Volume 12 - Day 60/306, 2020 - Saturday

I went to another estate sale today, in Sun City. There are so many old people there, the GPS in the car started forgetting where it was going. This is terrible to say, but there former occupant of the property most likely passed away because they could not find their way out of the subdivision (such a maze of streets) to get to the HEB for groceries. A very nice house, everything was 50% off, and I bought nothing. That is really par for my estate sale forays. I did get a call from the clock repair place in Austin, so I went and retrieved the mantle clock that was the recipient of a whole set of new guts. The clock is almost thirty years old, and it is like new on the inside now. I expect it will be good for another thirty years. I got a few more errands done as well. I have a new sheet of vinyl flooring for the chicken coop and some edging to keep it down on the floor without curling up. I took all the plants out of the garage and watered them. There is no freezing weather in the forecast at least for the next ten days. And the girls got taken for a nice long ride this morning, which made them happy. Still lots to get done tomorrow, and I need to do some prep for a couple classes I will be presenting next week.

Volume 12 - Day 59/307, 2020 - Friday

One more day and it will be March. Crazy. If it is Friday, it must be estate sale day. We try our best to go to estate sales on Friday, and this one was not really any better or worse than most of the others. It is very seldom that I buy stuff at these sales, and usually never buy anything more than $20. Today I got five lamp timers and a tape measure ($1 each) and two winged metal pigs ($4 each). Just a bit over $15 for the lot, and I am very pleased with that. I never seem to be able to find a tape measure when I need one, and there are probably a dozen here and there between the house and the barns, but never where I need one. SO, that was good. It was a lovely spring day in central Texas today, even though it is still winter according to the calendar. Temperature in the low 70s, sunny, light breeze, all was right with the world. I hate this: Daylight Saving Time starts on March 8th, just one week from Sunday. I really, reaLLY, REALLY hate it. Ugh.

Volume 12 - Day 58/308, 2020 - Thursday

It is confirmed, there is another cat in the hood. I heard it last week, saw a glimpse of it the other day, and saw it full on this afternoon when I was taking food to Barney. He/She is not particularly timid, it came very close to me twice when I was putting food in the dish. So, I assume it belongs or belonged to someone, and it ended up here. It may wander off at some point, but for now, there are two cats on the property, two dogs and one crazy person. Today was a pretty uneventful day, I got in to the office at my new later time, and got a few things done. I had a lunch date with some friends of mine, and that was nice, and then I went back to the office, did a little bit more work, and headed home. I stopped at Target on the way (bought a new pair of house-shoes and another dog gate), and then made another stop at Tractor Supply for some bird seed. The chickens had a good day today, eleven eggs, so they are happy.

Volume 12 - Day 57/309, 2020 - Wednesday

Well, I have already lost. I just could not make myself go to a movie today, and it was only because there was just not any movie playing (in a convenient location) that I cared about going to see. I guess I can still achieve the goal (I could go to three or four movies in one day if I wanted to), but for now, I think I need to come up with a new mission. Honestly, I am just happy being by myself for now. The dogs and I are perfectly content to eat and sleep ourselves into a stupor. It is supposed to freeze overnight tonight, but I don't think it will be too bad. We are in a high spot here, so we are not usually as cold as the weather stations report. I will be plenty warm in the house, even though it may be a two-dog-night. There is also the possibility that I may find an interesting movie on tv to watch. I am pretty sure that would count.

Volume 12 - Day 56/310, 2020 - Tuesday

I thought today was Monday all day long. I just realized it is Tuesday. I knew it was Tuesday, but I thought it was Monday. I remember watching television this evening and thinking tomorrow is Tuesday, but in reality, today is already Tuesday. I am also wondering if I can see a movie a day for the next thirty days. I looked to see what is playing in Georgetown, and there is nothing that I am familiar with, so it looks like I will have to see movies in Austin. Of course, that is nothing more than another goal to try and achieve. I am not even sure if I could find thirty different movies period, let alone thirty movies I would want to see. BUT, I am always up for a good challenge, and I will give it a shot tomorrow and see what I can find. It is supposed to get cold overnight, and then even colder overnight Wednesday in to Thursday morning. Then, for at least the next seven days or so, it should be kind of seasonal. I am also putting magazines and other periodicals in chronological order, and I am starting to knock them out in order of cover date.

