Volume 18 - Day 243/122, 2026 - Monday

Paul and I did an abbreviated walk this morning, and after that I got a few things done around the Curious House. Everything got watered, front and back, and I looked at my carry-on bag that I took to San Antonio last week. I still haven't unpacked it, I just take what I need out of it when I need something, and I will eventually get it emptied and stored back in the guest room closet. I don't think it was as hot today as it has been, but I'm not sure. I will catch the late news before I crash for the night, then again, maybe not. Paulina and I went to Costco this afternoon, and I got a few things, nothing really too much, but I am set with popcorn and pretzels for the near term. I have a whole new respect for the folks that collect shopping baskets from the parking lots. Paulina and I each had a basket, and there were two abandoned baskets next to the car. I gathered them all up and took them to the 'basket gathering' place in the parking lot. It was definitely not as easy as one might think, and this Karma thing is sometimes too much trouble!

Volume 18 - Day 242/123, 2026 - Sunday

I left the hotel in San Antonio this morning at about 7:30, and I made it to the Curious House by about 9:30. I am surprised at how quickly I made it back to Georgetown, but I am not complaining. Just before 10 o'clock, I went and retrieved the girls and brought them back to the Curious House, and then Paulina, Val and I took off and went to four estate sales. These sales were definitely better than the sales in San Antonio yesterday. I bought a few things and actually took the things out of the Buzz that I bought last week. A couple weeks ago, I decided that the ledge of the rock wall behind the house would be a great place to begin a sculpture 'garden,' only without the garden part. I saw this top piece of a concrete fountain at one of the sales, and I thought Paulina wanted to buy it for herself, but she actually bought it for me. And so, the sculpture garden begins. I made it to HEB this afternoon, and picked up some groceries, and fed the girls. I have made sure that I know what I have on my schedule for the next couple weeks, so I feel like I am in control. It's interesting how uncoordinated I feel after just a couple days out of town. I wonder how I used to do it?

Volume 18 - Day 241/124, 2026 - Saturday

I stayed in bed longer today than I have in probably at least the last year. I did not have to get out of bed, so I didn't. When I did get up, I got ready and went to lunch with Holly and Gavin. After that, I met Philip and Vanessa to three estate sales. OMG, they were not really that good. There were a few things I picked up and looked at, but nothing is so overpriced as estate sale items in San Antonio! Then back to the hotel, we sat in the bar for a while, then up to the room to get ready for the installation ceremony. My friend Tony from Lubbock was installed tonight as the 2027 Chairman of Texas REALTORS®, and he is a great choice for that office. The photo accompanying this entry is of me and a bunch of friends and colleagues from Austin, and we had a really great time. I do not need to stay for the Board of Directors meeting tomorrow, so I expect I will be on the road headed north by about 8 or 8:30. That will get me back to the Curious House and the girls at a reasonable time in the morning, and it will be good to get back home. I may even look at estate sales and hit a few. We shalll see.

Volume 18 - Day 240/125, 2026 - Friday

There was a lot of day packed into this day. It started early, even though I did not walk, there was stuff to do. I had a doctors appointment at 10:20, and the doctors office is 40 miles from the Curious House. That was convenient in a way, the appointment was in far south Austin, and I am now in San Antonio. After getting my viscosupplementary shot, I took off for the Alamo City. I will be here a couple nights, for the Texas REALTORS® annual meeting. I got registered, and took a nap, and then headed off to a TREPAC reception on the Riverwalk. I enjoy visiting with all the friends and colleagues I have met over the years, and there is a certain amount of freedom knowing that I no longer have a job or a responsibility at these meetings. I like that freedom. While were were at that reception, there was a 'Imminent Threat Alert,' and it was kind of crazy outside. The alert also stated it was a 'dangerous and life-threatening' situation. It was indeed kind of crazy, but we got ourselves back to the hotel with no real issues, other than a little bit of rain to and from the shuttles. It was really kind of interesting. Back at the hotel, we sat in the bar for a while, and I called it a night so I could get this journal entry done before midnight. One of my obsessions. Tomorrow morning, I may hit a couple estate sales in San Antonio, just because I can, we shall see! I like this caricature kind of photo very much; Holly, Melinda, me and Nancy! Much fun!

