The week in random review...

Finally! The temperature has dropped below 100 here in Central Texas. Don't get me wrong - I love summer and rarely mind the Texas heat. But give me a break - we had more than 30 consecutive days over 100 degrees this summer. And, this summer goes down in the record books as the third hottest summer in this part of Texas. Ever.

Our temperatures have even dipped into the 50's at night. Do you know what that means? Open windows! Yippee!!! It has been so nice to let the fresh air into our home. You can't imagine how much I've enjoyed sleeping with the windows open at night.

I've been able to remove my fluffy robe from its decorative display hook and actually wear it this week, thanks to the very cool mornings. This is Texas, ya'll - wearing a fluffy robe for more than three minutes of modesty is a luxury... and a contributing factor to heat strokes on most days.

I saw the first jugs of cider for sale this past weekend and bought some in anticipation of the cooler weather. Nothing says fall like hot cider. I've even planned my meals around the cooler weather: soups, casseroles, chowder. Mmm-mmm good!

On Wednesday, I assisted the photography company with the band students' individual pictures. Here's the gist of my conversation with many of the band students: 

Me: Do you have your order form?
Student: (Blank stare.)
Me: The order form that your parents used to select your photo package and the money to pay for it?
Student: Oh, that! It's in my ______. (Insert: locker, backpack, purse, notebook. Somewhere not on their person.)
Me: Can you go get it?
Student: Do I have to?
Me: Umm... yes, if you want to have your picture made.
Student: Okay, I'll cancel my appointment.
Me: I don't think your parents will be happy about that. Please go get it.
Student: (Mumbling as they turn and walk away.)
Me: (To student who has returned with their order form.) Okay, slip on this uniform jacket, grab your instrument and sit on the stool.
Student: I need my instrument for the picture??

It was a very, very fun long day.

I bought some fall mums yesterday. This Saturday, I'll climb into the attic and retrieve all my fall decorations from their storage tub.

I participated in week three of our women's Bible study at church yesterday morning. We're doing Beth Moore's "Breaking Free." I think this is the only one of her studies that I haven't done. I believe it might be the hardest, most probing, most convicting, most spirit-changing one yet ... and my favorite!

Kat had a girlfriend over last night and the three of us baked and decorated four dozen cupcakes for them to take to school today. Bake sale? Nope. Birthday? Not yet. What? Drama Club officer elections. "M," Kat's friend, is running for Pres and Kat is on her ticket as her Veep. (Hey, I know the lingo!) Yep, that's right... buying votes.

We're watching Burrito perform with the high school marching band tonight. For those of you non-band parents, that means we're going to the football game tonight.

Update: Kat was elected VP of the Drama Club!  Sadly, her friend "M" did not win the President position.  (Voting was for the individuals, not by ticket.) The band performed wonderfully.  The football team... not so much. And, it is with great sadness that I inform you of the demise of the fall cool down.  We're headed back to the 90's this coming week.  My defiant streak says we're still getting the fall decorations out today!

And life goes on...

... for our family.

Hurricane Ike turned out to be less of an "event" than originally forecast for those of us in this part of Texas. Ike slowed, then turned more north and spared central Texas. We had a little wind - not even as much as would be caused by a normal thunderstorm - and no rain. We could have used some rain.

Our friends on the coast didn't fare so well. Despite the fact that the damage from hurricane Ike was less than forecast, the devastation is still overwhelming. Our hearts are breaking for the community of Galveston Island. We wish we could head down there with a mop, bucket and some tools to assist in getting the mess cleaned up - right now. Get things back to normal. Right now. In reality, we know it will be months before anything even resembles normal in Galveston. The new normal, not the one of our memories.

Here's our memories of the Galveston Yacht Basin. (No, we don't have a yacht, but we used their boat ramp to launch our boat when we were down there.) This picture exemplifies our memories of returning to the Basin at the end of a fun day of fishing in the Gulf. (Thank you, Alan, for this gorgeous picture!)

Here it is on fire. As Ike made his final approach, an exploding transformer ignited the club's dry storage area. Did you know fuel on board boats makes a great fire accelerant? It does. You'll see that there is water all around the area. Some of the water you see is covering streets and parking lots. This kept the fire department from being able to extinguish the fire so it was allowed to burn.

This is all that remained after the fire.

(Updated: My original post had an inaccurate photo that we thought was of the destroyed boat slips at the Yacht Basin. I've removed that photo as we have since found more reliable pictures showing that area of the marina is relatively unharmed. Good news!)

This is Seawall Boulevard. It is the main road that runs alongside beachfront on Galveston. The seawall was originally built 17 feet tall after the hurricane of 1900, although engineers say it has sunk over time to approximately 15 feet. This wall is what kept the east end of the island from total devastation.

Seawall Boulevard after Ike. Looks like total devastation, doesn't it?

This is the Murdoch’s Bathhouse (also known as Mermaid Pier) on Seawall Boulevard. It is one of Galveston Island's most historic shops and has been family-owned since 1910. We shopped here just last month while we were on Galveston for our family vacation. I bought a gorgeous piece of coral from the shop that I now proudly display in my home.

The Murdoch's/Mermaid Pier after Ike.

This is historic downtown Galveston, also known as The Strand. This area had been lovingly, and beautifully restored by Galvestonians. Stephanie, my BFA&F, and I spent a good portion of our day shopping on The Strand when we went to Galveston in April.


The Strand immediately after Ike. It could have been worse. The buildings are standing and only the lower levels have been damaged. I've read that some of the stores have several "steps up" from the street level and may have been spared.

