Woody Woodpecker Lives in Our Trees!!

We have some pretty big holes in our trees made by woodpeckers ... Jamie is intrigued by them because he hears them but never sees them.

They are sneaky little buggers, I rarely see them myself but they are always out there just knocking on wood!!

I've made references to Woody Woodpecker but he's too young so maybe we will have to find some old cartoons for him to watch. The holes and lines are pretty artistic but sadly they bugs are killing our poor tree. We've had a few yard maintenance days where we had to trim it back so the dead parts don't affect the healthy parts.

Just another random adventure in our own backyard!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Rockin' on the Front Porch

Last week we were in Houston to visit with my grandfather in the hospital. While we were there Jamie got to explore both my parents and other grandparent's ranches. I'll post some more pictures later, but this is my favorite one ...

At peace again ... for now ...

Ah! Life is back to normal, well as normal as possible in the military world. I am home temporarily, return this weekend for another doctor's appointment and to see George off. This week I am at work trying to get my MP families up-to-date.

On Friday I attended the deployment of the second element in our battalion to leave a it reminded me of when George left. It was a hard time for me having to say goodbye, knowing I'd have to be strong. I made a mental note to take extra care of them as they adjust to the seperation, especially as the holidays draw near. I think for me, the holidays are the hardest.

Today, I went back to the office and spent the day catching up with the Soldiers, family members that stopped by and checked in with FRG Leaders to get updates on how the families did during Ike's visit. Hurricane-wise, post has returned to normal with only powerlines and trees damaged. All in all, we only lost power for a total of three hours over two different outages. The winds were kind of worrisome, but by yesterday, even that had died down.

My favorite part of hurricanes in thisare is the cool front that sometimes follows. It was cool and in the 70s today ... Amazing!

It was hard to go into the office and see that the entire command group was gone. They'd deployed while I was on leave (which my commander though was the best since I was closest to that particular group) and the battalion headquarters was quiet today as I walked the halls.

On a good note I moved into the XO's old office while they are gone so I'll have a little more privacy when dealing with families. It wasn't as necessary with the previous deployed unit, but we have more first-timers this deployment and I want to make sure they feel comfortable talking to me. I am excited to get it set up and will post pics.

Lastly, here are two photos of our "shelter" during the tornado sightings ... Enjoy ...

Up-to-date news is important to the puppy.



Maybe I'll let him be a "guest blogger!"

Until our next cup of tea ...

The Ike Chronicles: Part III

Well we survived the night ... in the hall. I got so tired of all of the sirens and seeking shelter in the alway, that we just stayed there. We've already heard the sirens two more times this morning. At this point when I say "Sgt. Major, let's go" he thinks its a game, so he runs in there and sits on the pile of blankets. I've cleaned most of it out this morning so it's just the TV, his food bowl and a blanket.

Well I woke up this morning at 7:30 a.m. when the power went out. Since Sgt. Major was snoring so loud it mimiced a freight train, I decided to stay there and drifted back off to sleep after calling my father-in-law to check in. George was still sleep and they'd lost power and water, but he said that he thought there was a old generator in the garage that he'd have George look at when he got up. By this time Sgt. Major had started to get antsy, so I turned on the radio to the local station and turned off the flashlight and settled in. He moved around until his nose was two inches from the radio (on the floor) and was asleep in minutes, snoring even louder than before, if that is even possible. I guess the sounds of classic country (I'm talking Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and Charlie Daniels is his sleeping pill! He fell asleep to "Devil Went Down to George" and I was awake long enough to hear the local update then passed out while "A Boy Named Sue" droned on in the background.

I awoke an hour later and chatted again with spouse/friend/neighbor whose husband was scheduled to arrive at the local airport just before lunch. The power returned about 8:30 a.m. and after quickly checking the local TV stations and post website, we learned that tornados were expected throughout the day and that there were downed powerlines across post. I told her to check with the Military Police, but if they were flying him in, then the roads would be open.

By 10 a.m. both the pup and I were tired of being cooped up, so we ventured out. While he rolled around on the carpet in the livingroom (like it'd been SOOO long since he'd seen it!) I set about making cinnamon rolls.

Well, I'm off to enjoy hot "sticky buns" while the pup "reconnects" with the carpet.

Until our next cup of tea ...

The Ike Chronicles: Part II

Fun times! So there are now tornado warnings on top of hurricane watch for our parish and post is advising residents to **SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY** so Sgt. Major and I are hunkered down in the hallway with enough puppy food and almonds to feed us for a while. Why almonds? Because that is what I grabbed and then forgot the bag of muffins. (If Ike breaks my windows and ruins my homemade muffins, he'd better keep running!)

So while watching TV (last night) I checked the Polk Channel (sorry, it is now Warrior Spirit TV ... heavy with sarcasm!) and they said when the sirens sound to seek shelter as they would warn of tornados sighted on post ... OMG! They went off all night. After seeing the warning Yes, I am going crazy! I am just ready for a vacation from life! His dad is o.k. for now, we'll find out if he is strong enough for I quickly stashed the necessary items (water, food, TV, IDs and other paperwork, leash, computer and battery op. radio), then secured the "please God let these survive" items (tea cup collection, grandmother's Christmas angel, George's cowboy hat-don't ask!, etc.).

I was talking on the phone with a spouse/friend/neighbor when the sirens went off and we both headed for shelter (she has a laundry room the size of a child's bedroom) making sure to take our fur-babies (she has two cats) and settled in to wait it out. I soon realized that with the exception of the oddly narrow hallway (never noticed that before) I was pretty lucky. I have a walk-in hall closet where I an stash everything not immediately needed, entry to the bathroom, which has no windows, and the AC vent blows into the hallway through the door.

So here I sit on a pile of carefully folded blankets, with my chilled flavored water, flashlight, radio and gun (Hey! I'm from Texas!) blogging away, chronicling Ike and chatting with a spouse or two ... not too terrible, but I am worried about how George and his dad are doing ...

Until our next cup of tea ...



Editor's note: Photos will be added as soon as I can upload them from my phone.

The Ike Chronicles: Part I (Formerly: Really? Again? You've got to be kidding me!)

Seriously, another hurricane!?! I came home last night to check into work and get an update on the MP families. I'm sitting here watching the weather channel and it doesn't look good. Here at the post I am confidant we will be good, but George and his dad stayed in Houston. They didn't want to leave, so on top of watching the weather here, I am worried about them and the rest of my family in Houston.

This has been quite the active season. Since I've been gone for nearly a month there wasn't much food here so even though we had a hurricane supply in house, I had to go get some groceries to last me until the power does go out since I really don't want to break into the supplies until needed. Let me tell you ... CRAZY has arrived! Now I remember why I just locked myself in the house for Hurricane Rita.

Well, I'm off to see what else I need to move away from windows before the storm hits ...

Until our next cup of tea ...