Volume 17 - Day 273/92, 2025 - Tuesday

So, it was another good day for a morning walk, and Jimmie joined me and Paul. After the walk, it was a nice breakfast at Monument Cafe. Omelet with mushrooms, Swiss cheese and bacon. A side of bacon. Sour dough bread with strawberry preserves. A complimentary biscuit. No potatoes. A side of spinach (gotta keep the iron levels up). It is now about ten hours later and I should be hungry, but I am really not. I think I could easily gothrough life with one decent meal a day, but I don't. I did have some of the soup Gina brought over this morning, and that was good, very good. But I expect I will start foraging around in the pantry close to the time when I am getting ready for bed. Historically, that is the routine. Across the street from the cafe, they have been building a new structure for about a year, not sure when it will be completed. The first several floors of the building are a parking garage, and on the side, they have painted two murals. The photo accompanying this entry is one of the murals. I don't really understand why they installed the murals on the SIDE of the building, but that is where they are. Interesting.

Volume 17 - Day 272/93, 2025 - Monday

This is a great time to be in central Texas. The humidity is low, the temperatures are low...I left the windows open overnight and it was wonderful. It will be getting up close to 100 degrees in another few days, but in the meantime, we are not complaining about the weather. We always complain about no rain, some things just never change. It was great walking weather this morning, and another neighbor, Sam (no this Sam is a lady) joined me and Paul. That was fun. Otherwise, I did much of nothing the rest of the day. Jimmie and Linda returned home from their recent trip, and we went our for dinner almost as soon as they got home. After dinner, I showed a home for sale to some friends, and that is always fun, I like looking in other peoples closets! Tomorrow will include our ROMEO breakfast, and those are always fun. I will most likely make a stop at HEB at some point, as well. 

Volume 17 - Day 270/95, 2025 - Saturday

Today, overall, was a really good day. The humidity is down which makes everything better. This morning it was about 65 degrees, so the walk was great. Judy and I hit four estate sales, I spent $11 and Judy spent $16, so it was not a total bust. I did not do a whole lot for the rest of the day, but tonight was the third house concert of the season. It was a jazz trio of students from UT, and they were excellent. It was a beautiful evening, a lovely crescent moon, and good neighbors having a good time. One more concert this year, and I expect it will be all strings...cello, bass violins...we will see. I don't think I have anything important that needs to get done tomorrow, but I will check on that later. It's past my bedtime, and the girls are staring at me. 

Volume 17 - Day 269/96, 2025 - Friday

It was about 64 degrees when I got up this morning, and that was totally unexpected. After I let the girls out, opened several windows, just to get some fresh air in the Curious House. Walking was great, and I had a pretty calm morning until I left for Austin at about 10:45. My neighbor Gina and I took off for Austin to attend the annual Sine Die luncheon that benefits No Hunger, Inc., and the Capital Area Food Bank. Mace (see photo) started No Hunger, Inc. many years ago, and he is now a Senior at Westlake High School, which accounts for my t-shirt today. After lunch, Gina and I drove around Austin for a while, just to show here a few places. She and Billy have not lived in central Texas for very long, so it was like showing a buyer from out of town some of the cool parts of the city. I am happy to report that the software change I made to the Buzz app yesterday seems to have corrected the charging issue, so I can cancel the appointment I have at the dealer. Estate sales tomorrow, and then the third house concert of the 2025 season. One more to go, next month.

Volume 17 - Day 268/97, 2025 - Thursday

Julie, Jetta and I got our wires crossed today, and we did not get together for lunch. Next Thursday, and I am looking forward to seeing them. I think the charging issue with the Buzz might have been resolved. I asked the question on one of the Buzz Facebook groups I am a member of, and one of the members gave me a solution. I won't know for sure if the charging challenge has been corrected until tomorrow afternoon. I am going in to Austin tomorrow to a lunch meeting, and I will take the Buzz, and see how the charging solution works or does not work. I am hopeful that I corrected it (on the app) and then I can cancel the service appointment I have scheduled for Monday. Tonight was book club night, and of course I forgot to take a photo until everyone was leaving. By the time I remembered, Diane was already gone, and Dick and Marge had joined by Zoom, but it was a fun evening. I have plenty of food left over, so if you are hungry...

