RAIN!!!!!

It's a good thing we sleep with our windows open, because there's nothing like waking up in the middle of the night with the sound of rain and thunder roaring in your ears, the smell of petrichor wafting through the room, the feel of a fresh breeze blowing on your skin, and the coolness of raindrops plopping on your face. In the middle of the drought of the century.

YESSSSSS!!!!!!

HOWDY From HELL

It's bad when Satan comes around and has to go back because it is too hot out here. That's what it's been like around here all flaming summer long.

Record hot temperatures. Record number of days over 100 degrees. Record number of consecutive days over 100 degrees. Record hot highs. Record hot lows. And how about this: we have even had the case of our low temperature being higher than the reigning record high temperature on a given date. I don't even know what kind of record to call that?

Oh, and did I mention that, according to our friendly neighborhood weatherman, we are in the middle of a 7-year drought? AAAGGGHHHH!!!!!

Well into September, after day after day of a blazing season, we finally got a cool front! Though when "cool" means "down in the 90's," it doesn't mean much. But, we get what we get, and in this case, we were glad to get it.

We turned off the a/c, we opened the windows, and I even psyched myself up to fire up the oven and cook, for the first time since April. We loved this for almost a whole week! But then Monday came along, and suddenly GOTCHA!! Back over 100 degrees, and a new record: fully one-quarter of this year has been given over to the infernity of 100-degree days.

Are there any records left? I'm afraid to know.

One of my favorite pieces of Texana trivia is the parting speech given by Davy Crockett to his once-constituents after losing his bid for re-election to the Tennessee State House of Representatives: "You all can go to hell, I'm going to Texas."

Well, Davy, after sweating through this steaming, screaming, searing, swearing, simmering, sweltering, sizzling, scorching summer season, I am beginning to wonder if you didn't get the two mixed up...

Worthy Winter

So much for Wispy Western Winters. This wet and wild and windy one has hung on longer and colder than any in recent memory.

Winter Weather isn't just Weather. It is a whole other entity, demanding to be consulted and considered multiple times every day, beginning as soon as I get up.

Actually, it begins before that...Am I even sure I want to get up? Trade in the cozy comfort of my warm bed to do battle with the frigid air waiting right outside the covers? Shiver into a wooly bathrobe to make my way to the bathroom so I can splash icy water onto my sleepy face?

What's the menu today? Forget salad or sandwiches. I better dig out the crockpot and load up some chili or some bean soup or some other warming, comforting thing.

How early do I need to leave to allow for windshield-scraping, road-icing, traffic-jamming, and still get there on time? And WHERE is the ice scraper?!

Will a jacket be enough? Do I need a serious coat? Gloves? What about some layers? And don't forget the scarf!

Outside? Can I take a walk? Maybe I better stay in and chase down the exercise videos. Can I plant my garden? Or do I need to unearth the peat pots and play in the garage?

The nerve. Coming in here to micromanage every minute of my day. But here you are, and what can't be cured must be endured. So, to the third member of our little two-person family ~ Welcome, W/interloper.

BRRR!

Not even three weeks into winter, and It's Snowtime! Winter in this part of the country never really begins until well into January, and then it's basically in name only. Nothing really to write home about. But this year...!!!

• *Snow* on Xmas Eve!!! True, just a slight dusting, but in central Texas snow is snow, and on Xmas morning, there was some still left in the shady places. Almost-White Almost-Xmas. UNHEARD OF!!!
  
