Day 2623

 I got up at 7:30 and played gamed for over an hour.  then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was 28 degrees, raining, and there was ice covering the car and the deck.

I turned on the TV.  The local news said that it was only going to get worse during the day.  They were right.

Given the conditions I was glad when Hooch said that he'd rescheduled his flight for next week.

I could have accomplished something today, but I didn't.  I didn't even do any reading.  Instead I watched videos and 2.5 movies.

Dinner was frozen pizza.

By the end of the day there was at least twice as much ice as there was in the morning.

Day 2622

 I woke up at 8 and played games for a short while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was 30 degrees when I got up, with the wind blowing and a light mist falling.  It didn't get above 33 all day.

I killed time on the internet until it was time to leave to go to the doctor.  The visit was uneventful.  Afterwards I went to the grocery store and the post office.  I wanted to sure to have the basics if the Texans cleared out the store.

I really felt run down today, so I didn't try to do anything after I got home for lunch.  However I did put on the heat in the well house and well head.  Then I read a little bit and then took a nap.

I woke up a little before dinner.  It was leftovers.  After that I spent the rest of the evening watching videos.

There's a good chance that we will wake up to an ice storm tomorrow.  Hooch is coming in tomorrow at midnight.  I hope I'll be able to get to him.  I could be that his flight will be cancelled.

Day 2621

 I woke up at 8 and played games for half n hour.  After that it was pt stuff and breakfast.  As soon as breakfast was over I went out to the garage.

I spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the garage.  There was a lot of stuff to put away followed by vacuuming and sweeping.  I was kind of proud with the result.  Everything is put away, the place is clean, and all of the work surfaces are cleared.  I should have done that before I started the RC car rack.

When that was done I went inside and started the next project - reorganizing the RC parts.  I started by transferring all of the parts from the main parts case to the new one I just bought.  I made sure to put them in some sort of a rational order at the same time.  The result is a lot more handy.

When that was done I got out a couple of other parts cases and reorganized them.  I also put a few of the parts there into the new case.  That pretty much ends the parts reorganization.  The next step is doing the adhesives and lubricant containers.  That won't be fun.

I got finished about 1.  I ate lunch and then sat down for football.  I watched both games.  I really had no strong opinions on the teams, but both of the ones I was inclined to won.  I did manage to read a couple of magazines and do a lot of surfing during the game.

Ellen fixed tacos and apple cobbler for dinner.

When the games were done I surfed and watched videos until bedtime.

Day 2620

 I woke up at 7:45 and played games until after 8.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing I went out and loaded the old bicycles into the truck.

Our first stop was the post office so I could return the connectors that I'd ordered on Amazon.  Then we drove over to the bicycle donation place.  It's off Airport about 30th.  The guy there was glad to get them.  Then we drove over to Home Depot at 51st and 35.  They had the bolts I needed.

I'd planned on going to the club, but it was raining.

We stopped at a Central Market and bought a few things.  Then we went across the street to Rudy's to get lunch.  From there it was back home.

I went out to the garage to finish up the RC car rack.  I installed the second level and then constructed and installed the third level.  Finally I attached the rack to the shelf.  I did a little bit of the cleanup, but got tired of it and went inside.  

I watched videos for a while and then started watching a movie.  I stopped for dinner.  Ellen fixed hot dogs and tater tots.  She used yuppie hotdog buns that we got at Central Market.

After dinner I finished the first movie and started a second.  I lasted about an hour before I got bored and quit.

The rest of the evening was videos.

Day 2619

 I got up at 8 and played games until almost 9.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was a little surfing.  Then I left to buy the stuff I needed for the RC car rack I'm building.  I needed some bolts and a piece of AL flat bar.

The first stop was the post office.  Then I got the hardware I needed at Lowe's.  We stopped at Academy so Ellen could by some ankle weights for her therapy.  We also stopped for coffee.  The last stop was HEB to by some frozen dinners.  We were out.

I went out to the garage when we got home and worked for about an hour.  Then I came in for lunch.  After that it was back to the garage.  I worked until 5.  I got all of the two platforms built.  I would have finished them except the bolts I bought were too short.