We haven't been able to find any reliable information yet about one of our favorite spots, Gaido's Seaside Inn and Restaurants (Gaido's and Casey's). I've found several blogs and comment threads indicating they have survived with, all things considered, minimal damage. The most recent news I found from a blog posting:

"I work for a lodging administrator who has had contact with the Gaidos Hotel. They are still standing, minus a roof. The restaurant is also still intact. The crab is no longer sitting in his usual place. They have sustained damage to the Hotel and restaurant but hope to be back up in running in the next few weeks."

We are desperately hoping this information is accurate. I did find an article in the Galveston Daily News announcing that Paul Gaido was hosting a free shrimp boil this Thursday for anyone on the island, including media. That's Galveston "grit" for ya!

And this is just Galveston news. All the neighboring communities have been affected. Some much worse than the island. Please continue to pray for these people and their communities as they work to regain their lives on the Texas coast.

Ike is coming!

Ike is nearing landfall on our Texas coastline. Our hearts are hurting for our "home away from home" - Galveston. It is disturbing to watch the news videos showing the destruction and damage that has already occurred on the island... and it is only going to get worse. It is frightening to know that almost 50% of Galveston's population has decided to ignore the evacuation orders and have remained on the island. We've been there during a tropical storm, and I can tell you from personal experience that trying to face down a hurricane like Ike is risking life.

(Updated: We learned on our late local news that many more residents of Galveston Island did decide - at the last moment - to evacuate. Whew! But, approximately 20% still remain - and that's still too many.)

Ironically, our suburban town is one of the evacuation sites for Galveston evacuees. Hundreds (thousands?) of Galveston islanders arrived by buses overnight last night. Many of our schools have been turned into temporary homes for these people. Tears well in my eyes as I think about these people and what it must be like for them to sit in these gymnasiums and field houses... for them to watch the same destruction that I am viewing on the news. Makes me want to go hug them all.

The weather predictions for our area have actually improved over the last 12 hours or so. We'll still have high wind and some rain but should avoid the really bad weather. We're stocked with food, water, batteries and other necessities. We're good to go.

Pray for the people of coastal Texas.

September 11, 2001 - Never Forget!

A day to remember...

Time has a way of rewriting history.

To gloss over horrific events.

Events that are hard to look at without raw emotions surfacing in those memories.

Sometimes it's easier to create peaceful, lovely memorials.

But there was nothing peaceful about that day.

Or lovely.

This day changed our country.

May we never forget it.

Friday Confession

One of my blog friends recently told me in an email that she thought I was almost perfect. Hmm. The fleeting feeling of flattery was quickly replaced by shame. I’m not perfect. Those of you who know me in the real world know this to be all too true.

So, I’m going to make a confession to all of you. One that will surely dispel any doubt about my perfection.

I am a prejudiced person.

There! I said it and it’s true.

I think my prejudices are the reason I so love living in the suburbs. In a neighborhood with deed restrictions. It keeps those we consider “less desirable” at a more comfortable distance.

Until recently.

You see, some of those “types” just recently moved into our neighborhood. They are ruining our little piece of suburban utopia.

How?

They show no consideration for those of us who like to sleep at normal hours – you should hear them carrying on in the middle of the night.

They have no respect for the property of their neighbors. Vandalism has increased ten fold since they moved in. Just look at what some of them did to one of our neighbor’s lawn!

They are downright mean. Our property owner’s association even had to send out an email to all of the residents, warning us to keep our children and pets away from them. I personally hope they stay away from our schools!

And they stink. And, I do mean a literal, one of the five senses stink. I don’t think they bathe. Ever.

I know you’re probably shocked to read all of this. I’m hoping this confession doesn’t make you think less of me.

Perhaps if I show you a picture of our new neighbors, you’ll understand.

Wild pigs. Noisy, destructive, mean and stinky.

What did you think I was talking about?!

One down...

Only 179 days to go. But who's counting, right?

Well, maybe these two.

The first day of school went well for both kids. Kat attended the first day of 7th grade at the new middle school in our district. We had a preview of the campus last week and it is beautiful. Kat was pleased to receive all the courses she had requested and was satisfied with the teachers for those classes. Except for one who shall remain nameless. She has a slight bias, though, as Burrito also had this teacher when he was at the other middle school and I think his opinion is clouding her opinion. Kat was also happy to report that she has friends and acquaintances in every class. Whew! Because we all know how important is to have your homies in class with you in order to receive a quality education! She was also pleased that her dance class was early in the day and not immediately after lunch like last year. Other contributing factors to the success of the day: She found all of her classrooms ("No problem!") and the lock on her locker worked just fine!
Burrito had a one day reprieve from early morning band practice on the first day. So, I dropped him off at the high school on my way to my coffee date with the girls in time to pick up his schedule and get to his first class of 10th grade. (I'm really not old enough to have a 10th grader, just in case you were wondering.) I am pleased to report that miracles are still occurring! Burrito's schedule was correct. He was thrilled with the instructors for his courses, as well. His big shock for the day? His world history class. It is a college level class that he will receive college credit for after he passes the final test at the end of the year. He had me look at the textbook multiple times while exclaiming things like, "Do you see how thick this is?" and "Look at how small the print is" and "There's hardly any pictures in here!"

Day number two started bright and early this morning since Burrito had to be at band. Actually, it was dark and early. And by early morning, I mean 6:30 AM. Also known as "o'dark-thirty." And, by 6:30 AM, I mean dressed, at the school, on the practice field, drum strapped on, ready to play at 6:30 AM.

Our alarm goes off at 5:15 AM now, thank you very much!

Tuesday is THE day!

The first day of school!

The new clothes are pressed and ready. Lunches are packed. School supplies have been purchased and labeled. Bus numbers are confirmed.

And mom has a coffee date with the girls lined up immediately following the departure.

Lord, bless and protect my children as they return to school.

Intelligent people are always ready to learn.
Their ears are open for knowledge.
Proverbs 18:15