And yet another month in 2020 comes to an end...

Took some time away from my favorite cable news shows and cut down on my Internet use this weekend.  I just wanted to take a break from the constant toxic news cycle that we can't altogether escape from during the week.

Friday I needed to run errands but I misplaced my car keys.  I looked high and low for them, while I do have a spare I put it in a "safe place" and now I have no idea where that might be...I tell you I would lose my head if it wasn't attached to my body!

Spoke to a friend of mine for a little over three hours who coincidentally also misplaced her keys but at least they were not her car or house keys. This is when I realized that I need to fix one of the cars to use as a spare...but like everything else in my life, it will have to wait.

Saturday evening I was outside watering the trees when I saw my neighbors drive up and a few minutes later their rowdy drunk son drove up and he seemed to have a lot of stuff in the back of his truck...geeze, did he leave his wife again?  I suppose that means loud music and firecrackers this coming Labor Day weekend.

I woke up at 5:00 a,m. this morning and since I could not go back to sleep decided to get up but not without first checking the weather on San Antonio's Channel 4.  At 5:19 a.m. it was 86 degrees with a heat index of 92 degrees.

While it was dark I had the five cats circling me as they demanded to be fed but I made them earn their keep by protecting me from a possible lurking snake. I came in from outside at 7:08 a.m. without having to see a single neighbor.

Took a shower and got an early start to my day as I had a lot of errands to run that I was unable to get to on Friday. It has been a long time since I had to make three trips to town but I did today.

The only store I remembered to bring my phone inside was Dollar Tree. Needed some mushrooms and was hoping to find some Sara Lee wheat bread.

While I found the mushrooms the only bread on the shelves was some no-name brand ones.

I saw this juice (fake wine) that fellow blogger Rick and his wife Kathy enjoy and smiled when I thought of them.

It was another hot day.  We had a high of 105 degrees.

With a heat index of 109 degrees.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Home Depot / Vitamins / Silly old man

Home Depot sales ad starts on Thursday I have been wanting to purchase some heavy-duty storage containers that can hold up to the Texas heat and won't crack due to the weight when I stack them.

Got up early on Monday when I felt there would be fewer people and there was. For the moment only purchase two an HDX Tough Tote 17 gals and a Tough Box Construction Grade Storage Container 27 gals. Both containers are made in the USA.

Back in February or March, I wanted to buy a Titanium Advil Ratchet Lopper with a 2" cutting capacity so I could prune back those hideous mesquite trees but hesitated because of the cost. Then Covid-19 came along when the weather would have been favorable for that activity but I did not want to leave the house to go purchase it. Like it or not I forked out $54.98...anything to not have to hire Pollito's wino sidekick.

I have had my eye on these heavy-duty steel shelves but they are so big and heavy there is no way I can transport it in my car. Went to inquire how much it would cost to have it delivered and was floored when the clerk told me it costs $79.00 and they only deliver it to your driveway.

Home Depot is across the street from Walmart so took the opportunity to fill up my gas tank. The going price Monday was $1.799 for unleaded gasoline.

Since there were few cars at Walmart decided to go in and see if their vitamin aisle had been re-stocked.  Once again they were low on several vitamins but at least they had the Zinc I had been looking for though not many left.

As I was going into the store I once again ran into this silly old man that I have also seen several times at HEB wearing a pair of pink women's underwear on his head as a mask.  He may think it is funny but I don't...it does not provide any coverage if he were to sneeze.

It took me a while to be able to find my phone to take his picture so I zoomed in as much as I could as he was far away when I took it.

The containers smelled so much to rubber I had to lower the windows to let in some fresh air.  Ordinarily, I would just take them out of the car until I had time to clean them but I decided to clean them with soap and water and let them air dry.

That is when I noticed that the HDX had an issue...I could see light on three corners...not a good thing. Checked out the other one which is much better made and it did not have that problem.  If you happened to purchase the same item this week you might want to check yours out.

Went back to return it and purchased two additional of the Tough Box brand. By then it was so hot and the skies were cloudy.  As soon as I drove into the garage we got an unexpected 3-minute shower.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Sore back / Lab Report / Hatch Chiles / Karma

I do not know where this week has gone to but time sure flies by COVID-19 or not.  I have not done any yard work since I managed to hurt my back and now instead of being able to carry 1 gallon on each hand, I can only carry 1/2 gallon in each.  I have to carry them to the southern section of the property to water a shade tree and several pomegranate ones.

You might ask why not just use a water hose?  I would have to string together three 100 ft hoses and that gets tricky as there are many desert cacti that they can get stuck on and more holes poked on them even though they are heavy-duty ones.