I went back inside and looked for bolts.  The only place that has them is halfway to the club.  Crap.  I'll go tomorrow.

Ellen fixed chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner.  That cleared out much needed space in the freezer.

After dinner it was videos and a movie.

Day 2618

 I woke up at 8 and played games for 45 minutes.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I surfed for a while and then started to work on the Fireteam.

Making the holes for the extra screws wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I took my time and it went well.  I noticed that two of the screws I put in earlier were too long.  That's the reason that the roof cracked when I crashed it.  I replaced them with shorter ones.

After lunch I spent some time designing a rack to hold the Kraton and Fireteam in the garage.  Then I went out to the garage to see what I might use to build it.  I found something that would work better so I stopped the plan and went to plan B.  I spent quite a while building plan B.  Unfortunately I should have measured where I wanted to put it.  It wouldn't fit, so plan B was a bust.

I sat down for a while and came up with a plan C.  Unfortunately I didn't have the hardware I needed to build it.  I did what work I could and then texted Ellen with what I needed.  She was at the club and could pick it up at ACE on the way home.  Unfortunately they didn't have what I needed.  I'll have to go get it tomorrow.

That ended the work for today.  I had a frozen dinner for dinner and then watched videos.  Surprisingly Ellen watched with me.

Day 2617

 I woke up at 8:30 and played games until 9:15.  The it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  I'd planned on working on the Fireteam, but somehow that didn't happen.  Instead it was videos.

Eventually that got old and we left for Walgreen's.  We got Ellen's stuff and then stopped at HEB for chicken hearts for Devon.  After a stop at the post office we had lunch at Mangerie's.  Then it was home.

I did some reading and eventually fell asleep.  When I woke up it was videos until dinner - leftovers.  Aftr dinner was more videos and some surfing.

Day 2616

 I woke up about 8:30, played games for a short while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Ellen went for therapy and I resumed work on the Fireteam.

I trimmed the extra tape off the other two cover parts and reamed out the mounting holes.  Then I started to reattach them.  The back one was a pain in the ass, the other two were fairly easy.  I also fixed the tie down that I'd accidentally cut in half.  Searching for a replacement turned into an effort all its own.

I finished attaching things a little after Ellen got back at noon.  I left the body on the kitchen table because I plan on adding some more mounting screws once I punch holes for them.  Then I had lunch.

After lunch I'd totally run out of ambition.  It was cold, 50 degrees, windy and raining.  I watched videos.  At 2:30 the women from the Brittany rescue called.  It was a video call and Ellen took her around the place showing her everything she wanted to see.  I participated a little also.

By then it had warmed up a little, so I took out a load of garbage and got a couple of things out of the garage.  That was it for work.  I went back to videos (I should have done some reading).

Ellen fixed clam chowder for dinner.  It was really good.  After dinner was more videos.

It's going to be cold for the next couple of days, so we probably won't do much.

Day 2615

 I woke up a little after 8 and got up for pet stuff and breakfast (no games).  After that it was a little surfing until the package showed up containing the solder I needed.  When it got there I started soldering the connectors on the two new batteries.

The process didn't go particularly well.  I did manage to get both batteries done though.  Then I got out the Fireteam body parts.  I completed the gluing on two of them.  I got the third piece completed, including trimming and reopening the holes.

After that we went on errands.  There was a long list.  We stopped at ACE and got another flapper, some washers for the Fireteam, and a baster to replace the old one that failed the other day.  Then it was Tomlinson's for pet food.  Then we got gas and stopped for coffee at a place on 290.

We stopped for the mail and then went to Sam's club.  We walked the entire store.  They had a lot of different, but similar, things to Costco.  We bought a couple of items as an experiment.

It was almost 3, so we stopped at Craig'os for a late lunch.  We were planning on stopping at Walgreen's, but there was an accident that blocked the exit.  We got off at La Crosse and went to HEB that way.  After that it was home.  Except for the blocked exit it was a pretty good excursion.

I didn't feel like working on the Fireteam, so I watched videos until dinner time - a TV dinner.  After that was videos for the rest of the evening.

