Monday was a very busy day for us. We usually have the housekeeper come on Mondays to clean up for us. She is both a house keeper and friend. She brought her three grandchildren with her. We knew she was going to do this and okayed it. In fact, Judie spent several hours entertaining the kids. The housekeeper, Emely cleaned up and then hustled all the kids off just after lunch.
Monday the glass people also showed up. One of the sliding doors for the shower/bath tub was off track, in fact one of the door's hangers had slipped down complicating matters. So they showed up and took the door off, reworked the hanger and rehung the door. It took two of them to do the job. It is not a task for an non-professional to perform. Those doors will shatter into a jillion pieces if stressed the wrong way. So we let the pro's do their job and they had it all fixed up in about an hour or so.
And the landscaper showed up with a bevy of workers seeming each one came in his own truck. So we had a crowd of vehicles parked out front. They installed rings under the trees out front. I say rings but they are kidney shaped as Judie does not like the plain old rings. They place some big rocks, some smaller gravel and mostly mulch inside the rings. They also planted Ajuga plants that will eventually spread as a ground cover.
They also put in a ring out back to around the big Hackberry tree closest to the house. They used a pole saw and trimmed out some of the lower hanging branches to open up the sun light a bit.
They also planted a Little Jim Magnolia out in the mound. The mound was a pile dirt that came from where we expanded the concrete off the patio. The mound got all dressed out and even got one of those big pieces stone to go with the Magnolia tree.
And finally we had another Hackberry, smaller in size that was nuisance tree and I wanted it removed. Well it is gone now. That free up some sun light for the grassy area near the bird bath located in the middle of back yard. The Hackberry's are trashy to begin with and it was going to be a problem with the Post Oaks, so it had to go.
All of the landscape stuff took about a day and half. But it spruces up the yard and makes Judie happy, so I am happy with that.
It was a busy day, with cutting slashing, scraping, placing, mulching, house cleaning and glass repair.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Saturday, July 4, 2020
The Tool . . .
I written before that sprinkler systems are constant work. A while back one of the sprinkler circuits routes ceased to operate. I fiddled with it and still could not get it to work. So I called a sprinkler guy and he turned out to be retired USAF Sargent. And he did a bit off fiddling around and he found a broken wire from the sprinkler control unit going down to where are the wires were congregated just outside of the garage. We ran a new wire from the control box to this location and he figured it out the correct wire connection and got the sprinkler working again.
That was about seven years ago. And sure enough that same circuit went dead. I looked and looked for the old connection and could not find it. Many a night I would go to sleep trying to figure out how I could fix the problem.
In the mean time one of the units in the control box went bad and I had to replace it. That was easy enough to do but I still had this one bad circuit. That set of sprinklers were on the south side of the house and partly into the front yard. The frequent rains, storms, etc. kept the area green but it has turned hot and dry. And the grass was dying.
So back at it again. Then I had an idea, why not use a jumper wire from the known good connection and then I could try the various wiring connections in the control junction box. I would go to the main control box and select that station, number 7, so I knew it had power and then I connected the jumper to the end of that wire and then started test other connections. On the second test using the jumper cable and the sprinkler fired up. I had finally located the correct set of wires in junction box. After that it was just a matter of connecting wires together.
The tool is the jumper wire with alligator clips on each end. I had not used it in years and had to go hunting for it. I recalled after while that it was in my little tool kit I used on computers. It had connectors, various screw drivers, a device to pull a computer chip out of its socket in that kit. I had stashed the jumper in that tool kit. I was elated when I found it and quickly put it to work and found the correct connections in short order.
That kind tool is home made. One those things one creates to do something way back when. I do not recall why I made it but boy it solved the problem quickly for me. I ponder how to correct that problem for months and now know what to do. Jumpers are not new, and of course, on a computer board there used to be various jumpers you had to use. Those were simple little plug devices to connected two pins. Nobody uses pin junction any more and I have a tube of hardware in the computer tool kit with screws, jumpers and "y" connectors to enable more than one hard drive to get power and so on. Once in a great while one needs a jumper cable and that is why it is in the kit.
