Frozen Pipes

It snowed yesterday in north Texas. Just a small layer of fine snow. It was pretty. However, the snow also brought some below-freezing temps over the night. And when I went to take a shower this morning, nothing came out of the shower head.

I checked the bathroom sink faucets. Nothing.

I checked the kitchen sink faucet. Nothing.

All signs pointed to my pipes freezing over the night when temps were in the teens. Now, I've lived in Idaho and Utah and never once have I had my pipes freeze. In Texas, since freezing events are not common, and because of the ground, we build our homes on piers and beams. My crawl space is quite large, as I live on a slope, meaning I can very nearly stand up in my crawl space/"basement". So my pipes are just hanging out in the cold air with nothing to keep them warm.

I called my friend Stephanie, my trusted homeowner friend (and all-around fantastic friend). She gave the phone to her partner, Chris, who was well-versed in such scenarios. He told me it wasn't really a big deal. He told me that the biggest issues comes when the water thaws and all the water pressure is built up then released. In order to give it somewhere to go, he told me to open up all my faucets. Then he said to periodically check the pipes and make sure they weren't leaking.

That sounded easy enough. I turned open all the faucets and then just waited.

At about 11:15 I was sitting on my bed, taking photos of Biscuit being cute as she laid in the sun, I heard water starting to run! I went into the crawl space to make sure nothing was leaking - and nothing was! It took a bit longer for the hot water to come back, but it has.

Lesson learned: leave your faucets dripping when it's cold, especially in Texas! I'm just glad it warmed up at a decent time to get my water back without any major, costly catastrophes.

Denton Holiday Lighting Festival

Friday night was the Denton Lighting Festival, a yearly tradition to celebrate the start of the holiday season with the lighting up of the tree on the Square. But this being Denton, we don't just light up the tree and call it done. We have live music all night long. And funnel cake and corn dogs. And Wassail Weekend. It's magical and awesome.

My coworker and I decided to hit it up together, each of us experiencing it for the first time. We were excited for the wassail. It's like a chili cook-off, but with wassail. A list of all the businesses participating in Wassail Weekend is provided, and signs that say "Wassail Station" in a stop sign are posted on their doors. Everyone goes around and gets tiny samples from each place, eventually voting on their favorite one. Some were citrus-y, a couple too cinnamon-y, and one that was my favorite.

After getting some sustenance from the Parks booth, it was time to enjoy the live music. This is one of the things I love about Denton - music is always a part of everything. And we have some pretty darn good musicians from Denton (some are even Grammy winners). I love the atmosphere of these music events - everyone is just happy. Couples dancing, kids dancing, nearly everyone clapping or moving their body in some way to the music. It's joy and happiness and contentment and I love it.

My co-worker asked if I sometimes felt like I lived in the world of "Gilmore Girls." Yes. Sometimes I do.

Ready to Go

I have a very early flight tomorrow morning out of Kansas City. So early that I need to leave Topeka around 3:30am. However, I'm not very tired right now.....

I left work early because there was absolutely nothing going on. I hit up the local used bookstore and made out like a bandit with books for me and books for people I love for Christmas. I cleaned up my home and cleaned out my fridge. I have put my Christmas gifts in a single backpack that I intend to carry on the plane with me. This traveling for Christmas is sort of a logistical nightmare--I also have goodies I'm trying to take.

I hate packing more than just about anything. I over analyze what to pack and therefore over pack. It's also supposed to be zero degrees at 4 in the morning, so catching the shuttle bus from the parking lot is going to be super awesome.Also, I've been sneezing a lot, which is a sure sign that I'm getting sick. Which is so very lame.

I Brought a Snowstorm With Me

Before moving, people would ask me how winters are in Topeka, how much snow they get, does it get cold. Not exactly knowing the answer, I would say that they get snow but not a  lot like we get in Salt Lake. Maybe I jinxed it.

Last Thursday Topeka was hit with a huge snowstorm. Wednesday night the local t.v. stations were scrolling the schools, businesses, churches and other organizations that would be closed the next day. When I woke up Thursday morning and looked out my windows it was like a white out. It snowed during the night and all through the day. It was preceded by some freezing rain, which made everything slick and glisten (remember that random freezing rain Salt Lake had a few weeks ago?! It was just like that). I didn't go anywhere that day, but I did venture out to take some pictures and clean off my car (thankful that I don't have to shovel sidewalks).

 

All the snow was pushed into the middle of the street for the day, since it just kept coming down. During the night, however, the snow in the median and from much of downtown was hauled out. We were supposed to get another big storm this Tuesday and Wednesday, and in anticipation the parking lot across the street from me hauled out the huge piles of snow that had been pushed and plowed to the sides. It was a good idea with excellent forethought, however we never got the accumulation we were expecting as it ended up being too warm and most of the snow didn't stick to the ground or road.

I have been accused by a few people of bringing the snow with me, as Topeka had not had any snow this winter until I came. I'm okay with it, though, because having the snow reminds me of Salt Lake.

