2016 - Day 244/122 - Wednesday...

Just about every night, the girl dog takes me for a walk. There are always interesting things to see, interesting things to smell (if you are the girl dog), and interesting things to pee on (that goes for both of us occasionally). The trick is to keep your eyes and ears and olfactory organs open and receptive to the experience. If you are long term visitors to this journal, you know I am pretty enamored of clouds. Clouds are great. When we walk down the road in the evenings, and I look up, I can easily become lost in the clouds. I would be perfectly content to lay (lie) down in the road and just look. When I was a little kid, growing up in Southgate, Michigan...we had a picture window in the house, and I could amuse myself by just looking out the window for hours. Looking at nothing and everything at the same time. I can content myself by just sitting in a chair and observing. I prefer to do it with my feet propped up, but that is not necessary. BUT, I think I am going to need to lie (lay) down in the road one day soon, just to look at the sky.

Maybe I will start by laying (lying) in the driveway, and work my way up to the road.

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

2016 - Day 243/123 - Tuesday...

What I told ya? Fuggedaboutit. You won't even remember it tomorrow. Tomorrow it will be yesterday's news. Everybody needs to visit their medical professional to see if they can PLEASE get their meds balanced out. There is a lot to be said for silent meditation and contemplation of ones own navel. Try it...and hummmm while you are at it.

That pretty much is how my day was. Lots of opinions expressed, some I agreed with, some I did not. I am longing for an opportunity to tell a couple people my own personal opinion of them, which, in reality, is none of their business.

But, at the end of the day, I just (mostly) keep my business to myself and drive down the road. I cannot help it if they don't know how to drive. Speaking of driving, I have to tell  you...the gendarmes and the representatives of the county constabularies were placed at strategic points on the Interstate this afternoon. Once I hit Williamson County, they were spaced at about 1 mile intervals. All those cops is distracting to say the least.

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

2016 - Day 242/124 - Monday...

This photo of the radar maps is really more interesting than reality. We have had TWO traces of rain today, very little measurable if any at all. I expect there may be a few hundredths of an inch, but nothing really that exciting. We seem to be on the edges of the real rainfall, but that is okay, we will take these little dribbles and drabs and be happy with it.

The wasp quest continues; I can still see wasps lurking about around the front porch, but I cannot seem to pinpoint their hide-hole. I will monitor the situation.

It has come to this. I applied for Medicare Parts A and B today. I even took a class at the Board about all the things I (and the rest of us seniors) need to know. It is not for the faint of heart, believe me. I think I will eventually go with the 'Advantage' plan. Would you like to see the scar where I had my gall bladder removed (said no one recently since they now go through the belly button). I loved it when LBJ showed his off to Walter Cronkite and pulled his beagle up by the ears. I kind of think LBJ was a giant curmudgeon, just like me.

Now get out of my way, and NO you cannot go in the backyard and retrieve your football.

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

2016 - Day 241/125 - Sunday...

I should have stayed in bed this morning. Although I made many accomplishments (and got almost everything on my 'to-done' list checked off), this was a day of numerous failures. I will try to list them for you.

1. Jody and I went into Salado this morning, so I could FAIL and buying a light switch for the front barn. How you you not buy the right light switch? Believe me, it is easier than you might think. Not as easy as buying the wrong allergy medicine at CVS, but easy none-the-less. BUT, on the way in to Salado, we passed by a grain elevator that we have passed many times, and again I noticed the name on the top of one of the elevators. SUKUP. This particular grain elevator is in (or close to) the town of Schwertner (pronounced Schwett-Ner, as in Schwetty-Balls). So, that is fail number one.

2. I failed at getting the grass trimmed nicely up by the road, but I did succeed (once again) in stirring up another wasp nest (the big killer red ones this time) but my defensive playbook came in handy and I did not get stung. Then, when the offensive line came in during the second half, I got those little vicious bastards, and they are done for. I admit it; I am an anti-waspite. Not the anglo-saxon kind of anti-waspite, the anti-genus-Hymenoptera-ite kind. I guess, technically, I am an anti-Hymenoptera-ite, but that just does not have the same panache when rolling off the tongue. Anti-Waspite is just easier to say. I am a conspirator in Wasp-O-Cide, and I do not care who knows it.

