Pollito's sidekick / Queen of Procrastination - UPDATED

Last Thursday I was raking mesquite pods when a black truck came to a stop along the fence line.  I could hear a man talking on his cellular so figured he just pulled over to answer his phone. I was wrong it was Pollito's sidekick.

He told me he had stopped the other day and knocked on the door but that no one had answered.  I asked him when Pollito was going to come and finish the job he started in July and has yet to complete. He said they were very busy so he wanted to know if I wanted to have him mow the lot where my parents' house is located and leave the other two lots to Pollito.

Asked him when he could get it done and he said he could come early Saturday morning so I agreed to hire him. At 9:30 a.m. I gave up and closed the gate back up.  I keep it close because of the boys as I do not want any strays or regular dogs coming in and attacking them.

At 10:08 a.m. I heard the sound of the weedeater so went outside.  He apologized for being late and said his daughter had arrived last night from out of town and they had stayed up late talking.  Well, it was him who was going to have to do the mowing in this hot and humid day...not me.  So, I put a cooler outside with some water bottles to keep him hydrated so he would not feel the need to pop open some beers like he did the last time he came with Pollito.

Front yard

He finished at 12:44 p.m. and while he only charged me $40.00 it did not include cleaning up and he did not mow to the back of the fence.  At least he cut the weeds that got in the way when I go to hang clothes on the clothesline so I think it was a fair price.

I can walk to the clothesline

This is all my fault because I should have had put together my electric lawn mower months if not years ago but all I did was get it out of the box and put it to the side...they do not call me the queen of procrastination for nothing :-(

He only mowed the grass to the propane tank
but not the back of it or even close to the back fence.

We had a high of 101, low of 77 with a heat index of 106 degrees.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Betty Boop Saying of the Day

Julio's goes Nationwide

With these temperatures, I have not been doing much to blog about.  Drove into town to pick up some groceries to tie us over for the long holiday weekend as I do NOT plan to leave the house.

On my last trip to Ciudad Acuña, I bought several heads of lettuce at the equivalent of .42 American cents. Today I purchased one for $1.29 at HEB...I could have bought three for the same price in Mexico.

Avocados are very expensive so passed on them and I can not buy them in Mexico as you can not legally bring them back to the USA.  I even bought me a bottle of wine.  Though I must admit I kept on hearing the voice of my late mechanic saying to me..."Belinda why are you buying f*#)&#g wine when you prefer beer?".  Potty mouth and all...I sure do miss him :-(

I do not know what they are called, you know the machines where you buy newspapers from.  Anyway, I spotted a headline of interest on the Del Rio News-Herald outside of HEB...but since I am frugal...passed on buying it and decided to head to the library to read it for free.  If Billy Bob still reads my blog I am convinced that he would be cracking up by now.  I do not recall his exact saying but something to the effect of being so tight I needed to be wound?  Lol, Billy Bob, I miss you and your blog!

This was the headline that I wanted to read.  It makes me so proud but mostly because it shows that hard work and effort can pay off and it puts Del Rio on the national map.

Wherever you are reading me from if you see a Julio's product you know they come from Del Rio, Texas.  Wish Don Julio had lived to see this day.

Today we had a high of 104, low of 77. 


Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Del Rio breaks record for today at 109 degrees

We broke a record for high temperatures for this day in Del Rio when we reached 109 degrees and it also tied a high for the month of August that was set in 1969...fifty years ago.

The high was 109, low 81 with a heat index of anywhere from 111 to 114.  For some reason, different sites had different numbers for the heat index values.

Right now it is 10:44 p.m. and it is still 96 degrees.

Today is also the second anniversary that hurricane Harvey touched down on the Texas coast.  Something many of us would like to forget.

