Last day of February...

 ....and I have been wishing away this month for weeks now. Just when we thought we would have an easy winter, the weather gods decided to throw everything they had at us. Freezing rain. Ice. Sleet. Snow. Winds. Near-to-zero temperatures. I could have stayed up north for weather conditions such as those we had here. And on many days this month, my cousins in New York had higher temps than the state of Texas.

The wind turbines that the Green-New-Deal idiots believe will save this planet froze up with the snow and sleet and ice... apparently the Texas power grid could not handle the deep freeze without the turbines so millions in the state were without power. And heat. Not to mention running water. We were lucky... we never lost power. We had no running water in the house and in the barn, but the guest cottage had continuously running water, both hot and cold. So we walked to the cottage to use the facilities there. My husband said we had the fanciest outhouse in the county. Which was funny, for a while.

All of my cousins and out-of-Texas friends called or texted or eMailed to see how we were coping. They guessed that my husband could cope well enough with anything short of an apocalyptic catastrophe as long as his computer was working, but their city-girl cousin here was another story. My cousins in Chicago were dealing with the same deep freeze, so no sympathy there, which I wouldn’t have expected. My cousins in New York told me to remember the northern winters that last for three or four months rather than six days. My Florida cousins told me it was 70 degrees there and DisneyWorld was open. And my Arizona cousins.... I told them I was about ready to pack up and join them in the desert.... because it’s a dry heat, after all. And it really is... we have been there when the temp was 114.

One thing is certain and I come to this conclusion every year at one point or another. This Hill Country life is not for me. No matter how much I try and adapt and accept and ‘snap out of it,’ something always happens to turn me into a depressed city girl who does not, not, certainly not, belong here on this property, no matter how much I love this house. I swear to all that is holy that should anything happen to my husband, I will be calling a realtor before I call an undertaker. 

But on the bright side... the kids still come to my house every week for Book Club... they are hard at work and thoroughly enjoying their ‘Book Of Me’ project... and I am working right along with them and loving every minute. The Book Of Me has been a soul-searching and eye-opening experience for me. For the kids, it’s been good old-fashioned fun, as it should be for them.

Benjamin continues to be an outstanding little dog, getting used to the cats and proving that he was meant to be part of this family. Savannah has fully accepted her little brother and as long as their food bowls are put down at the same exact time and placed at least three feet apart, all is good in dog-world.

As for this part of Texas... temps are back to normal... and Summer cannot get here soon enough.