Following Edible Arrangements Across The D/FW Metroplex

Today I was in Southlake. While I was in Southlake I went to Sprouts Farmers Market. I got a lot of good stuff. More Ruby Red Grapefruit and Fuji Apples from Washington.

On the way back here I turned off Davis Boulevard to head south on Precinct Line Road to ALDI Food Market. All the way down Precinct Line Road I was behind the truck you see in the picture.

A truck delivering Edible Arrangements of fruit. With a personalized license plate that says, "DO FRUT." Why the license is missing an "I" I do not know.

I took this as yet one more omen that it is a good idea to make an obesity blog. When I was behind the Edible Arrangements truck, this made sense.

An earlier obesity blog omen caused me to make the obesity blog this morning. It is not yet ready for prime time. The new blog's name is DurangObese.

At the time I made DurangObese, that seemed clever. Now, not so much.

Oh well. I am stuck with it now.

Delivering A Puerto Rican Itinerary While Trying To Nap & Eat A Ruby Red Grapefruit From South Texas

You are looking at the Wednesday afternoon northerly view from Miss Puerto Rico's. I have returned from delivering a printout of the itinerary of the trip to Puerto Rico, which will be several hours under way, a week from today.

I am not providing airport shuttle service. Other arrangements must be made.

I was up a bit early today again. I am constitutionally unable to take naps. For the most part. This afternoon I did have a nap impulse, but nothing came of it.

Around noon I had to be up in Southlake, so, since I was in the neighborhood, I dropped in on Sprouts Farmers Market and got 30 Ruby Red Grapefruit, among other good stuff.

Ruby Red Grapefruit comes from down in the South Texas Plains Rio Grande River Valley citrus growing zone. When you're down in the McAllen zone you can visit Eggers Acres and pick some Ruby Red Grapefruit. The Eggers Family runs a citrus market at the location where their grandpa developed the Ruby Red Grapefruit.

I had myself one of my newly acquired South Texas grown Ruby Red Grapefruit for lunch, along with a Philly Cheesesteak Pizza, BBQed Chicken and Broccoli. The Ruby Reds are one deep red-colored grapefruit. They are sweet enough that no additional sweetening is required. At least for me. I am not a fan of sweet things.

Sprouts Farmers Market Website Major Malfunction

Last Wednesday when I knew I was heading in the direction of Southlake I went to check the Sprouts Farmers Market website to see if anything motivated me to stop at Sprouts.

Awhile back the Sprouts Farmers Market website changed to an annoying Flash-based mess. But, there was a non-Flash option that worked fine.

Until last week when I found the Sprouts non-Flash option had turned into a Flash option. Which really is not an option because it gets my computer all hot and bothered.

Today I decided to get my computer hot and bothered and try and look at the Sprouts website. Well, it is totally messed up. The cutesy entry page you see in the picture loads, but when you click to view the ad all kinds of stupid starts to happen.

A little thumbnail of the ad appears. You click to zoom and nothing happens. Then suddenly the zoom happens, for a flash, (because it's a Flash thing?) and then it reverts back to the thumbnail.

Using Flash for a commercial website is really dumb. Particularly one like Sprouts. A lot of people access websites via their cell phone. I can't imagine that working well with the Sprouts Flash mess.

Maybe the problem is my computer, I've not tried to get on the Sprouts Farmers Market website from another computer.

So, I did not get anything good from Sprouts today, but I did get some real good strawberries from the ALDI Food Market.

Chilly Last Texas Thursday Of July Up With The Sun Thinking About Split Pea Hummus

You are out on my patio with me, drinking coffee, and watching the sun light up the place on the last Thursday of July.

It is borderline chilly outside at 75. It is almost like winter is arriving early.

I am going to try and go swimming in a few minutes. I hope the water has not chilled too much.

Complete change of subject from the sun and swimming to hummus. I got a big bag of yellow split peas at Sprouts Farmers Market yesterday. A couple weeks ago I learned whilst watching Top Chef that hummus can be made from split peas.

