Records in Weather/Severe Threat/Vacation Memories

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect for Phoenix and the Seattle area hit a record 103 on Wednesday. Seattle had 3 days of record heat in a row although Saturday’s high should “only” be about 90. It’s that ridge—remember the ridge that brought so much record heat to Texas? Now, the West has been getting the same treatment. Happy first day of August!

As the weekend begins, the ridge is flattening a bit. There is still some troughiness over the northeast US and that is allowing some weak cold fronts to move through the Oklahoma/North Texas, and Arkansas. This will set the stage for thunderstorms and as is the case for today’s weather—some severe cells.

Houston, another hot and steamy day with some scattered showers and thunderstorms. There is a heat advisory for the coastal counties where higher humidity will lead to more stressful heat. Look for even more of the same on Sunday with slightly cooler temperatures due to more rain.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let’s do sad or triste, pronounced TREES-tay. It is so triste when vacation is over.

Feelings are one of the things we cover in our upcoming Volume 2 of our DVD series, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Sad is one of the words. Volume 1 has won 2 major awards and covers topics like Home/Family/Eating/Drinking/Play. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.


AND MORE
Heading home from Table Rock Lake. Taking the more scenic route through northern Arkansas. It is not very far from Little Rock to Branson…but on the road we take with hills and turns and little towns, it always takes longer than say an Interstate.

Last year when we were heading home, we stopped at this little restaurant called Kelley’s in Marshall, Texas. There was only one waitress on duty (I think the other one was sick) and the place was packed to the gills with locals. They all gave us that look as we walked in (you know—you aren’t from these parts are you?) Well, the poor waitress was running around like a chicken with her head cut off. So, one of the old-timers got up and started pouring coffee for everyone. It was a really good breakfast—just took some time to get it.
Well, back to this year’s trip--
On Wednesday, we hit the lake early. There are some restaurants on the water where you can dock. One of our favorites is a place called Campbell’s and that’s where I lost my camera. That was a special day though, because Jeremy was with us. Jeremy is the older brother of Lindsay and Kylie. I got some great pictures of him with his sisters right before I lost the camera. That was such a bummer, because Jeremy does not like to have his picture taken. And, he actually had humored me—cooperating and smiling. But, alas, those photos were lost. So, I took one with my picture phone. Unfortunately, the window of opportunity had passed. Jeremy wanted to sleep as he was about to drive back to Chicago. So, all I could get was the photo at righ with Jeremy sleeping while his sisters (so kind and obliging) gave me more nice smiles. Happy to report that Jeremy made it home safely and caught the Cubs/Astros game the next day. He was sure to let us know how bad the Astros were beat. Jeremy had arrived on Sunday evening—a nice surprise for Joni—she didn’t know he was coming.

Thursday was rainy. So, we headed to Branson Landing (on the east side of Branson). That’s on Lake Taneycomo. Lots of your favorite shops, but what we girls really enjoyed was Cantina Laredo. The sign said gourmet Mexican food and I’m thinking “gourmet Mexican”—what in the world is that? Well, now I know. The spices were different than your standard Mexican fare—but not weird—they were unexpectedly delicious. I would love to watch the chefs and see what they use. I had the tortilla soup and chalupa (with chicken). I wouldn’t change a thing about the soup…just perfect. The chalupa was a feast for the eyes with lots of colors and the chicken and some tortilla chips artfully and colorfully arranged. As I looked around at the other plates, they were also works of art. And the dishes were colorful and varied. They also offered both mild and hot salsas with perfectly crisp and non-greasy chips. The wait staff was attentive and just the right amount of friendly. Even though the décor was upscale, the treatment was not ostentatious. I thought with the décor , that the servings would be tiny, but they were substantial enough to allow everyone to leave satisfied if not slightly full. We ate there at lunch and my entrée was only $7.99. I thought that was surprisingly reasonable. See photo at right.

Well, here’s the funny part…as we were leaving, I noticed some newspaper articles which they had displayed in the entryway. The chain was started in Dallas and there happens to be one on Westheimer in Houston. I had never heard of it. So, I guess we’ll be going to check it out.

At the end of Thursday, the sun was out and Friday, we had an absolutely perfect day on the water. Took Sarah for a long ride on the jet ski. The faster the better with her. Just watch her or she’ll try to make it take off on you. We didn’t even get back to the cabins until about 6. None of us wanted the day to end. But alas, it was time to pack up the boats and cabins.

