Volume 16 - Day 60/306, 2024 - Thursday

I was really kind of tired when I got up this morning, this night life crap could get to me. Regardless, I got up and had a nice walk with Richard, Jack and Paul. I had a ten o'clock meeting at ABoR, so I had an unhurried get ready morning after the walk. I got to the board about 20 minutes before the meeting started, and it ended right on time at 11:30. Next stop, office. Next stop, Sandy's for Thursday cheeseburgers. Next stop, back to the Curious House. I took off about 4:30 with Jimmie and Linda for dessert ice cream, and had a piece of nine day old pizza for dinner after that. I still have about half of the pizza I bought last week, and I expect I will finish that over the weekend. It has been a grey, dribbly, bone-chilling cold day today, even though the temperature was in the 50s. Another cold morning tomorrow, but then we will have a nice warm up. There is some stuff happening tomorrow night, and I will share that with you tomorrow. Maybe. Finally, there are a couple programs on television tonight that I am interested in, so I will go and pile up for the rest of the evening. More later, but not tonight.Here is another picture from last night at the Q2 stadium, two of my BEST besties, Holly and Eileen.

Volume 16 - Day 59/307, 2024 - Wednesday

Okay, this has been a long day. It started early as usual with a nice walk for five. After the walk, I made it in to the office and got what needed to be done, done. I had an appointment at 11:30, and that went very nicely. After that appointment, I headed home, and did a few more things at home. There was a nap involved, too. After all was said and done, it was a good day, but that was not the end of it. We (the Austin Board of REALTORS®) had a TREPAC event at the Q2 stadium, and it was a lot of fun. We had a really nice turnout, and all the ABoR staff worked really hard to make it look easy to do. I know they work hard, and it shows because it all goes off without a hitch! I was with a group of friends and colleagues that had an opportunity to tour the stadium and some of the behind the scenes parts of the facility. For some reason, we were not supposed to touch the grass on the pitch (that means the field), but maybe someone did touch the grass, just for spite. I can neither confirm nor deny that. I am pretty sure that a good time was had by all. In this photo; Val, Oliver, Leah, Kevin, me, Jimmie and Linda. Pretty much fun!

Volume 16 - Day 58/308, 2024 - Tuesday

It was 66 degrees when I took the girls out this morning, and the high temperatures tomorrow and Thursday will not be anywhere that warm. There is a cold front coming in overnight, the lows will be in the 40s and highs in the 50s. Back into the 70s and 80 beginning on Friday. There was a good walk this morning, and then four of the ROMEOs met for breakfast. After breakfast, I stopped at the Austin storage place and swept it out (that took like three minutes), took the lock off and turned it back in to the people that operate the facility. Done with that storage place. It is a good feeling. It will take me a couple hours one of these days to get stuff from that locker onto the shelves in the new locker, and then take a look at what is still out at the farm. It is back to pizza for me tonight, taking two pieces of pizza from a whole pie that I got a week ago. I discarded some unrecognizable side dishes that came with the pizzas, and I hope to be finished with all of it by this time next week. It is another television desert tonight, with nothing of any real interest to me being broadcast. I am sure I will find something to dull my senses even more, but nothing too interesting. There is an old movie on TCM that I might watch, 8 1/2. I remember seeing it when I was about 18 or 19 at the Guild Art Theatre in Memphis, and it was interesting then, but I hope to have a better appreciation of it if I tune in tonight. I was about to take a selfie of the ROMEOs this morning, and I decided it would be a lot more fun to ask this total stranger if I could take a selfie with her. She agreed. I think I may have a new mission in life. 

Volume 16 - Day 57/309, 2024 - Monday

Believe it or don't, but the storage space in Austin is empty! Tomorrow, I go do a quick sweep, remove my lock, and turn it back to the manager. Plus, I won't be charged for March rental. Win all around. There is still plenty of room in the new storage space, so I am confident there will be room for whatever is still in the feed shed at the farm. I have no idea, none whatsoever, what is in that shed. I know there should be some art work, some this and that, and some farm stuff that will go to my neighbor, if he wants it. It was a good day in the office today, along with one disappointing response from some tenant applicants. That's is just the way it goes! I finished the pecan pie from Nancy yesterday, and I had a salad for dinner tonight. I know there is some ice cream in my future, and the girls and I will share a 100 calorie bag of Skinny Pop. There is an entertainment desert on television tonight, nothing at all of any interest, but I am pretty sure I will survive the evening. As a reward for finishing the Austin storage clean-out, I vacuumed and washed the red car, and it looks all pretty now. I will be driving the little white car the next couple days. The high temperature today was 88 degrees, Another warm day tomorrow. The high Wednesday is forecast to be 62, and the high on Thursday is forecast to be 55. Then we will be experiencing another warm up for the weekend. Today's photo, just random crap on the back deck.