Yesterday I finally went to pick up the mail at the P.O. Box.  If this intentional slow down of our nation's mail by this administration has had one benefit is that I am not receiving as many letters from flippers wish I could say the same for their darn telephone calls.

I am not too happy with my new doctor's male nurse.  I got my lab reports not once but twice...I suppose it is better than not getting them at all. The one medication I tried so hard to get off of by eating oatmeal, salads, fruit, cereal, 1% low-fat milk, diet ice cream, and no red meat did not work out...my cholesterol levels are still high so it looks like I will be going back on statins.

Made a quick stop at the main HEB to pick-up more of the above items and to check their vitamin aisle. No Zinc but did find Biotin in regular form but since I had already bought the Gummies at Walmart the other day I did not purchase any.

The first time I heard about Hatch Chiles was at the Terlingua Chili Cook-off more than twenty years ago.  In the last seven years or so HEB has incorporated them into many of their products during their harvest time.

I saw a Hatch Seasoned Rotisserie Chicken and decided to buy it.  I thought it would at least be spicy as Hatch chiles are but I could have fed it to a child and they would not have found it hot at all.  I was disappointed but at least it had no salt and was juicy and tender.

This was the going gasoline price yesterday. $1.819 for a gallon of unleaded gasoline.

It has been hot but Terlingua was hotter today.

Sometimes Karma does make an appearance...

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.



Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Finally...Rain!!!

On the news last night we were given a 20 percent chance of precipitation and for some reason, I actually believed them this time!

While the skies were a clear blue this morning I set out my primitive rain catchment system and glad I did as this afternoon dark clouds began to appear northeast of us.

I honestly do not recall the last time it rained.  I was on the front porch with Paquito and Nico watching it rain as was Mr. Joe's wife across the street from us.

Remembered that I had to empty my multiple containers into my 32-gallon trash can and set them out again to capture more liquid gold.  For those new to my blog...don't you laugh at my multi-colored buckets!

Even the cats were excited about the rain.  Momma Katie actually went from one container to the next taking sips from each like she was a wine taster...jajaja :D

Managed to get some of the other cats in the picture. There is one where I got them all but I can not find it at the moment.

You might have to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see all five cats. From left to right Paquito (the white one), drinking from one container Momma Katie and her now grown kittens and way in the back is Nico looking from afar. Do not confuse the rock the color of the cats with one of them.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of The Day

Losing my eyesight? / Power outage / No bicycles or camping gear

As noted on my prior post I went to Walmart after my lab work on Wednesday, August 12th to purchase vitamins that my doctor thought might be beneficial to me. I do not know if it is because I was nervous since the one year anniversary of the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso that I avoid this store that clearly in a small town like Del Rio is a difficult thing to do as it is the largest store we have.

When I got home I was looking over my purchases when I noticed that the gummy vitamins I purchased were for Men not Women. Then I noticed that the sunscreen I bought was for Kids not Adults...I'm I losing my eyesight?

I really did not want to return to the store but knew that Thursday had to be it as I did not want to go on a Friday or much less on the weekend.  I am superstitious by nature and I avoid going out on the 13th of any day but what choice did I have?

Returned the Men's vitamins and headed to find the ones I needed when all of a sudden the store lost power. I immediately looked at my watch...it was 2:45 p.m. fifteen minutes before the official energy conservation hours of 3:00 - 7:00 p.m.

It took about 20 seconds for their auxiliary power to kick in. I continued shopping when they announced over the overhead speakers that the power to their registers would take 10 minutes to restore.

Found what I needed when another announcement was made that their registers would require an additional 16 minutes...why 16 and not 15 minutes?  I have no idea.  Decided to go see if they had any markdowns in the camping aisle and was surprised to see half-stocked shelves.

I have been eyeing a bicycle online but they have been out of stock for a while and the same item at Amazon has tripled in price. Needing to kill time headed that way and this is what I found...

Ok, no camping gear, bicycles, or vitamins that are not Gummy's... let's wander around the paper towel aisle...at least I was re-assured that my Viva paper towels were in stock even though I didn't need any at this time...but reassuring nontheless.

Time to head for the registers, the lines were incredibly long. Associates were going around notifying customers that only credit cards with no cashback were being accepted at this time which was fine with me.

It took exactly one hour from the time of the power outage to the time I drove off their lot. Needed to pick up our mail but was too frustrated to drive back to town to do so. There is a reason why I avoid the 13th...sigh :-(

To add to the pain of it all we have been in triple digits every day in August.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Lab work / One Entrance Walmart / Gummy Vitamins / Ice Cream

Howdy folks, did you all think I ran away with my tall weathered cowboy?  I am sorry to report that he has not made it to Del Rio yet...apparently, Alexa sent him further south and he is now in Mexico drinking frozen margaritas and dancing the night away with several Señoritas.

