Volume 14 - Day 120/245, 2020 - Saturday

A house concert or home concert is a musical concert or performance are that is presented in someone's home or apartment, or a nearby small private space such as a barn, apartment, lawn or (in this case) the driveway. After our walk this morning, Deb, Marge, Jay and I went to an Estate Sale, and we all walked away with treasures. I spent three dollars, Deb was the big spender. On our way there and as we were going in to the sale, it was raining, but the rain broke and it turned out to be a nice, sunny day. Tonight was the first house concert of the year, and there are three more planned; May, September and October. It was bluegrass night, and I think everyone had a good time. Nice to see our neighbors. I also got my first bike ride of many years planned for next Sunday. Not tomorrow. It will be about 15 miles, and I think I will survive it. It has been many years since I have been on the bike.

Volume 14 - Day 119/245, 2022 - Friday

Any Texas registered voter may vote early in person. Early in person voting for the May 7, 2022 election goes through May 3, 2022. Registered voters may vote at any early voting location in their county of registration. It was a good walk this morning, and we walked between the drops and dribbles of rain. After the walk, I had my usual 8:30 Friday zoom meeting, and then headed in to the office. I got my office stuff done, and then made a quick visit to Home Depot, headed out to get my hair cut, and then stopped and voted. Voting is important, people. GO VOTE, PLEASE. There is an estate sale on the schedule tomorrow morning, and then I might see if I can drive anyone to vote early. We will see. Maybe I will post something on NextDoor. It could happen!

Volume 14 - Day 118/246, 2022 - Thursday

The French used to call their doughnuts 'nun's farts.' The fried dough fritters, a little bit different from the American round doughnut, are called pets de nonne in French, which translates to 'nun's farts.' I, personally, will just stick with donuts. Tonight was book club night, and it was my turn to host. Whoever hosts tries to have some sort of food that would relate to the book, and I guess I thought motorcycle gang members were fond of donuts. There were seven of us, and the book this month was Under and Alone about an undercover agent that infiltrated a motorcycle gang in California. It was based on a true story, and was made into a movie several years ago. It was a pretty easy read, and book club was fun. We picked the book for next month, and I am ready to get started on the next book. Tomorrow, I will head in to the office, the last business day of the month, and get everything ready for May. Already ready for Q2, 2022. I will also be on the prowl for a good estate sale over the weekend. I don't have a lot on my chore list, so it should be nice and quiet. 

Volume 14 - Day 117/248, 2022 - Wednesday

In Austin, People's Community Clinic provides high quality, affordable health care to Central Texans, regardless of income or insurance status. Many of you that read this blog were not fortunate enough to know Joel...but he was a kind and generous man. Exactly the opposite of me! For years, Jody (Joel) made financial contributions to a variety of charities in Austin, and People's Community Clinic was one of those beneficiaries. Tonight, I was joined by several of Jody's friends at People's Community Clinic, where they dedicated the Children's Health and Adolescent Health facilities to Joel. It is a great facility, and they do a lot of really good work. Joel would have hated the recognition, but it is way too late for him to be objecting. Our friends Jim and Bonnie came in from Houston, and they are my guests this evening at the curious house. Tomorrow will be a more normal day, and I will report more then. Have a great rest of your evening!

Volume 14 - Day116/249, 2022 - Tuesday

A fire engine is different than a fire truck. The fire engine is usually the first to the scene, carrying water, flame retardants, hoses, etc., while the fire truck is more designed to carry the firefighters, along with other rescue tools they might need. I was surprised to see, what I know now is a fire truck, parked along the curb outside our office this afternoon. Apparently, they were checking the fire hydrants along South First Street, and I assume everything is working just fine. This morning, it was a little bit cooler for our walk, but a light jacket was all I really needed. After the walk, I did a few things around the house (fed the dogs), and then headed off for breakfast with the ROMEOs. The office was pretty quiet, and I got home about three o'clock this afternoon. I have had a few bursts of energy since I have been home, and I got a few things done, marked some stuff off my list, and am now settling in for a quiet evening of PBS.