So, a big batch of split peas cooked overnight in the slow cooker and now await me Vita-Mixing them into hummus. I hope it works.

It is very likely that after the workout involved in Vita-Mixing split peas into hummus, and other ordeals, I will need a good dose of endorphin stimulation from aerobicizing myself on the Tandy Hills mid-day.

Meet me at noon at the top of Mount Tandy if you want to go hiking with me. See you there.

Out In The Almost 100 Degree HEAT Getting A Seedless Texas Watermelon

98.1 at about 10 minutes til 3. Heat Index of 105. Yes, it is HOT.

I have been out in it very little today. Well, there was that hour in the pool this morning, but it was only in the 80s then.

I went north to Southlake around noon. Went to Sprouts Farmers Market. I don't think I'd been to Sprouts since ALDI opened.

I got myself a big locally grown seedless Texas watermelon at Sprouts.

After Sprouts I headed back south, down Precinct Line Road, to ALDI. Not very many customers at the Hurst ALDI. Is ALDI not catching on here? I like it. I wish one was closer to where I live.

By the time I left ALDI a nearby bank's temperature sign said it was 99. Those type signs seem frequently inaccurate.

To you who live in cooler climates I'll tell you one survival technique I've learned to use to work around the HEAT.

If it is almost 100 degrees it makes it a bit difficult to buy anything frozen or in need of refrigeration, if you are going to be making multiple stops with the vehicle's A/C not running.

To deal with this problem I have a big cooler. This works well. I make it back here with the frozen stuff still frozen and the cold stuff still cold.

Well, I am out of here in a bit. Heading to the Tandy Hills. That should be interesting. It is not being as windy as I wish it would be.

A Blue Sky Sprouts Again In Southlake Fort Worth & North Texas

You are looking at produce in Sprouts Farmers Market, in Southlake, at a little after noon today.

The picture does not do the crowd justice, but it was human gridlock, at times, in Sprouts today. I took 5 pictures, trying to get a good one of the gridlock, but I had to be very surreptitious, due to the fact that people seem to have an aversion to having their picture taken when they are grocery shopping.

We have had a return to blue sky and warm temperatures, again, here in North Texas. It is a bit over 60 out there. I felt too HOT in here. So, I have a window open.

Could the end of winter be here? The 5 day forecast has us in the 60s with one day in the 70s. It is only 18 days til spring. Could our long Arctic Texas nightmare be over?

That's the blue sky view from Miss Puerto Rico's balcony around 3 this afternoon. It's hard to believe just a couple weeks ago this view was covered by more than a foot of snow.

I have an interesting day to look forward to tomorrow. I think. I am fairly certain, unlike today, it will not begin with a refreshing dip in a cool pool.

I Am Prepared For The Incoming Blue Norther Deep Freeze In Fort Worth Texas

I had to be in Southlake today, so it seemed a good idea to make a visit to Sprouts Farmers Market.

The view you are looking at in the picture is sort of looking north.

Which means a wind from the south is blowing the flag and pointing it north.

In a few hours the direction is going to change as Texas is invaded with the coldest Arctic Deep Freeze in a decade.

My shocking introduction to how cold it can get in Texas. And an Ice Storm. Came about 2 weeks after my arrival in Texas. I'd never experienced such weather. We'd gone to the Fort Worth Stockyards to, now long gone, Riscky Rita's Mexican food lunch buffet, coatless, temperatures in the 50s. Upon exiting Riscky Rita's I was appalled to find the temperature nearing freezing, with a strong wind making it feel way colder than freezing.

The was my introduction to a Blue Norther.

When I heard on the radio today that the incoming cold was expected to be the coldest in a decade I assumed the decade old cold was that cold I just mentioned that introduced me to the volatile Texas weather 10 years ago.

