June 2023
June 30, 2023 - Friday - I love living out here with Dad and being near more family. There’s really only two things I don’t like about living out here. One, I really miss all the good restaurants I used to live near. Burleson has lots but they’re mostly chains. The other thing is the spider webs. I walk through one almost every day somewhere taking the dogs for a walk or going to my car.
June 29, 2023 - Thursday - I’ve started taking the dogs for longer walks down the road. I always check it first to make sure it’s not too hot for them. Fortunately the road is shaded most of the walks we take. This evening we were almost back to our yard when I stopped and took this one. I like all the bales of hay out in this field.
June 28, 2023 - Wednesday - Zak gets really anxious in the car when we’re in traffic. Sometimes he makes himself sick. I’m trying to get him more used to being in the car so that doesn’t happen again. Today we went for a ride. No Blizzard this time, but he was still a good boy. He’s panting less now.
June 27, 2023 - Tuesday - Today I took a quick day trip to St. Louis. Getting up at 5am to catch a flight isn’t much fun. Thankfully my company today was. We filmed interviews at a few different locations today. One was with a chef at a new steak restaurant in Clayton. Our previous interview was with at a cafe where we left with salads and snacks. Since the steak place was closed they let us eat here.
June 26, 2023 - Monday - This evening I took Zak to the vet for his annual anti-cootie stuff. He got some weird goo and a couple of shots. He did better than I thought he would considering he’s not very well socialized. I decided to take him for a post-vet visit meal. I got him this sad looking Jr burger with cheese and a mini Banana Split Blizzard. (with no chocolate syrup) He was a happy boy.
June 25, 2023 - Sunday - Today I had Sunday dinner with some friends. On the way home from Austin I had to stop at the Amish bakery just out of principle. I thought it would be a great idea to pick up some whoopee pies for my friends. (I got some for myself too.) My friend’s daughter said these were even better than the Oreo Cakester. I think I agree.
June 24, 2023 - Saturday - I drove home from Austin this morning. After a late lunch with the family I rested for a bit and then took Zak out for a ride. He get’s a little anxious in the car but had he known we were going to give him a bath he would have never got in the car. I picked up dinner for my sister and I on the way back. I even got him a mini Blizzard for being a good boy.
June 23, 2023 - Friday - Today was another relaxing day with just a little bit of work for each of us. This evening we went out to dinner. Yes it was hot today but yes, I ordered the pho and yes, I’d do it again. My friend took a bit of a scenic route back to the airbnb. We had a good view of the capital, even from the back seat.
June 22, 2023 - Thursday - We all had to do a little bit of work during the getaway. While I was working on the couch Yogi came over to investigate the what was going on outside. There’s a pool down there and big grassy area to run around. I wish I could go outside with my dogs without having to put them on leashes. Zak’s a knucklehead and will just wander off until I catch him.
June 21, 2023 - Wednesday - After work today Dad and I went over to my brother’s for dinner. I went back to the house, fed the dogs and took them for a quick walk. Then I packed my stuff and headed south. I’m going to meet a friend and his family for a couple of days in the hill country. I was worried when the clouds and all the sky turned a weird pink, but thankfully the weather was fine all the way.
June 20, 2023 - Tuesday - A while back I was in the grocery store and I almost passed this case with a bunch of these. I’m so glad I stopped and grabbed a bag. These turned out to be really sweet and make a great afternoon snack. It’s a shame I can’t share these with the pups.
June 19, 2023 - Monday - This evening Riley came into town for a belated Father’s Day. It makes my heart so happy. It’s weird, I wonder if dad feels this way about my little sister when she comes to visit. I wish I had videoed when Zak saw Riley for the first time. He got so excited. Then she started pulling his tail and blowing in his face and all was right in his world for a little while.
June 18, 2023 - Sunday - Today was an uneventful day, thankfully. Two of my sisters and I took dad out to dinner for Father’s Day. My sister from NYC was craving Chicken Fried Steak so since it’s Father’s Day we went where she wanted to go. hahahahahahaha. We all joke she’s a spoiled only child. She’s not that bad, but kinda.
June 17, 2023 - Saturday - Today we had our big family Father’s Day get together. My sister from NYC arrived yesterday morning. It was good to see so much of the family but it’s always a bit sad that they can’t all be there. The food was more a free for all rather than anything that was planned too much. The result was way more food than we needed. Riley couldn’t be there but she gave me a Lind’s Fudge Cake.