Volume 14 - Day 115/250, 2022 - Monday

Georgetown, Texas gets about 36.1 inches of rain, on average, per year. The US average is 38.1 inches of rain, per year. In my opinion, that sounds a little high for Georgetown, and really kind of low for the US, but who am I to argue with the Internet? We did get some rain today, finally, and here at the Curious House, we received a little over 3/4 of an inch. Maybe there will be a little more rain between now and tomorrow, but I am so very happy for what we got. I was so angry this morning because I had turned off the sprinkler, and there was no rain overnight. All is forgiven. It was a good walk this morning, although it was a little bit cooler than I was expecting. Following the rain today, it is expected be be even cooler tomorrow, but we will be back up in the high 80s by the weekend. All was pretty quiet in the office today, it was great listening to the rain outside. I think Austin (or the office at least) got more rain than we did here in Georgetown. Tomorrow should be nice, I will have breakfast with the ROMEOs, and then head in to the office. Since I got home this afternoon, I have done two or three loads of laundry, changed sheets, etc. Exciting stuff!

Volume 14 - Day 114/251, 2022 - Sunday

Harlingen Valley International Airport (HRL) - also known as 'VIA' is the largest airport in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. South Padre Island, the Mexican town of Reynosa and the large Border City of Brownsville are nearby. I'm not sure why McAllen wasn't mentioned in this bit of trivia, but I have flown in to VIA to go to McAllen before. We all flew in to VIA on Friday, and we all left from the same airport early this morning. We were in South Padre, and Ben, Nancy, Melinda and Steve had 8 o'clock flights to Houston and Dallas. My flight left at about 10 o'clock, and I got in to Austin about 11:30. I got home, unpacked stuff from the car, did a little of this and that, and then went to pick up the girls. Later in the afternoon, I went to the new HEB and did a little bit of grocery shopping. Then I went down for a nap, and I have been doing little of anything else since. It is supposed to rain overnight, so I have turned off the sprinkler system, which I hope does not jinx the whole thing. I'm not too sure what this week will have in store, but I will look at the calendar tomorrow and figure that out.This is a photo of Melinda, Nancy, me and Ben. Ben apparently saw a squirrel out on the taxi way...

Volume 14 - Day 113/252, 2022 - Saturday

Every night at sunset, you can have a one-of-a-kind experience at Lobo del Mar in South Padre Island. When the sun goes down, a bunch of boy scouts sound their bagpipes and march through the property. We came here last year, and it was really a neat thing, we came again today, but did not wait for the guys to come in. It was kind of a long day, longer for Ben and Steven who left to fish early this morning. They caught a bunch of fish, didn't win a trophy, but our fresh lunch was trophy worthy. Our [arty barge cancelled on us because of winds and waves, but all-in-all, everyone had a blast. Right now, we are watching a television show with a really poor internet connection. It only buffers when there is a punch line about to be given. We leave leave to head home early tomorrow morning, so we will all be traveling and sleeping in our own beds Sunday night. 

Volume 14 - Day 112/253, 2022 - Friday

South Padre Island is a barrier island along the Texas Gulf Coast, accessible via the Queen Isabella Causeway from the town of Port Isabel. South Padre Island is named after Jose Nicolas Balli (Padre Balli), a Catholic priest and settler. There are lots of us here to participate in, or just to have fun at Greater McAllen Association of REALTORS® annual Fishing for TREPAC tournament. This event has been going on for several years, and this is my second year, and we all had a BLAST last year, and the crew I am with this year guarantees it will be another memory maker. My day started early, got up, watered plants, took the dogs to the kennel, and headed to the airport. The flights were smooth, no delays, no cancellations, everything was good. We flew in to Harlingen, rented a car, and made out way to SPI. Tournament starts early tomorrow, and I have already been up way past my bedtime.

