Achoo! and Howard out to Pizza

Don't know what's blowing around here, but Howard and I are both sneezing, scratching our eyes, and generally not up to par. Sophie, at least, seems unaffected.

Still, I took care of some errands yesterday, buying some packing tape and several new pairs of shorts and a few other things for summer. Needed, for certain.

And Friday, Howard and I joined the neighbors for pizza out on Mud Island. I'd joined them for dinner there back in January, and even back then, Morgan, the daughter (age 8) asked if I'd go with them again and bring Howard. See, they have a great sidewalk area with tables and chairs, and people who live around there often walk their dog there and have dinner. I assured her that we could bring Howard back when it got warmer.

And so, we went. All five of us piled in the Beetle and headed to dinner. (By the way, the Beetle is now "Greta," My friend Susan names her cars, and I really like that idea. A name came to me with the Beetle, and I've tried to use another, but no other has seemed to fit And so, the Beetle is now "Greta." After I tried to figure out another then finally settled on the one that simply came to mind each time I thought about it, I looked up the name. It means "pearl." pretty good fit for a beige colored rounded car.)

Anyway, we enjoyed a great dinner, and Howard loved every minute of it---visiting with other customers, sniffing other dogs, and riding in Cole's lap there and back, top down, Howard way farther out the window than he ever gets to be when just riding with me. (Cole had a tight hold of the leash.)

We're really going to miss our neighbors. I was over there a few days ago, and Michelle asked again, "Now, when do you leave?" I said, "The week of June 23." Morgan flung herself a bit on her chair and whined, "Howard!" a bit mournfully. How sweet.

Anyway, more to get done today--organizing things out in the garage of what's gong to get packed, etc. I'll do the same in the attic; most everything is already packed up there, I just need to tape up and label some boxes. No reason to pay the packers to do what'll take me only a couple of hours.

And here's to hoping we suffer from fewer allergy issues in FL!

Take Me to the River

Last weekend Howard and I headed back to the park along the Mississippi. As the pictures show, the water level was much different.

First, a recap of the picture from last month:


















And here's a shot in nearly the same spot (except, of course, I'm standing where it used to be under water):

Howard and the Mississippi

A couple of weekends ago, Howard and I headed downtown and walked along the river. Over on Mud Island, half of the park was under water; the river was so high! We drove over into Arkansas too, and the river was over three miles wide--going all the way to the levee just outside of the first city across the state line.



Howard even took a drink out of the river!



At one point, he became quite interested in the water . . . as a barge passed by.

Shake, Rattle, & Roll? Nope

No, I didn't feel the earth move last night. And no, I don't have a new boyfriend.

It seems an earthquake---5.2 or 5.4 on the scale---centered in Illinois occurred early this morning. I've heard reports that people here in Memphis felt it, but Howard and I slept right through.

Happy Spring Break!

Spring, of course, does not officially begin for another few weeks. But for me, Spring Break is here. (I know--incredibly early, but I have no say in such things.)

I used the weekend to wind down, run errands, and tackle some things in the house. But the rest of my "break" will be devoted to writing.

One of my errands brought spring to my car. The last two days have been beautiful---up into the 70s and sunny; naturally, then, I drove around some with the top down and the warmth of the sun on my head. Ahhhhhh. But my car so far had been missing something.

See, the Beetle comes with a bud vase as part of the dash. So many people have asked me, "do you have flowers in your vase?" And always, I answered in the negative. But no more! I now have some great orange/red tulips there. As soon as I got them, I put them in the vase, and I tell ya, they made me smile all the way home. :-) (I also picked up some really cute wild daisies for the summer, and I'm hoping my sister can find some silk bluebonnets to bring me when she visits.)

Another errand over the weekend involved me finding a new pair of jeans. The ones I wore on Saturday were nearly falling off. That's a good thing in that my "operation make me over" year is working well. But it's bad in that during the time I was gaining over the last eleven months, I wasn't wearing jeans much once summer hit, so I skipped a size before I finally bought the ones that got me through the fall and winter.

