Volume 16 - Day 289/77, 2024 - Tuesday

Paul aborted his walk this morning and I decided to do half a walk, but I turned around and came back home before I got half-way done with my half-a-walk. Callie started acting sluggish and lethargic  yesterday, and she was not doing any better this morning when we got up, so I made her am appointment at the vets for this afternoon. Apparently, although we are not sure yet, she has a strained or ruptured disc, maybe nothing that extreme since there was a lot of talking at the vets, and she is now on anti-inflammatory drugs which is supposed to make her feel better. No running, no jumping, nothing like that for the next two weeks. I am not sure how I am supposed to control that when I am out of the house, but one thing for sure is I am not putting her in a kennel while I am out of the house. The cold front is supposed to come in overnight, and I am going to crank the HVAC down and open windows tonight before I crash. Maybe it will cool the house down without air conditioning, and that would be nice. Fresh air is always good. Tomorrow should be a quiet day, Thursday will be a very busy day, and Friday will be kind of quiet, I will give some platelets and plasma and then enjoy the Supper Club for dinner at the Walburg German Restaurant. Good times!

Volume 16 - Day 288/78, 2024 - Monday

I bought two baskets of Dianthus yesterday, to put in two empty pots on the back patio for a little color. They like full sun, so they are in the right place. It was not a record breaker today in central Texas, but it was (I think) 96 degrees today. Tomorrow is forecast to be 99 degrees, which will break a record, and overnight into the morning on Wednesday, we are looking for a cold front. HAHA. It will lower the daytime temperatures to the mid-80s, and that will be very welcome. The problem is, there is still no, or very little chance of precipitation in the ten day forecast. I am pretty sure it will work out in the end, one way or another. Not a bad day today, Paul and I had a nice walk, and I got in to the office at about 9:30. It was very quiet, and I left for the Curious House at about noon-30 or 1 o'clock. Traffic on the way in was not terrible (there was no school today) but on the way home there was something, not sure what, that had traffic backed up for miles. It did take about thirty minutes longer than usual to get home. I have been worried about Callie all day, she was not acting very feisty after breakfast this morning, and then this afternoon, she seemed better. Now, after dinner, she is acting lethargic, so I will be keeping my eyes on her. Hmmm. 

Volume 16 - Day 287/79, 2024 - Sunday

Okay, this needs to stop. It was 101 degrees in central Texas today, the highest recorded temperature this late in the year, since records have been being kept. And it may happen again tomorrow and Tuesday. Expecting a cold front (hahaha) to arrive overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning, so we shall see what that will do for us. All I can say, is...never min, this is a family journal! Anybody want to play corn hole? Leisa and her crew are ready for you, but I am pretty sure you need to bring your own skull. Yesterday I figured out that I had created a major cluster f*uck, but I got it all worked out before noon today, so all is well that ends well. I was also very productive today. Paul and I had a nice walk, I went to Target, got the red car washed, went to HEB and Home Depot, and by about 1:30 I was naked until about 4:30. When I do laundry, I DO laundry! So that is just kind of the frosting on the cake. I had Shepherd's Pie for dinner, compliments of Pam and Paul, and I have enough left over for three of four more meals. Tomorrow is a Holiday, so I expect traffic to be light when going in to Austin, and the week ahead should be relatively quiet. Have a great week everybody!

Volume 16 - Day 286/80, 2024 - Saturday

This is (apparently) the 50th Anniversary of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and what I have taken away from that fact is, I am really old. Fifty Years? I graduated from High School 55 years ago, so I guess that is about right. Since we both woke up and were both breathing, Paul and I had a nice walk this morning. After that, I took off for estate sales with Pam, Judy and Marian. I bought a few things, and I can remember some of the things I bought. I found something in the car this afternoon that I bought at an estate sale about three weeks ago, so even I am finding new stuff at the Curious House. After estate sales, Eileen and Tom came over and we had a nice visit. Then it was down for a nap, and Paulina and Oliver came over and we headed out for dinner. While at dinner, I had a text from Pam that Paul was on his way over with a plate full of Shepherd's Pie. I occasionally feel like Sally Field, but I will happily accept that notion. I am not sure, yet, what I have on the schedule for tomorrow. I know I need to go to the grocery, and I should do some laundry, but you never know. I also need to get the car washed, but I don't want to plan too much. I need a couple baskets of mums, too, so who knows? HEB or Home Depot seems to be in my future. Oliver had pork ribs at dinner, and I brought bones home for the girls, so that will be a treat for them later!