Day 2614

 I woke up after 8 and played games until 9:30.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was a little bit of videos.

My left hearing aid wasn't working well.  When I tried to clean it I broke the rubber thing.  That meant off to Costco.  The guy at Costco replaced the rubber and cleaned both aids.  We waited around for half an hour for it to be done.  Then it was off to Torchy's for lunch, followed by home.

The second battery charger, helping hands, and work mat were delivered.  I got out all of the battery stuff and used them for soldering.  I made up three charging cables - XT30, XT60, and XT90.  I was going to put XT90 connectors on the new batteries, but I ran out of solder.  The only other solder I had was high temperature and the soldering iron won't melt it.  I was tired and quit.

I ordered more connectors and solder.  Then I started watching football and surfing at the same time.

Ellen fixed Korean beef and rice for dinner.

After dinner it was more football and videos.

Day 2613

 I woke up a little before 8 and played games for a hour.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  It was 50 degrees, so outside wasn't an option.

I watched videos games for quite a while.  I also did a lot of shopping on Amazon.  I bought a couple of household items we wanted and some RC stuff.  That was about all of the constructive things I did today.

After lunch I built a small Lego thing I got for Christmas.  I also did some more Shoe-Goo work.  I got one piece done and the other two close to completion.  Then I did some reading.  I'm now over half done with the book.

Football started, so I watched it until dinner.  Ellen fixed pork chops.

After dinner was more football followed by more videos.

Personal note: The floaters in my right eye are back.  They range from some small black spots to a couple of large string things.  I'm worried that they are going to get worse.

Day 2612

 I woke up at 8, played games for a long time, and then got up to do pet stuff and have breakfast.  After breakfast was surfing and videos.

Ellen had a physical therapy session, so I spent the rest of the morning watching videos.  She brought lunch home though, that was good.

After breakfast we went out for errands.  I took the truck because it hadn't been run in a while.  It also allowed us to program the gate controller.

I had great plans, but ended up not doing much.  We stopped at Costco, but it didn't have what we wanted.  We picked up the mail and then went to HEB.  It was a very necessary HEB trip.  Then it was home.

I sat down in the recliner to watch videos.  I just couldn't keep my eyes open, so I didn't fight it and took a nap instead.  

Dinner was the rest of the sandwiches that Ellen bought for lunch.  After that I watched videos for the rest of the evening.  I feel a little guilty for not doing any reading.

Day 2611

 I got up at 8, played games for a short while, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast we went over to the apartment to say goodbye to John and Melissa.

We talked for a while in the kitchen and then started loading up the car.  They have a huge amount of stuff.  When we were finished there wasn't much room left for two people and the dog.  We said our goodbyes and they left about 10.

After they left I went out to the gate and re-positioned the rebar that was banging the gate stop.  It seemed to make a small improvement.  Then I went back inside to put a new flapper on the guest toilet.

A note on Cooper.  He is now continually trying to open the front door.  That means we have to keep both doors locked at all times.  It's a pain in the ass.

I tried to shut off the toilet valve in the guest bathroom.  It started to leak as soon a I turned it.  I shut it off and had Ellen hold the float up.  The bottom of the float started leaking, probably because she touched it.  It was loose and quit leaking when I tightened it up.  The new flapper fit perfectly and stopped the leak.  We'll see long term.

I was planning on fixing the floor, but I ran out of ambition.  I was going to take the old bikes for donation, but we decided to wait until next week when we can go shooting, too.  Instead the rest of the day turned into video watching and reading.  I'm half way through the book.  Unfortunately it's getting a little less interesting.

Ellen went to teach the kids.  That meant I had a frozen dinner - the first in weeks.

Day 2610

 Ellen woke me up about 8 because she was going to the physical therapist for her knee.  She fed the cats, so I just got up for breakfast.

After breakfast I spent sometime surfing.  Then I got out the Fireteam body and continued putting ShoeGoo on the drywall tape.  One piece is now finished.  The other two pieces are partially done.  I'm going to need some more glue

When I was finished with the Fireteam I put it away and went out on the deck to read.  I'm behind in reading the Zeiban book that I got for Christmas.  I read until after 1 when John and Melissa got back.  They'd taken the dog for a wash and nail trim.