That was about seven years ago. And sure enough that same circuit went dead. I looked and looked for the old connection and could not find it. Many a night I would go to sleep trying to figure out how I could fix the problem.
In the mean time one of the units in the control box went bad and I had to replace it. That was easy enough to do but I still had this one bad circuit. That set of sprinklers were on the south side of the house and partly into the front yard. The frequent rains, storms, etc. kept the area green but it has turned hot and dry. And the grass was dying.
So back at it again. Then I had an idea, why not use a jumper wire from the known good connection and then I could try the various wiring connections in the control junction box. I would go to the main control box and select that station, number 7, so I knew it had power and then I connected the jumper to the end of that wire and then started test other connections. On the second test using the jumper cable and the sprinkler fired up. I had finally located the correct set of wires in junction box. After that it was just a matter of connecting wires together.
The tool is the jumper wire with alligator clips on each end. I had not used it in years and had to go hunting for it. I recalled after while that it was in my little tool kit I used on computers. It had connectors, various screw drivers, a device to pull a computer chip out of its socket in that kit. I had stashed the jumper in that tool kit. I was elated when I found it and quickly put it to work and found the correct connections in short order.
That kind tool is home made. One those things one creates to do something way back when. I do not recall why I made it but boy it solved the problem quickly for me. I ponder how to correct that problem for months and now know what to do. Jumpers are not new, and of course, on a computer board there used to be various jumpers you had to use. Those were simple little plug devices to connected two pins. Nobody uses pin junction any more and I have a tube of hardware in the computer tool kit with screws, jumpers and "y" connectors to enable more than one hard drive to get power and so on. Once in a great while one needs a jumper cable and that is why it is in the kit.
Thursday, June 25, 2020
The Fence . . .
We have fenced in most of our backyard but have a gap on one side by the driveway. So we decided to complete the fencing in to control deer from eating every thing under the sun.
While the workman was working on installing the fence we had a doe with twin fawns in the back yard. The fawns wanted to stay there and so mama allowed them to do so but stood guard over them any way. She seemed aware of what the fence meant and even settled in over by one already fenced in area next to the neighbors swimming pool. Even with people in the pool, she was content to stay next to the fence in that area. She recognized she was protected and we were not bothering her. And neither was the workman who patiently continue to install fence post and some of the fencing.
Today he will come out and finish the job and we will swing the gates closed. If she is back there, she will be trapped. I have seen an already a mature deer clear the five foot fence with ease. The fawns simply squeeze through the fence. The fence is black and looks like iron but is really aluminum painted back. And the vertical bars are space about five or so inches apart. And the fawns can get through that with ease. So mama would have to go over the top and the babies will follow her out of the yard.
And the deer have been most proliferate this year. A friend down the street said she counted 8 fawns in her yard the other day. Another neighbor further down the street feeds them and has had upwards to 15 fawns in her back yard. Her yard in on the route that goes over toward Lake Weatherford for water. She also owns the vacant lot next to her and has a huge trash pile that the deer hide behind. She calls it a habitat protector.
So today will be their last day to rule our back yard. And we can free up the barriers on our patio that protect potted plants. We screened in much of the patio and they can not get into that area but have torn the screen in a couple places testing the enclosure. We can not plant other plants in the back now. But with closure of the gates we will be able to start planting again. We can have Day Lilies again.
Many of the plants supposedly the deer with not eat are not the answer. We have found the deer will eat parsley and even chives if they are really hungry. If it sticks up and does not have a strong aroma like Rosemary, they will eat it. I have seen them eat Iris' and eve Lantana. They will dine on Verbena at will. Marigolds go in one big bite. We have Confederate Rose or otherwise known as the Tree Rose of Sharon that they have dined up at will. Yet they leave our neighbor's Confederate Rose alone and it is only 20 feet away from our yard!
