Volume 18 - Day 264/101, 2026 - Monday

As I was about to fall asleep last night, I flashed on the fact that I used to wrong ratios when I made the humming bird syrup. I wonder how long I have been doing that? Not sure, but I made syrup with the correct ratios this morning, and put it our for the hummers. That was done after our walk this morning and after I had watered the front and back, and P&V's plants while they are out of town. We got no rain at all, and there was a chance of some rain this afternoon, but nothing! I had a prescription to pick up today, so I drove in to Austin, which gives me some extra time to listen to my book. I find this book (not a book club selection) to be interesting, but I don't think it is for a wide audience, so I am not recommending it here. It have received very favorable reviews in the New York Times, but I still think it has a small audience. If you want to know what book it is, you can look at previous posts (about 2 weeks ago) or message me. I didn't get the Piglet's face washed yesterday, but I am threatening to do that in a few minutes. I am also threatening to vacuum one of these days. Maybe. 

Volume 18 - Day 263/102, 2026 - Sunday

I got quite a few little things done today around the Curious House. Once I finish this entry, I have to send a couple emails, and wash the face of the Piglet. She hates that, and I hate that, too. I went to another nursery looking for impatiens, and was told (again) what I have already been told, and I am beginning to believe; impatiens are spring plants, and we don't have any. While I was at the nursery, I saw this truck, and I thought it would make a good hobby truck. Not for me, but for somebody! I used the leaf blower and got the front patio and the back patio and deck cleaned off, and I really need to scrape some mud off the back patio and deck. I am pretty sure that is a result of a sprinkler gone wild. I need to have the sprinkler guy come out this week, there are three places that I think are not getting water and one place that is getting too much water. I'll get that fixed. Once the sun goes down, I will bring the humming bird feeders in, clean them and put fresh syrup in, and then fill the finch feeder and the other bird feeders. It is just something that I do every now and then. I actually read both papers today, so that is a feat that usually takes a couple days. I have a couple things on my chore list for this week, nothing exhausting, which is just how I like it.

Volume 18 - Day 262/103, 2026 - Saturday

I stayed busy again all day. After the walk, I went to breakfast with V&P, and then we made a stop at Galaxy Bakery. After a while, I took them to the airport, and I cannot comprehend how much luggage they took with them. A checked bag and a carry on, each. Plus Paulina has her purse and a canvas bag, too. I got them to the airport about 1 o'clock, and I think their plane left close to 2:30. There were five estate sales today, and I did not go to any this morning, which crossed off three of the five. Two of the sales were open until three, and I did make it to those. I bought one thing at each of them, and I spent $38, and I am really happy with the two items I bought, see the photo accompanying this entry. The one piece is just a print, but I like it and it will fit with the 'beach' theme I have in my bathroom. The miniature reproduction of the JFK bust is really nice, and I like it a lot, and I can't believe it made it through the day and no one else wanted it. I got the other four Mandevilla planted, so that is all of them. I may go see if I can find four more, that will give me something to do tomorrow. Okay, that is it for this entry.

Volume 18 - Day 261/104, 2026 - Friday

I had what I would consider a pretty busy day today. I was at the dermatologist at 7:20, and gone by 7:45. Nothing terrible, about a half-dozen pre-cancerous things that she froze off, and my next appointment is in a year. Then, I stopped back at the Curious House, just to confuse the girls. I left at about 8:45 to go to far south Austin, 40 miles from the house, for my fifth knee injection. Viscosupplementation. I am, unfortunately, not really convinced that any thing good is happening with these shots. The next thing we discussed that might help is 'turning off' some nerves in the knee. Apparently, there are four groups of nerves in the knee, and they would 'disconnect' three of the four. I am not sure that is something I want to consider at this time. Who knows. A trip to the pharmacy to try and get my refills figured out, and then I had the little white car washed. After that, I stopped at two different places looking for impatiens. Not an impatien to be had in the city, so far, and I was told that impatiens are a spring time plant. Whatever. I have now planted eight of the twelve mandevilla that I bought yesterday, and I expect I will get the other four planted tomorrow. I think tomorrow might turn out to be a busy day, too. Stay tuned.

