2016 - Day 366/0 - New Years Eve...

Should there be an apostrophe in the word 'Years' up there? I usually just fake it, thinking that if I add an apostrophe here and there, people will assume that I know what I am doing. You should all assume that I have no idea what it is I am doing, which is also kind of scary because that apparently makes me qualified to be President of these United States. Oh my! Anyway...this photo was taken this morning when Jody and I were taking the girl dog for her morning walk. Grey skies, clouds, but not really cold. Eventually the sun came out this afternoon, and the high temperatures made it up to about 77 degrees. Not a bad day for the last day of 2016.

This entry ends the eighth year of this journal, 365 Days of Bill, aka the Seinfeld Blog (because it is about nothing at all). I am committed to at least two more years. Maybe I will quit the journaling then, not sure. This has been a tough year for coherent thoughts, but maybe next year will be better and easier.

I have my doubts.

I will talk with you all tomorrow.

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

2016 - Day 365/1 - Friday...

When I was a little kid, I can remember my dad telling me that if I had a penny on the first day of the year, I would have a penny all year long. If you had food on the first day of the year, you would have food all year long. What ever you had on the first day of the year, you would have that all year long. It looks like we may have rain on the first day of the year, so I hope that will be a good sign for the rest of the year. Not everyday, just enough.

This was, for all practical purposes, the last work day of 2016. I may, however, need to go visit a property or two tomorrow, that is yet to be determined. We shall see.

Right now, Jody and I just finished dinner, I finished off the apple pie from Christmas, and there is a fire in the stove. Life is good, I am the luckiest man in the world.

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

2016 - Day 364/2 - Thursday...

Not a particularly bad way to end the day, this was a pretty nice sunset. I just got home and was taking some dry food out to the barn cat. She did not eat all her dry food overnight, but all the moist food was gone within thirty minutes of having been put out. We are pretty sure that the cat is getting the moist food, but not really sure exactly WHAT is eating the dry food. It is being eaten very neatly, so we think it could be the cat!

Okay, so the COLD front came through last night, still windy, relatively overcast but the sun came out for a few minutes this afternoon. I was in the office most of the day today, getting stuff ready for the New Year, and working with a couple clients. I will be showing property tomorrow and Saturday, so that will be a good start to 2017.

Two more days of this, and then it will all start over again.

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

2016 - Day 363/3 - Wednesday...a

There are at least two or three interesting things to note in this photo: The photo was (apparently) taken at 4:24 PM this afternoon. I was still within the city limits of Austin, Texas. The speedometer is registering that I am traveling at 65 miles per hour. Hardly possible let alone probable in central Texas Interregional Highway traffic. But I will persevere. The outside temperature indicator shows the ambient temperature to be 85 degrees. Hardly possible let alone probable in central Texas on the 28th day of December. To what do we attribute these improbable if not impossible observations? Is it some kind of trick photography? Some kind of copying and pasting malarky going on? Some miracle of the Photoshopping application on my cell phone? If you are in the last bit familiar with me, you know that I am incapable of electronic manipulation of photos and/or documents. So, it must all be an accurate representation of the time, temperature and speed at which I was hurtling myself through space in an aluminum vehicle.

True DAT!

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

2016 - Day 362/4 - Tuesday...

I had a plumeria emergency yesterday. Jody told me he thought the freeze had taken hold of the plumeria in the front barn, and sure enough it had. I cut off the 'mushy' parts, but I saved them for possible planting in the spring. I hope it will come back, I did not expect it would get so cold in the barn, but it did. I will have to take some precautions if it gets cold again this year. Mikey, send some cuttings, please.

It has been an interesting couple of days. Other than the obvious stuff, Jody's car would not start yesterday. I put the trickle charge on it, and it started up fine this morning. Twice. Jody went out to take the girl dog for a ride this afternoon, and it would not start. Long story short: I put the charger on it again, and it started up after about 20 minutes. I hauled-ass into Georgetown, and got a new battery at Walmart. It was under warranty, it seems Jody had the battery replaces in August of 2015. SO, that was a free, under-warranty replacement.

To continue: when I got up this morning, there was no water. I called the water service, yep, lots of folks don't have any water. Here is where I make this long story short: By the middle of the afternoon, we had water again, but we are supposed to boil the water before we use it until further notice. I am not going to boil the water to bathe in (this is not New Orleans or Flint), but I will be using bottled water to brush my teeth tomorrow.

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

2016 - Day 361/5 - Monday...

I don't care what anyone says, this is one damn clean chicken coop. As I have reported in the past, you cain't have nothin' purty if you have chickens. We have twelve or thirteen chickens right now (it is hard to count moving, roaming, free-range chickens), and we have received ONE egg the entire month of December. I think we may be done with chickens, once these go to that great King-Ranch-Casserole in the sky, that will be it. Of course, there is always tomorrow, and I am prone to changing my mind about things, but I think this will be it. Little baby chicks are cute though...

It was 85 degrees in central Texas today. the warmest December 26th on record, I think (don't quote me). We are expecting a cold (HAHA) front on Wednesday, will lower the daytime highs into the 70s, but that is much better than 85.

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

2016 - Day 360/6 - Christmas Day...

The girl dog would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and she would like you all to know that she is very happy with one of her presents. This is one that she can chew on and destroy. A gift she gave herself was something she found out on the road that she could roll around on and that she could wear as something that would stink to holy hell. And, she found it about five minutes before we were to leave for Christmas dinner with friends. But, all is well that ends well!

I am often accused (sometimes by myself) of not knowing what day it is, and I have to think about what year it is. I just noticed that my journal post yesterday declared that it was 2017. Oops. Maybe now I will be appointed to a high level governmental office.

Stranger things have happened.

