Volume 13 - Day 151/214, 2021 - Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Warning, the following journal post contains graphic references, and may not be appropriate for all viewers. Parental discretion is advised. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here! Okay, you have been warned! It is Monday night, the last day of the long weekend. It has rained today (again), and more rain is expected overnight, and more chances of rain every day of the coming week. Generally I do laundry on Sunday night, but I put it off for a day, in anticipation of getting all sweaty at the farm this morning. The plan w
as to empty the truck of lots of stuff that I had in it, and so I did. I left for the farm this morning, and was finished by about 12:15. I was soaking wet, but I got what needed to be done, done. While I was there, I fed the cat and the chickens, so I did not need to go back this afternoon. But...back to the laundry. I have my second load of clothes in the washer, which means I am sitting here nekkid, composing this entry. I warned you, don't say I didn't. I expect that is a vision many of you will find difficult to remove, but it is your own damn fault. You will never learn!

Volume 13 - Day 150/215, 2021 - Sunday

Mas lluvia. MAS. LLUVIA! It was a sunny, not quite as humid day today, but now it is raining again. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It is supposed to be over in an hour or so, and we are glad for the consideration of waiting until after we got most of our stuff done, so thanks for that. I did not do much today, this was the first brunch we have all missed in a pretty good while, but I expect we will get back in our groove next week. I might make up for it and go somewhere for brunch tomorrow morning. I did a few things out in the garage this morning, then took a nap, then headed out to the farm. The farm was officially listed for sale yesterday afternoon, and today there were six showings. So, we all think that is a pretty good sign, and time will tell. One of our agents, Maggie, has done a great job with the listing, getting everything done (sometimes in spite of me), and together, we actually made the timeline that I gave myself almost five months ago. Did you hear that? Thunder! All the people that saw the property today were complimentary, so we will just wait and see what happens. Otherwise, I am thinking that, even though Sunday night usually means laundry night, I may put it off until Monday night this week. Don't tell anybody, thanks.

Volume 13 - Day 149/216, 2021 - Saturday

It seems that it has been a while since I mentioned that I am the luckiest person ever? I feel like I have not been stressing that enough lately, but it came back to my top of mind recognition today. Today was kind of a lazy day...I did a few things out in the garage, put a few things up in the attic. Years ago, I said I would never put stuff in an attic again, but here I am, in my old age, putting stuff in the attic. I ran a couple errands today, then went out to the farm, and did a few things, like feeding the cat and gathering eggs. Then it was back home to shower and shave (and something else that starts with an 's'), and then it was off to visit Michael and Lynda in celebration of their 39th wedding anniversary. After that, I made a stop at Marge and Dicks for their weekly "Let's all sit on the driveway and review the past week" meeting. Everywhere I went there was interesting conversations, and a bit of drivel to carry on. Needless to say, I a, the luckiest man on the planet, and I am, happy about that! Pay no attention to Diane; the sky is not on fire!

Volume 13 - Day 148/217, 2021 - Friday

Ugh. There has been a lot of nature stuff today... This morning, I was out in the backyard with the girls, and Callie was paying attention to something in the grass. She did not act aggressively, so I really did not pay attention. When she moved away, I saw some movement where she had been, and I thought it was a butterfly or a moth. I walked over, and it was a fledgling humming bird. I picked it up...it was trying to fly. I took it over to the patio, got one of the hummingbird feeders down, and tried to get it to take some sugar water. I left it on the table on the patio, near the feeder, and took the girls in the house. A bit later I looked, and it was gone. Upon further investigation, it had (I guess) flopped down onto the patio, and then onto the grass. The patio is about three feet off the grass. I took it over to the stone wall and set it on top, and a little while later, I checked again, and it was gone. Hoping for the best! This evening, we have had a LOT of nature. Big, BIG storms, 70 to 90 mile an hour wind gusts, and in about the last hour or hour-and-a-half, the temperature has gone down about 20 degrees, and we have received about 6/10" of rain. Now there are tornados south and east of the Curious House. I think Austin and further east got worse weather that we did here in Georgetown. Having said that, there was just a BIG lightning flash and some pretty good thunder. From all I was taught when I was a kid, the storm, where the lightning was, should be about five miles from here. All the tv stations are doing weather advisories, so everyone just needs to stay safe!

