Volume 16 - Day 213/153, 2024 - Wednesday

Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, there was a nice breeze, and that is always welcome. Unless it is cold, then we don't want a breeze. On yesterday's walk, I gave away all the dog treats before we were even 3/4 of the way finished walking, so we changed our path so I would not disappoint any dogs. This morning, I took extra treats, and only saw four pups that wanted treats. You just never know. I had two zoom meetings this morning, after I logged onto the first one, I was excused because I was going to need to go to ANOTHER zoom meeting in 25 minutes.The second zoom lasted the entire hour that was planned for, which was okay. At this point in time, everyone expects meetings to start on time and to end on time. In the office, we tried and tried to send an email with an attachment to our Landlords, and it just would not work. It was really frustrating, but we will work on it again tomorrow. Linda and Jimmie and I went to dinner tonight at a new restaurant on the Square in Georgetown. I had liver and onions, it's been a while, and it was really good. I am kind of interviewing restaurants for our next neighbor dinner, and I have a couple more restaurants to check out before I pick one. I think the photo of the liver and onions accompanying this journal entry is more appealing that the one of me at the blood bank yesterday. But, I also liked going to the Catacombs while I was in Paris, so there is no accounting for taste.

Volume 16 - Day 212/154, 2024 - Tuesday

In my head, today is Wednesday. Ever since Monday, my head has been thinking it was the next day, and not today. Hopefully, I will get this figured out before too long. It was a good morning for a walk with Paul, and we both had stuff happening that would have made a ROMEO breakfast difficult, so there was no ROMEO breakfast this morning. I did get in to the office earlier than usual on a Tuesday, and I was able to get a lot of stuff done, before I left to get to the blood bank for my 1 o'clock appointment. I left there at about 3:30, and had a stop to make on the way home. Tonight was book club night at the Curious House, and it was a lot of fun. We usually talk about the book of the month for about 30 minutes, and then we take off on whatever it is we want to talk about. We did have a good time, and I don't even remember if we decided on a date for the August meeting. We will get it all worked out, I am pretty sure. Tomorrow is pretty open as I remember, but I do know I have a 10 o'clock zoom call. Overall, life is good, and I am a happy guy. Even though tonight was book club, I forgot to take a picture, but I did take one at the blood bank, so that is what is accompanying this journal entry. Enjoy!

Volume 16 - Day 211/155, 2024 - Monday

It's Monday, not that there is anything wrong with that. I rolled out of bed this morning at about 5:30, and got a lot of things (including watering plants in front and back) before my walk with Paul. I was on my way in to the office before 9 o'clock, and traffic was not terrible. I really have nothing to attribute it to, but I am not complaining. All was good in the office, and we had an office meeting and lunch, discussing changes that are being to comply with the recent DOJ ruling for all REALTORS®. Most people I talk with (not REALTORS®) are unaware of the changes, and only know what the media presented a few months ago, most of which was incorrect. There will be very little change as far as buyer and seller clients are concerned, the biggest change will be in disclosures about who is paying whom for what. It will all be okay, no reason to panic. I had a couple stops to make on the way home, and traffic was light again, maybe because people are avoiding going anywhere because of the President's visit. As far as I know, he was in and out, and nobody got hurt. He is in Houston now, so they can deal with the traffic. Otherwise, life is good, and I am a lucky man. Glad that I continue to see the hummers, and glad they like the feeders.

Volume 16 - Day 210/156+, 2024 - Sunday

I had a great time in France with Michael and Lynda, as you can tell by the photo of receipts I collected during my two week visit. It is impossible for me to recall (in order) all the stuff that we did, but a review of the receipts brings back stuff my pea-brain forgot about. I had a pretty fun day today, too, and that is not even including all the crap going on social media. HOLY MOLY! Whatever. Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, then the girls and I had some breakfast. I think I watched a little bit of Sunday Morning, but I really don't remember. I put clothes in the washer, along with my tennis shoes. You know, the ones that say you are supposed to hand wash only. Well, I put them in the washer, and they did just fine. I went to an estate sale that opened at 9AM, and again, bought nothing. Then I decided to be on a mission to find geraniums. I drove about 40 miles, and no geraniums. I got home, put clothes in the dryer, took a nap, dod some this-and-that, and then went to another estate sale that started at 1PM. I bought a few things, and then went back to nurseries that were not open this morning, and found the geraniums. Now I have two nice pots of geraniums, and the lilies that were formerly in those pots have been transplanted to smaller pots, where they might have a chance of recovering. They are nothing but bulbs, so we shall see what happens. I also got the plumbagos planted, so I think it was a pretty successful day. Linda and Jimmie got home this afternoon, we have not seen each other for the past month, exactly a month, and it was good to see them both. We headed out for dinner, and then had some ice cream. Now it is time to call it a day, and see what the coming week brings. 