Volume 18 - Day 260/105, 2026 - Thursday

We did not make it to 100 degrees today, so I guess that is a good thing. Not a big difference between that and 98 degrees. After our walk this morning, there was just a couple things to do around the Curious House, and I did spend some time (a couple hours) in the office getting some stuff done. I went to HEB and bought a dozen Mandevilla to replace some things I planted from seed and never did turn out as they were advertised. I am putting the Mandevilla into containers, and I have planted 4 of the 12 so far. There were no Impatiens, so I will look for them tomorrow to supplement the ones I have left that were hit with spider mites. UGH. Every year I say I am going to have less potted plants next year, and every next year, I have MORE potted plants. I had another class of the Citizen's Police Academy tonight, the topic was Drones and Traffic.Pretty interesting. THe photo accompanying this post is of the flags outside the Police Station. I thought they looked interesting, and I think the photo is interesting.

Volume 18 - Day 259/106, 2026 - Wednesday

At my advanced age, I should no longer be expected to remember to take photos to include with these journal entries. After my committee meeting this morning, I had a lovely lunch with Eileen and Holly. I consciously thought about taking a photo shortly before lunch, but left, headed back to the Curious House, with no photo. I did, however, bring home the crispy chicken parts of my club salad, so take a look at the photo, and you will know what I will be having for dinner later in the week! One of our neighbors complained this week about the condition of the community pool, and that there may have been a vandalism event, because there was pool furniture in the pool. The HOA manager response was, and I quote: We have video record of mini cyclone picking up the chairs and blowing them into the pool and one over the fence. This same cyclone deposited a lot of dirt in pool. The dirt is from beside the pool where there is no grass. Was the mini-cyclone reported to our local weather prognosticators? I heard nothing about it, so I looked up the definition on the Googles. A 'mini cyclone' is an informal, non-standard weather term usually used by the public and media to describe a localized, intense wind event, small tornado, or a midget tropical storm. I am not sure about you, but I think the proper term these days would be 'little people tropical storm.'

Volume 18 - Day 258/107, 2026 - Tuesday

Even though I don't have a lot of appointments and tasks anymore, I feel like today was another busy day. I got a few things checked off my list, but not everything. I did another solo walk this morning, and then I met Rick and Bob for our ROMEO breakfast. On the way back to the Curious House, I made stops at Galaxy Bakery (cannolis for Paulina) and then a stop at the Post Office ( it was the day to send my estimated taxes). That was all well and good, but then I took off to send some documents to a law office in Mexico. All was good, EXCEPT I had to go to two different places, because I needed a RFC number to make it through Mexican customs. It is always something. I did get all that done, and then it was time for a nap. Now, I am composing this journal entry, and then it will be an evening of television. Record breaking heat in central Texas today, 103 degrees in Austin. Hopefully we will have some relief in about ten days, I am counting those days! I have an 11 o'clock meeting tomorrow in Austin, and then lunch with Holly and Eileen. Overall, I remain, a really, REALLY lucky man. I'm not sure how I worked everything out to be as lucky as I am! Oh yeah, and apparently it is becoming frog season at the Curious House. I think they are coming around the house more due to the lack of rain. Needless to say, they are interesting, and the girls are fascinated by them.

Volume 18 - Day 257/108, 2026 - Monday

I did a nice solo walk this morning, and I will walk solo again tomorrow morning. Whenever I pass by this tree, I think of Jody. This was going to be the 'Jody Tree,' but the developers kept putting me off about it, but things worked out for the best, anyway. I was going to buy the house to the right of the tree, and the lot the tree was on, but apparently it was not meant to be. I always liked the Curious House better, so it all worked out. SO... other than the walk this morning, I did very little of anything today. Tomorrow, I will walk and then gather for the ROMEO Breakfast, and then stop at Galaxy Bakery for scones and cannoli. Wednesday, I will go in to Austin for a meeting, and then lunch with Eileen and Holly. A week from today, the weather forecast says the high temperature will be 88 degrees. Bring it on!

Volume 18 - Day 256/109, 2026 - Sunday

Sundays are good for some things, but Dr. Google does not know what Sundays are good for. Check it out for yourself. I walked this morning, and after that, I did very little of anything. Val and I went to two estate sales late this morning, Val bought nothing, I spent one dollar. Then it was time for a nap (or two) and later in the afternoon, Paulina called and I rode with them to HEB and the storage place. I got bananas and oranges, that was the only thing I could think of from HEB. More heat, no rain, it is getting ridiculous. The sprinklers run twice, two days a week, and that is just going to have to do. I water potted plants, front and back, every day, so they are holding up well. This week coming, I should do laundry this week and I should vacuum, but, who knows. There is nothing critical on my calendar for this week, but I will be having lunch with Holly and Eileen on Wednesday, after a TREPAC meeting. Otherwise, we have clouds all around us, but no rain. There were a few drops on the windshield, noting worth getting excited about, and nothing at the Curious House. Dangit!