This year I opted to change medical providers and one of my main concerns was that he be on board with me getting my labs done in Mexico as I do not have medical insurance and are what they call "self-pay".

Once upon a time before the current occupant of the White House took office the local hospital would offer $40.00 tests for uninsured individuals. When he was elected the hospital reversed its policy fearing that he would do away with Obama Care and raised their prices to a ridiculous level. For four tests...I paid $160.00. Those same four tests then cost $1150.00 but if you paid with a credit card it would cost you $575.00 or thereabouts.

I marched right on over to my former medical provider to see if she would be open to me getting those same tests done in Ciudad Acuña which she was.  It was a good thing because if she had not been I would have had to say good-bye and gone to my Mexican doctor.  In Mexico, I was able to get all four tests done with a free urinalysis thrown in for less than $100.00 USD.

So where am I going with this? On my telephone appointment with my new doctor, he wanted me to get some new labs done but knew of my predicament.  Not just because of the steep price the hospital charges but the fact that I was afraid to go to Ciudad Acuña whose Coronavirus numbers which used to be below Del Rio's for a long time have now skyrocketed along with the death toll.

Monday I got a phone call from his nurse to let me know that their labs were now offering a more reasonable price to uninsured patients which would be capped at $300.00 I was beside myself with joy!

Wednesday I went to have them done and I must say that they had a well-executed plan. You were met at the door by a nurse in full PPE you filled out some questions, they reviewed them took your temperature before you were allowed inside and placed a hot pink wristband on you to signify that you had been properly vetted.

There were very few people and they had marked places where you could and could not sit. There were four individuals ahead of me so it took a while but at least I was not as freaked out as I thought I might be.

The doctor wanted me to purchase some vitamins which I had been putting off so much to my chagrin headed to Walmart. Upon entering the parking lot I did not see that many cars on the south side where I usually park but as I walked to the entrance saw that the door was closed and there was only one entrance and one exit which was not the case the last time I was here.

I had read in other blogs where they were having problems finding vitamins and I ran into the same problem here. When did vitamins become "Gummy" everything?  As you can tell it has been a while since I have purchased some.

Bought some sunscreen lotion and my favorite Sweet Freedom Ice Cream which I thought was sold out. Since all, I saw at eye level was Butter Pecan and I hate anything pecan...yuk!!!

JudithK...I swear I am not trolling you but this was the first thing I saw when I walked into the now one entrance Walmart...

I think they must have lowered their price to be competitive with HEB.

I have previously mentioned that anytime they change or add a medication it makes me sleepy.  This week I have not even been able to stay up to watch my Late Night shows and with everything that has been happening in our nation, I could really use a laugh.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Bickering Politicians / More Covid Cases / Triple Digit Temperatures

Our COVID-19 cases are on the rise as well as the number of deaths. The obituary section has gotten longer and sadly two people I went to high school with have perished. Not making matters any better are the bickering back and forth between the Mayor of Del Rio and the Val Verde County judge with regards to the coronavirus.

My routine has remained the same getting up early so I can be outside by 7:00 a.m. watering the trees and doing yard work before the oppressive heat makes it unbearable. I overdid it Friday morning and paid dearly for it. Today I took the day off and no yard work took place.

We have been in triple digits since the beginning of August and expect the same until August 21st when it will go down to 99 degrees.

Today we had a low of 78 and a high of 103 degrees.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

A new type of doctor's appointment / Prescriptions / Back to Salads

I had canceled my doctor's appointment back in May and re-scheduled it for today. After much thought, I decided to cancel it first thing Monday so I would not be charged for not giving 24-hour notice. The scheduling clerk asked why I was canceling and I told her about the jerk with Coronavirus symptoms that I was standing in line behind a couple of weeks ago when I went to drop off some documents for my doctor and how it freaked me out.

She thought I might be interested in a telephone visit instead. I told her I had no idea how to do that on a cellphone. All I knew was how to Skype from my computer and I was not interested in that either. She said no...he will call you at home and you can talk on a regular phone. Loved the idea and decided to give it a try.

His nurse called me 30 minutes before to make sure I would be able to take his call and to confirm my medications. I really enjoyed this kind of doctor's visit from the safety of my house and wearing my pajamas. My telephone appointment lasted for 25 minutes.

