Jettisoning some stuff, to get in the groove for the upcoming move. Unfortunately, we’re not out at sea, where our jetsam won’t simply sink to the bottom and eventually get subducted to finally bet spewed forth from some volcano somewhere. Nope, just blogging.
First, thanks for the prayers and good wishes for my mother-in-law. The medical profession has determined that she has something like epilepsy – a tendency toward seizures. Evidently, old people who have had a number of strokes are at increased risk for seizures as well. They kept her in the hospital a couple nights to make sure they’ve got the seizures under control, and released her this afternoon. All the inspecting and testing shows some underlying issues of which we were unaware, but nothing unusual for an 84 year old. So, should be back to normal, such as it is, later today.
Second, I’ve not but glanced at the comments here for the last couple days. I’ll get around to commenting on the comments in the next couple days.
Third, that lovely rain year we were having back in 2021 screeched to a halt in 2022. After getting 80% of our local annual season average by the end of December, the 2nd average rainiest month – January – had no rain this year; the rainiest average month – February – is shaping up to have no rain as well. On average, we get over 1/3 of our seasonal rainfall over January and February, but to quote myself:
So, we can stop worrying about the drought for now? Well – no. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for the rain and snow to just – stop. A near or completely dry month or two or three, even the peak months, happens regularly. It would be a little unusual if, after a very rainy first half of the season, we got a very dry second half – but hardly unprecedented.
And – that’s what’s happening this year. I’ve had to start watering the lawn, and lost a bunch of outdoor potted plants due to letting them dry out, because it’s been bone dry all of 2022 so far, and I don’t usually need to water them during the winter…
Last, our California politicians have lost what little minds they ever had, and, while most states have gotten onto the Narrative 2.0 bandwagon and are pumping the brakes on the insanity, we’re full speed ahead on Narrative 1.0: We’re All Gonna Die! State legislators are now attempting to pass laws to enforce vaccines from the womb on everybody by law. I don’t know why they don’t simply outlaw the virus directly, since they clearly believe they have unlimited and magical powers, now that 15 days to flatten the curve has lasted 2 years, and the cases and attributed deaths went up once nearly everybody was jabbed…
Missouri is looking better by the hour.
Yard Sale of the Mind 
:hugs:
Good luck.
Remaining family in far north Cali is worried sick, to the point of literally mentioning “wettest December we can remember, driest January” in the first letter I’ve gotten from them… um… since boot camp, so twenty years. (Yes, I sent Christmas cards and such, for those wondering. That branch of the family tends to having issues with the idea that roads and mail-routes go both ways, always have. :D)
Forecast is dry through the rest of February; one good “Pineapple Express” would bring us up to average rainfall, and those can happen through April. AND, in a sane state, getting 80% of your average rainfall would not be an emergency. Using “sane” and “California” in the same sentence requires a negative somewhere in there.
My wife and I love Oregon as a place (though the lack of annual sunlight hours hurt us, especially in the winter), but the political climate was just untenable, even before the Wuhan Woozy. Now that masks are permanently mandatory, we aren’t going back, even for a visit. Our home state is dead to us… even though, outside of the Metro area, the people are much less crazy. Because, when it comes down to it, where the politicians are crazy is where the worst fighting/violence is going to happen.
But, then, we anticipate a dissolution of the Union. Maybe y’all have a different opinion on where things are headed. And I know, from what you’ve said, you have actual family, rather than the simulacra family-esque units like we came from, so moving from California would understandably harder.
But if you are looking for a place, the rural areas west of Fort Worth are really quite nice, and there is a FSSP parish that has really blossomed in the last three or four month under a newly assigned younger priest. The local bishop was all-in on the hysteria, but once natural and “vaccinated” immunity rates hit 70%, he rescinded all restrictions and has left them gone for the last six months. Even the urban area of Fort Worth isn’t too bad–almost everywhere except medical facilities are done with requiring masks (though a few Asian-run small businesses are mandating them.)
But the soil in most places in the area might not be to your liking. Most places in the area are better suited to ranching than farming. Still, we found 62 acres that appears to have decent soil, so there are places. We’re going to try and build a micro-community on it.
Godspeed as you ready for the move!