Volume 17 - Day 267/98, 2025 - Wednesday

I had a couple errands to run this morning before heading in to Austin. On my way to the bank, it started raining. It rained really hard. Then it was off to Austin. It was still raining, in and out of strong downpours, but when I got to Austin, it quit raining. I got to my first appointment at the Austin Board and did a few lines in a video that the Board is working on for TREPAC. After that session, it was the Women's Council of REALTORS® annual cake auction. I took the same box of Twinkies (Best By Date 2022) that I have put in the Auction for the least three years. Included with the Twinkies is a weekend at the condo in Playa, so it usually gets some good action. On the way back to the Curious House, I stopped at the VW dealer in Georgetown because I think there is something wrong with the charging system. I now have a service appointment on Monday morning. I don't have a real comfort level with the Georgetown dealership, for a variety of reasons, one of which is, I have high expectations. That's terrible.

Volume 17 - Day 266/99, 2025 - Tuesday

The girls thought I had totally abandoned them and that I was never going to return. I left the Curious House at about 8:15 this morning, and did not get back until around 5:30. BUT, I do have running boards on the Buzz now, and I also picked up the last prescription that has been filled for this month. I was a good boy at Madness Autoworks in Spicewood, where they installed the running boards that I had ordered a while back. The running boards were made in Italy...Italian running boards on a German Buzz. The installation took six hours, but everything is good. Now I just need to rethink the entering and exiting the Buzz, but hopefully that won't take too long. I have three appointments tomorrow, so it might be another kind of long day, but it will be more like normal for me, not too long in any one place at a time. I have seen photos of Cadillac Couches in the past, but this is the first one I have seen close up. I think this is a '59, but not sure.

Volume 17 - Day 265/100, 2025 - Monday

Well, I had yet another blood draw this afternoon. That makes three blood sucks in four days. Pretty soon I won't have any left. AND...even though I saw my GP in May, Medicare insists that I have to have another visit. They say the annual visit was due in June...but I ignored it since I had been to the primary less than a month before. SO...I had to make another appointment with the primary, and the first appointment he has available (everything is online) is October 20th. I hope nothing serious happens between now and then. On another note, I am feeling pretty proud of myself. I trimmed back the crepe myrtle and the live oak that decided to block the camera on the garage, and now I can see the 'goings on' out on the street again. We have issues here in central Texas with Oak Wilt, and I am concerned, but I did not trim to excess. I also made a stop at HEB after the blood suck, and I am set for the immediate future. I did finish the the meatloaf that my neighbor Gina brought me last week, so now I need to return her plate. Tomorrow, I have a ten o'clock appointment, so I will not be attending the ROMEO breakfast. Even though today was the first day of fall, we were in the high 90s again, we expect to cool down a little bit beginning on Wednesday. So far, my forecast to cool down the second weekend of October is looking pretty good.

Volume 17 - Day 264/101, 2025 - Sunday

Today turned out to be an interesting day...sure, Paul and I walked this morning, and then I fed the girls, and took a nap. I never want to walk in the mornings, as I would prefer to stay in the bed, but I walk anyway. I lazed around the house for a while, and then I headed to the storage place, because I wanted to change the hose that I have been using n the front yard. It had seen better days years ago, and I had a couple hoses in storage, so now I have one less hose in storage, and one more hose in the garbage can. At abut noon, Jimmie and Linda fetched me, and we went to the Annual Bazaar at the Catholic Church in Walburg. It's legally in Jarrell, but I think it is more in Walburg than Jarrell. Then we stopped at the Walburg Restaurant, where I made reservations for the neighborhood dinner in October, and then we drove out to the farm, just to see it. We were going to have lunch at the Crossroads, but they were closed. They may be permanently closed, I could not tell. Then we went in to Bartlett, looking for somewhere to have lunch. Patsy, if you are reading this, we drove by your house, saw Jim's truck, but didn't see anyone in the yard. We ended up having catfish at the Lucky Duck in Taylor, and that is always a good lunch. Tomorrow, I have a doctors appointment, and not much else to do. I am looking forward to Tuesday! You can always count on this bed of Iris to be blooming at the least expected time of year. Really pretty for a near autumn day in central Texas.

