Grocery Run / Rude Out-of-Towner / A month's free trial

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. and could not go back to sleep.  I knew this was the last chance I had to go grocery shopping or face long lines. Bit the bullet and as soon as daylight broke made my way to big HEB.

No doubt it pays to go early there were lots of places to park and few customers. With this coronavirus scare and the fact that I have not been feeling up to par lately decided to stock up for at least a month since they had so many specials.

I can not believe how much paper products have gone up. Just for a minute...I wished I was in Houston...where I could go to Target stock up and get at least a $5.00 gift card for the same items I bought today.

I usually park towards the back of the parking lot so no one will park next to me and I can open my doors fully as I load my groceries...besides getting a little more exercise in.

My car is to the right with the trunk open. The CRV three
spaces down arrived after the guy started yelling
so there was plenty of space for him to have maneuver out
of the parking lot long before I emerged from the store.

Like I mentioned before there was plenty of parking and as I made my way back to the car I noticed an RV parked long ways taking up several spaces so I figured they must have been inside shopping though I did see a woman sitting in the passenger's side.

The first thing that drew my attention to that RV was the fact that it was not large or small but a very nice middle size one that even I could possibly drive. While I loaded the groceries I turned on my cellphone so I could capture the gasoline price both at HEB and across the street at Stripes.

I took this pic by my trunk. While my camera did not capture the price
 of gasoline either at Stripes or HEB you can tell there was plenty
 of space for this guy to back-up.

A man in shorts and a t-shirt (mind you it was cold this morning)  gets off and says something about moving.  HEB is on the main drag and it is very noisy...I thought he was asking if HE needed to move...to which I replied: "No, you are not blocking me I can get out".

Then he came closer to me and started yelling and told me he needed ME to move so HE could get out. There was an older lady three car spaces away from me she even stopped loading her groceries to observe what was happening.

Had he asked nicely I would have not had a problem moving though I failed to see why I should when he could just go forward...it wasn't like it was a double lane or that he could not back out without a problem...plus there was a woman inside to guide him.

The lady that was loading her groceries said to me "what a rude individual"...I agreed!  So I took my time and he did what he should have done if, in fact, he was waiting on me to get out of the store...keep on going straight.

After he yelled at me I took a picture of his rig and when I got home I saw he had license plates from Michigan  Illinois...my worthless cell phone is having hizzy fits so I can not upload pictures to my blog this evening...give me time.

If you park near this RV make sure you do not block
the guy even if you got there BEFORE he did.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

A dark, drab and chilly day

I was surprised that I slept soundly until 8:40 a.m. I am sure the boys did not like that but like their human mother they need to go on a diet.

The sun did not come out at all today.  Ever since the day that I heard a horrible sound outside the window and tried to get up to see what it was but felt my head spinning this has continued.  I think it is vertigo it comes and goes but I had not felt it in some time.

This morning I was trying to get one of my shoes from under the bed when I got that dizzy feeling once more.  I have had a headache all day but have not wanted to take anything for it. 

My hands are so cold I had to put on gloves I just hope I am not coming down with something.  The impeachment proceeding finally concluded for the night.  Today it was so repetitive I even dozed off for a while.

We had a low of 39 with a high of 53 degrees.  Right now it is 48 degrees the same as in Terlingua and I am freezing to death.  I think I am going to call it a night early.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Technologically-Challenged / AARP Workshops / Old CASI pics

Though I miss nothing about living in Houston...except for my friends...one of the draws as a young adult that led me to call Houston home for 27 years was the fact that there was always something to do no matter what day of the week it was, in particular, Sunday and Mondays.  I can not say the same for Del Rio :-(

AARP of which I am a member has a lot of workshops for technologically-challenged individuals such as myself.  I would love to attend some but the closest ones are in San Antonio.  Last night I wanted to download the documents I scanned at the library to my computer and boy was that a challenge :-(

I then proceeded to copy some of my favorite Aunty Acid sayings to my thumb drive because my computer is slowing down and acting sluggish so no telling when it will crash on me and I do not want to lose them. Now I understand the saying "Ignorance is Bliss"...I somehow managed to not only download Aunty Acid but ALL of my downloads that include my favorite pictures from the many years of my attendance to the CASI Chili Cook-off.  So, if you are asking yourself WHY I am posting old pictures on my header...that is the reason!

