Well, it's been quite a week!

Click on photograph to enlarge and read the press. US  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know, weeks don't typically end on Sunday, but this one needed a quiet day to finish up. Rick and I were concerned for all the folks in  Boston who had spent an entire day on the Esplanade along the Charles River waiting for the evening Fourth of July Pops concert and fireworks. We were at home ready to enjoy the festivities by way of Channel Four's television coverage, with the promise of uninterrupted fireworks at the end of the concert.

But while we were waiting, Rick enjoyed a medley of John Williams' music in honor of his birthday, and I went out on the screened porch to watch the fireflies enjoy the hot, humid air. They lit up the space around the birdfeeders, while lightning lit up the skies above. The thunder was a good ten seconds delayed after each flash, but when it rumbled, it rolled and continued for sometimes more than a minute.

The lightning never touched ground here in town, but it was definitely focused about ten to twelve miles south of us, given the length of time before the thunder. It was as beautiful as the fireworks would be later. But when the lightning was tracked by meteorologists to be moving toward Boston itself, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Team evacuated the oval park in front of the Hatch Shell - a first in the many years the concert has been held there. Spectators were encouraged to take immediate shelter, and the nearest to the crowd was within the Storrow Drive tunnel ... a damp, humid, oppressive site as compared to the open air concert they had been attending. The concert itself stopped to allow the musicians to seek shelter as well.

Half an hour later, the thunderstorm had passed through, and the crowd was allowed to return to the park. The concert resumed, the 1812 Overture sounded (it had been recorded the night before during the dress rehearsal, enjoyed by many who wouldn't be there on the Fourth) but when the crowd had reassembled, the Star Spangled Banner was played to lead into the fireworks display.

Our Chevy Traverse, Abby, injured by a dead fallen branch

No one was hurt at the Esplanade; the emergency crews were professional and pleased with the people's safe cooperation, and 'a good time was had by all.' Rick and I didn't discover until the next morning that within all that beautiful lightning and rolling thunder, a dead branch on a tree next to our driveway fell, hitting and denting the front of the roof and smashing the windshield of our Traverse (whom we refer to as 'Abby.' We'd called Rick's  pickup truck, while we still had it, 'Gibbs.' Abby was so named because she reminded us of funeral cars. Gibbs was just a logical choice to follow.)

We didn't see the dent until Rick went out to take photographs of the windshield. When the glass replacement worker came out, he said the insurance company would not like to replace the windshield and then fix the roof, because that would require another windshield replacement. He suggested we get the roof fixed as it would only eventually rust and leak, and so we arranged to have it taken care of by our friend Mark at his local auto repair shop. And, as we'd sold Gibbs last fall, we had to rent a vehicle for the 'week to ten days' period without Abby. We could choose between two: a silver Ford Focus, or a black Chevy Sonic. We took the Chevy, having lived once with a Ford (which is another story for another day.)  The Sonic looks like a miniature Traverse, and seems quite comfortable in the driveway. When I look out the window, it seems as though Abby has shrunk in the rain!

To see more quilts: Terry's Books and Quilts

The week ended well. I spent some time making two quilt tops, finished one with fleece and gingham, posted it at the webstore, and within three minutes it was sold! I had gone back to the site to check that it had posted what I'd just added ... something I've learned it's important to do, to make sure that the post was saved. Much to my surprise, it already said 'out of stock!' I went next to my email, and there was a notification from PayPal that it had indeed been sold to a friend who had bought a quilt earlier this summer at the site, and was watching for another that appealed to her ... I'm happy to know that she caught the posting right away and has another of my creations. Thanks, Jude!

Related articles

• Rain, lightning can't dampen Boston's Fourth of July spirit (bostonherald.com)
• Cops, troopers prepare for Fourth (bostonherald.com)
• 17 Awesome Photos of Boston's Lightning Storm & Fireworks Display [Images] (bostinno.com)
• Boston police commissioner says Esplanade evacuation went smoothly (boston.com)