We ate lunch and then John went back to the apartment to prepare to leave.  He'd agreed to help me take down the e-bikes from the trailer, so I started unhooking them.  I'd done a good job - a cover, 4 ratchet straps, 4 bungy cords, and two bike locks.  It took a while.  John came out about the time I'd finished and helped me get them down.  I put them where the old bikes were.  I'll probably take the old bikes to a charity tomorrow.

After that I went back to reading.  John and Melissa did more packing. John came over and we talked for a while until 5.  Then he went to feed the dog and I went to feed the cats.  A little later John and Melissa came over and we had dinner - a collection of leftovers.  After dinner we talked until about 9.

I turned on videos followed by a movie after they left.

I'm going to be sad to see them go.  It will be nice to see Hooch when he comes down in a couple of weeks.

Day 2609

 I got up about 8:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  When breakfast was over I took the garbage out and then went to the garage to put away the tools from yesterday.

When that was done I went out to dress the gate wires.  I attached the antenna wire to the post and put the controller and gate wire in plastic sheathing.  I was about to declare it done when I noticed that one of the muffler clamps was rubbing on the end of the actuator.  

I removed the clamp, took it to the garage, cut one end down, and reattached it.  I also put one of the delrin washers on the actuator pin.  When I reattached everything it looked and worked good.

I went back inside the house and surfed for a little while.  Then we all left for the botanical gardens.  They were pretty beat up.  All the plants were dormant and the water features were either rally dirty or dry.  It's still a pretty neat place though.

Afterwards we went to a place on Lake Austin Blvd that was recommended on the web.  It was shut for remodeling, but the place next door was open.  It turned out to be a great choice.  The food was great and so were the drinks.

We didn't get home until after 4.  I watched videos until John and Melissa came over for dinner.  Then John and I watched more videos until Ellen got through fixed BBQ'd chicken legs for dinner.

After dinner John and I watched videos.  We found several really entertaining ones on a variety of subjects.

Dayy 2608

 I woke up about 8:30, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  When breakfast was over I started reading the installation instructions for the new gate opener.

John and Melissa came over while I was reading.  Both of them really wanted to help.  We talked over things for awhile and then I went out to collect tools and the garden cart.  I took the cart to the house and we loaded up the opener.  John went with me.

We started by removing everything involved with the old opener.  Of course I made some trips to/from the garage to get things I'd forgotten.  When that was done we started by attaching the opener to the gate post and the gate.  That meant more trips to the garage.  We finished that about 1:00.  Melissa called saying she'd fixed lunch, so we went to the house.  I took the electronics box and the instructions to the house.

We ate lunch and I did a couple of pre-assembly operations on the box.  Then it was back out to the gate.  John and I worked on different things.  He did the attachment of the new box to the old box's mount.  I made several more trips to the garage to pick up hardware and a tool or two.  Once the box was installed John installed the batteries while I installed the power supply.  Finally John attached the board to the box.   He also installed the antenna wire while I hocked up all of the wires to the board.

Melissa came out to walk while we were finishing everything and turning on the board for the first time.  I got the supplied opener programmed, but nothing worked.  Melissa and I worked on it for a while and got the gate to move in limit setting mode.  We couldn't get it to work with the opener.  Finally I noticed that John hadn't installed the antenna, only the antenna wire.  After that the gate worked.  It works really well.

The final tasks were programming the inside and outside boxes and the car openers.  Melissa helped, it's a two person operation.  After that they went inside while I cleaned up (lots of cardboard and packing material), put all of the tool in the cart, and hauled the cart to the garage.  I left most of the tools to be put away tomorrow.  It was 4:15 and I was hot, sweaty, and tired.

I went inside and took a shower.  After that I watched videos until John and Melissa showed up for dinner.  Ellen and Melissa fixed chicken Cordon Bleu and cornbread.

After dinner John and I watched football.  It was the Cowboys vs Tampa Bay.  I wanted both teams to lose.  Tampa Bay lost.  Screw Tom Brady.