Early Tuesday morning we had some wonderful rain though this area of Val Verde County did not get as much as other parts.  My parent's house is in the southern tip of the county and we improved from Extreme to Severe Drought.

I am sure you will not be shocked to learn that I have yet to make it back to Walmart being the self-professed Queen of Procrastination that I am :-(

Since it is 1:12 p.m. I can not wish you Terlingua Dreams so have a great day instead :D



Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Lost check showed up / Marshalls / Dollar Tree

I needed to make a trip into town as I refused to do so during the weekend when stores are super crowded.  I have been trying to find my face masks as I am afraid to get a cold or worst but again have no idea in which of my many boxes they are at.  I seriously need to buy a storage shed even if it is not the size I would like.

The first stop was the P.O. Box where just as the post lady told me if the first check that was lost in the mail ever turned up...it would be returned to me and it was...in a torn and tattered envelope.  Now if only my HOA fee would also show up but in Houston.

Headed to the only mall we have in town to check out the clearance aisle at Marshalls and also purchase one of their $1.00 plastic bags.  Prices are still too high so I will return in February.  Their Marshalls dollar bags have shrunk considerably asked the clerk why and she said she did not know.

I needed to go to Walmart but since I was going to buy perishables decided to go to Dollar Tree first. I misplaced my watch and I am not about to buy another one so I never know what time it is. Yes, I know I could check my cellphone the problem is I usually have it off and I leave it in the trunk of my car.

Once again I lingered too long and it was getting dark by the time I came out not to mention that it looked like a storm was on the way.  Never made it to Walmart...maybe tomorrow?

It was a beautiful day.  We had a low of 55 and a high of 83 degrees. We were one degree from tying a record set in 1947 of 84 degrees.


Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

If someone has $6,749,900 to invest have I got a deal for you!

While Del Rio is a small town it does not have from my point of view or that of my checkbook's... affordable housing. I saved this property a couple of months ago when it went on the market at $7,499,900 just to see how long it took for it to sell. It is now reduced to $6,749,900

Sorry, I could not make the above link work :-(

While today I barely got anything done yesterday was a busy day.  I had to go to my phone carrier's storefront as my cellphone kept on telling me I needed to remove apps as it was out of space. I have not added an app in years and supposedly after my trip to Terlingua, they had moved all my pictures to the SD card twice.

I know I need to purchase another one but I do not feel like it and it has nothing to do with money but everything to do with the principle of it all...I hate cellphones!

We did not receive very much rain but enough to remove the dust from my car only to have the boys walk on the hood leaving me their tiny footprints.

I stopped at Walmart and finally found an employee stocking their bottled water shelves who nicely put one of the 40-count on my cart. I picked up a rotisserie chicken for $4.50 for my salad. Gasoline was selling for $2.149 for a gallon of unleaded.

I lingered too long and when I came out it was almost dark.  It was not an easy drive home.

Today we had a low of 47 with a high of 76 degrees.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Rain is on the way / P.O. Box fee

It was cold this morning or at least cold to me.  We are expecting rain tomorrow. I went outside at 9:00 a.m. to feed the boys and to charge my solar lights before the clouds moved in. I had Cheerios for breakfast and went back outside to rake leaves. Unfortunately by this time, the winds picked up and the dirt was hitting me in the face not to mention the boys wanting to play with the rake. I gave up and came back inside to get ready to drive into town.

This time I got in line to pay my P.O. Box fee that was lost in the mail and made sure to get a receipt as there will be a rate increase after January 26, 2020, and I am already paying $118.00 yearly. for a small box.

The going gasoline price at HEB and Stripes was $2.259 per gallon for unleaded. At the small store close to the house it was selling for $2.159 so stopped and filled up there.

The weather guy at KSAT-12 said the rains will start in the early morning hours but that it would not include inclement weather for this area. I am trusting him...the car is covered in dust...so I am not putting it in the garage this evening.

