Volume 18 - Day 158/207, 2026 - Sunday

Up until about 6:30 this evening, I had nothing to eat today with any nutritional value. For breakfast, I had a scone. Not terrible. For lunch, I don't even remember what I had, but I know there were some M&Ms involved. Paulina and I went to see The Bird Cage this afternoon, it is hard to believe that the first time I saw it was 30 years ago. While we were doing estate sales yesterday, Marian said she and her daughter Lexi were going today. Val, Paulina and I watched La Cage aux Folles at the Curious House last week, so it was fitting that we go see The Bird Cage today. We saw Marian and Lexi, and after the movie, we did the selfie that is accompanying this journal entry. My resolution to boycott CBS has been tweaked a little bit. I will NOT watch ANY CBS news programming, but I will watch the shows I like on Thursday evenings, and I am watching the Tony Awards right now. Sue me. So far, the Tony's have been really good, but CBS had nothing to do with that. Whatever. When we got home this afternoon, I fed the girls and for dinner I had the chicken and rice that Paulina brought me at some point last week. Yummy good. Tomorrow is a platelet day, and it will be me and Marian, and that will be a good day.

Volume 18 - Day 157/208, 2026 - Saturday

Overnight we collected 1.57" of rain, and that is excellent. It was an estate sale day, me, Diane, Marian and Paulina. While were were stopped at a red light, the guy behind us said his foot slipped off the brake pedal, and he hit us in the back. The force seemed like more than a 'creep,' so maybe he uses both feet and when his left foot slipped off the brake, his right foot was on the accelerator. Who knows. There is not a lot of damage to the Buzz, but I expect the whole back piece under the tail gate will have to be replaced, and a little piece of the tailgate will have to be repaired/painted. I don't know dollar wise, but likely several thousand dollars. We (that means I) had not intended to call the Police, but one saw the incident and pulled in behind us. I have been watching TOO MANY YouTube videos lately, so when the officer got out, I immediately asked him if I was being detained, and that I knew my rights, particularly my first and fourth Amendment rights, so don't mess with me. He went along with it, the other guy and I exchanged information, and we went on to the sales. I am pretty sure we all bought something, in fact, I bought quite a few things, and it was a good day of estate sales, all things considered. Now I just need to get the stuff out of the Buzz and spread it around in the house! After the sales, I had one errand to run, and then Paulina and I drove to Temple to visit a friend's 'Treatery!' FroYo, macaroons, cupcakes, everything you need for a good a lunch! We brought stuff home, too. There is not a lot of chores on my list for tomorrow, but I am pretty sure I can do something to make it interesting.

Volume 18 - Day 156/209, 2026 - Friday

Today turned out to be a day for running errands and getting little things done. Paulina came over for coffee this morning, and then I went to the post office to mail a package, I stopped at a restaurant in Round Rock to make reservations, and then I was off to Austin to pick up one of my prescriptions. On the way home, I stopped at Inner Space Caverns, and inquired about doing fund raisers there, and maybe a dinner in the caverns. They wanted no part of that, even though the web site intimates that they do those kinds of things. Whatever, it is their loss. It has rained off and on a few times today, we had a nice, but rapid, downpour about four o'clock, and we have close to a quarter-inch since this morning. I went to dinner this afternoon with Jimmie and Linda, and that was fun, I have not seen them in about a week. I have had two deliveries of bird seed, one yesterday and one today. A total of 40 pounds of bird seed, that I do not remember ordering. Interesting. I think this photo was taken three or four years ago, not exactly sure, scuba diving in Playa or Tulum. It was great, not sure I will do more scuba diving. Maybe, maybe not.

