Volume 18 - Day 59/306, 2025 - Saturday

I am going to make this quick, because there is no internet on this train, and I am using my hotspot. I got to the train station in Detroit at about 5:30 this morning, and walked (quickly) the three or four blocks to the train station. Changed trains in Chicago (a station I love), and I just got back to my room after dinner. We should be in St. Louis soon, and so far all is good. I met a lovely woman named Gail while we were in line for the train, she is from Wisconsin, and we had dinner together. Dinner was good, and I brought a piece of cake and a diet Coke back to the room with me, perfectly logical if you ask me! I will get off the train tomorrow in Taylor, and Jimmie and Linda will pick me up. So far it is estimated to arrive in Taylor at 6PM, but we are already 35 minutes behind schedule, and I don't really care. You all have a good evening!

Volume 18 - Day 58/307, 2026 - Friday

Well, the nostalgia tour went pretty well today, even though I could not really have found my way around the places I used to live by landmarks...because all the landmarks have been replaced with other things. I did see my two Elementary Schools and my Junior High School, and I got inside my High School, although they really did not want me to come in, you can't blame them, I guess. I went past two of the houses my parents had bought, and I also got to go to Horse Island in Gibraltar, where I lived when we first moved to Michigan. Horse Island is now a very upwardly mobile place to live, with very nice homes. We lived next door to Miss Vick, and she ran a bait and tackle shop across the street from her house. On one side of the island (which has only one single lane street) is a channel, and on the other side is the Drtroit River. I have no memory of this, but apparently I fell in the river one afternoon, and Miss Vick told my mother that I fell into one of her minnow tanks, not the river. I'll tell you the story of visiting my old High School tomorrow. SO, I wandered around 'Downriver' for about four hours, and I am glad I did it. There are a few things left, but most of it was totally unrecognizable, but that is what progress smells like! Oh, and I NEVER, EVER called Miss Vick 'Queenie!'

Volume 18 - Day 57/308, 2026 - Thursday

My flight was not until 12:55 this afternoon, and I was awake at about 5. At about 7AM, I had an email that asked if I wanted to check out on-line, so I did. When I checked out, every light in the room went out and all the curtains closed automatically. SO...I got in an Uber with Melinda, Steve and Nancy, and I got to the airport in plenty of time. Five hours to be exact, but I had some breakfast, and there was plenty of people watching, so it was not terrible. In the past week, I have been in (or through) every time zone in the Conitnental United States. Right now, I am in the Eastern Time Zone. I'm in Detroit, tomorrow I will do the 'Nostalgia Tour' of places where I grew up, just to see it all once again. It has been 57 years since I was here, and I expect there have been lots of changes, but I think it will be interesting. On Saturday, I will head to the Amtrak station in Detroit (just a few blocks from the hotel, and I will be back at the Curious House around 7 or 8 o'clock on Sunday evening. 37 hours on the train, and I can't think of a better way to spend 37 hours!

Volume 18 - Day 56/309, 2026 - Wednesday

Alright, today was the last day of this conference, and tomorrow, my adventure will continue. The day started again with breakfast, and today, the eggs were similar to eggs, as opposed to yesterday. Here is a breakdown of the speakers today: NAR Leadership, a retired three star General, a guy that does national political surveys, two US Senators, two former US Senators and Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor, a military veteran in Afghanistan and former Cabinet Member in the Biden Administration. When the formal conference session ended, I had the opportunity to meet Pete Buttigieg and shake hands with him. There will be a photo documenting the event sometime in the future. After that, I went to my room and took a nap and watched Forensic Files, and met up with Vanessa, Phillip, Steve, Melinda and Nancy. We attended the closing reception, and then Steve, Melinda, Nancy and I went to the Mob Museum, and then we stopped at the Hard Hat Lounge for burgers. I will be leaving the hotel about 10 o'clock in the morning, and this particular adventure will continue.