Volume 14 - Day 111/254, 2022 - Thursday

There are two versions (at least) about how pickleball gained its name. Joel (one of three guys credited with creating it in 1965) Pritchard's wife Joan says she called it pickleball after the 'pickle boat' crew, where oarsmen were chosen from leftovers of other boats, just as pickleball took leftovers from other sports. The second possibility is that it was names after the Pritchard's dog, Pickle. Pickle enjoyed chasing the ball. We walked in the rain this morning...maybe just a little more than a REALLY heavy dew. I had a 9 o'clock zoom meeting, and then I headed in to the office. We had a nice lunch, and at the end of the day, I went to a TREPAC pickleball event at a pretty neat place in Austin. I left there at about 6:30, and I was really surprised at how 'urban' Austin is. This was south Austin, and there were people everywhere. Trendy people with kids, dogs, strollers, pickleball equipment and beer. Very trendy and urban. I guess that is what has happened to Austin while I wasn't looking. This photo is of Becky, me and Holly. Photo courtesy of Holly.

Volume 14 - Day 110/255, 2022 - Wednesday

The world's largest tire is in Allen Park, Michigan. I grew up about seven miles from there, and can remember going past it very well. It is 80 feet tall and weighs 12 tons. It was originally used as a Ferris wheel at the New York World Fair, and it was moved to Allen Park in 1966. It is impossible to satisfactorily relay to you how happy I am that I got new tires for the car today. There had been a 'rumble' in the car for months...and Jay told me he thought it was the tires. I could not comprehend that, but it turns out he was absolutely correct! The rumble is gone, the car still drives great (with almost 125,000 miles on it), and I am a totally happy camper. I made it in to the office, and got some power real estate done, and made it home about 4 o'clock this afternoon. I stopped and got a stuffed baked potato for dinner, and half of it is in the refrigerator, waiting for another dinner opportunity. I don't know why I do this to myself, but it is a scientific fact that a visit to Best Buy can turn an otherwise lovely day into a sad one. And it did. Another cloudy day today, but now the sun is out. Maybe some rain next week, maybe not.

Volume 14 - Day 109/256, 2022 - Tuesday

What we call live oak tassels, those crispy things falling to the ground and covering EVERYTHING this year, are the catkins of the love oak trees (Quercus virginiana). The catkins contain the male flowers that shed pollen. After the pollen is shed, the catkins drop from the tree. The amount of male flowers varies from year to year. This is, apparently, a banner year for the catkins. I say this because everything I own, the dogs, my bed, the floorboard of my car, EVERYTHING...is covered with oak tassels this year. Ugh! The landscape guys got almost everything finished today, there are just a few small things they need to come back and do. Overall, I think it looks very nice, and, as I said before, it will take until fall of this year to see how everything is going to work out. I think it will all be okay. It has been another cloudy day, but I just think it is clouds, no real chance of rain. Tomorrow I have an appointment to get new tires on the car. Usually, when that happens, I get new tires, then instantly start the search for a new car. Hopefully, not this time.

Volume 14 - Day 108/257, 2022 - Monday

Petunias are ornamental plants that have showy flowers that attract insects and hummingbirds. There are 35 species in the Petunia genus, and they are from the family Solanceae, which is the family of nightshades, which includes tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco and eggplants. It's only been a couple weeks, but so far, the potted petunias I bought have not keeled over. I have never had a lot of luck with petunias, blaming it on the intense sun and heat of central Texas, but it has not been ghastly so far this spring. It is still only April. I felt much better this morning, but only did half of the walk. I did not want to push it. By this afternoon, I could not be feeling more usual. No lingering signs of what I went through on yesterday. Today was an interesting day in the office, and if you are interested, let me know and I will spill my guts. Needless to say, I think some of the crap is a result of people being cooped up for so long, they no longer know how to interact with real people. Ugh! That's life of a property manager. I am working from home tomorrow, kind of...that means I will be attending an on-line class from 11:30 til 4:30. It could be worse, but it is what it is.

