Turn Down Day...

 

If you said, "The Cyrkle, 1966," you get 100 bonus points.

If you said, "What'd ya get turned down for?" you are misunderstanding my meaning.  This is the day after getting our second shots... it's the time when people who are going to get a reaction to the vaccination generally start feeling it.  Listless feeling, slight fever, headache, muscle aches, general malaise.  Lasts 24 to 36 hours.  So, just in case... we're taking a day off.

"From what?"  You're asking a lot of questions again.  It's a lounge day.  Well, I did get my miles in on the bicycle this morning.  Took Rufus for a walk.  Joan made breakfast.  Smoothies.  Chocolate chip cookies.  OK, not that much of a lounge day.  But no outing planned.

So far, everyone in the household is feeling fine. 

---------

OK, I did go outside for a bit.  The Mardi Gras Golf Cart Parade was rescheduled from Fat Tuesday to today.  Due to some unseasonable winter weather... you may have heard about that.  ;-)  72º and breezy today, so definitely more parade-ish weather...

Any reason for a parade.  Of course, I felt silly when they didn't throw any beads after I raised my shirt.  I don't get it... I did my part.  I'm thinking they don't really understand the premise of a Mardi Gras parade.  :-)

 

Early morning line-up...

 

No, I haven’t been arrested again; we are up and out early to get our second vaccine shots.  The line out on the road was just a bit less than where we were last time.  Instead of two hours and 15 minutes (last time), it was an hour and 10 minutes this time...

We’re parked in a line where we can see the traffic going into the fire station - it is moving right along.  Conditions here are dusty and windy, but we’re in our car, not exposed to anyone... except for the line for the ports-potties.  I am surprised that there are people who seem confused on how these work: open door, go inside, close door, pee.

We were almost six hours in the queue last time; hoping for less this time... but we have food to eat, internet (thanks to my iPhone), The Today Show on satellite radio, and the entertainment of watching cars in line and people at the ports-potties.

Looking ahead.

-------

Done!  About an hour less time overall than the first shots, and we didn't have to get there while it was still dark outside.  The time seemed to pass easier this time - perhaps because we knew what to expect and there was less concern about them running out of the vaccine; today's mass vaccination was only for people who had received the first vaccine on January 29th.

I appreciate the fact that we didn't have to get out of the vehicle, thus allowing for easy distancing.  When it was time for our line of vehicles to move, it all happened pretty quick...

The people giving the shots were fast and efficient.  It didn't matter to them which arm we preferred (we had read that you should do the other arm this time) - clean, poke, move on.  Wait for a few minutes to make sure neither of had a reaction... and, head for home.  Glad to have this done; one more step in protecting ourselves and moving forward.

I think Rufus and I are going to need a nap this afternoon; Joan may want one, too.  :-)

Something you rarely hear a guitar player say...

 

"I think it would be fun to look for a 9 to 5 regular job."

"Did you see that cool Barbie Dream Guitar?" 

"Do you think we're playing too loud?"

While all of the above fit the title, mine is: "I have too much equipment."  My music room is starting to look like an episode of Hoarders.  OK, not really.  But, I have equipment for playing out, equipment for playing in, and equipment for recording.  I would consider moving some of it along, but... I really like it all.  All.  Today was "Re-do the Music Room Day."  I unplugged everything, with the intent of running different guitars and mics through the 12-channel mixer, into some PA equipment, and easy access for recording.

I spent about 6 hours in there working on that project.  To the untrained eye, it looks pretty similar to the way it looked before I started.  The big difference is how I ran and re-routed chords and cables.  There was a lot of playing, testing, listening, and EQ adjusting that got done in the process.  The goal is flexibility and handy access to different mics; controlling each with the mixer.

I called it a day when my fingers and voice felt worn out.  I tried to do as much as possible through headphones so Joan wouldn't have to listen to "Mic check, one, two," a couple thousand times.  Rufus did come and lay by my feet while I was playing parts of songs, making adjustments.  Some of this I have had for years; some is new this year.  All of it bought for a purpose, and now to make it all work together... as much as possible.

Bustin' my buttons...

 

Gained a little weight, didja, Jim?

Thanks for asking, but... no.  We got a text from our sweet girl today, asking if this was a good time to talk; she said she had "news" for us.  Being a glass-half-full kinda guy, I assumed it would be good news.  Nope, it was delightful news: Stephanie received the Teacher of the Year Award for her school!  We could not be more proud... but, we always knew what a great teacher she is.

Generally, there is a staff breakfast and a district dinner to honor the recipient; not sure how that will be done in this time of Covid.

This has been quite a school year for Steph: helping her school sort out how on-line, hybrid, and in-class teaching would go this year; receiving the National Award for Science Teachers from the Society of Automotive Engineers for the work she has done with the Gravity Cruisers/World In Motion projects.  And now, Teacher of the Year.  Good job, kid - sorry we couldn't be volunteering in your classroom this year, because it is always a delight to see you in action.  In the middle of a challenging school year, you continue to be positive and care to give your best.

I need to rant...

 

First, the good news: our water was out this morning.  No, that's not the good news.  The resort office gave us a day's notice, so we knew the outage was coming (another broken water line).  No, that's also not the good news.  We had to run to Harlingen to get a few things.  Still not the good news.  When we got back from Harlingen, we had our Jimmy John's sandwiches that we got and had lunch out on the deck.  Nice, but not the good news.  Afterwards, Joan wanted to kick back and read, I was in dire need of some scooter time.  Even more fun, but still not the good news.  I took some 4K still photos with the Insta camera on the bike, and that module is kinda sucky.  Mostly, I just wanted to try the camera with that module; haven't done that since last summer.  I had forgotten what a painful delay there is between pressing the button on the phone to take the photo and actually getting the image.  Not bad news, just something I had farted off.  The 360 module on the camera works great, but nothing much of interest for shooting video.  Some of the stills...

