Volume 18 - Day 68/297, 2026 - Monday

Today has been a very quiet day...last night, after the Lady Gaga concert, I got to sleep at about 1:30 (actually this morning) and got up at about 5:30. Richard and I had a nice walk, and then I had a cardiologist appointment at 9:30. All is good. I got home, and had a nice long nap, and then Mike and I went in to Georgetown for dinner. All-in-all, not a terribly busy day, but there will be plenty of stuff to do tomorrow. It will be another early day tomorrow; Mike leave early in the morning so I will take him to the airport, and Jimmie and Linda are also going to the airport, so it will be a full buzz! I almost forgot...for lunch, Mike and I went to Golden Chick and had the fried shrimp. Nothing much can be better than that!

Volume 18 - Day 67/298, 2026 - Sunday

It is after midnight (CDST), and I am up much later than usual. Richard and Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and then a bunch of us from the neighborhood met for brunch at Monument Cafe. Many of the staff were surprised to see me and Richard on a Sunday, not a Tuesday. After brunch, Mike and I came back to the Curious House and mostly napped the afternoon away. At about five o'clock, we headed in to Round Rock to meet up with Val and Paulina, and we went in to Austin for a Lady Gaga Concert. It was a really good concert, but really, the one in Miami was better, but the seats in Austin were actually the ones that I bought, as opposed to the crappy seats we had in Miami. It's late, I am headed for another nap.

Volume 18 - Day 66/299, 2026 - Saturday

I did half a walk this morning, and my knee is still bothering me, but it seems to be better than it was. Honestly, the only time I pay attention is when I am walking or climbing (or descending) steps. Previously, it would wake me up at night hurting, but it hasn't done that lately. Twig said he had Rooster Comb injected in his knee a while back and that was very helpful. I looked it up, I may check with my doctor about that. We didn't do estate sales today, but we filled up the day with no problems. Val came over and got more boxes, and then this evening, we (Mike and I), met Paulina, Val and Oliver for dinner. On the way home, the rain arrived, and it was raining so hard that I could not see the lane markers or the curbs, and I ran up on a curb. No damage, but then the rain eased up and we got home. There was some really interesting lightning displays, and some thunder, but not as much thunder as you would have expected with all the lightning. I checked the gauge in the back yard, 0.70" of rain, and that is great, we will take all the rain we can get. Hopefully it will rain overnight, I like hearing rain while I am sleeping. Neighbors are having brunch tomorrow at 11:30, and that will be fun, then we have big plans for the evening. Stay tuned!

Volume 18 - Day 65/300, 2026 - Friday

I did a half-walk again this morning, mainly because of my knee. I just realized as I was sitting here, thinking of this journal entry, that my knee has not bothered me too much later in the day. I had a doctors appointment at 1:30 this afternoon. On the way, I stopped at Galaxy Bakery to get some scones, because Mike is here from Del Ray for a couple days. I got to the doctors appointment a little bit after noon, and they did not care that I was that early, but they really get cranky if you are late. I always think, if I get there early, they may take me in early. They didn't, but it was not a terrible wait. I actually fell asleep a couple times in the lobby. After the appointment, I had some blood drawn, and I got one of the results back, so far. Within acceptable norms. BRAVO! After the appointment, I headed in to Austin to pick Mike up at the airport. On the way, I finished listening to my latest book, Logical Family by Armistead Maupin. I have read (really read) most of his books, and this one was a good read too. It is more or less his biography to date, and it was really interesting. After Mike and I got back to the Curious House, we went with Linda and Jimmie to Taylor for some catfish. I was very hungry, but I really did eat too much, so I am stuffed right now. While in Taylor, we saw a young man unfurl his prayer blanket, make sure he was facing east, and then he did a series of prayers. I know very little about my own religion, and I know absolutely nothing about eastern religions, but I respect this young man for his determination to do what he needs to do.  

Volume 18 - Day 64/301, 2026 - Thursday

The girls had an appointment at the beautiful parlor this morning at 9 o'clock, so I got them there, and on the way home, I stopped at HEB. I got gas in the little white car, and then parked and went inside to get a few groceries. I got in the '15 Items or Less' line, and the woman (not lady) behind me (I'll call her Karen) decided that I had 16 items in my basket, and I should not be in that line, or that I should, at the very least, let her go in front of me. I took a quart of milk out of my basket and put it in her basket, which then gave her 16 items, and that was not an adequate solution to the challenge, in her opinion. I also had a gift card, which would not work, so I just paid for my groceries and left. The next problem was, I was parked in the first parking space outside the doors, so of course she had to continue the confrontation. The only thing that could have made this more fun, would have been if I did not take my basket back to the basket place, and driven off. But I did, and she didn't, and no matter what, I still feel good about the whole thing. As infrequently as I go to the grocery, I think I 'average' less than 15 items per visit, so it all balances out. The Mountain Laurels are blooming in central Texas, and those plants are one of my first memories having moved to Austin back in 1985. They smell like grape bubble gum, and it is something to enjoy every spring.

Volume 18 - Day 63/302, 2026 - Wednesday

Well, the end of another day...I did a partial walk this morning with Paul and Richard, and then got ready to head in to a meeting in Austin. I had one errand to run on the way and I still made it to my 10 o'clock meeting with a few minutes to spare. After the meeting, I made it home in time for my Noon Zoom call. The call was scheduled for an hour-and-a-half, but it was over in less than 30 minutes. That is the kind of Zoom call I really like. After that call, I went to my 2:30 appointment in Georgetown, and got home and tried to take a nap. I maybe napped for ten minutes, but that was okay. Tonight was book club night, and I left early...BEFORE the photo was taken, but this photo is of the book club, minus me. Again today, I did not make it to the grocery, but I will have to go tomorrow, because I am almost out of milk. First a walk, then the girls are going to the beautiful parlor, then a few other chores, and one of them will have to be the grocery! Life is good!

Volume 18 - Day 62/303, 2026 - Tuesday

Okay...I got home from my most recent time zone travels on Sunday evening. Yesterday and today, Richard and Paul and I took abbreviated walks...I believe my walks were more abbreviated than Richard's or Paul's, and I blame that on my knee. It has been bothering me a little more than normal (if knee pain can indeed be normal), and the most recent cortisone shot (January 20th) has lost its' oomph. I also got a statement from my health care provider (no names but the initials are BS&W). The cortisone shot I got on January 20th was $1,869 and change, and there were a LOT of errors on that statement. My insurance protested, and they ended up paying $4.77, which left me with a charge of $288. I still think $288 is way too much for nothing but a cortisone shot. Dr. Google agrees with me! It is not a battle I am going to win. Ugh. After our walk this morning, I met Rick, Richard and Paul for our ROMEO breakfast, which is always fun. When I got home, I did some stuff around the house, and I filled up my waste bucket with stuff I trimmed off the various grasses. I still need to trim back three or four of the grasses, but I am out of room right now to dispose of it. Tomorrow, I have a meeting in Austin, then a Zoom meeting, a chiropractor appointment and tomorrow night is book club. It's gonna be a busy day. Last week at the meeting in Las Vegas, Sean Spicer gave me a hat with the 'Seal of the President of the United States' on it, and the next day I got the opportunity to meet Pete Buttigieg. I was very happy to meet Pete, and he signed the hat for me. That was one of the high points of the meeting for me, and I will not document the many faux pas I committed in the short two or three minutes I was with Pete. Ugh!