Volume 16 - Day 56/310, 2024 - Sunday

I am tired again this evening, but I have another sense of achievement working. We had a nice walk this morning, and after that, I went to Round Rock to meet Val and Paulina. We took Val's truck in to the storage space in Austin, loaded up two shelving units and some large art work pieces, and then headed to the new storage place in Georgetown. Bringing back the art work (to the Curious House, not the storage place) counted for getting stuff out of the Austin place, so I did not go back after that for another load. I got everything on my chore list done, except for planting some amaryllis bulbs, but there is still time for planting. There was time for a nap or two, and then Linda texted to see if I wanted to go with them for ice cream. Ummm. Well...Hell yes! It might be necessary for the planning folks to rethink the bypass. I see really serious wrecks on the bypass, at least once every two weeks. Tonight on the way to ice cream, we literally had to turn around and go another way. Not sure of any injuries, but there were plenty of response vehicles. And the ice cream was great!

Volume 16 - Day 55/311, 2024 - Saturday

I'm tired. I stayed in bed an extra 15 minutes this morning, and Richard, Paul and I had a nice walk. It was in the 40s, so it was a bit nippy. After the walk, I did my usual chores, and then did a few things in the garage. I am on another garage organizing spree. After that, there were two estate sales to go to, nothing truly exciting. I spent $7. Pam and Marian each bout something, and Paulina was the lone hold-out for purchases. Since I am on a quest, I went down to Linda and Jimmie's after estate sales, and asked Jimmie if he could put a set of shelves in his truck and take to the new storage place. It was okay with him, and that whole chore took us less than thirty minutes. After we got home, I went down to take a little nap. The photo accompanying this entry shows Callie's favorite place to take her naps, and it is one of my favorite ways to nap, too. Then, I went in to Austin and got some more stuff out of that storage place, and turned in my notice to vacate by the end of March. I also took a bunch of stuff to the dumpster at the office, so that is convenient. I could really release that unit by the end of February, and I might do that if they don't charge me for March. I'll check that out early next week. Once back in Georgetown, i dropped stuff at the new storage place, and then made a quick trip to HEB. For dinner tonight, I finished off one of the pizzas, there is still one more to go. Tomorrow, Val and Paulina are going to the old storage place with me to transport two more sets of shelves, and maybe I will go back in the afternoon to get another load of stuff. We will see how that works out, tomorrow.

Volume 16 - Day 54/312, 2024 - Friday

I'm feeling all smug and accomplished this evening. We had a nice walk this morning, although we did not solve all the problems of the world, we just may have caused a few more problems for our subdivision. I am a vendor of controversy, if nothing else. It was a relaxed prep time for driving in to Austin. I had a couple things in the back of the car to take to the new storage unit, and that was my first real errand of the day. After getting everything done that needed to be done in the office, I went again to the old storage unit (in Austin), and got another load to bring to Georgetown. Storage. Office. Storage. Storage. Curious House. I will get another load tomorrow, and another on Sunday. Also, I am going to try and corral someone with a truck to held me get three shelving units to the new place; one out of the garage at the Curious House, and two at the storage unit in Austin. I have a plan, and the plan is working. Tomorrow morning will be estate sale day, and there are only two to visit. I also need to go by the grocery tomorrow (or maybe Sunday) as well. It was a really nice day today, and I expect it will be pretty much the same on tomorrow and Sunday. Pizza! It's what's for breakfast! And dinner. As you may recall, I got a pizza special at Domino's on Tuesday. I still have two slices of one pizza left, and another whole pizza. Plus, some bread stick things, and something else that I don't really recognize. I expect to be eating the pizza (and stuff) well into next week. I need to make a plan to finish off the pizza, as long as I am making plans.

