Volume 18 - Day 94/271, 2026 - Saturday

One of my favorite things about the Curious House are the windows in my bedroom. I spend a lot of time back there with the girls in the big chair, watching television. I open the blinds all the way up when I get out of bed in the morning, and lower them about two-thirds of the way about 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The windows are west-facing, so there is a lot of sun in the afternoon, which is why I bring the blinds down in the afternoon. I planned to NOT go to estate sales today, and then the rain caused me to coward out and not go to Holly's for Migas and Mimosas. We only got a little over a half-inch of rain, but it rained pretty hard for a while, and I understand it rained much heavier south of Georgetown. So...basically, I did nothing all day but watch tv. I went out a little while ago and did the best I could raking and sweeping and blowing the oak tassels (or catkins) off the front patio and driveway. They have dyed the concrete in many places, but I expect the summer will bleach the concrete back to white during the heat of the summer. The good news is, the sprinklers are off for the near-term, and the bad news is there is not more rain expected in the near term (or the long-tern as far as that goes).

Volume 18 - Day 93/272, 2026 - Friday

No more rain since my entry yesterday, but with any luck, there will be more over the weekend. My phone says we will have some light showers pretty soon, but it doesn't look like anything will fall from the sky any time soon. I took another virtual class today, and it was an elective. There are still two required classes I need to take, and I will hopefully be able to find them offered virtually in the near future. After the class, I went down for a nap with the girls, and Oliver came over for a few minutes. He is home for the Easter weekend, and yesterday when he arrived, it was the first time he had been home since Val and Paulina moved in. After a while Paulina, Oliver and I went in to Georgetown, we intended to go to the Georgetown Welcome Center to get Texas (or Georgetown) magnets to take with us next week. I am not sure if they will be open tomorrow, but they closed at 3PM today. After that, it was salad and pizza for dinner, and it was really good. We are all glad that we discovered the place on Leander Road. I am planning to go visit Holly, Gavin and Mace tomorrow for their spring time open house, hopefully with no rain. We shall see... Georgetown is officially recognized as the "Red Poppy Capital of Texas," designated that by the Texas Legislature in 1990. The recent rain was pretty heavy at times, and kind of beat these poppies down, but they are still pretty, especially en masse!

Volume 18 - Day 92/273, 2026 - Thursday

There was no walk this morning, because it was raining. This is not a usual comment about walking, so it is not straying from my vow yesterday to quit talking about walking. Since this time yesterday, we have received 2.28" of rain, and honestly, that amount was quite unexpected. Thankfully, the rain, pretty strong at times, cleaned the pollen off the solar panels for which I am very appreciative. The sun is out right now, and we will not be expecting any more rain until Saturday, which will be nice if that really happens. Whatever happens, I will try my best to turn off the sprinkler before it is scheduled to run on Saturday. While it was raining this morning, Gina came and picked me up and we went to Trader Joe's. You know, Trader Joe's, the place that I am really not cool enough to visit. I finished shopping quicker than Gina, so I went and sat in the car. While I was checking out, there was quite a commotion in the parking lot. Apparently someone was backing out of a parking place and hit a pedestrian (female). There was more commotion when several emergency vehicles arrived 'on the scene'. By the time we headed home, the rain had ended, and the rest of the day was dry and comfortable, I think the temperature only got up to the low 80s. I am not sure what is going on, but Callie is not feeling well...she might have pulled a muscle or something, she is not jumping up on the chair or the bed, but she is eating just fine. I will watch her overnight and maybe take her to the vet tomorrow, after my virtual class.

