Arctic Blasts Into Texas Colder Than Predicted

The Arctic Blast blasted in colder than the predictors predicted it would this Sunday before Christmas.

10 degrees.

With the wind making those 10 degrees feel like 4 degrees below zero.

That is cold.

Real cold.

All the faucets in my abode are currently in prevent frozen pipes drip mode.

I suspect there are currently a lot of faucets dripping all over America.

Except in Florida and Hawaii.

Relief from this iceberg is supposed to arrive within 48 hours.

Just in time for this visitor from the Far North I got myself a new highly insulated jacket from Costco.

I have yet to test this highly insulated jacket at the current temperature level. I suspect it will do a mighty fine job of keeping me warm.

If not, I shall make sure when I am in the outer world today that there is never much distance between me and a warm interior space....

Spencer Jack Drives His Pickup To Frozen Padilla Bay

At some point in time between the morning hour of eleven and noon I layered on the outerwear to venture out to go to ALDI to stock up on vittles in anticipation of being icebound due to the incoming blast of cold from the Arctic.

Heading north on Taft Boulevard my phone made its incoming text message noise.

Eventually I  found myself stopped at a long red light at the intersection of  Maplewood and Kemp. So I took the phone out of its pocket location to quickly see, before the light turned green, that the incoming text message was from Spencer Jack and his dad.

Two photos were included with the one line of text which said...

Brutally cold, with ice, on Padilla Bay.

Ice on Padilla Bay? Padilla Bay is saltwater. The temperature has to get mighty cold to freeze saltwater.

Above Spencer Jack is waving at us from his new pickup, with the aforementioned icy Padilla Bay behind him.

Below is the second photo, one which shows the ice forming on the shore of Padilla Bay.

That smoke  you see rising on the other side of Padilla Bay is rising from the oil refineries on Marsh's Point.

Washington has no oil wells.

However, these big boats called Supertankers haul Alaskan oil to Marsh's Point, where it is turned into usable  products, like gasoline. Currently coal is also being brought to Marsh's Point, but not by Supertankers. The coal arrives via trains. Many of the locals in Western Washington have not been happy about those coal trains.

Spencer Jack waving at us from Padilla Bay reminds me of the fact that it was at Padilla Bay I first met Spencer Jack. At Bay View State Park, in early August of 2008. Bay View State Park is on the east side of Padilla Bay.

Below is the YouTube video I made of the day I met Spencer Jack for the first time. I suspect Spencer Jack does not remember this....

Cowtown Crude Finds Bud Kennedy Smiling Under A Trump Baseball Cap

Blog comment from Cowtown Crude this morning mentioning Trump and the Dallas/Fort Worth zones #1 Food Expert....

Cowtown Crude has left a new comment on your post "Wichita Falls Born Rex Tillerson Secretary Of State In Trump's Clown Cabinet":

Here's a link to a pic of your favorite Star-Telegram food reporter sporting a Trump ball cap.

The link to a pic linked to a Star-Telegram photo of the Star-Telegram's star reporter, Bud Kennedy sporting a baseball cap.

I could not make out what was written on the cap whilst looking at the original image. But I was fairly certain the cap said nothing like "Make America Great Again", which is what I thought was on all Trump caps.

So, I cropped and enlarged the image so as to make out what was written on the cap which Mr. Kennedy is sporting.

All  I could make out was "TRUMP 2014".

With the baseball cap referencing TRUMP and the year 2014 methinks this photo predates the point in time when our national nightmare began with Trump descending from his tower to inform the masses he was running for president with a platform calling for the Mexicans to pay for a wall he was going to build on America's southern border, among other loony ideas.

I am almost 100% certain the Star-Telegram's star reporter did not vote for Donald Trump and I have idea why he is so gleefully sporting this baseball cap....

Happy Birthday To Little Miss Linda

Miss Linda on the left, me on the right

Other than my relatives I am fairly certain the person on the planet I have known longer than anyone else is Miss Linda R from the Great State of Washington.