 

 

Are you ever going to get on with the good news and the rant?  Thanks for asking.  This afternoon, we got notice that we no longer have to boil water - the testing showed the water district is good to go, all the racks are functioning.  That IS good news!

The rant: There is a movement to get Jeep to stop using the Cherokee name for a couple of its models.  That request came from the Cherokee Tribe.  Jeep has been using some form of that name for 45 years.  And now it is an issue?  There has been no use of any native American image in Jeep's use of the name.  For the record, there is a National Forest with that same name... should that be changed, as well?  Who could be offended by Jeep's use of the name Cherokee in models that have been widely praised?  We had a Grand Cherokee years ago, and it was a very nice, upscale crossover SUV.

My alma mater is Morningside College.  Their sports teams were known as The Chiefs for nearly 100 years... and then they were pressured into a name change.  The Morningside Mustangs.  I haven't bought a Morningside sweatshirt or donated a dime since that change.

We picked up a box of chicken bites at Chick-fil-A today.  "Chick"??  As in the use of the word to describe a female?  (For the record, I still think of my wife as a hot chick, but I digress.)  In checking with several groups of chickens, I have learned that they wish to be known from this point on as Poultry Americans.

And don't get me started with our stop at the Texas grocery chain HEB today.  As a proud Father to an amazing woman, I am offended by the use of the name "Papa" in Papa John's... or even worse: Papa Murphy's Pizza.  Are they even Fathers?  I know they aren't MY Father.

My ancestry is English and Irish.  Should the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame change their logo?  Frankly, not all of us of Irish descent look like leprechauns.  Nor do we all like a good fight.  I am deeply offended by that depiction.  Nah, I'm just messing with ya - we're Irish, we don't give a shit what someone thinks.  In fact, on March 17th each year, everybody wants to think they're Irish.  Read your history books: plenty of Irish people were brought to this country as indentured servants; my people worked in mines and built railroads.  And we don't give a furry rat's rear that all you people who aren't Irish pretend like you are on St. Patrick's Day.

It's time to stop all this fuss about something good (like a sports team or a vehicle) being denigrated that has proudly worn a name for decades.  And in the words of Forrest Gump: "That's all I got to say about that."

--------

Before we went to Harlingen this morning, Rufus wanted to go outside.  I figured he'd step out, sniff some grass, then want to go back inside - late afternoon is his best outdoor time.  I was wrong.  He walked along the sidewalk, out to the street, and... a couple went by, walking two dogs.  That was all he needed... even though he wasn't on his leash (really, I didn't think he'd stay out very long), he went right up to the dogs.  One was his friend, Tessa (being puppy sitted by a couple I didn't know), and the couple's small dog.  The small dog's eyes got big as this cat bigger than him got nose-to-nose with him.  Sniffing ensued.  Another guy walking his French bulldog came by.  Then, another couple walking their Yorkie.  And another neighbor walking her poodle-mix.  Yes, it was Grand Central Dog Station... and the only time he's been out not on a leash where anyone saw him.  I had to use the "treat" word to get him to head for home.

When we got back from Harlingen, he sat out on the deck with us...

We went out again this evening.  Ruf was a bit disappointed that none of his dog buddies were out.  We walked to the corner and he looked both ways; not to cross the street, but to look for dogs.  Really, usually there are dogs.  I said, "Treat?" again, and he forgot all about no dogs.  ;-)

Burger Interruptus...

 

We seem to be past the awful winter-like weather... but the aftermath lingers.

Joan went to the grocery store today (HEB) - she said the store wasn't packed, but neither were the shelves.  She found most of what she was looking for.

I had a plan for today: pick up lunch at Burger Fi.  Joan tried to order on-line through their app, but got the notice: On-line ordering is not available at this location currently.  Not the first time we've seen that.

Plenty of traffic as we headed towards the island.  We decided to stop at Isla Blanca (the county park on the southern tip of South Padre Island) to renew our annual pass.  No other cars in the parking lot, so we assumed it wouldn't take long; we have stopped a couple times before this, and there have been people waiting at the door and lots of cars in the parking lot.  We were hopeful.

Joan went to the door and found out that she had to step inside to sign up to get waiting on - there was one person ahead of her.  It was almost 20 minutes before they called her inside.  She made their job easy: she was ready with the tag number for the electronic tag, our license plate number, and the $100 in cash.  It still took another 10 minutes.  On the bright side: we are good for another year for park entrance.

We had both worked up an appetite for Burger Fi.  The traffic on the island was heavy for a Monday in February.  When we got to Burger Fi, there wasn't a single car in the lot... not a good sign.  Speaking of signs, the hand written sign on the door said, "Closed due to power outage."

Can't argue with that.  We decided to go to the Texas favorite: Whataburger; a mile down the road.  Not a car in the lot.  A sign on the door read: "Closed due to power outage."  Well, that is not good.  Wanting to do take out, we went to our burger of last resort... McDonalds.  We were the only car in the drive-up, but to be fair, it was mid-afternoon.  We decided to head to the beach at Isla Blanca Park.  Long before Covid-19, we would pick up burgers and to go the park to have lunch with a Gulf view...

The burger was typical MickeyD's so-so, but the French fries were tasty.  And a lovely beach and Gulf view.