Volume 18 - Day 239/126, 2026 - Thursday

My day was a cacophony of first world problems, and I am totally aware that I am lucky to be having first world problems. Yesterday, my knee was giving me REAL problems. It is better today, but still a problem. Tomorrow, I will get the second shot (of a total of 5 shots) that is supposed to (I think) put some gel in the knee to help with the 'bone-on-bone' challenge. Then, of course, there is the arthritis, so, what to do? I walked alone this morning, and I changed up the route again, just for a different view of the world. Once I got back to the Curious House, I did a load of laundry, and I experienced another issue with the washing machine. Instead of spinning the clothes dry, it drains the water, then fills up again, then drains, then fills up. I finally figured this out, and put sopping wet clothes in the dryer. I did that with about three loads in the dryer, and put jeans and shorts out on the back patio. The error code on the washer says that the drain line might be clogged up, so I will try and make sure that line is clear. But not today. By that time, it was time to leave for the blood bank, me, Paulina and Marian. Of course, we made a stop at Upper Crust. SO...my platelet donation went bad, the 'rinse back' went outside the vein, and beepers and buzzers would not quit. Whatever. The main problem is, I can't make a donation for 56 days, which would put me at the end of October. I think I will just take a rest until November. We shall see.

Volume 18 - Day 238/127, 2026 - Wednesday

Paul did not walk this morning, so I did an abbreviated walk. My knee is really giving me challenges today, and I have no idea if I did something to aggravate it, or if it is just deciding to decline on its' own. Whichever is the most accurate, I don't like it. I had nothing on my calendar today until early afternoon, so I took advantage of the time, and finished chopping up t-shirts to send to the quilt making company. In the past five or six days, I have shopped up 92 t-shirts and mailed them off. 64 to make a king size quilt and 24 to make a twin xl. The twin size will be my new blood bank quilt, because it gets really cold in there when you are donating platelets. Oh, and tomorrow is a platelet day, so I am looking forward to that! Tonight was our neighborhood dinner night, and we went to Encantada (formerly El Monumento) in Georgetown. It was a blast, I had a great time, and I think everyone did. I ordered chile rellenos, and it was delicious, and the portion was huge, so I brought about half of it home. So far, with Paulina's help, I have my airline reservations made, and hotel reservations made in Paris, Barcelona, Malaga and London. I have two train trips left to book, the ferry through the Straits of Gibraltar, and guides in Barcelona and Malaga. It is going to be fun, and I am looking forward to it!

 

Volume 18 - Day 237/128, 2026 - Tuesday

I was about two minutes late getting a photo of the sunset for this journal entry. The sunset that I wish I had photographed was extraordinarily beautiful, but sadly, by the time I got out with my phone, it was a little less extraordinary. Still lovely, but just a little bit less so. Paul, Bob, Rick and I met for our ROMEO breakfast, and it was lots of fun. Bob and I stopped at Galaxy Bakery on the way home, so I have scones for the next couple of days. I got a lot of things done in the Curious House office, and I stayed busy most of the day. I had a zoom meeting at 11, and the meeting lasted three minutes, which is the kind of zoom meeting I like! When Paulina came over after 5, we put the drops in the Piglet's eyes, and went to have Italian food at Frankie's. When we got home, we booked my flights to Spain and back, so it looks like I will be going to Spain in November. Over the next couple days, I will be booking hotels and train trips, down the Spanish coast to Malaga, a ferry from Malaga (I think) to Morocco, through the Straits of Gibraltar. OMG! But I am really happy to be going. After this trip, I still have airline credits from cancelling the trip to South Africa. Morocco will cross off one more continent, which leaves Australia and New Zealand, known from here on as Oceana. It's been a good day!

Volume 18 - Day 236/129, 2026 - Monday

The Piglet is getting a new name, the Six-Hundred-Dollar-Dog. Back to the vet we went this morning, to see what was causing the diarrhea challenge. So, there is the diarrhea, then there is an eye infection, an ear infection, possibly all caused by allergies. Whatever. Now, I have five NEW prescriptions that I have to administer to her twice a day. Paulina is coming over before she leaves for work (about 6:10AM) to hold her while I put the drops in her eyes, and she will repeat the process in the evenings. It is kind of a new experience for me as a dog dad, I have not really had a lot of experience with high-maintenance dogs, but hopefully everything will be better in ten days. I had two meetings in Austin this morning, one was a workshop to become a Volunteer Deputy Registrar. Now that I have qualified in Travis, Williamson County will reciprocate, and I can register voters in both counties. I had done the workshop a couple years ago, and this qualification will expire on December 31st, and then I will be able to take an on-line workshop to renew my Deputy status for another two years. Someone please remind me, thanks. I expect tomorrow to be kind of a calm day, I have an on-line meeting at 11, that will do it for the day.