Volume 18 - Day 255/110, 2026 - Saturday

To be clear, it is 10:47PM, and I am just starting this journal entry. We'll see how this turns out. After our walk this morning, I got back to the Curious House, sat in front of the computer for a while, and had a banana and a bowl of cereal. At 9:30, Linda and Paulina and I left for the estate sales. There were four sales, and they were all either very proud of their goods or lousy. I bought two things, and they are both still out in the garage. After the sales, I went down for a nap, and that was what I did for most of the afternoon. At about six o'clock, I put on a pair of very uncomfortable penny loafers and Paulina and I went in to Austin to attend the Opening Night of the fourth season of ATX Chamber Music and Jazz, at the Mansion on San Gabriel. My friend Nicole gave me tickets and I was a really fun evening. Always go for the new experience. Tomorrow, Val and I will hit a couple estate sales, and maybe I will see what I overlooked today. Who knows?

Volume 18 - Day 254/111, 2026 - Friday

I have shared this many, many times over the past 25 years. In the week leading up to 9/11, Jody and I were traveling from Montreal to Portland, Maine. Jody was driving and I was riding my bike, having raised money for AIDS research. It was my last seven day ride, and it was great. Jody and I left the jetport in Portland, Maine on September 10th, and the terrorists left the jetport in Portland, Maine on September 11th. I believe that the lives of every person on the planet changed that day, and none of us will ever be the same. I remember there was no laughing for months after that, and I also remember watching a television comedy show months later, and I laughed out loud. It had been months of no laughing, and I very clearly remember the day that I thought it was okay to laugh again. Today was again a busy day, I walked with Paul, and then I got ready to head south. I needed to do several things in Austin, so I left the Curious House before 9 o'clock, picked up a prescription, got a shot in my knee (number 4), and spent a few hours at the Secretary of State's office, getting some documents Apostille'd about the condo in Playa. On the way home, I stopped at HEB and got bird seed, some flavored sparkling water (I am trying to cut down on the Diet Cokes) and some hard boiled eggs. That is a testament to how lazy I am. Tomorrow will be estate sales, and tomorrow evening Paulina and I are going to a chamber music and jazz concert at The Mansion in Austin. Bottom line: I will be out AFTER DARK tomorrow night. You have been warned!

Volume 18 - Day 253/112, 2026 - Thursday

Hopefully, I will be able to upload a photo to this journal entry. If there is no photo, you will know that it still didn't work. If it does, I will try to edit the entry from yesterday, time will tell. It was a pretty busy day, I left the Curious House a few minutes before 8 to make it to my 9 o'clock appointment in Leander. It was a REALTOR® caravan to introduce properties to our colleagues. There were seven properties on the caravan, we were number three. I got back to the Curious House at EXACTLY 1PM, and did not do too much until I got ready to go to my second Citizens Police Academy class. Tonight was about SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics). There was a lot of history about these groups, but the part that interested me the most was about the 'gadgets' that are used during the course of their jobs. Very interesting. Tomorrow will be another kind of busy day, and it is not time to see if I can upload a photo to this entry. Well, it kind of worked...the hard way!

Volume 18 - Day 252/113, 2026 - Wednesday

I am not sure why, but the program won't let me add a photo to this post. Your loss! Edit, it is now the next day, and here is the photo planned for the entry.

Every now and then, I determine that, maybe I should have read the directions first, but, what the hell? I walked with Paul this morning, and then I was getting ready for my doctors appointment at 10AM. I got to the office in plenty of time, and I guess everything is okay, they let me loose. I now had another appointment for another 'nuclear stress test' in October. I don't think too much negative stuff will be determined at that test, and so I go forward, feeling pretty good for an old guy. I did not do much for the rest of the day, and PV and I went to Walburg for dinner tonight. It was really, REALLY good, not the buffet, but REALLY good, and I brought at least half of my dinner home for another day. I have a 9 o'clock appointment in Cedar Park tomorrow, which means I will need to leave the Curious not later than 8, but I will know better tomorrow after I map it out. Tomorrow night I will go to my second Citizen's Police Academy class, SWAT is the subject, and I am looking forward to that.

