2012 - Day 031/335 - Tuesday...

This is not as easy as it looks from the cheap seats. Technical difficulties abound and cannot be corrected. Heaven help us to finish this entry.

Late night, wine, sleeping powders and logical moves are not computing correctly. We are searching desperately for a photo for today's entry. I guess this will do.

What is your opinion?

Deeds, Actions, Changes, 31 Cats of some sort, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 030/336 - Monday...

It was actually a great day of accomplishments in the office. It is amazing what you can get done when a meeting is cancelled. It is truly an event called 'I found time', and that is always a nice thing.

It has been a while since the girls had any attention paid to them on the blog, so I just thought I would give them their 5 minutes of fame. And, since three of them were not really ready to go to bed, they decided to poke around for a while. This is a photo of little Vera, and she has made a remarkable recovery after we facilitated the rooster becoming soup. If you have not been following the journal, it is a long story, BUT, Mini-Vera is doing much better thank you very much.

Supposed to (maybe) sprinkle rain tonight, so we are looking forward to that. Fingers crossed. There is not supposed to be any thunder, so we will not put the ThunderShirt on the dog-boy. He is happy about that and he doesn't even know it.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MINI-VERA, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 029/337 - Sunday...

Never give them what they are expecting. Never be predictable. Always make them think they might just get something different. Expect the unexpected. AND SO, that is why I am presenting you with this close up photo of mule snot. I was not even aware that the old boy was having an issue with post nasal drip, and that is just one of the interesting things that happens when you take a lot of photos. You never know exactly what you get until you take time to look. In this case, mule snot.

It was a nice day today, and I did even less today than I did yesterday. I may actually be winding down to my working-vacay, who knows. I know this week ahead is not too terribly packed with excitement, so I will try my best to coast through.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MULE SNOT, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 028/338 - Saturday...

I slept most of the day, well, that is a lie. I stayed in bed until after 7 o'clock, and then took a nice nap in the afternoon.

I got up this morning, and about the only thing I did around the house was to feed the cattle. They were ready to be fed, and it did not take them long to figure out what was going on. They are trained, kind of like Pavlov's Cows would have been if he could have housebroken them. But he couldn't, so he didn't, and ended up experimenting with dogs instead. Kind of bland if you ask me.

Jody and I went into Austin and did a little bit of shopping, and Jody was the only one that bought anything. I think I need to make an appointment at the doctors office, it is not like me to go into a retail establishment and walk out with nothing to show for it. I did however, spring for the Blizzards at Dairy Queen.

Tomorrow is another day.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, HUNGRY COWS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 027/339 - Friday...

This is my happy dance day, and I am doing the happy dance. Too bad you are not here.

Today was a day of meetings, and I am glad to have been there, and I am glad that the day is finished. I saw some good friends, some better friends and some new friends. All-in-all, a wonderful day. And now I am ready for the weekend.

Tomorrow will be a busy day with chores around the house. Getting ready to be out-of-town soon, for a working vacay. Fun, fun, fun.

Here is an interesting note: In May of 2009, we installed two wind turbines at the house, and there was always a nagging suspicion that one of them was just not right. Well, about a week ago, the suspect turbine quit, so I contacted the company that installed them, and was not expecting much from them, and had really not been at all satisfied with them at the time of installation, but they were the only choice of vendors. HOWEVER, I searched the web and found a local source and they came out and worked on the turbine today, and there were a myriad of issues with the poor performing turbine. Since we have two turbines, we consider them to be the 'far' turbine and the other is the 'near' turbine.

The 'far' turbine has always performed well, the 'near' turbine has always been an underachiever. I was ALWAYS convinced that it was not properly balanced. Today, the new company I found (and is local) came out and serviced the turbine under warranty, and found there were several issues with the turbine, and it was in fact not properly balanced and level. Makes a HELL of a lot of difference. Since the installation, the 'far' turbine has produced 8,800 KW of electricity, and the 'near' turbine has produced 7,600 KW of electricity.

So, they are both out there happily whirling away, and I expect we will notice a big difference. I am a happy boy!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, TURBINES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 026/340 - Thursday...