Volume 18 - Day 55/310, 2026 - Tuesday

It took a while, but I finally figured out that Las Vegas is on Pacific time and not Mountain time. I was talking to Maggie in Austin and asked her what time it was, I was confused. But now I have that figured out, I know what time it is, but not sure about the day. It was an early day (Pacific time) starting with breakfast, and then the presentations started. Here is who we heard from: A couple former Presidential Press Secretaries, two US Senators, Lawrence Yun the NAR Economist, and a couple more leaders from the National Association of REALTORS®. This particular annual conference is ALWAYS balanced as far as political parties are concerned, and I like hearing the Point/Counter Point presentations. After today's session ended, Nancy and Melinda and I walked to get lunch, and then it was nap time, but I was not competent on the napping issue. We left the Hotel (me, Nancy and Candy) and headed to the sphere to see The Wizard of Oz, and I can confirm that the Sphere is as cool as everyone says it is, and the show was as cool as everyone has told me it was. I bought four t-shirts. Pay attention Mike! We left there and went to the Venetian, where we did nothing, and then we Ubered back to the hotel. I stopped at the little store and bought two diet Cokes ($5 each), and now I am back in the room. I tuned in and watched the end of the State of the Union speech, and now I am watching (listening to) the Democratic response. Tomorrow will be another day of presentations, then the afternoon off, and then the closing reception tomorrow night. Another good President Circle Conference is close to being in the books.

Volume 18 - Day 54/311, 2026 - Monday

Well, I don't think anyone walked this morning, I know for sure I didn't. The girls are staying with Val and Paulina, so while I was packing it was interesting to not have two dogs following me around. I got to the airport, and contrary to what I saw yesterday, there were no delays in Austin going to Las Vegas. I will be here until Thursday and then I will continue my adventures to points north. It should be fun. The association outdid themselves this trip with my room; I am in a suite on the 70th floor, and the photo accompanying this entry is the view from the living room. I got checked in, registered for the conference, and then went down to a reception. This hotel is HUGE, and I cannot understand how they can build a place this big, and not have an electrical outlet by the desk. And the desk does not have a desk chair, so there is that. I can always find something, but otherwie, everything is just fine. The flight was interesting, too. There was a medical emergency on the flight, and there was one medical person on the flight, a GIANT of a man, and he spent at least 30 minutes on the floor in the front galley with a woman. I guess it all turned out okay, because an ambulance met the plane and she refused it. The last I saw, they were bringing a gurney down the jet way, but I don't know what happened after that. This particular conference ends business about noon each day, so afternoons are free. Tomorrow night we are going to The Wizard of Oz at the Sphere, so that will be fun!

Volume 18 - Day 53/312, 2026 - Sunday

No walking today, and I doubt I will be walking tomorrow, either. I didn't do a whole lot of stuff around the house today, I had an appointment to donate platelets again at 10:45, and again, I did not qualify. The heart is still 'mis-beating,' but it was better today than it was Thursday. I am heading to a conference tomorrow, so I will give the cardiologist a call when I get back. Everything I see from Dr. Google encourages me not to worry about it too much. I do not know when I experience a 'mis-beat,' I have never felt a thing. Dr. Google says I should consult a doctor if these are frequent (not sure how I would know), or if they are accompanied by dizziness or chest pain. Nope, I am not experiencing any of that. Whatever... It also says it can be triggered by caffeine, stress or by interactions of prescription drugs. I also take several supplements, and I have started eating kiwis, so if worse comes to worse, I will blame everything on the kiwis. I took the girls over to Val and Paulina's this afternoon, I am going to a conference tomorrow, so I am looking forward to that. There will be some interesting things going on next week, so stay tuned! I finished my latest book, Best Offer Wins. It was an interesting book, one of the sub-plots was about real estate, but I absolutely despised the main character of the book. There is really not even any way I can adequately describe the book, but it made me nervous! The photo popped up the other day, not sure when it was, but it brought back fun memories of a previous life when I was participating in long distance bike riding. 

