2016 - Day 31/335 - Sunday...

Several different species of squirrels live in North America. Because all squirrels are mammals, their reproduction behaviors are somewhat similar, but issues of gestation, litter size and mating can vary from species to species. To understand the similarities and differences between squirrel species, we can compare several of their gestation and mating habits. These species include fox, flying, red, gray, and ground squirrels.

Along the eastern coasts of North America and Canada, the gray squirrel's mating ritual shares some similarities to that of the red squirrel. When a female is nearing her period of fertility, a group of up to 10 males will begin chasing her. Usually, the most dominant of the males will end up earning the right to mate with her after a brief period of courtship. These breeding periods occur twice each year, usually in the middle of summer and again near the end of winter. After successful mating occurs, gestation lasts about 44 days. Gray squirrel litters can include up to nine babies, but the average litter includes only two or three.

It looks as though we will not be moving the truck until sometime in March.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, SQUIRREL NESTS IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 30/336 - Saturday...

I must share with you the unfortunate fact that today was not a particularly interesting day. I sat in the home office most of the day, finishing a class I am writing. Well, that is not totally accurate. I finished writing the class weeks and weeks ago, and I am was finishing the instructor notes, tweaking the power points, copying and pasting resource materials, all that kind of stuff. Not only do you need to complete the text, you also have to make it interesting and visually appealing as well. It's a cross, but I think I am done with that, and now I will start preparing for a couple classes I will be teaching in a couple weeks. I have taught the classes before, but it has been a few years, so I just need to brush up some.

The saga of the displaced animals continues. I expected to be feeding Barney last night, but instead, a tabby cat arrived, followed by a raccoon. No sign of the opossum, but that is just as well. It's another cross, but we will keep feeding just for the heck of it.

Deeds, Ac
tions, Changes, INTERESTING STUFF, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 29/337 - Friday...

Yes boys and girls (especially the Girl Scout kind of girls) it is that time of year again. Girl Scout Cookie time. Several of my friends have children (girl children) of the Girl Scout age, and several of my friends are entrepren
eurial types, which means that those of my friends with children (specifically the girl type children) are selling Girl Scout Cookies and are being helped by my friends with children (particularly the girl type children) in selling those Girl Scout Cookies. I have to admit, I willingly go forward with cash-in-hand to purchase those (previously mentioned) cookies from those (previously mentioned) children (those girl style children) who are hawking the cookies via their previously mentioned (entrepreneurial style) parents.

Think science projects. How many kids actually do those science projects? When I was a kid, I never once made a volcano in the kitchen, because my mother would have killed me, unlike the commercials on television.

However, when I was a kid, I did go door to door selling candy, seeds, Grit Magazine, sparklers, newspaper and magazine subscriptions, and anything else that came my way. My friends who are parents of children (both the girl and boy varieties) would be jailed now if that kind of activity went on.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, COOKIES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 28/338 - Thursday...

In my humble opinion, this is one of my more interesting selfies. I will begin doing some distance education classes with the Texas Association of REALTORS®, and so I visited one of the classes earlier today. Candy was teaching, there were colleagues in (as I recall) 21 remote locations, all connected through the wonders of technology. I think it will be interesting the first or second time I 'guide' a distance education class, but I figure as long as I can work a mouse (and call for help), I will be able to get through it.

It was a beautiful day here in central Texas...beautiful blue skies, temperatures in the 70s, light breezes, and the forecast high for Sunday is 83 degrees. A lovely winters day here at the edge of nowhere.

Animal Update: We know that Barney is still around, have not seen Callie in a long time, and we are choosing NOT to name the 'possum.

Life is good, I am the luckiest man in the world.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, LEARNING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 27/339 - Wednesday...

