Whatever Wednesday - Sick of Frost Whimsy ?

Hey, it's February.  When else can I feature some frosty photos?

A little icy artistic moment. 

Hope your winter is a mere snowy dusting. Hot chocolate. Hearty soup. A dashing sleigh ride, perhaps. 

It's always lovely in the movies. Never those dirty ice clumps hanging on fenders. Never frostbitten fingers attempting to clear a windshield. Never the boredom of gray skies. 

Now sing, "Let It Go". 
 

Whatever Wednesday - More Frosty Whimsy

February 2nd was Groundhog Day and that rodent did not see a shadow in Texas. 

Brrr - supposed  to be last day of our big freeze

Our yaupon holly tree lost a big limb. Alas, ice was just too heavy on the leaves and berries

Haven't seen any birds. Guess they were smart and did head to Cancun for the winter. 

And that's another Whatever Wednesday - Whimsy Frost style. Stay warm as you write
 

Friday - so, here's the Texas weather report

Never in our thirty years at our house has the pool frozen.  Well, there's always a first time. 

This has been a record breaking ordeal.  And after the sweetness of Valentine's Day - a little snow,  comfy pants, good meal, and chocolate - the true test of marriage began as Texas Weather, Polar Vortex temps, and Snowmaggedon descended upon the fair land.   (We declared a rule - no cannibalism)

Rolling power outages started after early Monday 2/15 morning - 2am,  3 am, 6:45 am....and that did not roll. It stopped.  NO POWER and outside temp was  3 degrees.   Yikes.  Inside temp dropped rapidly. We had under counter drawers open, dripping faucets, and Ray rigged a space heater to our large propane grill tanks and brought it all into the house.  He then used a shovel to bust up pool ice. 

Electricity outages were spotty.  My work was fine so we drove the 15 minutes to Omega. Roads were dicey but not much traffic. One tech was there -Zach and I did work. Ray hung out.  We did our best and left around noon.  At home, it was futile - the pool froze again, pump was frozen. It was SO COLD.   We hunkered in one room with blankets and the heater. 

Continued outage.  Read by flashlight, went to bed under a mound of blankets. House temp - 55 or so. 

Tuesday dawned pretty - but bitter cold - 2 degrees. Still no power.  We headed to Omega - I worked. Ray hung.  We could microwave a hot lunch.  Afternoon - got to Ray's folks - they had power. We enjoyed a hot shower and a snooze.  Headed home - wanted to be there over night in case of pipe issues. 

Wednesday - awake and still no power.  House temp at 49 or so.  Back to Omega to warm up, charge up, communicate with the outside world. (Some friends had no power, others no water, it was a mess) After work, tried to find more propane for back up. Ha Ha! Too late for that.  We did go to Chili's nearby - open and warm and functioning - a hot meal was yummy. We feasted.  Home to continue our marriage test.  Still talking. Some laughter. We had alternated some meltdowns, but truly did pretty good. 

 Wednesday night - 11:45 pm - ding....power is on!!!!   Wow.  Heater started cranking.  No obvious water disasters appeared. Hot water working.  It took all night, but Thursday we awoke to our normal house temp. Hot shower felt great. Tasty breakfast in our own home - hooray.  Ray drove me to Omega to work, then came home  to do a deeper check of things. Too soon for the pool - lots more thawing must occur.  He picked me back up and now I'm catching up on blog posts, comments, and real world home stuff. 

We are happy and grateful we do have a house, food, light, etc. 

Texas, the state, failed in its infrastructure, response, etc. Reports from ten years ago showed what should have been done or upgraded to "winterize" wind turbines, natural gas flow, etc.  Nope - no doubt politics and money and greed truly caused this epic fail.  And sadly probably cost people their lives. 

Mother Nature.  Weather.  Climate changes.   Some are weatherwise, some are otherwise - Ben Franklin

Whatever Wednesday - ICE

My week in Philly with Dad was uneventful.  No snow. However, we did have rain and then flash freezing. These are pictures I took from Dad's very ancient, non-insulated windows.

The sun burst through and the wind howled and conditions were not in the polar vortex range.  Whew!

