After weeks of teasing, the monsoon season has finally sent rain to the Valley.

Things kicked off with a microburst Saturday night.  One minute, there was only the muggy afternoon, the next rain was coming down so hard it sounded like hail.  Water splattered first the front windows, then the back as the storm winds switched directions.  Gutters filled faster than they could empty and water brimmed up over the curbs, carrying debris onto the sidewalks.  The storm hit the Burton Barr library so hard, part of the roof came down and brought the sprinkler system with it, flooding the entire building (but not the special collections, thank goodness).

The next morning Dottie and I surveyed the damage on our morning walk.  A few uprooted palo verdes*, downed limbs, puddles in gutters, litter everywhere, but all the houses seemed intact.  Our local radio station did an admirable job getting the word out about Burton Barr, and even more detail is available on the library’s website (If you live in Phoenix and want to volunteer or donate, scroll down to the July 17 update).

That wasn’t the end of it: another storm followed on Sunday (thankfully no more libraries were damaged) and the when I woke up yesterday morning, the ground was still wet from unheard rain in the night.  Another downpour came in the afternoon, much to the entertainment of the cats, who like to watch the raindrops roll down the window.  It looks like we’re in for more rain tonight: the clouds are dark and heavy, the wind has changed directions, and the birds are darting about urgently.  In a moment of over-optimism, I put out a load of laundry to dry and am readying myself to make a mad dash to drag it in.

Until that happens, I am happily stationed on the couch with my knitting, watching the weather roll in.  I fell in love with this eye-popping shade of Shibui Cima–Jumpsuit–on the sale shelf of Salt Lake City’s Blazing Needles last summer, bought the remaining four skeins, and cast on as soon as I got to dinner.  The pattern is Kate Davies’ Fantoosh!, and I am having a grand time knitting it.  The pattern is straightforward enough that there’s no reason for it to be on my needles almost a year later.  My biggest challenge has simply been that the twisted stitches require some attention and light, so the project hasn’t qualified for purse knitting, and consequently has moved along slowly.

After gorging on simple stitch patterns, I rediscovered this project a few weeks ago and remembered all over again how much I love knitting lace.  I just joined the second skein and am on a tear.  I don’t think I can work up the remaining two skeins before this project hits its one year anniversary, but there’s nowhere I need to be for the rest of the night, so I’m just going to sit here and putter away on tiny little stitches to my heart’s content.

*PSA: if you have a desert tree like a palo verde, keep the canopy thinned out and water them judiciously because top-heavy, overwatered trees don’t have to wait for a microburst: will blow over if you look at them funny