Just a short post tonight.  Got an e-mail from Spectrum that they will be doing maintenance anytime from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. you know when most normal people are asleep. Since I am not normal I guess I won't be able to go online or watch television.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



The Betty Boop Saying of the Day

Spectrum rate hike / Betty Boop saying of the Day

Was looking back at a post I made last year after my one year anniversary with Spectrum http://terlinguadreams.blogspot.com/2018/08/my-cable-bill-went-up.html

Though not particularly happy at least I had a good speed connection and no data caps as when I had that worthless DISH!

Since then things have gone downhill.  My latest issue has been that my caller ID is no longer working on either of the three television sets that I have to fork out money for. I do not recall if it is either $6.99 or $7.99 monthly for each cable box...you need a cable box to be able to access your channels and TV guide as well as see who is calling while you are watching your television set.  While I have a regular phone that I can go to check who called I am not about to run to see who it was.

So for my "real life friends" please leave a message and I will get back to you.

I got a letter from Spectrum last month thanking me for being their customer for two years but also notifying me that my two-year special pricing package with them would be coming to an end.  I had other issues to deal with so I just put it aside.

I have most of our utility accounts either on paperless billing and/or automatic debit as you all know if you have been reading me for a while that I suffer from CRS and add to that our busy medical appointment schedule and we would probably end up with no water, electricity, telephone, Internet, etc. etc.

I was incredulous when I received an email saying there would be a debit to my account in the amount of  $208.80 when last month it was $168.02 that is a $40.78 increase. 

No,  I am not going to bi*ch about it...though I think it is very pricey as my friends in Houston are not having to pay these exorbitant fees. I have to realize I live in the middle of nowhere where civilization is a three-hour drive away and there is no competition to speak of to bring down the prices like in larger cities.

Where are the big-name Internet providers?  We need you in West Texas!

Today we had a high of 103, a low of 78 with a heat index of 107.

To spice things up I am going to try a new feature on my blog that I will call my "Betty Boop saying of the day".

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Betty Boop Saying of the Day

Infernal heat / Sagging clothesline / South of the Equator

I am so sick and tired of being cooped up in a house.  If not for appointments or must do things I only go outside to feed and water the boys or to hang fine washables on my sagging clothesline (more on that later). I had high hopes of at least a passing shower yesterday afternoon as the skies looked menacing toward the north but only that portion of Val Verde County was the beneficiary of some good soaking rains.

We have been in the triple digits for days if not weeks.  Today we had a high of 100 with a low of 77 and a heat index of 106 degrees.  By West Texas standards that is low, though tomorrow it is forecasted to reach 104 and Monday 108 and those are REAL temperatures not heat index ones.
https://www.accuweather.com/

Decided why not take advantage of this heat and put it to work to save ME money.  So handwashed one of my newer winter jackets. A while back I had found some new dog tie out cable that I had not used when I still had Pedrito (one of my stray dogs) so put it to use as a new clothesline.

Unfortunately, the dog tie-out cable...happen to stretch...and now the whole clothesline sags. When I hung the jacket it almost reached the ground though I had wrung it several times.  Gave up found a heavy-duty clothes hanger and hung it from one of the shade trees to dry.  At the laundromat it would have cost me a couple of quarters to dry...in the tree, it cost me nothing!  Where is my Tall Weathered Cowboy who can fix things like this????

I have often mentioned on this blog that I would like to go to another country during the summer months to escape these infernal temperatures and I had in mind Canada.  However, after following several Canadian bloggers it turns out that Canada gets just as hot as West Texas during the summer which came as a total surprise to me...goes to show Blogs can teach you more than a couple of things!

So I am back to the only alternative I had to start with...south of the Equator where it is currently winter and my second favorite country...one I actually lived in as a child...Argentina!  Please do not ask me any questions as to WHY we lived there as that is not something I care to go into at this time. I was a three-year-old and did not have a say so in the matter.

My third country of choice would be Uruguay after watching an HGTV show and where the finances could actually work.

I guess it is all dreaming on my part but it makes for a blog entry when I have nothing else to write about :D

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Early Appointments / August 2019 trip to Mexico / Got Scalped

I have had early morning appointments for three days in a row.  With these hot temperatures, I have not had a choice as it is much better to get them out of the way in the morning than in the heat of the day.