I do not remember, for sure, when first I made Miss Linda's acquaintance. Likely it was at Sunday School, prior to beginning first grade at Roosevelt Elementary.

Miss Linda and I attended our first 14 years of school together. Eight years of grade school, four years of high school. And the first two years of college.

Today is the annual celebration of the day Miss Linda turned 29.

I believe the photo you see here is the oldest photo documentation of myself and a very young Miss Linda. I am guessing we are attired in our Sunday finery for our weekly bout of Sunday School.

I have no idea what Miss Linda  has planned for today's birthday celebration. When we were in high school Miss Linda's Fondue Parties were epic, with an invitation a highly coveted thing to receive.

Currently Miss Linda is residing in the town I resided in prior to moving to Texas. That being Mount Vernon, Washington. Miss Linda's abode is about two blocks from Spencer Jack's abode.

I do not know if Spencer Jack has been invited to this year's Miss Linda Birthday Celebration....

Freezing Around The Circle Trail In Wichita Falls

In this photo you are looking at what 32 degrees looks like, currently, at my location on the planet, heading north on the Circle Trail which meanders around Wichita Falls.

I did not repeat the mistake I made the last time I ventured out for an endorphin inducing bout of aerobic activity, with that mistake being insufficient outerwear.

This morning I dug my long underwear out of its hiding place, along with ski gloves and a ski jacket.

Tomorrow, if the weather predictors are predicting correctly, I will not need long underwear to be comfortable outdoors.

Tomorrow a south wind is supposed to blow, a warm south wind with the potential to heat up the outer world to nearly 80 degrees.

At some point in time, late Friday, or early Saturday, that south wind will cease, replaced by a cold wind from the north, causing the temperature to plummet dozens of degrees, with the latest prediction being 12 degrees, Saturday, at my location.

I wonder if my insulated ski pants are hiding in here somewhere?

Wichita Falls Born Rex Tillerson Secretary Of State In Trump's Clown Cabinet

Last night an incoming text message from Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, had me wondering why he thought I was moving back to Washington the first month of the new year...

Are you moving to Washington in January?

I texted back indicating I was unaware of any current plan to move back to my old home state of Washington, additionally asking what prompted the question, to which Spencer Jack's dad texted back with...

I just learned an elderly white male from Wichita Falls, Texas will serve as Trump's Secretary of State.

To which I texted back with, yes, but the appointment is tentative, so please don't tell anyone til it gets confirmed. To which Jason texted back with...

I won't leak any national security info. I am hoping you will be able to keep your private email account, so Spencer and I can reach you if needed...

____________________

I did not know, until last night, that one of Trump's Clown Cabinet was from Wichita Falls, let alone that it was the Exxon CEO, Rex Tillerson, who Trump had picked to be Secretary of State, apparently due to the former Wichita Fallers history of dealing with Trump's BFF, Vladimir Putin.

Does Rex Tillerson now replace Dr. Phil as the most famous person to have come from Wichita Falls?

I suppose time will tell.

Rex must get confirmed first before he can do something notorious which outdoes the notoriety of Dr. Phil....

Freezing Wichita Falls Losing 60 Degrees On Saturday

Apparently my location on the planet, well north of being deep in the heart of Texas, is once again scheduled to go in to DEEP FREEZE mode.

A predicted high of 73 on Friday, then losing 60 degrees, for a low of 13 on Saturday.

THIRTEEN DEGREES.

That small number of degrees is among the lowest I have ever been  chilled to. If my memory is serving me correctly, and sometimes it does, the lowest temperature I have ever been chilled to was a minus 27 in the Eastern Washington town of Ellensburg, where I was matriculating at Central Washington University.

Minus 27.

That's 27 degrees below zero.

At that extreme temperature I recollect having to walk to school, due to no wheeled conveyances being operational. I recollect big icicles forming on the ski mask I used to cover all but my eyes and the two nostrils of my head zone.