We had a low of 51 and a high of 61 degrees today.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Finally slept soundly!

While we got rain it was not in the amount that had been forecasted, we only received .52 of an inch.  I have been monitoring my bank account to see when all the checks I wrote last week cleared the bank. Fortunately, all the ones related to my Harris County property taxes have been paid.  However, two other checks one mailed the day before and one mailed the same day as the taxes have not.

One of them is the fee for the P.O. Box so when I went to pick up my correspondence stopped to inquire why and the reason is that they never received it!  If I do not pay it by next Friday I will have to pay more because the fees are going up...I had paid the fee for current box holders.

Swung by the library to ask for help in learning how to scan documents so I won't have to keep a physical copy and cut down on my paper clutter. The people that work there are very helpful. Learned that scanning using their machines is FREE whereas making black and white copies cost .10 cents apiece. It was a no brainer.

Ran out of serranos again so stopped by little HEB but like last time ended buying much more to prepare for the colder temperatures. By the time I got home, I was exhausted.  Sat down to watch the start of a Spurs game but before I knew it...it was 1:11 a.m. and I had missed the whole thing so went back to sleep.  I woke up at 7:05 a.m. after sleeping soundly for 12 hours!

We had a low of 42 and a high of 73 degrees with plenty of sunshine.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Saying of the Day

RIP George / Cancelled trip / Exceptional drought

I have been sad since I read of the passing of fellow blogger George Yates of Our Awesome Travels yesterday. I never had the privilege of meeting him or his wife, Suzie, in person but somehow I feel like I have known them for a long time. George was a daily blogger who shared his life, recipes and RV'ing adventures freely with his readers.

He was the inspiration for my daily walks. A happy and positive person to the end with his trademark smile, vest, and straw cowboy hat.  He and Suzie chose to share the final chapter of his life with his followers and I deeply admire their decision. He will be dearly missed. Rest in Peace George.

I seldom make my posts before midnight but I did yesterday since I had an early morning appointment and needed to get to bed early. This morning it was raining hard and since I was heading out-of-town to where it was raining worst I decided to cancel my trip.

I am not complaining about the rain we really need it in this area as I thought we were in severe drought but it turned out to be an exceptional drought which is the worst. My parent's house is old and every time it rains I cringe at the thought of discovering a new leak. Fortunately, no new ones emerged today. It is supposed to rain all night as well as tomorrow. We had a low of 50 and a high of 71 degrees today.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Saying of the Day

Pollito / Propane delivery

I got up early this morning as I had a lot of things to do today. It was a little foggy and very humid. Being trash day I grabbed my five-gallon bucket and went to pick-up trash along the outer fence line. Wouldn't you know it a white pick-up stopped and it was no other than Pollito with his wino sidekick in tow.

Would you believe he had the gall to ask "when are you going to get me to clean your lot?"  I had to bite my tongue to keep from hurling insults at him.  I calmly said, "I have been waiting for you to finish the job you started back in July!".  He actually LAUGHED like it was a joke and then said he had been really busy.  He noted that he had sent his sidekick but that his lawnmower was left unrepairable after he mowed my yard. I told him that both the north and south lots require a TRACTOR, not a lawnmower.  I added that I need the southern lot cleared but in one day at the most two when he has a chance.  I am not going to hold my breath on him showing up.

You might ask yourself...Why don't you hire someone else to do the job?  Because it is difficult to find someone to clear lots that have a tractor and the only one that I was able to get an estimate from charged a little more than double what Pollito does.

I am glad I picked up the trash as it then started drizzling and being the Queen of Procrastination I would have put it off for another day.

Last February I ran into my old propane guy as he was driving by the house in a propane truck from an outfit in Eagle Pass, Texas a town 60 miles south of Del Rio.  He gave me his card and I called him but it turns out he is no longer employed there so I called our local provider.

The propane truck was manned by a young lady in her 20's.  I am glad they gave a woman the opportunity to work in what is mostly a male-dominated industry.  I purchased 100 gallons of propane at a cost of $2.35 per gallon for a total of $235.24.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Fog / Neighbor's puppies / Made a Boo-boo

I went to feed the boys and Katie and when I opened the door I could not even see the fence due to the fog.  It has been a long time since the fog has been so dense. I was surprised that it was not cold but I still had my turtle neck and jacket on.

