journal

A View From the Field

October 18

Well, my first attempt at a better schedule was mixed. I made it into bed by 10;30, but I was up at least five times, running off. The last time was at 7:45 (grr! That's a little too early to be my alarm aversion), and it didn't feel right, so I went back to bed - after the alarm went off - and I didn't get up until after 10:00. Remember, I was up a lot, and most times it was for half an hour at a time, so I didn't actually get that much sleep. We'll see how it goes tonight, although I may be a bit late again. It will probably take me a while to figure out the proper schedule, since I don't have to be anywhere most of the time.

I knitted four rows, including the slow one, so that took just under 2 hours, and then I sort of fiddled around. That meant I didn't eat breakfast until around when I usually do. Afterwards, I was doing my surfing when I got a terrible cramp, and I had a slight accident. I don't know what to do about those things.

Anyway, that made me too late to go to the post office, and I had just finished my surfing when the Schwan's guy showed up, so I pushed the chair into the kitchen and got my order. However, after I put my frozen stuff away - there wasn't very much of it, because I don't have any money - I finally, finally, finally got the dead stuff out of the fridge!! There was a lot more of it than I thought, and I'm going to have to rebag it, because I can't lift the one bag it's in. The bag is outside the door, but just barely. I'll take care of that tomorrow. I have to, because I can't get out the door otherwise. I didn't do any cleaning, so it's still a mess in there, but at least the dead stuff is gone.

I was listening to Fresh Air and embroidering about 7:45 when all of a sudden the power started bouncing. There were three or four bounces, about two minutes apart, before it finally went down long enough to make the generator come on - and yes, it came on and transferred power, so that's all right. That was the end of the embroidery for the day, though - on the last row of a motif - and it took a while for the computer to reboot because it had to do a chkdsk, and with over a terabyte, that takes a while. I do wish Mike would get his act together and get me my UPS back. I had a problem calling the electric company, because something was screwed up with my land line, but cell service was OK, so I called and complained. Eventually, the wi-fi came back - I think that was mostly a matter of a bunch of pieces of equipment having to reboot - and everything is OK except that I don't know about the land line. I haven't checked it.

Oh, yeah, I forgot - the camera hung up overnight, Sorry about that. At least it was a pretty picture.

The weather is still cold, but at least there was some sunshine today. The high temperature was 50º and there was a brisk south wind, with gusts up to 35 mph. The weather station hasn't reported since 7:00, so there is evidently something wrong with it, too.

The guys slept, I guess. Grayson didn't get any lap time today because every time he tried, I had to get up and go away. I don't know where Louie was sleeping. I forgot to mention yesterday that there is a dead mouse in the great room. It's smaller than the one I saw in the bathroom, so I guess we are starting our fall mouse invasion. I once heard somebody who purported to be an authority say that cats aren't good mousers. He was British, so maybe their cats aren't, but every one I've lived with has been an excellent mouser. So much for authorities. He said some other things about cats that I know are wrong, too, so I guess I should consider the source. I sometimes think people who try to study cats pick very docile, easy-to-handle ones, which bear very little resemblance to your normal housecat. On the other hand, there was a recent study about cats' interactions with their people that seemed pretty good and came to some conclusions much more in line with what I've observed, so maybe they're getting better.

So that was another quiet day and I hope I will have a quieter night. It's a cold, breezy night in the field.

October 17

Oh, I was so late, but technically I didn't invert. I was reading, and just as I was about to go to bed, when I stood up, i had a really nasty accident that I had to clean up from, and then I wanted to relax a bit. No wonder I'm depressed. My elimination is out of control, I'm a disaster, my house is a disaster and I have no money. No wonder I'm depressed.

Anyway, I got enough sleep, but that meant I got up very late. I knitted four rows - the four easy ones - and I was just finishing washing my face when Mary Ann called. Bill is OK - not really good, but OK - and they were only in Wausau for four days. I was glad to hear from her. I was going to call her today, for sure, but she keeps the ringers off on her phones, so I almost always have to leave a message.

The weather was a bit nicer than lately. At least we had some sunshine - not a lot, but some, and it looks like it might be clear tonight. The high temperature was 47º, but that was before noon, and it was nearly steady in the low to mid 40s all day. The wind has shifted around to the northeast or east, but it's been under 10 mph all day. The next few days are expected to be a bit better.