Volume 17 - Day 263/102, 2025 - Saturday

Well, alrighty then. There were four of us on the walk this morning, me, Paul, James and Jimmie. We all had a good walk. After the walk, I fed the girls and I had an apple fritter, and pretty soon after that, I headed to pick up Paulina and we headed off to Austin to do platelet donations. I did a double platelet donation today, and that has not happened for several months. No plasma (I don't think), but double platelets. The results of my blood draw yesterday are trickling in, all is good so far, except Reticulocytes. My level is 2.54%. BSW says the normal range is up to 2.20%, but if you search on line, AI says the normal range is up to 2.5%. Whatever, I done think that percentage high for me is a big deal, but it has triggered more lab work, looking for Haptoglobin (whatever in the hell that is). I really liked it better when you actually spoke with your doctor, and were not charged with interpreting test results and diagnosing prevention. I guess I will express those thoughts on Monday at 1:20PM. Whatever (again). Paulina, Val and Oliver came over at 5 this afternoon, and we went in to Liberty Hill and had dinner at Dahlia's. I had a turkey and avocado sandwich (again) and brought half of it home (again) for another day. On the way to the blood bank this morning, we stopped at Upper Crust, and I got a piece of carrot cake and brought it home. When I put it in the garage refrigerator, there was a piece of carrot cake in the refrigerator, that I apparently forgot was there. Whatever. How many times was that?

Volume 17 - Day 262/103, 2025 - Friday

I am happy to report that I have seen hummers a few times today, and they either have not headed south for the season, or the ones I have seen are laggers. I'm going with the initial, and I am just glad they are still around. I had a couple chores to get taken care of today: First, the walk of course, then I went (with no appointment) to get some blood drawn, just to appease my doctor. After that, I was off in to Austin, and had a couple stops there. On the way home, I was going to stop in Georgetown to get some scones at Galaxy Bakery, but I decided I had plenty of stuff for the next several breakfasts. I am surprised that the results of the blood tests have not been sent back to me yet, they are usually pretty efficient with those test results. I was supposed to attend a 2 o'clock meeting, but all the participants (two out of three) had conflicts, so that meeting is going to be rescheduled for sometime next week. Tomorrow will be a platelet day, and I always like that. Marian and I hit three estate sales this afternoon (since my meeting was cancelled). I bought a few dollars worth of stuff, Marian bought nothing. Whatever...

Volume 17 - Day 261/104, 2025 - Thursday

Call it a sign of the times, but I feel extra militant today. Kind of like I am reliving the '70s. There was a quip in the newspaper today: In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Does anybody reading this remember all that stuff? Not 100% sure she was really kidnapped, and she adopted the name Tania while she was 'held,' and my friend Patrick made 'FREE TANIA' t-shirts. It was interesting back then, and it is getting really interesting now. I don't have a notion where this is going, but I am pretty sure it will be really interesting. I did a bunch of running around today. I trip in to Trader Joe's in Austin, a trip in to Cedar Park and then another trip in to Austin. I think there will only be one trip to Austin tomorrow, and I need to get two things accomplished in that one trip. Fingers crossed. It was kind of like old times, driving most of the day. I have been well fed tonight, my neighbor Gina brought me meatloaf, mashed potatoes and fried cucumbers. I think they were cucumbers. Whatever they were, they were delicious and there is enough left for two more dinners. Anybody know of any good demonstrations going on in the next few days? PS: My opinions are mine, you don't have to agree, I still like you.

Volume 17 - Day 260/105, 2025 - Wednesday

I had the best of intentions this morning, but then Paul said he was not walking, and that was all it took for me to go back in the Curious House, pile up in the big chair with the girls, and take a nap. I did have a couple things I wanted to get done today, but I did not even think about leaving the house until after my 1:30 zoom call. The running boards for the Buzz have arrived, and I have an appointment to have them installed next Tuesday. The place to install them is in Spicewood, so that will be an all day event.They expect it will be four hours to install them, but I think it might take longer. I will take something with me to keep myself entertained. I messed up my appointment at the blood bank on Saturday, so I am going to go on in at the time i THOUGHT I made it for, just to see if they can squeeze me in. I get irritated with myself when I do stupid stuff. I get irritated with myself a LOT!

