Volume 17 - Day 120/245, 2025 - Wednesday

It is still really, REALLY windy outside. I think it has been windier this year than it has ever been since I have lived in central Texas. Not just breezy, it is really windy. It was breezy this morning when we walked, and after the walk I was on a zoom meeting for about four hours. That is a LONG zoom meeting. After the meeting, I did a couple real estate things, and then Jimmie and Linda invited me to go to 600 Degrees for dinner. They have been pretty busy for the last week...their son Kevin was married over the weekend in Fredericksburg, and they had out-of-town guests for a couple days. I think they are going to be enjoying the next several days with nothing particular on their schedules. After walking in the morning, I am thinking of going to Home Depot to buy three terra cotta pots...I have three milk weed plants that I am considering putting in pots...hoping to attract some Monarchs in the fall. I have two that I put in the ground last weekend, so I may put some or all in pots to move around. Don't try to reach me after about 3:30 tomorrow afternoon, until about 10...I am planning to be otherwise occupied.

Volume 17 - Day 119/246, 2025 - Tuesday

I put a whiny post on FaceBook this morning because I was watching terrible things happening in my country, and I did not know what I could do about it. I shared with some very close friends, that it must have been the way citizens felt in Germany soon after Hitler took power. I am not, in my opinion, being hysterical about that, it was how I felt. I do not advocate that you feel the same way I do, and if you don't, that is okay with me. What came of that declaration, was a fury of messages and phone calls in support. It was wonderful, and I am feeling much better now. I am still concerned, but I have decided there are things I can do, and I will be doing those things. I may also need bail money soon, so just put that in your pipe and smoke it. We had a good walk this morning, and then we had our ROMEO breakfast. I was rejected by my original Total Stranger Tuesday victim, but her table mate was all for it. I hate rejection, but at my advanced age, you would think I was used to it. Maybe, but I still hate it. There are a couple shows on tonight that will have my attention, and I have a 10 o'clock zoom meeting tomorrow that I am not sure how long it will take. I will let you know.

Volume 17 - Day 118/247, 2025 - Monday

Well, I feel a bit more like I am getting my groove back on after the 'starter stroke' in December. I'll share my reason after a few more lines, but you can kind of tell by the picture accompanying this entry. It was a good day for a walk, although it is really warm and really humid. We can definitely glisten while walking in the mornings, and that is okay, too. After the walk, after feeding the girls and after having some cereal, I got showered (and shaved) and headed in to Austin. I left about 9:15, I think. I had one stop before my 10:45 appointment, and I got to We Are Blood at about 10:30 for my 10:45 appointment. I cannot really describe why giving platelets is so important to me, but it is. It is just something that I can do, and something I enjoy doing, and someplace I enjoy being. SO, I feel like I am getting back. On my way in to Austin, both the front tires on the little white car showed to be low in air, so on the way back to the Curious House, I stopped and had all the tires checked. Then I stopped and got gas in the car, and then I did a little bit of shopping at HEB. Once home, I tried taking a nap, but was not successful. I fed the girls, and I had a gluttonous escapade with the rest of the ribs that Gina and Billy brought me yesterday. Yummy! I checked the mail a few minutes ago, and I got my DNA kit from My Heritage. I will do some cheek swabbing tomorrow morning, and send it back. I have already done 23AndMe, and Ancestry, so I will see how this one compares to those. Sadly, both the previous results simply confirmed that my background is BORING. I hate that! I am actually happier than I may look in this photo, and I think I was a little taken aback that this photo looks like I have ONLY ONE chin!

Volume 17 - Day 117/248, 2025 - Sunday

Today was a pretty good day, I got a few things done. It was a good morning for a walk, it would have been a better day if we had some rain, but you can't always have everything. After walking and breakfast, I laid around the house and did some this-and-that, and then hit two estate sales that I had been to yesterday. I got a MahJong set at one, and a piece of art. Between sales, I stopped at a local nursery, and bought two milk weed plants (they only had two), and I even got them planted. I used a shovel and everything, and one hole was easy to dig, the other hole is about three inches of dirt before the limestone. But, they are in the dirt! At the second sale, I got (yet) another clock (it was half-off). You never know about clocks at estate sales, but recently, clocks from estate sales have been working. While I was watching Sixty Minutes, I got a text from my neighbors that the put a plate of ribs and fries at my front door. OMG, it was a delicious dinner, and I have enough left for at least one more dinner. Tomorrow morning I have an appointment to donate platelets, and I am very happy about that. I am trying my best to get back in the groove of stuff I enjoyed doing, and that is one of them. I continue to proclaim that I am a very lucky man!

