Should not have procrastinated / Recycling Center / Library

I have had two opportunities to fill my tank but passed due to long lines at the pump. I knew I would get the call to go pick up my prescriptions but due to some "kitty drama" got a late start. I thought gasoline prices were on the way down but today I found gasoline went up by .10 cents to $3.159 for unleaded gasoline. My camera has a problem taking pictures of pixel images like the ones used at HEB for their gasoline prices so I had to delete it.

Went to the Recycling Center where each time they reduce the items you can bring to them. Yet they do nothing about people that bring their dirty cat food cans that stink and contaminate the clean ones...I was pissed off but I could not find anyone to complain to....grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

Swung by the post office only to find our P.O. Box full of political and flipper junk mail. When are those darn Houston area flippers going to give up? 😝

Needed a lot of room to spread out to sort my mail and write checks...what better place than the Val Verde County Library. They have lots of light, cold air conditioning, and I do not have to listen to the neighbor's dogs barking or put up with the free-range chickens of Walter's former owner. Not to mention our own cats, hopefully, I will have an opportunity to update their blog soon.

My trip to the library left me calm and relaxed that I fell asleep before the ten o'clock news and did not have a chance to make a post.

Since it's morning I can not wish you Terlingua Dreams so have a nice day!

Aunty Acid

Hot kitchen / Low flow at San Felipe Creek

First thing yesterday (Tuesday) even though they had not opened yet, I called the A/C company where I purchased the unit so they could come to check it out. The owner's wife would later call me back only to inform me that they could not get to me until Friday and would put me on the list...I was 53rd!

She went over some things I could do in the meantime to determine if it was the compressor or the blower? She said if it was the compressor it would take longer to fix as they would have to order it. One of her suggestions was to turn off the unit for 6 HOURS!!! Is this lady crazy? Yesterday we had another 108-degree day.

Thanks to YouTube and the local news (from San Antonio) found out it was perfectly fine if it does not shut off after the temperature outside is 20 degrees higher. YouTube had some suggestions like washing down the unit but our unit is on the roof and I suffer from vertigo so that was a no-go.

I was very worried about the kitchen since that was a later addition and the A/C does not cool as well there. It needs a small a/c or a mini-split that was not yet invented when the kitchen was added. This was the temperature in the kitchen even though I had three windows open that face north, south, and east. Where were the wind gusts when you needed them?

My main concern was the refrigerator breaking down trying to keep the contents cool when it was 104 degrees in the kitchen. Thankfully, I am the proud owner of ice chests of all sizes which I refer to as "My Terlingua Boys". Got out all the things I needed from the fridge. Good thing I keep frozen water bottles so did not even have to go buy ice.

This morning the temperature had come down to 80 degrees so I closed all the windows placed aluminum foil on them and opened the air vents.

The "830 Times" website said that if needed they would open the Del Rio Civic Center as a cooling center but I do not know if they did. Everyone in Del Rio knows that our unofficial cooling center is the Val Verde County Library where you need a light jacket in the summer. I needed to make copies this morning but there were a lot of cars there so I passed. I do believe some people might have been there for the cold A/C.

Drove by San Felipe Lions Park to see how the drought was affecting the flow of San Felipe Creek.

The flow has definitively been slowed...

Little HEB is close by so went to stock up on salads, bread, ham, and milk as there is no chance of me warming up anything in the kitchen.

I don't usually drink sodas but I saw this was Caffeine Free, was on sale for $1.00 so decided to give it a try.

Gasoline was selling for $4.089 for regular unleaded and $4.919 for diesel at Walmart.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid

Postal Service woes / Snout-nosed butterflies / Library

I do not know why no matter what city I live at whether it be Houston or Del Rio, I never manage to get out the door until after 3:00 p.m. or later. Today was no different as I had to make my way to the post office on the other side of town to mail a payment. Even though neither I nor the accounting firm knows if it was on my end or theirs that they never received last month's HOA dues. This will be the second time this year that they have not received my payment, though the lady that handles our account remembers processing it. I was the one that notified them as it never cleared my bank.  Mine was not the only payment they did not receive but they are blaming the Houston Postal Service.