Yesterday (Tuesday - August 20th) I had to get up early to get my blood work done in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila.  The lab I go to is located next to a private hospital that also houses several doctor's offices and though they do not open until 9:00 a.m. people show up early so they can have their blood work results by the time they are seen by their doctor of choice.

I learned my lesson after not arriving early in the past and having to wait up to five hours to get my results instead of the usual three to four hours.  For those new, to my blog, my Nurse Practitioner allows me and other patients who do not have insurance to get our labs done in Mexico.

It has been a while since I have been to Mexico or made a grocery run to Gutierrez on Harvest Tuesday.  Another plus was there were not as many people at this early hour. Bought several heads of lettuce, tomato, serranos, white onion, bananas, yogurt, low-fat milk, canned black beans, guacamole sauce and carrot cake (my glucose levels must have been low forcing me to buy it)!

As I was checking out I spotted a beauty shop I had not seen and or noticed before. Our current hairdresser moved to a new location and I have not been able to find it.  It is on a very busy street and it would require me parking the car and walking to be able to locate it...perhaps when temperatures are cooler?

Went out to the car to put the groceries in the ice chest and returned to the store to get a much-needed haircut.  OMG...she was a master with those scissors...within two minutes she chopped-off all my hair!  I was in shock, I told her I did not want it so short.  She said...you told me to trim it...and you NEEDED a trim...don't worry it will soon grow back, I have a good hand!

The Exchange Rate on Tuesday (not the official one) but the one at Exchange houses was $18.80 Mexican pesos to ONE US dollar.  This is what my hair-cut cost...

80.00 Mexican Pesos divided by 18.80 =  $4.26  USD for a hair-cut
20.00  Mexican Pesos divided by 18.80 = $1.06  USD for tip

So I spent $100.00 Mexican Pesos for a haircut and tip the equivalent of $5.32 USD.  That made me feel a little bit better about being scalped :-)

I think the heat and the fact that school started once again on Monday that made for fewer crowds. It took me all of three minutes to cross the border back into the United States.

Today we had a high of 102, a low of 78, with a heat index of 105 degrees.

The Impossible Whopper Challenge

Had a restless night, kept on waking up just about every hour.  At one point even got up and went outside for a while until Paquito saw me, he was coming from somewhere down the road.  I do not know why he would want to leave the safety of the house as he is fixed and has no business roaming around.

Went back outside around 6:10 a.m. and was surprised that none of the neighbor's lights were on.  Today was the first day of back to school but people seemed to be sleeping in.  Went back inside to get ready for an early appointment.

Had the same problem as this past weekend it was too early to pick up the mail at the post office.  Stopped at the Stripes closer to the house and found they had nopalitos con huevo (cactus and egg) tacos something not available at my favorite Stripes. Nopalitos are a great vegetable that brings down high glucose levels.

Had to make another trip into town later in the afternoon so decided to stop at Burger King and try their Impossible Whopper...you know the one that tastes like meat...but does not contain meat.  I could not make my phone App work so one of the employees graciously gave me his mobile coupon...thank you!

The coupon gives you a regular Whopper as well as an Impossible Whopper for your test challenge.  I cut both hamburgers into four portions and tried the Impossible one first.  It tasted just like meat but when I tasted the regular one I could tell the difference.

Would I consider eating it again?  Maybe, but I much prefer REAL meat.  Made me long for the Chili Cook-off where my friends grill delicious steaks.

We had a high of 103, a low of 80 and a heat index of 105 degrees.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

A day off

Yesterday I got an early start to beat the heat and went by the post office to pick up our mail.  I am waiting on some correspondence but mail is not finished being sorted until 11:00 a.m. and I was not going to stick around till then.

Saturdays are usually very busy in Del Rio as people from Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila come to shop and contribute to our economy.  Gasoline has gone down to $2.319 per gallon for unleaded regular or $2.289 if you have a Stripes credit card.

