Saw Aunt Anne today and I'm happy to report that she is feeling much better. The medication has finally worn off, and we were able to fill her in on everything she missed this week. After visiting Anne, we went out to Archer City. I wanted to copy some vital records from the courthouse and visit Larry McMurtry's bookstore. I have not been to the courthouse in some time, but the clerk there recognized me. McMurtry's bookstore, Booked Up, takes up four buildings in downtown Archer City, so it can be hard to find anything, but I managed to locate a good history of Quebec by one of my favourite writers. Larry himself was not there, he has moved to Arizona. Mom explained that he hates Archer City, and does not really care all that much for Texas. There are two schools of thought on McMurtry's writing. Some fans praise him for the work he has done portraying the West, but others have pointed out that his novels are subtle mockeries of the West. I tend to believe the latter, as he named his Texas ranch "Idiot Ridge."

Afterwards we did some post-Christmas shopping, always a chore as it quite hard finding pants in my size. Everything is supposed to be bigger in Texas, but only if big coincides with short. Mom keeps encouraging me to gain weight so I will be easier to buy for, but I feel quite flabby as it is. I also obtained a new pair of boots, though I had planned to squeeze a few more months out of the old ones, hoping I could hit the two and half year mark. I told Mom a story I heard about Ralph Nader buying lot of combat boots in '50's and wearing those for almost 30 years. She said "You are not going to be like your grandfather," and the boot matter was settled. She seems to think it odd that I only keep one pair of footwear at a time. I think it simplifies things a great deal. She is also appalled at my ignorance of reality TV.