It's a Scorcher

Jim, Jacob, and I left Colorado on Tuesday and flew to Texas. The Houston area is still very dry - in fact we are in what is officially known as an "exceptional drought." It just never seems to rain around here anymore. To add insult to injury, the region has also been experiencing higher than normal temperatures, which increases the evaporation rate. The fact that no one was at our house over the holiday weekend to water the plants and bushes did not bode well with our foliage. I am going to have to devote the next few weeks to nursing the browning shrubbery back to health. In the meantime, we have all been spending a lot of time in our pool, where the water is delightfully warm - around 90 degrees. Swimming is the only type of outdoor activity that is feasible when the temperature reaches the century mark.

The forecast - hot and dry.

Our thermometer reached 100 in the shade today.

Chasing, Cheering, and Chalupas

Jacob and I spent Wednesday and Thursday hanging around with Adam in Fort Collins. We had hoped to do some storm chasing while out west, but the weather has not been very cooperative for that venture. The three of us did take off for southern Wyoming on Thursday afternoon when Adam's fancy-schmancy computer radar program indicated the slight possibility of severe storms there. Even though we didn't see any tornadoes or thunderstorms - or even a bolt of lightening for that matter - we had a fun time learning the ins and outs of storm chasing. I certainly understand why the Vortex 2 project operated in the Great Plains the past two years. With no hills or trees in your line of sight, you really can see for miles and miles and miles . . .

Jim flew up from Houston to join us on Friday. We all went to the Colorado Rockies game in Denver on Saturday. The match up between the Rockies and the St. Louis Cardinals was quite exciting. The first inning lasted about 40 loooong minutes with Colorado scoring six runs. In the end, the home team won 15-4 and there was never a dull moment since the batters just kept on hitting and hitting. As an added bonus, the Rockies have a promotion that offers discounted Taco Bell food whenever they score 7 or more runs in a game. Needless to say, we enjoyed tacos and nachos this evening. Dinner for four was less than $9.00.

Jacob posed for me as we waited for storms to develop on a rural road in Wyoming.

Adam, Jacob, and Jim at Coors Field. The temperature was chilly - in the low 60s. Jim said that it felt like wintertime in Houston.

A row of these purplish-blue seats goes completely around the stadium to signify the mile-high mark. The seats are empty here because we arrived over an hour before game time.

Up, Up, and Away

Jacob and I flew from Detroit to Denver this afternoon to visit Adam. Security screenings at the airports that we have been to lately all include those new-fangled full-body scan machines. I have no objection to them and have always stepped in, been scanned, then been sent on my way. I don't know what I did differently this time - in fact I was wearing the same pair of jeans that I had on the last time I flew - but I somehow raised the suspicions of the TSA. An agent asked if I had on a belt and when I said no, she informed me that I would need a pat down of my mid-section. It is definitely time to lose weight if my waistline appears on a body scanner as a belt. Yikes!

Our westward flight was bumpy, with a few minutes of fairly severe turbulence. As the aircraft pitched wildly about, I glanced at Jacob. I knew I had raised a good flyer when he smiled at me and exclaimed, "This is fun, it's like a roller coaster!" We landed in Denver right on time and sent Adam a text to let him know that we had arrived. Imagine our surprise when he replied that he had overslept and was still at his apartment in Fort Collins - an hour north of Denver International. Adam blamed his alarm clock for the mix-up, and he also missed a morning presentation at school that he had intended to attend before picking us up. After hanging around, walking around, and sitting around the airport (Jacob and I now know that place very well), Adam's Jeep came zipping into the passenger pick-up area. We made it to his apartment a few hours later than expected.

Rain and Shine

I don't mean to dwell on the weather in all my posts, but - geez - the rain just never stops in southeast Michigan. I'm sure there is a way to check the exact statistics, but I don't think there have been more than five days or so where the sun has been out for any extended period of time this spring. That leaves over 50 days of dismal gray-ness, often with precipitation. There have been a few warm days, though overall, our temperatures have been running around 20 degrees below normal. In April, I was certain that the ever-present clouds would disappear in May and the sun would return. I was wrong.