Holy Mother of Pearl! I as in Austin late this evening, so I stopped at the Shortstop on Anderson Lane on my way to a meeting for dinner (to go only). I ordered the chicken finger combo, and it smelled great (all greasy and everything), and my car still smells like it. Anyway...it was the BEST fast food dinner I have had in a forever. Greasy (kind of) to hell and back, but DEE-Lish! So much food in that Styrofoam container that I should be embarrassed, but that will be my first world problem to bear. I remember decades ago I would stop at the one on and South First and order a bag-o-burgers, and it was my own dirty little secret. But, if you haven't been in a while, try it, and remember a little bit of how Austin used to be (and I have only been here since 1985).
Oltorf

All tolled, it was not a bad day. There were some major accomplishments and only a few set-backs. Not bad if I do say so myself.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, GREASE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 26/340 - Tuesday...

It seems that I may have spoken (bragged, blogged, typed) a little too soon yesterday when I reported what a lovely day is was here on the edge of nowhere. Today, all day, it has been code (mid 50s), grey, gloomy, rainy, dreary, blah, unfriendly (just the way Melody likes it) and generally not what I want it to be. Winds are strong out of the north, but there is supposed to be a warming trend starting tomorrow, and it cannot get here quickly enough.

That pretty much sums up my day. I did get some work done in the office, and I did get some errands run, and right now it is dark as pitch, and I am about to head for the big, blue chair.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, COLD, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 25/341 - Monday...

My default photo for the day was going to be a screen shot (because I am seriously lacking in creativity and awareness in the photo taking department lately) of the local weather conditions (at the time it was sunny and 72 degrees) and I kind of wanted to rub it in (just a little bit Melody) for all our friends in the northeast who always send condolences when it is 110 degrees here, but instead, knowing that I am a nurturing and considerate person, I decided to go with this sunset shot instead. Not that it wasn't a beautiful day here (it was) but there is no reason for me to be pouring salt (the kind you put on roads and sidewalks) into the wounds (in this case the heating bills) of those less fortunate souls we all know and love but they just happen to live where there was a lot of snow and cold weather over the last 72 hours or so.

Now, having said all that sarcastically and with tongue in cheek, we all truly hope that no one was hurt or suffered any catastrophic damage to life and/or limb during that challenging time.

I am not sure that would pass through the legal department as a disclaimer, but that is my story and I'm sticking to it.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, FAIR WEATHER, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 24/342 - Sunday...

It was a beautiful sunrise this morning, and I took advantage of the day and did just as little as possible. Paper, coffee, eggs, fire, dog walk(s), look at the cattle, make sure the breech in the tank is still there, start the lawn mower and turn it off and put it away after 15 minutes, nap(s), do a little paperwork preparing for the coming week, and a lot of this and that.

Jody and I went to the Catfish Parlour for dinner tonight. Why was Cinderella so bad at football? Her coach was a pumpkin. I'm glad Peyton won, do you remember Archie WHO?

Deeds, Actions, Changes, STUFF, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 23/343 - Saturday...

It had been reported to me earlier in the week that Earl the Squirrel was under suspicion of building a nest in the engine compartment of the truck. I took a look under the hood this afternoon, and saw a few little pieces of grass under there, but no evident signs of a nest. Earl was keeping an eye on me from the driveway, and he was not at all shy about going under the truck and jumping into the engine compartment, not at all concerned by my presence. So, of course I took this as a photo-op for this journal entry, since my recent offerings had been somewhat short on the interesting scale. I think it is pretty interesting that Earl decided to pose for several shots, this one deemed by me to be the best.

We have not seen Callie in about five or six days, although I saw something at one of the neighbors houses that could have been Callie or a poodle...not sure...but it is comforting to know that there is the possibility that she has moved on to greener pastures, and somewhat unsettling to know I can't tell the difference between a cat and a dog (or some other unidentified beast). It is also somewhat concerning to know that SOMETHING is eating the food that we leave out in the front of the house (it may be Barney, but the food in the front is the food that Barney turned her nose up at previously).

Oh, and we are not sure, but we believe the girl dog ate her vaccination records from the vet. We were on our way to our first obedience training class and we could not find the vet records anywhere. Jody had gone to the vet to retrieve the records about a week ago and showed them to me, but we could not find them today, before or after the appointment. We thing the girl dog overheard us saying she was going to be 'tutored' and she mis-understood and thought we said 'neutered'. I don't know what all the fuss was about, since she already has been the latter.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, EARL, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 22/344 - Friday...