• Just a few days later, it happened again! Two snows in less than one week's time! Now, according to M, in New York these would barely qualify as flurries, but in Texas we take what we can get.
• Yesterday, after scraping and de-icing, my Man took off for work one hour later than his usual 5:30 am departure time, only to return in half an hour with this report: "I barely got as far as Walgreen's. My windshield kept icing up, and I had to pull over four times to scrape the ice. So I turned around and came home, and I am going to call in."
• According to the news yesterday: "Anchorage, Alaska; Someplace in Antarctica (I really should take better notes.); and Another Anonymous Place (I really should take better notes!). Q: What do these three places have in common? A: They are all warmer than Austin, Texas today.
• We are going for our third night of record-breaking cold, as in overnight temperatures of 8-10º. Previous record is 15º. In 1913. That is almost a century!
• No frozen pipes for us, thank goodness, unless you count the outside faucet connected to the dog-waterer. But, we did have a friend over for a shower today, due to frozen pipes at his house.
• And it isn't just Texas. From the wastelands of Kansas, D reports that it took three city trucks and a monster tow truck six hours to free the garbage truck from the snowdrift in front of her house.

Somebody call Al Gore! This Global Warming simply has to stop!

Finally! Fabulous! Fall!

Beginning with last May's triple-digit temperatures, we have just lived through one of the longest, hottest, driest summers on record.

Several days ago it began to rain with a vengeance. Flash floods. Washed out roads. Roaring-river streets. Closed schools. Canceled jobs.

Now the rain has stopped, but the clouds linger. We are having one dreary, grey, dark, cloudy day after another ~ my very favorite weather! We haven't seen the sun in about a week now, but I'd say we've had our share, and more, of the sun and summer ~ enough to last the rest of the year if you ask me ~ so it is definitely time for a break.

I've lived in Texas long enough to know it's not going to last. Any day now, I expect the sun will break through for a blazing round of Indian Summer. But for now it is Fabulous Fall. Time to live again!

A(nother) Random Weather Report

Here we go again. Another "cool" day in the hottest summer of the century. This morning is cloudy ~ no promise whatever of rain though (more like an empty threat) ~ and coooool. Well, I suppose it's cool. It feels cool. But it's all relative, isn't it. It could be 98 degrees, and at this point we would find even that cool.

By late morning, we have reached a whopping 86 degrees, with a heat index of 89! But not to worry. There is plenty more where that came from, and long before the end of the day we should be well beyond our usual 100-degree mark.

In the words of our local weatherman, our area averages 21 days of 100 (or higher)-degree days in a year, so, going as we are, into our 23rd day of 100+ temperatures in a summer that is less than 23 days old, those days are behind us, and we are well due for some Hope and Change in the weather department. In fact, according to the non-prophets of The Weather Channel, this weekend will have "an almost fall-like feel," and the highs in August will fluctuate between 92 and 95. It's hard to place any confidence in their predictions, but...I want to believe them!

Well, regardless, in the meantime, it's a welcome relief for the chimney sweep, who has curtailed his $-making activities to early morning and late evening hours until further notice.

This perfectly pleasant morning doesn't fool me, though. It may masquerade as spring, or fall, but I know that it's really only the mask of a hotter-than-Phoenix summer in disguise.

And The Heat Goes On...

107 today, the 11th day of 100+ temps. Since we "average" 21 days a year of 100-degree days, I'm hoping that this means we are getting them all out of the way right up front, but I'm not holding my breath on that one.

Good news for the weekend, though: Temperatures are going down. Should be no more than 101 by Sunday.

This is getting boring, isn't it.

Summermore!

I learned a few things today:

• The last time it came close to this hot was on this date in 1943, when the record-breaking temperature of the day was 104. Today it was 106 degrees, a new tongue-hanging-out record. A dubious distinction indeed.
• According to the local weatherman, in this neck of the woods we have, on average, 21 days of 100-degree temperatures. In a whole year. So far this year we have had nine such days already. And summer is only four days old... AGH! This can't be good.

So far, this is shaping up to be A Summer To Remember, a summer on steroids. All I know is it's a darn good thing I have decided not to care about the summer heat anymore.

A Juneuary Day, Sausage and Vegetable Linguini, and Good Cookies

I love those few-and-far-between stay-at-home days. They are oh-so-rare in the busy running of a life with no margin...!

