Volume 15 - Day 79/286, 2023 - Monday

It has been a grey and kind of dreary day, although there has been no rain, it is just a chilly day. The temperatures are supposed to go up in the next several days, and rumor has it that we may have seen the last of our chilly weather. Our walk this morning was good, and no real issues with that. I spent the day (most of it) in the office. We had a nice lunch meeting with our friend Tom, who gave us a demonstration of some of the finer points of a software he has that we all like. PLUS, he brought bar-b-cue. Yummy! I had no errands to run on the way home, and the mail had not even been delivered when I got home. Since I did nothing of universal interest today, I had no photos of any interest, so I just took a photo of the back patio, highlighting the new hummingbird feeders I put out yesterday. I have not seen any hummers yet, but my fingers are crossed, and I hope they will show up in the next couple of weeks. Meetings all day tomorrow, and Legislative visits on Wednesday, and lunch with REALTOR® colleagues from across the state. It's gonna be fun!

Volume 15 - Day 78/289, 2023 - Sunday

Well, today was a most excellent day in central Texas, starting with a nice, brisk (cold) walk first thing with Dick and Paul. I think there is supposed to be one more overnight with low temperatures in the 30s, then there will be a nice warming trend. I can't wait. Let me be clear...I am not wanting summer to be here any sooner than is absolutely necessary, but nice spring time temperatures would be very welcome. After the walk, I did a few little things around the house, not including a nap, and then headed out to brunch with Alisha, Reuben and Terry. We tried a new place in Cedar Park, the Toasted Yolk. Not bad, I think we will go back again. On the way home, I made a quick trip to Walgreen's, then took another nap. When I woke up, I had a burst of energy, and the hummingbird feeders I ordered from Amazon had arrived, so I got those installed. Then, I went out and did a few things on the front patio, watered the plants, cleaned the dog water station, and trimmed some of the plants that have died back. I'm not sure how much stuff will come up from the roots, but it will be what it is. Then I went out to the back patio, cleaned table tops, filled fountains with water and watered the plants. I have a few more things to do back there, but tomorrow is another day. The Piglet also got her face washed this morning, she is not keen on having it done, but she looks much better and now I doubt that she even remembers the trauma. Photo: Alisha got me back today, I hardly ever smile in one of her selfie photos, so she returned the favor this morning. I also learned that this is not a selfie, it is an ussie.

Volume 15 - Day 77/288, 2023 - Saturday

The bluebonnets are really prolific this year, but I have not had a good chance to take a good photo of them so far. I see great shots while I am driving, but can't just pull over and get out of the car. I did take a couple photos this morning, but even when I was taking them, I knew they would be very much less than spectacular. Our walk this morning was really chilly, even though the fancy-schmantzy weather station on the back porch reported it was 46 degrees. It felt much colder. Spring begins at 4:57PM on Tuesday, and it is only supposed to be 54 degrees on that date. I am not longing for 100 degree temperatures, but 60s and 70s would be very welcome. There was one estate sale today, and I was the only one that bought anything. I spent $2 for one of those string things used so your glasses don't fall off. I did not even buy it for myself, I got it for Richard, and I think I paid too much! The house was kept today, meaning the housekeeper came by and did her thing. I'm on a five to six week cycle, and it is nice that everything is clean and fresh. I had a few errands to run today, and I got all that stuff done. I need to wash the Piglet's face, but I have been putting that off for at least a week. I may get it done tonight or tomorrow, we shall see. They are going to the beautiful parlor next weekend, but I would be embarrassed to take them in with her face looking like it does. Ugh. Brunch tomorrow, and I am looking forward to that.

Volume 15 - Day 76/289, 2023 - Friday

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all y'all. I have one (ONE) green t-shirt, and I wore it today, just so I could harass other people who were not wearing anything green. Whatever works! It was raining off and on this morning when we started walking, so we had an abbreviated walk, just about a mile. I had a nine o'clock appointment, and had every intention of going down for a nap after that, but that did not work. I had an appointment (again) with the dermatologist at 11:30; I got there about 11:10, they called me in about 11:15, I was mostly nekkid and the doctor was in by about 11:20, and I was OUT OF THERE by 11:40. Perfect! Nothing terrible was discovered, I had about four or five pre-cancerous things on my face and arms, and a couple other things I wanted removed, so those little things were frozen. Once again, I am a lucky guy. I have never EVER been a person that used sunscreen or oils, I just laid out and baked. A LOT, so it seems I am tougher than some others. After that, I did take a little bit of a nap, but the phone kept ringing, so I got up and went to Costco in Cedar Park. I usually go to the one in Austin, but I went to Cedar Park instead. I bought a couple things that were on the list, and got gas in the little white car. The gas station at the new HEB should be open by the time I need gas again, and that will make me happy. Only one estate sale tomorrow, so there had damn well better be some good stuff at it. I'll let you know. Photo: About four or five years ago, my friend Holly brought all the members of a committee we were serving on some clover plants, and I have nursed this baby along, and it is still kicking.