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

2017 - Day 359/7 - Saturday...

The high temperature in Austin today was 78 degrees. And humid. And breezy. And cloudy. But, I don't know what else to expect in central Texas in December. A couple weeks ago we had the coldest temperatures in 2 years, and tomorrow we are expecting the warmest temperature in a couple decades. Jody and I got in gear late this morning and went into Taylor to get some molasses buckets for the cattle, and after we got home and both went down for naps, I took them out and put them in the pastures. I will take a bale of hay out to them tomorrow morning, maybe even clean the chicken coop. Not sure. So far this month, we have gotten ONE egg from the girls. Thirteen chickens and we have one egg to show for the month of December. The cotton I was talking about was baled earlier this week, so I don't need to worry about that anymore!

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

2016 - Day 358/8 - Friday...

Let's talk about ducks... Or not. It was a nice day if you happened to be a duck. It was dribbling rain on me when I went out to get the paper this morning. Then it rained a little bit harder. And then I got busy running some errands, and it rained a little bit harder yet. Then there were these ducks. There were about two dozen ducks of various colors and shapes and sizes. That was before I saw this creek. Or rain water detention pond. Or sewer. I am not sure what it was/is, but it had some sort of aeration system working, and the ducks seemed to be quite fond of it. Here are a couple little known facts about ducks: Some duck species, such as the mallard, are found throughout the world. A baby duck is called a duckling (as in ugly), and an adult male duck is called a drake. I have a friend whose son is named Drake, I wonder if there is a connection there? An adult female duck is called a hen or a duck, and a group of ducks can be called a raft, team or paddling.

Who knew?

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

2016 - Day 357/9 - Thursday...

Kind of a busy day today, filled up with finishing a lot of this-and-thats. I did two or three this-and-thats on my way into Austin, and then I did some more this-and-that when I got to the office. I was like a machine of this-and-that accomplishments. Carrie (my work wife) and I did two or three more this-and-thats when she got to the office, one of which included going to the Four Seasons to see the ginger-bread village. Not of particular interest to me, but I was pretty interested in whatever these things are...I am calling them the 'Not-Sures'. ...cause I am not sure what in the hell they are. But, I like the way the lights played off them and cast shadows. Interesting.

Theoretically I will not be working tomorrow, but there is no time to rest. I already have two appointments, and four or five things on my 'To-Done' list that are begging to be crossed off the list. We shall see, there is a whole lot of day tomorrow, and tomorrow might just go into the next day, you never know. You're just not-sure.

All I want for Christmas is for my friend Mikey to get a Facebook page.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, NOT SURES, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 356/10 - Wednesday...

Well, well, well... It seems that all the smack-talk in yesterdays journal entry pissed somebody off, and there was a rash of memos and e-mails going back and forth about it, and we were presented with this 'I'll f*cking show you what a sunset is' and there you have it. Pretty good for out here on the edge of nowhere. Overall, it was a pretty good day, high temperatures were in the mid-70s, not too bad for the end of December AND the first day of winter. The bad part was, I sat at my desk all day until I left to get my hairs cut mid-afternoon. Traffic in the morning has been GREAT all this week (I hope I don't jinx it for saying that), but the return commute has pretty much sucked as usual. I avoided IH-35 on the way home (hairs cut), but a couple trucks carrying wind turbine blades broke down on MoPac and that caused a world of hurt. Plus the fact (I think) that those things were too big for MoPac. It seems they were trying to take a curve and stalled. Life in the (11th largest) big city.

And so, hopefully I will make it to and from tomorrow with no serious issues. I have a couple appointments, and I need to attend to some last minute appointments.

Life is good. I am the luckiest man in the world.

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

2016 - Day 355/11 - Tuesday...

Of course, please be advised that I honestly believe that every sunrise and sunset are spectacular, just some are more noteworthy than others. I shall now proceed. There was a less than remarkable sunrise this morning, but I took a photo of it just because it has (seemingly) been a long time since we have seen the sun. By the time I was half-way into Austin, what sun there had been retreated into a large layer of low-clouds, and the skies were once again grey and overcast. The temperatures did make it up into the 50s this afternoon, and the winds have changed direction and are once again from the south. The professional prognosticators are predicting that the temperatures may hit the 80 degree mark for Christmas Day, with a slight chance of showers.

Welcome to the land of unpredictable weather.

Tonight is the longest night of the year, winter officially begins at about 4:30 tomorrow morning. Enjoy the night.

I failed to mention that yesterday was a red number day. Jody collected one egg from the girls. One egg in the whole month of December. Sheesh.

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

2016 - Day 354/12 - Monday...

This entry may have a weather-related undertone here and there, but it is not my intention for this entry to be all about how freakin' cold it is outside (believe me, it is), but about another issue that may  (or may not) have anything to do with weather. I was reading the other day (or maybe a month ago) about how farmers in West Texas were complaining that there had not been a freeze yet. It seems that the organic cotton farmers depend on the freeze to defoliate the cotton so they can harvest it. No herbicides are allowed or they lose their 'organic' designation. I thought that was pretty interesting, since just about a mile away from us was a cotton patch that had yet to be harvested. Well, I believe they sprayed it with a herbicide a while back, but the cotton still has not been harvested. Had they only waited another couple weeks, they could have saved (not only) their money, but (probably) a couple million bees, too.

Some people!

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

2016 - Day 353/13 - Sunday...

