Volume 18 - Day 256/109, 2026 - Sunday

Sundays are good for some things, but Dr. Google does not know what Sundays are good for. Check it out for yourself. I walked this morning, and after that, I did very little of anything. Val and I went to two estate sales late this morning, Val bought nothing, I spent one dollar. Then it was time for a nap (or two) and later in the afternoon, Paulina called and I rode with them to HEB and the storage place. I got bananas and oranges, that was the only thing I could think of from HEB. More heat, no rain, it is getting ridiculous. The sprinklers run twice, two days a week, and that is just going to have to do. I water potted plants, front and back, every day, so they are holding up well. This week coming, I should do laundry this week and I should vacuum, but, who knows. There is nothing critical on my calendar for this week, but I will be having lunch with Holly and Eileen on Wednesday, after a TREPAC meeting. Otherwise, we have clouds all around us, but no rain. There were a few drops on the windshield, noting worth getting excited about, and nothing at the Curious House. Dangit!

Volume 18 - Day 255/110, 2026 - Saturday

To be clear, it is 10:47PM, and I am just starting this journal entry. We'll see how this turns out. After our walk this morning, I got back to the Curious House, sat in front of the computer for a while, and had a banana and a bowl of cereal. At 9:30, Linda and Paulina and I left for the estate sales. There were four sales, and they were all either very proud of their goods or lousy. I bought two things, and they are both still out in the garage. After the sales, I went down for a nap, and that was what I did for most of the afternoon. At about six o'clock, I put on a pair of very uncomfortable penny loafers and Paulina and I went in to Austin to attend the Opening Night of the fourth season of ATX Chamber Music and Jazz, at the Mansion on San Gabriel. My friend Nicole gave me tickets and I was a really fun evening. Always go for the new experience. Tomorrow, Val and I will hit a couple estate sales, and maybe I will see what I overlooked today. Who knows?

Volume 18 - Day 254/111, 2026 - Friday

I have shared this many, many times over the past 25 years. In the week leading up to 9/11, Jody and I were traveling from Montreal to Portland, Maine. Jody was driving and I was riding my bike, having raised money for AIDS research. It was my last seven day ride, and it was great. Jody and I left the jetport in Portland, Maine on September 10th, and the terrorists left the jetport in Portland, Maine on September 11th. I believe that the lives of every person on the planet changed that day, and none of us will ever be the same. I remember there was no laughing for months after that, and I also remember watching a television comedy show months later, and I laughed out loud. It had been months of no laughing, and I very clearly remember the day that I thought it was okay to laugh again. Today was again a busy day, I walked with Paul, and then I got ready to head south. I needed to do several things in Austin, so I left the Curious House before 9 o'clock, picked up a prescription, got a shot in my knee (number 4), and spent a few hours at the Secretary of State's office, getting some documents Apostille'd about the condo in Playa. On the way home, I stopped at HEB and got bird seed, some flavored sparkling water (I am trying to cut down on the Diet Cokes) and some hard boiled eggs. That is a testament to how lazy I am. Tomorrow will be estate sales, and tomorrow evening Paulina and I are going to a chamber music and jazz concert at The Mansion in Austin. Bottom line: I will be out AFTER DARK tomorrow night. You have been warned!

Volume 18 - Day 253/112, 2026 - Thursday

Hopefully, I will be able to upload a photo to this journal entry. If there is no photo, you will know that it still didn't work. If it does, I will try to edit the entry from yesterday, time will tell. It was a pretty busy day, I left the Curious House a few minutes before 8 to make it to my 9 o'clock appointment in Leander. It was a REALTOR® caravan to introduce properties to our colleagues. There were seven properties on the caravan, we were number three. I got back to the Curious House at EXACTLY 1PM, and did not do too much until I got ready to go to my second Citizens Police Academy class. Tonight was about SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics). There was a lot of history about these groups, but the part that interested me the most was about the 'gadgets' that are used during the course of their jobs. Very interesting. Tomorrow will be another kind of busy day, and it is not time to see if I can upload a photo to this entry. Well, it kind of worked...the hard way!

Volume 18 - Day 252/113, 2026 - Wednesday

I am not sure why, but the program won't let me add a photo to this post. Your loss! Edit, it is now the next day, and here is the photo planned for the entry.

Every now and then, I determine that, maybe I should have read the directions first, but, what the hell? I walked with Paul this morning, and then I was getting ready for my doctors appointment at 10AM. I got to the office in plenty of time, and I guess everything is okay, they let me loose. I now had another appointment for another 'nuclear stress test' in October. I don't think too much negative stuff will be determined at that test, and so I go forward, feeling pretty good for an old guy. I did not do much for the rest of the day, and PV and I went to Walburg for dinner tonight. It was really, REALLY good, not the buffet, but REALLY good, and I brought at least half of my dinner home for another day. I have a 9 o'clock appointment in Cedar Park tomorrow, which means I will need to leave the Curious not later than 8, but I will know better tomorrow after I map it out. Tomorrow night I will go to my second Citizen's Police Academy class, SWAT is the subject, and I am looking forward to that.

Volume 18 - Day 251/114, 2026 - Tuesday

The photo accompanying this post was taken 16 years ago today, when Jody and I were living at the farm. Full tank. The day before this photo was taken, there was not a drop of water in that tank, which just goes to prove that one good rain can make a lot of good things happen in central Texas. Paul and I walked this morning, and Rick and I had a ROMEO breakfast. After breakfast, I stopped at Galaxy Bakery. I got two scones for me and one scone for Paulina. I had a couple errands to take care of in Austin, so that was my next stop, and after getting back to the Curious House, I made a trip to the bank. Nothing unusual about my day. I bought something I saw on Facebook and it was delivered today. Now, I feel like a total idiot for spending the money, I will return the item and work on a refund to the credit card. It looks so good on Facebook, too. Ugh. I have an appointment at the cardiologist tomorrow morning, and tomorrow night I am going to Walburg for dinner, and I am looking forward to that. Every day in the seven day forecast predicts a temperature at or above 100 degrees. I am getting more and more weary of the hot temperatures. The average last day for 100 degree temperatures in central Texas is the 18th day of August. DUH!

Volume 18 - Day 250/115, 2026 - Labor Day Monday

Between thoughts while composing this journal entry, I expect I will be making trips to the kitchen for a spoonful of ice cream. I slept very nicely last night, for which I am glad, and I even slept a little bit late, I did not crawl out of the bed until 5:45. I got everything watered, front and back, before our walk, and after the walk, Paulina came over just for a few minutes. She said she was working on making my trip itinerary easier to navigate, and when she sent it to me, it included the header that is the photo included in this entry. Very cool! She is a genius! I took a nap, got myself up and went to HEB, bought some necessary things; milk, bread, turkey cranberry salad, flavored waters, and sugar. I need the sugar to keep the hummingbirds happy. Once home, it was time for another nap, and then dinner. The girls had their usuals, and I had pork ribs. Very good. I got the ribs on Saturday, and this was the first chance I have had to try them. This will be a pretty easy week, I have appointments on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but those will be easily accomplished. Interestingly last night, the local NextDoor divas cannot tell the difference between gunshots and fireworks, so I can hardly wait for the crap to start tonight.