We have been in winter's icy hand the last week or so...well, the Texas version, anyway...but today it took a break and we had a perfect spring day. June in January. It was a bit windy, no big deal for this Azore-raised girl, and a generally lovely day, even if one's tastes run to autumn.

D is here, along with the little girls, which always makes the most mundane the most exciting, as in "By myself it I would manage to get this done in 30 minutes, but with your help I can do it in three hours!" Cooking for instance. We did a lot of it today, crockpots, stovetop, and oven, all of which kept the kitchen nice and warm. A little too warm at times for this Juneuary day.
~~~~~~~
For lunch we had one of our all-time favorites, Sausage and Vegetable Linguini:

l lb. sausage, sliced
5 bell peppers, cut into strips
1 3-oz can of black olives, sliced
1 small bag of frozen peas
4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 8-oz pkg linguini
1 c. Italian salad dressing
pinch of garlic
pinch of oregano

Cook pasta in one pot. In another pan saute sausage and veggies. Mix everything together. Serve hot or cold.

That's how the recipe reads. As usual, we change whatever we want. Fewer bell peppers, leave out the peas, more olives, spaghetti instead of linguini (are they really any different?!), whatever looks right that day.

Plain and simple, and GOOD! Eat it now, eat it later, hot, cold, part of a meal, or all by itself...YUM-YES!!!
~~~~~
And a recipe from my sorely missed bff Jo, Good Cookies:

2 chocolate cake mixes
1 brownie mix
3 eggs
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c. water
lots of options: chocolate chips, peppermint chips, crushed peppermint candy...

Mix everything together. This will be STIFF! You may want to get the he-man in your life to stir it up for you. Drop on the cookie sheet and bake at 350 till done (you're on your own for how long). You can refrigerate or freeze some of the dough for later, or, if you are cooking for the Army, as we were today, go ahead and cook the whole thing.

This isn't exactly a healthy recipe, but it makes a TON, and they are tasty, if you don't eat too many. You will have enough to pack up a box for the cadets at West Point, take to the neighbors, share with a friend, and still have some left for the little girls to smear all over their faces (and possibly other places). Nothing shabby about that!

A Whiff of Winter

Well, at least what passes for winter in Texas.

This morning was our second day in a row to wake up to cold, clammy air and rainy, grey drizzle alternating with rainy, grey rain, and thin, cold sunshine sparkling through the ice-clad branches of the trees. Even the dumpsters sported rows of icicles, and car mirrors and windshields were spread with sheets of lacy ice. Whatever it may feel like, new ice (and new snow when you can get it) makes everything beautiful...lovely and appealing, but, alas, treacherous. Hmmmm.... sorta like sin, come to think of it.

But, unlike sin, winter doesn't stick around for long. At least not in this part of the world. We may have had one full day of winter yesterday~according to Rusty, the 30-something high yesterday occurred at 3am~and this morning may have called for hats and gloves, but this afternoon hats are dismissed and jackets are abandoned. The wild wind may not have quite succeeded in blowing us off the road, but it thoroughly swept every wisp of cloud from the overcast sky leaving only blue behind. Not the rich blue blue of autumn or the bright promising blue of spring, but still, clear watery blue.

M, up in the wilds of New York, laughs when we say *cold.* Well, what might you expect from someone who is watching new snow falling on a Hudson River half frozen over. Now that's Winter. What we have here is just an imitation. A Windy Wisp of Winter.

Raccoon Rodeo

Friday morning, creeping around in the dark so as not to wake the Princess or the Gingerbread Cookie, I heard the eeriest, creepiest growling and hissing outside the dining room window. Normally, as soon as my foot falls into the room, Chudleigh is exuberantly greeting me at the window; one of these days he is going to break through it and find himself right here amongst us having breakfast, but today he didn't even show up. That in itself was strange, and coupled with the growling and hissing, it really called my attention.