The fog lifted and the sun came out for a little while around noon. The neighbor in the back of mother's house on the north part of her property has a dog that had puppies a couple of weeks ago. There are three of them but today I only saw two in the backyard.  Hopefully, someone adopted one!

They are always running around and not even the puppies mother comes to take them home much less their owner. The good thing is that I can see them as I am washing dishes and at least they do not try to mess with the boys.  Paquito is bigger than any of them. As you can tell Pollito's wino sidekick has not come back to finish mowing the weeds.

When Romeo was grazing he left some horse fertilizer and for some reason, these puppies find it tasty and have been eating it. As you can see on the two above pictures Paquito is sunning himself on the fence and keeping an eye on the intruders.

Last night I was sleepy when I was writing my post and accidentally posted to the wrong blog.  It was an update to Romeo and Juliet (the horses to the south of the property).  I did not feel like deleting it and starting all over so I just left it on my other blog.  I made my first blog Boo-boo of the year.

Here is the link if you care to read it or you can just click on my header picture and it will take you there.  http://mylittlewalter.blogspot.com/

We had a low of 57 and a high of 73 degrees.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

We dodged a bullet

The state of Texas had some severe weather last night, while we were never in the danger zone we did get pelted with strong winds but unfortunately did not receive a single drop of rain. I hope all the people in harm's way fared well.

I have been so tired lately I have been falling asleep before the ten o'clock news. Yesterday I sat down to watch the Spurs vs Grizzlies game and fell asleep by the time I woke up, it was over. I did not even care to look up if we won or lost just closed my eyes again.

I have not been out of the house since Tuesday when I went to Mexico. On the way back I stopped at Walmart to pick up a couple of items I did not find at Bodegas Aurerra. This was the price at the pumps that day.

$2.249 a gallon for unleaded gasoline

This was the price this morning at Stripes...$2.289 for a gallon of Unleaded gasoline.

Even though it was early (10:00'ish) our main HEB was already packed so drove to the original HEB who is affectionately referred to as "Little HEB".

My intention was to only buy some serranos but ended purchasing much more.  You might ask "why did I not purchase them in Mexico like you usually do?"...According to our government tomatoes and chiles are infected and can not be brought into the country until further notice. When I pressed the agent on the phone what they were infected with he did not elaborate and just repeated I could not bring them. Funny, the serranos I purchased today at HEB are from Mexico.

If you ever want to shop at our little HEB it is located caddy-corner from the Val Verde County Courthouse in the downtown area.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

January 2020 trip to Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México

I needed to make a trip to Ciudad Acuña but if you have been reading me for a while you know that the lines at the International bridges all over the United States/Mexico border grow significantly from November until January 6th.

Today was January 7th so I did not want to put it off any longer.  I believe I have mentioned that my uncle sends me letters and packages to a friend we have in common in Ciudad Acuña so he won't have to pay "international" charges :)

Went to deliver a present from both of us and had a nice visit.  Mexico implemented a new measure that took effect at the beginning of 2020...they have banned the use of all plastic bags...so if you are planning on a shopping trip to Mexico you better bring your own.

There is a channel on Mexican television that allows you to see a live feed of the International Bridge of the traffic going to the US.  When I crossed this afternoon the line was long and when my friend turned on that channel it was even longer so decided to return via the Amistad Dam Port of Entry.

I was not planning on stopping at a store but remembered I needed Nutrisse hair color and some Decaffeinated coffee.  I stopped at Bodegas Aurrera but they had no carts or I would have bought other items.

For some reason, stores seem to hide some of their merchandise at the beginning of the calendar year so they can raise the prices later on. I was not able to find my hot sauce or Nescafe Decaf had to buy a lesser-known brand.