Back home, Rufus was ready for a walk (his second walk of the day).  Then, out on the deck for the three of us, to enjoy the beautiful day.  And some Monopoly cards.  I won't mention who won 3 out of 5, but it was me.  It was t-shirt weather on the deck...

You can't see, but that's a short-sleeve t-shirt.  It got up to about 68º today, but sunny on the deck, where it blocked the light NE breeze.  Felt great.  A welcome change.  The smile is partially because of the weather, but an equal amount from winning at cards.

We put some stuff back in our storage area that had been brought out to help weather the storm(s).  Looking off our dock, another sign of the aftermath...

Dead fish in the canal.  On the bright side, about half the cold-stunned sea turtles that were rescued have been released.  The bay and surf water temperature is up to 54º... still cold, but not certainly warmer than the 38º it had gotten down to.  The turtles were taken off-shore, where the water is warmer; a ship with a ramp that allowed the turtles to slide down into the water.  Part release, part waterslide.  Certainly beats death by cold water...

(Screen capture from news release.)
 

After his supper, I took Rufus out for another walk.  At the corner of our street, a pickup stopped and a lady got out... "Can I take a photo of your cat on a leash?"

"Sure - his name is Rufus."  Ruf was doing his Hollywood bad boy routine, and wouldn't look directly into the camera.  Still, he's a good boy.  The woman wanted to visit, but her husband finally said, "Come on, leave them alone - I'm parked in the middle of the street here - let's go!"  When she got back in the truck with her phone put away, Rufus gave her a great view of his 3/4 profile.  It's a handsome angle.

All in all, except for not getting Burger Fi, a lovely day in the Tropical Tip.  And Rufus is settled in for the evening...

Weasels...

 

This will be a short post today.  I got out on my bicycle for the first time in about 10 days.  It was in the low 60s to start the day, with a building SE breeze.  Weather comes into play on a lot of my posts.  We moved to the Tropical Tip for the weather.  We go somewhere cooler in the summer for the weather.  Texas has been in the news the last week or so... because of the weather.

I grilled steaks this afternoon, Joan made some tasty sides and rolls to go with them.  The local news was on; the weather weasel said, "It is only 100 days until hurricane season."  He said it like it was something to look forward to.

Weasel-ly son of a bitch.

Woohoo - one in a row!

 

I got up this morning to see 42º on our weather station and all utilities (power, water, cable, internet) functional!  The weather weasels have once again changed their forecast from last night and are saying we may reach 60º today.  Still colder than normal, but enough to make me consider taking the Vespa around the neighborhood.  It has been a long time (since we lived in the frozen northland) that weather kept me from riding for 10 days or more.

I bundled up and went for a walk in the sunshine.  20º or so colder than what it should be, but it felt good to get some sunshine.  Well, not that I had any exposed skin.  ;-)

 

We did get a notice that a water line is broken the next block over from us, so there may be a water interruption.  We are both showered up and ready to take on the day.  It's the start of getting back to normal. 

Rufus isn't quite ready to take on his day...

The water did go off for a couple hours, but we were ahead of the game.

--------

It's about time...

The temperature made it up to 61º, and I got out on the Vespa.  I really needed to get out on the Vespa.  I didn't go anywhere particular, just rode around.  Plenty of traffic in town, but Walmart and HEB weren't packed.  No lines for gas at any of the stations.  If you didn't notice all the shriveled greenery, it would just seem like a colder than usual day in the Tropical Tip.

It didn't suck.

New Game Show!

 

We're playing a new game show:  (crowd chants along) Wheel of Outage!

Over the past week, it has been something new every day.  Power, water, cable TV, internet.  I got out our generator to keep the fridge and some heat on.  We listened to the Today Show on Sirius satellite radio for yesterday's morning news and entertainment.  Yep, just like the olden days: the family sitting around listening to the radio.  Around the electric fireplace.  The cable TV came on last night at 8:14 and went out again at 9:05.  Along with the internet.  Joan felt confident enough to dump the buckets of water we had in each bathroom (to use for flushing) last night.  Shoulda known better.

And, back to today's show...

"Hi, I'm Jim, your host for (crowd chants along) Wheel of Outage!  This is our lovely hostess Joan, wearing her flannel jammies."

Joan: "Hi, everyone."

Jim: "Joan, will you spin the Wheel of Outage and we'll see what today's fun outage will be."

Wheel spins and... "Water!  Those of you playing our home version will want to turn your water heater off and remember to not flush your toilets!  Rufus, tell us more!"

Announcer Rufus: "Yes, Jim, today we woke up to... no water!  You and a guest will get a no expense paid trip to the bathroom, where you can look at you toilet, tub, and sink, and try to remember when they had functioning water flow.  You'll be treated to a bucket of water where you and a guest can play 'If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down!'  But, that's not all, Jim.  As a special bonus, the weather weasels, who yesterday said today will be 'gradually warming' lied once again, and have pushed that off another day.  And, for the sheer fun of it, this morning's temperature at wake-up time is 33º with a never-ending cold north breeze!  Back to you, Jim."

Jim: "Will the fun never start?  Thanks, Rufus.  Well, that's all the time we have for today's game.  Join us tomorrow for another episode of (crowd chants along) Wheel of Outage!"

Joan: "Bye-bye"

Cut to a commercial for Xanax. 

Flashbacks...

 

The power came back on at 2:00am... I was grateful for that because I was having flashbacks to my childhood and being nearly crushed by blankets because there was no heat in the upstairs of our house.  And I am a side-sleeper, so the weight of those blankets is hard on the joints.