I went over to the window, and there was Chudleigh, running circles around a...a...a...what was that out there in the dark?! Chudleigh was bowing, face close to the ground, butt sticking way up, and tail wagging to beat the band, as our 102-year-old Granny would have said. He was bouncing and prancing, sometimes daringly closing in for a better swipe and always jumping quickly back out of the danger zone, obviously wanting to play. But the growling...well, I have never heard anything quite like it, and it seemed a pretty clear indication that whatever it was out there didn't share his enthusiasm.

It took a few minutes before I was able to discern that it was a raccoon. Interesting! But I was in a hurry to be out of the house early that morning, and the whole scene was beginning to cause me some irritation, even while it fascinated me. It took another few minutes to realize that the raccoon was wounded. Now what? I could have left Chudleigh to his own, I suppose, but I feared for his safety, even though he clearly did not. What to do...? Well, as is so often the case... I decided to call on my Man. I easily managed to rouse him out of his sound sleep, however, I did not manage to win his interest. The Great Possum Hunter heard me out and then turned over and went back to sleep. Uh-oh.

It then occurred to me that we have an animal control officer in this town, though I was doubtful of getting in touch with him at this early hour, so I decided to call the police. Once I had a plan, I began to put it into action. Or tried to, but right away I hit a snag. I didn't really want to call 911 as we did not have a real emergency here. Yet. So that meant calling the non-emergency number. So far so good, except that, even though we have three current phone books around here, I could find only one...the one with the non/emergency numbers page ripped out. Well, the best laid plans...and I was back at Square One, only now in a bigger hurry. And then I vaguely remembered ~ The last time I called the police on non-emergency business, the phone number was the same as our street address back in the far-away days of Hermitage. Go figure. But sure enough, almost immediately I had the friendly local police dispatcher on the line.

It was, as I feared, too early for animal control, but she promised to send over an officer. I had to leave before long (Actually, I should have left long before.), but by this time, the Great Possum Hunter was up and dressed and outside with his flashlight checking things out, so I left the situation in his capable hands.

He told me when I got home later that morning, that the officer had asked to see the raccoon, but when he saw that there was a dog to be "controlled" along with a possibly mad raccoon, well...sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. He got back in his car and called animal control out of their warm beds, and Chudleigh found himself shut up in the garage in the meanwhile.

I was gone when the animal control guy came, so I missed the whole thing. I missed the animal guy parrying with and poking at the raccoon. Its back legs may have been paralyzed, but it did not have any trouble whipping itself around to face, and threaten, its tormentor. I missed the wrestling match, ending with the noose around the raccoon's neck. I missed the raccoon's deportation, with Chudleigh frantically trying to scratch through the garage door.

In the two days since the raccoon's banishment, Chudleigh has been behaving very strangely, barking and pawing at the places where the raccoon had rested before being hauled off, so in a weird sort of way, the Raccoon Rodeo lives on...

On a totally unrelated note...This morning as I was getting out of my car at the post office, I noticed a man with a splint on his nose going in. Later, as I related the incident to D, she began to laugh and said, "I just came from Walgreen's, and there was a man with a splint on his nose in there." After we finally stopped laughing, we both said, "Don't you think it's the same guy?!" Has to be. We have never seen anyone with a splint on the nose that we can remember, and how many can there be in a small little town like this?

Like we said.... It rains it pours...

See You in September!

August is breathing its very last. The hottest, awful-lest part of the year is past, and the very best is at hand.

September! September has everything to recommend it. It's the month of my birthday, so there is that. But even better: it's the month that begins FALL! My hands-down, no-contest, totally favorite time of the year, fall is as good as it ever gets. Nothing else even comes close. Well, Heaven maybe, but still.

I love the crisp snap in the air, the blue, blue sky, the smell of wood smoke, crinkly leaves crackling underfoot, the colors of the leaves. Even in Texas. But fall isn't only a feast for the physical senses. It is a gala for the emotions.