For dinner tonight it was (yummy) Candy's Seafood Chowder and bread. Dee-Lish!

The day started with a couple meetings, then another meeting and then on to the office for some power real estate, and then the drive home. For the first thirty minutes of my drive home, I went 2.4 miles in 38 minutes. I don't think that is any kind of endurance record or anything like that, but I have been paying more attention to that statistic. GREAT, just one more thing for me to obsess about.

Tomorrow is our first day of girl dog obedience training. She has been trying to get us to follow her commands (sit, stay, good boy), but so far we have not been broken and we are still trying to achieve alpha-dog status in the house. I think there may still be a little bit of hope.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CHOWDER, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 21/345 - Thursday...

This was my first car. Except mine was blue. And it had a roof-rack. And a reverberator (before stereo). I listened to WKNR (Keener-13) an the AM radio. My friend Al Parsons put a 'Thrush Muffler' on it, and it sounded like a low-flying-prop-jet. Miss Riverview ran in the back of me on the corner of Longsdorf and Fort Streets. I was supposed to pull the home coming float (my senior year), but the car was in the shop, so I pulled it with a loaner. A 1963 Oldsmobile Holiday that tended to run hot during the parade. Before my dad died, we took that car to California, and we stopped in Indiana to pick up my Aunt Ruby. Before the trip, my dad also equipped the car with an after market air conditioner. Kind of like a swamp cooler. A bale of hay that you covered with ice and plugged it in to the lighter socket and turned on the fan. That did cause this car to run hot, but we did not break down until we were about 100 miles outside Flagstaff. We took that car to Disneyland, and we rode the Matterhorn. Whenever we went down on the ride, Ruby peed herself just a little bit.

Interesting. That was my first car.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, '65 BUICK SPORT WAGON, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 20/346 - Wednesday...

I started practicing real estate (...and I'm going to keep practicing until I get it right, ba-dum-dum) in 1995 and this woman was my Broker. It seems she has not aged a day, and I look like sh*t. Hmmm. Carrie and I were break sponsors for one of the classes today at ABoR, and lots of friends and colleagues were there, including Teresa. There was Nicholas and Eli, and lots of others. It was fun and they were learning lots of good stuff, and we were there doing our thing. Always fun to see colleagues and share information with them (information can sometimes equal gossip, which is always good).

Otherwise it was an overall pretty good day. Power real estate in the office early, ABoR, telephone calls, lunch, appointments and then home.

I have been driving a loaner since Monday morning. A super-charged model, not too many extra bells and whistles than my car, but MANY fewer miles BUT I am really glad to have my own car back since I use my car as a work horse, not just another pretty face.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, AGING BADLY, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 19/347 - Tuesday...

I don't know about where you are, but where I am (when I went out to put the girls to be) I looked up and the moon and the clouds were really interesting. I was pretty happy about that too, since I did not take any other photos of anything interesting today. More proof that I live a really calm and quiet life.

It was a good day today, beginning with a conference call, then a luncheon, then a couple meetings in the office, then a visit to Costco (one of my favorite things to do) and then home. The girl dog and I took a LONG walk this afternoon, and that was good. I am MUCH more tired than she is, but that is okay.

I spoke too soon last night about Callie and Barney. I did not see Callie OR Barney last night, but both plates were clean this morning. I did see Barney this afternoon after taking the girl dog for a walk, so we know she is still in evidence. I am going to put the cat food out later this evening, so maybe that will be better lick in the cat-sighting department.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, WALKING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 18/348 - Monday...

And now it seems that Vera is the needy one. I have been needy since Friday, and played the pity party (Leslie Gore) routine for most of the weekend. When I got home this afternoon, Vera decided she wanted to sit in my lap for a while, which was perfectly okay with me. But, like a cat, when she has had her fill, she is done and it is time to move along. I did manage to get a couple good shot of her on her way over.

