Volume 16 - Day 288/78, 2024 - Monday

I bought two baskets of Dianthus yesterday, to put in two empty pots on the back patio for a little color. They like full sun, so they are in the right place. It was not a record breaker today in central Texas, but it was (I think) 96 degrees today. Tomorrow is forecast to be 99 degrees, which will break a record, and overnight into the morning on Wednesday, we are looking for a cold front. HAHA. It will lower the daytime temperatures to the mid-80s, and that will be very welcome. The problem is, there is still no, or very little chance of precipitation in the ten day forecast. I am pretty sure it will work out in the end, one way or another. Not a bad day today, Paul and I had a nice walk, and I got in to the office at about 9:30. It was very quiet, and I left for the Curious House at about noon-30 or 1 o'clock. Traffic on the way in was not terrible (there was no school today) but on the way home there was something, not sure what, that had traffic backed up for miles. It did take about thirty minutes longer than usual to get home. I have been worried about Callie all day, she was not acting very feisty after breakfast this morning, and then this afternoon, she seemed better. Now, after dinner, she is acting lethargic, so I will be keeping my eyes on her. Hmmm. 

Volume 16 - Day 287/79, 2024 - Sunday

Okay, this needs to stop. It was 101 degrees in central Texas today, the highest recorded temperature this late in the year, since records have been being kept. And it may happen again tomorrow and Tuesday. Expecting a cold front (hahaha) to arrive overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning, so we shall see what that will do for us. All I can say, is...never min, this is a family journal! Anybody want to play corn hole? Leisa and her crew are ready for you, but I am pretty sure you need to bring your own skull. Yesterday I figured out that I had created a major cluster f*uck, but I got it all worked out before noon today, so all is well that ends well. I was also very productive today. Paul and I had a nice walk, I went to Target, got the red car washed, went to HEB and Home Depot, and by about 1:30 I was naked until about 4:30. When I do laundry, I DO laundry! So that is just kind of the frosting on the cake. I had Shepherd's Pie for dinner, compliments of Pam and Paul, and I have enough left over for three of four more meals. Tomorrow is a Holiday, so I expect traffic to be light when going in to Austin, and the week ahead should be relatively quiet. Have a great week everybody!

Volume 16 - Day 286/80, 2024 - Saturday

This is (apparently) the 50th Anniversary of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and what I have taken away from that fact is, I am really old. Fifty Years? I graduated from High School 55 years ago, so I guess that is about right. Since we both woke up and were both breathing, Paul and I had a nice walk this morning. After that, I took off for estate sales with Pam, Judy and Marian. I bought a few things, and I can remember some of the things I bought. I found something in the car this afternoon that I bought at an estate sale about three weeks ago, so even I am finding new stuff at the Curious House. After estate sales, Eileen and Tom came over and we had a nice visit. Then it was down for a nap, and Paulina and Oliver came over and we headed out for dinner. While at dinner, I had a text from Pam that Paul was on his way over with a plate full of Shepherd's Pie. I occasionally feel like Sally Field, but I will happily accept that notion. I am not sure, yet, what I have on the schedule for tomorrow. I know I need to go to the grocery, and I should do some laundry, but you never know. I also need to get the car washed, but I don't want to plan too much. I need a couple baskets of mums, too, so who knows? HEB or Home Depot seems to be in my future. Oliver had pork ribs at dinner, and I brought bones home for the girls, so that will be a treat for them later!