Considered filling up but our Mexican friends beat me to it since our gasoline is much cheaper and better quality than theirs.  Not my statement but El Zocalo their award-winning Ciudad Acuña newspaper.  As you know this girl avoids lines at all cost, I already paid my dues when I lived in Houston, Texas.

This morning after my walk headed back to the post office but alas no mail so I was glad I did not wait yesterday for something that never came.

Today took a much needed day off.  Caught up with my e-mails so if you sent me one I finally answered yours today.  Talked to my friends and commiserated about this awful heat.

Our high today was 105 with a low of 78 and a heat index level of 107 degrees.

I forgot to mention this the other day when they celebrated the birthday of the creator of Nachos.  Do you know he was born in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila?  I had no idea and that he invented them when he worked at a restaurant in Piedras Negras, Coahuila across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas.  It is seldom that this area has any sort of claim to fame so glad to highlight it.

So many varieties

Nachos Supreme...

A short biography of Ignacio (Nacho) Anaya the creator of this snack.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachos

Hope you had a great day and that you too got to take a day off.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Captured some rain water

Last night the power went out twice so did not bother to reset my clocks just unplugged them to keep from watching them flash...I told you I was lazy!

I, therefore, had no idea what time it was and when I finally checked it was past the time to start my morning walk.  Bit the bullet and went anyway.

Last night's rains brought with it heavy winds. This trail has nothing but mesquite trees and there were mesquite pods everywhere.  The good thing about the rains was that it settled the dust down and my socks and tennis shoes weren't as dirty.

I was able to fill a 32-gallon trash can (used only for this purpose).  Had three others that unfortunately were blown over by the winds so missed out on adding to my primitive rain catchment.

I did manage to fill these tubs that I used when I had my little stray dogs Pedrito, Tammie, and Oscar.

Today we had a high of 104, low of 81 with a heat index of 110 degrees.  Needless to say, I did not go anywhere.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Finally...liquid gold!

After my walk and morning chores took a shower and got ready to drive into town.  Today was trash day so walked to the gate to bring in the container when I realized it was too hot to go anywhere.  We had a high of 105, a low of 78 with a heat index of 108 degrees.

There is absolutely NOTHING I need bad enough to subject myself to face those temperatures even in an air-conditioned vehicle.  It was so hot even snakes came out...though they were only garden snakes (I hope) I am terrified of them...you can read more about that in the boys (cats) blog http://mylittlewalter.blogspot.com/

Was surprised that the San Antonio six o'clock news said we had severe thunderstorms in the northern and central parts of Val Verde County that had dumped more than two inches of rain. Immediately went outside to look at the sky.

Well, what do you know?  Looks like we had a chance for a stray shower.

Brought in some fine hand washables but decided to leave the heavier items on the clothesline as I was not totally sure the rains would make it to the southern tip of Val Verde County where we live.

Had all but given up when at 8:30 p.m. it started thundering and then we had a very welcomed shower.  Did not even try to make a run to the clothesline to bring in the clothes.

I was surprised that at 9:42 p.m. we had not one but two power outages.  Power companies have been warning us to cut down on usage during peak hours of 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. so have no idea why we would have one at this hour.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Decided to give it a try

I have been contemplating giving a morning walk at least a try as many of the blogs I follow are reaping the rewards of this activity.  George, of Our Awesome Travels...Barney of OFM Adventures...and Bigfoot of Old Fatass Fart.  

There are other lady bloggers like JO of Mom's Little Runaway who exercise on their stationary bike and Gypsy of  On The Road Again who goes to the gym. 

There is a church on the main road into the subdivision that has several lots, I suppose for future expansion.  One of those is used as a walking/jogging/running trail.

I was up at 5:30 a.m. waiting for it to get light outside just in case there was a rattlesnake lurking around.  If you read my blog you know by now how petrified I am of those creatures.

