Houston Day 465 - Hurricane Isaac

So registering as an Australian living abroad has its benefits.  I just got an email from DFAT reminding me that there's a hurricane coming to the U.S.  Not quite the same as Julia Gillard flying here in a superhero cape to personally put me on a QANTAS flight home if I was in danger, as I had hoped.  Or maybe she would do that if the hurricane ends up being terrible and I were in Lousiana.  But still, nice to know that the system works.
In order to assure you folks back in Aus., we're not in the path of the hurricane - it's headed toward Louisiana.  The official warning covers Louisiana and east to the Alabama-Florida border.  If your geography's not up to the task of picturing that, have a look at this map.  You will see that Houston is west of the area under concern, which is spanned by the blue line. And my thoughts are with those guys who are in the area of concern.  I heard on the radio the other day that all the government money funnelled into New Orleans after Katrina has done a lot of good, and that the city will be much more able to withstand the storm.      Of course, if you're living outside the city, like the people in that movie I saw the other day (Beasts of the Southern Wild), it'll be a struggle.
And on a different but related note, we are indeed registered with DFAT so if we are struck by any enormous disasters or our telephones stop working, give them a call to see if they know where we are.  Their response will no doubt be, "No worries, Mrs Garner, the PM's just getting on her cape to go get them now."

Houston Day 461 - blues and brownies, and more about biscuits

I am ever so slowly climbing my way out of the post-show blues.  Running around Houston's gorgeous Hermann Park with Ashley is helping.  And I find that, as I did last time I was in this emotional place and I discovered I can make bread, I have this urge to bake.  There's something lovely about holding something hot and fragrant and yummy and knowing I achieved it, because it's at this time that I suddenly question my ability to do pretty much everything.  And baking (at the level at which I do it) is only slightly challenging and doesn't take too much mental acuity (e.g., I can drink while I do it!) and doesn't break anyone's heart, least of all mine, if I screw it up.  So I've made brownies, and biscuits (the American kind: see my English Around the World page!) and right now there's a banana loaf in the oven.  So the post-show blues are slowly being replaced by delicious baked goods.  And frustration that I can't find my electric beater.