It's always something.

Volume 12 - Day 55/311, 2020 - Monday

I don't know about you, but this is what it looks like on a Monday morning when I have not shaved for a week. Time to get serious about stuff, and try my best to make myself look presentable. That in itself is a task that I would rather not take on, but I did, and it worked out okay. I did manage to get a lot of busy-work stuff done today, and I am glad for that. I try my best to give myself achievable goals, and that has always worked out well. I slept on the new mattress last night; the girls are pretty happy with it, but it seems I sleep on my side much more than I thought I did. The mattress has an adjustable base which is just fine if you are laying on your back, but laying on your side is a bit of a challenge. I tried Googling the answer, but it seems Mrs. Google was taking the day off. There were plenty of similar questions, but apparently no answers. SO...I will continue down this path and see if I can condition myself to the new sleep style. I'll get back with you...

Volume 12 - Day 54/312, 2020 - Sunday

I came close to forgetting to make this journal entry. Not too close, but close. There were lots of chores to get done around the house today. My new mattress was delivered, I have sheets and things to go along with the new mattress. Furniture has been moved and rearranged, and pretty much chaos is reigning supreme. It was another grey and unfriendly looking day, and it is supposed to rain a little bit overnight. I did not cut any more grass today, and I am pretty sure I did not leave any gates open so the dogs could become free-ranging puppies. While I was taking the garbage can up to the road, I did see Barney and he and I talked for a little while. They are relatively one-sided conversations, he is much smarter than I am. There is the chance on another light freeze coming up this week, but pretty soon we will be in the middle of spring. This wisteria vine that covers this old wind mill (Jody bought it for me as an anniversary gift when we had the place at Red Rock) will soon be blooming and really lovely and fragrant. Spring will soon be here, and all things will renew.

Volume 12 - Day 53/313, 2020 - Saturday

I am not really sure where to begin this entry, but here we go. I am nesting. Moving stuff around, doing stuff around the house. Maybe a little de-cluttering. I bought a new bed today (actually I just bought a new mattress set), that was really an experience. It seems I have forgotten how to shop for stuff like that, and all the rules have changed. I actually started shopping for the new mattress yesterday, and it was not at all successful. I probably need counseling, but I did get it done this afternoon. There is a domino affect when you buy a new mattress set. You have to buy sheets. And a comforter. And a cover for the comforter, and stuff like that. BUT, that is all done, and the mattress is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, sometime after noon.

I came home from all that shopping (I stopped at a local nursery to ask about fertilizing and pre-emergent weed killing), and cut a very little bit of grass, primarily in the dog yard. Then I had some cold baked chicken, did a few more things around the house, fed the dogs, and a little while later I let the girls out in the back yard. Oh shit, I forgot to close the gate when I cut the grass. I would never have paid attention except the piglet was suddenly on the front porch. I got her in the house, and panicked about where Callie was. It took just one trip around the house, and there she was. I don't know what she had been up to, but I think she was feeling guilty about something.

And I am pretty sure I need some kind of counseling. Not really, just talking. And the spring blooms are coming up nicely here and there. Too bad it is not spring yet. Oh dear...

Volume 12 - Day 52/314, 2020 - Friday

Sitting in the office at home, thinking about this journal entry, I can hear the coyotes out side calling to each other. It is interesting to me that, each of the species have their own habitats, but we also share those habitats with each other. The habitat of the coyote is the darkness, my habitat is the light and the warmth of the dwelling. It is not often that our combined paths cross, and if they do, I am not sure which one of us is the most startled. Sorry about the photo for this entry, it was a rather quiet day, nothing of particular note. There was a pretty interesting sunset, but I could not get a photo of it that really did it justice, so I am going with another photo of a wreck on IH-35. I am not too sure of the wreck part of it, but the exit was closed and that took a lot of commuters by surprise. Pretty much the best thing about today is that it is Friday, and the weekend can be consumed by chores around the house.