Aunts Creek Resort is slowly being sold off—the cabins beings offered for purchase. Several have already been sold. There is a very good chance we won’t be able to stay there next summer. So, we will be looking around for another location. This has been a trend in recent years. The resorts used to have 3 months of people staying. But with sports and August school starts, the time people can come is getting shorter and shorter. A lot of these resorts just can’t make it on only 2 months of rentals.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Static Weather/Casualty on the Lake/Job Training for Disabled

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic is quiet. There is an area of disturbed weather in the tropical Pacific about 1400 miles east of Hawaii. According to the National Hurricane Center, it has less than a 30% chance to develop. Will keep you posted.

Upper pattern has flattened a lot...so much so that an asssociated frontal boundary has drawn up mostly stationary over central Arkansas causing training of rain cells and flooding. This pattern will change little over the next few days--with minor flucuations in the north south position of rain producing storms.

On Thursday, there will some severe storms in west Texas (see figure at right). Highs will be in the 90s and 100s in south Texas and much of the desert southwest. The west coast of California will be in the 60s. The rest of the country will be in the 70s and 80s. Much of the country will have rain.

Houston will continue hot and very humid. Look for scattered thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday (Friday being cooler due to more cloud cover and rain cooling). Over the weekend, there is only a slight chance for rain. But, it will still be hot and humid.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do camera or cámara, pronounced CAH-mah-rah. Find out what happened to my cámara in the AND MORE section.

We used a different kind (and much more expensive) cámara while shooting our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,
www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Well we had our first casualty of the trip...on the dock of a restaurant called Campbell's, I was doing my 2 handed still camera vs. movie camera when I dropped the still camera. And although I thought it would stop below my feet, it rolled and skidded right into the water. Now I don't care that much about the camera...but I had snapped about 20 photos...many of which were very meaningful. I watched it sink as the turtles and huge fish (catfish?) tried to nibble at it. The camera was ruined the minute it hit the water, but there is always the hope that the memory stick might retain the photos. No point in thinking about it--it is dangerous and too deep to dive for anything in the dock water. Besides, I'll be some of those fish are 3 feet long.

We drove into Branson yesterday. Sarah loves the arcades. We also decided to stop at The Toy Museum. There was an amazingly large number of toys (more than 1 million come to find out). They claim to be the biggest toy museum anyway. Made me feel a bit old as I say some things on display that I had played with. Worth seeing at least once.

I am so proud of Megan, my step-daughter. She did not get to make this trip as she is completing finals for becoming a veterinary technician. You see, we set up this reservation a year in advance because these places book up. Poor girl has been checking in with us frequently. This is her first year to miss ever. She is making the grades!!! Monday will be her last exams. You go girl!!!

Started a new book (thanks Mary Ann--that's my mother-in-law). It's called The Shack (by William Paul Young). Will let you know what I think.

My good friend Leslie has written another fantastic article for the Chronicle. This one was especially of interest to me because it discusses how to train disabled young adults so they can get jobs and make a living--it's called SUCCESS. Please share this with your friends who have children with disabilities like autism, mental retardation, Asperger's
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/6550990.html

Don't forget to answer the poll about you are economizing.

Gotta close and visit with the family. These times are too few and too fast.

Have a terrific Thursday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Rain all over/Table Rock Lake

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic is quiet. In the eastern Pacific, there are two areas of disturbed weather with a low chance of development (according to the National Hurricane Center). Will keep you posted.

Lots of locations in the US have a shot at rain on Tuesday. See Storm Prediction Center figure at right. Highs in parts of the Intermountain Region, desert southwest will be in the 90s and 100s. There will be 80s and 90s in the southern plains and southeast. Elsewhere, highs will be in the 60s and 70s.

Houston, there will be another round of showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday. Rain chances drop a bit on Wednesday and more substantially on Thursday. It will be hotter in the afternoons as rain become less prevalent. Conditions will continue muggy regardless.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do lake or lago, pronounced LAH-goh. We are having one at a very nice lago near Branson, Missouri. Find out more in the AND MORE section.

It's fun to swim and do other kid friendly outdoor activities. That's why we including an entire chapter with Spanish words about play in our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
Spent the day out on the lake (see photo at right)...Table Rock Lake extends from southwest Missouri to northwest Arkansas. It has 800 miles of shoreline and is a favorite for skiing and fishing. The lake is manmade...formed (in the 50s) as a result of a floor control project which included Table Rock Dam. The lake is a little cooler than other summers because it has yet to hit 90 degrees here.