Volume 16 - Day 53/313, 2024 - Thursday

Decades ago, back in the 80's, I was going to lunch, and I was rear-ended. Nobody was hurt, but it was a little bit unnerving. Now, since I commute at least 75 miles a day, I pay attention to who is traveling behind me. This morning, traffic was moving along nicely, and suddenly we stopped. I stopped with no problem, and I had my eyes on the car behind me, and that car stopped. The car two cars behind me stopped, but the car behind that car did not. I saw that car get rear ended, and saw the cars move unwillingly, but after a few seconds, I was once again on my way. They were not. Today was mostly an office day, Kay and I did go take a look at a new management property, and an application was presented on another of our managed units. Overall, not a bad day. I left the office at about 2 o'clock, made a stop or two on the way home, and then went down for a quick nap. In the afternoons after getting home, there is only time for 'quick' naps. Tonight was book club, and that was good. After the book talk, we all just sit around and talk about what is going on with each other, and have a good time. Tomorrow should be a pretty okay day, I have a few chores to get done, and I have a 1 o'clock zoom, so nothing too much to worry about. It is not a full moon yet, but pretty darned close, and really pretty this evening after I got home from book club.Give it two more sleeps and it will be great!

Volume 16 - Day 52/314, 2024 - Wednesday

I have always been an equal opportunity book reader/listener. I took a break for about a week, and today I started listening to Renegade by Adam Kinzinger. He is narrating the book, and I always like books that are narrated by the author. I am just a teensy tiny bit disappointed right now, I'm a couple hours into the book, and it is more autobiographical than a book about the January 6th happenings and his work on the January 6th Committee Hearings. I still have plenty more to listen to, so I will not make a final decision until I get finished. The day started with a nice walk, five of us. I took my time getting in to the office, got some work done, and then headed off to a meeting at the Austin Board. Then back to the office, got some more work done, and headed home at about 2:30. I had no errands to attend to on the way, and it was a nice top-down ride home. Tomorrow it is forecast to be 87 degrees in Austin, which means there should be another few days of freezing temperatures before we get to the 'real' spring. We are still experiencing 'fake spring.' As I told you yesterday, I stopped at Domino's yesterday and got their special deal, which, cash wise, was not really that special. BUT, I have enough food for another three or four days. Today was day two. I've consumed half of one pizza, a few bread-stick things, and I am not really sure what is in one of the other boxes.

Volume 16 - Day 51/315, 2024 - Tuesday

According to me, it was a pretty good day. According to many of the people that crossed my path today, not so much. It is really difficult to be right all the time! I had a nice walk this morning with Paul, Richard and Jack. After the walk, we were off to the ROMEOs breakfast. I was hosting a zoom call this morning, so I had to leave breakfast at 9:45, but everything worked out just fine. My first time hosting a zoom call with my own account, and it all worked out fine, thanks mainly to Maggie! Thanks, Maggie! After that, I did some office stuff, and then I took off at a little after 2 o'clock. I had five errands to get accomplished on the way home, which led to some people not being appreciative of me. First stop, the jeweler, that was a fine deal, no challenges. Second, early voting. I was accosted by two people before I even got inside. One guy told me I was parking in the wrong spot. I did not take that well. The second person wanted to continue the conversation about why I was parked in the wrong spot. I did not appreciate her. Then, after I voted and did my bit for democracy. Should the word 'democracy' be capitalized? Not sure. The photo accompanying this journal entry is evidence of the third time I risked arrest at the early voting place. Who knew there was a resident cat. But, I needed to document that fact. If there is no photo, it didn't happen. Then I made a stop at the Domino's Pizza. I now have enough pizza and other accompaniments to last til the end of the week. It's advertised for $19.99, but I am always a sucker for the upsell, so my total was $30.30. Then it was off the UFCU, where I made a new friend. Her name is Brianna, and she recalled several times since 1998 that we have interacted. Nice lady, cares about stuff, and it all worked out okay. It is time to call it a day. Done.

Volume 16 - Day 50/316, 2024 - President's Day

It's Monday, too, and I was almost at the office this morning before I figured out I had not lucked in to a traffic window, but some people in Austin were observing the Holiday. I am not looking forward to traffic tomorrow, but, then again, I do not need to go in that early. Mike and I were awake really early, to get him to the airport for his 6:30 flight. I came back home and tried to go back to sleep, but that didn't work. Because of the early shuttle, I did not walk, but I am ready to walk tomorrow and breakfast with the ROMEOs. I had a couple errands to run this afternoon, and I was glad I was on the right side of IH-35, which meant I did not get stuck on the way home. One of my stops was at HEB, where I bought on MRE dinner (not sure what it was, but it was not like the description) for $11, and three quarts of skim milk at $1.38 each. Total food stuff for me, $15.14 plus tax. The bill came to $89. The rest of it was dog food. All the plants are back outside, we had two mornings of below freezing weather, and it is supposed to be in the 80s a couple days this week. Mother Nature has some issues. Did I mention yesterday that I suffered from a bad allergy attack over the past weekend? I did. But, I think I am on the road to recovery, and just that fact makes me feel better. I need to be in the office for a quick Zoom meeting, and I will let you know how that goes.

