Cold Weather in Texas

The cold weather hit Texas early Thursday morning with 30 mile an hour winds, teen digits and a thin layer of ice. I envy those of you who got snow. Ice is scary to drive on. I went on in to work and saw three accidents where cars obviously going to fast, hit ice and landed on the medium with there front ends smashed into poles.

Friday morning we woke up to find our master bath sink pipes frozen. They are on a wall that faces north and it was 6 degrees outside. We knew we should let the faucets drip the night before and just didn't do it. We turned on the bathtub faucet and it worked so we just let it keep dripping. We put space heaters under the sinks trying to get them to thaw and were praying the pipes had not burst.

Saturday morning the cold water pipe to my kitchen island sink was frozen. Fortunately the sun came out and temps got above freezing. All pipes thawed and we thought we had made it without any breakage.

As I was leaving for the store I went to inspect the north wall. There was ice in all the bottom crevices and water marks all along the foundation. Panic city hit. Tom turned the water off to the house and called for help. He was absolutely beside himself with visions of brick being torn out to find the broken pipe(s). We were lucky enough to get a plumber out because Dallas is inundated with broken pipes everywhere.

The really good news is no pipes were broken. The faucet fixture to the bathtub was leaking and had been that way since we moved in. We have only used the bathtub once on the first day we moved in. Rosie had lost it from both ends in her pet carrier (thought she was going to the vet) and I had to give her a bath. Lovely way to use your tub for the first time. The tub faucet had been on since the day before, so it had been leaking underneath all this time.

Now it looks like this.

He had to pull the panel from the front and it broke. He was able to cap off the water so we could have water to the house until they can fix it on Monday.

We are supposed to get back into the teens tonight but the rest of the week we warm back up into the 50's. Until then it's snuggy time.

Stay Warm!

Why My Christmas Cards Are Running Late.

Trying to get a photo to put on a Christmas card this year was not easy for many reasons:

• I put it off too long.
• I've never tried to use my self timer before.
• I misjudged how long it would take to get them back from the drugstore.
• And.........

Finding the right spot to do it.

Checking the distance, settings, etc. with a helper.

Making sure I had time to get in the picture.

Making sure mom would show up sitting in the chair.

Not mom - another helper.

All in but ........

Someone likes to make faces.

Let's put the cats in the picture!

Bad idea.

Charlie wants to jump on mom and Jackson finds it way to funny.

Would you believe the first one I took is the one we're using! Another lesson learned.

Fall Into Christmas

I am in the midst of switching from "Fall" to "Christmas" decorations. I put very few fall items up, just enough to feel the season. I just love this ceramic pumpkin I picked up at Hobby Lobby at one of their 50 percent off sales. You Hobby Lobby shoppers know what I mean.

When the kids were little I used to decorate every room and corner in the house. It was overkill of red, green, tinsel and garland. As the years went by I cut back and went from 10+ boxes to 2 big green bins and a tree in a box that fit nicely in the garage and not up in the attic.

This year I'm just lightly skimming the surface with decorations.

I'm still trying to put things in place from our move here uh . . . 2 months ago! And NOPE, we do not have room for a car in the garage yet. (And Yes, I know that "and" does not belong at the beginning of a sentence. It's just how I talk.) I hope to get a little cooperation from the family decorating the tree today. They have been "cutting back" over the years on that job too. We'll see how it goes.

I've been very lax in posting lately. There has just been so much to do. I plan on getting back into the swing soon and have a major itch to redo my blog layout. Our computer did not make the move very well. The USB ports have pooped out, the DVD drive can't read and it doesn't recognized my camera or scanner. It makes it more of a job to post pics with pooped out ports! Ha!

Tom and I hit Fry's yesterday and picked up the "very last" computer on sale for $299. It was a fantastic deal. So this week I am transferring my pictures and documents via email to mom's computer for safe keeping. (It doesn't recognize the flash drive either.) We will then switch out computers and be back in business.

Have I said pooped out ports = pain in the popo?


Have a wonderful day!

Love, Miss Potty Mouth.

From A Tiny Little Acorn

We lived in our home for 26 years and it really was not difficult for me to walk away from it. It needed so much work and it just never has been the safe haven it was after our intruder, stalker, or creepy guy as I call him violated it. I told Tom the memories of our years there are in my heart and head and they go wherever I go. Besides the echoes of little feet pitter pattering through the old house are loud and clear in the new one! They are still with us while working on college degrees. It's a new phase in our lives and we are beginning new memories here.

The only thing it hurt to leave.

We planted a tree.

A Beautiful Red Oak.

A little over 20 years ago our son Scott, was stillborn. That memory is as clear today as the day it was made. Planting a tree in his honor and watching it grow seemed like the right thing to do. Seeing it out my kitchen window everyday was comforting. I never thought about how I would feel if we ever moved, until we did.

I couldn't bring the tree but I could bring these that I gathered from under its branches.

I thought about trying to plant them but decided I would rather see them.

20 little acorns

And - out our window - a new Red Oak to nurture and watch grow.


"From little acorns mighty oaks do grow"

Old and New brought together.

Halloween 2009

It was the perfect night for Halloween, clear, almost a full moon and a chill in the air. Being new in the neighborhood I had no idea how many kids would show up. I prepared for many. I always buy candy we like and it was a good thing I did that this year because WE ONLY HAD 5 "TRICK OR TREATERS"!

I set a table up outside and brought out my favorite Halloween buds to help. I even put my devil horns on. We are at the end of the block and right now there are many empty lots and empty houses before you get to us. They just didn't make their way down this far.

So now I have lots of candy but I don't think we will have any trouble getting rid of it. This guy has quite a sweet tooth. Maybe that's why he looks so happy!

Hope your Halloween was fun!

A Little Peek

I am still unpacking. It just seems to be never ending. I still have linen boxes and knick knack boxes to go through that are sitting in the garage. Believe me the garage is full of boxes. Here is a peek at what we did accomplish this week. Mom recovered the kitchen chairs. She did a wonderful job! The print is black with a white floral print. (They are sitting outside because I had just sprayed them with fabric guard.

We have searched endlessly for a curio to put in the breakfast nook to display moms chicken and rooster collection. Finally found one and I just love it. It's black and the back panel is white. It really makes the figurines "pop". I cross stitched the sampler over 30 years ago. It has always been in my kitchen. Before we moved I washed it and re framed it.

Here is a picture showing the kitchen nook so far.

I'm behind blogging because my computer is having issues. In order to put pictures on my blog I am having to upload them through mom's computer. Since we moved my computer doesn't recognize the camera, flash drive or scanner. I think the ports have pooped out. Oh well, I'd better get back to box city. Have a great day!

All In!

We made the move a week ago Monday. Of course we spent the next two days hauling all those items left behind and cleaning up the house. On Wednesday I started trying to unpack the kitchen. I have been working almost non stop on this and hope to finish "the kitchen" today. I cannot believe how much we have and trying to figure out where to put it is the hardest part! Here are a few pictures after the move in.

Breakfast nook

Molly hard at work on the computer?

Dining Room

Garage

One of the biggest reasons we love it. The view!