Volume 18 - Day 235/130, 2026 - Sunday

Holy Hell! It was 107 degrees in central Texas today, so I am considering changing my ways. 107 is too damn hot. At 9:30 this morning, Val and I went to an estate sale, and when we got there, we figured out that I had mis-read the advertisement, and there was NO estate sale there today. When we made it back home, I did not leave the house except to take the girls outside, and I think the rest of the city was doing the same. I would not be surprised to find out that retail sales cratered today, and probably delivery sales hit all time records. It's probably too late for me to make significant changes, so I may need to just get used to running around naked for the near-term. Or not. I have another appointment to take the Piglet back to the vet tomorrow morning, she is now experiencing 'gastro-intestinal' difficulties. See what I did there, I cleaned that description up. Anyway, I will drop her off at the vet, then I have two meetings to attend in Austin, and everybody should be back home by 3 o'clock. I just got a call from Linda, and we are going to have ice cream in about 20 minutes, so that means this journal entry is almost done. I think the photo accompanying this entry is a moth, not a butterfly. I used to think these were butterflies, but I was corrected, so now i think this is a moth. See, an old dog can be taught new tricks!

Volume 18 - Day 234/131, 2026 - Saturday

I'm tired of talking about how hot it is in central Texas lately, so I have decided not to mention how hot it is in central Texas in this entry. Get it? I was up a little bit early today, and got everything watered, front and back, before I walked with Paul. There were two estate sales today, and Judy and Marian and I were happy to attend them both. They were not really too exciting, but I did find two or three things that I needed. Down the street, about a half block away from the second sale, there was a house with a table at the end of the driveway with stuff on it, I assumed they were taking advantage of the estate sale advertising and they were doing a little yard sale. When I got to it, there were two signs that said 'Everything Free Except the Tables.' I picked up four things there ware (maybe) better than the stuff that I bought. Maybe not, but it was free! I got back to the Curious House, and did nothing for the rest of the day. Isn't Amazon a wonderful thing? I was surprised to see these boxes at the front door, but yep, they were addressed to me. Sometimes you forget what you ordered! Here is a question; I could have used a photo that I captured from my doorbell camera for this journal entry, but I chose one I took the old fashioned way. The question is, if I use a photo captured from the doorbell camera or one of the other cameras I have around the Curious House, who gets the photo credit?

Volume 18 - Day 233/132, 2026 - Friday

It is miserably hot here in central Texas, even at 5:30 in the morning. That is what time I got out of bed this morning, let the girls out, made coffee and sat down at the desk. By about 6:10, I was covered in sweat and still needed to water the plants in the back yard. Walking was okay, but it is just hot and really humid. We are expecting a 'front' to come through, which will, maybe, lower the humidity but not the temperature. After the walk, Paulina came over for coffee, and then I went to get my hair cut. Birds Barber Shop is kind of an Austin famous tradition, and I remember when they opened the first shop in (about) 2006. They opened a new store in Georgetown, a couple days late, and I was the first customer of the new store, and I got a free haircut. Nothing wrong with that! After the haircut, called the place that cancelled my injection appointment, just inquiring about, it is just an injection, isn't there someone else there that can administer the injection? After waiting about 15 minutes, the answer was no. Whatever. VP and I went in to Taylor for dinner tonight, the intention was to go to the Circleville Restaurant, but when we got there at 5, the sign said the kitchen was closed until 5:30. We will remember that for future visits. We went to Plowman's Kitchen, which is in a former elementary school in Taylor. It reminds me very much of the elementary school I went to in Michigan. I had a chicken fried steak that was very good, and now I am about ready to call it a night. Estate sales tomorrow, only two, but I expect it will be fun...we always have fun at estate sales, and I wonder what I might find that I didn't know I needed.

Volume 18 - Day 232/133, 2026 - Thursday

I feel like I had a busy day, but I can't really think of too much I did today. Gina and I went to Trader Joe's this morning, I got a few things, mostly chips and ice cream. It was nice visiting with her on the way there and back, and we have our trips to Trader Joe's pretty much down to a science. When I got home, I listened more to my book, I still have a couple hours to go, and I will finish it tonight and tomorrow. It is a pretty good book, The Calamity Club, and I am still not sure how it is going to end. Since there is nothing on tv tonight, I will watch the tv and listen to the book, just like back in the '70's. Hot. HOt. HOT! 104 today, 105 tomorrow, and 106 on Saturday and Sunday. Too darn hot to do anything outside, at least while the sun is shining. When we were living at the farm, it ws not unusual to get behind a tractor that was going just as fast as it could, which was never fast enough, and nobody really cared. 

