Where to find inexpensive umbrellas

Using my hat to protect me from the rain

It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man may be snoring, but I’m not! Last night I was awake in the middle of the night and then was overtaken with low-level anxiety. I tried my best to think about pretty things (roses, teacups, crystal vase) or God instead of to-do lists, worries about things I can not change, and being hyperalert to sounds in the house. I remembered an NPR Fresh Air interview with Terri Gross and performer Jay-Z (Beyonce’s husband). Terri questioned him about his insomnia. He said he didn’t like talking about it because that would give it more energy. I thought about how awful it would be to have insomnia and then wondered if this was the beginning of that condition for me! Many minutes went by.

Anxiety was winning out

Those pretty, loving thoughts were on a slippery slope made all the more slippery because it was raining hard last night. The anxiety side was winning out. I remembered another Terri Gross interview; this one was with a sleep specialist. He said if you wake up in the night, read for ten minutes and you’ll get sleepy again. I turned the light on, hunted down my reading glasses and the book The Paris Seamstress by Natasha Lester. Russ gave it to me at Christmas; this was as good a time as any to start reading it.

I think it worked. I started yawning and turned the lights out again. It wasn’t instant, but I did fall back to sleep.

I was so happy when the morning came. That to-do list seemed manageable, the worry over things I had no control over was hushed. I got dressed (my happy place) and headed to Marin to see our client. But before that, I had one short appointment. I was taking the elevator down in a three-story office building, and a gentleman jumped in with his umbrella and joined me.

Mr. Umbrella Man with a great shopping tip

I looked at his umbrella with envy. “I think I better get an umbrella,” I said. “They’re talking about continued downpours, and I don’t have any right now.”

“I’ve got an umbrella tip for you,” he said. “Go to a sports store and ask to see the golf umbrellas. That’s what I have, a golf umbrella. They’re cheap—like twelve bucks. You can get different colors, but I’m a photographer and this doubles as a reflector for me when I’m shooting outdoors. They come in other colors like red, blue, or yellow but those colors will put a cast on the face if you’re taking pictures.”

He opened it up once we were outside so I could see it…plus, it was raining.

Little did he know he was talking to an Instagram person and all of you! I couldn’t wait to share this tip.

I wished I had time to swing by Big 5 Sporting Goods to pick one, two, or three of them up before getting to my client. But alas, my hat would have to keep me dryish until then.

Playing with clothes is the most fun

Playing with clothes on a rainy day

We had a great time with our client who looked out the window every once in a while to see if her house was going to flood.

Yes, folks, it’s raining that hard!

When we finished at 4 p.m. she said, “Is it okay if I just put my pajamas on?”

I said, “Pajamas at 4 p.m. on a rainy day sounds perfect to me!”

The Paris Seamstress

Praying for no floods

I got on the freeway to head home and hoped there wouldn’t be any flooded roads. There weren’t. In fact, all the hype about this fierce storm seemed to keep people off the roads. While driving, I played a game with myself, thinking about songs that had “rain” in them. Oh boy, there are some good ones!

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites from our musical past.

‘Have You Ever Seen the Rain?’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Eurythmics—’Here Comes the Rain Again’

The Weather Girls—’It’s Raining Men’

Prince—’Purple Rain’

Remember this one? ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’ by BJ Thomas

Ray Charles—’Come Rain or Come Shine’

Bob Dylan—’A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall’

The Carpenters—’Rainy Days and Mondays’

So here are a couple of questions for you. How do you keep from losing umbrellas? Where do you store your umbrellas? Where do you buy umbrellas? And most importantly, which one of these songs are you singing right now?

XO