Volume 13 - Day 147/218, 2021- Thursday

Apparently we are not out of the rain forecast quite yet. It looks like we may be in for a few storms tomorrow night, which I welcome whole heartedly. If we were all being completely honest, I don't think anyone in central Texas (or Texas for that matter) would say that we could get too much rain. I think we might like it to be spread out a little more, but we will take what we can get. The tanks at the farm are pretty full, so that will last a good while, but then in might all be gone by this time in September or October. Bring on the rain. OMG. The Water Oaks Women's Book Club was EXCELLENT tonight. There were about a dozen women in Cheryl's (?) backyard, and we had a blast. It was a LOT of fun. We didn't spend a lot of time talking about the book (because it was REALLY depressing), but we had a lot of fun, and we had some interesting discussions. I am happy to be included in the club, and I (might) be the host next month. Time will tell. I was also interviewed by my (upcoming) dog and house sitter. That, in my opinion, is a big step forward, since things are opening up more, and I may be doing much more traveling this year that I have in the past 15 months or so. I feel like that is a big load off, and just knowing the house and the girls will be taken care if is good for my psyche!

Volume 13 - Day 146/219, 2021 - Wednesday

Not a bad day. I had three zoom meetings, I did two in the office and one at home. After the last zoom, I went to the farm and did the usual stuff, and then I came back to the Curious House and took a quick nap during the news. My dad always nodded off during Walter Cronkite, and I do the same thing, only Walter is dead, apparently he bored himself into it. Then I had a 6:15 appointment at the house, a fast one, in-and-out, nobody gets hurt. After that, I met Mike, Candy and Sharon for dinner. Catfish. I read about six weeks ago in the Georgetown paper about a restaurant in Georgetown that serves catfish, and has been operating continuously for 41 years. Apparently it is the longest continuously operating restaurant in Georgetown. The catfish was good, great cole slaw, hushpuppies were good, overall, two forks up, and I will go back again. I really try to support local stuff like this instead of chains. Can't always do that, but it is good to try if you can. Tomorrow I have a 9:30, a 5:30 and a 6:30. 6:30 is the Water Oaks Ladies Book Club night, and we are doing in-person for the first time since I have been attending. It should be fun, I will bring some cheap wine, and talk about the latest tragedy a woman author has suffered. The cannas are starting to bloom out at the farm, and the crepe myrtles have been blooming for a couple weeks. Next, the lilies will start going crazy, and I will see if any of the Tiger Lilies survived. I hope they did.

Volume 13 - Day 145/220, 2021 - Tuesday

It is only Tuesday, and it feels like it should 2025 already. Just a long day, started out okay, but it took a turn, but it will all be okay tomorrow. There was no more rain today, but the temperature was in the high 80's and the humidity was almost unbearable. Okay, it was really humid. It feels like we went from nice, comfortable weather to August. the house at the farm is getting closer and closer and closer to getting listed. There were two appointments for photographers today, and we did floor plans last week. SO...not sure when it will go active, but maybe this weekend. I am ready for that stage of my life to be finished, and ready to start a new chapter. It will be sad to sell it as well, but it is the best thing for me at this point. It is what it is. Over the past weekend, I thought this week was going to be calm, but so far, that has not happened. Tomorrow, I have three zoom meetings, a late afternoon appointment, and then I am having catfish for dinner tomorrow night with the brunch crowd. It will all be okay. While I was at the farm this afternoon, these clouds were getting all sassy when I was at the neighbor's, talking with Jim. They were daring me to take a photo, and I can never say no to a dare... A precious, wonderful friend, one that knows my affinity for clouds,  sent me a card the other day with these words on it: "Do clouds ever look down on us & say that one is shaped like an idiot?"

Volume 13 - Day 144/221, 2021 - Monday

Hmmm. What shall we talk about today? Pick a few and I will try and comply. Not really, I already know what I am going to talk about this evening, but these examples are just a smattering of my day. Here we go. Clouds? Corn? Low Water? Hot Water? Water Pressure? Egrets? Wrecks? Zoom? Interviews? Peaches? Impressionism? Bikes? Cowards? Critics? Wine? Traffic? Babies? Video Production? Take a deep breath, and we will go forward. It was another rainy day off and on. Since early this morning, we have received almost another inch of rain, and I expect we will pass the one inch mark overnight. More rain tomorrow and Wednesday, and then it all starts again over the weekend. Right now, the sun is shining, and it is a lovely late spring day outside. Out at the farm this afternoon, the corn was not as high as an elephants eye, but the clouds were ominous and plentiful. The girls chose not to get their feet wet a few times, and then shortly thereafter, they were happy to go out in their year and proceed to lay down and bask in the sunshine, all the while, getting their feet (and miscellaneous other parts of their canine anatomy) very, VERY wet. The rain and the accumulations of said rain was really the least exciting parts of my day. Having made that declaration, a few of the other possible discussion topics should remain only within my little pea-brain. Feel free to try and pry it out of the pea-brain, and if you're lucky, it will be really, REALLY interesting, and telling of just how petty and childish I can be made to act. From zero to asshole in under thirty seconds. "You must be vulnerable to be brave."