If the forecast is correct we are heading towards two days where the temperature does not get above freezing. That means the faucets must be left dripping, the furnace must be left heating and other precautions must be taken so as to avoid breaking pipes.

I have experienced a freeze causing pipes to burst. It ain't pretty. Such a disaster happened the first time a deep freeze hit my new house in Mount Vernon. The pipe burst announced itself with an explosive bang.

I hope not to be hearing a similar explosive bang in the coming days....

Ruby & Theo People's Pool Party Birthday With Big Brother David

Yester morning I texted or emailed two thirds of my sisters to remind them that yesterday was our dad's birthday. Not that they actually needed to be reminded of such a thing.

My littlest sister, the one who lives in Tacoma, emailed back saying...

I figured I’d call on my way home from work.  We celebrated the twins’ birthday last night with a pool party.  Photo evidence attached.

I looked at the photo evidence and emailed back asking where this pool was located, along with asking a couple other questions in a couple followup emails. Following is a compilation of the replies....

The pool is in Tacoma's Hilltop zone.  It just opened a few months ago. In the spraypad pic, Ruby is on the far right and Theo is on the left in blue trunks looking at the camera with his tough guy face.  

David had fun too. And the pool has a current channel, like a lazy river, that is really fun. You feel like you are swimming super fast. And there is a lily pad thing to try to cross – Kristin didn’t make it very far.

Twins actual birthday is 12/17 and they are turning 6!!!!! David turned 8 in September. The lily pad thing is all the rage – Great Wolf Lodge has one too – but I’ve never tried it. I’ve seen 3 adults attempt this one and all 3 ended up in the drink. 

____________________

I made a composite image of several of the incoming pics, the result of which is what you see at the top. That is David in the middle, Ruby on the right, with Theo on the left.

Turns out the new pool is part of the Tacoma city park system. It is called The People's Pool.

The town I lived in before moving to Wichita Falls, Fort Worth, has several old closed public pools. Fort Worth has a population of around 800,000, with few places to cool off in the summer heat, hence foolish people floating on inner tubes in the polluted Trinity River thinking they are having a mighty fine time Rockin' the River while drinking beer and listening to loud music.

The population of Tacoma is around 200,000, a quarter the size of Fort Worth. Yet somehow Tacoma has multiple parks with modern facilities, including one of the biggest urban parks in the world, Point Defiance Park.

And I have never seen a street in Tacoma which did not have sidewalks on both sides of the street, often with a landscaped median between the sidewalk and the street.

And don't get me started on the Tacoma waterfront compared to Fort Worth's. Tacoma's waterfront water is crystal clear, but you probably would not want to drink beer while having a Rockin' the Water Happy Hour Inner Tube Float in it.

Too cold.

That and you would be sharing the water with creatures like salmon, seals, otters, orcas, octupi and crabs.

Just as I was typing this I got an incoming text message from David, Theo and Ruby's Aunt Jackie, who also is one of my sisters, telling me she and my Favorite Brother-in-Law, Jack are on vacation, meeting the aforementioned David, Theo and Ruby in Disneyland this coming weekend for the twin's Mickey Mouse Happy Birthday Party.

How come I never get invited to any of these birthday parties? My birthday presents were considered epic back when my original four nephews were David, Theo and Ruby's age.

Speaking of nephews, also just got a text message with photos from Spencer Jack's dad. Skagit snow photos. Must plug the phone in to the computer and look at that snow.....

Incoming Cold Report From The PNW

Incoming to my phone from Spencer Jack's dad, my Favorite Nephew Jason, with the snow photo you see here from WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation).

Text message accompanying photo...

FUD - Nice blog today about your dear ole dad.

The rest of your relatives are ice cold frozen in the PNW right now.

Some snow showers this morning here in the Skagit zone.   Most are concentrated in Whatcom County.

Heading down to the Phoenix suburbs is starting to sound appetizing.

Stay warm, FNJ

_____________________

Yesterday my location was heated to almost 70. So I was out and about with no additional upper outerwear needed than a t-shirt. This morning dipped again below freezing, so I was back in flannel to venture out to ALDI.