Volume 16 - Day 285/81, 2024 - Friday

Well, I had not intended to go in to the office today, but when I looked at my calendar, I realized that I forgot about an 11:30 meeting at ABoR. SO, since I would be close, I went in for a few minutes, touched a few things, and then took off for my meeting. After the meeting, I headed back to the Curious House by way of HEB to get gas in the little white car. Of course, Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and after the walk, I took it slow getting ready to head in to town. Parts of the meeting were interesting to me...about a months worth of stuff was compacted in to less than two minutes! There was a suggestion made, and we went from not a bad idea to why it could not be done in record time. I mentioned that fact as well, and I just think it was interesting. We shall see how it all works out. Over the weekend, we are expecting record high temperatures here in central Texas, but we are expecting a cool down next week, more in line with average high temperatures, only in the mid 80s. Rumor has it there is another system out in the Atlantic, but I have not seen anything on the news, so I will keep watching to see what is happening. This guy was hanging out in the morning glory leaves this morning, and it is interesting to study them up close, and realize how prehistoric he looks. He hung around while I went in the Curious House to get my phone for the pic. Kind of creepy, too.

Volume 16 - Day 284/82/, 2024 - Thursday

None of my friends and colleagues that live in Florida have been injured, and most property damage has been minimal. As far as I know. There are still peeps that I have not heard from, and I have my fingers crossed that I will have more information soon. It was cool this morning when James and Paul and I took our walk, and I got in to the office with minimal traffic challenges. It was a good day in the office, I had some chores to get done, and I got them done, and I left for the Curious House at about 1:30. I made a stop at HEB for some muffins (banana nut) for the next few day breakfasts. I like making an egg loaf and crumbling a muffin up in it. Yummy! And...the girls like it too. I am not going in to Austin tomorrow, at least that is the plan right now. That could change. We have had rain one time since the first week of September, but the last two weeks of October forecast says we will have more precipitation than average. High 90s from now until Tuesday, when we get some cooler weather. The weekend is looking good, I have a few things on the schedule for Saturday, and right now, Sunday is pretty open. They were protesting in front of City Hall this afternoon when I was heading home, which is not unusual, but I was able to get a photo of this for documentation. Protest on! Our book club selection for October is The Shining, and so far as best as I can remember, it is nothing like the movie.No nightmares so far...

Volume 16 - Day 283/83, 2024 - Wednesday

As of tonight, I am marking my groceries (refrigerated) with the expiration dates with a Sharpie, so I can see what may kill me easier. Tomorrow is trash day, so I am contributing some hummus that had something growing in it that was not hummus. I am now eating carrots and celery with hummus that expired about five weeks ago, but it smells okay, or at least as okay as roasted garlic hummus can smell. You know the drill, if I wake up dead tomorrow, ask the coroner to check for the hummus. Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, but for the second time this week, we passed each other looking for each other, and neither one of us is aware how we can walk past each other, going opposite directions, and not know that we passed the other one. Whatever. Office was good today, but getting to the office was a bit of a challenge. There were four wrecks along the way, including one where the vehicles were laying on their sides, and another one where the cars had apparently spun around a couple times and were heading in the wrong direction. I left the office early since I got in late, and stopped at the Volkswagen and put my name on the list for the new iD Buzz. Maybe sometime in November. We shall see. This weekend is the second weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Fest, which means I will not be going in to the office on Friday. I could easily get used to that. Ugh...what is going on with all the hurricanes? My friends in Florida have either fled or are hunkering down, and it is a total mess. This is a genuine offer, but I know the Curious House is kind of far away, but if you need shelter, let me know, there is plenty of room.

Volume 16 - Day 282/84, 2024 - Tuesday

Oh, Lord, I am too old for sitting on my butt for several hours a day. I attended a continuing education class today from 9 until 4. It was a good class, but that was also a long seven hours. The day started with a good walk with Paul, but because of the class, there was no ROMEO breakfast. The girls were glad that I was home all day, and they stayed here in the office with me for the whole thing. After the class, I ran one errand, and that is about all I did the whole day. I did make a few phone calls during breaks and the lunch time, but the calls did not achieve the intended purpose. No rain in our forecast for the next ten days, but those poor people in Florida, getting ready to be hit again. Weird weather, and I have absolutely no reason to believe the conspiracy theories floating around about 'manufactured' hurricanes and hurricane 'manipulation.' Some folks got nothing better to do. I tell you what, sit next to me for seven hours and you will have a theory about a whole lot of different conspiracies!