Volume 13 - Day143/222, 2021 - Sunday

It was another rainy day. I got up and did a few things around the Curious House, nothing really worth mentioning. I headed off to brunch with Candy and Sharon, Terry had to work. Then I went home and took a nap, and then headed to the farm. I got the chicken coop cleaned out, fed Barney, did a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and then it was back home. The coming week will be a relatively slow one, nothing too much on the calendar. There is an appointment on Tuesday evening to take photos and videos at the farm, to get it listed, but there is a 60% chance of rain, so it may be cancelled for the third time. I assume we will eventually get all the stuff done and get it listed. We are working our way towards a three day weekend, and I may extend it and work from home on Friday, not sure yet. I did get some office desk work done today, and there are a couple more things I could knock out before tomorrow if I really want to, just not sure yet. It looks like the winter wheat out in the country is ready to be harvested, but the fields are too muddy to get the tractors in. It is a careful balance about needing rain, but getting rain at the right time. I am watching the Billboard Music Awards, and I am totally lost, I have no idea who these people are.

Volume 13 - Day 142/223, 2021 - Saturday

Even though it rained off and on throughout the day, I did get to my 10 o'clock appointment, took a nap, went to the farm, cut (at) some grass, fed the cat, fed the chickens and collected eggs, did a couple loads of laundry, shared an egg loaf with the girls, took some stuff back to Walgreen's, and then took another nap. I was stuck in two wrecks, where the traffic just came to an absolute stand still. But overall, it was not a terrible day. The Piglet would lead you to believe that she has not already been fed twice today, and I am a little bit impatient with her whining for dinner. I also got all the clocks wound and set to a more accurate time. That happens every Saturday, and by the following Saturday, they are all just doing their own thing. I am not sure what will be on the schedule for tomorrow, except for brunch and more rain. I may just take it easy, and do some putzing stuff around the Curious House and the farm. We shall see...

Volume 13 - Day 141/224, 2021 - Friday

I worked from home today, so there was no real rush to go crazy with personal hygiene. So I didn't. The day started off slowly, and tapered off from there. I had an 8:30 zoom, which lasted only about 25 minutes (we were all tired, I think), and then I did a bit of desk work, and then it was off to do a couple errands. I had an appointment to get my hair cut at noon, and when I got there, I decided I would go ahead and start the software upgrade on the car. When my haircut was finished, the upgrade wasn't, and I came to the awful realization that I was not going anywhere until the upgrade was done. And so I didn't. I won't be doing that again, as long as I keep remembering to take my Prevagen. I was only about 15 minutes late for my 1 o'clock appointment, so that was not the end of the world, and I called ahead, so all was good. I got back to the house (after the farm) about 3 o'clock, and I went down for a nap, and I was in the big chair until after the 5 o'clock news started. I have a ten o'clock appointment tomorrow, and then I am going to head to the farm and try to get some grass cut, in between rain showers. It seems the squirrel(s) have discovered the bird feeder, and the dogs have discovered the squirrel(s), which makes back yard time even more interesting. You never know what will happen at the Curious House!

Volume 13 - Day 140/225, 2021 - Thursday

Today was a most excellent day, but at the same time, I consider myself someone who is easily pleased. I got my new TVGuide magazine today, and the front of the magazine proclaimed that this was my LAST ISSUE. That is the some of the best news I have had in a really long time. I am so disappointed in that magazine...I liked it much better in the 'old' days, but maybe I just did not know any better then. I am pretty sure that I have subscriptions to too many magazines, and I think I will let them all lapse as they come up...and I expect the trees will thank me for it. I made it to the office and had a ten o'clock appointment, and then it was off to Texas REALTORS® for a couple videos, and then back to the office. I was able to head to the farm about 2:30, got the cat fed and the chickens fed, and then back to the Curious House. I made a couple stops on the way, and now I am in for the night. I am working from home tomorrow, getting my hair(s) cut at noon, then an appointment at the farm to meet the people that are going to do the floor plans (for the MLS listing). It is supposed to rain over the weekend, but I really want to get the grass cut, because on Tuesday, we have another (the third) appointment to have photos and videos taken before the property goes live on the market. It sounds like a lot, but it can all get done. I've had more stuff to do and survived all of it. These poppies are growing behind one of the sheds at the barn, and I ALWAYS liked them. The plumerias that Mike sent me from Florida are leafing out, too, so that is great!

