Day 1519

We got up about 8:15.  After pet stuff and breakfast we surfed.  It was another cold morning - 38 degrees.  We surfed for about 2 hours and then I took Ellen's art box to the garage so I could put the wheels on it.

I started working on the wheels and John came out to talk.  They had been working on the phone antenna in the morning.  They had re-positioned the interior antenna and got it to work a little better.  We decided to reaim the outdoor antenna a little.  John did that and we then had a signal that would support streaming on three phones.

We decided to mount the interior antenna in the garage.  After that things worked, but they were a little variable.  We decided to leave it alone for today and just see how it operated for awhile.  Eventually we'll get it dialed in.

Ellen and Melissa wanted to got to Central market.  We stopped at a beauty shop along the way to get hair color for Melissa.  Central Market was packed.  There was almost no place to park.  We got food for dinner tonight.  We stopped at the post office and Tomlinson's on the way home.  Tomlinson's had a half off sale on dog cookies, so we bought some for both dogs.

We had lunch when we got home.  It was leftovers again.  After that it was surfing and talking.  I took the dog to the mailbox before dinner.  She wasn't a spry as yesterday. 

Dinner was lobster brisk and mahi-mahi.  It was really good.  It was alos a break from leftovers.

After dinner Ellen and Melissa sewed while John and I watched car shows.  John and Melissa timed out at 10.  I'm not sure we'll get to midnight.

Day 1518

We woke up at 6:30 to see Dan off.  After he left we went back to bed for about an hour.  Then it was pet stuff and surfing.  John and Melissa came by about 9.  Melissa had bought sausage and eggs for breakfast.

It had been cold about 40 in the morning, so after breakfast we surfed for awhile.  I also took out a bunch of garbage and recycling that had stacked up.  Eventually it warmed up nicely. 

I got out the long ladder and John and I installed the phone signal amplifier.  It took quite awhile to get it positioned correctly.  Once John had attached it to the roof I strung the cable inside the garage and over to the apartment.  That took two tries because I coiled the wire the first time, which messed up the signal.  When we were finished they had a nice signal.

Lunch was leftovers.  After that Ellen and I left to do some errands.  We stopped at Lowe's to get some casters for her art storage box.  Then we went to the post office to pick up our mail and a box of John and Melissa's mail.  The last stops were HEB for ass wipe and Wells Cargo for money.

I took their mail to John and Melissa when I got back.  They said the signal had gone bad again.  It was almost dinner time, so we decided to work on it tomorrow.  I happened to open the garage door.  When I did the signal went back up.  We'll have to reposition things tomorrow.

I took the dog to the mailbox.  She was a little tired today.  Dinner was more leftovers.  We're making a dent in them though.

After dinner John and I watched a car auction.  John really likes them.  It was in Kansas city, and I was surprised at how low some of the prices were.

I was tired from the early morning and went to bed early.

Day 1517

We got up at 8 today, did the pet stuff, and waited on breakfast.  John and Melissa came over in a little while and we all had waffles for breakfast.  They were really good.

After breakfast we all surfed for awhile.  Isaac and Bella called.  They were going to an estate sale and wanted us to meet them.  The sale was in an inconvenient place and didn't look interesting, so we went to Zilker instead.

We walked the loop from the freeway across the river, down to the pedestrian bridge and back.  Google said it was 3.1 miles.  Lucy was tired by the time we were done.  We decided to meet up wit Isaac at a brewery on Fitzhugh road (his suggestion).

The brewery had OK beer and fantastic food.  We had two pizzas and some meatballs.  It was all excellent.  After that everyone drove to out place.  When we got there John and I replaced the broken rear wiper blade on Isaac's van.  We were going to do it last year, but never got around to it.  Then Isaac and Bella left.

The rest of us went inside and talked/surfed until dinner.  Dinner was more leftovers.  We're making a big dent in them.  After dinner we watched football - Seahawks vs 49'ers.  The Seahawks lost on the last play by about 6 inches.

After the game everyone went to bed.  We have to get up at 6:30 tomorrow to see Dan off to the airport.

Day 1516

We didn't get up until 9:00.  There was no particular reason, we just slept in.  After pet stuff and breakfast we surfed.  I should have read up on the drone, but I didn't feel like it.

About 11 Melissa texted to ask if we wanted to go to Round Rock to meet Isaac and Dan.  We said yes, especially with John driving.  Traffic was pretty light and we made good time.  We ended up going to a BBQ place past Hutto.  The place was packed.  We waited almost 2 hours in line to get food.

The BBQ was very good.  The place had a lot of awards on the walls and they were deserved.  After lunch (at 2) we walked down two blocks to a craft Brewery.  They had a menu of about 20 excellent beers.  I only had one, but the nephews had several.

After that we said our goodbyes and drove home.  Traffic was almost non-existent.  When we got home it was football.  The first game was a blowout, so John and I watched car shows.  The second was a good game.  So good that John stayed to see the whole game.

After the game it was late and time to go to bed.

Day 1515

We got up about 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  We did a few things related to Christmas presents.  Ellen filled a storage container with art supplies.  I put together an art supply holder for her and she put some stuff in it.  Then I went outside and replaced the trailer tire covers with the new ones.  I also took out a couple of loads of recycle and garbage to the cans.  After that we just surfed for the rest of the morning.

John and Melissa showed up about noon.  We all had leftovers for lunch.  The goal right now is to reduce the number of containers of leftovers in the refrigerator.  I opened the drone package and started to unpack it.  It took a significant amount of time to do so.  There's no instructions with it, just a few small pieces of paper with pictures.  You have to do to the website to download the manual.  I got disgusted and called a halt for lunch.

When we were finished with lunch we decided to take the dogs for a walk at Circle C.  It was another partially sunny day with a temp of 70.  Lucy did great.  She actually went out to the sides while we were walking and ran hunting patterns in patches of cover.  She didn't seem tired at all when we were finished.

After that we all went to Sam's club.  We had coupons and a gift card from renewing the membership.  We got a chicken, water, mac and cheese, and peanuts.  The net cost was $0, and we still have $7 on the card.  After that John and Melissa went home.  We went to the post office where I had to stand in the package line for quite awhile.  I also tried to get gas, but the two places I went had bio-diesel.

When we got home we surfed until dinner.  I downloaded the drone manual, but I didn't have any energy to read it.  John and Melissa came over and we had Sam's club chicken and leftovers for dinner.  We actually managed to empty several containers.

After dinner John and I watched car shows.  When he left I surfed for awhile and went to bed.  I'm watching a Star Wars series on my tablet.  I watch one episode a night in bed.  It's better than playing games.

Day 1514

Last night was weird.  I woke up twice with vomit in my mouth.  I took and antacid tablet, got a blanket, and went to sleep in the recliner.  That took care of the vomit, but I didn't get very restful sleep.  We got up at 8, did the pet stuff, and waited until John and Melissa showed up to have breakfast.

Dan finally got out of bed and had some breakfast, too.  We all surfed for awhile and then it was time to leave for the winery.  John drove.  The winery was west of Cedar Park, so it was a long drive.  We got there just as Isaac and Bella were getting out of their car.

We had lunch there and drank a couple of bottles of wine.  The winery had a nice building with a good view of the hill country.  There was a lot of talk for 3 hours or so.  Then Dan left with Isaac and Bella.  John and Melissa said they wanted to go to Marble Falls, so we did.

We took them to the yard and house item store that we like in Marble Falls.  They really enjoyed going through the place.  They were impressed with all of the stuff.  They bought a windmill/welcome sign for their house.  I bought a small iron pink flamingo to attach to one of the deck posts.

After that we went home via Dripping Springs.  We stopped at HEB to get a few things.  We were hoe about 5:30.

After putting everything away we had a limited dinner made up of "choose your leftovers".  We also had cake in honor of Melissa's birthday.

John and Melissa left at 8 (it's becoming a pattern).  We surfed the rest of the evening away.

Day 1513

We got up at 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Dan was in bed, Melissa and John were at church.  So we just surfed.  It took until about 11 for everyone to be gathered around the kitchen table for breakfast.

After breakfast there was talk.  Ellen and Melissa spent a lot of time preparing Christmas dinner.  Isaac and Bella showed up a little after noon.  There was more talking and then we started opening presents.  That took quite awhile.  There were a lot of presents.

After that it was more talk and some surfing.  Isaac started playing online poker and of course everyone offered advice.  Dinner was about 3.  It was great - ham, potatoes, salad, and shrimp.  Dessert was cookies, apple dumplings, and ice cream.  It was quite a meal.

After dinner was several hours of sitting around the table talking.  I think everyone had a good time.  I called Hooch twice.  The first time I talked to he and Mom while they were in the call.  The second time they were opening presents.  He was going to call back, but he didn't.

All in all it was a really successful Christmas.

Day 1512

We got up abut 8, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  It was a sunny day, but cold in the morning.  So we surfed.  About 10 John and Melissa showed up.  I said I wanted to take the dog on a walk.  They thought it was a good idea.

We took both cars over to Circle C.  I was worried about how far Lucy could go.  It turned out fine.  She was a little wobbly at first, but then she warmed up.  We walked all the way to Escarpment and back.  She was tired, but not wiped out, by the time we were done.

After that we went to Tomlinson's.  Both dogs got treats and Ellen got some cat food.  By then it was after 1 so we went to Torchy's.  The food was good, but it took 45 minutes to get it. 

We went home after that. John and Melissa went to pick up Dan at the airport.  When we got home it was surfing for awhile.  Then I turned on the TV and took a nap in the recliner.  John and Melissa showed up.  Dan, Ellen, and Melissa talked while John and I watched car shows.