The guys slept. When I get up, Louie is usually sleeping on the rug beside the bed and Grayson is asleep in the bathroom. They move around a bit, but while I'm knitting, they are both usually sleeping right beside me.

I got to thinking about my weird hours again. There is an app on my phone called "Bedtime," and I'd looked at it before, but it seemed sort of clunky. They improved it some, so I decided to set it up and see what happens. For starters, it seems to have turned itself off after I set it up, and I don't know why, but we'll see what happens tomorrow. I think a lot of things might be better if I could get back onto a human schedule and a consistent schedule. I don't have any trouble sleeping anytime, but it would be better, and I could get up earler. We'll see what happens...provided I can keep the thing from turning itself off!

So that was another very quiet day, and now it's a cold but maybe clear night in the field.

October 16

So I was late, but not like the night before. I knitted the slow row, but it's only taking me about 45 minutes to do it. Then I sort of sat, so I was late eating anyway.

The task of the day was the bulletin, and I had to do most of it twice because I clicked the wrong "x" and then I said "no" when I should have said "yes". Old fast fingers strikes again... Then somehow, last week, I got "Epiphany" rather than "Pentecost" onto the front cover. I don't know where I picked that up, but even worse, none of my proofreaders caught it until today! Sheesh. I rely on those people.

Then there was the wedding. Yes, we're having a wedding at our little church. Actually, it's a couple who go to the other church, but that one is so small it wouldn't hold the number of people they expect to have, so it's going to be at our church. They are doing it right out of the hymnal, and they wanted a program. Pastor sent me the information and asked me to format it on a half sheet. That was kind of fun and I got to play with fonts and things. They are a young couple, one of whom is actually a trustee at the other church and the other one is the granddaughter of one of our ladies. We don't have very many young people at all, so this is special for several reasons. I hope they like what I put together.

The weather was nondescript again. The temperature was almost steady around 47º or so, and it was cloudy and dull but there wasn't any rain. There was quite a wind from the northeast, with gusts up to 28 mph. From that direction, I can't hear the wind at all, but I could hear the surf.

The guys were sleepy, of course. Grayson wanted to sleep on me, but I had to make him go away when I started working on the bulletin, and he didn't want to go, so he tried to take my sweatshirt with him. Louie is up at the north end, of course. There was canned food today, and I think as usual Louie ate all the gravy from both bowls. I hope Grayson got some.

So that was another very quiet day and now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field.

October 15

I inverted last night, but I did get my hair washed. I got up after about 8 hours' sleep and I knitted the next two rows - the one with the most nupps. I was just about to get up and get something to eat when Debbie called, and we talked until my phone died. Maybe the battery in the phone at the north end is dying, because it wasn't that long. Well, I have another one, and I think they are still available. It was OK anyway - we weren't talking about anything much.

So I didn't call her back and I got my meal. I just had a snack, and I'll be going back to bed soon. I didn't do anything.

The weather was unsettled again. It was cloudy, and at intervals it got very dark, but we didn't have any measurable rain until after 8:00 PM, and that wasn't much. The wind moved around some, from south to east, and it was gusty, with gusts up to 24 mph. It was very humid, but my joints were telling me that.

The guys were very sleepy, but I guess I know why. I was sitting and trying to make myself get up and into the shower when they both came into the bathroom and Grayson dropped a mouse right at my feet. Gee, thanks, guy! It was one of those cute little deer mice, so I kept them away from it, even though it appeared to be damaged, and it scuttled back into the corner behind the toilet. Then I had to bar the area from both of them, Louie particularly. He's not fast enough to catch them, but he's much more doggedly determined to find them. They went away when I ran the water in the shower, but when I got out, he was lying just inside the door. I don't know what happened after that. I didn't go to bed right away, but once I did, I was out, so they may have caught the mouse, or it may still be in the bathroom, or...

I don't want mice in my house, but those field mice are so cute, I have a hard time. Those are the ones, a bit bigger than house mice, that are brown on the back and white underneath. This wasn't a very big one, but every year we get a few of this year's crop who don't understand that there are monsters in this place and who think it's nice and warm in here and they'd like to spend the winter. I think deer mice are cute, but I do not want them wintering over in my house!

Anyway, that was all the excitement for today, and now it's a cold, dark and maybe rainy night in the field.

