Rain is not Izzy approved

 Izzy who does not love thunder

Early this morning I awoke to one very worried dog. Kip, my oh so brave boy, woke me up because Izzy was barking. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on. RAIN!! This might not seem like much to you but there has been a horrible drought in my part of the world for a long time now. It made me think all those deep thoughts you think at way to early in the morning so I thought I would share some of them with you.

The sound of rain

I have lived several places in my life. Not a ton like some people but two specifically that are very different from one another. Texas and Wyoming. One of my very first memories is from Wyoming. I was in kindergarten and the school had all the classes stop and go into the atrium. We all sat down and waited to see why they had pulled every one out of class. We were given one instruction. "Listen to the sound of rain." since that day perhaps because of it I have loved the sound of rain. As we moved to Texas it was no longer a novelty. It seemed as if everyone took it for granted but to me it always takes me back to when someone decided that the sound of rain was essential to the education of elementary students.

The promise of rain

Last night while playing with my puppies outside I noticed that it felt like rain coming. You might know the feeling. Suddenly the atmosphere seems a bit dangerous, the wind picks up and you just know. I looked up at the sky I saw that there were no clouds. Suddenly I felt that maybe I was wrong. All the weather reports I had seen had not called for rain but deep in me I just knew. This reminds me if how my life has felt for the last while. A bit dangerous with a sense of urgency to get things done. To strip away the things that are not important and to get ready for the storm. When I look around me I see no clouds, no reports that something is going to change and honestly I am hesitant to actually prepare because it feels like if I do than things will really happen. But I think the waiting time is over. I am ready to trust and dance in the rain.

So these are my oh so tired musing I had at 5 this morning to the sound of rain and barking dogs!  Eventually Izzy gave up and came to me for pets and Kip he never really left my side. 

Tips and Tricks for Searching Google

Today I watched to a really neat webinar that is free through RootsMagic.  You can find a whole series of webinars for free under their learn tab.  I listened to "Google Search Tips and Tricks with Lisa Louise Cooke" it was delightful.  I am starting to get on a family history kick so it is made for genealogists but the information could apply to any search. I am so excited to see if I can put into use the things I learned.  I thought I would share two tips I had not know before and maybe they will help you as much as they have helped me!

1)  The magic three dots ...
Ok! When looking for information about a particular time period it can be hard to narrow down your results.  Not anymore!  Put in the earliest date such as 1800 and then the three magic dots and the last date such as 1910.  1800...1910 and add your search terms.  This will give you results that have the dates your looking for and they are highlighted so it is easy to see!

2) The tilde as a synonym finder
I had no idea that this would work and I am so excited.  To use it simply place a tilde ~ in front of the word you are looking for.  It will also search using synonyms for the original search term. 
Example: ~loo   
Results include: toilet