Ellen fixed a roast for dinner.  She didn't cook it well and it was pretty raw.  That was fine with John and Melissa, but Dan and I like our food cooked.  Ellen put some of it in the oven to cook for us.  It was good after that.

After dinner we talked for awhile and everyone surfed their phones at the dinner table.  John and Melissa left at 8.  After that Ellen and I talked with Dan until a little after 11.  Then it was off to bed.

Day 1511

We got up a little after 8.  After pet stuff and breakfast I made a couple of trips to the garbage.  There was a lot left over from last night and the recycle bin was full.

After that I went over to see if John wanted to go with me to the muffler place.  He did.  I talked to the guy there.  He said it would be about $150 to do the work.  They don't make appointments and work on a first come, first serve system.  I'll probbaly get it dune in mid January.

As we left things went south.  I backed into a car and broke it's taillight.  I left my info and then went to the insurance agent.  They helped me through the claims process and made an appointment with a repair truck for the truck.  I was amazed at the amount of damage the truck sustained.  The bumper was bent and the plastic step was tweaked.  All it did to the car was break the taillight lens.  It didn't even break the bulb.  The bill for the truck is $1,200.

After that we came home.  Ellen went to the doctor.  John and Melissa went to the grocery store.  I stayed home.  It was a nice day, but I couldn't bring myself to do anything except surf.

Eventually everyone came home.  Ellen and Melissa spent a lot of time making cookies.  John went to the apartment to try to fix some stuff for Isaac.  I did more surfing.

Ellen fixed steaks for dinner.  They were really good.  There was also smoked salmon fresh off the Traeger.

After dinner John and I watched football.  I did a little reading during the game.

Day 1510

We woke up about 8 and got out of bed soon after.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  Lucy now refuses to eat her food unless it has an enhancer.  So Ellen has taken over the feeding.

After breakfast it was surfing.  We needed to kill time until about 10:15.  Then we went to the Armadillo Bazaar.  We took two cars because John and Melissa were going up to Isaac's afterwards.

The bazaar was cool.  I bought one of the lamps made out of old telegraph parts.  I also got a cool road runner etching.  We left the bazaar about 1 and went to Chuy's for lunch.  It was a lot better food than the one by Costco.  After that we went to the post office and home.  They went to pick up their dog.

When we got home I watched TV and read.  Ellen did sewing.  John and Melissa showed up about 6.  I had a sandwich for dinner.  They had leftovers.  Ellen and Melissa made more baklava.  John and I watched football.

They left about 8.  I was tired of football, so I surfed until it was time for bed.

Day 1509

I woke up early a couple of times, but deliberately turned over and went back to sleep.  I was tired and didn't get out of bed until about 9.  Then it was breakfast.  Ellen did the pet stuff.  After breakfast it was surfing.  Yesterday tired me out a little.

Ellen went with John and Melisa to do grocery shopping.  They hit Costco and HEB.  Of course both places were mobbed on the Saturday before Christmas.  I was glad I'd stayed home.  They got home and we had lunch.  Everyone ate leftovers of some sort.  I ate the BBQ I'd brought home from yesterday.  It was just as good today.

After lunch Ellen and I took Lucy to Tomlinson's.  We needed cat food and dog food.  We had to order the dog food.  That's the only stop - we just went home.

John and Melissa went for a long walk at Circle C.  Ellen and I surfed.  We had dinner when they got back - chick and mac and cheese.  After dinner there was several hours of talk.  Tomorrow we'll go to the Armadillo Bazaar.  Afterwards we'll go up to Isaac's to get the dog.

The rest of the evening was a little surfing and some TV.

Day 1508

We got up at 7:45, did the pet stuff and got ready to leave.  John and Melissa showed up at 8:30.  We got in the truck and went to Austin Java for breakfast.  It was pretty good.  They had breakfast tacos, Ellen had eggs benedict, and I had pancakes.  After that we headed for Fredericksburg.

I rained the whole way there.  The truck drove fine though.  There was never a time it felt unstable.  I missed the turnoff to the show.  John and I were looking at something on the other side of the street.  We ended up driving into town, turning around, and driving 6 miles back out.  It was OK.

We spent several hours walking around the market.  I bought a couple of pieces of junk for the yard.  Ellen bought soap and some hair clips.  Melissa bought some jalapeno corers and something else.  John didn't by anything.  We left after 2 to go to town for lunch.

We parked near the jewelry store.  We stopped there on the way to lunch.  It turned out to be a long stop.  We spent a lot of time looking at jewels and jewelry.  Melissa found a druzy pendant she liked, but it was in silver which tarnishes.  I had the jeweler price it out in 14K white.  It was $500 more.  I said I'd pay for half of it.  The jeweler is making it up right now.

After that we went to the BBQ place for a really late lunch.  It was great.  John and Melissa said they really liked it.  After that we stopped at the cookie place for cookies for later.  We also stopped at the sauce place.  We bought prickly pear jelly and chow chow.  John bought some spread he really liked.

It rained all the way back home also.  We didn't get home until after 6.  All the pets got dinner.  John and Melissa came over and we talked and surfed for awhile.  Then they went home.

The rest of the evening was surfing and TV.

Day 1507

Last night was another sweat fest.  I went to bed at 11.  I woke up at 12:30 soaked.  The rest of the night consisted of waking up every 1-2 hours soaked.  That lasted until 8 when I decided to get up.

After pet stuff and breakfast I took out the recycle and garbage.  Next week is Christmas and I want all of the cans as empty as possible.  For some reason Christmas always seems to generate a lot of both.  I also took the salt out of the truck and put one bag in the softener.  I was going to put some washer fluid in the truck, but it didn't need any.  I was mistaken when I looked the other day.

After that it was almost lunch time.  I did a little surfing and then had a ham and cheese sandwich.  When that was done I did a lot of surfing.

I'm really disappointed in the vision in my right eye.  My left eye is perfect.  The way my tight is now I'll need to wear glasses to correct it.  If I'm not careful my brain will switch to left eye dominant.  I have to wait until mid January, but the doctor and I need to have a talk.

John and Melissa showed up mid afternoon.  We talked for awhile and then I showed John the new car shows I found on Netflix.  He liked a couple of them.

Ellen fixed hamburgers for dinner.  After dinner there was some more talk.  Then John and I went back to car shows.

John left abut 9.  I did a little surfing and then went to bed.

Day 1506

Last night was another night of waking up several times covered in sweat.  When I got out of bed in the morning the sheets and pillow were soaked.

After breakfast and pet stuff there was a little surfing.  Then Ellen went to another doctor.  Thyroid this time, another waiting room I shouldn't sit in.  I felt good, and I was sick of surfing.  So I encoded another book on tape.  I did 2 CD's of a second book before Ellen got back.  By then I was sick of encoding so I quit and ate a ham sandwich for lunch.

I surfed a little more while Ellen wrote Christmas cards.  Then I loaded the two old workmates into the truck and took them to Goodwill.  We stopped at the post office, where there was nothing in the box.  Everyone hates us.

The keyboard for my computer has been showing it's age.  Today it refused to work.  I was about to throw it away when I remembered the tactic of last resort - slam it on the desk.  I did it twice and the thing started to work.  I don't think it's long for this world though.

Ellen wanted to go to Best Buy and the keyboard was an excuse.  I found one that was marked down because it was returned.  It was totally unused, they hadn't even removed the battery tab.  We looked at refrigerators, but couldn't find any we liked.  Ellen found a game console she liked, so we bought it.  We also bought a couple of games for it.

We stopped at both Lowe's and Home depot for refrigerators.  They didn't have any we liked.  I got some water softener salt at Lowe's.  We also stopped at a auto parts store on the way home for some windshield washer fluid.  The dealer only filled the truck up half way.

When we got to the intersection of 45 and 1826 there was a more than half mile long line to turn left.  Of course I went right.  When we got to the intersection it turned out that there was an accident on 1826.  Our only way home was 290.  We went back to it and had to wait for several cycles of the light before we could turn left.  We got a short way down it and ran into a miles long traffic jam.  There was no problem - just really stupid lights.

The traffic web showed that 1826 was blocked between Nutty Brown and home.  So we had dinner at the restaurant next to SPEC's.  It was good - especially the Guinness.  When we were finished we drove home.  1826 was blocked at the entrance to Bear Creek.  At least we could get in.  The problem was that they were routing all of the 1826 traffic through the development.  And they hadn't put up any detour signs inside the development.  The whole place was overrun with lost people driving around in circles.

We finally managed to get home.  I hauled the recycling to the can and then put both cans out.  That was then end of things for me today.  I'm spending the rest of the evening resting in the easy chair.

Day 1505

Woke up about 8 and spent an hour and a half playing games.  Then it was get up and do pet stuff and breakfast.  I tried normal cereal.  It was fine.  I think I'm back to normal food now.

After that it was a little more surfing.  Ellen had to go to the surgeon.  There was no way I was going to sit in that waiting room the way I was coughing.  I stayed home and did a few things.  I did part of the wash and cleaned up a stack of papers that had built up.  Then I took a needle and cleaned out the holes in the kitchen faucet and bathroom shower head.  The shower head took awhile.

I have absolutely no stamina.  After each task I had to sit, rest, and do a little surfing.  I had planned on driving to Goodwill, the post office, and Tomlinson's but there was no way.  I fixed myself a ham sandwich and toast and jam for lunch.