Volume 18 - Day 91/274, 2026 - Wednesday

The score is now 3-0, I have been in Austin for three days in a row now, but I will not be driving in tomorrow, in fact, I have nothing t all on my calendar for the next two days. Actually, that's a lie; I am taking a virtual class on Friday, but at least I don't need to go anywhere to take the class, and I don't have to wear pants. Yes, there was a nice walk this morning, I think I might quit remarking about that, and as of tomorrow I will only be reporting if I DO NOT take a walk, or if something extraordinary happens on the walk. You're welcome! Let's all work toward keeping Austin weird; on the way in to Austin this morning, I passed this truck, and was a little bit startled until I figured out it was a dummy in the back seat. Not sure if there was a dummy in the front seat or not, but I did manage to get a few photos during the next several miles. Interesting! I did make it to two meetings, and I was on time for both of them. This afternoon, I had an appointment to get 'cracked,' and I am on a monthly rotation for 'cracking.' If everything works out overnight, we MIGHT get a bit of rain, and I hope this forecast is not an April Fool's joke. I am reading a new book (for the last couple days), called The Secret Lives of Murderers Wives', by Elizabeth Arnott. It is very interesting, and I am going through it pretty quickly. It is about women who were married to serial killers, what they had/have in common and similar characteristics the men they were married to shared. Fiction (I think), but interesting. 

Volume 18 - Day 90/275, 2026 - Tuesday

Yes, of course I had a walk this morning with Paul and Richard. Then we had our ROMEO breakfast, and Bob joined us for the first time. We might have overwhelmed him, but we are hoping he will become one of the regulars. Not only do we solve the problems of the world, but we also eavesdrop on conversations and criticize diners at other tables. Okay, that is me, really, sharing my thoughts with the servers helping the diners at other tables. After breakfast, I got back to the Curious House, and did some more work on my taxes, and I am very happy with my results so far. I am pretty sure I will be ready for my appointment with the CPA a week from today. Late this morning, I drove to Dripping Springs to visit with my friend Betty who is on a six month RV trip across the country, going here and there. She lives in Maumelle, Arkansas, and I think going cross-country at your own pace is probably one of the coolest things you can do. Unless, of course, you do it on a train, but then you could not have lunch with your friends along the way. Tomorrow will be another busy (sort of) day, and the third day in a row that I will go in to Austin. Two meetings in Austin and a chiropractor appointment in Georgetown. 

Volume 18 - Day 89/276, 2026 - Monday

This is pitiful; I had lunch with Michael and Lynda this morning, and book club met at the Curious House this evening, and I did not take a single picture of either event. I think I am losing my touch. Richard and Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and after that, I went down for a little nap while I watched the morning news shows. I went in to Austin for lunch with Micheal and Lynda, and got lost in the process. Siri wanted me to go to one restaurant location but lunch was at another location. I made it on time though, and spent some time catching up. On the way home, I needed to stop at the bank and then HEB. I got gas in the little white car, and snacks for book club. I will be eating the snacks for at least a couple days, not that there is anything wrong with that. During book club, the girls went over and spent the evening with Val and Paulina, and Paulina even let them get up on her new couch! We are all back at the Curious House now, and pretty soon it will be popcorn and ice cream. No ice cream for the girls! Tomorrow will be the ROMEO breakfast and I think another friend of ours, Bob, is going to join us. After that, I am going to have lunch with my friend Betty, and I am really looking forward to that. I am also working on my income tax, and I have an appointment with the CPA next Tuesday. I will have enough stuff done that he can estimate my tax liability and file an extension. Whatever!

Volume 18 - Day 88/277, 2026 - Sunday

I stayed pretty busy today, starting with a good walk with Richard and Pau. I watched part of Sunday Morning, but lost interest and started cleaning (straightening out) the garage. I almost filled the recycling container with paper bags that I have been saving for too many years. I am not saving them anymore. After that, I went to one of the big box pet stores (not sure which one) and got bird seed and some dog food. I am stocking up on dog food because I will be out of town for a couple weeks in April. After that, Val and I went to an estate sale that I was at yesterday, but the main thing I went back for was already sold, that's just the way things go. I thought it was too expensive yesterday, it would have been better at 50% off, but it was a goner. I watered plants, and then some other neighbors (Albert, Amber and their son Evan) came down, Evan is going to help watch the girls and water plants while I am gone. After that, I went to Costco with Linda and Jimmie, and now I am ready to have some ice cream and pile up for the night. I think the girls are pretty ready to chill out as well.These geraniums are at least three years old, and I have two potts of them, and they seem to be very happy, which makes me smile. I also put some potting soil in the pot with the big ficus, and I will give it a little fertilizer later this week.