Yes, indeed, it did get zing last night. It is expected to be below freezing again overnight, and colder this evening than it was last evening. Then, a day or so above freezing (in the 40s tomorrow) and then one more day below freezing in the seven day forecast. I did not wrap the pipes last night, but they are wrapped and all cozy for tonight. We have had a fire in the stove since this morning, and I will keep it going overnight and Jody will tend to it tomorrow. The winds are supposed to die down this evening but there will be fewer clouds in the sky, so that will account for the colder temperatures. It is interesting that we here in central Texas are not prepared for cold weather. The same was really true when I lived in New Orleans. I do not remember cold weather being THAT much of a challenge when I lived in Memphis, and I know for sure it was not a problem when I lived in Michigan. There, we went into the basement, turned the water off to the exterior bibs, bled the pipes and that was it. Maybe there should be standards to keep pipes from freezing. Maybe not. This is a photo of the skies just before dark. Interesting clouds, and the sun was out, so that was nice.

The coming week should be a relatively quiet one, and we will be off on Friday.

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

2016 - Day 352/14 - Saturday...

The front is here. The breezes were from the south all day, and pretty gusty too. The high temperature that I saw this afternoon was 76, and we are expecting temperatures in the 20s overnight. Not enough (or long enough) to wrap pipes, but there will be another couple of days of below freezing temperatures, so I will play it safe rather than sorry tomorrow. I have wood in the stove ready to light tomorrow morning when we get up, but I am not building a fire tonight. It is chilly outside, but it is nice and warm inside the house.

I took hay out to the cattle earlier today, but they really did not need another bale. I took two bales out to them last weekend, and they still had plenty left, but now that have more to get then through this cold snap.

A couple weeks ago, Jody and I had dinner with several friends of our at a nice little restaurant in Georgetown, Eats on Eighth. Seems there was a fire there this morning, so the future of the restaurant is up in the air right now.

I am going to battle the crowds and the cold tomorrow and go back to the shopping centers, just to say that I did it. We shall see.

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

2016 - Day 351/15 - Friday...

Well, the year is continuing to wind itself down. This was a pretty busy week, but I only have one thing on my schedule for next week, and that is to get a haircut. No stress! I got to sleep in a little later than usual again today, and made it to the office to get some paper work done, then ran a few errands, attended (possibly) the last meeting of the year, and headed back to the office. I want to share another photo with you from last night at Esther's Follies. It was a really fun evening, and I think everyone had a nice time. Relatively low-key for us, I have to admit.

The high temperature tomorrow is expected to be 80 if not just a little bit higher, and then on Sunday we are going to be (forecast) down in the 20s. I 60 degree temperature variance. My intention is to take hay to the cattle tomorrow and clean the chicken coop. I plan to do as little as possible on Sunday except to take naps and keep the fire in the stove going.

I will let you know how that goes.

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

2016 - Day 350/16 - Thursday...

Winding the week down. I had the opportunity to sleep a little bit later this morning, and took full advantage of it. I made it to my first meeting at 10AM, and that was a good convergence of thoughts and discussions and Then it was off to the office for some power real estate, and then at the end of the day, we (the office staff and agents) enjoyed an evening of nice fellowship (because my  spell check could not tell me how to spell camaraderie), a little bit of imbibing on our favorite beverages (why is Merlot so hard to find?), a nice dinner and ten we retreated to Esther's Follies. It has literally been years since I have been there, and it was a trip down memory lane. There were schticks that I saw them perform at least two decades ago, and there was some new stuff, particularly as a result of the recent elections and the political craziness across the country. All in all it was a really fun time, and I appreciate all the hard work that Tosalyn and Carrie put into making it such a success. This is a photo of the opening act, Mrs. Claus lamenting the fact that she is getting nothing for Christmas. MK had the best quote of the evening, and if you private message me, I will share it with you.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, ESTHER'S, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 349/17 - Wednesday...

This is a week for over-scheduling. It has been, and will continue to be a busy week. This morning I guided a class on REALTOR® Ethics, then attended a couple meetings at the Board, and this evening I went to a Holiday Open House for the 100 Club of Austin. The penultimate meeting today was with the ABoR Foundation, and I was installed as a Director for 2017. The foundation is a great group with lofty goals and ideals, and I am proud to be associated. This is a photo of the incoming Directors; me, Christina (the Elf on the Shelf) , Diane and Theresa.

And so it goes, more tomorrow.

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

2016 - Day 348/18 - Tuesday...

Well, it has come to this. But that might just mean that everything is back to normal. I miss the Facebook days of people showing all their friends what they had for lunch, instead of screaming and shouting about this particular candidate or another candidate. I am tired of it. I prefer to express my frustrations in person, close to the ones I care about most, and the ones that I can offend the easiest. Wait, where was this post going? Oh yes, lunch. I was invited to lunch today, and it was swell. It did have its moments, but that is not the important part. The important part is that I was invited to lunch today by a friend, and there was great conversation and great sharing of ideas. AND, I had a great lunch. Grilled cheese and cream of tomato soup. The grilled cheese was pimento cheese (which I was expecting to be more the color of the soup, but what do I know), and it was DEE-licious. It was a lovely 70 degrees outside, but it was a soup kind of day, so that was perfect. YUMMEE!

And then, while driving home this afternoon, it went from a perfectly balmy early winter day with beautiful blue skies to a damp, cloudy, grey afternoon (not the least important of which was an 18 degree temperature drop in less than two hours). Oh well, Texas weather. Worst part is that I doubt the full moon will be visible tonight.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, GRILLED CHEESE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 347/19 - Monday...

6:45PM and there is traffic as far as the (un-enhanced) eye can see. Nothing but headlights and taillights both directions at Spicewood Springs Road and Capital of Texas Highway. Where the hell is everyone going and where in the hell have they been? Personally, I was doing some phone banking for a run-off election that will be held tomorrow, and I can only assume that these folks were all in hot pursuit of me for violating the no-call list. Not that I like to disagree with you, but our elected officials (Federal) made sure that election and campaign telephone calls were exempted from the no-call lists. Heaven forfend that we would not want to be interrupted from our dinners by telephone calls from our Senators and other miscellany candidates for one office or another.