Volume 16 - Day 209/157, 2024 - Saturday

I am on a mission to find some geraniums to plant in some pots on the front porch. I had put some lilies in the pots earlier this year, and they are not doing very well. I bought some flowering plants in hanging baskets yesterday, but I am going to leave those in the baskets and hang them in the front. Today, I went to Home Depot (while waiting for the call to retrieve the girls from the beautiful parlor), and they had no geraniums, but I did get some plumbago's for the front bed. I think I had some last year, but they apparently did not survive the winter. I will try those again. But, the search continues for geraniums. I don't need them to be big (4 inch pots would do), three plants for each bigger pot, and I would like more than one color, too. Red, white and pink would be perfect. Let me know what you find. Pam, Diane and I went to four estate sales today, and I don't think any of us bought anything. I am planning to go back to two of them tomorrow, not that there was anything that I desperately need, but tomorrow will be half-price day. And, I will be out looking for geraniums, anyway. The girls are all beautified, too, so all is well here at the Curious House. I have got all the clocks started again, but two of them are giving me fits. Patience is called for here, and I am in short supply of that.

Volume 16 - Day 208/158, 2024 - Friday

I was up at 4 o'clock this morning, which is not that unusual for me. I usually start waking up around then, but I try to stay in bed at least until 5:30 or so. But, I got up, and got some stuff done in the office, which is not a bad thing. I had a lot of things to do today, just clearing stuff that would have otherwise been cleared over the past 15 days or so. I really don't think that I am suffering for any jet lag, so I am happy about that. I did have a nice walk with Paul this morning, and there were five dogs along the way that were happy to know I was back. I am the cookie monster for early morning walking dogs! I had some errands to get done on the way in to the office this morning, and I was happy to get those chores done. All was good in the office, and I got everything on my desk taken care of. I had a couple stops to make on the way home, so more or less, there is really no evidence that I was gone for two weeks. Since I got home, I have been watching a lot of the Olympic stuff on tv, and it is interesting to see things on tv that I saw myself a couple weeks ago. The shots of the Eiffel Tower were very nice, and I just thought I would share this photo of the tower that I took after a very nice dinner with Michael and Lynda.

Volume 16 - Day 207/159, 2024 - Thursday

Well, I lost a day because of flight challenges, but I am back home at the Curious House. I got the girls, and they are doing just fine, everything is just kind of falling into place, as if we are picking back up where we left off. It is interesting to see the Olympic coverage on the television, noting that I was there at a couple places they are showing. Speaking of television, there was very little television watching for the last two weeks. There was no television where we stayed in Paris, I don't remember if there was on in Avignon, and Michael watched Tour de France occasionally when we were in Nice. Speaking of Nice, how did I ever get lucky enough to have such nice friends? Did you see what I did there? Michael and Lynda were nice enough to invite me to tag along with them on this trip. Paulina, Val and Oliver were nice enough to take great care of the girls while I was gone. James was very nice to collect mail and watch the house. Pam was nice enough to check on the house and make sure plants were watered. And when I got home, I found three gifts (estate sale finds) from Pam and Marian. One is a Seriolithograph by Michael Kachan called Eiffel Song. It was done in 1999, and you can see the Eiffel Tower behind the dancers. So thoughtful and topical. Another lovely piece of art and one little Buddah piece. All three lovely things that I will like forever. AND...there was also a baked chicken, a chicken taco kit, and a HUGE apple pie. What could be better? And so, you can see Eiffel Song above, accompanying this journal entry. Lovely. And now, I am going to go a try to get some sleep. More tomorrow.

Volume 16 - Day 206/160, 2024 - Wednesday

Upon review, I discovered that I did not even tell you all about the new friends I made yesterday, from Alberta, Canada. Two women, who we could do a whole Real Housewives from Alberta television show about, although only one of them has been (been) married. THey had just spent a week on a private yacht cruising the French Riveria. They were behind me in line, talking trash about other women on the yacht, and more importantly, women that had not been invited to be on the yacht. At one point I leaned over to them and asked them if they could speak up, because it was hard to hear all the trash they were spewing. SO...I got all the stink. One of the women on the cruise had been given a $35K gold and diamond necklace that she didn't want, and offered it to one of the women I was talking to, and she refused it. I asked her if she was out of her mind, and when we got on the plane, I gave them a business card, and told them if they were offered more jewelry they didn't want, let me know and I would cover the FedEx. Which brings us to today. The flight from France was delayed, which had a domino affect, and we missed the flight to Austin. I am now holed up in a hotel in Flushing, New York. My alarm is set for 3AM tomorrow, we have a cab booked at 4AM for a 6AM flight to Dallas, then on to Austin. If you want to know more, ask me in a week or two...I don't much want to talk about it more right now. The photo accompanying this journal entry is from the rooftop 'restaurant' at the hotel. I have been up since 1AM Texas time, and it is time to get some sleep. Good night.