Volume 18 - Day 52/313, 2026 - Saturday

Richard and Paul and James did not walk this morning, and I did a very abbreviated walk, but I did walk a little bit. Richard and Paul are still not feeling well, so there will be no walking tomorrow. Maybe I will maybe I won't. Diane and Marian and I hit three estate sales, I bought about $35 of stuff (at half price) that I didn't know I needed, but now I am happy with the haul. I did not do anything in the garage, maybe I will do that tomorrow, maybe not. There is one of the estate sales I went to today that I may go back to tomorrow, depending on how things go at the blood bank. I have a 10:45 appointment, and I hope the heart beat skipping challenge will have resolved itself. We shall see. Paulina and Val came over tonight, and we headed to the Speakeasy in Georgetown to see Aidan Berg and his group, but the said we could not get in for the 6:30 show, so we went to Dahlia's in Liberty Hill instead. The next time Aidan plays, I will do my best to make reservations way in advance. The photo with this journal is all of us at Dahlia's: Clockwise from left is Paulina's mother Graznya, Paulina, Krisa, Oliver, Val and me. You can always tell where I am in a photo, I am usually the one with the carry-out box!

Volume 19 - Day 51/314, 2026 - Friday

As far as I can remember, I did not have anything on the schedule today. Richard was (is) still feeling a bit under the weather, so the walk was just me and Paul. I did a little bit of work in the garage, nothing serious, I am saving that for the weekend. About 10:30 this morning, I remembered that someone (I can't remember who) mentioned the other night that Golden Chick was offering their fried shrimp again, so of course I took off and had a six shrimp combo. Shrimp, macaroni and cheese, a lovely roll and a soda. I will be back several times while they are offering this, I cannot usually get enough fried shrimp. I did get in a couple short naps this afternoon, and I had the windows open most of the day, getting ome fresh air in the house. It is going to be cooler the next several days, but then back up in to the 80s by the middle of next week. Late this afternoon, I went to dinner with Linda and Jimmie, and that was nice. There are three estate sales tomorrow, and then I want to go to City Post (the old Post Office in Georgetown) to see Aidan Berg and his group play a set. 6:30. Anybody want to meet me there?

Volume 18 - Day 50/315, 2026 - Thursday

Richard is not feeling well, so Paul and Jimmie and I had a walk this morning, and after I got home, I was considering a nap, but that didn't happen. I picked Marian up at about 10 o'clock, and we headed in to Austin for platelets donation, with a quick stop at Upper Crust. We got to We Are Blood, and everything was okay, UNTIL...I was rejected because, when they took my pulse, I had 8 heart skips (?) and they are okay if you have 6 skips, but not eight. I was very sad about that, and I made another appointment for Sunday morning. I guess if I have too many skip beats again, I will give my doctor a call. I looked it up on Google, nothing really too scary unless I have chest pains, etc., which I am not experiencing. Whatever...while I was in the lobby, listening to my book, they were shooting a video at the blood bank...with Ringo, the mascot of the Texas Stars, an American Hockey League team. The mascots name is 'Ringo,' the mascot of the 'Stars." get it? Ringo Stars. Ugh. On the way home, I stopped and picked up a prescription, and then tried to take a nap again, and failed. Again. I had the left-over lasagna from last night for dinner. I don't have much on my schedule for tomorrow, but I am looking forward to doing one of my favorite things...straightening out the garage. I LOVE that!

Volume 18 - Day 49/316, 2026 - Wednesday

Volume 18 - Day 48/317, 2026 - Tuesday

Happy Mardis Gras, y'all. Throw me somethin', Mister! I didn't walk this morning. I was out of the bed at 5:15, and when I let the girls out and fed them, Mike was already in the shower. We left a little bit after 6 o'clock to take him to the airport for his 8:40 flight to Ft. Lauderdale. He had a five hour layover somewhere, and he texted me just a few minutes ago, about 6:45, that he was home. After I got home from the airport, I did a few little things towards the goal of getting things unpacked, and then I headed off to Georgetown for the ROMEO breakfast. Rick, me and Richard, we had good conversation, good food and good laughs. One of the servers (Andrew) hung out with us for a little while, just talking about nothing much. After breakfast, I stopped at Tony & Luigi's to confirm our reservation for the neighbors dinner tomorrow. Then it was off to Costco, then I went to vote. Today was the first day of early voting, and the place was packed. I have a couple opinions on why it was packed. 1. There is a lot of interest in the mid-term elections, so people are coming out to have their voice heard. 2. Texas has gone to paper ballots, and you must fill in the little bubbles with an ink pen. My ballot had forty measures to be decided. Forty little bubbles to be filled in. It took a while, so maybe (just maybe) the place was packed because it was taking three or four times more time to vote, than in the past. I'm not sure. After voting, I stopped to pick up a bracelet that I was having repaired, and then I made a stop at HEB. Then home for a nap, then a few more errands after that, and I am about to settle in the the night, but first, I need to eat the ribs that Mike had for dinner last night but couldn't finish.

