Volume 18 - Day 276/89, 2026 - Saturday

There was a threat of rain this morning, so there was no walk. I don't think there will be much more rain in the near future, so hopefully we will walk in the morning. Judy and I went to the one estate sale in Sun City; Judy bought nothing, I bought a gargoyle to go up on the back wall. Callie is still not feeling well, this is two days in a row that she has not eaten. She is drinking water and peeing, so that is something. She doesn't look skinny, and she is full of pep when Paulina comes over, so... I hope she will start eating soon. I spent a good bit of the day deleting political stuff and ads from my Facebook accounts, and now I am seeing more posts from friends. I think it will be an on-going practice. One of the t-shirt quilts I ordered arrived today, and it looks pretty cool. This on is the king size quilt with mainly travels and political t-shirts. I have another one coming with mainly t-shirts from the blood bank. I will use that one when I go make platelet donations. I think tomorrow I will hang out with Val and Paulina...a little shopping, a visit to a nursery for autumn plants, and maybe some lunch. Hopefully, there will be a little bit of sunshine.

Volume 18 - Day 275/90, 2026 - Friday

It rained most of the day today, so that is enough right there to make this a good day. In the last two days, I emptied a little over 4.5" out of the gauge, yippee! Also, there was no walk this morning, and that is always a good day! My cardiologist called me this morning at 7:30, which got my attention. She said the test results from yesterday were all good, that she is very happy with the results, no blockages and the heart is strong. Of course, that means the end is near, just FYI. She also sent the reports, but it is 38 pages of graphs and things, so I have not paid too much attention to that yet. I forgot to mention yesterday, that one of the two women that were in the 'waiting' area with me, between tests, had only four toes on each foot. When I mentioned that to her, she seemed unwilling to discuss it, and I thought, if you don't want people to know you only have four toes on each foot, you should; 1.) not paint them very bright pink, and 2.) not wear sandals when waiting in a very small room with other people. Whatever. I drove in to Austin this morning, picked up yet another prescription, and then went to the Hunger Fighter and Sine Die Smokers BBQ Party. My friends son, Mace, started this work when he was seven years old, and wanted to provide 1,000 meals to the (now) Central Texas Food Bank. I think that first year, he raised enough money for over five thousand meals, and his efforts have grown since then. He is now a freshman at Tulane, and I know everyone that knows him is very proud of him. I am! The photo with this entry is me and Holly, Mace's mom, this afternoon...in the rain. That is the least of my first world challenges. Congratulations to all for another successful year!

Volume 18 - Day 274/91, 2026 - Thursday

There was no rain overnight, and this morning when I walked out the door to start our walk, it was raining pretty briskly. So...I turned around and walked back in to the house, and piled up in the big chair with the girls. Since this morning, I have emptied 2.09" of rain out of the gauge, and it has been dribbling since then. Once I got up this morning, I got ready to head in to Austin for my 'nuclear stress test.' I have had these tests before, no coffee, nothing to eat before the test. I have had this test before, but they crammed so much stuff in my veins, I did get a bit queasy for a while, maybe 10 or 15 minutes. On the way home, I was in a torrential downpour. I already drive like an old lady, and the drive back to the Curious House made me drive like three or four old ladies, but I made it. It was a nice rainy afternoon, and everyone enjoyed it. Tonight was my Civilian Police Academy class, and the topic was Animal Control and Code Enforcement. Not the most interesting of all the topics so far, and I'm looking forward to the Digital Forensics class in two weeks. Tomorrow will be a little bit more calm, I have two things to get done in Austin, and then it will be the weekend eve, and that means estate sales! YAY!

Volume 18 - Day 273/92, 2026 - Wednesday

I didn't walk this morning, but there was a reason for that. I got home last night at about 11:30, and I was up this morning at 4:30. I had to be in Leander at 8 o'clock, then Austin, then Georgetown, and then back to the Curious House. I was sort of strung out all day. Once I got home, I did get a couple quick naps, and tonight was our neighborhood dinner. There were ten of us, and we had a good time, thanks to Gina for the planning. If it is not raining tomorrow morning I will walk, but I am expecting it to be raining. I have turned the sprinklers off so that is like a way to make sure it DOES NOT rain. I have a doctors appointment tomorrow morning, and that should be no big deal. Then, tomorrow night it will be my next Civilian Police Academy class. Stay tuned.

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.