3. I failed miserably at eating a burrito at Chipotle. In front of everyone in the place. Much to the dismay of the people that came behind us to clean up the table. Power washers come into play it was so bad.

2A. I should say that, before failing to consume the burrito in a polite manner, it seems I failed miserably to communicate specifically how I would like the afore-mentioned burrito delivered to me. Wrapped and in a bowl, no aluminum foil. With a plastic knife and fork, please. No forks? Since when? Just put the burrito in a bowl, please. No top. No chips. Yes on the sour cream and guacamole. NO ALUMINUM FOIL. NO TOP. Than you.

It was ugly.

4. Then I failed at gathering eggs. I was trying to multi-task, and I put the eggs (three of them) in my shorts pocket. FAIL! One and a half of the eggs survived. Picture it if you would like.

I am quite certain there were more fails. I simply choose not to recall other than the most interesting of them. I think I will retire early tonight. It is Beach Front Bargain night on HGTV. I am busy.

Deeds, Action, Changes, FAILS, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2017 - Day 240/126 - Saturday...

The lilies are blooming all around the house. Red one in the front, these white ones out by the pool. I spent most of the day putzing around the house; i swept leaves off the pool deck and the back patio, then sucked them up with my leaf sucker. I am happy with that thing, it is really a time saver. I accidentally crashed into a hanging decoration while sweeping and disturbed a wasps nest; four or five stings but I got my revenge with a can of wasp spray. I even took our my plan on some unsuspecting nests. My opinion is, you should not go on the offense if you don't have a decent defense. Some of you will be very proud of me for having used a sports metaphor, others of you will not know what the hell I am talking about, and I pretty much don't either, but I thought about it all day.

I did spend HOURS cutting grass today, and there is still some touching up that could be done. I even shredded some of the land behind the house, and tomorrow I will do some more in the front. Tomorrow I need to also do some work on the chicken coop and there is some sort of varmint that (I believe) has chewed through an electrical line in the front barn; the overhead lights are not working anymore, so I want to get that fixed.

There is always stuff that needs to be done out here.

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

2016 - Day 239/127 - Friday...

It has been two or three days since it has rained out here on the edge of nowhere, but I think that might be changing over the weekend. I have a couple goals that I would like to achieve over the weekend, getting grass cut (I swear I just cut it last weekend and it looks like I haven't cut it in a month), I want to wash the breakfast room windows, and I would like to get the home telephone reported as being out of order. The clouds when I got home were particularly lovely this afternoon. Now they are just a grey, overcast nothing when you look up...but earlier they were magnificent!

I chose not to shave today...that is just the kind of guy I am. Wild. Crazy. Independent. Nothing terrible happened because I did not shave. Basically, I just got a really good start on the weekend. Usually I revel in the thought of not shaving on Saturday and Sunday, but then I dread having to shave on Monday morning. Long weekends are great, and this new trend (we will see if I remember not to shave next Friday) has something going for it. Labor Day weekend is coming up, which means that I can take a four-day break from shaving. I am practically giddy with anticipation, although there are lots of things that can make (and have made) me giddy in the past. I remember in fourth grade...

But I digress...

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

2016 - Day 238/128 - Thursday...

This is an interesting fungi, growing outside the door to the condo in Austin. There has certainly been plenty of moisture for the up-cropping of interesting plants and (possibly) native species. I have no idea what it is, and I have never seen anything quite like it. kind of pretty though, and I think the yellow vein work compliments the overall pinkish color of the fungal growth. If anyone know what it is, let me know, and I will add your name to the blue ribbon advisory council I was recently named to at the condo BOD meeting. Nothing to it, really!

Not a bad day today, although the weather has been really nice for what is, for all practical purposes, the last week of August. Next weekend (not this one coming) will afford us a three-day-weekend, and that will be really nice. There is a good chance of rain (again) here for the next five or six days. I am hoping it does not rain on Sunday, there is lots of stuff to get done around the house.