Below is the forecast for Fort Worth issued at 11:21 this morning. If the predicted Freezing Rain happens, tomorrow should be interesting. I'm well stocked with goods. I can handle a 5 day siege.

The Humid Search For A New Big Subject In Texas

Up very early, in the pool, again, right as dawn was doing its cracking. We're being extremely humid. It is only 80 out there, right now, at a quarter before 9, but the 74% humidity is making for a Heat Index of 85. The predicted high is 101 today. Maybe some of this humidity will burn off.

Looking at the stats, this morning, of this very blog, I was pleased to see a big drop in the number of people, all over the world, seeking to see the biggest version in the world of the thing depicted in the picture. I mentioned a week or two ago that I'd finally wised up and realized I'd made a mistake in blogging about that certain, specific subject.

When I cease blogging about that subject and my search for it, the blog drops lower and lower in Google searches. After awhile, the number of searchers, looking for that big object, being directed to my blog, should diminish to none.

I have not blogged about Only Child Syndrome of late. I see fewer people coming to this blog looking for relief from that problem. Maybe I am no longer the world's go to guy for info about that subject. I'll go see. I'll be right back....

Well, I'm still the world's #1 go to guy, at least at this moment, in a Google search looking for relief in dealing with Only Child Syndrome.

I don't mind being the world's go to guy on the Only Child Syndrome subject, It seems less unseemly than being the go to guy in a search for the biggest of a particular body part.

What seems to have replaced the search for the big thing is the search for a cure for cancer by eating a lot of asparagus. That seems a much more elevated thing to be providing information about than that other subject, the specific words of which, I no longer type.

Today is Wednesday, which means I'm heading north a bit before noon, heading to Southlake and likely Sprouts Farmers Market. There is another market I need to check out called the "Town Talk" store. It is located at the intersection of Beach Street and Randol Mill Road.

Texas Air Pollution Alerts And Dangerous Nitrogen Tanks

Every Wednesday on my way back south from Southlake, and Sprouts Farmers Market, I see two Air Pollution Alert signs on the west side of Davis Boulevard. I don't see any Air Pollution Alert signs on the east side when I'm heading north.

What perplexes me is wondering what the purpose of these two signs can possibly be. What is one supposed to do with this alert? Watch out for incoming Air Pollution?

And why are these two Air Pollution Alert signs the only two I've ever seen? These signs are in North Richland Hills. Are they all over North Richland Hills? The only other North Richland Hills road I have driven on lately is North Tarrant Parkway. I saw no Air Pollution Alert signs on that road.

The two Air Pollution Alert signs on Davis Boulevard are within about a half mile, or less of each other. Maybe that stretch of road is extra polluted, thus the signs.

There is another disturbing thing I see each week on Davis Boulevard. It is between the two Air Pollution Alert signs. About 6 feet from the side of the road there is this big metal tank that says "Nitrogen" on it. Above the tank there is a sign that says "Danger."

Today I had resolved that I would get pictures of the Air Pollution Alert sign and the dangerous Nitrogen Tank sitting along side a busy, heavily polluted road. When I saw the Nitrogen Tank up close and personal, I could read what was written below "DANGER"....

FIBER OPTIC CABLE ROUTE
CITIZEN ACCESS TO 911 OR OTHER
EMERGENCY SERVICES MAY BE
INTERRUPTED AND YOU WILL BE
SUBJECT TO CIVIL LIABILITY AND/OR
CRIMINAL PROSECUTION IF YOU DIG,
TRENCH OR PUSH PIPE IN THIS
VICINITY BEFORE GETTING PERMISSION

Well, that cleared that up. Near as I could tell, the Nitrogen Tank is being used to help hold up the DANGER sign. Probably because a proper sign hole could not be dug without damaging that fiber optic cable. One would think something could have been found to accomplish this other than a Nitrogen Tank that looks a bit foreboding sitting 6 feet from the curb with a big ol' DANGER sign above it.

