cushions, it didn't work out well for the human.

I finally put Cooper in Jail and kept Jessie on the lowest missing-cushion portion of the couch.  I couldn't sleep.  I unplugged every light I could find and hung my shorts over the brilliant blue light from my alarm system.

An hour later, I woke up due to being so uncomfortable.  It seems my backside had fallen into a chasm akin to the Grand Canyon that opened up between the two remaining cushions on the couch.  I resettled everything and tried again to get some always illusive sleep.

I woke up the next time with my ear folded over as my head got smashed against the armrest.  By then, Jessie was wrapped around my legs as thunder and lightning continued.  Just dozing off, a train came by at the exact same time the fridge turned on.  The fridge seemed to be running a marathon because it ran for the next two hours.  Oh what I would give for some sleep!!

At 3:50 a.m. I plunked the kids in jail and snuck off to the bedroom.  My plan failed.  I was awake as awake could be.  I freed everyone from their confines and drug myself to the kitchen for coffee.  I'm seriously thinking the floor may be a better alternative for tonight!!

In the meantime, here's a beautiful sunrise from yesterday morning.  More storms are coming in over the next few days.  I'm beginning to think that $45 thunder shirt just might be worth it after all.