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.

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.