Cascade Falls

Husband has been pretty busy with school work this summer so it has been hard for us to take any sort of summer vacation. He finally had a small break in his schedule and we planned on going camping. That plan was nixed after rain and thunder storms showed up in the forecast for the area we wanted to go to. The forecast said 40%-50% chance of rain. We didn't like those chances so I found a hike for us to do instead. We looked at the forecast and saw only a 30% chance of rain and decided that at 30% it probably wouldn't rain. Boy, were we wrong! It rained heavily twice for about 10 minutes each time while we were on the trail. The rain was quite refreshing and kept us cool for the rest of our hike. As you can see in the pictures, we were soaked by the rain! (As a side note, I was on the mend from my nasty cold when we went on the hike, but since then it has made a come back. I think the being wet part didn't help. Sigh.)

Let it snow!

This is what Central Texas snow looks like. I think I prefer this snow over the snow we got last year in New York. (By the way, this snow melted before it even hit the ground.)

The heating war

When Husband got back from Iraq last year, winter had already settled in on our corner of Northern New York. Going from the desert to the frozen tundra of the north was quite an adjustment for my strong "I've been to war twice" ranger qualified soldier. The heat in our apartment was always turned up to the high 70s and even the low 80s. As I melted away, Husband went about his business as though we were not living in a sauna (Thankfully, heat was included in our rent. I still feel bad for our landlord!). I didn't say anything though, because he had just gotten back from a 15 month deployment and we were told by the Garrison Commander to be nice to our soldiers. This year, however, is a completely different ball game. We live in Texas. The coldest temperature we have seen so far this winter has been 36F (2C). I have yet to pull out my winter jacket, or any jacket for that matter. Mittens and toques (winter hats for all you Americans!) are still packed away. I am still wearing T-shirts, although my shorts have been replaced by jeans. Once in awhile I will wear a sweater. Husband, on the other hand, acts as if we are still in New York. I have lost count of how many times he has turned the furnace on. I come home from work to our very own greenhouse effect, all courtesy of Husband. We have now established a little tradition when it comes to heating our apartment. Husband turns on heat and when he's not looking, I turn it off. He gets "cold", wonders why, looks at thermostat and turns heat back on. Then he watches me to make sure I don't turn it off. So while he sits with the heat on, I turn on a ceiling fan and wait for him to get distracted so I can turn it off again. And don't even get me started on sleeping, because I sleep practically naked and still sweat like crazy! How can anyone be this cold? It's not normal! And here's the best part, he sits around the apartment in shorts and a t-shirt most of the time. Would it kill him to put on some pants so I can turn down the heat?

In search of Autumn

Autumn is my favourite time of year, and it is one of the main reasons I lived in New England for as long as I did. The winters there may be snowy and brutal; the springtime rainy and miserable; the summers hot and humid; but Autumn is New England's season. It can't be beat. It is what New Englanders live for. Since moving to Central Texas, I have been trying to accept the different weather patterns, but I knew that I would miss Autumn. Thankfully and fortunately, there is a State Park that for some unknown reason is full of Maple Trees. Each Autumn, the trees turn magnificent colours of red and orange. It is a very popular place to visit in October, and I was determined to see it! We made a camping reservation in July, and I counted the days until I could see the beautiful fall colours. Well, because this year has been so unusual weather-wise, the trees, which are normally ablaze with colour at this time, were still pretty green. We did get to see some pretty colours, but not as much as I was hoping for. I guess that's how it goes right? We still enjoyed being out in nature and went on a lovely hike. Maybe next year, the weather will cooperate.

I should have known the trip would not live up to my expectations when we were greeted by a tarantula as we pulled into the campground.

He's looking for the red leaves, honest. He's not a creepy stalker...

Yippee! Colour!



Look at all that green. It was a nice contrast to the trees that had turned.

So, so close

All of my loyal readers (and I know there are hundreds of you, eagerly awaiting my new posts) may recall a post last month about the heat here in Central Texas. We were five days away from breaking a record set in the 1920s. I am sad to report that we did not get the record. We needed 70 days of over 100F temperatures. The final tally here: 68 days. I am so sad because now I cannot claim to have lived in Central Texas during the hottest summer known to man. However, I can claim to have endured the hottest summer known to me. Although fall is my favourite season, it is always with a bit of sadness that I say goodbye to summer. All that changed this year. To summer I say "Good riddance!" and I welcome fall with open arms (and a pair of jeans!).

65 days, but who's counting?

Apparently all of central Texas is counting...days over 100 degrees F that is. Since the beginning of Summer on June 21, we have experienced 65 days over 100F, and we are still counting! And the days that haven't hit 100F have come pretty close (95F or above). If it makes it to 70 days of over 100F it will become the new record, breaking the record set in 1925! I have no doubt this will happen since summer doesn't end until the middle of September and I am pretty sure that it is going to stay hot forever. (People tell me it cools down in October, but I think they are all lying). My Canadian blood, thinned out by 5 years in New England, is not thin enough for this place. I've told Husband if it is still hitting 100F in September, I'm moving! He can stay if he wants, but I am thinking Alaska sounds nice right about now...

I'm a Canadian, get me out of here!

