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Tornado Season

Friday, May 30th, 2008 by Alyice

Last night we had our first official tornado warning for our hometown and we weren’t happy but then again who is ever really happy when a tornado comes roaring through their hometown?

Usually the tornados in our state don’t get this close and it’s one of the reasons I like living here, but last night was a different story. We’ve had severe thunderstorm warnings, on and off, for the past few weeks then last night a severe thunderstorm began making its way towards us. The news had been reporting tornado warnings on and off all night, but nothing near us.

Then we saw our city name flash across the television screen and heard the word: Tornado. We were in disbelief. We’ve never experienced a tornado before and didn’t want to experience one now. But no sooner did we see our city name flash on the screen did we hear it: the warning siren.

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It was time to make our way to the basement. We grabbed our shoes, closed the doors to each room (don’t even know why I did that), grabbed our caged animal friends, and walked down to the basement where we commenced to turn on the radio and await the news that the tornado had passed. There was only one problem, we didn’t have any batteries in the radio so as my husband and I made our way back upstairs I stopped to look outside the kitchen window and pray.

The winds grew so strong that the trees no longer appeared to be dancing in the wind but moving about with anger and rage, the sky grew darker, the seconds between each sound of thunder and the actual lighting grew closer together, we felt the rumbles in the ground, and the house began to shake. For the first time in my life I was afraid that a tornado would touch down on our home, in our city.

I thought about my prayer and realized I wasn’t praying with all my heart, I had allowed the surrealism of the moment to take hold. So I stopped praying. Looked outside the kitchen window again and prayed again. I prayed that the tornado would not harm us. I prayed for protection of my family by naming each member one by one. I prayed for our home, and I prayed that the tornado would dissipate.

Then I made my way back downstairs where I heard my husband say, “this is going to be a long night” and my son say, “it’s going to be a boring night—we don’t even have a television down here to pass the time.” I glanced over at my daughter and smiled as she sat Indian style on the floor, blanket surrounding her, and earplugs in her ears. She was watching a movie on her iPod and oblivious to what was taking place around her.

Fifteen minutes later we were notified that it was okay to leave the basement. A half hour later my daughter received a phone call from her friend: “Are you okay? Were you scared? If we make it through this night alive do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

Until next time…

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The Book Shop

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 by Alyice

Here in the Edrich household we hate to see our hard-earned dollars go to waste so in the past, when we grew tired of a book or video we purchased we passed them on to family members and friends. Then when we moved away from our family and friends, we began donating our used books and videos to local libraries and thrift stores but this weekend we discovered a neat little used bookstore in the heart of downtown Sioux Falls and now we have a new philosophy: resell the used books first, then what doesn’t get sold can be donated.

It’s actually a great idea considering we’ve had to cut back on our new and used book (and video) buying thanks to the higher cost of living due to outrageous gasoline prices.

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The Book Shop has a new owner. She’s pretty reserved as far as personality; especially when it comes to greeting, meeting, and mingling with her customers so don’t expect Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) in “Youy’ve Got Mail” to come greeting you at the door or the cash register. But she’s nice enough.

The process of turning in your used books is rather simple, too. You arrive at the shop with your bag or box of used books. You meet the owner at the counter where she informs you that it will take awhile to look up the books, decide if she can use the books, catalog the books, and print you out a receipt so you can either browse the bookstore or do a little shopping downtown.

You’ll then be asked to fill out a little ticket with your address and phone number, along with how you’d like to be paid: cash or credit. And that’s where you really need to know what you want because once you make a decision you cannot go back (even within 10 minutes of receiving your receipt) and ask her to change your payment method.

If you opt for credit, you’ll receive 50 percent of the store price so if she decides to resell your book for $7 you will receive $3 store credit. But there is a catch: when you decide to buy a book from the bookstore you cannot use the full credit to buy the book. You must split the difference 50/50. In other words, 50 percent of your purchase can use the store credit but the other 50 percent must be paid for in cash. (Credit cards and checks are also accepted.)

