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A View From the Field |
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July 2014 July 31 Ugh. Now there's no way I can avoid admitting I'm a year older. Ugh.
I guess it was around 2:00 when I finally turned out the light. i finished reading the old version of Trine 4, just so I would know the highlights of the story, and I was listening to the nice music for much longer than i should.
i got up around 10:00. I have to confess I was so eager to start the new shawl that I didn't even consider going back to bed. I got the beginning and about 20 rows of the first chart done. I knitted longer than I planned, but i have gotten far enough to see where to put my sanity markers and to see that the pattern isn't quite as difficult as I thought. It does use every three-stitch decrease known to man, and the central part of the repeat goes from 6 stitches to 18 stitches, so it's not exactly easy, but it has some logic to it and I think I see where the pitfalls are, like the four-stitch decrease that has a symbol that is too close to one of the three-stitch decreases. It's going to be pretty. I'm glad that I can see the logic of the pattern, because I am definitely going to have to make it much bigger than the pattern says, and that means a lot of charting on my own. I have 120 or more rows to go before I have to worry about that, though. It's certainly fun to be working on a new pattern for a change. Besides, this yarn is very pale pastels, mostly pink, green and blue, I think, and it's pretty stuff to work with.
Otherwise, I did nothing much. There was choir tonight, so I was off at 6:00. Our church's 135th anniversary is Sunday, and while they're not making a big deal out of it, they are going to celebrate a bit, so Pastor threw another new song at us. Actually, it's an old song, but it isn't in the new hymnal and I didn't bring the old one, because I'm toting around the accompaniment version of our current hymnal, and that weighs a ton. Oh, well, I think I can remember what he said. Our choir is small, but it's a good group, and we're willing to try just about anything, sometimes with mixed results.
I got home around 9:00, because I got behind a guy towing a trailer with some sort of weird vehicle on it. He turned in at the Fort headquarters, but all I can say is, his driving manners are horrible. There were any number of places where he could have pulled over and let me pass, but did he? Of course not. Grr. Spoiled my good mood. I toyed with the idea of having a special dinner, but instead, I just pulled something out of the freezer. I'll have my special dinner tomorrow.
The weather was nice. It was very foggy this morning - while i was asleep - and I don't know how long the fog lasted because the camera hung up right after the first picture of it. It was clear and sunny when I got up, and it was that way for most of the day, although there were some high clouds that caused all the afternoon pictures to look gray. The high temperature was 72º, but only briefly, and it dropped right down to 66º the next hour. There was some wind during the afternoon, up to about 13 mph from the north, but that has gone away as the sun set. It should be clear enough that I should be able to see the moon.
The guys were sleepy and I didn't see much of them, although Grayson did get some lap time. Louie hasn't been asking to sit on me very much lately, although he usually sleeps for part of the night with me and he sleeps in the bathroom while I'm knitting. i don't know quite how to tell him it's not that I don't want him on my lap, but he always comes around either when Grayson is already there or when I have to get up and go someplace. Poor little Louie.
So that was my day. My shoulder is still sore, so I didn't have the windows open, and I miss that. Now I have to wash my hair, and I'm tired, so I don't think there will be much fiddling around tongight. It's at least partly clear and not too cool in the field tonight.
July 30 So I was late again. I don't know why, really, except that my shoulder is sore and I didn't want to face that. Then I had to wash my hair, so that made me even later. I didn't get up until around noon, I think.
I knitted, and the lavender and green shawl - the trellised leaf shawl - is finished, except to be blocked. It's a strange bunch of colors, but it's pretty and I like it. If I ever get it blocked, I 'll certainly wear it.
I got to the studio so late that I didn't even finish my surfing until after the talking started. I also had a worse accident than I've had in quite a while, so I had to clean myself up after that. Then I called Harbor Haus and they wouldn't take a reservation. Well, darn it. So I called Johanna, and we're going Friday, or I hope we are. I will call them tomorrow and hope to get a reservation then. They aren't open Monday and Tuesday this year, so I suppose people pile in on Wednesday. They said they had a lot of big parties tonight. Well, our party isn't big, but it's a party.
Later, while I was making my dinner, I got a call from the woman who said she would go to Green Bay with me, and she reneged, like I thought she would. She has some good reasons, but I wish I'd known about it before. We had a nice conversation. She is a nice person - too nice - and she is an expert seamstress and costumer, so we had a lot to talk about. So I will go to Green Bay by myself, and I will drive home after my appointment and hope I can see enough not to get into any difficulties.
The weather was nondescript again. The high temperature was 66º and for the most part there wasn't a lot of wind. Between 3:00 and 4:00 - while I was cleaning myself up - we had 0.07" of rain. No wonder I almost didn't get out of the chair I was sitting in while I was talking to Becky! It was cool and humid and my poor old bod felt it.
So did the guys. Grayson sat on me after breakfast, but I didn't see a lot of Louie except when he was badgering Grayson. I don't know what gets into hims sometimes, but he was after Grayson almost all day. This time I don't think it was Grayson's fault at all.
Oh, yes, and when I got up this morning, it was obvious that I have cellulitis again. This one is on the back of my right leg, and it's very sore and itchy. Well, it's taken a while. I believe that at least lately I get it because of wearing the compression hose in the summer. Fortunately, I have more than enough ointment to put on it, and I'm trying to avoid having it spread. I normally switch legs with the hose every day, and I think I probably spread it from leg to leg that way. Well, I never thought I could get through the summer without it. Sigh.
So that was my day, and I am tired. I'm reading part 4 of Trine, which I'm going to rewrite, but I don't think that should keep me up very late. I'll try to see that it doesn't.
It's a cloudy, cool night in the field - so what else is new? I'd like to open a window once or twice again this summer.
July 29 Heh. I pulled an all-nighter last night. I was reading, and I finished the first three parts of the Trine saga. Besides, I got to hear two of my favorite Beethoven piano sonatas. But it was getting light before I turned out the lights. i got up around 11:30 or so, I think, and I knitted. Now I have only the corner to do and I'm done with this shawl, except to block it.
I was so late that I didn't do much except my surfing.
The weather was cold and cloudy again. The high temperature was only 64º and there was a moderate breeze - around 10 - 15 mph - from the north. It was cloudy all day, although it has begun to clear a bit lately. It was a good day to sleep or ignore the outside.
The guys did, too. Louie spent the morning around me, and Grayson wanted to sit on me when I got to the studio, but he left before I finished my breakfast. They are happy campers, because I've been around all day.
My shoulder is still very sore, although I've had a fleece jacket on all day and it's marginally better, even though I'm hot. It's settled down to be around my rotator cuff, and I suppose I'll just have to wait until it goes away. It's the same sort of problem I had with my hip last winter. Things flare up, and I just have to wait them out.
Johanna invited me to go to Harbor Haus with her tomorrow, so that will be nice. I have to celebrate my birthday a day early, because there is choir on Thursday. That's all right. I don't know about you, but for many years my parents and I celebrated our birthdays on the nearest weekend, just so we'd have time for a leisurely dinner at a good place.
Before I went to bed last night, I decided how to handle the next few episodes of Trine, which are old and too short and not written very well in spots. I am going to simply rewrite them, like I did the second and third episodes. I will keep the old ones around for reference, and I suppose I will use some of the text, but there is no question that they need to be rewritten in total. I am starting to read part 4 now, and then I will start to write again. I wish I could have done that today, but I was too late.
So now it's a cold, partly cloudy night in the field, and I won't be awake too long, I'm sure.
July 28 I was in bed before 11:00 last night, and I slept, although I had some problems because my shoulder was so sore. Actually, as I slept, even on it, it felt better, which leads me to believe the problem was caused by cold. I've been trying to keep it warm today, but it hasn't been easy. I was up any number of times, and I finally got up around 11:00, I think.
I knitted, and i think I only have about 10 more repeats to do before I have to figure out how to graft the two ends together. I had to start the new ball of yarn, and it doesn't match up exactly, but then, the end and the beginning won't match, either, so it doesn't matter much.
That was about all I did. There was church tonight and we had quite a crowd. I was almost late, because i took my time about my dinner. I did make it, but I had to sit in the last row. It was nice to see so many people.
The weather was nondescript. It got down to 48º overnight, and the high was 66º. Winds were light, mostly from the north. It was mostly cloudy all day. Blah.
The guys were sleepy, and I didn't see much of Louie. Grayson sat on me twice and purred. While I was getting my dinner tonight, Louie went out on the porch and sat at the door meowing. When I ignored him, he came back in the window and said, "Meow!" very loudly. I guess he was complaining that I didn't do what he wanted. Too bad.
Oh, yes, my driver's license came today, and the picture wasn't too bad, actually. They're never good, and I look quite red in the face, but it will do. At least I don't look iike I'm stoned.
So that was a quiet day, and I'll be off to the north end as soon as I finish my drink. It's a cloudy, cool night in the field.