Anyway the gates will swing closed shortly.
While the workman was working on installing the fence we had a doe with twin fawns in the back yard. The fawns wanted to stay there and so mama allowed them to do so but stood guard over them any way. She seemed aware of what the fence meant and even settled in over by one already fenced in area next to the neighbors swimming pool. Even with people in the pool, she was content to stay next to the fence in that area. She recognized she was protected and we were not bothering her. And neither was the workman who patiently continue to install fence post and some of the fencing.
Today he will come out and finish the job and we will swing the gates closed. If she is back there, she will be trapped. I have seen an already a mature deer clear the five foot fence with ease. The fawns simply squeeze through the fence. The fence is black and looks like iron but is really aluminum painted back. And the vertical bars are space about five or so inches apart. And the fawns can get through that with ease. So mama would have to go over the top and the babies will follow her out of the yard.
And the deer have been most proliferate this year. A friend down the street said she counted 8 fawns in her yard the other day. Another neighbor further down the street feeds them and has had upwards to 15 fawns in her back yard. Her yard in on the route that goes over toward Lake Weatherford for water. She also owns the vacant lot next to her and has a huge trash pile that the deer hide behind. She calls it a habitat protector.
So today will be their last day to rule our back yard. And we can free up the barriers on our patio that protect potted plants. We screened in much of the patio and they can not get into that area but have torn the screen in a couple places testing the enclosure. We can not plant other plants in the back now. But with closure of the gates we will be able to start planting again. We can have Day Lilies again.
Many of the plants supposedly the deer with not eat are not the answer. We have found the deer will eat parsley and even chives if they are really hungry. If it sticks up and does not have a strong aroma like Rosemary, they will eat it. I have seen them eat Iris' and eve Lantana. They will dine on Verbena at will. Marigolds go in one big bite. We have Confederate Rose or otherwise known as the Tree Rose of Sharon that they have dined up at will. Yet they leave our neighbor's Confederate Rose alone and it is only 20 feet away from our yard!
Anyway the gates will swing closed shortly.
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Strange Event . . .
Internet went down the other day, no connection at all. Called ATT who provides us Uverse service and they did a line check and a modem test. The young lady doing the work decided it was my modem that was at fault and thus they would send me a new one. And since I owned the old one I did not have to send it back when the new one arrived. I had to call ATT on my cell phone which is serviced by Sprint as Uverse effects both the land line telephone and the internet on the same line. So with the line down the land line phone was not working either.
Well later that night the Internet recovered and my old modem was working just fine. My neighbor who has the same service got a different story. They told her the line was down and that it would come back on (and of course it did for both of us). But they also said they were replacing her modem too.
Got the new modem last night and did nothing with it. I plugged in all the wires and back power supply and the on light turned green this morning. I then tried to use it but no joy. So I hooked up the old ethernet cable and it worked just fine. So I unplugged the ethernet line and went back to the WiFi unit. It lit up correctly and I installed the new password off the new modem and all was good. It used the same name, a code it guess, from the old modem and a new password to automatically set itself up. No conversations with the tech on the phone to get the job done.
The tech I talked to, a young woman, had concluded my old modem was out dated and I needed a new one. That was not true, she apparently was not told the system was down. No matter the new modem operates in the higher frequency range and is about twice as fast as the old. Naturally I like that and will keep it. I think it might have been just an excuse to replace all the old modems, who knows?
I will take the old modem to the camp in New Roads. It is probably faster than that modem and will work just fine there. I know the old modem in New Roads is pretty old but still works. This modem is probably faster than that old one.
We shall see. Might be a bad idea.
Well later that night the Internet recovered and my old modem was working just fine. My neighbor who has the same service got a different story. They told her the line was down and that it would come back on (and of course it did for both of us). But they also said they were replacing her modem too.