I have a confession to make, I told the doctor a little white lie...he asked if I knew how much I weighed...I stated that I did not (OK, no shaming allowed).  Asked if I felt I had lost, gained, or remained the same weight wise...I was honest and said I felt I had gained weight.

I was hoping to get off one medication but instead came away with another prescription. I figured HEB would not fill it until tomorrow but got an e-mail a couple of hours later that this medication was ready. Since I had others that I had not picked up yet headed to HEB's pharmacy.

I can not believe that I have not had a salad in two or is it three weeks? Rectified that and bought spinach, garden salad blend, mini carrots, grape tomatoes, avocados, cantaloupe, and bananas.

Mini carrots and grape tomatoes...

This photo is for JudithK...if it will make you feel any better they are as hard as a rock and it will be a while until I can incorporate them into my salads.

Cantaloupes...

Have gotten a little tired of Nido Powdered milk on my breakfast cereal so bought a gallon of 1% Lowfat Milk. Since everything can not be healthy I also bought a slice of carrot cake!

I was surprised to see a well-stocked selection of both disposable as well as cloth face masks and an ample supply of hand sanitizer. So if you need some...head to your local HEB.

I apologize for the poor quality of the picture
as there were people waiting for me to
move on so they could buy these products.

What also surprised me was that you were allowed to buy up to 10 sanitizers.

We had a low of 77 and a high of 105 degrees. There is no probability of precipitation in the foreseeable future so if your city is getting rain you are very fortunate.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Can you believe...another power outage?

This is just getting ridiculous I am sick and tired of all these power spikes and worse yet the power outages...grrrrrrrrrrr!!!

I finally managed to corral Paquito and put him out so I could heat up my dinner and watch the game that had already started (My Spurs).  All of a sudden I am left in the dark it was 8:33 p.m. at least I had my solar lights nearby so was able to eat my dinner without a problem.

Looked out the window and saw that the neighbors were outside. The dogs were going crazy barking at them since they decided to walk up and down the street. I had lowered the A/C this afternoon as it was so hot therefore the house remained cool.

At 9:44 p.m. the power came back on after being out for 1 hour and 11 minutes.  I was glad it came back so soon relatively speaking.

We had a low of 79 and a high of 104 degrees.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

My August started on the wrong foot...

As I mentioned in my last post we had a three-minute shower in the early morning hours. Even though I had worked hard out in the yard it did not translate into a good night's rest. I did not get up early to water the trees figured at least they got some liquid gold and could hold out for a couple more hours.

It was about 9:30 a.m. when I started to water them. I happened to look toward the south where I cleared a pathway to the curve when I noticed there was a black truck deep inside Mom's property...WTH?

Headed that way and saw that no one was inside the truck. Did someone abandon it there?  All of a sudden a short man in a mask walks towards me from the back of the house. It wasn't until I heard him speak that I recognized who it was. It was Pollito's wino sidekick. While he had a mask on he was wearing it wrong not covering his nose. Fortunately, he kept his distance and I backed up even more.

I was FURIOUS!!!  It took an incredible amount of self-restraint to keep my cool. I have a chain and two locks on the front gate to keep people out what more does it take? Apparently, he bypassed it and instead made use of the path I spent hours sweating like a pig to clear.

He said he saw me out in the yard so he came to see if I wanted to have the mesquite trees cut (the baby mesquites) and the yard clippings bagged. I told him the same thing I told Pollito the other day that I did not have any money so I had been doing it myself. That is not true...I just DO NOT want to hire them. I have had enough of these incompetent clowns....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

He told me he had all his tools with him and I could pay him whenever...I told him that that was not the way I conducted business. I said that I still had his telephone number and would give him a call if I needed his services.

I also threw in that the last time he came over which I believe was in December 2019...I told him I wanted the trees cut...at the time he had also seen me raking leaves and he wanted to bag them.  I can do that myself. He told me he would be back when he had time...so August 1st...eight months later he comes back?  Pollito has certainly trained him well!

Last week I got an e-mail from HEB letting me know that our prescriptions were ready to be picked up. That can not be right we still have medication. When I was with my previous doctor I told them I did not want to have my prescriptions auto-filled but now with my new doctor the pharmacy once again signed me up?

Today I received another e-mail saying I had 3 days to pick them up or they would put them back in stock. I am NOT going out during the weekend especially not to big HEB...they will have to wait until Monday or whenever I feel like picking them up.

I hope your August 1st went a lot better than mine. Aunty Acid Saying of the Day certainly applied to my situation this morning.

We had a low of 78 a high of 103 with a heat index of 107 degrees.

Good night.  May you have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day