I Miss the Sun

It seems we're in the dead of winter right now, and as I drove home tonight, at 5:15 and in the dark, I thought about how much I miss the sun. It's barely rising when I get to work, and all day as I'm stuck inside behind cubicle walls I miss it. When I go on my lunch break I stare out the big windows in the breakroom, wishing it were warm enough for me to sit outside. When it's finally time to go home, the sun is already set. Some nights I get the last inkling of a nice sunset over the mountains. But tonight, nothing but darkness.

Some Olympic Favorites

The Olympics will end today, and with that I thank the amazing athletes for putting on a great show. Some of my favorites of the games:
--Hannah Kearney with her cute pigtails taking gold in Freestyle Moguls


--Shaun White being Shaun White and being completely dominating and enthralling in the Snowboward halfpipe. Did you see his air?! Amazing!!


--Evan Lysacek taking down the disgruntled and ungrateful Yevgeny Plushenko with a flawless performance to take USA's first gold since 1988 in Men's Figure Skating


And lest you think the only people I liked were Americans, let me share my small Canadian love that surprised even me, especially when I was cheering for the Canucks to win Short Track against the so-over-him Apolo Ohno. I couldn't have been happier for Alexandre Bilodeau winning a Gold not only for his brother with cerebral palsy but for Canada, who hasn't won gold on Canadian soil until his amazing run down Cypress Mountain.


And the Hamelin brothers in Short Track. Short Track is exciting and crazy, with falls and disqualifications at every turn. For some reason I was always cheering for the Canadians, I think because they all have beards, great hair, seemingly fun personalities, and I was just sick of Apolo Ohno and all his prima donna-ness. My love for them was solidified when, after winning Gold in the 500 meter, Charles Hamelin jumped up on the barriers to give his also-medal-winning girlfriend a great big kiss.



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All Aglow

Friday night I headed downtown to catch the lights being turned on on Temple Square. It ended up being relatively warm, making the crowds and people with strollers and slow-walking people worth it. Here's a few pics from the night:


There's nothing I love more than seeing the city get ready for the holidays, with lights not just on Temple Square but down Main Street and 300 South. It makes the city and streets feel magical, and I can't help but marvel at their beauty.

Winter is Really Here

Remember a couple weeks ago when I said that winter was here in Salt Lake? Well, that turned out to be a crazy fluke, because not long after that we had some unseasonably warm weather. So warm that there was no need for a coat most days. And it was nice.

Today, winter is here with a vengeance. It started out as some really wet snow this morning, then turned into a full blown storm. It was windy, snowy, cold--all the makings of winter. So I think I can now officially say that winter is here.

(Pictures taken from my mom's house a couple hours ago.)

Winter is Here

It snowed today. A lot. I looked out the windows while at work and just saw little fluffs of white falling most of the day. It's so lovely to see the mountains and trees blanketed in a fresh layer of white snow. There's something idyllic and magical about it. It could also be that I've been ready for Christmas since about July, when I had this strange hankering and excitement for it, and with the snow here it makes it seem like it's closer than the two months it really is. So I'll enjoy this snowfall for now, until, as always happens, it wears off and I'm just ready for it to be gone. But, oh how I love to bundle up in gloves and scarves and hats!

Today was special, though, not just for the snow but also because it happened to be the birthday for my best friend, Lindsay, and my sister, Emily. Two years ago it was my sister's Golden Birthday. I was in New York, but surprised her and everyone else when I flew in for the weekend. It was pretty much awesome. This year it's Lindsay's Golden Birthday, and I wasn't quite on the ball with this one. If I had a car I would've driven up there to surprise her, but alas, a phone call was all I could give (well, and a gift card to Amazon to fill up her Kindle). Happy Birthday Lindsay-loo and Em!

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland

It snowed today. A lot. From noon until pretty much now it's been snowing. I was beginning to think I had brought the weather and snow with me from New York--it snowed the day I flew in, and then proceeded to continue snowing intermittently with super cold temps; meanwhile New York had something of a heat wave with 67 degrees earlier in the week. But then all became okay, as the entire nation was blanketed with snow, all the way from Vegas to New York, and all seemed right in the world. I know that dealing with the snow and such isn't always fun, but there's something unifying about all of us as a nation dealing with shoveling sidewalks, driving in snow-blown wind, and bundling up to go outside. I'm just glad I got out of New York before getting out was, if not impossible, quite impeded.

And of course because it snowed I needed to go out on my lunch break to get some things done. I almost turned around because I couldn't take the snow falling into my face anymore, but decided to trek on. My fabulous orange cute may be cute, but it certainly isn't for snow weather (because I packed too much I wasn't able to also bring my real winter coat). The constantly falling snow needed to be brushed off my coat about every thirty seconds. This picture doesn't quite do it justice.

When I stepped into Wal-greens I was dripping water from my hat all over the place!

And this is the TRAX station at Trolley Square at the end of the day, around 5:00. Normally, on a clear day, you can see the mountains and the U in the background. All the streets and trees and sidewalks were covered with snow that it all looked so picturesque. If my finger weren't so cold from my soak-thru gloves I would've taken a picture.