I made my way down the road but not before I had to take Paquito back who insisted on following me.  Soon the sun came up.

I started my walk at 7:20 a.m. but lost count on how many times I walked around the trail so just focused on the minutes.

Even here I could not get away from the pesky mesquite pods :-(

Pesky mesquite pods follow me everywhere.

It was getting a bit warm and sticky so walked back home at 8:00 a.m.  I usually do not pick up the trash people throw along our outside fence line until trash day who happens to be tomorrow but decided that since I was already out an about to get that chore out of the way.

Paquito was waiting for me by the gate and followed me around.  After I finished that I once again had to focus on picking up the pesky mesquite pods that had fallen since I last picked them up.

Finished my morning chores, took a shower and when I went to watch the news at noon fell asleep.  Woke up with a pain in my right foot. A while back I had tried to open the door with my foot as I was carrying laundry but it had closed and I kicked it too hard and hurt my toes. This walk revived the pain.

I do not know if I will be making this a daily, every other day or weekly event.  Only time will tell, I just wanted to give it a try.

We had a high of 106, a  low of 82 with a heat index of 108 degrees.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Misplaced medication / Lower Gasoline Prices / Really Hot

Woke up before the alarm went off this morning. Had an early appointment so of course, I could not go to sleep last night for fear of oversleeping.

I misplaced my medication and I have looked high and low for it. For the past couple of days, my blood pressure has been HIGH so bit the bullet and went and bought some more.  Good thing it is in the low-cost drug formulary that most larger stores honor.

My pharmacy of choice is HEB as I still can not bring myself to go into our local Walmart.  Was told it would be two hours before they would have it ready so promptly left to run other errands.

Gasoline has gone down to $2.379 per gallon for unleaded gasoline at HEB.  Was going to fill up after I picked up my medications but it was way too hot by the time I made my way back to the pharmacy.

We had a high of 107 a low of 79 and a heat index of 109 degrees.  We are going to be in the triple digits for days to come.  Hope it is a lot cooler from wherever you read me.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Mesquite Pods / Linda Lou

I got up early to beat the heat and rake mesquite pods before they seed?  I do not know if that is a proper term.  Neither Paquito nor Nico would let me, they decided to attack the rake. Gave up and picked them up by hand. I was only concerned with removing the ones that I run over on the way to the garage.

Filled an old Ziploc bag. Why?  In case the cat and dog food bags where I put the weeds falls over they will not spill out and I won't have to pick them up again.  Though this time I did throw in a couple of rocks in each bag to prevent that.  It only takes me one time to learn my lesson.

This is Terlita my old camping van that has been
sitting patiently in the carport/garage waiting for
a new transmission.

Besides the pesky mesquite pods, there are other prickly plants that I am afraid to run over and get a flat. Found some fluorescent pink spray paint and drew circles around them to avoid those spots and hopefully remove one of these days.

If you run over these you are going to get a flat. I stepped on
one of them and it went through my tennis shoe but I can not
find my long nose pliers to remove it.

When I was doing that the winds picked up and ended spraying the area unevenly.  I took pictures but for some reason, I have not been able to upload them from my phone to the computer when before I did not have a problem.

Quit at 11:00 a.m. and headed immediately for the shower.  It felt so good I sat in the recliner and was almost about to doze off when the telephone rang.  It was my dear friend Linda Lou (the former beauty queen) that I have mentioned many times on this blog.  It had been a while since I had heard from her.

We had a wonderful conversation remembering old times.  It was an adventure every time we went out on the town.  We laughed and laughed ...it was good for the soul...I really needed that.  After our long chat, I promptly fell asleep, that one hour nap was also needed.

It has been so hot lately.  Today we reached a high of 104 with a low of 78 with a heat index of 109.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Fake social media reports

During the NBA season, I have often wanted to learn how to tweet.  Blog reader Leilani even went to the trouble of writing out a long list of instructions on how to go about doing that but as you know I am computer challenged.