We had the living room warmed up nicely before shutting down the generator at 11:00 last night (that's when "quiet time" starts).  Joan knew she'd be awake all night, so she took to the couch when I went to bed.  Yes, she tucked me in.  ;-)

When the power came back on, I peeled off the heavy bedspread and turned on the electric blanket and was soon joined by Joan... and Rufus, who never left the bed.

The washing machine was in the middle of a rinse cycle yesterday when the power went out.  Joan started that again at 2:10am... it was a comforting sound: that hum of an electric-operated device doing its job.

The house was in disarray this morning, but Joan went about restoring order while I did my morning routine.  Blankets around the living room, the fridge pulled out (so we could get to the plug) and flashlights distributed all around.

It isn't "life as usual" with the power restored this morning: there is no cable TV or internet.  We are listening to the Today Show via Sirius Radio on Joan's phone.  My phone is providing internet, so we can see/hear what is going on in the world.

We are boat and RV people: we know how to conserve and use our resources.  I think we are faring better than many here.  North of us in Texas, it is more ice and snow, so those folks have it bad.  This morning, Joan had me turn on the dryer when I got up, so that load is done.  Joan has the house back to normal.  The electric fireplace is helping the house heat keep things comfortable, and most importantly: Rufus's meal routine has maintained its regular schedule.  If you can believe the weather weasels (they have under-guessed most of this), one more cold day and night and then a gradual warming trend.

Any internet-based devices (security cameras, Alexa) are just flashing, with power on, just waiting to get an internet signal.  The tea kettle is starting to whistle as it comes to a boil; no, we don't drink tea.

As Joni Mitchell told us in 1970:

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.

I'm very appreciative to have power and water this morning. 

Take care and be safe out there.

Joan's guys after a restless night.

-------

We'll probably all need a nap this afternoon.  Well, Rufus may need an additional nap this afternoon.  He has seemed a bit food insecure, even though his meals and treats have all been on schedule through this last week.

Joan and I were talking about this last power outage this afternoon: 12 hours off, then back on.  That doesn't seem random.  Last night at 2:00am, we weren't thinking about "what if," just glad to be able to run some heat without using the generator.  Now, with a bit of sleep, some breakfast, and showers, we're planning ahead.  More water boiled.  All our devices charging up.  Another load of laundry.  It's just after noon, so if the power goes off around 2ish, we'll have our answer about more rolling blackouts.

Two days ago, over 3 million Texans were without power.  That is now down to less than a million.  That's still a LOT of people, most of that number having been without power for days.  We found out that our water issues are related to the cold and the power outages, causing surges on water filtration/pumping equipment.  They're pushing water, but we still have to boil it before consuming.

Mother Nature is giving us another cold, windy day; the overnight rains have passed.  41º right now, with a wind chill factor of "OMG, are you shitting me?"  The forecast for tonight is a low of 37º and windy.  Sunny tomorrow, with a high of 48º by late afternoon.  I don't trust them.  Not any more than I trust the power company and the water district.  This past week has my faith more along the lines of: I'll believe it when I see it.

The internet is still out, along with our cable TV.  There are several different owners groups on Facebook for our village, and it seems a bit paradoxical that people are getting on the internet to complain that they have no internet.  ;-)

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8:12pm - the internet and cable TV are back.  We have made due with my phone as a hotspot; even managed to stream some news this evening on Joan's iPad.  We listened to the Today Show on Serious Radio this morning.  We sure as heck weren't going to do anything unnecessary outside... I looked out there, with the idea of bundling up and taking a walk... the wind was out of the north at 28 gusting higher and it was 37º... that's a big ol' nope.  I exercised inside instead.  When I went outside to do a walk around the house to see how everthing was faring, Rufus looked out the door and said, "You're on your own, Pops."

The weasels have moved the "weather will get better" to Saturday... not a surprise.  AEP says that there should be no more rolling blackouts in our area, and any outages are "equipment related."  Apparently, there are spotty outages still on our island, including one block over from us.  Fingers crossed.

Our turn...

 

We had been counting our blessings.  Much of the towns (closest to us) of Port Isabel and South Padre Island have been without power for 2 to 3 days.  Amazingly, with the exception of a few outages of 10 minutes to a couple hours, we haven't been without power.

That changed at 2:20 this afternoon - our entire island is without power.  Yes, we still have weak water.  Good news/bad news.  The good news is we can run water.  The bad news: without power, we can't run the stove to be able to boil the water.  The really bad news: without power, the lift stations on our island can't move the sewage off the island.

We got our generator out, gassed it up, and fired it up.  Much like the state of Texas electrical grid, we can now decide what gets power priority.  The generator isn't big enough to run the whole house; the two important items: the fridge and the electric fireplace.  Keep food cold, keep us warm.  It is 43º outside with a cold north wind; the warmth of the electric fireplace feels good after being outside to mess with the generator.  We can also run a lamp, and power up our devices on a "rolling basis."  Our regular high speed internet (and cable TV) is gone with the power.  The back-up is what we use when we're out and about in the motorhome: using my phone as the hotspot.  It is getting dark, so one lamp will get into rotation, as well.

Joan won't be baking anything, but we have a butane cooktop that will suffice for heating things up.  Rufus's meals will still happen at their regular time.  Right now, he is pretty confused about the state of things.  Joan tried to sooth him by saying, "This is like camping, Rufus!"  He isn't buying it.  He thinks camping is roughing it in the motorhome.  ;-)

We'll see how long this drags out.

I'm real happy we both got a good shower in today.

This pretty much sums it up...

