Warm temperatures, sunshine…and happy hour

 

What do you have for supper when Texas weather turns warm?
Why, taco salad, of course.

Last week seems to be fading like a bad dream—or was it? Too many people are still without water, and I heard of people who lost their power tonight. How frustrating—when you think it’s over and you’re finally headed back to livable if not normal, catastrophe strikes again. Still, for many of us, life in Texas is gradually picking up its pace. We wait now to see what will come from lawsuits and investigations—the family of the twelve-year-old boy who froze to death in an unheated trailer has sued ERCOT for $100 million, everyone from the legislature to Abbot and Paxton have instigated investigations into the power failure. It’s far from over, and it’s going to be interesting.

But today was Texas at its best—warm, sunny, inviting. My friend Jean came for happy hour. I’ll tell you how long it’s been since I’ve seen her—her birthday was January 12, and we just tonight gave her the small gift we had for her. We sat on the patio and talked of food and doctors (what else for old ladies?) and haircuts and travel and anything but the power failure, which we only briefly touched on.

The back yard is quite brown today, and frozen plants still droop in a few pots. Jordan has done a great job of cleaning up, but there is more to be done. Most of my kale survived, but the chard which was supposed to provide a tall, deep purple background for the lower kale plants now looks like a limp, overcooked green. The mowing crew came today, and I was going to ask them to clean it out until I read that critters hide in those now-dead plants. The plants become their winter refuge, and the article urged that we let spring cleaning of beds go until much farther into the spring. It is, after all, still only February.

Another sign of returning to life after our forced week of isolation—Jordan swore she wasn’t going to the grocery, but our list grew longer, and she went to the local Albertson’s today. The store where she goes for canned goods, cleaning, supplies, etc. She came home with some treasures—individual, fruit-flavored Greek Gods yogurt which we’ve never seen before (a doctor once recommended Greek Gods as the best brand, even for lactose intolerant people, and I just like the taste and texture better)—but reported such odd shortages: no frozen hash browns, no cherry tomatoes, no eggs. Lots of cleaning supplies, just when you’d think people were having to scrub their houses inside and out. She is going to try a quick run to Central Market tomorrow, early, to see what she can get.

And then, sigh, she’ll be home to take me to the dentist. I’m a bit of a dental phobe, and I’m worried that I couldn’t care for my teeth properly while in the hospital, so I’m apprehensive. After that, though, we hope to treat ourselves to smoked chicken salad sandwiches—Texas Monthly says they are a new invention of Fort Worth BBQ places. I read of one place where they use one-fourth smoked to three-fourths roast chicken so as not to overwhelm. And today I read of a place that sells smoked meatloaf. What won’t they smoke next? Anyway, I will report on the sandwiches.

In the “It’s always something” department: Sophie is limping and lethargic tonight. At one o’clock, she was full of energy, barking her head off and running indignantly from one end of the cottage to the other because the yard guys were here. But when she woke up from her afternoon nap (yes, she naps while I do) she wouldn’t put weight on her left rear leg. After a few steps it got better, but as we sat on the patio, I’d notice her favoring it again, and she was not her lively self, begging for attention. We couldn’t find anything in the paw, and tonight she is walking on it but slowly and tentatively. I’ll see what she’s like in the morning before calling the vet. But she was not too pitiful to respond when I tested her with a piece of cheese tonight. Times when we wish dogs could talk.

Sweet dreams, everyone. There’s good news abroad tonight. Things that cheer me: Merrick Garland’s performance at his first hearing today, President Biden’s courtesy visit to former Senator Bob Dole, the SCOTUS release of trump’s tax returns. Maybe this old world will right itself yet. And the most cheering thing? The return of Texas sunshine.