So, I think (if I had any choice in the matter) that when this whole thing is over, I would like to come back as one of our dogs. A dogs life is truly remarkable in our household, especially if said dog (or cat) is a foundling. I'm just saying...

Today was mostly spent in the office, so that was nice. Tomorrow will be spent mostly out of the office.

Meals-On-Wheels was good, it has been several weeks since I was able to deliver, and I thank Chris for taking charge and making sure everyone gets their meals when I can't do it, which seems to be increasing in frequency.

I made it home a little bit before dark tonight, and that was good. I got a fire going in the stove, so we won't suffer to much this evening. The girls were all tucked on their roost when I went out to put them up, so that was convenient.

I am looking forward to the weekend, and next week will be a QUICK week I expect, then the week after that I will be cruising for a week. That will be fun, too!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, DOGS LIKE ME, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 025/341 - Wednesday...

The weather alert radio sounded three times overnight. THREE! That is not funny. High winds, flash flood warnings, and a dog that is afraid of his own shadow. Oh, and I should not forget the part about my allergies that are keeping me awake while I cough myself into a stupor. On the positive side, we did put the ThunderShirt on the dog, and his 'loud noise anxiety' seemed to be somewhat eased. He was not really keen on wearing the thing (unlike Chad's dog that LIKES to play dress-up) but he did not gnaw at it until it was in shreds either. Overall, Jody thinks the ThunderShirt is an overwhelming success.

I had a 9 o'clock meeting at the Board, and I knew traffic would be bad (the streets were wet after all), so I left the house extra early and it took me about an hour and forty-five minutes to get to the Board. That is the whole point about leaving early, you get there AT LEAST (hopefully) on time. I do not like to get someplace and have to immediately sit down and get started. I like to ease into it. It seems there was a roll-over accident in the Interstate, and I was parked (quite literally) on the road for about thirty minutes. Not fun. BUT the book I am listening to is/was really interesting, so that made it somewhat bearable.

After the meeting, I went to a meeting. And then after that meeting, I went to the office and plowed through some power-real-estate, and still made it home before dark. I stopped at Wendy's on the way home and got some chili, so that made for a really warm dinner. YUM!

I went to put the girls to bed, and one of them was missing, so the search was on. AND there was really not that much of a search; one of the Vera's was walking up the path to the coop and what she really wanted was for me to pick her up and carry her to bed. SO, it was actually the path of least resistance for me, so we were both happy.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MISSING GIRLS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 024/342 - Tuesday...

Okay this allergy crap is causing me to lose sleep, and that is not a good thing. When I lose sleep, I get cranky. WHAT DO YOU MEAN I MUST NEVER SLEEP? I don't know what you are talking about. What I do know is that I coughed every few minutes last night from about 2 AM until about 3 AM. Miserable. I might as well be an insomniac. And just when I start to get some restful sleep, it is time to get up.

Kind of rainy in Austin today, it sprinkled on me a little bit on the way to work, and then about mid-day we had a nice downpour including some small hail. Tis photo was taken on the ride home, about 3:45 this afternoon.

Last night we did a test run of the 'ThunderShirt' we got for the dog, anticipating thunder tonight, and we found out the thing was way too big. So, after I spent 30 minutes de-hairing it (really we had it on him for less than two minutes) I took it back and exchanged it for a smaller size. He (the dog-boy) is wearing it and he is not too sure about it. It is not nearly as aggravating to him as that collar thing he had to wear when he was 'tutored' (wink-wink), but he is really not all that comfortable with it on. If it thunders tonight and he does not totally freak out, it will be worth his aggravation in our opinions.

So far we have had about a third of an inch of rain. Keeping our fingers crossed for more.

Board meeting tomorrow, and not sure what the rest of the week has in store. Can't really remember.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, THUNDERSHIRT, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 023/343 - Monday...

What a nice day! Except for the traffic part, and the sitting on the Interstate part, and the part where I had to do some things that I did not really want to do, and the parts where I was hungry, and the parts that I did not really care for. BUT, overall, it was a really nice day, and I got lots of work done.

Tomorrow will be a really nice day as well.

