Friday 5-24-24 Still No Power

 

Relaxing

We still don't have any power. Oncor said that we may get power tomorrow evening. There are still over 25000 people without power. I don't know what we would be doing without the generator. It is providing us enough power to run all kinds of things, not having electricity is really inconvenient. It got up to 90 degrees but we had a fan going in the living room so it was comfortable. Tomorrow is predicted to he hotter, we will see how it goes. 

We are also providing power to the neighbor. He is running two freezers, a refrigerator and some other items.

One of our neighbors a couple of doors away is going camping with their grandchildren. They have a generator running their fridge and some other things. It runs on propane and will run out of fuel before they get back. Larry offered to change out the propane tanks while they are away to keep it running.

Our neighbors cut up and hauled off the branches from in front of our house. A couple of guys came by with blowers and blew away as much stuff as they could, not sure who they were but they might have been from our mowing service. 

Good to have lots of neighbors helping neighbors.

Larry ordered a chainsaw that was supposed to arrive today, he was notified it won't get here until tomorrow. It's an electric chainsaw so it's not really a problem since we don't have any power. We would prefer not to run it off of our generator because we would probably have to stop using power we have going to other things.

Even with the downed power poles somehow our internet provider was able to get their equipment working. We did see a generator plugged into one of their boxes. With that Larry was able to plug in enough stuff to get our internet working. He also got our main computer and monitor powered up. Made it much easier for me to play my computer games. I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Event. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 15 games. It took me 31 minutes and 49 seconds, which put me in 15th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds 2 and Angry Birds and Friends. I did a few Sudoku puzzles.

 

Sudoku games

In the early evening a gentleman knocked on the door and asked if we talked to his brother about getting an estimate on clearing our trees. He was actually at the wrong house, he was suppose to be next door. He runs a tree trimming service out of Greenville, South Carolina. A couple of weeks ago Houston had a terrible storm, he and his crew traveled to Houston, work has slowed down there so he is planning on coming up to our area for a couple of weeks. Larry and the gentleman walked around and he got a estimate. 

Our neighbor Jason left town a couple of hours earlier so Larry texted him, he said he should have a crew coming tomorrow. We will see, his crew was supposed to be here Thursday, then Friday, now tomorrow. If they don't show Larry will try to get the traveling guy, he hopes to be in the area on Monday.

In the evening we relaxed in front of the television. We watched a few episodes of Northern Exposure.

Late in the day we placed a home delivery order with Walmart, it was almost 9:00 and dark when they delivered our groceries. We hadn't given any thought to not having power, the poor delivery person had to find the house without the assistance of any external lighting. Her headlights really helped but Larry also went out with a flashlight to help her.

After Larry went to bed I watched a couple of movies on Amazon. They were Squeaky Clean Mysteries: Hazardous Duty and Dying For Chocolate. Squeaky Clean Mysteries: Hazardous Duty was about Gabby St. Claire a crime scene cleaner, who investigates a murder after finding a gun to free her partner from the murder. Dying For Chocolate was about a caterer and a single mom teams up with a detective to find the ingredients that led to the mysterious death of her friend. Both movies were ok movies. I ended up doing 17,500 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

 

Relaxing in front of the television

 

 

Thursday 5-23-24 Tornado, Hail and Rain & After Effect

 

No power and lots of damage

After the storm in front of the garage

Wednesday evening we had a tornado come through Temple/Belton and the surrounding areas. I was dancing when it hit and it took out the power. Larry heard the whirling sound of the wind. There was large hail hitting the windows, roof and everything in the it's path. There was also a lot of rain. Our neighbors went into the storm shelter in their new home. We just waited it out. It was very scary but no one was hurt. We have lots of downed and damaged trees but no house damage. We were lucky we didn't have any trees fall on the house or windows broken by the hail.

After the tornado everyone went outside to check the damage. A couple of the neighbors had generators so they ran them. Our Minnie was in storage so it wasn't damaged. One of our neighbors cars had an oak tree fall on it. The wife said that her husband didn't like the car anyways. The neighbors across the street from us were driving home and got caught in the tornado. They said that it was the scariest thing they ever experienced. Their car was being lifted off the ground. They pulled on the side of the road and waited it out.