Volume 18 - Day 231/134, 2026 - Wednesday

I think right after I got up this morning, I took the bandage off the Piglet's foot, for which I am most likely happier about than she is. The bandage was about an inch longer than her foot, and she frequently tripped over it. The foot looks fine, she is not acting like there is any discomfort, so all is good at the Curious House. I headed in to Austin about 10 o'clock this morning, I had a lunch date with Holly, Jonathan and Dale. Lots of fun, it was an early lunch, so we did not have to wait on a table. At Bartlett's, one of my favorites is the Club Salad with crispy fried chicken. Perfect. Once I got back home, I went down for a nap, and the girls cuddled up with me. It is officially really hot, and it is very uncomfortable outside. Just sitting out with the dogs causes me to glisten. Once the sun goes down a little bit, it is a little easier to sit outside. I water the plants in the front and the back, usually before the morning walks. It doesn't take too long to water, and it is easier before it gets too hot. Tomorrow morning I am going to Trader Joe's with Gina, and then I have a zoom meeting at 2:30. It should not be too long of a meeting. This little frog was very patient with me this morning. It started on the top gate rail, and ended up on the gate post, long enough for me to take this photo. 

Volume 18 - Day 230/135, 2026 - Tuesday

Paul decided not to walk this morning, so I took off by myself, and I took a different route, just to shake things up. I walked past the house in the photo that is accompanying this journal entry, and it is the SECOND house I put an offer on before I bought the Curious House. I looked at the Curious House at the same time I looked at the house in the photo, and they were built by the same builder. I actually liked the Curious House better, but I put an offer on the house in the photo and the lot next door, with the giant Oak Tree. The tree was intended to be the 'Jody Tree,' but it didn't work out, and I am totally happy with the way things worked out. I think Jody would have liked to have his own tree, and I still think of it as his tree. Walking a different route this morning put me in touch with a few different folks in the neighborhood, and it was fun. After the walk, Bob came and picked me up for the ROMEO breakfast, and Rick joined us as well. We had a great breakfast, and it was fun. I am pretty sure that is all I did for the rest of the day, but I did listen to more of the book, and got some stuff done in the office. Tomorrow I have a lunch date in Austin, and I may take care of a few chores on the way there and on the way home. The Piglet is doing fine, I don't think she is in any pain, but I did give her another pain pill tonight, just in case. That will likely make sure she doesn't bite at her foot through the night, she will likely be knocked out!

Volume 18 - Day 229/136, 2026 - Monday

SO...the Piglet had an appointment at the vet this morning at 8:30, so I took her in and left her there. They asked if things went badly, did I want them to perform CPR. Think about it. Once I got home, they called about a couple hours later and I went and brought her home. All is good, and I need to remove her bandage on Wednesday. I am really into the book I am reading (listening to), The Calamity Club, and I have just under 9 hours left to go. Not bad for a book that was a 28 hour listen. I had my own doctors appointment at 3 this afternoon, and all is good. Once I got home from that, I took a brief nap, and now I am just waiting for my Monday night programs to begin. PLUS, I have to give the Piglet a pill tonight, and another pill every 12 hours. The vet said it might make her sluggish, but can any animal be more sluggish than the Piglet? The photo of the yucca blooms was taken on our walk this morning, yucca blossoms are very pretty!

Volume 18 - Day 228/137, 2026 - Sunday

Well, the Piglet is not going to be happy abut this. She still has the bandage (kleenex and tape) on her right front foot that VPO fashioned for her yesterday, and I am pretty comfortable saying that there has been no more bleeding since yesterday. I will be dropping her off at the vet tomorrow morning at 8:30, and the part she will not like most is that she cannot have breakfast in the morning. I expect the vet will remove the toe nail that is just barely hanging on, but I will know more tomorrow. VP and I went to another estate sale this morning in Liberty Hill. That is not my usual hunting ground, but one of the women I like very much that does estate sales, told us about it last week, so we thought we would give it a shot. We all bought a few things, and that was good. Then it was time for a nap, and I took off for HEB at about 1:30, but before that, I stopped at Paris Baguette (a franchise) that opened last week. I have been to another location in Austin, but the one that opened here in Georgetown was overwhelming. Lots of interesting looking culinary delights, but I didn't buy anything. Again, I was just overwhelmed and decided I would go back during the week when it may not be quite so crowded. Val made goulash so I went next door for dinner, and after that, PO went to Paris Baguette and brought me a couple treats. That will keep me busy for a couple days, anyway.