Volume 13 - Day 139/226, 2021 - Wednesday

I will admit that I was startled when I walked in to the chicken coop this afternoon. Not so startled that I screamed like a pre-adolescent girl that had just met George, but I was startled. After the jump, I took a photo of the snake in one of the nesting boxes, trying to consume a glass nest egg. For all practical purposes, I saved this rat snakes life because, if it had been successful in swallowing the nest egg, it would have died because it would not have been able to digest it. So, after a few more photo opportunities with the aforementioned snake, I re-homed it over to the neighbors front pasture. The consensus is, our paths may cross again, and that will be okay; it's this thing called nature. Otherwise, nothing spectacular to report. We (for the most part) missed all the really bad weather, and there has been no more rain today. It looks like there is still rain in the forecast every day for the next five or six days, and I am okay with it, just not while I am trying to do something outside. From the looks of this photo, I have waited too long to get my hair cut, but that will be taken care of on Friday. I changed from a three-week cycle to a four-week cycle, and I think I need to go back on the three-week rotation. Okay...

Volume 13 - Day 138/227, 2021 - Tuesday

A year ago, I had a penchant to buy a motor home. I may still do it, but most likely not in the next three or four years, who knows. I was an avid follower on various sites, and I think it would be great to go off with the dogs and discover this and that. But, that urge has lessened since I decided to sell the house at the farm and move closer to civilization. Today in central Texas, we have experienced flooding, high winds and tornados. Note: how does on spell tornados? Or is it tornadoes? Spell check likes them both. Getting back on the subject du jour, I did not want to PULL anything. I wanted something I could drive, not pull. As I was heading to the farm this afternoon, there was a truck pulling a trailer behind it. It was really windy, and I cannot imagine pulling something like that with all the wind. I can hardly drive in the rain, let alone fear for my life when pulling a trailer. When we had houseboats (we had TWO at one time), I would not sleep the night before we were going to take it boat out, but I always made it, white knuckles on the verge of breaking through the thin skin of my fingers gripping the wheel and the throttle. Otherwise, my particular part of central Texas has escaped the worst of the weather, but there is more coming overnight, and tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, and...ad nauseam (referring to something that has been done or repeated so often that it has become annoying or tiresome, for you Aggies

!).

Volume 13 - Day 137/228, 2021 - Monday

Yes. Yes it was actually. Yes, it was raining cats and dogs this afternoon. I left to go to the Williamson County Appraisal District office to file a protest this afternoon, just before 2 o'clock. I started raining really hard, but at lease there was no hail. If I had been the person trying to cross the street, this dog would have been in the stroller with the kid. For being as bewildered as the dog looks, it was not his/her choice to be stuck out in the rain, so I would have opted to be a little less self-controlled. I hope they made it to wherever they were going with no extra trouble. However, the way they are heading after they cross the street, is not where there are any houses or apartments. Maybe they are heading for a car to take them somewhere dry. Whatever. Not a bad Monday, I got in to the office about 10, made some phone calls, did some real estate stuff, drank some coffee. You know, the usual stuff. Right now, the sun is shining, but we are supposed to get more rain overnight, and there is a 50% chance or better for more rain through the weekend. They are predicting 7 to 10 inches, and there are always the chances for flash flooding if we get big rains like that all at once. AND whatever we get will travel south, so the Gulf Coast needs to be ready for the run off. Fingers crossed...

Volume 13 - Day 136/229, 2021 - Sunday

I spent most of the day recovering from yesterday. There was no rain overnight, but we did get some late this morning and afternoon. Right now the sun is shining brightly, but there is more rain forecast to start again after midnight, and (I think) every day this week. I went to brunch today with Candy and Terry, and once again, Madison Avenue has disappointed me. We went to IHOP. Whoever's turn it is to pay gets to pick the place for brunch, so I chose IHOP, only because of the commercials I had been seeing on tv about the 'new and improved' bacon they were serving. It is really thick slabs of bacon, think 3/8" thick. They call it their 'Steakhouse Premium Bacon,' but steakhouse makes me think of beef, not bacon. Please submit your suggestions for a better name, and I will present them to the IHOP corporate offices. When we left brunch, it had rained pretty hard, but we did not realize it, being inside the restaurant. I went on to the farm, the rain seemed to be slackening the further north I went. I fed Barney and the chickens, and gathered eggs, and then came home and went down for a nap. After my nap, I went to pick up my bike from having it tuned up and cleaned, only to find out that it was not ready yet. It was supposed to be ready last Thursday, but stuff happens. After I left the bike shop, I did a couple errands, putzed around a little bit, and got home just in time for another quick nap. Not a bad day. I put new

flags up at the farm yesterday, and there was a nice breeze, so I hope you like this pic.