But I was talking about traffic. It was bad and I don't expect it to get any better.

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

PS: Happy Birthday Mikey!

2016 - Day 346/20 - Sunday...

As was reported by the professional prognosticators, the temperatures did climb higher on the thermometer by late afternoon, but the sun DID NOT shine until about 5 o'clock. When I went outside to get the newspaper this morning, I would have sworn that it had rained overnight, but that was not the case. I guess it was just a really HEAVY dew. I got a lot of small chores completed today, the most satisfying of which was taking two bales of hay to the cattle. I am always very VERY pleased with myself when I can outsmart the cattle. It is not something that I am 100% successful at, but today was my lucky day. I took a bale of hay to the furthest pasture and they waited until I was busy getting another bale ready and they went to the first bale and left me to my own devices to unload the second bale. This is a photo of the cattle, that is Violet in the foreground, our first born.

After my chores, I went in to Georgetown and stopped at Target to do a little bit of shopping. It was kind of surreal, because I had no idea of what I was looking for. I did stock up on sodas, got an 8" frying pan, a container to store cereal in and a new toy for the girl dog. I see more trips to stores in my future. I always do my best work under pressure anyway.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CATTLE SMARTS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 345/21 - Saturday...

It looks as if the people at the Chick-Fil-A in Georgetown had me pegged from the get-go. I don't know if I should call the ACLU or the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Chickens and file a formal complaint, or just go on about my business. Everyone else seems to think filing legal actions for no reason is the path to wealth and notoriety, so I think I should give it a try. How dare they associate my good name (it took the guy three times to figure out how to spell it) with a red fruit cup. That's, I say that's blasphemous! How dare he!

Whatever.

Still cloudy, which could be part of the reason that I am so grumpy and easily enticed into litigation. If it i going to be 75 degrees tomorrow, it had better get a move on.

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

2016 - Day 344/22 - Friday...

Yesterday was the Luncheon and Installation of new Officers of the Austin Chapter of the Women's Council of REALTORS®. This is a photo before the ceremonies started of Tami, me and Christina, aka the Elf on the Shelf. It was a wonderful ceremony and luncheon, and Women's Council continues to be in good hands with the new leadership. It also seems that I was the only one having a bad hair day!

The day started out as a cloud free day, with sunshine, blue skies and a pretty sunrise. I don't know where we went wrong, but it did not turn out that way. I have no idea when the clouds rolled in, but they indeed did. Here on the edge of nowhere, we got down to about 28 degrees for a few hours, and then we were in the 50s this afternoon. Supposed to be a little bit warmer tomorrow, and into the 70s on Sunday. I expect I will take some hay out to the cattle tomorrow or Sunday.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, THE SEASON, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 343/23 - Thursday...

I am pretty sure the world as we know it will end soon. First it was the election (including the entire three year cycle) and now it is going to go below 32 degrees overnight. It was noted on Facebook earlier today that the Mayan Calendar was only four years off. Not too bad, all things considered. There is also a distinct possibility that, because of this multitude of events, Hell could well be freezing over. Think about it. Step back and ponder the events of recent memory. Open up an Excel spreadsheet, put it all on a graph, construct the algebraic formula, and I think you will come to the same conclusion I died. We are doomed.

Otherwise, just in case this is a fake alarm, I have gone ahead and paid my REALTOR® dues for the coming year. I guess if we are hit by an asteroid, my credit card will not go through, but if it is going to hurl us namely-pamby through the portals of another asteroid belt, I hope they have wi-fi.

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

2016 - Day 342/24 - Wednesday...

Yesterday was a pretty full day of meetings, and today was a repeat. Pete and repeat were walking across a bridge; Pete fell off, who was left? Pete and repeat were walking across a bridge; Pete fell off, who was left? Ummm. Whatever. This is a photo taken during the afternoon break during the TAR TREPAC Trustees meeting. Goal setting, committee appointments, committee meetings and committee reports. Leadership visioning, etc. Informing and exhaustive. Left to right, Diane, Susan, me and Tami.

Today we mark another milestone in proving the endurance of the human species. Today, we mark about the ten thousandth day of gloomy, grey, cold, yucky weather. Maybe 10,001, I have lost count. What the hell is happening? Where is the sun? I am considering an around the world flight just to confirm that there is a sun that is being orbited by this planet. I figure if we get above the cloud layer, we can be refueled by some other worldly source and we will just go round and round until we find a nice clear place to land. I need to see some sunshine.

I am going to go and stick my head under a sun lamp.

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

2016 - Day 341/25 - Tuesday...

There was supposed to be sunshine breaking through the clouds today, and warmer temperatures. We had sunshine in the morning (it was actually a beautiful morning), and then it got cloudy (miserably so) in the afternoon, and it was chilly (that means COLD), dreary, grey, yucky. BUT, my birthday week is still coming through with goodies; when I got home this afternoon, Jody reported that Pauline had delivered a box of goodies! Three jars of different home made jellies and a smorgasbord of home made cookies. What could have been better? The edge of nowhere is not such a remote place after all. Our neighbors may not be 'right next door' but we know them and we help when we can and just visit with them every chance we get!

Even though it was (apparently) a miserable day climatologically speaking, I was inside meeting and conference rooms for the biggest part of it, so I really should just shut up about it. At least I was not missing the sunshine and blue skies. Supposed to get below freezing overnight tomorrow night. You think we are complaining now? The temperatures have been in the 50s, hide and watch what happens when the temperatures dip in to the 30s. It is going to get nasty!

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

2016 - Day 340/26 - Monday...

