Volume 18 - Day 163/202, 2026 - Friday

Well, hell. I did four loads of clothes today, and at (kind of) the same time, I was also taking a class. Whenever we had a break, I was doing something in the laundry room. For the second time, I have had issues washing the quilt/spread/blanket thing that is on my bed. Today, I washed that with nothing but two pillow cases, and I eventually had to stop the washer, try to distribute the girth of the spread, and put it back on just the spin cycle. I finally got it as 'spun' as I could, and ended up putting it in the dryer, still loaded with water. Apparently, the reason I do not frequently do laundry is, that I am just not that good at it. I swear I have washed that quilt/spread/blanket thing before and did not have that problem, but, whatever. I am good for about another month, so if you smell something, it is likely me. After the class, I made a trip to the Post Office, then back to the Curious House, and then a quick trip to HEB. I am going out of town on Sunday, and I am in the process of marking things off my packing list, and throwing things in the vicinity of my carry-on and my back pack. I am getting better at not packing a lot of stuff, and I am kind of happy about that. We shall see how it all works out.

Volume 18 - Day 162/203, 2026 - Thursday

I have never seen a traffic jam caused by porta-potties. Apparently there were too many potties on this trailer, and three or four of them flew off the trailer onto the expressway. Okay, well, I am not sure that happened at all, but now that I have your attention... I did my four hour class today, and I have another one tomorrow. After tomorrow, I will have all the REQUIRED education to renew my real estate license, plus several that I just took because I had nothing better to do. After the class, I took the Buzz to the VW dealer in Georgetown for a damage estimate. Less that I expected, just about $2,300. Now I am having a contentious time with the insurance company. Not my insurance company, the insurance company of the man that ran into the Buzz last Saturday. I won't mention any names, but the company name rhymes with State Farm. I am not a fan. Whatever. After the class tomorrow, I may go to HEB for just a few things, and I need to do laundry and a couple other things around the house before I head out of town on Sunday. And, I expect there will be a couple other things I will need to do, like seeing if I can fit into any of my conference clothes. 

Volume 18 - Day 161/204, 2026 - Wednesday

After our walk this morning, I got ready to drive in to Austin for a ten o'clock meeting. Traffic was typical, I encountered an invisible wreck, and it took about 30 minutes to go four miles on MoPac. It must have been an invisible wreck, because when traffic started moving, there was nothing I could see that caused the slowdown. I got to my meeting, and I was only four minutes late. I always leave early because you never know what will happen along the way. I ran a few errands on the way home, and one very fun thing I did was to take a big jar of coins to the bank to cash them in. I have been putting coins in the jar for a LONG time, and some of the things I found in the jar were pretty interesting; three or four foreign coins, fourteen dollars worth of two-dollar bills, and a note that Jody had written. Jody's note said 53 nickels, 2.65. 107 dimes, 10.70. 75 quarters, 18.75, and 315 pennies, 3.15. To say the least, I was really surprised to find that note. Tomorrow I will call the Volkswagen dealer and ask them what time to body shop is open, so I can go get an estimate for the Buzz repairs. I am taking a four hour virtual class tomorrow and Friday, so maybe I can get the Buzz to the repair place after 2PM. Probably.

Volume 18 - Day 160/205, 2026 - Tuesday

Today was a busy day for a Tuesday. Besides our early morning walk, I had two zoom meetings, an in person meeting and a couple errands to get done. The two zoom meetings were nicely spaced so there was an hour between the first one and the second one. I did get a couple errands completed before my three o'clock appointment, so that meant it was nap time. A couple times! Dick and Marge are heading back to Chicago (Buffalo Grove) for the summer, so we had a Bon Voyage dinner for them tonight. There were 23 of the neighbors attending, and it was great. The server in the restaurant was a little bit stretched, but otherwise, we had a great time talking and having a great time. I am pretty sure we are all happy to have such a great group of friends, and it shows every day!

Volume 18 - Day 159/206, 2026 - Monday

I did a couple of errands this morning before I went to pick up Marian, and we drove in to Austin for our platelet donation. Of course, it goes without saying that we stopped at Upper Crust Bakery on the way, just to pick up a few things to sustain us for the week coming. While we were standing in line, my friend Teresa came over, and there were hugs all around. Marian does not know much about that past life, but now she has a few bits of information. Teresa was my first broker when I got my real estate license, back in 1995. There has been a lot of water running under that bridge! Teresa was there with Omar, who I did not recognize at first. Omar and I are both on a committee at the Austin Board, so that was interesting to see him this morning. We made it to the blood bank, and we were in and out with no big issues, nothing exciting happening! There is a lot to be thankful for if there are 'no big issues' while we are donating platelets! While blood and platelets were flowing out of my arm, I was listening to the book we are reading this month for book club, Vera Wongs Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man). It is certainly an easy read (listen), and I don't need to think too much about it while I am listening! I got home and went down for a nap, which is also a good thing, and now I am done for the day. I do need to go and check the mail, but that will be it for me.

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.