Volume 17 - Day 116/249, 2025 - Saturday

Including travel time, it took us about 3 hours and 15 minutes to visit eight estate sales. There were just three of us, me, Marian and Margie, but we had a good time, and all three of us came away with something to show for the day. I think I might revisit two of the sales tomorrow, just to see if a couple things are still there. It was a good walk day, too, before the estate sales. Me, Richard, Paul and James. We didn't solve any of the worlds problems, and we may even have made some things worse! After the estate sales, I had three things on my chore list; buy some hanging baskets for the back yard, do laundry, and paint the skirting below the back yard deck. When I had the deck built about five years ago, they painted the skirting the same color as the parts of the fence that can be seen from the street. The HOA is a little finicky about what can be seen from the street. Whatever. Last year or maybe two years ago, I had the fencing in the back yard painted (stained) grey, which I like much better than just the raw wood look. Plus, the grey does not show the areas where the sprinklers hit. When I had the fence stained, I bought a five gallon bucket of stain, and a one gallon can of stain. I took the bucket to Home Depot the other day just to have it shaken (shook?), in anticipation of staining the skirt. I planned to do it early this evening, but I did it about 3:30...the hottest part of the day, because I am going to let the sprinkler run this evening. It should be good and dry by the time the sprinklers run, so that is the plan. Whatever money I spent at the estate sales today, I made up for by staining the skirting myself...it only took 45 minutes, I used about a third of the gallon of stain, but I am old, and it was interesting crawling around on the ground for 45 minutes. 

Volume 17 - Day 115/250, 2025 - Friday

Well, this ought to keep the mulch from washing out every time it rains. The backyard at the Curious House slopes south, so there are two rows of stone on the south side of the yard, and it tapers to one row of stone on the north side of the yard. It turned out nicely, in my opinion, and I am happy with it. I was kind of surprised that it could all get done in one day, but it is done. Plus, the back yard gate now opens and closes and the latch works without any force, and that is just a happy extra. I didn't walk this morning, I took Wal to an early morning medical appointment, and I wanted to make sure that whatever traffic issues there were, we would have time to get to the appointment. I think I was back home by about 11 o'clock, and took a little nap with the girls, and watched the wall progress from the back window. I stayed in the house for most of the day, I need to rest up for the eight estate sales we are going to hit tomorrow morning. I may also visit HEB tomorrow, or maybe Sunday. I am pretty excited that I have an appointment to donate platelets on Monday morning, so that will probably be the highlight of that day. I missed the smiley face moon this morning, and I haven't seen any photos on Facebook. Maybe I need to spend three or four more hours scrolling social media. I hope y'all have a nice weekend.

Volume 17 - Day 114/251, 2025 - Thursday

We always have a great time at Book Club, even if not everybody likes the book. I was going to read The Catcher in the Rye, and I mentioned it last month, so we decided that would be our book for April. Half of us (a tie) didn't care for the book, and I admit I still have 25 pages to finish, and rumor has it, the last 25 pages are the best pages, and I may change my mind about the book when I finish. We'll see. Next months book is The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the original version. We are not against reading books like this one, we expect it will be a lot different than the movie that we have all seen a dozen times. That is what happened when we read Frankenstein, totally different that all the movies. In October, we have already decided to read Dracula. We always try for food and door prizes that are mentioned in the book, and Judy outdid herself. The photo accompanying this entry is her Apple Brown Betty. I have never had Apple Brown Betty, and it was delicious. And all the food before that was great, too. I won't even talk about the door prizes, but if you ever walk in front of my house, you will see the one that I took home. We had a good walk this morning, and a little bit of rain during the day. It has cooled off nicely, and it is about 67 degrees outside the Curious House right now. Tomorrow will be a calm day, I have a couple chores to take care of, and there are eight estate sales we will visit on Saturday. That about wraps this entry up!

Volume 17 - Day 113/252, 2025 - Wednesday

We got almost an inch of rain overnight...0.96" to be exact, according to my gauge in the back yard. It did not start until 2 o'clock or so in the morning, and it is nice to have received that much rain. We are hoping for more, sooner than later, and we can take what we can get. It was a good morning for a walk, me, Paul and Richard. After the walk, I did not do much, I am finishing the book for book club tomorrow, and I still have a couple chapters to go. It will all work out okay! I have a few trips planned between now and the New Year, and we are now working on another cruise in February or March. I think that will be another blast, this time we are planning to head Jamaica and Grand Cayman before going back to Cozumel and the Mayan Riviera. I had dinner tonight with Dick and Marge. We went to an Italian restaurant in Liberty Hill, auditioning restaurants for the May Supper Club meeting. Tomorrow will be pretty calm, I have a zoom meeting at 4 o'clock, and that is about it until book club. This little troll village was something I saw last week when I was taking photos of the poppy's in Georgetown. Very cute, and 100% Georgetown! 