Volume 12 - Day 51/315, 2020 - Thursday

You guys are all really lucky. This picture is much happier than the one I had intended for this entry. I went in to Austin this morning, but it was later than I usually go in. I was wakened this morning by a little piglet dog licking my ear. I decided it was time to get up, and let them outside for a while. It was misting rain this morning (cleared off now), so I headed in at about nine o'clock or so. Still kind of going in slow motion, but I am making accomplishments. Lots of details to get worked out, and I am just taking stuff one day at a time. Anyway...when I was on my way home, there were about forty buzzards hanging around one spot, and I slowed down to see what they were feasting on, but there was nothing. Took a photo for the journal, but then the sunset won out over the carrions. The picture does not really do the sunset justice, might have been better earlier or later, but this is what you are getting. I will do more chores tomorrow, and will go back in to Austin. Going in late and coming home early is kind of good. I can get used to it.

Volume 12 - Day 50/316, 2020 - Wednesday

I have a headache. I have had it since yesterday, and I expect it will go away soon. I hardly ever have a headache, so I can only empathize with those that are victims of migraine headaches. That was one of the many topics of conversation yesterday. Believe me, there was a lot of conversation, and there was lots of laughing, lots of crying (sometimes at the same time), just lots. I spent a lot of time in bed today, and that was good. I spent the rest of the time walking around in circles, and that was okay too. The whole day seemed to play out in slow-motion. The only thing I really did today was to take the girls for a ride. Part of that was to make sure that Jody's truck was still running, and so the battery does not go dead again. I also fed the chickens and the cat(s). I told Jody the other day (Saturday) that I thought there was another cat in the vicinity, because I heard it meowing. Barney has never made a sound to the best of my knowledge. Today, when I was feeding (what I thought was only) Barney, I saw the other cat. A grey cat. I thought "I need to tell Jody." I am pretty sure he already knows. The weather is still acting strangely. We have had drizzly rain the the last couple days, and I think it is supposed to continue tomorrow, and let up by Sunday. This tree (I am not sure what it is) is blooming up by the road. I noticed it the other day. I forgot to tell Jody.

Volume 12 - Day 49/317, 2020 - Tuesday

Volume 12 - Day 48/318, 2020 - Monday

The stuff I run across on a pretty regular basis (almost) never ceases to amaze me. I think these stupid things are everywhere, but we just do not always take a minute to pay attention to them. I have passed this 'warning sign' no less than four times today, and I drug at least two people out of their way to take a look at it. Why would you go to all the trouble of covering up a hole with a sign that says 'hole?' It seems like it would be easier to just fill the hole in with dirt and go on about your business. Am I missing something there? Maybe. Maybe there was no dirt dug out from where the hole was. Maybe it was the result of a water leak, and the dirt washed away. Maybe they hauled the dirt off in a wheel barrel. I call them wheel barrels (because it makes more sense to me), instead of wheel barrow. Or whatever it is that the rest of the world calls something with a wheel in the front, two handles, and can be used to transport dirt, instead of filling the hole back up with the dirt that was just dug out of the hole.

Whatever...

Volume 12 - Day 47/319, 2020 - Sunday

Early this morning, I got Jody's truck started and took the girls for a ride. They had not been for a ride in a couple weeks, and I had the charger on the battery, so off we went. It was a leisurely ride down some of the back roads out here on the edge of nowhere, and the girls had their choice of windows to stick their heads out, and all was good. Along the way, I saw TWO (not one) of my favorite things in all the world. Derelict houses and spring flowers. I have craved this old abandoned house for the twelve years or so that we have lived out here, and I have always wanted to go inside, but never have. When I was a little kid growing up in Michigan, there was an old abandoned house on Sibley Road that I used to go inside of. It was still furnished and I imagine it had not been lived in for twenty or more years. That area had all been farm land at one time, and civilization started creeping up on it. I think most of the farm land had been sold off, but this parcel with the house was still there. I just liked going inside the house, and looking around. There was no vandalism involved on my part, that was something unheard of back then (I think). And, I still have a yearning to go inside old buildings, and if they happen to be abandoned, all the better.

Volume 12 - Day 46/320, 2020 - Saturday

This is the central Texas version of Saturday Night Live...or maybe Saturday Night Slow. Saturday Night Stopped? I have been in and out of Austin twice today, and 75% of the time it was no problem. I really do not know what the problem was this evening, either, because after about thirty minutes, the back-up just kind of dissolved, and we were traveling again. Some things are just beyond explanation or comprehension. Traffic in central Texas is pretty much just a cluster every day, so I think of it kind of the same way I think about going to the Post Office. I need to do it, it is going to be slow, so just shut up and deal with it. The same attitude is displayed by me when I go to Costco. Kind of a 'holier than thou' demeanor. Only the little people take samples at Costco, complain about the Post Office and Interstate travel. Nope, not me, I am above all that.