Then there are times like today that I am glad I am not on social media.  Per San Antonio news stations learned that some idiots had the Eagle Pass area in a total panic today.  A woman went online to say that a friend of the El Paso mass murderer had posted on social media that he was headed to Eagle Pass to shoot up the town.  She told everyone not to go to Walmart or HEB and that the police were already in the stores to prevent the soon to be mass shooting.

Everyone around here is already stressed out enough for some stupid idiot to be pulling these kinds of pranks on the population.  Not to be left behind someone posted that there was a man with a gun at Del Rio High School.  What are these people thinking?

Did anyone see the panic caused at Times Square?  It appears a motorcycle or a car backfired and people thought it was gunshots and took off running for their lives.  Yes, there are a lot of us whose nerves are on edge and apparently not just in Texas and Ohio.

On another note, I was a little down three weeks ago because several people I knew passed away.  It seems to come in spurts and once again it has happened.  The truly sad part is that two of the deceased are young people and sons of former classmates.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Queen of Procrastination / More affected than I thought

The heat has been oppressive we had a high of 105 a low of 78 with a heat index of 107. These temperatures are making me even lazier than I already am.  I had every intention of raking those pesky mesquite pods this morning but waited too long to get started.

The same could be said for removing the old license tags from the windshield and installing the new one.  Have I mentioned that I am the Queen of Procrastination?  Well, it was obviously too hot to do that so I am OK with not installing it and if I get pulled over I can always show them the tags.

I needed to make a grocery run but to be perfectly honest I was a little afraid.  Briefly considered going to Walmart but quickly ruled it out, it may be a while before I get the nerve to walk into one.

My favorite go-to store is "Little HEB" as it is less crowded than the main one.  However, my thoughts went to the fact that it is way too small and in case something happened there really is no place to hide.  I have never in my life had these thoughts of self-preservation. 

Headed to the main HEB instead and quickly picked up what I needed and left.  I do not know what I was expecting but I looked for new security measures or guards but there were none. I had no idea how much the mass shooting in El Paso had actually affected my psyche.

This evening around 9:30 p.m.  I heard these two loud booms and knew is was the worthless step-son of Mr. Joe.  Ran to my room to find my robe so I could go outside and when I opened the door two more booms went off and I SCREAMED!!!  I think it took him by surprise and either it was the last of his 4th of July stash of fireworks or he decided to quit for the night.  If anything happens to us please be sure to tell the authorities that HE is suspect #1.  The guy is not all there and definitively has mental, emotional and alcohol issues.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

El Paso Strong

I hesitated on whether or not to make a post about the tragic events that took place this weekend in El Paso, Texas and sadly a few hours later in Dayton, Ohio less than a week after another mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California.

Besides this being my Blog it is also my Cyber Journal. The events that took place on Saturday shook MY world, affected my beloved State of Texas targeted people of Hispanic origin that live along the border such as myself and my loved ones.

My morning routine is to turn on the television to my favorite 24-hour news channel as I set about doing my morning chores.  It did not take long before there was Breaking News that there were multiple shooters in an El Paso mall,  according to witnesses they had spotted three to four individuals running with guns.

As in most early events, the reports were not totally accurate but the sickening feeling in my stomach was so ever-present.  Most cable channels do not report fatalities unless it can be verified but the internet was full of reports.  When I saw that at least 20 people were reported dead I did not believe it. Sadly it was later confirmed.

I wish I could say I was shocked but I am not it was an event that due to our current political climate and the rhetoric coming from this Administration was bound to take place.  I am not going to rehash all the nasty, racists tweets and statements, all that is public record.

If the perpetrators of the last three mass shootings HAD NOT been young white males born in the United States it makes my head spin how fast this administration would have attacked them.  Instead, we had SILENCE, a short tweet in between other insignificant ones and no address to the Nation. Any other administration would have canceled their weekend plans and been the Comfort-in-Chief but we have learned not to expect that from this president.  After all, the majority of the victims in Gilroy and El Paso were Hispanic and the victims in Dayton, Ohio were African-American.  Coincidence?