Volume 17 - Day 112/253, 2025 - Tuesday

Well, my visit to the Cardiologist was unremarkable this afternoon, and I walked out with another appointment for another test in a month. The highest calcium level they like to see is 400, and my level was/is 1057. I assume I am just an over-achiever. So, in a little over a month, I will have a 'Nuclear Procedure.' Another way to describe it is a 'Nuclear Medicine Stress Test.' I have six pages of instructions and dos and don'ts. Way too much stuff. Whatever. On a better note, if I do a this-and-that, I can start giving platelets again, and I am really happy about that. Most all my friends think I'm an idiot, and they are not wrong, but I want to do it, so I will do as I'm told to be allowed to give platelets every two weeks. It was a good morning for a walk, and we had a good ROMEO breakfast. My victim today was very nice, she was there with her daughter, and she taught me a couple words in Japanese that I didn't know. The only words I know in Japanese are as a result of a mini-series about two or three decades ago, so it never hurts to learn new things. My fingers are crossed for a little rain over the next few days, and even if we get just a little bit, it will be appreciated.

Volume 17 - Day 111/254, 2025 - Monday

I am living a relatively quiet life these days, I don't go in to the office, and many days I don't even go anywhere. Not that there is anything wrong with that! It was chilly this morning when we did our walk, about 61 degrees as I recall. I did water the plants in the back, and rolled the hose up, because today is grass cutting day. As I write this, the lawn guy just left about 20 minutes ago, so everything is right on schedule. Last week when I went to HEB, I bought three of the prepared dinners, and I had the last one tonight. I don't have a lack of food in the house, so I am in no danger of starving. It is supposed to get warmer and more humid overnight, and we will have our ROMEO breakfast tomorrow morning, and I have a doctors appointment early afternoon. There is a zoom call scheduled at 3, and I have a couple calls to make in the morning, so I have a few things to do. In case you are interested, there is a new episode of Dr. Pimple Popper on this evening, check your local listings for details. Today is also the girl's anniversary...on this date in 2017, Jody and I adopted them from the Georgetown Shelter. The Piglet (Lexie) took an immediate liking to Jody, and Callie adopted me. Eight years. Wow! 

Volume 17 - Day 110/255, 2025 - Sunday

It did not rain overnight, but it did start raining about 6:30 this morning, which meant there was no walk this morning. I did get to lunch at 10 o'clock, and that was nice. It has been a while since I have seen Terry and Candy, so it was fun. I made it home about 11:15, and Richard and Paul and I started our walk at 11:30, so we did get in a walk after all. There were 0.62" of rain in my gauge, and I think that might be it for the rest of the week. There are still chances of rain through the week, but the chances are getting smaller and smaller every time I see a weather forecast. I am glad I let the sprinklers run, too. Wal and Oliver came over at about 4 o'clock, and we took off for dinner. We had expected to go to Fish City Grill, but they were closed, and we ended up at Juliet's in Georgetown. I had lasagna, and I brought about 80% of it home with me, so I am pretty set for the next couple of days at least. After I got home, I went over to James and Kyung's, and she translated some stuff for me about the condo in Playa, and she showed me how to translate written information into English with an app that I already had on my phone. I have no idea what all I have on my phone and I have no real idea how to use a lot of it. I am okay with being helpless. I turned out to be a really beautiful day, lots of sun and beautiful blue skies, like they can only be in Texas! Nothing much left on my agendas for tonight and tomorrow, just the way I like it. The blue dot on the radar image is the Curious House, and it looks really dramatic for the little bit of rain we got from it.

Volume 17 - Day 109/256, 2025 - Saturday

It has not rained yet, but all the forecasts say we will get some...maybe overnight or maybe around 6AM in the morning. Whatever, I am not going to turn the sprinklers off. We can only run sprinklers one day a week, so my day is Saturday, and I am going to run them. We had a good walk this morning, and if the rain arrives as scheduled tomorrow, we most likely won't be walking in the morning. If not, I may walk in the afternoon, just to do it. We hit two estate sales, and I walked away with some treasures, and I spent more money today (at estate sales) than I have in a long time. There may have been a clock involved, but I can neither confirm nor deny. And a couple other things. After estate sales, I did a whole lot of nothing. I went down for a couple naps, fed the girls, had a sandwich from HEB, and now I am jsut planning to sit in front of the tv for the rest of the night. I don't even like the sandwiches I buy at HEB, so I made myself a promise tonight, as I was not liking the sandwich I was eating, that I won't buy any more of them. I have made that promise before, but I am serious this time. Brunch tomorrow with Candy and maybe Terry (he is, apparently, my Huckleberry) and then dinner tomorrow evening with Wal and Oliver. If you know what it means to be my 'Huckleberry,' please let me know. Never mind, I just asked Mrs. Google, and it means he is the perfect or ideal person to have brunch with. There you go. I took this poppy photo last Wednesday after the ROMEO breakfast. I almost waited too long for poppy photos, and Georgetown is the Poppy Capital of Texas!