 

 Yep.  The forecast overnight was for temperatures to get into the 40s.  It was 34º when we went to bed; and now, at 7:00 am, 34º.  To add insult, the high speed internet is out.  Back to using the phone as my hotspot.  Joan is cleaning up so she can go to the store... I'm expecting shelves there to be sparse... "Honey, I'm home - I got a bag of chicken beaks and feet and a mix of broccoli-flavored pancakes.  Everything else was gone."

Just kidding... the pancake mix was gone, too.

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Joan went to the store early today, before 8:00.  Walmart was still closed (no power), HEB was open.  She couldn't get some of the brands we wanted, but only the fruits and vegetables were picked over.  Not an inexpensive outing, but we should be good for at least a week.  She bought a beef roast almost the size of Rufus - we'll freeze half of it and have roast beef with new potatoes and French dip sandwiches the next day.  She planned for some "comfort food" to hold us for a while.  And as a treat: a fresh donut each.

A bit of a break from the wind this morning; it was only 5mph when Joan went to the store.  I bundled up and went for a walk...

The wind was picking up by the time I got back; 37º.  The weather weasels are saying it will make it to 52º today.  I don't trust them.  The actual weather has been colder than their forecasts all week.  We'll see.

The water pressure has built up enough that showers may be in the plan today.  After breakfast.  Again, we'll see.  Our water heater is electric and tankless... if the power goes out, it will be cold.  Right now.

The sun is trying to make an appearance through the gray clouds.  It will go a long ways for people's moods.  This makes me appreciate the weasels reporting, "30 seconds of sun breaks" in the Pacific Northwest.  It is important to find something upbeat where you can.

Joan said that people were loading sea turtles into pickup trucks at our boat ramp when she went to the store; they were gone when she came back.

Warm wishes sent your way for all of us.

 ------

We got showers... complete with hot water!  In the middle of making lunch, the power went out.  Fortunately, it was only for 10 minutes or so.  By 2:00, it had warmed up to 48º outside, and Rufus wanted to go for a walk; we got his harness on and I took him out.  First that he has been out on the leash in several days, with just the occasional dash out the door, followed by the immediate "Let me back in!"  This was an actual walk.  Not quite sunny out, but it was trying to make an appearance.

Then, around 2:20, the power is out again.  No word from the power company or any idea how long this one will last.  If it goes more than an hour, I plan to get the generator going so we can have some heat and keep the fridge going - we have a lot of stuff that will need to be kept cold after Joan's trip to the store this morning.

The Hits Keep Coming...

 

If you said, "Every radio DJ in the 60s," you get 3 bonus points.

Not talking about that.  Since we got back from checking on the motorhome, the water came back on at not much more than a trickle.  It allowed us to flush toilets, get dishes done, and get a couple wastebaskets of water (to use for flushing)... before it went off again.  Seems there is a major break is a water line in Laguna Vista, and the Laguna Madre Water District has shut off water again.  When the water does come back on, we will be under a "boil alert" - we'll have to boil water before using it for anything edible.

The promised 55º high for the day seems to have made it up to almost 40º by 4:00 pm with 90% humidity.  If you have to go outside for anything, it is quite unpleasant.

I mentioned in the previous post about the dead fish floating belly up in our canal... those numbers are growing.  The number of sea turtles that have been picked out of the water or washed up on the shores is staggering: over 2,500 so far.  That is more than Sea Turtle Inc can handle in their facility - the mayor of South Padre Island is allowing them to use the Convention Center for rescued turtles...

To add to situation, the power is still off on South Padre Island, so Sea Turtle Inc is having issues with keeping their tanks heated adequately.

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Just saw this on this evening's local weather: the surf water temperature is 38º.  I have never seen it this low.  SMH

So, this morning...

 

No water.  The Laguna Madre Water District currently has no power.  Probably doesn't help that everyone in south Texas whose pipes haven't burst was trickling water.  We are fortunate that we still have power - lots of areas all around us are also without power.  Our house is all electric, so without power, nothin' works.  Without water, nothin' flushes.

You know there has been a run on bottled water at the grocery stores.  Well, Walmart is closed because they don't have power; HEB has power and it sounds like the crowds are Black Friday size.  Joan mentioned that we have some bottled water in the motorhome... "We have bottled water in the motorhome?"

"Yes, and some soda, too."

We are now cleaning up - as best as we can without showers - so we can get out to the motorhome to see if the bottled water and soda have frozen and made a sticky mess of it.  It is now 35º at home and the wind is down to 9mph, so only insultingly cold rather than brutally cold.

When we lived up north, our homes had fireplaces and wood burning stoves, so even without power we wouldn't freeze to death.  Pipes were buried deep in the ground, so the chance that they would freeze was less than here, where they drag a stick along the ground and put a water line in it.

Yes, I am sorta kidding.  This weather is unheard of in deep south Texas.  Joan optimistically said, "I'd rather be without water than without power."  I'll ask again in a couple days, when we haven't had showers.  Kidding again - I'm not dumb enough to bring that up.

Time to run... off to our "escape pod" to see how it fared.

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Back.  The important news: it was 39º in the motorhome and all was good.  Leaving home, we had just over half a tank of gas in the car.  It is 40 miles to the storage unit.  The plan: I put a couple gas containers in the car; I'll top them off in case we need to run the generator.

Leaving town was eerie - no lights.  No gas stations open.  Power is obviously out in town... except for HEB (they must have a generator) - the parking lot was packed.  With no water in much of the area, we planned to stop at the next town, where there is a McDonalds - get something for breakfast and have no dishes to clean.  The lines at the drive-up at MickeyD's were a block long.  Nope.  Good news: there is a gas station next to McDonalds that is open.  The bad news: they must be out of gas.  We got in line but soon saw that there was nobody actually pumping gas.  People were using the area by the gas pumps for parking while they shopped in the convenience store.  It took some maneuvering, but we got out of there.

