Toward the end of the day, Craig took Jenna deer hunting. I don’t think their luck was quite as good. Who would have guessed? The weather yesterday afternoon warmed up to short-sleeve shirt weather. That doesn’t generally work well for a deer hunt.
I saw a face book posting yesterday from an artist that the General and I met when we were in Bath, Maine. She had been out early morning photographing the “smoke coming off” the water. Her ability to capture incredible scenery that is picture perfect is remarkable. That’s not to say her work conditions are optimal. Reportedly, it was cold! I realize the cold is a relative term, but who would argue that -7 degrees is cold? I can’t imagine.
Of course, when she returned to the comforts of home, it was still cold. She reported that the temperature was 40 degrees inside her house. I guess running out of oil in one’s home is worse than running out of gas in one’s car. I suggested she seek the warmth and hospitality of a neighbor’s home. I’ve been in her neighborhood and know from experience that she is surrounded by gracious folks.
As the calendar year turns to 2018, COLD is the immediate forecast for most of the United States. I’m not just talking cold, I’m talking death defying cold. I mentioned last night at dinner that my grandmother’s grandfather froze to death in a horse drawn wagon between Saint Jo and Forestburg. The cold-storm came out of nowhere and he didn’t safely make it back home. My daughter questioned why I’d choose to share that kind of information? She was adamant that it fell into the category of too much information. In light of this week’s weather forecast, cold is a serious threat to personal safety.
According to CNN, “the bone-chilling cold even managed to freeze portions of the monstrous Niagara Falls, turning the attraction into a frozen, sparking paradise.” That is almost beyond belief. We visited Niagara Falls last year, and I can’t imagine anything stopping the flow of the falls. One meteorologist suggested: “Just grab everything in your closet and put it on. That’s the best thing I can tell you. Everything you own, just layer up.”
I had a couple of errands to run yesterday morning and did so without the need for a jacket or even the hassle of much traffic. That in and of itself was a minor miracle. I made a jaunt to both Bee Caves and South Austin. One of the things on my list was Styrofoam outside hydrant covers. When the horses came to visit a couple of weeks ago, they thoughtlessly devoured one of the hydrant covers. In case you need the same thing, Home Depot has been out for about three days. Apparently, there are folks who regularly look at the long-term weather forecast and they know that COLD is coming. I also needed hardware to hang pictures.
With picture hanging hardware finally in hand, I hung a few pictures at Andrea and Kevin’s townhome in Drippin’ before arriving back home for lunch. Of course, that may fall under the category of vested interest. Andrea has told me the place is mine if I need a location to work during the day without the incessant barking – oops, I meant to say “without the level of structure and gentle redirection” that often comes my way courtesy of the General. Andrea and Kevin still have their primary home in Henly, so they have choices of where to stay at the end of a day.
My youngest grandson, Jake spent Friday night with his Uncle Kevin and Aunt Dre’. They said he kept them thoroughly entertained. Jake is a story-teller extraordinaire and he likes nothing more than having a tale to share.
He turned nine-years-of-age on Thursday. That led him to a new level of independence. He decided on his own initiative that he was going to write my blog for today. Interestingly, he’s re-titled it “Jake’s Blog”.
Without any help or coaxing on my part, he invited me to see his finished product. As you can imagine, his writing and the way he expresses himself warmed my heart. The following are his words without editing:
The blog. Jake’s blog
That’s more like it.
It all started off when I went to my aunt and uncle’s house. On the first day I was at my aunt and uncle’s new house and I helped them move stuff around including a bed! The next morning we went to get hot chocolate and then we went to get bacon and egg breakfast burritos. A few hours later my mom and I played Monopoly and I won J. Then granddad bought a TV that was way too big and it couldn’t fit on the shelf and I said that’s bloggable and that’s why I put it in this blog. That’s the end.
On second thought I have more to say. So then my aunt and uncle brought their laptops to my grandparents house and showed them a video of granddad saying: “JUMP THE FIRE THAT’S CRAZY!!!!! I have heard people have gotten seriously injured doing that!” By the way my dad said do you want to come sit with me not do you want to jump the fire with me. I think that might be the end but I might be wrong.
Turns out I was wrong again.
By Jake L Forrester”
I am surmising from the reference, “turns out I was wrong again”, that we have another blog from Jake on the horizon for tomorrow.
All My Best – (And Jake’s too)
Don