Volume 17 - Day 108/257, 2025 - Friday

Does anybody need a vacuum cleaner? I got my new canister vacuum delivered last night, and I took it out for a test drive this morning. I like it a LOT. I now have three vacuums in my bedroom closet, and I am going to shed myself of various vacuums (probably 4) over the weekend. Most likely going to Goodwill. It was a nice morning for a walk, and after walking, I unpacked the new bird feeder and the vacuum. I have not taken the new feeder out yet, because it is supposed to be rainy for the next several days. That is Texan for we are never going to have any rain again. Late this morning, I got in the car and drove in to Austin to have lunch with Lynda and Michael and their daughter-in-law (MaryAnn) and their grand daughter (Sofia). It was fun and good to see them again, it has been a couple months since our last lunch. Tomorrow there are two estate sales, and then I may herd vacuums to dispose of, and maybe just chill out. I am thinking of going on another cruise in January or February, so there is that to consider. I started putting that bug in Richard's ear this morning, and maybe we will see if we can get a Water Oak group interested. This morning, the lady I had set up to house sit in June texted me that she would not be able to do it, so I am on a quest for a different house sitter while I am off on a trip. It is always something. After my doctor visit yesterday, I now have another appointment on Tuesday. Always smething.

Volume 17 - Day 107/258, 2025 - Thursday

I ordered two things from Amazon this morning; a canister vacuum (don't ask), and a squirrel proof bird feeder. If I like the vacuum (I hope I will), I will schlep about a half-dozen other vacuums to Goodwill. Not to storage. We had a nice walk this morning, and I had an appointment at Round Rock Hospital at 12:30. Arrive at 11:30. If they want you to arrive at 11:30, the appointment should be for 11:30. Plus, I do the on-line check-in, so... Whatever. The other instructions were; no food or caffeine four hours before appointment. So, is that 4 hours before 12:30 or 4 hours before 11:30? Just to play it safe, I assumed it would be 4 hours before 11:30. I got there at 10:45 just to cause people grief, and had to fill out another form, then I got another wristband (I am starting a new collection). Then I was directed to up the ramp, turn left and then turn right. THEN, go halfway down the hall, turn left and take a seat. Shortly after, my phone said they were ready to see me in Interview Room 2. When I got there, I asked them what the appointment was for, and the lady said I was to participate in an intervention. That was kind of news to me, but, whatever (again). It turns out that I was there for a heart scan with a contrast dye injection. They gave me a couple pills to reduce my heart rate, but they never did give me the two nitroglycerin pills to put under my tongue that they promised. Then I just laid in a dark room for about 30 or 40 minutes. I never did actually go to sleep, but I got close. Then they wheeled me (in the hospital bed) to the room where the scan was to be. It was kind of like dodge 'em cars, but that was kind of fun. By now I had the IV in my arm for about 45 minutes, and told me what was going to happen. I went back and forth in the scanner a few times, and they came back out and said they weren't going to do the scan, because my calcium levels were too high. I would have thought that was a good thing, but I guess not. SO...my self diagnosis, with the help of Mrs. Google, is that I have Hypercalcemia. I will go with that until I hear something official from someone that actually know what they are talking about. Mrs. Google says it requires 'immediate medical attention,' but nobody has called. I am not sure that I really need to know everything that is going on inside this old body of mine.

Volume 17 - Day 106/259, 2025 - Wednesday

The day started in the mid-60s, and ended in the mid-80s. It could have been worse, and I think it will be a little bit warmer tomorrow, probably in the mid-90s. It was a good morning for a walk, and when I finished the walk, I had to get ready for a 10 o'clock appointment in Austin. I made it home about 2 o'clock, after stopping in the office for a few minutes. Once I got home, I got a bit of busy work done, and then I tried to go down for a nap, and I think I was down for about 15 minutes. It was out neighbors dinner night tonight, and we had a record 23 neighbors in attendance. It was fun, we went to Dahlia's in Liberty Hill, and I think everyone had a good time. I, personally, am stuffed. Tomorrow, I have a doctors appointment, and again, I don't know what the purpose of the appointment is, but I will show up. That is pretty much it for tonight...later! 