Volume 17 - Day 259/106, 2025 - Tuesday

There were only two of us at the ROMEO breakfast, but my breakfast tasted extra good this morning. Not sure why, it was the same thing I order every Tuesday when the ROMEOs meet. Omelet with Swiss cheese, bacon and mushroons. Side of bacon. No potatoes or hash browns. Side of spinach and onions. Sour dough toast with jam. The same thing every Tuesday. I saw someone with avocado on their toast this morning, and I am considering a deviation from my order next week. We shall see. After breakfast, I hung out at the Curious House until it was time to go get Paulina and take her to an appointment. Then it was back to the Curious House. My neighbor Gina brought me a HUGE piece of steak at some point last week (the week before?) and I finally finished it tonight. Dee-lish-ous. My spell check is going a little crazy right now. I have mentioned before that, we were overrun with voles last year, and this year we have bunnies. I don't think we are overrun with bunnies, but they are around, and I will take those over the voles any day. So far, the bunnies have not crawled up the down spouts and chewed through any of the electric wiring, that is a win. Also, there have been no swifts this year either. Interesting pattern changes. I have one zoom meeting tomorrow afternoon, and it should not be a terribly long meeting. Overall, all is good.

Volume 17 - Day 258/107, 2025 - Monday

Well, one more dental appointment and I will be back to just the six month (maybe once a year?) maintenance thing. All is good, I like my 'own personal suite,' and there was one of the Spider Man movies on the television. Not sure what was playing on the ceiling, I did not have a need to lean back. The last two appointments have been just fittings and tweaking, and that will be what the next one is as well. That was the only thing I had on the calendar today, I have two things on the calendar for tomorrow, and the rest of the week is looking pretty calm for someone that is retired. I did get all the plants watered this morning, front and back, and everything is looking pretty healthy. I talked to Jimmie about the peach tree coming up from the root, and I need to determine if it is coming up above or below the graft. I know what that means, but I am not sure I will be able to tell. However, my opinion remains, a tree is a tree, and that is a good thing. I forgot to mention the other day, that my Keurig coffee maker decides to explode every now and then, and I hate that when it happens. I completely disassembled it, put it back together (mostly), and tried it again. It would have worked better if I had assembled ALL the parts, but it is all together now, and should hold up for several months. Did I mention that I hate that when it happens?

Volume 17 - Day 257/108, 2025 - Sunday

I did go back to one of the estate sales I was at yesterday, and the first mistake was going in to the garage. I won't go into the details, but it did not result in fisticuffs. Maybe a little stalking was also involved, I can neither confirm nor deny. Bottom line, nothing that I thought I would return for today was still there, so that is just the way it is. On the way home, I stopped at HEB, and I spent more money on food for the girls than I did on me food. Once I got home, I listened to more of the book that I MUST finish so I can read the book club book for September. I still have about ten days to finish the book club book, so I think everything is under control. I don't have a lot of stuff to do this week, but there is at least one thing to do on every day of the week. Tomorrow is an appointment at the dentist. Ugh. The photo with this entry is of the peach tree I planted last year that turned up dead. I replaced it, and didd not really give up on this one, and I think it is possible that it is coming up from the roots. Fingers crossed...

Volume 17 - Day 256/109, 2025 - Saturday

We went to five estate sales today, and I bought two things, $16.50 total. Marian bought three or four things, and Diane bought nothing. I may go back to one of them tomorrow, I am undecided. After estate sales, I went down for a series of naps, and I am pretty sure the girls were okay with that. Paulina came over at 5 o'clock, and we went in to Liberty Hill for dinner at Dahlia's. I have the rest of my piece of carrot cake that I bought a week ago that I intend to finish tonight. I am kind of interested in a day trip to somewhere tomorrow, too, and I might just get in the car and drive until I turn around. I may also Google something. One friend of mine suggested Schulenberg (or burg?), but I can't decide. I did clean the hummingbird feeders and refilled them this afternoon. I am surprised that they are still around, I expect they will be heading south pretty soon. It will be interesting to see what I find to do tomorrow.