July 27 Well, I read for too long last night, so it was 10:30 before I got to bed, and then I didn't sleep very well. Among other things, my right shoulder was sore, but not as sore as it has been today. I don't know what the problem is, but I can't raise my right arm without considerable pain. Probably I just caught cold in it, but it's annoying.
Anyway, i was awake at 6:30, and I got up before the alarm went off. It didn't matter. I was a bit late getting off to church anyway, for various reasons, including that I was wearing another stole and I had a hard time arranging it properly.
There weren't many people on the road, thankfully, but around Kearsarge, maybe, it started to rain hard. I was just late enough that somebody took my parking place, so I had to walk across the whole parking lot in the pouring rain. I had my slicker, although I didn't have my arms in it, so I was rather damp by the time I got into church.
Church was nice. We had communion, which is good, and the choir did pretty well on our anthem, Pastor's sermon was good, too. WIth everything that was going on, it was after noon when we got out.
I had to get gas. I was below a quarter tank - I needed just over 22 gallons - so I couldn't postpone it any longer. Fortunately, it had nearly stopped raining when I got to the gas station, but the price for my fill-up was not pretty. I was so sore and creaky that it was hard to do anything.
I think I got home around 1:30, but I didn't really check. I had some lunch, but I didn't do anything much for the rest of the afternoon. I got very sleepy in the middle of the afternoon, and I couldn't decide what I wanted to read next. None of the games were interesting. I finally started reading Trine again, but I'm not sure how long that will last, because that is the series that has the episodes that I really have to rewrite and I'm not sure I'm up to that.
Then, when the weekly backup started tonight, I discovered that Microsoft had decided it was time to do a complete backup again. It started at 7:00, and it just stopped a bit before 9:30. Clearly, those people don't know the concept of double buffering.It's a piece of junk. I suppose I should look into another backup program, but it's too much work to find just what I want. Anyway, it's done now, and it will be several months before it decides to zap me again.
The weather wasn't nice at all. Between 2:00 and 6:00 this morning, we had 0.23" of rain, and then it got very foggy. It was foggy almost all the way to Laurium, although we didn't get the rain they had. Then between 10:00 and noon, we had another 0.35", but it was only drizzling lightly when I got home. The temperature for most of the day hung right around 54º, although there was a slight bump to 60º between 4:00 and 6:00. 54º is our normal low for this time of year. Geez! There wasn't much wind here, although there was some in Calumet while I was getting gas. It was not a nice day. Environment Canada predicted that it would clear up this afternoon, and we did have a little sunshine, but they were mostly wrong.
The guys reacted to the weather. Grayson came and sat on my lap twice during the day, and I think Louie spent quite a while in the basement because of the cannon fire, although he is on the sewing chair now. They know when to sack out.
So now it's a cloudy, cool, humid night in the field and I'm not going to stay up and read tonight. I'm tired.
July 26 I was in bed by 10:00 last night, and I didn't get up until 10:45 this morning. Of course, I had to walk several times during the night, but it didn't keep me up very long. I felt much better this morning, but I'm tired again now.
i didn't do anything much today except that I knitted for a very long time and pretty much caught up on the repeats I'd missed for the past two days. I now only have 13 repeats left on the straight part, plus four in the corner, then I have to figure out how to graft the end and the beginning together, and I'll be done. Not that it has been a boring project, but when I get down toward the end, I want it to be over. I have another one to do on the same yarn (different colors) which is a much more difficult pattern, and I'm anxious to get started on it. I got a new pattern book the other day, too, with several things I would like to do, except that all of them take more yarn of one color than I have on hand (or I think so).
The weather was, um, interesting. Early this morning, between 6:00 and 9:00, there was a little rain and it was very cloudy and threatening when I got up. Around noon, it got extremely foggy, and that lasted until around 2:00, and then it cleared up. Now there are a few clouds in the sky and it's suddenly gotten cold. Weird. The high temperature was 68º, but that didn't last very long, and between 7:00 and 8:00, the temperature dropped from 68º to 54º as the wind shifted around to the east. For most of the day, the wind was fairly light, except for when it was blowing from the north to get rid of the fog.
The guys were sleepy, and poor Louie spent most of his time in the basement, because they've been firing the cannon off and on all day. Poor Louie. That doesn't seem to bother Grayson at all. I guess he knows they aren't firing at him.
So that was a quiet day, and I'm off to the north end to get ready for tomorrow. it's a mostly clear, cool evening in the field, and I'm going to be later than I wanted to be. Oh, well.
July 25 Tonight I am going to bed soon. Last night, I was reading, and time just passed, and then there was Brahms, so I was very late again. I didn't sleep all that well. Around 8:00, I heard the Queen leave, and then they set off the cannon at the fort, This is an anniversary (30th, maybe?) of the Battery D encampment, so they're celebrating. I went back to sleep, but not very well. I got up around 11:30, but I really didn't feel like it. Ugh.
We didn't do much this morning except put a new bag into the bag holder in the breezeway and get rid of some more newspapers. I don't mind when the newspapers pile up as long as I read them, but when they don't it's a real waste of money - and The Daily Mining Gazette is not cheap. Bettyann left a little after noon, and I just vegged for the rest of the afternoon. I did go to the post office, where there was an interesting mix of mail, including my absentee ballot, which I have yet to look at. Since the primary election is on the day I go to Green Bay, I decided not to take chances. There is at least one ballot proposal I want to vote on, and maybe I will have time to research some of the people running for state office One of our senators is retiring this year and his seat is up for grabs. So i have some research to do. I paid a couple of bills, but I am having trouble seeing much, so I didn't do anything.
The weather was unsettled, which I was sorry to see for the encampment. The temperature spiked to 73º around 11:00, but for most of the day, it was in the middle 60s. The wind was very light, and mostly from southwest, although when it got under 5 mph it was variable. Late this afternoon there were some thunderstorms out over the lake, and we had a few drops of rain and a rumble of thunder, but nothing serious. It got increasingly humid as the day went on. Yuck.
The guys seemed sorry to see Bettyann go. Things were going on and besides, she would stop and pet someone every so often. When I first woke up, around 6:00, there was something on the floor between the bed and the bathroom, but I didn't know what it was, so I just avoided stepping on it. There was a stain of some sort on the floor in the bathroom, too. The next time I was up, I thought the stuff on the floor was just something somebody urped, and I guess it was, but when I got up and went to pick it up, I realized that what he had urped was the remains of a small critter, although there was cat food in it, too, and the stain on the bathroom floor was probably blood. So sometime between 2:00 and 6:00, the guys caught a critter and somebody tried to eat it and it didn't set well. Urp. Well, it's one of the joys of having cats.
They were firing the cannon quite a bit more than they have for several years, and it freaked Louie out completely. He was sitting on my lap when it went off, and he beat it for the basement, poor guy. It didn't bother Grayson at all. The rumble of thunder bothered Louie, too, but not as much as that cannon.
My exertions of the past couple of days, such as they were, plus not enough sleep, left me tottery and sore today, as well as tired. So as soon as I finish this, I am going up to the north end and go to bed. Really. i need to catch up.
It's a mostly cloudy, humid night in the field, although the setting sun is shining through the clouds on the horizon right now.
July 24 Oops. Almost shirking my duty again.
I stayed up too late last night, and as a result, I was very late getting up this morning. I still don't feel like I got enough sleep, and they're playing Brahms now, so I have to hear that.
I worked hard again, even though I was tired and my back was bothering me. While Bettyann did the powder room, I moved things around enough so that the kitchen counters were mostly clear, and I soaked the burner grates and the knobs, which were gross. I also washed the range hood, which was horrible. I won't claim i did a good job, but it's better. Tonight I went to choir while she kept cleaning until her hands gave out, and the kitchen looks really nice now. So does the powder room. I hope I can keep things a little better now, but I had such a bad winter, everything went to pot.
The weather was beautiful again. It was sunny all day and a little warmer than yesterday. The high temperature was 69º and there was about a 15 mph wind from the north. Nice.
The guys were not quite as interested today as they were yesterday, although I don't think they got their usual quota of sleep. Grayson was particularly clownish until he got himself in trouble and tried to jump on the dining room table and ended up on the floor. Louie was around. He is quite at home with Bettyann, which still amazes me. I don't think they liked the vacuum cleaner, but otherwise, they were fine with all the rustling around.
I was finishing my (late) dinner when Arthur called. I was very glad to hear from him. I've been thinking about them lately, and I was glad to hear they're all right. He is very interested in genealogy, and while he has researched his name back quite a ways, he hasn't done as much with our shared ancestors (his grandmother and my great-grandfather were siblings). It isn't surprising, because it appears that that family flew under the radar and there isn't much of anything about them except what I learned through my mother. Anyway, we had a nice conversation. He and his wife are both just lovely people and I'm so glad to have kept in touch with them. I'm also glad to know they're doing well, since they are somewhat older than I am, So that was nice,
Now I will read until the Brahms is over, and then I will go to bed. Really. It's a clear,coolish night in the field.