And so now I have a great pair to see me through to the next size, of which I have plenty of clothes. I suspect it'll be another five or six weeks before I'm in them, but I'll get there.

My other errand involved looking for new shoes. I really need new running shoes (for walking, not running), so I tried some on at Breakaway--the local running store here in Midtown. They needed to get a couple of other pairs transferred from their other location, so I'll head back this week to try again. I'm also going to get some shoes for spinning or a new pair of cross-trainers. We'll see.

Ah---as for the things tackled here at home? My friend Susan was the great inspiration, so I'm tackling closets. (Thanks, Susan!) I got my pantry (which is huge) in tip-top shape as well as my linen closet. I still need to get the guest closet done to clear out space for my guests coming in less than two weeks.

I also attacked the moss that's grown on the brick patio in the back. I've tried this by spraying vinegar onto the moss. I think it's working, but I'll have to wait to be sure. I really need to get the moss gone as it sure does make it slick when wet. And if I can do this with something as natural as vinegar, I'll be doubly happy.

Anyway, it was a good weekend. Getting some sun on my head was nice, and I loved driving around and, for the first time this year, seeing the blooms of the redbuds. Yes, spring is just around the corner, and the weekend gave me the umph and rest I needed for writing motivation for the upcoming week. Not that nice weather should distract me too much. Oddly enough, even though it's spring break, we have the possibility of snow in the forecast for Tuesday. Wacky weather, indeed.

The Morning After

Super Tuesday took a backseat to weather yesterday in Tennessee. The weather folks broke into TV programming at 4:30, and they broadcast continuously until past the time I finally gave in and went to sleep at 11.

As for the weather, it’s been bad, and yes, that’s an understatement. The last death toll I saw was 44, with possibly more reports coming in. That accounts for the storms that hit from Arkansas through Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The storm that hit while I was in the basement is the one that hit the shopping mall in SW Memphis and took about two lives. It was a different cell that moved up to Jackson, TN and trapped the students in the dorm there.

On the one side, the storms didn’t hit here until after 4:30. Thus, there was no need in hindsight to close schools early. But they knew this was going to be big. I cannot find fault with those decisions.

And as always, talking to people out of the area brings some interesting things. One friend from the north said that what we were experiencing here “must be the milder version” of the heavy snowfall they had—ours was just rain and wind. Ahem. Milder? Tornados? Granted, to be fair, they were expecting possible record snowfall in a twenty-four hour period. But milder?

I talked to another yesterday, and when asked how I was, I responded, “Good. It’s finally quieter around here; we just had several tornados around.” The response was “oh, yes, they forecast rain for us too.” The conversation then was taken to the topic of the need for rain in that area and what the weather forecast was. Yes, indeed, let’s make this all about you, forgetting the t-o-r-n-a-d-o-s that hit here. Sigh.

In the light of day, the weather service will be out figuring out how many twisters there were and their relative strength. Insurance guys, no doubt, will be very busy in the area for weeks to come. It’s sad and devastating for so many people. But I am so grateful for our warning systems and sirens. (The sirens in my county screamed for almost two hours straight between 4:45 & 6:45 then again from 8:45 until 9:15.)

As for here last night, it was an odd night for me---quite surreal. I wanted to stay on the weather coverage, but as soon as we left the basement, I also wanted to know about results coming in from around the country.

For almost a year, I’ve said that I would vote for Obama in the primary and Clinton in the general election. At this point, though, I might be casting another vote for Obama come November!

The delegate count is interesting to watch. I’m frustrated with the Super Delegates, though. Will they really think about electability in November? Or is it just a chance for some face time? And of course, these delegates are why it’s about to be mathematically impossible for anyone but McCain to get the republican nomination. Interesting, indeed.

Anyway, I finally turned in, but still kept the TV on for a little while. I wanted to stay up to see what California reported, but as expected, it was too close to call at that time. But I did stay up to watch Obama’s speech. Again, I’m impressed with the message: actually unite the United States. There’s a wonderful hope in his speech, and yes, I do believe in it. I do believe that we can achieve things not before thought possible—with the right leadership.

