Sunday, December 27, 2015

Day 2203

I had no idea how bad last night's storm really was until I turned on the television this morning. This wasn't your usual Texas tornado scare. It was a major disaster. I had always thought we had been spared from tornadoes in the past because we lived next to a lake, but the worst damage from last night's storm was right next to Lake Ray Hubbard to the northeast of us. Entire blocks of houses were completely destroyed. At least eleven people died. Cars filled with people were literally blown off a freeway overpass. This was a very serious storm.

It was unbelievable how many dogs got lost during the storm. All day long my Facebook feed was filled with shared requests to look for a lost family pet. There were hundreds of lost dogs. Someone I know actually saw the tornado pass right in front of her while she was trapped on a busy road with no place to hide. We didn't realize just how lucky we were when the worst of the storm passed a few miles to the east of us on its way to causing so much destruction in Garland and Rowlett.

The tornado danger passed as soon as a cold front arrived from West Texas. The temperature dropped forty degrees, but the rain continued. It's been raining all day. I can't blame the dogs for not wanting to go outside today. I didn't want to go outside either. The rain never really stopped, but I did manage to find a few periods when it slowed down a bit. It was too cold and nasty to take Dot outside, but I did take Dash for a short walk. Luckily he was sensible enough to do his business quickly.

Other than two short walks so Dash could poop in his favorite place, I didn't leave the house all day. With the furnace working properly and the dehumidifier sucking moisture out of the air, the house was actually quite comfortable. I spent the day updating the Dalmatian Rescue website and watching Dr. Who episodes I had missed.

Updating the Dalmatian website wouldn't have taken so long if I could remember how to code responsive websites. I don't do these things frequently enough for the knowledge to stay permanently in my brain. It's complicated, and every time I have to update a mobile friendly site, I end up having to relearn things I've already done before. Initially the code looks like someone else wrote it. Hopefully, the new skills I've learned will eventually become second nature. I don't think anybody's going back to using Dreamweaver and it's getting frustrating becoming baffled by my own code.

It's a good thing I viewed the Dr. Who season finale a second time this afternoon. I found Hell Bent to be confusing the first time I saw it, but it made a lot more sense when I realized that I had missed a full twelve minutes of the show the first time around. Maybe I fell asleep when I was watching on my computer. Maybe the dogs distracted me. Those twelve minutes made a big difference though. I actually liked the show this time. I didn't get around to watching the Christmas Special. I'll save that one for another rainy day.

I hope everyone finds their missing dogs. I'm going to put leashes on ours the next time we sit huddled in a corner waiting for the all clear signal after a bad storm. Dash panics easily and if our house was damaged, he might run away too. Hopefully, the weather will clear up soon. There is too much to worry about already.

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