Volume 15 - Day 120/245, 2023 - Sunday

I took this photo yesterday, but I wanted to use the neighbors dinner photo for yesterdays journal entry. I knew going in to vote that there were only two items on my particular ballot, and only one of those was a contested race. When I was there, there were 14 poll workers and me. I was very nervous, I did not want to do anything wrong, lest I cause someone to cry. It was VERY quiet at the polling place. But I did it, and my streak continues. The walk this morning was good, just Dick and me, and we took a couple detours and a different path here and there. We walked through one of the new construction houses, odd that it is a two bedroom, relatively small home for the neighborhood. We also took a look at some of the work that is being done on the walking paths. Some good, some not so much. No brunch today, but I did go to a movie Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. I am apparently NOT the target audience for this movie, an to be honest, I was disappointed. I had expected it to be a laugh riot, but I did not find it to be so. Sorry to disappoint everyone, especially me. It has been two lovely days here at the Curious House, and this morning I did replant a few things, and pulled a weed or two. Nothing drastic. 

Volume 15 - Day 119/246, 2023 - Saturday

I didn't get everything on my list crossed off today, but I got a few things done, and a few other things done. Our walk was good, the air felt fresh and clean; all the pollens were washed out of the air as a result of the good rain yesterday. After the walk, I tried to take a nap, but that didn't happen. I cleaned the backyard bird feeder, and let it dry out so I could fill it again. I couldn't fill it, since we have been having rain every other day or so. The single estate sale Pam and I went to was AWFUL, although I did spend two dollars. After that, I did take a nap, and when I got up, I decided to go vote and run a couple other errands. I voted, even though there were only two things on my ballot; a contested school board race, and an uncontested school board race. I was the only person voting while I was there, and there were eleven poll workers. Then I headed to Home Depot, found NOTHING I was looking for, and then I remembered I had left a message for the vet earlier in the week, and I never heard back. I stopped at the vet, and, to make a long story less boring, they said if I wanted to go get the girls, they would wait and give them their shots and do their checkups. Did that, and $666.60 later, they are all set for a while. Tonight was the neighbors dinner, and that was fun. We were also celebrating Diane's retirement, and we all had a good time. Our once a month dinner is working pretty well, and we are ALL lucky folks!

Volume 15 - Day 118/247, 2023 - Friday

Well, the weather folks got it close to right with their forecasts. The severe weather started out to be hitting overnight tonight into Saturday morning. Through the week, it got earlier and earlier, and as of this morning, it was predicted to hit around rush hour this afternoon. And it did. It hit the Curious House just a little after 5, with winds, rain, thunder, lightning and hail. Nothing terrible, about 6/10 of an inch of rain, the hail was not terrible, and the temperature fell about 25 degrees. It could have been worse. Our walk this morning was good, I got in to the offie about 9:30, and joined Michael and Lynda for lunch. The neighbors were supposed to meet up for dinner tonight, but we postponed it until tomorrow night, so that will be good. There is only one estate sale tomorrow, and I may go to it alone, not sure yet. The weekend should be pretty nice, and I think it will be a relatively calm weekend. Even though I once again tried to get dramatic photos of the lightning and hail, you will all just have to settle for the interesting green sky before it all hit.

Volume 15 - Day 117/248, 2023 - Thursday

Apparently the storms passed last night with little damage in central Texas, the Georgetown part of central Texas, anyway. I fell asleep a little while after 10 last night, and it seems there was a lot of thunder, lightning (I saw some of the lightning before I went to sleep), and rain. But I slept through most of it. That is the good part of self-medicating...you go to sleep! I tried taking a couple photos of the lightning while I had the girls outside, but that didn't work. The attached photo is the best i could do. Our walk this morning was peaceful and pleasant, so that was good. I got off to the office somewhat early, and took care of some stuff in the office, before my 1 o'clock zoom. That done, I headed home close to 2 o'clock, and I sat out in the backyard with the girls for a while. Tomorrow, I am having lunch with Michael and Lynda, and then dinner with the neighborhood peeps. This will be out third monthly dinner with neighbors, and I think we are all having a good time doing it.The weather is supposed to get a little dicey tomorrow evening, and that is always fun!