It is way too hot in Central Texas! It hit 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) on June 13, and since then we have had 3 days that were below 98 degrees F (36 degrees C). Have you ever seen birds pant? No? Well, let me tell you all about it: They stick their itty-bitty tongues out of their mouths and pant like a dog; their tiny bodies heaving, trying to cool down. Just to give you an idea of what it is like here, when I leave at 6:20AM to go to work, it is already at least 80 degrees F (26 degrees C). By noon it is almost always 100 degrees, then the temperature stays steady for a couple of hours before it climbs a few degrees at the hottest part of the day: 5:00pm-7:00PM. This place has got it all wrong. In "normal land" the temperature drops as evening approaches. But no, not here in Central Texas. That's when the real heat settles over the region, like an electric blanket on high heat without a shut-off switch! Even at 11:00PM the temperature hovers around 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). And there is no end in sight. The 7 day forecast has highs between 106 degrees F (41 degrees C) and 103 degrees F (39 degrees C). Oh and the weather description after everyday says "Mostly sunny and very hot"!

Now before you go leaving comments about how we should be grateful that it isn't cold, let me share this with you: When it is cold, you can always put on more clothing, but when it's hot, there is only so much you can take off! So considered yourselves warned: don't come over anytime soon. We are in the middle of a heatwave and that means we aren't wearing pants!

The perfect summer day

Living in Central Texas at this time of year is wonderful. Everyday is the perfect summer day: sunny, blue sky, warm temperatures and just enough of a breeze to cool you down. The type of day where you want to go for a swim, then come back, throw a burger on the BBQ and sit outside drinking lemonade as the sun goes down. The only problem is this: It's April! It's not even summer yet! Truthfully, I am beginning to worry about the heat that will descend upon this place once June hits. And maybe then I will be rethinking this whole move-to-Texas thing. But for now I will enjoy my never ending stream of perfect summer days!

Settling in

Over the last week I have discovered that the only thing worse than packing up an apartment is unpacking one! With a very empty apartment, it was difficult to decide where things should go. I moved my dishes 3 times before finally deciding on their permanent home! I also discovered that I have unpacking ADD! There was half unpacked box sitting on our kitchen floor for about 5 days. If I needed to get into the fridge, I would push the box with my foot toward the cupboard and out of my way. If I needed to get into that cupboard, the box would be nudged back towards the fridge. I finally unpacked it. But to be honest, I kind of miss the box...

Our drive to Texas was an adventure, to say the least! We loaded the truck while it was snowing. Then we left as the snow really started to come down. By the time we hit the highway it was snowing pretty heavily.

The wonderful piles of snow we left behind!

We drove all day. Thankfully the snow lightened up and then stopped altogether. We made a quick stop in Northern Ohio to visit Husband's former pastor and his wife.

Bill and Gail


After a few hours of sleep, we were on the road again. We stopped in Southern Ohio to visit Husband's family. Once again, it was snowing (we were beginning to wonder if the snow would follow us all the way to Texas!) His nephews didn't have school so we were able to visit with them.

Husband and his nephew. He's shooting spiderwebs because he's spiderman.

After the family visit, it was onto Texas through Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. I am sure you have heard about the ice storm that hit those states. Well, we were lucky to be part it! Thankfully, we were driving through it at the beginning so it wasn't too bad.

Ice build up on our wipers. The whole car was covered in a sheet of ice.

The trees were so heavy with ice that there were broken branches all over the place.

All the highway signs had icicles on them.

The ice stopping falling once we crossed into Texas. The trees were still covered in ice and with the sunlight shining on them, they seemed like they were glowing. It was a beautiful sight. I tried to take a picture but I couldn't quite capture the shimmering. Here's a couple of the ones that turned out alright.

Now, here we are in Texas, wearing shorts and t-shirts and having the windows open in February. Crazy! The boxes are slowly being unpacked. I figure that at the rate we are going, we will have them all unpacked by Christmas!

Snow!!!

This morning we woke up to snow, and lots of it! By the time we got out to shovel, almost 2 feet of snow had fallen and it was still coming! I haven't seen snow like this in years! We are moving Texas next week and thought that this was a fitting memory to take with us: our last snow storm (we hope!).

Measuring the snow

The snow is up to Husband's knees!




Enjoying a cup of Tim Horton's hot chocolate.

Cold weather comfort

It is absolutely freezing cold here in Northern New York. The past few days, the temperature in the morning has been between -15 and -20 degrees F (-26 and -28 degrees C). I can't remember the last time I experienced cold like this. I am pretty sure it has been over 5 years! My Canadian blood has become weak since I moved to the East. Growing up, I would walk to school in -20 degree weather, with wet hair and sandals (much to my mother's horror!). Now, I can't even walk from my apartment to my car (about 5 steps) without wearing all sorts of winter attire!

I know I can't complain: the whole country seems to be in a deep freeze. At least I don't have to go out in it if I don't want to. Since the whole country is freezing, I thought I would share one of my all-time favourite cold weather dinners: Potato and corn chowder. It is delicious, easy to make and warms up those cold winter nights.

Potato and Corn Chowder (or as the say in Boston "Chowda"!)
Makes about 6 servings
2 1/2 cups cooked corn
2 cups diced potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup onion, diced (I used dried minced onion. 1 Tbsp equals 1/4 cup onion)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups hot water
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 cup milk

In a large pot, combine the first 7 ingredients. Cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with 1 tablespoon of water and add with milk to the pot, stirring well. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for 10 minutes. Serve with cheese. I like to add ham or bacon to it as well.

Enjoy and stay warm!