Volume 18 - Day 47/318, 2026 - Monday

Good news: Today is NOT tomorrow. If you read the post from yesterday, you may understand what I am talking about. So...today was the disembarkation day from the cruise. Why do we disembark from a ship? Why DON'T we disembark from an airplane or a car? If we deplane for a plane, it would make sense that we would de-ship from a ship, and de-car from a car. We could de-bus from a bus..okay, never mind. I did not get much sleep last night because we had another time change, and my watch and phone did not make the change, so I was constantly looking at my watch and phone, and comparing that to the 'ship time.' SO, Mike and I were up and in the restaurant for breakfast at 6AM, and we met Marian and Ronny and Richard and Marge. We were self-assisting, which means we carry our own bags off the ship. It was simple and we made it to the Buzz with no problems. Richard and Marge met us a little while later, and we were off to central Texas. On the way, there were a couple of pee stops and one charging stop. I learned a lot about remote charging of the buzz, so today it was not nearly as frustrating. We stopped in Columbus, Texas and charged at a Rivian charge stations. I used to charge the Teslas at Columbus, but they have come a long way since then. There were seven Rivian high speed chargers, and in about a half hour, we were back on our way. We were getting six miles of charge per minute, and that is great. I am glad I figured out a few things with the Buzz, and now, even though my 'range anxiety' was already low, I am back to having no 'range anxiety' at all. We got home about three o'clock, and Mike and I joined Linda and Jimmie for dinner in Georgetown this evening. Always fun, and I am a really lucky person to have such good friends and to live in the neighborhood that I do, where there are 'real' neighborly neighbors!

Volume 18 - Day 46/319, 2026 - Sunday

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Oh, wait, that is a different journal. No matter what the heading of this journal entry says, today is yesterday. It is my journal, and if I say today is yesterday, so be it. However, this should be interesting because I cannot usually remember what happened yesterday, but I will give it a shot. Chas and Richard and I had a good walk in the morning, and after that, we all met for breakfast in the Windjammer. After that, some of us went to an art auction (me and Shelley), and honestly, I cannot believe some of the things that they consider 'art' and the prices they are paying for them. The other day, Marian and I attended one of the art auctions, and there were works selling in the multiple tens of thousands of dollars. I have bought at least two (I think) pieces of art at estate sales, and they were from Park West, which is the gallery that sells art works on the cruise ships. I got those pieces, as best I can remember, for under $100. So, that is my experience. After that, we had lunch, Mike went to Johnny Rockets for a milk shake and I had soft serve ice cream. Then I went to a jewelry auction, and Marge was there, and (again) I bought nothing. I was interested in a small bracelet, and I asked the sales person if it was priced in Pesos. Nope, $33K USD. I quickly gave it back to them and left. Then we went to a comedy show and then, on to dinner. I got back to the cabin and attempted to do my journal, but nothing was working, that is why today is yesterday for all intents and purposes. More news tomorrow!