Volume 16 - Day 49/317, 2024 - Sunday

It was a long, fun weekend in Las Cruces. Tomorrow is Dan's birthday, so Paulina was going to Las Cruces to help him celebrate. She asked me if I wanted to go, and then I asked Mike if he wanted to go. Plus, Krisa was here from Poland, so we ALL went and had a great time. It was a pretty uneventful morning; Dan drove us to El Paso to catch our plane, then the flight was uneventful, and then taking Paulina and Krisa home was uneventful. The temperature this morning in Georgetown was about 30 degrees, and the heat at Val and Paulina's quit. When we got home, they came over to the house for one of the space heaters I had, just to warm up the house. I know that Jody and I have at least four space heaters, but I could only find one, but that is good to take the chill of for them. Hopefully their Landlord will get it fixed early this week. Mike's flight leaves tomorrow morning at 6:30, which means we will be on the road to the airport at about 4:15. There probably won't be too much traffic. Mike and I were going to have bar-b-cue for dinner, but the place we were going closed at 4 o'clock. SO...we went to The Palomino, a new restaurant where an old Georgetown restaurant had been. An interesting place, with a band called Kinda Sorta. The place was packed, the food was good, the staff was a little bit stretched, but I will probably go again. Maybe,

Volume 16 - Day 48/318, 2024 - Saturday

It has been a beautiful day in Las Cruces. I think the elevation is about 4,000 feet, and it is a dryer environment. Nancy, Paulina and Krisa took off to Ruidosa, and Dan and Mike and I stayed here. We went to a street fair, and then took off and had a nice breakfast. I am still plagued with allergies, so after breakfast, I went back to bed. I don't feel particularly bad, just a runny nose, hacking cough, that kind of stuff. I expect I slept more than I think I did last night, but it was not really a comfortable sleep. The same thing with a try for a nap this afternoon. I went to Walgreen's and got some Sinex, which may or may not be helping me. Paulina, Nancy and Krisa are also forcing me to drink some kind of European cure that, at least it does not make me feel any worse. Not sure if it makes me feel any better, either. The ladies got back home about 5 o'clock, and we had pizza and cole slaw for dinner, very good. Dessert for me was cherry pie, and there was also chocolate souffle. Spell check says that is not the way to spell souffle, but Mrs. Google says it is correct. Feel free to comment. We will head back to Austin early tomorrow, and be back at the Curious House early afternoon. I have seen these cell towers camouflaged as trees in several cities, but this is the best one I have seen. I saw it last night on the way home from dinner, and thought it was a real tree for   until I looked closely. We drove past it again today, just so I could take a photo for this journal entry. You're welcome!

Volume 16 - Day 47/319, 2024 - Friday

Okay, it is a secret no more. A few months ago, Paulina told me that she and Krisa were going to go to Las Cruces to celebrate Dan's birthday. I asked Mike if he wanted to go as well, and we put this plan in to action. Mike came in to Austin on Wednesday, and this morning, the four of us headed to El Paso, and we were retrieved from the airport by Dan, who we are convinced was surprised. When we got to Dan and Nancy's house, Dan let me and Mike off at the corner, and Dan, Paulina and Krisa went on to the house. Ten minutes later, Mike and I rang the doorbell, and Nancy answered the door. We are pretty sure Nancy was surprised, too. On Tuesday of this week, I started being plagued with allergies, and I an stuffed up, a bit of a sore throat, and overall just a little bit unwell. I did not sleep well last night, that's two nights this week, and did not sleep on the plane either. I almost always sleep on a plane ride. After I publish this journal entry, my plan is to curl up in bed with a box of Kleenex, and hope for the best. In the photo accompanying this entry: Dan, Nancy, Mike, me, Krisa and Paulina.