Volume 18 - Day 155/210, 2026 - Thursday

I'm torn, although I really shouldn't be. I am enamored with clouds. The fluffy, really pretty ones. I don't care for overcast skies. The clouds that make the days grey and gloomy. Today was a grey and gloomy kind of day, and we even had a little bit (0.08") of rain, so no complaints about that. And the bad clouds gave way this afternoon to some pretty clouds, and I am happy about that. The girls went to the beautiful parlor this morning, and they absolutely hate that, and it exhausts them. They are back, and they have been asleep most of the afternoon. I have been taking them every three months, but this last time was too long, the girls looked a little bit like strays, so their next appointment is in two months. That will probably be too quickly, but we will figure it out. After I brought the girls home, I went to HEB and bought a few things, nothing to get excited about. I finished the book I was reading about Hitler, BLITZED - Drugs in the Third Reich. I really didn't care for the book too much, and I was aware of all the challenges he had with drugs, but I did not know of the extent that all (or most) of the victories were the result of speed and pain pills. SO, I will be on to my next book in a couple days, much more light reading, and book club is in a couple weeks. I will be going in to Austin tomorrow to pick up a prescription, and maybe I will find a couple other things to do while I am there... We shall see.

Volume 18 - Day 154/211, 2026 - Wednesday

I slept very nicely last night, and I was glad about that. My watch tells me that I slept OK, just ok, but I think I had a good nights sleep. Before bedtime, we had a surprise storm, mostly wind, some really good thunder and only 0.01" of rain. The wind blew a bunch of plants on the back patio over, and the terra cotta pot that the rubber tree was in broke into several pieces. Honestly, the wind was crazy, and it totally took me by surprise. The rubber tree is now inhabiting a brand new pot, so all is good. Paulina worked from home today, and she had never been to Dairy Queen before, and now she has! We both got a milk shake, and we were both happy with our choices. I have officially cancelled my trip to South Africa in September. I worried about it for several days, but with the health challenges in Africa (so far not where I would have been) and all the political crap going on everywhere, I just decided this was not the time to go. I still have time, I may be able to get somewhere before the end of the year, just not sure where. I expect I will make it to Playa a couple times at least, and I have a HUGE credit with American Airlines, since I had already booked my flights to Africa. Tomorrow I will take the girls to the beautiful, and I have signed up for another on-line class, so we will see if this one actually happens. 

Volume 18 - Day 153/212, 2026 - Tuesday

I did get a few things accomplished today. On the way to breakfast, I stopped at Home Depot and bought a new pot for some geraniums I bought the other day. I also got a hanging basket of purslane, and by taking the hanger off, it fits in to a wire chicken I have in the back. I got to breakfast a little bit early this morning, so I sat in the little white car and listened to the book I have downloaded. I have about an hour left, and as I was listening, I zoomed in on the photo that is accompanying this entry, an interesting view of the Williamson COunty Courthouse. The ROMEOs met for breakfast, and after that I stopped at Galaxy Bakery and got some scones, and then I stopped at Georgetown Donuts for a couple apple fritters. That should hold me for the rest of the week. I got the plants all planted and used the leaf blower to clean up both the front and back patios and the back deck. Everything is now ready just in case we get a little bit of rain overnight. I am still eating on the pizza I bought last week (or the week before?), and I will either eat it all before Thursday morning or it will find a new home in the trash can. There is a chance we will get a little bit of rain this evening, and there is a chance of rain every day in the upcoming forecast. 

Volume 18 - Day 152/213, 2026 - Monday

It seems I have turned Mondays into my weekends. I used to get household chores done over the weekends, but now I get them done on Mondays. I have better things to do on my weekends! Today, I moved the plumerias onto the driveway so they get more direct sun. The plumeria that I have had for (maybe) a decade (I think more, actually) did not bloom at all last year, and I bought three more small plumerias at HEB about a month ago. They are all out on the drive now, along with the jasmines that I have started from seeds. We will see how things go, I am 100% positive I will need to be more attentive to watering with them out in the full sun. It gets REALLY hot in central Texas. The girls got their monthly pills today, right on schedule! My week just keeps getting better and better, too. The virtual class I signed up for was cancelled, nothing I did, and a meeting on Wednesday has been cancelled as well. I have a LOT of nothing to do this week, and that totally works for me.