I left the office kind of early this afternoon (that part did not suck) and I seem to get a lot of work done (telephone calls, texting, etc.) in the car. In fact, the car is really one of my most productive places. Really no distractions.

But, I digress...

Even though I left the office early, I did not make it home until about 4:30, but that was great! It was still daylight, so that made it easy to get a few things done around the house.

In anticipation of the rains over the next several days, I got the stove cleaned out and ready for the next fire. Fires are always good on rainy chilly nights. Very nice.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, EARLY LEAVING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 022/344 - Sunday...

Well, I started out as a slug this morning, and did not get out of the bed until after 7 o'clock. I would have stayed longer but I could not breath and I was coughing from the allergies, so I got up.

Miguel came by this morning to hep out with chores around the house. There is ALWAYS plenty of stuff to be done around here, and if there is nothing to do, just walk outside and I can find stuff to do. One thing leads to another and it just goes on and on. This is a picture of some kind of lizard that roams around here. When the temperatures are lower, their metabolism slows down and they cannot escape as quickly. He is a pretty common kind of Texas lizard, but it was interesting to hold onto him and get a really good look at him. I don't think they do anything but good, so he was released and is hopefully munching away on bad bugs.

Got the cattle fed, cleaned up around the place, got lots of limbs carted off to one of the pastures. I am really going to have to burn all the tree limbs back there one of these days. When we first moved here, I had a bunch of brush 'chipped' up and used around as mulch. That is really just not a practical approach to tree limbs and brush on 44 acres. Air pollution it is!

My week should be relatively calm, and I am looking forward to that.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, LIZARDS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 021/345 - Saturday...

It was a pretty nice day of doing as little as possible. Well, not really...

I tried to sleep in, but the allergy crap is causing challenges to the sleep thingy, so I was up at about 5 o'clock. Then the dog was not happy, so he got up, and then Jody got up, so we were all up by about 5:30. That does not ever happen on a 'school day', but naturally when everyone can sleep in, we are all awake.

I headed to the Board of REALTORS offices about 7:30 to attend a TREPAC education class that was instructed by my friend and colleague Chad, and it was very well received. It was a world record setter for attendance at a Saturday class, with 17 attendees and one no-show. BUT, the no-show already paid, so there were 18 investments in TREPAC, and that was great. This is a photo of most of the class participants. I wanted to take the photo in the women's restroom (why not) but there was a little bit of push-back on that idea, so we ended up taking the photo in the lobby. A great class, and I learned a lot, and I think all the folks that were there did as well!

After I got home, Jody and I headed off to Georgetown and stopped at the DQ (naturally) and then I was on a mission to get my hair cut. I have not really become comfortable with a new hair cutter yet, one that is good and a location that is convenient. SO, I tried a new place, and she did an okay job, but I think she got the crown a little too short and was really too much of a talker. I will make my final decision about her and the place in a couple days, but I am leaning towards continuing the search. I understand it is only hair and (worst case) it will grow back, but that is just one of my many little quirks.

Whatever...

When we got home, I went down for a nap that lasted longer than I expected. On the weekends I become afflicted with sleep paralysis, the syndrome that, when sleeping, you cannot move or rise from the big blue chair in the den. Honestly... It is not nothing like the other malady I have been diagnosed with; IED, or Impulsive Explosive Disorder. That one manifests itself (generally speaking) in the mornings as I am driving (or not) down the Interstate to the office. It is aggravated by AM talk radio also. It's awful, and can only be relieved by texting and steering with your knees. I SWEAR!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, TREPAC CLASSES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 020/346 - Friday...

If I felt better, I would actually consider doing my Friday Dance, but I don't so I won't. It has, however, been an excellent day for complaining and whining.

As is typically the case, I did not rest very well last night, even though the facility at Lost Pines is very nice and very comfortable, I just generally take a few days to adjust to surroundings other than my own. So, I did not sleep well, I am plagued with incredible allergy issues this year, I have a sore throat and a hacking (and continuous) cough.

The second day of the Leadership Training was to include a team-building exercise, and when I got ready to go this morning, I found there was a 'heavy-dew' and I just figured the lesser of two evils was to err on the side of discretion, and pass on the team-building. I will close my eyes and fall backwards depending on my team members to catch me at another time. However, true to my philosophy of 'Feed a Cold, Feed a Fever', I did enjoy a hearty breakfast of bacon before I headed back to Austin and a day of small accomplishments.