So, that's been my exciting day, so far, this fine Wednesday in Texas. Despite forecasts that said otherwise, we will not be hitting 100 today. Maybe tomorrow. At least I will sleep better tonight, now that I've sorted out what that disturbingly dangerous looking Nitrogen Tank is all about. But, then again, I do still have that Air Pollution Alert to worry about. I'll probably sleep anyway.

Insomnia & A Punch Drunk Drive In Texas

Night Two of my latest Insomnia Outbreak was not too bad. I went to bed well past 11 and got up a bit before 4 this morning.

My synapses seemed to be firing with some accuracy, so I was a blogging maniac this morning. I was even able to think clearly enough to figure out two words to play in my ongoing word game with the Scrabble Queen of the State of Washington.

I was a bit concerned to learn this morning that there had been 2 more earthquakes in my zone of Texas. Even though I was awake for a lot of the night, I did not feel the earth move.

My one longtime reader may remember that since it is Wednesday I probably went to Southlake and likely went to Sprouts Farmers Market. My one longtime reader would be right.

I tried to snap pictures of the bizarre "Air Pollution Alert" signs I see each week on Davis Boulevard. I don't quite get what one is supposed to do with these alerts. Right after the first alert that nitrogen tank with a warning sign, that I've mentioned previously, still sits about 5 feet from the road. I tried to snap a picture of the tank when I drove by, but my timing was off.

Due to that sleep deprivation thing, driving was fun, it felt like being punch drunk after 600 miles on a long Roadtrip. Speaking of which, my favorite nephew named CJ, was reading my Roadtripping Blog and a posting I wrote today about White Sands National Monument. I mentioned this was a stop on a trip that led to 4 days at the Luxor in Vegas. My nephew somehow misunderstood and thought I am currently on my way to Arizona and Vegas and asked if I'd pick him up on the way.

Maybe my nephew is being sleep deprived too, hence the confusion.

Shared Blog DNA Telegraph & Sprouts With News From The Community

It's a HOT one in Texas today. 87 right now at 3 in the afternoon. WeatherBug just went off with one of its annoying weather warnings.

I have WeatherBug set to only warn me if the weather warning is of the dire run for cover before you die type. But that setting function does not seem to work. So, I get warned about every little thing. Like right now the warning was because it will be a little windy for while. I can look outside and deduce that it's a little windy.

Today being Wednesday I made my usual journey north to Sprouts Farmers Market. I got a lot of good stuff. The Texas Red Ruby Grapefruit are being very good this year. Big and sweet.

Yesterday the Fort Worth Blog, West & Clear called it quits. That same day a blog called Fort Worth DNA, somewhat similar to West & Clear, sprung up, which mentioned the demise of West & Clear, saying...

"With the discontinuation of West and Clear, and the downfall of printed media, we wanted to create a local outlet. Anyone can post, and you can even share in any advertising revenue."

And another somewhat slightly curious thing about this new FW DNA Blog is their motto, or tag-line, or whatever it is you would call it...

"Written by the Community, for the Community."

Which reminds me of the motto, or tag-line, or whatever it is you would call it of another new Fort Worth Blog, one that that started up several weeks ago, that being the Star-Telegraph Blog which at the top says...

"Real Community News From The Community."

This must be one of those all great minds think alike type deals. Or not.

Big Brother, Sirens, Signs, Sprouts & Near Misses

If it is Wednesday I probably had to be in Southlake today. Which my one longtime reader might guess likely meant I went to Sprouts Farmers Market when I was up north.

My one longtime reader would be right. I had my camera in my pocket today, so I took a picture of the TEXUS TOMATOES sign I see each week when I walk into Sprouts and get a grocery cart.

I like the signs in Sprouts. There are several of them.

Speaking of which, every single Sprouts shopper that I saw come in today, pulled off one of the sanitizer paper towels and wiped down their grocery cart handle. I've seen a few random instances of this before, but never like this. I am almost easily swayed into a herd mentality, so I wiped my cart down for the first time.