Basement Blogging

We're all here, my little family of three creatures and ten legs, hanging out in the basement.

When I got home, CNN was reporting that this would likely be one of the top three days for severe weather for the year. Thus, after getting bottled water and a flashlight downstairs, I checked the radio. Alas, my batteries were good until - - - are you ready for this? March 2003. That's not a typo: 2003! Yowza.

So Howard and I jumped in the car and headed to Home Depot. We got lots of batteries then got back home.

The sirens have been going off nearby for quite a while now; they sound for any tornado warning in the county. The first sounding of them, though, addressed concerns quite a ways away.

With the first thunderstorm that hit (with the brightest lightening outside of my window I may have ever seen), Sophie had headed to her carrier that has a home in the back of my closet on the floor. (It's a safe spot for her, and it creates more of a comfort feeling in her carrier when we travel now that she sleeps in there sometimes.) Thus, not too long ago when a massive cell crept over the county line from the south into Tennessee and Shelby County, I knew where to find her.

Sophie and Howard, thus, are here; Howard, poor thing, is quite bored. (And is now whining at the top of the stairs.) (I've left Sophie in her carrier, and she's quite content there.) I'm listening to the local NBC affiliate; the broadcast is being carried over a radio station.

We've got a tornado on the ground about ten or twelve miles to my east, and there's a "Tornado Emergency" from the National Weather Service. I (and the weather guys) have never heard of such a thing! They're talking about "long-track" tornados being likely--ones that stay on the ground for an extended time period.

I've heard scary reports of injuries and now, of people trapped somewhere. Good thoughts for all those affected. (My Wisconsin friend is expecting upwards to twenty inches of snow tonight!)

Here, the massive cell has left my immediate area. Even the NBC guys have said downtown and Midtown (where I live) are doing okay right now. The next massive cell is heading in from Mississippi, but it's going to hit to the east of me. And so we're going to head back upstairs so we can actually see the radar in real time. ( do just love the radar, and my internet connection just doesn't support much video.) The tornado may still be on the ground out in Germantown, but it's not headed here at all . . . for now.

See, there's still the huge squall line (that passed over Dallas earlier today) out in Arkansas, and that'll hit Memphis in a few hours. For now, though, this storm has passed away from me.

Batten Down the Hatches

Back in December or so, when the next-to-last Desperate Housewives episode aired, I got quite a chuckle at the way they portrayed a tornado watch. Seriously? I mean, I’ve lived a good part of my life under a tornado watch, or so it seems. But on the TV show, as soon as they had word of potential tornadic conditions, people were grabbing their children, stocking up on supplies, finding batteries, reserving places (hours before the storm was to hit) in neighbors’ basements—again, all hours before it even started to rain! This was amusing, of course, because most of the time you have a tornado watch, nothing happens. And life doesn’t alter a whole lot.

Sure, tornados hit. Sure, they happen. After all, I remember the one that hit downtown Fort Worth well.

But I thought the TV show really went over the top.

Until today.

Earlier this morning, a colleague invited me to lunch to celebrate Mardi Gras. I knew a Cajun restaurant wouldn’t be the easiest place to make healthy food choices, but I really wanted to go. And so, I said yes. (and I had a teeny tiny sliver of King Cake too.)

Around 11:40, his wife Amy picked us up—Steve, our secretary Linda, and me—and the four of us headed to Bayou Café.

Just as our drinks arrived, Amy’s phone rang, and she got word that Memphis City Schools were closing at 12:30. Closing! Huh? Why? Expected severe weather. Seriously? Seriously.

So darned if Amy didn’t have to leave lunch to go pick up their kids. (She got the daughter and a friend from one school while another parent picked up the son (and friend) from a different school—good teamwork!) We stayed and enjoyed lunch, and Amy returned just after we finished, just to drive us back to the law school.

