Tag Archive | ice

Junco in Snow and Ice

Feb20

My friend in Minnesota tells me that when the Junco arrives, it means snow is coming. Well, it sure worked here in Texas too.

We still have snow on the ground, still freezing temperatures through the night and this morning. When I saw how many people died at home due to hypothermia because of the week-long hard freeze we had and no electricity, it made me wonder how cold it had to be to get it. The horrible fact is that none of those people had to die.

Apparently, there are no hard and fast rules.

Today we will get to 58, and perversely, 70 tomorrow.

I heard someone say that Texas never gets snow. Sure we do. I’ve been in snowstorms in Amarillo, whiteout conditions trying to drive home to Canyon from work in Amarillo. I’ve slid all over the black ice roads trying to get to Fort Hood in an ice storm along with countless others when they didn’t close the fort early enough. In Crawford, I have pictures of the number of times we had snow, both at my home and later when I lived at my mother’s. In Houston, I’ve only lived here for six years, and we’ve had snow for 3 of those years. My pipes froze in Crawford a couple of times. My pipes froze here. I’ve been stuck in Dallas during a snowstorm and couldn’t get a flight out.

So yes, we do get cold weather. It doesn’t last this long–a week of way below freezing temperatures down to 10 degrees, but yes, we can get freezing temperatures, snow, and sleet.

And even if we don’t get it very often or for very long, there shouldn’t be any reason why we had to go through what we did this week and for people to die because of it.

Okay, I’ve got to get to work on this book. It’s nearly at 100K, I thought I was cutting some out! At least I’m writing about summer. Heat, paddling, swimming. I should be writing my Christmas book!

Have a super great day!!! And stay safe!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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Texas under Snow and Ice

Feb16
Azalea in snow
People pushing a car free after spinning out in the snow in Waco, Texas, yesterday.Jerry Larson/Waco Tribune-Herald, via Associated Press

I used to work in Waco. But it’s a mess here too near Houston.

Texas is under snow and ice! And a lot of other places in the south that normally aren’t either. Electric outages all over. Rolling blackouts. Water isn’t being pumped to some homes.

I’m afraid my sprinkler system probably broke, despite trying to weatherproof it. And my kitchen sink pipes froze last night. So I’m hair drying it, trying to unfreeze it, hoping I don’t have a flood of water like I did in Oklahoma one time. And the worst? It was Christmas Day. I had to have a friend turn off the water for me because it was frozen and I couldn’t budge it, and when the plumbers came the next day, they found termite towers in the wall behind the plumbing they had to repair. Talk about costly!!!

Anyway, still frozen, still writing tons and rewriting tons and moving stuff around in White Wolf. It will be a mess for a while, but it’s getting better. I’m up to chapter 7-8 and those are mostly like I want them. 15 chapters to revise, rewrite, move around. 🙂 But it’s getting there!

Now if I can only unfreeze my kitchen pipe and hope I don’t have a crack in it!

Frozen rose. Flowers blooming before the deep freeze hit.

Stay safe and if you’re in the middle of this Polar Vortex–we haven’t had this kind of cold since 1985–stay warm the best you can!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
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Trying to Focus on Goals Again

Mar10

I know I”m sick when I don’t blog, don’t take pictures, don’t pull up weeds, can’t remember if I’ve fed the dogs or not…Writing and other deadline goals? Are you kidding me? Now I have no voice, lost 4 lbs (which is a good thing, now if I could keep it off), fevers have subsided but woke up in a sweat this morning. And I’m coughing ALL NIGHT long. I need to sleep. I think there was one 3-hour stretch where I actually slept straight through before I started coughing again. I cough all day too. I’ll be so glad when I’m feeling better.

I had taken these pictures before I got sick when we had a couple of days hard freeze, but guess what? I’d done everything I could to weatherproof stuff and totally forgot about turning off the water fountain. Thankfully, it’s running fine and it’s been warm ever since. The birds, squirrels, and yes, my dogs, drink from it, so it’s important they have the water to drink from.

Despite being so under the weather, I finally made up the bear for the order on Friday, embroidered the paws last night, struggling to stay awake until they were done, and got some more of my tax stuff together Friday night and spent all day yesterday finding all the stuff, doing the excel sheets, to turn in to the CPA. I used to do my taxes on my own, but I couldn’t keep up with tax laws and I was paying more than I should have. So it was well worth having a CPA do them. I still need to make a sash and bonnet for the bear–it’s a bigger bear, so I’ll have to create a new pattern for it, and turn in my paperwork to the CPA hopefully on Monday.

