Volume 18 - Day 272/93, 2026 - Tuesday

It was a nice morning for a walk, nice if you think heat and humidity is your friend. I had a 10:30 appointment in Austin this morning, so I did not do the ROMEO breakfast. I got to my appointment in plenty of time, which is the way I like to do it. I had thirty minutes to make my presentation, and I finished with a minute to spare. Later tonight, I will retrieve Val and Paulina from the airport, and I have an 8 o'clock appointment tomorrow morning in Leander. No walk for me tomorrow. I got a summons for jury duty in the mail today, this is either the third or fourth summons I have received in my advanced years, and I have never, ever served on a jury. I would really like to serve on a jury, so I am going to try really hard not to offend anyone between now and October 30th. Well, not 'anyone,' but at least the people that will decide if I am on or off the jury. Whatever. Rain is supposed to start tomorrow night, and remain in the area for two or three days. We are already under flash flood watches, so we will see just exactly what happens. I'm glad the Curious House is on top of the hill, and not at the bottom.

Volume 18 - Day 271/94, 2026 - Monday

I have apparently become an old person who should no longer attempt to do laundry. The first load I did this afternoon went beautifully. The second load, not so much. Apparently I am not good at judging a 'full load,' and right now I have five towels hanging across the shower curtain rods in the two guest baths. Hopefully, they will be dry enough tomorrow morning to put in the dryer to finish drying. Maybe I need a new washer, I am always getting messages that the washer cannot properly spin because it is unbalanced. Well, it's not just the washer at the Curious House, but that is a whole different conversation. Maybe I am putting too many clothes in the washer, but I am not aware of any changes I have made in the last few months. I am bewildered. Paul did not walk this morning, so I did a solo, and that was fun. I had an appointment in far south Austin, 40 miles from the house, and after that, I met Michael and Lynda for lunch. We had a very good time talking and catching up. I should be able to walk in the morning, but I won't be able to have breakfast with the other ROMEOs, I have an appointment in Austin at 10:30. Tomorrow evening, I will retrieve Val and Paulina from the airport, and welcome them home. They have been missed!

Volume 18 - Day 270/95, 2026 - Sunday

Well, another weekend is in the books. I took it nice and slow, and after the walk I fed the girls and took a nap, while watching Sunday Morning. I got up at about 9:30 and watered plants front and back, and decided I needed to go to Costco and HEB. I bought two things at Costco and one thing at HEB. Linda and Jimmie and I went to a cello concert at Southwestern, and it was interesting. Not Hauser, but interesting. There are a couple other free concerts there through the end of the year, and I am particularly interested in the jazz and wind ensemble & orchestra offerings. We stopped for dinner, and after we for home, we got a trace of rain. I mean a TRACE. Such a trace that the back deck did not even get wet, but there were drops on the windows. We are being threatened with pretty good rains and noticeably cooler temperatures towards the end of this week, and that is the best thing I can think of right now. I have an appointment tomorrow morning in far south Austin, and then lunch with Lynda and Michael. I have a couple things on my calendar every day this week, which is kind of unusual for me, but I expect I will get it all done.

Volume 18 - Day 269/96, 2026 - Saturday

Okay, it's a full moon, and I don't think too many people even noticed. Marian, Judy, Diane and I hit four estate sales this morning, and I came home with some real treasures. After the sales, I took the Buzz to the Discount Tire place, because I am too lazy to put air in the tires. I think that is a good thing they do, I was number six in line for air, but worth the wait. I finished the book I was reading, and I am looking forward to something less disturbing. Our book club book for October is The Exorcist, and I am thinking of reading Tuesdays With Morrie in between times. We shall see. The house concert was tonight, and I think we all had fun. It was not extremely hot, and the humidity had taken a dive, so that was good. Gina and Billie brought me an Apple Pie from Whole Foods, and a box of kiwis. I'm pretty sure the pie will be saved for Val. The concert did exactly what it is supposed to do; I met four new people from the neighborhood, and that is excellent. Jim, Janet, Michelle and Toshana. That is the whole reason for the concerts. For some reason, I am watching a football game while I write this, and A&M is losing again. I don't think they have won a game this year, but Texas won today, and I don't think they have lost this year. I know nothing about football.

Volume 18 - Day 268/97, 2026 - Friday

I am really good at doing piddly little things around the Curious House, and that is what I did today. A bunch of piddly little things. Some of those piddly little things have been needing to be done for quite some time, so even though they were piddly, I do have a certain feeling of accomplishment. I am kind of embarrassed that the person that (used to) puts fertilizer and weed killer stuff on the lawn and I got in to a screaming match, therefore the 'used to' notation. I think both parties are happy that we will not need to deal with the other going forward. At least I got to fire them before they got the opportunity to fire me. Mainly because I have photos to back me up. I went to Costco this morning, and bought one thing. I looked for something else but I could not find it. I may be back there next week. I also stopped at HEB and all i needed was food for the girls, so they are set for the near term. The definitions accompanying this journal entry were stolen from my friend Deb's Facebook page. Deb used to be a few houses down the street and now she and Jay are living in Washington state. I miss them. Tomorrow, there are four estate sales for us to go and rattle. Just a normal Saturday morning!

Volume 18 - Day 267/98, 2026 - Thursday

Paul was not going to walk this morning, so I seized the opportunity to go back to bed. Okay, not really, but I didn't walk. I did some stuff around the house, and did my usual stuff. I did spend a good amount of time in the office, and Holly and I texted back and forth about a project. I thought I had a 9:30 zoom meeting, but it was cancelled, so I had an extra hour. Perfect. I am looking forward to a weather change that the prognosticators are threatening us with next week. Lower temperatures, lower humidity, and higher chances of rain. I'll believe it when I see it. Tonight was the fourth Civilian Police Academy class, and the scheduled topic did not happen for some reason, so we had a fill-in, and we spent the class time talking about A Day in the Life of a Policeman. At one point, we were listening about tasers and pepper type deterrents, and one of the lady participants said she was not interested in any type of deterrent unless they were 'tactical grade.' That tells you a little about the people I am in the class with. I have nothing on the schedule for tomorrow but I am certain I will find something to fill the time. Oh, do you see the misspelled word in the list of typical police calls? My acting as spell check was not particularly appreciated.

Volume 18 - Day 266/99, 2026 - Wednesday

I learned a new way to make it rain today, just accept an invitation to an outdoor garden party. That will do it. I ran a couple errands today, and I left to go in to Austin about 3:45. I was going to meet Eileen at 5, and I forgot how impatient and obnoxious drivers are in rush hour traffic. I got to the agreed upon meeting place about five-after-five, and Eileen got there about 5:15, and we made it to the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum right on time. We made it under the pavilion and the skies opened up. It only rained there for about 25 minutes, and we walked UP to the Umlauf home and workshop, and it was all very interesting. Neither of us knew anyone except Jonathan (President of the Board) and Dale. Going from the pavilion through the sculpture garden, up to the house and workshop, is a 45 foot climb, and I admit it was a little shaky on the steps after the rain. Plus, I am naturally shaky, so there is that. I got back to the Curious House just a little bit after 8, and I was kind of surprised how dark it was, that early. Today is the first full day of Fall, so I expect the dark to set in early, but I wish the heat would lessen accordingly. I was a little bit disappointed that I could not find 'Jeremiah,' the Umlauf piece that Jody donated back to the museum when it opened. It is there, somewhere.