Had it not been for a previously arranged 3 o'clock appointment, I would have just gone home and forgotten about the day altogether. But, I stayed the course, and got lots of things done, and was on the road home by 3:30.

I am attending (not instructing) a TREPAC sponsored MCE class at the Board of REALTORS tomorrow, so I am looking forward to that, and then back home. I really need to get my hair cut. Matt, it looks like you got a good haircut recently, any recommendations? I still have not recovered from my hair cutter moving on without letting me know where she was headed. Crap-Ola!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BLACK & WHITE COOKIES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 019/347 - Thursday...

A nice day in Bastrop, Texas. I participated in the first day of the 2012 Texas REALTORS Leadership Program for the Austin Board of REALTORS. Basically the first couple days are geared towards determining what the attendees want to achieve from the training, along with DISC Assessments, and forums with previous Board Chairs. Tomorrow will be a day of team-building and that is always fun.

I am a 2009 graduate of the program, and it was a really valuable experience for me, and it is rewarding to see this class of participants. Always interesting to get to know our colleagues better.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, TRAINING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 018/348 - Wednesday...

I never cease to be amazed about the wonderful life I live. I (for the most part) enjoy my days and feel challenged and rewarded. I enjoy my private time, and consider myself to be among (if not THE) the luckiest people in the world. I am honestly a happy man.

A good day today, did some power real estate this morning, and achieved a relatively clean desk. I headed off to some appointments at about 11 o'clock, and was headed home around 5:15. I almost made it home before dark, if you count heavy dusk to be before dark.

Tomorrow will be a good day; a day of Leadership Training with the Austin Board of REALTORS at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop. There is an excellent group of future leaders participating in this years program, and I will be there to help them kick-off the program. It will be fun and exciting.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, EIGHTEEN, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 017/349 - Tuesday...

Today was the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon. Or, as I have been liking to say all day long, the Nooner Loo Year. You try saying Lunar New Year fast five times and see how it comes out. The ABoR TREPAC and the Asian Real Estate Professionals put on a very nice function, showing many sides of the cultural diversity in dance, music, martial arts and calligraphy, You should have been there.

Between one meeting, a little office work and then helping a little bit with the set up and take down at the function, that pretty much encompasses my entire day. Tomorrow should be better.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NOONERS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 016/350 - Monday...

My day was better than Arienne's started out, but worse than some peoples. HOWEVER, I am totally aware that my day was much better than (probably) half the population of the planet. So, I will take that, thank you very much.

I have said it before and I will say it again; lemon cookies and Merlot are not the best mix. Sooner or later I will believe myself.

The pigs have moved into the farm house. If you know what book that is a reference to, give me a holler. HINT: You most likely were supposed to have read it in High School. Since I faked my way through most of my High School career, I have started reading all the books I was supposed to have read 45 years ago. I like them now, but I can understand that I would have thought it was punishment back then.

Tomorrow is the Lunar New Year, and I will be celebrating along with the rest of the world. Oh, you forgot? Well get with it!

I think the allergies and my fever are affecting (effecting) my thought process, so I will terminate this entry.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, PIGS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 015/351 - Sunday...

Well, I did not have a day of little accomplishment, but I was able to get everything on my 'To-Done' list completed, and more. There was not an overwhelming amount of stuff on my list, but it is all done. Okay, everything that I am competent enough to do, and to do myself.

I did stay in bed until 7 o'clock this morning, even though I did shoot out of bed before six to throw a wash rag under the cat that we getting ready to hurl. She has become quite adept in giving us an 'early warning' that there is a furr-ball or some other semi-digested mass about to be evicted from her innards. We keep wash rags next to the bed, and we have become pretty good at having the projectile deposited on the rag. After the ritual this morning, Jody got up, I went back to bed and stayed there for about an hour.