Fall makes me homesick for someplace I have never been. It is the time of harvest and plenty. The intense work of the year is finished, and now it's time to slow down and savor. Fall is the time to gather in and reflect and take stock. It is the hint and the promise of home-centered life to come, when the world takes a break . . . or so it was before we determined to change the order of nature with our techno-superiority. Aaaahh....to live by the seasons....

There is still plenty of summer to come in this part of the world, and I wouldn't even mention it, except, well...I am as always, ecstatic that the calendar of summer is joining history. Its days are numbered, even in Texas, and it will eventually have to cede to the better season...

Autumn...absolutely worth living for.

Something to Keep in Mind

Soooo...Saturday morning on my way back from the farmers' market, I decided to stop and fill up at the gas station next to the MoreMart. I wasn't running on fumes yet, but the gas was, well, not so cheap. Not even cheap-ish. But generally less spendy than the other places.

Now, my brother has a rule: Never lock your car door unless you have your keys in your hand. Not in your pocket, not in your purse, but in your hand, right in front of your eyes. Leave nothing to chance. It's a good rule, and I generally live by it in addition to my own gas station rules: Keep your keys in your hand until you are well out and clear of the car, roll down your window, and of course, DON'T lock the door!!!

I pulled up next to the pump, ran through the check list, stepped out of the car, and slammed the door. And before it even hit... I knew...!!! I reached out and tried the door handle, and...sure enough. LOCKED!!! with my keys dangling in the ignition.

Gas station? Who locks their car at the gas station?! Ummmm...ever since we lived in Houston a *few* years ago, locking my car is like my religion...so deeply ingrained, I don't even think about it. I just do it.

Well, we carry Roadside Assistance on our car insurance, and all I had to do was call them for a *free* rescue. Except that along with my keys, my cell phone was safely tucked into my purse which was sitting pretty right there on the floorboard.

Now what? This is just too hard. I can ask the girl in the bullet-proof cage if I could use her phone. But whom would I call? The rescue phone number is safely hidden in the car. I could call my Man, but he won't be out of work for another 30 minutes, and he is 30 miles away. And I don't know anybody in this town! WAAAAAHHH!!! Oh, well. My arm isn't long enough to reach the phone through that little slot, anyway. That sorta leaves me back at Square One, doesn't it.

Oh, and did I mention I have two sets of people waiting for me, and no way for me to contact them?

I approached the glass cage. There was one customer standing there ahead of me, and she and the captive inside were carrying on an animated (and lengthy) conversation. Kids, exes, school, vacations, you name it. Oh well. I had time to wait, and it gave me a chance to sorta rehearse what I might say to try to minimize the indignity of the situation. In the final analysis though, as everyone says, honesty is the best policy, so I decided to man up and be honest. Besides, I could not think of one possible/plausible person to blame it on. Other than me, that is...

Well, let me tell you, that girl in the cage was all business. I barely got the words out before she went into action. "Honey, this happens ALL the time! Well, mostly over there at MoreMart, but here, too. Let me call the police department for you. They will send an officer over here and open it for you for free. They do this every day." She knew exactly what she was talking about. The number was either on speed dial, or etched into her brain, because she had them on the phone in no time flat. "We have an idiot locked out of her car over here at the MoreMart gas station. Red Cavalier." "Honey, what year is it?" "2001. Right here at pump #6." And then she hung up and said, "They'll be here as soon as an officer is available. Don't worry. They know all about this kind of thing."

My credit card was the only thing that had escaped the lockdown, so I went ahead and filled up my car while I waited. It only took a few minutes, and then...well...nothing like feeling stupid. No place to sit, no one to talk to, no phone, no book; so I tried to think of all the things I could be thankful for while I stood around like a streetwalker: I'm in the shade, there's a nice breeze, what a nice clerk at this gas station, what a lucky break that the cops were on the way.