Ellen fixed herself lunch when she got back.  Then we went out to do what I hadn't done.  We took the car and Lucy.  It turns out I couldn't have lifted her in and out of the truck anyway.  After the post office we stopped at HEB for a couple of things.  Lucy had a great time at Tomlinson's, especially the treats.  Then it was home.

At home it was surfing until dinner time.  Ellen fixed leftover stew.  She really likes that new range.  I heats things incredibly fast.  A pot of water takes less than 30 seconds to boil.

It's really cold tonight - 36 degrees at 7.  The rest of the night was reading and TV.

Day 1504

Got up about 8 to call the doctor..  The hospital said to call him today.  The scheduler said come in on Thursday.  OK.

Went back to bed and played games on my tablet for a coupe of hours.  It's the first computer time I've had in over a week.  It was fun.

Breakfast was mush and a banana.  Just like old times.

I'm feeling better, but I don't think I'm up leaving the house.  I did feel like getting on the computer though.  The first task was to order some progressive reading glasses.  The ones I have now are shit.  Amazon is great.  $20 and they'll be here tomorrow.

The next step was bringing the blog up to date.  I spent 90 minutes writing up the last 7 days.  Then it was going through 130 e-mails. I spent over an hour on that and then got tired of the computer.  I decided to read magazines instead.  I've had way too much TV.

Ellen went of to a doctor's appointment.  I still don't feel up to leaving the house.  I fixed myself some more toast for lunch.

Eventually Ellen came home and I finished the magazines.  We gave the dog a good brushing.  She was very hairy.  Cooper jumped up on my lap and we both had a short nap.  Then I went back to working on the e-mails.  I finished a little after dinner (soup).  By then I was sick of the computer.  It seemed like I'd been on it all day.

After dinner it was more magazines and football.  I feel almost human and the coughing is much reduced.  Maybe I'll leave the nest tomorrow.

Day 1503

It's the same story as yesterday.  I'm waking up so often that "getting up time" has no meaning.  I am feeling a little better, so getting out of bed wasn't such an effort.

I spent most of the day in the easy chair watching football.  I had more to eat today - mush, cornbread, banana, and a mango fruit bar.  The TV ads were actually making me hungry.  I even took a shit.

I went to the garage briefly.  I carried the two old work benches over to the car port for an eventual trip to Goodwill.  That was all of the physical activity I could stand.

I had all of the commercials I could stand.  I turned on Netflix.  I watched a movies they made.  It had a huge body and car crash count.  No tit count though.

After that it was a couple of other shows and bed.

All in all it was a day of slow improvement.  I don't want to push it though.  I have a history of beginning to do better, overdoing it, and then ending up sick again.

Day 1502

I kept waking up every couple of hours, so it's pointless to say when I woke up.  I feel like shit.  I finally gather enough energy to get out of bed and get dressed. 

I move to the easy chair and spend the whole day there.  I'm too weak to do anything.  Getting up and going to the kitchen or the bathroom wipes me out.

The whole day is watching TV.  Needing reading glasses sucks.  It's way too much of a pain in the ass to put them on and off during commercials.  I end up putting the phone away and just sitting through the commercials.

At some time during the day Ellen fixes me mush and toast.  It's the first real food I've had in days.  It was pretty good.  She's coming to grips with being responsible for everything.

Went to bed a little late because I spent a lot of time sleeping today.  The sweats started a soon as I lay down.

Days 1497 - 1501

This is a single because I spent the week in the hospital.  We got up at 6:00 on Monday, did pet stuff, and left for the eye place.  We got there in plenty of time.  The surgery on my right eye went well.  The anesthesiologist knocked me completely out this time.

I went home and went to sleep just like last time.  I woke up 5.5 hours later.  That's when things went to shit.  I woke up with searing chest pain.  It felt like I'd been stabbed in the middle of the chest with a large spear.  I got up, sat in the easy chair and it was a little better.  I moved the the kitchen chair and the pain eventually went away.  I'm home free.

Not really.  The pain came back a couple of hours later.  It brought bouts of vomiting with it.  I took that for about an hour and a half before saying it's emergency room time.

It was between 7 and 8 when we got to the hospital.  Of course every felon in the city was there getting free medical care.  As a fat white guy with chest pain I got priority.  Into a room for a blood test and ECG.  After they decided I'm not going to die it's back to the standing room only waiting room.  I'm in agony.

I don't know how long I was out there.  They called at least a dozen people before they called my name again.  Then it was into a little room where they hooked me up and let me lay in pain.  Some time during the night they did a chest xray and a CAT scan.  They also moved me to a slightly larger room in the trauma area.  I spent the next day there.  At least the pain stopped by Tuesday morning.

Tuesday at midnight they finally got me into a real room.  They'd done a stress test and found nothing.  White count was elevated, so I had to stay 48 hours for a blood test.  I've got an ECG and IV connected to me.  They are coming in every 2 to 4 hours day and night to pester me.  To add to the fun I'm alternating sweats, chills, and normal body temperature.  I'm coughing my lungs out, something that started at least 3 weeks ago.  I haven't eaten since Sunday evening.  Food has no attraction to me.

The doctor comes in about 8 PM on Thursday.  The blood test is negative.  The blood count isn't quite back to normal, but it's down significantly and dropping.  He asks me if I want to go home.  Goddamn right I want to go home.  Except for two things.  It's clear he wants to keep me.  Second I feel like shit.  So I stay.

I wake up on Friday feeling pretty good.  Doctor shows up mid morning and cuts me loose.  We were gone about noon.  I'm still feeling good.  We go home where I have a much needed shower.  Four days in a sweat soaked bed has left me pretty stinky.

By the time I get out of the shower I'm not feeling well.  It's back in the car though to go to the eye doctor.  I need the exam that I missed on Tuesday.  It's sunny and 75.  By the time we get there I'm shivering.  Luckily there's a heavy sweatshirt in the back seat.  I put it on and sit in the waiting room  We were there quite awhile, but I'm drifting in and out so who cares.

The doctor says both eyes are fine.  We pick up drugs at CVS and go home.  I'm too sick to do anything but sit in the easy chair.  Walking to the bathroom and back is exhausting.  I've lost control of my asshole.  I shit myself.  Later there's shit leaking out of my asshole that I can't stop.  Fun times.

I finally go to bed after putting down a bed protector sheet.  I immediately start sweating.  It lasts most of the night.

Day 1496

We woke up abojut 7:70, but spent some time in bed before getting up to do the pet stuff.  We didn't have breakfast.  Instead we waited until 9 to see if John and Melissa wanted to go to brunch.  They did.

We went to Funkadelic.  John drove of course.  I think they both liked the food.  After brunch we just went back home.  We talked until Isaac and Bella showed up about noon.  Then John, Isaac, and I went out to the garage to change the rear brakes in Isaac's van.

The job wasn't easy.  The bolts were all rusted on and needed a breaker bar to remove them.  The disks were rusted on.  It took a lot of banging on them to get the disks off.

The worst part was that John couldn't get the piston to retract even though he had a special tool to make it retract.  We (mostly John) worked for hours on it.  I couldn't help, so I left and put all of the tubes from the car cover in the garbage.  That included the unused ones in the storage shed.

John finally called his buddy.  The guy builds dragsters.  The guy told him that there was probably something wrong with the piston retract mechanism or John wasn't operating it correctly.  After a lot more work John figured out that the adjuster had to be pushed in as it was turned.  After that the first wheel was done pretty quickly.

The second wheel was much easier now that John knew how to retract the piston.  In all it took him almost 7 hours of work to do the two wheels.

Through all of this I hung around to get him the tools he needed.  I did move th tubs and ate lunch with everyone else (John kept working).  Occasionally I managed to help John a little, but it's mostly a one man job.

When we we done Isaac and Bella went home.  John and Melissa came over.  John and I watched football (Seahawks got slaughtered).  Melissa fixed us leftover steak sandwiches for dinner.  Then she and Ellen made Baklava.

Day 1495

We woke up about 7:30 and spent about an hour in bed.  Then we got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that we surfed for awhile.  I looked for things to do.  There was a market thing at Dripping Springs.  We texted John and Melissa and they wanted to go.

John drove of course.  The market was pretty big, more booths than last year.  There was only one food place though.  There were also several new stores.  We looked at a lot of stuff, but didn't buy anything.  On the way back to the car we stopped at Walgreen's.  I bought a pair of reading glasses  After Monday I'll need them.  My vision in my left eye continues to improve.  I now see better than I do with my right eye and glasses.

We ate lunch at the cafe we usually go to.  I told John and Melissa it was Texas comfort food.  They thought it would be good.  Of course it was.  John really liked his chicken sandwich.  Melissa had a salad.  She could have gotten that anywhere.

We stopped at HEB for some minor stuff and then drove 150 home.  When we got home I straightened out the garage so John could work on Isaac's car tomorrow.  Then I did a little surfing and then took a nap.  John came over and we started watching football.  We watched games for the rest of the evening and night.  Dinner was sandwiches made from leftover steak.

Day 1494

We woke up at 7:30, but I played games in bed until about 9:30.  Last night I noticed that my left eye was very red.  I called the doctor.  They asked me if I could come in at 11:15, and I said yes.  We left just a few minutes after the call was done.

Traffic was fine going up to Balcone.  There was a gas station at the corner there, so I filled up the truck.  It took 28 gallons - 2 more than the size of the old truck's tank.  We got there early, but they took me almost immediately.

A technician did a bunch of tests and then left me in a room to await the doctor.  That took 20 minutes to half an hour.  He looked at the eye and pronounced it just fine.  The redness was a bruise caused by the surgery.  Apparently eye bruises are bright red because the surface of the eye is transparent.