(By the way, I ordered seafood gumbo and salad with blackened chicken. Who would have expected seafood gumbo to have sausage in it?! Maybe not as healthy as my salad in my office fridge, but I still think I made some pretty good choices.)

And poor Amy, missing lunch. And I had looked forward to visiting with her!

Anyway, upon our return here, we all got the university emergency alert text messages that notified us all university activities and classes were cancelled starting at 2:30 today. Seriously.

Interesting.

Anyway, so indeed, I’m going to gather my books and head home. I’m just hoping this all passes through so I can make it to spinning! I really need it tonight after that secret sausage in the gumbo slipped past me. But it was yummy. But when I realized it wasn’t as healthy as I had expected, I did eat only half. ;-)

Guess I’ll go ahead and secure a few loose items outside too once I get home. Glad I’ve got a basement!

Keep On Chillin'

According to Punxsutawney Phil this morning, we're in for six more weeks of winter.

Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/08 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Here Ye! Here Ye! Here Ye!

On Gobbler's Knob on this fabolous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008 Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, Rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.

After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers, Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll, which proclaimed:

"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!"


Happy Groundhog's Day!

Brrrrrrrr . . . But I Heart NY

I'm here, but there's a word of the day: frigid. Yes, I tell you, it's darned COLD! --especially 86 stories in the air! (at the open observation deck of the Empire State Building!)

(Low tonight about 16, wind chill at 0 or -1. High tomorrow about 23. Lisa had to approve the new gloves I had to buy today; after all, her being from Wisconsin, and this feels like home. She also knows what things keep you warm (and even loaned me her gloves for the first half of the day today, with her wearing mine because she wasn't as affected by the cold as me. (And mine are good for driving, but not warmth. What a sweetie!)

So yes, I arrived safely in New York City late Tuesday night, after yes, yet another delayed flight. Sigh. (I'm actually missing American Airlines right now. And that's not totally fair. Northwest had many many timely flights for me this year. it just so happens that these last three in a row have all been delayed over an hour.)

Anyway, Lisa's flight had gotten in about thirty minutes earlier, so she had waited, then we were off to Midtown Manhattan--to the New York Hilton, just about five blocks south of Central Park and about the same north of Rockefeller Center.

Standing in line for a taxi took about twenty or thirty minutes, and when we finally got to a cab, there was a sea of them! An entire parking lot was filled with taxis just waiting to pick up the next fare. I think that's when the cab became my NY symbol, as that's now one of the two magnets I bought for my fridge. (I collect magnets from places I travel, and that way my 'fridge is always a happy memory wall..) I also I bought a small metal cab for my office. (I also get something small for my office when I travel for work.) And my friend Lisa surprised me with a taxi cab pen for good luck when I had to take a couple of hours today to work on tomorrow's presentation.

Anyway, it was a fabulous day, and I'll post details and pictures soon. But seriously--this is an amazing city. And except for one grumpy man in a wheelchair (which I would be grumpy too at that eye level on a very crowded sidewalk), everyone has been very friendly--even the cabbie who stopped and picked us up tonight although we were standing on the wrong side of the street. After all, he said, it was cold.

No, actually, it's FRIGID! Brrrr.....

A Little of This / A Little of That

There's no real theme to this post--just some random ramblings.

I appreciate the local television affiliates around here. I'm able to watch both Meet the Press and This Week with George (who can spell his last name, anyway?) on Sunday mornings. The DFW area had those two shows overlapping one another. (Yes, I could have recorded one, but that just didn't happen.) On the other hand, the local ABC affiliate did a dreadful job coordinating for George's extra half hour on two shows recently, cutting off a third of each debate shown. Sigh.

I went to an orientation for Spinning today at my gym. Spinning is a group class at the gym that was all the rage several years ago and is still very popular. I hadn't been at a gym that offered it--until now. I'm signed up for a class this coming Friday, and just from orientation, yep, this'll kick my hiney! But I think it'll also be an incredible workout---both cardio and strengthening.