Volume 18 - Day 45/320, 2026 - Saturday

Today was a day in Cozumel, but I (we) did not take the ferry to Playa del Carmen. There were a few issues that caused me to change my mind; Mardi Gras parades, and road closures were the main causes for the change of plans, but at least I did not stress during the day about getting back to the ship. Richard, Chas and I walked in the morning, and then we all met for breakfast at 9. After that, we took our time about getting off the ship. Marian and Ronny toured Cozumel, Chas and Shelley had a beach day, Marge and Richard made it to the port and bought a tote bag, and Mike and I came back to the ship with several t-shirts. Then, it was time for a nap, and at 3 o'clock we hit Johnny Rockets. Then, more naps, and at 7 o'clock, we hit a show and then dinner at 7:45. Overnight, we will have another time change, getting back to central time. Tomorrow will be a day of sailing, and then we will be back in the States on Monday.

Volume 18 - Day 44/321, 2026 - Friday

Friday already, and in just a couple more days we will all be getting off this boat. It has been fun, four cabins of friends and neighbors, hanging out and buying t-shirts. I'm not sure everyone in the group bought t-shirts, but that is something that Mike and I excel at. In my case, it is t-shirts and hats, as if I need more hats. We got off the ship this morning at the Cayman Islands, George Town to be more specific. The Cayman Islands are considered part of the British West Indies. I get the British part, but I am not sure where the 'West Indies' part comes in to play, and Mrs. Google was no help with that. I did look up 'sedition' this morning, a word that seems to be bandied about more and more, and I am now clear about what this means. Whatever. The group spent several hours off the ship, and we all went our separate ways, and we all ended up at Johnny Rockets for milk shakes, the perfect ending to a couple hours off the ship. Later in the day, some of us went to a comedy-juggler act which was fun, and then we all met up for dinner. Lots of good conversation and laughing, and getting to know each other better. Now, back in the cabin, finishing this journal entry for the day. Tomorrow we dock at Cozumel and Mike and I will take the ferry to playa. That will be fun, and after Cozumel, we will be heading back to Galveston.

Volume 18 - Day 43/322, 2026 - Thursday

Really, it's Thursday? It seems that this week has gone by very quickly. Today, we docked at Falmouth, Jamaica. There is lots of evidence of the hurricane that hit this area in October, and even more when you get outside the port itself. Chas and I walked, we did six laps, not sure how far we went, maybe a little more than two miles. We (Mike and I) spent a couple hours and headed back to the ship. I bought a hat. I need more hats. Chas, Shelley, Marian and Ronny went their ways in port, and we all just did what we wanted. Richard and Marge went on a rum tasting excursion, and they got outside the port to a rum distillery. I am not sure that distillery is the right word, but they went to a place that makes rum, and they had a good tour. We all reconnected on the ship, bits at a time; Ronny and Marian, Mike and I found each other in the early afternoon, Richard and Marge, Mike and I found each other about 5, and we all got back together about 7 to go to one of the shows. Then it was time for dinner, and after dinner, we all headed back to the EFFY place to see what we could score for free. I am back in the cabin, I think everyone else is at a trivia night. I think we dock at Cayman Islands tomorrow, then there will be a day at sea, then Cozumel. When we get to Cozumel, I will catch the ferry to Playa del Carmen, just to go by the condo and have lunch. I am not sure who, if anyone, will go with me to Playa, but it will be fun.

Volume 18 - Day 42/323, 2026 - Wednesday

We sailed today, and it was a full day on ship. Richard, Chas and I walked about two and a half miles, and it is always interesting to walk while on ship. Our routine is to walk at 7:30 and have breakfast at 9. After that, the day is full of this and that. Stand in line here and there for free 'crap,' but of course, I will stand in line for free stuff anytime. As I remember, lunch consisted of ice cream and then a milk shake. After naps, it was time for dinner and then we stood in line for more free stuff. I am the early retiring person of the group, I am perfectly content to go to the cabin and be by myself earlier than the others, and that is (I think) okay with everyone in the group. Tomorrow we will dock somewhere (maybe Falmouth, Jamaica) and it will be fun to hang out in the port for a few hours. It is really windy, I thought we were going to be blown off the 12th deck this morning, but we made it back inside. I did finish my recent book this afternoon, Theo of Golden, and I highly recommend it. I think my next book is going to be Best Offer Wins, It sounds interesting, a little bit kind of about real estate, and an 8 hour listen. What could be better?

