Back to our regularly scheduled programming

I'm beyond happy that our freak winter storm is history and we're back to our more seasonal temps versus the meat locker we experienced last week. We had a second big snowfall that lasted most of Thursday, coating everything in the pretty white stuff. But by then nobody was appreciating it because pipes were frozen, the electricity was off and it was just miserable for lots of folks. We lived in layers of clothes all last week, usually topped with a warm and fuzzy robe.

We hit the road to the lake house on Saturday to see how it fared in the frigid weather. As we drove further north into the Texas hill country, we saw unmelted patches of snow as well as several smashed up autos that undoubtedly took a ride on the icy roadway and went boom. Plus a moving truck that had jackknifed and was laying on its side just off the shoulder. I hope the drivers weren't hurt! A lot of Texans don't know how to drive in the rain, let alone snow and ice.

As we crossed the Pedernales River bridge just north of Johnson City, I realized the water's surface was solidly frozen right before the dam.

Sure enough, there was still ice floating atop the pool at our lake house in the shallow end. Thankfully, we had left our pool pump on the ice emergency setting to keep the waterfalls flowing to circulate water the entire time it was below freezing up there. 

Alas, we didn't turn the water to our lake house back on at the street because we figured the line to the meter might still be partially frozen. So we'll have to make the trek back up there next weekend to get the water going and check for leaks in our pipes. I've decided not to crank up our sprinkler system until we're solidly past the chance of any more freezes. Now I'm just giving my landscaping at both houses a bit of time to see what recovers, and what will need to be replaced. The plumbers and garden centers will be booming businesses in the next month as folks recover from this rare arctic plunge.

Hibernating 2.21

Hard to believe it's only our third day with snow on the ground, because I'd swear we've been trapped in this house for a solid month. Thankfully, we've had water and electricity the entire time. Lots of folks here in Texas haven't been so lucky. Between rolling blackouts and frozen or burst water pipes, we're truly counting our blessings in this rare winter storm. This is the third incidence in the past several years when we've witnessed panic shopping... hurricanes, pandemic and arctic blast. Yet again, my OCD plan ahead tendencies served me well since I heeded the storm warnings and stocked the pantry late last week so we'd have plenty of fixin's for meals to tide us over into warmer temps. You won't see me filmed for the 6 o'clock news in line at our local grocery store waiting in the cold for hours to get in the door. Or wrestling some woman for a pound of ground round in the meat market.

I've been cooking stuff like soup, chili and casseroles. I'm also whipping up things like chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies from scratch, as if we're a bunch of lumberjacks burning thousands of calories every day instead of working from home in front of a laptop or sitting around reading a book.

 

 

Meanwhile, the dogs have seemed to enjoy the addition of snow to their fenced backyard. They snuffle and romp in the fun fluffy stuff, then come back in for a session with the blowdryer to get warmed up. A Christmas sweater was wrestled onto a very uncooperative chorkie, who then spent a lot of energy trying to get it off. Which was highly entertaining, at least to the humans.

Alas, I'm wondering if my fountain will survive the polar plunge we've taken this week. I'm sure we'll have to replace the pump. I'm just hoping the fountain itself hasn't cracked in this extreme cold.

In the lane, snow is glistening

Toronto or Texas? Seriously, I was unsure where I woke up this morning. It was a snow-blanketed winter wonderland outside our bedroom window.

It all started yesterday with the crazy low temps that ushered in sleet and then snow by late evening, and just kept a comin'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was definitely one for the record books. And we may get another dose of it later this week, though not as severe. I don't know that our older dog Ollie remembers his experiences with snow in England. However, the lack of familiarity with the white fluffy stuff didn't deter either he or Pepper this morning when they made their first foray from the garage into the backyard. They were both lowriders with the accumulation we had, their underbellies dragged through it so that they tended to bound around as they hunted for a place to potty.