Volume 17 - Day 105/260, 2025 - Tuesday

I stayed pleasantly busy all day today, which meant I paid no attention to political or economic news. That has been lovely. We had a nice walk this morning, and then we had our ROMEO breakfast. Of course, since the ROMEO breakfast is on Tuesday, it is the perfect time to survey the place for Total Stranger Tuesday victims. Today's victim was lots of fun, even though she was hesitant at first. She agreed, and I think this is a great photo for today. I already have journal photos for the next couple of days, so stay tuned! I worked on updating mailing lists and that was fun, I am just about done, so there will be no stressing tonight. I have one appointment tomorrow, and our neighbors dinner tomorrow night. SO...that is about all the news that is fit to print in this journal entry, you are welcome!

Volume 17 - Day 104/261, 2025 - Monday

63 degrees when I woke up this morning, and that was good weather for a walk. After the walk, I fed the girls, and then Richard came down with his stud finder, and we (he) put two screws into a couple 2x4s so I could hang a couple clocks in the garage. I am running out of wall space in the garage, now. After taking care of that, I hung the bird feeder out in the back yard, but I don't think the birds have found it yet. I hung another pottery sun burst on the Curious Fence, so that is out of the garage. It has been living in the garage for almost a year, but it is where it was intended to be now. I got four envelopes ready to take to the Post Office, two to the IRS, one to Travis CAD and one to the CPA. Of course, as I was licking one of the envelopes, I got a paper cut on my lip. Just great! Then I took off; I headed out first to the Georgetown Donut shop...they were already closed. Then to the Post Office; there was a line of cars just trying to get into the parking lot. I filled out three sets of forms for 'Return Receipt Requested,' and was out of the place in about 40 minutes. Not too many people were in a good mood. Then I was on a mission to find jelly beans, and I finally found them at Walgreen's. Then to HEB, where I got gas in the little white car and bought food for me and the girls. I was home and finished with all that stuff by 1 o'clock, and felt very smug. Later, I watered stuff in the back yard, and now I am about to call it a day. I did eat ALL the leftover pizza and cheese bread, so that only took me a week to eat. Overall, I am feeling pretty good about my day!

Volume 17 - Day 103/262, 2025 - Sunday

Today was a good day, hot, but good. Another day in the low 90s, but it was in the low 60s for our walk this morning. After the walk, I men Alisha and Reuben for brunch, and after brunch, I went to Tractor Supply for bird seed, water softener salt and some chain. The chain is to relocate the bird feeder from the front patio to beneath at tree in the back yard. Last year, the feeder in the front attracted voles, and I really don't want to do that again. Shortly after that chore, I left to meet Maggie to help her with an open house. Maggie had arranged a community open house, and there were 11 open houses in one neighborhood. We had three sets of people come through, two of which could actually be buyers. We are aware of a couple of the agents that had no one view the property they were marketing. It's an interesting market. I had a 4 o'clock appointment with someone to give me a bid for a small wall around a flower bed in the back, that gets all the mulch washed out after every rain. Then, I went to CVS to pick up a prescription. I got the prescription, and I looked for jelly beans, but no luck. What the hell? NO JELLY BEANS? I still haven't gone to HEB yet, and I had left over pizza and cheese bread for dinner. Again. I think I still have two or three more days of pizza left. I will probably make it to HEB tomorrow. Probably. The squirrel in the picture accompanying this entry was about 20 feet up in this tree when we walked past this morning. There are interesting things everywhere, just take a look.

Volume 17 - Day 102/263, 2025 - Saturday

It was a beautiful day in central Texas, about 59 degrees during our walk this morning, and I think it got up to about 90 degrees before it was all over. Richard didn't walk this morning, so it was me, Paul and James. Our conversations covered a lot of territory, and it was fun. When I got home, I had some cereal and fed the girls, and then I went down for a nap. I was invited to a pre-Easter Migas and Mimosa open house at Holly and Gavin and Mace's, and that was much fun. Gavin is quite the cook, and all their friends and family were fun and very welcoming. It was very nice. I got back to Georgetown about 2 o'clock, so I hit two estate sales that were still open. I spent $2, and that is how exciting the sales were. I got home, and went back down for a nap, but that didn't happen. I was just kind of restless. I had been invited to go for ice cream with Linda and Jimmie at 6 o'clock, and after that, we had a game of RummiKub, and we watched part of a Hauser concert. We will be heading to San Antonio in May for a Hauser concert. I went to one last year in Austin, and I am ready for another Hauser-fix. I don't have a lot on my schedule for tomorrow; I am going to brunch with Reuben and Alisha and after that, I will hang out at an open house with Maggie. That will be fun, and maybe after that I will go to HEB, something I have been threatening to do for about the last five days. My days are just full-up with stuff to do, and that is just the way I like it. Earlier this week, on my way home from the CPA, I was driving down 360 and passed the downtown overlook. I passed the same place and decided to stop for a couple minutes. I remember stopping here many times when I first moved to Austin in 1985, and since then, there are lots of things in Austin I just take for granted, or pay no attention to anymore. I will try to pay better attention from here on.