Volume 18 - Day 41/324, 2026 - Tuesday

Today, we docked at Costa Maya at about 8 o'clock in the morning. Richard, Chas and I walked about two and a half miles this morning, which is five loops on the fourth level of the ship. There is another track on the twelfth level, but we think that one is more for joggers. We all met for breakfast at 9 o'clock, and we 'disembarked' (see what I did there?) at about 10:30. We wandered around the port for a while, then we took a cab in to Costa Maya and had lunch at the Krazy Lobster restaurant. I have eaten so much on this trip, I had nothing but chips and guacamole for lunch. Later, once we were back on the ship, we met at 5 o'clock at Johnny Rockets for milk shakes. Apparently, I will be having a milk shake (cookies and cream) everyday, and this place makes (maybe) the best cookies and cream milk shake I have ever had. After that, Mike and I walked around for a while, then sat and watched people, before we met Richard and Marge for dinner. I had two wieners, no buns, and a couple small desserts. Then, I made it back to the cabin, and I am watching the news on tv. In case you know my friend Ben, make sure you congratulate him on a successful campaign for 2027 Secretary/Treasurer of Texas REALTORS®. In the photo...other than the natives...Marian, Ronnie, Richard, Marge, Mike, Me, Shelley and Chas.

Volume 18 - Day 40/325, 2026 - Monday

Monday, day three of the cruise. So far, I think we are all having a great time. Tomorrow we dock at Costa Maya, and we have a plan: Richard and I walk at 7:30, we all meet for breakfast at 9, and we get off the boat around 10 or 10:30. We are planning lunch at a place called The Krazy Lobster. Before and after, I expect there will be some retail therapy, and I am always in favor of therapy. Today was a day at sea, and we found plenty of stuff to keep us busy...standing in lines and tripping people that get in our way is right at the top of the list. Forgetting that I ordered cranberry juice instead of diet Coke in my cooler glass always kind of takes me by surprise. We went to a couple sales pitches, then a comedy magician show before dinner. There is nothing but food on this boat, and I will not be losing any weight while I am on this boat, but I will have stories to tell for every pound I gain. I did get a little bit of work done, too, and that never hurts. We have the door to the balcony open, and I am going to leave it open, I like the sound of the waves and I like the rocking of the ship. Overall, I like it, nothing much more to say.

Voolume 18 - Day 39/326, 2026 - Sunday

Today was a day at sea, tomorrow will be a day at sea as well. We all met for breakfast, and then we fought our way through crowds to get a 'free' bag and a couple charms. At some point, I think we will also fight our way through crowds to get more 'free' stuff, I think that is pretty likely. After the sales pitch for the different ports of call, we had a little bit of lunch, and then I headed up to the pool area for ice cream and to watch the belly-flop contest. The winner of the belly-flop was a man (with very little modesty) that weighed in at 410 pounds. Four Hundred Ten. I don't think he did the best flop, but he won the contest. After that it was time for a nap, and then we went to the Super Bowl Tailgate Party. Then dinner, and then we went to a show called Gallery of Dreams, about classic paintings coming to life. One thing for certain is, if you were not deaf when you boarded this ship, you will be deaf when you leave. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING is very loud. Tonight we will have a time change, which ought to be plenty confusing, and Richard and I are going to meet in the morning to walk. The only thing we saw in the Gulf today was this ship, and one oil rig. Otherwise, water, water everywhere, the horizon and a few clouds here and there.