Volume 18 - Day 251/114, 2026 - Tuesday

The photo accompanying this post was taken 16 years ago today, when Jody and I were living at the farm. Full tank. The day before this photo was taken, there was not a drop of water in that tank, which just goes to prove that one good rain can make a lot of good things happen in central Texas. Paul and I walked this morning, and Rick and I had a ROMEO breakfast. After breakfast, I stopped at Galaxy Bakery. I got two scones for me and one scone for Paulina. I had a couple errands to take care of in Austin, so that was my next stop, and after getting back to the Curious House, I made a trip to the bank. Nothing unusual about my day. I bought something I saw on Facebook and it was delivered today. Now, I feel like a total idiot for spending the money, I will return the item and work on a refund to the credit card. It looks so good on Facebook, too. Ugh. I have an appointment at the cardiologist tomorrow morning, and tomorrow night I am going to Walburg for dinner, and I am looking forward to that. Every day in the seven day forecast predicts a temperature at or above 100 degrees. I am getting more and more weary of the hot temperatures. The average last day for 100 degree temperatures in central Texas is the 18th day of August. DUH!

Volume 18 - Day 250/115, 2026 - Labor Day Monday

Between thoughts while composing this journal entry, I expect I will be making trips to the kitchen for a spoonful of ice cream. I slept very nicely last night, for which I am glad, and I even slept a little bit late, I did not crawl out of the bed until 5:45. I got everything watered, front and back, before our walk, and after the walk, Paulina came over just for a few minutes. She said she was working on making my trip itinerary easier to navigate, and when she sent it to me, it included the header that is the photo included in this entry. Very cool! She is a genius! I took a nap, got myself up and went to HEB, bought some necessary things; milk, bread, turkey cranberry salad, flavored waters, and sugar. I need the sugar to keep the hummingbirds happy. Once home, it was time for another nap, and then dinner. The girls had their usuals, and I had pork ribs. Very good. I got the ribs on Saturday, and this was the first chance I have had to try them. This will be a pretty easy week, I have appointments on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, but those will be easily accomplished. Interestingly last night, the local NextDoor divas cannot tell the difference between gunshots and fireworks, so I can hardly wait for the crap to start tonight.

Volume 18 - Day 249/116, 2026 - Sunday

Friday night, following my knee shot, my knee was hurting so badly that I did not think I would be able to walk when I woke up on Saturday morning. Last night, while I was spending time looking at crap on my phone, I kept seeing things about extra-special knee braces and different ways of lessening knee pain, short of knee replacement. I also watched a video of knee replacement surgery. Watching the knee brace videos made me think that I should (once again) try the knee sleeve (I have three of them) that I bought months ago. Almost immediately I had relief from the constant pain, and I was able to have a good nights sleep. Yay, me! Paul and I walked this morning, and about 9:30, Paulina came over, and we booked train trips for my trip to Spain in November. All we need now is to book guides and a few other things, and I will be set. This afternoon, Paulina and I went to Temple to have frozen yogurt at GOGO'S Treatery in Temple. Devin and William were both there, and we had fun eating, talking and just having fun. We both brought cupcakes home, so we are making that trip about once a month now. I had planned to make a trip to HEB today, but there is always tomorrow. I took off the knee sleeve a few minutes ago, I will see how I do overnight, but I expect I will wear it for a while. There was rain around us today, but nothing at the Curious House. Me, Paulina, William and Devin.

Volume 18 - Day 248/117, 2026 - Saturday

Ever since I got the shot in my knee yesterday, it has been hurting. Did I mention that when the doctor gave me the injection, I screamed like a 13 year old girl in junior high. Well, I did. It was like he poked something that shouldn't have been poked. Overnight, I did not sleep well, because my leg was hurting, and when I got out of bed this morning, I didn't know if I would be able to walk or not. But...I did my morning walk, and I am not going to give in to the hurt, Val and I drove 45 minutes to an estate sale this morning (there were no sales in Sun City), and I walked away with a few things, Val got nothing. That was my cue to take a nap. I ordered three rack of ribs yesterday, they are having a sale for Labor Day, and I took one over to VP, and I have two in the refrigerator. I am going to (maybe) do something I have never done, put one rack of the ribs in the freezer. That usually spells doom for anything I put in the freezer, except ice cream. Tomorrow, I think Paulina is coming over and we are going to make the final arrangements for me going to Paris, Barcelona, Malaga, Morocco and London in November. There are some pretty good train rides in the trip, so that should be a lot of fun. I'm itching to travel somewhere. I can always depend on the girls to have good ideas, and the three of us spent some time napping.