Volume 15 - Day 116/249, 2023 - Wednesday

The day started out damp, but it got better as the day went on.I headed out for our walk, and we stood in the rain (heavy mist) trying to decide if we were going to walk or not, and the decision was 'no.' I headed back home, sat down in the big chair with a couple girls, and made the best out of the found hour. When I got up, I fed the dogs, and then made an egg loaf, which I shared with the girls as well. It has been a long time since we had an egg loaf. I was on three zoom calls today, and that last one was supposed to last an hour, and it lasted for 16 minutes. That is good and bad. Good that it lasted only 16 minutes, bad that lots of people scheduled time out of their days for nothing. There, I said it. The sun did come out this afternoon, and everybody decided to take advantage of it, me, the girls and the lizard on the fence. We are expecting storms overnight, and I fear it will be one of those nights that the storm warning go off on my phone every five minutes. It makes for aggravation and not much sound sleep, but it is what it is. I'll let you know how we fare tomorrow.

Volume 15 - Day 115/250, 2023 - Tuesday

Tonight was book club (today was Nancy's birthday, too), and I almost forgot to make this journal entry. That does not happen very often, not very often at all. The day started with a nice walk, just me and Dick, and it rained a little bitty bit on us while we were walking. Throughout the day, we got very little rain, just to prove the weather prognosticators wrong. This morning was the ROMEOs breakfast, and again, it was just me and Dick. After breakfast, I had a quick appointment, and then it was off to the office. A few this and that, and I was headed home by about 2 o'clock. I had one errand to do, and the housekeeper was coming this afternoon, so I needed to meet her to open the door. After she arrived, I left and finished one more errand, and now I have a clean house and I am pretty much caught up. Book club was good, and I think everybody enjoyed this months book. I have already read next months book, so that is good, and next month book club will be at the Curious House. I am working from home tomorrow, and it will basically be a day of zoom meetings. I have three zoom meetings on the books, and that is a lot compared to lately, since more and more stuff is happening in person. Poppies are still blooming, and I took this photo the other day, just before I took the photo of the black wooly.

Volume 15 - Day 114/251, 2023 - Monday

Okay, about 90 days ago, I found out that I was okay to give blood. I had hepatitis about 40 years ago, and I had assumed that disqualified me for donating blood, but it weren't so. SO...I am back on a 90 day cycle after all that time, and I like doing it. It just goes to show you, that's what I get for thinking! It is still chilly in central Texas, and we are supposed to get more rain this week, forecasting almost two more inches at the Curious House. I'll take it. We walked this morning, and then I was off to my 10 o'clock appointment, which I got to early. Of course I did. Then to the office. I had set out two oranges to take with me, and forgot them. I figured two oranges would prepare me for the blood draw, and maybe they would have, but we will never know.In about ninety more days, you will see another photo of me pumping out blood. Don't forget to squeeze! I am at the climax of my most recent book, The Huntress and I can't quite quit it. I have about an hour to go, and I will get it finished tonight, instead of waiting to finish it on my drive in to Austin tomorrow morning. It's a good book, long, but worth it!

Volume 15 - Day 113/252, 2023 - Sunday

I could not find any scientific names for this caterpillar, and the only description Mrs. Google could provide was 'fuzzy, hairy black caterpillar.' I spotted this caterpillar while I was visiting (alone) two estate sales this afternoon. I passed by a lovely display of poppies, bluebonnets, iris and other spring blooms, and backed up to take a couple photos. As I was walking to the car, I spied this black, hairy, fuzzy guy, and decided to make him the photo of the day for this journal entry. Now, from the beginning... It cooled off overnight, and it was a chilly walk this morning with Dick and Paul. After the walk, I did laundry and a few other things around the house, and took a nap. I did eventually get up and go to the estate sales, and I spent a total of $11. A little of this, and a little of that. I stopped at HEB on the way home, and that was pretty much the total of my exertion for the day. It has been cloudy and cool, no rain though. Tomorrow I have a couple appointments, and tomorrow afternoon I am scheduled to donate some more blood. I like being back to donating blood on a regular basis. Stay tuned for photos!