I unloaded the cattle feed that we picked up in Taylor yesterday, removed the picket fencing from around the front flower beds, gathered up a couple dozen nursery pots and empty hanging baskets and took them to the nursery in Georgetown for recycling. The picket fencing was an effort to keep the chickens out of the beds, but they have pretty much decimated those beds, so we are not sure what to put in them that will be chicken proof and small enough not to block our views toward the front of the property.

On the way to Georgetown, we stopped (as is our custom) at Berry Creek Park and fed the mules. They are a curious animal, and we enjoy feeding them. They are used to seeing Jody's truck, too, and we were in that with all the pots in the back. We had started out in my truck, but the pots were blowing out of the back of the truck, so we turned around and put everything in Jody's Highlander.

Our friends Blake and Steve made the morning news (NBC) and Steve's parents made the local news. I am glad they are both safe, and they will have this story to tell for a long time to come.

Another work week starts tomorrow, even though it is a Federal Holiday.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, MULES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 014/352 - Saturday...

Well, this has been a day of interesting occurrences, and so far, there are happy endings to the MOST interesting one.

To begin, I stayed in bed til about 6 o'clock this morning. Got up, read the paper, blew my nose for about a half-hour (perhaps in not that order), and made a pile of eggs for me and Jody. I got the cattle fed and moved to the other pasture. Once I got the gates open to the other pasture, they abandoned their feed in favor of the green grass of the pastures, so that was interesting. This is a photo of obvious (but unreported) pasture bullying on someones part. The only other time I have seen this done to one of the gates was back when we first got the cattle and were still down at the Red Rock farm. I decided to corral the cattle and vaccinate them. I thought it was a good idea, but Orchid decided she did not like the idea at all, and went OVER the gate to get away from me and the syringes, and this is what that gate ended up looking like. These are STRONG gates, and they are not easily bent like this. I have no idea what the issue was, and they are all seemingly doing well, but SOMETHING caused one of them to choose this route as an escape.

My friend Blake and his partner Steve were passengers on the Costa Concordia that ran aground off the Coast of Italy. They are both doing fine, and are safe in Rome, but they have pretty much NOTHING but their clothes. They will be on the Today Show tomorrow morning at 7AM Central Time. I will be watching. It certainly is a small world.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BULLYING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 013/353 - Friday...

And not only that, it is ALSO Friday the 13th. AND, I got finished with it relatively unscathed. Good job!

I tried to stay in bed for a little longer this morning, but my body0clock was having none of that. So, instead of fighting it, I got up and answered e-mails. I am almost embarrassed to be responding to clients and colleagues e-mails at 4 o'clock in the morning, but not so embarrassed that I won't do it.

A nice day in the office, and I was able to sit down at my desk and get some work accomplished. Next week is a relatively clear (definition: not yet over-scheduled), so I am looking forward to that. And in no time at all, I will be taking a week off. I am ready for it.

I did not mention that, yesterday when I got home, Jody relayed to me that, as he was sitting at the breakfast table having his lunch, he looked up and noticed a couple of the calves testing the cover on the pool so see if it would support them. AND, upon further investigation, noticed Mr. Speckles giving himself a head-massage with one of the privet hedges on the other side of the pool. All tolled, ALL of the cattle were loose, but Jody went and closed the front gate before any of them headed for Taylor. With a call to the neighbors, all peace was restored within hour after the initial discovery. It was all over but the poop.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, LOOSE LIVESTOCK, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 012/354 - Thursday...

I see the definite makings of a trend here, and I am in the middle of it. Yesterday I posted a photo of our new ABoR CEO (Matt) and today at another function, another colleague took a similar photo. This is a photo of Matt with Anita and Christie at the Women's Council of Realtors monthly business meeting. Yep, I can definitely see a trend here...

I had meetings from daylight to dark just about. A breakfast meeting, a luncheon meeting, a 2 o'clock, and a 3:30. Tomorrow will be a much calmer day. I hope I have not just jinxed that by saying that. Hopefully not.

A very cold night here on the edge of nowhere. It will be down in the 20's tonight, but I am not really sure if we are expecting another freeze Saturday morning or not. I know it is forecast for a least one day in the 70's in the seven day forecast.

Interesting.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, FREEZING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 011/355 - Wednesday...

A nice day today, a mix of office work and meetings.