Have a terrific Tuesday everyone!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Rain for Many Areas/Toad Suck Park/Table Rock Lake

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

Ridge is beginning to flatten and retrograde as a trough begins to dig southward into the central US. On Monday, highs will be in the 90s and 100s across the southern plains and southwest with highs in the 70s along the coastal sections of California. Highs will be in the 70s and 80s across the rest of the country. Many locations will have a chance for thunderstorms but no severe storms are predicted by the Storm Prediction Center.

On Monday, Houston will have some thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday. Chances decrease middle to later part of the week. But there will still be a few Wednesday through Friday. Highs will be in the low to middle 90s early in the week and middle to upper 90s later in the week.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do restaurant, or restaurante, pronounced rehs-tair-RAHN-tay. Check out the AND MORE section for the name of a restaurant that we think is unique.

Speaking of eating, your kids will love learning the spanish words for several words associated with eating (and drinking). They are presented in a fun, musical way in the first volume of our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
We're staying in Aunts Creek Resort, which is near Reeds Spring and Kimberling City, MO (outside of Branson) on Table Rock Lake. On the 12 hour drive from Houston, we usually stop at a restaurant in Hope, Arkansas called Dos Loco Gringos. Well, first of all, if that name was correct it would be Dos Gringos Locos--2 crazy white men. But, anyway, we find the Mexican food interesting and tasty and we stop there almost every time we make the trip. I asked Anthony (one of the waiters) how that name came to be. He said that years ago, the two men who bought that restaurant, already owned 2 other restaurants and their friends said they were crazy to buy another one...since they were "white" guys, they came up with the name "Dos Loco Gringos"--literally translated--Two Crazy White Guys. Now you know.

For years, we've seen the exit for "Toad Suck Park" outside Conway, Arkansas. And we've always wondered what in the world it was all about. Come to find out it is a recreation area run by the Corps of Engineers. But we wanted to know the origin of the name. And I pulled the following from the Conway Chamber of Commerce web site.

"Long ago, steamboats traveled the Arkansas River when the water was at the right depth. When it wasn't, the captains and their crew tied up to wait where the Toad Suck Lock and Dam now spans the river. While they waited, they refreshed themselves at the local tavern there, to the dismay of the folks living nearby, who said: "They suck on the bottle 'til they swell up like toads." Hence, the name Toad Suck. The tavern is long gone, but the legend and fun live on at Toad Suck Daze."

Hi, it's me again. Toad Suck Daze is a festival Conway has in the spring. Check out these sites for more information.

http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks/toadsuck/index.htm
http://www.toadsuck.org/

It has been rainy on and off for the past week in the Table Rock/Branson, Missouri area. But after the morning fog lifted, we had a spectacular day. Check out the photo at right--the view from the deck of the cabins we are staying in.

Have a great week everyone!

Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

Weather Pattern Change/Road Trip War Stories/Economy

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
Tropical Atlantic and Pacific are quiet.

Jet stream/upper pattern still has strong ridge over western US. But on Sunday, the ridge begins to retrograde to the west and that will all troughiness to develop in the central US. That also means that locations further west will get rain and that there will be more rain in the south and midwest.

On Saturday, there could be some severe storms from Missouri to New York. On Sunday, severe weather threat is further east of there and just east of the Rockies in Colorado and New Mexico. It will be in the 90s and 100s across the south, especially Texas and the desert southwest. Mild along coastal California and the northeast, Great Lakes and even Ohio Valley.

Houston will be hot and humid through the weekend with some isolated showers or thunderstorms. Some locations will get heavy rain on Monday and possible Tuesday but clouds and rain will help cool things down a bit.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY

Let's do bathroom or baño, pronounced BAH-nyo. When you are on a road trip, sometimes you just need to stop and find a baño. See the AND MORE section for a related story.

Since finding the baño is so important, we put that term in the first volume of our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.



AND MORE

Our poll about demands on your energy has closed. 58% said that work outside the home demanded the most energy. 28% said children demanded the most. 14% said volunteering took the most. No one said that work inside the home, spouse or other took the most energy. Only one answer was allowed. Thanks to all who participated.



Our new poll is about economizing. What measures have you taken because of the poorer economy (or have you taken any)? More than one answer is allowed. Thanks in advance for answering this poll.



Since I am on the road again (as I write this), I am reminded of some childhood roadtrips we took. Now, there were 8 of us altogether, piling into a station wagon. One year, we put our clothes in trashbags (so we could squish everything into the back). You just can't fit that many suitcases in a station wagon with 8 people. Besides, I don't know if we all had suitcases anyway.



