rain rain all around

It started raining here just in time for the weekend. Winnipeg doesn't have an enormous amount of precipitation compared to, say, Kentucky. In fact, when I looked up yearly averages, I found out that it had half as much. (Winnipeg has 20 some inches of precipitation a year as compared to 40 some in Bowling Green, KY.) Therefore, a big rainstorm can be an event here.

This might be because we live on the prairies, so when it rains, there is nowhere for the puddles to go. They become ponds or lakes...here's a smaller puddle that I could see from our house. Crossing the street can sometimes be like fording a fast running crick in the middle of a storm.

Last night we (the professor, our resident student and I) went out for Greek food. We walked to the restaurant and settled in for a leisurely dinner. We tried to draw it out as the sky got dark -again-and it started to pour. Unfortunately, even after a cappucino (for me) and a big slice of cake (for the professor and his student) it was still raining. It was even leaking and raining inside the restaurant! We pulled on our raincoats and hats and set out.

Within a few moments, our feet were sopping wet. Then the wind turned. The rain went down the neck of my raincoat. Worse yet, it somehow went up the bottom of my raincoat and within minutes, my linen pants were about 3 lbs heavier with water than I'd expected. When we got home, every piece of clothing had to be taken off and changed. I took a hot bath to warm up. The professor slipped on the basement steps--wet from a drippy raincoat--and hurt his toe enough to draw blood. It was a damp situation... We all seemed ok with staying indoors and giving up on the evening relatively early.

From our third floor we look out on the top of a building. This is what it looked like between rainstorms. The flat roof is literally full with rainwater.

This afternoon I am volunteering at the Manitoba Craft Museum and Library for Doors Open. I'm bringing along some spinning, since I imagine the crowds may be small. The rain hasn't let up, and although Winnipeggers are hearty folk, I suspect most people would rather take a nap at home than wander through the city in the rain. We'll see!

Today the professor and his student are working on bottling up the homemade wine that he's been making in the basement. It's a good weekend microbiology project...including collaboration with a colleague, who is loaning them some equipment. (It's always nice to feel I help to support nontraditional science learning at home!)