Okay, here is another spoiler alert. This journal entry is TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE, but some of you know me better than others. This is another card that I received over the birthday weekend. I think it follows along with my history of total inappropriateness. I am the first to admit that you can dress me up, but you really can't take me nowhere. I can behave for about ten or twelve minutes, but then it is all for naught. I like cussing, I like telling stories, and I like being inappropriate. It is what makes me so interesting (in my opinion). The part of all that that I am not particularly fond of is that folks remember me (quite often) for my inappropriateness. That is quite often a problem. That is one of the reasons that (again, quite often), I introduce myself with a fake name. Why do you want to know my name? Why do you NEED to know my name. Isn't it enough that I am entertaining you here? Names are just little details that can be bothersome (again, in my opinion). So...

Today was another really good day, lots of work done, lots of small achievements made, lots of being inappropriate. I am the luckiest man in the world!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, WHAT I SAID UP THERE, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 339/27 - Sunday...

This is a photo of some of the swag I scored during the birthday week. WARNING: This photo is NSFW! Just saying. It was a good week, and last night was a nice dinner with friends. Today was another grey day, it missed a good chance to rain, but it was windy and chilly outside. I started to go in to Austin but I changed my mind and turned around. It was much better to lean back in the blue chair and watch television. I kept the fire going in the stove, ate some more birthday cake, and took the girl dog out for a quick walk. The barn cat was out waiting for some food earlier than usual, so that has been taken care of as well.

This should be a relatively calm and quiet week going forward. There is a freeze warning in the seven day forecast, which means I will be moving the plumeria into the front barn for the duration.

This journal entry is the 2,901st entry. I am closing in on eight years of posting to this blog/journal. I have missed a couple days in that period of time, and I am now at the decision making time of whether or not to go forward. No need to panic, I expect I will finish another two years at least, and maybe quit after completing ten years. The problem is, after this long, I really think I am boring myself into a stupor.

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

2016 - Day 338/28 - Saturday...

Even though it has been raining and cold (still) all day today, it was a good day. I actually did sleep later than I have in a long time, and that was swell. I stayed in Austin last night, and I had intended to stop by a craft fair before heading back to the edge of nowhere, but it was raining and the fair was outside, so discretion was (in this instance) the better part of valor. I would not care to be this guy on the motorcycle driving down IH-35 in the rain this morning. Some folks just of do not have good sense.

Naps were another order of the day, and this evening, Jody and I went into Georgetown and had dinner with friends; Michael, Lynda, Candy, Mike an Steve. Very nice, great company, great friends.

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

2016 - Day 337/29 - Friday...

Friday. Raining. Cold. Raining. Still Friday. Still raining. Still Cold. Okay, it is really not THAT cold, just about 50 degrees outside, but it is wet, damp, dark, chilly, and I have the heat on trying to stay warm. This photo was taken a year ago today, I have fond memories of it; two of my favorite things, shrimp and bacon. You always remember the first time...that was my first time to have shrimp and bacon on a stick. Perfection.

Other than the fact that it is cold and rainy outside, it was a good day, and I had a great time. I led a class this morning, and that was good. Orientation Ethics at our South Office. Then lunch at the office, and then a Holiday gathering at Carrie's house.

Getting ready to crash, tomorrow will be fun too, but it will still be raining and cold.

But I am still the luckiest man in the world.

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

2016 - Day 336/30 - Thursday...

Okay, how is that tolerance thing working out for you? And the patience thing? Try to hang on for just another day or two, maybe. I am still having vague remembrances of the Bowling Birthday Bash on Tuesday night. Do I look red in the face here? It is not easy getting laying down in an alley at my advanced age. And then, to add salt to the wound, have a bunch of youngsters (obvious Millennials) make fun and threaten you with bodily harm. Those things could have left some marks, for sure. Anyway, it was a blast, and we all had a great time.

This is the first day of December, and it turned out to be kind of chilly overnight. It got down to freezing in a few places, I do not think we got that cool out here on the edge of nowhere, and it is not expected to be that cool overnight tonight.

It is Friday eve, and I am liking it!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, SIXTEEN POUND BALLS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 335/31 - Wednesday...

Please exercise some patience. Not Patience the drag queen from Memphis, patience as in the virtue. Patience with the next several days of journal entries, because, as I reported yesterday gentle readers, yesterday was a really fun day and there are LOTS of documentation floating around the Interwebs. And no, the Interwebs are not necessarily my friend. Oh that I could retrieve some of those photos, not THOSE kinds of photos...just photos of me in various (usually) fundraising poses. Anyway, yesterday was a lot of fun. After I left the ABoR Habitat Blitz Build, I got a (little bit) cleaned up, and headed to the Dart Bowl to celebrate mine, Cathy's and Diane's 65th birthdays (all of which come up in December). It seems I am the oldest of the three (by a matter of days), and we put on a TREPAC Fundraiser to celebrate our (respective) old-ages. It was a blast, and I have experienced vague recollections of the events throughout the day today. Most of the parts I remember are lots of fun, the only bad part was the spilling of my FIRST glass of wine, but Jim and Jacob came to the rescue. Anyway, there will be lots of photos for you to laugh at, but this is one of the favorites!

It is supposed to get chilly here tonight, and I have rebuilt the fire in the stove. I do not expect there will be any freezing overnight, inside or outside.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BOWLING, Kindnesses, Wh
irled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 334/32 - Tuesday...

What can I possibly say about this day? That all the days to follow will pale in comparison? That all the days to follow will try (and not succeed) to live up to the fabulousness of this day? I could say those things, and some of them might be true, but I have had better days than this, and I will have worse days that this (maybe tomorrow). Today was a great day, and I am thrilled to have been breathing to be a part of it!