olume 18 - Day 38/327, 2026 - Saturday

I am at the point right now where I have to think about what day it is. I know that today is Saturday, but I have to think about it. I got up early this morning and headed to a Ford Dealership in Galveston because they have a high speed charger and it was (supposedly) open 24 hours a day. I got to the place and all the driveways were blocked by their cars, but I did find one driveway between the Ford Dealer and their neighbor a Toyota Dealer, so I was able to access the charger. It was indeed a fast charger, five miles of charge per minute, I am not sure I have ever charged that fast, EVER! I got back to the hotel and Marge, Richard, Mike and I headed down to the 'complimentary' breakfast. With the 'complimentary' breakfast, you cannot have orange juice and coffee. You can have one or the other, but not both. You can walk to the lobby and get a 'free' cup of coffee and carry it back to the restaurant, but... Oh, and there is an $8 amenity fee charged. I asked what the amenities was for $8, and it is to pay for the in-room coffee service. Kind of a scam. And $15 to park the Buzz, and the Buzz thinks they should have paid him to park in their lot. PLUS, because we had two rooms, they charged for two parking fees. I hardly ever actually go and check out of a hotel, but I did this time, and disputed some of the charges. Whatever. We made it to the ship pretty easily, and we met up with all our group and had dinner. We will meet in the morning for breakfast, and see what happens from there. I am glad we are in a group, because that might encourage me to do more than just sitting in the cabin and having free soft serve ice cream and wieners! True dat!

Volume 18 - Day 37/328, 2026 - Friday

It is really sad that I am so technologically inept. This is the second time I have tried to do this journal, and I am certain that it is only because I don't have a clue what I am doing! As I said, I did a half-walk this morning, and then I packed my bag and headed for Galveston. It took us (Mike, Richard and Marge) seven hours to make a four hour trip, again, all my fault. We left at 11:30 and got to the hotel at close to 6:30. The major delay came from trying to charge the Buzz in the wild. I have not got a lot of experience with chargers other than with the Teslas, but everything did work out, and I learned a few things about public chargers. Not that I am going to go into any of that now...so, I think I can write this whole trip off as an education expense. Mike is here from Delray Beach, and two other neighbor couples will meet us tomorrow on the ship. We are doing a nine night cruise, and I am expecting it to be a lot of fun, unless (of course) they run out of wieners and ice cream. Oliver met us for dinner, and it was very good, Gaido's Restaurant, which is well known on the island for their seafood. Very good, and now I am totally stuffed, and we did not order dessert. I will get up early in the morning, take the Buzz and charge, and then come back to the hotel for breakfast, and then we board the ship between noon and 1. I think the most confusing parts of this mini-vacation are over, and it should be 'smooth sailing' from here. More tomorrow.

Volume 18 - Day 36/329, 2026 - Thursday

Richard and Paul and I had a nice walk this morning, and after the walk, I am not really sure what I did. I left the house about noon to go get Mike at the airport, and I had a couple errands to take care of along the way. I am just about finished with the book I am reading, Theo of Golden. I am really enjoying the book, but I fear there will be a twist at the end that I am not really prepared for. I have only an hour-and-a-half left, so I am pretty sure something will be happening before much longer. So far, I really recommend the book, it makes me feel good when it is not making me cry. After Mike and I got home, we both went down for naps, but I am not sure I got much of a nap, maybe five minutes or so...I had two girls in the chair with me and the Piglet was concerned that her dinner was going to be late. Paulina came over after work, and she and Mike and I went in to Georgetown to 600 Degrees for salad and pizza. Val is here having his dinner with pizza we brought back, and now Paulina is fixing the Pizookie that Gina brought me the other day. Everybody, except me, is wrapped up with the Olympics, and I will settle down in a few minutes with a little ice cream. I was awake at 4 o'clock this morning and could not go baack to sleep, so I will be calling it a night pretty soon.

Volume 18 - Day 35/330, 2026 - Wednesday

I expect y'all are tired of me talking about the weather, but it's my journal, deal with it. A little bit colder this morning, somewhere in the 30s I think, and then this afternoon, we hit close to 70 degrees. No predictions of freezes in the next ten days, and that means the plants can stay outside. I had two meetings in Austin this morning, and on the way in, I thought I was totally in control, and stopped for two errands. When I got to my first meeting, I realized it had started 45 minutes before I got there, and then I was twenty minutes late for the second meeting. I stopped for another errand on the way home, and got to my 1:40 meeting in Georgetown with four minutes to spare. On the way home from that meeting, I stopped at HEB for gas in the little white car, and picked up a few things from the grocery. On the way home from there, there was a pretty big traffic jam, so I decided to follow other drivers that seemed to know a short cut, and indeed they did. I have been eating left-overs for a couple days, not that there is anything wrong with that. I still have two of the jumbo chopped pork sandwiches I bought in preparation of the big freeze. I will finish those off in the next couple days. I finished the chicken fried steak I brought home for a recent dinner with Linda and Jimmie, and I have a couple more things that I need to consume in the near future. Is there a category of hoarders that deals with food-stuffs? There is a definite possibility that I could be the premier episode hoarder on that reality tv show: Hoarding-Swallowed Alive. I like it. These two calves showed up in my memories this morning, one of the fond remembrances of the Estate on the Edge of Nowhere. 

