Volume 18 - Day 262/103, 2026 - Saturday

I stayed busy again all day. After the walk, I went to breakfast with V&P, and then we made a stop at Galaxy Bakery. After a while, I took them to the airport, and I cannot comprehend how much luggage they took with them. A checked bag and a carry on, each. Plus Paulina has her purse and a canvas bag, too. I got them to the airport about 1 o'clock, and I think their plane left close to 2:30. There were five estate sales today, and I did not go to any this morning, which crossed off three of the five. Two of the sales were open until three, and I did make it to those. I bought one thing at each of them, and I spent $38, and I am really happy with the two items I bought, see the photo accompanying this entry. The one piece is just a print, but I like it and it will fit with the 'beach' theme I have in my bathroom. The miniature reproduction of the JFK bust is really nice, and I like it a lot, and I can't believe it made it through the day and no one else wanted it. I got the other four Mandevilla planted, so that is all of them. I may go see if I can find four more, that will give me something to do tomorrow. Okay, that is it for this entry.

Volume 18 - Day 261/104, 2026 - Friday

I had what I would consider a pretty busy day today. I was at the dermatologist at 7:20, and gone by 7:45. Nothing terrible, about a half-dozen pre-cancerous things that she froze off, and my next appointment is in a year. Then, I stopped back at the Curious House, just to confuse the girls. I left at about 8:45 to go to far south Austin, 40 miles from the house, for my fifth knee injection. Viscosupplementation. I am, unfortunately, not really convinced that any thing good is happening with these shots. The next thing we discussed that might help is 'turning off' some nerves in the knee. Apparently, there are four groups of nerves in the knee, and they would 'disconnect' three of the four. I am not sure that is something I want to consider at this time. Who knows. A trip to the pharmacy to try and get my refills figured out, and then I had the little white car washed. After that, I stopped at two different places looking for impatiens. Not an impatien to be had in the city, so far, and I was told that impatiens are a spring time plant. Whatever. I have now planted eight of the twelve mandevilla that I bought yesterday, and I expect I will get the other four planted tomorrow. I think tomorrow might turn out to be a busy day, too. Stay tuned.

Volume 18 - Day 260/105, 2026 - Thursday

We did not make it to 100 degrees today, so I guess that is a good thing. Not a big difference between that and 98 degrees. After our walk this morning, there was just a couple things to do around the Curious House, and I did spend some time (a couple hours) in the office getting some stuff done. I went to HEB and bought a dozen Mandevilla to replace some things I planted from seed and never did turn out as they were advertised. I am putting the Mandevilla into containers, and I have planted 4 of the 12 so far. There were no Impatiens, so I will look for them tomorrow to supplement the ones I have left that were hit with spider mites. UGH. Every year I say I am going to have less potted plants next year, and every next year, I have MORE potted plants. I had another class of the Citizen's Police Academy tonight, the topic was Drones and Traffic.Pretty interesting. THe photo accompanying this post is of the flags outside the Police Station. I thought they looked interesting, and I think the photo is interesting.

Volume 18 - Day 259/106, 2026 - Wednesday

At my advanced age, I should no longer be expected to remember to take photos to include with these journal entries. After my committee meeting this morning, I had a lovely lunch with Eileen and Holly. I consciously thought about taking a photo shortly before lunch, but left, headed back to the Curious House, with no photo. I did, however, bring home the crispy chicken parts of my club salad, so take a look at the photo, and you will know what I will be having for dinner later in the week! One of our neighbors complained this week about the condition of the community pool, and that there may have been a vandalism event, because there was pool furniture in the pool. The HOA manager response was, and I quote: We have video record of mini cyclone picking up the chairs and blowing them into the pool and one over the fence. This same cyclone deposited a lot of dirt in pool. The dirt is from beside the pool where there is no grass. Was the mini-cyclone reported to our local weather prognosticators? I heard nothing about it, so I looked up the definition on the Googles. A 'mini cyclone' is an informal, non-standard weather term usually used by the public and media to describe a localized, intense wind event, small tornado, or a midget tropical storm. I am not sure about you, but I think the proper term these days would be 'little people tropical storm.'

Volume 18 - Day 258/107, 2026 - Tuesday

Even though I don't have a lot of appointments and tasks anymore, I feel like today was another busy day. I got a few things checked off my list, but not everything. I did another solo walk this morning, and then I met Rick and Bob for our ROMEO breakfast. On the way back to the Curious House, I made stops at Galaxy Bakery (cannolis for Paulina) and then a stop at the Post Office ( it was the day to send my estimated taxes). That was all well and good, but then I took off to send some documents to a law office in Mexico. All was good, EXCEPT I had to go to two different places, because I needed a RFC number to make it through Mexican customs. It is always something. I did get all that done, and then it was time for a nap. Now, I am composing this journal entry, and then it will be an evening of television. Record breaking heat in central Texas today, 103 degrees in Austin. Hopefully we will have some relief in about ten days, I am counting those days! I have an 11 o'clock meeting tomorrow in Austin, and then lunch with Holly and Eileen. Overall, I remain, a really, REALLY lucky man. I'm not sure how I worked everything out to be as lucky as I am! Oh yeah, and apparently it is becoming frog season at the Curious House. I think they are coming around the house more due to the lack of rain. Needless to say, they are interesting, and the girls are fascinated by them.

Volume 18 - Day 257/108, 2026 - Monday

I did a nice solo walk this morning, and I will walk solo again tomorrow morning. Whenever I pass by this tree, I think of Jody. This was going to be the 'Jody Tree,' but the developers kept putting me off about it, but things worked out for the best, anyway. I was going to buy the house to the right of the tree, and the lot the tree was on, but apparently it was not meant to be. I always liked the Curious House better, so it all worked out. SO... other than the walk this morning, I did very little of anything today. Tomorrow, I will walk and then gather for the ROMEO Breakfast, and then stop at Galaxy Bakery for scones and cannoli. Wednesday, I will go in to Austin for a meeting, and then lunch with Eileen and Holly. A week from today, the weather forecast says the high temperature will be 88 degrees. Bring it on!

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!