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

2016 - Day 237/129 - Wednesday...

If there was any doubt, this is photographic proof that I am TALLER than Elizabeth! Even though I have never been known for my stature, in a pinch I can easily prove that I am taller than short people. Tonight was out Austin Board of REALTORS® Annual TREPAC Wine Tasting event. It was a great event, and we had about a hundred TREPAC investors there, sipping the Kool-Aid (or in this case the various wine selections), and investing in TREPAC. I have to tell you, I get a lot of CRAP about my variety of Croc footwear, but tonight, the joke is on all of y'all! This particularly fetching pair of Crocs were sold at auction during the event, for FIVE HUNDRED big ones, and I was able to also negotiate a 'life estate' into the deal, so I get to keep the Crocs until I pass in a 'natural' fashion, and then the fabulous footwear will go to the auction winner. I think that is totally a 'win-win' situation, and I totally promise to take 'reasonable care' of the Crocs until my demise!

Another successful TREPAC event as we wind-down our fiscal year.

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

2016 - Day 236/130 - Tuesday...

I wish someone would take pity on me and find me a source for cantaloupes that taste like cantaloupes are supposed to taste. I travelled half-way to Houston (figuratively speaking) to the Georgetown Farmer's Market, and got what as 'guaranteed' to be a delicious, ripe cantaloupe. I got it home and it was ripe and juicy, but it was pale (delicate?) and did not taste like a cantaloupe as I remember from my youth. I got two cantaloupes last Friday (and a grocer-type establishment that I am ashamed to admit I patronized, but it was convenient), and suspected that they were not ripe, so I put them both in a paper sack (followed the directions I downloaded from the Googles, except the part that said I should add a banana and/or a tomato to steep along inside the bag with them), and unleashed and cut into one of them this afternoon. BEAUTIFUL! The one I cut open looks beautiful. I could not ask for a still life oil painting by one of the Renaissance Masters that would look any better than this FREAKING cantaloupe. BUT...it is kind of crunchy (not juicy) and it has NO TASTE. I think I may be doomed in the cantaloupe procurement department, and I am considering abandoning this latest binge. I do things in binges. I happen to be on a cantaloupe binge right now, but I fear I am a failure.

Please help me.

Please!

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

2016 - Day 235/131 - Monday...

So this is what it looked like this afternoon, during a lunch break, at the Texas Association of REALTORS® World Headquarters in Austin, Texas. The class I was guiding (via distance education) got off to a rocky start with some technical challenges, but by the end of the day, it all worked out, and all the attendees CONFESSED to having learned a couple things, at least. This class was about 'Broker Responsibility', and it is directed to Designated Brokers in the offices, and (in theory) all the attendees should already know all the information that was shared with them. More a less (at this point) a reminder class that is required for all Brokers in Texas in order to renew their licenses. A new Broker Responsibility class will be rolled out later this year; the class is revised every two years (coinciding with the every two year Legislative sessions). The Legislature meets on odd numbered years, and the class is revised in even numbered years. It makes perfectly good sense to me!

I left the house before 6 this morning and made it to the office before 7. I wanted to beat the traffic, and it worked. Today was the first day f'back-to-school' which meant that traffic would be extra chaotic this morning. I was able to get about an hour in the office with no disturbances, and got some 'power-real-estate' done before I had to head to the World Headquarters to guide the class.

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

2016 - Day 234/132 - Sunday...

Pretty much as it was predicted (thanks Albert), it was grey and cloudy and dribble for most of the day. I took full advantage of it, did very little outside other than to give the chicken coop a good cleaning and changed the cedar shavings in their nesting boxes. Did some reviewing for a class I am guiding tomorrow, and took a couple naps. Other than taking the girl dog for a ride, we did not leave the house.