I was stiff and sore all night.  Ellen went to the doctor about her knee.  The doctor gave her a brace, told her to take an noninflammatory, and see a physical therapist.

Day 2607

 I woke up about 8, did the pet stuff, and had breakfast.  After that it was videos.  I decided not to do anything until football started at 11:30.  I did move birdseed from the garage to the plastic buckets on the deck.

There were three football games today.  John came over just as the first one started.  It was a good game, even though it was a team with a good record against one  with a mediocre record.  The next two games were the same.

The rest of the day was football.  Ellen fixed spaghetti and Melissa came over for dinner.  After dinner John and I were getting burnt out on football.  He left to go home at halftime.  I started videos, but kept the game on.

Ellen's knee is really hurting her.  She's not sure why.  I got the cane out of the trailer for her.

The gate opener came about 9.  It was in a huge box that contained the opener box.  I took the opener box out of the big box and broke the big box down.  When I opened the door to put the box outside Cooper made an escape.

That caused a half hour search for the cat in the dark.  Eventually he came back to the yard and we took him inside.  It was not a pleasant experience.

After that it was an hour of videos followed by bed.

Day 2606

 I woke up about 9, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast it was videos.  We weren't planning on leaving until 10:30.

We drove to the Palmer Center and parked.  The "vintage sale" was a cross between Goodwill and a flea market.  There was a wide variety of stuff from used clothing and shoes to furniture, to records, to collectables, to knives, to "art" stuff.  It was highly entertaining.  I bought two things.  One was an old Victorinix knife similar to the one I carry.  It was a bargain - $10.  The second was a yard art grist mill for $25.

We were going to eat at Black's, but the line was out into the parking lot.  We went to Lucy's fried chicken instead.  It was great.  I had fantastic chicken fried steak.  After that we went home.

I watched videos until it was time for football.  Then John came over to watch, too.  When the game was over we all had leftovers for dinner.  There was a lot to choose from.

After dinner John and I watched the second game.

Day 2605

 I woke up a little before 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Then I went outside to work on the gate.

It didn't work when I tested it.  I did notice that the fence pole bracket was loose.  I found that three of the four bolts were rusted and broken.  I got some more bolts and fixed it.  I also noticed that the close limit really needed to be reduced.  I managed to reduce it, but the actuator started to fail again just after that.

The failure indicator was "bad limit".  I thought that might be due to the VERY dirty circuit board.  The fire ants die on it.  I went to ACE and got some contact cleaner.  I gave the board a thorough bath.  It didn't fix the problem.  I decided to give it a rest in case the battery needed charging.

I went back to the house and had lunch with everyone.  After lunch we drove to the olive oil place.  John and Melissa had wine, I had a beer.  After the obligatory purchases we went to the Triple X brewery.  We got beers and sat out in the sunshine and talked.  It was fun.  We stayed there until 5.

When we got back I noticed that the actuator was leaking oil.  It still didn't work.  I gave up on it, went inside, and ordered another one.

Melissa fixed nachos for dinner.  After dinner John and I watched videos.  It was an early evening.  He fell asleep and I almost did.

Day 2604

 I woke up about 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast it was videos until Ellen came back from the garbage.

She said the gate wasn't working and that she had removed the actuator.  I went out to take a look.  The actuator worked fine when I tested it.  I connected it back up and the gate worked fine.  It's a windy day today and I think that's what the problem is.

After that I decided to check the Audi's tires.  They all read 32 PSI.  I got out the compressor and put 36 in the back and 35 in the front.  I couldn't reset the tire alarm because the manual didn't match the car.  Ellen figured it out.  The manual leaves out a step.

John and I went to the estate sale alone.  He got some hardware and a rat trap.  I got a couple of bungee cords and a socket.  After that we stopped at the post office and a pizza place.  We had a beer while we waited for the pizza.  Then we took it home for lunch.  I bought enough to handle dinner, too.

After dinner John and Melissa went to walk the dog.  I watched videos and Ellen went to the club.  About 5:30 John and Melissa came over.  John and I watched videos until Ellen came home and heated up the pizza.

After dinner John and I watched videos.  Melissa watched with us for a while.

