Well, every last vestige of the Texas storm is gone. One week ago today the temperature was around 8F. Today it was 75F. Didn’t even need a jacket.
The Husband and I survived the storm – tragically about 70 people in the area didn’t. Thousands were without any kind of power at all for days – am not even sure if everyone has theirs restored now. We were without power for 30+ hours, of course over the night that it went down to -1F. However – we were blessed by having a gas fireplace and a gas cooktop. Gas fireplaces don’t give out nearly as much heat as wood, but we were certainly grateful for whatever it did give! With a gas cooktop I was able to make hot drinks and sort-of cook, so we didn’t do without. Best of all, we have an old-fashioned coal oil lamp that belonged to my great-grandparents. And blankets. Several extra blankets, and we and the dog nested under them all that long cold night!
My heart goes out to those who suffered more than we, and believe me, things were bad here. I do prefer cool weather to hot, but – hey! – there is a limit! As strange as it seems, so many people think Dallas/Fort Worth is tropical, and while I’ll admit it does get hot, it most definitely isn’t tropical! Every year we have some cold weather, and about once a decade we have a storm like the one just past. Believe me, that’s one too many. Stay warm and safe, everyone. Even if you don’t expect a storm or a disaster, have some supplies in your house. They do make a difference.
Hope you had a wonderful Halloween! I love Halloween – it’s really the only truly grown-up holiday in my opinion. For one night you get to be anyone or anything you want – the apogee of grown-up ‘play like’. I’m just sorry that grown-ups can’t go door to door demanding candy… my waistline, however, isn’t.