We have officially topped 10" of rain this month, so we have had a whole years worth of rain in just 8 months of 2016. It is supposed to rain a little bit more tonight and tomorrow, then we have a break for a couple days, then there is a small chance for rain next weekend.

my schedule is pretty open for the coming week, and that will be nice. I can take advantage of that and try my best to stay caught up!

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

2016 - Day 233/133 - Saturday...

Over the past week, including the rain we have received so far today, we have documented over 9" of rain out here on the edge of nowhere! And it started raining about an hour ago, and it is supposed to keep raining until Tuesday. Freaky weather all across the country, and I guess freaky is just the new normal. Jody and I went into Georgetown this afternoon for lunch, and we were caught in a DOWNPOUR. It rained really hard on us on the way home, but we outran it and made it home where there had been just a little rain. BUT NOW we are in for some heavy rains off and on for the next couple days. Don't get me wrong, we are not complaining (yet), and we know we are lucky that we have not been experiencing floods, fires, tornadoes, alligators, fallen trees, locusts, other varieties of pestilence, ice storms, or other weather related maladies. We are just happy with the rain, and that will do for us, thank you very much.

I did get the grass cut around the house this morning, most of the front and some of the back. I am very pleased with myself that I got that done and did not wait (as I usually do) until Sunday to get those kinds of chores accomplished. Very pleased.

On another note, after I finished cutting the grass this morning, I drove about 40 miles (round trip) on a cantaloupe quest. I am going through a cantaloupe phase (I do nothing in moderation), and I have been very disappointed with the cantaloupes I have been able to get (generally speaking) at the grocers around Austin. Not ripe. I got two cantaloupes yesterday at the grocery, and they are both in a paper sack waiting to ripen. I went to the Georgetown Farmer's Market this morning and got one that smelled pretty good, and the 'farmer' said it was ripe and ready to eat. It is okay, but it has a very mild taste and it is not a real dark orange color. Now I am on a quest for the perfect cantaloupes.

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

2016 - Day 232/134 - Friday...

I actually took this photograph on purpose, although I had to spend several moments trying to remember what it was a photograph OF... So, I decided I would use it as my photo documentation to accompany this journal entry. SO, I think it would be fun to have a little challenge (I hesitate to call it a contest, but I think a challenge is totally appropriate), to see who of you (my multitudes of daily followers) can figure out what this is. If no one figures it out, I may even leave a clue here and there. Not today, but maybe. What do you think it is?

Friday. Occasionally my favorite day of the week. Not every week my favorite day, but occasionally. It just so happens that (this week) I had a few pretty darned good days, and I find myself revelling in the sunshine, and not particularly looking forward to the predictions of more rain in the coming seven day forecast. I know, I know, the weather is crazy, but what are you gonna do?

Weather we got!

Deeds, actions, Changes, WHAT IS IT, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 231/135 - Thursday...

Well, with an inter webs connection and a little bit of editing, I did not need to go in search of a photo for today's journal entry. It seems that VANDALS have deposited nude sculptures of 'the Donald' in five major cities across the U.S. today, and at least one of them (NYC) was unceremoniously hauled off and deposited face-down in the back of a City Works pick up truck. I assume it will be reported as a conspiracy, but that is okay with me. I think it is all bordering on the ridiculous, and I am tired of it all. Oh, and if you would care to see a couple -edited versions, there are plenty of them posted variously on Facebook, or just let me know and I will forward them along to you.
un

I am tired, Jody and I stayed the night in Austin last night, he had an early morning appointment, and I am going to call it quits here before too long.

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

2016 - Day 230/136 - Wednesday...

What you have here is the photo I thought I was going to post in this journal on yesterday. But...as you know...then THAT happened and I got distracted. But, generally it is true that my socks do provide some distraction from the ordinary and mundane. Since I very seldom am called upon do perform functions that would require more formal dress, I have also taken to wearing a variety of Crocs on a regular basis as well. Quite often, my socks do SCREAM for accessories, and Crocs of various colors seem to do the trick. I have become fond of wearing socks that don't match, just to add another level to the ensemble, but so far I have not yet worn mis-matched shoes on purpose. I say on purpose because I have been known to wear mis-matched shoes, but it was not something I did intentionally.