This afternoon, the Board sponsored an affiliate Appreciation Function at Baby A's at the Arboretum, and it was really nice. I have to tell you, the new CEO (Matt) at the Austin Board is really a nice guy, and he is an all around good sport. This is a photo of him (in the middle) with Susan on the left and Ruby on the right. I wonder if he ever tires of being such a good sport. I have no idea what it is like to be tall, but maybe it is worth all the 'how's the weather up there' jokes. I wonder if there are any tall jokes he hasn't heard before?

Will be at the Austin Renaissance tomorrow around 7:30 for the first (in a series) of Economic Forecasts for the coming year. Then Women's Council Luncheon, then the office, then a 3:30 and then home.

I am living the life!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, TALL PEOPLE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 010/356 - Tuesday...

Lemon cookies and a generous glass of Merlot. Everything you can imagine and less!

Today was the second day of teaching, so that will finish that class. Both days were really a lot of fun, and good information was shared in both days of classes. It was really satisfying and rewarding, and I am ready for more.

I left before sun up this morning, BUT I made it home this afternoon before dark. That in itself is something of an accomplishment.

Chickens are not always that ready to have their pictures taken, especially after they are on the roost. The older girls are more open to having their pictures taken, but the new girls are still shy.

Tomorrow will be a morning meetings and an afternoon in the office. Pretty much the same drill on Thursday, and Friday is open at this minute. Life is good and I am the luckiest man in the world.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, SHY CHICKENS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day 009/357 - Monday...

And it did not really even feel like a Monday! It rained and thundered and ligntninged last night, about which the dog-boy is not a happy dog-person. He was up and down all night, and Jody was up and down all night with him, eventually going into Mikey's bedroom (one of the front bedrooms and one of the darkest bedrooms). He eventually turned the light on in that room, so the lightning was not so pronounced, and that seemed to calm the dog down a little bit. We bought him a 'Thunder-Shirt' which is supposed to calm downs down who have different anxieties (look it up on the net), but I think one of the catches is that you have to put it on the dog for it to work. We will try that the next time.

On the positive side, we have received almost three-quarters of an inch of rain since late last night. We will take it any way we can get it.

I taught classes all day at the Board today, and the classes were well received, and I enjoyed the day. I think the folks in the class enjoyed it as well. Tomorrow is another day of teaching, and then it will be back in the office for the rest of the week.

Three weeks before I head to Galveston and cruise for a week, and I am really looking forward to that. I actually really enjoy cruising, it is a blast.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, LIGHTNING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 008/358 - Sunday...

I tried my best to continue doing as little as possible today, and I have to admit, I was pretty good at it. Mission accomplished.

Jody was up before me this morning, and I stayed in bed til about seven o'clock. I FINALLY got up and let the chickens loose, and that was pretty much it until we left for Georgetown. We stopped at Dairy Queen and then went to Target with the intention of buying a new bed for the dog-boy. BUT, we could not find one that suited us, so we came home with nothing more than a warm feeling of hot fudge sundaes in our tummies.

I did prepare for two days worth of classes I will be teaching this week at the Board, so that is all completed. When the Real Estate Commission changes forms and updates policies, those changes need to be incorporated into classes, so that has been pretty much taken care of for the foreseeable future.

We had a pile of eggs for dinner tonight, and I have a nice fire going in the stove. It is supposed to rain tonight and for the next couple days, but so far nothing. I got the fire going in anticipation of cooler damp weather, but so far the only humidity is from me glistening from the heat. Whatever...

Deeds, Actions, Changes, PRECIPITATION, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 007/359 - Saturday...

I have done a whole lot of nothing much today. I woke up about five o'clock this morning, and tried valiantly to stay in bed. I did a pretty good job of it for about thirty minutes, but since I was not going back to sleep (even though I was feeling tired) I got up. The paper was not even here yet, they must have slept in. I putzed around for a little while, and the paper arrived and Jody was up by then. My big plans for sleeping in this morning were dashed. We will see what tomorrow brings. I did pile up in my big blue chair about 8 o'clock, and napped for about an hour. Odd...