Volume 14 - Day 107/258, 2022 - Easter Sunday

Marjorie Jacqueline "Marge" Simpson (nee Bouvier; born March 19) is the homemaker and matriarch of the Simpson family. She is 36 years old, and she and her husband Homer have three children. Aside from her duties at home, Marge has flirted briefly with a number of careers, ranging from a police officer to an anti-violence activist. I think it is an accurate statement that I pass a few poles (not sure if they are telephone poles, light poles or some other kind of pole) EVERY DAY at the corner of the IH-35 service Road and Highway 29 in Georgetown. Heading north and taking a left onto Highway 29. On Friday, I noticed there was a picture of Marge Simpson on one of the poles. Congratulations to whoever posted the picture of Marge; I have no idea how long it has been there, but I will be more observant from here on out. I think I reported yesterday that I got my second Moderna Covid Booster shot. Well, when I got into bed last night, I noticed that my neck was hurting. Throughout the night, I would wake up with other pains, and finally, when I got up this morning, I decided a walk was not going to happen. I fed the girls, went back to bed, and did not come back up for air until about 3 o'clock this afternoon. I', still achy, and on occasion, even my skin hurts. Crazy. It's about time to go back to bed. G'night!

Volume 14 - Day 106/259, 2022. - Saturday

Tonight's full moon is known as a/the pink moon. The name is traced back to North American aboriginal peoples, who referred to the April full moon as a pink moon after a type of wildflower that blooms early in the year, signifying that spring has arrived. I'm glad I took this photo last night, because the moon is not evident tonight. It has been cloudy most of the day, but I thought it might clear off. Nope. And no rain, so far. I forgot to mention yesterday that I drove 26 miles (one way) to Trader Joe's to buy potato chips yesterday. Another nope. Supply chain issues. I had a couple bursts of energy today, and I got my second booster shot early this afternoon. So far, so good. Tonight, wine night was at the Curious House, and one of our new neighbors joined, and that was nice. It was touch and go for a minute or two, but all our philosophies and peculiar idiosyncrasies meshed very nicely together. I have a few things on my list of chores tomorrow, but nothing too difficult. It should be a nice day, fingers crossed!

Volume 14 - Day 105/260, 2022 - Good Friday

The Meyer Lemon (Citrus meyeri) is thought to be a cross between a lemon and an orange, thought to have originated in China about 400 years ago. They were introduced to the U.S. from China by Frank Meyer in 1908. They look like a large orange, with very soft, edible skin. They are sweet, juicy and fragrant. True dat! A couple things...when I got home from visiting Mike and Norma, I noticed that some of the blooms on my Meyer Lemon had turned into little lemons! I'm going to be a father! I counted about 16 little baby lemons, so we will see how this all goes. I do not think they will all make, and I think I will need to cull some of them so the others can mature. I learned that from the pear tree at the farm. Another news flash: I saw a hummer out at the feeders this morning. Whew! I was worried that they were not going to come around, but one is better than none, and I think they will all come around and be happy with the feeders. This is truly a bountiful year for Oak pollen and oak fronds. The piglets face is yellow, and everything is covered in pollen. It is crazy!

Volume 14 - Day 104/261, 2022 - Thursday

Why is there a hole in airplane windows? That little teeny, tiny hole...it is there to regulate cabin pressure. Okay? Airplane windows are made of multiple panels, so the hole helps the middle panel from becoming stressed with pressure during flight. These kids (and their father) were across the aisle from my on my flight back to Austin today. The dad had two other (older) kids in the row behind them. They were nice kids, well behaved, and obviously tired. I was tired, too. Plus, I bought my way out of the C boarding group. It has been a long day... Tomorrow is Good Friday, and we are not going to be (officially) in the office. The phones will be answered remotely until noon, and then all bets are off. I will probably go in, I am planning a trip to Trader Joe's to get some potato chips. I am not cool enough to buy anything else from Trader Joe's. I don't have a lot on my To Do list for the weekend, but there are some things I need to catch up with. I will certainly be able to keep busy, I never have a problem keeping busy.

