Start of High School Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This past week, high school baseball games started.  Evan played 5 games this week.  He played up near Killen, TX (near Ft. Hood) in a place called Copperas Cove.  The game was in the high school baseball stadium. It was pretty nice with a working scoreboard and nice dugouts.  Evan caught most of the game and was in centerfield in the last inning.  He walked in both of his at-bats.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, he played in Hutto.  On Thursday night, it was cold and misty so it wasn't the best baseball night.  Evan caught the whole game.  He walked two more times and tried to bunt for a single.  He would have been successful but he slipped running to first base.  Even still, he almost was safe even with the slip.  

Rachel and Noah attended Friday's game.  Evan pitched the first inning, ending the inning by freezing the batter for a called third strike on a sinker. He played shortstop for two innings and left field for the final inning.  He walked, struck out and popped out in the game.  After the game, we picked up Mod Pizza.

On Saturday, Evan played two games.  I watched his first game.  He caught all but the last inning where he played centerfield.  His first at bat was great.  The coach was really happy with him.  After falling behind, 0-2, he fouled off 5 pitches while working the count to 3-2.  On the eleventh pitch, he crushed a ground ball down the third base line.  The third baseman made a great play just to catch it but he had no throw and Evan wound up at first with a single.  In his next at bat, he hit a line drive past the second baseman for a single as well. 

Rachel, Grandma and Papa came for the second game on Saturday.  Evan started the game pitching and pitched 3 innings.  He really looked good pitching.  His stats were not great as his defense made several mistakes.  Evan's coach told Evan that he counted 12 either actual errors or mental errors while Evan was pitching.  Even still, he really looked good.  He pounded the strike zone and kept the team in the game as best as he could.  He singled in his only at bat and took second on a throwing error.  He caught the final two innings.

While the team isn't great, the experience has been great for Evan.  He's getting to play a big part on the team and he's getting great high school experience.  I like his coach.

When we got home yesterday, Evan and Noah played wiffleball outside.  Then there was a block party for our street.  Evan came out with us but Noah stayed in.

This morning, Rachel went for a walk with her friend, Leslie.  She stopped at Black Rock and got drinks for us on the way home.  Evan and Noah played wiffleball outside again.

In the afternoon, after putting a bunch of stuff back in the attic, Noah and I watched a movie.

Rachel and I went to HEB before dinner and then picked up Torchy's for dinner.

Until next time...

Post-Snowpocalypse

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today began our journey back to some sort of normalcy after last week's craziness.  To recap, on Sunday, February 14, we started to see sleet and freezing rain which eventually turned to snow by evening.  At 12:30 am on February 15, we lost power.  When we woke up that morning the high was 7 degrees and there was nearly 7 inches of snow on the ground.  We remained without power until 8pm that night.  On Tuesday evening, we saw a dramatic drop in water pressure and by Wednesday morning, February 17, we had no water to the house.  We remained without running water until last night, February 21.  

On Friday, our friends, the Edwards, let us come over to do a load of laundry and all shower.  It was nice getting a hot shower.

Saturday, the highs got into the low70s.  Evan and I went to Grandmom's and picked up some water that she had bought for us.  Then Evan had baseball practice for the first time since the cold weather set in.  

On Sunday, I went golfing and the highs hit in the mid to upper 70s.  Evan again had baseball practice. And then we got the good news about the water.  Of course there is still a boil water notice, but at least we have water coming out of the sinks.  We still have problems with two of our toilets that may need a plumber to look at.

This morning, though, everything seemed back to be heading in the right direction.  The boys are still off from school as there was damage to quite a few schools in the districts with burst pipes, etc...  But I got up and had my normal meetings.  Everyone was back to work fully.

We had the trash out and the trash came for the first time in two weeks along with recycling and composting.

The boys played wiffleball for quite a while outside.  Rachel went for a long walk.

For dinner, I made beef and shrimp for tacos.

Then we went to HEB for the first time in over 10 days.  HEB had been, literally, cleared out last week.  Because of the poor road conditions, there wasn't any deliveries.  But tonight, we shopped.  There were definitely stuff picked over and they were still replenishing, but we did a decent job getting the things we needed.

The boys begin school on Wednesday and everything will start to really feel like pre-snow.

Until next time...

Snow Days

 Overnight Sunday into Monday we got a ton of snow and the temperature dropped.  At 12:30am we lost power and didn't get it back until 8pm.

When Morry got up around 7:30am the outside temperature was 7 degrees and we had almost 7 inches of snow on the ground.

It got so cold in the house we would see our breath.

The high temperature outside for Monday was 23 degrees.

We took a walk to Grandma and Papa’s house and had a driveway visit.

Then we tried to stay warm with lots of hot tea, cider, and hot chocolate.

In the evening, we made a fire in the fireplace and ate dinner by candlelight.

Over the last few days, we have continued to have snow and ice. Several times we have had to take a hairdryer to our outside faucets to unfreeze them.

Starting last night we no longer have running water. Not a drop.

When we started noticing the water pressure drop, we filled up as many jars, bottles, pots, tubs as we could.

Now we are gathering snow to use for toilet water. The city says it could be days before we get our water back.

Here are some pictures over the last few days.

Really, Really Cold...No, Really

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

A cold spell the likes of which I have not seen since I moved to Austin in 1998 has hit.  The temperature really dropped starting on Wednesday night.  School on Friday was completely virtual for everyone, even those that had chosen to be in school. Evan had a scrimmage scheduled for Friday and Saturday and both were cancelled.  He also had his practice cancelled for tomorrow and his game on Tuesday cancelled. As i type this post, it is 17 degrees and it feels like 1 degree.