Day 2603

 I woke up about 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was videos.  I was waiting until 10:30 when we left for Bastrop.

We got to Bastrop in about an hour.  The weather was perfect, low 70's.  The first stop was the museum.  It was small, but really neat.  I learned quite a bit about the history of the area.  The next stop was the park to walk the dog.  The park is along the river and very picturesque.  It also had a lot of facilities like picnic areas and a skateboard park.

From there we went to Buc-ee's.  We got lunch and took it to another nearby park that had a picnic area.  Our final stop was a BBQ place 5 miles south of Bastrop.  Part of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie was filmed there.  The place was filled with memorabilia and horror movie merchandise.   We bought a pound of brisket and a pound of sausage.

The drive home was fast.  Everyone was going at least 10 over.  We stopped and got the mail on the way.

When we got home I did my daily reading.  The book is interesting, but I'm just not used to reading.

Melissa had a business call at 6.  John came over and we watched videos until she was done.  Then we all had BBQ for dinner.  Both the brisket and sausage were great.  After that John and I watched videos for the rest of the evening.

Day 2602

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that it was surfing for a while.

That go old, so I got out the Fireteam.  I put tape on the back deck piece.  Then I covered it with Shoe Goo.  That was unpleasant.  I had another tube, but I didn't feel like doing the other two pieces.  It was back to videos instead.

Melissa and John came over for lunch.  After lunch John did games, Melissa did crafts, and I sat down to read my book.  I got through a chapter before I fell asleep.  Ellen woke me up to say she was leaving for the club.  John and Melissa were gone, so I watched videos.

John and Melissa came back about 5.  John and I planned trips for the next few days while Melissa cooked dinner (salmon cakes).  We had dinner when Ellen came home.

After dinner we talked and planned outings until about 8.  They went home and I went back to videos.

Day 2601

 I stayed up until 1 last night, so I didn't wake up until 9.  Then it was up.  Ellen had fed the cats and she was waiting for John and Melissa to come for breakfast.  When they did we had bacon, hashbrowns, and eggs.

We talked for a while after breakfast and then went to the Beckett park to walk the dog.  It was a beautiful day.  When that was done we went to Costco for various items.  The last stop was the smoothie place at Circle C because Melissa wanted one.  We sat outside there and drank them.

When we got home we all sat out on the deck.  John surfed, Melissa did crafts, and I read magazines.  I also started the Zeihan book that Pat gave us.  It will be a long read.

Eventually I went inside because it was getting cool.  John and Melissa went back to the apartment for awhile.  They returned and John and I watched videos until dinner time.  Ellen fixed salmon we bought at Costco.

After dinner John and I watched videos until it was time to go to bed.

Day 2600

 I woke up about 8 and played games for a little while before getting up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Ellen started working on making more crackers.  I looked up estate sales.

There were only two sales.  One didn't look interesting and the other was 20 miles away.  I didn't really feel like going.  I did a little surfing and then got out the Fireteam.

I lined the roof and the front hood of the Fireteam with drywall tape.  It was alot easier to use the tape I had than the stuff I used in Oregon.  I stopped there because John and Melissa came over for lunch.  I told them I really didn't want to go to the estate sale.  They said OK.

I turned on football for John and Ellen and I went on errands.  We stopped at HEB for groceries, the post office, the pet store, and a pizza place.  Melissa wanted pizza for dinner.

When I got home John and I watched football for the rest of the day.  John was happy, the Lions won over the Packers.  I was a little disappointed because I think it's Arron Rodgers' last game.

Day 2599

 I woke up at 8 and played games until almost 10.  Then I got up for breakfast.  Today is Japanese cracker cooking day.  That meant that I didn't have anything to do.

I watched videos for a little while.  Then I got out the Fireteam body.  I removed the roof and glued the cracks in it.  I can't do anything else until the glue dries, so I got out the lights I got for Christmas.  I assembled the 4 of them.  That took a while because there are a lot of small parts.

I wanted to replace the back lights on the Fireteam with some of the new ones.  The new ones didn't come with mounts, so I made some.  Then I removed the old lights and soldered in the new ones.  I'll wait until after the roof is reinforced before I install them.