Volume 16 - Day 281/85, 2024 - Monday

Monday. Overall, not terrible as Monday's go. Paul and I had a nice walk, even though we passed each other without even knowing it. We both thought we were heading toward each other to start the walk, but we passed each other without knowing. We must have been concentrating on something. I got in to the office about 10 o'clock, there were a few traffic issues on my way in. I took care of posting rent checks and making deposits, and then it was daily business for a while. I left the office at about 2 o'clock, and had no real issues getting home. I finished my most recent book, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. A very fun book, I highly recommend it for easy reading and enjoyable. Now, the October book club choice, since it's Halloween month, The Shining. I saw the movie, but when we read books that were also movies, the books are generally better than the movie, in my humble opinion. Tomorrow I am taking a full day class, 9AM until 4PM. So, that just means that I don't have to wear pants. Halloween is starting to let itself be known in the neighborhood, and this is Leisa and Greg's house. They are on a corner, and the corner is a school bus stop, so very creative. Does anyone want to live next door to the Curious House? My neighbor is moving in with his girlfriend, so he is leasing his home. Let me know if you know anyone interested. I was going to write something else here, but I forgot what it was. Oops.

Volume 16 - Day 280/86, 2024 - Sunday

Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and when I got home, I get the girls fed, but I didn't eat because I had a brunch date with Alisha, Reuben and Terry. Terry got called in to work, so he didn't make it. On the way back from brunch, I stopped at one of the estate sales I visited yesterday, and I bought a couple things at 75% discount. Sweet! I got home, and can't really think of anything I did, but I left at about 1:30 and hit another estate sale that I went to yesterday, and dropped some more cash on things I desperately needed for 50% off. I am done for this weekend. I went down for a nap, and maybe did a few more things around the house, I'm not sure. Val and Paulina came over at about 4:30, and we went in to Georgetown for dinner at Grumpy George's. Grumpy George's opened earlier this year and has always been too busy to get inside, but it was early, and we got in with no trouble. Dinner was good, and when we got back to the Curious House, I tried logging on to the PADI website to try and get a copy of my Open Water Diving Certification, so I can get a wallet card. That didn't work, so I sent a 'help' message, and I expect I should have all the stuff I need by the end of the week. No rush. The coming week should be kind of quiet, I am taking a full day class on Tuesday, and another one on the 22nd. Of course, football is in the way of 60 Minutes, and there is a Music Awards show on when football is over, so I will see what else I can find. Always something. Oh yeah, I just remembered, I got the humming bird feeders cleaned, and they will be put in storage for the rest of the year, waiting on spring to put them back outside.

Volume 16 - Day 279/87, 2024 - Saturday

The cottage cheese I am eating had an expiration date of sometime in August, and August was not that long ago, so I tastes okay. BUT, if I wake up dead in the morning, you all know what to do! Paul did not walk this morning, he had some stuff to do, and he let me know last night. I took advantage of the 'day off,' and I stayed in bed until a little bit after 6 o'clock this morning. Once I got up, I did some putzy stuff around the house (including my favorite thing, straightening up stuff in the garage), and then sat in the big chair with the girls watching the news. I got the girls (and myself) fed, and then did a few more things before setting off for estate sales with Judy, Marian and Diane. Nothing too exciting, but there are two sales I may go back to tomorrow. After the estate sales, I had to go by the bank, then I stopped and had a sandwich, and then did some grocery shopping. Since I quit buying dog food (and now subscribe to Nom Nom), I don't spend that much money at HEB anymore. Not a bad trade off, but Nom Nom is not inexpensive. The dogs like it, but I am pretty sure they like anything that I put in their bowls. Okay, let's face it, I am pretty sure they would eat anything, even if they didn't like it. We do have plans for brunch tomorrow, and I think Paulina and I are going to dinner tomorrow evening. I am a lucky man!