Volume 16 - Day 46/320, 2024 - Thursday

I am tired, it has been kind of a busy day. It started with a nice walk this morning, me, Paul and Richard. We left for Austin at 9 o'clock, and on the way, we dropped off Samantha for a bus ride back to New Orleans. Then it was on to the office. I did some this, and I did some that, and then we were off to belatedly celebrate Carrie's birthday. She chose a relatively new place Electric Shuffle, in the Rainey Street District. Austin is really growing, and this is the epitome of concentrated living. Highrises, hotels, walk to everything, just be cool. I kind of think Electric Shuffle (to me) is kind of like Trader Joe's. I do not think I am cool enough for either place. The interior of the place is very interesting, everybody (almost) had fun playing shuffle board, and the food was good. The service is very much lacking. I did not know for sure if were ever going to order OR get our food. It is not a bad place for shuffle board and Happy Hours, but not for lunch. Whatever, nobody really cares (probably) about my old man opinion of the place. After lunch, we were back in the office, and then home. We had the neighborhood dinner tonight, at 2020 Scratch Kitchen, and we all had a great time. There were nine of us there, and it is good to get together. I am in charge of next months dinner, and I will start working on that next week. Now, it is time to call it a night!

 

Volume 16 - Day 45/321, 2024 - Wednesday

I am losing track of the days. I am pretty sure this is Wednesday, somebody fact check me. We had a nice walk this morning, me, Peter, Paul and Richard. First time we have seen Richard in a couple weeks. After the walk, I had a few things to do around the house, and then I was off to Austin a little bit early. I had a 10 o'clock class, so I got to the office about 20 minutes til the class started. It was a good three hour class, lots of good information. It was a virtual class, and it was attended by about 350 or so of our colleagues across the nation. Again, good information. I went and picked up Mikey from the airport, he is visiting for Valentine's Day, and we have a bunch of stuff planned. It will be pretty non-stop fun until he heads back to Delray Beach. I also got registered for our annual Hill Visits in Washington, DC today. I am pretty sure I did everything the way it was supposed to be done, I got a confirmation for my registration and hotel room, so now we will just play wait and see. On the way home, Mike and I stopped and had dinner, and then we fed the girls and now we are on the downside of the day. Tomorrow we will be celebrating Carrie's birthday with a lunch, and not too sure what kind of mischief we will get in to after that. Oh yeah, tomorrow night is the neighborhood dinner, and that is always fun. Happy Valentine's Day, all y'all!

Volume 16 - Day 44/322, 2024 - Mardi Gras Day

More sturdy stands the bowing reed than doth the mighty Oak. It means I am flexible. More about that later. There was no walk for me this morning, I had a meeting in Austin at 9 o'clock, and I was supposed to register in for the meeting at 8:30. I left the house at 7:06 for a typically 35 to 45 minute commute. Again, as always happens when I am on a deadline, traffic sucked. I made it, kind of on time, and registered for the meeting with ten minutes to spare. That was my last meeting for the 2024 Texas REALTORS® Winter Meeting. Done! After that meeting, it was on to the office, and then I left for home at about 2 o'clock. When I got home, I had a text from Costco that my prescription was ready. I decided I would go get the prescription (it was now 4 o'clock), and on the way home, I would stop at Domino's and pick up one of their $19 specials I had seen on tv. When I got to Costco, I was informed that I had not read the text properly and that the prescription would be ready in about 30 minutes. What to do, what to do, what to do? A slice of pizza, a wiener and a Coke, that's what. That's the flexible part. Of course, while I was eating, I got another text that my prescription really was ready and I could go pick it up. So...then it was back home to feed the dogs and watch the news. I am actually partially nekkid right now, since I decided to do laundry. On a Tuesday. Whatever.

Volume 16 - Day 43/323, 2024 - Monday

I have one more day to attend the Texas REALTORS® Winter Meeting. Even though I am not as involved as I have been previously, I enjoy those things that I still participate in. Today was the annual Awards Luncheon, and many of my colleagues, locally and across the state, were acknowledged as the best in their class! Congratulations to all of them! Before and after the luncheon was some office time, and then I was off to a 2 o'clock appointment. That went on until about 4 o'clock, and then I headed home. The chill in the weather deflated my tires on the little white car, so I stopped and had air put in them, and then I stopped at the new storage facility in Georgetown. I am not the proud lessor of another storage space. The plan is to clean out the personal storage spot in Austin, AND the storage building at the farm. I really have no idea what is in either one of them, but the consolidation process will be a good thing. I have one final meeting tomorrow, scheduled from 9 until noon. I actually expect it will end before noon, but you can never tell with these meetings. We shall see! The photo accompanying this journal entry is of some of the past and present TREPAC Leadership, a great group of hard working volunteer servants!