The new cat, Callie, is doing well. She is really kind of young (I think) but she is at the ready when we take the moist food out to her in the evenings. I was calling her last night, and suddenly she was there, I have no idea where she showed up from, she was just there. The orange cat (Barney) is fed on the back porch and Callie is fed in the front near the garage. I think they co-mingle the dry food, but on second thought, I think Barney ignores the dry food and leaves it for Callie. I think Barney has some hunting skills that Callie lacks, so it all works out.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CHICKENS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 17/349 - Sunday...

I have never, EVER professed to be a gourmand or even someone that was particularly impressed with gastronomic delights, which should be evident to anyone who looks at me, that I tend to favor culinary quantity over quality. I cannot tell the difference in cuts of beef (prime, aged, this or that), and I prefer my wine out of a box. I have absolutely a preference to Burger King over all the rest, but also, that particular chain seems to be on the decline in the central Texas area. I only mention this because, as I reported to you last night, my posse retreated to a pose steak house after the Installation Reception, and one of the items on the appetizer menu was Bone Marrow which was ordered and consumed. It was better than it sounded, but not something I would rush to consume a second time. I have never seen it on the menu at the Olive Garden either, so I assume it is something which is either in short supply or otherwise ground up to be included in cattle feed or something else less appealing. There is a post going around the social networking pages about the true identity of McRibs, but I will let you do your own Internet search for that, at your own risk and revulsion.

Going forward, today I did little of anything except visiting my big blue chair and nap. A wonderful way to spend a chilly day in central Texas.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, PARTS-IS-PARTS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 16/350 - Saturday...

Tonight (or late this afternoon) was the reception party for the 2016 Board of Directors at the Austin Board of REALTORS®. It was a late afternoon function in a private home in downtown Austin on Congress Avenue. Very nice, and a chance to see a historic building on Congress Avenue that has been renovated into a single family residence. Very Austin. Congratulations to the incoming and returning Directors at the Austin Board and all the folks that were honored for their service to our association. After the reception, Steve, Jetta, Candy, Roman and I went out and had dinner, including lots of laughs, lots of secrets shared and two of the five can tie cherry stems in knots with their tongues. You can determine exactly which ones can and cannot. This is a photo of the five of us at dinner.

Today was a long day, partly because I was still tired this morning from yesterday. I tried to stay in the bed as long as I could, but still did not make it after seven o'clock. Seven o'clock is my target time to stay in bed on the weekends, but I don't always make it. I need to work on that. Made coffee, read the paper, made a pile of eggs and did a few little things around the house, the most important of which was to clean out the wood stove and get a fire going.

Tomorrow will be another (try to) sleep in day, I will let you know how I do.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, RECEIVING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 15/351 - Friday...

One of my favorite quotes from the movie The Lion in Winter is (and I am paraphrasing a bit) "What family does not have it's ups and downs?". Eleanor of Aquitaine had just been thrown in the dungeon (again) for trying (conspiring?) to have Henry thrown over, blah, blah, blah (it's complicated). Anyway, I think that is somewhat appropriate for my day today, highs and lows (admittedly more highs than lows), but there were definitely some ups and downs. In case you were wondering, I am the official worrier of everything, it is just what I do. Bottom line though, it will (as is always the case) all work out as it is intended to, and life will go on. This is a photo taken this morning by my friend Jennifer of me in the Advanced Instructor class at the Austin Board of REALTORS®. It was a great class, and all the instructors that were there (a really tough room) all learned something from the class and that was really great

I thought the girl dog was to be initiated in her obedience training tomorrow, but it is next Saturday, not tomorrow. That will certainly make things easier for me (and the girl dog).

There are still two cats hanging around, Barney and the newest addition Callie. The grey cat disappeared about a week or ten days ago. Maybe we are just on the migration path, and this will just be what is expected. We shall see.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MOSTLY HIGHS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 14/352 - Thursday...

So, this morning (dark and early) while I was letting the girls loose, the calico cat (heretofore to be referred to as Callie), was out bouncing around. She followed me out to the chicken coop, followed me back from the chicken coop, followed me to get the newspaper and followed me to the door. She is really pretty tame and I don't know how someone could get rid of (or lose) a tame cat like this. If I had let her, she would have happily followed me into the house. I fed her last night, I am pretty sure she has made herself at home with the dry food (that Barney does not eat), and she likes the moist food that Barney does not care for too. So, it seems we have two stray cats with different agendas, and we are the ones that are not sure what to do about it.