It isn't out of the way to at least check out the Walmart in that town... they had power and the gas pumps didn't have long lines!  I filled the Honda and topped off two 2-gallon fuel containers.  On to the storage unit.  I unlocked the coach and turned on power; while Joan went inside to assess the situation, I put away the trouble light I had put underneath for warming, since there is no power here, either.  Joan let me know all was good inside.  Whew!  I loaded the water and the few bottles of soda into the car.  The outside air temp in the car read 31º at the storage unit.  I was surprised that it wasn't at least that cold in the coach.

We considered driving through Harlingen on the way home to pick up a bite to eat.  Joan checked the AEP (power company) web site for outages: looks like much of Harlingen has no power, either.  We talked about swinging back through Los Fresnos and opted to just head for home.

Joan is convinced the power outages are due to "rolling blackouts" to protect the grid; I think some of this is due to damage caused by the weather.  Driving back into Port Isabel, Walmart looks like a ghost-town, HEB is still packed.  Using the water we took out of the coach, we don't have to go to the store right now.

Rolling onto our island, we have power.  I am surprised - anything we get (water, power) has to come through Port Isabel to get to us.  There were a few blocks towards the east end of town that had power again as we drove through.  Another gas station/convenience store, with cars in line for gas about a block long.

Back at home, we have power and warmth.  Good thing, since it is 34º here at 11:00am (predictions were for 40º at 10:00).  I turned our water back on and we have a weak trickle of water.  It's enough to fill a couple of waste baskets with water (taking a while) so we'll have water for flushing.

Since the actual weather is worse than today's forecast, I don't put much stock in the 55º high being predicted for today.  For now, we're good.  We'll use water sparingly.  If the power goes out, we have gas for the generator.  No reason for us to go back out again for a while... Rufus did go outside for a couple minutes when we first got home; that will hold him for a while.  He is not a fan of the cold.

Here's a map that shows areas of outage from AEP...

The island we are on is just south of Port Isabel, and no outage markers there.

There are some dead fish in our canal and lots of smaller fish swimming near the surface.  When we came back to our island, there were cars parked in the boat ramp area - people are walking along the north shore, rescuing cold shocked sea turtles.  Hundreds of sea turtles have been taken to Sea Turtle Inc. on South Padre Island.  Time in extended cold is going to take a toll on these cold blooded reptiles.

Thursday looks to be another cold front and overnight lows potentially below freezing.  It has been a tough week all over the country.  Schools have been closed here and Covid vaccinations have had to be postponed in some places.  Our local Event Center in Port Isabel will be open tonight as a shelter for those without water and/or power.

Weren't we promised that 2021 was going to be a better year?

Make it stop...

 

When I got up this morning, it was 23º.  That is lower than I've ever seen here.  Add in the howling wind, and our "feels like" temperature is 8º.  Single freakin' digit.  

 

The rain and drizzle stopped overnight.  No idea what the roads are like (and there's nothing I need to go outside for); when we opened the blinds this morning, there is ice on top of the table cover we have over the patio furniture.  Joan put a couple bricks on top of that cover to keep it from puffing up and getting ripped in the wind.  We put down a couple of our hurricane shutters on the windward side of the house.  The furnace is running, the electric fireplace is on, and I have a blanket over my lap.  Joan is in the kitchen, making muffins for breakfast.  The power stayed on overnight.  TXDOT is recommending no travel due to potential ice on the roads.

I don't think I'll go for a bicycle ride this morning.  Rufus is laying on my blanket, on my feet.  It may have been a three-dog-night, but it seems to be a one-big-furry-cat morning.

Joan is planning ahead: people in the village are reporting no water (likely frozen water lines - we let a faucet trickle overnight) and power outages in the area.  Joan ran water into pans and has a tea kettle going on the stove... just in case.

---------

We aren't going outside, but life goes on.  This morning, I played some music while Rufus got brushed...

It cracks me up that Rufus lets Joan hold him by the face like that with no fussing.  I showed that photo to Steph; she said, "She used that same approach when she brushed my hair, too!  JK"  You can throw
JK" in there, but you're still in trouble.  Then she said something about me being an instigator.  That's a big word; I think she meant smart.  Or cute.

Joan is making bread and frying up some chicken for a chicken-bacon-ranch sandwich for lunch.  Ruf and I retired to the music room...

2:40 pm, the sun is shining through a mostly cloudy sky.  The temperature isn't rising much: 28º according to the Weather Channel, 30º according to our weather station on our deck.  The Weather Channel is now predicting 36º as an overnight low... I sure hope so... we still have water trickling.

Just saw on the local news station: yep, this broke historical records for the low temperatures all over the Valley, including here.  So, that's fun.  Not.

 

And the beat goes on...

 

And by "beat," I mean this lengthy norther.  It was 38º when I got up this morning... it is up to 36º two hours later.  Seems to be going the wrong direction.

We went out to the coach to dump the fresh water in the tank earlier this week.  Emptied the water heater.  No way to blow out the lines.  The forecast was only a couple hours below 32º in Harlingen (near where our motorhome is stored).  Now, the weather weasels are predicting 12 hours or more of temperatures into the 20s.  For three out of the next 5 days.

I suggested we make another trip to the storage unit and put the trouble light under the coach - the heat of that light bulb should keep things warm enough to not freeze.  Joan said, "You won't be able to do that in the future... bulbs are now LEDs and don't give off any heat."  Good point.  I sure hope that bulb in the trouble light is still functioning.  Ah, the modern world.

