Terlingua Dreams

Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas
Showing posts with label high temperatures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high temperatures. Show all posts

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Where does time go?

My day started very early this morning and it never stopped until late this afternoon.  I had so much stuff to do from washing dishes, clothes, to raking leaves as well as those darn mesquite pods. Where does time go?

I had to delete several shows I recorded on the DVR as it is almost 100% full and I am told by Spectrum that there is no way I can transfer them to another format.  Makes we want to drop the cable portion and go with YouTube who has unlimited DVR recording space.

I suppose it is my fault though...anytime I record a show...it guarantees that I will not watch it.  I just simply do not have the time!

I was hoping to be able to watch my Spurs this evening but at least in my cable line-up, it was not carried. The only basketball game was on TNT and it was the Lakers vs The Golden State Warriors neither of which I am a fan of. 

We had a high of 98 a low of 72 with a heat index of 100 degrees. 

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Reflection of the Day



Thursday, October 3, 2019

Extreme drought / In store pick-up / Avocados

We are still suffering from high temperatures even without taking into account the heat indexes.  The trees continue to lose their leaves not because it is Fall but because we have had no rain.  Every Thursday the drought map for Texas comes out, last week we were in a severe drought, this week the southern tip of Val Verde County where we reside is in extreme drought.

This week I had raked the leaves in the front yard but due to the high winds, it looks like I am going to have to do it all over again!  Today we had a high of 96 a low of 74 with a heat index of 98 degrees.

Drove into town this afternoon to run errands.  I had ordered something online from Walmart with the option of store pick-up so I had no choice but to finally enter the store I have been avoiding since the El Paso mass shooting.

I had no idea they had a new pick up center I think it is called a Tower?  It is automated however their WiFi was down and since I do not want to have to come again I went shopping until it came back up.

JudithK, if you are reading this you were correct.  Before I had only bought avocados at HEB but the ones at Walmart were equally non-ripe but I bought them anyway.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Saying of the Day


Thursday, September 26, 2019

When is this heat going to go away?

I am aware I sound like a broken record but I just can't stand these summer temperatures in the Fall. Today we had a high of 99 with a low of 77 and a heat index of 100 degrees.

There were showers in Val Verde County today but mostly in the northern part of the county.  The Texas drought report comes out every Thursday and this area is under a severe one.

Got an e-mail yesterday notifying me that Spectrum would be conducting maintenance overnight yet this morning I had a hard time going online and it was super slow.  Later learned that it was not just in Del Rio it was statewide.

Where has this week gone?  I can not believe tomorrow is already Friday!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



 Saying of the Day






Sunday, August 25, 2019

Spectrum rate hike / Betty Boop saying of the Day

Was looking back at a post I made last year after my one year anniversary with Spectrum http://terlinguadreams.blogspot.com/2018/08/my-cable-bill-went-up.html

Though not particularly happy at least I had a good speed connection and no data caps as when I had that worthless DISH!

Since then things have gone downhill.  My latest issue has been that my caller ID is no longer working on either of the three television sets that I have to fork out money for. I do not recall if it is either $6.99 or $7.99 monthly for each cable box...you need a cable box to be able to access your channels and TV guide as well as see who is calling while you are watching your television set.  While I have a regular phone that I can go to check who called I am not about to run to see who it was.

So for my "real life friends" please leave a message and I will get back to you.

I got a letter from Spectrum last month thanking me for being their customer for two years but also notifying me that my two-year special pricing package with them would be coming to an end.  I had other issues to deal with so I just put it aside.

I have most of our utility accounts either on paperless billing and/or automatic debit as you all know if you have been reading me for a while that I suffer from CRS and add to that our busy medical appointment schedule and we would probably end up with no water, electricity, telephone, Internet, etc. etc.

I was incredulous when I received an email saying there would be a debit to my account in the amount of  $208.80 when last month it was $168.02 that is a $40.78 increase. 

No,  I am not going to bi*ch about it...though I think it is very pricey as my friends in Houston are not having to pay these exorbitant fees. I have to realize I live in the middle of nowhere where civilization is a three-hour drive away and there is no competition to speak of to bring down the prices like in larger cities.