Volume 13 - Day 135/230, 2021 - Saturday

Just about all I have to do is to get out of the car at the farm and I end up with two or three cuts that I do not remember the cause of, but there is blood. A lot of blood. I did not take five minutes this morning, but I did it. Somehow. I had a whole list of things to get accomplished at the farm today, and I got everything done except one thing, and right now I don't remember what the one thing is that I did not get checked off the list. I left this morning about 8:45 and got home about three o'clock. I was filthy, and I put clothes in the washer as soon as I got home. I did find a lot of my bike shorts and jerseys, and I brought home the ones that the rates and mice did not chew up, and they went in the washer too. I took a nap, and then left the house around five to go pick up a few groceries. Just the important stuff, milk, celery, hummus, bananas, Blue Bell ice cream bars, and four easy meals. That ought to hold me for a while. Have you seen the IHoP commercials pushing their new THICK bacon? That's where we are heading tomorrow for brunch. Then I will head over to the farm again...need to clean the chicken coop and just a few other things. It should be an easy day, and if it turns out not to be, I will not participate. I love morning glories. It was too bad that I did not have better luck with them out at the farm, put I lay at least part of the blame on the chickens. I think I may try and get some started at the curious house next year. Not this year.

Volume 13 - Day 134/231, 2021 - Friday

Friday. It's the weekend. Tomorrow I will meet a couple guys out at the farm and get some last minute details on the exterior of the house done (yard stuff, landscaping, little details), and then start working to clear out the two sheds...the one shed can probably be done totally on tomorrow, and then we will start concentrating on the front barn. That one might take some time. I had a pretty busy week, and next week is actually pretty open. I will have time that I will not know what to do with. I am pretty excited about having some free time, and I think I will be able to pick up my road bike tomorrow. I decided to go with the red tires, and I will post a picture of the bike once I get it home. I should look pretty rad! I made it out to the farm this afternoon, and got all the animals fed, and I hope the rains will hold off until tomorrow afternoon. The chances of that happening are looking pretty good, so I may make it, fingers crossed. We had a going away luncheon for one of our staff that is retiring, but she will keep her license with us. We have worked with her for almost nine years, and it will be a big change for all of us. We will all miss her a LOT. Several years ago, I spent a couple weeks as a tropical depression. I did not really care for it at all. It was tropical, and it was a depression. I am currently auditioning to become an Atlantic Hurricane this year, and the chances seem pretty good, since I would then be the second named storm of what is being forecast to be pretty busy season. Fingers crossed that I make the grade, but also that there is no extensive property damage or loss of life.

Volume 13 - Day 133/232, 2021 - Thursday

Today was a day full of meetings, beginning at 8:30 this morning. I attended one zoom (non-participatory) while I was driving in to Austin. I will do the same thing tomorrow morning. The last zoom for the immediate future will be tomorrow beginning at 10 and scheduled to end at 1. As a rule, these final meetings do not take the entire allotted time, and I hope that will be the case tomorrow. After the first zoom today and the first quick meeting today, I went to the Texas REALTORS® office and did two quick videos. I may be needing to do a couple more videos (3 to 6 minutes each) in the next couple weeks. Six minutes is a LONG video. After my 3:30 zoom this afternoon, I took off to the farm, and got there after 5. I fed the cat (did not see him) and the chickens, and then went to visit with the good neighbors, Jim and Patsy. I made it home at a reasonable time (according to the girls), and I am getting ready to call it a night. There was no rain again today, but some interesting clouds. I even think the clouds will give it up tomorrow, and I am looking forward to some blue skies. Of course, there is supposed to be some rain on Saturday and Sunday. I am okay with rain on Sunday, but I hope the Saturday forecast has it all wrong.

Volume 13 - Day 132/233, 2021 - Wednesday

What day is it? It's HUMP DAY! I loved that commercial, and I need to see it about another 5,000 times on television. Would you like to sign my petition? Still no rain to speak of, but of course now they are forecasting an 80% chance of rain on Saturday and a 60% chance of rain on Sunday. I am supposed to get some final touches done at the farm on Saturday, so right now I am just playing it by ear. I really don't want to be schlepping stuff around the house in the rain, nope, not wanting to do it. I had a wonderful lunch today with Michael and Lynda. It was really good to see them, we had not seen each other in a couple months, so it was a nice chance to catch up. As we were leaving the restaurant, I thought this was kind of a contrast of new and old, so it is ending up as the pic for this journal entry. We sat on the patio for lunch, with the propane heaters going full blast, which make sense for the antique car to have it's top down. Pretty soon it will be too hot for that, so take advantage when you can. I had an 4 o'clock appointment, so I was not on the road heading north until almost five o'clock. I got to the farm and I saw Barney for the first time in a long time, and all was good. Barney got fed, the chickens got fed, and all was right with the world. The girls were ready for me to be home, and I made egg loaf for three for dinner...