Volume 17 - Day 255/110, 2025 - Friday

It's eleven o'clock, do you know why your journal author is still upright? Well, there is definitely a reason, and I will get to it a little later in this entry. We had a nice walk this morning, and Jimmie was feeling well enough to join us. I don't think he is really feeling all that good, but he was out of the house, and that is progress. I had a 9:30 appointment and an 11 o'clock appointment. Both the appointments went well, and I made a quick presentation at the later appointment and I feel good about how that went. I did make it home in the early afternoon, and I might have had a quick nap. Later, I went and picked up my friend Rick, and we (along with a bunch of other friends) went to the Dell Diamond for the last Friday night home game of the Round Rock Express. It was a good game, the Express won, and the firework show after the gam was totally amazing. Better than many firework shows I have seen put on by municipalities on the Fourth of July. I just sat there and smiled for several minutes. Now home, having a piece of pizza, and I am shortly (because I am not tall) headed to sleepy land. Estate sales tomorrow, that will be fun, and I am not sure what else I will be doing over the weekend. There is plenty of time to consider that.

Volume 17 - Day 254/111, 2025 - Thursday

I'm obsessed (someone who has a compulsive, excessive, or consuming preoccupation with an idea, person or thing). I'm vacillating (wavering in mind or opinion, indecisive or irresolute). More Gaga. I got tickets to the Austin performance yesterday, and I decided I had enough. Why try to make it a party? Because it is PARTY TIME! Whatever. I fear our cooler days are over temporarily, and this round of 'fake fall' is over. I think we have about five more weeks of warm weather, and then it should be winter. There is no fall in Texas. Or spring, for that matter. Winter or summer, that is the best we can do. Tomorrow morning, I am going to meet the HOA Manager and the landscape company to see what can be done about dead trees (remove them) and empty lots (keep them cut) in the neighborhood. It all makes perfectly good sense to me. After that, I have a meeting in Austin at 11, and then that could be it for the day. Well, not really. Eight of us are going to the Round Rock Express baseball game at Dell Diamond tomorrow evening. Hopefully, it will be a pleasant evening. It is the last Friday night (Fireworks Night) game of the regular season. THe last time we went, it rained before the fireworks started. It should be fun, I will let you know tomorrow night. Have I mentioned that I am not really a fan of AI. It is probably just because I don't know how to play with it yet.

Volume 17 - Day 253/112, 2025 - Wednesday

The continuing saga of Lady Gaga...see what I did there? You may or may not know, that I bought tickets for Lady Gaga in March. The show I bought was in Miami. Perfect. Go visit with Mike, we'll go see Gaga, and all will be right with the world. Well, Val, Paulina and I took off on August 29th for the show which was scheduled for August 31st. All going according to plan. At 4:23 on Sunday afternoon (the show was to start at 8, but it didn't start until 9 for a variety of reasons), I found out that the tickets they sent me were not the tickets I bought. The tickets I bought were center stage, the tickets we got were stage left (or right) and partially behind the stage. We could not see any of the set, or really what was going on on stage. Everyone tried to comfort me, and that was kind of them. It only got worse when the VMA show was on this past Sunday night (I think), and we could see what we missed. Anyway, I called StubHub, they offered me a 25% credit, I refused. I just got off the phone disputing the charge with the credit card company. Here's the interesting part. Lady Gaga announced Austin shows yesterday, and now I have tickets for that show (March 8th, 2026), center stage. Maybe we will finally get to see it. Now Mike will come here from Florida, and all will be right with the world! 

Volume 17 - Day 252/113, 2025 - Tuesday

It was, as I recall, 62 degrees when I got up this morning. I opened windows to get some fresh air in, and I did not close them back until around 1 o'clock (as I recall). The window in the front bedroom is still open, that bedroom gets afternoon shade. It is supposed to cool down overnight tonight and tomorrow night, and the humidity is supposed to stay low. Then we will be back to seasonal overnight weather. I had breakfast with two other ROMEOs this morning, and as we were leaving, two guys were talking about this '57 Chevy that one of them owns. Really a pretty car, I think it is interesting how much difference the Chevy models were from '57, '58 and '59. Very different body styles. I had a couple errands to run after breakfast, and I did get a few other things crossed off my chore list. I don't have a lot on my list tomorrow, but I have a few things scheduled for Thursday and Friday. They announced two or three Lady Gaga shows in Austin, scheduled for March 8th and 9th of next year. I am on the pre-order schedule for noon on Friday. I'm gonna give it another shot, maybe we can see the real show this time. If you don't know the whole story, let me know, I may or may not share all the details with you. Suffice it to say, StubHub did not give us the seats I paid for (in March), but the shows in Austin are TicketMaster and I have bought through them in the past, and it all worked out okay. Fingers crossed...