Traffic was building up when we left, so I took the toll road.  We still had to wait north of 360.  We stopped at the post office and then went to the Italian place for lunch.  Of course Lucy got to stop at Tomlinson's first.  After lunch we took her to the park.  She only walked about half a mile or less before she was tired out.  That's sad considering the old days when we would walk around the park with her doing retrieves all the way.

When we go home I decided to do some more book encoding.  I did 15 CDs.  I completed the book I started yesterday and finished another.  John and Melissa came over just as I finished.  They spent the day at Isaac's shipping packages.  Isaac is on a buying trip to Dallas.

We talked for awhile.  Ellen fixed steaks for dinner.  She added the rest of yesterday's shrimp and salad.  It was good.  Afterwards we talked for hours.

Melissa left at 9, john stayed until almost 10.  After that it was a little surfing followed by bed.

Day 1493

We woke up about 7:30, but stayed in bed until 8:30.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I went out to install the garage door opener.

I got up on the ladder and figured out how to remove the opener cover.  The insides didn't match the instructions that came with the opener.  I finally noticed a website in small print at the bottom of the instructions.  I went inside and brought up the website.

The website was an expanded version of the instructions - 30 pages instead of 4.  They were much clearer and more detailed.  I learned what I needed and went back out.  The opener programmed easily with the right instructions.  I attached it to the garage wall and put everything away.

John and Melissa came over.  They wanted to go to a museum by UT.  The museum didn't open until 1, so we decided to go there early and have lunch.  John drove.  We ate at a Mexican place near the museum that we picked at random.  It was good.

The museum was very interesting.  It was a large two story house that was built in 1855.  The place had been restored and each room was furnished in original furnishings from the early 1800's.  The furniture was beautiful.  The descriptions of the history of the house, it's occupants, and the contemporary Austin history was very interesting.

After that we took them home via the round about way we went yesterday.  It wasn't necessary, but they enjoyed seeing all of the expensive houses.  We also stopped at a riverside bar near RedBud just to look at it.

We got home about 3.  I went out and installed a catch on the trailer screen door.  It was a pain in the ass, but it works well.  Putting a catch on the slider will take a little more planning, so I went inside and surfed until dinner.

Ellen fixed shrimp on the Traeger for dinner.  It was really good.  Afterwards we talked for awhile and then watched football.  They left early because they have to get up tomorrow and drive north to Isaac's.

Yesterday Ellen and I discovered that the truck wouldn't read the USB I'd made with a book on it.  It turns out that the damn thing doesn't read WMA files.  That means that the hours I spent converting books so far were wasted.  I'm not a happy camper.  I had some trouble starting up the converter again but I should have at least one book converted tonight.

Day 1492

We got up at 7:30 and did the pet stuff.  Then we put Devon in the truck and drove to the vet.  Of course he was acting healthier today than yesterday.

The vet examined him and said that there isn't anything obviously wrong, but what we describe might be an infection.  He gave us some antibiotics.

The eye place called.  I have the second surgery on Monday.

On the way home we stopped at UPS to return the gate opener and CVS for drugs.  When we got home I packed up the calendar for John and Patty by making a "box" out of old cardboard.  Then I took a bunch of stuff to the garbage and recycle.  Then it was time to go out to do stuff.  The new keypad setup looked time consuming, so I started with the truck.

I put the new cargo bar in the truck bed and used it to secure the plastic bins I used in the old truck.  Then I strung the ratchet straps along the bedsides.  John came out to see what I was doing.  The bed cover rolled up hard, so I decided to adjust it.  We both guessed at what was wrong, but after some messing around it was apparent that we were wrong.  I remembered that we'd left out two shims that the instructions had specified.  We put them in and now the bed cover works great.

At that point it was time to take Ellen to the oncologist.  The parking lot was completely full.  So were all of the side streets.  I left her off and spent a bunch of time looking for a place.  I couldn't find one and ended up parking in a lot on the other side of the freeway.  I asked her to talk to the doctor about Hooch.

She called after an hour and a half.  I picked her up.  She said the oncologist said lymphoma was his favorite cancer to treat.  That sounds encouraging.   We stopped at Central Market on the way home.  We bought steak, pork, shrimp, and baked goods.

When we got home I had Ellen text Hooch about what the doctor had said.  John and Melissa came over and we talked until dinner.  Ellen fixed Bison burgers on the Traeger.

After dinner John and I watched TV.  When he and Melissa left it was surfing until bedtime.

Day 1491

I got up about 8 today.  Things went pretty well last night.  It took me a little while to get to sleep because I'd slept half the day.  I woke up about 3 because the shield had slipped off my eye.  When I opened my eye I couldn't see anything, just blackness.  I went into the bathroom and turned on a light.  Then I could see.  The pupil had contracted and wouldn't expand.

Wen I got up vision in that eye was pretty fuzzy.  The floaters are big and annoying.  Vision improved during the day.  I wear my regular glasses.  The "hybrid" glasses don't work because my brain can't deal with each eye claiming an object is a different size.  I did a little test about 1.  At 100 yds my left eye definitely sees better than my right one with contacts.

Devon has been walking around crying for most of yesterday and today.  He acts like he's a little disoriented.  Ellen made an appointment for him for tomorrow.  Neither cat is eating much.

Most of the day was spent surfing.  John and Melissa came over to talk about noon.  At 2 they left for shopping and we left for the doctor.  When we got to there tey told me we were at the wrong place (they told me this was the place on my first visit).  They told me to go to "Balcone".  I asked if that was the second place I'd gone and they said yes.  Of course traffic sucked going north, but we made it in time.  That's when the second place said "no, you need to go to a third place".  We made it to the third place just at my appointment time.  I was not a happy camper.

We ended up waiting for quite awhile before they called me.  The nurse checked my eyesight and asked some questions.  Then I waited in another room for quite awhile for the doctor.  He told me that everything looked good.  I can shoot in 4 days.  He said he'd schedule the second surgery in a week.

Driving home sucked.  We were on loop one north of 45th.  Mopac was a parking lot for there across the river.  We ended up taking back roads from there down to the Red Bud crossing.  We drove through one neighborhood with some amazing expensive homes.  We drove some more back roads and ended up getting on Mopac at Barton Creek.  It was jammed up, but moving.  It cleared up until 290 and then jammed up again.  We got off at William Cannon.

We met John and Melissa for dinner at Cypress.  We were hungry because we hadn't had lunch.  Of course the food was good.  They insisted on buying.  After dinner we stopped at the post office.

When we got home we fed the pets.  Ellen watched chick flicks and I surfed.

Day 1490

Ellen got up at 4:45.  I don't know why.  She woke me up and fucked around for about 20 minutes before coming back to bed.  I managed to get back to sleep for a few minutes before getting up at 5:30.  We got dressed, did the pet stuff, and were out of the place in 15 minutes.

There was almost no traffic on the way to the surgery center.  When I got there the door I'd used before was locked.  Ellen found another door.  When I checked in there was about 6 pages of forns for me to read and fill out.  That was stupid, they could have done that last week.

After the paperwork I sat for about 15 minutes.  Then we took me to the back.  I lay on a bed while they put drops in my eyes and gave e a strong anti-histamine as a sleeping pill.  They also put some jell in my eye.  That wasn't pleasant.

After talking to the anesthesiologist and surgeon (basically hi, how are you) they wheeled me to the operating room.  There were at least 6 people there.  I got one eye covered and the other held over.  I got a band to hold my head still, and I got drugs.  The procedure itself was completely painless.  All I remember is brightly colored bright lights.

After the procedure they sat me in a wheel chair and left me for awhile.  Then they wheeled me out to the car and Ellen drove us to the post office.  I was told not to open my eye for the rest of the day.  After the post office we bought some Tylenol at CVS and went home.  I needed the Tylenol, my eye hurt.  I was sleepy and when we got home I went directly to bed and slept for over six hours.

I woke up at 3:15.  I got up and did a little surfing.  It was hard to remember to keep my eye shut.  A little later Ellen came home from shopping and John and Melissa showed up.  Amazon brought the door opener I'd ordered.  It didn't work.  Everyone grilled me on the surgery.

Melissa fixed turkey casserole for dinner.  It was good.  After dinner it was some more talk and football.  I fell asleep.  I woke up later and ordered another opener.  Then it was bed time.

Day 1489

Last night was lousy.  I woke up many times soaked in sweat.  Other times I woke up freezing.  It was not a comfortable night.  I got out of bed about 8:30 and had breakfast.  Ellen did the pet stuff.  It was 50 degrees and sunny, but I felt shitty.  I was also coughing pretty bad.  So I stayed inside and surfed until almost 11.

John and Melissa left for Issac's.  So I went over and got all of the Christmas decorations.  Ellen put up the tree while I got out all of the presents and wrapped them.  Then I took the lights out and decorated the gate.  Ellen finished with the tree about the time I finished with the gate.

One of the things I did was pack a box with presents for Hooch and family.  So we took it to the post office.  We also stopped at Target to get tape.  I used up about a roll of small tape on the presents.  After that we stopped at Tomlinson's for cat litter and a doggy treat.

It was after 4 when we got home.  I spent some time looking for a cargo bar and a cargo net for the truck.  The sides of the new truck are so tall that I can't reach inside to get anything that has slid forward.  We'd forgotten lunch, so dinner was early - leftovers.

After lunch I revied my surgery instructions.  I was supposed to start eye drops yesterday, and I didn't.  I hope that doesn't disqualify me.

The rest of the evening was some reading and TV.

