Friday, December 6, 2013

Day 1452

A loud crash woke me up about 4:30 this morning. An ice laden tree had fallen on the roof. About two hour later, our power went out. It's about noon now and the power is still out throughout much of the city. Yes, Dallas is in the grip of another monster ice storm. We don't get snow like most places do in the Winter. We get freezing rain instead. Usually it starts at night, and by morning the roads are like ice rinks. Luckily, there is no need to leave the house today. Not much is open anyway.

Since I can't function without coffee, I walked over to a nearby gas station to get a cup. I was hoping to get a breakfast taco too, but the power to the Green Spot kitchen was out. I filled a to-go mug with coffee, bought a muffin to go along with it and walked back home again to eat my meager breakfast in the rapidly cooling house. Since our house is mostly floor to ceiling single pane glass, there isn't much insulation. Within two or three hours after a power outage, the inside of the house starts to feel a lot like the outside.

It's always difficult to deal with the dogs when things get icy. Neither of them have the good sense to poop in the yard, and on days like today, taking them in the park can be treacherous. I took Dash on a short walk when I got up this morning, but Dot had to stay home. She is too frail and unstable to navigate the icy conditions. Luckily, Dot will eventually poop in the yard when she really needs to. Dash thinks he needs to go on the park no matter what's going on with the weather. We didn't walk far this morning, but I saw dozens of trees uprooted. The heavy, wet ice clinging to the branches just knocked them over.

I have lots of work to do today, but I'm no sure how I'm going to get it done. The power is out. Our primary WiFi is out and I don't know how long the secondary WiFi connection will last. The laptop batteries are getting low as well, so I may be out of business pretty soon.  I haven't missed a day yet as a blogger, so I'll manage to get this posted one way or another.

I really hope the power company gets to our neighborhood soon. I'm bundled up in sweaters and the dogs are huddled under blankets on their dog beds in the living room. Janet is still trying to decide whether to go in to the office or not. I envy those people in the neighborhood who have fireplaces. I see smoke rising from chimneys up and down the street. No smoke rising from our place though. We don't have a fireplace. Since it's a lot colder outside than inside, Janet is moving the perishable food from the non-functioning refrigerator to a cooler on the back porch. I hear lots of sirens from fire engines and emergency vehicles going up and down the street. I don't hear any power company trucks unfortunately. It's going to be one of those days.

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day
Watch of the Day