I did get up and feed the cattle this morning, and I am glad that has been taken care of. It is supposed to rain late tomorrow and rain off and on for a couple days. I don't know which weather prognosticator to believe. One says we will get a half-inch over a couple days, one says we will get an inch-and-a-half over the same period. I wonder why there is such a difference? I expect they all subscribe to the same services.

Of course, since it was Saturday, we headed in to Georgetown and had a spoiler at the Dairy Queen. We then stopped at Papa John's and got a pizza for dinner tonight. Stuffed artichoke, chicken (probably not one of ours), spinach and bacon. Delicious.

When I got home from all that exhaustive work, I went back down for another nap, this one lasted a couple hours. Pretty soon it was time for the news, and our friend Michael from Del Ray Beach called to ask about the Party Pooping Dog (see previous days post). By the time that conversation was over, it was time to go and put the girls to bed, and this is a photo of the (almost) full moon just after the sun went down. A calm, quiet night at the edge of nowhere.

So this is the end of the first week with no rooster around, and the girls behaviors and attitudes are changing. They are interacting more together instead of in their own two distinct little groups (older girls versus younger girls). Tonight, for the first time EVER, they were all on the top roost and not in their own little groups. Ever since we co-mingled the flocks, there has always been one of the new girls that roosted on top of the nesting box, and every night I would pet her and talk to her. Tonight she is with the rest of the girls on the top roost. Interesting. And the abused Vera is growing her feathers back, too.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CO-MINGLING, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 006/360 - Friday...

Even though I am happy that it is Friday, it does not much feel like it is Friday, and there is no Happy Friday Dance going. It was a short week, but a really busy week.

The office transition is ALMOST complete. I did not go back to the store whose name cannot be spoken, but it is not because I am finished with them. It is because I choose not to go back in the immediate future, even though they sold me the WRONG curtain rod to install the last curtains in Carrie's office. BUT, Target came to the rescue early this afternoon, so I can postpone the trip to the store whose name cannot be spoken indefinitely.

So there!

A good and productive day I am happy to report.

We decided to dine at Catfish Parlour tonight, and it was, as usual, very tasty. What are the well dressed catfish wearing this season? Something casual according to the sign out front. Oh, and speaking of catfish, what do you call a dog that ate the confetti? A Party Pooper. There is a story there, I just don't feel like telling it right now. If you want to know, feel free to ask me.

It should be a nice calm weekend, and that will give me some time to laze around the house. I do need to do a little bit of prep work for two days of classes I will be teaching next week, but that should be a relatively easy task.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, FRIDAY, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2011 - Day 005/361 - Thursday...

Fourth trip to Ikea in six days. The bloom is definitely off that Lillie, but it has made for nice viewing of the evening sunsets as a reward.

Hopefully, there is nothing else I need from that purveyor on 'some assembly required' where the instructions have NO WORDS just little drawings that intimate 'if you have a problem, do not return the item to the store'. Whatever. I must admit, however, that (generally speaking) the staff is courteous (not helpful, but they don't help you in a courteous manner). You are basically cast out into a polished concrete maze (I have the place memorized now) and if you miss a directional arrow, you are screwed. I have been there enough though, that I know where many of the secret 'short-cuts' are, and I have figured out how to identify the aforementioned short-cuts on their little maps. One more word of advice; if you see something you like, you had damn sure write down the item number and the aisle and bin number where you can NOT receive any help (see above) loading it onto your little cart (that will not stay in one place) without developing a tear or strain that requires medical attention.

They do not help you because they do not want any witnesses to your injuries.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming...

Nice day overall and we were plenty busy moving desks and creating new work spaces and 'downsizing' our conference room. It will all be fine once the dust is again on the agents desks. Carrie took great pains in making sure everything was clean and sanitary. It will be very nice, and it will certainly be a better use of the space we need. Life is good.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, SHINY CONCRETE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 004/362 - Wednesday...

This was my reward for putting up with YET ANOTHER trip to IKEA. That makes three trips to IKEA within one five day period. There is the probability of yet one more excursion before the week is over, to return items that were purchased that did not work for the purpose. We shall see. I must say, however, that business must be good because two of the items we wanted to buy (not cheap stuff, either) were not in stock or temporarily oversold. I think the latter means they cannot make them as fast as they can sell them. Good for them, and I assume that means good for us as well.