Day 1488

We woke up alittl before 8, surfed for awhile, and got up for breakfast and pet stuff.  I was a sauna outside - 74 degrees and 93% humidity.  I went out to work anyway.

I got out the pool noodles I'd purchased and cut them to length.  The I put them on 6 of the carport legs.  That will do a good job of protecting the truck doors.  Then I folded up the tie downs on the back porch and put them in the garage.  I also hauled the ice chest back to the back storage building.

Things had just gotten more miserable.  It was now 78 degrees.  I was going to work on the trailer, but I called it quits instead.  I'm feeling pretty sick, fever and chills.   hope it's over before the eye surgery.  It's in two days.

I went back inside.  A little later John came over.  There was a football game he wanted to watch.  Unfortunately his team got murdered.  We had leftovers for lunch and continued watching football.  I got a lot of the remaining truck manual reading done.

I took the dog to the mailbox.  On the way back I saw Lee.  We talked for awhile.  Apparently there's a 19 year old across the street who is under indictment for aggravated robbery.  I told John and Melissa to consider locking their door. 

Dinner was nachos.  We talked and surfed after dinner.  They left at 8 when I gave the dog her treats.  Apparently Reggie isn't supposed to get any.  The rest of the evening was surfing and TV.

Day 1487

We woke up about 8, but didn't get out of bed until almost 10.  We got up because Melissa knocked on the door.  After pet stuff and breakfast it was surfing.

The day was rainy and very foggy.  I looked for things to do in Austin on the web, but there's nothing interesting going on today.  We finally decided to go to a movie - Ford vs Ferrari.  It was a great movie. It was 3 when we got out.  We went home and fixed a late lunch of leftovers.

After lunch we talked and surfed for hours.  We didn't have a dinner.  John and Melissa went home about 8.  We went to bed a little later.  I'm not feeling well, I hope I'm not getting sick.  I'm having the eye surgery in 3 days.

Day 1486

WE got up before 7 to put the turkey in the Traeger.  After that Ellen stayed up and I went back to bed.  About 8 I woke up and surfed until about 9.  Ellen took care of pet stuff.  I had breakfast.  After breakfast I surfed.  Ellen cooked.

About 10 Melissa came over.  She joined Ellen in cooking things.  I continued to surf and encode CD's.  John came over for lunch.  We had leftovers and BBQ sandwiches.  When lunch was complete John and I surfed and Ellen and Melissa cooked.

Isaac and Bella showed up about 4:30 or 5.  By then everyone was surfing.  We talked for awhile and then had dinner.  It was really good.  After dinner there was a lot more talk.  All in all a typical Thanksgiving.

When Isaac and Bella left John and I watched car shows and football.  They went home about 8.  I surfed and encoded CD's for the rest of the night.  Ellen surfed.

Day 1485

I woke up about 7:30, but didn't get out of bed until 8:30.  Then it was pet stuff, breakfast, and surfing until it was time to leave at 9:30.  John came with me.

Traffic up to TexanEye was really light.  I didn't even have to stop at teh bottom of loop 1.  We got there about 15 minutes early.  I spent some time filling out paper work and buying $100 worth of eye drops.  Then I waited for a few minutes until it was my appointment time.

The technician spent about 15 minutes taking measurement of both eyes.  Then she took me to another room and went over the pre and post op requirements.  She also explained what the surgery would be like.  The post op sounds a little bad.  Possible several days of reduced sight and 6 weeks of eye drops.

We were out of there in less than an hour.  Then we went to Trader Joe's.  John bought a whole case of wine.  They go through about a bottle a night.  Then we tried to stop at the post office.  There was an accident at the intersection at the post office.  It had just happened and there were car parts scattered all over the intersection.  Some of them were pretty big.

We stopped at the donut and taco palace for kolaches.  Then we stopped at HEB for chips.  The final stop was UPS to return the trailer documents we signed.

When we got home we ate lunch (kolaches).  Then John and I went out to install the truck cover.  I'm sure glad he was there to help.  The assembly wasn't complicated, but it wasn't easy.  Mounting and positioning the cover on the truck was definitely a two person operation.  It took us more then 2 hours.

After that I cleaned up.  There was a whole lot of packaging to take to the recycle and garbage.  We had a total of 4 packages come.  One was for Melissa.  One had three presents for Ellen.  I wrapped them like Hooch wanted.  I was tired by the time it was all done.

Dinner was pork cutlets that Melissa made.  After dinner there was a lot of talk.  We tried to watch a car show that had been taped, but the recording failed.  I fell asleep.  When I woke up they were gone.  I encoded a book on tape and then went to bed.

Day 1484

We woke up a little before 8.  After a little surfing we did the pet stuff and breakfast.  Then I called the Medicare people to get the mailing address changed on the drug card.  I think I was on hold for 15 minutes or more.

It was warm, but cloudy and raining.  John and Melissa didn't come over, so we spent the morning surfing.  I did a little surfing on Amazon and started encoding CD's on a thumb drive for the truck.  That's slow work.

John and Melissa came over about 11 just as we were going to the grocery store.  We all got in the truck to go together.  The first stop was the post office so they could get mail sent to our box.  Then we went to the grocery store.  We were planning on going to lunch afterwards, but we'd bought some frozen stuff so we went home.

When we got home I did some more encoding.  The truck tonneau showed up.  It's in two boxes.  The large one weighs 50 or more pounds. 

I ttok the dog to the mailbox before dinner.  Dinner was BBQ'd steaks that we bought today.

After dinner we talked and watched TV.  They left about 9.  I did a little more encoding and went to bed.  I have to go to the eye place tomorrow morning.

Day 1483

I woke up at 7, turned over and went to sleep until 9.  Then it was get up for breakfast and pet stuff.  After that I went out to the garage and got a couple of cabinet latches and the tools.

Then cats have been getting into the cabinet under the sink.  So I spent some time on my back installing latches and smelling garbage.  When I got finished I sprayed the inside of the cabinet with Lysol.  It needed it.

When that was done we left to take stuff to Goodwill.  There were two pillows and a garbage sack of clothes.  I didn't want them under the desk while John and Melissa were here.  Then we went to the post office.  After that we went to Academy to buy swim noodles to put on the carport legs.  They didn't have any.  We also went to Home Depot so I could buy some tools.  The Black Friday sales made them really cheap.

With company coming we took Lucy for a doggy bath.  The last stop was Doc's back yard.  I was great sitting outside in 80 degree weather.

When we got home I went out to the garage to unpack my purchases.  John and Melissa showed up while I was in the garage.  We talked for awhile while they unpacked.

Ellen fixed spaghetti for dinner, but only after John and Melissa went out for supplies.  After dinner the wives talked while we watched football.

Everyone went to bed about 10.

Day 1482

I woke up at 7, took a piss, and went back to sleep until 9.  When I woke up again I surfed until almost 11.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.

After breakfast I went out to put the rear splash guards on the truck.  It went fairly easily.  My idea for adding the missing mount point worked well, mainly because I measured very carefully.

After that I tried to install the catches in the trailer screen door.  I decided where to mount them and searched through my collection for the right mounting hardware.  I was just about to start drilling holes when I realized that the catches were wrong.  They were right hand catches and I needed left hand ones.  That put an end to the effort.

I went inside and ordered the right latches.  Then I surfed and read.

Dinner was frozen pizza.  After dinner was football and reading.  About 8 Melissa called to say that they would be here tomorrow.  That kicked off a frenzy of cleaning.  Ellen vacuumed and I scrubbed the counter and sink.  We both cleaned off the kitchen table.

After the cleaning was done it was more reading and a little surfing.

Day 1481

We woke up at 8 today, but surfed in bed until about 9.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast we went out to the truck to leave for Fredericksburg to pick up the pendent and ring.  We didn't get far.

Lucy was acting weird.  She didn't go to the truck.  Instead she stood in the drive and shook like she was freezing cold.  Then she walked off into the woods.  I went looking for her, but couldn't find her.  Eventually she came back, but she was still shaking some.  It didn't look good, so Ellen called the vet.  Luckily they could take her immediately.  Lucy was in no shape to ride in the truck, so we took the Audi.

It took 15 minutes or so to get to the vet.  By that time she was looking much better.  By the time the vet saw her she was almost back to normal.  He confirmed what we thought - that it was probably old dog disease.  We had them do a blood test for valley fever and liver function.  From there we went to Fredericksburg.

We didn't get there until almost noon.  We stopped at ACE to get a little hardware.  I have an idea for the truck flaps.  The main street parking was full as usual for that time on a Saturday.  Lucy came through though.  We found a space on main just aroiund the corner from the jewelry store.

The pendant and ring are great.  It's nice to finally have that tanzanite in a piece of jewelry.  Ellen forgot a chain, so we bought one so she could wear it immediately.  He gave us 20% off.

When we were done we walked over to Dogologie for Lucy.  Then we had lunch at the outdoor place with the music.  I love their mojitos.  After lunch we did a little more walking and then drove home.

We didn't get home until after 5.  We fed the pets, watched TV, and surfed.  Dinner was a HEB salad I bought a few days ago.  After dinner was TV and surfing.

Day 1480

We woke up about 8, but didn't get out of bed until 9.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After that Ellen went to Home Depot to buy a new oven.  They're on sale for Black Friday and she's always wanted one.  Apparently it will be delivered the day before Thanksgiving.  That's cutting it a bit close.

I had to stay at home to wait for the carport people.  I started to put the new splash guards on the truck.  It wasn't pleasant, 53 degrees with a light rain.  I was working on that when the carport guys showed up.