Volume 14 - Day 103/262, 2022 - Wednesday

Delray Beach has a wetland park called the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, which includes a .75 mile boardwalk. Visitors can see turtles, alligators, ducks, and over 151 bird species have been spotted in the park. This is my first visit to Mike and his sister in Delray Beach. I was expecting a small town, I had no clue that it is such a cute, not so small town. Close to the ocean, all kinds of restaurants and bars, their house backs to a golf course, so very nice. Next visit will be longer, so much stuff to see and do. We went riding around this morning, saw hundreds of beautiful homes, and then we picked up Norma and went to lunch. I never, EVER thought of having a grilled dolphin Reuben sandwich, but I had one today. I never considered that dolphin was another kind of seafood, but apparently it is. And it was delicious. Tastes like chicken. My flight tomorrow is 7:05 (Eastern) and I am, once again, in the C group. I may never get off the plane in Austin. This is a picture of me, Norma and Mike. JoeMac: Mike says hi back!

Volume 14 - Day 102/263, 2022 - Tuesday

A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of a mile wide and 50 miles long. It seems that central Texas has had an abnormally high number of tornado warnings this year, and again this evening, at least two tornados touched down just a few miles north of the Curious House. Crazy! I happen to be in Florida right now, visiting my friend Mike. I will be here 35 hours or so, to say it is gonna be a quick trip is pretty accurate. I thought I had met Mike's sister Norma in the past, but I must have dreamed it. I was in the C boarding group on the flight over here, and I do not think I have been in a middle seat on an airplane in two or three decades. I am working on a new journal, and I think I will name it 'My Middle Seat Life.' I think that is kind of a catchy title, what do you all think? I'll be back in Austin on Thursday, but in the meantime, I am enjoying visiting with Mike and Norma, and there is no bad weather forecast for Delray Beach.

Volume 14 - Day 101/264, 2022 - Monday

Orchids are the largest family of flowering plants. They have been around the longest and they are the oldest flowers in existence. Varieties are found all over the world, and it is accepted by experts that orchids were in existence prior to the separation of the continents. I showed you all one bloom on this orchid a couple weeks ago, and it is all bloomed out now, and I think it is doing wonderfully well, since I give it very little attention. Today was a pretty typical Monday. Walked, went in to the office, did office stuff, started some power recapping of stuff to get some preliminary numbers to the CPA tomorrow. I always file an extension, and this year will be no different than the last 35 or so. Always file an extension, and then worry about it all later! I worry about everything, so if you need something worried about, just let me know.

Volume 14 - Day 100/265, 2022

I didn't have to do too much research, actually, I didn't have to do ANY research at all. JoeMac sent me an e-mail this morning and told me where the Presbyterian Cemetery was in Georgetown. I went and found the cemetery, and I found the Connell plot. I found JC, but I did not find Minnie Lou. AND...I did not find JC that matched the birth and death dates that were on the Georgetown record. Who knows, but I found the Connell space in the cemetery. I also found a plot for an Evans, probably no relation. The earliest birth date I saw in the cemetery was 1858. Interesting stuff. That was after the walk, and then after the cemetery field trip I went and cruised HEB and Tractor Supply. I was on a mission looking for some yellow roses. Then I was off to Costco in Cedar Park, and then to Red Barn Nursery, where I found the roses. Got home, did a little this-and-that, and then went to a friends (Teri) for a little get together and dinner. Very nice. I did not feed the girls before I left, and they thought the end of the world was upon them. They have since been fed, and all is well.