Volume 18 - Day 227/138, 2026 - Saturday

Well, today turned out to be an interesting day, and kind of out of the ordinary for some parts of it. Of course it started with a nice walk. My knee is not pain free, but the pain is a different kind of pain, so not sure what to think. I looked up the particular injection that I had yesterday, and it said I should expect tremendous relief 'several weeks after the fifth injection.' Well, that means I have a little bit over a month to go. We shall see. Marian, Paulina, Judy and I went to two estate sales, they were not great, but everybody bought something. I spent about $30, I bought a couple odd pieces AND a couple (maybe three) sets of white towels. Bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths. I bought towels a while back, allegedly 'very absorbent' but not really. I could not get dry with those towels. The towels I got today, that Paulina took and washed and dried already, and (hopefully) are hopefully very absorbent. Val is a self proclaimed towel expert, and he tells me they are very good, high quality towels. Yippee! After the estate sale, we decided to go to Temple for lunch. At Buc-ee's. Paulina was on a quest to get an A&M t-shirt for herself, and they had just gone on sale. I had a brisket sandwich for lunch (there is no place to sit inside Buc-ee's, so we sat in the jeep). Really, honestly, going to Buc-ee's was just a cover for the real purpose, which was to go to GoGo's Treatery. We love that place. They have the best FrYo and pastries, cakes, cupcakes, etc. Absolutely the best. We made it home, no longer hungry, and it was time for a nap. Later in the afternoon, Val brought the freshly washed towels over, and when he left, the Piglet decided to leave a trail of blood from the front door to the bedroom. Val, Paulina and Oliver came over and got the Piglet's front right paw wrapped and got the bleeding stopped. Apparently, she chewed one of the nails on that paw practically off, and it is just hanging, hardly attached. There was blood EVERYWHERE. I have requested an appointment with the vet for Monday morning, we will see if that can be done. Time to call it a day!

Volume 18 - Day 226/139, 2026 - Friday

Inside this blue bundle awaits the miracle injection(s) I have been waiting for for a while. GenVisc (Sodium Hyaluronate 25 mg) 850. Five injection regimen. I was expecting one shot and done, and I was surprised when the doctor told me 'the insurance company said you need five injections.' I am surprised that the insurance company knows anything about what I need, but who am I to question the medical/insurance professions. Not like I have been trying to get these injections for a while now, so I am not going to protest anything. So, right now I have a bit of pain in my knee, but it is a different pain than what I ws experiencing this morning. That might go away tomorrow, fingers crossed. SO...my appointment for the shot was at 10:20 this morning, and it is/was forty miles from the Curious House. I made it with no real issues, and I left that office at about 10:45. I had a one o'clock appointment by Mansfield Dam (Lake Travis), so I stalled, and drove up and down 620 for about an hour-and-a-half. I got to the appointment at about 12:35, and the client was up at the road, so there was no way for me to hide. It all worked out, and that appointment lasted a couple hours, and I got back to the Curious House  little after four o'clock this afternoon. I went to dinner with Jimmie and Linda, and when I got home, Paulina came over to chat for just a few minutes. I will be heading to the bedroom to pile up in the big chair with two small dogs in just about ten minutes. I am ready to call this day finished. 

Volume 18 - Day 225/140, 2026 - Thursday

The photo accompanying this entry is (possibly) what it looks like to be kind of bored at a neighborhood HOA meeting. There are 441 (some say 440) homes in our subdivision, and owners of twelve homes were represented at the meeting, not including the two Board members in attendance. Whatever. I said what I said, and did not insult anyone in the process. I must be losing my touch. Whatever (again). Today was a platelet day, and Marian and I went to donate, and walked out of the blood bank with a pint of Blue Bell ice cream. I chose Black Raspberry Fudge flavor, and I had never seen that flavor before, but I am told it is really good. I will let you know. Donating platelets is something I really like to do, so I get to visit with all those folks every two weeks or so. I get to trade interesting book reviews with Kristen at the front desk, and she and I like the same kinds of books. I have two appointments tomorrow, the first one at 10:20 in the morning, to hopefully get a shot in my knee, and the other one around Mansfield Dam at 1PM. I am going to need something to do between appointments, but I will figure something out. 

Volume 18 - Day 224/141, 2026 - Wednesday

Oh well, I tried to put these photos next to each other, but apparently I am not smart enough to do that. Thirteen years ago today, Joel W Rudd and I were officially married by a Republican Justice of the Peace in Glastonbury, Connecticut. I think these photos were taken the evening before, but I am not sure. We were at the Bed & Breakfast where we stayed, and we were all having a wonderful time. This is not all the friends we were surrounded by, but it is a good representation. Melody worked very hard to put this on for us, especially since it was just a few days after her birthday. I am a very lucky man! I had a quick zoom meeting this morning, and then I went to the VW collision place to have the badge replaced on the back hatch of the Buzz. It was touch-and-go as to whether they were going to break this one, but they were careful, and there is no longer a hole in the back of the Buzz. Tomorrow will be a platelet day, Marian and I will be going, and of course we will be making a stop at Upper Crust, just to make sure we are not deprived of anything we might find there. And tomorrow evening, there is a Board of Directors meeting of the HOA, and that will be interesting. I am looking very forward to attending that meeting. YIPPEE!