Volume 16 - Day 205/161, 2024 - Tuesday

I am pretty sure it is still Tuesday, even though this morning seems like a really long time ago. I haven't even really done that much of anything today, either. I did not leave the apartment until we left for the airport, and that was about 1:15 this afternoon. We had a flight from Nice to Paris at 4:55. It took us almost two hours (as I recall) just to check in and get our checked baggage where it was supposed to be. The the flight was about 2 hours late, but we are here and I will be going to sleep shortly. I have my alarm set for 4:45, we have a flight to JFK at 8:55. We are planning to meet in the lobby at 5:45. Heaven help me. We are staying tonight in a hotel called the Citizen M, which is a lot like Trader Joe's in that, it is way too ccool for me tobe here. Everything (EVERYTHING) is done on an app or on an iPad, and you know how tecnologically prone I am. You're right, I don't either. Pizza for dinner and I have a cookie that I am now afraid to eat, for fear that it will have so much sugar in it that I will not sleep. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Volume 16 - Day 204/162, 2024 - Monday

So...I thought this photo accompanying this journal might catch your attention. Just another day in the life! Today in Nice there were not nearly as many people on the streets, the trains and the buses. It was nice. After breakfast, we went back to the Old Town section, and I was let loose in what I can only describe as a really, REALLY cool flea market. I could easily fill a shipping container with what I consider to be really cool crap that would feel right at home in the Curious House. While I was there, I made friends with a family from Singapore. They were visiting the lady's father that had one of the booths. I bought a piece from him, and then asked them if they knew what lagniappe was. I went on to tell them that, when I lived in New Orleans, merchants would often reward customers with a little lagniappe, a small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase. Like buying a dozen donuts and getting 13. SO, I was gifted a small piece by the man at the booth, and we were all happy. Much fun! Today was also a day of removing any trace of the Tour de France in Nice. Signage, street crossovers, everything is coming down. What I expect took weeks or months to put up will most likely be gone by the end of this week. Maybe Wednesday. While we were out, we had lunch, and then retreated to the apartment. Frozen pizza for dinner, and fresh peaches for dessert. Tomorrow will be our day to vacate the apartment, we got a late check-out, and we will catch a late afternoon plane to Paris, spend the night at the airport, and then head back early Wednesday morning. I have done a lot of things in the last 10 days or so, and it has been a lot of fun.

Volume 16 - Day 203/163, 2024 - Sunday

We started out the day slowly, I did not even go and get croissants. We had cereal and yogurt for breakfast, and that was perfect. We walked across the Promenade to the beach (it is really not a beach), and got in the water for a while. The beach here is really river rock, the kind of rock you pay $7.50 a 3 pound bag for at Home Depot. But, it was not a problem, we all had big towels, and after we got out of the water, we sat and enjoyed a little bit of sunshine. A little bit of sunshine because it has been overcast most of the day, which proved to make the day more bearable than yesterday. It was better, weather-wise, than yesterday, but I still worked up a pretty good sweat everywhere I/we went. We headed off to tour a couple museums, first Chagall and then Matisse. The transit system here is pretty good, and I am sure it would be even better if I were here for a couple more weeks, and had time to study it. Actually, I am not even trying, I just follow Michael and Lynda, and we (usually) end up where we had intended. The train and a cab got us to the Musee Chagall. We got there at about 1PM, and we knew the museum ws closed for lunch until 2. So, we had lunch in the garden there, and then toured the museum. Joan Miro had another show of works at the Chagall museum, so that makes two different places we have seen his works. Then we were off to the Musee Matisse. The interesting thing about this is, his home was the original part of the museum, and then there was more space added. Very interesting. I like the still life portraits of Matisse, but I am not fond of the cut paper works and the stuff that reminds me of bad wall paper. I think his sculptures are really interesting though. Okay...so Michael went his way to see the finale of the Tour de France, Lynda and I headed back to the apartment, with a quick stop at the grocery. The grocery closest to the apartment is about the size of my house, not including the garage. This is the grocery that coined the term 'limited selections.' We just finished dinner, and watched some paramedics carry a guy in a wheel chair off in an ambulance acros the street on the back side of the apartment. Not sure exactly what might happen tomorrow, but you will read it here first.

Volume 16 - Day 202/164, 2024 - Saturday

Saturday. Let me expand a little bit on the sweaty people here in Nice, France. I am not retracting my comment that EVERYONE is sweating, They are still sweating, and many of them are smoking, too. We got up this morning, and Michael and I went to the bakery for croissants and something else that was chocolaty. After breakfast, we left the apartment and headed for Old Town at about 9:15. We got there, and finally found the entrance to the 'Fun Park,' and had a nice walk around. Shortly after that,we took seats at a little cafe, where I had TWO Coke Zeros. It is REALLY hot here. Then, we went and staked out a place in the shade, or at least as much shade as we could find, to wait for the penultimate stage of the Tour de France. After a bit, Lynda walked across the street to get us a hamburgers at McDonalds, and by the time she received the order, the gendarmes would not let her go across the street to where we were. She had to go down a ways, and cross over a bridge that had been erected for the TdF. I finished my sandwich with about a minute to spare before the riders crossed in front of us. The ride was supposed to start at 1:35 but it did not start until about 1:50. The trains here can run on time, you would expect the ride could start on time. While sitting/standing in the shade, I met two nice families, one from Norway (now living in Antibes), and another family from Belgium. All very nice. Even though English is definitely NOT their first language, most people have a bit of English fluency, definitely more than all my French combined. After the start of the stage, we headed back to the apartment, where we stayed until it was time for dinner. Now we are back, and it is time to call it a day. Stay tuned. But wait, there's more! Nekkid people update... We passed Apollo again today, and I discovered he has four horses on he head, I had not realized that at all yesterday. Okay, now you can close this journal.