Volume 17 - Day 101/264, 2025 - Friday

Today makes three days in a row that I have not gone out of the house except to walk this morning, take the girls outside and check the mail. That is a lie, I also cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeders and used the grass blower to clean oak tossles off the back patio and the deck. I will go out later to clean the tossles off the front patio and driveway, later. I should really try to get out more, for example, for dinner tonight I had donut holes and (cold) pizza. I have some chicken pot pies in the freezer, but taking time to heat them up is kind of like cooking, and I am not a cook. I did get everything in to the CPA yesterday (or maybe this morning), and my taxes are done, and they will be filed early next week, fingers crossed before Tuesday. All I need to do now is sign via DocuSign and write a check. It could be worse. Sadly, someone I recently met in the neighborhood was killed in a motorcycle/truck wreck. He was a captain (I think) with the Georgetown Fire Department, and it is a very sad thing for his family and friends. I only met him once, and he was a very nice guy. No estate sales in the morning, I will be going to an open house at a very good friends house, and I need to leave the Curious House at about 10:15 or 10:30. I saw this Mexican Whistling Tree duck across the street from the Curious House when I was finishing our walk this morning. I never heard (see what I did there) of them before we had the place in Red Rock, but they are really interesting. I am glad to see them by the Curious House. I think the silhouette is really pretty cool.

Volume 17 - Day 100/265, 2025 - Thursday

Okay, well today marks kind of a landmark, 100 days already gone in this year. Today was another day of doing not much of anything. I am getting to be pretty good at that, perhaps I have found a new purpose! I have, however, managed to get ALL the stuff that was lacking at my appointment on Tuesday with the CPA, so I think I could actually have my taxes done for 2024. Or at least have a pretty good idea where things will land for last year and this year. We hit 90 degrees in central Texas today, and it is still April. We all have a feeling that it is going to be a really hot summer. And, that is just what we do in central Texas. I did get everything watered in front and back, and the morning glories have topped the stone wall. Lots of green, but no glories yet. I did not go anywhere again today, not counting the walk and a walk to the mailbox. Not sure, but I may threaten to go to the grocery again tomorrow. Don't pay too much attention to the weeds in my neighbors side-yard, this is the window I look out from the Curious House office. This little bun-rabbit hangs out now and then, and it is always fun to see him. Maybe a him, maybe a her, I have some challenges with pronouns.

Volume 17 - Day 99/266, 2025 - Wednesday

Warmer this morning, and warmer tomorrow morning. Other than walking this morning and checking the mail, I did not leave the house until late afternoon when Dick, Margie, Samantha and I headed out for dinner. Samantha (Dick and Margie's daughter-in-law) is driving a giant truck from New Orleans to Portland, and this was her first stop. She and Michael (Dick and Margie's son) and moving to Portland, and she still has a ways to go. Maybe she will be there Friday or Saturday. Just drive safely. I still have two items to locate for the CPA...I started with three this morning, I got one sent to him, I have a request in for the other two. One of them should show up in my email pretty soon, the last one may take a little work to get, but I am up for the challenge. It was a beautiful day here at the Curious House, and I did sit a read a little of this months book, The Catcher in the Rye. So far, I am not finding it too terribly interesting, but I have my fingers crossed that it will get better. It is kind of interesting the way it is written, and the point of view of Holden. We are overwhelmed with live oak seed tossles, they are everywhere, on everything, especially me and the girls whenever we go outside. Maybe tomorrow I will get outside after the walk and have something more interesting to post. Fingers crossed.

Volume 17 - Day 98/267, 2025 - Tuesday

It was not as cold this morning as it was yesterday, and it will be even warmer tomorrow morning. We got stopped along the way with neighbors, just talking about this and that. It is getting lighter each day, pretty soon it may be daylight when I wake up in the mornings. Probably not. After walking and doing a couple things around the Curious House, it was time for our ROMEO breakfast, and we do ROMEO breakfasts on Tuesdays, which coincides nicely with Total Stranger Tuesdays. I think this lady looks like Meryl Streep, but she does not think so. Whatever, she was really fun and her husband gave her permission to participate, and I made it clear to him that he had no control over whether she could participate of not. She agreed. And, she also agreed to let me take her pic. It was fun. After breakfast, I headed in to the office to make copies of the stuff I was taking the CPA, and I made it to his office about 15 minutes earlier than I needed to be there. I expect I will know my estimated taxes by the end of the week, and I will get my extension filed about the same time. I made it home by 1 o'clock, which gave me a little time before my 2 o'clock meeting. That meeting was interesting, and after the meeting, we put the pool furniture out at the community pool, and the pool should open up tomorrow. Fingers crossed. My calendar is pretty clear for the rest of the week, but I expect I will be able to get in to a little bit of trouble. Probably.