It was a busy day, and I will be in a class all day tomorrow. Taking the dog to obedience school on Saturday for our first lesson, and then going into Austin later in the afternoon on Saturday.

Deeds, Actions, Kindnesses, CATS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 13/353 - Wednesday...

I got home early enough this afternoon to do a couple things around the front of the house, chicken-wise. I cleaned out their feeder, put out some feed and a new flock-block. Ever since the episodes with the chicken-killing dogs, they have not been that sociable, and the egg production has suffered. It has been about a month since any chicken demises, and Vera (my fave) was being nosy when I was putting out the feed. She was just a little bit skittish, but she decided she would let me give her some rubbin' and agreed to a selfie with me. Life (if you are a chicken) is getting back to normal out here on the edge of nowhere.

It is confirmed; there is ANOTHER cat hanging around, this one is the Calico one (I might have mentioned the other night). She (we assume) was hanging around a couple nights ago (the girl dog had her up a tree), she was meowing this morning, and I put out some cat food for her this evening (some of the food Barney refuses to eat), and there was no hesitation to chow-down. She is not particularly timid, I was within a foot or two of her, and she did not run off. I will provide the appropriate photo documentation of the event tomorrow.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, ANOTHER CAT, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 12/354 - Tuesday...

In my ongoing effort to remain relevant and up-to-date (but trending if at all possible), i give you, the ManBrooch. Why yes Virginia, there are men who wear brooches. And why not I ask? I went through the whole thing with pocket-squares, and I have to tell you, they are just too high maintenance. SO...a while back, I started mentioning to folks (in this instance 'folks' is spelled C-A-N-D-Y), that I wanted to start wearing brooches instead of pocket-squares. 'Folks' (wink-wink) brought me a whole slew of brooches, and I did a test run last Friday at the Board and yesterday at TREC. No one fell over dead or fainted, and a lot of folks really kind of appreciated that I was trending with brooches and not the big 'man-spread' thing that is so popular (currently) in the northeastern states (where it is also cold and there is a tendency towards snow and funny accents). So, success is mine, and if you see any brooches at yard or estate sales, think of me but don't spend a lot of moolah. BIG (the bigger the better), SPARKLY (the sparklier the better) and GLITTERY (can you see a trend here?) are the key words to remember when it comes to a ManBrooch. Most of my clothes just SCREAM for accessories!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MANBROOCHES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 11/355 - Monday...

I got off to an early start...towards the end of December and the first week of January, I luxuriated in the fact that I could leisurely sleep until six o'clock or so, but today it was all back to business time. Back to gentleman farmer schedule, and that meant getting into Austin before the sun was really even up too far. The one good thing about that is, I am ahead of the people I was sitting next to in traffic over the last three weeks or so,

I got into the office and did some power real estate, and was gone by 9:15 and headed to TREC, where we met from 10 until after 4, but we got a LOT of work done which will be posted and presented for comments for action to be taken in May. Good stuff with a lot of really excellent colleagues. It is incredible how much I learn at every one of these meetings that I attend!

Tomorrow will be a day in the office, with about five various conference calls scheduled. Living large!

As an aside: the girl dog treed herself a calico cat last night, it was the first time I have seen that one. Within fifteen minutes of getting her back in the house, I was putting out the cart food and there came Barney, and the calico cat disappeared. Always interesting to see what happens in the cat department out here.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, GENTLEMAN FARMER, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 10/356 - Sunday...

Well HELL YES I am disappointed, who would not be disappointed if they went to all the trouble of going and buying a Power Ball ticket and then not winning. Who knows, I might have won something, but since they announced that there were no winners of the Power Ball jackpot, there is hardly any reason to check the tickets to see if I won $3 or something. Too much trouble. I will wait till tomorrow and the next day and swipe the ticket I have at my local quick-pickee, but until them, I will just be disappointed and share my disappointment all around.

It is another cold day here in central Texas, but it was a GREAT day to stay inside and get office work done. I am pretty much caught up through last Friday, and I don't know about you guys, but that is really a positive accomplishment.