Volume 18 - Day 223/142, 2026 - Tuesday

OMG, I am a tired old man right now. Well, I forgot to self-medicate last night, and I didn't realize that until it was too late. I slept very poorly, although I know I slept a little bit. I got out of bed at five, and I already knew I was not walking this morning or going to the ROMEO breakfast. I had an appointment in Austin at 8:15 this morning, and I got home from that appointment at about 2 o'clock this afternoon. The good part is, we got our work done in the meeting, and I believe we did some really good work. I have a zoom meeting tomorrow at 11AM, and that is very civilized! The girls were a little bit confused this morning, because my schedule changes affected them as well. But, it is all done now, and life as we know it at the Curious House will get back to normal in the next several hours. Paulina and Oliver are back from Las Cruces, and they came over and visited for a little while. I think they too are tired, it's a long drive back to Georgetown. All is good. I left the Curious House this morning at 7AM, since you never know what traffic will be like at any time of the day. The clouds were really interesting, so I thought I would share it with you.

Volume 18 - Day 222/143, 2026 - Monday

In the very early evenings of the last several days, I have had notifications on my phone: Lightning has been detected in your area. No. It hasn't. Not in my area, although I am not sure how they define 'my area.' But also, if there is lightning, you would think there would be a drop or two of rain. Nope. Just really warm (hot) days and really high humidity. Ugh. I will continue to complain about this for another seven or eight weeks, so just sit down and be quiet. Today is Melody's birthday and it was fun to talk briefly with her and Bruce. I think they are all heading out for dinner later tonight. Melody is who planned Jody's and my wedding back in 2013. I went in to Austin this afternoon and had a late lunch with Jetta and Julie, always a lot of fun, we talked and trashed people, and laughed and had a good time. There was not much else that needed to be done after lunch, but I did break down and made a stop at HEB. I filled the little white car up with gas, and bought a few things inside the grocery. I expect I will make another stop at HEB later this week, since I am kind of close to running out of ice cream, and if you know me, you know I cannot let that happen! No walk or ROMEO breakfast for me tomorrow, I have an early appointment in Austin tomorrow, so I will be leaving the Curious House at about 7 or 7:15 in the morning.

Volume 18 - Day 221/144, 2026 - Sunday

My friend Deb is visiting from Vancouver, WA...okay, she WAS visiting...she got here on Friday evening and right now she is on a plane heading home...but that is just a detail. I'll start over...my friend Deb was visiting from Vancouver, WA, and she had lunch with another couple friends in the neighborhood, Mike and Judy. I was asked to attend and I did, and it was a LOT of fun. We laughed and talked and caught up with lots of stuff, and the lunch was delicious. After lunch, I had planned to go to Target and HEB. On the way to Target, I talked myself in and out of going to either one of them at least four times, and Target is not that far from the Curious House. I did make it to Target, but I decided I could go to HEB tomorrow or the next day. We shall see. Otherwise, it was a very nice Sunday that was unhurried and untroubled. During my visit with Deb, Mike and Judy, I discovered my next book (before I start the September book club book); The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett that also wrote The Help. Deb said she laughed out loud a lot while reading the book, and that is what I am looking forward to. However...it is a 29 hour listen on Audible, so I expect I need to start listening pretty quickly. Tomorrow I am having lunch with Jetta and Julie, and on Tuesday, I have an early morning meeting in Austin. That is as far as I have looked on my calendar, and...there is always tomorrow. Or Tuesday! The photo is me, Deb, Judy and Mike.

Volume 18 - Day 220/145, 2026 - Saturday

Well, there was no need for me to chop and pull the morning glory vines out of the trees behind the rock wall today. Oliver, 19 year old monkey person that he is, climbed up the wall (no ladder needed) and cut the vines and pulled them out of the tree. This is an annual chore, and I appreciate Oliver doing it. He said he was helping, but he did it all, I did nothing but watch. There were five estate sales for me, Judy, Marian and Diane to visit this morning. I spent about $35 on stuff that I really needed, and I think Val and I will go to a couple tomorrow. Paulina and Oliver are in Las Cruces right now, so Val and I went to Taylor and had catfish for dinner at Lucky Duck's. I have been having a craving, and that is taken care of for a month or two now. The most recent lawn folks cut the grass today, and so far, so good. It is not easy to find good grass cutters these days; first world problems. I am getting itchy to get on a train, so I think, if all goes well with the knee injection next week, I may plan something. I am thinking a seven day trip, maybe. I will have to see what I can come up with.