Praise God, our electricity only flickered off for a couple minutes last night. But then it came back on about the time we located our flashlights and lit a few candles. So we've been blessed. Our only snafu here is that we have those tankless hot water heaters. The one in the garage that serves the master bedroom wing, family and utility rooms is located in our garage, so it's fine. However, the one mounted on the outside of the house that provides water to the kitchen and other two bathrooms is frozen. So there's only a slow trickle in those places. That means I'm just washing dishes in the deep laundry room sink until our temps rebound in a few days. 

 

Deep Freeze 2021

Brrr, y'all - it is crazy cold in Texas right now. Yes indeed, even here in the land of cactus, they're sporting icicles.

The husband and I made a quick trip north to the lake house yesterday afternoon to try and do a bit of prepping in advance of our arctic plunge this weekend. You know, the usual... wrapping outdoor hose bibs in insulation, turning off the water to the house, activating the HVAC and pool system emergency freezing overrides, etc. We had been dry here at our main house as the temps plummeted, but they had already received some drizzly precip up towards the lake that froze in the upper 20s air temps and was stuck to lots of surfaces. Some of it was rather stark and pretty. The ice on our red tile roof struck me as beautifully geometric. Slipping and sliding a bit on the roads when driving home was a bit nerve wracking this morning. Then spying the poor truck that appeared to have skidded off the road, hit an embankment and flipped was a scary reminder that even a little ice can be a dangerous thing.

 

 

 

 

As you can see in several pics, much of our landscaping resembles plantsicles since parts of them are completely encased in ice. The electricity toggled off once for about five seconds this morning, right before we were about to depart for home. I'm praying the precip they've forecast for Sunday evening into Monday morning will fall as snow instead of ice. The flora and power lines around here aren't maintained with an eye towards dealing with ice, and the last thing anybody needs in such dangerously cold temperatures is for the electricity to get cut and remain off for any length of time.

 

 

 

 

I hope most of our landscaping survives this severe cold snap. As you can see in the lake's weather forecast below, it will be frigidly cold for several days. I had to delve into the almost never touched outerwear closet to dig out the coat I bought five years ago to wear on our trip to Iceland - seen in the pic below. Hoping to save our largest sago palm, the husband and I removed as much of the ice buildup as we could, and then covered it in burlap drop cloths with the hope that it will make it. We pulled another potted sago into the garage, but had to just leave the three smaller ones adjacent to the street to the whims of mother nature. I guess it's a good thing I was already planning to rework a bit of the landscaping in the front yard at the lake house this spring.

Furry friends

My mother wanted to go to the lake house last weekend, so we loaded up all three dogs and made the trip. In addition to some outdoor grilling, the husband and I zipped over to Austin to fetch our boat at the dealership. With its engine serviced and the detailing done, we've got it back in the lift at our dock and are ready for some time on the water this spring once it warms up. 

With the passing of my mother's twelve year old pugs, she was happy to spend some snuggle time on the sofa with our furry family members. All three of them like to take turns burrowing into throw blankets I keep on the sofa during our winter cold snaps.

Jacob's Ladder & family travels

A couple days ago I started my new lesson for next week's upcoming discussion in BSF that's based on Chapter 28 in Genesis. This part of the patriarchal story recounts Jacob leaving Canaan for Haran, after receiving an earnest blessing from his father Isaac. Esau, his twin brother, is still really angry and bitter about Jacob scheming to receive the firstborn blessing by tricking their father. Ahh yes, human history hasn't changed much over the millennia, since this tale is reminiscent of our modern telenovellas, or a Jerry Springer episode. As always, God's prophetic words to Rebekah, wife of Isaac and mother of Esau and Jacob, in Genesis 25:23 would come to pass despite any of their machinations to subvert God's will. As last week's BSF notes so eloquently reminded me... "The Lord is sovereign. God has all power and authority to fully accomplish His perfect will. God decrees and determines what will come to pass despite human opposition or failures. God's eternal purposes cannot be shaken." I am humbled and in awe of God's love for us, that He knows our heart's secrets and sinful human failings, yet still loves His creations in His own perfect will and timing.

This week our riveting Old Testament account continues, when Jacob is en route to his uncle Laban's home in Haran to find a wife. He has a dream one night in verse 12 about a "... a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it." In the dream God spoke to Jacob from above this ladder, reiterating His covenant with Abraham through Isaac to Jacob. 

