We made it through the evening with no rain BUT the wind was going crazy! I got up at about 5 o'clock and broke my routine...I went out to see if the paper was there before I did anything else. It was just barely beginning to rain, and the wind was blowing stronger than I have felt it in a good while. We have lost a few big trees in the front of the house, and there have been some limbs falling in the winds and the trees were a creakin' while I RAN out to get the paper and RAN back. I wish I had a movie of some OTHER FAT GUY running out to get the paper, but NO, I have the movie of ME running through my head...and gasping for breath when I made it back to the safety of the garage! So, between the time I went out to get the paper, and the time I left to head for the office, we had already gotten 3/4 of an inch of rain, and it was still raining at about 11:30. I have the local weather news on, and it looks like we will end up with about an inch and a half of rain.
The drive into Austin was not as bad as I was expecting. It was slow going, but that is better than being at a total stand still. I am actually getting to where I like the drive in to the office, it gives me time to listen to my books on CD, and that is really good when I am enjoying the book (and the narrators actually make the experience). I have now listened to 3 or 4 books on CD, and I have enjoyed them all, but one of the narrators I did not care for at all. I am now listening to 'Middlesex' which was a Pulitzer Prize winner. When I read the reviews, I was not sure I would like it, but it is really interesting. A very good listen. This is a photo of traffic this morning, since I have the time while I am in my car, and I have tried to quit texting while I am driving, I have decided to take up listening to books and brushing up on my photography skills. Whatever...So far the weekend is pretty open, I am hoping to get some big-time crocheting done, and maybe even check to see if there are any auctions in the area that look interesting. I am not sure if Dierdre is coming into town so we can build a fire, but it may be a little bit too wet for a good fire. We may need to put that off.
Here is an exciting piece of information. Yesterday we actually had a pretty substantial net reversal of electrical usage at the house. We were charged for our lowest usage of electricity (13 kilowatts) since I have been keeping up with it, AND we sold 23 kilowatts of electricity back to the grid. It is really hard to determine how much electricity we generate, because whatever we generate is used by us before and excess is sold back to the grid. Anyway, I think that is really great, we actually had a negative electrical usage for the day. Pretty cool!
I should not have been so excited about the easy commute in to the city this morning, because the commute out of the city was not pretty or fun. I got to listen to a good bit of my book, but I would have preferred to be cruising home on this Friday afternoon. Anyway, I got home around 4:30 and we have exactly 1.5 inches of rain in the gauge from this little precipitation event we have been experiencing. Everything is really lovely and green after the summer drought and scorching temperatures. We are all being lulled into a false sense of security about water conservation, thinking that rain is normal here in central Texas, and in the backs of all of our collective minds, we need to remember that rain and plenty of water is the exception and not the rule.
All of the cattle were accounted for by long distance...a pair of binoculars and a quick count to see that they are/were all where they are/were supposed to be. Life is good. Try to do a small kindness for someone, or have a pleasant word for someone. Try to see if you can make a small change in you life that will be a good thing for the rest of the world too. Have Fun!
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