Photo Wednesday

Photo taken in Rockport, Texas, March 2018

 Link up or visit image-in-ing or Wordless Wednesday for more photos.

Happy Random Tuesday

 Let's link up with Stacy and Sandee for some random happiness.

Although I'm not sure how happy my post will be today. My previous post on Thursday took a while due to having intermittent power and wifi, so that's not today's problem, but there are plenty of others.

But now, we've made it through the horrible ice storm.  We lost power a while, then it would come on, go off, come on, go off. Same with the water.  However, some people still do  not have any power or water.  And many of us were under boil notices for water, and some still are.  I am grateful things are getting back to normal now, though.

I finally get to take my mom to the vascular surgeon and the wound care doctor today.  The ice storm really interfered with that!  Two cancelled appointments. I hope we can get her some relief.

My daughter is dealing with a loss, a profound loss.  See... her best friend Jenny died at age 14 in a freak accident on a 4-wheeler, right about the time her parents were getting back together.  It's been ten years.  A few years later, Jenny's dad passed after a bout with cancer.  And just two days ago, Jenny's mom passed; we don't know how.  She had cancer, but she beat it.  We aren't sure why she passed so suddenly.  I just saw her 3 months a go at my daughter's wedding, and my daughter saw her last month.  The world is missing three beautiful souls.

And me?  Again, nothing too happy going on.  Dealing with a personal issues that may have repercussions on the entire rest of my life.  No big deal... right?  Not to mention that I started a new medication today for my allergies that comes with the possibility of side effects such as ...

Agitation, aggression, or hostility
Attention problems
Nightmares
Depression
Anxiousness
Hallucinations
Memory problems
Sleepwalking
Trouble sleeping
Suicidal thoughts or suicide

Let's just get to the funnies, shall we?

And last, but not least...

Friendship Friday

 I'm linking up with Create With Joy for today's blog hop, Friendship Friday.

I could use a friend right now.  See these beautiful flowers?

They are from Valentine's Day almost a week ago.  I put them in the trash tonight, and no, they weren't all dead.  I'll let you use your imagination if you're wondering why.

My mom is in poor health, and with the icy weather we've had, her appointments keep getting canceled.  It's very frustrating.  She has venous stasis and has developed a venous ulcer on her leg near her ankle.

  She's also at risk for a blood clot.  It's pretty bad!

If you believe in the power of prayer, I would appreciate some.  I'm not feeling very happy right now, so I will keep this short.  Have a great weekend!

Thursday Thirteen

 

Some of you Northerners would say, "Nineteen degrees?  That's not cold!"  But let me explain why Texans don't like or deal well with temps below 40.

1.  We are used to hot weather, particularly in the bottom half of the state.  Anytime it gets below 70, there's a little nip in the air.  And anything below 40?  That's just crazy!

2.  We are not properly prepared with the tools of winter weather:  snow blowers, shovels, ice scrapers.  Not even the fun tools of winter:  sleds, for example.  We don't have them.

3.  We do not know how to drive in ice and snow, not to mention that we don't have the proper vehicles or tires for it.

4. To a Texan, winter clothing is a sweater or hoodie.  We tend not to have much in the way of winter clothing.

Image Credit

5. We are used to picking out our Christmas trees while wearing shorts.  We aren't accustomed to cold.

6.  We are used to warm and humid air which keeps our skin looking nice.  This below-freezing weather we're having now dries out the skin and even causes it to crack in places.

7. We want to complain about our cold weather without hearing  from our Northern friends that it's 30 degrees colder there (wherever "there" may be). 

8.  Meteorologists get our hopes up by saying, "It might snow tomorrow."  It rarely does.  We're more likely to have ice or sleet, which is NO fun.

9. Grocery stores run out of everything quickly during a winter storm here, so unless you're the early bird, you're doing without for at least five days.

10. Freezing temperatures cause the power grid to surge and outages occur. A few minutes of a power outage usually turns into a few days.

Image Credit

11. Freezing temperatures cause pipes to burst which creates a huge headache for the building or home owner (water damage, sheetrock and painting damage).  We aren't prepared for this any better than we're prepared for shoveling snow or scraping off ice.

12. Water treatment plants can't keep up with the higher demand requiring a boil mandate for water.

13. Grocery stores, restaurants, doctor's offices, schools, and retail businesses cannot be open when there is no power or water meaning 1) people can't get necessary supplies, 2) patients can't get treatment, 3)people can't get food, 4) and lives are generally put on hold for a week or so. (source)

Link up with Thursday Thirteen for more fun!

Random and Happy Tuesday

 Time to link up with Stacy Uncorked and Comedy Plus!

We're having a BIG winter storm right now, along with most of the U.S., with record low temps!  As a result, streets are literally sheets of ice, and we can't go anywhere, not that there is anywhere to go. 

So many people are without power.   My mom, my sister, and my daughter have had no power for a day so far, which could last another day, two, or three, and it's 18 degrees outside and dropping!  They don't live close enough that I can help them, and they can't cook, have no heat and no lights.

It hasn't been this cold in February in our part of Texas since 1899 when it was 6 degrees.  The coldest it's ever been was 5 degrees in January of 1930.  Average temperatures for February here range from 52 to 64.  This is unlike anything we're used to!

Well, enough of that for now.

Let's do some funnies.

Bernie has taken over for ET

2020-2021 Travel Guides

I'm thinking 2021 is not much better so far!

I have felt this way pretty much since the pandemic started.

And as a result of my cooking...

HAHAHA!

And last, but not least... 

Have a great week!