I had a pretty busy day today; first was a meeting at the Texas Association of REALTORS, then I put together a new conference table at the office (from IKEA), then I had a Noon:30 appointment, then a 2 o'clock appointment, then we moved the old conference table from the office to storage. It took four of us to move the glass top down the steps and into my truck. Eight feet of thick glass top. Know anyone that needs a nice table? After all that, I headed home and stopped at IKEA to buy a couple desks (out of stock) so I had to 'rethink' everything, and bought two alternatives. If they don't work out, I will take them back and wait for the ones we originally chose.

You never know...

Tomorrow is devoted to moving office furniture around, Meals-On-Wheels, and then some office time after a 1 o'clock appointment. Friday has nothing booked yet. Hopefully that will change.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, OUT OF STOCK, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 003/363 - Tuesday...

First day back in the office for the New Year, and it was pretty darned busy. Lots of good things going on, lots of positive energy.

Traffic was not really terrible today, either way, but all that will change when school starts back again, particularly UT.

On the chicken front, I have no idea if the rooster is still roostering (I have my doubts), and the Vera chicken is still pretty nervous. She did leave the coop on her own today, so that is a good sign. Yesterday I had to evict her from the coop, and I have had to carry her to bed for the last several days. Tomorrow night I am going to TRY and wait her out. She may just like me carrying her to the coop, you never know. I hope she recovers...

Tomorrow I will attend a training session at the Texas Association of REALTORS, and then I have an appointment in the early afternoon. Then, there is talk of a happy hour, so I may hit that on the way home.

You never know.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NERVOUSNESS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 002/364 - Monday...

Tomorrow starts a whole new year of working, and there are no Holiday weekends (well, almost none) until the Fourth of July. EXCEPT, I will be taking a week off in February to cruise around a while. that will be fun. I hope I can wait that long...

Miguel came out to the house this morning, and we got a good bit of work done, but I have to tell you, really, I was tired from yesterday, so I kind of took it easy. He did, however, take the rooster with him when he left, and I think there is a soup pot with that roosters name on it. It is a tough life on a farm, and you have to know when to cut your losses...or a chicken's neck if that is the case.

The cattle all seemed to be content and happy today, and I think this is an interesting photo of some of them. Cattle are really very curious, and they want to know what you are doing. They also think that any time I hang out in the pastures at all is an opportunity for me to feed them. NOT ALWAYS!

My friend Susie says that 2012 is the year of the Black Dragon, and that only happens once every sixty years. It is also supposed to be a really lucky time, and she ought to know!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BYE BYE ROOSTER, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2012 - Day 001/365 - Sunday...

Well, here we are STILL boys and girls. Another New Year, and beginning the fourth year of this journal. I only bought the URL for five years, so I will have to consider renewing it at some point in the future. 365daysofbill.com is now on day 1,096.

We began the day with a pile of eggs. Even though the eggs on the left look like store bought white eggs, they are kind of an aqua color, not exactly the blue color we were looking for.

Do you want a rooster chicken? I am afraid his days are numbered here at JB Acres. He is taking EXTREME advantage of one of the older hens, and I (and Jody too) am concerned he is going to end up 'taking advantage' of her until he kills her. A friend of mine Sharon said she had the same thing happen with some of her decks, and the drake kept up until it killed the hen, and after that, everything was fine. Well, I do not really need the rooster, and I think we will all be better off without him. I think he will be a goner after tomorrow. That is just the way it is on the farm, things happen, and then you are short one rooster. We shall see...

Jody and I did a lot of work around the house today. We went back to IKEA and bought a few things for the house, then we spent the afternoon trying to interpret instructions that are for the speech impaired. Not really, but the instructions only have pictures on them, no words. Sometimes a little more challenging than others. ANYWAY, everything got put together, and all is good.

Tomorrow will be another busy day, Miguel will be coming over to held me get some work done outside, and that means hitting it from (pretty much) the time I get up until late afternoon.

Deed, Actions, Changes, FREE ROOSTER, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!