July 23 So I stayed up too late last night, and since I got up around 9:30, I'm tired. I wasn't sure when Bettyann was coming, so I wanted to be dressed when she did. I knitted a bit, but not five repeats.
She didn't get here until around noon, so I could have slept a couple more hours. Oh, well. She worked mostly in the breezeway, and we can walk through there again without running into a box. She also bagged up all the papers in the powder room and got them out, and took out all the empty boxes (mostly small) in the house. In the meantime, I finally cleaned out the microwave and worked on the toaster oven and washed a bunch of lids and the filters of the range hood. I didn't do the best job on those, but they're better than they were. I got all the trash out of the studio, so I can walk around in here a little better, too. It was a productive day.
We went to Mariner for dinner, and I finally had the loaded burger I've been thinking about for months. It was good, as their burgers always are. Not cheap, but very good. I was happy to see that they are very busy, and in fact, I think there were people waiting for tables when we left. Good, we need that.
It was a nice day, but a bit cool. The high temperature was only 64º. There was only a light wind, from the north. After a cloudy night and early morning, it cleared up and it was gloriously clear all day. Oh, I do love the blue skies and blue water!
The guys were surprisingly at ease with Bettyann. Louie actually came out as soon as he heard her voice and let her pet him, and he was around all day, as was Grayson. Louie has been on my lap a couple of times this evening, but Grayson was awake a lot more than he usually is, so he's off asleep someplace. I was a little surprised that Louie remembered Bettyann, because she was only here three or four days last year, but he has no problem with her at all. On the other hand, when Suzanne came by to say goodbye (and leave me with some goodies) he beat it down the basement. Cats are funny critters, for sure!
So that was my day, and I should be off to the north end soon. It's a clear, cool night in the field.
July 22 Well, I'm not quite sure why, but I was very late getting to bed - again. i read for a long time, and I had to take a bath. It was warm enough yesterday that I was sticky and icky and I had to wash my hair. Anyway, I slept mostly well, except that around 5:30 the wind picked up and I had to get up and close the porch door and the door to shower. What I didn't realize for some time was that the bedroom door shut, too, closing Louie and me in and Grayson out. I went back to sleep and it was probably sometime after noon when I got up. I don't know exactly when, because it seems we had had a power outage in the meantime and the clocks are probably all off.
Anyway, I knitted, with some difficulty, and it was nearly 2:00 when i got to the studio. I was doing my surfing when, for some reason, there were some power bounces, and as a result the computer got all screwed up. It wouldn't reboot properly, so it did a restore, and then I had to wait until Norton did an update of all the stuff it had downloaded for quite a long time. That took forever, so I was still doing my surfing when the talking started.
In the meantime, the power company called to tell me the power had been restored, and I had to call them back and tell them, no, it hadn't. It was sometime after 5:00 before it finally came back. I think the techs probably reported the problem solved before they tested it. Geez.
It was a much cooler day than yesterday, cool enough that I had to close all the windows I opened yesterday, including the porch. It was 75º all night long (although there was no report between 1:00 and 5;00), and then it dropped off as the wind kicked up. There was some rain, and between 10:00 and 11:00, there was half an inch more. After that, the wind really kicked up as it shifted from the west to the north, until between 1:00 and 2:00 this afternoon, it got up to 39 mph gusts. It was still warm at noon, but while the power was out, the temperature dropped off to about 60º, and it got down to 57º at 5:00, before the wind began to drop. Things have settled down now, with moderate north winds and a temperature of about 60º. It's still humid, though and it was mostly cloudy.
The guys did not like all that wind. It bangs around the house and makes quite a bit of noise and they don't like that. There was some thunder at intervals, too, and Louie particularly doesn't like thunder. Grayson was very loving, and fortunately, my gut is getting under control, so I didn't have another accident.
Now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field and I need to get to bed earlier so I am around when Bettyann comes.
July 21 It was about 11:30 when I got to bed last night, and I slept well, although I was up any number of times. I got up around 10:30, and I knitted my five repeats. I have about eight or nine sessions to go now, and I'm getting very anxious to be done with this thing.
Otherwise, I didn't do anything except for my surfing. There was church tonight, and it was nice, as usual. I don't think we had any casual visitors, which was disappointing, but it was a good group.
Bettyann was there and she came and talked to me afterwards and offered to come and clean. Well, I had other plans for this week, but I can't turn her down, so she is coming Wednesday and will stay either two or three days, until the important stuff is done. She understands that it is a horrible mess around here, but she is willing to tackle it, so I can't complain.
It was another summery day, but it was rather weird. The high temperature, 82º, was at 1:00, and then the wind shifted to the north and it went down to 75º on its way to 71º, where it stayed when the wind went calm. It went up and down for a while after that, but mostly it was in the low 70s. It was quite humid. For most of the day, it was partly to mostly cloudy, but it looked to me like it was clearing up around sunset, even though there are supposed to be thunderstorms overnight. It wasn't a nice day.
The guys did what they always do. Grayson wanted to sit on me after breakfast, so I had an accident, and later, Louie came and went to sleep on me for a long time. They are both such sweeties. Grayson tried his darndest to get in my way so I couldn't go to church, but he was happy when I came home again. I guess I just spoiled them over the winter, when I was around here most of the time.
So that was a nothing day, and It's time for bed. It's a warmish, humid night in the field and I need a bath.
July 20 I got to bed by 9:30 last night, but I didn't sleep very well. I suppose it was partly that I'm not used to going to bed that early, but I was tired. I was warm and I had a gurgly tummy, and I suppose that was part of the problem, too. I slept some, but mostly it was very light sleep with dreams. I got up at the usual Sunday time, and I got myself going, although I left a bit later than I wanted, because i wanted to wear the Shetland shawl and I had to get it and arrange it.
I was sorry I left so late, because I got behind a whole lot of slow drivers, although once I got beyond Lac LaBelle Road, it was better until I got almost to Kearsarge, when I was behind a very large RV going very slowly. I know it's a twisty road, but it's not that bad!
Anyway, I made it to church almost when I wanted to. It was nice, based upon one of Jesus' parables of the sower. We sang Healy Willan's Te Deum, which most of us don't like very well, and we did better on it than I expected we would. Stu did a great job on the solo parts. So that came out all right. Since there was no communion, we got out quite early.
I was home by 1:00, with another pack of slow drivers. Ah, the tourist season!
It was a hot and mostly cloudy day, with quite a bit of humidity. The high temperature was 81º, and fortunately for me, there was a southwest breeze. It didn't get above 10 mph at the NWS station, but it was a bit stronger out here, and I had the south window open all afternoon. I know, 81º isn't scorching, but considering what our temperatures have been so far this summer, it was hot. I sat in the breeze and read, wearing my shorts.
The guys thought it was hot, too, and they were zonked out for most of the day. Grayson tried to keep me from leaving by sitting on me this morning, and this evening, after dinner, he spent a long time on my lap, purring. I guess he was happy that I came home and didn't leave again. I saw Louie briefly, but I was doing something and he didn't ask too persistently to sit on me. I don't know where he is now. Grayson is on the sewing chair. We are cold weather people, and we don't like temperatures over about 75º.
I guess tomorrow is supposed to be worse, with rain as well as high temperatures, but then it is supposed to cool off into the 60s again. I hope so. I don't do hot.
The temperature is down to 75º now, which is much better, although it's still cloudy and humid. I think it will be a good night to sleep, if I can get the temperature right. Well, it's summer in the field.
July 19 I was a pretty good girl last night. I played a little Solitaire, but I find that's a good thing to do while I'm listening to the nice music. The symphony concert was nice, with even a modern piece I didn't mind, and Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven (the First).
I got to bed not long after midnight, and I got up around 10:45, so I had a good night's sleep. It was one of those nights where I think I was asleep before I finished my prayers. I knitted my five repeats without a lot of difficulty.
That was about all I did, except to wash the load of bottoms that has been in the washer for a week. It was nice to have a day when I didn't have to go out or do anything much. I am getting the dishwasher ready to run tonight, but that's not hard.
The weather was warm and cloudy. The high got up to 78º, and it was 77º for several hours this afternoon. The wind was mostly under 10 mph, from the southwest. It felt more humid than it was, and in the middle of the afternoon, the breeze wafted something that smelled like raw fuel of some sort into the house and left me with a bit of a headache. I'm not sure whether it was the ship that was passing us by about that time or somebody leaving the Fort, but it was not pleasant. Otherwise, mostly what I noticed was that it was so extremely quiet. For a while, I was aware of the breeze in the pines, and every so often a car would drive by, but mostly it was completely quiet except for the ringing in my ears. It's one thing I love about this place. It was cloudy and gray all day, and there are some light showers that have developed out in the lake, but so far there has been no rain, and it doesn't look like there is likely to be.
The guys were sleepy, When I went up to the north end to clean up after my accident, Louie was back in my bed again, and Grayson spent most of the day under one or another of the windows. They both got some serious lap time.
So that was a nice, quiet day in the field. I will get the dishwasher ready to run and hope to get to bed early and sleep long. It feels like I can do that. It's a cloudy, warm night in the field.
