Hey Y'all

I had a bit of an accident last night. I did the slip n slide on the bathroom floor and pulled a hamstring as I did the splits. Yeah, I'm talented that way.

Anywho, I'm going to be out of commission for just a couple of days doing PT this week. I should be good enough to sit without screaming by Wednesday. In the meantime y'all talk amongst yourselves and I'll be right as rain soon enough to bother everyone.

Oh. By the way, I seem to be in remission on my lupus problem. Yea! GO ME!

Religion in a Nutshell

 

Update Video of River

 It's back to normal. This was taken at 12 noon today. So we are good.

Yes It's True . . . .

South Central Texas is still under a flash flood warning in the Hill Country and in our area we are under a flash flood watch until 5 am. We are safe and dry. 

This is how our river, the Guadalupe, usually looks.

Quiet, serene, and you can actually walk across this part to the other side. Normally there are sandbars on this side, it's that shallow, about ankle deep in places.

And when we start having flood waters. This is not bad yet but if it floods the Pecan Bottom which is the picnic area, running track, and wave pool then we have to leave. Because it will be about 45 feet over the banks.

 South-central Texas and the Hill Country are being flooded because the Guadalupe River can take only so much rain runoff before all hell breaks loose. There are several lakes and other rivers that feed into it. The flood that took the lives of 25 little girls camping in the Hill Country last year at this same time is what happens.

The video above was from a TikToker here in Seguin who took film Wednesday of the Guadalupe River that runs by Starkey Park Golf Course near an area that we call the Pecan Bottom. The building across the river is the Old Seguin Power Station that was renovated into a restaurant. It's built high off the ground so it's safe This is about 300 yards from where I live. We are on higher ground but still we always get ready to "bug out" or leave in a hurry. 

Usually in June or July we get rains that last three to four days and the Guadalupe floods in the Hill Country which is north west of us. It comes through our area and continues on to the Gulf of Mexico. There are large dams and a few small ones like ours in the picture above up river from us also a couple of lakes so it sort of controls the water.

 David said back in June of 2002 the flooding came within 100 yards of the house. He was in El Paso at the time asking me to marry him. The waters receded and the house was spared before he got back home. He said we are on the 100 year flood plain and I'm thinking there is always that one flood that will get ya.

We have a great warning system here in town. The city calls our land line (house) phone and our cell phones if there is a flash flood coming, a tornado, wildfire, you name it the phones ring, our computers get emails and the sirens go on and off for 5 minutes to warn everyone. Those sirens are loud too. The city tests them for decibel levels and duration every Saturday at noon for 2 minutes. When I first heard them I got scared because I never heard sirens being tested before. Since 2002 when I moved here I've heard them going only twice and we walked to the end of our street to look down into the Pecan Bottom and the water wasn't too high yet. We waited and the flooding finally receded within the hour and they gave the all clear sirens. We were spared again and again. 

Every summer around June thru July we keep the car and David's truck gassed up in preparation for times like this. I prepare "bug out" bags . They are old book bags I had from college. We grab a plastic crate and put dog kibble and cat food along with toys and extra dog and cat dishes and water. I load up the BO bags with clothes, laptops and chargers, toiletries, and I tie the extra sneakers to the bag straps to save room. We have 2 water tight lock boxes for important papers and such, copies go in each vehicle. We usually throw everything into each vehicle and wait. So far we haven't had to leave . . . . there is always that one time that it will happen though. We'll be ready.

Deep Thoughts Thursday

 

Wet Dog Wednesday

 

Tickle Me Tuesday ~ Meme Dump

 

Religion in a Nutshell

 

Antifa Is Back

 

Deep Thoughts Thursday

Wet Cat Wednesday

Tickle Me Tuesday - Greatest Inventions

 

Better Driver Than Toonces

 If you don't know Toonces from SNL then look it up. But I have to say, all AI aside, this is cute. Miss Blackie can drive.

Religion in a Nutshell

 

Happy 250th America

 

Something Really Cool is Happening Right Now

 This young lady is Kelsey Pfendler. 

She is currently rowing all by herself with no help from anyone going from Monterey California to Oahu Hawaii.  That's 2400 miles - alone!  She cannot have outside help from boats, or Coast Guard choppers unless she loses her boat. So if she runs out of food or loses an oar, she will have to figure her way out of it. She is on a solo row and she's breaking records all over the place. First youngest female to row to Hawaii. Fastest row by one person ever. First single American rower. First fastest female rower, and the list goes on.

She is doing this just because she wants to and for the Whale Foundation. If you want to donate to this charity go HERE. 

This is her official website HERE. you can track her if you scroll down to the right blue button in the box that says Show Race Viewer.

This has been tracking her progress since she started over a month ago it also tracks her time and where she is via satellite tracking. She was thrown off coarse at the beginning by way of strong currents pushing her south and she has been working hard to get back on track.

There is a button second to the right near the top of Track My Progress. It shows the weather around her. It shows how fast the wind is moving, how fast the current is moving, the temperature, and rainy weather near her. from the tracker I say she's roughly about 2 days out from Hawaii also because birds have been flying around her boat and one she named Ozzy spent the night on the boat as she rowed last night.

If you want to watch her TikTok day to day tracking go HERE. Scroll all the way down to the beginning of her row to watch the timeline of videos in order. If you watch from the beginning, she gives a rundown on the instrumentation on her videos. On day 11 when she is in her sleeping cabin there is a strange sound in the background, it's the auto pilot. It constantly runs to keep her boat going in the right direction. She has a radio in case a ship gets too close, she can radio them to let them know she's out there so they don't hit her. She also has a base crew that keeps her company and tells her when to batten down the hatches for a storm. She has solar panels for electricity and a desalinator for bathing, drinking water, and rehydrating her food. All her food is dehydrated for storage purposes. She has a tracking device that shows how far she has come on her trip. It also functions as a tracking device if she isn't tethered to the boat and it capsizes. Tethered means she has a waist belt that has a tether leash to the boat. She puts it on when she goes outside to row or to clean the underside of the boat. There is a cool thing about Lily, her boat. If she capsizes, she will right herself with very little effort. Because of this everything on deck must be kept in pouches attached to the hull so Kelsey won't lose anything. She sends her videos through Starlink Satellite. I'm giving away so much that you will find out on her TikTok page so go check her out.

Oh, before you go, two days ago a Coast Guard ship caught sight of her and came near and wished Kelsey a happy birthday. They all sang to her and talked to her via radio and then continued on their way to Hawaii. It was a sweet moment. You have to see it on her TikTok at the top left that says Coast Guard on the video. 

And one final note. When she is sighted in Hawaii there will be a live stream of her coming ashore. I don't know when or who will be streaming it but I'm guessing you can watch it through her website or TikTok.

Wet Dog Wednesday ~ Malinois Version