This cold has been with us for days.  Looks to be another week or so of this.  This is longer than I remember any time in the past of cold hanging on this long.  Joan told me she isn't feeling any cabin fever... that makes one of us.  Yesterday when I went outside to check out our circuit breaker box is the only time I've been outside in a couple days... and it wasn't by choice.  And for less than 2 minutes.

It's Valentines Day.  I have warmth in my heart.  It is also the day we determined it would be Rufus's birthday.  Although we now think he is 4 to 5 years old, rather than the 6 to 7 based on that first vet's estimate.  He definitely warms our hearts.

Happy Birthday, Rufus!

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This is getting serious...

Getting dressed for heading to the storage unit, we both put on fleece-lined pants.  Joan wears hers occasionally, especially if we're riding the scoots in cooler weather.  I haven't had mine on since we were working in Friday Harbor - note the khakis...

This is why...

Yeah, 5 different "warnings" for this current weather.

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On tonight's local news: every county in Texas (254 counties) is under a winter storm warning tonight through Tuesday morning.  Below freezing here tonight.

Here we go again...

 

If you said, "Dolly Parton, 1977," you were close: that song was Here We Come Again.  But, if you said, "Ray Charles, 1967," you get 25 bonus points, and your cool factor went up 30%.  If you said, "Demi Lovato, 2009," you are way more with it than I am.

Around 1:00 pm, the power went out again.  Yes, it is still blowing like stink and cold (40º, according to our weather station, before it went out).  Perhaps this is the new standard?  Our board of directors in the village is trying to push through an infrastructure proposal for ten million dollars... and new electrical is part of that.  Now, I'm not suggesting there is some sort of plot afoot... we've been around here long enough to know that anything usual for weather seems to affect our apparently fragile power grid.

Joan had started lunch... it was going to be hotdogs with chili.  Now, it is just chili.  It hits the spot on a cold winter day.

There were no power outages reported when looking online (laptop and my phone as a hotspot), so I went out to check our circuit box - all normal.  When I got back in, multiple outages are being reported on our island and in Port Isabel.  Estimated "restoration time": 5:00 pm.  We were in the middle of a Longmire episode on NetFlicks.  Joan just suggested that it might be a good time to take a nap; I'm not sleepy - I want to see what Walt and Vic are up to next on Longmire.  ;-)

Looks like a good time to get an acoustic guitar out.

---------

Well, that was unusual: something getting done ahead of time here... power was back on in an hour or so.  And now, back to Longmire.  'Cause I have no intention of going outside.  Never got above 41º today.  Wind and rain.  A "Gale Watch" is in effect: winds 20 to 30mph, gusts above 40.  So, that's fun.

 

 

 

 

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

 

If you said, "Baby, It's Cold Outside is a popular song written by Frank Loesser in 1944 and introduced to the public in the 1949 film Neptune's Daughter. While the lyrics make no mention of a holiday, it is popularly regarded as a Christmas song owing to its winter theme. The song was released in eight recordings in 1949 and has been covered numerous times since," you used Google and get NO bonus points. 

If you said, "How's the weather in the Tropical Tip this morning?" you can bite me.  Oh, it isn't the bitter below zero that the northern states are getting, but it is damn cold for us.  It was 40º when I got up this morning, with a "feels like" temperature of 30º.  Yes, we do generally get one cold spell like this each winter, but we are usually in Arizona... where the nights are almost always cold in the winter.

Probably wouldn't feel as cold, but with the wind and thunderstorms overnight, it was inevitable that our power was going to go out.  It did.  Around 3:30.  I'm guessing at the time because I couldn't see anything but darkness.  The ceiling fans stopped.  I plugged in our electric blanket last night, and the gentle glow from each controller (yes, we had them turned on) went dark.  Rufus came up from his cozy spot at the foot of the bed and said, "Dad!  It's dark in here.  I don't think it's supposed to be this dark."

"Yes, Ruf, the power is out.  It's OK."

"But, Dad, the bed isn't warm anymore, and it's really, really dark in here.  Should we wake up Mom?  She'll know what to do."

"No, just snuggle in and I'll keep you warm."

"But, it's really dark and that ain't right."

"Shhhhh - go back to sleep."

He snuggled in by Joan; apparently, she is warmer than I am.  Plus, she slept through all the thunder, lightning, wind, and rain.  And, the really, really dark.

I laid there awake... thinking what I'd do when it's time to get up and we have no power.  No lights.  No heat.  OMG, no functioning coffee maker!  I could get the generator out, but we have no gas supply.  And, I would freeze my ass off digging around in the dark in our storage area to find stuff.  Probably better to just lay here, wide awake, and let the evil cold take me.

About 6:00am, the lights in the living room went on - they are all hooked up to Alexa, and when she loses power and comes back on, so do the lights.  The ceiling fan in the bedroom started to turn, the comforting glow of the electric blanket controller on my side lit up.  Ahhh.  If I roll over the other way, the light from the living room won't be shining in my eyes.  I heard the heat come on.  It's all good.

Still cold, windy, and rainy when I got up... and had to reset the clocks on the appliances... after getting Rufus fed.  Secure in the knowledge that the coffee maker would provide hot coffee for Joan and hot chocolate for me.

I think I'm going to need a nap.

No photos - it was dark.

Behind schedule...

 

Not unusual here in the Tropical Tip.  This time, it is Mother Nature - the forecast overnight thunderstorm didn't happen (I don't mind), and when I got up it was 70º.  Local TV weather was showing the cold front just north and west of us, but hadn't reached us yet.  Looks like I have time to get out for a bicycle ride before the front arrives.

It was eerily calm.  Humid.  Overcast.  I took this photo...