I finished the front guards and started on the rears.  The mounting points on the guards didn't match the instructions, or the ones on the truck.  I went inside and called the dealer.  They said that they are the right part number, and the only ones available.  I decided to install one to see how it works.  I'll do it when it's warmer and dryer though.

The eye people called with a whole bunch of instructions for the day of the surgery.  There wasn't anything too bad though.

I started working on the dinosaur mini-lego again.  I had nothing but trouble with it.  I finally ended up tearing down almost everything I'd built and rebuilding it.  I'm not sure, but I think I made a mistake the first time.  My second attempt seemed more sturdy.  Then I started adding to it.  I got about halfway through the rest when I just got tired of doing it.

I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing except a walk to the mailbox.  Elllen fixed waffles and sausage for dinner.  After dinner was TV and surfing.

Day 1479

We woke up at 8, surfed for awhile, got up and did the pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast we went out to do errands.  The first stop was for a much needed haircut.  As we were driving there the carport people called.  They want to install the carport tomorrow.  I'm glad I cleaned up the debris on the basketball court yesterday.

The wait at the barber place was almost an hour.  So we went to Best Buy to kill time.  I went back in half an hour and waited until it was my turn.  Ellen came in just as I was done.  We decided to go to Sam's Club for Thanksgiving stuff.  While we were there she remembered to tell me that the dealer had called to say that the mud flaps were in.  So we cut the shopping short and went up there to get them.

While I was there I asked a service guy about the glow plugs.  He really didn't know, but said he thought that the truck would delay starting automatically if necessary.  I don't have much faith in his answer.

We decided to go to Central Market on the way back.  We stopped at Arby's first for lunch.  We spent $100 on Thanksgiving food at Central Market.

We stopped at the post office on the way home.  I also stopped at an auto parts store to get a funnel for putting DEF in the truck.

It was 4:when we got home.  I surfed for a little bit and then took the dog to the mailbox.

Dinner was spaghetti from HEB.  After dinner was football.

Day 1478

We got up about 8 today.  There was no particular reason, we just woke up then.  After pet stuff and breakfast we loaded up the truck to go to Capitol City.  It was raining lightly when we left, but we decided to take a chance.

The decision was a good one.  It wasn't raining up there.  Getting there wasn't fun.  The construction on 183 has fucked up traffic for miles.  The traffic jam started at 290 and was at least 3 or 4 miles long. 

When we got to the club we renewed our membership, bought some targets, and shot the hard course.  We also shot the tower stations on the medium course.  It was a lot of fun.  I shot abot how I expected given my eye.  Ellen shot her 20 ga because of the bee sting on her tit.

We took 290 back because southbound on 183 was just as fucked up as north bound.  We decided to drive down I35.  That was a mistake.  Then I decided to get off at 12th and drive across to Mopac.  That was a bigger mistake.

We ate lunch at Rudy's.  It was great as usual.  Lucy really liked being there, too.

When we got home I took out the garbage and the recycle.  The garbage can was half full, so I decided to clean up the remains of the truck shelter.  It took quite awhile to unscrew all of the pipes and separate them.  I had to use pipe wrenches on a lot of the pipes.  I managed to get all of the pieces, including the cover, into the can.  The only thing left is the pipes themselves.

After that there was a little surfing followed by a trip to the mailbox with Lucy.

Dinner was meatloaf from HEB.  It was good.  After dinner was TV.  I just couldn't face reading any more of the truck manual.

Day 1477

We woke up about 6 today.  For some reason both of us woke up really early.  We surfed and dozed for quite awhile.  We finally got up a little before 10.  Then we got up, did pet stuff, had breakfast, and started the wash.

I called a tonneau dealer and ordered a cover for the truck.  It costs $1,600 when the list price is $1,900.  I had to call because no one advertises a lower price.  There's no tax or shipping, so the final savings over buying one locally is almost $500.

Then we went outside to load up the truck.  There was an amazing amount of stuff.  We filled up the glove compartment, the console, some of the under seat storage, and some of the door storage.  We put away all of the stuff we needed and still had room for more.

When we finished I called the carport guy.  He was available, so I told him we'd be right over.  Then there were a couple of delays.  There was a squirrel in the back yard.  I got him.  Then when I opened the front door there was a (poisonous) coral snake on the walkway.  I had Ellen come out and watch him while I went and got a shovel.  I cut it's head off and put it in the garbage can.

We finally got to the carport guy and order the carport.  Apparently it won't take long to get it.  Then we went to HEB for some bananas and the pizza place next door for lunch.  It was 82 degrees with a pleasant wind, so Lucy could eat outside with us.  I have to lift her in AND OUT of the new truck.  It's not easy.

When we got home I did a little surfing and then took the dog to the mailbox.  After dinner I spent a lot of time reading the truck user manual.  It's a long read.  I got about a third of the way done before I couldn't stand it any more.

Day 1476

We woke up before 8, but stayed in bed until 8:30.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After that we left to go to the car dealership.

Things didn't start off well.  I had to get on loop 1 at Slaughter because traffic was fucked up even though it was 9:30.  Then traffic was slow south of the bridge.  I took the toll road even though we paid extra.  We got there just at 10 as we told them we would.  We had to wait while the salesman dealt with another customer.

Eventually we got to take a test drive.  It went fine.  The truck looks and runs great.  It had 300 miles on it.  Apparently it came from Beaumount.  After that we went in to do paperwork.

Things looked up.  They gave us the correct price and took off this bogus $600 option.  Then we had to wait for the finance guy.  That took quite awhile.  We sat out in the truck and messed with soe of the buttons and switches.  The truck has as many bells and whistles as the Audi.

Eventually we got to talk to the finance guy.  There was a pile of papers for us to sign.  We also had to suffer through the additional stuff sales pitch.  We ended up buying a slightly overpriced extended warranty.

We were at the dealership for 5 hours.  It was 3 by the time we were done.  We were ungry, but we needed to get south.  We took the toll road, which avoided miles of traffic jam.  We still had stop and go for a couple of miles south of the river.

We stopped at the post office and then went to Cheddar's.  It was great.

When we got home I took Lucy to the mailbox.  The evening was watching football while reading truck documentation.

Day 1475

We woke up at 8 today, but stayed in bed for at least an hour.  There really wasn't anything to do.  When we got up it was pet stuff and breakfast.

After breakfast I got out the rest of the jewels that we didn't have a case for.  I put them all in the new case we got yesterday.  I couldn't fit it in the safe, so I called Hooch to see if he'd like the pistols I don't want anymore.  He said yes, so I got them out and rearranged the rest.  I was even able to find their boxes in the apartment.

After that it was a little more surfing.  I was bored, so we decided to go to Torchy's for lunch.  It was really good.  There wasn't anything else to do, so we just went home afterwards.

I put some rum in the pink stuff I'd brought home from Torchy's.  Then I sat down to watch football.  The drink was good.  I fell asleep.

I woke up in time to feed the pets dinner.  I watched a little more football and then had a TV dinner for dinner.  After dinner was more football.

Did I mention that we didn't have anything to do today?

Day 1474

We woke up at 6 today, turned over and went back to sleep until almost 8.  Then it was get up,do the pet stuff, and have breakfast.  After that it was surfing and some small tasks like taking out the garbage.  I did contact Carmax about selling them the truck, but they didn't call back.

After an hour or so of that we decided to go load several bags of stuff for Goodwill in the car.  We also wanted to go to ACE for their BBQ demo.  ACE was disappointing, one guy BBQ'ing vegatables.  While we were there Melissa texted us the number for the truck.  We forwarded it to the dealer.  We headed to Goodwill while we waited for a reply.

The dealer replied that they'd like us to come in Monday because it was busy today.  So we just went to the post office and Goodwill.  We stopped for lunch at the Asian place y Goodwill.  They have great Ramen, much better than the place at the Domain.

When we got home I decided to hang the art work from Sisters above the TV.  I got the ladder and tools from the garage and went to work.  Ellen helped.  The piece required three mounting screws arranged in a skewed triangle.  Measuring it was a job.  The result is perfect though.

I really wanted to get more done, so I went out to the trailer to finish up with my clothes.  I put the rest away and loaded the extra stuff in the laundry basket.  It almost filled the basket.

I took the clothes to the bedroom and sorted them out.  I also sorted out the t-shirts in the closet.  When I was finished I had a garbage sack filled with clothes for Goodwill.

That was the end of work for the day.  The only really big job left to do is wash the trailer.  I'm not sure when that will get done.  It's supposed to get cold again soon.

Dinner was a frozen dinner.  After dinner was surfing.  I printed out the new price for the truck so I have it for Monday.

Day 1473

We woke up at 7:30 today.  There was no particular reason, we just woke up.  I did a little surfing on a website that showed the discount that we should receive on the truck.  It's about twice what they said it should be.  I texted that to the salesman.

A text and phone conversation ensued.  The upshot was that they will put the truck on the lot with a Sold sign until we get the number.  GM is supposed to be mailing it to Melissa.  We'll see.

After that I went out to work.  I moved about half a ton of gravel from the pile to the pad where I park the truck.  That enlarged it enough to hold the car port that we plan to buy.  I had to get out the edger to prepare the area I put the gravel on.  That turned into me edging all of the front yard and the areas around the well house and the trailer.  That's all of the edging that I plan on doing this year.

I was really tired when I was done.  I went back inside and rested for about half an hour.  It was time for lunch, so we decided to go to the post off and then Hop Doddy's.  I had to wait for awhile to pick up at package at the post office.  Lunch was OK, but we don't think it's as good as the other Hop Doddy's.

I was still tired when we got home.  I surfed until dinner - a ham sandwich.  After dinner was TV and surfing.  Ellen worked on this new hardware firewall that came in today's package.