I hope you folks in the Midwest are hunkered down now. I'm sending warm thoughts your way.
Happy  Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday

photos taken by Kevin Faries in Springtown, Texas last week

                                                             
                                                     Paralysis by Joanne Faries

                     rain drips
 confused by temperature variations
 it floods, then takes hold,
oozes into every nook and cranny
muscles control of every pore
tightens its freezing grip
 choking branches and limbs until

                 crack
the once strong limber tree yields in pain

              And crack,
the bones break

Thoughtful Thursday: Ice Flow

 Bedford, Texas - January 8th - 19 degrees F this morning.   Should get up to 38F today
We are not shoveling snow. But this cold blast has given our new backyard waterfall some cool ice formations

 This Yankee girl has been prepared, unlike my guys (age 30s) at work. I've got my pea coat, scarf, mittens, and hat. I have an afghan in my car, just in case. These guys act surprised that it's SO cold. Yes, a majority of the year in Texas it is warm to freakin' hot. But the north wind does blow down from Canada (the politicians haven't managed to build a border fence to stop it), and we have wind chill temps. Brrr.

 I'm not keen on the keening wail of the wind at the office door. Better insulation, please. But, I kinda like the bracing temperatures - the scurry from the car into a warm house.

The water flows and then stops, suspended from rocks in a glistening dream.

Super Snow Bowl

It could be rain, It could be snow, Weathermen never know - Willard Scott/NBC Today Show 11/27/95

The weathermen actually did get it right this week in Dallas-Ft.Worth. Ice on Tuesday, temperatures in the teens Wednesday and Thursday, then snow up to three inches or more accumulation on Friday. Bingo! All plows all the time on any Road to the Super Bowl - Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Our visitors from Pittsburgh and Green Bay must regret packing shorts, sunscreen, and a swimsuit. Hopefully, they brought an ice scraper for their car rental.

Some are weatherwise, some are otherwise - Ben Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac, December 1735.

Nature is always serious - does not jest with us Ralph Waldo Emerson 1883

Nature, as we know her, is no saint - Ralph Waldo Emerson 1844

Day Four. Cabin Fever. To heck with writing poems about the ice, snow, lovely flakes falling so delicately - Joanne Faries

Write the Opposite

Bedford, Texas January 8, 2010. We actually awoke to 13 degrees. By the time we got our act together to take a picture, the temperature was a balmy 16 degrees outside. BRRRR. This is NOT "normal" Texas winter weather.

Our pool is creating its own winter wonderland effect. Blustery winds blew the water around the fountain and on to the bushes creating frozen fingers and our own icy waterfall.

So I sit cocooned at my desk, layered in t-shirt and sweatshirt along with fuzzy slippers and an afghan (thank you Nana Crowther) at the ready. Now do I write a winter tale ... perhaps an icy scene? Or because I am in the land of make believe, shall I head off to a magical island? Harken to a faraway land down under where in January it is summertime and I can enjoy palm trees and a garden in Roroturo, New Zealand.

I'll do both. Perhaps a poem inspired by this frigid weather, and a shorts wearing travel scene. Get out the sunscreen either way.

super sunday scattered thoughts

Four days ago, ice layered our fence outside as I slip-slided about taking pictures. Today, I"m in jeans and a t-shirt, enjoying Super Bowl Sunday on the patio. It's early in the day and I attended a matinee of "The Reader". Actually enjoy is probably not the correct word. Like the book. the film is quite intense, serious, and thought-provoking. Kate Winslet's performance is worthy of an Academy Award. Excellent film. Now I bask in the sunlight, watching birds flitter about and chatter. I should be reading, but nah....sometimes it's okay to let the world cruise along.

Super Bowl Sunday is the epitome of American excellence in sloth, junk food, and sheer waste of time. Ain't it grand! I shall have a magazine in front of me during the game, but even then I can't truly concentrate because the commercials are generally better than the football.

It's been a week full of rejections (6), but I watched Dinara Safina persevere as Serena Williams kicked her butt in Aussie Open tennis. The kid didn't give up, and I won't either. More writing and mailing next week!

G'day

Joanne

Plink on the windowpane

Slate sky

murky cold haze
wind chill
ekes through fibers
coat to sweats to underwear

blasts aching bones
limping feet
hobbled knees
crippled hands

feel the gray
wall of pain

The ice storm began on Tuesday around 6 pm in Bedford. The plink of freezing rain on the pane. An extra shine on the pavement and the exagerated fervor of the weathermen, with maps in white and pinks, heightened the frenzy Ray and I call the Blast of White Death. Indeed, we awoke to a Wednesday world encased in a sheet of ice. No need to shovel. We don't own one.

Instead, Ray trudged out to make the long slow drive (1-1/2 hours) to work, and I limbered up my fingers for a day of writing and editing. Ray arrived at his job safe and sound, and I was comfortable knowing I need not drive anywhere. Donning a sweatshirt over my black long sleeved shirt, I wrapped the afghan around my feet, and typed away.

Now, everything has melted and we'll be up to 60s by the weekend. However, an ice day in Texas brings back the little kid in me who loved the freedom of a snow day.