You and my mom would've gotten along nicely, kelliemurray. She HATED earthquakes! Sometimes I'd tell her to move back to NY/NJ [where she was born and spent her childhood] if she hated them that much, but she wanted no part of the cold weather back east. She had become a true California weather wimp.
From what you're describing I'm guessing you're in the more southern part of Texas. Up in Dallas, AKA Tornado Alley, it was very common for the tornado sirens to go off, the skies to turn black, and everything to become that spooky, super-still way that it does right before all hell breaks loose. My mom was visiting me one time when the sirens went off, and she was like, "WHAT IS THAT?!!" "Oh, just tornado sirens...yeah, you should probably get away from the window now..." The closest a tornado ever got to me was approximately one mile from my house. I remember driving down that street a couple days later and seeing the tell-tale hop-skip-and-a-jump damage, one house here, two houses over there, a tree here, a car over there.
Also, I lived in Florida [my husband's home state] for a while and got to experience a hurricane there. We were on the fringes of it, so we didn't see any horrible damage, just lots of broken branches that had flown all around, stuff like that. But it was exciting, and we did get a ton of rain and wind. And I was 17, freshly away from California for the first time, so it was pretty cool. My brother- and sister-in-law in Miami had a very different experience when Hurricane Andrew ripped through their area. They were displaced for a year...almost two years...if I remember correctly. LOTS of damage to their house.
Back to Texas for a moment: One of the things we specifically researched before buying our house was where the closest floodplain was. We had already lived there for a while, in rental houses, so we knew what to look for, and our house in Carrollton was nowhere near anywhere that had ever had flooding. Plus, its front yard sloped downward to the street, so that was good, too.
PS Now that I've been back home since 2006, *I* have turned back into a Southern California weather wimp. It took a few years, but now...well, when the weather plunges into the ultra-frigid range of...65-ish...I complain that it's too cold.
--
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com
reply
share
kelliemurray
9 years ago
The older I get the more I like the cooler weather. Hot flashes and being hot natured make me want to live in the fridge LOL. I would love to get some snow every once in a while. I'm like a big kid when it comes to snow lol. If I see the first little flake fluttering down I'm on the phone calling my son LOL. I have gotten to where I HATE the summer with the triple digit heat and humidity here. UGH....it's freaking miserable!!
Eat some makeup because you are so ugly inside - Olivia Blois Sharpe
reply
share
GraceFromSoCal
9 years ago
See, what's so great about being back here in the San Gabriel Valley is that, during the winter, I can SEE snow up in the mountains, and should I ever be inclined to experience it again, I can go up there--and then LEAVE when I want to be warm again. The temperature difference between the valley and the mountains can be 40 or more degrees.
What's funny is that--like you--I'm hot-natured [I had to have a hysterectomy, including both ovaries, when I was 22], and I HATE being hot. My house is known for always having the AC blasting. But, for some unknown reason, when cold weather comes to me, I hate it!
--
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com
reply
share
kelliemurray
9 years ago
I had a hysterectomy in my mid 30s. The hot flashes is by far the worst part!!! I have a fan on 24/7/365. I don't like really cold weather but my aching back does. For some reason my back hurts less when it is cold....well as long as it doesn't rain. I mean it hurts every day but it's a little less with the cold. It is only Spring right now but it has already been hot as heck. Today is only 75 but it has been 85-95 which means it is going to be one HOT Summer!!!!!
Eat some makeup because you are so ugly inside - Olivia Blois Sharpe
reply
share
GraceFromSoCal
9 years ago
I had a hysterectomy in my mid 30s. The hot flashes is by far the worst part!!! I have a fan on 24/7/365.
I hear you! Oh my goodness, I remember so well the first few post-op days, when my doctor had to delay starting hormone therapy in order for remaining, hormone-fed growths to die off, and it was BEYOND miserable. It's hard to express in words, but it was kind of like being hit by a ton of bricks--HOT bricks--every few seconds.
I don't like really cold weather but my aching back does. For some reason my back hurts less when it is cold....well as long as it doesn't rain. I mean it hurts every day but it's a little less with the cold.
That's kind of strange, but you know we're all different! For me, my various aches and pains worsen with colder temperatures.
It is only Spring right now but it has already been hot as heck. Today is only 75 but it has been 85-95 which means it is going to be one HOT Summer!!!!!
Here in SoCal, in both of the valleys, we saw numerous 90+ days this 'winter' and I can only imagine what summer will be like. Oh, 2014 was California's hottest since records have been kept...and I'm wondering if 2015 will beat it.
--
http://www.CaliforniaDreamsPhotography.com
reply
share