Volume 15 - Day 112/253, 2023 - Saturday

Happy Earth Day, y'all. Today, for the first time in (probably) at least 15 years, I put on some spandex. Richard and I proceeded to the  Georgetown Red Poppy Bike Ride this morning, and according to all my GPS and stuff (including my very own GBS), my 28 mile ride turned out to be about a 30+ mile ride. Whatever, I also determined that, I would have done better if I had actually trained more than I did for the ride. BUT, we made it home right on schedule at 1PM, and it was a great ride for us both. I am not sure how many riders there were in total, Richard and I were numbers 249 and 250, and I saw folks as riders in the 1250 range. It did not seem like there were that many people on the ride. After the ride, I had an errand to run, so I headed into Austin and back, and then went down for a nap. Not long enough, but it was a nap. My legs are tired, and I will be up tomorrow morning, doing our regular walk, and having a great time with Richard and Paul. I'm a lucky guy!

Volume 15 - Day 111/254. 2023 - Friday

We (me and the girls) survived the storms last night, and it has been a pretty nice day. I walked with Dick and Paul this morning, and I had an appointment with the dermatologist this morning, before I took off to the city. All good with the derma-lady, just froze off another little spot on my face. All was good in the office, and I left this afternoon at about 2 o'clock, did a couple errands, picked up some signs and lock boxes, and headed home. Paulina and Oliver came over at about 5, and we went in to Georgetown and had dinner at a new place, Jimmy Vegas'. Good bar-b-cue and sides, so what else can you ask for? We then headed out and had ice cream at a secret little ice cream shop, and then just drove around for a while. The main thing on my schedule tomorrow is a 28 mile bike ride that Richard and I are doing. I think it will be a lot of fun, should not take too long. It starts at 8, and I think we should be home by at least one o'clock. I will give you all a full report tomorrow night.

Volume 15 - Day 110/255, 2023 - Thursday

Well, there's a storm a-coming. It is raining pretty good right now, and the winds are picking up. The tv weather peeps are saying there has been ping pong ball hail in Georgetown, so we will just see how this all plays out. The tornadic (is that a word?) stuff in still north and east of us. Otherwise, it has been a pretty good day. A good walk this morning, an early meeting in the office with some clients, two zoom calls, and some this and that. The weather alerts keep distracting me, and did you know, cloud to ground lightning is about 50 thousand degrees? That is what they just said. That's hot! Okay, I am going to sign off and go pay attention to the storm. One good thing is, the two girls are not affected by thunder or lightning.

Volume 15 - Day 109/256, 2023 - Wednesday

I had my phone set to alarm at 6AM this morning, but I was awake, as is my usual tendency. I had a nice walk with Dick and Paul, and there were a few little sprinkles here and there, but nothing terrible. I made it home, fed the girls and get ready to go in to Austin. I had a ten o'clock appointment, and a noon appointment, and I did not want to be late for either one of them. I made it to both with no issues. The noon appointment was at the Mexican Consulate in Austin, where I applied for a Visa, and I not have a Visa that is valid for six months. When I go to Playa del Carmen, either in late May or early June, I will go to the Embassy there (or maybe a Consulate, I'm not sure), and apply for residency. Things are progressing for the condo purchase in Playa, and we should close on that on or before June first. I will keep you all informed. It has been a really cloudy day, but no rain to report. The seven day forecast shows pretty good chances of rain every day for the next seven days. I repeat, I am a lucky guy, thanks.

Volume 15 - Day 108/257, 2023 - Tuesday

I am late with this entry, it is actually Wednesday already, but I just got home from my Kansas City trip. It was a really good Broker Summit, and there was lot and LOTS of interesting stuff taken away from the couple days. The overriding thing today was whether or not we were going to get home close to as planned or not. Southwest had a 'ground stoppage' this morning, which meant no flights. Period. The stoppage was over within a couple hours, but things were backed up and delayed. One of our speakers this morning was a former CEO of United Airlines, and sometimes stuff happens just because stuff happens, and it is no ones fault, and there is really no one to blame. So, during the Q&A, I asked him what I should say to Southwest employees when I finally got to the airport and got on a flight. His response was, just give them a hug, and tell them you know it wasn't their fault. SO...challenge accepted. Since about 6:30 Tuesday afternoon, I have hugged somewhere around 20 various staff on the two Southwest flights it took to get me home, and I let them know it wasn't their fault. I expect many of them had been the brunt of inconvenienced travelers frustration, but that was not going to be me today. I also recommend that you ask permission before you go up and just start hugging people. In case you were wondering, there are PLENTY of photos documenting my mission to hug Southwest peeps late this afternoon and evening, including the one accompanying this journal entry. Photo credit Alisha. Goodnight.