Day 1472

We woke up at 8, but didn't get out of bed until after 10.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing we left for Tomlinson's to get the dog food that we'd ordered.  It was 42 degrees and raining.

After Tomlinson's we went to Dripping Springs.  We stopped at HEB for milk and gas.  Then we stopped at Tractor Supply for bird seed.  The last stop was the car port seller that I saw when we drove through town from Fredericksburg.  They were on the west side of RR12, when I remembered them being on the east side.

The carport guy sold both carports and wooden garage buildings.  I'd like to get the building, but I'm not sure the truck will fit in the door.  We had him price out a carport.  While we were there the truck dealer called.  The truck is in.  Unfortunately we don't have the code from Melissa yet.  I told them I'd talk with them tomorrow.

After the carport stop we went back home to pick up the safe deposit box key.  Then we went to CVS for my drugs and the bank to get the truck title.  The last stop was the hair salon so Ellen could get some hair stuff.

It was late afternoon when we got home.  There were three packages waiting for us - one from Amazon and two from Samsung.  I surfed the rest of the afternoon away.

Dinner was HEB salad, clam chowder, and hot chocolate.  It was pretty good.  After dinner was surfing and football.

Day 1471

We woke up at 8 today, but didn't get out of bed until after 11.  It was really cold - near freezing.  It didn't get above 40 the whole day.

The eye place called to schedule my appointments.  Apparently I'll be getting my first eye done on Nov 27 (2 weeks) and the second one about a week later.

I did a little surfing after pet stuff and breakfast.  Then I decided to attach the doors to the Lego stand.  It didn't go well.  I had trouble attaching the hinges.  Then I had trouble removing the protective film.  The handles went on OK, but the magnetic latch for the first door gave me a lot of problems.  I even had to use the Dremel to shorten the bottom door.  All in all it was a couple of hours or more of frustration.

After that I just didn't feel like doing anything else.  So I just surfed and did a little reading.  Ellen fixed pork chops for dinner.  They were good.   After dinner was TV and reading.

Day 1470

We got up at 6:30 today.  After doing the pet stuff we left for the eye doctor.  It was below freezing last night.  The car was covered with a thick coating of ice.  Luckily I'd found an ice scraper when we emptied out the truck.  I got it out of the apartment and went to work.  I had to work hard scraping for 15 minutes in order to clear the windows.

Luckily the roads were clear.  Also the government and schools were on 2 hour delays.  That meant that there weren't a lot of cars on the road.  We made good time driving up to iHOP.  We had breakfast there and finished up just in time to go to the eye place at 8:30.

I spent awhile filling out paperwork and waiting.  Then a couple of technicians did a bunch of eye measurements.  I sat while the dilation drops worked and then saw the doctor.  He was a duck hunter, so he understood shooting.  He didn't think the adjustable lenses were a good idea.  He suggested a normal lens in my right eye and an astigmatism lens in my left eye.  They'll call me tomorrow about scheduling.

From there we went to Best Buy via the coffee place Ellen drove because I couldn't see.  Best Buy didn't hand the Samsung Tab S6, so we went to Verizon and bought one.  Then we went to HEB and Randall's for groceries.  The final stop was the post office.

When we got home we had lunch and I set up the S6.  It's battery was low, so I just hooked it up to charge after that.  Then I did some surfing.  The temp never got up to 40.

About 4 Ellen went to coach the kids.  I did more surfing and a little later TV.  Dinner was a frozen dinner.  After dinner was more TV and surfing.  The temperature at 9 was 24.

Day 1469

I woke up sometime before 8, but played games until after 9.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I did some more surfing.  I also reread the info on the replacement lenses for cataracts.  I finally decided I had to do something, so I went out to the garage and got the wind chime.

I found a clamp to mount the chime and took everything to the back porch.  Ellen decided where she wanted it.  As I was starting to mount it I decided I needed a hook instead of a clamp.  So I put everything up and we went to ACE.

We bought the hook and then went to Tomlinson's.  We'd promised Lucy a trip there the other day but didn't go.  This was a makeup.  We also stopped at Pieous for lunch.  We got pastries, which were great.  We also got a pizza, which sucked.  Given that they are always busy I doubt we'll be back, at least for pizza.

When we got home I hung up the chime.  The temperature had dropped 30 degrees in the hour and a half we'd been gone.  The wind had really come up, but the chime didn't make a lot of noise.  I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

After that I got the doors for the Lego holder.  I measured and marked where the hinges needed to go.  Then it was back to the garage to drill and mount the hinges on the door.  I brought everything I needed to mount them on the holder, but I decided I'd done enough for today.

The rest of the day was surfing and football.  The Seahawks are fucking it up.

Day 1468

We woke up about 8 and spent a little time in bed before getting up to do the pet stuff and have breakfast.  Then I went out to the garage to get out the mower.

The mower didn't start when I tried to start it.  So I hooked up the battery charger.  The charger said the battery was down to 80% which was a little puzzling.  I decided to fix the plant shield while I waited for it to charge.

I measured and cut the new panel for the shield.  It was a little difficult because I didn't have a heavy cutting tool.  Then I took the door off the panel and used it as a template to drill holes in the new door.  Finally I hooked everything back together.

By the time I was finished the charger said the battery was at 98%.  The mower still wouldn't start.  I was about to start trying to debug it when I noticed the blades were engaged.  I suspect there was an idiot light that indicated this when I tried to start it, but the light isn't labelled.  I disengaged the blades and the mower started right up.

I mowed the area by the tennis courts.  Then I mowed the margins of the driveway ant the area by the road.  I decided to mow the road margins all the way to the stop sign because the back area doesn't need it.  Also I think the road looks like shit with it not mowed.

After that it was strait mowing as usual except for three stops.  The first was to cut some low hanging tree branches.  The second was to remove a couple of large rocks in the front yard.  I had to get the pick to remove them.  The third was to remove the skeleton of some animal.  It was a carnivore about the size of a cat.  I threw the bones over the fence.

I took a shower afterwards because I was covered with dust.  Then I ate a late lunch.  After that I went back to the garage and cut the doors for the Lego stand.  It's supposed to be cold tomorrow, so I'll probably work on them inside the house.

After that it was time for football.  The games were actually interesting this week.  The best was the last - the Cowboys lost.  Dinner was a HEB salad we bought a few days ago. 

Day 1467

We got up at 8 today, did the pet stuff and had breakfast.  Then we left to go to the GMC dealer.  We ended up buying a truck that will be here in a week.  It's everything we wanted except that it has a sliding roof and a center console lock.  That cost about $800.  I'm a little mad at myself for letting then give me so little for the trade-in, but that's on me.  We can afford it, so I'm not worrying.

We stopped at the post office on the way home.  The gem holders were here - I've been waiting for them.  We made a short stop at CVS and then went home.

The weather was actually nice today, low 70's.  I backed the truck into the garage and removed the hitch.  It's the first time I've used the chain hoist and it worked pretty well.  After that I started cleaning out the truck.  It took hours and I found stuff I didn't even know was in the truck.  Ellen was pulling weeds while I worked.  She got tired of that and came over to help unload the truck.  It helped.

Eventually we got it done.  I moved the truck over in front of the trailer.  The next time I drive it will probably be the last.  I sure hope the new truck is as reliable and trouble free as it was.  I'm going to kind of miss the old truck.

I went out to the gate and cleaned the driveway entrance before I went in.  It was covered with gravel that had washed off the pavement.  It just looked bad and it has been bugging me for a long time.

We fed the pets and then went to dinner.  I wanted to go to Pieous.  It was a little after 5, but there was a line of about 20 people.  We looked at the menu and didn't see anything that we wanted to wait that long for.  So we went to the place next to ACE.  It was great.  They had Guinness on tap and I had two - only $5 apiece. 

When we got home Ellen watched TV.  I hit the web to look at things for the truck.

Day 1466

We woke up at 7:30, but didn't get out of bed until 9.  It was 43 degrees and raining.  It didn't get above 45 all day.  After pet stuff and breakfast it was surfing.

The cats have been wrecking the plants and my Legos.  The fix is to redo the plant shield and put a door on the Lego stand.  So we went to Lowe's to get parts.  We also stopped at Home Depot because Lowe's didn't have everything.  We went to the post office, stopping at the pet store on the way for a doggy treat.  The last stop was Jim's for lunch.

It was too cold to work in the garage when we got home.  So I spent the rest of the day and most of the evening on surfing and TV.  Dinner was clam chowder.

Day 1465

We got up at 7:30, but didn't get out of bed for an hour or so.  Then it was pet stuff, breakfast, and some surfing.  I printed out a truck configuration.

We left for the Domain after 9.  It was raining a little, but there weren't any traffic problems.  I took the toll lane anyway.  When we got up there we bought bamboo towels at the bamboo store.  Then we went to the Microsoft store so I could look at the new Surface.  It was nice, but it's bigger and I'm not sure I want it.  We decided to wait until Best Buy has it.  That way we can use a discount and get it set up on Verizon right there.

By then it was noon, so we ate lunch at the Ramen place that's always been too busy to eat at.  It was OK, but I didn't think it was anything special.  It was packed after we came in even though not many people were walking around due to the rain.  On the way back to the car we passed the French pastrey place, so we stopped for dessert.  We even got Lucy one of their dog cookies.

I kind of screwed up.  I texted the GMC guy just as we got back to the car.  He didn't answer until we were halfway home.  It turns out that that was lucky, because the configuration I printed out was the wrong one.  We stopped at the post office, the mower place, and ACE on the way home.  I got a filter for the mower and a power cord for the lighted flamingo.

