Taste Like Chicken Tuesday 2/16

Baby it’s cold outside. It’s 5 degrees outside and 46 inside. Still going through rolling blackouts with another ice storm coming tonight. We had 6” of snow yesterday.

I think we may move to AZ in the winter and FL in the summer.

Have a good day all. We are in the dark again but power came on long enough for coffee at 4 and nuking oatmeal at 5.

H‑E‑B doesn’t open until noon so hopefully it won’t be as icy by then. Low of 3 degrees but up to 15 degrees now. This last blackout has lasted longer.

Becky, it's great that you at least had hot coffee and a hot breakfast this morning. I hope you were right about the roads being better this afternoon. I think I read one time that if the temperatures are below 15°, salt won't be effective. I think calcium chloride still works. I'll bet everyone was at HEB today because they would have had power, so it might have been a bit warmer. Did you say it was predicted to be 70° on the weekend? That will thaw some pipes. I hope the plumbers are ready for the onslaught. Don't blame you for wanting to be in AZ for the winter. Not sure about FL in the summer though. You might enjoy the Carolina or Georgia coast though. Sending warm thoughts your way.

How much snow do you have on the ground now, Chele? Smart of the chiropractor to cancel all the appointments. No reason to put people at further risk, including staff. Were your temperatures warmer than Becky's? We started out at 26 this morning and are now sitting at 25 with a stiff wind. Nanook bundled up and walked to the mailbox (1/10 mile each way) and said it was still brutal. How is Humpty doing? I guess you are busy doing indoor stuff today and probably for the rest of the week.

Kathy, are you still enjoying weather that most of the rest of us envy? It's really tough to get an exercise routine that sticks until you've been doing it for a while. That's another thing I gained from years of doing triathlons. If I don't work out 4 or 5 times a week, my body is not happy. I did force myself onto the scale this morning and it wasn't worst case scenario, but pretty close. The foray into adding fish and dairy back in was not kind. So I'm back to whole foods plant based again.

Pretty incredible on the housing market, Linda, and I think it's a bit similar a lot of places. Even houses needing a bit of updating are flying off the market here and in NC. Does that electrical contractor think that house is going to stay white? And they are getting rid of the garage, so the new BMW will have to sit outside? That doesn't sound like a good idea. In parts of NC, a lot of people from NY and PA do the same thing with selling houses for outrageous prices and buying "cheaper" ones around Asheville, which drives the prices way up in their housing market. That's where we would have preferred to relocate but the prices are ridiculous.

Liz, how's the week going? I heard they caught a suspect in the stabbings on the A-Line. That has to be a relief for commuters, even though it has to be a risk every time you get on mass transit. Is this the week of the dental adjustment?

How's your weather, Denise? Did you get a lot of snow like Chele did?

MG meeting went well last night. Our speaker was the landscape coordinator for Dollywood and gave an excellent presentation about how they plan and execute their plant displays. Very interesting. We had a meeting of the plant sale committee before that meeting and we will be much better prepared this year. We had a good turnout, despite several people having difficulty logging into Zoom for some reason. I've had a busy day: baking sweet potatoes and cooking ground turkey for Arya, doing a load of laundry, making a batch of jasmine rice, refilling the suet feeder (that was a cold job but needed done), and baking grits for breakfast in the morning. That originally was supposed to be done in the Instant Pot, but kept sticking (despite using nonstick spray), so I had to clean off stuck-on grits not once but twice, which was difficult and time-consuming. I probably need to get the nonstick ceramic insert. I still have to package Arya's turkey for the freezer, but everything else is done. I really want to get the tire fixed tomorrow because we are supposed to have rain again on Thursday and I don't want to have to mess with that in nasty weather.

Karen, we cross posted. We are at 18° right now and are supposed to drop to 0° overnight. The sun is peeping out from behind the clouds so that’s nice.

Good afternoon chicks and thanks for the start Karen.