Or am I?

Volume 12 - Day 45/321, 2020 - Friday

Happy St. Valentine's Day everyone! I had the pleasure of visiting with the Highland Lakes Association of REALTORS® today, presenting the class on Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals. I think everybody in the class had a good time, and everyone (including me) walked away from the class with some information they did not have when they walked in. It was a really pretty day in central Texas, and the drive to Marble Falls is always (well, almost always) a nice one. This pic is courtesy of Sonya, and it is me and the Association Executive Nat! Thanks for inviting me!

Did you all do anything exciting on this day of romance? I stopped on my way to the class and bought candy to throw at people, and I did not throw any. Now I have a bag of candy sitting alone, all by itself, on the dining room table. I feel sorry for it. I may have to pay it some attention in just a little bit.

Volume 12 - Day 44/322, 2020 - Thursday

Yes, I know, I am a day late and a dollar short. No, I am not holding this broom up with my tongue. No, I did not manage to get the broom to stand up by itself because all the stars, moons and planets were in perfect alignment yesterday. Yes, Tosalyn in our office did it. Yes, Tosalyn took the picture. Yes, Tosalyn helped me get up off the floor.

TIL: Today I learned that, if you are interested or an aficionado of popping the bubble wrap, particularly the big blue ones that are used by one of the biggest companies in the world (not going to say the name but the initials are Amazon), then you should know, the air inside all those bubbles has been shipped over here from China. Those sneaky little devils!

UGH!

Volume 12 - Day 43/323, 2020 - Wednesday

This is what progress looks like close to the edge of nowhere. Some people may have another name for it, but the folks that are putting in the water lines (I think they are water lines) call it progress. About seven miles from us, in Walburg, one side is selling land, another side is buying the land, and the foundations are already being poured. This is all happening really quickly, almost too quickly, or maybe I am just not paying attention. I have been accused of that before, so maybe that is what is going on.

On another note, I took my car in to get the 'kamikaze deer' damage repaired, and a couple hours later, the car was done an I was on my way.Not really a big deal. Since I think the rain is about over for the time being (a short time being), I may even get the car washed tomorrow. Maybe. We'll see. I am heading off to Marble Falls on Friday to present a class to the Highland Lake Association, so I would like to get the car washed before I go. I just looked at the weather forecast, and it is supposed to be sunny on Friday, so that is encouraging.

Volume 12 - Day 42/324, 2020 - Tuesday

It's only Tuesday? It is a rainy and chilly day, and the last I knew, the high temperature only got up to about 46 degrees today. It is not supposed to get too much cooler overnight, and we may hit 60 degrees tomorrow. Hopefully, the rain will cease (not that we can't use the rain), and the sun will come out tomorrow (sounds like a song). Maybe, maybe not. There is a pretty good chance of rain through next week. Today was my first Board of Directors meeting as a Regional Vice President. It was an interesting meeting, some serious business, some forecasts, some reports, some play, some fun, and now it is time to share all the stuff I gathered up from the last six days, and share it with my colleagues.

On the way home this afternoon, I stopped at Target to see if I could find a new watch band for Jody's watch. The short answer is, no I could not. When I inquired upon first entering the store, I was directed to the electronics department. No, I don't think I need an electronic watch band, and no, there is no such thing (anymore) as a Speidel Twist-O-Flex watch band. If you have one still in the wrapper, there is no telling how much it might be worth.

Volume 12 - Day 41/325, 2020 - Monday

Today was my first Executive Board meeting with Texas REALTORS®. I have been a REALTOR® for 25 years, and I have done a lot of different things during that time. I have had lots of ups, downs and sideways, but nothing has caused me to even consider turning away from it. The more I learn about being a volunteer servant, the more I understand the commitment it takes to make a difference on behalf of all our members. Locally, that is about 13,000 members. Statewide, about 130,000 members, and on a national scale, I thine there are about 1.3 million members. Something like that. I have been honored (and lucky) to give my time and knowledge (more time than knowledge) to the REALTOR® associations that I m a part of. The photo included in this post is the obligatory image of my table place along with my other colleagues from our Region, Region 15. Tomorrow will be my first Board of Directors meeting as an RVP, although I have served as a Director in the past. Wish me luck...