Volume 15 - Day 75/290, 2023 - Thursday

Driving back and forth from the office and hither and yon, the Bluebonnets have been making a good showing. I have not seen a lot of Kids/Bluebonnet photos so far this year, but they are doing nicely, and today I saw a patch of Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes. Very pretty. I haven't been able to stop and document for posterity, but here is a photo of a few that are growing around a tree in Deb and Jay's front yard. Lovely. It was dribbling rain this morning on our walk, and we recorded a whopping 0.02" in the guage so far. It is supposed to rain more overnight, there are tornado watches active, and the temperatures are headed south for about the next six or seven days. The temperature right now is 81 degrees, and in the next few hours it is expected to be in the mid-50s. Crazy. I had lunch today with Lynda and Michael, and it was fun catching up with them. I am thinking of playing hooky from the office tomorrow. I have a couple appointments on the books, and then I think I might just take a nap for the rest of the afternoon. Couldn't hurt!

Volume 15 - Day 74/219, 2023 - Wednesday

It is dark these days when we start our walk in the morning, but by the time we are finished, usually about fifty minutes, it is getting lighter. This morning there was a nice sunrise behind us, so I thought you might enjoy it. I had a ten o'clock appointment this morning, and, as usual, I got there early. After that appointment, I went in to the office, and got some stuff done, and then I had a zoom call at 2 o'clock. I left the office and headed home after that call, and during the call, I got some more work done, since the zoom did not include video from my end. I have a couple appointments on the books for tomorrow, one at 9:30 and one at 11:30. I like Thursdays, mainly because it is the day before Friday! On Friday, I will (once again) show up at the dermatologist, having secured a referral from my PCP. I found out today that PCP stands for my Primary Care Physician. I know doctors have a history of writing illegibly, but now the assistants send e-mails in code. UGH. Fortunately (for you) there was nothing else of any import or interest to you today, so this is it.

Volume 15 - Day 73/292, 2023 - Tuesday

It's cold and I'm freezing. Okay, not literally, but it is not warm, and neither am I. Right now, it is about 60 degrees outside, and I have turned the heat back on, just to get the chill out of the house. I will turn it back off before I go to bed, but I just needed a little bit of heat temporarily. It was cold enough this morning during our walk that I had on sweats, a pretty heavy jacket, a stocking cap and gloves. I went to breakfast with the ROMEOs, wearing shorts and a jacket. Once I got to the office, I at least took the jacket off, but when I got home this afternoon and took the girls outside, I put the jacket back on. The low temperatures are supposed to be in the 30s later this week, and I cannot stand that at all. I think there might be some heavy storms coming our way as well. BUT...I will take it as it comes, and it will all work out okay. It was a full day in the office, and that was good, I got a lot of stuff done. We are still recovering from the storms over the past six weeks or so, and that is all about over. If you get a friend request from my friend Mike, don't accept, I am pretty sure he has been hacked. He is in Tennessee right now, visiting with our friend Twig. Rumor has it, the wimmin in the neighborhood (Marge and Pam) are starting their own Tuesday breakfast group, and I assume they will be known as the ROWEOs. I assume.

Volume 15 - Day 72/293, 2020 - Monday

Okee-Dokee then. Almost everything that happened today has been okay, the only things that weren't okay were just a challenge (first world problems) hurrying up to wait. Our walk started off at a chilly 49 degree morning, so I was pretty well bundled up. Off to the city, and my 10 o'clock appointment, and that all went well, and I was in the office before 11. I did some stuff in the office, and took off for home about 2 o'clock. I had to make one stop, and I had an appointment with a dermatologist at 3:30. I got there at about 3, and after a series of discussions, at 3:55 I asked if it was typical for the doctor to be running about thirty minutes late. The receptionist said yes. I was called into a room, and asked how long it would be before I saw the doctor, and I was told 20 to 30 minutes. I had an appointment to have dinner with Linda and Jimmie, so that was not going to work. I made another appointment for Friday at 11:30, and asked if I could expect to have the appointment time run late again, and the receptionist said no, we go to lunch at noon, so we will be pretty much on time. UGH! But, I'm glad I got home in time to feed the girls, and meet Linda and Jimmie for dinner. Great fun!

