Volume 16 - Day 335/31, 2024 - Saturday

Did I mention that I turned the heat on last night? I turned the heat on last night. Just to keep the chill off. It was 37 degrees when we left for our walk this morning, but it was not bad when the sun finally got up. Richard was feeling a little stuffy, so he did half a walk. Paul started late, but he caught up with us, and we solved several of the worlds problems. There was a very nice sunrise this morning, as you can see from the photo accompanying this entry.Steve and Melinda (my friends in Longview) sent me a Little Debbie's Pyramid of cakes and muffins, I am pretty well set for the rest of the year. I did a little bit of this-and-that before I headed off for estate sales. I was solo this morning, and I have to admit, nothing was missed by everyone that did not go. There were three sales, and I did not buy anything, and I did not even see anything that I considered buying. It was not a good day for estate sales. Val and Oliver got back from Las Cruces this afternoon, and they stopped by on their way home. I still have some chicken and mashed potatoes, enough for about a half meal tomorrow. I have an appointment at the blood bank tomorrow, just to shake it up a little bit, and see what goes on over the weekends. My usual day for donating is Fridays, but it will be interesting tomorrow. Here is something you may never have expected to hear me say...I am watching the Texas/TAMU game on tv, and so far, so good. It is interesting that Texas has a pretty good team this year, that has taken me by surprise. From the comments on Facebook, not too many people care for the Aggie coach. Hmmm.

Volume 16 - Day 334/32, 2024 - Friday

Honestly, there were a few unexpected things happening today. Everything started out as usual, Richard was not feeling too great, so the walk was me and Paul. After I fed the girls and had some cereal, we all get in the big chair and took a nap. I got all stirred up and did a few things around the house. With the cooler weather, there is not a lot of stuff to do outside, so that is always welcome. After a while, I did get up and go to HEB, where I was not accosted by any pregnant women. That is a definite relief. As I was getting home from the grocery, Alisha texted me that someone she knew that sold her a car was now working for a VW dealer in Waco and they had ONE Buzz that was available. SO...I called Marian to see if she thought Ronnie wanted to drive to Waco with me to look at it, and he did. We got there at about 5:30, and the Buzz is REALLY a neat vehicle. I was close, but in the end, we could not meet anywhere on the trade in, so we drove home. If it was meant to be, and all that stuff. I expect it might happen, but who knows. For sure, I don't. There are two estate sales tomorrow, and after that, I am not too sure what I will be doing. I am threatening to turn the heat on in the house, it was 37 degrees outside this morning, but about 65 degrees in the house. It is forecast to be a little bit cooler tomorrow morning, but I still haven't turned the heat on. Whatever.

Volume 16 - Day 333/33, 2024 - Thursday...Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving everyone, I hope you had a great day. I did. I did just what I wanted to do, and it was great. We started with a nice walk, and then after I fed the girls, I went down for a nap. I got up after a while, and did some more of my personal accounting stuff, getting everything ready for filing my taxes next year. After a while, I got up and took a lock box off one property, put a sign up in front of another property, and went in to the office for a little while, and got everything that was on my desk OFF my desk. I am ready for Monday. Once I got back home, I finished putting all my 2024 stuff on my spread sheet, and that is a nice feeling of accomplishment. My Thanksgiving dinner was great; Carrie brought (on Tuesday) me a chicken breast in rice and some mashed potatoes. I actually heated up the chicken breast in the little oven (not the real oven) and cooked some alternative mashed potatoes on the stove. Boiled water, butter and milk in a sauce pan and everything. I cannot remember the last time I used the stove, but I think today was an culinary accomplishment. Plus, I have leftovers for another day or two. It will be cold tomorrow morning for our walk, maybe in the high 30s, and I hope to dress accordingly. I also need to go to the grocery (I am leery of pregnant women), and I may stop by the VW dealer in Georgetown. I thought I was going to creep around the dealership on my way home this afternoon, but they had all the driveways blocked, so there was no creeping. Enjoy the rest of your long weekend!

Volume 16 - Day 332/34, 2024 - Wednesday

The things I did today, the day before Thanksgiving.