I ask myself how does a young person develope so much hatred when they were raised in a predominantly white and affluent neighborhood totally unaffected by Hispanics?  How can an individual drive for ten hours to inflict carnage on an innocent border city and not have second thoughts about the repercussions his actions will have?

I do not want to hear he had mental issues, was influenced by the internet and video games.  Those are talking points of the NRA.  Why did the president not address gun control?  I will tell you WHY...Republicans are bought and paid for by the NRA.  When are we going to stand up to them?  What is it going to take to pass some form of gun control like a background check?

I know it makes people uneasy to think that Democrats are going to take their guns...but that is NOT true.  I myself am a gun owner but it would never cross my mind to own a high potency rifle such as an AK-whatever number.  Those are rifles to be used in war, not for hunting or personal protection.

If the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre of innocent children did not move legislators to pass gun legislation NOTHING is.  I have no hope that the last three mass shootings will move the needle, call me a pessimist but I would rather call myself a "realist"...there IS a difference.

I, as well as many of my friends, were glued to the television following this unfortunate event.  I dare say that there were many viewers not just from Texas but nationwide that followed the coverage of both events.  I bet if you were to interview individuals from any part of the nation they could easily name the two cities involved.  What did the President of the United States do when he has access to top advisors and the latest intelligence reports?...it saddens me to say...he confused Dayton, Ohio with Toledo...INEXCUSABLE!!!

This white supremacist not only killed American citizens but also took the lives of seven Mexican Nationals who were shopping at Walmart for back to school supplies. Let me clarify what I mean by Mexican Nationals...they are NOT undocumented aliens...they are Mexican citizens mostly from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua - México with visas that can legally cross the border and often do so to shop in El Paso.

I urge all my fellow Texans, Americans and concerned citizens to make your voice be heard.  Call your local representatives, congressmen, senators, and governors.  If they do not listen to you...VOTE THEM OUT...we do not have to put up with this...we have a choice.

Please, I urge you to use the most valuable resource that we have as American citizens...the power of our VOTE.

Headache / Dairy Queen / Dilapidated Trailers

After all, I accomplished last Wednesday I was pretty much beat for days. Thursday I had a terrible headache.  All my life I have suffered from them but they miraculously went away when I quit working.  I have no idea what brought this one on.

Friday I had to run errands in town.  I do not know if you recall that a year ago on the 4th of July another neighbor's house burnt down due to fireworks. The next day the County came with heavy machinery and helped the owners knock it down.

I kept on hearing heavy machinery both Thursday and Friday but when I drove by there it was Pollito knocking down two old dilapidated trailers that had been vacant for years.  Nice to see Val Verde County finally doing something about all these abandoned eyesores.

Swung by Crown Recycling (where they pay you) for your aluminum cans. Made $5.25 which is better than nothing.  Then went by the City of Del Rio Recycling Center to take my plastics, metals, cardboard and paper products.

It was so darn hot but I still needed to go make copies and since the local library is the cheapest place to make them at .10 cents a copy headed that way.  As soon as I walked inside it was like I had walked into heaven!  It was so nice and cool I could not bring myself to go back into the heat.  So settled in one of their comfy chairs and read the newspaper.

It was was 4:00 p.m. and I had not eaten all day so decided to reward myself and headed to Dairy Queen.  For some reason, Texas Dairy Queen does not honor the national specials we see in television commercials.  I wanted the hamburger/fries/drink with a free small sundae special for $6.00 but had to pay $7.99 for it.

I do not know why like Whataburger, Dairy Queen in Del Rio is hit and miss.  If you are going to cheat you want to make it worth your while otherwise I will just settle for my daily salad.  The fries were cold and did not taste fresh (it is a good thing I share them with the cats). The hamburger bun was cold and the meat tasteless.

The only tasty thing was the sundae.  I won't be coming back anytime soon.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.