Today was a good day, I was up early and on the road and guided a class through a day of education at the Austin Board of REALTORS®. I think it was a good class, I think some interesting knowledge was imparted, and no one got hurt during the time I spent.

I don't think anyone got hurt at any rate. Who knows...

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

2016 - Day 229/137 - Tuesday...

...and then this happened. Everything was running pretty smoothly considering that it rained all day, and we have (so far) received 7.02" of rain in the last four-and-a-half days. We received about three-and-a-half inches of that since I emptied the gauge this morning. On my way home this afternoon, I tried to call Jody a couple times to see if he needed me to stop and do anything on the way home, since it had rained all day. Out here on the edge of nowhere, the telephone lines are finicky when it comes to rain, and I never could get through to him. There was a part of me that thought he had gone out after the housekeeper left, and was not back from the grocery yet. When I got home, I saw Jody's truck outside the garage, and thought maybe the power was out, and he could not get the door open, and that is when I saw the gutter laying helplessly across the drive way, still attached to the corner of the gutter on the front side of the house, but just laying prostrate (I hope that is the right word) across the HVAC system and totally detached from the back corner of the house.

SO...since the guy that installed the gutters is in Oklahoma (he won't be here to fix it until Monday), I took matters into my own (gloved) hands and RIPPED the gutter off the front corner, and dragged it to a resting place along side the fence. It was rest there comfortable (I hope) until the guy comes to make the necessary repairs.

It is always something.

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

2016 - Day 228/138 - Monday...

Traffic this morning was OUT OF CONTROL. Okay, granted, it was raining (and it is still raining), and for all practical purposes Hell may as well have just gone on and frozen over. Drivers in central Texas cannot drive, PERIOD. It does not matter if it is 70 degrees outside with a light north wind, 25% humidity and high noon, drivers in central Texas cannot drive. They can't drive when it is a beautiful day, they can't drive when there is ice or snow on the ground, they cannot drive when it has been raining for the last five minutes. They need therapy. They need to face facts that they need to leave earlier, not drive faster. It was a grueling drive in to the city, and I have to tell you, I am not at all sure jut how this truck on the service road did it, but he did make for an interesting drive-by. Add that to the list of road closures, low-water-crossing closures, the threat of flash-flooding AND the fact that drivers in central Texas cannot drive, and you have the makings of (at least) the third or fourth circle of Hell on the highways.

It has rained most of the day today, and we (those of us that live on the edge of nowhere), have received lost to 3.5" of accumulated rain in the past four days, and we are delighted with that. Austin has received more rain than we have, but that is okay with us too.

Still more rain predicted for the rest of the week, and I will let you know how that goes.

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

2016 - Day 227/39 - Sunday...

There is no better way to start a grey, gloomy, humid, overcast day, than with a big ole pile of eggs. Every weekend, Jody and I start off the day with a big ole pole of eggs. Jody usually has half of a scone or a muffin to go along with his bog ole pile of eggs, but I am a purist, just a big ole pile of eggs for me, please. Actually, I am trying to lose a few pounds, otherwise I would be having a scone myself, but that is a whole other story. I could probably be more successful in my weight loss endeavors if I cut back on the big ole pile of eggs just a bit, but, well...never mind.

Speaking of rain, we have had enough traces of rain today to have a cumulative total of 0.05" of rain in the gauge. It has been raining pretty steadily in Austin all day long, but nothing very much here and in Georgetown. But, overall, that is okay with us. The high temperature today was in the mid-80s, and will will take that on any day in August.

I was able to get LOTS of office work done today, and that makes me WAY ahead of the game for this coming week. I am very proud of my accomplishments.

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

2016 - Day 226/140 - Saturday...