Volume 15 - Day 107/258, 2023 - Monday

It has been a long since I have actually seen tulips blooming in the wild. When I lived in Memphis, I was a regular at Overton Park, and there was an area in the spring that was alive with tulips, and of course, being a member of the public, in a public place, I would cut some and take them home with me. Lovely! I am in Kansas City right now, at a Broker Summit (NAR sponsored), and on the way to the evenings event, we passed these lovelies. There were hundreds of them over an span of three or four blocks, and they were just beautiful. It took me back several decades! The day started off with a nice walk, and then I packed for the trip. The girls knew something was up, but they are being looked after very nicely at the Curious House. I will be back Wednesday, so I believe they will survive. Alisha came and schlepped me to the airport this morning, and we made it to Kansas City about 3PM, got to the hotel about 4, and the reception started at 6. Tomorrow will be a full day of meetings, and it is really good to see many of my colleagues and friends here from across the country. Good times!

Volume 15 - Day 106/259, 2023 - Sunday

I don't recall this happening this soon in the season last yerr, but I spied a few lemon buds on my Mayer Lemon bush this afternoon. Last year, I harvested about 12 or 15 lemons, and all the recipients were very grateful for the gift. I have to admit, they were lovely, but they take forever to ripen. Worth the wait, too! The day started, as usual, with a nice walk, and lots of conversation between me and Richard and Paul. There was no brunch today, everyone (except me) was otherwise occupied. I took the surge protector that I bought last Friday back to Home Depot, and received a curious look because I had purchased the wrong one. The hermetically sealed packaging was not in the least bit disturbed, and I presented the receipt, but I was very suspect about being up to something. Maybe it is just my face. I also cleaned out the garage a bit, nothing extravagant, just blowing the dead leaves out, and the front patio as well. Honestly, I am kind of tired of the oak dangling things falling off the trees in front and back. Technically, those things are called catkins, and even more technically they are known as aments. They are the male flower parts, and each of those little bumps is a male flower consisting of a bract (a highly modified leaf), a fobbed calyx and some pollen-producing stamens. There you have it, sixth grade health class is now complete, and I am still tired of them.

Volume 15 - Day 105/260, 2023 - Saturday

If your criteria for a successful day of estate saleing is dependent on the number of creepy dolls you buy, then today was a bust. I did, however, buy three dolls, including one Betty Boop doll. I was, too, a victim of estate sale overload, because we went to seven (yes 7) estate sales today. That is a record for us. I spent about $35, came away with the dolls, and a passel of bells. I may go back to one tomorrow, where whatever is left will be 75% off. You never know. We did have a nice walk this morning, the temperature was in the mid-60s. Today's high temperature was 94 degrees, which matches the same high temperature that was recorded in 1924. There is supposed to be a cold front coming through overnight, and that will be very welcome. I think I need to go turn the sprinklers back on to run overnight as well. Dick and Marge are hosting a driveway wine event tonight, so I will be heading down that way in just a little while. Not sure if there is going to be a brunch meet-up tomorrow or not. I am also holding a house open tomorrow afternoon, so if you want to come by and visit, just let me know.

Volume 15 - Day 104/261, 2023 - Friday

Well, it is the eve of the weekend. Yippee! We had a nice walk this morning, and then I was off to the office. I had an 11:30 meeting, and then I took off for home after that. I had a couple errands to run on the way home, and one of them was to stop and get a new whole house surge protector. I had made an appointment with an electrician to be here around 3 o'clock to replace the one that was no longer working, and apparently I bought the wrong one (although it was the only one) at Home Depot. So, the electricians stopped and bought one (I got to pay extra) on the way to the house, and that is one thing on my list that I can check off now. I have to take the wrong one back to Home Depot tomorrow. I had to go back in to the office this evening, and it was a pleasant drive to and from. There was a little sprinkle of rain this afternoon, even though it would not really even count as a trace of rain. As expected, tomorrow will be an estate sale day, and it will be fun. Then, maybe a couple naps...