 

A giant oak that was uprooted in the backyard

One of our neighbor's oak trees in our yard

Another oak down on the side of the house

 

 

 

 

One of the arms of an oak tree in the backyard

Another one of our oak trees fallen on the neighbor's fence

 

They have no idea when we will get power, there are over 70,000 people without power. We decided to go to the storage center to get the Minnie. While driving to the the storage center we saw fallen power lines, poles and transformers on the ground. The nearby gas stations didn't have power either. We were very grateful that the CEFCO next to our storage center had power. The storage center also had power so we could open the electric gate. We got the Minnie out of the unit and went to CEFCO to fill it with gas and get breakfast. While eating breakfast the weather forecast indicated there was a line of severe storms headed our direction so we took the Minnie back to storage, we didn't want the Minnie to be caught in a hail storm. Then we went home.

On the way home we saw how lucky we were, some homes we didn't have roofs. We saw a couple of vehicles that had totaled by the tornado. There were buildings that were totally destroyed and missing. The good news was we haven't heard that anyone was hurt.

Our neighbor behind us got his family and a chainsaw and started his clean up. He had a giant oak tree fall on his house. It looks like it only damaged the gutters. They spent the whole day removing the tree from the roof and pool. They also removed other oak trees in their backyard and off the fence. Without power there is nothing we can do but wait. 

At home one of our cell phones did not work at all and the other only worked enough for text messages and sometimes phone calls. Larry was able to hook up our Mobley hotspot to a battery and get it to work so we could get the internet. He ordered a chainsaw, it should be here tomorrow. After lunch it appeared the severe storms would miss us so we went back to the storage center to get the Minnie. While going to get the Minnie we saw Oncor working hard to set new power poles, raise the power lines and get power back. Unfortunately it's going to take a few days. We'll be ok because we have a generator in the Minnie.

When we got home Larry turned on the generator and strung an extension cord and plugged in our refrigerator. He also told our neighbors next to us they could plug in their freezer. I barbecued a frozen pizza on the grill for dinner.

After dinner Larry decided to put the two extension cords (one to our house and one to the neighbors) that were plugged into the Minnie on two different circuits. He plugged the extension cord for our house in the plug for the microwave in the Minnie, that way we wouldn't blow a breaker. He also plugged a meter into the extension cord so he could monitor how much current we were using. By doing this he was able to determine we could power quite a few more items. Using a multitude of extension cords we now have a lamp, television, Echo Show, fan, router, internet modem, charges for the computer / phones and a monitor. 

Larry also texted the neighbor letting him know he could feel free to power up more things.

We did end up with a couple of more storms coming through but only rain, no severe weather. 

I ended up playing the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Event. The event was Event: Spider Mini of 5 games. It took me 15 minutes and 13 seconds, which put me in 12th place in my group. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.  

In the evening we relaxed in front of the television. We will start our clean up when we get power and the electric chainsaw. At some point we will get a crew in to trim and remove the trees. We already had a couple of tree trimming companies put their cards on our front door.               

 

Tuesday 5-21-24 Dancing Day in Corsicana

 

Dancing with friends 

We had an awesome day of dancing with friends in Corsicana. It was a long day but we had fun. We left the house at 7:30 in the morning and got home at 6:30. Corsicana is 100 miles from the house. The format for the dancing was 9:30 to 11:30 A2. 11:30 to 12:30 lunch, 12:30 to 2:30 A2, 2:30 to 3:00 break and 3:00 to 5:00 C1. We left at 4:30 because we were tired.

During the morning session of A2 we had a full square (8 people) and 6 people sitting out. After lunch a few more people showed up so we had two full squares and 1 person sitting out. The C1 session we had a full square and 3 people sitting out. The A2 dancing was computer run so everyone had time to rest. Dale Smith and Glen Martin took turns calling the A2 tips. Glen Martin called the C1 tips. The A2 dancing was very good but the C1 dancing was a little weak. Most of the dancers for C1 were new dancers so they weren't sure what to do. We had a fun time dancing with friends.

Grab a partner and dance

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Event. The event was Event: Tri Peaks Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour and 14 seconds, which put me in 8th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds and Friends and Angry Birds 2.

When we got home we watched some YouTube videos. 

Afterwards we watched a couple of episodes of Northern Exposure. After Larry went to bed I watched the 4th season of London Kills on Acorn. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group.

Monday 5-20-24 Dance, Jukebox & Having Fun

 

We had a great day just having fun.

We started the day out by attending Di Green and Terry McCann's Weekly C1 dance at 9:00 for an hour. Di called five tips to 12 participants. She did a super job of calling the dance. She worked on Tally Ho from different positions, Relay the Top and what ever move we were having problems with. Larry danced with me. We had an outstanding time dancing with friends.