Today I went out with my new face shield and glad I did.  This area is swarming with Snout-nosed butterflies and as I went to remove the locks on the front gate they collided with my shield. They were everywhere I went!  I tried photographing them but they are so small they did not show up on any of the pictures including the one below. 

I stopped at the Val Verde County Library to pick up the newsletter that is put out by the League of Texas Women Voters before every state and federal election but found that it has not arrived yet. Will have to make a return trip.

Good night. May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

Library / Doctor's Office / Jerk / Walmart

With the high temperatures, we have been experiencing I had not had a chance to pick up trash along the outer fence line or tree limbs after the wind gusts the "cold front" brought yesterday. Today was trash day so I did not want to put it off much longer since the only good thing the cold front brought or rather took away was the humidity.

I decided to change doctors this year and while I like him his staff is so incompetent. I made copies of everything important and took them to my first doctor's visit. They somehow lost one of them...his nurse claims even the hospital does not have a copy of it (they are now affiliated with the only hospital we have in town).

I had to dig through my multiple boxes and go make copies at the County Library.  I have not been here since they closed during the pandemic so I did not know what to expect.  I called ahead and they told me the only requirement they had was that a face mask be worn at all times.

You can no longer make your own copies. You have to ask one of their employees to assist you...then get on another line to pay for said copies. Not a problem as there were very few people today.

I then went and sat down so I could organize my copies.  I took my own disinfectant wipes but was glad to see that as soon as a person got up from a desk or a computer they had someone wiping down the desk, chair, and computer keyboard. BTW while most stores are out of wipes Dollar Tree has plenty in stock.

Headed to the Clinic only to find a full parking lot and a line to get in. They had a nurse in full PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) taking your temperature and asking questions before they allowed you to enter the building.

One man in line asked the nurse how long they had been doing this...she replied that they just started today because there were six new COVID-19 cases at the hospital...that perked up my ears!

Then, of course, there had to be a JERK who was getting irritated with the nurse and I was glad she stood up to him and said: "the questions I am asking you, I am asking everyone for your safety as well as the safety of everyone here and I would appreciate it if you were more respectful!"...good for her I almost wanted to clap!!!

Turns out this jerk had all the symptoms of Coronavirus and here I was in line with him. She did not let him in the building and asked him to take a seat (they have always had benches outside) to wait for a doctor to come outside.

When it came to my turn I told her I just wanted to drop off an envelope for my doctor's nurse, she took it from me and said she would deliver it to him.  I added, "please do not lose it, it is very important".  She replied, "I won't, I will take it right now...just then the man in line in back of me stopped her to ask a question."  I got home too late to call the Clinic to verify he indeed received it. That poor nurse needed another person to help her out.

As I headed back to my car the jerk was headed back to his...so he did not wait for the doctor to come outside to evaluate him...I did not know I could walk so fast!

The clinic is closer to Walmart than it is to HEB.  Walmart used to be the only place I could buy Blue Bunny Sweet Freedom ice cream you can now purchase it at HEB but Walmart has a larger flavor selection so headed their way.

I have not been here in a long time. Surprisingly they do not have a Pharmacy drive-thru window so they have improvised.

After the ice cream, you know what item I headed for next...though they were not exactly "fresh" but what the heck.

Then I saw a Manager's Special that made it worth my trip. I ended up buying eight avocados to go with my salads.

I was surprised there were still low on stock of the usual popular items.

They did have plenty of their store brand (Great Value) toilet paper...

Gasoline prices are on the rise...

Today we had a low of 70 and a high of 98 degrees but with little humidity.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.


Aunty Acid Saying of the Day

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.