With the promise of rain in the forecast (for the next six or seven days), I got started with the little bit of yard work I wanted to do this morning. After making a pile of eggs, I went out in the yard and trimmed some low-hanging tree limbs from around the pool. Then I trimmed some more limbs that were hanging over the deck. I did not get too carried away, and a couple hours later decided to trim a few more limbs from another area. That was it. Done. I did however, get a chance to try out my new 'sucker-blower', and if I do say so myself, it worked wonderfully. Last week, I swept the leaves around the pool deck and back patio, since I have never really mastered the art of using a leaf-blower. So, this week I ventured out and obtained a 'leaf-vacuum', which is basically the same end results of sweeping leaves and putting them in the recycle bin (the trash can), without all the in-between steps of sweeping, bending and then more sweeping. It works pretty well, and if I ever tire of it being a leaf sucker, it (with a few twists and turns) can be converted into a leaf blower. Almost like magic (but not really, let's be serious).

Later in the afternoon, we went into Georgetown and saw the Florence Foster Jenkins movie. "People may say I can't sing, but no one can ever say I didn't sing!" It is worth seeing (no matter what the critics say), and there were no kids in the auditorium, and there were lots of people laughing (including me). Fun!

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

2016 - Day 225/141 - Friday...

Three years ago today (it was a Monday), Jody and I got all legalized. After being together for 21 years, we figured that was not good enough (okay I am the one that proposed) and after about month or two of planning, we (along with about a half dozen friends from Austin, Houston and Palm Beach) made it to Connecticut, where we interrupted the birthday weeks of Melody, her mother and her daughter Arienne. We got the license on Monday morning, and that afternoon, we entered into Holy Matrimony via a Republican Justice of the Peace. Republicans in Connecticut are a little bit different in Connecticut than they are in Texas (not that there is anything wrong with that), and so far we are living happily ever after. We have two anniversaries every year, one less formal than the other, but both observed with gusto and affection. Here's to another 24 years. Next year will make 25, and I suggest you all start now to see what the appropriate gift is for a quarter-century of happiness!

Oh, and it rained here today too, and it is still dribbling a little bit. When I last looked at the gauge, there was 037" of rain, and I hope there is more on the way. I am not even sure it was supposed to rain today, but there are pretty good chances that it will rain more in the following week!

YIPPEE FOR US!

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

2016 - Day 224/142 - Thursday...

The girl dog had an appointment at the beautiful parlor this morning to get her hairs done. She is pretty well behaved in the car and Jody's SUV and/or the truck, but she knows there is an agenda if she and I are going for a ride alone. She was very reserved on the ride into Georgetown, and once we got to the parking lot of the groomer, she was interested in the stuff going outside and was ready to check it all out. Once she peed a couple times and read the mail that had been left by the other dogs, she was ready to get back into the car and head north. She was NOT interested in going inside the groomers, and she had no interest what-so-ever in being left behind while I went on to work. All is well that ends well, however, and she is once again happily ensconced in the house, this time with a purple kerchief around her neck. She has never been one for having her photo taken, and that is something I do not understand about her or the boy dog (rip). Maybe I am just more sensitive to it, since every opportunity seems to be a photo-opportunity.

Whatever.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, GIRL DOG, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 223/143 - Wednesday...

It's hump day y'all. HUMP DAY. I need to take a nap. I woke up earlier than usual this morning, concerned that I had improperly spelled Bentley in last night's entry. Now I expect I will wake up early tomorrow, wondering if that apostrophe is in the proper place. Is is t's or ts' or is it just okay to ignore the need of an apostrophe and fake it, or is an apostrophe unnecessary and I am just stressing out about nothing (which is usually the case for me). Whatever the case, as long as I stressed about it, I decided to share the photo of the Bentley that was behind me yesterday afternoon at the rail road crossing. Now, is rail road one word or two? Oh crap...well, actually in this case it is two words, but is it more proper to make it one word or...

Whatever...

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

2016 - Day 222/144 - Tuesday...