Volume 17 - Day 251/114, 2025 - Monday

I spent a LOT of time waiting today. After the morning walk, I had a (follow up) appointment at the cardiologist. The appointment was at 9:30, and like the good boy that I am, I arrived at 9:15, their wish. I had already done the on-line check in, so I did not need to do that. They called me in to see the doctor at about 9:55. The assistant asked me a few questions, and then told me the doctor would be in shortly. After a while, the motion-sensor light in the room went off, and then it was just a game to see if I could be still enough for the lights to stay out. About twenty minutes later, the doctor came in and was surprised that I was sitting in the dark. Whatever. All the reports were good, nothing to be concerned about at this time, my next appointment is in six months. After that, I went to get some air put in my tires. The temperature was in the 60s this morning, and the tire pressure also get a little wacky when that happens. When I got to the tire place, I was number eleven in line, so I waited some more. Then back to the Curious House, all is good, and now I am going to chill out. I have a couple things I want to do in the front yard later this evening, but that might change. Stay tuned.

Volume 17 - Day 250/115, 2025 - Sunday

I'm glad I took this picture last night, because I doubt that I will be awake to get a photo of the full moon tonight. We will see! I did get to Costco this morning with Val and Paulina, after our walk. Then I got a few things done around the Curious House, and I took off and made a stop at HEB. I don't spend a lot of money at HEB when I am not including dog food in the purchase. I was on the phone a few minutes ago (okay, 30 minutes ago) making reservations for Playa in December. I was not watching tv, but I missed Lady Gaga being awarded Artist of the Year. Mike sent a text, so I did get to see the last 10 seconds of her acceptance speech. Dangit! I have a couple appointments tomorrow, one at the cardiologist, just for a six month checkup, I guess. Now I am watching the Video Music Awards, and realizing how very out of touch I am with what is going on today. There is always tomorrow!

Volume 17 - Day 249/116, 2025 - Saturday

This is how far behind I am on my magazine reading. I am currently reading a People magazine from November of 2024. I don't mind though, because by the time I get to a magazine, I know how the story ends. Like, there is an article on a political debate, and by the time I read it, I know how the vote went. It's kind of like being able to see the future by reading magazines from the past. There was the possibility of rain this morning, but we walked anyway, and I believe I felt one drop during the walk. I went and picked up Paulina and we headed in to Austin to donate platelets, and we stopped at Upper Crust for cinnamon rolls and I also got a piece of carrot cake. Paulina wanted to buy a loaf of sour dough bread, but they were sold out. It rained a little bit on the way, it rained a little bit more while we were in the center, and it rained a little bit more on the way home. I think we have received about 0.43" of rain at the Curious House, and we will not complain about that. After I got home, I went down for a nap, and I am still being lazy. Paulina and Val are coming over first thing in the morning, and we are going to Costco. We are also, I think, going to make a stop at my storage place for Paulina to check out the luggage tht is there, for there visit to Poland in December. I knew I should not get rid of that luggage!

Volume 17 - Day 248/117, 2025 - Friday

I am not sure how I came to be aware of the Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia Diversifolia), but I bought a bunch of seed packets and passed them around to friends in the neighborhood. This is the first bloom I have seen, and I have to say, I think it is really pretty. When I just searched for the Latin name of this plant, there was a video about DON'T PLANT THESE. Apparently, they grow quickly and can take over if they are not properly controlled. If I gave you any seeds, consider this your notice! I did have kind of a busy day, of course it started with a walk, some chores this morning (HEB for one), a visit to the Chiropractor this afternoon, and then a meeting that lasted a couple hours. I also got the pizza I have been wanting for a couple weeks, and now I am set for food for a couple days. I watered front and back this morning, the hummingbird feeders are still full, which makes me wonder if they have already headed south, and there is supposed to be rain and cooler weather starting tomorrow. I want to remind you that the full moon on Sunday is going to be the 'Corn' moon, and it should be really spectacular because it will also coincide with a total lunar eclipse, and it will look RED for about an hour and a half. It will be nicknamed the 'Blood Moon!' Mark your calendars!