I am blessed to have lived through such a great day, and I had dozens of photos to choose from for this post, but I chose this one...me with a staple gun, working (in my limited capacity) to help with a Habitat for Humanity Build sponsored with the Austin Board of REALTORS®.

Thanks for everything you all do for me on a daily basis.
Deeds, Actions, Changes, HAPPY, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 333/33 - Monday...

This might not look like much of a problem to you city folks, but when the wind blows three or four (dead) trees onto the fence, hence onto the road, it could become a bigger project than had otherwise been expected. To begin with, I had no idea the trees were dead. The leafed out and bloomed earlier this spring, and I thought they had just dropped their leaves because it was that time of the year. Jody says they did not do very well at all this year, it just goes to show you how much attention I was paying. They were the Hawaiian Princess trees, a specie that IS NOT NATIVE to this area, and (probably) should have never been planted here to start with. There has been a lot of that on the property when we bought it, but now and then we find something else badly suited for Texas weather, and it is just a matter of time. Even Texas natives have been having a difficult time coping with the heat, drought and flooding that is common here.

Otherwise, it was a Monday. Nothing terrible, nothing glorious, just a Monday, made more interesting by the four-day-weekend.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow, it will be an interesting post.

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

2016 - Day 332/34 - Sunday...

Well, we are officially (kind of) back to the throngs of the middle class. Jody bought eggs at HEB last week. The girls have just quit laying. I attribute the lack of production to old age. I am not sure how old the girls are, but (apparently) they are old enough that they have given up all their store of eggs. There will not be (however) and chicken soup from these girls. They will just pass into the other side when their time comes, and we will need to decide if we want more chickens or not. The price of eggs at the HEB certainly is not an indicator that we should get more chickens; each egg we got from the girls cost the equivalent of $39.95, when you take the time, feed, nurturing and housing into account. These are free range girls, and they have lived a good life. We shall see come spring time, but I am kind of leaning against more chickens. Can you tell which of these eggs were the store bought ones? Okay, I'll give you this clue, the cracked egg (that I could not get out of the crate) is one of the store bought eggs.

I got a few things done around the house today; I got the grass up by the road cut, cattle fed, kept the fire going in the stove, and a lot of this-and-that.

Tomorrow will be another day of work and this will be an interesting week. Tuesday I will be volunteering with the Austin Board at a Habitat for Humanity Blitz Build. Tomorrow we start, and the house should be done by December 16th.

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

2016 - Day 331/35 - Saturday...

The Holiday lights (up by the road that stay up all year long) have been plugged in, the wasps have been annihilated, and all is well with the world. I did not even need to string any supplemental lights this year. I am a multi-colored light kind of guy, not so much into clear or all-one-color lights. Multi-color is the only way to go. I cut the grass in the girl dogs' yard, and watched a multitude of birds bathe in the little bowl out on the patio. Jody filled the bowl up a couple times, but they just splashed it out as quickly as he could get it re-filled.

Today was 'Shop Small Saturday', and I always make a trek to my friend Jill's store in Pflugerville (Ruffles & Rust). I got a really nice picture frame, and if you have a chance, I highly recommend it. Tell them Billy Bob sent you. Next weekend we are going to have dinner with some friends in Georgetown, and I expect we will walk the square and (probably) drop a few dollars at the smaller stores there.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, ITTY-BITTY-BIRDS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 330/36 - Friday...

We stayed in Austin last night and got up this morning a little bit later than usual and headed back to the edge of nowhere. It was a beautifully sunny day in Austin, and when we got to Round Rock, the skies started getting greyed and gloomier, and by the time we got home, it had been raining a little bit on us. As of now, we have about 0.23" of rain in the gauge, and we have not seen the sun since we left Austin. I actually built a fire in the stove, and that took the chill off the house, and that was nice. The mail did not come until after 4 o'clock this afternoon, so I guess the carrier was backed up from the day off.

After the dinner and desserts of yesterday with Michael, Lynda and Josh, I abstained from much food today. I had a bagel for breakfast, a bagel for lunch and Jody and I just had a turkey sandwich for dinner. And the answer to the unspoken question was 'yes, I would like pie and it is up to you what kind'. As I write this, I can hear Jody in the kitchen putting pie on a plate, and I won't be disappointed, which ever kind of pie it is.

After we returned home this morning, we only left the house to take the girl dog for a walk and for me to bring firewood into the house.

Lovely.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CLOUDS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN

2016 - Day 329/36 - Thanksgiving Day...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, we hope you all had a great day, got your fill of turkey, football and HGTV. We did. We got started this morning with a pile of eggs, and a call to Randy and Irene to make sure they were home so we could take them a pie. Our friend Mikey called from Florida, and that was really nice, making sure there was Holiday cheer from (almost) coast-to-coast. We took pie to Randy and Irene, and pretty much turned around and drove in to Austin. Nap time, then a walk around the neighborhood, and then off to dinner with Michael, Lynda and Josh. We are totally sated, and getting ready to crash for the night. The photo is of a Thanksgiving card we received from our friends Bruce and Melody in Connecticut. Melody is (among other things) quite an artist, and this card is of her design. She and Bruce even sent us a variety of fall leaves to go along with the card. They know we have no real seasons in central Texas!

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

2016 - Day 328/37 - Wednesday...

And so it begins. The eve of the Thanksgiving weekend, otherwise known as the lost weekend of Pi. The day started off quietly enough, especially since the traffic congestion (at least going southbound) was at a minimum. I made it to the office in near record time, and began to clean my desk of the various piles of paperwork. By 9:30 I was back on the road, running a couple errands and then made a stop (premeditated) at Costco to purchase pies. A lot of pies. They all fit in the back end of the car, but it was like a mah-jong puzzle back there, and for the rest of the day my car smelled like Pie. As of this writing, we have decreased the number of pies considerably, but there will be plenty of pie for everyone if you need any pie. I am thinking of bacon-wrapped-pie. It could be the next big thing.