I have a presentation to make in two weeks. What?! Two weeks?! I've kept thinking---it's not until September. Well, guess what folks, September is just seven days from now. Yowza. But it'll be fine. I've got my basic power point done, so now I'm just filling in details here and there. I'll add a lot more next weekend too. (And as of now, the Atlantic is quiet. Let's keep fingers crossed on that one as I'll be in Fort Lauderdale in two weeks. I think we've even got a dinner cruise scheduled for the Friday night activity. Finally---the ocean!)

It's hot. No, really, it's hot. Yesterday my electricity was off for almost three hours---no doubt a brown-out due to the huge demand on electricity. Sure, I am used to a hot August, and I'm used to going weeks without rain, but something mentally about knowing I've moved north and it's still this crazy hot that, well, just makes me say: It's hot.

When you rent a house with no grass to speak of in the yard, you don't water. And when you don't have to water a yard, man does that make for a nice utility bill. In Memphis, you get one bill covering gas, electricity, water, sewage, and waste all in one. Those last three together were only $29---a far cry from the $70+ I paid last summer in Texas. Then again, I did have a pretty yard there. But my gas portion was $49. Huh? The ONLY thing I've used gas for is cooking, and as you know, I like to grill a lot, so I haven't even been using my stove or oven that much. (My dryer is electric.) Something's got to be amiss with that one. I'll be making a call next week.

Football starts in one week. Hooray! I've gotten the scoop on the local A&M Club's watching party, so I'll be set up with them next Saturday evening. BTHO Montana State! Whoop!

Movies I want to see: The 11th Hour (not showing in Memphis yet); Resurrecting the Champ; Death at a Funeral; No End in Sight. Maybe I'll catch one tomorrow.

Yes, I made it to the Farmers' Market this morning. It was a close call---with the Spinning orientation too, but I made it. Peaches, sadly, are just about out of season. I need to make my leasing agent a peach pie, so we'll see if the ones I bought can work. (I promised her a pie if she'd get the house painted. I owe that woman a pie!) :-)

Ahhh---the weekend. I've got about a 1 1/2 percent chance to win a trip to Colorado this afternoon at the annual Cellerman party, so I'll check that out for the drawing. And this evening I've been invited to a party hosted by a couple of people I met when I was out recently. He owns a gym here in midtown and she is asst mng for a rug place--both wonderfully sweet and are hosting a get-together for a friend moving to Ireland. Anyway, they thought it'd be a great way for me to meet some people, so I'll check it out. I think I'll try to find a bottle of wine from Texas to take. And tomorrow---maybe I'll catch one of those movies I want to see.

Stay cool!

A Ladder, a Lunch, and a Whole Lotta Rain

The home inspection. Gotta have one. Gotta do it. But you don't expect your your inspector to break your house!

Ummm hmmm. On Monday, Howard and I headed to the dog park because the buyer's home inspector was scheduled to come give my house the once-over. I know I've taken pretty good care of my house, and I made minor repairs before getting it on the market, but there's a bit of breath-holding as one awaits the report of the "expert." Is there any hidden problem with the house? Has my foundation unknowingly begun to move? What do things look like from atop the home? (I was on my roof once in eight years---never again!)

The inspector was scheduled to leave by 11:30, so around 11:45, Howard and I make our return. Nope---still a truck there. I kill more time, starving by now, going to grab a bite. Back by the house---still there. Okay, so I go park at the school and grade a paper in the car. And yes, poor Howard is bored silly. Back by the house---still there. It's 12:50 by now, and I'm a little irritated. But in some cases, it's just not worth a fuss. So I go back to the parking lot and read through more papers. Finally, a bit after 1, I make another pass, and the coast is clear: he's gone!

Upon getting home, though, I was greeted with a note from the inspector. "Dear Homeowner, . . . " The gist? He broke my house. That's right---the inspector broke my house. And his note was left to tell me that I had to fix it.

Hmph.