October 14

Well, another day with nothing to report. I was late last night but not too late and I got up around 10:30. I only knitted two rows, and I should have gone ahead and done the next two, except that they are the ones with two nupps in every repeat and I didn't feel like it. I didn't feel like doing anything else, either, so I didn't. The list of things I should do and I'm not is getting out of hand.

The weather was unsettled. I was up briefly around 6:00 and the full moon was shining brightly in the windows, but it was cloudy when the camera turned on, so we didn't get to see moonset. When I got up, it was almost clear and sunny, and then around 2:00 we had some light rain that lasted for a couple of hours. There were a few rays of sunshine after that and it was cloudy at sunset. The temperature was steady at 46º, and there was a brisk north wind with gusts up to 29 mph until around 5:00 PM, when it died down to almost nothing.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me until I had to turn the radio on - and pee - and while he wanted to come back when I sat down again, I decided to embroider instead. I haven't seen Louie lately, but he mostly sleeps at the north end.

Oh, yes, I did embroider for a couple of hours. I finished the circle I was working on, the one with the little birds around the edges, and started a small diamond shaped motif. Toward the end I was having a problem getting my needle in the right holes, though, so I didn't finish that one.

So now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field and I must wash my hair.

October 13

So I was late last night and I slept late this morning. I was glad I'd decided not to go to church, because I have been extremely stiff and sore all day. So I didn't do a lot. I did knit the four easy rows on the shawl, and now I have only seven repeats left in Chart Five. Since I have one less stitch repeat every row repeat, it will start to go fast now. I think there is something wrong with the directions at the interface between Chart Five and Chart Six (the last one), but I won't be able to check it for sure until I get there.

The weather was not good, which is why I was so creaky. The temperature was nearly steady, around 42º and it was breezy, at least after 6:00 PM, with north gusts up to 24 mph. It rained or something off and on all day, but it was rather light, Just enough to bother me.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me for a while this afternoon, and when I went into the laundry room to do the second rinse (don't ask), Louie was quite comfortably ensconced on my jeans. I had to move him, though, because he was in the way to the washer.

So that was my very quiet day. I think I finally got the entire load of white stuff washed, and it will dry overnight. I should take a bath tonight, but I am so creaky I think I will probably wait and hope I feel better tomorrow. It's a cold, dark rainy (or maybe snowy) night in the field.

October 12

Snow.

I had to go back to the bathroom around 1:15 PM and as I frequently do when I'm sitting there, i looked out to see something coming down - and it wasn't rain. It was very light, but still. Then, around 4:30 or so, we had a good squall. I couldn't see down the harbor, and the wind, which was strong, was blowing the snowflakes horizontal. Of course, there wasn't any accumulation, and it was warm enough that it melted right away, but still...

Snow.

I was a bit late last night, but I went into zombie mode. I slept fairly well, with only a couple of wakeups, and I got up around 9:30. I knitted four rows, all of which had nupps, so I'm back on track again. The pattern repeats every 10 rows. Six of them have nupps and four don't, and I like to finish up a repeat at the end of a session. I still have around 250 stitches on the needles, but other than the nupps, it's an easy pattern, and there are so many fewer stitches that it seems like it goes fast. The rows with two nupps per repeat take about 45 minutes, but the other ones take more like half an hour, and I can do the four rows with no nupps in around 45 minutes. So I'm making progress, to the point where I was looking at other patterns today to plan my next project. Not that I'm that close to being done, but I'm getting there.

That was all I did, There is a load of underwear in the washer that needs its second rinse, and i will dry it tomorrow. I don't know why I never thought about it before, but doing laundry overnight seems to be working well. It is an automatic washer, after all.

The weather, like I said, was dismal. The temperature was steady at 41º and the wind was mostly from the west with gusts up to 23 mph, although it's died down now. It was dark and dreary, but curiously, the humidity was relatively low - between 60% and 75% - not what you would expect if it was raining. My joints were thankful.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me for a while, and when he left, he kept coming back and twining around my legs and squeaking. I don't know what his problem was, except that he had a coughing fit. He thought he wanted some of my lamb chop, too, but I know he didn't - it just smells good to him. I haven't seen Louie, but thankfully, I didn't have to go back to the north end today, and I assume he's there. They are as much affected by the barometric pressure as I am.

So that was all there was, and now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field.

