Taste Like Chicken National Pound Cake Monday 3/4

Becky, 28 is really cold for Austin! I remember being there visiting a friend in the late 90s and it got down to 35 degrees and we were FREEZING!!!! It also felt colder to me when we moved from TX to NC, and we both about froze that first winter. I hope your propane heater is working well. Another good reason to stay home and inside today, even if you're running out of meat. Got beans in the cabinet? We've gone up a whole degree since we got up--was 34 and now it's 35.

I'm worn out just reading about your getting photo albums together, Linda! I'm lazy and just do the digital versions. Doesn't take up as much space on shelves. Was art class today? What are you working on?

Kathy, I have been reading a book on day hikes in the Smokies and after I posted last night I realized that 3 pages from where I started reading was a summary on Grotto Falls! Looks like one that should be doable for me after I get back on my feet and things dry up a bit. I didn't realize that the Roaring Fork Motor Trail was one-way but it makes sense. One of the big draws to that trail these days is apparently seeing the llamas that ferry stuff up to the LeConte Lodge. They apparently can be seen about 9 am going up and 4 pm coming back. The lodge would have been there when you were a kid but I don't know if they had the llama caravan then. Do you remember? It hit me last night that my first 2 weeks of "retirement" were actually use-it-or-lose-it sick leave. So I guess that helped me to ease into being retired, even though I wasn't sick. If you remember, we were getting ready to move, so many of my early days were spent sorting through what to donate and what to take. So that kept me really busy and then I had to do all the unpacking when we got here. Then Phoebe got sick. So it took me probably a couple of years before I understood that I was actually retired.

BP seems to have stabilized and no dizziness for the past few days. Towels are in the dryer, so my housework is done for the day. I did a little work on the newsletter this morning but am still waiting for a bunch of stuff to come in. Deadline isn't til Wednesday, so they have some time, but hopefully I won't have stragglers this month. Checked my Fitbit stats from this point after my first surgery and I had 2K steps less last week than 4 weeks ago. I don't know if that means I'm consciously staying off the foot more or if I have had more pain and that is unconsciously keeping me immobile. Whatever it is, I guess it's ok. Wishing I had some pound cake to celebrate the day. But my friend makes the best and she lives several hours away, so that won't be happening. Dale is going to have to remove the battery from the truck to take it for replacement. And, according to the manual, there are a bunch of brackets designed to keep it in place in the event of a rollover crash, so it will be no easy task. I suggested again that he call AAA, but got ignored.

Waving to Chele and Liz.

Karen I think it was 30 or 31 in Austin this morning and we got down to 29.It's up to 34 with feel like temp of 24.That wind is raw.Kenneth has gone outside a couple of times to feed the cattle but I haven't gone outside at all.We have enough meat for tonight but may have to go to HEB tomorrow if we run out.I'm glad your BP has stabilized.I'm glad I don't have any pound cake in the house.I have never been a big fan of it.I guess anything chocolate would be my favorite.You just can't get men to do something they don't want to do.We have an Auto Zone in Elgin.The last time the pickup needed a battery he was able to charge it enough with the generator to get there and they put it in for him.

Chele Oh no on the bronchitis.Get some rest and hopefully the meds will do their thing and kick in soon.

Karen, thanks for the start. We almost always do the Roaring Fork Motor Trail drive when we go up there. There are several pretty views and trail heads. I know some of that area was damaged by the fires, so I hope it didn't affect the views too much. There was a really pretty church on the way out of there and it burned down. I got some good pictures of it one year and will be curious to see what it looks like when they rebuild. We went up to Grotto Falls in the fall of 2010 and I think we saw the llamas when we were on the way down. We left Knoxville when I was 4, so I don't remember if the llamas were there then. I remember you being crazy busy when you retired. I think I need to pretend I'm moving and get rid of a lot of stuff. I'm with you on calling AAA for the battery, but I guess you'll have to let him do it the hard way. Glad to hear the dizziness is gone. It's probably a good thing that you got a few less steps since both feet are healing.

Becky, I woke up at my normal time and then went back to sleep for a couple more hours which was wonderful. I don't blame you for staying inside with those cold temps. We're in for a cold spell too and they're saying a low of 42 for Tuesday. It's in the 80s now, so that's going to be quite a change.

Linda, I hate it when things go missing like that! I don't do as many prints as I used to, but it is nice to make albums with them.