July 18 Oops. I wrote a journal last night, but I forgot to upload it. Comes from being half asleep when I write.
Tonight, I am not going to play any games. Period. Not.
I was late again last night, but not as late as the past two nights. In fact, I've been so late that I seem to have lost twelve hours or so in there someplace. I was awakened at around 11:00 by one of those phone calls that purports to be from the credit card company, and which I am sure is a scam to get me to tell them my card number. That was convenient, actually. I finally got to knit a whole five repeats on the shawl.
That made me late enough that following my post-breakfast trip to the powder room, I grabbed my bag and my cane and went right off to the post office. I was delighted to find that the yarn I ordered to complete the shawl came, and since the dye lot number is 001, it will match. Whew! Now I can go forging ahead and maybe finish this thing sometime soon.
Tonight my friends from Wisconsin invited me to dinner at Harbor Haus, and we had a very pleasant meal. I am pleased to report that the food is just as good as it ever was. I was late, because my Schwan's order came just as I was about to leave, but that turned out all right. Now the fridge is really packed, and I have enough to eat for at least a month, except for things like lettuce and JD. That's a nice feeling.
The weather was warm, at last. The high temperature was 78º, at 3:00, and though it dropped back a bit, it was in the middle 70s all afternoon. There was almost no wind. It wasn't as clear as the past two days, and it is quite cloudy now, but there doesn't seem to be a big chance of rain,. And to think that at the beginning of the week, I was wearing a fleece jacket when I went out!
The guys were sleepy, of course. I opened the door from the bedroom to the porch and they liked that, but otherwise they slept. They were not, of course, happy when I went out, either time, and Grayson was looking in when I came home from dinner. Too bad about that.
I have to make one comment about being out in public. it never ceases to amaze me how little people care about how they look when they are out in public. I saw people in tank tops and shorts who should never wear those things in public, especially as tight as they were wearing them and especially to dinner in a nice restaurant. But then, both my parents were extremely conscious of how they looked and I guess they more or less taught me that. My mother would never like it that I wear jeans almost everywhere except to church on Sundays. At least, I try never to wear anything so tight you can see the rolls of fat we all know are there. Tsk.
So that was a nice day, and I am going to be off to bed real soon. I should wash dishes tonight, but I think I am going to postpone that until tomorrow, since I'm too tired to finish filling the dishwasher. Now it's a warm, cloudy night in the field.
July 17 I think I did the same thing when I first got Collapse, but I'm doing it again. I played it all night and I've been playing it tonight, too. This has got to stop. I need my beauty sleep.
Anyway, I got up around 11:30 - not nearly enough sleep! - and got myself together and off to the Secretary of State. I am happy to report that they did renew my driver's license, but it was close. I came very close to failing the vision test. Well, I knew that. At least I made it through and I don't have to go through the hassle of reinstating it later. Whew! I have no idea what my picture looks like, because the screen they usually display it on wasn't working. I'm sure it's just as bad as all the other license photos I've had. At least that's over with for another five years.
I was home by a bit after 3:00 and I did a few things, like pay a bill and make a reservation at Harbor Haus for me and my friends for tomorrow. They stopped by just as I was about to leave and said hi, and left me with a bag of goodies. I forgot to give them my empty jars, but I'll be seeing them again. They are such nice people!
Tonight was choir practice, and it didn't go very well, I'm afraid. The sopranos were not behaving ourselves very well. I guess part of it is that what we are singing Sunday is a setting of Te Deum by Healy Willan, and nobody seems to like it very well. It is hard to sing, because the timings are a little weird and the accompaniment is not exactly what we are singing. Well, it will come out all right, I'm sure, and the congregation isn't likely to notice if we don't do it quite right.
I got home just about 9:00. Most of my drives were all right, but I did run into a few tourists, including one on my way to choir who was taking the covered road very, very cautiously. There was enough oncoming traffic that I had to follow him until the dotted yellow line, so I was a bit later than I planned. I've said it before: there are plenty of places to pull over when somebody wants to go faster than you do. Why won't anybody do that? On the rare occasions when somebody does pull aside, it's such a shock I can hardly believe it. Oh, well. They bring money into the Harbor, and we need that. Or I hope they do and they aren't as impolite to the businesses as they are to the drivers.
The weather was nice. There were some high clouds late in the day, but the temperature got up to 66º for a while and there wasn't a lot of wind. It was amusing. When I left Laurium tonight, it was 74º, and by the time I got to Lake Medora, it was 61º. The big lake is still pretty cold, very likely under 50º, and it keeps us nice and cool. I'll take it.
The guys were not happy with my messed up schedule. Every do often, one or both of them will get up on the counter via the sewing chair and walk over in front of the screen, just to tell me I should be doing something else. About the time i got up today, Louie settled down to sleep in the bed. And of course, they don't like it when I go away. This is all so different from usual, and besides, I go away. Well, maybe next week we can get back to some kind of a normal schedule.
So that is all I know, and I have the feeling that this is rather disjointed tonight, because I am writing it so late, but oh, well. I'm still here. Now it's a sort of warm, partly cloudy night in the field and I really need to go to bed. I can hardly see what I"m typing.
July 16 Heh. Last night it was a game. Those of you who have read these pages for some time will remember that back six or eight years ago, I got hooked on a game called Collapse. When I got the new computer, I realized that I had downloaded it, and I never got a CD, and at the time I had too many other things going on to track down how to get a copy. I've gotten bored with all the games I have on this computer, so last evening I found out how to get a new copy of Collapse...and I just kept playing it until I could hardly see. It wasn't an all-nighter, but it was later than I wanted to be.
I woke up later than I wanted to, too, and I knitted a couple of repeats on the shawl just to be sure I have everything straightened around (I do). So it was nearly 1:30 when I finally left to do my shopping. I think I got everything I needed that Pat's still carries. They have discontinued all the nice Chinese things I was eating, much to my disappointment. It's probably better for me, though. I got meat and veggies and OJ and two quarts of beautiful local strawberries. I had some for dinner, and oh, they are so good! Red right to the center, not like those plastic things they send from California. With the weather as cold as it's been, I'm surprised that the strawberries have ripened up so nicely. They are big and juicy, too. Yum. I hope to eat these, but John Dee, in his journal, gave me an idea for freezing some of them whole, and I may try that. They won't be as good as they are fresh, but almost.
Then I had to get gas, which has gone down about 10¢ a gallon since the last time I filled up. That was good, because I needed almost 20 gallons. While I was paying my bill, a voice behind me said "Hello, neighbor!" and it was my neighbor two doors to the north. It turns out that he was on his way here for the first time this year - he lives in Columbus. So we had a nice conversation. He likes to talk and I like to talk, so we did. It wasn't so long that my knees locked up, so that was good. It was nice to see him. He can be grumpy, but today he was in a good mood, probably because he was within 40 miles of his favorite spot.
I got home around 5:00, and then I had to unload and put away. I discovered that the young thing who packed my order had put my TV dinners (yes, I'm back to those again - I need a certain number of fast dinners) in a bag that didn't get in the freezer. I hope they're all right. Dummy. When I was that age, I knew what was frozen and what wasn't.
There was a lot of traffic when I went down, including some very slow drivers that I had to pass, but on the way home, after I got to Allouez, there was nothing until I was only a mile or two from the Mountain Lodge and I had to follow a camper and two cars all the way to the blinker. The camper was going to the fort, of course, but he seemed to know where he was going. Well, somehow it seems like there is either tourists or snow, and I look forward to the couple of months in the spring and again in the fall when there aren't either and I can race up and down US-41 without seeing anybody in either direction.
It was a nice day, if still a little cool. The temperature got up to 64º about the time I got home, and it was a little warmer in Calumet, but for most of the day it was in the upper 50s. There was only a light wind from the north, and it was clear and blue all day long. So pretty!
The guys were sleepy, I guess, but Grayson got to sit on me three times, once before I left and twice after I got home. Louie was mostly interested in the plastic bags. I'm not sure where they are right now, but I imagine they are sleeping.
So that was my day, and I accomplished my task. If I forgot anything, I haven't found it yet. If I did, I can go on Sunday to get it. Now it's a clear, coolish night in the field, and I need to wash my hair so my mug shot comes out reasonably decent tomorrow.
July 15 I don't remember all the details, but it was 1:00 when I turned out the light - a little later than I wanted! I got up about 9:00, so I didn't get nearly enough sleep.
I didn't get to do much of my surfing before I was off to my massage, but I feel much better for it. On the way home, I went by the fish market, where i got some lovely whitefish for my dinner, as well as two scones and a muffin - a bilberry muffin! Yum! I came home and it was so cold that I had a scone and a cup of chai latte for lunch. That was enough that I wasn't very hungry for dinner, but I had my lovely fish anyway. Yum! The other scone and the muffin are for tomorrow or the next day.
When I read the recipes for scones last fall, I decided it would be better if I didn't start making them, so I've been waiting for Jill to open, and now I can indulge occasionally. They are so good, but certainly not diet food.