John came over while I was working.  I turned on the TV for him.  When I was finished with the Fireteam stuff I joined him and we watched videos and football until dinner.

After dinner it was more football.

Ellen and Melissa spent most of the day making crackers.  It was a lot of work and made quite a mess.

Day 2598

 I woke up about 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  We didn't really have anything to do in the morning, so I just watched videos.

John and Melissa came over for lunch about noon.  When we were finished we left for the home and garden show.  It was held at the Austin convention center.  It was kind of a pain getting to it, but we managed.

The show wasn't very big, but it was fun.  We talked to a couple of people about replacing the french doors.  We also ended up buying some stuff.  We got a roller apparatus for cleaning up kitty litter.  We also bought a cutting board with baby Yoda on it.  John and Melissa didn't get anything, but John had a great time talking to vendors.

We just went home when we were finished.  it's Friday and traffic was beginning to build up.

When we got home John and Melissa went to the apartment and we went to the house.  We watched videos.

Ellen fixed BBQ beef on the Traeger with an assist from John.  After some conversation John and I watched videos.

Day 2597

 I woke up about 8, played games, and then got up to do pet stuff and have breakfast.  There wasn't anything for me to do afterwards, so I just watched videos.

A little before noon John and Melissa came over to have lunch.  After lunch we went with them and the do to the park on the cliff overlooking the river.  The view was great.  We hiked the entire length of the park.

When we were done we stopped at County Line on the way back.  I picked up a loaf of bread and a pound of brisket.

When we got home John and Melissa went to the apartment.  Their dog followed us because i told him he'd get some brisket.  He did.  Eventually they came over and we talked until dinner time.  The brisket was excellent.

Hooch called a little before dinner.  He wants to bring the family down in mid January to see dogs.  I said fine, we'll work out the housing.  I asked Ellen about the dog we "applied" for.  Apparently we were judged unworthy.  Assholes.

After dinner John and I watched videos.

Day 2596

 I woke up at 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After a little surfing we went over to the apartment.

We measured the space on the wall and determined that a TV wouldn't fit on it.  We also showed that a 43 inch TV would fit in there well.  John helped me load the old TV into the truck and then we all left for Goodwill.

We dropped the TV at Goodwill and then stopped at the donut shop - sugar donut holes for John and a cinnamon roll for Melissa.  Then it was Best Buy for a new TV.  We bought a 43 inch LG 4K TV for $270.  Next up was the Cajun place for lunch.  We had a coupon.  The last stop was HEB for some more bread.  We ate a whole loaf last night.

Things got complicated when we got home.  The new TV didn't fit on the old stand.  The legs were too far apart.  I got a piece of wood from the garage and cut it to length.  I also rounded the corners.  Then I screwed it to the stand.  The TV fit, but wasn't really stable.  I drilled a couple of holes in the legs and screwed them down.  Everything worked fine when we turned it on.

Ellen started programming the TV and signing up all of the streaming accounts.  That's a long process.  I went back to the house.  I turned on the TV, but I was really planning on a nap.  I took the nap.

The other three showed up about 5.  I fed the cats and then John and I watched videos until dinner - sandwiches again.  After dinner we talked for a couple of hours and then it was time for John and Melissa to go home.

Day 2595

 I got up a little after 8, played games for a while and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast I did a little surfing and put the 12 ga I'd used to weigh down the floor trim back in the garage.

After that Ellen and I went out to the trailer to finish installing the lights.  Finishing up the first light went fairly well.  The second not so much.  Part of the problem was that I was getting hot and tired.  I started making mistakes crimping the wires.  It took a long time and at least6 to 8 tries to get the wires crimped.  The good news is that the new lights work really well.

I put all of the tools away.  Then I took the ice chest and the old lights to the back storage building.

John and Melissa came home just as I was finished.  We all had lunch together.  That evolved into a long conversation session.  About two we all left to go get the mail.  In addition we stopped at Lowe's so I could get shoe goo and tape to repair the broken Fireteam body.  We also stopped at Spec's for margarita mix and wine.  The last stop was HEB for a few small items.