When is the last time you were stopped at a railroad crossing? Me either! I can't remember. But you know what, it was no big deal. It gave me a chance to sit in the car, check e-mails, send a couple e-mails, check my Facebook page, comment on the posts of a couple friends, and cruise the Bentley that pulled up behind me. Two fun things. I really, REALLY like Bentley's, but trains are more within my reach. I don't think I have even EVER sat in a Bentley or a Rolls Royce, but I expect there is still time for that. Now, back to trains...several years ago, when traveling was still kind of fun, Jody and I flew to Salt Lake City and took the American Orient-Express on a tour of the National Parks from there to Los Angeles. It was great. It would be quite a luxury to take the trains from Austin to the various convention cities that I visit on an annual basis, but I am not sure the trains go to Maui. Maybe, let me check the Googles.

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

2016 - Day 221/145 - Monday...

Here is something that I did not learn in any of my (extensive) formal education, and so I need to know if this is something you (gentle legions of followers) are aware of either. Q: Did you know that stained and polished concrete is an excellent conductor of (static) electricity. A: Neither did I! Everywhere I go lately I get shocked by static electricity. I am almost of the opinion that many places I visit have faulty wiring and if I am not careful, I will be a victim of an accidental electrocution. The best I could hope for would be that it was a rapid and (relatively) painless death. Not like my visit to Costco this afternoon. I could not go thirty feet without being shocked if I touched any metal piece of the shopping cart. I had to very carefully hold onto only the plastic handle piece. I tried very carefully NOT to shuffle my feet, and I fear I was reminiscent of a vintage Monty Python skit that began "Walk this way!" As I was JUST STANDING in the checkout line, not even moving and continuing to be shocked, I asked a supervisor (who was just standing there observing) if he had any complaints of people being shocked just by walking through the store. He responded that, no complaints that day, but there had been complaints in the past, and that "stained and polished concrete floors are excellent conductors of (static) electricity." SO...the truth-o-meter scores this one as TRUE!

Who knew?

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

2016 - Day 220/146 - Sunday...

Well, this is just another sign that global warming is real. Or that E does not really = MC2. Or perhaps the symbol for water is NOT H2O. There really is such a thing as Dr. Seuss. Or maybe Sheldon is NOT the smartest man on a sitcom. Or we collect upwards of two dozen eggs per day. Perhaps only tame bears shit in the woods. Or the current Pope is Episcopalian. Pi is really 3.17. The Fourth of July is supposed to fall on the 7th. The mortality rate of goats is not normally as high as it is on our neighbors property. Solar panels are really installed only to attract clouds. Honey is not really bee spit, and money DOES grow on trees. Everything I believed I knew is up for grabs. The sage up by the road has been blooming for about three days now, and not a drop of rain. Nothing. Blooming sage means it is going to rain. But nothing. I am very confused.

Otherwise, it was a typical Sunday. Lots of accomplishments, small, inconsequential accomplishments. The highlight of the day was visiting with Mike and Candy for Lupper. DEE-LISH!

Now to go retire into the big blue chair.

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

2016 - Day 219/147 - Saturday...

This has not been a particularly good year for egg production on behalf of the 16 chickens that we still have out here on the edge of nowhere (down from about 30 or so we had last year and the years before). That was before the neighbors moved in with the chicken-killing dogs. Not sure if the canine rampages scared them out of fertility, or if the rain floated their fertility to dryer grounds or if the heat has baked the fertility out of them. Whatever the cause, so far this year we have only harvested 842 eggs (that equals 70.17 dozen if you care), not that anyone other ME is counting. Some days we get no eggs, some days we get a couple eggs, but the average on a daily basis is +/- 4 eggs a day. Today was the motor-lode of eggs in recent memory; 9 eggs. Quite a haul if I do say so myself! That ought to do us for a bit. On the weekends, Jody and I go through more than a dozen eggs in two breakfasts, but we have been poor neighbors in the egg sharing department. Maybe that will turn around now. We shall see.

Otherwise, this was just a pretty typical Saturday. I headed in to Austin this morning for an appointment, and that was followed by a nap in the big blue chair. Jody and I went into town in the afternoon for lunch, followed by another nap in the chair. Tomorrow we have been invited to Lupper with Candy and Mike, and that will be nice.

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

2016 - Day 218/148 - Friday...