I must back up to what happened before I got into Sprouts. I was heading north on Davis Boulevard. Sprouts is at the northeast corner of Davis & Southlake Boulevards. As I neared that intersection the loudest siren I have ever heard went off. It was loud, with the windows up and with Rush Limbaugh in full loud blowhard mode. It was rock concert from hell loud with the windows down.

The siren was a steady sound, not like a tornado siren, but that is what I thought it might be, the weather being a bit unsettled and T-Storms mentioned as possible. The sound seemed to be coming from every direction. After what seemed like minutes of this ear-piercing noise it finally quieted down to silence.

And then the weird thing happened. A voice, just as loud as the siren, started speaking, "This has been a test of the emergency warning system. This has been a test of the early warning system." And then, finally, silence.

Where were the speakers located that this voice was coming from? How large an area do they have wired in Southlake to broadcast like this? It was such a weird Orwellian Big Brother moment. I asked a few people if they knew where the sound came from. No one knew. It's like it came from everywhere, as if it was broadcast, perfect use of that word, from above.

The siren warning incident and Big Brother speaking had my nerves on edge while I did my hunt for stuff at Sprouts. I was only in there about 20 minutes.

On the way back, heading south on Davis, suddenly it started up again, more sirens, only this was an emergency vehicle, followed by a fire truck. Less than a minute after almost getting hit by a firetruck I saw a longhorn I've long wanted to take a picture of. I started to slow up, saw the driveway entry coming up quicker than I thought, hit the brakes, not realizing there was a car a bit close behind me. That driver seemed to handle it okay and a rear ender was obviously avoided or I would have already mentioned it.

Anyway, that's been some of my day today, up at 4 am, no newspaper, pool closed due to all that rainwater of a couple days ago requiring a shock treatment. Impending doom weather-wise, with ultra-high humidity and temps in the 90s.

Texas Heat Wave Sprouts on Target

That's a look at my current state of weather, via WeatherBug, from about 10 minutes ago. As you can see we are nearing 90 with the high today getting to 95.

I have not turned on the A/C in here. Yet. I did run the A/C in my vehicle when I drove up to Southlake at noon.

Swimming, this morning, was very pleasant.

I fixed the flat tire on my bike before the torrid temps arrived. But, I don't know if I'm ready, yet, to venture out and ride the newly tubed bike in this heat. That and I've got other stuff to do.

In Southlake I went to Sprouts Farmers Market, like I usually do on Wednesday, pathetic repetitive creature of habit that I apparently am. It was extra warm in Sprouts. Maybe due to way too many people being in there.

On the way back here from Sprouts I dropped in on the Super Target that sits with its back to the Super Wal-Mart where I first got a gallon of milk that was supposed to cost $1.98 but for which I was charged the outrageous price of $2.00. Looking at my blog stats, I can now see I am not alone. Others are looking for the reason why Wal-Mart is being odd with their milk price.

The reason I went to Super Target was to return a vegetable oil sprayer that did not work. At Super Target you walk into what at noon appeared to be a practically empty store where the employees out number the few customers. Unlike at Super Wal-Mart, at Super Target you walk up to Customer Service and you are instantly acknowledged and helped. It took all of 20 seconds to get my money refunded.

I then told the Super Target Customer Service person about my recent experiences with Super Wal-Mart Customer Service and the bizarre milk price scam. She was appalled. I told her I'd blogged about it a couple times. She asked for and wrote down my blog address. Unlike the minimum wage morons that Wal-Mart mans its Customer Service with, this Super Target young lady seemed quite sharp.

Sprouts today was also a good customer service experience. I must have bought at least 30 different items. As always, not a single price mistake. And super fast, efficient, checkout.

So, now does the title of this particular blogging make sense? Texas Heat Wave Sprouts on Target. Makes sense to me.

Red Flag Warning: Don't Get Sick In Texas

Apparently if I don't blog at my usual pace, the lack causes concern. As in I got an email from my one reader asking me if I'm all right, due to me not blogging this morning.