Got the new modem last night and did nothing with it. I plugged in all the wires and back power supply and the on light turned green this morning. I then tried to use it but no joy. So I hooked up the old ethernet cable and it worked just fine. So I unplugged the ethernet line and went back to the WiFi unit. It lit up correctly and I installed the new password off the new modem and all was good. It used the same name, a code it guess, from the old modem and a new password to automatically set itself up. No conversations with the tech on the phone to get the job done.
The tech I talked to, a young woman, had concluded my old modem was out dated and I needed a new one. That was not true, she apparently was not told the system was down. No matter the new modem operates in the higher frequency range and is about twice as fast as the old. Naturally I like that and will keep it. I think it might have been just an excuse to replace all the old modems, who knows?
I will take the old modem to the camp in New Roads. It is probably faster than that modem and will work just fine there. I know the old modem in New Roads is pretty old but still works. This modem is probably faster than that old one.
We shall see. Might be a bad idea.
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Gastroparesis . . .
As a Diabetic you soon learn there are lots of secondary conditions that follow you around. One those is Gastroparesis. Basicially that means the stomach does not empty in the small intestine like it is supposed to do.
I first discovered this condition when my breakfast cereal did not empty into the digestive tract like it is supposed to do. The acid builds up in your stomach and the cereal balls up into a sour mass. After about 12 hours, maybe ten hours or even 14 or 15 hours after you eat, your stomach lets you know all is not well. And it empties itself the only way it can, by causing you to throw up. After tossing your cookies everything seems to return to normal.
Well I can usually detect when the stomach is building up. It lets you know it is not happy. I have been on occasion able to clear my stomach by contracting my diaphragm which sort squeezes your stomach into properly emptying. It does not always work and when it doesn't you will end up hugging the while porcelain fixture in the bathroom, the toilet. You have no choice.
Last night I had a severe attack and ended up emptying my stomach into the toilet. This time it was cereal, it was all liquid in nature. And that is a change for me. Usually I have no trouble with liquids but I had drank a cup of coffee after dinner. I always take coffee with half and half cream, and that turned sour on me. I had had a bowl of commercial frozen Gumbo which was very soupy, or if you will liquid instead of being a solid. Yes, there were a few crummy shrimp in the Gumbo but there were soft so pretty much turned to liquid in my stomach.
So a 1:30AM the attack began. I tried contracting my diaphragm several times with no relief. Then the stomach notified me things were going to come up. I trotted off the bathroom and sure enough just made it in time when stomach contents started flowing up. Not pleasant but necessary. After the regurgitation things returned to normal and I went off to sleep.
Diabetes, as in my case Type II, is an autoimmune disease. Once you have it, it will be with you the rest of your life. Some once asked what causes it and we do not know what that it is. In some cases reducing weight can cause Type II to go into remission. But it will pop up again when you least expect it. In my case I probably have severe liver damage due to absorption of Agent Orange. There is no cure, one must learn to manage their Diabetes.
Agent Orange, so named because it came in orange barrels, was defoliant sprayed in View Nam to remove the cover from use by the Viet Cong. The primary bad actor in Agent Orange is Dioxen. Dioxen is common in 2-4-D used by all of us to get rid of weeds or other plant growth we do not want or like. The Agent Orange used a lot of it, in a most potent vein. It was sprayed by C-123 aircraft. And they were all over the flight line where I commonly worked. We even used the barrels as trash barrels and modified some of them into Bar-B-Que pits. We had no idea how bad the stuff was. And that contamination was ramped. it was everywhere on a Air Base. Dioxen gets into your liver and makes it intolerant to insulin.
Today all Viet Nam Veterans are subject to a myriad of diseases and cancers all caused by Agent Orange. Many have died due to the onset of cancer including Prostate Cancer and Parkinson's Disease. Fortunately for me, I have no cancer but I do have Diabetes Type II. As a result I have Peripheral Neuropathy in both feet and both hands. That is I am losing sensitivity in my hands and feet. Diabetes attacks your nervous system.
