A 50-degree swing in temperature

Yesterday we had a high of 93 degrees today we had a high of 43 a fifty-degree swing in temperature. It is cold and the winds which thankfully have not been as strong as other days still cut right through you when you are out in the elements.

It could be worse as some parts to the north and east of the state will see winter precipitation. Yesterday I took the opportunity to hand wash some of my nicer sweaters. During a normal Texas winter, I only have to wash them two or at the most three times...I have lost count of how many times I have washed them this winter. Needless to say, the central heater came back on.

My insomnia has returned. Last night I took a melatonin pill around midnight but it did not take effect until 4:11 a.m. but I was wide awake by 7:00 a.m. so it was useless. For some reason, melatonin does not work well for me.

As I type this MSNBC is announcing Russia is attacking the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. This is so sad, I firmly believe Putin has lost his marbles. Today I filled my 6-gallon camping water containers along with many more one-gallon milk jugs just in case Russia launches cyber attacks on our infrastructure.  

I also filled my five 32-gallon trash cans that I use for rain catchment as it has not rained in a while as a backup for personal hygiene. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.  

Aunty Acid

                                                            

Insomnia / Rain / Snake

Howdy folks! Here it is 6:30 a.m. and I still can not go to sleep.  It is HELL to suffer from insomnia...if you are lucky enough to be able to go right to slumberland after you hit the sack...you have no idea how lucky you are!

I want to clarify that by the above comment I am NOT soliciting any advice on how to rectify this situation. We are all different and I have suffered from this malady for 30 plus years and NOTHING has worked for me and I have tried EVERYTHING.  As I have mentioned in the last nine years that I have had my Cyber Journal this is only to document things that are important to me and lack of sleep is one of them.

Thursday night we had even more rain and as soon as we had first light on Friday I had to go outside and sweep all the rainwater that ponded...not a fun thing to have to do!

The rains have made all the weeds explode...it is disheartening to see how much work this is going to take. I am having a hard time loading pictures due to the fact Blogger has eliminated the "Legacy Version" and I now have no choice but to use their new format which I do not find to be user friendly.

I have not had a chance after struggling with this blog to go and make a post on Walter's World but I will try to keep up with that as well...just do not know when.

Today (actually it was Saturday but I had not gone to sleep yet) I had another bad experience...a SNAKE!  If you have been reading me for a while or you personally know me...you know how much I DISLIKE them!

I would try to find out what type it was but I am not that brave to confirm it...you can click on the picture to enlarge it if you wish.

Katie's kittens first trapped it but by the time I came out with the camera...Katie decided to battle with the snake. I am not this close, I had to zoom in and crop the picture...and hope that this snake did not harm my little girl :-(

I suppose I am going to have to let the weeds grow as I am in NO mood to run into this wayward snake!

Good night,  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Lots of things going on

This week we have had several appointments along with having run multiple errands. Evidently, I am either in the worst shape of my life or old age is getting to me.  If I have to go anywhere I pay for it the following day.

As you know I have a long-running relationship with insomnia but this week it has not been a problem.  I do not know if it was due to the fact that I was tired or credit Lovastatin (cholesterol lowing medication) that I have to take before bedtime. I hate taking Statins and have avoided doing so though I requested to be put back on them after my prior lab's results. My most recent labs ratted me out so I got back on them. Whichever one I need to credit, the good thing is that I have been going to sleep early.  Usually during the 10:00 p.m. news and/or definitively before eleven o'clock.

The only problem is that I am wide awake by 5:00 a.m. or earlier. This past Wednesday I heard an unfamiliar sound around that time...could it be? Went to the front door and confirmed that we were having a rain shower.

All the towns around us have been the recipients of generous rains but southern Val Verde County has been overlooked. A lot of the trees are losing their foliage, not due to the approach of Autumn but the fact that we are in a drought. In this area, leaves remain in the trees until December and last year two of our trees never even lost theirs.

I went to the library the other day to make copies, read the newspaper and enjoy their super cold A/C. I had forgotten that it has been 50 years since Amistad Dam was inaugurated.  President Nixon and Mexican President Diaz Ordaz along with their respective wives were here to mark the occasion.

I read on the Mexican newspaper El Zocalo that Del Rio would be hosting the First Triathalon in its history this morning.  It is called "First Annual Adventure on the Creek".  It sounds like a lot of fun maybe I will go next year.

This weekend there will be a parade and many activities to commemorate Mexican Independence Day which is celebrated on September 16th both in Ciudad Acuña as well as in Del Rio.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Insomnia / Breakfast at Stripes / Rush Hour

Went to bed at 4:30 a.m. but was wide awake by 7:15 a.m.  If you can sleep all night or are able to take a nap during the day, count your blessings, you have no idea how lucky you are.