Volume 15 - Day 71/294, 2023 - Sunday

I am not a fan of the time changes, nope, not springing forward or falling back. I don't like it, but apparently there is not a single thing that I can do about it. The only redeeming factor is that, now, Playa del Carmen is on Texas time. So, this was not a bad day, as days go. It started out, as usual, with a walk with Dick and Paul. After the walk, I went down for a bit of a nap, and then it was off to brunch. Today, it was me, Alisha, Rueben and Candy. After a nice brunch, I came back home and went down for another nap. After nap time, Richard (Dick) and I met at Berry Springs Park for a nice Sunday bike ride. We have so far taken the same route on our bike rides, from Berry Springs Park to the German Restaurant in Walburg. I think it is close to a thirteen mile ride, and we are signed up for the Red Poppy Ride sometime in April, I think. I need to look that up. It was a beautiful day in central Texas. It started out a little bit chilly, but by the time we rode, it was in the seventies, and the sun was shining brightly. The wind was in our faces heading to Walburg, and, lo and behold, it was at our backs on the way back to the park. I am actually tuned in to the Oscars tonight, and I an only up to the opening monologue, but I am thnking I just might have to switch back over to Forensics Files. What could be worse than that? 

Volume 15 - Day 70, 295, 2023 - Saturday

I am in a clock setting stupor. I got all the chime clocks started up again, and set for daylight saving time. Joel's grandfather clock was trying to be ornery, but I prevailed. I have reset all the digital clocks, and now I am almost done with the analog clocks. Time will tell. Get it? Or maybe it won't. I had a few spurts of energy today, starting with our walk this morning. I wore shorts and no jacket, and the temperature reached ninety degrees this afternoon. It is supposed to cool off overnight, so it will probably be sweats and a jacket tomorrow morning. Marge and Pam and I hit three estate sales this morning, I spent fifteen dollars on a monkey, two bells and a brand new deck of Rook cards. I have not played Rook since I was a little kid, still living in Michigan, but I might root around and see if anyone in the neighborhood wants to play. I got all the laundry done, figured out what was wrong with the ADT display panels, and a couple other things around the house. I got the car washed, and now I am about to call it a night. There were also a couple naps in between bursts. So far, all the solar stuff is performing as intended, and that makes me feel much better. I will have to just wait and see what happens during the next rain storm and/or power outage. Fingers crossed. The Meyer Lemon is blooming, and I am looking forward to more lemons this year. They were really good last year.

Volume 15 - Day 69/296, 2023 - Friday

Today was a good day, and that is a good thing. I think my good days outnumber the bad days by a large margin, and I honestly have never really thought about it. I have thought lots about being a lucky man, so there is that. There was a good walk this morning, and it was much cooler this morning than it was yesterday morning. Not sure what to expect tomorrow. Then I got in to the office kind of early, because I had several meetings and zooms today. So, the office was good, got some stuff done, and had a meeting to go over property issues and opportunities. Then it was off to an in-person meeting at ABoR, and that all went well. I left ABoR at about 12:25 and headed home to get logged on to a 1 o'clock zoom call. I logged on to the call about three minutes late, but that was not a real problem. After that zoom call, I had a three o'clock appointment at home, with the guys in the photo. There has always been a challenge with the solar system I had installed in 2021, but I think those challenges were corrected this afternoon. That is a true sense of accomplishment. I think I will be able to sleep better at night now, and will also be able to have a lower panic level when there is a storm predicted. Such a relief! Estate sales tomorrow, and that is always fun!