I was thinking about doing something this afternoon, but I was so tired that I didn't, but it took most of the afternoon to do my surfing anyway.
It was cold again - or maybe still. The high temperature finally got to 55º just a while ago; for most of the day it hung right around 50º - and this is the middle of July! Wow. It was cloudy and gray and there was about a 15 mph wind from the north. It wasn't very nice out. The clouds are beginning to break up now, just like Environment Canada said they would, and there is a ray of sunshine way in the northwest. Tomorrow is supposed to be a better day. I hope so.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson got on my lap this morning and he wouldn't leave, so I had a slight accident, just enough to make me change my underwear. And he was all purry when I got home. I had to go out to the breezeway to move a bag of trash and get something out of the car, and he was sure I was going to leave again. Louie slept on my lap until I made him leave, too. They apparently got so used to me being around all the time during the winter that they just don't want me to go away at all.
So that was a quiet day, and maybe I can get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight. Since I didn't go to town yesterday, I have to go tomorrow. I need gas and food, so it would be a good thing if i got a reasonably early start. We'll see. I didn't get a chance to knit this morning, so I want to do that tomorrow. I got word that my yarn shipped today, so by next week, it should be here.
Now it's a cold, cloudy but clearing night in the field. Tomorrow will be better.
July 14 Well, it is Bastille Day, even though nobody on the radio mentioned it. i am by no means a Francophile (my ancestors were mostly German), but I did grow up with a French friend who was a lovely, if eccentric, lady. It was her daughter who called the sheriff on me last winter when I didn't respond to her Christmas Card. And I always remember that if it wasn't for the French, the USA might not even be.
I got to bed not long after 10:30 last night, for once, and while I was up any number of times, I slept fairly well. I was awakened a bit after 11:00 by a call from somebody promoting Prop One in Michigan (which I need to research), and that reminded me again that I need to get an absentee ballot, since August 5 is the day I go to Green Bay.
I knitted, and I thought I started out just fine, but a couple of repeats into the day's knitting, I realized that I was off on attaching the edging to the right places in the body of the shawl, and I had to rip out everything I had done (six repeats!) because that was where I goofed. Grr. As a result of that, it was actually around 3:00 before I had my first meal of the day, and I was still doing my surfing when the talking started. Talk about a lost day!
There was church tonight, and it was nice. We are doing a lot of singing, and I like that. There were some new people there, and the couple who has a summer camp in Helltown (which I guess is someplace south of the road to Lac LaBelle, I'm not quite sure where. Talk about weird place names...
So I had another light meal when I got home, and I've been reading a bit. My original plan was to go down to Calumet and shop and get gas, but obviously, I couldn't do that. So since I have a massage tomorrow, I guess I will shop on Wednesday. I need to get gas before Thursday. I want to go down to Mohawk on Thursday and renew my license (they are only open on Thursday, or I hope they are) and I don't have enough gas to do that and still get to choir practice in the evening. I said this was going to be a busy week. And I need to shop. I'm getting very low on OJ, among many other things.
The weather today was cold. The high temperature, 59º. actually occurred at midnight. The high today was 57º, and that was at 8:00 this morning. For the rest of the day, it was mostly below 55º. The wind was out of the north, at 15 mph or less, which is all that made it bearable. The clouds came and went, but they came in late this afternoon, and there might be a little rain overnight. I was cold. All the windows, except the one in the bedroom, are shut, not that the guys were too happy about that.
They got rather rambunctious while I was un-knitting, but before I was ready to get up, they were both socked out in the bathroom. They like to be close to me most of the time. Sweet guys!
So that was a very truncated and nothing day. I hope I can get up at a reasonable hour tomorrow, or else I will have to reschedule my massage, which I need. I doubt I'll have time to knit, but I think now I have everything set so that the edging and the body of the shawl will fit together right. Or I hope so. I hate to rip!
Now it's a cloudy, cold (for July) night in the field.
July 13 Well, I made it into bed by about 11:30 last night. For the most part, I slept well, but I was up several times and I was wakeful for an hour or so early in the morning. I didn't get up until almost 11:00, so I should have made up for my sleep. When I looked at my face before I took my bath, I was surprised by how tired I looked. I even had bags. I must stop that. I need my beauty sleep.
I knitted for a long time, and I got around the bottom corner of the shawl and started up the second side. I won't be able to do a whole lot more, because I'm running out of yarn and I haven't heard about my order yet.
Otherwise, I got the trash out of the kitchen and out of the fridge, although the bag is still in the breezeway. There was a lot of stuff that had died in the fridge and I needed to get rid of it. I had to clean out the veggie drawer, again. Stuff had died in there, too. I got everything out of the sink and into the dishwasher, except for the pans, which I washed. I cooked up a double batch of Royal Rice with beans, which I still have to put away. So I guess i had a fairly productive day, at that.
The weather was mostly clear until lately, but it was cold, or at least I felt cold. The high temperature was 69º, but there was a strong northwest wind with gusts up to 30 mph, and until I closed the porch window and had some chai, I was cold. It was sunny for most of the day, but lately it has begun to cloud up and there may be a little rain overnight.
The guys mostly slept, and I didn't see much of them, although Louie did sleep on me for quite a while this afternoon. Louie almost decided to sleep with me last night, but then he changed his mind. When I closed the window this afternoon, he sat by it for several minutes, saying "Out! Out! Out!" in a loud voice, to which i replied "No! No! No!" until he went away. I think I've said before that Louie can speak English, and I'm sure he understands it.
So that was my day, and I'm tired again. I will read for a bit - hopefully not too long - and sleep some more. i have a busy week planned, and I need my beauty sleep. Hah.
It's a cool, breezy night in the field.
July 12 Oh, I stayed up too late again. The music wasn't bad and I'm reading Bolin, which I like. I was earlier than the night before, but not a whole lot. Sigh. I watched the big, bright moon chasing in and out of the clouds and shining in the south windows. It was just vaguely cream colored, because it's so close to the south horizon, and when i could see it, it was so pretty! The big moons aren't that much bigger than the small ones, but it is noticeable, and I love to see them.
I got up around 11:30 and I knitted. I'm now working on the center back of the shawl. I like it, and I'm going to be sorry when I run out of yarn and have to stop for a while.
Otherwise, I didn't do a lot. I put away a few pans and put some more to soak and I made a double batch of brown rice, which I still have to put away. I need to do the trash in the kitchen, but I didn't get to that today.
The weather was sort of nondescript. The high temperature, 71º, actually happened in the middle of the night - about the time I went to bed - and it dropped off slowly all day, until now it's about 55º. There was almost no wind and it was calm for most of the afternoon. it was pretty humid. There was some fog early this morning, followed by some sunshine, but by 1:00 it had clouded up and it was dull and gray for the rest of the afternoon. Meh.
The guys were sleepy and I didn't see much of them. Louie got a little lap time this afternoon, but Grayson didn't want to sit on me today. They had a wrestling match around the time I was getting dressed, but otherwise, they slept. Grayson thought he wanted some of my steak until I gave him a piece, which he didn't eat. Louie has clearly been trained not to want people food, which I think is a good thing.
So that was a nothing day. I will read a bit longer, then I will pack up my rice and try to get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour, even though I don't have to get up tomorrow morning. Now it's a dull, gray, cool evening in the field.
July 11 So last night, I read almost all night. I don't know why I do that, but every so often I do. I got up around 11:30, which wasn't nearly enough sleep, but I didn't want to get that much off schedule. I knitted my five repeats, and now I am just four repeats from the center back, so I'm making progress. I will probably have to stop someplace about halfway up the other side, because it looks like it will be a while before I get my yarn, but I can start the other shawl. Enough of this one is off the needle now that I can see that it's going to be a very pretty thing, especially if it ever gets blocked.
I guess I did do a few things today, even though I was really tired. I went to the post office, and it wasn't until I got home that I discovered that the package I was looking for got left in my front door, which I never use. I am going to have to create a sign saying "use other door" and pointing to the breezeway door. I wanted rice with my fish, and since I ate everything that was in the freezer, I had to cook some, so I made a double batch. While that was happening, I unloaded the dishwasher, so I can begin to reload it tomorrow. Considering how short a time I've been up, that was pretty good.
The weather wasn't very nice. It was cloudy and humid. The temperature got up to 71º for a couple of hours, but then it started to rain and it cooled off a bit. There wasn't a lot of rain, so far, but it was enough to raise the humidity. The wind was from the southwest and it was very light.
The guys were sleepy, in part, I'm sure, because of the barometer. Louie got a long time on my lap and after dinner, Grayson came and sat, too.
I ate dinner rather early, for me, because I thought I was going to hear the symphony concert, which was Beethoven's Piano Concerto #5, but then it didn't come on. I guess we aren't important enough for MPR to make sure our programming is straight. So I can go to bed any time, and I think I will, although I'm reading again...
It's a moist, rather warm (for here) evening in the field, and I'm tired.