Chele - how is Iggy's back today?  How is your back doing?  Your avatar is pretty with the snow.  We had rain today and high temp of 48 which is a big change.  I believe it will change again and we're due for snow on Thurs.  I had Zoe to the vet on Friday and he put her on anti-inflammatory medicine which seems to be helping for which I am grateful  She had reached the point where she was barely walking and would often have all 4 legs go out from under her.  I still think her Cushing's meds will need to be tweaked as well but that will require another stim test.

Becky - sending huge amounts of good karma to you.  WOW on the temps and the rolling power issues.  I have been hearing about them as I was checking the weather channels over the weekend for this coming week.  I hope they can keep your lack of power to a minimum.  Hopefully the propane for cooking will improve.  Please be safe and take care!

Kathy - how are the storms today for you?  How is mom and the rest of the family doing?  Glad it sounds like it will be clearing for you.  How was the launch?  The most I am doing with exercise is walking..the dogs and commuting to work.  I'm sure I should look into some stretching which would help the arthritis and maybe relieve some on-going discomfort.  Anything new with the nephew?

Linda - I think I remember reading an article about the influx of people moving to AZ, and the mid west. We have a great many city dwellers leaving the city and heading to the suburbs and further north where their money buys a whole lot of house comparatively.  We have had 5 neighbors sell and move in the last 6 months with 2 more units up for sale now.  
The numbers are finally incrementally lowering throughout the enterprise (below 900 cases).  There's concern about the identification of the other variants (South African and UK) so there's a good deal of assessing going on in the labs.  How is the knee this afternoon after that PT extravaganza?  Slowly Linda, slowly!  We managed to go out to dinner on Sat. evening early, to celebrate our anniversary and V-Day.  Mexican with a limited menu but good margaritas.  

Karen - how are you feeling?  How is your GF?  How did things go with the MG meeting?  There's a great deal of emphasis being placed on continuing to follow protocols with mask wearing and social distancing despite being vaccinated.  Too many people thinking they no longer need to do so.  The neurologist is tomorrow morning at 8:am.  Not sure it will be a fruitful visit but I am trying to stay hopeful.  I also want to speak to him about my migraines so maybe I will be lucky.  Everyone here is rather exhausted, and a bit down trodden.  It will be a full year of Covid for us as of March 1 and many are just mentally and physically done in.  The ICUs are still full and there are still too many on vents but I think we remain hopeful that maybe by summer it will be better.  Belated Happy Birthday to miss Arya!  Zoe will be 15 the middle of next month.  

Sending virtual hugs to all and my very warmest wishes.  Stay safe and well dear ladies!  Ciao for now~

Kathy, I forgot to mention that we watched Men in Kilts last night. Dale even liked it. He got scallops out of the freezer this morning and said we needed to find Tom Kitchin's recipe. I told him we didn't have all the ingredients. I hadn't heard about there being a launch. Glad the skies cleared so you could see it.

Thanks for checking in, Liz. Good luck with the neuro; hoping for migraine relief. Good that your numbers are down. Not good that ICU is still full and ventilators are still in high demand. I'm doing ok. Still a few GI issues from time to time. Amazing that your little girl will be 15 in a few weeks. Glad the new drugs seem to be helping her.

Chele, there may have still be a few slick spots on the roads, but we just had a few flurries today, so it shouldn't be any worse. We're still holding at 25° but should make it into the 40s tomorrow. Brrrr on a goose egg tonight. Hopefully it will start warming up tomorrow and your snow will melt quickly.

How was HEB, Becky? Are your blackouts decreasing in duration and frequency? The Lady Vols basketball team played Sunday afternoon in College Station and got stuck at the airport in Houston. As of an hour ago, they were still there.

Linda, they changed the rules last month and you now have to be a resident of FL to get a shot here. You can be a seasonal resident, but have to show 2 items that prove residency like a utility bill or mortgage. The NY plates are either snowbirds or people on vacation and of course, more NYers come here this time of year than Floridians going to NY.

Karen, I'm glad you and Dale liked Men in Kilts. It looks like it's going to be a fun show. Too bad you didn't have all the ingredients for the scallops! I was wanting some of the halibut and lobsters.

Becky, I'm glad you're getting some food and water from neighbors, but I hope you can do some shopping soon. I know it's hard not being able to get the things you're used to. Hope it warms up soon.