Okay, so the details---the ladder going into my attic broke. Now, according to my neighbor, the inspector was quite a large man. According to the inspector, the age of the ladder's wood (21 years) and heat from the attic caused the wood to be brittle. Granted, that makes me worry about any house with wood in the attic; what, should I expect all of it to break? That's just plain goofy.

And of course, most friends (and even my real estate agent) cry, "Make the inspector pay for it!" But when it comes down to it, and when I weighed the pros and cons of pursuing such a thing, it's not worth it. My agent, very frustrated with the situation (the inspector---not me), said, "Jana, you think like a lawyer." Well, indeed, I should. ;-)

Is that the end of it? Alas, not quite. The buyer finally sent the addendum to our sales contract, asking for repairs based on the inspection. And I had to laugh---a few of the things were on the original inspection when I bought the house in '99! (1) Install GFI plugs in the bathrooms. (The plugs say they are GFCI, but I'm not sure which outlet has the trip; they're on a connected circuit.) (No worries---I have an electrician friend who's going to do that for me.) (2) Replace the sprayer on the sink sprayer-thingy. It was slow when I moved in, on the inspection, but one of those things I replaced myself after buying. After eight years, deposits again slow the spray; easy to repair or replace. (3) Put the screen back on the bathroom window (easy---it's in my garage). And (4) the ladder.

Yes---replace the ladder into the attic. But not with just any ladder---she wants it to be a metal ladder (no doubt at the inspector's urging.) I tell my agent I'll put in what was there; I'm not going to start upgrading the house. The buyer comes back with "she'll pay the difference in cost." (The inspector misled her to think an aluminum one would be only $20 more expensive. Wrong. Those are about $100 more expensive; a steel one is about $40 over the wooden.) But I worry about putting in a much heavier ladder (steel) than was there (wooden); installing a similar thing is one thing, but making changes could be way diferent. But the buyer's persistent and beginning to irritate my agent and me with too many specifications over this %#$@* ladder.

Negotiations, baby! When someone wants to watch your every move and tell you just how to do something and be persnickity about it all, hovering and such, give them what they want. Well, in a way. I told my agent, "Tell her that I understand her desire to have what she wants, so I'd be more than happy to pay her the cost of the ladder and a little for installation, so this way, she can do it in a way that she'll be most happy with."---in the sweetest voice possible, showing how reasonable we're being.

And as expected, she essentially said, "never mind. Just put in a wooden one."

True---when someone hovers too much, allow them to take over. Usually they don't want that much control and will get their nose out of it. :-)

Oh---and to top it all off, the inpsector came back to the house Tuesday for the termite inspection and caused more trouble. (I still haven't found out why he didn't do the termite inspection on Monday.) I had to attend a CLE (continuing legal education) all afternoon, spending three joyful hours watching videos of people talk about ethics in practicing law, filing suits, fee agreements, blah, blah, blah. (I get credit for all required CLEs through teaching---except the requried annual three hours' ethics credit. But--- check! Covered through August 2008 now.)

Anyway, so I left Howard home in his house (his crate). All's fine. I return home Tuesday evening, let Howard out of the crate, then go deal with emails and the buyer's addendum. Thirty or so minutes later, I'm frustrated, irritated, and in need of a break. Okay, I should take Howard out front and maybe go on a walk.

Where's Howard?

The house is quiet, the windows have no dog peering outside, and the bed's empty. Where's Howard?

A quick look in the backyard----

Breathe. Deep cleansing breathe. The inspector had left my gate open. And I have a dog door. So when Howard went into the yard, like he always does----voila! Open gate. Gone dog.

Doggonnit.

I grab the leash, my shoes, my keys---and I'm in the car, on the path he's known to take. At the end of my street, I look down both streets----there he is. Whew! He's happily running in the area of the track near the school, having a good ol' time. I pull up, open the passenger door, excitedly yell, "Howard!" and he looks at me as if, "Hey! There you are! You're missing all the fun!" I can't help but shake my head. He's so darned cute. I say, "Load up!" and---once finding the opening in the fence around the track---he promptly jumps into the car, wet from the belly down, though, from his fun romping.