Volume 16 - Day 42/324, 2024 - Sunday

Okay, it was a tough decision, but it had to be made. The choices for the photo to accompany this journal post were, 1.) A photo of one of my colleagues at the TR conference with a 'sour' look on her face, or, 2.) Clouds, or 3.) A photo of my carry-out dinner from Cane's. Cane's won, hands down. I hope you are all happy. There was no walk this morning, there was rain, however. and Lightning. And a little bit of thunder. Paul asked if we wanted to walk later in the morning, but by then I was already in the Sunday chore mode at the Curious House. All-in-all, it was a pretty productive day. I got chores done, made a nice egg loaf that I shared with the girls, headed in to Austin to attend a couple meetings at the conference, and got my hair cut on the way in. I also stopped at the office, did a couple things, and I just finished my carry-out dinner. I have the Super Bowl on, mainly for the commercials, and I am, so far, disappointed with both the game and the commercials. Maybe they save all the good commercials til the end. There may still be some hope. Hopefully there will be a walk in the morning, then in to the office, a noon luncheon, and then I have a 2:30 appointment. Hopefully, I will be home by 5. Fingers crossed.

Volume 16 - Day 41/325, 2024 - Saturday

I slept nicely last night, and I was up before the alarm on my phone went off. I very rarely set an alarm, but, if there is something I need to do that is time sensitive, I set an alarm. I cannot think of the last time I have depended on an alarm to wake me up. SO, I was up before five, and I left the house at 6 to get to Austin for a 7 o'clock breakfast. It was barely raining on the way in to Austin, we only got 3/100" of rain overnight. It was good seeing more friends and colleagues from across Texas, and it was raining pretty well on the drive home. There were threats of lightning and hail, but we were not put off with those possibilities, and we left for estate sales at 10:30. The estate sales were pretty sparse pickings, but at one sale I bought a box full of stuff, including an inoperable Anniversary Clock, for $8. You never know about stuff you buy, and you just take your chances. Overall, I think the $8 buy was a pretty good deal. There was a nap or two to be had this afternoon, and I am about ready to go pile up with a bunch of dogs in the big chair. Not sure what is happening television wise, but I am sure I will find something to distract me. The photo accompanying this entry is the Austin group at the breakfast this morning, a great bunch of ABoR peeps!

Volume 16 - Day 40/326, 2024 - Friday

If you are wondering about the pie...well...it is in the trash can in the garage. I was going to have some after dinner tonight, but I decided that cherry pie mold was not something I could cut out and eat. Like cheese. SO...no pie for me. I did not sleep well last night, and there is/was absolutely no good reason for that. I just tossed and turned and aggravated the Piglet. We had a good walk this morning, me, Paul, Peter and James. We did get most of the world's problems solved, so that was a success. I got in to the office about 9:30, and took off for a luncheon at about 10:30. I thought the luncheon started at 11, but it was a noon start time, so I had extra time to visit with friends and colleagues from across Texas, all here for our annual Winter Meeting. I will be in and out of the Winter Meeting from now until Tuesday afternoon. Not a problem. I did have a couple errands to run on the way home, and I am batting 50/50 on those. There will be no walk for me tomorrow, I will be leaving the Curious House really early, to get in to Austin for a 7 o'clock breakfast meeting. Th

en home to take care of some stuff, and hit some estate sales. Nothing gets between me and my estate sales!

Volume 16 - Day 39/327, 2024 - Thursday

Okay, everyone remain calm. I did, for almost all day. Today had its' moments, but I did not feel stretched as thin today as I did yesterday. In fact, there were lots of fun things that happened today. Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, it was warmer than I thought, and we were both over dressed for the weather. Then, I had a casual breakfast of Orange Cranberry muffin (bought last Saturday), and then it was off to the office. A couple wrecks (par for the course), but overall, not a bad commute. The office was fun, we (carrie and I) went to a Condo Association Meeting, then there were a couple clients that came in for a visit. No donuts, but a lot of fun, and a lot of laughing. I love laughing. Several years ago, someone asked me what I was looking forward to, and my answer was 'laughing.' I like laughing. After I got home, I took the girls out, and fed them, and then took off for ice cream with Jimmie and Linda. Jimmie has a birthday next Monday, and then he and I will be the same age. Old. Tomorrow starts the Texas REALTOR® meetings, going through next Tuesday. I won't be attending as much as I have in the past, but it will be great seeing friends and colleagues from across the state. There is one slice of pie left, it has taken me a week to get this far, it may be gone tonight...maybe tomorrow.