Snow.

Yuck.

October 11

I was much earlier last night, but not really early. I slept well - 3½ hours at a crack - and I got up around 10:30, I think. I knitted four rows. The first two were the easy ones, so I went on and knitted the first two rows of the next repeat, which have nupps. Then I started fooling around, so I was late anyway.

My iPhone got a new version of the operating system yesterday, and I'm smitten. It has what they call "dark mode," which is white letters on a black background. I can't tell you how much easier is is to read that small print and how much better it is in low-light situations. Anyway, I keep having to look at it...which inevitably leads me to solitaire...

The weather was truly miserable. It started raining around 4:00 AM, and it rained off and on all day. We've had 1.1" so far, although it hasn't rained for an hour or so. Between 3:00 and 4:00 PM, we had 0.52", and it's been a very long time since I've seen it rain that hard. Wow! The temperature was nearly steady around 58º until that squall came through, and then it started to drop and now it's down to 42º. The wind kept shifting, and it was breezy, with gusts up to 38 mph. The thing I don't like is that the "s" word is in the forecast. I don't think there will be any here, but there may be some further down the peninsula Saturday night and Sunday. What? Already?

The guys felt the weather and reacted properly. They slept. Grayson slept on me a couple of times, until I told him no. He made sure I couldn't embroider while the talking was going on. I haven't seen much of Louie, but he liked his canned food, so considering the amount he ate, I'm sure he was asleep in the bathroom.

Speaking of bathrooms, after two accidents yesterday, so far, I've only leaked a bit. I will try to see that it doesn't get worse. I can't tell you how frustrated I get when I can't even get to the powder room. I ate a lot of rice tonight, and all I can do is hope it helps.

So that was my very quiet day, and now it's a dark, cold and humid, if not raining, night in the field.

October 10

Oh, i inverted again, so nothing got done today. I did knit two rows, but I decided not to do the next two, and I should have, because I just played games instead. I did my surfing while the talking was going on, which means I didn't pay very good attention to either.

I've finally realized that part of the problems I've been having with my elimination is that I haven't been eating right. I haven't been very hungry, so if I eat a big first meal (I don't like to call it breakfast, considering when I eat it sometimes) I'm not hungry again until the next day, so I haven't been eating enough rice. I need to fix that.

The weather was sort of nondescript. The high temperature was 62º, and there was a brisk wind from the south, with gusts as high as 29 mph. It was mostly cloudy. Meh. I guess we're going to have our first fall gale tomorrow. There are gale warnings out for all day and there will be rain and falling temps. Well, since we didn't have one around the equinox, I guess it's time.

The guys slept. They were happy when I was knitting, and Grayson slept on my lap until Louie started sounding off. Louie is mostly hanging out in the bathroom, because I have the temperature cranked up in there and the floor is nice and warm. Grayson would mostly rather be where I am, I guess.

So that was it, and now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field and maybe I can get to bed tonight?

October 9

I made it as far as the bathroom and I just stopped, so It was late when I got to bed. I slept hard, though, with only one wakeup and I got up around 10:30. I knitted my two rows, but tomorrow I can probably do four, since they're the easy ones. Oh, I'm making progress, even though it's slow.

I didn't - and don't - feel very good today, so about all I accomplished was to get the bulletin done and out. The challenge lately has been the covers. Last week it was a special graphic and today it was a very long "theme." There were lots of changes to the prayer list, too. Unless Sue finds something when she proofreads it, I think it's OK now.

I wish I would get over whatever it is I have, but so far I seem to be stuck, now really sick and not really well and feeling cruddy. I've been having sneezing fits, too, which I don't understand.

The weather was pretty nice again. The high temperature was 68º and there was a moderate breeze from the southwest. It was clear or nearly clear all day. I should have at least stuck my nose outside, but I didn't.

The guys slept, of course. I had to move Grayson - and he didn't want to move - when I had to start the bulletin. I just can't use the keyboard when there is a cat on my lap.

So that was it. Now it's a partly cloudy night in the field - I just saw some clouds moving over the moon.

October 8

Of course I was late last night, but I went to bed clean, and taking my bath wasn't so hard. I still can't get my left arm up much, but now it's not the muscles, it's just the shoulder joint. I didn't sleep very well, and I don't know why, but when I turned onto my left side, I coughed for most of two hours. Once I turned over again, I did better, and the second time I was on my left side it was fine. I didn't get up until around 10:00.