If you opt for the cash, you’ll receive 25 percent of the store price so if the book resells for $7, you’ll receive $1.50. Not a bad deal at all! Especially considering you can spend all day hosting a garage sale only to walk away with peanuts for the same book and lots of wasted time.

The store credit is good for an entire year so if you don’t see something you want when you turn in your books, you can always return later in the month or the year to use your store credit.

Oh, and one more thing, the owner says she prefers books that are in “like new” condition.

My daughter and I arrived at her shop with about 15 books ranging from youth novels to photography to decorating and left with four books which the local library gladly accepted. An hour after arriving in the bookstore, we left with $34.95 in store credit. We opted for the credit because my daughter wanted to do a little book shopping during the summer. All in all, not a bad return for an hour’s worth of our time.

If you’ve been contemplating getting rid of some of your used books check out the The Book Shop, I highly recommend it—just make sure you know whether you want cash or credit before you turn in your little slip then drive to 223 South Phillips Avenue, Sioux Falls, South Dakota or call 605-336-8384.

Until next time…

Disclosure: This is “my opinion” of this establishment. I was not paid to give a positive review.

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Indiana Jones Comes To South Dakota

Thursday, May 15th, 2008 by Alyice

In just a few short days Indiana Jones: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be making its way to South Dakota movie theatres and my family couldn’t be more pleased. In fact, this weekend was spent gearing up for the big event by hosting our very own Indy marathon.

My husband is a huge fan of the original series and the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. In fact, every trip to Disneyland—when we lived on the west coast—concluded with a visit to the Indiana Jones Outpost and an Indiana Jones Adventure ride so it was no surprise that my daughter would finally catch the Indy bug.

There’s just one problem with having a marathon with so much adventure, it causes a thirst for adventure that is somewhat unrealistic and that was the case with my 13-year-old daughter. After the Indy marathon ended, she wanted a “real Indiana Jones adventure” of her own and wondered what it would be like to be an archeologist and treasure hunter today.

So while she was at school, my husband set out to give her a little taste of the adventure using our basement and a few props left over from Halloween. First he wrote up a note that read,

Dear Professor,

At long last we’ve found the staff of Ra hidden in the lower levels of the old Raven Loft Mansion located in the heart of New Orleans, USA. But we need your help. Please go the mansion, locate the staff and return it with the Rubies of Macombway.

You will need the staff to help you on your latest treasure hunt. After locating the staff you must locate the talking statue which holds the key to the second treasure. We believe the talking treasure is hidden in a bat cave just outside of New Olreans, near Main Street. Furthermore, we believe the treasure belongs to King Macombway and thanks to notes you’ve found referencing the blood stones we believe they are the long lost Rubies of Macombway.

You have only 2 days to locate the rubies before your arch enemies are on your tail.

Sincerely,

Triple X

Then he planted a few clues around the house to help lead her to the basement where he set up a booby trap. To make the adventure even more real, he required her to use a rope to harness herself down into the basement versus simply walking down the stairs. The lights were also forbidden so she had to use a flashlight. And to make it even more difficult to see, he turned on the fog machine.

Once in the basement she had to locate the Staff of Ra and find her final clue—a clue that would lead her to the Rubies of Macombway. Of course finding that final clue wouldn’t be met without opposition. She’d have to travel through the dense fog to find the secret door. Upon opening the door, she’d had to fight off cobwebs, a talking head and an attacking bat. Then it was back upstairs to locate the rubies and end the adventure.

Did she feel a little ridiculous playing make-believe with her father at the age of thirteen? A little. But being such a good-natured child, she took it all in stride and had fun! In fact, this little adventure had us wondering, “What other adventures await us?”

Until next time…

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AlyiceEdrich.com
I'm a freelance writer, mixed media artist, SMVA, and the owner of The Dabbling Mum.

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