Volume 16 - Day 38/328, 2024 - Wednesay

This time yesterday, my today was not that complicated. But between yesterday and today, my today somehow got over-scheduled. Not sure how that happened, but now I am home, and I think everything has been attended to that needed attending to. Now, I might regret saying this, but tomorrow does not look that crazy. Time will tell. There was a good walk this morning, but the wind is really brisk in the mornings (and the afternoons and the evenings), and the 'wind chill' is really a thing. I left for the office early, and as is pretty typical, because I had a 10 o'clock appointment, traffic was really not good. I made it on time, though, and everything went well. I left the office at about 2:30, and I had no stops to make on the way home, and all is good. It was kind of cloudy all day, but we did make it up into the 70 degree range, so I put the top down, and enjoyed the drive home.My Plan for the rest of the night is to pile up in the big chair with the girls, and do things that require no thinking. That should be pretty easy for me. Right now, I am watching Wheel of Fortune. What the hell is a corner back?

Volume 16 - Day 37/329, 2024 - Tuesday

I have been kind of industrious all day today. A nice walk with Paul, then the ROMEO breakfast (me, Paul and Rick), then in to the office, and kind of productive there, too. It was a really pretty day, again, here in central Texas, sunshine and blue skies and high temperatures in the middle 70s. Weatherwise, today was probably the best of the next several days, but nothing terrible is being forecast. If you know me at all, you know the only thing I actually cook is eggs. But not boiled eggs. I buy eggs already boiled at HEB, and this evening, I made myself a nice salad (I could hardly get the bag open) and added three boiled eggs. The 'Best Buy' date on the eggs was/is January 27, 2023. But they were fine. Now that I have opened the package, I will need to eat the rest of them before they go bad. But, it was a good salad. I took the girls for a walk this afternoon, I am trying to get them used to walking on their leashes, in anticipation of taking them to Mexico in May. I think tomorrow I will put their harnesses on them I think I have three different harnesses for each of them, trying to find something that will keep them from choking themselves. Only time will tell.I tried taking a photo of the crescent moon when I first woke up this morning, but in the dark, all my iPhone camera could capture was a yellow blob. I took this photo in the middle of our walk...I like it.

Volume 16 - Day 36/330, 2024 - Monday

There was a nice walk this morning, although Jack is still recovering from Covid. Overall, today was relatively stress free, and I always welcome the chance to say that. I will probably be punished now, for making that comment. I basically did a lot of book work today, both at home and in the office. I am almost finished with the book I am reading Astor, by Anderson Cooper. Honestly, it was just a bit of fluff, nothing really that made you think, although parts of it were interesting. He wrote Vanderbilt, which is about his own family, and I will get around to reading that in the near future. Meanwhile, I will download Tom Lake by the end of the week, and give that book a go. As I reported yesterday, I can now watch Netflix, but I am such a creature of habit, I have to watch Antiques Roadshow tonight, and Finding Your Roots tomorrow. I glanced at the listings on Netflix, so I expect I will be beginning a new compulsion soon. Whatever. With all the winds we have been experiencing, I nestled all the plants together, knowing they would be blown over, but not blown down onto the patio deck. It seems to have worked so far, but we still have another few days to go.

