Sunday Drive: Snowfall

As performed by Doris Day, 1967; one of M.P.'s favorite songs.  And so appropriate for today in Texas.

It's sunny and 16 fucking degrees outside as I write, and feels like 30 in the house.  BRRR!  We have 3 to 5 inches of white stuff all over the gound, atop a solid glaze of ice.  That's why you don't see any traffic on the roads in this news video, though the freeways are open.  Temps won't get above freezing until Tuesday afternoon, for a little while.  Here's some live coverage from the Dallas-Fort Worth area:

M.P. and I are hunkered down and huddled up in our drafty old bungalow, using all available methods of heat generation and retention - gas furnace, electric fireplace, and multiple layers of clothing. I highly recommend fleece-lined flannel shirts and knitted caps.  And we're not leaving the house until the icy white is all gone. 

Screen capture from WFAA drone over Dallas.  Click to enlarge.
N.B. - This is a color picture.

To keep up our morale, last night M.P. made sausage-and-chicken gumbo, with potato salad and fried oysters on the side; it doesn't get any better than that! And I hunted up The Birdcage, which we haven't seen in years; still a comedic treat.  We watched it as we ate our dinner at the kitchen bar, followed by hot coffee and the last two slices of homemade chess pie, flavored with a drop of orange liqueur.

My heart aches for you Yankee boys, really it does.

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Here We Go Again

North Texas is bracing for a monster icy blast like that Deep Freeze we had five years ago.  WFAA in Dallas reports:

Last time, all the state agencies assured us that everything would be fine. Instead, there were massive power failures statewide, and hundreds of people died from exposure. The Governor put all the blame on solar panels and wind turbines.  Seriously.  Now the same agencies and the same governor are saying once again that all will be well - we've got it covered - don't worry, be happy. 

M.P. and I are stocking up on groceries, candles, and brandy, and crossing all our fingers.

P. S. -- That craven skunk Ted Cruz has already jetted off to California - a sure sign that we're gonna get walloped.

Bonus:  M.P. just got back from Kroger and Winco, and he said it was just like what you see in this video.  Even the produce shelves were completely empty - I'm thinking, what the hell?  Produce?  Is this a vegetarian emergency?

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Sunday Drive: I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

Mornin', guys.  It's cold as fuck here in Texas: 17 degrees, and the wind chill is just above zero.  We got a couple inches of snow on the ground and more falling.  The governor declared the whole state a disaster area yesterday; temps are going down to the single digits in most places tonight.  I see by the weather map that we're not the only ones hurting, either.  This just might be the most frigid Valentine's Day in the nation's history, ya think?  

The temperature inside this drafty old house is not exactly warm, either; despite the central heat running day and night, it's a little below 60 degrees, so we are both swaddled in flannels and woolens.  But last night M.P. did a lot to warm us up when he cooked a steaming big pot of beans and hamhock, with jalapeno cornbread on the side.   Mmmm-mmm, that was some mighty fine eatin'.  I tell you what.

Hope all my truckbuddies are staying warm.  Here's a hot little song to help y'all out.

 

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Winter Storm Warning - WTF?

I don't often check the weather reports - your Head Trucker is of the old school that prefers to look out the window and see if it's rainy or sunny. But it does seem that just a day or two ago I glanced at the forecast and it was all 40s to 60s and clear. Last night I had some reason to look again, and OMG a shitload of icy nastiness is bearing down upon my locality.

Your Head Trucker grew up further south, where snow just doesn't happen - a couple of flakes once every ten years or so, maybe, which sends everyone into a great panic. Otherwise, it might get cold but no ice, no sleet, no hail, no snow. Which is just the way I like it. Somehow though, the road of life led me to this place of exile out on the prairie, so I have to bear it. Just hope I have enough essential provisions to get by until the ice melts again.

And yeah, I know I sound like a total wuss to all you big, bad dudes who grew up in the frozen North - but then, you guys totally wimp out in the summer heat down here, so there.