On the flip side, it never rains at our house in Texas. Each day brings warmth and sunshine, which seemed wonderful until the effects of the resulting drought became apparent. Greenery is turning brown, wild fires are popping up, and ranchers are actually watching their cattle die in their fields from lack of food & water. I'm pretty sure that when hurricane season begins next month, Texas will see at least a few tropical systems move through, which will bring a gullywasher or two to Houston.

I have no idea when Michigan will ever see more than a peek of sunshine, though.

Muddy Waters

I woke up Wednesday morning at our house in Texas with every intention of swimming some laps in the pool before heading back to Michigan that night. The weather was hot and I was looking forward to hanging around outdoors. I must say that I was less than thrilled when I peeked out back and saw that the pool appeared a bit, um, murky. Something had obviously gone awry with the filter and the water was eerily similar to Fishy's tank when it hasn't been cleaned in a very long time. Disgusting. Jim had taken the car to work that day, so I wasn't able to run a water sample over to the pool store for evaluation. (Which is a handy service that they offer free of charge - bring in your water, they test it on the spot, and tell you how to remedy your situation.) As soon as Jim got home from downtown we had to immediately leave for the airport. So, we were forced to abandon our normally beautiful, blue, sparkling-clean swimming pool in a state of total gross-ness until Monday when Jim returns to Houston. I'm sure that with a few magical chemicals and/or an adjustment of some pool equipment dials, the water will once again clear up nicely. I only wish that I had thought to snap some photos of the pool in all its muckiness because, hopefully, it will never be that scummy-looking again.

Dry Spell

The Texas weather has been just lovely ever since Jacob and I arrived in the state. The temperatures - while average last week (low to mid 80s) - have been above normal this week. The sun has been shining and our pool water is up to 84 degrees. We have been swimming and enjoying the summer-like conditions. Unfortunately, the lack of rain is beginning to take its toll on the grass, plants, and bushes in the area. In the past three months, Houston has received just a little over an inch & a half of precipitation, which is less than the Mojave Desert typically receives in the same time period. Kind of ironic, too, that there is such an over-abundance of water in other parts of the country. Too bad things always seem to work out that way - too much of something in one spot and not enough in another.

While checking on an out-of-town friend's house yesterday, we found this unusual red and blue chameleon. Usually, the little buggers are green or brown.

Headlights

While driving the CRV in the dark last month, Jacob and I noticed that one of our headlights was burned out. We were in Michigan at the time and Jim was due to fly up from Texas the next week, so we decided to leave the repair for him. Night after night I felt like somewhat of a criminal, stealthily cruising around town with only one working head lamp. Luckily, Jim showed up and fixed the headlight, claiming that it was one of the most annoyingly-located bulbs that he has ever had to replace.

We were pretty surprised when, the very next day, the other headlight burned out. Perturbed, Jim went back to the auto parts store, bought another bulb, and changed it.

After Jim flew back to Texas, I was happy that I no longer had to sneak about with a malfunctioning headlight while driving the CRV in the dark. I was especially glad that both bulbs hadn't gone kaput at the same time. A few nights later I was picking Jacob up from Richie's house. Richie walked outside with us when we left, and began waving his arms as we backed out of his driveway. I rolled down the window only to be informed that the original burned out headlight was again not working. What's with that? Since we were leaving for Texas the next day, we once more decided to leave the stupid headlight repair for Jim's next visit to Michigan.

Dixie

Jacob and I flew to Houston on Thursday. About an hour after taking off from cool, overcast, and windy Detroit, the clouds cleared and we were able to see the ground. We were shocked by the sight of extensive flooding below. Rivers that typically appear as ribbons cutting through the landscape looked like huge lakes overflowing their banks. We weren't able to get a good picture of the floods because the setting sun was shining directly into our westerly-facing window. Who would have thought to choose seats on the east side of the plane when on a mostly north-to-south flight in the evening? Lesson learned.

