October 7, 2020. San Antonio, Texas. The Dogs.

David and Suzanne have two dogs. They look identical. They might be twins but they are not. But they are both Weimerreiners. Moose is nine years old and was named after Moose Harbor in Nova Scotia. One of their dogs died and they were visiting us in Nova Scotia when they decided that it was time to get another dog. So as they were at Moose Harbor when the decision was made they selected the name Moose for their next dog. David called the breeder and made an appointment to look at the doga when they returned to Texas. Moose was and is a wonderful dog. When he was a puppy, he would put his head on your knee and wait to be petted. No jumping up and poking with his paws. He still does it. He is a wonderful dog. Lincoln is a puppy just over a year old. He is bigger than Moose and energetic. He lives to work. David has trained him to retrieve so every day they work together. David loves that dog, perhaps because he got lincoln when David was recovering from his surgery so Linc was always with David. And Lincoln loves David right back. The dog follows David everywhere both inside and out. Linc looks identical to Moose except he is a bit bigger. And Linc has a shorter tail. You can tell the difference in their activity too. When the dogs are together and asleep, the dogs could be identical twins. It is almost spooky. David's dogs are always well behaved which is a great blessing when visiting. When the dogs come into the house after dinner, they come and say hello but immediately find a comfortable place to rest on the floor. I like these dogs even though I have trouble telling them apart. These dogs breed true. Even those dogs are 9 years apart, they look identical. Quite amazing.

October 6, 2020. San Antonio, Texas. Lunch with Robbie and Joyce.

Texas is a big state and their citizens are used to driving long distances. I discovered to be specific when asking about restaurants. I would mention a place and be told it was close only to find that the place was thirthy minutes drive. Close to me means five minutes drive or an easy walk, not a 45 minute drive. So I always ask how minutes driving when I am deciding whether or not to go for dinner. When my friend Joyce discovered I was coming to San Antonio for two weeks she offered to come for lunch even though it is a 90 minute drive. Robbie does not mind driving so yesterday they drove in to have lunch with me. We set 1:00 as the time to meet at the house. When they arived, we sat and talked for a bit, then we went to The Olive Garden for lunch. It was easy to get to and the food was fine, just not fancy. But it was perfect for us as it was quiet and mostly empty. Their lunch specials include salad or soup and hot bread along with the main dish. We all three ordered chicken parmagiona, which was excellent. We ate and talked,and talked some more. We e mail regularly and Joyce reads my blog so we did not have much to catch up on even though I have not seen them for over a year when they visited me at the lake. But things were new. Robbies brother died just a month ago at age 87. His family live a long time so everyone was surpoised when he died. Both parents lived to be close to 100. He was the brother that coached football and told Robbie about the pickle juice. But other than that, both Joyce and Robbie are doing well, still living at the ranch,. We came home at 3:30, just in time for them to miss rush hour traffic in San Antonio. I appreciated their long drive but I did enjoy lunch with them. They are good friends and I miss living across the road from them at the ranch. I certainly enjoyed my time with them yesterday.

October 5, 2020. San Antonio, Texas. The System.

The system works well. Every Wednesday at 4:30, David and Suzanne meet with Suni, the project co-ordinator at the job site. First they take a walk through to see what has been done. Then they meet to discuss questions and concerns. I attended the last meeting and will attend this week too as a silent observer. Suni is the liason between the owners and the contractor. She is available via text messages every day all day and urges David and Suzanne to alert her if something is amiss. When we met last week, suni brought drawings of the cabinets for the third floor bathroom and the laundry room. David and Suzanne approved the plans. Now Suzanne must make the decisions for tiles. Before she makes the decision, Suni insistist they go together to be sure the tiles are correct. Thursday is the day at 4:30. On this weeks meeting, decisions must be made for the electrical plugs. And so it goes. Eleven years ago, David and Suzanne were going to hire a contractor to renovate their large bathroom. Cabinets, shower, tub, tiles and floor. A big job. They inviewed three contractors including the one who built the new bathroom at the end of the house. All the contractors were good but David and Suzanne were impressed with the systematic way that was done by the one they selected. The bathroom was completed on time and on budget. Once they decided to get the work done prior to moving into their new home, they contacted the same company and he met with them at the house. He took notes and asked questions. Then he sent them a plan outlining cost and time lines. Suni was assigned as the project manager. She is a young lady with a business major at college. From then on, David and Suzanne deal with Suni not the contractor. He is not the cheapest contractor in town but he certainly has an effecient system, which I love. Any changes made by the owner will add to the cost but he guarantees his pricing. And he finishes on time. His business has grown so much that he keeps his own electricians and plumbers so waiting for the sub is not an issue. And Suni meets with the contractor every week so he knows progress. The system is impressive and works well for the home owner too. I have been impressed with the system.

October 4, 2020. San Antonio. Progress.