Voume 15 - Day 103/262, 2023 - Thursday

Today was a really nice day. Weatherwise, it could maybe have been a little bit better, but it was great. We had a nice walk, and I headed in to the office and got there at about 10 o'clock. We has an office lunch at Dirty Martin's Kum-Bak on Guadalupe. I have lived here for 38 years, and to the best of my recollection, I have never been there. Martin's has been in business for 97 years, and they may be wiped out because of the transportation plan in Austin. Lots of people are not in favor of that. The food was great, and, it is called Dirty Martin's because when the place first opened, they had dirt floors in the restaurant. Times have changed, but much of Martin's remains the same. Ag]fter lunch, I had a 2 o'clock appointment, and I headed home after that. I made it home about 4:30 and went down for a nap. Naps are good. I think I will go hang out on the front patio for a bit, and then settle in for a hour or so of network television.

Volume 15 - Day 102/263, 2023 - Wednesday

So, if you pay attention, you can observe all kinds of things when you are taking a walk. For me, personally, it is generally things that I am obsessing over. Mis-matched lights of the front of a house, newly planted landscaping that is not balanced, brick work that is not lined up properly, cars with low air pressure in the tires, barking dogs inside, sprinklers running on the wrong day, hedges that need trimming, trash cans left at the curb too long, just the usual stuff. But, if you look closely, you can see really cool stuff like this moth. I don't think it was a smushed moth, I think this moth just chose to light on the front of this car. Very pretty, I don't recall ever seeing a moth like this, and I am making an assumption that it is a moth. Driving in to the office was a bit of a chore this morning. There was (allegedly) a wreck on IH-35, although the traffic was backed-up but there was no visible evidence of a wreck. When I got home this afternoon, I had planned to (once again) clean the front patio and the back patio and deck. Mission accomplished. Then I took a bit of time and sat outside for a while. It is really a pleasant evening, and the temperatures and humidity evels are expected to rise over the next several days. We have had out five days of spring, and I fear we are headed for summer.

Volume 15 - Day 101/264, 2023 - Tuesday

Today was the day for the ROMEOs to meet for breakfast. They (the staff) don't really even greet us anymore, they just point at where we are supposed to sit. And that is just fine with us. We had a great time, solved even MORE of the problems plaguing the world, and then set off about our day(s). Mine included going in to the office, listening to tenant complaints, making fun of people on television and via e-mails, and generally having just another typical day. I kept remembering things I needed to do, but got out of the office about 2:30, and made it home about 3:30. It was a top down afternoon, and that was nice. It has not been a top down morning for a while, but there is always a chance of that later in the week. I am hoping for some estate sales this weekend, and I am holding a house open on Sunday, so Dick and I need to plan a bike ride on Saturday, after estate sales. It has been a really lovely day though, weather wise. There was some lovely fog in the lowlands when we walked this morning, and that was nice. Still a bit more chilly that I would like, but pretty soon I expect I will be complaining about the heat. Stay tuned.

Volume 15 - Day 100/265, 2023 - Monday

Well, the sun DID come out, but it waited until late in the afternoon to do so. The morning low temperatures are in the 50s, which is good for walking, but I honestly prefer it to be a little bit warmer in the mornings. Nothing radical, just a bit warmer. The high temperature this afternoon was in the low 70s, and a teeny tiny bit warmer would be much better in my opinion. Going forward, lows in the 60s and highs in the lower 80s would be just absolutely ideal. There was a lovely sunrise this morning, as you can see from the photo accompanying this entry. It was a relatively uneventful day in the office, about the most exciting thing happening was trying to figure out how many more people can one person kill on General Hospital. Daytime dramma at its' best. Speaking of dramma, I am trying my best to reduce the levels of dramma in my life, and at the same time, remember that millions of people would like to have the dramma in my life. I am a lucky guy, so don't concern yourselves with my first world problems. It sounds like this entry took a turn south, but not really. It's just words. In case of doubt, just look at the photo, and appreciate what you have. I have plenty!

Volume 15 - Day 99/266, 2023 - Easter Sunday

Happy Easter everybody, I hope you all had a nice day. We started with a good walk this morning, stopped to investigate a few things along the way, and solved many of the worlds problems. When I got home, I had a burst of energy and washed bed linens, but did not remake the bed until after I got back from brunch with Alisha and Reuben. After putting the bed back together, it was time to get ready for a short bike ride with Pam and Richard. While I was doing that, the Easter Bunny left a package of chocolate goodies at my door, and that was really nice. I had a four o'clock appointment that was good, and after that I fed the girls, and endured the rest of a golf thing, waiting for an anti-climactic Sixty Minutes. This particular may or may not be the one that antagonizes the girls when they are outside. It seems that, said squirrel had found it can torment the dogs and then seek refuge under the solar panels. It's kind of interesting, really. My schedule next week looks pretty light, and I like that a lot. There may be more rain towards the end of the week, which will be lovely, we ned to keep adding to the almost 3 inches we got last week.

