March 10, 2019 – Continuing in my overwhelming thought of the house painting I must do, I don’t feel like I’ve had much time (outside of work) to do anything else. Mind you, I haven’t started house painting yet. What I have done is remove all the left-over mortar that used to hold on a half-installed flagstone facing over the masonry portion of my house. Literally, I finished that yesterday. I also went to Home Depot and bought many, many supplies. I will need more though.

Just to explain, a few months ago, I got a demand by my house insurance company to do some work. That work includes this painting, all of which wouldn’t be so hard except for this prep work that I must do. Oh and part of my house is very tall; it is a hill house, after all. And really it is an enormous amount of work for one little person. I was really hoping my brother could come, but I wasn’t getting a good vibe about it. And my April deadline is fast approaching.

What I learned today is that, come this Saturday, my brother, my nephew and my dad (or at least I think my dad), plus their two dogs and lots of tools are setting out on the drive to me. Help is on its way! Plus, this is the first time, other than a brief one-day visit, my brother has been here since 2014. And my dad hasn’t been here since 2010. So, I’m super happy about this, looking very forward to a real honest-to-goodness painting party!

I suppose this news has me in a Texas state of mind. And checking in on Texas, and its long-standing South By Southwest Music Festival (aka SXSW), what I see is a really small amount of news of the music of the event and way too much news on the politics of the event. It seems the Democratic hopefuls for the next Presidential run have descended upon Austin to use SXSW as a campaign stop. Add to them, the ever-present, excuse me, rising star, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also speaking on her Democratic socialist platform and calling moderates “meh”, but wearing some really nice outfits. The music must have been the true “meh” factor of SXSW because I don’t see any news on the music. Personally, I love a good campaign gathering, but at a music festival? I don’t know. I think it doesn’t match.

Since the music seems to be lacking in the news of SXSW, I offer you a glimpse into my thoughts….

The Home Depot riff!  I really do think that’s a killer riff in the Home Depot commercial. And it is where my mind is right now. Paint. A 20-foot fascia board. Prep work. And honest to goodness help to get it done! This is way better than SXSW Political Festival. So, Let’s Do This!