Volume 16 - Day 201/165, 2024 - Friday

Where has the week gone? Well, depending on where you are, many people have probably answered 'to hell.' Not so much here, though. Last night, it was strongly suggested (by an unnamed source whose initials are Lynda), that the first person up in the morning (this morning) should go to the boulangerie and retrieve fresh croissants for breakfast. She knew I am always the first one up, so it was up to me. I went and got croissants and muffins, and we all enjoyed a nice breakfast. Apparently, staying in bed until 8AM does not work with these people! After breakfast, we planned out a nice, leisurely day, and before we left, turned on the dishwasher. Michael walked into the kitchen and water was spewing out in great quantities. Oops. We mopped it all up (toweled it up, actually, there is no mop), called the landlord, and left. We took the train in to 'Old Town, had a nice lunch, and then we took one of the On/Off double decker buses around the city. Interesting stuff. We did get off at stop 9, and visited (fill in the blank) which looked like it at one time had a draw bridge. Let's talk about nekkid people, shall we? There are nekkid people all over this country, and Nice is apparently in the top five for the most green nekkid people. Everywhere! But I digress... After we got off the bus, we walked around some more, and Lynda got a text that the dishwasher leak had been repaired. Lynda stopped and got dinner to take away, and we got back on the train. It was nice to get back to the apartment, because, not only are there a lot of nekkid people here, but everyone is sweaty. EVERYONE! When we got back to the apartment, we realized that, not only did they fix the dishwasher, but they ran it AND put away the dishes. How about that? Tomorrow, we will head back down the Promenade, and be in some of the commotion for the Tour de France, and on Sunday, we will walk out the gates of the apartment and watch the cyclists head to the finish line. It should be interesting. Today's photo: More nekkid people. All day long, I thought this guy was Neptune. Or Zeus. Or Poseidon. For you Aggies in the crowd, just to be clear, Neptune and Poseidon are the same person. But NO...this is actually Apollo. What the hell ever! Here is what Mrs. Google has to say: If you visit Place Massens, in the very heats of Nice, you will see a large fountain called the 'Fontaine du Soleil,' the Sun Funtain. There are five bronze sculptures in the basin and in the centre stands an impressive marble Apollo. He is 7 meters (23 feet) tall and weighs in at 7 tons. And if you think the bronze nekkid guy trying to wrangle the bull looks like me, you're right. I had totally forgotten that I posed for that work.

Volume 16 - Day 200/166, 2024 - Thursday

Okay, well, this was another incredibly long day. Not long as in there were 29 hours in the day, just long in stuff we did and the number of stairs we climbed. We (Lynda) signed up for a five hour tour to go from Nice to Eze and Monaco. We were supposed to be picked up at 8:30 this morning, and there was some confusion, since we were not picked up by 8:40. Michael called the tour operator, and we think they just sent any available tour bus to get us. The five hour tour ended up being OVER TEN HOURS. We were retrieved from the street at about 9AM, and there were 8 of us on the tour. We were in a nine passenger van, and if we had been a Baptist Church group, that would have spelled disaster. Well...our first stop was Cannes. Bear in mind, the longest time we had at any one of the stops (keep counting), was an hour... We saw where the Cannes Film Festival is held, saw the water and boats, and got back on the bus. Next stop: Antibes. This was a good stop. There was a great outdoor market (huge) and the Musee Picasso, Antibes. There were Picasso works, AND they were having a show of Joan Miro's works. Very nice! Then, we were off to St. Paul de Vence. St. Paul de Vence is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur region of Southeastern France. A very nice little village, with lots of steps and inclines (more inclines than declines), little shops (wonderful contemporary art) and buildings and cathedrals dating back hundreds of years. I am wondering if this translates into St. Vincent de Paul charities in the US. Not sure. On to Eze. More steps. I think we actually ate lunch there, but not sure. Beautiful cenery, lots of stuff. Monaco was next, we had maybe 45 minutes, I had my picture taken with an octopus, took a picture of a yellow submarine, a beautiful church where Princess Grace is buried, the Prince's Palace (it doesn't really look like much of a palace), and then we were off to Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo was the last stop on the tour, and we could not get anywhere near the real casino, we had to make do with just the lobby and the gift shop. SO, IN CLOSING...it was a three hat day, and a no t-shirt day. The photo accompanying this journal entry is, what I am calling, a statue of blind luck, just inside the casino in Monte Carlo. She is carrying a basket of coins (apparently she plays the nickel slots), and I am trying to get a few of them. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring, but I am pretty sure it will be interesting. More to follow tomorrow.