Volume 15 - Day 98/267, 2023 - Saturday

Well, this is something I didn't know. One year from today (well, 366 days from today, since 2024 is a leap year), there will be a total eclipse of the sun, and the eclipse will be right over Austin and central Texas. Plus, one year from today (April 8th) will be on a Monday (see note about leap year), which means we will get to enjoy it while we are working, making it a two-fer! We had a good walk this morning, even though it was a little bit chilly, I overdressed for the occasion and did some significant unzipping before we were back home. There were no estate sales today, and I had a 10:30 appointment in Austin. It was a quick appointment, and on the way home I made a quick stop at HEB and Home Depot. The rest of the day was spent with napping and eating, and I completed massive quantities of both. Tomorrow will be a brunch day, and then in the early afternoon Richard and I are planning a 20 mile bike ride, working up to our 28 mile ride on April 22nd. Rumor has it, the sun will come out tomorrow. Uh-huh...

Volume 15 - Day 97/268, 2023 - Friday

Let me be clear, everyone in Texas is grateful for the rain. I an also grateful for knowing that grateful is the correct spelling of the word grateful. I am grateful for many things, one of which is the recent rain. I am also grateful that the next few days may see more days with less rain, and I am also grateful that the sun might come out tomorrow. We did not even attempt to walk this morning, and I am grateful for that. I think we will be walking tomorrow, but I could be equally grateful if it is still raining at our rally time. Either way, after the walk or not, I expect I will be taking a nap, and I will be grateful for that. I made it in to the office late this morning, there were a few fires that needed to be put out, and that was not something that could be helped by the ongoing rain. Not particularly grateful for that. Along the way, I made it to Costco, and then I made it home (after a false start) at about three o'clock. I think it is going to be a nice, quiet weekend, and I am grateful for that. Gratefully yours...blah, blah, blah.

Volume 15 - Day 96/269, 2023 - Thursday

The best thing about Thursday is that there is just one more day until it is Friday. We managed to get our walk in this morning before it rained, and rain it did. I think it started about 30 minutes after we finished the walk, and it was about 20 degrees cooler this morning than it was yesterday morning. On Monday it was 93 degrees, today it was 48 degrees. I think it made it up somewhere in to the 50s, but it has been cold, wet, grey, cloudy and miserable. It was still short pants weather when I left for the office this morning, but by the time I got to the office, i needed long pants. I have already turned the heat back on in the Curious House, just to get the chill out, and I have retrieved a pair of sweat pants from summer storage. BUT...the rain is very welcome, and much needed. On the walk this morning, they were beginning the tear-down of the house that burned several months ago, just a few blocks from the Curious House. Such a shame. We stopped and talked for a few minutes with the owner, and it is just the first step in getting their home rebuilt. Maybe they can be back in by Christmas, but I kind of doubt it. Construction is slow here in central Texas.

Volume 15 - Day 96/269, 2023 - Wednesday

A lot of people driving past us this morning were overheard to say 'look at those three old men, they don't have sense to come in out of the rain!' Well, that may be true, but it was not raining when we left for our walk this morning. At the very beginning, there was a drop or two, but the radar looked like the rain was going to completely go around us. We got about a quarter of the way in to the walk, and it started sprinkling, but we decided to keep going. We got a little less than half way through and the downpour started. It rained really heavily on us, and so hard that some of the drops flet almost like hail. But, we all made it home. I undressed on the front porch (except for the boxers), and eventually put all my wet clothes in the dryer, including my shoes. Still not sure if my shoes got dry or not. It rained just a little bit on my way in to the office, but all told, there was 0.41" of rain received at the Curious House. It is supposed to keep raining here for at least the next couple days. Eighty percent chance on both Thursday and Friday. Maggie and I had a joint listing appointment early this afternoon, and hanging out with her is always a lot of fun. We had a great time, and made it back to the office about 2:30. I had a couple errands to take care of on the way home, and the sun is actually shining right now, I don't think I saw the sun all day today before this. NEWS FLASH: I put the hummingbird feeders out a couple weeks ago, and I thought I saw a really small hummingbird about a week ago. Today, I have seen a hummer out there at least three times, so I am happy that, perhaps, they will spread the word. I have four feeders out...if I put four more out, will that attract more hummers or is that just a waste? If you squint when you look at this photo, and if you accompany that with a magnifying glass, you can see the Downtown Austin skyline behind us.

