Friday
Be safe – Be Considerate – Wear A Mask
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The sun appeared big and bright this morning. My camera reacted to the brightness by darkening the sky. Usually I remember to apply a filter that corrects for the auto adjustment. However, I forgot today.
This extra layer of insulation that Ella and I put up this morning, made a noticeable difference in our inside temperature today.
TODAY’S Video
This evening, or late afternoon, we walked up to check our mailbox, which was empty. On our way back we stopped to visit with one of our neighbors, who has a tiny house that she’s been working on for several years. She invited us in to see what new things have been done in it. I did not have my mask with me and was uncomfortable getting to close. Ella had her mask in her pocket but didn’t think to wear it. Ella went on in and did a full tour. I went in only far enough to see the restroom. then I went back outside.When we arrive home, Ella said she wanted to purchase some elastic to replace the hair ties that were on the masks that our granddaughter sent us. So, we loaded into Rudolf the Red-nosed pick up and went to Dollar General, looking for elastic. We did find the elastic. We also found a loaf of bread, candy bar, an ice tea, and a soft drink.
Every since the summer solstice on June 20th, the sun has been working its way Southward in the sky. I notice it more in the Western sky than in the Eastern sky. Perhaps it is because the western sun is now setting in a more or less open horizon, rather than behind the live oak trees.
- God bless and g‘day.
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- ©2020 Thomas E. Williams
here’s something I didn’t tell you folks yesterday. When we got home and we were putting the groceries away, I noticed small black ants on our countertop. From past experience I know that it’s very hard to get rid of those little black ants. So my plan for today is to go to Winkley’s Hardware and purchase a couple of bug bombs. I’ll set one off on the bathroom level and one off in the kitchen area and then leave for a few hours. I also have ant spray that I will go around the outside and spray all of the places that I can find, where anything on the trailer that touches the ground. Hopefully that will cut off any trail they have down to the ground and back.
ell we traveled around for quite a while today. We drove down one road that had a sign that said “private property turn around now this is your last chance.” All other roads were much friendlierAs we drove, the breeze coming through the windows kept us fairly nice. At one point we started heading east towards Georgetown and a real nice cool breeze came through, and I said, “If I’d know it was going to be this cool in Georgetown I would have come here first.”Other than a stop at Taco Bell for lunch we kept moving. It was close to 4:30 when we return home which means we had been gone for 3 and 1/2 hours. We opened windows, doors, and a roof vents then turned the fans toward them.
Then we came outside to sit under the awning where it is nice and cool with a wonderful Breeze.Ella was saying, “It was 74 or 75 degrees out here on our patio. I don’t complain about that temperature any day of the year.” I’m not sure what glue she has been sniffing, but it is 81°. It hasn’t been 74° Since last midnight.Did I say that it rained? It did, not hard and not long, but it did rain. That short rain did drag some of the heat out of the air.
See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.
hough the golden Sunrise was beautiful to behold, it was but a harbinger of the heat that was going to come forth later in the day. As you can see in the screenshot below, the temperature was already in the 80s before sunrise, with the “feels like” temperature of 85°.
esterday I had posted about having pain in my eye since Friday morning when I woke. This morning, I set an appointment for two this afternoon. I will see the nurse practitioner at Liberty Hill Physicians. I’m also hoping that to get word from the pharmacy that my prescription has been okayed and filled.Ella has prescriptions ready for pick up already. After my two o’clock appointment I also may have an additional prescription issued from the Physicians here in Liberty Hill. So, hopefully, I can get all of those taken care of this afternoon.