A while back, several years ago, I noted I was getting quite obese. So I set about losing some weight. I lost over forty pounds and my normal weight now days is 190 pounds. I think I had topped out a 243 pounds at one time. I did this by not eating any lunch and I still more or less maintain a no lunch diet. I figure in ancient times one at breakfast and then dinner. So I figured lunch was just a luxury. People told me Diabetics should not avoid meals, that is baloney. Diabetics should avoid carbohydrates with a passion. So I am mindful of my diet all the time. I have rice and corn are very high in carbohydrates. So I avoid those, as do I avoid sugar and sugary drinks. Alcohol does not have sugar but does have empty calories. So I do not drink as much as I once did.
So Gastroparesis is just another health element you have do deal with as a Diabetic. You get used to it over time. Metphormen is a common drug for Type II treatment and it can also stimulate your appetite. I take it and Januvia to control my blood sugar. My body produces insulin but my liver is intolerant to the insulin. Those drugs essentially make the liver work like it should.
I first discovered this condition when my breakfast cereal did not empty into the digestive tract like it is supposed to do. The acid builds up in your stomach and the cereal balls up into a sour mass. After about 12 hours, maybe ten hours or even 14 or 15 hours after you eat, your stomach lets you know all is not well. And it empties itself the only way it can, by causing you to throw up. After tossing your cookies everything seems to return to normal.
Well I can usually detect when the stomach is building up. It lets you know it is not happy. I have been on occasion able to clear my stomach by contracting my diaphragm which sort squeezes your stomach into properly emptying. It does not always work and when it doesn't you will end up hugging the while porcelain fixture in the bathroom, the toilet. You have no choice.
Last night I had a severe attack and ended up emptying my stomach into the toilet. This time it was cereal, it was all liquid in nature. And that is a change for me. Usually I have no trouble with liquids but I had drank a cup of coffee after dinner. I always take coffee with half and half cream, and that turned sour on me. I had had a bowl of commercial frozen Gumbo which was very soupy, or if you will liquid instead of being a solid. Yes, there were a few crummy shrimp in the Gumbo but there were soft so pretty much turned to liquid in my stomach.
So a 1:30AM the attack began. I tried contracting my diaphragm several times with no relief. Then the stomach notified me things were going to come up. I trotted off the bathroom and sure enough just made it in time when stomach contents started flowing up. Not pleasant but necessary. After the regurgitation things returned to normal and I went off to sleep.
Diabetes, as in my case Type II, is an autoimmune disease. Once you have it, it will be with you the rest of your life. Some once asked what causes it and we do not know what that it is. In some cases reducing weight can cause Type II to go into remission. But it will pop up again when you least expect it. In my case I probably have severe liver damage due to absorption of Agent Orange. There is no cure, one must learn to manage their Diabetes.
Agent Orange, so named because it came in orange barrels, was defoliant sprayed in View Nam to remove the cover from use by the Viet Cong. The primary bad actor in Agent Orange is Dioxen. Dioxen is common in 2-4-D used by all of us to get rid of weeds or other plant growth we do not want or like. The Agent Orange used a lot of it, in a most potent vein. It was sprayed by C-123 aircraft. And they were all over the flight line where I commonly worked. We even used the barrels as trash barrels and modified some of them into Bar-B-Que pits. We had no idea how bad the stuff was. And that contamination was ramped. it was everywhere on a Air Base. Dioxen gets into your liver and makes it intolerant to insulin.
Today all Viet Nam Veterans are subject to a myriad of diseases and cancers all caused by Agent Orange. Many have died due to the onset of cancer including Prostate Cancer and Parkinson's Disease. Fortunately for me, I have no cancer but I do have Diabetes Type II. As a result I have Peripheral Neuropathy in both feet and both hands. That is I am losing sensitivity in my hands and feet. Diabetes attacks your nervous system.