Volume 15 - Day 94/271, 2023 - Tuesday

I have done my part to make sure it rains overnight. I watered all the potted plants on the front and back patios, and I brought the Plumeria out of the garage and watered it. In central Texas, we need to let the Plumerias go dormant over the winter, and I think it was time to bring it back outside. We shall see. I got in a nice walk this morning with Richard and Paul, but I did not get to attend the ROMEOs breakfast, I had a nine o'clock zoom. We had another very warm day today, and I have actually turned the air conditioner on, mainly just to get the humidity out of the house. We are expecting cooler and drier weather to come in overnight, and that will let me turn the HVAC off again. The longer I can go without it, the better I will like it. Things in the office are cranking up, so the season is upon us. I have one appointment tomorrow, and I will put a property on the sales market on Thursday. The leasing season is also fixing to explode, and I am pretty sure we are all ready. LET THE RAINS BEGIN!

Volume 15 - Day 93/272, 2023 - Monday

Today was the hottest April 3rd ever recorded in central Texas, 93 degrees. It may be a hot summer, it is always a hot summer, but this does not bode really well. We are supposed to cool down a little bit towards the end of the week. On Thursday, the high temperature is expected to be 65 degrees...62 degrees on Friday. I just would like Mother Nature to make up her mind. A summer full of high temperatures in the 70s would be really nice. As I have reported, the wildflowers are really outdoing themselves this year, and I finally found a place to take a photo of a poppy. I will try to find a couple more poppy shots before the end of the week. Georgetown is supposed to be the Poppy Capitol of Texas, so there should be a place or two for photos. I had one appointment in Austin this morning, then on to the office. It is the first of the month, always a busy time. I have a 9 o'clock zoom call tomorrow, and then I will head in to the office. So far, just one appointment on Wednesday, but who knows what will happen between now and then!

Volume 15 - Day 92/273, 2023 - Sunday

Another good day, with lots of stuff crossed off my to do list. In fact, everything if done on the list. I had a nice walk this morning with Paul, Richard and Margie had early plans to celebrate their sons birthday. Paul and I deviated from our usual walk, and added about a quarter-mile to the walk. After that, I fed the girls, and did a few things around the house, and started watching Sunday Morning on the tv, but it did not hold my interest. I did have a couple bursts of energy before heading out for brunch. I was joined by Alisha, Terry and Christy, It was fun, and we had a good time. I got dog food at Target, put gas in the little white car, washed two loads of laundry. Now it is time to just veg out, and do a lot of nothing until tomorrow. I also had a chance to stop and take this photo of bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes. Or bluebonnets and Indian Blankets. I really like the contrast, so I'm glad I found these in a spot that I could pull over. Of course, I did pass them, turned around, and THEN pulled over.

Volume 15 - Day 91/274, 2023 - Saturday

Everything worked like clockwork today. I got up this morning and walked with Dick and Paul, and when I got home, I cleaned up the front patio, the back patio and the back deck. All the oak tossels (sp?) from the live oaks in front and back have been cleaned up, and it will be at least a couple hours before I have to do it again. After that, Pam and I went to three estate sales. I think I spent about $20 on items that I desperately needed, and that is a good thing. Pam bought a bunch of material pieces for her quilting projects, and a bowl. All in all, a good day of estate sales. When the estate sales were done, it was time to take the girls to the beautiful parlor, and then I went off to my 1:30 appointment. Traffic was really bad, and I should have followed my GPS, but I didn't, and I made it to my appointment on time. On the way home, I got the car washed, vacuumed it out, and then made a stop at HEB. I did a couple things when I got back to the Curious House, and then I got a text that said the girls were ready to pick up. When I got home from that, I took about a twenty minute nap, and then Val, Paulina and Oliver came to pick me up, and we went to dinner in Georgetown. Overall, a really nice day. Tomorrow will be less busy, and I will make a trip to another property tomorrow to get it ready for the market. All is good. I can never remember the name of this particular wild flower that I photographed on the walk this morning. Honestly, I don't this it is an Indian Blanket or an Indian Paintbrush, but if you know what it is, let me know. Joe Mac?