I do not know if the Phoenix zone is reliably warm this time of year. It is likely, though, that the Phoenix zone is warmer than Jason's location in the PNW and warmer than my location in what is known locally as Texoma.

Happy Birthday To My Dear Ol' Dad

Today is my dad's birthday.

The first photo you see here was taken in Arizona back in March of 2012, in a cafe in the town, if I remember right, named Superior. I do recollect, for certain, I had a very good cheeseburger at this cafe. That is not my mom sitting across from dad.  That is my favorite nephew's Christopher and Jeremy's mom, Jackie. Mom is hidden behind dad.

This would be the most recent photo I have taken of my dad. Let's go back in time and look at some other pictures of my dear ol' dad....

I do not know what dad is carrying in that bucket as he exits. He may be heading out to pick beans. I suspect this location is near Sumas, near the Canadian border in Whatcom County in Washington.

Dad's high school graduation photo. My dad was a basketball star at Nooksack High School. Dad passed on his athletic gifts to some of his children. But not me.

My dad looks like he is being a model in his graduation photo.

And then a few years after that graduation photo was taken, after a stint in the army, stationed in France, dad returned home to meet up with my mom in New York City and eventually make their way back to the west coast were eventually I was born.

That is me being a happy baby above, with my dad. This would have been in Eugene, Oregon, that being the location where I and my little brother, Spencer Jack's grandpa, Jake, were born.

Me and dad. I have no idea where this is, but I would guess it is somewhere in Oregon. A few months after the above photo was taken someone new entered the pictures.

That someone new was my little brother Jake, later to become the proud papa of Jason and Joey and grandpa of Spencer Jack. Who took this picture? I have no idea. It may have been taken during a trip north from Oregon, to Lynden, to visit our grandmas.

Again, I am guessing the below picture of dad playing with me and my brother was in Eugene, Oregon. That would be me on the left.  Little brother Jake was always a frisky little devil.

Below mom is holding Jake, likely to curtail that friskiness I previously mentioned.

We had a Radio Flyer wagon. I have long retained the memory of a Radio Flyer wagon but never knew it was a reality til I came across this photo proof. Many miles were rolled in that wagon. I recollect having fun pulling it. And pushing it with little brother Jake on board and steering.

Below we appear to be on a Washington State Ferry. Enjoying the Washington State Ferry system is something that is passed on from generation to generation in my family. For instance, Spencer Jack's dad, my favorite nephew Jason, built replicas of the entire Washington State Ferry system. That is a lot of boats.

Eventually the bliss of our family consisting of just mom and dad and me and my brother came to an end with the addition of a sister.

Above dad is holding that aforementioned sister, named Nancy. As you can see, Nancy was a handful, and continues to be.

And then apparently one sister was not enough. Another was added.

I am fairly certain above we are at Ocean Shores on the Washington Pacific coast. Dad is holding our latest little sister, Jackie, who later became the mom of my favorite nephews Christopher and Jeremy.

Ironically, I have no photo of dad holding my third sister, in a photo with all her siblings. That third sister was the most exciting event of all the incoming new siblings. I do not remember the arrival of my brother or my first sister. I do remember the arrival of sister Jackie. It was a big, exciting deal.

But the arrival of my littlest sister, Michele, that was an epic big deal. I was in high school when that occurred. I remember the morning Michele was born, I called the hospital to find out if it had happened yet. There was a crowd around me as I called. I got the news and shouted out "It's a girl!" There was a reaction which had the person on the other end of the call telling mom it sounded like I was calling from an assembly of a lot of people.

Over the years I have lost count of the number of times I have been told I grew up in a Leave it to Beaver Father Knows Best Ozzie and Harriet type upbringing. I recollect Elsie Hotpepper saying such to me and me indicating I had no idea what she was talking about.

But now I get it. It's true. Way too many are not so fortunate to have a mom and dad doing the mom and dad job as good as my mom  and dad did.

Happy Birthday Pa!!!!