Volume 12 - Day 40/326, 2020 - Sunday

i doubt that I can adequately relate to you how much of a good day this was. I was in meetings for a goodly portion of the day, than I had a break, and then I had a chance to meet with some of my TREPAC colleagues and laugh. A lot. I need to laugh! Tonight was out TREPAC Volleyball tournament, and I got a bunch of our Trustees to be cheerleaders. We won the team spirit trophy, and each of the participating Trustees will own the trophy (not huge) for a couple months. A traveling cheerleader award. Too late to continue, more manana.

Volume 12 - Day 39/327, 2020 - Saturday

I think this picture tells the whole story of modern Texas. A spirit of independence and construction. This was a day full of meetings, beginning at 6A.M. this morning. I made it to a breakfast meeting, four committee meetings (Diversity, Orientation, RVP's and the TREPC Trustees meeting), this evening we had a Major Investor event at the Bob Bullock Museum. It was a great event, well attended and we are pretty sure everyone enjoyed the evening. It's been a long day, the same will most likely be said about tomorrow, and it is time for me to call it a night!

Volume 12 - Day 38/328, 2020 - Friday

Day two of the Texas REALTORS® Winter Meeting, and it was a full day of stuff. Started out with a quick visit in to a couple committee meetings, and then Candy and I spent the day presenting Professional Standards to a room full (+/- 125) of some of the smartest and most capable of our colleagues from across the state. I think the presentation was pretty well received, and Candy and I have known each other for a LONG time, so we played off each other, and that was good. A lot of good information presented, and hopefully it did not seem to the attendees that they were in that room for seven hours. An extra treat was seeing several of the Cooke'd moderators (and lurkers) in the room, and we got together for this pic. Thanks Alisha!

And I really can't think of anything else that I encountered today that could be considered funny or entertaining, so that is it for this entry.

Volume 12 - Day 37/329, 2020 - Thursday

Stop the presses, there was snow in central Texas last night. It does not happen frequently, and usually when it does, there is no bread or milk (or wine) left at the HEB. I still have a box of twinkies in the beer fridge left over from a hurricane preparedness shopping trip. This event was really uneventful. No panic, no real tragedies, just a pretty powdering of snow that lasted about another 20 minutes after I took a few photos. Austin is not expecting a freeze tonight, and Bartlett is just on the cusp. Maybe yes, maybe no.

Followers of Emily Post who are floundering with the rules for making toast ... er, getting toasted will want to pick up the new book from her great-great-granddaughter, Lizzie Post. According to The New York Times, Higher Etiquette: A Guide to the World of Cannabis, From Dispensaries to Dinner Parties offers tidbits of advice for a variety of situations, to wit: Don't eat all the munchies. Avoid words like "pothead" and "weed," which can have negative connotations. Tip your "budtender" well, as he or she probably makes minimum wage. "Etiquette," Post reminds us, "can be so easy."

Volume 12 - Day 36/330, 2020 - Wednesday

I am not sure if poppies will be affected by the cold temperatures overnight tonight, but I expect they will be. I have passed by this bed of poppies every afternoon for about the last week, and today I was lucky enough to be stopped in front of the so I could document them before they are destroyed by the cold. The cold will be good for the peach trees out in the back, so I guess some good will come from this. At eight o'clock this evening, it was 35 degrees. It is not forecast to be as cold as predicted yesterday, but it is expected to hit the freezing mark. Same forecast for Friday morning as well. I do know this for sure: If you try to use a piece of string cheese as a highlighter, it will not work.

Brian Guest, 51, of Perth, Australia, was a longtime and controversial advocate for the protection of sharks. In December 2008, he was snorkeling at a beach not too far from his home, when he was attacked and killed by a shark. Guest's son Daniel, 24, said the attack was a random event, and that it shouldn't make people afraid of sharks. Aren't all shark attacks random events?