When we got home I started watching videos, and ended up falling asleep.  Ellen woke me up when John and Melissa came over.  We all watched videos until dinner.  It was only sandwiches.

Melissa brought over the TV remote control.  It's dead.  It's time for a new TV in the apartment anyway.  The one in there is over 20 years old.  Maybe we'll get one tomorrow.

After dinner it was more videos.  The session ended early, we were all tired.

Day 2594

 I woke up about 8, played games, and then got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast it was time to fix the living room floor.

The water from the ice chest did quite a bit of damage.  It loosened one of the trim pieces by the back door and totally removed another.  It also caused about 6 of the floor boards to swell up.  I can't fix those.  I did glue down the floor pieces.  I weighted them down with 12 ga cases.  We'll see the result tomorrow.

After that I went out to the trailer and measured the remote holder between the recliners.  Then i went to the garage and built a divider to separate it into a section for the TV remotes and one for everything else.  That makes it really easy to find the remote that you're looking for.

That was pretty much the end of doing constructive things for the day.  I spent the rest of the afternoon surfing and watching videos.  Melissa came over to see if we wanted to walk the dog.  It was 77 degrees with 75% humidity.  We said no.  Eventually it got up to 83 today.

John came over and we watched videos until dinner time.  Ellen fixed leftover turkey over rice.  After dinner we watched videos until the football game.  The game only lasted 15 minutes.  A player got seriously hurt and was carried off in an ambulance.  They cancelled the game.  Apparently the player is in critical condition.

John and I went back to watching videos until it was time to go to bed.

Day 2593

I woke up at 8, played games for a little while, and then got up for pet stuff.  After that it was time to put away the Christmas stuff.

I got the tree and ornament boxes out of the garage. Then I took the ornaments off the tree while Ellen packed them away.  When the tree was stripped I went out to take down the outside lights.  Ellen kept packing.

When I got back Ellen was still packing, so I took down the tree and packed it away.  By then she was done, so I took the boxes back to the garage.  Ellen got out the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed the kitchen and living room.  The last step was moving the oriental case back to where the tree was.

After that it was surfing until Melissa came over to say that they were ready to go to the park.  I loaded the Kraton and Fireteam into the truck and we left.  The weather was wonderful - 70 degrees and sunny.  John thought it was a little hot.

When we got to the park I discovered that the batteries in one of the controllers were dead.  I had John drive the Kraton for a while, but I think he was a little intimidated.  He turned it over to me.  I had a great time with it.  It's fast and handles really well.  I even managed to do a few mild jumps with it.

After a while I switched to the Fireteam.  It wasn't as much fun.  It's a little slower than the Kraton and not as controllable.  Also it's hard to see which direction it's headed in when it's far away.  Finally it's really nose heavy.  That makes it harder to control on jumps.  I crashed hard several times attempting jumps that I did easily with the Kraton.  I ended up breaking the body in several places.  Also it stopped, either because the batteries were dead or thermal, I'm not sure which.

After everything was put away we went for lunch.  John, Melissa, and Ellen went to Fireman's.  I went to the pizza place next door.

When we got home it was football time.  Today was NFL.  We watched portions of two games, one full game, and half of another.  After that we called it quits.  John went home and I watched videos.

One note.  We got out an ice crusher and made margaritas for Melissa and daiquiris for me.  They were good.  I also had a margarita.  That special tequila I had is really good.

Day 2592

  I woke up at 8, played games for a little while, and then got up for pet stuff.  Then I got out the RC stuff.

I mounted four tires on beadlock tires.  It wasn't easy.  The beads kept coming off the wheel when I tightened the screws.  Eventually I got them all mounted.  I put them on the jeep.  They may be a little big.  If so I'll move them to the small power wagon.  After that it was videos.

John and Melissa came over before lunch.  I'd charged up all the batteries for the Kraton and Fireteam, but John wanted to watch football.  Of course we watched football, for the rest of the day.

Melissa fixed spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.  I learned that she liked Tequila.  I found an almost full bottle of obviously expensive Tequila.  We'll try it tomorrow.