 

Get a partner and dance

 

Larry spent the day working on his jukebox project. Today he worked on making legs for the front of the jukebox because it was unstable. Now it is very stable. He is having a super time building the jukebox.

 

The legs installed on the bottom of the jukebox

 

The jukebox standing on the legs

 

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Event. The event was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me 58 minutes and 29 seconds, which put me in 28th place in my group. Then I played some Angry Birds.

I played pinball on the pinball cabinet and arcade cabinet. The games I played on the pinball cabinet were The Flintstones, The Get Away, Attack From Mars, Black Rose and Big Buck Hunter. When I played The Get Away I entered my initials as the 2nd high score. I played Attack From Mars a couple of times and almost got all the countries. The first time the machine crashed and Larry fixed it. I had a great time day playing on the pinball cabinet.

 

Attack From Mars

 

Big Buck Hunter

 

Black Rose

 

The Flintstones

 

The Get Away
 

Later on I played four games of pinball and and a couple of games of Pac Man on the arcade cabinet. I hadn't played games in a long time on the arcade cabinet and had a super time. I played Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball, Game Show, Cactus Canyon and Diner.  

Bugs Bunny's Birthday Ball

 

Cactus Canyon

 

Diner

 

Game Show

 

In between playing pinball on the pinball cabinet and the arcade cabinet I worked out for an hour using The Synth Riders program.

Larry ordered a pair of prescription lens for his VR Headset. They came in this afternoon. It's amazing, he ordered them from a company in China and it only took 11 days. It took him some time to install the lens because the headset was updating. There also wasn't any documentation on how to install the lens. He found a YouTube video on how to install the lenses. Once he installed them he played some pinball, they worked terrific. 

In the evening we watched a movie on Amazon called Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. It was a Science Fiction movie. It was ok but I felt the script was kind of corny. After Larry went to bed I watched the fourth episode of the tenth season of The Brokenwood Mysteries. I finished watching the 3rd season of London Kills. I ended up doing 18,000 steps, which put me in 3rd place in my group. 

 

 

Sunday 5-19-24 Housework, Mowing, New Weekly Challenge & Jukebox

We had a wonderful day. We kept busy doing this and that.

Larry continued working on his jukebox project. He made a new label for the buttons by using his Cameo. First he designed it and then cut out on the Cameo. Next he put it over the old label. He made a short video to show where he is on the project and what he had done. Then he e-mailed the gentlemen in California and sent the video along with the e-mail. One of the gentleman (Frank) called and was very excited on how well the project is coming along. Larry and Frank talked for a bit.

 

The jukebox

 

The new label for the buttons

 

The skin

 

I started the day out by doing some housework. I haven't done any housework since before we went on our Spring Trip, it was time. I cleaned the bathrooms, dusted the house, vacuumed the house and washed the kitchen floor. It took me an hour to do it.

 

 

Time to do some housework

After doing the housework I mowed the frontyard. The mowers are coming Thursday but we have had a lot of rain and the frontyard needed to be mowed. It took me a half hour. When I finished mowing I blew off the driveway.

 

Mowing the yard

 

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Event. The event was Event: Spider Adventure of 20 games. It took me 2 hours, 6 minutes and 57 seconds, which put me in 7th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

Today starts a new weekly challenge in pinball. This week is The Flintstones. Larry downloaded The Flintstones and installed it on the pinball cabinet in both 2D and Virtual Reality. Then he played the game in both to make sure everything worked. He also changed The Get Away from 3 balls to 5 balls.

Before the challenge started I played last week's challenge of The Get Away to get a new high score but failed. I came in 50th place out of 62 participants. I played The Flintstones a few times. My high score to start the week was 141,262,320. 

 

The Flintstones

 

In the evening we watched a movie on Amazon called The Tomorrow War starring Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski and J.K. Simmons. It was a military science fiction movie. After Larry went to bed I started watching the 3rd season of London Kills, which is a detective series. I ended up doing 17,500 steps, which put me in 2nd place in my group for the week with a total of 123,160 steps.

 

 

 

 

Saturday 5-18-24 Belton Market Days, Puzzle, Jukebox & Games

 

Awesome Day

We had a beautiful day with the high of 91 degrees and sunshine.

When I got up Larry told me he was behind his normal routine because he spent a half hour or so watching a doe in the backyard. He said she looked like she was going to give birth any time. But she just walked off.