This immediately reminded me of several visits we made to the city of Bath, in Somerset, England, and the Jacob's Ladder I saw there. Our main purpose was to tour the remains of the Roman baths, constructed and in use by circa 75 AD. However, we were delighted to see the adjacent Bath Abbey. Although a convent and monastery is recorded in history books to have been present on this site since the year since 675 AD, the current house of worship's original footprint was built in 1499. After Henry XIV's dissolution of the monasteries in the 1540s, it fell into disrepair and wasn't restored until 1611. Then it was expanded and further embellished beginning in the 1830s, lasting for almost 100 years.

The reason I'm blathering on with all of this Bath Abbey info, in addition to the fact that I'm a big history nerd, is the connection with Jacob's Ladder in Genesis Chapter 28 on the Abbey's exterior. I searched back through my not-so-great pics from trips I recalled to Bath in 2011 and 2013 to find some shots I took of the church, searching specifically for Jacob's ladder with the ascending and descending angels. Lo and behold, I found them.

 

In the two pictures above, you can see the ladders that run straight up either side on this exterior portion of the Abbey. I have a thing for doors, as evidenced by many of my travel pics when we were living abroad, and so I included one of the ornately carved doors located betwixt these two ladders. As someone who adores learning about the past, I can't help but imagine the hands who touched the doors as they passed in and out of the Abbey to worship. How many sunrises and sunsets have weathered these same doors to the aged patina we now see, witnessing the lives of those who learned about God's plan for His people within its walls. And how many more will they possibly see until Jesus returns in all His glory to gather up His church of believers. Beautifully carved wooden doors and stone ladders will come and go, but the word of God will stand forever and ever. Amen!

No pain, no gain

After almost four months of slowly upping my cardio workouts on the elliptical machine in my exercise room, I decided to join the Les Mills streaming service to kick off working with weights. Back in-between our two moves to England for the husband's job, I joined our local YMCA and really got into the Les Mills body pump classes. After almost 18 months of doing them consistently for three days per week, I was feeling good and looking toned. 

When we returned from England for the second time I started hitting the cardio again, but only sporadically. I kept telling myself I'd get back to body pump, yet never did. And then the pandemic hit, so classes weren't really an option since it would require wearing a mask while trying to suck more air in to keep from passing out. I've got all of the necessary weight equipment here at my house, but obviously not the commitment to do it without playing follow the leader that a video provides. 

Right before my birthday last fall, I bit the bullet and began doing cardio consistently. I started with the goal of hitting 25 miles per week. My fluffy butt was dragging in the beginning, but I kept at it. By Christmas I was hitting 40-45 miles per week. And then I hit several weeks of 50+ miles in January. I had cleaned up my eating and lost 20 lbs. I figured it was time to get serious about toning up again, so I joined the Les Mills streaming service to be able to access all of their various classes. I enjoyed them in the past and cruised on over to select a favorite episode to kick off my weight work once again on Monday.

Lord help me Jesus, I thought I was crippled Tuesday morning when I tried to get out of bed. I did about 3/4 of the body pump workout video on Monday and was well beyond feeling the burn the next day. Getting on and off the toilet was quite the spectacle since my glutes and quads were all stove up. Just touching them was painful as evidenced by me coming unglued when the ten pound chorkie tried to get on my lap.

I was relaying these workout travails to my husband, the fact that I should have started out with just the arm tracks and then slowly added different muscle groups from there. His response was that I just needed to use smaller weights. Ummm yeah, I did use the smallest weights I have on both the bar and dumbbells. I guess I should have started with my feather duster and some soup cans - bahahaha!  

After the past three days of no exercise at all... after trying the treadmill and quickly figuring out just walking was stretching some muscles that weren't ready for anything that demanding yet... I'm hoping to get back on my elliptical Monday. Now that I've made peace with the face that I'm 50 something outta shape in terms of flexibility and muscle mass, I'll give it another go and build slow.

 

Like a rat on a wheel, y'all - I love my cardio machines!