It was a cold morning and I wanted something warm as well as a hot beverage to go with it. Headed to my favorite to go place Stripes, where I ordered two tacos and Chocolate Abuelita (Mexican Chocolate) for a very affordable $3.86.

This afternoon I made another trip to town to run more errands and tick off more things from my To Do List. 

This is the second time that I am trapped during Del Rio rush hour (almost sounds laughable that we have such a thing) and to make things worst the long trains that traverse through our city made everyone head for the overpasses (we only have two).

I felt pretty good that I was able to take the back streets and avoid it all.  Made me wonder why I was in the minority? I guess I really am back to being a Del Rioan!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Horse Fight!

I do not know what is wrong with me...for a couple of days here...I have been going to bed early!  Those of you that have been reading me for a while know that I am a night owl but lately I can't even make it past the ten o'clock news.  This is by no means a complaint...having suffered from  insomnia for what seems like a lifetime, I welcome this early slumber.  On the downside...I am too sleepy to make my nightly post!

I had just gotten back from town today when I found a message from the mechanic that Dad's old car was ready to be picked up. Called and told him about Mom's mini-van smelling to gasoline.  He asked me to bring it down and he would check it out.  I was walking to the garage when I spotted Walter's owner's kid in the corral. It was about darn time, as earlier this morning I had to feed and water him.  Guess with the high winds yesterday he forgot all about him!

Dad's car got a new fuel pump and hopefully I wont have anymore problems with it not wanting to start up.  My cash outlay was $125.00  I do not know if that is good, bad, or average but at least it is once again in running condition.

On my way home, as I passed Walter's house, I could not believe what I saw...there were three more horses by the side of his corral!  WTH...the owner can not even feed and water Walter and he brought three more horses?  I was stunned to say the least :-(

I parked the car and walked over to Walter's corral.  By this time Walter was going nuts, he was running around like a mad horse and standing on his hind legs obviously very angry.  He was about to butt heads with the male horse who was eating his hay.  Poor Walter, as little as they feed him and then for some strange horses to take his food....he was having no part of it...at least not without a good fight!

I was afraid he was going to get hurt, I was yelling at them both to stop but neither one paid a lick of attention to me.  The other two horses, I believe were females decided to leave but the male horse was determined to keep on eating.

I shouted for the darn kid to come out but he did not, so I ran over to his house but no one answered the door and that is when I noticed that his mother's car was not in the driveway.  I then went to the corral and yelled at the other horse and he took off to the back of the church which being Ash Wednesday was packed to capacity.  You might recall this is the same area that Walter escaped to a couple of months back.

I tried to calm Walter down but he totally ignored me and kept on running around in circles.  After what seemed forever he finally calmed down.  I believe those three horses are the same ones that escaped from their owner last year and ended up in Mom's yard.  I did feel a bit of relief that these horses belonged to someone else and were not new additions to Walter's world.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Have been sleeping like a baby

If you have been reading my blog for a while you know that I tend to stay up late at night not necessarily because I want to.  Part of it is because I am a night owl but mostly because for years I have suffered from insomnia.

When I was taking my cholesterol lowering medication one of the side effects was that it made me sleepy (in case you are not familiar with this type of medication you take it at night when your body tends to produce cholesterol).  Quit taking it when my doctor no longer gave out free samples of Crestor. I found out it would cost over $200.00 for a 30 day supply as I have no health insurance.

I am therefore happy to report that for the past three nights I have slept like a baby and have fallen asleep before midnight.  I don’t know if it was because I laughed like crazy during the late night show monologues that I had not watched in a long while and they relaxed me to the point that I fell asleep?  Will not question it, just grateful.  I apologize to all the blogs I follow for not having paid you a visit these past couple of nights but this is the reason why.



Was so hot Friday this vendor was inside the bank cooling off as he waited for customers in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila.

Mom wanted me to take her to the beauty parlor so her wish is my command.  She has been going to this beauty shop in Ciudad Acuna for years but the owner sold her business two years ago though the lead hairstylist is still there.  There was just something about the new owner that did not sit well with either one of us so we decided to look for a new establishment.

We have found it!! This is our second visit to this beauty shop and we really like her, plus she has excellent prices, an accessible location, parking and a great personality.  A haircut and style cost $60.00 Mexican pesos (yesterdays exchange rate was $12.00 pesos to sell dollars, $12.30 pesos to buy dollars) or the equivalent of $5.00 USD.  Mother and I are sporting new do’s.

Our new stylist and her daughter who turned six this particular day.

I want to welcome Dave who signed on as a follower.  His blog is Living Out Here http://livingouthere.blogspot.com/

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.