Volume 18 - Day 43/322, 2026 - Thursday

Really, it's Thursday? It seems that this week has gone by very quickly. Today, we dcked 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 the 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.