Today David and I took three trips to the storage units. My role is to accompany him and when I get there I walk on the level parking lot while David carries the boxes. And we made a trip to the tiny house to take some cleaning materieals when Aiurora comes to clean on Thursday. And David hung two pieces of art: one large fish on the wall of the screen porch, which I now call the fish porch, and another large painting in the bedroom of the tiny house. During one of the trips to storage we took the last art to the storage unit, which is a temperature controlled inside unit. It is almost full. David has kept one of his favorite paintings still on the wall of the living room, just to keep at least one beautiful painting on the wall. It is one of our paintings, done by a Russian, and called "If pigs could fly". Progress has been made. Every cabintet and drawer is empty. The only items still in the house are what will go with them into the tiny house. All closets are empty. The dining room table is full of objects for Aurora to take to her home. This afternoon we drove to the lake to leave candles and cleaning materials. Also in another box was food from the pantry. They expect to visit the lake this Fall and Winter, while they are living in small quarters. Normally they do not go to the lake in the autumn because the girls were involved with volleyball. But that is over so they will probably go to the lake. Also the house will not be ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas so the family will gather at the lake. The freezer was defrosted and cleaned today and the garage is mostly empty except for a few tools and light bulbs and a step stool. So the house is pretty ready to turn it over to the new owners. I leave for Mississippi on the 11th. Moving day is the 12th, when both David and Suzanne will take the day off work. Aurora will make one last sweep of the house before the settlement which will be on the 15th. No one gets together at the settlement table these days. It will all be done by remote. This has been a good house for the last 18 years. And they have been good for the house. Every aspect of the house has been improved. Now David and Suzanne are ready for the next phase of their life. They are excited. And so am I.

October 3, 2020. San Antonio, Texas. Attitude.

The other evening in Liverpool, I had just finished a delightful coctail hour in the home of my friend Sandra. John and Nancy were there too. Next, we four were to have dinner at Lanes. As we left the house to get in the car, John offered me his arm to navigate the stairs and the walkway. As we walked down the stairs in the late twilight, John commented to me that I must hate to be forced to have help getting down the stairs and into the car. I just laughed and responded that that attitude never crossed my mind. I said that I was just grateful that some kind friend was available to help me. And that is true. As Ken and I got older and began to have diminished expertise, we never spoke about what we could no longer do. Rather, we focused on what we were able to accomplish. What we can do today was what we spoke about. We certainly did not dwell on what we could no longer do in the past. This seems simple and obvious but our neighbors at the ranch, who moved from Corpus Christie in Texas from being in the construction business talked incessintly about what he could not do that he once could do easily. And both he and his wife seemed to be obsessed with their ill health, which was not nearly as bad as ours. Ken and I of course never discussed our health issues. With them always bemoaning their health and their deteriorating activity level they were difficult to talk with. They were a pain. Ken and I had a different attitude and we were happy with our life. Now I know I have real issues to deal with. But unless necessary, I never think about those parts of my body that do not work so well. I merely dwell on what I am able to accomplish. For instance, Suzanne and David are busily organize for their move. The only thing I can do to help is to pack boxes. So that is what I did. I don't feel bad that I can not carry those boxes. I just focus on what I am able to do. And that is enough. I am happy and so are David and Suzanne. Attitude is all.

October 2, 2020. San Antonio, Texas. Baseball Playoffs.

Beginning on Tuesday, baseball playoff games were on TV. On Tuesday, 4 teams played the best of 3 game series. The next day, Wednesday, there were actually 8 games played. Beginning at noon, you could watch baseball all day. And on Thursday, 4 teams played. It was a baseball fans dream. Every evening we watched baseball while eating dinner and we loved every minute. Of course, some of our favorite teams lost in two straight games but there were other teams to cheer for to fill the void. This evening, the third game between the Cardinals and Padres were playing. The Cardinals won the first game and last evening were leading by 4 runs but at last, the Padres came alive and won the game. And they won the game tonight. So the Cardinals will be going home while the Padres get to play the Dodgers, the best team in baseball. Monday will start the best of 5 series, with 8 teams still in the hunt. David and I are off the baseball routine for the weekend, which is a good thing because boxes must be packed. . But beginning on Monday, we will again join the couch to eat dinner and watch basebal. The games have been entertaining. David smoked several pork loins to use for dinners, along with a large piece of salmon. All Suzanne does is make either a salad or vegetables and we are set for dinner. I love watching baseball playoffs and have been paying attention since 1948, when I listened on the radio. On Wednesday, when the games were on all afternoon I put my legs up on the couch in the TV room and closed my syes which seemed just like the old days when I "watched" on the radio. This is an odd year with no fans but the games are just as good. And we enjoyed every game. Now I am looking forward to next week, where the games are played one day after another. Pretty nice for me.

October 1, 2020. San Antonio, Texas. La Rhonda.

San Antonio is a restaurant town. There are hunbdreds of restaurants everywhere both close in town and in the outer suburbs. David and Suzanne's new home is just two blocks from 6 good restaurants. As they had a meeting with the construction coordinator at 4:30, David suggested we dine at La Rhonda, a good Mexican restaurant. I had eaten there years ago but I was startled to discover that we drove for 3 minutes and then we were there. When Suzanne is weary of cooking in their tiny home, they can easily walk the two blocks to La Rhonda for dinner. Lucky them. The weather was delightful yesterday so we asked to sit in the patio, which is charming. I had never eaten outside at La Rhonda because we are not usually here in September but last evening was perfect for outside dining. Ther food is excellent and the service quick and pleasant. Next time we go I will order the same dish as David ate, which was a fairly thin steak, grilled and served with a small amount of a sauce. My dinner was good and I brought half of it home and ate the leftovers for lunch. I am looking forward to dining at La Rhonda very soon. Perhaps next time I will be staying in their new home or perhaps we will get there next week. No matter soon or later, I will enjoy myself at La Rhonda. It is a great restaurant.