Volume 13 - Day 131/234, 2021 - Tuesday

I took more paperwork to the CPA this afternoon, and there is still one more (obvious) thing that I need to deliver tomorrow, and I can deliver it by e-mail. Just a number. Nothing but a number. I am not fooling myself to think that I have heard the last from the CPA needing more stuff, whether it is just an explanation or another piece of paper, or just an agreement to a compromise. I am totally in favor of paying a bit more tax than is absolutely necessary, AND not using all the variety of deductions that I might otherwise be entitled to. If you have ever been audited (because of a stupid mistake), you may (or may not) agree with that rationale. I never want to have that happen again. We still have not received any of the alleged rain (80% chance today) that has been widely forecast by those who know about all that stuff. There is another smaller chance for rain overnight and tomorrow, and more chances over the weekend. We have had clouds and grey skies for the last couple days, and I would rather have rain and get it over with, and get back to blue skies. I finished my most recent book today, Who is Maud Dixon, and even though I think the tale is really unlikely, it was interesting. I figured it out by about 75% in, but it had some interesting twists and turns. It's worth the read. Thrust + Glide = Bird Feeder. This is the first time I have seen a squirrel checking out the bird feeder in the back. We shall see to what extremes I go to protect the seeds in the coming days and weeks.

Volume 13 - Day 130/235, 2021 - Monday

I had a brief but memorable relationship with this dog early this afternoon, and after the second traffic light pause, he/she was gone from my left forever. The lady driver (chauffeur) of said canine did not find our affair a particularly rewarding one, and she did her best to terminate our infatuation. Adieux fair canine! Otherwise, it was an okay Monday, nothing particularly exciting, but there was one particular event that was kind of distressing. I made an appointment with the CPA, and thought I was going to be well ahead of the curve, and I left his office with a list of more things that I need to provide him. I will work on that some more tomorrow. And now, drum roll...I took a brief bike ride this evening, immediately preceding the composition of this journal entry. A short ride, admittedly, only a little more than two miles, and only about 15 minutes, but for every downhill, there was an uphill. I do not plan to go recklessly into riding again, but it needs to be slow, methodical, and consistent. Today was just the start of something that I used to LOVE doing. It will all work out...

Volume 13 - Day 129/236, 2021 - Sunday - Mother's Day

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. And I started thinking about mother's day today, and the expectation that, sometime in June (I think), we will be celebrating father's day. So, I was thinking that, why do we need a separate day? One for mothers and one for fathers. Well, right off, I can think of two or three reasons, but that will be for another post. My initial idea was, why not just celebrate BOTH on one day, and we can call it Parent's Day. Well, then my immediate thought was, just because you might be someones mother or father, that fact does not necessarily mean you are the parent of your spawn. So...maybe we could simple it down and celebrate both mothers and fathers on ONE day, instead of two, but then I guess Hallmark sales could go down by fifty percent, but maybe not. I have no clue, and I also think I need to spend much less time thinking about stuff like this. I had a nice brunch tis morning with Candy, Mike and Terry, and then I went to the office supply store and scored a new paper shredder. Got that checked off my list. I think I took a (kind of) nap, but I really don't remember. I took off to the farm about 1:30, fed the cat, fed the chickens, and took some eggs to Pauline and Hubert. I also loaded up my road bike into the car. It has been in the back barn for (I really can't remember) eight or ten years, at least. I do not even really remember the last ride I did with that bike, but it is now at the bike shop being transformed. And cleaned. And made pretty. Again. As things at the farm are winding down, I think I am getting closer to getting back on the bike. I bought a hybrid bike a couple months ago, and I have ridden it about 300 feet since then. BUT, going for a bike ride was on my list of things to do today, and even if I didn't get it crossed off the list, I think I am getting closer and closer...

Volume 13 - Day 128/237, 2021 - Saturday

Saturday, and it has been breezy (maybe really windy), and still no rain. We have brunch plans for tomorrow, and I wonder if the place will be busy because of Mother's Day. We are getting there early enough tomorrow that hopefully it won't be too busy. I got a few chores done today...started by getting some light bulbs (to go along with the 200 other lightbulbs I have out in the garage) at Home Depot. I was searching for plain, incandescent 100 watt lightbulbs and 40 watt incandescent chandelier bulbs. The 40 watt bulbs were easy to find, but apparently soon we will have nothing but LED bulbs (not that there is anything wrong with that), but now and again, I just need a plain old (non-pulsing) light bulb. 100 watts. You might want to stock up if you are crazy like me. Then it was off to go show a few homes to a friend of mine, then Costco, where I got out really cheaply and the only thing I forgot that I wanted to get was a paper shredder. I succeeded in destroying the one we have had for decades, so out with the old and I will get one in the next few days. Then home for a nap, a short nap, and then off to the farm to feed Barney and the girls. It may rain tomorrow, which will be perfectly okay with me, but there are a few things out at the farm that I want to schlep to the Curious House tomorrow. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I have rescued two or three frogs out of the pool skimmer this week, and this one was extra cute, so I decided to document its cuteness for posterity.

