Elisa's alarm is going off for the second time. It's a snippet of song, pretty and mystic-sounding. The sky is light over the trees, but it is still too d ark to see anything. It's 7. I have been reading e-mail for about half an hour, in my bathrobe. Everyone else is asleep. In Adairsville, an hour or two from here, some people are waking up with no homes, or they haven't slept at all. That's where a tornado killed one person and overturned 100 cars. I am so grateful and thinking of the people suffering.

We knew the weather was supposed to be bad. In fact, I took an umbrella to class--and left it there. A good, big umbrella--what are the odds it will be there tomorrow?

Molli and Ray walked. I managed to walk Elisa a little ways. Molli took herself to work in the truck and Ray and I got going in time for him to park at his office. I got a little reading done at Dawson before my class--about "hard-to-house" people and the evolution of public housing. They are tearing it down and building mixed-income neighborhoods instead. This is a good thing--except for these "hard-to-house" people--with disabililties, mental health and criminal histories, and even large families. Geraldine Clarke spoke to our class. Of the 1200+ families in public housing in Athens, less than 35 are "on welfare." Half are working, some are recieving disability payments or social security. Mosr are female-headed with children, of course.

I drove to the Council on Aging and worked hard all day, working on the Access database and the files. About 3, we started hearing about tornadoes and looking at the weather on the computer. Elisa's horseback riding was cancelled and Kate said I could leave any time. I called Ray and he picked me up. We got Elisa and went home. Molli was already there. She had finished her training and passed the qualifying test. Today, she starts work, scoring essays written by eighth-graders. She will find out how many she can grade in an hour, which will determine how much she makes.

We watched the television and the sky. I gave the chickens some feed. Molli made the carrot casserole and I started on a bean dish for tonight. I filled a pitcher of water and set it by the cellar stairs, along with my iPad and knitting. Elisa did her homework at the kitchen counter. She said it was "exciting." There were lots of heavy clouds and rain, but nothing unusual--no green sky or odd-looking clouds.

By 5:30, the red line on the map had gone by us and we were no longer in danger of tornadoes, they said. We got ready and went to UUFA for diinner and choir. We are singing "the Awakening" this Sunday and Molli and I really like it.

Went to bed before 10 and slept soundly until 6:30!