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The day was not an especially nice weather day, as it was cloudy and seemed like it could rain or mist, but it did not. Johnson City is on the way from Austin to parts unknown, and seems to try to get to be like Fredricksburg, but it probably won't make it. The area is where President Johnson grew up, his family had a large ranch here and thus the name of Johnson City was hung on it many years ago. First stop, of course was lunch.  A search of the web showed that the Country Cupboard was a popular spot, and it is located right at the intersection of westbound US290 and US 281.  We did not know it at the time, but on Friday, the catfish lunch is their highlight.  We luckily chose that.  Good fish, hush puppies, French fries and coleslaw. We drove westward to the old part of town, where the county courthouse is located.  Now, Blanco County likes to confuse folks as it has two county courthouses, one in Blanco, and this one in Johnson City.  Both are equal...

From this blog, one can easily see we get a lot of entertainment from short trips to explore the area around us in detail.  After all its the detail that provides the entertainment. Sometimes, you can be entertained by reading the local newspaper. For example, yesterday the local newspaper reported that the Board of Trustees of the local school district approved the filling of 7 new positions in the school system, for a total added expenditure of $325,000. The reporter went on to describe the new positions, because surely the taxpayer will be curious about where this nearly a third of a million dollars will be spent, and on what. One position is for a "credit recovery teacher" because there are "over 150 students who have lost credits and are attempting to recover their credits".  Anyone know about credit recovery? Another request was for four "social emotional learning counselors" to work "within our bullying protocol" and too "make ...

We were "on the fence" on our decision to visit the Jourdanton area on Saturday, but when Saturday arrived and the weather looked good, we were off on our trip.  We had an objective to visit the gun show in Jourdanton, but that would not have been enough incentive for the trip.  We always poke into detail on a trip like this to make it worthwhile. We travelled a different route south this time. Travelled through New Braunfels, to Hwy 1044, then to 175, then to 87 and hit the 1604 loop road south of San Antonio. Then sped down the Interstate to Pleasanton where we searched for food.  We didn't know it at the time, but all the glitz is on the road between Pleasanton and Jourdanton, a stretch of about 7 miles.  Glitsch meaning the array of fast food places.  We did know about two cafes as we researched the trip beforehand, but those two prospects, Lauries Deli and Chris's Café were closed on Saturday.  As a result of our lack of knowledge on all this, we had ...

We recently travelled to Wilson County to buy a few board feet of mesquite lumber for the next furniture project. We had become aware of Faifer as a supplier of wood harvested from some 100 miles around Floresville and so that was our destination. Travelling south from Seguin, the road takes you through some areas of sandy soil  that has attracted some great oak forests, for example, just north of Stockdale.  We were surprised (again) on the lack of commerce in Stockdale---it seems to be declining as a town.  Floresville, on the other hand, is very busy and seems to be in the center of business activity of the area. We bought the wood, chatted with the owners and learned a bit about the mesquite harvesting activity of the area. Back to the topic of personality of an area.  Travel northwest from where we live into the so called hill country and observe the nature of business and the kinds of people who live and visit the area. Then do the same for the area south of...

The Sharp Microwave quit operating on Thanksgiving day, just when we needed it the most.   This is the second time the unit just went stone dead.  The first time, the cause was the very small interface plug in at the back of the unit.  Resolved that problem by buying ten replacements for $1.95 shipped from China. Fixed same and was back in business.  That was a year ago.  When it failed this time, we naturally suspected the same sort of failure, so we hauled it out of the hole in the cabinet, set it on a card table, then confirmed that the problem was the interface connector.  Replaced same and it worked in time for the Thanksgiving Day cooking. But, it was still not in the cabinet but on a card table as we were unable (the two of us) to lift it back into the cabinet hole.  It was easy getting out and down, but lifting it back up and in was beyond our safe ability. So, we thought about it for awhile, then devised a ramp from the card table to the cab...

Amber had been getting her annual vaccinations at a pet hospital on the other side of San Marcos, but this year we decided to move her vaccinations to Four Paws vet place just a few miles up the road from where we live. This veterinarian place has a good reputation so we put Amber into her travel case (she has just about outgrown the case, so it is a tight fit) and off we went.  No screeching this time, perhaps she thought she was going to someplace pleasant. She was comfortable all the time we sat in the waiting room, but as soon as we got her into the medical area, she took every opportunity to hiss and spit through the bars of the cage like a trapped tiger. The vet came in to the room and we took the cover off the travel carrier, and, just like in the past, she stayed in the tray without moving, but taking every opportunity to hiss and spit.  The vet, experienced in all this, determined she was doing this because she was afraid, and not viscious. So, after several minute...

Today we attended one of the seminars conductend by Cindy and Beverly.  They are the Interactive  Genealogy Group and provide seminars on family history rsearch tecniques.  This the fourth one we attended,  the next one being in Seguin on the 20th of January. This presentation was made at the Dripping Springs Library from 10 am to 12pm. We then went to the restaurant Thyme and Dough where we shared  a tuna sandwich and bought a loaf of their hearty multi grain bread.