Volume 16 - Day 278/88, 2024 - Friday

I didn't do much of anything today, but I am tired. Paul and I had a nice walk, and then I took it easy for a while. I planned to NOT go into the office today, and that worked out very well. I left the house to get a few things done, first off was a trip to the bank, and then on in to Austin. First stop in Austin was to the clock shop, where I picked up one of the clocks that I had taken in for repair on Tuesday. I love the clock shop, and I took a few extra minutes just to talk with the owners. I could probably hire someone part time just to take care of the clocks. People ask me how many clocks I have, and I have no idea, and I have no intention of counting them. I felt the same way about hay bales, but that is a way different story. After the clock shop, I went to Taco Shack for some lunch, and then to the Blood Bank for a donation. Today was double platelets AND plasma day, and i am really happy with that. I got there early, and got finished early. Nothing really exciting on the way home, but I wanted to get home because I was expecting two deliveries. One delivery was a months worth of food for the girls (Nom Nom), which arrives frozen, so I don't want it sitting outside in the heat. The other was my new Apple credit card. Apparently I have had the old Apple card long enough that they thought I needed a new one. It also seems that I have become an 'Apple' person. I have an iPhone, an apple watch, two Apple MacBooks and an Apple desktop. The only computer I use that is not an Apple is the computer in the office. Apparently I transitioned and did not even know it, but it works okay. Estate sales tomorrow, and a lot of nothing, just like I like it! 

Volume 16 - Day 277/89, 2024 - Thursday

As far as I am concerned, today is Friday. It's really Thursday, but the ACL Fest starts tomorrow, so I am not going in to the office. I do have an appointment to donate platelets tomorrow afternoon, so I will do that, but not get into the Zilker area, where the freak per capita proportion multiplies 10 fold. Nope, not gonna do it. James and Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and that is always nice. I actually shaved this morning, and I think I am on at least a 5 or 6 day shaving rotation. I see no real need to be clean shaven for most days, and so far it is working. Staying on the this is Thursday theme, since it was Thursday, that meant is was cheeseburger special day at Sandy's. That is really one good reason to go into Austin on Thursday. After lunch, I had some accounting stuff to get done, and I left the office about2 o'clock, I think. I stopped on the way home and got the little white car washed, and then got gas in the little white car. All is ready for the weekend, and some estate sales on Saturday. I am not sure, but I believe the subject of the photo gracing this journal entry is a moth. Maybe a butterfly, but I think moths are more prominent. I have been graced by five or six (at least) of these peeps hanging around in the back yard every day for months. They apparently really like this one particular Texas native flowering plant I am trying my best to keep healthy. This is the second year for these natives, and they are attracting just what they are supposed to attract.

Volume 16 - Day 276/90, 2024 - Wednesday

Well, for the most part, Wednesday has come and gone. As usual, the day started out with a nice walk, and then it was time for some cereal for me, Nom Nom for the girls. Honestly, I have had more meals today than I have had in YEARS. If you count the cereal and the banana this morning. Eileen came by the office around 12:30 to drop off some TREPAC stuff, and then we went and said hello to Holly, where I picked up some No Hunger, Inc. stuff. Then we went back to the office and had lunch at El Mercado, next door to the office. I ate WAY too much, but it was really good. I left the offie about 2:30, and I knew Jimmie and Linda and I were going to Taylor tonight for catfish. I have been craving catfish for a long time, and we finally got it together to go. So, three meals in one day and that is totally unusual for me. I forgot to take a picture of the catfish until it was too late, but here is a photo of the fries and slaw. I can't think of too much else I got accomplished today, but I have big plans for the next several days. Not really. Friday starts the first weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, which means the city will be full of freaks, my annual observation. I will go in to the office in Friday, but I will leave the office about noon to give another batch of platelets. My escape route! Now I need another plan for next weekend.

Volume 16 - Day 275/91, 2024 - Tuesday

Okee Dokee then...it is Tuesday, and that means it is Total Stranger Tuesday. This one was pretty easy, there were a couple potential victims, but this lady won out. But...before the breakfast, Paul and I had a nice walk, although it was a lot more humid than it had been in the last couple days. Once we got to breakfast, Rick, Paul and I tried our best to train a new server...his name is Regan (not Reagan, but maybe RayGun, I'm not sure). We had never seen him before, and he said he does not usually work on Tuesdays. He was nice, and the four of us had a lot of fun, but we always have fun at the ROMEO breakfasts. I took off to Austin after that, but I had one stop to make first. I had four clocks in the car to take to the repair shop. I was all hot to buy a new clock, too, but I couldn't decide which one I wanted to buy. I think I got caught up in the 'not making a decision' challenge on Sunday, when Oliver went to buy a pair of shoes, but couldn't make up his mind, so he bought nothing. Can you believe it is October already? Well, it is. The first of the month at our little company is a little bit busy, and it was a busy day, but we all survived. After I got home, I took a little nap, and then went to a HOA meeting, it was a really well done meeting, and it was just a planning meeting before we have our annual meeting in November. There is a lot of stuff our association needs to do before we have that meeting. Now I am watching the VP debate, and completing this journal. Tomorrow, after work, Linda and Jimmie and I are going to Taylor for catfish. I can't wait!