Jim and Jacob went golfing this afternoon. They had a great time, despite the fact that a bird snatched their baggie of cookies right out of their cart while they were on a green putting. Houston has been very dry & drought-y lately, and everyone here is hoping for rain. In the meantime, I am enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures. As usual, the humidity feels like it is about 900%. Jim has managed to hold off on turning the house air conditioning on this year, even though the neighbors have been using their units since February. I think I will have to crank it on tomorrow, as it is predicted to climb to 90 degrees.

This was taken somewhere over southern Tennessee. I wish it had come out better because the flooding was really quite spectacular-looking.

While out and about today, we saw several groups of people selling puppies on the side of the road. This is not unusual in Texas, as there are very few zoning laws. Sometimes the folks display their dogs in playpens or in the beds of pick-up trucks. These breeders must have been classy ones - they actually had their puppies in cages.

Our lilies are abloom in the yard. Unfortunately, this palm tree seems to be a goner.

Our banana tree is being eaten by squirrels this year. Yes, we have seen the pesky critters climbing up the stalks and chewing on the leaves. Crazy. Luckily, this palm tree has come back to life after the brutal winter. And these pretty, unidentified purple flowers are starting to grow again.

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful Easter celebration today. Despite the holiday falling later in April than usual, the weather was far from ideal. We did get a peek of the sun this afternoon, but the ever-present clouds and rain lingered on, too. With all of the precipitation we have had lately, the May flowers ought to be absolutely gorgeous around here this year.

Jim, Jacob, Irma, Nancy, Richie, and I went to church in the morning. Afterwards, we rendezvoused at Irma's house with the rest of the family. (Minus Adam, Jean, and Jenna, who were out of town.) We ate, chatted, and engaged in a lively game of girls vs. guys Taboo, where the girls came out victorious thanks to our shrewd recruitment of Norm onto the ladies' team. All in all it was a very enjoyable day.

April Showers

When I woke up Monday morning it was snowing. This was not unexpected - in fact the local meteorologists were fairly accurate with their predictions. We received about 2 inches of wet snow, which could have piled up to 5 or 6 inches had the ground not been so warm. (Warm meaning above freezing, not actually 60 degrees or anything like that.) I must say that I was excited to see the white stuff. It has been cold and cloudy and dreary in Michigan lately and the snow brightened the gloom somewhat. Unfortunately, it didn't stick around for long and we are right back to cold and cloudy and dreary.

Snow on our balcony. The wind had tipped over the chair.

The view out front as the snow was beginning to melt. Notice that the neighbors had already planted some pansies around their trees over the weekend. Amazingly, the flowers survived.

No Substitutions

Almost every Saturday morning I go out for breakfast. If I am in Michigan, Jacob and I meet up with Nancy and Richie at a local eatery. If I am in Texas, Jim, Jacob, and I visit some nearby restaurant. One of our favorite places to dine in both states is Denny's.

The $4 "Everyday Value Slam" is one of my preferred breakfast choices. It includes eggs, meat, and pancakes. Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of pancakes, so I always ask if I can substitute toast for the flapjacks. Usually my request is granted, no questions asked. One particular waitress at our Michigan Denny's, though, is a stickler for rules and is very adamant about not allowing any substitutions. For me, anyway. When I informed her last weekend that other waitresses in the restaurant have let me switch the pancakes for toast, she gave me a rambling lecture about why she is not able to do it. Sighing, I gave her my alternate breakfast choice, then she turned to Jacob to take his order. He picked a lunch item and told the girl that he did not want the cole slaw that was included with his sandwich. Smiling sweetly, she asked him if he would like a salad instead of the slaw. Huh? Next, Nancy was allowed to substitute hash browns for her pancakes. What?

I wrote to Denny's public relations department last week, but have not heard back from them yet. I certainly understand if their policy states that they cannot offer substitutions (and it does not say so anywhere on the menu), but they should really be more consistent. If I had never been able to get toast in lieu of pancakes, I would have accepted defeat long ago. But, 80% of the time the waitress will happily respond, "No problem at all." And, just for the record, my appeal for toast has not been turned down at our Texas Denny's. Only at our Michigan location.