Volume 15 - Day 195/170, 2023 - Friday

I have begrudgingly turned the lawn sprinklers off. This afternoon, it was announced that we are now in a 'Stage 3' watering restriction. No outdoor watering. This is only effective for the next three days, which means my yard will not have any water for at least two weeks. UGH. I understand that we are in a drought, but it is still difficult to try and do what is needed, knowing full well that it will be ignored by many of my neighbors. Case in point: There was a grass fire on IH-35 this afternoon, and the fire department was busy dousing the flames with WATER. That is not my original sarcastic thought, but I told the person that said it that I would not give them credit for the sarcasm. It is still hot, but we are still luckier than most people in the world. They opened a new Costco in Georgetown today, and we had to (of course we did) go check it out on opening day. I don't think it was really any more congested than any other day at Costco, but the parking lot was full. Then we went in to Georgetown for dinner at Jimmie Vegas' Smokehouse, one of my favorite new bar-b-cue places in the area. Very good. I don't have a whole lot of stuff planned for the weekend, and I like that just fine.

Volume 15 - Day 194/171, 2023 - Thursday

It is hot, I have no recollection of exactly how hot it was today, but take my word for it, it was hot. No rain in the forecasts for the next two weeks. We shall survive (I am pretty sure), but it will be close. Sadly, I attended Pauline's service this morning, and saw a few old friends, and it was an interesting drive out there. There is a LOT of development going on, but civilization has yet to begin encroaching on the Estate at the Edge of Nowhere. There is a lot of stuff happening close to Walburg, but the farm is still much as it was when we lived there. If you squint your eyes at this photo, you might be able to see the porch and right corner of the house. I got in to the office at about noon, and there was plenty of stuff to get done. We did order pizza though, so that was good. The pizza. That was good. Tomorrow will be another busy day, and I think I will probably be showing property again on Saturday. Dinner with Val, Paulina and Oliver is booked for Sunday night, and otherwise, the most important thing on my list for the weekend is to try and remain cool. 

Volume 15 - Day 193/172, 2023 - Wednesday

This journal is becoming somewhat repetitive, but the really big news continues to be the heat. Today, the high temperature in both Austin and Georgetown was 108 degrees, and that is in the shade. The local weather guy just reported that it is 'absurdly hot.' That is actually a pretty good description! If you can find shade. My handy dandy electronic weather center shows a little bit over 117 degrees. I know that is not official, but it is hot. Other than the heat, today was a pretty good day. A good walk this morning, and then I headed in to Austin to attend a Legislative update at the Austin Board of REALTORS®. Lots of good information shared, a well done overview. Julia and Seth from Texas REALTORS® and Bill (the other Bill) and Taylor from ABoR. If you are looking for me tomorrow, late morning and early afternoon, I will be the guy sitting by himself in the furthest back pew at St. John Lutheran in Bartlett. Pauline, our former neighbor when we were living at the farm, passed away over the weekend. Pauline used to shower us with cookies and kindness, and I only saw her once or twice since I moved to the Curious House. I will be there to pay my respects, and to give Hubert a hug.

Volume 15 - Day 192/173, 2023 - Tuesday

I didn't make it to the ROMEO breakfast this morning, because I had a zoom class scheduled for 8:30 in the morning, followed by another class at 1 o'clock this afternoon. I would have preferred my usual Trifecta (plain pancake, two eggs over easy and two strips of bacon), but I got the classes done, and I don't have to worry about that for another two years. The tough part is sitting down for eight hours, and not being distracted. Another distraction was, I had to remember to be careful how I moved around, since I was not wearing any pants. The whole thing got done without a hitch, and all is good. I did clean and refill the other two humming bird feeders out in the back porch, and today I saw three hummers at the same time. Prior to this, I had only seen single hummers hanging around out back. It is still really hot, and it is taking a toll on the morning glories. I will need to hand water them tomorrow morning before I head to the office. No relief from the heat, and no rain in sight, but we are doing better than many areas of the country...no flooding, no houses sliding down into canyons...just take it one day at a time.

Volume 15 - Day 191/174, 2023 - Monday

Today was a bunch of Mondays, all wrapped into one. It started off well enough, a nice walk with Peter and Paul. Then in to the office, where it was pretty hectic. I admit that my tolerance for hectic days in the office is greatly reduced, so it might have been just another ordinary day in the office. I got home about 3:30, and I had a few things to do, and then I headed out to dinner with Jimmie and Linda. We went to a place in Austin called Bon Air, in north Austin, and I had never heard of the place. I had a half-dozen peel & eat 'em shrimp at 39 cents each, and a brat wurst, and fries. All very good, the shrimp were great, and I will be back again. While we were there, another neighbor (Yo, pronounced Jo) called and said she made banana nut bread, and had a loaf for me. SO...I had a great day of neighbors being kind and thoughtful, and it just goes to reinforce what I say very often, I am a lucky man! I will be home all day tomorrow, I am taking two on-line classes, so it will be a day of no pants. Perfect!

Volume 15 - Day 190/175, 2023 - Sunday

Well, well, well...Caesalpinia pulcherrima is a species of flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. It could be native to the West Indies,^[3] but its exact origin is unknown due to widespread cultivation.^[2] Common names for this species include poinciana, peacock flower, red bird of paradise, Mexican bird of paradise, dwarf poinciana, pride of Barbados, flos pavonis, and flamboyant-de-jardin.^{[citation needed]} The Hawaiian name for this plant is ʻohai aliʻi.^[4] I had a couple spurts of energy today, and one of the things on my list was to do a little bit of weeding, and to take a 'volunteer' Pride of Barbados out of the giant pot of Tradescantia Zebrina (google it) on the front patio, and transplant it into one of the garden beds. Nope, it would not allow itself to be removed, so I went on to plan B. I had a couple errands to run this morning, one of which was to stop at HEB, and there, lo and behold, were one gallon pots of Pride of Barbados. Six buck a piece. I got four of them, and will put them in the ground after the sun goes down tonight. I won't bore you with the discussion of being overcharged for the plants, then thinking I had been undercharged, then figuring out I had, at last glance, been overcharged 97 cents, and by then it was worth 97 cents just to get out of the HEB. If all goes well, they will grow well for the rest of the summer, and winter over to be even better next year!

Volume 15 - Day 189/176, 2023 - Saturday

My love affair with peaches is over. I am sure it was more than an infatuation, it was true love. Peaches have been disappointing me for the past several years, and I am not going to put up with it anymore. On my way to show homes this morning, after the walk (it was just me and Jack), I stopped at a roadside stand that was advertising HILL COUNTRY PEACHES, and in smaller print, it said Fredericksburg Peaches. I asked the mad if they were really Fredericksburg peaches, and he assured me they were, even went so far as to tell me the particular farm at which they were picked. As if I know the names of any peach farms in Fredericksburg. I shared the peaches with my clients, and this evening, I tried one. Nothing. No flavor. No peach taste. I AM DONE. I finished my audible book this afternoon, and I enjoyed it a lot. Night Will Find You. Very good. I will start me book club selection sometime next week, Save What's Left. I'm back...I had to go get some sheets out of the dryer and fold them before they got all wrinkly. I've got one more load of laundry going, and then I think that will be it for the day. I have watered stuff in the front and back, and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff around the Curious House. I have not even bothered to make a chore list for this weekend. Just playing it as it goes. Not sure yet what tomorrow might bring, we shall see.