July 10 Last night, it was about 1:00. I slept well, and I got up around 10:30, so I should have had enough sleep. I still feel like I might be coming down with something, though. My throat isn't so scratchy, but it feels like one tonsil is swollen, and I don't feel so robust.
I knitted, and I am now sure that I will run out of yarn, so when I got to the computer, I tried to find some more. I got this yarn last summer, and in the meantime, the company has decided to do mostly wholesale, and besides, it seems clear that they have discontinued the yarn. Fortunately, I found someone who still has some, so I got another ball of the other color, too, since I plan to make that shawl bigger as well. I'm sorry to see that yarn discontinued. It was nice stuff, and very modestly priced. However, I don't imagine there was a big call for it, since it's what the Shetland knitters call "cobweb" weight, and knitting with it takes a long time. Apparently, from the patterns I see around the Internet, most knitters don't have the patience I do to work with the really fine yarn. For me, it's nice to be able to knit lace and not be knitting doilies, for which I have no use whatsoever.
About the only other thing I did today was to do my monthly update of the MS software on both computers, which didn't take long for a change. Tonight was choir practice, so I went to that and got home around 9:00.
The weather was a bit warmer and not as breezy as yesterday. The high temperature was 72º, and the wind was very light. It was clear and sunny all day. Nice. I could take a lot of weather like this.
The guys were sleepy, and nobody asked to sit on my lap. They had emptied their Friskies bowl again, so I had to haul in the new bag. Before I could even fill the bowl, they were trying to stick their noses in the bag. However, I did the math, and it looks like they are eating about 3¼ oz. of that a day, plus a little canned food and a little of another dry food, so I don't guess that's too much for two cats. Louie is just one of those people like me - he has a bad metabolism. I think, though, that he's even more obese for his size than I am for mine, and he's not likely to lose any weight as he gets older and sleeps even more. I have to say that it's nice to come home and find a couple of little guys at the door with their tails in the air.
So that was a quiet day, and now it's late. I will read for a bit longer, I think, before I go to bed. It's a clear, coolish night in the field and the almost-full moon is shining brightly in the south windows.
July 9 I was late again last night, but I wanted to finish the story I was reading, and I had to wash my hair. As usual, I lost an hour or more sometime after midnight, but that seems to happen a lot. I got up around 10:30, but I didn't have nearly enough sleep, so I will try to be a little earlier tonight. It will be hard, because I'm reading Special Forces again. Every time I read one of these things, I find a few things that need changing, so it's good to keep rereading them. One day, I'll have to stop, but not yet.
I knitted, and except for the second row, I didn't have any trouble. I almost did six repeats, but I decided, after five, that it was time to get moving. It's coming along. Now my only worry is that I might run out of yarn, but if I do, I will just have to get another ball. It's hard to tell just how much I have left, and it's even harder to tell how much I will need, so I just forge ahead and hope.
I didn't do a lot, but I did get the dishwasher almost ready to run. I went to the post office, where there was a package I was looking for, and I went to the store. I realized that I won't be going to church on Sunday, so I had to lay in a few things to tide me over until next week. Sunday is the congregation picnic, and I just don't think I can handle that.
It was a nicer day today than the past couple have been. It was cloudy until about 10:30, when it cleared up, and the rest of the day has been beautiful, all blue, and now the gibbous moon is shining in the south windows. The high temperature got up to 64º, and there was a breeze from the north, up to 15 mph or so. Until just recently there wasn't any humidity, so I felt much better.
The guys were their usual selves. Louie got some lap time, until I had to leave. Grayson didn't, but he was around, and i think they both still are. Grayson felt good, and he tried to push the cloth off the dining room table. I need to get the blocking boards onto that table, and that may deter him a bit. I got something from the store in a plastic bag, and Louie stepped all over everything to get at it. I don't like him eating plastic, but I wonder if maybe he does it to help move the fur out of his innards. Buster chewed on the hearth broom for the same reason, until now, it has no bristles at all. Outdoor cats will chew grass for the same reason, but indoor cats don't seem to like grass as much.
I noticed, when I was looking out the kitchen window, that I still have one little coral poppy. I really should get out there and clear away the weeds, especially the knapweed, and give it time to grow back again.
I am tired now, and I have the fear I may be fighting off a cold. I have had a scratchy throat all day, which could turn into another thing like I had last winter. I hope not, but we'll see. Now it's a clear, cool evening in the field and I should be able to see a star or two tonight.
July 8 It was a little after midnight when I got to bed last night and I slept pretty well, I think, although i was a bit restless because my joints hurt, particularly my shoulders. I was awake around 8:30, I think, but that seemed too early, so I went back to sleep and it was 11:30 or so before I got up.
I knitted, of course, and I had some difficulties when I twitched and pulled stitches off both needles, then I had to rip back almost a whole repeat of the edging and repair what I dropped on the body of the shawl. I did my five repeats, but it was 2:00 before I got to the studio and I was still doing my surfing when the talking started.
I actually managed to do a few things, though. I washed the load of fleece, and I put all the placemats and potholders away, so that job is done. Sometime I need to soak all those things, since they still have a lot of grease in them. I got the dishwasher loaded with everything that was in the sink, and I think I may just wash dishes tonight, even though I haven't used all the cat dishes, because I'm running out of forks and cereal bowls. Sometimes I wonder about how I eat. Some weeks, I run out of cat dishes before I use all the forks, and sometimes I run out of cereal dishes. Strange. I guess, if I'm low on forks, it's good, because It means I've been eating fewer TV dinners and more real food.
Then about 6:00 I got a call from my closest relative. My nearest relatives are (or were) two second cousins, the sons of my grandmother's brother. One cousin is just a tad older than I am, and the other was nine years older. I got an email from Bob on Sunday saying that Carl had died the previous morning, and tonight he called to talk, but he had to hang up because someone else called him. I was sorry to hear about Carl's passing, but I've been expecting it, because he was 82 and he had dementia. It's sad for Bob, who has been really good to his brother. Carl had three kids, but I have no contact with them, although I may because one grandson is at Tech. We'll see. We always were a small family, and there aren't many of us left. That has good and bad features.
The weather wasn't very good. It rained all night - 0.57" worth - and it was dark and cloudy for most of the day. They reported a little rain this afternoon, but I didn't even notice it. The high temperature was 55º just a while ago, but for most of the afternoon it was around 53º. The wind was from the north in the 15-20 mph range, mostly. It's very humid, which is not good for my joints.
The guys just ignored it, although Louie tried to mix it up with Grayson late this afternoon. They're back to sleep now. They both got some lap time, and Grayson made cute until I gave him a couple of morsels of my fish. He likes ocean fish better than lake fish, which is not good form for a Keweenaw cat.
So that was my day, and I will try to get off to the north end soon. It's a clearing, but cold and breezy night in the field, and the moon is peeking though the clouds in the south windows. This is July?
July 7 Last night, I was in bed by midnight. I slept well, with the usual wakeups. I was awake around 8;30, but I decided that was too early, so I went back to sleep for another couple of hours. I had to get up then, because my sinuses were draining and I needed to blow my nose. I think I need to figure out how to take an extra antihistamine or two at this time of year.
I knitted and made some progress. I've been trying to do five repeats a day. That's a little much, but so far, I've been able to do it. I am halfway down the first bottom side (it's a triangle). It just occurred to me that I really should have done twice as many repeats across the top, but I'm not going to rip it out now. It will look all right when It's blocked, and maybe I can block it so that it's a bit longer and will cover my arms more...if I ever get it blocked. It's the process, you know.
I washed the last load of clothes and a load of placemats and potholders that has been lying around for (insert large number here) months and needs to be dried. I folded and put away all of Saturday's wash. The guys can't quite figure out what my problem is, that I'm rustling around so much. Neither can I, but I do seem to have a bit more energy these days.
The weather was cool to cold, but it wasn't nearly as humid as yesterday, until lately. The high temperature was 71º, but there was a very strong wind, with gusts up to 33 mph, from the north, so it didn't feel nearly as warm as it was. Now that the sun is down, the temperature has dropped to 52º and the humidity is up, although the wind has dropped. It was clear to partly cloudy all day. It's still pretty clear, and there is a quarter moon shining in the south windows.
The guys were much more awake than they have been lately, although they still slept a lot. They still don't like it when I start rustling around. Louie slept on my lap this morning and Grayson got some lap time when I got back from church tonight. Louie slept with me for a good part of the night, although he did get off when I had to spend nearly half an hour in the bathroom. That was good, because he was taking up a good portion of the top part of the bed. He is a big cat and he likes to sleep stretched out. Humph.
Church turned out to be nice, and we had a nice turnout, including five of us from the choir. I was a little concerned by the amount of chanting we were going to do, but nobody had any problem. At least one couple and their daughter, though, were from a big church down around Milwaukee. And I mean big: he is the Outreach Coordinator, which I presume is a paid position. Geez - and here, Pastor has to double on piano! Well, it takes all kinds. Anyway, it was a nice service, and I think the study of Jonah is going to be interesting. Mary Ann made a wonderful dessert, which we ate most of. We missed BettyAnn and Eleanor, but Eleanor is still recovering and BettyAnn has family problems to concern her, so I doubt we'll see them this summer.
