Volume 12 - Day 159/207, 2020 - Sunday

I had four or five bursts of energy today. I got four cabinets cleaned out and the office closet. I wanted to hang pictures in the office and get the grass cut in the dog yard, but that did not happen. I did get the chicken coop cleaned, and laundry is in the dryer right now. I vacuumed. I think I have vacuumed more in the last three weeks than I ever have. I like vacuuming, always have, but enough is enough! I had the bright idea of going to Ikea this morning. I got in line at 11:25, and I was in the store by about 11:45. I bought a rug for the bedroom closet, and some miscellaneous stuff. I went to CVS for a couple things, the to Home Depot and the office supply store. I will be going in to Austin on Tuesday, and on the way home I will stop at Tractor Supply and HEB. I have get the refrigerator pretty well cleaned out, and I am thinking I will keep the refrigerated foods down to a minimum. I think, for me, canned dinners is really the way to go. Or those microwave ones that can just live on the shelf until you zap them. I really think that is my future. Or carry-out. I stopped at Fire Bowl last week after I got my hair cut, and got a carry out of sesame chicken. Those things can last me for at least two dinners, so that is good. Tomorrow I will be taking an all-day on-line real estate class, and I may or may not be wearing pants. I do not think there is any extra credit for wearing pants, so why bother?

Volume 12 - Day 158/208, 2020 - Saturday

Apparently, today was the best day to fix one of the turbines that failed about a month ago. A bearing went out. The three guys left Weatherford at 4 o'clock this morning, and got here about 7:30. I did have on pants. The turbines have been here for about eleven years. The bearings in one of them went out about five years ago, and now this one. That's two for two. The challenge is, I do not need more yard art, so they need to produce to keep their place on the property. They were here for about three hours, and then I got ready and went in to Austin. I went by the open house that Maggie and Benson were doing, and it was pretty good, nine sets of visitors. After that, I went by the office and then did some errands and got home about 3:30. Leaving the office on the way home, I was struck with the different faces on Austin citizenry close to City Hall; there were protesters and homeless. I saw nothing in between. I saw no police, not another representation of the Austin population. Protesters and homeless. It was kind of thought provoking. After I got home, I took a nap, fed the girls and myself, watched some news and a state wide political debate (my mind was already made up), and then went outside and watered plants. When I hit 'publish,' I am going to go out into the backyard with the girls.

Volume 12 - Day 157/209, 2020 - Friday

Everybody in the house got their hairs cut today. Everybody is me and the girls. It started pretty early, the girls needed to be at the beautiful parlor at 8, then there was a zoom meeting, then I went back to get the girls, then two more zooms, then I went in to Round Rock to get my hairs cut. I had no idea how therapeutic a hair cut could be. My main squeeze (Johnna) and I also get into some trash talk while I am sitting in the chair, and today was no exception, EXCEPT that we had about three months of trash talk to catch up on. I chose a photo for this journal entry that would reflect the conversation we had (public domain), but I decided that, if I used a photo to represent our talk, I would have to apologize to at least 85% of the world's population. Probably just not worth the effort, but it would be a distraction from all the other crap that we are contending with on a daily basis. Suffice it to say, I went BACK to the public domain photos and searched for 'oddities,' and this is the first thing that caught my attention, AND was generally acceptable in a family oriented web journal. If you want to see the other photo, you can private message me, and I will consider informing you. Probably not though. I have an appointment at the house tomorrow between 7:30 and 8 in the morning. Then maybe a quick trip in to Austin to take care of a couple chores, than back home. No big plans for Sunday, but next week is pretty well booked up...

Volume 12 - Day 156/210, 2020 - Thursday

When Holly was the ABoR TREPAC Chair, she brought the committee little pots of clover in honor of St. Patrick's day. That little plant has had its' ups and downs, but it is truly resilient, and it bounces back from everything I can hand it. I thought it was a goner earlier this year, due to nothing else but my inattention. BUT, a little water, getting some sun and temperatures above freezing, and it is saying there is still a lot of life in me. It has really delicate little white blooms most of the season, and delicate and resilient really does describe this little green plant. And Holly, too! From the office window, I can see an orange lump in the grass, up towards the road. I walked out onto the porch, and checked it out with a pair of binoculars (a couple pairs here and there, placed strategically), and determined that it was Barney. I walked closer towards the road, called his name, and he lifted his head to see what all the fuss was about. I guess he is just taking a rest before prowling time gets going. The girls are going to the beautiful parlor tomorrow morning, the first time in MONTHS. I pretty much know what the photo will be that accompanies tomorrows journal entry.

Volume 12 - Day 155/211, 2020 -Wednesday

Today was a most exceptional day, because I was home all day, alone. By myself. It was lovely. No construction people, nobody but me and the girls. I worked off and on with getting things put back in their proper places, and putting some things in places they are not supposed to be. My big plan for the den is not working, so I am back to square one with that. One of the better things I did today, was to re-arrange the home office. The second time in two days. I think I am about to get it right, and am working on fine tuning some things, but overall, I am pretty happy with the way it is working out. AND, I am getting to spread out as well, so that is always important. Room...I need room to spread out! The extra trash containers are working out very nicely. I have filled one up already, and have started filling up a second one. I think I can easily get all four of them filled up in time to take them up to the road on Sunday night. I almost forgot about a zoom meeting this afternoon, with REALTOR® colleagues from across Texas with Congressman Michael McCaul. I have met him several times, both in Austin and in DC. He is a nice guy, always open to working with us, and open to new ideas during this particular time in our history. It is, if nothing else, a very interesting time in our history!

Volume 12 - Day 154/212, 2020 - Tuesday

Day two of the floor install. Mostly done, except for a few (maybe 6, max) trim pieces. Why can't they got (or at least order) the trim pieces when the order the flooring? SO...they have to come back at some point and install the trim pieces. Oh, and there was ANOTHER leak, this time in the laundry room, but the plumber got here and took care of it, so now I am TOTALLY freaked out that the whole place is on self-destruct. Not really, I am just tired of all the stuff. I got up really early this morning (4AM) so I could finish getting everything packed, and I am just about to go in to shut down mode. Tonight is wine night, so that will be just the catalyst I need to crawl in to the bed. It was a nice day, pretty clouds, no real breeze, and in the 80s with really high humidity. None of the forecast rains have appeared, so now we are putting all our money on the disturbance in the Gulf. It needs to turn west a little bit, just enough to bring us some rain and not do any damage.

Volume 12 - Day 153/213, 2020 - Monday

With no intent of whining or trying to get people to feel sorry for me, I think this picture perfectly captures what I have been experiencing for about the last six or seven weeks...it all started on April 9th, and I think it will continue for another couple weeks, but once it is all over with, it had damn sure better all be worth it. The floors were put in to most of the back side of the house today. They have not done the laundry room, they have done the kitchen, office and hallway in the front side of the house...they have made the tiniest of progress in the living room, and tomorrow, bright and early, they will be here to do the laundry, living room, dining room, the master bedroom and the closet there. Then it will be done except for the unpacking. I still have to pack up some stuff in the living room and the bedroom, but honestly, I just can't get motivated to do it tonight. It will just have to wait until tomorrow, and that will be okay. Parts of life went forward today. I had one zoom meeting, and I went into Georgetown to get a water filter for the refrigerator. We have never used the ice maker in the refrigerator, but I thought I would give it a try and see if it works.I'll report back on that tomorrow. Can you believe it is June already? Me either!