Day 1451

I've done everything I can. The car has a full tank of gas. I bought a bunch of D-Cell batteries for the emergency lanterns. I got some food at the grocery store that we can eat either hot or cold if the power goes out. The roof has been swept clear of falling leaves. All the electronic devices have been charged up. I've got the outside faucets dripping a bit, so they won't freeze. The dog's warmest sweaters are clean and ready to go. I guess that's it.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm as irrational as any other Texan about cold weather. We take our tornadoes in stride, but if there's even a hint of snow in the forecast, the shelves will quickly be emptied in every grocery store in town and portable generators and batteries will be on back order at Home Depot.

Dot and Dash love the cooler temperatures that Fall weather brings to Texas, but when the thermometer dips below freezing they don't like going outside any more than I do. Dot has problems with arthritis on cold days as well. I could tell she was really stiff today and had trouble getting up and down from her dog bed in the living room. To keep my own joints from getting too stiff, I made sure I got to the gym before the weather got really bad. When I left the house, the roads were still dry, but by the time I returned, there was already a light freezing drizzle that stuck to your windshield. I may skip my normal Friday morning restaurant outing and just fix something here at the house tomorrow instead. There just aren't many good reasons to drive on icy roads.

If the weather is as bad as they say it's going to be, I ought to get a lot done tomorrow. Maybe I'll get caught up on my writing. Hey, what else is there to do on an icy morning? If the power goes out, all bets are off. Falling tree limbs cause power outages in our neighborhood fairly frequently. Once we lost power for three days in the middle of Winter. I don't look forward to repeating that experience any time soon. When the power goes out, you're basically just camping indoors. There's a good chance that the city's worries about an impending ice storm are overblown. The weather reports are often wrong in these parts. We'll know how it all turns out by morning. If there is a lot of ice, I think the dogs and I will just stay under the covers.

Emmitt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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