Volume 18 - Day 219/146, 2026 - Friday

Well, that was disappointing. I made an appointment with a pain relief doctor, hoping to get a viscosupplementation injection in my knee, but NO! They have to submit it to my insurance companies (Medicare is one) to approve the fee. The office for this pain group is $) miles from the Curious House, one way. I feel like I have been driving for most of the day. I am not in constant pain, I just want to have the gel injection to SEE if it will lessen the bone-on-bone challenge I am experiencing. The steroid shots worked the first time, but after that, nothing. I was prescribed a pain drug, which I do not expect to use, I don't want to use, but I guess they know better than me. Whatever. The pills are in my medicine cabinet if you want them. Other than that...Oliver brought me a burrito (I think) that was really good, he is quite accomplished at burrito making! I did a few things around the Curious House, and there are five estate sales tomorrow, that will be fun! Me and the girls (real girls!). I also expect that I will go chop down some morning glory vines that are growing up in one of the trees on the other side of the rock wall. I do that every year, nothing terrible. I have no idea what the police, fire and ambulance was doing on 38th Street this afternoon, but that is not unusual, either. Always something going on that I can't figure out.

Volume 18 - Day 218/147, 2026 - Thursday

The photo accompanying this entry showed up on my phone the other day, and it reminds me of just another day at the farm. Every now and then, a snake, I think this is just a rat snake, would show up in the chicken coop, and I would need to relocate it. Relocation meant either taking it across the road or putting it in a drainage ditch across and down the road. Only one time did I kill a snake, because it ate one of the nest eggs. The fact that it had swallowed the nest egg meant it was going to die anyway, and I wanted my nest egg back. Enough of that. I took the girls to the beautiful parlor this morning, and they were ready to be picked up about three hours later. In the mean time, I did a few things around the Curious House, nothing of any real consequence. In late morning, Oliver asked me if I wanted to go to dinner with him, and so we did. We went to Gold's Burger in Georgetown, and I had liver and onions. As I recall, that is about the only place I go that offers liver and onions, so I was happy with that. My doctor appointment tomorrow is 40 miles away from the Curious House, so I am planning on it taking me at least an hour-and-fifteen-minutes to get there. The appointment is at 12:45, maybe 1, and the pre-appointment paperwork took me 30 minutes to complete this morning. Unbelievable. We shall see if I get a gel injection in my knee that will take the discomfort away. Fingers crossed. 

Volume 18 - Day 217/148, 2026 - Wednesday

The fact that the 'normal' traffic lanes are moving more quickly than the toll lanes is not an uncommon happening in central Texas. I took a photo of the stopped traffic in the toll lane this morning on my way in to Austin, and a guy in a black truck (I have a photo of his license if you want it) went through the barriers and into the regular lanes. I displayed my displeasure with him by blowing the horn on the Buzz, and he displayed his displeasure with my by showing me his teeth. Not really, but we played tag for a couple miles, and then he exited. Idiot. One of us, not completely sure which one. BUT, the reason for the back-up was this car (see photo) in the toll lane that apparently caught fire and burned. Not sure how that happened, but it did. I made it to my meeting with time to spare, then I picked up prescriptions and made a stop at Upper Crust. While I was out, I stopped at the VW collision place, where yesterday they told me the replacement of the VW badge (the one they broke when they repaired the earlier damage) would only take 15 minutes. They were correct, it only took them 12 minutes to break the replacement badge, and now the back end of the Buzz is 'badgeless,' and I guess they will let me know when they have another one that they can break. Whatever. Since I put the chandeliers throughout the Curious House, I have been unhappy with the can spots in the kitchen. They WERE daylight colored, and I wanted a warmer light, something to go with the warmer color of the chandelier lights. SO, this morning, before I left for Austin, I climbed up on the kitchen counter and removed one of the spots to take to Home Depot to see if I could find a warmer white bulb to replace them. What I found out is, the light I took with me has about five different color settings, and all I needed to do was change the toggle on the bulb, and they all match the warm color of the chandeliers. Several trips up and down the ladder to change the setting on the four spots, and now i am happy.  

