I had COVID-19 at the beginning of January. 'Twas not a Happy New Year, but I had a mild case. My husband Tom and I did not go to any group Holiday parties or meals, so perhaps I caught it haunting fabric stores. I'd been sewing all through the winter holidays. Initially, I thought it was a sinus infection.  I only has a couple of days worth of breathing troubles, no fever and good oxygen levels. I did not spread it with anyone. Tom and I ate at the dining room table every night, 8 feet apart.

Anyway, then this week, along came the Big Freeze/Arctic Blast. 

The Photo above shows ice cracking at the curb.

At first the snow was a novelty, as it often is for Houstonians. But as the temperatures continued to plunge and we lost power, not fun. No power meant no heat. There were rolling blackouts that lasted as long as 20 hours. You can read all about it in any major newspaper. Texans were in big trouble.Then yesterday, the power came back for good. After 3 or 4 days of what felt like a survivalist life style, we could keep warm, take showers and turn on the lights! It felt miraculous.

Tom is a an Excellent Napper. He is famous for it. So while he napped, I mostly read and texted with girlfriends. To keep warm at night, several layers of quilts and blankets topped by a sleeping bag did the trick. As for clothing, talk about layers -- at one point I counted seven on my person. Some of the time, I wore a face mask, hat and gloves in the house. Going outside was torture.

Tom took this silly photo of me holding the Energizer lantern that was an excellent source of light. I bought it months ago when a friend showed us hers on a Zoom call. We are going to buy another one to keep on hand for emergencies.