Well. I may not look as ill as the guy in the drawing, but that's pretty much how I felt this morning. By yesterday afternoon I sort of had an inkling I might have a virus inside me wanting to get out. I'd been around an extremely germy person a few days prior.

So, late yesterday afternoon I went to Wal-Mart and got a chicken and all the stuff to make Chicken Tortilla Soup. Tortilla Soup always makes me feel better. So, this morning I made the soup and several bowls later I'm feeling way better.

Due to this under the weather problem I have unintentionally followed my physical therapist, Dr. Layla's, "slow down" advice. As in, even though it was quite warm this morning and I'm sure the pool was way warmer than yesterday, I did not go swimming. Today has seen no bike riding or hiking.

But I did make my weekly trek to Sprouts Farmers Market to stock up on good stuff.

Due to these high (in the 80s) temperatures, along with low humidity and wind, the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning, due to high wildfire danger.

Here's the warning....

Urgent - Fire Weather Message National Weather Service Fort Worth TX 253 PM CDT Wed Apr 8 2009

A Red Flag Warning Is In Effect Thursday Afternoon For The Northwest Two Thirds Of North Texas Due To Gusty Southwest Winds, Very Low Humidities, And Very Warm Temperatures.

A Deep Surface Low Pressure System Will Move East Across Oklahoma On Thursday And Result In The Passage Of A Dryline Across North Texas During The Afternoon. Very Warm, Windy, And Dry Conditions Will Occur Behind The Dryline Resulting In Critical Fire Conditions Through Sunset Thursday Evening.

Going to Church at Overeaters Anonymous

I was on my way to church, I mean Wal-Mart, to get a ham, this latest gray day in Texas, when I came upon a sign for a group I should probably join before I balloon up to Macy's Parade Float size.

Speaking of Big People, Wal-Mart sure is the go-to joint if you want to see that sort of thing.

I did not previously mention it, but last week outside Sprouts Farmers Market I saw a butt on a woman that was even more astonishing than the one I mentioned seeing at Wal-Mart a couple months ago.

I know I promised I get photo documentation the next time I saw such a thing, and while I had my camera with me, there was no opportunity to surreptitiously snap a picture without being real uncouth. Sprouts is not the sort of place were Big-Butted people shop. I suspect this lady was coming out of one of the other businesses next to Sprouts. But likely not the Spa.

The thing that made the Sprouts Big Butt so noteworthy was it was attached to a very good-looking blonde lady who was very well-proportioned, except for a butt that looked as if 2 enormous balloons had been stuffed into her extremely stretched pants. I watched her climb up into her Ford pickup. I could see her Big Butt had her head hitting the roof. She wasn't very tall, so that was interesting.

As long as you've got me on the subject of Big Butts again, once more, this morning when looking at my FeedJit stats I saw there was an amazing number of people from all over the world coming to my blog by searching for the World's Biggest Butt. And once more the Big Butt searchers seemed to search in clusters.

Why is there such a world-wide interest in seeing the World's Biggest Butt? It's a conundrum I regularly ponder, particularly if I don't have anything better to think about, which right now should be lunch, which is going to be macaroni and cheese, fish sticks and broccoli salad. I'm trying to put on enough weight so I can join Overeaters Anonymous.

February Texas Heat Wave & Grapefruits

I think I'm on LOST and I've been Flashed ahead to summer. I'm sweltering here. Windows open. Verge of turning on the A/C. That just ain't right. It's barely February. Let's see if the ceiling fan brings some relief from this humid hothouse.

As predicted earlier, I went to Grapevine today, did me some hiking on the Horseshoe Trails. That's some kids, in the first picture, debating whether or not they want to go down a steep dropoff on the BMX bike part of the trails. They opted out.