A while back, several years ago, I noted I was getting quite obese. So I set about losing some weight. I lost over forty pounds and my normal weight now days is 190 pounds. I think I had topped out a 243 pounds at one time. I did this by not eating any lunch and I still more or less maintain a no lunch diet. I figure in ancient times one at breakfast and then dinner. So I figured lunch was just a luxury. People told me Diabetics should not avoid meals, that is baloney. Diabetics should avoid carbohydrates with a passion. So I am mindful of my diet all the time. I have rice and corn are very high in carbohydrates. So I avoid those, as do I avoid sugar and sugary drinks. Alcohol does not have sugar but does have empty calories. So I do not drink as much as I once did.
So Gastroparesis is just another health element you have do deal with as a Diabetic. You get used to it over time. Metphormen is a common drug for Type II treatment and it can also stimulate your appetite. I take it and Januvia to control my blood sugar. My body produces insulin but my liver is intolerant to the insulin. Those drugs essentially make the liver work like it should.
Saturday, April 18, 2020
Survivor Benefit Progam . . .
Survivor Benefit Plan or as we ex-military people would say SBP is basically an annuity for your spouse and kicks in when you, the primary military person dies. If you die on active duty it kicks in automatically for your spouse. But if you are retired like me you have to pay for it. It cost about $320 a month.
You pay for it for 360 months and then you are paid up and no longer have to pay for it. The annuity pays your spouse half of what you got in retirement. So it is different amount for different grades, the higher grades pay more than the lower grades. It is not a case of rank has its privileges. You have the privilege of paying more. I reached 30 years last September.
How much is it? Well is supposed to pay your spouse 50% of your retirement pay. And it runs as long as your spouse lives. I guess they figured since one of the pair is deceased the remaining spouse only needs half of the retirement. That is not perfect but it works for us. And of course it is taxed.
But since I am retired and a veteran I also get veteran's benefits. Should I die from an established disability ala VA, then my spouse collects Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC). And since I am now rated 100% disabled the VA considers virtually considers any cause of death as acceptable for DIC. Thus up until now you could not get a 100% of DIC and 100% of our SBP. For every dollar of your DIC you collected a dollar was substracted from your SBP. The law is changing, it has already been enacted. So basically by 1 February 2023 you can collect both of them. It is important to remember one pays for SBP out of ones retirement pay, while DIC is compensation and it cost the veteran nothing.
So it is refreshing to learn you still have the SBP and life a life insurance policy is "Paid Up." In the past if you withdrew from SBP you could not get it back. Those whose spouse precedes them into the grave, you can quit paying for it. You got nothing back, it was money spent for the protection and gone. You can voluntarily get out of paying it only if your spouse agrees since it is a benefit for the spouse not you. Divorce of course, all bets are off too. Now days I still have the protection for Judie but no longer have to pay for it.
When I signed up for SBP I asked my insurance company, USAA, was it a good deal. The answer was a resounding yes. That is I could not get such coverage for that amount of money from any insurance company. And the fee was deducted from my retirement pay before taxes. Nobody else except us military types could get this deal.
So should I die before Judie, she gets a good deal. In the old days we referred to this as the military "Widow's Tax." Congress has finally removed, albeit not immediately, the tax.
You pay for it for 360 months and then you are paid up and no longer have to pay for it. The annuity pays your spouse half of what you got in retirement. So it is different amount for different grades, the higher grades pay more than the lower grades. It is not a case of rank has its privileges. You have the privilege of paying more. I reached 30 years last September.
How much is it? Well is supposed to pay your spouse 50% of your retirement pay. And it runs as long as your spouse lives. I guess they figured since one of the pair is deceased the remaining spouse only needs half of the retirement. That is not perfect but it works for us. And of course it is taxed.
But since I am retired and a veteran I also get veteran's benefits. Should I die from an established disability ala VA, then my spouse collects Dependency Indemnity Compensation (DIC). And since I am now rated 100% disabled the VA considers virtually considers any cause of death as acceptable for DIC. Thus up until now you could not get a 100% of DIC and 100% of our SBP. For every dollar of your DIC you collected a dollar was substracted from your SBP. The law is changing, it has already been enacted. So basically by 1 February 2023 you can collect both of them. It is important to remember one pays for SBP out of ones retirement pay, while DIC is compensation and it cost the veteran nothing.