Since I was crossing at the Amistad Dam Port of Entry went looking for my Kahlua and I will be darn if once again they did not have it!  I guess the Kahlua Gods do not want me to have any :-(

There is a shop within Bodegas Aurrera that fixes cellphones so took mine there and the young lady fixed it in no time flat. She did not want to charge me but I insisted so she said $10.00 pesos so I gave her $20.00 that is the equivalent of a little over a dollar.  I do not recall what the Exchange Rate was today since the phone was not working when I passed Exchange Rate Alley and you know how bad my memory is!

With a working phone and their free internet, I checked the Border Wait Times app.  The wait was 60 minutes...from prior experience that means closer to 90 minutes.  From Bodegas Aurrera it is 15 to 18 minutes to downtown and just about the same to Amistad Dam.

This time I stopped at the Mexican Customs side and took a couple of pictures so you could get a different view from high up top.

Their electric plant

Mexican Customs

Looking to the Mexican side of the lake.

This is looking towards the United States part of the lake.

In the background, you can barely make out our port of entry. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.

This road leads back to Ciudad Acuña. If you are new to my blog there are no tolls charged if you use this Port of Entry.

I had a fourteen-minute wait to cross back to the USA because only one line was open. The Customs officer manning this line was polite and quite attractive :)

It was a beautiful sunny day with a low of 43 and a high of 69 degrees.


Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Decided to disconnect for a couple of days...

I do not know about you guys but these past couple of days have brought out a range of emotions. From surprise, disbelieve, anger, disgust, incredibility, contempt, disappointment, fear, to outright panic. I decided I needed to disconnect from cable news, the internet and people in my life who share different views from the ones I hold or worst yet those that DO NOT even have an opinion of current events...which I find to be downright SCARY!

It helps that my cellphone is not working, I let our landline answering machine do its job, I turned off the internet and turned on the Hallmark Channel to watch feel-good movies whose outcome are more than predictable...which I found at least for this weekend to be refreshing.

The weather has been wonderful...a little cool in the mornings...in the mid to high 70's in the afternoon. We almost tied a record high for today but missed it by one digit coming in at 81 degrees.

I wrote more checks today than I have for the past six months but at least I got the Harris County taxes as well as the HOA fees out of the way for another year.  I also paid for the P.O. Box fees that continue to go up yearly.

The only bad thing about disconnecting from the Internet is the number of e-mails received both junk as well as real ones...I need to unsubscribe from a lot of mailings!

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Maxine Saying of the Day

Glad it is over and done with...

I do not know about you but I for one am thrilled that the holidays are over and done with for another year. I can go to the grocery store and have my pick of parking spaces, no long lines waiting to buy stamps at the post office...really no long lines anywhere!

I hope you had a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve. This is my fourth year watching the ball drop in New York City on CNN.  It was funny watching Anderson Cooper doing tequila shots with Andy Cohen.  Anderson does not drink very often and you could tell he was buzzing while Andy was as normal as could be.

I suppose my recliner was way too comfortable that I fell asleep waking up either 6 or 10 seconds before the ball drop. They had coverage from different parts of the country and I wanted to stay up for the Central Standard Time one with Brooke Baldwin and Don Lemon but fell asleep once more.

I still have beer and wine that I brought back from the Chili Cook-off and was considering having a beer to toast the New Year but I much prefer sleeping.  I had the television on high to mask the fireworks but it was obvious when the New Year reached our area.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Spurs Corner

I taped the Spurs vs Golden States Warriors game last night since I was watching the New Year's coverage. I woke up at 7:30 a.m. to watch it only to find that it went into overtime. For the fourth or is it fifth time this month we have gone into overtime!

The darn thing stopped taping on the last 30 seconds of OT...I was livid!!!  I wanted to throw something at the television but considering I just bought it I decided to watch the recap on my cellphone.  What was my surprise when the darn thing would not turn on as it has finally DIED...grrrrrrrr!!!

I could have gone online but chose not to as I had a lot of other things to tackle today.  It wasn't until the afternoon news that I learned we WON.  I did go online later this evening and died laughing when others were doing Google searches of the last minute of the OT game...guess their DVR did not record it either!

My friends are Houston Rocket fans so doubt they would read Spurs Corner but if you do DO NOT call my cell...call me on our landline phone!



Aunty Acid Saying of the Day