Still, as anyone might know now---this inspector is not my favorite person. (Nor that of my agent; she'll certainly never use him.)

Other than that, yesterday was quite nice---once the rain quit. Around 9am, the view out my window made me think it was night! Darn rain. But hopefully we'll be drying out in time for Saturday---when I'll spend a little time outdoors at a Fort Worth locale. More on that later.

Ah---and Lunch! I drove over to Dallas yesterday for a tasty and great lunch at Hattie's in Oak Cliff, where they have the best sweet potato fries! The occasion? Lunch with folks from the court where I used to work. Several coworkers came in addition to the judge I worked for my last year there. It's always great to see them--fabulous folks! We had a great lunch, catching up some, and me getting fond farewells. They really are good people. I was fortunate to spend three years there.

And that lunch marked my first official set of many good-byes to come. This next month will be full of those things---good-bye lunches, dinners, gatherings. I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life and to have made so many friends in the twelve years I've been in North Texas. Truly blessed.

So, goodbye, Fifth Court. You're a wonderful group of hard-working and intelligent people---all of you. I learned so much while there, and truly, it was great to be among folks as nerdy as me! :-)

Afterwards, I took a set of papers to school to get copies of 'em all before they go back to students, then headed for a massage---finally! Through all the house readying, showing, selling, etc., I hadn't taken that time for me. It was relaxing, but just that. I plan to schedule a deep-tissue one soon and not just relax those knots, but maybe actually get rid of some of 'em.

And I'm even half-way through the other set of papers. The end of these is in sight. A dozen more briefs to grade, grades to figure, and an office to pack. And that's that!

Then I'd better turn my attention to getting my second article finished and reading a LOT about contract law!

My Critters & North Texas Spring Storms

Howard & Sophie---the dog and the cat. Bless their hearts, but their world is about to turn upside down. Hmmmm---so why not start early? Yesterday, they indeed had quite a day.

It was time for the annual shots and all---and I'm happy to report, they are both quite healthy! But their teeth, well, that was another story. Actually, they were in pretty good shape, but as Doc (aka, my dad) said, now that they're moving away, not a bad idea to get the teeth in tip-top shape with a thorough cleaning. And of course, to clean a kitty's or doggy's teeth, well, they need to be verrryyyyy relaxed. And indeed, they were---with a little medicinal help.

But to see your dear ones in such shape---it's so hard! Okay, so I admitted---out loud--- yesterday that both of the critters are indeed spoiled. I mean, come on---I'm not yet knocking on 40's door, but it's quite fair to say that I've made it up to the front porch. ;-) And for a single woman that age with no kids---well, I don't think I need to paint a picture more than that. Suffice it to say that yes, my pets are spoiled. I don't call myself "mom," but okay, so they are "my babies." :-)

Anyway, so poor Sophie, when she finally started to come out of her "nap," oh was she quite a sight. Truly, she looked just darned angry. But once she was awake enough, back in her carrier she went, which at the Clinic, is her favorite place to be. Sadly, on the way home, the long day caught up with her, meaning that once we got home, she needed a bath. Poor thing---as if the day hadn't been stressful enough. Oh and how she cried during the bath. But within a few hours (and once she got some moist food), all was right with the world.

Howard was another story. He faught going to sleep, but once he gave in, Tara and Melissa shined up his teeth quite nicely. But coming out of it, goodness---my dear dog, who's not a "lap dog," actually crawled in my lap. And yes, my heart melted. Although Sophie looked quite angry when she was waking, poor Howard just looked really confused. He was groggy the rest of the evening, and he even slept quietly in the back seat on the entire ride home---which took two-and-a-half hours! That's for an eighty-mile drive! But before I get to that, Howard, the dear, finally "came out of it" at 4:23 this morning! He awoke, stood and shook, and went to get a nice drink of water. Fortunately, he came back to bed and we snoozed until almost 7. And as Doc assured me, when we got up this morning, he was his normal spunky self---as was Sophie.