Volume 13 - Day 127/238, 2021 - Friday

I am not sure how this post will end. Long term, I mean. It is yet to be seen, but I think it will not have a happy ending. Before I bought the Curious House, I put offers in on two other homes. The first one was a disaster, and I was glad to walk away from that house. I feel kind of sorry that, I fear the builder sold it to a member of the public that did not do their due diligence. It was a mess. The second house I made an offer on is just a couple blocks away from the Curious House. Same builder/developer. Even when I made an offer on the second house, I liked the Curious House better, but I made an offer on the other house to include the lot next door, which had a Heritage Oak on the lot. Basically, I made an offer to buy a house and a tree. I had big plans for the tree, and I had already named it 'the Jody Tree.' I put some items in the purchase offer, which included a report from an arborist that the tree was healthy, that the tree be trimmed (properly) and stuff like that. There was a lot of foot dragging on the part of the builder, and I finally lost patience and retracted that offer and made an offer on the Curious House. I met the man that lives in the house to the left of the tree at the mailboxes yesterday, and we talked, and I told him about trying to buy the house (on the right side of the tree) AND the lot between the two houses. He told me he thought the tree was dead, and I was really surprised about that. That tree has to be over 100 years old, and it has survived many a freak freezing weather event, as well as any number of weather events in its' lifetime. It distresses me that there is the possibility that the tree is dead, but I will continue to watch it, in the hopes that it is just a late bloomer, kind of like me.

Volume 13 - Day 126/239, 2021 - Thursday

This week seems to have gone by pretty quickly. I did not go in to the office today, but I did take a drive to Bryan/College Station to have a BLAST with their board, talking about TREPAC stuff. We are getting back to in-person meetings, and EVERYONE is excited about that, and turnouts are really up. Of course, I went to BCS, and then this evening I had a six o'clock zoom. We are kind of in a hybrid type situation, we have learned how to do zooms, which are turning into the conference call of the 2020s. And, honestly, zooms are a whole lot better than conference calls. We really don't need to have telephone cameras (like we though of when we were watching the Jetson's), but zoom is really just another adaptation of the Jetson's idea. I think. Even though I didn't go into the office, I got a good bit of stuff done, and I am kind of ready for the weekend. My weekend plans do not include doing much at the farm, and that is a happy circumstance, but next week I will start clearing stuff out of two buildings. The first building will be pretty easy, a one day job, but then it will be on to the front barn. That one will take a couple weeks, and lots of trash cans (or maybe a good sized trash haul). But, at least, there is a plan! I decided to up the stakes at BCS this afternoon, and get in on the pong game...right in the kisser. The things I do...and the things that I admit to!

Volume 13 - Day 125/240, 2021 - Wednesday

Back in the '40s (at least), my Aunt Electa worked for Hodding Carter, III, at the Delta Democrat-Times in (I think) Greenville, Mississippi. The newspaper was founded in 1938, so I think I have the timing right. The Democrat Times started in 1868, and Hodding merged his Delta Star with the Democrat Times. But I digress. Electa was a multi-talented person; she was the astrology lady, the society columnist, and the gossip columnist. She was also an accomplished artist, lived most of her life in an upstairs apartment over a garage, had an adopted son who became an architect in Jackson, and she also read palms. She would only read the palms of family once, because people would say she knew too much about family. She read my palm once, when I was a very young boy, and I remember clearly what my future would hold, and for the most part, she was accurate. And no, I won't disclose it in this journal. As the astrology lady, she is the one ( I think) that told me I was a 'double Sagittarius.' Apparently, my sun sign and my rising sign are both in Sagittarius. I have always been proud of the fact that I am a Sagittarius, mostly because that is the only astrological sign that carries a man-made weapon. I have always thought that I was proficient with my wit, sarcasm, and communicative skills, while at the same time not being particularly gifted with intellectual skills. I am more proud of my common sense than I am of my 'book learnin'!' And apparently, all this time, I have had it all wrong. It seems, in Celtic lore, I am a Hawk. Wise, ambitious, and generous. Strongly opinionated and irresponsible. I'm okay with all of it, except the irresponsible part. I think I am one of the most responsible people I know, which can be a blessing, and a curse. I'm apparently blursed.

