Central Texas Gets Cold Sometimes

When it rains it pours. It's cold at night here. Like 30s cold. We came home and started up the heater. It stoppped running after 2 minutes. Something fried. Looked like a fuse. It was but it wasn't the only thing wrong. The circuit board is fried. This happens with old age (unit is only 10 years old) or dirt and dust buildup. As some of you may recall, our unit ended up clogged up and disgusting earlier this year. We had it cleaned but it was too late for our heater. Argh.
These boards aren't cheap either. It sucks.
Last month was the civic's tune-up in order to keep it running and inspected. And Alex and his vet visits. Oh and Gabby and her cremation. And the boy dropped his phone in coffee. That was just last month. We've been having a series of mini-disasters. Anytime we bring up the S-word and think we're doing ok, something happens. Like clockwork.
I'm tired of this crap. We need a little bit of good luck. Just a little. Anything.
Looks like another night of sleeping in the cold.

Update- yeah I know

I know I’ve been really lax in updating this thing in the past few months. I just haven’t had the time or energy. Mostly the energy. I’ve had a super case of insomnia. I’ve been falling asleep fine- I’m exhausted by the end of the day, but I can’t stay asleep. I’ve been waking up any time between 2:30 and 4:30 in the morning and not falling back asleep. And when I mean wake up, I mean I wake with a jump. It’s not good.
It’s gotten a bit better this past week but it’s still not there. At least I’m not feeling too zombie like. There were days when it was all I could do to make it home. Forget about cooking dinner or something. I didn’t trust myself near a stove those days. I shouldn’t even have been driving. (Case in point: one zombie morning, while backing the truck out of the driveway, my sideview mirror hit our brick mailbox. Thankfully the mirror is just cracked and I can order new glass but still. Not so good.)
Alex is a love. He and Punk are getting along. They’ll lie near each other and joyfully chase each other around the house. Alex actually starts a lot of it. He’ll attack Punk and then run away, forcing her to chase him. It’s really cute.
He is a super snuggler. He forces his way onto my lap or shoulder and then makes himself comfortable so he can snooze. He loves to rub his face under my chin and give kisses. It’s all cute until it’s 4am on a Saturday and he starts whacking me with his paw because I’m not making any effort for him. Yeah, that was fun. But he’s a doll and a really great addition.
Punk is dealing quite well with this newcomer. We’ve been letting her run on the weekends but not during the week as Alex is not outside material just yet. Plus we wanted to make sure that they got along and as she would have spent most of her time hiding outside, we felt the forced interaction was best.
She is also keeping her super hunting skills up to par as Friday night she caught a rat. A lovely, furry, largish, rat. I was just sitting on the couch with a sleeping Alex half in my lap, when in walks Pumpkin meowing like crazy. She dropped her present on the floor at the entrance to the living room and stood proudly, waiting for me to come inspect her catch. She got lots of praise and petting while I hurridly ran for the broom and the camera. Upon further inspection, the rodent was still alive. Yikes. I quickly swept it onto the dustpan and brought it outside where I hope it either escaped or died. Either way, Punk got locked inside for the rest of the night as she has a tendency to re-capture things. (She caught the same field mouse 3 times before playing it to death.)
Our Thanksgiving plans have just changed. We were going to drive out to Louisiana to spend time with the boy’s relatives but we’re most likely going to stay around here now. We were only going to be there for a day or so anyway. Staying home makes so much more sense with gas prices the way they are. So I have to go find a turkey today. Joy. At least I have most of the fixins I need to make dinner. I was already going to make the pies. I plan to brine the turkey but I don’t know if we’ll smoke, roast, or fry it. We’ll see. I’m making an herbed pecan stuffing to go with it. We have tons and tons of pecans from the trees around the La Vernia house. Either way, we won’t be lacking in food.

UPDATED: More kitty pics here

The new boy in town

This is Alex. I know it's only been a few weeks but a new kitten was somewhat of a necessity. First, I needed a new little one, and Punk couldn't get too used to being alone. She was already becoming the diva of the house again.
So last Saturday I went to PetSmart to check out the rescue organizations and their adoptable kittens. I was looking for a tabby, preferably orange but then Alex poked his nose at me. I took him out and we snuggled. That was all it took. He was so lovable and playful I couldn't resist. So I took him home.
It was great timing as about 5 minutes before I walked in the door, Punk caught her first mouse. I had called the boy to warn him so he could prep the Punk but of course she had other ideas. She was all wild and proud. She scared the little one and he hid under a dresser for about 7 hours or so. (Punk spent the rest of the day outside.) During those 7 hours of hiding we could pet him and discovered he loves having his paws played with. I took him from his spot every once in a while and as long as I had a hand on him, he would snuggle and purr and be happy. But move that hand and bye bye!
But after about 7 hours it was like a light switch went on. He came out and started playing and generally going crazy. He also started meowing. Yes, I have another talker. He's not nearly as loud or as constant as Gabby but he loves to meow. He's a chirper actually. It's cute for now. We'll see.
He's a love. He loves to snuggle and curl up with you. He loves everyone. He likes to perch on your shoulder and then stretches out upside down. Strange little thing.
Punk is less than thrilled but she's coming around. She doesn't hiss and growl constantly and can stand to be in the same room as Alex now. They're due for a fight soon. I'm not worried though. They're making progress every day. I don't expect best buds immediately. He's got big shoes to fill.
I will always miss Gabby and she will always be my little baby. But Alex is here to stay and will help fill the hole that was left.