I remember our air conditioning going out...but I don't remember feeling hot. Bet Mom and Dad were though.



But this is one of my most memorable recollections. As we made way in the dark late one night, my little brother work up and had to use the bathroom really bad. We were in the very back of the station wagon. My parents didn't want to pull over. So, my mom handed me a plastic cup and said to have him use that. Well, he had to go a lot! The cup was about to overflow and mom and said throw it out the window. So I reached ahead to the second row of seats window and tried to throw it out. Well, you probably know what happened...yep...several of us were all wet. Ewwwwww!!! Adventures in traveling with a bunch of kids. I think I was pretty mad at the time. But, we just had to deal. We were good at that.



Here's hoping your road trips are dry ones.



Happy Weekend!

Cecilia Sinclair

Wonder Weather Woman

More rain expected/One lady's success at becoming author

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
No tropical development in Atlantic or Pacific.

Well the jet stream/upper flow continues it's ridge west and trough east pattern. By early next week, the pattern shifts to more of an omega pattern--ridges west and east coasts and trough in the middle US. This will bring more rain/storms to the central and south-central US in the coming week.

Friday will be hot from Texas through the desert southwest highs in the 90s and 100s. Look for some thunderstorms Texas and Florida and some potentially severe weather Iowa. northwest Illinois and Wisconsin. Highs will be in the 60s and 70s west coast of California, Great Lakes and northeast. Elsewhere, highs will be in the 90s.

Houston will be steamy on Friday with a few thunderstorms possible. There were so heavy downpours on Thursday--Bellaire picked up almost 2 inches. The grass is loving it. There will be a few showers/thunderstorms through the weekend and the upcoming week looks rainy as the upper trough moves into position over the central US.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do author or escritor, pronounced ehs-cree-TORE. Do you want to be an escritor? Find out how one woman did--see the And More section.

Authors love words/language. And one way to help your children learn language structure is to expose them to more than one language. A good start is our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
For all you aspiring writers, I have a story for you...a while back I was introduced to the mother of a friend. I found out she is a much published author. But I had never heard of her. Well, about 4 decades ago, she had written some children's books and a novel and approached a publishing company (about getting them published). They said they liked her children's books but they had way more than they needed. Then they asked her if she would be willing to try her hand at writing biographies for children. Well, she decided to give it a try. And, she succeeded! From then on , she made a career of writing biographies for children--she found a niche. She is still writing today (even though she is in her 80s). I am enjoying one of her books right now--a biography of Abner Doubleday. She said she never did get that novel published, but she has had a very successful writing career.

Happy reading and writing!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman

More Rain/No Sales Tax Weekend

HURRICANES AND WEATHER
In the Atlantic, two areas of disturbed weather are close to land. In fact one will bring heavy rains to Puerto Rico and Hispanola early Wednesday. According to the National Hurricane Center both have less than a 30% chance of developing.

On Wednesday, it will be very hot in the Intermountain Region and desert southwest--100+. Pleasant along the west coast. South will be warm and humid with highs in the 80s and 90s with thunderstorms. Mild in the Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast with highs in the 60s and 70s and low 80s.

Houston, I think there will be some showers in the morning...from the outflow from storms to the north late Tuesday. There is a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms through the weekend with a better chance early in the coming week. Temperatures will be warm and conditions muggy.

SPANISH WORD OF THE DAY
Let's do shopping or compra, pronounced COHM-prah. Thinking about back to school compra -- you might want to plan it for the no sales tax weekend--find out when that is in the AND MORE section.

Shopping for educational products for your children can be overwhelming. But when it comes to learning languages, here's a product that has received awards from people who know about educating our little ones--it's our award winning DVD, Let's Learn Spanish with Frank & Paco. Order your copy from www.frankandpaco.com/. You can also order from http://www.venturaes.com/, http://www.dololanguages.com/, http://www.carlexonline.com,%20www.thecuriousmindstore.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.bestbuy.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/. For our English as a Second Language (ESL) version, go to http://www.frankypaco.com/.

AND MORE
In Texas, if you are thinking about back to school shopping already...you might want to wait until the 2nd to the last weekend of August (right before most public schools are starting). Since I have retail sales, I got a notice from the state saying this is when the no sales tax weekend is.

Happy Shopping!
Cecilia Sinclair
Wonder Weather Woman