Volume 16 - Day 199/167, 2024 - Wednesday

I got up about 6 o'clock this morning, I had to pack and the train left for Nice at 10:30. We took the trash and recyclyng to the public sanitary places, but the did not open until 9:30...so we faked it, just a little bit. There are above ground recycle bins for paper, glass and plastic, and then there is another bin 'for everything else.' We got a cab at 9:30 and boarded the train. I continue to be impressed with the trains, they leave on time and arrive on time. It took about three hours to go from Avignon to Nice, a distance of 260.3 km (which I think breaks down to about 156 miles. There were two or three stops along the way, one of them was Cannes. I didn't get off, but I can say I have been to the train station (gare tren). We got to Nice and took a taxi to the apartment we are staying in. I said the address was 214 Promenade des Anglais and in reality it was 219 Promenade des Anglais. Now...214 PdA does not exist, but the cab driver thought it did. I would not have thought there would be a tremendous distance between 214 and 219 PsA, but if there had been a 214PdA, it would have been about 11 miles away from 219. Okay, once we got settled in at the apartment, we got local train passes and went close to old town. We had a nice lunch at the Restaurant Crocodile (not on the menu), and there was a man (late 20s maybe) next to us eating his lunch (fish) slower than I have ever seeen anyone eat. He was there eating when we got there, and he was still eating his fish thirty minutes later. SUDDENLY...he jumped up and ran out (we were sitting on the patio. It was the first time in my long life that I have ever seen someone skip out on a check in the restaurant. The staff person (our waiter) said, well...it was just one fish. That is a really good outlook, in my opinion. Tomorrow is planned to be a slow day, and there may be a tour to Eze and Morocco one of the days we are here. Eze is one of those forteress cities on a hill. I up for it. Right now, I am up for little of anything. Stay tuned.

Volume 16 - Day 198/168, 2024 - Tuesday

Michael was not feeling particularly perky today, so we did not make it to Nimes. Lynda and I set off on our own to do a bit of sightseeing, things we could walk to. I am convinced that 95% of the stairs in our known universe are in Avignon. Stairs. Stairs. Stairs. We took off looking for the St. Benezet Bridge that was built between 1171 and 1185. We found it, but they wanted 9 Euros too access it. I had a little bit of a hissy fit, but we found a way to access another section (more stairs) where we could see what we needed to see. In the travel book Michael and Lynda brought, there was a thirty minute walk, described as 'Discovering Avignon's Back Streets Walk.' It took us about three hours to find the starting point, and the first stop was the Church of St. Pierre, built in the 16th century.. In the courtyard of the church is where we had dinner last night. The photo accompanying this entry is 'The statue...is a tiny naked baby...Bacchus, the pagan god of wine, with oodles of grapes.' Not sure why a pagan god is sitting atop a Christian chirch, but there he is! One of the streets we went down is the Rue du Vieux Sextier, which translates to Street of the Old Sexy People. I think it's about time we got our own street! We got back to the apartment, went down for naps, then went investigating again. We all had dinner across the street from the apartment, and we are getting ready to take the train to Nice in the morning. Enjoy!

Volume 16 - Day 197/169, 2024 - Monday

Well, I can't figure out how to log my steps on my Apple Watch, but there have been plenty each day since I got here last Thursday. This morning, we were up a little bit earlier than I had hoped, and we caught the train to Arles at 7:38. Trains here (TGV) run on time and arrive on time, it is fascinating. We got to Arles about 10:15, and we took a pedi-cab into the center of the city. First things first, I bought a t-shirt and a Van Gogh print. Now I just have to worry about getting the print back without damaging it. I have a plan, yes I do. The, we visited one of the Coliseums (there are more than one, here), then the Cloisters, and walked around the city. We had lunch at what had been a hospital that Van Gogh had been in, and then we went to the Van Gogh Foundation. It is not a place full of artwork by Van Gogh, but more of a place that showcases works of new artists, something that Van Gogh was never able to achieve during his lifetime. There are three original works of Van Gogh's at the Foundation, and it literally made my day to see Starry Night up close and personal. And I mean up close. I could have touched it if I had wanted to be arrested. I have been on my best behavior while I am here, mainly because they have no bail system, and I just don't want to chance it. Apparently, Vincent painted similar subject time-and-again. He painted this one in Arles in September of 1888. There is another (The) Starry Night at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. Just saying. This painting (the one I saw) was donated to the Foundation by a private donor in 1975. We returned to Avignon by train, had a bit of a rest, and had a very nice dinner at a restaurant that is owned by an old woman. Rumor has it she is very aware of all the oddities contained inside the restaurant, and I would have happily made myself a few gifts if no one was looking. But, then again, there is the bail issue. Tomorrow we are going to Nimes to see one of the segments of the Tour de France, and I think that will be pretty cool. Stay tuned.

Volume 16 - Day 196/170, 2024 - Sunday

It was kind of an early day today, our train from Paris to Avignon was leaving at 7:38AM (that equals midnight in Texas), so we were up around 5 to catch a cab at 6:30. No problems at all, and Mussolini would have been proud of the fact that the train left right on time, and arrived right on time as well. Avignon is close to 450 miles from Paris, and we arrived, as I recall, at about 10:15. It was a very comfortable ride, we opted for business class, so there was plenty of room. We got to the actual town of Avignon about 11, we were supposed to meet the VRBO person at 11:15, just to store our bags, and that went off with just a few hiccups. But it worked out. We needed to wander around until check-in time at 4, which we did with some success. I think stairs were invented in France...everywhere we go there are more stairs, and not just a few steps. From ground level to the front door of the apartment we are staying in, there are 63 tairs. Stairs everywhere. So...apparently, the Pope was exiled from Rome for a period of time, and he moved to Avignon. We attempted to tour the Pope's Museum, but it was closed, so we just sat in the shade of the garden for a while. The we toured the Pope's Palace, which, I am sorry to report, was not that exciting. So then we sat some more and walked around some more, until we could get access to the apartment. They are having a HUGE festival in Avignon while we are here, and goes on for about three weeks. We are right in the middle of it all, lots of music and entertainment. PLUS, today is Bastille Day, so that celebration is going on as well. We rested for a bit, and then we headed to the grocery, got food to prepare (I got a ready made sandwich, I am not a wizard in the kitchen), and had a nice dinner followed by a lot of conversation. Although I have known Michael and Lynda for about 30 years, I fear they are learning more about me than the really needed to know! Tomorrow, I think we have decided to go to Arles, either by bus or train. It is only about 45 minutes away, and I will get the chance to brush up on all things Van Gogh! You know, if you've seen one old church, it could qualify you to having seen a lot of them, so the photo accompanying this entry is of the board at the train station this morning. We left at (remember?) 7:38.