June 16, 2023 - Friday - It’s been quite a first week home. After a quick trip to St. Louis, two weeks of dog/house sitting and then a week with quite a bit of socializing it’s nice to sit on the couch and just relax and get caught up on my photo of the day. Pancake came up to keep me company. It didn’t take long before she was snoring.
June 15, 2023 - Thursday - Tonight I drove into Dallas again to meet Riley and her BF at my favorite Italian place for another birthday dinner. I think the thing I miss the most living in Burleson is all the really good restaurants near where I used to live. If I don’t get one of the specials my go to is the Pasta Primavera with a side of the rosa sauce. So good. It’s always good to spend time with Riley.
June 14, 2023 - Wednesday - I was out walking the dogs this morning when I saw this little guy lying in the drive. I was surprised it didn’t fly away but after looking a bit closer I realized this guy wasn’t going to be flying anywhere any more. A little later in the day a good friend invited me out to dinner for my birthday and to meet his new girlfriend.
June 13, 2023 - Tuesday - I got invited to a retirement party with the company I used to work for. It was really good to see some of the old faces. My current boss was worried how it would go but I told her I would be professional and friendly. 9 days short of ten years is a long time to be at one job.
June 12, 2023 - Monday - I was pretty busy today at work. Dad was outside doing something and told me about this cactus flower out on the side of the house. It was still very overcast this afternoon when I took this. I was hoping to get another photo of these when the sun was shining, but I didn’t get back out.
June 11, 2023 - Sunday - I got invited to my friend’s house to spend my birthday with her and her family. She surprised me with a Matilda Cake. If you’ve ever seen the movie you know what I’m talking about. “You can do it, Brucey!” I also made Chocolate Pillows with her daughter. Actually I did more supervising than making. It was a great day until the hail started. We all got a bunch of little dings in our cars.
June 10, 2023 - Saturday - I used to work up there on the 2nd floor on the left. The walls facing this courtyard are all glass so we could see into the office across the way. We used to make up conversations the woman that worked there had with her coworkers. One of us named her Betty Holly. We had a happy hour once and after a few drinks we all went over and introduced ourselves. I wish I could remember her real name it was somehow connected to Betty or Holly.
June 9, 2023 - Friday - Tonight is my last night here. I have a few beers left in the fridge. I think I’ll leave at least one in there for my friend. I watched The Replacements tonight. Such a good, fun movie. You can’t go wrong with John Madden and Pat Summerall calling a football game even if it’s not a real game.
June 8, 2023 - Thursday - I got one last photo of Phoebe at the end of the day. She looks like I feel. It was a long day of work. Not that it was any longer than usual but I was up late working on a freelance project. Getting up this morning was hard, but it’s not so bad when this one wakes you up purring. I saw that the new Photos app is going to have pet face recognition. It’s about time!
June 7, 2023 - Wednesday - Today I met a friend for lunch today. We’ve not seen each other in quite a while. We sat out on the patio and talked about up coming trips and our pets. She has a boxer that’s quite a handful. It was nice to sit out in the shade and get caught up.
June 6, 2023 - Tuesday - Today it started to thunder really loudly. The dogs here aren’t normally afraid of thunder but even they were reacting to it. Within a few minutes it started to rain really hard. I went out on the patio to watch it come down. This guy didn’t have the sense to come in out of the rain.
June 5, 2023 - Monday - When I went to the grocery store last week I picked up a six pack of Pacifico. I don’t drink beer very often, let alone often enough to buy it for the house, but lately I’ve craving a cold Pacifico or Shiner. This really hit the spot tonight.
June 4, 2023 - Sunday - I went to spend some time with Dad and my own pups this morning. My dear friend helped out with the little one while I was gone. It was a good day with dad. He’s feeding the pups whenever he thinks about it so they’re really loving him now. I got to have dinner with the family before I headed back. Doja was back in her favorite place.
June 3, 2023 - Saturday - While I was out with the pups this morning I found this little flamingo. It needed a little more air before he went back in for a swim. When we went out a little later in the day he was floating out in the middle of the pool in bright sunlight. I went back in to get my camera. It stated raining just a little bit later.
June 2, 2023 - Friday - Today was a really busy day of work. It didn’t help that I didn’t sleep so well last night and I was tired all day. When I was done with lunch I came back to work on my laptop on the couch. Yogi had taken my spot. But look at that face! How could it not be the photo of the day.
June 1, 2023 - Thursday - I went home for the evening last night. A dear friend helped out with the pups last night and this morning. I was glad to be home to give Dad a break. He’s feeding the pups more often than he should and they love him now. I met a friend for lunch on the way back.