Another power outage / Preparing for severe weather

I am so sick and tired of our power going out and not being able to do anything about it. I was looking forward to a 9:30 a.m. program about the Mexican version of Big Brother VIP that updates what happened the night before as well as Big Brother Brazil where there was a member interchange between the two houses. However, the lights went out at 9:14 a.m. even though there was no bad weather or severe winds...those are expected this evening. The power was not restored until 11:25 a.m. but I lost the cable signal in the kitchen and have not been able to fix it.

We are expecting severe storms this evening including strong winds, hail, and the possibility of tornadoes. Yesterday I went to HEB looking for large cardboard boxes so I can protect dad's old car but found only a few. I am out of old towels, blankets, and bedspreads as I used the ones I had for the cats' winter bedding. I, therefore, do not have enough cushiony items to protect the body of the car.

It has been hot this past week. Saturday we reached 96 degrees.

Sunday...88 degrees...McAllen, Texas reached the century mark.

Del Rio reached 87 degrees this afternoon...the temperature in Amarillo was 33 degrees where the cold front had already entered the state.

I was watching ABC World News Tonight with David Muir where they opened with the breaking news of the tornado and hail that was hitting Dallas/Fort Worth. The bad weather will hit Del Rio late this evening or early Friday morning.

Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

Memes

Busy week / VVRMC / It happened again

It has been a busy week and though I tried to take care of a lot of things on my To-Do List somehow I do not feel like I accomplished much. Time seems to go by so quickly and before I know it the day is gone...perhaps because by 6:00 p.m. it is already dark?

In Del Rio, some doctors do perform lab work in their office but not always nor X-rays so you are referred to the local hospital ours being Val Verde Regional Medical Center...VVRMC for short. We only have one hospital here the other two closest to us are 60 miles south of us in Eagle Pass or 60 miles east in Uvalde, Texas.

It is because of this that I have always recommended you pre-register a day before your appointment. You can pre-register a loved one as well without them being physically present. I did that on Tuesday and am glad I did because it took 1 hour and 38 minutes for them to call me. The waiting room was packed and this time it was older patients. Hospital rules require you to wear a mask and while everyone was wearing one, two years into this pandemic has still not taught some people how to wear one properly.

There was a lady in front of me coughing away with a cheap disposable mask that needed to have been replaced a long time ago and her nose was not covered all the way...sorry end of rant! 😠

After I left VVRMC I decided to go by Dollar Tree and buy some more butter popcorn what would be my surprise but to find that not only did they run out of popcorn but that as of Monday, December 6th the new official price is $1.25.  I am so glad I stocked up last Friday!

However, there was a small section in the canned food aisle that was still a dollar or lower...

Finally, after over a month I made it to the car wash.  The one by my side of town is always full and the water pressure leaves a lot to be desired so I went to the one next to the drive-thru car wash almost across the street from the Toyota dealership.

Last night it happened again...we lost power at 8:58 p.m. thankfully at the tail end of the Rachel Maddow Show that I once again started to watch after my news hiatus since August. I went outside but none of the neighbors seemed to be home...perhaps Christmas shopping?  Everything was dark but as I looked to the south I could see the lights from Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila Mexico...how is it that they never have power outages but we a first-world country do?

I was so tired I fell asleep during the interval so when the lights finally came back on at 10:45 p.m. I kept on sleeping.

After the hospital visit this afternoon I decided to stop at Whataburger and treat myself to a Hatch Green Chile and Bacon burger.  I arrived at the right time as there were few people there.

 

My experience with our Whataburger is that it is hit or miss much like the one by my house in Houston. I was disappointed with my burger but since I had not eaten all day tried to make the best of it.

Temperatures are still in the 80's during the day but a cold front is heading our way this weekend.  Gasoline prices continue to decline. The price at HEB this afternoon was $2.579 per gallon for regular unleaded.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

Seriously, why am I still surprised when this happens?

It was cold last night which made for some good sleeping weather.  However, that sentiment was not shared by the cats especially Paquito who came to whine by my bedroom window. As I prepared to go outside to feed them the wind was so strong it was preventing me from opening the kitchen door with one hand while I held their food container in the other. I would later learn on the news at noon that we had gusts up to 51 mph this morning.

We have had strong winds for a couple of days now but not like this morning.  It was then that I allowed myself to be amazed that the power had not gone out...that was a mistake!  As soon as that thought crossed my mind at 10:33 a.m. the electricity went out.  Seriously why am I still surprised when this happens?

I immediately thought of an article in The Del Rio News-Herald that they allowed people to read for free with regards to the elections which took into account this possibility:

"Val Verde County Clerk Generosa “Janie” Gracia-Ramon and her staff are preparing the venue for voters to cast their ballot. Ramon said she and her staff have prepared for many possible scenarios that could take place, such as the power going out."

I will not know until Sunday since our local newspaper only prints on Wednesday and Sunday how they handled this glitch.

This time the power going out was not as big of a deal as it has been in the past since an air conditioner was not needed this morning.  Plus the sun was shining brightly, and I used my solar light to charge my cellphone at the same time.

Finally, at 11:52 a.m. the power was restored but too late for me to watch a show I wanted to see...will just have to find the time to watch it On Demand.

The winds finally died down this afternoon. We had a high of 75 degrees today...which I consider to be perfect weather.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Political Cartoon of the Day

Another Power Outage / Face Shields

After the horrible debacle, all Americans got to witness last night that was passed off as the first presidential debate I had a hell of a time going to sleep. Stayed up until around 5:30 a.m. watching cable news until I finally fell asleep.  

After only three hours of sleep, I got up to take care of my morning chores.  I was debating what to eat for breakfast when the lights went out at 9:42 a.m. Great, I thought...it was in the mid-'60s by then...so I do not think many people had their A/C on.

Our power outages are a common occurrence in our area that can last for a couple of minutes, a couple of hours, or even a day. I, therefore, did not want to open the refrigerator to rummage around it. Decided to go outside and use my rain catchment stash to water the trees I have been neglecting.

As I was doing that more of the neighbors were coming out of their homes to tackle their yard and/or to visit among themselves...I choose to stay in my backyard and avoided them. I saw a lot of trucks from the power company drive by and finally, at 11:09 a.m. the lights came back on after being out for 1 hour and 26 minutes.

Later on in the afternoon, I got an e-mail letting me know that the face shields I ordered online were ready to be picked up at Walmart...so off to Walmart I went. I needed to pick up some more salads and after not having any beer around to drown out the sour taste in my mouth after what I had to endure last night I made sure to remedy that.

What was my surprise when I passed by the meat and seafood section to see all those areas draped off and or lined with large tarps. When I asked an employee about it, I was told that their power had gone out for an hour and a half...so I suppose it was a city-wide event?

When I came to the pre-packaged salads aisle it was draped in almost clear plastic. I suppose I could have lifted the plastic and bought some...but I decided it was FATE...I was not meant to eat a salad today :D

The price of gasoline went down four cents.

We had a low of 50 this morning and a high of 89 degrees this afternoon.

Aunty Acid Saying of the Day