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

2016 - Day 327/39 - Tuesday...

It was a beautiful sunset this morning, and that was the best it got. Clouds moved in, and not even pretty clouds, just low clouds and overcast grey skies. I had a few dribbles of rain on the way into the office, and few dribbles here and there, and a few dribbles on the way home and while I was walking the girl dog. The prognosticators are prognosticating rain over night, maybe some thunder about 3AM, most likely interrupting my slumber with girl dog whining and wanting to be under the covers. It will all be okay. I am still the luckiest man in the world.

Tomorrow will be the day that I join all the rest of the world at Costco to buy stuff. It will be okay, I expect to be there shortly after ten, and back in the office not later than noon. I don't mind a good walk, but I should not have abandoned the FitBit.

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

2016 - Day 326/40 - Monday...

Getting caught up is an ongoing effort on my part. I am pretty well caught up with office and real estate things, it is the other things that I continue to fall behind on. When I get home and go through my piles of mail, I just stack the magazines and things in a pile, the most recent on the bottom. I thin try to work my way through the pile. Tonight at dinner, I went through three copies of the Austin Business Journal, all dated in October of this year. It was not unusually at all to be reading old news, it is kind of the same thing I experience on a daily basis with the Austin American-Statesman. Since they moved their printing facility out of town, there in nothing in the morning paper that happened after 4:30 the previous afternoon. I pulled that time out of my a*s, because I have no idea what their cut-off time is, but I know for sure, if UT plays a night game, the score is not reported until two days later. All the news that's fit to print will be printed with a 36 hour delay. I understand I could read the paper on-line, but I am old and blind, and viewing the newspaper on my personal electronic devices makes everything even SMALLER than the printed version.

I think I am in a no-win situation here.

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

2016 - Day 325/41 - Sunday...

Today was a great day. Jody and I got up early and decided we would try to beat the crush of people at the Frisco Shop and have breakfast. Apparently, there is no crush of people at the Frisco Shop at 8AM on Sunday mornings. We guess that the city people stay in bed longer (or maybe they were all attending mass), which made for a relaxed breakfasting experience this morning. Then I was off to the 20th Annual Empty Bowl Project, held this year at the NEW Central Texas Food Bank (fka the Capital Area Food Bank). The new facility is overwhelming, modern and functional, and should meet the demands of the 'food uncertain' members of our community for some time to come. The Project this year was a great success from all appearances, but the numbers and the totals are not yet ready to be announced. The startled look on my face is not so much that of anticipation to be the winning bidder for this fabulous Nancy Hallmark bowls (Nancy is one of my favorites), but more of the realization that I had just spent about six hours in the Texas Fall Sun, and everything from my next up is crispy. Ears, face, lips. Crispy.

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

2016 - Day 324/42 - Saturday...

Tonight was the Preview Party for the Twentieth Anniversary of the Austin Empty Bowl Project. The years have flown by, and it is hard to believe I was sponsoring this for that long a time. The Empty Bowl Project event will actually be tomorrow, so if you happen to be in the neighborhood, be sure and check it out. The event will be at the new Central Texas Food Bank, on Metropolis Drive. The preview party was great, and there were lots of good friends there, and plenty of bowls to be previewed. The silent auction tomorrow has some great bowls in it as well. I will reprise my role tomorrow as the 'trash man', so that should be reason enough for you to come by. I tend to be totally inappropriate, so if you need some cheap entertainment, this will be the place! This is a photo of me and Jody at the Preview Party.

Earlier this morning, we got a cord of wood delivered, and that is a LOT of wood. It will be a good start on the season, so now we just have to wait and see how cold it gets and how cold it stays for how long. The prognosticators do not seem to think it will be a really hard winter.

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

2016 - Day 323/43 - Friday...

Last night I thought I was SOOOOO smug...I was staying in Austin because I had returned from San Antonio and I had a 6:30 appointment. Staying in Austin was the smart thing to do. I would be able to sleep in because my first appointment this morning was not until 10AM (guiding a class at ABoR), but I would sleep a little later and head to the board about 9 o'clock, just to be calm, cool and collected. And then it hit me. I did not have my book for the class. So, I got up early (earlier than I had anticipated), went into the office, did some power real estate, cleared my desk and went back to the board to conduct the class. The class was a good one, I had a lot of fun and I accomplished my goal; everyone in the class learned something! That all I can ask for, make sure there is some useful information imparted for those attending. After the class, I headed back to the office and got some more work done and headed home early.

When I got home, I cleaned up an area for the fire wood delivery we are expecting tomorrow morning. Never pass up a good load of oak and pecan firewood, especially if you can get them to deliver and stack it. I am trying to be smarter and not work harder in my old age.

AND, if you do not have any plans for the weekend (Sunday particularly), might I suggest you consider attending the Austin Empty Bowl Project? It is an annual deal, I have been a long time participant, and it is really (another) very worthwhile community effort in Austin. Go to www.austinemptybowl.org and get all the details. I hope you will try to make it. If you do, you will want to make it one of your new traditions.

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

2016 - Day 322/44 - Thursday...

I got up this morning at about 4:45 and was heading out the door at 5:30 to get to my 9 o'clock class in San Antonio. My original plan was to leave at 6, but leaving early gave me a chance to stop in San Marcos and charge. I would have had plenty of charge to make it home, but I prefer to be safer than sorrier. As it was, I made it home (to Austin) with 100 miles of range left, and that was terrific. It took me longer to get from the Austin city limits to the condo than it did to get from I-10 in San Antonio to the Austin city limits. I left San Antonio at 3:30 and made it to the condo at about 5:45. CRAY-CRAY. AND, I have never had so many rocks hit my car at various places on the drive back to Austin. CRAY-CRAY!

