Houston freezes over.

There are some that might make a comparison of Houston in the summertime to that place none of us wants to end up in in the afterlife. However, if winter time in hell has been anything like it was in Houston last week, it might not be such a hot place after all.

We did not see the snow that was predicted for the area. The lower levels of the atmosphere never got humid enough to support the snow falling all the way to the ground. We did see mist and rain that ended up freezing to the roadways, and it provided for a morning of news coverage that was not unlike when a hurricane drives straight through the city.

Traffic was backed up literally for hours, and several major roadways were just completely closed because of a 1/4 inch layer of ice on bridges. The police reported to over 1000 accidents during the "winter emergency", and some people spent several hours stranded in their cars on raised overpasses and ramps.

We fared much better in Katy, as there aren't as many bridges to be concerned about here. Schools were out, and what driving around I had to do was accomplished on side streets instead of the highway.

Kimber was able to make it in from the airport Friday afternoon, even though some of the roads she would usually travel on were closed. She said she kept getting confused, though, because the traffic seemed more like a Sunday than a Friday, as some businesses were closed (in addition to all the schools), so traffic was minimal.

The rest of the weekend was spent doing things around the house and having dinner with Theresa Saturday night. We biked to the YMCA Sunday for swimming and enjoyed the temperatures that had risen back into the 60's (though it was a bit windy.) We also had a little Super Bowl "party" of our own, with snack foods and home cooked buffalo wings. And I guess our cheese sticks were enough of a push of support for Green Bay to actually win the game.

Global, um, warming?

Today I actually needed a jacket in Katy, Texas. Our high did not go above freezing. The temperature when I took Sidney to school this morning was 23 F. Even colder than it is in Stavanger right now!

The cold is spread over the entire country it seems, and we have been more fortunate than those to the north of us that have gotten ice and snow. However, the current forecast is for sleet and freezing rain, changing over to snow starting tomorrow around noon. It is supposed to continue to midday Friday, and temperatures will remain cold enough that the snow should be around into Saturday.

If we do indeed turn the Katy prairie into a "winter wonderland", expect some good pictures.

Finally, I would like to announce my upcoming employment with Christus St. Catherine's Hospital as the new Stroke/Chest Pain Coordinator. The stroke program there is in the early stages, so I will be working on getting the certification complete. I will also be working on re-certification as a chest pain center for the hospital. Finally, there is a plan to eventually add heart failure certification, which I will take on when the time comes. I am looking forward to the challenges and experience this new position will bring me, and am thankful I have found something that fits the schedule I was looking for (M-F, 8-5). It will make things much easier with Sidney when Kimber travels, and the position is within the emergency department, so I will still have exposure to that environment.