Friday, we stayed home mostly.  We had planned to take Rachel's car in for an oil change. There were accidents all over as overpasses and bridges had frozen.  So we decided not to go.  Just before dinner, Rachel and I did go to HEB to try to get essentials knowing it may be several days before we could go out.  HEB was a zoo.  It was a perfect storm, so to speak. People were there for Valentine's Day shopping.  People were picking up flowers and candy.  But then people were trying to stock up.  It was a mess.

Yesterday, we did nothing really.  Rachel and I did take Chewie for a walk.  There were some slick spots on the roads and even the sidewalks had some ice.  For dinner, I made ribs and we made fries in the air fryer.  Rachel then made a cookie cake.

The boys insisted on going outside this morning to play wiffleball.  In fact, they went out several times despite it being below freezing.  Rachel and I took Chewie for a walk, but the sidewalks were sheets of ice.  We ended up walking on the grass as much as we possible could.  Chewie didn't seem to have problems on the ice though.

By late afternoon it started to snow and since the ground was so cold, it started to accumulate.  We probably have a 1/2 inch to an inch now.  We don't have big flakes coming down but it's definitely snowing.  As it started to snow, Evan decided to make himself hot chocolate and sit outside watching it.  There is a picture of it below.  He also went on a mile run.  Why? I don't know.

For dinner, I made an orange chicken in the crock pot and some rice.

I can hear some ice hitting the windows right now.  I guess it's sleeting.

Until next time...

Fried Rice

Tuesday:  I tutored in the morning and then again in the afternoon.  Noah met with Grandma for Hebrew.  We had flank steak for dinner.

Wednesday: Yesterday we got a cold front and it was pretty cold teaching outside.  For both classes, I taught the lesson and then let the kids go inside to work on homework.

During my break, I normally walk, but yesterday I did a little work inside and went to Whole Foods to pick up a few things.

I tutored in the morning and then again in the afternoon.

Evan had baseball from 6-9 and got a ride with Ethan.

For dinner, Morry made dirty rice.

Today: The high was in the 30s and it was supposed to rain a lot, so my school switched to virtual classes.  I  tutored in the morning and then taught my two classes online.

Later in the afternoon, I tutored from 3:30-7:15.

Morry made fried rice for dinner.  Everyone likes his fried rice and there weren't any leftovers.

We just finished cleaning up and then we will sit down to watch some TV.

Back At It

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Saturday, Evan had his first scrimmage with his new team.  It was an intrasquad scrimmage.  Evan caught for quite a while.  Then they put him in center field.  He has not played much outfield.  The second pitch after he got to center field was hit off the centerfield wall.  He fielded it off the wall, spun and threw a perfect strike to second base to throw out the runner at second.  The coach yelled "Great throw, Evan!".  Later he came in to pitch.  He did very well.  He induced a pop up that didn't come all the way to the mound, then he gave up a hit.  Then he got a fly out to right.  Each of the final two batters he face ended with a strikeout. Both strikeouts came on a 3-2 curveball and the ball really dropped.  They were good pitches.  At the plate, Evan was hit by a pitch and hit a double over the left fielders head.

For dinner Saturday night, we picked up Enchiladas Y Mas.

On Sunday, Evan played volleyball with some friends at the park while Rachel and I took Chewie for a walk around the lake. 

At night we watched the Super Bowl.  Rachel picked up pizza from Pizza Cave for us.

On Mondays, Rachel doesn't teach.  So she was able to relax in the morning and then go for a run.  I had a very busy meeting in meetings.

I took Evan and picked up his teammate, Ethan, to go to practice.  We stopped and got Hat Creek on the way to practice.  Rachel and Noah ate at home.

Evan is upstairs finishing some school work now.  Rachel and I will be sitting down.  Noah is playing on the Playstation.

Below are some pictures of Evan pitching.

Until next time...

Date Night

 Today I Zoom tutored in the morning and then went to school.

During my two hour break, I walked with Deborah at a nearby park. Then, I picked up some deli meat and bread from Whole Foods for the boys' lunches for the rest of the week.  And then, I picked up my medicine at the nearby apothecary. 

I got home around 2:30 and started tutoring at 3:45.

Evan had his first practice with the new team.  Since the practice was from 6:30 - 9:30 in Lakeway, Morry was just going to stay out there rather than try to come home and go back out again.

I met Morry at Saltgrass in Bee Caves (near Lakeway) for dinner.  Noah didn't want to come, so it was just Morry and me.  We sat outside and were the only ones on the patio.

Morry and Evan got home around 10pm.  Evan said it was a good practice and he got praise from the coach.  

Sunday - Tuesday

 On Sunday, we had plans to go to the Natural Gardener.  We put Chewie in the car and drove over only to find out they are closed on Sunday.  

We decided to try to find a place nearby to walk.  We ended up at the greenbelt in Lost Creek.  It was very pretty with lots of water.  At the beginning of the walk, we had to cross over water and there was not way to do it without getting wet.  Chewie loved that, of course.

Sunday afternoon Evan hung out with Reid at his house.  For dinner, they picked up Rudy's for all of us and we ate there.  As we were in the driveway coming over to their house we got a text that Evan needed a chance of clothes.  He fell in the pool!  He was reaching for a ball.  :) 

Monday was back to school/work.  I tutored in the afternoon.

Evan and Morry went to the first meeting for a baseball team Evan will be playing with in the spring.  Evan seemed happy with the coach and is excited to start playing.

Today, I tutored in the morning, went to school, and then tutored again in the afternoon.

Noah had Hebrew with Grandma.

We ate dinner. Morry grilled chicken. 

Then, after dinner, I met with another student at 9pm.  I normally meet with him at 5pm, but they had a conflict today.

Now Morry and I will sit down and watch some TV.

Here's a picture of the view from our walk on Sunday.