Volume 13 - Day 124/241, 2021 - Tuesday

May the Fourth be With You. And tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, and there is a joke there that I am not going to get into right now. It was kind of a stormy morning, with all the parts in attendance, except for the storms. It looked a lot worse than it ended up being, even though it did rain just a teeny bit in Austin, but nothing here at the Curious House. I made it in to the office earlier than I have been recently, I had a 9:30 zoom, so I wanted to make sure I did not miss it. Then there were a couple other calls to make, trying to reach out to other folks that I left messages for yesterday...no luck, but I will keep trying. Then I was off to run a few errands. We ordered lunch to be delivered in the office (I got Sesame Chicken), and it took a really long time for them to deliver it, and just about the time I had the egg drop soup, it was 2:30 and I was supposed to be at the farm at 3. I was late. Everything is just about done at the farm, and we are having photos, floor plans, drone video and those things done next Monday. We will start at 5:30, hopefully there will be a really great sunset, but if not, I have PLENTY of sunset photos to use. Water heater will be replaced next week (the tankless one we put in four years ago was destroyed in the freeze), and I think I need to have both the thermostats for the HVAC replaced. It is a never ending deal getting everything ready for the sale. It will be good when all that is finished, but there will be lots of parts that I miss, too.

Volume 13 - Day 123/242, 2021 - Monday

I went and picked up the girls from the kennel this morning, and we are all back in to our routines. After getting them back home, I made a few phone calls and then it was off to the office. Although I was only one day away from the office (Friday), on the way in, I felt like I had been gone for a week or two. I guess that is the advantage of a 'long weekend,' and I am okay with that. Jack, Tosalyn and Mya (5 or 6 ish, maybe) were on vacation last week, and Tosalyn said that Mya picked out this set of Samurai Sword letter openers just for me...I like them a lot, and they will adorn my desk for the immediate future! I guess the girls had some trauma from being in the kennel for four nights, because it doesn't really take much for them to hurl in the bedroom, there were three new spots in the bedroom when I got home this afternoon. While I was in South Padre, I ordered a pet stain carpet cleaner thing, and it has already been delivered. It is charging up now, and I might give it a go tomorrow morning before I go to work. Wish me luck...

Volume 13 - Day 122/243, 2021 - Sunday

I really think I forgot to welcome in the new month, so, welcome to May. Ugh. You may not believe this, but I am pretty finicky about my baseball hats. Anytime I go someplace, I try to (not really, I DO) bring back a hat. Just another one of my compulsions. I have several (compulsions AND hats), but not just any hat. I am very specific. No crappy-ass mesh 18 wheeler gimme cap. No, there are specifics to hats, and I really do not know how to explain it. AND...I really prefer the velcro kind of hat band thing...not the buttons in plastic. Kaki knows that it took me two or three days to find the right hats in Mexico, in between getting kidnapped and buying ice cream for the hostages. But, finding the most recent hat was not too much of a problem, and success was achieved at the third place I looked. South Padre Island was a total blast this weekend, even if there was a lot of rain. I never cast a line into the bay in SPI before, and as of now, I still have not caught a fish...but there is always next year. Here is something that even I think is interesting. On the last leg of travel today, from Dallas to Austin (don't ask), I forgot to fasten my seat belt. I did not have my seat belt fastened for the entire 37 minute flight. None of the attendants caught it, I did not even realize it until I was trying to UNfasten my seat belt. I think that is sort of interesting, in a really not very interesting kind of way. I will go get the girls tomorrow morning, and I will be happy to see them, I hope they will be happy to see me, too! The house is really, REALLY quiet with them not being und

erfoot!

Volume 13 - Day 121/244, 2021 - Saturday

South Padre Island. Been here a couple times in the past, this is the first time I have been here in the rain. Still a wonderful place to be. What's a little rain. Except we were supposed to be participating in a fishing tournament. Nancy and I were on a boat with our own captain, and our captain was in charge of the tournament, so he had other responsibilities, which was totally okay with us. Nancy and I got a chance to really have some interesting conversations and shared some inner thoughts, and I am very happy about that. Our captain retrieved us at some point, and we took off and spent a while casting and reeling, and (dammit) Nancy caught a fish. It was a nice trout (?), and we got this picture (along with some others), and then threw him/her back in. No reason to kill a perfectly good fish when we were just pretending to compete. Our captain (Nick) is a wise man, and he said it was going to rain again, so we called it a morning, and went back to shore. It was a great day, got back to the hotel, took a nap, then went to the awards presentation, had some dinner (fried swimps (my favorite)), and then went for dessert and drinks (key lime pie (my favorite)), watched a beautiful sunset, had more drinks, then back to the hotwl. A great weekend in South Padre Island, thanks to everyone for all your hard work and the invitation!