The honeymoon is over

Why is it that this part of Texas has the worst ISP?  I have had dial-up, Cricket hotspot, AT&T MiFi, Time Warner Cable, Dish satellite internet and Spectrum.  With my latest ISP (Spectrum) I bundled internet, television and home phone to get a better price.  It was all fine and dandy until three months ago.  Since then we have had episodes of one, two or all three services going out for hours despite there not being bad weather.

Last night thankfully after my NBA games (or I would have gone ballistic) the cable started freezing, the internet kept on dropping me and I could hardly hear my uncle on the phone.  The honeymoon is definitively over with Spectrum....grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

When are real ISP going to come to Del Rio?  We need you!!! Help!!!

This morning I went to the library as my internet was still out.  On the way saw a lot of Spectrum service trucks working on the lines.  At least they were addressing the problem.

Our library took almost three years to be remodeled and expanded.  They knocked down three old mansions and now take up a city block.  However, they did a poor job of allocating enough parking space.

To the left of this picture is a church and if I was them I would sue the County because all these cars do not belong to churchgoers but to library patrons.  It was early so there weren't as many cars as there usually are.

The same held true prior to the remodeling and expansion everyone used their parking. Del Rio is big enough that we could use two libraries.

If you were thinking of using the Amistad Dam Port of Entry to go to Mexico or come back to the USA...I am sorry to say that as of today it is closed for 30 days...or until further notice more than likely the latter.

The skies were menacing to the south. I love how this old mansion across the street from the library is framed by the clouds.  I have always loved this mansion my parents bought an old bed frame and some chairs in a garage sale over 40 years ago and we still have them. Wish I had the money to purchase it ((sigh)).

However, to the north the skies were blue so I headed to Dollar Tree and Walmart before the tariffs kick in and the prices go up.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

The heat wave is on

I could not procrastinate any longer and had to bite the bullet as tomorrow they are forecasting it will reach 103 degrees (39.4444 Celcius) and it is a fair bet to say that I will not be going anywhere after 10:00 a.m.  Little did I know that we would reach 99 degrees (37.2222 Celcius) this afternoon.

I have become obsessed checking the Border Wait Times website https://bwt.cbp.gov/index.html?com=0&pas=1&ped=0&plist=2302

When I saw a lull in wait times this morning I headed to Mexico. I was at the veterinary with Nico by 8:30 a.m. for his follow-up visit after his neutering. He also got his last remaining vaccines. He is doing fine.  Remember how I told you that this Vet Clinic is always busy? Mornings are usually congested as pet owners drop off their canine friends for their spay/neuter operation. Today was not the case, I was even able to schedule the same procedure for Paquito this week when before there was a two to three-week wait.

Tuesdays are Martes de Cosecha...Harvest Tuesday...so made a beeline for Gutierrez where they have shaded canopies and it would not be too hot while Nico waited in his pet carrier.  At this hour it was not hot and where we were parked still had natural shade.

Bought tomatoes, serranos, calabacitas, cilantro, carrots, nopalitos, bananas, hot sauce, and low-fat milk.

To my surprise and delight, the wait to return to the USA was only twenty minutes. When we got home I was going to treat Nico to some canned cat food but he took off as soon as I opened the door to his carrier. I tried to lure him into the kitchen so neither Paquito or Sonny would eat his food but he decided to pass...poor baby, I can't say I blame him.

After lunch, I went to run more errands around town.  Headed to the Recycling Center. little HEB, the post office, and bank.  By now it was pretty hot so decided to treat myself to a Frosty at Wendy's.

The air conditioning at Wendy's was nice and cold.  It would have been a sweet treat had it not been for this kid running around screaming his head off while his mother ignored him as she visited with her girlfriends.

My back was killing me as I had decided not to wear my back brace today.  Headed to Marshall's where they sell affordable ones at half if not even less than at the regular department stores.  I had heard about belts with magnets supposedly "circulation enhancing magnets"...can not say I can feel a difference but then again I have only worn it for a couple of hours as I do not want to take any more Paracetamol.