Gar the Texan had the most spectacular bike wreck I ever personally witnessed on these trails. He flew right over his handlebars and then did a head tuck rollover, like some Olympic gymnast doing some sort of fancy dismount. Afterwords he did get a case of the vapors, but the wreck was spectacular, I think of it whenever I go past the spot where Gar the Texan flew.

In the middle of winter the Horseshoe Trails looks barren of greenery. Give it a couple months and it will be back looking like a jungle. Had my biggest Cottonmouth encounter, ever, on these trails. I don't freak out over poisonous snake encounters anymore, not like I did when I was first in Texas. Back then I'd warily walk the long driveway to get my morning paper, snake stick in hand, nervously keeping an eye out for anything that slithered.

Before going to the Horseshoe Trails I ended up going to Costco, despite earlier saying I wasn't going to. Best free sample lunch ever.

After Horseshoe Trails it was on to Sprouts Farmers Market. Found way more good stuff than usual today. Sprouts, and other grocery stores here, have these sanitized towel things that people rub all over their grocery cart's handlebar. I've never done this. A lady blocked my way while she sanitized her grocery cart. I told her I've never done that. I asked her if I'm in any sort of danger. She laughed, but did not answer my important question.

I got some pork products at Sprouts today. I see BBQ in my future for tomorrow. They had Texas Ruby Red Grapefruits, again. Last weeks were so sweet I got a lot more. I've run out of my mom & dad supplied citrus except for a couple dozen oranges.

Enough of my grocery shopping report. I must figure out something to try and make it quit being so sweltering in here. The spinning ceiling fan only offered a little relief.

75 Degrees, Lake Grapevine, Sprouts, Spring Creek Barbeque & Cockroach Invasion

It is early and I've already been having me a day. I am on Day 5 of Detox. I am on Night 4 of no insomnia. I am on Day 199 of TPF (Toxic People Free).

All is good. Except for the new, unfortunate, COCKROACH invasion that happened last night about 7. I turned on the lights in the kitchen to see that a Cockroach D-Day had occurred. Fortunately for me, unlike the Germans, I was well-prepared for the invasion, having myself a full arsenal of counter-attack weapons.

The Cockroaches quickly retreated, suffering major casualties. A couple stragglers made it into my bedroom. And one into my bathtub. They were all quickly dispatched. This morning there were no new signs of Cockroach occupation. I have defensive measures in place, in the form of several Cockroach Hotels.

The Cockroaches may be re-grouping. So, I've gone on a counter-offensive, sort of a Bush-like pre-emptive strike, by spraying all possible hiding places. If my measures meet failure, the earliest I can call in a professional strike team is Monday.

In the meantime, today I am going up to Lake Grapevine to go hiking. The temps may near 80 today. I think I'll skip the weekly free sample lunch at Costco. But I will be doing the weekly stop at Sprouts Farmers Market. Tonight I get to go listen to speeches at Spring Creek Barbeque. That should be interesting, and likely Cockroach-free. I hope.

Rockledge, Lake Grapevine, Costco and a Camera

Well, I've had me a good day. It started off with French Toast topped with Lemon Curd and went uphill from there.

Oh, I forgot about my YouTube distress. I guess I blocked that out and went on to have that good day thing happen.

So, I went up to the Southlake Costco for the free sample lunch. It was being real good today due to all these vendors were pushing Super Bowl goodies. Everything from Meatballs to Chicken Wings to Fajitas to Hot Damn Tamales to a new Kirkland Signature brand energy drink that made me gag.

After Costco it was off to Lake Grapevine and Rockledge Park to do some hiking along the beach. There are a lot of big boulders which makes for good exercise. There were a lot of people there today, due to the warm temperatures. Lots of bikers, hikers, boaters and guys fishing.

I saw one disturbing scene of 3 grown men with a group of little boys. They were high up on the cliff. There used to be a fairly good trail along there, but the flood of a few years back did a lot of erosion damage. Now, it is just scary. I turned on my camcorder and aimed it at them, expecting one of the kids to fall.