To top it all off, my editor wanted me to look at her suggestions for a change on the novella. I really couldn’t think when she sent it to me Friday, I think, and told her I’d try to get it back to her this weekend. So today, I want to get that done and the bear done, and them Monday, hopefully I’ll be back on track for Wolff Brother. I told you being sick really doesn’t work with my schedule!

But with no more fevers, I’m hoping I’m on the road to recovery! If I can get some uninterrupted sleep. And I feel great about the taxes and finishing the bear hopefully today too. I’ve been totally stressed over all of it, knowing that time is drawing short for everything. I have to turn in Wolff Brothers in just 20 days . I’m nearly at word count, but need to do a lot more work on it.

I’m off to check out the novella and hope you are having a sick-less day!

Terry

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
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Macro Shots and Being Sick

Jan19

Macro shots of a rosebud, waiting to see if it will warm up, and another that is trying to weather out the cold, and of ice in the fountain.

I finally gave in and went to see the doctor. Had to get a shot, on antibiotics, steroids (for good muscles), and cough pearls. Now, antibiotics can make me nauseous. So it’s a necessary evil, but, I’m not looking forward to this. They said not the flu, no sinus infection (tell that to my sinuses), but my lungs are raspy. Yes, I could hear that. Did I feel short of breath?

Well, given that if I did anything, or didn’t do anything, I was coughing my lungs out, and my sinuses are so congested that I can’t breathe and I’m not doing much of anything…no. If I tried to walk a mile, maybe, but I would have figured that’s because I can’t breathe and I keep coughing.

But I really went in to make sure I didn’t have a sinus infection.

Now, the steroids and antibiotics can make you throw up. The cough pearls can make you lose your mind (says that in side effects, not making this stuff up) and make you sleepy. The steroids will keep you awake. I’m only taking a cough pearl at night when I’m trying to sleep so I won’t cough all night, though I couldn’t stop coughing last night anyway. And there’s a reason for that. I need to get rid of all this congestion. So if I lose my mind in the middle of the night, I’ll hopefully have it back by the time I wake up. I won’t miss it until then.

As to the steroids (only 5 days of them, so one day down), I need to stay awake all day anyway, so I can work. The throwing up part doesn’t work for me though. Sweating? Restlessness? I can deal with it.

But hopefully, I’ll begin to see an improvement soon and be back to my normal self!

Hope everyone stays well!!! And has a great day!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
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signature line email Seal Wolf Undercover, Cougar Undercover, Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas, My Highlander 300 x120

Freezing Rain Mixed with Snow…

Jan16

Our high was 31 and temps are dropping. Feels like 19 degrees, and we’re having freezing rain.

If anything looks cool, I’ll try to take a picture of it. We have snow on the rooftops already.

Our weather is totally weird. The puppies were racing all over in the freezing rain first time I let them out this morning, but kept running back in the house because I wouldn’t go out with them. Finally bundled up and went out with them so they’d do their business outside in the rain. Now that they’ve eaten their breakfast, I have to take them out again.

I’m trying to stay warm and get over the galloping crud still. Saturday it’s supposed to be 71 degrees. That’s Texas for you!

Have a great one!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear:
Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears: http://www.celticbears
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/u63qP
Follow Me for new releases and book deals: www.bookbub.com/authors/terry-spear

signature line email Seal Wolf Undercover, Cougar Undercover, Dreaming of a White Wolf Christmas, My Highlander 300 x120

More White Stuff

Mar5

Everything is coated in ice and snow this morning. I have a protected entryway, but even so, I had snow up next to the door. We have a winter storm warning in effect until noon. Why didn’t I know that? I need to start checking out the weather report more often!!!20 mph winds and 13 degrees chill factor. And dummy me went out without a coat on, hurrying the puppies to do their thing. Max doesn’t like it when he can’t find the grass to go on. 🙂 Which is good, I suppose, as he doesn’t think he’s supposed to go on anything but grass.

I was supposed to take the puppies in for flu shots today (only because they’re being boarded later and they gave them shots when they were there the last time, but at 10 am. I’ll cancel and reschedule for when we have Texas weather again. 🙂

IMG_1348 (640x427) IMG_1349 (640x469)

Off to work on word count and bears!

Have a super great Thursday!

Terry
“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy is reality.”
Connect with Terry Spear: Website: http://www.terryspear.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/421434.Terry_Spear
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TerrySpearParanormalRomantics
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TerrySpear
Wilde & Woolly Bears http://www.celticbears.com