 

Volume 17 - Day 247/118, 2025 - Thursday

Okay, I made it home. A full seven days gone from the Curious House, and all I had was a carry-on and a back pack. And I still had too much stuff. This morning when I woke up, we were in Marshall, Texas. Then, we had stops in Longview, Mineola, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Cleburne, and Temple. Instead of going in to Austin, I got off the train in Taylor, and Jimmie and Linda picked me up. On the way from Temple, a hose broke, and we were stopped in the middle of nothing. Interestingly, they got it fixed, and we were on our way again. I am not sure how far off schedule we were, but my only concern was Jimmie and Linda having to wait for me. Otherwise, there was no stress for almost 80 hours on a train ride from Delray Beach to Taylor. I will do it again, but I think in the future, if I am traveling alone, I don't need a 'full' room, I can do just fine in a 'roomette.' My next train adventure will likely be in February of 2026, from Kingman, Arizona (because Las Vegas does not have a train station), to Taylor. It is very interesting seeing this country from something besides a jet plane or an Interstate Highway, so I will take advantage of it while I still can. Time for me to finish, and take a snooze. The photo accompanying this entry was taken by Linda as I was getting off the train. From where the porter is standing in the doorway, my room window was the first one from this side of the group of five, second floor. Does that make sense?

Volume 17 - Day 246/119, 2025 - Wednesday

The wifi on this train sucks, so I am going to do this as quickly as I can, taking advantage of my phone hot spot. I met some nice people in Chicago today, Jack and Jeannie, from Charleston. I got on the train heading south this afternoon, and we just had a LONG stop in St. Louis, not sure if that was intentional or not, but we are moving again, and it is really dark outside. Even the construction cranes in St. Louis are lit up, and that is kind of interesting. The car I am in is two stories, my room is on the second floor. Lot of interesting stuff to see. We went through Toledo this morning, which is about 40 miles from where I grew up in Michigan. It is interesting to see architecture and home styles that remind me of where I grew up. It is also much more industrial. Lots of smoke stacks and manufacturing. I will be back in central Texas tomorrow evening, so if you need anything, let me know!

Volume 17 - Day 245/120, 2025 - Tuesday

So, for most of the day I have been thinking today was Monday. Now I know it is Tuesday. I have been awake for most of the last eleven hours or so, there was a nap somewhere along the line, and so far, we have stopped at thirteen places. The next stop will be Cumberland, Maryland, and we are going to travers Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois before about 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. The train is running about an hour late right now, but I don't really care, since my layover in Chicago is about 5 hours. Much of the day has been spent traveling alongside rivers and creeks, or close to lakes and hills. Very pretty. Right now, for about the last 30 minutes, there is a pretty river outside my window, and it is interesting to see all the different things. I had steak again for dinner tonight, and it was equally as god as last night. I also have a glass of Cabernet in a go cup, so I am set for the rest of the evening. I sat with a nice couple at lunch, Drew and Terri, and I will try to meet a few more before Thursday. The tables in the dining car are very small and don't lend themselves to more than a couple people. Something interesting...I don't know how many cars I am away from the engine, but when we get close to crossings, I can hear the whistle, and it sounds far away, and I like that sound!

Volume 17 - Day 244.121, 2025 - Monday - Labor Day

When we all decided to get up this morning, we had a nice breakfast at a place called Penelope's. Omelet and two buttermilk pancakes. Back at Mike's house, I finished packing, Val and Paulina took off for the Ft. Lauderdale airport, and Mike took me to the train station in Delray Beach at about 11:30. The train was a little late arriving, but that was not an issue since I am not in any great hurry. I had lunch at 1:30, dinner at 6:30, and I even have a glass of cabernet in the room. Right now, we are in DeLand, and that is the eleventh stop we have made so far. Not sure I will be able to keep up overnight, but I will try. I know Paulina and Val are back in Austin, and they picked up the girls and will watch them until I get home on Thursday. This is going to be a pretty long train ride, but so far, so good. I hope I don't end up hating it, because I really want to fly one way and train ride back. Fingers crossed. The photo with this journal entry is one of the reasons I want to ride trains. Just a small little place that I would never see if I was in a hurry. Little towns, villages, lots of America to be seen from a train.