2016 - Day 35/331, 2024 - Sunday

To be honest, this weekend was a pretty darned good weekend. I really don't remember a lot about yesterday, but today was really good. There was no rain this morning, so Paul and I had a nice walk. It ws windy, really windy, and it has remained windy all. day. long. After the walk, Diane, Marian and I were joined by Pam and we hit one of the estate sales we went to yesterday, AGAIN! We were all on a mission, and we all walked out of there with more stuff than we expected to walk out with. We actually had to put one of the seats in the car down to fit all the stuff in the car. Half-off worked for us this time, and we all got bunches of treasures. After we left the estate sale, we decided to go trespass on the other side of the river. We just wanted to see where our side of the Parkway is supposed to hook up to their side of the Parkway. We just had to cross a couple barriers and a couple 'posted' signs, but we were gone before anyone called the cops on us. After that, Pam and I went and found donuts, and then Pam came in and tutored me on how to logon to Netflix. I have been paying for Netflix for decades, and apparently paying for someone else (who I tagged as 'Bogus Bitch'), for decades. Okay, maybe not decades, but for a long time. I got rid of the Bogus Bitch a couple weeks ago, after they tried to hijack my account, and now I am up to the late 1900s as far as technology is concerned. I then headed off to Tractor Supply to get some bird seed and poop bags for taking the girls on neighborhood walks. I also stopped at Walgreen's for some Prevagen (I'm glad I remembered to do that) and then headed home. Linda called and asked if I wanted to go have ice cream, and who could turn down an invitation like that? BUT, but the time we decided to head out, she was not feeling too well, so it was just me and Jimmie. Now I am all prepped to watch the Grammy's, and that will be it for this day!

Volume 16 - Day 34/332, 2024 - Saturday

So..Paul and I started our walk this morning, I got about 500 yards before it started raining. We turned around, I got home and I was pretty wet...Paul had further to go and I imagine he was soaked. Five minutes after I got home, the rain stopped, and it turned out to be a beautiful day. We hit three estate sales today, and we are going back to one of them tomorrow morning. There were some treasures to be had, but they might be more palatable at 50% off. Who knows what will be left when we get there tomorrow, but it will be fun. Val and Paulina came over on their way to Costco, and that was fun, I always like seeing them. I had a 2 o'clock appointment this afternoon, and that was fun, I liked the lady that is considering selling her house. Once I got home from the appointment, I called Linda to see if they wanted to go to dinner, but they had already eaten. SO, I called my friend Terry, and we met at Chili's in Cedar Park for dinner. I saw a tv commercial last night that looked interesting, and it was not terrible, in fact, it was pretty good for $10.99, and I brought half of the burger home. I'm home, and will soon be piling up in the big chair with the girls. No movie for me today, but there is always tomorrow!

Volume 16 - Day 33/333, 2024 - Friday

We are supposed to get some strong storms overnight tonight. We have had a little dribble of rain today, and there has been some really great thunder, but I will be ready to watch all the action in just a little while. We had a nice walk this morning, me, Paul, Peter and a new neighbor James. James and his wife (Kyung) moved into the neighborhood about the middle of December, and it was nice to walk with him this morning. Hopefully it will not be raining in the morning and we will be able to walk. Traffic was a breeze this morning, no issues, and the office was relatively quiet. There was an issue with the elevator at the office, and they had to shut off the power to the building for a while, so there was nothing more to do. No phone, no internet, nothing. I stopped at HEB on the way home, so there is a little bit more food in the house, mostly food for the girls. Tomorrow will be estate sales, Paulina is coming over at noon and we are taking the girls for a walk (leash training), and then I have a 2 o'clock appointment. I may even make time to catch a movie this weekend, that would be nice. The photo accompanying this entry was taken five years ago today, apparently it was raining the the Estate on the Edge of Nowhere. I really like the photo.

Volume 16 - Day 32/334, 2024 - Thursday

Today was kind of a busy day, busy for me anyway. I don't have that much busy left in me, so... I got up, place the trash and recycling out at the curb, looked at emails and did all my usual stuff. It was only me and Paul walking, but it was a good walk. I left for Austin early, I was scheduled to donate blood at 9:30, and it seems like every time I schedule a blood donation early, traffic is a mess. It was this morning, and It took me over an hour to get there, BUT I was on time. I will schedule my next appointment for early April (I think), and I also think I am going to start donating platelets instead of whole blood. Platelet donation takes longer, but you can do it more often, I think every seven days. BUT, the catch is, platelets are only viable for seven days. I am not sure what the shelf life is for whole blood, but one way or the other, I am in. After that, it was on to the office. Sandy's for lunch, cheeseburgers all around! Then I have a 1:30 and a 2:30 appointment, and I made it home a little after 4. I started reading Astor, by Anderson Cooper today. It's a really easy read (listen). Nothing that you really need to think about. I'm pretty sure Tom Lake will be next on the list. I don't have big plans for the evening, but 2001: A Space Odyssey is on at 8...so I will hunkered down to watch that for the first time in 56 years. Perhaps this time I will understand what is going on.