Volume 14 - Day 99/266, 2022 - Saturday

I did a little bit of research, and it seems there are three infants buried in this small cemetery, unobserved by most, remembered by fewer. All three of the infants died on the day of their birth: Gertrude Lucille in 1924, and JD and JC in 1926. Their parents were Minnie Lou (1904-1977) and JC (1903-1997). The parents were buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery. I don't know where the Presbyterian Cemetery is, but I may try and locate it. It was a lovely Saturday in central Texas, and I did very little of anything to make the day memorable. I did have a burst of energy here and there, but not a great deal was accomplished. I did turn the sprinkler system on the other night, and it ran as intended early this morning. We have very slim chances of rain six of the next seven days, maybe we will get a little bit. We are back to complaining about the lack of rain, and as soon as it does, we will complain about the rain. I have very few plans for tomorrow, I do not think we are doing brunch tomorrow, everyone is otherwise committed. I think the next brunch for me may not be until the first Sunday in May. Not sure.

Volume 14 - Day 98/267, 2022 - Friday

The Ukrainian flag as it is today was raised in June, 1848. In the USSR, the combination of colors was prosecuted as a dangerous crime. The flag accompanied the proclamation of Ukrainian independence in 1917, 1941 and 1990, and now, the war with Russia. You can see the Ukrainian flag in places you would not expect it, here in central Texas. I have seen it in several yards in the close-by neighborhoods, and this afternoon, on the way home, there was this giant on flying off MoPac. Very nice. It was a good day today, not much of any interest , and if you read this journal with any regularity, you know everything I did today, so there is no reason to repeat it. I'm looking forward to the weekend!

Volume 14 - Day 97/268, 2022 - Thursday

The Friendly Airport for Mothers Act (Mamava), has published the top five friendliest airports for nursing (or pumping) mamas in the US. They are LAX, MIA, IAD, BOS and ATL. There is a lot of criteria that needs to be met to even get on the list, and there is not enough room in my little pea brain to try and include it in this journal entry, but it is there if you want to find it. I was at the PHX airport very early this morning (see how I circled back to airports there?), and we left ALMOST on time, and got back to Austin a few minutes early. I had a 1 o'clock appointment, and made it with about twenty minutes to share. My appointment was at the Austin Board of REALTORS® Women's Council of REALTORS® (Austin Chapter) Cake Auction for TREPAC. It was a lot of fun, and they raised over $20K for TREPAC. It is nice that everything is getting back to normal (with in person events), just in time for everything to get shut down again. It sounds like cases are rising again, but not sure how badly. I am ready for my fourth shot.

Volume 14 - Day 96/269, 2022 - Wednesday

During a visit to England in 1976, Dale Chihuly (b 1941 I think) was involved in a serious car accident that sent him through the car windshield and caused deep cuts to his face and the loss of sight in hi left eye. After the Broker Summit ended today, Carrie and I went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix (maybe Tempe), where there is a display of several of Chihuly's works, throughout the gardens and also some inside and auditorium. The ones inside the auditorium could use a good dusting. Lovely works, but I am more accustomed to his chandeliers and plate/bowl types of works. Very interesting, though. And the desert gardens were really beautiful. We went inside a butterfly habitat, saw lots of interesting plants and sculptures (even a couple that I have installed at the Curious House, and overall, it was a nice way to end this trip to Phoenix. We had dinner tonight at a revolving restaurant on the 24th floor of the hotel (1 star) and we will head back to Austin very early in the morning.

Volume 14 - Day 95/270, 2022 - Tuesday

The Hotel San Carlos in Phoenix is apparently haunted by the ghost of a woman named Leone Jenses. It is believed that she threw herself from the roof of the hotel not long after the hotel first opened. She manifests herself in the form of disembodied cries and strange bangs. She is also said to repeat her fall from the roof on occasion. My room is haunted. When I went to sleep last night, the little shampoos and things were all lined up nice and neatly on the rim of the bathtub. When I woke up this morning, they were all splayed out, and I do not get up during the night to visit the bathroom. Not yet, anyway. Also, the housekeeper and I are playing our passive/aggressive game with the toilet paper. You have to be a contortionist to get to the bathroom tissue (see what I did there?), so I take it from the holder and put it on the vanity, much more accessible. The housekeeper (it never fails) returns it to the holder, and folds it into a neat, arrow-like design. No matter what hotel, no matter what city, the housekeeper does this. I sometimes think I am being stalked. Today was busy with the Broker Summit. Lots of good information, lots of catching up with friends from all over the country, and lots of catching up with central Texas friends, some of which I don't see except at these conferences!