Volume 16 - Day 195/171, 2024 - Saturday

Well, today was another busy day for an old guy like me. I am, however, holding up pretty well. We had breakfast at the hotel, and then we met our tour guide, Christopher, and we toured the city in a 1977 (I think) Citroen 2CV. We got quite a few looks from passersby because of the car. The tour was great, and I learned even mlre about Paris and France that I am quite certain I will bore you with for months to come. Here is a brief recap: We say buildings that were damaged in World War 2 that are still being used today, we saw the place where the Statue of Liberty was cast (the building is long gone), saw a statue of Joan of Arc, we saw a building that once house the Texas Embassy when Texas was still a Republic, Moulin Rouge, MontMarte, the Arc du Triumph (there are three of them), and then I went off on my own to the Louvre. Mygoal was to see theMona Lisa, and I thought that I might fail. I saw lots of stuff, took lots pf oictures, and liked to have never found the Mona Lisa. I was told 'Go up these stairs, turn right every time, never turn left.' Everyone I asked had a different route, but I finally made it, and I have visual proof, as you can see in the photo accompanying this entry. I got back to the hotel, and then I met up with Lynda and Michael at the Cafe du Trocadero, which has a lovely rooftop seating area, except when it rains. It also has a lovely view of the Eiffel Tour, except when the construct a fur story temporary building across the street, just for VIPs to view the Eiffel Tour and the Olympic events. So...we struck out on two occasions, but we had a lovely dinner. We did get to see the Tower sparkle, but could not get any decent photos because of the barricades. Whatever. Tomorrow we take the TGV to Avignon. Early. Very early.

Volume 16 - Day 194/172 - Friday

Well, today was busy...I was supposed to meet Michael and Lynda for breakfast in the garden of the hotel this morning at 7:15...I woke up at 6:55. I slept really well, though, and I actually got downstairs only three minutes late. I got the most important things done before I met them, so there is that. We had a booking for a tour of the Eiffel Tower at 8:30, and we got there with no issues. The tour was not as we expected it, but it was fun and interesting. I can now tell you how many rivets there are in the tower, and all kinds of other fascinating trivia about the tower. Did I mention it was raining? It ws raining. After that tour, we had a wonderful lunch on a boat traveling up and down the Seine. The food was mach, much, much better that any of us were expecting, very well done, and I managed to have an Eiffel Tower for dessert. After that, we visited the Musee D'Orsay, which is housed in a former railway station. A beautiful building, and many beautiful pieces of art by artists I am very fond of. When we left there, Michael and Lynda went their way, and I went my way to the Paris Catacombs. I have been fascinated by the Catacombs since I was young (that is a long time ago), and this tour did not disappoint. The tour guide (Amber) was excellent, and we actually did go in to three different areas that are not accessible to folks that do not opt for the tour I booked. It was not macabre or unsettling, it was a means to an end back in the 17th and 18th century, and I fould it fascinating. I learned a lot about how it all came about, and I would recommend a visit to anyone. You too, Jennifer! I then traipsed back to the hotel, and met Michael and Lynda for dinner. HAving acomplished that, I am now back in my room at the hotel. It is somewhat troubling to consider that, I am composing this journal entry at 10:54PM, and that means it is 3:54PM in Austin. You guys still have a long way to go before the weekend starts. I managed to make many new friends today. When groups are taking photos, I invite myself into the photo with them, and we all have a good time. The photo accompanying this entry is an example.

Volume 16 - Day 193/173, 2024 - Thursday

As of the composing of this journal entry, I have been awake for about 36 hours. Okay, that may be a lie, I think I did get a couple hours sleep here and there, but it is no secret I am not as you nr as I used to be! It is 9:45PM here in Paris, which means it is 2:45PM in Austin. The time difference is really interesting. We landed this morning at about 9 o'clock, 2 o'clock in Austin. Got to the hotel, did a couple things, and then walked around a bit. We made it to the Pantheon, went to the Seine, looked from afar (well, as close as you can get) to Notre Dame, looked up at stuff, pointed at other stuff, and then headed back to the hotel. I was having a few technology issues, but I actually fixed those myself, with no outside help, if you don't count Dr. Google as helping. We met back in the garden at 6:30, I had some coffeee (I was having a no caffeine headache), and then headed out to dinner. All is good, we have tickets at 8:30 tomorrow morning for the Eiffel Tower, then lunch on a boat on the Seine, and then I have tickets to go to the Catacombs tomorrow at 5PM. I am looking forward to all three events. Let's hope I don't get arrested for messing with the bones at the Catacombs. Today's photo is me outside the Pantheon, with the Eiffel Tower several blocks behind me. I am sure I will have more 'typical' tourist photos for you tomorrow, after a good nights sleep.