Volume 17 - Day 97/268, 2025 - Monday

I think it was 37 degrees this morning when I got up, and not any warmer when we started our walk. Heavy jackets, stocking caps, gloves. Maybe another day or two of that, and then it will start to warm up again. I did a little bit more on my taxes this morning after I fed the girls had had two more breakfast tacos from last week. I think there is still one left, not sure. I'm afraid to open the refrigerator to look, they could well be multiplying in there for all I know. I got some good work done in the office and more when I got home this afternoon. I think I am ready for my appointment with the CPA tomorrow, I will stop at the office first and make some copies, and then see what he says. On the way home this afternoon, I needed to get a document notarized, and it took me a while to find a notary. I was also going to stop at Galaxy Bakery, but I remembered they are closed on Mondays. Maybe tomorrow. This is not a criticism of the USPS because they do their jobs better than I could, but, I was missing a check that was supposed to be received on Saturday, and our regular carrier is back from sick leave, so I called and asked her if she could look around. Well, she found the missing piece of mail, and about three more pounds of my mail that had been mis-delivered while she was on leave. Honest mistake, nothing that would have made a terrible problem because I didn't receive it, but it was interesting. In that stuff was a card from Melinda that was mailed on October 1st, and I have it now, so I let her know I got it. Stuff happens. Talking about stuff happening, I went to Golden Chick and had their 10 shrimp combo meal. Crap, it was not as good as their shrimp last year, and I will give it another shot in the next couple weeks.

Volume 17 - Day 96/269, 2025 - Sunday

It is still cold, it did not get out of the 50s today, and it was (I think) in the 40s when we walked this morning. We had an okay walk, not a great walk, but I expect it will be better tomorrow. After our walk, I had intended to make an egg loaf for me and the girls, but they got their regular dog food and I am still eating on breakfast tacos that I got from my meeting on Friday. Two more left. I actually read some of my book this afternoon, in between naps. I rousted myself up about 2 o'clock and went to the grocery, and came back home. I don't buy a lot at the grocery; bread, cranberry turkey salad, milk, dog food, bagels. That is about it. Once I got home, I caved (did not cave) and ordered a pizza and some cheese bread. That will tide me over for at least three days. I have an appointment with the CPA on Tuesday, so I spent a good part of the day finishing up stuff to take to him. I do not expect I will have everything he needs to actually file my 2024 taxes, but I expect he will have enough to give me an estimate of any tax I need to pay before the 15th, and he will have enough to get the extension filed. I will be going in to the office tomorrow, and I will need to go to our storage room to find some documents I need to review in order to file a couple things, again, before the 15th. Nothing too complicated, but the previous years information is already in storage. There is no rain in the foreseeable future, and that is distressing. Speaking of rain (not really), but on the news this evening, there was a segment on Antarctica, and how the glaciers are melting, and we will all be under water in about 50 years. Also, did you know NOBODY owns Antarctica? Interesting. 

Volume 17 - Day 95/270, 2025 - Saturday

It is colder than a fart in a dead eskimo here at the Curious House. Okay, it is 58 degrees right now, it is damp and the wind is blowing, therefore the simile about the fart. We did not walk this morning, even though it was not raining, it was supposed to be raining. And, there was lightning, so nope, not gonna do it. I made use of the time I did not spend walking by doing a couple things around the Curious House, and thenwent down for a quick nap. After that, it did start raining a little bit, so I went and picked up Marian, and we hit three underwhelming estate sales. Even though they were underwhelming, I managed to spend about $30. The best buy was a(nother) clock, at 75% off. It was a pretty good spend of $20, it works, keeps good time, so I am happy. While we were out, we also stopped at the Sun City plant sale, and Marian bought three plants. I bought no plants, because I have no dirt. We have about three inches (that is being generous) of dirt here before you hit limestone, so I prefer seeds to make little things grow, or planters. The morning glories are doing nicely this year, and it is all nature, no nurture. I have done nothing to encourage them this year, but they are doing really well. We fear it is going to be extra hot this summer, and they don't care for that at all. Overnight, we are getting down to the 40s, and the wind chill when we walk will be in the 30s. Dammit. Those temps will likely only last three or four days, just long enough for us to start complaining about it. There will be plenty of time to complain about the heat, so have a seat and just try not to pay too much attention.