I ate dinner before I left for church,which didn't work too well, but I didn't want to eat my dessert first, so I'll have to see how it goes. When I got home, I finished my JD and read for a while, and now I'm going up to the north end and go to bed.
It's a clear, cool night in the field.
July 6 I made it into bed by 10:00 last night, a little later than I wanted. I was filling the pill dispensers at the north end when I discovered I was running out of magnesium. I thought I had ordered that a couple of weeks ago, so when I had to get up to get something else, I went down to the kitchen to see if it was there. Nope. So I went back to the computer and checked, and I discovered that it isn't supposed to be delivered until the 25th. Oops. That is one of the important things I take and I don't want to be without it, so I ordered some more to be delivered this week. That took enough time that I was later than I wanted to be.
I slept all right, not great. I was up about every two hours, and although I went back to sleep, my rest was disrupted enough that I can't say I slept well. I was sound asleep when the alarm went off, but I got up and did my thing and got off a little later than I wanted to. It had been raining, so it was a rather slow ride, and I encountered some really slow drivers, not all of whom were tourists. Fortunately, it was a little early for the RVs to leave, so I didn't run into any of those.
Church was nice. There was a baby baptized - yes, we've had two babies this year! - and the choir serenaded her. Pastor's sermon was good, too, and our regular anthem came out well. He truncated the liturgy enough that we got out at 11:45.
Driving home was not fun. While most of the RVs were going in the opposite direction, I had passed two drivers who were driving funny - speeding up and slowing down until I was nutty - when we all got behind a big RV going into Copper Harbor, and he refused to even consider pulling off, although it was a large enough trailer that the only place he really could have pulled off was at the Lake Medora public access. Well, he didn't, and besides, he and I and the two people behind me all went right on through town, The RV went to the fort, although it was clear he'd never been there before, because he had to slow down at every side road and read the signs. The two guys I passed went on when I turned into our road, so I don't know where they were going. They were just driving so funny, I did not want to be behind them. Anyway, I still got home about 12:35, which was good.
I didn't do much for the rest of the day, and in the middle of the afternoon, I got so sleepy I almost went to bed. Instead, I transcribed the rest of the handwritten story, so now that's in the computer, even though it's not nearly done and I have no idea where it goes after what I wrote. I have about 21,000 words and I typed about 6900 words this afternoon. My fingernails are short and I was seeing pretty well, so it wasn't too hard.
It was not a nice day, weatherwise. There was a rain shower before I left for church and while i was gone, we had 0.34". The temperature was in the middle 60s, but it was so humid that it felt a whole lot hotter. I used the A/C all the way home. The temperature went up to 75º at 4:00, and then we had another 0.44" of rain and now it's back down in the low 60s again and still very humid. Needless to say, with a few exceptions, it was a dull, gray day. There was some wind around the rain showers, especially the second one, which had thunder, too. Yuck. Too bad most of our holiday weekend was so nasty.
The guys were very sleepy, although they went down to the basement when the thunder started. Both of them got lap time. I got at Louie's back with a comb, and while he didn't like it at all, I got a lot of little knots out of his fur and it looks much neater. He is too fat to be able to reach his back. He's good about it. He isn't happy while I'm combing, but when I stop, he's fine with it, unlike some other cats I've had who would get mad and go away if I fiddled with them where they didn't like it. Grayson was very loving again. I don't know what his problem is, but I let him sit on me a lot and that seems to help.
Now it's a dark, cloudy, cool, damp night in the field, and I'll be off to bed soon.
July 5 First, some catch-up, I forgot to mention that as I was finishing my knitting yesterday morning, I looked up just as the eagle soared out over the shore of the lake and then turned so that I could see his white tall. An eagle on the Fourth of July! How fitting! How glad I am to know they're still around.
The fireworks were very nice. There were very few duds, and there were some more new and neat ones that were fun to watch. It went on for about 35 minutes, with some pauses, of course. The finale was fittingly spectacular. It was a lovely display, and i thought it was much nicer than last year. My neighbors had some nice things this year, too, a little fancier than in past years, with fewer screamers and bombs and more pretty things. Of course, some of them exploded enough over my house that I couldn't see them very well, and there was some kind of a balloon caught on a twig of the birch in front of the house this morning. So it was nice.
Louie and Grayson were not impressed. Louie definitely spent the evening in the basement, and about the time he was beginning to relax a little, the neighbors set off the last rocket, and he made a bee-line for the basement and didn't come up until early this morning. They do not like all that noise!
I made it into bed by midnight or a bit after and I slept fairly well. I was up several times, but I'm pleased to say I haven't had any night sweats for the past week or so. I got up around 9:30, I think. I knitted, but I had some trouble, so I was still fairly late getting dressed.
Today was washday, and I am pleased to report that I had a productive day. The regular wash is done and in the dryer and probably done by now, and - more important - all the clothes that have been sitting in the laundry room for six or eight months are folded and put away. There is still a load of three sweatshirt sweaters and a tee that need to be rewashed (I've mentioned before that Eddie Bauer's old fabrics simply will not give up their greasy stains), and there is a load of fleece that needs washing, but it is possible to actually walk around in the laundry now. There are towels on the floor that need to be soaked, too, but I'm not sure I will get to those very soon. I feel like I had a very productive day, and it's nice to have all that stuff neatly stacked in the closet or squirreled away in the window seat. There is still stuff in the closet that needs to be put away, but I'm very much further ahead now. Whew! Oh, yes, and I filled the pill dispensers in the studio, and I will do the ones at the north end when I get there.
Unfortunately, the weather was cool and humid enough that my back was bothering me, but oh, well. It was cloudy all day, and between 6:00 and 10:00 this morning, we had 0.22" of rain. The high temperature was 75º, briefly, around 4:00, but then it dropped back to 62º. The wind was mostly from the southwest, and there were gusts up to 22 mph or so, although it has died down to almost nothing now. It wasn't a very nice day, and I'm only glad yesterday was so nice.
The guys did what they usually do, especially when it's not very nice out: they slept. Grayson got on my lap three separate times. They are both asleep on the desk now - Grayson on the throws and Louie on the filing. They were up while I was rustling around the laundry room - no telling what interesting stuff I might do - and I had to get Louie to move by shoving a basket toward him and I had to push Grayson off the window seat so I could put the stuff away. They don't seem to mind very much. And you never know what interesting and exciting stuff I might do!
I can't tell you how good it feels to have all that stuff put away. Some of it will no doubt have to be moved a bit, and the shelves in the closet are overflowing, but the only clean clothes in the laundry room are the ones in the dryer. I hope I'll feel like putting all that stuff away and doing the last couple of loads tomorrow, and then the north end will be the way it should be.
I have been feeling better lately, and I'm encouraged by not having any night sweats. I still itch like mad, and I seem to discover a few new bites every day. Last night it was a bunch on my thighs and one on my right heel, as well as a new one on the palm of my left hand. I haven't had bites like these since I was a kid trying to pick the raspberries out of the patch in the backyard, and even though I reacted to them then, I never reacted like this. I think it has something do do with how much more sensitive my skin is since the SCT. Even up here, I've never before been bitten like this, and I can only hope it never happens again. I expect, though, that I will get some more bites, because they seem to be hanging out in the garage, and they get in my hair when I get out of the car. I think I can say that the black flies are gone, since if there is one in Copper Harbor, it will find me and bite me, and none of the bites I've gotten are that kind. The mosquito bites itch like mad for two or three days, but then they are just red and sore for a week or so before they go away. Well, I never said it was paradise. Pretty close, but not.
Now it's a cloudy, humid night in the field and it may rain some more, depending upon where the showers out over the lake go.
July 4 - Independence Day If there was a parade, I didn't hear it. I got to bed so late that I was sound asleep at 10:00, and I didn't get up until around 11:30, I think. I knitted, but I had a hard time getting started, so I was late getting to the studio. Then Grayson got on my lap and he was so purry and so comfy that I had a pretty bad accident. I didn't wash, because tomorrow is wash day, but still, I hadn't done most of my surfing when the talking started.
I think I got a few more mosquito bites, a couple of new ones on my face and several that seem to be almost on top of the old ones. Oh, I itch! I think I got one on top of the first joint of my middle finger, where the second-worst tophus is. Oh, I itch!
Needless to say, I didn't do much of anything. Now I'm listening to Bruckner and waiting for the real fireworks to start. My neighbor to the south is here and setting off his own fireworks, as usual. Sometimes his are nice, too, but so far they aren't much to talk about. Bruckner is not my favorite composer, although this is his 7th symphony and it's not bad. My trouble with his stuff is that it's over-long and he seems to throw everything but the kitchen sink into each of his symphonies. A little shorter and saving some of his ideas for the next work would have worked better.