 1. I could not sleep, so I was up at 5AM.

 2. Wound a set clocks, this is a Wednesday and Saturday thing.

 3. Took a nice walk with Dick and Paul. It was warm enough that only a light jacket was needed.

 4. Fed the girls, and I ate an Apple Fritter, the fritter was bought six days ago, but it was still good.

 5. I got two months worth of prep for my 2024 taxes done. I may do more later.

 6. I went to HEB and was assaulted by a large (tall) pregnant woman. HEB Security did not arrest either one of us.

 7. I took a nap.

 8. I visited a property and removed the sign and lock box.

 9. I reviewed a lease application and talked with the Landlord to get the applicant approved.

10. I talked with the applicant and let them know they were approved.

11. I went to the bank.

12. I took the photo of the sunset and clouds that is accompanying this entry.

13. I fed the girls, again.

14. I put a chicken pot pie in the oven (not the big one), and am waiting for it to be done.

14. I cannot predict the future, so I don't have any idea what I might do to fill up the rest of the evening.

That is it for now...

Volume 16 - Day 331/35, 2024 - Tuesday

Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place turkey in shallow pan. Bake for one hour. I am pretty sure I learned my lesson four years ago, and I won't be baking anything (period) in the foreseeable future. I have used the oven at the Curious House two or three times. Just not something that is important to me. I am pretty sure that everything I need to eat comes ready-made or served at a Restaurant. Today, Carrie brought me some pre-packaged stuff for Thanksgiving. Apple Tarts, Chicken (they didn't have turkey), dressing, mashed potatoes, and potato chips (my request) from Trader Joe's. I am all set and ready to do nothing. Since I am not going in to the office tomorrow, this is the eve of a five-day weekend. I am ready. It was a quiet day in the office today, and it should be quiet for the rest of this month. Incredible to think that next week will be December, and the year is almost over. It has been a good year, so I am ready to start a new one. I plan to get financial stuff ready for my 2024 income tax over the long weekend, that always gives me a sense of accomplishment. It is cold in the house right now...okay, chilly. We did not get out of the 60s today, going to be 80 tomorrow, and then another cold front or two. I wish the weather would make up its' mind. 

Volume 16 - Day 330/36, 2024 - Monday

It was 84 degrees in central Texas today, it is 52 degrees right now, supposed to drop another 10 degrees overnight, and the high temperature for tomorrow is forecast to be 68 degrees. 85 degrees forecast for Wednesday, and then we don't get out of the 60s for the rest of the seven day forecast. That's why you always carry a sweater or a light jacket in the fake fall. Maybe starting Thursday, it will be real fall. Not sure. However, this is the weather we really like, especially when you are tired of the hundred degree days. We had a nice walk this morning, I expect we will be bundled up again tomorrow morning. I took the white car in for more service this morning, and I picked it up after 5:30 this afternoon. Now, I can't get the radio to play for more than 7 seconds. Why do service people insist on pushing buttons when they have cars in? Why do they need to move the seats? WHY! Now, I will be back tomorrow to find out what button they pushed and get the radio back to normal. Ugh. Otherwise, today was a pretty good day, I have a 10 o'clock appointment tomorrow, and then I have to run some errands in the afternoon. Overall, I am looking forward to the long Holiday weekend. I have not found any turkey dinners that I want to order, so I think I will go to HEB on Wednesday and see what they have in their ready-to-eat meals. I am okay hanging with myself for the weekend, it will be calm and quiet, and I expect there will be some naps involved. I will probably post a few more photos of the morning glories, I expect we will have a frost in the next couple of weeks, and that will be it for them. Enjoy.

Volume 16 - Day 329/37, 2024 - Sunday

It was an in-between day for our walk this morning. Not too cold, not too warm, kind of just right. I started out with a fleece jacket, and I took it off about half-way through the walk. Once I got home, I watched CBS This Morning, took a nap, pulled some weeds, trimmed some plants, pulled some more weeds, went to Costco, sent a couple text messages to a prospective tenant, pulled some more weeds and took another nap. I was showing a property virtually this afternoon, and that was a first for me. The client is in Washington State, and it was fun. It was a pretty good drive to and from, but it was okay. I was a little retentive because of the time difference, but it worked out just fine. I got home and took ANOTHER nap, and then went to get Val and Paulina and we went to dinner at Urban Eat. Drink. Tomorrow morning, I am taking the little white car in for MORE service, and I should have a loaner so I don't have to hang around. The coming week is short and sweet, and that is just fine for me. I will get some book-work done during the long weekend, already trying to get ready for next years taxes. I was much happier with my Wordle results this morning, and that is more in line with my results. The forecast high is 85 on Monday, and 68 on Tuesday. Interesting.