It Is So Cold In Texas My Neighborhood Cactus Has Sprouted Ice Thorns

How many more days of this sub-freezing slippery madness must we and our neighborhood ice cactus endure before this frigid nightmare is over?

I am running low on vittles. I had hoped a Tuesday thaw might allow vehicular transport to Walmart and ALDI.

But, I do not want any type of repeat of last winter's sliding back and forth to ALDI debacle, so I am being extremely conservative with any attempted wheel rolling.

And with the temperature well below freezing at less than three hours til noon, I am not optimistic about a possible thaw of any significance melting today.

I was more than slightly mortified to hear on the radio a few minutes ago that a possible additional wave of freezing wetness may arrive on Wednesday.

Yesterday I did manage to walk up the hill to Albertsons. I usually do not buy groceies at Albertsons, that being a longtime aversion that dates back to not liking Albertsons back when that store was considered, by me, and others, to be the worst grocery store in Mount Vernon.

I remember soon upon moving to Texas, asking a local about the local grocery store situation and being appalled to be told that Alberstons was among the local area's best. Many years later the local grocery store situation more matches what I was used to in Washington, what with the addition of Central Market, Sprouts and others.

Like Whole Foods.

I am not a Whole Foods fan.

Though, I must say the Whole Foods that opened in Seattle around the turn in the century, is nice. I assume Whole Foods had to amp up their game to compete in that much more competitive market with grocery store shoppers having much higher expectations of what to expect in a grocery store.

Checking my inventory I find I have four eggs, two slices of bread, about a quart of milk, a chunk of cabbage, some carrots, a  half an onion, a lot of yogurt, about two pounds of Italian sausage, one can of tuna, a half a bag of rice, a few celery stalks, a couple cups of oatmeal and some spinach tortillas.

I likely will be able to survive until the thaw....

With Betty Jo Bouvier & The Afternoon View Of Texas & Washington's Central Markets

If I remember right I've referenced the morning view through the bars of my patio prison cell a time or two. I do not recollect ever referencing the afternoon view from my patio prison cell.

That is what you are looking at in the picture. The Friday afternoon view through the bars of my patio prison cell.

As you can see, it is a bit brighter than the morning view.

And warmer. Currently it is 80 degrees out there, somewhere between 5 and 6pm.

I was talking to Betty Jo Bouvier a few minutes ago about the salubrious benefits of herbal teas. This led me to mentioning where one might find Kava Kava tea. In my location I can find Kava Kava at Sprouts Farmers Market and Central Market.

Betty Jo Bouvier is in Washington. That is an American state in the far northwest corner of the country. Washington has no Sprouts Farmers Market. Until this afternoon I thought Washington did have a Central Market.

Well, actually, Washington does have a Central Market. It is just not the Texas version.

I remember when first I heard that a Central Market had opened in Mill Creek, in Washington, thinking it odd that Central Market would be expanding to Washington when they have only recently expanded from Austin to the Dallas/Fort Worth zone.

I had heard reports from Washingtonians about the Mill Creek Central Market. What a great grocery store it was. When I asked if they'd gone to Burger and Bock this was met with confusion. That should have been a clue to me.

So, today, whilst conversing with Betty Jo, about tea, I looked up Central Market Mill Creek. Then went to their website. Surprisingly low quality level website for a Central Market operation, I thought to myself. It did not take much looking at this website to realize the Central Market in Mill Creek has nothing to do with the Austin based Central Market, except for sharing a name.

The Austin based Central Market's website matches what I'd expect from a Central Market Texas website.

I must try and remember which Washingtonians I have told that they need to check out Mill Creek's Central Market and make amends.

Elsie Hotpepper & I Are Not Going To Thursday's Central Market Concert Because It Is Too HOT In Texas

Well, it's a good thing I looked at this week's Fort Worth Weekly this afternoon.

In an hour or two I had planned on taking off from here and heading west to Elsie Hotpepper's cool new condo in the Montgomery Plaza building on 7th Street.

Speaking of 7th Street. That street is the subject of this week's featured story in FW Weekly, "The Sizzle on 7th."

Pardon me for digressing. I fear digressing may be a heat related ailment.

Anyway, I was saying I'd planned on going to Elsie Hotpepper's cool new condo, when I saw an ad in FW Weekly which caused a plan change.

Elsie and I had planned on going to Central Market for the Thursday Concert on the patio to hear TNL.

I have no idea who or what TNL is. Except for the obvious, that being that TNL must produce some sort of music.

"TNL HAS BEEN CANCELLED", as you can see in the ad (someone needs to tell FW Weekly that there is only one 'l' in canceled).

According to the notice in FW Weekly, TNL has been "cancelled this week due to the ever-loving solar gods radiating intolerable and, quite frankly, obnoxious heat in Fort Worth."

Apparently Central Market has received a cooler forecast for next Thursday, 8/11, when DIRTY POOL is providing the music.

Next Thursday will also be the 2nd Thursday of the month, which means it is a Rockin' the River Inner Tube Happy Hour Float Day on the Trinity River.

It would seem a band called DIRTY POOL would be real appropo for Rockin' the Dirty River.

Is Central Market still doing Burger n' Bock on Saturdays? I've gone to Burger n' Bock once. I enjoyed it. Particularly the Burger. The Bock, not so much.