Volume 16 - Day 192/174, 2024 - Wednesday

Howdy, y'all. Right now I am somewhere flying over the Atlantic, on my first trip to Europe. After this trip, I only have the=ree more continents to visit, and that will finish one of my bucket list items. I am traveling with Michael and Lynda, and so far, so good. We were a little bit worried about making it to the connecting flight, but everything worked out just fine, I even had enough time to pee before boarding the plane. We will land in Paris at 9AM Paris time tomorrow, that is about 2AM Texas time. The girls went to stay with Paulina, Val and Oliver last night, and the Curious House is very quiet. Clocks are all stopped (except for one) and no dogs. Very quiet. I had everything needed for the trip in a bag that could be a carry on, but when I found out Michael and Lynda were checking bags, I put everything in a bigger bag (not that much bigger) and now I have a suitcase that is half empty. Seriously! So, I loaded the empty side with snacks, just in case they have no snacks in France. In just a few minutes, I will publish this entry, and maybe see if I can get some sleep. I will see y'all when we get back. This photo shows Michael and lynda in the row behind me in the aisle seats. The other guy has the greatest smile ever, and part of me is at the bottom

2016 - Day 191/175, 2024 - Tuesday

Paul's back was still bothering hm this morning, so I was lazy and didn't walk. It just seemed like any old excuse, but I expect I will make up for it in the coming days. I got in the office a little bit earlier than usual, and got a fair amount of stuff accomplished. I am happy about that. I was trimming by sideburns the other day, and somehow I yanked the hoop out of my ear with the comb I was using. SO, I got Kerry in the office to put it back in this afternoon. Kerry put the hoop in originally, many months ago. I had to hold my mouth just right to make it easier for her, as you can tell from the photo I am including with this entry. I think I will take it easy for the rest of the evening, I have a lot of stuff to get accomplished tomorrow, and I think it will be a pretty busy day.

Volume 16 - Day 190/176, 2024 - Monday

People very seldom say they are sad because the hurricane missed them. Here in central Texas where the Curious House is, we seldom get the damage of hurricanes, but we do cross our fingers for the rain it brings. Our Highland Lakes are really in need of a water infusion, and that is why we were hoping Beryl would track a bit more westerly. Nothing ends a drought like a flood. No floods on the horizon for us, but Houston, which is almost at sea level, is getting their share of flooding. Stay safe all y'all. No walk again this morning, but I managed to make good use of the extra time I had. I got in to the office at about 9:30, and got a respectable amount of work done, and left for the Curious House at about 2:30. Still getting stuff done here and spoke with a couple Landlords from the home office. It was cloudy most of the day, so our temperatures were really moderate, and the weather prognosticators are teasing us that the temperature tomorrow morning could be below 70. I'll believe it when I let the girls out. These blooms in the front yard had to have appeared overnight last night, I did not even notice them until I pulled in the driveway this afternoon. 

Volume 16 - Day 189/177, 2024 - Sunday

As I was writing the journal entry yesterday, we had received 0.05" of rain at the Curious House. Later in the evening, it began to rain, and it rained for a pretty good while. When I emptied the gauge this morning, we had 2.81" and I am very happy about that. What I am not really happy about is, we will not get any rain from Beryl when it finally make landfall on the Texas coast. I hope there is minimum damage, and I hope everyone in the path will be safe. Paul was experiencing some back problems this morning, and he chose not to walk, so I took advantage of the extra time, too, by not walking and doing some stuff around the Curious House. You would not be able to tell I did anything if you were to visit, but it is the unseen things that always need doing. I had brunch this morning with Terry and Candy and Mike, and that was fun. On the way home, I made a couple stops to pick up a couple things, and I have spent the rest of the day at home. Okay, that is a lie. I did venture out to Home Depot, and bought nothing. After that, I have been home for the rest of the day. There is not a lot on my schedule for tomorrow, but I assume I will get a few things accomplished. I was really hoping it would rain. I have been doing a pretty good job of putting shoes back in the closet after I wear them, but these are still in the bedroom floor. If you have any question about it, it is no longer about the socks, it is now about the shoes.

Volume 16 - Day 188/178, 2024 - Saturday

Sadly, I think the best chances of rain from Hurricane Beryl are going to be east of us here at the Curious House. It may strengthen to a Category 1 or 2 when it hits Houston (conjecture), but our rain chances are diminishing by the minute. I really would like some rain out of that system I had a nice walk with Paul this morning, and it was 73 degrees, it actually felt coolish, and I thought I might have slept through the summer and woke up in October. I think the high temperature here was only 95 today, and it was cloudy for a good part of the afternoon, and we did get a little sprinkle of rain. 0.06" of rain in the gauge. For you Aggies in the audience, that's six-one-hundredths of an inch of rain, less that a tenth-of-an-inch. Diane, Pam and Marian joined me to hit four estate sales this morning, and I came home with some real treasures. Marian did not buy anything, which is kind of depressing! After that, it was time for a np or two, and late this afternoon, I had to go in to Austin to secure the french door of a condo we manage. The gusty winds had blown the doors open, there was a little bit of water intrusion, but it is all okay now. I just finished fixing myself two pimento cheese flips, so now I am ready to lean back and look out the windows for the rest of the night. I am really proud that my plumeria is blooming so nicely, after it did not bloom at all last year!