When I got home I ran the extension cord for the flamingo and hooked it up.  By then the temperature was in the low 50's and the wind was blowing.  That meant no walk to the mailbox.  I called the GMC guy and set up a meeting Saturday morning.

I spent quite awhile constructing and printing out a new configuration.  Then I closely read all 15 pages of it.  I marked several places where I had questions.  I also looked up the credit union money rates.  All the banks now lend through the dealers rather than directly.  I also looked up extended warranties.  There's no reason to buy one until the original warranty runs out.

Ellen fixed hamburgers for dinner.  After dinner was football.  For once it was an interesting game.  The flamingo looks fantastic.

Day 1464

We woke up at 7:30 today, but didn't get out of bed until 8:30.  After pet stuff, breakfast, and some surfing I started on today's errands.  I couldn't mow the lawn because it rained last night.  Instead I started by taking out the garbage and recycling.

I went the garage and put the new pulley on the mower.  The I aired up the tires.  They were all at about half the inflation level.  I took the mower off the stand and cleaned up all of the dead grass that I'd removed from the mower deck.  Then I hauled the mower stand back to the back storage shed.

Ellen came out and said it was time for her haircut.  So we put Lucy in the car and drove there.  I left her there and went to the post office.  Then I went to Best Buy.  I wanted to look at the new Surface laptops.  I might have purchased one, but they were out of stock.  I didn't feel like doing anything else, so I went to the coffee shop..  I got a coffee and sat outside with the dog until Ellen called.

When she called I went back to the haircut place.  It was about 2, so we had lunch at the Italian place.  I went to Tomlinson's so Lucy could have a lunch treat.  I picked out a lamb burger and a duck foot.  They gave them to me for free.

After lunch it was back home.  I put away the rest of the stuff from the trailer.  I also assembled the neon flamingo and put it on the deck.  I had to screw it to the deck, otherwise it would fall oer in the wind.  I need to get an extension cord for it before I can light it up.

The last tasks related to the stuff from this summer will be mounting a wind chime and the wall art we bought.

When I was finished it was time to take the dog to the mailbox.  After that it was an hour of surfing before a dinner of leftover sausage and hashbrowns.  The rest of the evening was surfing.

Day 1463

We got up at 7:30, did the pet stuff, had breakfast, and hit the road for San Antonio.  It would have been a nice trip except for several miles of construction on 1626.  Traffic was backed up and barely moving.  I was not a happy camper.

There was another slowdown - stop and go, on I35 once we got to San Antonio.  It lasted for 2 or 3 miles.  The last problem was that the car GPS decided to route us on a 14 mile side trip.  We switched to Ellen's phone and got there.

We had to park several blocks from the Big Boy in the parking lot for the San Antonio observation tower.  We walked over to it and got there about 10.  There were a lot of people there.  I took a ton of pictures.  A fully functioning steam locomotive, especially one that large, is really impressive.  The sound was something, too.  There was a high pitched scream from escaping steam even though it was standing still.

After about a half an hour they let people walk right up to it.  We walked all around it and I took a slew of pictures of different details.  We even got someone to take a picture of both of us.

One interesting note.  Everyone wanted a picture standing in front of the locomotive.  People just naturally took turns.  No one was organizing it.  That's something that would never happen in the Pacific Northwest.  People are too rude up there.

We spent almost 2 hours at the train.  Then we walked back to the tower.  We bought tickets and went to the top.  The view was impressive.  I have a new appreciation for how San Antonio is laid out.  There's a revolving restaurant at the top.  We didn't go there, but we had drinks and an appetizer at the bar.  Our table had a great view of downtown.  The drink and appetizer were really good.

After that we drove back to Austin.  We had to wait a little while on 1626, but only a fraction of the time we did this morning.  On the way home we stopped and picked up the mower pulley.

When we got home I just didn't feel like working on the mower.  So I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing and reading.  I also took the dog to the mailbox.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was TV and reading.

Day 1462

We woke up about 8 and surfed for awhile.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I went out to remove the broken pulley from the lawnmower.  The Kroil didn't seem to have done much.  I still couldn't budge it.  It did allow me to remove enough rust to confirm that it wasn't a reverse thread.

I switched to socket wrench so I could use a pipe as a breaker bar.  The pipe was 5 feet long.  I had to grab the end of it and use a lot of force to finally break the nut loose.  When I got the nut off I found that part of the pulley had broken off.

We got in the car and went to the mower repair place.  They didn't have the part, but said they would have it by 4:30.  We stopped by ACE because we had a coupon.  We bought a broom and some cleaning supplies.

The next stop was the post office.  It was a good move.  The box was crammed full and there were two packages also.  The next stop was the Cajun pace for lunch.  It was just as good as I expected it would be.  Then it was HEB for milk.  The last stop was Tomlinson's for dog food.  Unfortunately they were out of what we wanted.  Lucy got a cookie though.

When we got home I went back out to the garage.  I took the mower blade and sharpened it.  One of the packages contained a power cord adapter for the trailer.  I installed it which removed the daisy chain I'd been using.  It also let me put the expensive 50 amp cord back in the trailer.

The last trailer task Is to remove the extra clothes in the trailer.  I went through the t-shirts, pants, and heavy shirts.  I piled everything I didn't need on the bed.  There was almost as much on the bed as I left in the trailer.  I left it on the bed because it was 90 in the trailer and I was hot and tired.

The mower place never called, so I'm not sure they really had the part.

I watched a movie until a late dinner - Caesar salad.  After dinner was football and reading.  I have a whole stack of magazines to get through.

Day 1461

We spent the extra hour from "falling back" sleeping.  When we woke up we surfed and didn't get up until about 9:30.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast.  It was cold again this morning, so I surfed until it was warm enough to do the mowing.

The mower started right up and I got to work.  Unfortunately the mower deck got set to its lowest setting and I didn't realize it.  The part bu the trailer went fine, but the part by the well house resulted in a lot of dragging of the blade.  I finally realized the problem and raised the deck.

I'm afraid the damage was done.  I noticed that mowing wasn't being done well.  So I pulled the mower into the garage and got the mower lift from the far storage building.  When I raised it I found out that one of the blade drive pulley's was broken.  I tried to get it off, but the nut holding it is rusted on.  I soaked it in Kroil and will try again tomorrow.

That ended mowing.  Si started emptying boxes from Salem instead.  I emptied the two from the basement and one from the truck.  All of the stuff got put away, and a little went to Goodwill.  There was a whole lot of stuff for Isaac.  I still have one more box from the truck to go.

After the boxes I've got several pieces of art, and some pin flamingos to deal with.  I'll do that if the mower fix takes time.

After the boxes it was some surfing.  Lucy really wanted to do something, so I took her to the mailbox.  It was Sunday, but I didn't go yesterday.  She had fun.

Dinner was a take home and cook thing from HEB.  After dinner was TV and surfing.

Day 1460

We woke up about 9 today.  That's mainly because we stayed up pretty late last night.  After a little surfing it was pet stuff and breakfast.  It was cold again this morning, so after that it was surfing until it warmed up.

Once it warmed up I went out to winterize the trailer.  I thought draining the water from the hot water tank would be difficult, but it wasn't.  Blowing the water out of the lines with compressed air took a little while though.  After that I locked up the trailer.  I should have sorted out my clothes, but I didn't feel like it.  Instead I started to work on a mini-lego T-rex.  It's hard.  I only got the legs done.

We had lunch - sandwiches.  Then we went out to the trailer to measure the bedroom windows for new shades.  Unfortunately I need to remove the valences to do it and I didn't have the right tool.  That meant a trip to Lowe's.  That was OK since I needed gas for the mower.  I put the mower on the charger so it will be working tomorrow.

We left, got the gas, and went to Lowe's.  I found the took I needed.  I also wanted to buy a small drill driver.  The web said the store had 5 in stock.  I couldn't find any.  The employees weren't interested in helping me look, so we left.  The last stop was the Icehouse for dinner - nacho's.

When we got home I misjudged the gate timing.  It hit the back of the truck and knocked a bumper guard loose.  Fortunately it was an easy fix.

The rest of the evening was surfing and TV.  I tried to order the drill from Lowe's, but their website wouldn't accept the order.  So I ordered it from Amazon instead.

Day 1459

We woke up about 9, but surfed for awhile before getting up.  Then it was pet stuff and breakfast. After that it was a little more surfing.  Then it was time to get to work.

I put away all of the stuff from under the sofa.  Some of it went to the bedroom, some to the spare room, and some to the apartment.  It took quite awhile to get everything distributed to the correct places.  Then I unpacked the box from the trailer bedroom and put it in the apartment.

We ate some lunch - frozen food.   By then it was about 2:30. We needed some food and I wanted to pick up the stuff at the post office.  I decided to go north on Mopac to see what it looked like.  It's more screwed up than when we left.  It's 1 lane from before the turn to past Slaughter.  That's with entrances feeding people from the toll road and La Crosse on to it at the curve.  It must e a complete disaster in the morning.

We stopped at Randall's to buy the frozen food that HEB doesn't have.  Then we picked up the package at the post office.  I went home on William Cannon because both Mopac and 290 were parking lots.  It still took awhile due to school just getting out.

One of the things in the package was new latches for the trailer drawers.  So I took them out to the trailer and installed them.  It was kind of a pain in the ass because I needed to remove the drawers and drill new holes to install them.  They seem to make a difference though.

After that it was some reading and surfing until dinner.  Ellen fixed waffles.  After dinner was TV and surfing.