Volume 14 - Day 94/271, 2022 - Monday

The opening scene of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was filmed in downtown Phoenix. So...I was up early this morning, and did not get a walk in. I was up, watering plantings in the dark, doing stuff that needed to get done, and packing for a few days in Phoenix. I am here for a Broker Summit with the National Association of REALTORS®. That sounds more important than it is, I try my best to attend thee summits every year. I don't think there has been one for the last couple years, but I enjoy attending them, mostly to get the information provided about risk reduction. I got the dogs to the kennel about 8:30, made it to the airport at about 9:15 for an 11:05 flight. Flight delayed, left about 11:45, and that gave us (me and Carrie) plenty of time for naps, walks, lunch, wine and a little bit of dinner. The conference starts tomorrow at noonish, and will be over on Wednesday afternoon. We will stay Wednesday night, do some sight seeing, and then head back to Austin early on Thursday morning. It is lovely weather here, not humid, and we are two hours behind central time. I will try a bit to sleep in tomorrow morning, I am not convinced that it will work. Time will tell.

Volume 14 - Day 93/272, 2022 - Sunday

I'm going for a 'cottage garden' look. Nancy's words, not mine, but I like the idea. The cottage garden is a distinct style that uses informal (goody) design, traditional materials, dense planting (goody), and a mixture of ornamental and edible (nope) plants. Kind of a mish-mash, and that is okay by me. Dense plantings is a good thing for me, informal is good, and hopefully not too many weeds. I think it will be August or September before we will be able to tell if it works, but I can (hopefully) be patient until then. I was busy today; got the walk in, watered plants, fed the girls, went to brunch, went to buy some more stuff for the front patio, went to the office, ran another couple errands. I left about 10:15 this morning, and got home about 4. A pretty full day. Laundry is done, everything is pretty much done. All is good.

Volume 14 - Day 92/273, 2022 - Saturday

Men's toenails grow faster than women's. An exception to this is during pregnancy, when women's toenails grow at a faster rate. I spent a lot of the day buying plants for the landscape work that is happening at the Curious House. We did our walk this morning, and then I had a bagel, and then I took a nap. The landscape guys got here at about 11, and shortly after that, I made my first plant and stuff run. I made another run later in the afternoon, and one part (out of three) of the landscape plan is finished. I think the whole thing might be finished Tuesday. We shall see. I did get a couple naps in, and then there was the Saturday night wine meet up. We had a lot of conversations about a variety of subjects, one of the more interesting ones was about toenails. We all have issues, but our toenails are all well taken care of. Tomorrow, there is brunch, then I will go in to the office, then run a couple errands, and then back home to take another nap. Maybe.

Volume 14 - Day 91/274, 2022 - Friday

Bluebonnets were named the official state flower of Texas in 1901. Many male legislators voted in favor of a different state flower. It was a furious debate, many men in the legislature favored the cactus or cotton boll, and the basically gave in to the wishes of the women, and that is how the bluebonnet became the state flower of Texas. I saw these little bluebonnets on our morning walk yesterday, but saved the pic for this journal entry. Very pretty. The date today is the anniversary of several important things, and I will only mention them briefly. Today was Jody's birthday, today was my mother's birthday, and 22 years ago today, Carrie and I started our little real estate business. Melinda spent the night last night, and we left for the airport at about 7:45 this morning. We got to the airport just a little bit after 9, her flight left at about 10, and, as all things go these days, she was delayed but made it home to Longview about 4:15. It was a long day for a lot of us. I am looking forward to the weekend, and plan to just chill out a little bit.There are a couple estate sales I plan to check out, and I'll let you know if I find any treasures.