Volume 16 - Day 187/179, 2024 - Friday

Today was one of those days. About ten years ago, people would ask me how my day was, and I would respond that there were gnats flying all around my face, and I could not shoo them away. There were a lot of gnats today, but it will all work out okay. Just first world issues (not even first world problems). Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and then, after breakfasts all around (me and the girls), it was time to take my time going in to the office. I stopped at an estate sale in Round Rock, and spent $6. All was good in the office, nothing much to do, just check the mail and post some checks. On my way to the blood bank, I stopped at Taco Shack for some lunch, which is always good to have extra food when you are shedding platelets. I left the blood bank about 3:45 and headed home, and Val, Paulina and Oliver came over about 5 o'clock, and we went into Georgetown for dinner. It is about time to shed some clothing, and settle in for the evening. Tomorrow will be more estate sales, and Sunday we are already working on brunch. Fun stuff in my old age!

Volume 16 - Day 186/180, 2024 - Thursday, The Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July, everybody. I have done a lot of nothing much today, but I will still provide you with details. I did walk this morning with Paul and James. Then some breakfast (cereal), and then a few things around the Curious House. There were naps here and there, and I did water plants in the front and back, and trimmed two potted plants that I have had for about five or six years. I am pretty sure I brought them to the Curious House from the farm. I did get in the car to get a few things at Target and Walgreen's, and then got a couple bar-b-cue sandwiches for dinner. Tomorrow, I will go in to the office for a few minutes, and then I have an appointment to shed more platelets. Then home, and estate sales on Saturday. The picture accompanying this post is my all time favorite Fourth of July picture, taken on this day in 2012, at the farm. Enjoy!

Volume 16 - Day 185/181, 2024 - Wednesday

I am very pleased to announce that I saw another Hummer at the feeders this afternoon. That is two days in a row, so maybe that single Hummer has decided to call my four feeders its' own. That is perfectly okay with me, as long as at least one Hummer knows the feeders are there. It was a nice walk this morning, maybe not as hot as it has been, but still not that comfortable. I made it in to the office a little bit early, because I knew there was stuff I needed to do. I had a nice lunch, too, with Michael and Lynda, and then it was back to the office, and one errand on the drive home. Plus I needed to get gas in the little white car. Hopefully we will get a little bit of rain in the next seven days. A lot is not predicted, but a little bit is. I am looking forward to being off from the office for the next couple days, although I will go in on Friday...I am doing a platelets pull, and as long as I am in town, I will stop by the office and see if anything needs to be done. Have a great Fourth!

Volume 16 - Day 184/182, 2024 - Tuesday

Well, I admit it, I am pretty scary looking, but that is just the way it is. Today is Tuesday, which means it is Total Stranger Tuesday. There were three of us at the ROMEO breakfast, and we were in and out, nobody got hurt. My orange juice glass was cracked, and everybody got their livers in a quiver because I kept drinking it. It was CRACKED, not broken, I knew it, I just wanted to make sure they got rid of the glass after I was finished with it. Whatever. I got another glass of orange juice, and a glass and a half of orange juice for free. Then it was in to Austin, and it was a good day. There is a lot going on, and it will be busy for about another month, and then the summer rush will be over. I'm looking forward to that. In reality, I am looking forward to a lot of things that I am not in charge of. I'm looking forward to some rain in central Texas because of Hurricane Beryl, but I am not in charge of that either. It actually looks like we have a chance of rain later in the week, fingers crossed. I did see A hummingbird at the feeders this morning, and that was pretty exciting. Hopefully, there is more than one, but I have only seen one at the feeders. Two at the feeders would be a great thing to see.

Volume 16 - Day 183/183, 2024 - Monday

Well, welcome to July, and we are exactly half-way through with 2024. For a Monday, it was not a terrible day, but I found plenty of stuff to get done...some of it a bit tedious, but I got it done. Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and there was just a sliver of moon still in the big, beautiful blue sky. Certainly not many clouds, and that made for a warm morning and day. After the walk, I got in to the office a bit early, because it, being the first, is always kind of busy. I left the office at about 2:30, and I got home about 3:45. I let the girls out, and then decided that I might as well go get the car inspected. I thought this would be the last time for that ritual, but the news this evening said that 'high population' counties in Texas will still have to comply with car inspections going forward. I don't know that I disagree with that, because if cars are not inspected, I think there could be more clunker (dangerous) vehicles on the road, driving down IH-35 next to me. I just made that up, I have no data to substantiate that opinion. This photo is of a couple morning glories that bloomed yesterday, and closed up in the late afternoon. I saw them as I was watering last night, and I thought they were interesting. Kind of pretty...