Volume 18 - Day 34/331, 2026 - Tuesday

It was warmer for our walk this morning, I wore shorts and a light jacket. It was very windy, however, and I questioned my choice of the light jacket. After the walk, I got ready and met Richard, Paul and Rick for the ROMEO breakfast. There is the possibility that I may try the avocado toast the next time, a lady close to us got that and it looked delicious! After breakfast, I had a couple errands to run, one was to buy a new hose reel at Home Depot. Not sure how it happened, but the hose reel I had destroyed itself during the freeze. I would not in a million years thought that the hose reel would have water in a place that would freeze and fracture. Even though I know it happened, I can't figure out how it happened. There was no pressure on the parts, but whatever. I now have a new hose reel, and I doubt I will be able to fit the old hose reel in the garbage can for pickup. Whatever. After all that, I headed in to Austin to donate some platelets. Just a single today, but I am pretty sure they were happy to get it. Tomorrow I have a couple meetings in Austin. and that will take care of most of the day. The chances of overnight freezes seem to be low for the next several days, and I am thankful for that, I am happy the plants are out, and I expect they are happy, too!

Volume 18 - Day 33/332, 2026 - Monday

As usual, we started the day with a nice walk. Warmer than yesterday at about 36 degrees when I woke up. It is expected to be even warmer tomorrow, forecast to be about 57 degrees overnight. Perfect! I have been thinking about this post today since about 11 o'clock this morning. After the walk, feeding the girls, and watching a bit of television, I put plants out in the front and in the back. Since everything was cleared out, I even did a little bit of vacuuming. Okay, here is the weird part, I felt really great after doing those menial things. It was like a rebirth, well, probably not, but I really can't describe how I was feeling, and I have felt great for the rest of the day. I did nothing really special, but I did a lot of small things today, and those small mundane tasks really were done with a smile in my head! I also started reading a new book, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi. A friend of mine shared that they did not care for this book very much, but I am totally into it. I am on chapter nine, and I still have nine hours to go, but I like it very much. Theo is doing something that I can imagine myself doing. Tomorrow will be our ROMEO breakfast, and then I will head in to Austin to give some platelets and plasma. That will make me feel great about things, too! 

Volume 18 - Day 32/333 - Sunday

Well hell. It is February already, and I hardly got started on January. The temperature was in the teens this morning, so we didn't walk. I was relatively domestic today, and I have almost 7,000 steps in, which is my goal. My goal used to be 10K steps, but rumor has it that, anything over 7K steps is just a waste of steps. I frequently still exceed 10K steps, but it is just because I walk a lot. Getting a lot of steps in is also pretty easy if I go to HEB, since the dairy section is the farthest part of the store...pretty close to Waco, really! After I didn't walk this morning, I took a nap with the girls, then got up, fed the girls, and made a really good egg loaf that we all shared. Eggs, cheese and HEB cornbread mixed up in it. Very good, and there were no complaints from the girls. I watched Sunday Morning, and then went to the estate sale that was in the neighborhood, but what I went back for was sold yesterday, that's okay. I did buy a little piece of art that was half price, so it was not a total failure. I did two loads of clothes and dried four loads of clothes, so everything is clean now. If everything goes right, I will put the plants out tomorrow and they will get some good sunshine. I have two or three chores to get done tomorrow, and I have a zoom meeting at 2 o'clock. The photo accompanying this entry was taken three years ago on this date, apparently we were in the middle of an ice storm.