starting 11/12, starting 11/19,

11/27
The dreaded Gemini curse, or blessing, is back. It's a ten hour flight from the U.K. to DFW, and I sat next to a Gemini coming back. Then it's another 3 hours to SF, and the flight crew had a Gemini who kept trying to talk me into pizza instead of Salad, for dinner.

And the planets have finally succumbed to their evil disarray because the Cowboys lost and my Gemini sister failed to meet us at the airport. I'd consider it full Mercury Retrograde thing.

11/28
This was certainly one of the better birthdays. Following a suggestion, a hot tip from a waitress, Friday night was awesome Sushi. Some little place down in the Castro.

And Saturday night was opera, a really weird show that surprised us because it was so good. The other news from SF is that I don't mention my favorite Capricorn Lorraine often enough. Hey baby, who loves you?

So fredlet got come and play, and I think she had a good time. How often do you get to go to the opera with a guy wearing cowboy boots and a string tie? Best of all, fredlet is a Leo, not a Gemini. You can find her at www.fredlet.com

This was special birthday for me because it was one which was NOT celebrated on Thanksgiving Day. Ma Wetzel, ever the economist, tries to lump my birthday and the annual family gathering at the same time and that makes me tired of turkey. So having the celebration at a different time really worked for me.

11/29
Airborne and winding it up to get home. According to the fredlet "eye on the weather" (not to be confused with a fredlet cam), Austin was 78 and sunny yesterday. Looks like it's going to be a nice change by the time I get home. I can hardly wait, I've seen enough cold and gray weather to last for a while. And I've got to start getting ready, too, I've got a national radio spot next Monday, High Tower Radio's "Chat and Chew" session, live from the place around the corner from me, and a place wherein I'm looking forward to a really good chicken friend steak soon.

It's real nice to get an upgrade on the airline, it's real nice to sit in the big seats and get the good food, and it's real nice to working with adequate leg room, but listening to a drone conversation about options, product, delivery and so forth is a little annoying. I'm afraid to take nap with such stuff being whispered in my ear, I might wake up, get the subliminal message, sell the old truck, buy a new Suburban Attack Vehicle, get a hair cut and look for a real job.

11/30
I've got to be a little more accurate in predictions. I got caught on the last leg of the trip, the brief flight from DFW to Austin -- I barely made the plane, my seat in First Class had been sold to someone else, and after boarding, the plane spent more than an hour getting some minor part fixed -- we spent more time in the airport than we spent in the air.

Ouch.

Jet lag is a problem when I've been on the road in such far lung locations around the globe, and I was expecting the worst today. Instead, Kathi the Cappy got me up and walking around the lake this morning, then some coffee and cigar with Sean, and finally a late evening with the other Gemini. Been a busy day in Austin. Almost like I never left. Austin weather is a little disturbing, there were trees with brilliant fall colors on a day when the temperature was a balmy 70 something with hardly a cloud in the sky which is a far cry from the cold, dismal damp weather of the last fortnight.

fredlet gave me a nice plug on her page [again]. I really must do something for Lorraine soon, as well. She's another one of those extra sweet Capricorn girls. And one of fredlet's cohorts in crime.

12/1
My dear old Mother, long suffering with her Astrology Fishing Guide son, made a valiant effort to find the perfect gift for me for my birthday. She came up with a delightful piece of china, really a set. It's a cup, saucer and serving plate done in a fish motif. Now Kathi the Cappy procured me some extra fine, fresh roasted Kona coffee. This morning, despite the Mercury condition, I got an almost perfect grind on the morning batch of beans, set the coffee press on the serving platter, and I got a perfect cup of coffee. The froth on top was almost an inch thick which is an excellent sign that it's a good cup of coffee. And then to serve it in the fine china cup and saucer, it just sort of sets the day off to a good start. I'm afraid to venture forth, unaware of what is going on outside. I had to disturb the perfect morning. I might even avoid E-mail. No easier way to stay in a good mood.

I did stir, finally, because I couldn't bare being in the enclosed space much longer. It's a gorgeous day in Austin -- I walked around the lake, had some special Mexican BBQ in a local dive (No English, please), and stopped off at the post office to gather my mail.

"My ex-husband called again..." is part of a conversation I overheard. It's subtle reminder that Mercury is still in apparent retrograde motion. It reminded me of Garter Snake I saw on the trail yesterday with Kathi. She yelped and I yelped, partly because she cried out and partly because I was afraid she was going to stomp on it. She was just scared. "It's a girl thing," she said. I assured her it was a boy snake because he had a yellow stripe down his back.

12/2
Another day in paradise! Some mornings, I get up, roll out of bed, look at the fishing poles and decide to just go back to sleep. Some days, the delightful dream land is better than work. By this point, though, I'm sleeping on the floor. The cat thinks I'm weird.