The class was good and it was fun to see a lot of my colleagues that I have not seen for a while. I sat with a good friend Mary Ann and her husband Ed. There was a test at the end of the class (not an exam), and I am plagued with test anxiety. If you have some spare time sometime, I will tell you the story about taking my Broker's Exam. We reviewed the test (not an exam) after we all finished, and I am pretty confident that I passed (although I don't think I made 100%). I know FOR SURE I got one wrong, and the correct answer is "manager".

CRAY-CRAY!

Deeds, Actions, Changes, CRAY-CRAY, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 321/45 - Wednesday...

My day was certainly NOT as bad as some peoples (specifically the person that was killed trying to cross IH-35 on foot this morning). But perhaps my day WAS worse than some other folks, specifically anyone whose commute was LESS than three hours this morning. That could be, or at least it could be a tie, for a record long commute. Again, I am not complaining (because I AM the luckiest man in the world), but it was a challenge. IH-35 Southbound was closed to all traffic for about four hours, and there are only two other alternatives if you want to go south, and they were all jammed packed. ANYWAY, I had already planned to stay in Austin tonight because I have to be in a class in San Antonio tomorrow, and that just reinforced my decision to get that much ahead of the drive tomorrow. So, it is kind of fun, foraging around here for food. SO far I have had a bagel and a frozen enchilada dinner. I will mix up something else later, but for now, I am happy as a clam!

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

2016 - Day 320/46 - Tuesday...

We are (it seems) working our way up to the Holiday Season. It seems there are more and more events being planned, and there is not enough time for all the mixers and open houses in December, so it is spilling over into November. I can't wait to start celebrating the Holidays before Halloween. We were all distracted this year by the elections, but as soon as that was put to bed, Christmas was in full swing! Tonight, it was fun to attend a REALTOR®/Affiliate event at the Austin Board of REALTORS®. It was a lot of fun, there was some good food, and I had a couple glasses of wine before the drive home. Good friends, good times and good purposes all in the same place. Good job!

Driving home in the dark the last couple days (nights) Hornsby. I am a big fan of his piano. Tonight it was Joe Cocker, Joni Mitchell and Michael Jackson. Interesting mixes, but it was fun, especially the Joni Mitchell bits. It took me back to less harried (conscious) times.
has given me an opportunity to listen to some old favorites. Loudly! Last night it was Bruce

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

2016 - Day 319/47 - Monday...

Last Tuesday, in addition to other things on the ballots from here and there, was an initiative for a transportation bond for the City of Austin. $720,000,000. Seven Hundred Twenty Million Dollars. That is a lot of dollars, and the unfortunate truth is, that will be a good start, it will not solve the terrible traffic and congestion problems that are plaguing our city (reaching all directions in central Texas and even encroaching on the edge of nowhere). Seven Hundred Twenty Million Dollars. In the past 20 years, the voters in the City of Austin (voters being the bosses) have approved +/- $620,000,000 for infrastructure and transportation. There, that is the problem. We are thirty years behind the curve. But, the proposition passed, and lo and behold, it seems not everyone in the MSA needs or wants a pickup truck anymore. The old adage of "If we don't build it, they won't come" is not a true representation OR an accurate description of the will of the people. SO, the proposition passed in the 60/40 range (I believe, don't quote me on that). It was not a squeaker. I hope things will start moving forward, and there will be some relief at least in the next seven to ten years. This  is a photo of the Mayor Of Austin, Steve Adler, at a reception that was held for the transportation bill passing, tonight at the Austin Board of REALTORS®. It was worth all the effort that went into it.

The moon is really big tonight (again), and it is really fun to look at. There are a couple down sides to it, one is that I have hairs growing out of a wart that I did not even know there was a wart there, and the second is that the coyotes out here on the edge of nowhere are going ballistic. They are totally howling at the moon like a bunch of banshees.

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

2016 - Day 318/48 - Sunday...

I was able to work a couple naps into the schedule today, but today proved mostly to be a day of getting chores done around the house. I got everything on my 'to-done' list accomplished, except for getting some grass cut. I did also add a few items to the list, so that was a good thing. I took three bales of hay out to the cattle late this morning. I had intended to only take two bales out to them, but the first bale pretty well disintegrated before I could get it to the hay ring, so that was just an extra one for them. They did not seem to mind, and they are certainly not starving, but we have PLENTY of hay; I expect we have at least three hundred round bales. With the rains we have had this year, EVERYONE has hay...so no one is looking for hay, and I am being very generous with the cattle. Since we are now officially in a La Nina period, I expect we will be needing hay in the coming months, and I will have more than we need. We may need to share some hay with the neighbors, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the day, just putzing around the property.

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

2016 - Day 317/49 - Saturday...

None of this was our fault, none of it. It was the Uber driver's fault, all of it. There should be a limit of how many people you can cram into the back seat of a BMW, and I am pretty sure we exceeded it. And I am pretty sure that the cop at our final destination believed it as well. We were innocently minding our own business (this was last Saturday) when an innocent looking Uber driver was dispatched to pick us up (from somewhere) and take us someplace else. I remember where we were dispatched to, but not really sure where we were dispatched from. Anyway, we made it and as we were de-autoing from the vehicle, the driver decided she would proceed to her next call, while we were still de-autoing. That is what first drew the attention of the gendarme, who chastised the driver with some very strong words while we continued on to our destination on foot.

And a good time was had by all.

The photo is much more interesting than the evening was.

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