Volume 16 - Day 285/81, 2024 - Friday

Well, I had not intended to go in to the office today, but when I looked at my calendar, I realized that I forgot about an 11:30 meeting at ABoR. SO, since I would be close, I went in for a few minutes, touched a few things, and then took off for my meeting. After the meeting, I headed back to the Curious House by way of HEB to get gas in the little white car. Of course, Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and after the walk, I took it slow getting ready to head in to town. Parts of the meeting were interesting to me...about a months worth of stuff was compacted in to less than two minutes! There was a suggestion made, and we went from not a bad idea to why it could not be done in record time. I mentioned that fact as well, and I just think it was interesting. We shall see how it all works out. Over the weekend, we are expecting record high temperatures here in central Texas, but we are expecting a cool down next week, more in line with average high temperatures, only in the mid 80s. Rumor has it there is another system out in the Atlantic, but I have not seen anything on the news, so I will keep watching to see what is happening. This guy was hanging out in the morning glory leaves this morning, and it is interesting to study them up close, and realize how prehistoric he looks. He hung around while I went in the Curious House to get my phone for the pic. Kind of creepy, too.

Volume 16 - Day 284/82/, 2024 - Thursday

None of my friends and colleagues that live in Florida have been injured, and most property damage has been minimal. As far as I know. There are still peeps that I have not heard from, and I have my fingers crossed that I will have more information soon. It was cool this morning when James and Paul and I took our walk, and I got in to the office with minimal traffic challenges. It was a good day in the office, I had some chores to get done, and I got them done, and I left for the Curious House at about 1:30. I made a stop at HEB for some muffins (banana nut) for the next few day breakfasts. I like making an egg loaf and crumbling a muffin up in it. Yummy! And...the girls like it too. I am not going in to Austin tomorrow, at least that is the plan right now. That could change. We have had rain one time since the first week of September, but the last two weeks of October forecast says we will have more precipitation than average. High 90s from now until Tuesday, when we get some cooler weather. The weekend is looking good, I have a few things on the schedule for Saturday, and right now, Sunday is pretty open. They were protesting in front of City Hall this afternoon when I was heading home, which is not unusual, but I was able to get a photo of this for documentation. Protest on! Our book club selection for October is The Shining, and so far as best as I can remember, it is nothing like the movie.No nightmares so far...

Volume 16 - Day 283/83, 2024 - Wednesday

As of tonight, I am marking my groceries (refrigerated) with the expiration dates with a Sharpie, so I can see what may kill me easier. Tomorrow is trash day, so I am contributing some hummus that had something growing in it that was not hummus. I am now eating carrots and celery with hummus that expired about five weeks ago, but it smells okay, or at least as okay as roasted garlic hummus can smell. You know the drill, if I wake up dead tomorrow, ask the coroner to check for the hummus. Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, but for the second time this week, we passed each other looking for each other, and neither one of us is aware how we can walk past each other, going opposite directions, and not know that we passed the other one. Whatever. Office was good today, but getting to the office was a bit of a challenge. There were four wrecks along the way, including one where the vehicles were laying on their sides, and another one where the cars had apparently spun around a couple times and were heading in the wrong direction. I left the office early since I got in late, and stopped at the Volkswagen and put my name on the list for the new iD Buzz. Maybe sometime in November. We shall see. This weekend is the second weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Fest, which means I will not be going in to the office on Friday. I could easily get used to that. Ugh...what is going on with all the hurricanes? My friends in Florida have either fled or are hunkering down, and it is a total mess. This is a genuine offer, but I know the Curious House is kind of far away, but if you need shelter, let me know, there is plenty of room.

Volume 16 - Day 282/84, 2024 - Tuesday

Oh, Lord, I am too old for sitting on my butt for several hours a day. I attended a continuing education class today from 9 until 4. It was a good class, but that was also a long seven hours. The day started with a good walk with Paul, but because of the class, there was no ROMEO breakfast. The girls were glad that I was home all day, and they stayed here in the office with me for the whole thing. After the class, I ran one errand, and that is about all I did the whole day. I did make a few phone calls during breaks and the lunch time, but the calls did not achieve the intended purpose. No rain in our forecast for the next ten days, but those poor people in Florida, getting ready to be hit again. Weird weather, and I have absolutely no reason to believe the conspiracy theories floating around about 'manufactured' hurricanes and hurricane 'manipulation.' Some folks got nothing better to do. I tell you what, sit next to me for seven hours and you will have a theory about a whole lot of different conspiracies!