To get around a washed out part, they had the kids sliding down a makeshift trail, one guy at the end of the slide and another down below, I assume to try and catch a kid if he fell too far.

I shouldn't be too judgemental, I guess. I was known to put my nephews in danger, a time or two, when they were little, but never like this. I do remember nephew Joey and me hiking up Sauk Mountain in the Skagit Valley when the trail was covered with ice and it was snowing, lightly. We made it to the top. Joey brought up that nephew in danger incident when I saw him this past summer. He remembers it fondly. I remember it as what the hell was I thinking?

I forgot to mention. I finally got a new camera. Today Costco had the Canon one that I wanted. I'd narrowed my search down to a Canon and a waterproof, shockproof Olympus. The battery for the new camera is charging. I probably won't get around to figuring it out til tomorrow.

Today's pictures were taken with my video camcorder. I see something, shoot a few seconds of video and then extract the "picture" in Windows Moviemaker. It works fairly well, as a stop gap measure til a new camera could be found. Which it was, found I mean, at Costco.

After Costco I went to Sprouts Farmers Market and got all sorts of good stuff. Including giant Texas Red Grapefruits. I was down to only 4 remaining of the huge supply of grapefruits my mom and dad imported into Texas from Arizona with them, earlier in the month. I still have lemons and oranges from the mom/dad delivery.

It got warm today. I have the windows open. It's time to close them. The sun is starting to set. It goes down fast here.

Roller Blading At Bob Jones Park

Bob Jones Park was fresh on my mind due to having driven Mom & Dad there on Wednesday. The paved trails at Bob Jones Park make for some good rollerblading. So, that's where I went.

I also wanted to go to Sprouts Farmers Market, so I had 2 reasons to be in the south Lake Grapevine zone.

The picture of me blading, with a castle in the background, does not do justice to the castle. I'm not as tall as the castle. It's really big, even though it looks like a dollhouse in the picture.

In the second picture, as I roller blade into the distance, I shrink and the castle gets way bigger.

I was slightly overdressed for blading. It was around 60 with no wind. It is 65 now at 4 in the afternoon.

No one has heard a report from my Mom & Dad today. I just talked to my sister in Phoenix and she's not heard from them since yesterday. I hope they didn't wander too close to the border and end up lost in Mexico.

Recording Breaking Texas Temperatures & Tornadoes

We hit 83 degrees yesterday, breaking the temperature record here in Fort Worth. Overnight, a cold front blew in, chilling us down to a bit under 60, Saturday morning, at 10. With heavy rain, at times. That's my view of this morning's biggest downpour in the photo. The rain overwhelmed the gutters.

Earlier this morning the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Watch Warning for North Texas. So far I've heard no Tornado Sirens.

Much of the rest of the country is covered by snow. The Puget Sound zone is in thaw mode now, with the avalanche danger extremely high. Elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, specifically, Portland, had record breaking snow reaching almost 2 feet. Rain is more the norm for Portland in winter.

As far as I know, Snowzilla still stands in Anchorage. While in Seattle, it appears that a Seattle Snowzilla has grown in front of the Space Needle.

If it had remained balmy, my intention today was to go swimming in Lake Grapevine. Last week Lake Grapevine was being crystal clear. When that lake is not crystal clear I will not get into it, due to some of the things that lurk underwater. Like garfish and snapping turtles. I was attacked, in July of 2002, by a mad snapping turtle in Lake Grapevine. I think it was the closest I've ever come to a heart attack. I thought it was a water moccasin when the head popped up in front of me. It was only after I'd safely reached shore that I saw that it was a snapping turtle that was terrorizing me.

With this inclement weather I may have to somewhat alter my Saturday walking plans. Currently I intend to go to Southlake Costco for my regular Saturday lunch of free samples, then go walking at one of the Lake Grapevine parks, then go to Sprouts Farmers Market. These plans could be drastically altered should tornadoes make an appearance.