Volume 15 - Day 68/297, 2023 - Thursday

Okay, it was but to the usual routine today, and it was all good. Dick, Paul and I went for our walk, and I forgot to bring the dog cookies. There was only one dog that we passed (Ella), and she was ready for a cookie, and I felt badly about disappointing her. I will try to remember the dog cookies tomorrow. Then off to the office. I was scheduled for a zoom meeting at 10AM, and when I tried to logon, it said I could not join the meeting. Apparently, the meeting had been cancelled at 9:30, and the person in charge of the call sent us all a message, but she forgot to hit the send button. It all worked out well, and I picked up a couple hours of getting other stuff taken care of. I left the office about 2 o'clock, and had a couple errands that needed to be run, and I got home about 3:30. I am considering re-starting all the clocks later this evening, and I am going to be pro-active and set them all for DST. No sense in repeating efforts, and I will just be that far ahead of the game. The plum tree that Lynda and Michael gave me in 2021 after I moved in to the Curious House is blooming. As far as I can remember, this is the first time it has bloomed, and I know for sure that it has never born fruit. Fingers crossed for this year, it is also supposed to be self-pollinating. Time will tell.

Volume 15 - Day 67/298, 2023 - Wednesday

Okay, I'm home, and I am pretty sure the girls recognized me, or all that training about not getting in a car with strangers was just a waste of time. The flight left Cancun at 6:55PM, and being the good travelers that we are, we got to the airport at about 1:30. We had a nice, relaxed lunch, and got on the plane just as we were scheduled. No issues. We even got to Austin a little bit early, but we could not get off the plane, becuase there was no one that could drive the jetway up to the plane, so we could not get off the plane. After going through customs and all that, I was about 25 minutes later than I expected to pick up the girls. I think everyone (me and the girls) is glad to be home. I know they had a good time with Val, Paulina and Oliver, but I think they are happy to ba back sleeping in the bed with me. I met a really nice couple on the plane, one a Dean at Southwestern, and his wife a school counselor for Austin schools. Small world! It is back to work and the office tomorrow, and I have a ten o'clock zoom call. Plus, I am looking forward to walking in the morning with the guys. At the airport this afternoon, we had chips and guacamole, and the guacamole was smushed up fresh to order. How do you like my hat? I will write more tomorrow! Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Volume 15 - Day 66/299, 2023 - Tuesday

This time tomorrow, I should be back in Austin, and just about at the point that I will be picking up the girls. Eight days gone, sometime is seems longer, sometime it seems just like yesterday. I expect the girls will remember who I am, we shall see. It is the full moon day, and the beach is lovely, lots of people out to see the moon. It was a fun day here, and I like doing a lot of walking here and there. I feel like I know where plenty of things are, just from walking around. I found the large new grocery store, the local mall, the Walmart, and lots of good restaurants. I also found something I was not really looking for, but that will have to wait for another journal entry. I have walked up and down on Fifth Avenue on a Saturday night, Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night. Saturday was definitely the busiest, as should be expected. But it was a nice night walking up and down the avenue this evening. Not too crowded, but lots of activity. I am looking forward to exploring more. I will check out of the VRBO tomorrow morning at 11, and head over to meet Alisha and Reuben, and we will head to the airport probably around noon or 1. The flight does not leave until almost 6, but we can hang around in the airport just as good as any other place. See y'all tomorrow!

Volume 15 - Day 65/300, 2023 - Monday

It was another really nice day in Playa del Carmen. I woke up this morning and went to the 7-11 for coffee, and enjoyed one of the bananas I bought yesterday at OXXO. I met Hazel at 10AM, and we went and looked at about seven properties, checked out the common areas of another one that I will look at tomorrow, and drove past a couple more that I crossed off the list because, even though they were in a very nice part of the city, the location was just not right for me. Of all the properties we were inside today, there is only one that I am considering, and I have big hopes that the other one that we saw the common areas of will look as good as the photos purport it to be. I very much like the common areas, and it will be great for the girls. The two that are making the final cut could not be more different, but I will see how it goes. Today is Alisha and Reuben's anniversary, twenty five years, so I left them alone, but we did meet up for dinner. Hazel recommended a restaurant not far from her office, La Cueve del Chango (The Cave of the Monkey). We didn't see any monkeys, but we did see turtled (akumals). My high school Spanish classes have afforded me a little bit of communication skills, but being fluent in Spanish is not really a requirement here. More tomorrow. I have a zoom meeting tomorrow at noon PdC time, and I really hope I remember to attend!