I needed to print out a form so my last stop was the County Library. This place is always super cold but this afternoon it felt great, so much so that decided to stay and read the local newspaper.  I have no idea why we are such copycatters why do we always follow what San Antonio does?  Are we not capable of having just ONE original idea of our own?  That is all I will say about how we have hijacked the "Fiesta Celebration".

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Blogging from the library

I have been getting up early in the mornings to run errands before the suffocating heat takes over. It has been positively hellish hot not just in Del Rio but in the entire state of Texas. Took the car early in the morning for its annual inspection and I guess everyone else had the same idea. He told me it would be a 40-minute wait but people began to get impatient and left so my wait was cut in half.

With inspection document in hand headed over to the courthouse to purchase my license tags. Would have liked to run a couple more errands but I needed to head back home. Tried to do a post from the house but kept on getting bumped so decided to come to the library.

To think that when I began my blog Del Rio was pretty much a Wi-Fi dead zone.

I could not for the life of me find a parking space as they were having some type of event.  I almost gave up but I needed to answer a lot of emails that I just can not do from my cell phone.  My clumsy fingers are of no help.

They finally installed the new computers though I think they may well be the old ones, can not tell as I brought my old laptop just in case. It keeps on telling me that an error has occurred while trying to save or publish my post...so we will see how that goes :-(

An hour after I got home I heard the sound of thunder, went outside to check it out and had to make a mad dash to remove the clothes from the clothesline.  I was not prepared so only manage to get 35 gallons from my primitive rain catchment system.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Dollar Tree / Library / San Antonio

I am having a hard time finding anything but the new spiral energy efficient light bulbs even in Mexico. While I like their low watt consumption I have never found that they live up to their supposed longevity ranging from 7 to 11 years. The most I have ever had one last me is two years. It is a shame that I have a bunch of the old fashion ones in Houston that I could sure use here.

Went to Dollar Tree hoping to find some to no avail. While there I noticed an older couple loading their shopping cart with what seemed to be like 20 or more 18 count egg cartons.  Asked the gentlemen if those also sold for a dollar and he replied: " Yes, Sweetheart...you better get you some before they're all gone"...I must admit that put a smile on my face...it has been a long time since someone called me "Sweetheart." I had no idea Dollar Tree sold eggs. I did buy them but only one 18-count carton.

I am so tired of the Val Verde County Library not being finished after more than two years of renovations, at least not on the inside.  The new computers have not been installed and they have no control as they did previously on how long people use them.  I do not have a printer and needed to get directions to the new installations where the former Uvalde doctor and associates have moved to.

The one positive about the library is that it is always nice and cool. It was 98 degrees outside but a refreshing 69 degrees inside.  I almost did not want to leave!

After Googling the directions,  I decided that they were too complicated and I wanted no part of I-10 West or US 87.  My comfort zone is I-410 North going to the Medical Center and I-410 South returning to Del Rio. I inputted the former address as a starting point and got directions that even I could follow without ever having to go the route they wanted me to.  All I had to do was stay on Fredericksburg Road.

Monday morning we left early as I gave myself five hours to allow for traffic or other mishaps. The new facilities are beautiful, the patient drop-off/pick-up area was better than the former site and best of all I did not have to go up four levels to park in a very congested parking garage.  This location has ample parking space and best of all it's free.

Mother was ushered early to get her labs done and we only had an hour wait which in and of itself is amazing for this doctor.  I sometimes whine about long waits but I want to say that in his case, he is well worth the wait or we would not have followed him to San Antonio.  Of all the doctor's my mother has seen over the years this doctor, as well as her Primary Physician (who is not a doctor but a PA), are our favorite.  She hit the jackpot with both.

I was glad to see that gasoline prices are holding steady.  Hondo, Texas had the distinction of having the lowest gas price between Del Rio and San Antonio today at $1.93 per gallon for regular unleaded. I filled up in Uvalde since I like to stop at Stripes at $1.95 a gallon.

On a side note the only place I saw blooming purple sage was in Uvalde, Texas.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.