 

The doe

Every third Saturday of the month Belton has Belton Market Days, where local artisans, crafters, and vendors get together to sell their wares. There are also food vendors, entertainment and a farmers market. Today was the day it happened 9:00 to 4:00. 

We decided to go to town and  attended Belton Market Days. Belton closes down a few streets in the downtown area for the vendor to put their booths. A week or so ago Larry had read that Nolan Creek was over it's bank because of all the rain we have had. When we arrived we parked in a bank's parking lot and saw where the water had been because there was debris left behind. This week there were vendors along the streets and down by Nolan Creek. There were a lot more vendors this month than a last time we were here. The farmers market was bigger also. We walked around and looked at what the vendors had to sell. We didn't buy anything but we had a nice walk. 

 

Vendors selling their wares

 

 

Playing in Nolan Creek

 

Other vendors

 

The courthouse

 

A gorgeous mural of Belton

 

Nolan Creek

When we got home I worked on The Blue Truck puzzle and finished it. It was hard because of the shape but I had fun. It had 1000 pieces. Usually when I assemble jigsaw puzzles I do the frame first but this one I couldn't because the pieces weren't straight edges, they had curves. It came out very nice. It took me 10 days to complete.

 

The Blue Truck

I did the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Event. The event was Event: Medium Mayhem Mini of 5 games. It took me 13 minutes and 33 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. Then I played Angry Birds.

Larry played a little pinball. He had installed a new color screen for The Creature From The Black Lagoon. He played very well he became Grand Champion and knocked me off the board. Then he challenged me to get back on the board. I took him up on the challenge. I was unsuccessful but did have a great game. I also played The Get Away and Godzilla. I got a new high score in The Great Away of 51,637,980, which put me in 38th place in the group of 45 participants. I still have until 12:30 pm tomorrow. When I played Godzilla I got on the board as the 1st high score. 

Creature From The Black Lagoon

 

Godzilla

 

The Get Away

Larry continued working on his jukebox project. 

I worked out with the Synth Riders for an hour.

In the evening we watched Interstellar, a movie on Amazon. It was a good movie. When Larry went to bed I watched the 2nd episode of the 3rd season of Harry Wild. It was the last one available right now. Another episode will be available later on this week. Then I watched Natural Treasure from our movie collection. I ended up doing 17,000 steps, which kept me in 1st place in my group.

 

 

Friday 5-17-24 Games, Dance, Jukebox Project & Errands

 

Doing the happy dance

We had a gorgeous day with a lot of sunshine. It got up to 84 degrees. 

At lunchtime we went to town to check our mail at The UPS Store. Then we went to Taco Bell and had lunch. We hadn't been to Taco Bell for a long time, they added some new items. We had a delicious lunch. Then we went to Walmart to do a little grocery shopping.

Larry spent the day working on his jukebox project. He has it working beautifully and it looks super. 

One of the bigger challenges was a lack of buttons, on his original jukeboxes he had 31 buttons to work with, he used 29 of them. On this jukebox there are only 12, he could have done something to add a few more but he really didn't want to change the look. He has limited what can be done via the buttons and redesigned the skin (graphic interface) so that far fewer buttons are needed to make a selection. He now has it doing everything it needs to do using just the 12 buttons. 

He is not yet done, still needs to add a panel mount USB connection. After that most of what is left to complete is cosmetic, he needs to design a label for the buttons and add a bezel around the monitor. Once he has everything complete he will have to take it all apart and rebuild it documenting the process. While he is doing that he will make a couple of changes and tidy everything up.

 

Jukebox

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Event. The event was Event: The Hard Road of 16 games. It took me 1 hour, 58 minutes and 5 seconds, which put me in 8th place in my group. Then I played some Angry Birds.

 

 Doing errands

When we got home I worked out with the Synth Riders for an hour. Afterwards I played a little pinball in virtual reality. The games I played were The Get Away, White Water and Johnny Mnemonic. I had a great time. I entered my initials on White Water as high score 3. 

Johnny Mnemonic

 

White Water

In the evening I attended Ett McAtee's Weekly A2 dance at 6:30 for an hour. She called five tips to 9 participants. She had a small group because her reminder e-mail was sent to herself and not to the group. I had a super time dancing to Ett and with friends.

After the dance we watched a movie on Freevee called Arrival. It was about aliens coming to earth. It was weird and very slow. When Larry went to bed I continued watching the second season of Harry Wild on Acorn. I ended up doing 17,500 steps, which put me in 1st place in my group.