AUSTIN, Texas, June 30, 2005 — I have things to do today. Tennis, lunch, a retail open house. It's a hard life. Plus I want to see how the Wimbledon shapes up. Organize myself a bit more for the trip. I can't believe it's the end of the month. We have festivities over the long weekend, too. I think after today I may disappear from the WEB for a little while. Maybe to return with an account of those festivities. Maybe even accounts of the great road trip we depart on soon enough. Leaving the dog in Barking Hound Village and the house to house sitters. (Reminder to self: tell the housesitters that they must watch ESPN on one

and only one TV. Otherwise it will look like abstract art.

Tennis with these women who are older than me. And not one or two years. More like a decade or two. Only one is late because she was seeing about her mother. I don't play that well and it's hot. There are patches of welcome shade on the court, however. I manage to serve OK. Hit a few volleys. Chase a few things down. I make a bunch of mistakes, however.

I get home and FFP leaves for an appointment. I try to cool off and then I shower and groom. I catch the beginning of the TV coverage as they talk up the rain delay at Wimbledon.

I work yesterday's crossword puzzle in The New York Times. I go a little early to my lunch date. I go into the post office and buy some postcard stamps from the machine and go into Tarrytown Pharmacy and find some Austin postcards to send my great nephews. I'm going to send them some on the trip and thought I might as well send them one from the starting point.

Nu Age is a vegan restaurant. The woman who owns this center has imposed her will on the tenants. Out with the Holiday House and the greasy burgers. In with the Vegan. Out with Texas French Bread. I guess they don't make the stamp adhesives from old horses anymore, huh? I think she's let the shoe hospital stay. There was a little speciality grocery meat market once. Banished.

I meet my friend. He's been poring over the extensive menu. I have trouble deciding but settle on a special soup (broccoli and cashew) and a butternut squash risotto. It's delicious although the risotto was hot enough to burn your tongue when served. My buddy has a salad and a vegie burger and says it rocks. I'll be back. I like to eat vegetarian now and then. Vegan is a stretch given my penchant for cheese. But this is good. Expensive, though, and it's my turn to pay. But still...I'll be back. Wonder if dinner is more expensive?

I head home. I talk to the bookkeeper and Forrest. I have a few hours before we go downtown. I flip on the TV which is recording the Wimbledon coverage at one point and see Venus won. I'll still watch it, however.

But we don't go downtown. FFP had suggested going early and catching a couple of gallery shows.

We were putting out the trash when we noticed that there was a veritable flood around the main valve for the sprinkler system. The meter itself was underwater. I couldn't find our cutoff tool. Found it later but only after the neighbor had gotten his out and cut it off. We tried to call the sprinkler guy. We got a machine. Got an emergency plumber lined up. And waited.

So I watched the tennis. Venus getting through between the rain. I read some newspapers.

By 9:30 the plumber has wet vacuumed the water out of the sprinkler hole and the meter hole enough to cut off the sprinkler valve and restore the water. Ah, well. It's not cosmic. There are many worse things. And it was good we were home. One of the people we will visit on the trip called with some plans.

So I go back to reading, thinking about my upcoming trip. FFP and I have a Picon Bière and watch a terrible movie (The Day After Tomorrow) to see the special effects. OK, the flooding in NYC in that movie trump the swamp in my yard tonight.

And so comes sleep and the end of June 2005.