Volume 18 - Day 247/118, 2026 - Friday

OMG! I had a series of first world problems today, but I really understand that I am a very lucky person. I had the day planned from 9AM until about 4:30PM, and as it turned out, I got back to the Curious House about 3:30. I have always liked finding an extra hour in my day for me. PV kept the girls while I went about my chores, and I got to my first appointment about a half-hour early. The photo accompanying this was from a rain shower on my way to the knee pain doctor. I was called in, had my blood pressure, temperature and heart rate checked, and then they forgot about me. The lights in the room went out after about ten minutes, and I decided to just go with it. They finally came in to give me the injection about 30 minutes after the lights went out. The last time I was forgotten about in a medical facility included a CAT scan and I was the last appointment of the day. It was interesting. Plans for lunch with Eileen and Holly did not work out, so I went to what I thought was going to be my 3:30 appointment, and I got to my 1:30 appointment at about 12:15. I sat in the car, took a nap, listened to the current book (I don't recommend it), and my alarm went off at 1:20. I got that done, and headed back to the Curious House. I expected we got nothing but a trace of rain in Georgetown, and I checked the gauge; 1/100th of an inch. It's Friday night, I have finished dinner and I am about to finish this journal entry, and I think it is time for a couple naps. 

Volume 18 - Day 246/119, 2026 - Thursday

The same damn song has been making me sing it in my head, all day long. The Birds & the Bees by Jewel Akens. I think it was the pick of the week on SHINDIG in 1965. FACT: Songs get stuck in your head, a phenomenon known as an earworm or involuntary musical imagery, because catchy melodies trigger brain loops that keep replaying patterns of sound. Whatever. I did next to nothing today; I trimmed some limbs off the maple tree at the front patio, I DID NOT put to garbage out for collection since there was next to nothing in the can, I watered very little since the sprinklers ran last night, and we had 0.22" of rain yesterday afternoon. At about 5:45, I went to my first Civilian Police Academy, which was very interesting. The Georgetown Police Chief was the instructor for this first class, then there was a tour of the facility. Overall, the facility is pretty impressive, and I had no idea there was so much stuff in that HQ building. The only problem was the class ran 45 minutes longer than expected, and the girls did not like that at all, which is code for 'they are gonna pee in the closet.' They are not pleased when I leave in the evenings, it is what it is. The photo accompanying this entry is one of the police training dummies, 155 pounds of dummy. I'm choosing NOT to drag a dummy anywhere!

Volume 18 - Day 245/120, 2026 - Wednesday

The girls were a little bit pissed off by the time I got home this afternoon. It was kind of like a day in the 'old days,' I left the Curious House before nine and I did not get back until about 4:30. After the morning walk, I headed in to Austin for our monthly meeting. After that, I stopped by the pharmacy, and then my next appointment was out by Lake Travis. I had about an hour-and-a-half before that appointment, so I wandered around a little bit. It was kind of nostalgic, although I had not intended it to be. I went down 2222, which was the route I took in 1985 and decided I was happy with Austin. It is a very nice drive, especially for someone that had just moved here. That took me to Jester, where Jody and I lived for a while when we first got together. The house brings back lots of memories, and the tree I planted in the front yard is really big and healthy looking. The photo accompanying this post is on the way down Jester to 2222. The view of the city from there was always worth looking at. I stalled until about 1:50 and could not think of anywhere else I needed to wander, so I got to our clients home, and Maggie met me about five minutes later. It was an interesting afternoon, glad to be back at the Curious House, and glad to report that we got a little rain shower, and there is about 2/10" in the gauge. We will take it, but that is not enough for me to turn off the sprinklers. 

Volume 18 - Day 244/121, 2026 - Tuesday

I had a solo walk this morning, and I just walk kind of 'freestyle' when I walk by myself. I got home and fed the girls, the Piglet still has a couple medicines she is taking, and that will go on for another couple days. Being the first of the month, they also got their monthly pill to keep heart worms and other things away. They don't much mind because I camouflage the pills in the little red baby cheeses. They know when the first of the month is here. Bob and I met for the ROMEO breakfast, and I left from there to Galaxy Bakery to pick up my weekly scones. I asked them if I didn't show up on Tuesday morning, would they call the Police, and I was disappointed with their answer. On the way back to the Curious House, I took the little white car to the dealer for a car wash, it has been MONTHS since I got the little white car washed. It wont be long before I have to take it in for service, and that will be kind of extreme! I did very little of anything after I got home, but this afternoon, I vacuumed (honest!), and did a few more things around the house. Tomorrow I have a couple appointments; two in Austin, one out by Lake Travis. I am getting tired of complaining about no rain, so I won't. It has been a while since I shared cloud photos, and I think the clouds were extra nice today.