I remember Top Value stamps a little bit from when I was a kid, but nothing like the S&H Green Stamps. It was interesting to me the responses I got about the Green Stamps. Today we have frequent flyer miles, cash back and other things that entice us to buy this or that with this or that. I am positive that when my mother died, I found a couple books of S&H Green Stamps in a drawer of her house in Cedar Park. Positive. Like I have said before, there was still stuff on the shelf under her end tables that was there if 1968 when we left the suburbs of Detroit. Close, but not 100% hoarding activities going on there, I think that is probably where I get my need for retail therapy. Who knows?

This closes a tough week. I am looking forward to an easier week next week. I have a couple appointments tomorrow, and then it will be nap time once again.

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

2016 - Day 217/149 - Thursday...

Is it still Thursday? It has been kind of a long week. Today was a long day of meetings, but the high point of the year (that is, in TREPAC years), was our Major Investor Appreciation event held this evening. It was a great event, attended by many of our local board leadership, volunteers, and role models, as well as our state leadership and even volunteers from the National Association of REALTORS®. It is wonderful to all have an opportunity to get together and share the messages of advocacy and awareness. After the event, some of us migrated to the bar (I never really understand how that happens, but it does), and this is the photographic record of that happening. There was a lot of money invested in TREPAC this evening, and that will go a long way to ensure our ongoing efforts to maintain property owner rights and the preservation of REALTOR® interests now and in the future. There is always something. A big THANKS to David for this photo.

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

2016 - Day 216/150 - Wednesday...

One of the (many) advantages (and benefits) to living on the edge of nowhere is the neighbors. Probably not neighbors in the same way you think of them, but neighbors none-the-less. We can see the house of one neighbor from our house (if you go out into the front yard), and the house of another neighbor if you go up to the road and the corn or sorghum has been harvested. And some of our neighbors are seven or eight miles away, but we are all still neighbors. Neighbors out here share things; we share eggs when we have them, figs when the picking is good, honey when we were keeping bees. Kind words are shared more than anything, and waves when we pass any of them (and strangers, too) on the roads. People in trucks wave more frequently than people in cars. The neighbors share with us too; most recently cantaloupes (some ordinary ones and some not so ordinary), corn, beans, little pound cakes, cookies, peaches, whatever is in season. Sharing is good, and that is one of the things that make the drives back and forth worthwhile.

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

2016 - Day 215/151 - Tuesday...

I can remember one Saturday afternoon when I was growing up in Detroit. I had no idea, but my dad took me into Detroit, which was not that unusual. We stopped at this guys house, and he showed my dad this bike. It was a Schwinn Black Phantom, and in my opinion, he was convinced that I needed to have that bicycle. I ended up with it, and still had it when my dad died. It was a workhorse. I delivered newspapers with that bike for five or six years. I had paper routes for at least 8 years, and that bike alone must have weighed about 40 pounds. It had a HUGE spring in the fork, a light and a horn. A kick stand, chrome fenders and a leather seat that probably came off an old Indian motorcycle. My bike prior to that time was a red Murray, that my mom got me with Green Stamps. We used to get all kinds of stuff with Green Stamps. S&H Green Stamps were like the credit card rewards of the day, a premium you got when you bought groceries, gas and lots of other stuff.

Deeds, Actions, Changes, BLACK PHANTOM, Kindnesses, Whirled Peas, FUN!

2016 - Day 214/152 - Monday...

Overall, it was not a terrible day for traffic. This representation is not quite accurate. I was on my way home this afternoon, and this is the view of IH-35 where it intersects with Toll 45, the divider line of Travis County and Williamson County, the City of Austin and the City of Round Rock. Usually, everything on this map would be red and pulsing! BUT, not too bad today, even though I had to sit through two wreck on the north bound side to make it to this point.

Otherwise, this was a pretty manic Monday, par for the course, no extra minutes, and I felt totally discombobulated all day long. There was a feeling of pending doom that I just could not put my finger on. Still not feeling all that comfortable, but I am home now, so all is well. Like waiting for the other shoe to drop!

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