The weather was cool but mostly sunny. The temperature has finally gotten to 66º, but for most of the day, it was in the lower 60s. The wind was moderate from the north for most of the day, although now it seems to have shifted around to the southwest. It was mostly clear until around 7:30, when it clouded up.
The guys were mostly sleepy, although Grayson sat on me twice, and i had to move him both times, which I hate to do. He goes away when he wants to, but today he wanted to sit longer than I could let him. Louie slept with me and got some petting this morning, but I haven't seen much of him for the rest of the day. My neighbor is setting off screamers, and I'm sure neither of them like that. Louie is so timid, I expect he's in the basement.
So i will read or someting until the fireworks, and then I think I will just go to bed. I've been staying up too late lately. It's a rather nice, if cloudy, evening in the field.
July 3 I was sitting in the dark reading, with a cat on my lap, when I started seeing things flying around and feeling something brush my hands occasionally. Both Louie and I tried to catch them, but we couldn't. Well. When I finally went to bed, much too late, I realized that what I had been seeing and feeling were mosquitoes, and the "brushing" on my hands was, in fact, dozens of bites. You should see my hands and wrists, particularly the right one, which was sort of stuck on the mouse. I am a real mess. Sensodyne toothpaste sort of works for a while (Crest doesn't) but it doesn't last. I itch, and it's driving me crazy. And here was at least one mosquito in my bedroom all night that kept whining in my ear. I must have brought them from the garage in my hair when i was bringing in my mail and the stuff I bought at the store. Well, if I can last for a couple of days, the itch will go away, but in the meantime, it's difficult.
I was late again and I didn't sleep all that well. It didn't have anything to do with my itches; it was something else, and I don't quite know what. I got up around 10:00 and I knitted. I seem to be able to do about 5 repeats in a reasonable length of time, so I will try for that. I am knitting faster now, since I'm beginning to get more of a feel for the pattern. It will be a pretty thing when it's done.
Other than that, I was so late that I didn't do much of anything except pay a few bills. I hate it when a bill is due on July 5 and that is a Saturday. Being a retired banker, I hate giving them even the few mils of interest in the float - although in this case, I was paying a credit card from the bank that issued it, so there is no float. The only problem I have with the float is that occasionally I forget to pay a bill, and then they sock me with late fees. If I had all the money in the world, I would get somebody else to pay the bills. I'd spend the money, and they could figure out how to pay. Dream on...I can hardly pay my own bills, and the tax bills came in the other day. Ugh.
This evening was choir, of course, and the town is filling up. As I was going south, there was a steady stream of campers going north, including one RV that was towing a thing that was as big as the contractors' trailers. I can only figure that those people live in their RV. I could never do that. On the way home, I ran across a number of very slow drivers in cars that were going north. Maybe they will stay in motels? I managed to pass them all, but it's a good test of my passing skills, as well as my knowledge of the road. When that old navy blue Yukon passes you, remember that I live here, and I drive that road twice a week almost all year (believe me, when I started doing it after this last winter, I didn't drive quite as fast). I did notice that the lupines are out around Lake Medora, but they are very short and the flower spikes are very small, just like mine. I think I saw a wild rose on our rose on my way home, but it was getting dark, so I'm not sure.
The weather was pretty but cool. The high temperature here was only 60º, although it was 69º in Laurium when I got there. It was clear and lovely until near sunset, when a few clouds appeared. It's mostly clear now, except over in the west. At least it was cool enough that there weren't any bugs (or I hope there weren't).
The guys were sleepy, although they both got some major lap time. Grayson got upsest when I went off tonight, but he has been happier since I got home. I know no cats like it when their people go away, and I guess my guys got used to me being around over the winter. Well, they'll just have to cope. Grayson thought he wanted some of my dinner, but I'm not sure how good for him pork is, and I know tomatoes and onions aren't, so he didn't get any, He sits at one side of the monitor and sticks out his little paddy paw to see if he can hook some of what I'm eating. Sometimes he gets some and sometimes he doesn't.
So now I will read for a little while before I go up to the north end and take a bath. I am still trying to get my scalp in shape, and If I don't wash it tonight, it will be a mess again by Saturday. It's a cool, or maybe cold, clear evening in the field.
July 2 I was late again last night, but not nearly as late as the night before. I took a shower, and that made me later. I slept well, with just a couple of wakeups, and I think I got up around 10:30, maybe? I didn't really notice. I knitted for quite a while before I got dressed. So I was late, and I had a cat on my lap for a while, but I managed to make it to the bathroom without having an accident. The amount of rice I've been eating helped, too.
I wanted to go to the post office and I needed something at the store, but I didn't manage to get the letter I wanted to mail done, because the printer wouldn't print. So I ran off to the post office and gave Ron his monthly payment, then I went to the store and got a green pepper, and I discovered they have their summer stuff at last. They have a packaged cole slaw and potato salad that I like, at least for a bit, so I had to get some of that. I still haven't finished my surfing, I just realized. Well, I can do it now.
Tonight I cooked, and It has been too long since I did. I made pork chops with Spanish rice, and while it came out all right, I charred the bottom of the pan, so it wasn't as nice as it could have been. It did taste good for a change, and I have another couple of meals of it. I like to cook something early in the week so I have a quick dinner to come home to after choir. Well, I will have to keep practicing. I am gearing up to cook a whole lot of rice, too, and freeze it, like I did once before. Maybe some quinoa, too, which i like, but I never seem to remember it.
I just scratched again, and something bit me right in the small of my back. I have to believe it was a black fly, because mosquitoes don't usually fly up my tee. Someone suggested a new way to stop the itch, and it seemed to work: tooth paste. I'm not sure what's in it, but I tried it on the last two bites on my hands, and it did take out the itch, and it's not quite as messy as Adolph's. Amazing.
The weather was very pretty, but not too warm. The high temperature was 66º, for a while late this afternoon. The wind was from the north, and that's probably why it was so cool. It was in the 15-25 mph range. It was clear and pretty except for a little while late in the day when there were a few clouds, which all seem ot have gone away now. Nice, but chilly.
The guys were sleepy. I didn't see much of Louie after I got dressed. Grayson sat on me several times, but if I twitch, he gets up and goes away.
When I was out, I thought, oh, boy, here we go! There was a whole lot of traffic in town, as well as bikers and walkers and difficult parking at the store. I will go to choir practice tomorrow, but other than that, I will be staying home. Ugh! That's the trouble with summer around here. But we need the tourists, so I just stay out of their way.
I also noticed that the hawkweed and cow vetch are coming out. Boy, has our spring and early summer ever been compressed! I'd say we're close to caught up, and bear in mind that on May 29, the trees hadn't even started to leaf! Wow! The result of all that is that all the flowers are very small and the plants are very short. They didn't get their usual time to grow. And the spring things are coming and going very fast. I haven't smelled wild roses yet, but they should be out soon. Or I hope they will. Roses are still my favorite flower.
So that was my quiet day, and I want to do at least some of my surfing before I totter up to the north end. It's a clear, cool night in the field.
July 1 Geez, I can still hardly believe it's July already! Where does the time go?
I wondered that this morning, too. I knew i was late, but somehow I lost about an hour and a half, and it was a ridiculous hour when I finally turned out the light. I slept, of course, until after noon. Then I knitted a lot. I turned the corner and started down one side of the bottom of the shawl, and I knitted until I got back to the place where I pick up four stitches for every repeat. The corner looks sort of strange now, but I think it will end up looking all right if it ever gets blocked. Now I can just knit and knit and knit... I'm getting more familiar with the pattern, finally, even though I still have to look at the chart.
I was so late that I only had a snack for a first meal. I was starting my surfing when the talking came on, so I was way behind. Oh, well.
It was a much cooler day than yesterday, The high temperature was 72º, and it was over 70º for most of the afternoon. It was cloudy in the early morning and there was some fog, but that went away and it cleared up between about noon and 7:00, then it clouded up again. It was very windy, with gusts up to 31 mph from the north-northwest. The temperature has now fallen to 52º and it's supposed to be in the 40s tonight.
The guys didn't do anything surprising. Louie has been sleeping with me for most of every night, and Grayson sleeps for most of the afternoon on the desk. They didn't seem to mind when I closed the porch window, but it was too windy out there for them anyway.
I got a couple of big boxes this afternoon, so now I have TP and the guys have food. I was trying to move one of the boxes, which is too heavy for me to lift, when it dropped on my knee and scraped a bit. I imagine I will have a nice bruise there, and I certainly hope it doesn't set off any cellulitis. The cat food weighs more than the TP does.
Now I am going to bed, via the shower. I didn't get enough sleep this morning and I'm tired, and besides, I finished what I was reading and now I'm back at the same spot I was several days ago - almost everything I have to read needs to be modified. That's fine, but when I'm eating, I want to just read something. There are so many things that need modification that I don't know where to start. I guess that's a good thing.
Now it's a cloudy, cold night in the field, and the sleeping will be good. And it's July. Geez!
Last updated 08/01/14 10:51 PM |