A WINTER'S TALE

The rain may have fallen mainly on the plain in Spain, but here in Austin, it fell intermittently, all over!  It came in short, sharp bursts, during the night, and then again mid morning.  It did nothing to cool the warm air that was breezing through and despite being dull and rather angry looking outside, it was very humid.  November in Austin, Texas and the weather is a 'free for all'.  

Being English, talking about the weather is a pastime to which I am familiarly acquainted and when I chat to my mother, the subject always comes up.  It is who we are!  My husband sometimes asks if there is 'nothing else to talk about', and my answer is always the same. "We are English.  We talk about the weather!"  Of course, being here, in Texas, specifically Austin, there is little variation.  It is hot; it is cold; it is stormy.  'Pleasant' lasts perhaps a few days in the Spring, and maybe a couple in the Autumn.  'Hot' invariably becomes 'cold', and vice versa.  There is rarely 'easing into'.  Suffice it to say, 'muggy' is a meteorological term used more often than not in the 'in between' seasons.  It is November, in Texas, in Austin.  

November is the month of holidays.  If, as it does this year, Veterans' Day falls on a Friday, (or a Monday) we have two long weekends to look forward to, with Thanksgiving being two weeks away.  Once again, Thanksgiving is always different.  Some years we go for a walk in shorts and t-shirts, making those at home very envious.  Other years it has been very cold and we have bundled up in hats, gloves and scarves (of course a coat is an option, as they are not always an item close to hand in the wardrobe,) and marched around quickly to keep from freezing.  What was this year going to bring?  

As mentioned, 'muggy' was the weather.  The mornings were warm and the afternoons, balmy.  It was perfect weather for swimming, but not for 'sitting out' as the bugs were having a feast on those of us whom they consider to be delicious.  I awoke on Friday morning, went for my morning constitutional and returned home just in time to see a drop in temperature.  It was fairly dramatic.  The day started at around seventy degrees.

Veteran's Day breakfast was 'on the house'.  Dana was offered breakfast, with coffee, and thanked for his service.  Two tables along, there was a young father, with his young son.  Both wore their caps backwards, and they sat with a photo of a soldier on the table.  Quite well decorated, the soldier smiled across the room.  I assumed it was a fallen colleague.  A little while later, another man joined the twosome and there were hugs and smiles.  A woman with a baby (presumably the partner of the latecomer) came and sat with the threesome.  Dana became quite emotional.  When we had finished our breakfast I went to the table and enquired as to whether the photo was of a colleague, and asked if he was 'fallen'.  "Yes, ma'am".  I asked if they had served.  "Yes, ma'am".  I thanked them for their service.  Dana stood behind me and I told them that he was ex-army and that I wore a poppy to commemorate my grandfather, who did not fall in the conflict that ended with the armistice being signed.  The original eleventh of the eleventh at eleven.  They nodded.  I am not sure if they did not quite understand what I was saying, or if they did fully understand what I was saying!  Dana shook their hands, thanked them profusely, as they did him, and we left.  It was a poignant start to the day.

The weather turned.  We met Samantha at Ikea, and bought a couple of units, which I had been wanting to procure for a while, and by the time we left the store, it was rather cold.  We headed out in different directions, and Dana and I went to the Dollar Tree, by which time the rain had started to fall.  Upon leaving that shop, it was teeming!  It was also cold!  From seventy, the temperature had dropped to about 45, and was dropping even more.  

I did not swim on Friday afternoon, as the storms were rampant.  Instead I started to put the units together, and whilst I am pretty sure I managed to complete this particular unit on my own some years ago, I did not want to risk breaking any of the glass panels, and decided to wait for help.  Dana had popped into the office and was inundated with work.  I could at least get the frames put together.

As is usual with Ikea furniture, I looked at it, decided there were bits missing, bits not fitting and bad instructions.  Of course, none of that was true, as all the pieces were there, the instructions were very succinct and everything fitted together if I followed said, succinct instructions.  However, there was a problem.  A real problem.  One of the frames was broken.  Yes, it was actually broken.  One piece had come away, and as it was to hold a shelf, it would not work!  