Volume 15 - Day 64/301, 2023 - Sunday

I know I have only been here two days, but so far, Playa del Carmen has exceeded all my expectations. Playa del Carmen, where everybody walks their dogs everywhere, and 7-11 stores are landmarks. Go to the second 7-11 and turn right, and then when you get to the fourth 7-11, turn left and that is where you are going. Eezy-Schmeezy. This morning Candy and I went and met our friend William and his wife Gayathri (or just G) for breakfast at a nice place on Fifth Avenue. The we walked to the beach, while Candy shopped in a hammock store. Candy and I then went back to the condo and napped off and on until her shuttle came to take her to the airport. I walked around most of the afternoon, found the local HEB (Selecto Super Chedraui) just a few blocks from the condo. I stopped at a local XOXO and bought three bananas for a dollar, and decided to find out what was on 10th Avenue. Nothing much. Crossed over and went up and down Fifth Avenue again, walked back to the beach (I wore flip flops on purpose), took the flip flops off and walked along the beach for a while. I had a good brisket sandwich for dinner, didn't eat the bread, and headed back to the condo. Candy and I had gone up to the pool this morning, and it is extra nice after dark. Tomorrow I am going to look at condos with a local REALTOR®, and I am hoping to find one I like in this particular area, we'll see. I haven't figured out how to work the television yet, but I am just going to go with no news is good news.

Volume 15 - Day 63/302, 2023 - Saturday

It seems like it has been Saturday for a long, REALLY LONG time, and I know in reality, it has been less than 24 hours. We (Candy, Alisha, Reuben and me) left Cancun this morning, and got to Playa del Carmen at about 11:30 this morning. The VRBO that Candy and I are staying in was not ready for check-in until 3PM, so Candy and I took the ferry to Cozumel. We did a little shopping, had a nice dinner, and got back on the 6 o'clock ferry back to Playa. Our luggage was with Alisha and Reuben, so we collected that and made it to the VRBO at about 7:30. We settled in a little bit, then went out to meet Reuben and Alisha and stopped at a 7-11 for water and diet Cokes, and now it is time to turn it off for the night. I think our friend William and his wife (who we have not met) is going to come over for breakfast in the morning before they head off to Tulum. Candy will leave Playa at about 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, and I will head back to Austin on Wednesday.

Volume 15 - Day 62/303, 2023 - Friday

Don't think of this as a sad post, but just think of it as a post. I have been in Cancun for four night, and I have been paying attention to the moon. Many years ago, Jody and I were on a mall cruise ship, and we were looking at the moon. I told him, no matter if we were apart (I was doing a lot of business traveling), we could both look at the moon, and no matter where we were, it was the same moon we were both looking at. I have been looking at the moon a lot this trip, and remembering Jody. It is a great memory. Today was the last day of the conference, and I will leave Cancun tomorrow. It was a busy day, and there were lots of things to learn and share. It will be great to share these things with my friends and colleagues, and so, for now, good night.

Volume 15 - Day 61/304, 2023 - Thursday

The second official day of our President's Circle Conference in Cancun, and it was a really good day. We had several great sessions, including three or four outside guests discussing a balanced set of topics, nothing partisan one way or the other. Of all the presentations today, the one that struck a chord with me was with William Kyle Carpenter. This man is about 33 years old right now, and is a medically retired US Marine who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in Afghanistan in 2010. He is the youngest living Medal of Honor recipient. I was honored to have been invited to meet him after his presentation, and to have a few photos taken with him. If you don't know about this man, I urge you to find out about him, and maybe even download his book. I will listen to the audio version, and he is the reader of it. Having met him , I think, will make his words more interesting. So...just do it. After the morning meetings, we had the afternoon to ourselves, which meant I was heading back to the adult pool and the cabana that I was lucky enough to be offered. I did not get a nap today, but I had a great time with friends and colleagues. Then it was back to the room, and then to dinner with Carrie, Margaret and Clayton. It is REALLY breezy here this evening, and I think we are having a hell of a storm in central Texas. Tornado warnings, heavy rain, the whole nine yards. A high probability of more tree damage, and we just get tree damage from a few weeks ago cleaned up and now we may need to start all over again. It just goes to show, you never know, from one minute to the next, what is going to happen. Photo Credit: National Association of REALTORS®.

Volume 15 - Day 60/305, 2023 - Wednesday

Today was the second day in Cancun, and the first official day of the President's Circle Conference. Tomorrow will be a busy day, and an early one. Breakfast at 8, then meetings and speakers until noon-30. The rest of the day will be free, and there is always something to do, someone to talk with, and things to learn. I spent most of the day today at a cabana, and lots of friends and colleagues coming and going. There may or may not have been a couple of naps involved, and then a reception on the beach. After that, we went to a speakeasy in the hotel, and I was pretty much done by 8:30. I think this will be an early night. Photo -  Leslie, me, Ben, Melinda, Nancy and Nicole.