There remains a nice fire in the stove, and my mysterious pains seem to be subsiding, somewhat. If any of you are amateur medicos, give me a holler and we can show each other our scars.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, DISAPPOINTMENT, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 9/357 - Saturday...

I made a call to check on the availability of firewood, and had an appointment to pick it up this morning at 9 o'clock. Considering that the winds changed (or charged) and there were TWO cold fronts that came through today, I think I was acting particularly boy-scoutish with my advance planning. I don't like to wait till the last minute, and I like to plan in advance for stuff. There is now a nice fire going in the stove, and the stove was cleaned out earlier, since we let last weeks fire die down since it was 70 degrees yesterday. Now it is in the low 40s and the wind is out of the north at about 100 MPH, and we are all comfy-cozy.

Jody and I also made a pilgrimage to IKEA today, along with the rest of the population of central Texas. It was crazy, but we looked at what we wanted to look at and found the short-cuts outta there so we did not have to traipse through the whole place.

Stopped at Target on the way home, then had lunch and now trying to determine exactly what it is that could be causing me sporadic pain on the opposite side of where the appendix should be. Who knows, but whatever it is, I expect I will survive it.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, FIREWOOD, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 8/358 - Friday...

This photographic depiction should be vied as nothing more than a bunch of pretty, wistful clouds. Traffic? What traffic. This was the scene at about 5:15 this afternoon on the way home, almost to the toll road on MoPac. Once I got on the toll road, everything was smooth sailing until I got the the Interstate, then it jammed up again until I was north of Round Rock. No complaining, just facts!

We have another pool of lottery tickets in the office, and I expect to be calling Cass on Sunday morning for an emergency consult. The more you win, the more you can blow, and the more you can prepare for the next several lifetimes. I know you can't take it with you, but I plan to get my future told and leave a lot of it to myself in the next life. I think it is a sound strategy.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CLOUDS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 7/359 - Thursday...

Okay, so I did not win the PowerBall Lottery last night, but all is not lost; it seems no one else won it either, so there is always Saturday. I did win $33, and I immediately reinvested it in eleven more quick picks (I learned everything I know about investing from Cass, no last names to protect the innocent), and this seems like a good strategy, reinvest the returns. The office pool won $36, and I think we are all going to reinvest those monies too! There seems to be a bit of controversy, because I heard (on the radio, somewhat more reliable that a report on the Internet) that a woman in Dallas claims to have a winning ticket. An Internet search after that broadcast still claims there were no winners, so there you have it. Double confirmation.

I attended a new contracts class today, and I am now all set to go for the new year. Tomorrow will be a day of new member orientation and then vetting political candidates and then a TREPAC meeting and then a conference call. The day is booked, and I am a victim of over scheduling (once again).

Please refer to CLUSTERS in this weeks previous journal postings.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, JUMPING THE TRAIN, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 6/360 - Wednesday...

So...just so you will know...if you do not see me tomorrow, it is because I am in a meeting with my financial advisor (please pencil me in Cass) having just been notified that I won the PowerBall Jackpot that will be held later on this evening. We took up a pool in the office, and I bought some quick picks yesterday on the way home from work. I intend to be even more fiscally irresponsible that I already am, but at the same time steer a conservative course (whatever) towards future comfort with my portion of the winnings. I expect there will be enough to go around, but again, I will probably not be posting anything to my Facebook page for a while, and this journal may be replaced with some other distraction; but only temporarily, I swear!

But, if you do see me tomorrow, and if I do actually show up for the contracts class I am attending, well, never mind.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MONEY BAGS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 5/361 - Tuesday...

Two days in to the New Year, two meetings done. I think (and I know my thought process can sometimes be considered 'interesting'), that the table tops of a meeting room say a lot about the persons sitting at the aforementioned table. At this particular meeting, there was a need (an occasional need at best) for my glasses to adorn my face, my face that has been known to positively SCREAM fort accessories. I am happy to report that I left this meeting with all my personal items in tow; pens, MacBook, binders, notes, cell phone, much of my clothing, and my identification and key fob. All-in-all, not a bad day.

