The other morning I quietly laughed as I looked at my coffee table... normally there are beads and catalogs... but it was strewn with instruction manuals for tools. A reciprocating saw, and a trimmer... and it was nice. I love tools... but I don't like having to buy them to get my life back in order.

Almost two weeks ago parts of Austin were hit with the scariest storm I've ever experienced. (next day reports were of 70-90mph winds) Terrifying doesn't even begin to describe the terror I felt as I stood in the living room, watching my beautiful oak tree sway like it were a weeping willow - not an OAK!
I took this photo with my iPhone at 11:30PM by a lightning strike - nearly two hours into the storm - which shows the beginning of the many downed fence panels and the loss of the center portion of my oak. The past days have been full of hard work digging out huge chunks of concrete as many fencing panel posts simply snapped at their bases! We rebuilt a good 70' of fencing solely on my property and repaired the common panels of adjacent neighbors. Sheesh... makes one feel really small....

...and incredibly lucky.