Thursday was dark and gloomy, punctuated by rolling power outages and a steady freezing mist that encased everything in a sheath of ice.
It was all terribly beautiful. But water became an increasing concern, overshadowing the intermittent power supply. We were urged by our local officials to conserve water even as they warned us to keep faucets dripping to prevent our pipes from freezing.
We did our part: no showers and no laundry. Hedging our bets, we put a plug in the tub to conserve the water dripping from the tap. Then we waited.
Friday the sun came out. And even though the temperature remained below freezing, Texas sun can be a formidable force, even in February. The sky was its bluest blue and as the ice melted from each branch, the droplets of water caught the sun and glittered like fairy lights.
Electric power became a reliable utility once again. And if the cupboard was getting bare, there was a certain satisfaction that came with being able to let others get to the stores first. We could wait, so we did.
The biggest concern was our Austin daughter’s water situation. Broken water mains cut off all water to their neighborhood. But that’s a story for another patch.
