As the year draws to a close, all the presents unwrapped and the refrigerator filled with enough leftovers to get us into 2024, I once again am awash in books. This is an excellent position to find myself in, even if it means I am likely going to be purchasing another bookcase. My ambition to build a bookcase waned as the farm duties grew, and I found the perfect-sized bookcase online for less than $200. It is beginning to look like another purchase is going to be needed. The new bookcase is filled, and the built-ins behind my desk are stacked nearly completely. Christmas was indeed kind to me, to all of us.
Joining...
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Suddenly, it is Christmas.
As usual in this season of my life, the year passes in a blur, hard as I try to relish every day. There is little to be done about the speed in which days go by, except be grateful for all our blessings and try to be kind. And take time to relish the small beauties of this world — frost glistening on tall grass along my morning walk, leaves skittering across the asphalt as the hardwood trees become dormant skeletons.
During this three-week break between semesters, I am working on Three Geese Farm as weather allows. A couple of fierce thunderstorms during late...
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AUSTIN — The Harry Ransom Center on the University of Texas campus is one of the best bargains in this increasingly expensive city since admission is free. Competing for the Best Bargain prize is walking the trail at Lady Bird Lake, again free. I did both recently to get my A-Town fix as well as breaking bread with longtime friends and my brother Scott.
It was downright chilly when I walked the trail where it adjoins Rainey Street, once a home of modest frame homes now completely transformed into a forest of high-rise condos. I remember the old joke when I was in graduate school here in 1980...
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My near-total hiatus from watching sports has ended. It began during the pandemic, when seasons were truncated, games played in nearly empty stadiums or arenas, and watching highly paid sports figures seemed beside the point, as our world turned upside down. Now I am back to avidly watching the Texas Longhorns who are having a stellar season, rooting for the Rangers during the World Series, and watching the Kansas City Chiefs to see if Taylor Swift is sitting with tight end Travis Kelce’s mom in a luxury box. I even watched the last quarter of two Boston Celtics matches recently. (I learned long...
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