Volume 17 - Day 94/271, 2025 - Friday

Well, today was another good day/bad day, and IYKYK. That's all I am going to say about that. I did a half-walk this morning, because I had a doctors appointment at 9:20, and I thought if I got there early, maybe they would take me in early. I had absolutely no idea what was to take place at this appointment, but apparently it was just to do a blood draw. They called my name at 9:23, and I was home, pulling in the driveway at 9:37. I got all the results back this afternoon, and everything was within normal ranges except for my HDL Cholesterol level (the good cholesterol). So, for an old guy of an advanced age, I think that is pretty good, and I doubt I will make substantial changes to anything...maybe take some other vitamins to boost that level, but certainly not change my 13 year-old-kid-with-a-credit-card diet. After the lab visit, I had an 11 o'clock meeting in Austin, then home with a stop to get gas. Val and Paulina came over at 4, and we went to dinner, and now I am home for the night. Paulina is going to Europe for work tomorrow, and she will be gone for a couple weeks, maybe three, I am easily confused. There are three estate sales tomorrow, and they don't look too interesting on-line, but you never know until you get there. Even if there are no treasures to be had, I expect I will find something. We are expecting big storms overnight, hitting about 3 o'clock in the morning. Low temperatures will be in the 40s for the next few days, with highs in the 70s. Weird. Have a great weekend everybody! Just in case of real storms overnight, I thought I would share this photo with you, they may be gone when I wake up in the morning.

Volume 17 - Day 93/272, 2025 - Thursday

Today was kind of an odd day, don't you think! Of course, most of the chatter will be about world wide economies, and some peeps are posting things on my posts that I can't decide if they are trying to insult me or agree with me. So, I am choosing to just ignore comments that I don't get the jist of. We had a nice walk this morning as usual, and I had a 9 o'clock call with Alexandra (not sure where she is), working on details of my trip to Antarctica in November. That was fun, and I made notes! After that, I had lunch with Eileen and Holly, and that was really fun. I am apparently on a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup kick, and I was good. Both grilled cheese sandwiches recently were really good. I got home around 2, and there was an e-mail from Klaus (he's in Spain), and we were working on flights from Austin to Ushuaia (pronounced U-SHWY-AH), via Buenos Aires. Lots of planning to do for a trip that is not happening until November. So, yes, it was an interesting day. A little while ago I was out in the back yard with the girls, and I saw the absolutely most beautiful, brilliantly feathered male cardinal. I tried for a photo, but it was not to be. Just an idea, try to pay attention to stuff when you are outside. The photo accompanying this entry is of a sculpture I saw off MoPac this morning, when I was on my way to lunch. Pretty cool.

Volume 17 - Day 92/273, 2025 - Wednesday

I am very happy to report that the Hummers have returned to the Curious House environs. I have seen Hummers at the feeders everyday for the last three days, so I think that makes it official. We had a good walk this morning, but it was VERY windy. Crazy windy. I watered stuff in the front and back, which contributed to a little bit of rain, not too much more than a trace. But, it was a little rain, and that is a good thing. I went down for a little nap after breakfast, and then I headed in to the office. I had one errand to get done on the way, but that chore ended in failure. Some things are just more trouble than they are worth. I will have to come up with a new tactic within the next 30 days or so. It took almost thirty minutes to make the last mile in to the office. Crazy. They should choose a less busy part of the day to reduce traffic from five lanes to two lanes. I makes people testy to say the least. On the way home, I stopped at Galaxy Bakery and got myself two raspberry scones, so I am set for breakfast tomorrow, maybe Friday, too. I actually think I might check out a couple programs on HBO this evening, and that will pretty much do it for the day.

Volume 17 - Day 91/274, 2025 - Tuesday

Happy April Fools Day, and Happy Birthday to Jody and my mother...they shared birthdays but different years. We had a nice walk this morning, and then went to Monument Cafe for our weekly ROMEO breakfast. AND...today is Total Stranger Tuesday. No problem this morning, and everyone had a nice breakfast, laughs and we solved many of the world's problems. If only everyone else would listen to us we could all sleep much better at night. I stopped at UFCU on the way to breakfast to cash a small check, but apparently the drive through does not open until 9AM. It seems like the drive through used to open at 7AM, but I guess not any more. I really do not like UFCU, but it is too much trouble to move to another bank. I also have my doubts that any other financial institution would be any less problematic. I did not do much of anything else for the rest of the day, but I did go with Linda and Jimmie this afternoon, to Jack Allen's Kitchen for dinner. I had the same thing for dinner that I had for brunch on Sunday. I am not that adventurous when it comes to palate testing. Home now, and about ready to settle in for the night. The girls know that when I put my pants on, I am going somewhere, and they are generally happier when I take my pants off. I can go outside nnd water stuff and/or talk to neighbors in my boxers, no big deal. It is the way I started making friends here at the Curious House, five years ago. Okay, four years and four months ago. I am working on my fifth year. I have a few things on my list to get done tomorrow, but nothing I need to stress over. One interesting thing about this semi-retired gig is, I can just wander around here and there, and I have very few deadlines. I like it!