Volume 12 - Day 35/331, 2020 - Tuesday

Looking out this window a LOT today, and it is in the high 70's, maybe 80 or more degrees. A cold front is coming through this evening, The high temperature tomorrow is expected to be in the mid-40's, with a freeze overnight Wednesday. I am sure that is going to totally screw up the bed plants for yet another year. There have been iris blooming, lots of the bed plants thought it was spring, and then we will have one night of freezing temperatures, and all is lost when the REAL spring gets here. Other than that, I have no strong opinions!

Late one night in December 2009, a 911 operator in Oldsmar, Florida, received a call from 37-year-old Gregory Oras. He said that several men attacked and shot him outside a bar. "My nose is broken and my ears are bleeding!" When officers rushed to the scene, they found Oras; his nose wasn't broken and his ears weren't bleeding. Appearing quite intoxicated, he informed then that he just wanted a ride to another bar, and thought dialing 911 was the fastest way to make that happen. The police ticketed Oras for the frivolous call, but he put up a fight and kicked one of the officers in the knees. They tazed Oras and took him to jail.

Volume 12 - Day 34/332, 2020 - Monday

There was a lovely sunrise this morning, and there was no foreboding of doom, so I thought that was a good sign. Traffic did not suck as bad as usual, and I think that could be attributed to the "day after" the Superbowl. The day after the Superbowl has become kind of an unwritten holiday for employers, because much of the workforce gets so plastered during the game that they would be useless at work. It is either that, or the coronavirus, take your pick. I'm going with the Superbowl thing. I took my car in for a look-see, and I have an appointment for the repair NEXT Wednesday (as opposed to THIS Wednesday). I am not happy to be driving around in a car with front end damage, mainly because of my comments to other drivers with front end damage. Mostly, they have front end damage because they are dumb masses...two words, this is a family journal.

Police in Winona, Minnesota (I like the sound of that), were called to the scene of an automobile accident in April, 2010. They found a car that had been driven into a utility pole. Witnesses said they saw a young man walking a dog leave the scene. Four hours later, 18-year
-old Michael Allen Butler called police and confessed. Butler told police he had crashed into the pole...because his dog had puked on him. Deputy Police Chief Tom Williams was skeptical at first, but after investigating the scene said he believed the young man...because they found dog puke all over the inside of the car. Butler was ticketed for driving without a license. I hope you have already had dinner...

Volume 12 - Day 33/333, 2020 - Sunday

Okay, it's gonna take more than 15 minutes to fix this. It is not as if I actually HIT the deer, it is more like the deer was on a mission of self-destruction. I saw the deer (several of them), and they were stopped or jumping fences to my left, so that was good. I slowed down, made sure none of them were going to dart out in front of me, but obviously one decided to dart out on the side of me. It sounded (probably) worse than it actually was, unless of course you were the deer with the new membership in the hemlock society. Ugh! Poor thing, not sure how badly it was hurt, and hitting deer in the dark is one of my big fears driving home after dark. Danggit!

Michelangelo's David is one of the world's best-known statues, and represents the artist's ideal human form-even though critics have long wondered why the "ideal human form" would have such disproportionately small "private parts." David is 13 feet high and placed on a pedastal so admirers have to look up at it. But according to Pietro Bernabei, writing in the Italian journal Il Giornale dell'Arte, viewing David's face head-on, his blank expression changes to one of fear and worry. This makes sense-the statue depicts David just before his fight with the giant Goliath. And in a bit of dark humor, it explains the figure's "shrinkage": Male genitals typically recede when the body is under stress. It's like the Seinfeld episode.

Volume 12 - Day 32/334, 2020 - Saturday

As I was going in to Austin this morning, I stopped at the Tesla service center to see if I could get one small thing corrected (should only take 15 minutes, tops), but the service department was closed. They only service Monday through Friday now, apparently. The showroom was open, so there were people there, and apparently there was someone (slumming) that was driving a Rolls Royce SUV. I knew there was such a vehicle, but I had never seen one up close.It is called the Rolls Royce Cullinan, list price is $400K, and it weighs a little over three tons. It was not really very stylish looking, kind of just a big box, but I guess that is known as "under-stated" in Rolls Royce language. I wish I could have seen inside, but I did not want to get my nose print or any slobber on the windows. I bet a dollar the seats are rich, corinthian leather!

Bat meat is a folk aphrodisiac in parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. Bats are a fairly common food item there, so they're inexpensive in markets. Bats are served up like a Western romantic dinner-whole, like a lobster.