So it is refreshing to learn you still have the SBP and life a life insurance policy is "Paid Up." In the past if you withdrew from SBP you could not get it back. Those whose spouse precedes them into the grave, you can quit paying for it. You got nothing back, it was money spent for the protection and gone. You can voluntarily get out of paying it only if your spouse agrees since it is a benefit for the spouse not you. Divorce of course, all bets are off too. Now days I still have the protection for Judie but no longer have to pay for it.
When I signed up for SBP I asked my insurance company, USAA, was it a good deal. The answer was a resounding yes. That is I could not get such coverage for that amount of money from any insurance company. And the fee was deducted from my retirement pay before taxes. Nobody else except us military types could get this deal.
So should I die before Judie, she gets a good deal. In the old days we referred to this as the military "Widow's Tax." Congress has finally removed, albeit not immediately, the tax.
Sunday, April 12, 2020
James . . .
Son James has returned to the DFW area and has a new job. All I know about it is software oriented and he works with old friends that he knew from his Motorola days.
They sold their house in Austin, a nice small bungalow that they brought up to date. New fence in back yard, fixed a significant leak under the slab, repainted the inside of the house. They got their money back and probably made some more as prices in Austin have skyrocketed. I am sure now with the Coronavirus things in Austin may have turned down.
They have moved into an apartment off Beltline road. An all new facility, accepts the dogs and has a nice grassy area with Bar-B-Que grills, a few yard games and a swimming pool. The place is located on a lake that once served as source of cooling water for an electrical power plant for Dallas. The plant has long been removed and the land has all been reclaimed. While it is on the line with Fort Worth and Coppell, the land belongs to Dallas so it has a Dallas address. The location is just north of DFW International airport.
They elected to rent and then look for a house later. Joan's job has always been in the same area so she can ride her bike to the office. James has to go a bit further, perhaps a couple of miles. I am sure that is a wise decision with the current Coronavirus issues.
They are happy to be back. He still retains an interest in his old place of employment but I am sure in time he will convert it back to cash. They are high tech and their product gets exported to China regularly. While China telecoms are the primary customer they do sell now inside the US. Originally, they were not permitted to trade in the states with their respective post employment agreements. Those agreements have essentially expired.
The big deal is they are back home again. Both are very pleased to be close to us as we are too. No long treks back and forth to Austin. I really don't miss that. However, Amanda Lou and Mike are still living in the north side of Austin in Phugerville.
They sold their house in Austin, a nice small bungalow that they brought up to date. New fence in back yard, fixed a significant leak under the slab, repainted the inside of the house. They got their money back and probably made some more as prices in Austin have skyrocketed. I am sure now with the Coronavirus things in Austin may have turned down.
They have moved into an apartment off Beltline road. An all new facility, accepts the dogs and has a nice grassy area with Bar-B-Que grills, a few yard games and a swimming pool. The place is located on a lake that once served as source of cooling water for an electrical power plant for Dallas. The plant has long been removed and the land has all been reclaimed. While it is on the line with Fort Worth and Coppell, the land belongs to Dallas so it has a Dallas address. The location is just north of DFW International airport.
They elected to rent and then look for a house later. Joan's job has always been in the same area so she can ride her bike to the office. James has to go a bit further, perhaps a couple of miles. I am sure that is a wise decision with the current Coronavirus issues.
They are happy to be back. He still retains an interest in his old place of employment but I am sure in time he will convert it back to cash. They are high tech and their product gets exported to China regularly. While China telecoms are the primary customer they do sell now inside the US. Originally, they were not permitted to trade in the states with their respective post employment agreements. Those agreements have essentially expired.
The big deal is they are back home again. Both are very pleased to be close to us as we are too. No long treks back and forth to Austin. I really don't miss that. However, Amanda Lou and Mike are still living in the north side of Austin in Phugerville.
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