Pippi and the Thunder Claps

This Monday morning commenced with a bang, literally.  We had our first thunderstorm of the season.  I had been a bit anxious about this, to be honest, as I was unsure how Lena would fare.  Thankfully, she was fine.  Fortunately, we were again at my parents' house which meant that I did not have to usher Lena outside to do her bathroom duties.

Unfortunately, it did mean that I had to witness the neurotic response of Pippi, my parents' female Jack Russell.  To be fair, Pippi does not go nuts and cry or hide during thunderstorms.  She simply becomes very very restless to the point that she can't stay in one place for more than a couple of minutes.

This morning, while perusing my blogroll, I came across an entry from NPR's Bob Collins that seemed to speak directly to this mystery.  It's a good thing that I have purchased plenty of dog clothing for Pippi - I may have to put it to greater use than purely my own amusement.

On a different note, the heat is truly on for me this week.  My final class sessions of the semester are this weekend, and both classes have a final paper due.  Of course, I have both topics chosen and ample literature to utilize in my findings, but the actual act of composing is always a little stressful for me.  This does seem a bit strange given the fact that I voluntarily write for this blog on a semi-regular basis.

The other big deal for this week is that my brother is graduating from veterinary school this weekend in Madison, WI!!!!  That's right, my "little" brother is going to officially be able to put "Dr." in front of his name.  Scary and cool.  Sadly, due to previously stated fact that I have my own school issues to attend to this weekend, I will not be in attendance for his big day.  Before you give me the "Worst Sister of the Year Award," please note that he has elected to pursue an additional degree (Masters of Public Health) next year, which means that I will have a second chance to attend a graduation for him.

To complete this entry, I should add that I hope everyone who has or is a mother was able to celebrate Mother's Day in a lovely and appropriate fashion.  For me, that meant we took my mother out to eat at The Happy Gnome in St. Paul (yum) and gave her gifts of a new wheelbarrow and a book.  Oh, and I should also add that my mother had to work on Mother's Day.  I know, I know.  So unfair.  But know this:  it will never happen again.  That's right, you heard it here first, my mother does not intend to be working for the 'Bou by this time next year.  Perhaps I will have more on this later, but for now I remind you to think happy thoughts about me successfully completing another semester of grad school.