Taste Like Chicken Tuesday 12/17

Liz, good to hear from you! That weather sounds absolutely awful and I'm sure doesn't help with the commuting. We are in the 80s and it feels like a sauna outside. You can't move without sweating. Not complaining though and we are in for a cool down tonight. The launch went off right on time and was pretty. It was very clear, so there was only a small rumble afterwards and I didn't hear any sonic booms from the landing. Hope all goes well at the dentist. Don't blame you on stopping the PT. I would be worn out too with your long days and commute. I'm planning on finishing up my Christmas list, decorating, and wrapping this week.

Chele, the launch was easy to spot since it lit up part of the sky. It wasn't one of the real big ones, but it was impressive to watch and sounds like it was successful. Love the pic Jocelyn posted of the sleeping sandhill crane with snow on it. She just posted a video with a crowd feeding out of her hand. I wonder if she's ever gotten pecked! Yes, we're in for a big cool down tonight and tomorrow with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Sounds like the right decision on the lunch, but too bad GF doesn't see it that way. I'm sure she will get over it.

Waving to all. Hope you have a good Tuesday.

Thanks for the start, Chele. Probably best to postpone lunch with GF for safety reasons, but it sounds like she was more concerned about her sanity. It's good that you're looking out for her well being, even if sometimes she doesn't do that for herself. Enjoy your southbound trip tomorrow. What will you do in addition to the hair cut? AF went well but I had to cut out a few weight machines so I could get to the eye doctor on time. I might have just shown up late if I knew I was going to have to sit in the waiting room for half an hour!

Liz, great to hear from you. Be careful on that ice! Doesn't sound good. Good luck at the dentist. Are implants an option? An EMS friend of mine lost several teeth in a crash a few years back and had those. His were covered by worker's comp, so I don't know how expensive they are. Yes, we are quickly closing in on Christmas. Sorry you are still having issues from the leg length discrepancy. When are you going to get some shoes altered? In the crazy weather you're having, plus the commute and all the steps you take on a daily basis, that concerns me. Is your PT place open on Saturdays so you could get one session a week? I'm sure by the time you get to PT after work and the commute, your body is too tired to respond in a meaningful way. We signed the contract on the house today and fingers crossed financing won't be an issue. Cactus Jack turned out pretty well. However, he blew over in the storms we had over night (I think it was the 37 mph wind gusts), so we'll see tonight if he sustained any damaging to his lights. The rest of him got wet but nothing broke.

I didn't see anything about the SpaceX launch on the a.m. news, Kathy, so thanks for the update. Sounds like it was good weather for it. Are you hearing what Chele heard about your getting into the 20s tonight? That's bone chilling cold for you. Good luck with all the Christmas prep this week. I'll have to check Jocelyn's feed for the sandhill crane. That sounds adorable. I'll bet she has received a few pecks but hopefully nothing too forceful.

Linda, we used to see nopales for sale at flea markets when we lived in Austin. Thanks for the jolly wishes. That is either a small cup or those are very large marshmallows. I'm sipping a mug of TJ's Winter Wassail as I type this. Definitely good that you don't have Micki boarded right now. I hope they can get everything fixed before the rush begins in the next few days. Have you ever tried the finger tip bandages? I've also used the smaller diameter tubular bandages with some success. My cut was small enough that I was able to paint it with Nu-Skin and that has kept it closed and allowed it to heal. I hate tetanus shots! Is Micki getting his new bed from Santa?

Was today PT, Becky? Are you having cold weather like the rest of us? You didn't get any of the bad stuff from LA or MS yesterday, did you? I saw something on the a.m. news about missing mom and young baby missing in Austin What I'm reading is pretty vague. How's Scooter?

As I said earlier, I had to wait half an hour at the eye doctor. No explanation or apologies. I wasn't happy and my BP was a bit high as a result. Vision hasn't changed, but he said I have dry eye and the early stages of dry macular degeneration, which DM had. He said it will be at least 3 years til we need to consider cataract surgery. We've had rain and dropping temperatures, so it's been a pretty raw day here. We had some heavy duty storms just after we went to bed last night and I had to hold a terrified Arya until they passed. It was 56 when I left the house and 40 when I got home. Winds have been picking up as well. Supposed to be 20 for the low tonight.

Karen, we just had a pretty good storm with 40-50mph gusts, 2 inches of rain, and some hail. I don't think the hail or the gusts lasted too long though. Another storm is passing through now and it's really coming down. We are dropping 20 degrees from our high of 84 today, so it will only get up to the 60s tomorrow. The coldest night will be 47 degrees, so that is a lot chillier than we've been lately. There is a low coming out of the Gulf that's going to bring a lot of rain this weekend. So much for the dry season! Sorry for the long wait at the eye doctors. I think a lot of people wait until December to use their benefits for contacts or glasses, so it gets busy. I'm glad you don't have to consider the cataract surgery right away. Glad Cactus Jack is still in one piece. Congrats on signing the contract!!

Becky, that wind makes it feel so much colder. I hope they find the mother and baby. We had a couple of young kids missing here and they just found them. They didn't release many details on what happened yet, but it sounded like they were okay.

Linda, glad you're not too sore. I remember hearing about the snow when my aunt and family lived up in New York. I don't think she misses that at all.