Navigating the webpage was as difficult for me as following the instructions.  I could not find a phone number on the instruction sheet, despite it showing a picture of a man on the phone asking for help (next to the man with the hammer and a giant 'X' through it).  I followed the instructions, clicked on all the points where it told me to click, and did find a number.  

I was greeted by a lovely sounding girl.  She spoke with a strong accent, with English obviously not her first language, but beautifully clear and I understood every word she spoke.  After explaining my predicament, she took some details and then asked, "How is your day going, so far?"  I reported that it was going fine, until I started to put the unit together.  She laughed, fortunately seeing the humour, as it was meant to be conveyed.  A few more details were taken, and she asked me what it was like in my part of the world.  I told her it was pouring with rain.  "Oh dear, so does that spoil your plans for today?" My plans had been for a rainy day.  My plans were to put the unit together!  She laughed again, fortunately seeing the humour, as it was meant to be conveyed.  She then told me that I would receive a call, or email, within twenty four to forty eight hours.  I was tentatively impressed.

By the time Friday evening rolled around, we were in the middle of a temperature dip, with a jacket being required to be worn outside.  Saturday morning was much about the same.  It was cold!  Around nine thirty I received a call from a number I did not recognise, but answered my phone, nonetheless, as I always do.  It was Ikea. A female asked whether it was the whole thing that was broken or a part.  When I replied that it was just a part, namely the frame, she responded, "So the whole thing".  One would assume that as the frame was unable to hold the shelves then the whole unit was rendered useless.  Someone would contact me and give me a four hour window of time, on Sunday.  Marvelous!

Shopping was done in jeans, boots, hat and jacket!  Cold!  The temperature rose slightly in the afternoon, and I did don the wetsuit, boots and gloves, which caused the 'workout' to be quite labourious.  The boots, being bouyant, kept my legs above water, unless I really pushed down, and the gloves were quite heavy.  I met a neighbour with a visiting friend.  The friend was quite enthusiastic about me going swimming and said she really loved it when women were gutsy and did what she couldn't.  I told her that this is about as gutsy as I get!

During the evening, I received two texts to say that my unit would arrive between 9 and 1 on Sunday.  Two texts because it came in two boxes.  I responded to both.  I then received an automated call, asking if I would be available.  However, during the automated call, I received another call, from the same number, presumably asking the same question, as there were two packages.  As I could not respond to call number two, I received another call later in the evening, where I pressed '1' to say I would be here!

Sunday morning started a little above freezing.  I walked!  It is that time of year again!  I walked again after breakfast and am currently contemplating whether to go swimming.  The water will probably have dropped another couple of degrees, and I am not really relishing the idea of sitting on the chair, having completed my laps, struggling to get the boots off, in the cooler climes.  That thought remains in abeyance.  What also remains in abeyance is whether the white truck that sat outside my house, with a driver eating his lunch, was the Ikea truck.  He did not get out, and as the time is approaching the end of the four hour time period, I am dubious as to whether I will get my unit today.  It may have been a coincidence that a truck was sitting outside my house, with a driver who did not get out, but time will tell! 

As usual, at this time of year (although I am thankful at any time of year) I want to thank all veterans for their service, and let them know that I really do appreciate their giving up their life to protect others.  I know my husband could have taken a different path but it was not what he chose.  He wanted to serve his country, as did his father and brothers.  My grandfather did not have a choice, and I am thankful for his service, and that he was among the few that 'came back'.  Thank you!

Cold is on the menu for the foreseeable future, as our hot, hot, hot summer comes to an end.  Abruptly as it came in, so it goes.  Balmy is no longer, and 'pleasant' came and went one day two weeks ago!  As for me?  At the moment, as the hour approaches one, I am feeling quite frosty.  Will I get my unit?  Will I have to navigate the webpage again?  All will be revealed in ........... another story!