 

That is the sun, not the moon.  Within a few seconds of taking that, it disappeared behind the solid overcast.

By 10:15, the wind was changing to the north.  Thunderstorms, with wind and significant rain predicted through the afternoon.  We rolled up the sunscreens on the deck last night; looking at the forecast now, we took down the American flag that normally flies from a post on our deck.

Time to cocoon.

---------

The weather has turned to crap, but some needed sunshine in my day: the doctor called this afternoon... good news; she said, "No detectable PSA - consider yourself cured.  See you in 4 months for a check-up.  Work on your Kegel exercises and enjoy riding."

 

A Change Is Gonna Come...

 

If you said, "Sam Cooke, 1964," you get 50 bonus points.

This is very different from the meaning of that song: the massive cold front that is impacting much of the country will be making its way to the Tropical Tip over the next few days.  Rain predicted for the next 8 days, with temperatures in the 40s for a high on Monday, a low in the 30s.

Yes, I know this isn't what the rest of the country is getting; it is still 30º colder than normal, so it is an impact for those of us here.  And, inland, where our motorhome is stored, it may get into the 20s on Monday night.

We left water in the fresh water tank, as our "escape pod" after our last use.  We don't want to run heat while the coach is in the storage unit, so we made a trip out there today to dump the fresh water tank and the water lines.

 

Joan swept out the storage unit while I dumped the water heater.  The coach is ready to make it through the cold that is coming.

You wouldn't know there's a change coming - it was 80º while we were out at the storage unit.

Back home, and time to get a ride in, since there won't be any scooting for the next week or so.

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Loud Pipes Save... What?

A neighbor at the end of our street rides a Harley; it's a nice one, a Road Glide.  It isn't quiet.  When I took the Vespa out this afternoon, Jack (the neighbor) had just ridden past our place as I was starting up the Vespa.  I saw that he turned in towards the building where our mailboxes are.  I turned in behind him and pulled up next to his bike... "You damn kids on your loud motor-sickles are annoying those of us with more refined tastes in bikes."

I was wearing a full-face helmet and saw the glare in his eyes as he started to get off his bike.  "Easy there big fella, it's me: Jim, your neighbor."  The glare went away and he started to laugh.  We visited for a while.

He was telling me about a friend of his who has a Vespa... he said, "He's a big guy, about 350 pounds.  He told me his Vespa will go 80 miles per hour and get 80 miles per gallow.  He asked me what my bike gets... I told him, 'Laid.'"

I laughed and said, "I'll have to go with you on that 'cause Joan doesn't let me date... but chicks did the Vespa."  Yes, guy talk.  Doesn't matter how old we get, we're still juvenile.

He went to check mail, I took off for a ride.  Coming back across the causeway, I had perfect timing: went through the stoplight as it turned yellow, which means no wait to get across the other side of Hwy 100.  If you get stopped at that light, it means that you will also get stopped at the light to cross the highway, and it's a long wait there.  I was thinking, "I should go buy a lottery ticket."  Six blocks later as I came up on the swing bridge to get onto our island, the gate stopping traffic was just closing to allow a boat to pass... I guess I will take a pass on that lottery ticket.  ;-)

While I waited for the bridge, I took a couple photos of this good-looking Vespa...

I was feeling the need to get a ride in today.  That crappy weather is coming and it will be around for the next week or so...

Looks like it is going to be a while before I'll be riding again.

Three years ago today...

 

We busted Rufus out of the shelter to bring him to his forever home.  Three years... time flies when you have a great cat.  Rufus quickly became a family member.

I'm sure that first day was a shock to him: a couple takes you out of the enclosure at PetSmart and hugs on you.  Then, they put you in an even smaller cage (carrier).  They take you to a place where a nice lady declares you healthy, and "a hootch."  (The boy does like to snuggle.)  Then, that couple takes you a home on wheels, feeds you, and gives you a bath..,. you really appreciate that bath, because the couple was right: you stink.  Well, stunk.  Then, they introduce you to a leash and tell you, "If you're going to be outside, you have to learn to walk on a leash."  Then, they introduce you to another couple, younger - the female human in that younger couple can't stop hugging you.  It's OK, because you like the snuggles.  Then, they give you a "blanket" (towel) that they tell you is a cat family heirloom, and that is your place on the bed.

After the first good night's sleep in a while, these people feed you hard and soft food and brush you all over.  If this is your new family, you are going to love it... you show your appreciation with head-butts and kitty hugs.  Yep, a big first day.

Facebook reminded me of this auspicious occasion...

 The vet told us he was "full grown"... six months later, he was 50% larger and had blossomed into that handsome long-hair feline you see today.

The boy is family in every way.  

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It was a foggy start to the day this morning, while getting the bike out of our underneath storage...

As thick as it is, it isn't going to dissipate anytime soon.  I dressed for it...

That green will stand out in the fog.  Riding down the Sea Cottage street...

A look down our canal on the way home...

That is our house on the left.  Or, as Rufus puts it: the big house (compared to the motorhome).  We were in the motorhome his first two months.  It's an easy transition for him when we head out in the motorhome.  No, no near term plans for that right now.

---------

That fog stayed around all day.  I took Joan's Xmax out for a ride this afternoon.  As I rode over the causeway, the rise in elevation at the high part (that allows boat traffic underneath) put into thicker fog.  Still, it was a pleasant ride.  I have only ridden Joan's bike once or twice since I got the new Vespa - these are really very different approaches to the riding experience.  I have fun riding her bike, because it is definitely "sportier;" but the Vespa really is a better fit for me.

I did stop to take a couple photos...