Here is one more interesting piece of information; See the red napkin laying on the table? That napkin was from the Hotel in Naples I was in on December 1st, which was (obviously) the last time I wore that jacket. I never know what I will find in my jacket pockets.

Tomorrow will be day three and meetings three, four and five. Thursday will be day four and class one; Friday will be day five and meetings six, seven and eight. Remember what I mentioned in this journal last night about clusters? This week is evidence of the 'cluster syndrome'. Lots of meetings and appointments 'clustered' into one week, which allows little time for little else.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CLUSTERS (AGAIN), Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2015 - Day 3/362 - Monday...

What could possibly be a better way of starting off the first (real) business day of the New Year than by getting a package in the mail from the SOCK CLUB? This is not a trick question, the answer is THERE IS NO BETTER WAY! Kerry in our office got me a years subscription from the Sock Club, a local Austin company, and I think it is great. Something to look forward to every month, thanks Kerry!

Today was an early starter and a late ender. Tomorrow will be the same way, and I think Wednesday will be kind of normal, Thursday will be normal but Friday will be a killer. It i always interesting to me that meetings tend to get clustered. And then of course, some of them also turn out to be clusters, but if today is any indication, that will not be the case this week. Having said that, I know for sure that tomorrow will not become a cluster, but there is a definite possibility that Wednesday could become one, and Friday DEFINITELY has a cluster opportunity.

Deeds, Action, Changes, CLUSTERS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 3/363 - Sunday...

Earl the Squirrel came by for an up-close-and-personal this morning, and the girl dog paid him no-never-mind. I don't get it. If a chicken farts out on the patio, you would think a natural disaster had occurred, but let a worth-while-barks-a-lot mission present itself, and she is asleep on the floor under the kitchen table, dreaming of the bun-rabbits that all got away. Whatever.

Other than that, it was a pretty typical Sunday, with the exception that the sun came out and the temperatures warmed up into the 60s. It was a good day for a couple rides, one into Jarrell for a loaf of bread and the other into Austin to do a little bit of work at the office.

Tomorrow is back to work day, and no real Holidays until Memorial day.

Boo.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, SQUIRRELS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 2/364 - Saturday...

I am only two days into the New Year, and already I have nothing to dazzle you with, so I am pandering to you all with photos of cute little animals. Maybe I should be Panda-ing to you, but I will leave that for another day. It seems that the grey cat has moved on to greener pastures, and Barney has been the recipient of the moist cat food for the last week or so. It was a pretty grey cat, so maybe she is still around somewhere, just on the down-low.

I could have provided you with plenty of photographic documentation of grey skies, (no clouds really, just grey), a few little drippy spots of precipitation, and other documentation of me and Jody doing our best to not act like we are freezing to death. The high temperature today was just about 50 degrees, but to us (especially with no sun) that is freezing cold. The sun is supposed to come out (everybody sing!) tomorrow, about noon, so that will be perfect if it really does, and the high temperature is supposed to be about 60 degrees.

Pretty soon it will be the first official work day of the new year, only 51 more weeks to go until the NEXT New Year.

Note to Self: Take a couple pictures for goodness sakes!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, PANDAS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 1/365 - New Years Day...

Happy New Years Day to you all, and I hope your lives are overflowing with good things in 2016.

Well, honestly I didn't see any reason to go crazy with the black eyed peas thing, so Jody cooked up some peas (courtesy of Pauline and Hubert's garden a couple years back) and we had some; Jody as an in-between-snack, and I saved mine for dinner.

I (we) did get some things accomplished today; took a pie to Randy and Irene (they were on a cruise on Christmas), and we went to a new listing in Manor to put a sign and lock box on the property. When we got home, we both went down for naps (Jody had better luck than I did), and then I did a bunch of honey-do things that were on my job list.

There is a nice fire going in the stove, it is unnaturally cold here (in the 40s) and it has been grey and windy all day. The sun is supposed to come out on Sunday, so we are all hoping we survive the next 24 to 36 hours.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, PEAS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas (PEAS), FUN!