As to the drive, yes, we got caught in the monsoon-type rains on the drive home, forcing me to drive about twenty miles per hour for most of the route along Highway 183. But I stayed tuned to the radio, and although the storms were causing hurricane-force winds in some areas, where I was driving did not seem to be in the path of those winds, and no hail was in the immediate area. So very slowly, we proceeded through. Of course, being on a freeway in North Texas is safer than the risks of flooding on the side streets. (That's quite different from Houston, where I recall seeing huge secitons of I-10 under water with many cars stranded.)

We all made it home safely to find a river flowing around my flower beds. But no damage here. Although, I was reminded again that yes, I really must repair a wood area around my front gutter---all planned for the weekend.

It's odd, really, all these spring storms we've been having. I moved to North Texas from Houston in April 1995---April 29, to be exact. How do I remember? Well, it was the day after my nephew's birthday, and on the 28th, my friends and I all had one last night out at the Old Town Spring Crawfish Festival---good times. And North Texas had a terrible storm that night that I moved---but one that would be laughed at by the one the next weekend.

But the first storm---the one on the 29th back in '95, ah, I remember it well. My sister & brother-in-law and my older brother had helped me unload everthing from the Uhaul, and once they left, I wanted nothing more than a hot bath. Then the storms hit. Me, being the savvy 20-something, thought, Hey---my bathroom was THE room with no exterior walls, making it the safest place if a tornado hit. So I lit some candles and enjoyed a hot bath. I know, I know---in hindsight I realize that as bad a being caught in a tornado would be, being caught in one naked would be much worse! And no longer do I choose a tornado-warning time as the time for a bath---bubbles or not!

The other storm---that was the infamous Mayfest storm. It hit HARD not even one week after I moved to North Texas: 5/5/95. Why do we call it the Mayfest storm? The storm hit during the weekend of Mayfest, and it's estimated that 10,000 people were attending the huge outdoor festival on the banks of the Trinity River just west of downtown Fort Worth when the hailstorm hit. Parents covered their children from the falling balls of ice. Car windows were shattered. People were pelted with baseball-sized hailstones. And confusion ensued. Incredibly, at the outdoor festival, no one suffered death from the storm. But not everyone survived the deluge; flash flooding caused many deaths---at least fourteen are reported related to the storm. And it's thought to be the costliest storm to have hit North Texas. I remember watching the reporters at the TV station I was tuned to talk about the windows at the station being shattered. And that station was less than three miles from my new apartment. But just before it got to me, it veered and began to break up. Whew.

Yes--that was two MAJOR storms my first two weeks after I moved to North Texas. Added to that, when I traveled to the area to find an apartment, I stayed with my sister, who back then lived in Dallas County. I vividly remember that weekend and the two of us being caught on I-3o in a hail storm. The cars in front of us had stopped under the overpass, leaving those of us behind them on the interstate like sitting ducks. And the noise---I never would have imagined how loud hailstones are on a car's roof. We were sure a window would bust at any moment. But none did, and we were okay---although her car looked like it'd been parked in the center of a fairway.

So, you might be curious as to why, with all those types of storms, why one would stay in North Texas. Fair thought. But when I moved to Houston, way back in 1989, within two months of moving there, I sat through the worst of Hurrican Chantal on the 42nd floor of Transco Tower (now known as Williams Tower). Wow! Not that was something!

But in reality, no matter where you go, there's something. I talked to schools literally from coast to coast and in between. And I do love weather, so naturally I considered the weather risks associated with each locale. Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, snowstorms---it's always something.

So with the move to Memphis, I remain in tornado alley. But this time, no matter how tired I am after the move, I won't be taking any baths that night if tornados are likely heading my way.
Oh---and after being here twelve years, I'm finally going to Mayfest tomorrow! I'm headed out with a few friends, and don't worry, I've checked the forecast. Sunny and warm. :-)