hen we returned to Texas from Iowa on October 1st, it was with a clear plan to go back to Iowa around the 1st of May 2020. This has been our yearly cycle for over a half-dozen years. We spend the best part of the year in Texas and the warm part in Iowa. We have family in both places and long to see both of them.This year the coronavirus changed those plans. We have now been in Texas for two months longer than we normally would be. We are fearful of the drive north, stopping to eat, or even drive through. Public restrooms, no matter how well maintained, cannot be considered a germ-free. I have always been skeptical of the cleanliness of motel rooms and, during this time even more so. Therefore our travel plans have been put on hold until we have better assurance that we won’t catch this disease, which could be deadly to the two of us.In regard for these facts, I have decided to stop posting how many days we have been in Texas. This year it may be a year or longer. Similarly I’m also no longer posting how many days we have been isolated because of the covid-19 virus. Partially this is due to the fact that we are no longer isolated in the truest sense of the word.We venture forth to pick up groceries or prescriptions, with were ordered online. We also have begun going out to eat, although those are at drive-thru restaurants not eat-in restaurants. Although we still do not gather in large groups, we have gone to family functions several times as well as worship and Sunday School.We are still hand sanitizing and wearing masks whenever we go out in public, but we are going out in public more than during the beginning of isolating.
e arrived a little early at the Doctor’s this afternoon. The entry door and exterior wall was broken. I didn’t ask and wasn’t told, but I am guessing that someone hit it with a car.Haley, the nurse practitioner examined my eye and declared it to be a bacterial infection. As suspected, a prescription was called in. That brought the total meds waiting for us to four. Three for me with one for Ella.
ince we were now going to Wal-Mart, I placed the order for groceries to be picked up. The list was already in my online shopping cart. All I had to do was schedule the pickup times. The next available time was between 6 and 7. I took it. Since it was just barely 3 o’clock, I was going to go home. However, Ella said, “I guess we can find something to do for 3 hours.”
he first thing we found to do was grab lunch at McDonalds. We took our sandwiches across the parking lot and sat in front of Lowes to eat. We sat there for about an hour and a half. Ella dozed for a bit. Then the sun broke through the clouds to shine on her.We went in search of shade and bathroom. The bathroom I found at QuikTrip gas and convenience store. The shade we found sitting in the pharmacy pickup spot at Wal-Mart. We called to let the pharmacy know which spot we were in. A young woman soon arrived but then she noticed she had left one of the meds on the counter. Before long, she returned with everything needed.
It wasn’t quite time for the groceries to be ready, so we found another shady spot in which to wait. Did I mention that we don’t have working air conditioner in the truck? Checkout the forecast at the bottom of this post.
The notification arrived that the groceries were ready for pickup. Since we were in the parking lot, it took us no time to be loaded and on our way.
Once home, we managed to store nearly everything away in the cupboards.
The sun was already setting when we pulled into our RV site.I put the eye drops in the say down to finish today’s journal.See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.
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Zeus inspected the pool to make sure it as safe for us. No sharks or alligators were seen, so it was deemed alright by the life guard.
One final test of the water’s purity, plus a walk ’round by Bluebell and we were allowed in.
At one point, Zeus walked the edge of the hot tub and licked the top of my head.
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Fog has surrounded us. It wraps us in lace curtains that shields us from the sun’s prying eyes and burning glare.
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After breakfast (?) lunch (?), I went out and recovered the west facing living room windows. You may recall that quiet awhile back I had covered them. At that time, I said it was am experiment to see how well some cheap white duct tape worked. Well the end of the experiment was that the west facing bedroom window that had insulation held in place with a thin aluminum/Mylar tape is still in place. The windows with the white tape came lose.
This morning I re-covered the other two and used the Mylar tape on them also. I didn’t think to photograph or video my working on this project. You will also notice that previously I had the white side of the insulation facing outward. That was done with an eye toward the Aesthetics. I thought that the white vinyl visually blended better with the outside of the trailer itself. However, for solar protection, I believe the foil-side out makes more sense. Telling that solar radiation, “You are not welcome here!”And, now that I was using the aluminum tape, it blended with the foil of the insulation as well.
I am still reading Adam Hamilton’s book 
Thanks again for stopping by. Share this with your friends. See y’all again tomorrow. Stay safe. Remember, we love you.
Tom and Ella Journal 