Speaking of warmer climes, I ran across this charming compilation of home movies from about 1940 - some jolly tourists from up Nawth are vacationing at a resort on the Atlantic coast of Florida.  They must be pretty well fixed because they traveled on the all-Pullman, extra-fare Florida Special. No sound, thank God - I hate cutesy, anachronistic soundtracks added to silent films - but it's quite intriguing to me.  Who are these people, where are they from, and what are they talking about, thinking about?

It's also pretty amazing to see people on vacation lounging about and walking the beach in suits, ties, and smart frocks. Nowadays, not even the super-rich do that; but with all the comfort we've gained by relaxing the dress codes, what have we lost, I wonder?



P.S. - Even in Miami, further south from where these people stayed, it's much too damn cold to go swimming in the wintertime - the air temp is okay, but the water temp will turn your balls blue in a hurry. And then when you get out of the water, you really start to shiver as the ocean breeze evaporates the water on your skin. Your Head Trucker knows because he tried it on Christmas Day in Miami Beach one time, back when he was young and stupid.  But the Yankees in this film seem to be having a big time - they must think it's warm.

Snowing Now

Here we go again. 

Still Cold

All this week it's been bitterly cold:  down in the teens at night and wind chills in the single digits.  Weather reports say it's not going to let up soon, either.  At the moment, it's snowing lightly, 25 degrees and wind chill of 16.  Took a couple pics to show you guys. 

I know it's even worse in other places, but for Texas this is bad - real bad.  I have the faucets dripping night and day, and keep the thermostat on 70 (in real numbers, that means about 60), trying to avoid a whopping heating bill - which means I feel cold all the time.  Too cold to do anything but eat and sleep.

You can see the postman's tracks in the front yard.
Snow too deep to see where the curb ends and the street begins.

My poor birds perched on the frozen birdbath earlier, now piled
4 inches deep with snow.

Florida looks good right now.

The Pork Boys are due to have another big dinner do tomorrow but I don't know if the other PB can make it out here.  He slid off into a ditch the other night, swerving to avoid a speeding van; he was not happy about the hundred dollars it cost to have a tow truck pull him out.  We were hoping by tomorrow the snow would have abated, but it's only going up to 37 they say, and that may not be enough to clear the stuff off these country roads.  So we'll see.

Even with all the storm windows closed and the heat mildly on, I've been sleeping in my clothes all week.  It's that cold here.  You guys take care and stay warm, if you can.

Today's TX Weather

Feels like it, too.

I checked, it's actually warmer in Nome, Alaska, right now.



From my kitchen window.  Too goddamn cold to go out in the yard for a pic.



Still Cold

What greeted me at dawn's early light when I stepped out to feed the birds.  Temp was 18 and wind chill was 9.  And buddy it felt like it, too.

Going up only to 30 today, won't be above freezing again till Friday I think. 

Feels Like Zero

I'll say it fucking well does.  Just went out to feed the birds with only a longsleeved T-shirt on, and holy shit! That was like stepping into an icicle bath.  You can believe I got my ass back inside pronto, buddies.

Wintry Mix

Rain and snow this morning transitioning to snow showers for the afternoon.  Cold.  Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s.  Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph.  Snow accumulating 1 to 3 inches.  Chance of precipitation:  100%.

Damn.  And I have to go to work in this mess.  Sure wish I could come home to find some young, hairy stud stirring up a mess of Southern Pot Roast.

I'd be so totally grateful, I'd just love him till he couldn't stand it no more.

What Would You Have Done?

Texas temps at 4 a.m. today.

Brrrrr!

Holy shit!  Eighteen degrees outside right now, and a wind chill of 8!  That's pretty damn cold for this part of the country.  At least it's dry, though - no snow or ice.  Thank God I don't have to go in to work today; I'm staying home and staying warm as possible, hope you are too.

How cold is it in your neck of the woods?

Yikes

Can't sleep, so I got up and made coffee, pulled up the news.  Looks like summer is sure 'nuff over in Texas.  40 degrees outside right now where I live. 

A sign of the season:  tonight I brought I brought all my pot plants in from the front porch to their winter roost in the dining nook window.  They're all comfy now and settled in where they will stay until April.

No, no, no, it's not at all what you yankee boys are thinking.  Pot plants is what we have always called our houseplants down here in the South.  And this is not Willie Nelson's house.