Where are the big-name Internet providers?  We need you in West Texas!

Today we had a high of 103, a low of 78 with a heat index of 107.

To spice things up I am going to try a new feature on my blog that I will call my "Betty Boop saying of the day".

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Betty Boop Saying of the Day




Saturday, June 24, 2017

Heat / Deceit / Thunderstorms

Summer arrived just a couple of days ago and I am already sick and tired of it.  In the West Texas desert the heat wave starts early, we are lucky to have two or three weeks of Spring and then boom...the temperatures soar. I really should not complain when I know that Arizona, Nevada, and California are having record setting temperatures much higher than Texas.

It is always a challenge to get mother to let me turn on the A/C as she is always cold. The electric bill is larger in the winter than in the summer because she insists on it staying at 80 degrees.  When I finally turned it on, it was apparent there was a problem so I called the service technician.  He did not have very good news for us.  The coil was leaking in three places and it would cost $2,650.00 to replace and 2 to 3 weeks to get it as it had to be ordered from the manufacturer.

Called another company for a second opinion and they gave us an estimate of $2,200.00 and 2 weeks to get the coil. They told me that my unit was not registered with the manufacturer otherwise it would have had a 10-year warranty and not the 5 years it had.  That really made me mad because even though I have selective CRS for some things, I do not for others. I vividly remember going to their office to pay for the unit and the lady giving me the paperwork and telling me "I have already registered your air conditioner with the manufacturer."  I remember it as though it was yesterday because I had no idea you had to do this.

We bought the Goodman to replace the first unit that lasted 30 years of heavy use.  I can not believe we only got six years out of it.  Now the company that installed it said it no longer sold Goodman because they broke down very frequently.  I remember going with it because of the price. A saying my father often quoted came to mind "Lo barato a veces sale caro" alluding to the fact that inexpensive things, in the long run, end up being costlier.

The first company was trying to stir me to a new RUUD unit but when I went online the reviews were terrible and after learning my cheap unit was not even registered after saying otherwise we decided to purchase a new unit from the second company.  I had never been quoted three prices before, cash price, Paypal price, and Discover Card. So much for saving up for my Derksen storage shed :-(

We were under severe thunderstorm warnings yesterday but they did not arrive until 1:00 a.m. so once again I was up making sure water did not get in the house.  We are expecting more rain this evening.

To my delight every day I have gone into town this week, the price of gasoline has gone down by a penny. Today regular gasoline was selling for $1.97 a gallon.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Stage 1 water restrictions

The temperatures have been way too hot lately and are expected to continue to be in the high 90's to the 100's.  I know it is summer and I live in the West Texas desert but it has been a little unbearable and I have basically been staying inside.

We got the water bill and due to the leak we had last month it came in at $91.00 . It does not happen often but we are under Stage 1 water restrictions. We are used to hearing about water restrictions because all our local programming comes from San Antonio, Texas a city 144 miles east of us.  They rely on the Edwards Aquifer for their water and have restrictions in place almost year around.

Fortunately we have our own source of local water...San Felipe Springs. You can tell from recent pictures I have taken that it is not flowing as plentiful as it has in the past.  At least we don't have to rely on the Rio Grande as does our border sister city Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico.

A lot of people think that the Chili Cook-off in Terlingua is just one big party and it is...but it has also taught me many valuable lessons. One of those being how important water and water conservation are.

I never thought I could take a shower including washing my hair with less than a gallon (3.785 liters) but it can be done.  We that live in the city also waste a lot of water flushing our toilets when we could use compost also known as humanure toilet https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3ioycfDNJA

Now I am not advocating you go this route but it is nice to know that there are alternatives especially in case of an emergency or in bad weather such as hurricanes when they shut the water.

You will find that many people living in Terlingua use this method and it truly does not stink, it does not require water and in a year's time you can use it on your vegetable garden if you so choose.

I have been waiting around for the grass cutting fairy to show up but I think she is like Santa Claus...avoids me wherever I happen to live :-(

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.