Volume 18 - Day 216/149, 2026 - Tuesday

After the walk this morning, I chilled out for a little while before I got cleaned up and made it to our ROMEO breakfast. On the way, I stopped and picked up Bob, who we all hope will join us regularly. So, it was me, Paul, Rick and Bob. A good group, but I ordered way too big of a breakfast, so I brought biscuits home with me. After we left breakfast, we stopped at Galaxy Bakery and I brought two scones home with me, so I am covered for the next couple of breakfasts. Once we were getting ready to turn on to the Parkway, we saw that the traffic signal was flashing, so we are getting closer to having a signal to make left turns much easier. They are scheduled to be operating as signals a week from today. That is progress for sure, and the whole neighborhood is buzzing about it. That was about all I did for the day, until this evening; it was book club night, and we all had a great time. This months book was The Other Bennett Sister, and I think everyone enjoyed the book. It was an 18 hour listen, so it was a lengthy book. Next months book is Beyond the Wild River, a historical novel set in the 1890's. I just had to look that information up, because I had no idea what the book was about. It sounds interesting! Tomorrow, I will go in to Austin, and I have two things to get done while I am there, and I will make a stop at the VW place on the way home, they called today and they have received the VW replacement badge for the one they broke while it was in their shop. It is supposed to be only a 15 minute deal, so I will report that tomorrow. In the photo of the book club peeps, Marian is holding Richard and Marge, who joined remotely! Much fun!

Volume 18 - Day 215/150, 2026 - Monday

After the walk this morning, the only times I left the Curious House was to take the girls outside and to check the mail. I walked to the mail boxes at 4:20, and the mail had not yet been delivered. I will go back to check again tonight after 8 o'clock. Ugh. Since I am feeling pretty accomplished about the back-up battery, let me tell you about that task. To remove the old battery, I had to unscrew one screw and remove one little panel. The old battery came right out, so not a big deal. To REPLACE a new battery, I had to unscrew four more screws and take the entire face thing off the opener, and by doing that, I could put the new battery in. It was not the actual unscrewing that I am so proud of, but the fact that I found a different way of skinning that garage door opener cat. Good for the old guy! Tomorrow will be the ROMEO breakfast, and Wednesday I will be going in to Austin. Marian helped me figure out how to order quilts made out of all the t-shirts I have, so I will be going through t-shirts and cutting them apart for (probably) the next week or so. After that, I should have lots of room in the closets for NEW t-shirts. I will be sending 92 t-shirts to be made into two quilts, so that should fre up a little bit of space!

Volume 18 - Day 214/151, 2026 - Sunday

Today was a most excellent day, even though I did very little of anything productive or anything that will be remembered five or six days from now. James and Oliver walked with me and Paul this morning, and that was nice. After the walk, I fed the girls and washed my face and hair and went off to brunch with Alisha and Reuben. Very nice, fun, great to see them, and our brunching on Sundays has seemingly gone by the wayside. Sad. After brunch, I went to two more places to try and find a back-up battery for the garage door opener. No luck. I studied the situation and found a way to make the batteries I had work, and I will share more of that in my post tomorrow. Here is something interesting or unsettling, depending on your personal ideas. For me, it is a really happy note. I took a nap this afternoon, and the nap lasted less than an hour. In the dream, one of the dogs I had when I was a kid, ran away, and I was searching for Brandy. Brandy never came back, but I found another dog with really big ears, and named him (or her) Bullwinkle. Jody was also in the dream, and he and I both welcomed Bullwinkle into the family. It has been a while since I dreamed about Jody, and this was a good dream. It is not really that often that I remember dreams as clearly as this, but I thought I would share it with you. After I rousted myself up from the nap, I took off to Domino's Pizza, since today was the last day of their 50% off sale. When I got in the car, Dvorak's New World Symphony was playing, and I cranked it up pretty loudly. I have always liked this symphony, and I can remember very clearly playing this symphony when I was in High School Band. My High School did not have an orchestra (no strings) but we did have a band, and I played trombone. The trombones were an important part of this symphony, and I can remember very clearly where I sat in the band room, and really enjoying playing that music. OMG, I think this was a most excellent day, I hope I don't mess it up, there are still several hours to go.

Volume 18 - Day 213/152, 2026 - Saturday

The two estate sales this morning were not that exciting, but I got one thing for me (a framed print) and three Starbucks Cups (the older ones) for Paulina. After the sales, I went to Costco and HEB and so I have checked those things off my list. I am almost finished with the book for this month, The Other Bennett Sister, and on Audible that listen was 18 hours. I liked the book, but I think it could have been abbreviated. I have about an hour-and-a-half left, so I will finish that off tomorrow and be ready for book club on Tuesday. The saga of the garage door back-up battery is on-going. Tomorrow I will go to Home Depot to see if I can find the correct battery. According to everything Google and Interweb, I have bought the correct batteries THREE times, but they will not fit where the old battery came out of. It is really frustrating. We all went to dinner tonight at Dahlia's, in the photo accompanying this entry, clockwise from bottom left it is Val, Oliver, Paulina, Mandy, Clark, Clark's daughter (sorry about the name) and me. Most excellent, as always, and most of us brought dessert home. Yummy!