You know, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, host of the SuperBowl? The man with more money than… well certainly more money than you or I? THAT Jerry Jones? The weather here in north Texas has been extreme for us. Sure, we get ice and snow but usually things warm up and it's gone in 1-2 days. Not this time! Jerry is probably praying and cussing at the same time over this weather!

We had to turn off the pool pump a couple of days ago because of the power outages so the pool has about 1/2" of ice on it, maybe more. We had 3-6" of snow overnight. This morning it was hard to find the edge of the pool and it made me nervous to walk around it – so I mostly didn't walk around it!

Our street has had very little traffic but all the reports say that if you drive you are certifiably crazy. Snow on top of ice is just too much for us here. We don't have enough equipmet to deal with it. Schools and businesses have mostly been closed since Tuesday – although Austin College did open for classes today. And it's Super Bowl week in Dallas – where traffic is not moving well at all and it is colder than it's been in a very long time. Those of you keeping up with the Super Bowl news are surely seeing reports of this storm.

These native yaupons are really pretty this time of year. It's the only reason I don't dig them up because they spread and are hard to keep contained the rest of the year. But the birds at our feeders are happy! I took the photo below out of our kitchen window – amazing how clear it is with the window and screen between me and the bird.

The rosy finch (I think that's what it is) and the yellow-throated bird below it are both outside the kitchen window. My husband, the biologist, who tells me what these birds are is probably shaking his head as he reads this. Steve, you know me, I have too many other things in my head to remember bird names. Except cardinals, vultures, and red-tailed hawks – those I reliably remember.

And I do have lots of cardinals, male and female both, at the back feeder.

I'm not really complaining about being snow-bound. I've been able to get a lot done and I only had to get out twice yesterday. I do hope the roads are clear on Monday morning, though, because I get a crown on my tooth at 8:00 and then braces on my front teeth at 9:00. Then it's off to Oklahoma City to see mom and Christy for a couple of days.

We live within walking distance (1-2 miles) from Austin College. The streets are still iced over so Steve has been walking to campus. Here he is, all bundled up yesterday morning:

That green down parka has been around since his college days. He doesn't get to wear it often (Texas is not usually cold enough for it) but it's there when he needs it. I suppose, now that it's come in handy yet again, it will continue to live in our closet for several more years.

We had rolling blackouts yesterday so I didn't have my computer on much. We may have more today. Because of the blackouts, and the ice, Sherman has pretty much shut down for the 3rd day in a row. Austin College called off classes for the 2nd day in a row today and that is an institutional first. Since the majority of students live on campus, classes are never rarely cancelled. But the blackouts caused safety issues that could not be ignored.

I am about to venture out in the car to go to the eye doctor. I've had pink eye for almost 2 weeks and the medicine does not seem to be killing it. If I didn't have a headache that seems to be coming from my eye I'd ignore it another day but the headache is wearing me down. I hope everyone on the road with me is moving very slowly…

After the doctor:

I got there and back without any problems but it was really icy. Scary driving and not many people on the road which was good. I don't think I'll be going anywhere tomorrow.

I did, in fact, still have an eye infection. I have stronger drops and have to use them for 2 weeks. I'm glad I went and I'm glad I'm home!

I got home to Texas yesterday late in the day, before the storm hit. I'm happy to be here and not in OKC – the weather looks really awful there. And worse in lots of other places. If you are reading this from the big frozen middle of the country I hope you have power, food in the kitchen, and sewing to keep you happy.

We've been feeding lots of birds. The cardinals just would not stay put for a picture.

In other news, for those of you keeping up with my family, my sister is out of the hospital and home.I admit that I was not happy about it. I think she needs a bit more looking after than the dog will give her but there you go. She is an adult who makes her own decisions. I just hope that she's correct and that she can take care of herself at home. I will be very happy to have her prove me wrong.

My sister was happy for me to replace her as my Mom's trustee, which was what Mom said she wanted too. So yesterday I took a stack of papers to Mom and, with one of her good friends and another witness present, she signed everything necessary so that I can make decisions for her. My sister went with me later to the bank, more signing. Then back to Mom for even more signing. Today I was able to legally pay her bills and that made me feel a bit better. I hate late payments and penalties!

Mom is taking this all in stride, happily thinking about moving to Texas. It really makes me smile – she said with all seriousness that all she really wanted was a comfortable bed and toilet that fit her. (The one at Bellevue is too tall and hard for her.) And then there are a few pieces of furniture that she'd like to have, but if not that's OK too. She's just happy not to have to worry any more. Being the constant caregiver for my sister really took it out of her and she just can't go back to that ever again.

So now I'm going to be working on getting them both to Sherman. The first order of business will be finding a doctor willing to take Christy on as a patient. She's on Medicare which may help. After that things may move quickly. And, I hope, smoothly.

Do you remember reading on this blog about Jack's fascination with YouTube cake-making videos? Well, he decided that I needed a princess cake for my birthday. We didn't have time to have it on my actual birthday which was fine. It was really nice to have it tonight.

Lorna and the kids got the body of the Princess Castle Cake done today. They brought it here to finish…

Jack helped…

Elanor helped…

Jack especially liked embellishing with jelly beans…

Isn't it pretty!

And it was very tasty!. It's all gluten-free. That doesn't make it calorie free but really, one piece of cake can't be so bad for you! That, and the piece I've put back for tomorrow. I can resist a lot of things, but not cake. I was glad Lorna and Chris took the bulk of it home with them – otherwise my pants might not fit on Monday.

Elanor ate an icing and sugar covered cone. She was finished before any of the rest of us.

On the plus side, my Mom is doing better. She’s more coherent. She likes Bellevue and her roommate. She’s also sounding happy about the possibility of moving to Sherman.

Now for the downside. On Tuesday evening we ended up taking my sister to the emergency room. She ended up (6 hours later) in ICU. As much as she wants it to be true that she can take care of herself, when mom isn’t there to help, bad things happen.

It’s not like I ignored her on the days I was back in Texas. I called, she said she was fine. She didn’t sound all that fine but she’s an adult and she doesn’t want me to be her keeper so I went with what she said. By the time Steve and I really figured out that she was no where near fine it was almost too late. At one point her blood pressure was 39/18. Honestly, I didn’t know you could be alive and have blood pressure that low.

She may be out of ICU in a day or two. Then she’ll probably be in a regular room. Her doctor intends for her to going to a nursing home. I’m not sure she’ll agree to that if she’s coherent and strong enough to walk out.

I don’t know how this is all going to work out. Mom is not going to be able to play the role in my sister’s life that she did before her surgery. I’ll do what everyone does in this sort of situation – the best I can. And I’ll hope that’s good enough.

I sincerely appreciate all the comments on yesterday’s post. Steve and I did some quick research. My neighbor, Joan, also suggested I call mom’s church and that was a good idea. They were able to put me in touch with a nurse that works with Catholic Charities here. Between that contact, the social workers at the hospital, and the wonderful physical therapist we were able to quickly narrow it down to Bellevue Nursing and Rehab center (http://www.bellevueokc.com/index.htm)

We visited and it’s a bustling place. Happy atmosphere, not depressing. It doesn’t smell! It’s been owned by the same family since the 50s and the staff turnover is not high. The rehab facilities look good. I won’t worry when we drive away.

Mom will be sharing a room and that’s a good thing. I hope she likes her roommate but if she doesn’t perhaps that will provide more motivation to get better.

Amazingly enough mom sort of wanted to talk about plans form the future so I brought up the notion of her and my sister moving to Sherman, where we live. She seems ready to sell the house. It would be really wonderful if that idea takes root in her mind! Things are better today than yesterday.

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