I'm sure it probably didn't take as long as it felt like. I mean, this is small-town Saturday morning. The cops are probably glad to have something to do. And soon enough, only minutes, really, a Sheriff's car came along. And kept right on going. What's up with that?! Then a police SUV drove up. Didn't want to get my hopes up this time, but YES!!! He pulled in right behind me. The driver got out and came over to me, clipboard and pen in hand. Oh, no! He wants a record of this! Well, I'm not really in a position to refuse, am I, so I answer the questions: Name? Physical address? Date of birth? Driver's license # (oh, sure...If I knew that, my brain would be in a lot better working order than this, wouldn't it?)? Height? Uh oh...what's next?! If he asks me my weight I'm gonna ask him his... ACK!

The second officer was still digging around in the back of the SUV, so my guy took off in that direction. He was back in about one second, with a doorstop in one hand and a long, bendy, heavy pink wire in the other. I don't know what this guy did for a living before he became a cop, but he knew his business! Wedged that doorstop in the door, jiggled that wire around, and voila'! I'm in!!! I got my purse and looked up my driver's license for him, and that was that. I hopped in my car, they hopped back in theirs, and...We're off!

Something to keep in mind...If you're going to lock yourself out of your car, make sure you do it in Lampasas, Texas.

Summertime!

All around I see/hear all manner of people celebrating all manner of summer joys and summer fun. But summer is my hands-down, no-contest, very least favorite time of the year. Is that because I live in Texas? I'm not sure, but, whatever it is, I just don't get it.

This:

My favorite things about summer:
1. summer storms;
2. sleeping with the windows open;
3. waking up to rain on my face and the smell of petrichor;
4. mowing the grass (very early morning and very late evening);
5. early mornings before the sun warms up (before 8 a.m.);
6. farmers' markets;
7. fresh food from the garden;
8. a walk in the early morning (see #5);
9. kidlets' birthdays;
10. ?????

was mega brain-taxing!

While this:

My least favorite things:
1. heat;
2. humidity;
3. sweat running down inside my clothes;
4. sweat, period;
5. higher electric bills;
6. a hot kitchen;
7. mosquitoes;
8. a breath-takingly hot car;
9. daylight "saving" time;
10. the sun staying up past bedtime;

was a no-brainer.

Must be something about the...duh...HEAT!

Cool Front

YES!!! Yesterday evening a cool front came through and lowered the temperature 10 whole degrees...all the way down to 90! And now I hear from our faithful weatherman Rusty that we can expect cooler temperatures by the weekend: High temperatures down in the mid-90's... And just think, only three more days until summer. Now that's something to look forward to!

We're Not In Kansas Anymore

Welcome home, D and the Princess and the Gingerbread Cookie! I bet it's a c-o-l-d day in the Promised Land before Kansas sees the likes of you again!

(Non)Summer

Here it is, the 3rd day of June, and the not-yet summer has long worn out its welcome. I wish the seasons would respect the calendar, but noooooooooo...It's already in the record-breaking 90's, with humidity to match. I have always aspired to live by the calendar instead of the clock, but with calendars like these, who needs clocks?

Sooo...Why do I live in Texas again? Oh, yeah, I remember... because, to quote my darling daughter, "Texas is the place to be."

A Two-Shower Day

It may only be "slingtime" on the calendar, as the Blue-Eyed Boy would say, but deep in the heart of Texas it is already hotter than Phoenix. The day was full of car washing, yard mowing, fence building, garden hoeing, prompting the second shower of the day.

One of the glitches I have observed over the years of growing Empty-Nested-ness is that life continues. I once had delusions that when there were no more children to take care of, there would be little to no work to be done. Wrong assumption. What has happened instead is that the daily care keeps on.

Out of the mouths of babes as C once observed, "Mom, life is just one big maintenance job." The only things that have noticeably declined are laundry and kitchen work, neither of which has ever been a problem for me. Those two chores do themselves. But, oh, the others...! Dust still accumulates, grass still grows, paperwork still multiplies, spiders still spin their webs, errands still must be done in vehicles that still need every manner of attention.

Dailiness goes on...only now there is no one to delegate to...