Everything was going fine - I had plenty of time for everything except reading all the ad emails - but then when I started for the kitchen with my cart, my innards betrayed me and I had to change my bottoms. It might not have been as messy as it could have been, but it was bad enough.

It may have been all right, because I seem to have lost a bunch of my winter jeans. The laundry room is such a mess, though, that I really can't tell.

Anyway, then I finally had to put on the new license plate. I didn't want to go down to Houghton without it, and since I passed a police car just sitting around - I forget where - it was a good call. That wasn't a problem, except that the bolts were rather difficult to start. Everything worked out well, and I left right at 1:00 PM, which was my target time. I guess some things still take the amount of time I think they will.

Even though there was a stoppage for a road crew, I still got to the dentist's office not long after 2:00, and amazingly enough, my hygienist was ready for me! She must have had a cancellation. It was probably just as well, because we had a lot of talking to do. I got out around 3:30.

I really would have liked to stop at Bambu, but I had to shop, so I went back to Calumet and did my thing. I did a lot of damage, but I think I can make it until the end of the month on what I bought. Tuesday seems to be a very good day to shop. They had my bread and the locally produced honey I haven't been able to get for several months. I'm looking forward to that.

I had to pass a guy towing a camper with no stoplights, but after I did that, there was no traffic until I was on the covered road and I got behind a touron who would not go faster than 35 mph, and every place I might have passed him, there was somebody coming in the other direction. He stopped abruptly (both Grayson and I remember that!) at the Mountain Lodge, so it was easier getting from there to Woodland Road. I got home about 6:00 and moved the groceries to the platform. Most of them are still there. It's not as cool as I would like it, but it will do until tomorrow and I am just too tired to do anything more now.

I was very disappointed in the color. It seems to be very late this year and there is still a whole lot of green. Mary Ann said the red all came out in August, and she may be right, but not a lot has happened since. Well, we've had some very good color years lately, so I guess we're due for a dud.

The weather was lovely. If I had to go out sometime, this was a great day to do it. It was mostly clear all day, so there was a lot of sunshine, and I noticed that the sun is already low enough to shine in the car windows no matter what direction I'm going. The high temperature here was 66º. but according to my car, it got up to 72º in town. There was a breeze from the southwest, and it felt so good to let it waft over me when I was outside. I was a little warm, because I wore a sweatshirt, but it was quite cool when I left here and I wasn't sure how warm it would get.

I guess the guys slept, although they both came to greet me when I got home. Hey, it's been over a month since I've been further than the post office, so they shouldn't complain much.

So that was my day. I woke up feeling cruddy, and now I'm really tired, but it was good to get out. I do wonder about the nut (like bolts and nuts) I found on the floor of the garage, but if It's something important, I guess I'll find out.

Now it's a partly cloudy, warmish night in the field, and I'm going to bed soon.

October 7

I was late last night, but I don't remember how late. i slept well, and I didn't get up until after 11;00. I still do not feel good.

I knitted two rows. These are the ones with two nupps in every repeat, so it goes slowly. The next two have one nupp in each repeat, and then there are the four fast rows. It's coming along, and every repeat means there are fewer stitches, so as i go along, it will get faster.

I didn't do much - like I said, I still don't feel good - but I paid the rest of the regular monthly bills. I needed to know how much I have to live on for the rest of the month. Not a lot, as it turns out.

While the talking was going on, I embroidered, and I finally finished that circle and started a little one that has two birds facing each other at the top, bottom and sides, and some flowers. Then there's another urn and a bunch of little things before some bigger motifs that I haven't looked at carefully yet. I will have enough thread to finish the top half, I think, but then I'm going to have to get some more. I hope I don't need to do that until the end of the month, but I think I have enough thread to last that long.

The weather was breezy but a lot warmer than lately. The high temperature was 54º. There was some wind mostly from the northwest, with gusts up to 36 mph, but recently, it has died down and switched around to the south again. It was clear or nearly clear all day, and there were some whitecaps on the harbor, but only when the wind was gusting. Tonight the half (or slightly more than half) moon is shining brightly in the south windows.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me until I had to make him move so I could do my banking. Louie apparently spent the late afternoon sitting on one of the scratching pads in the great room - a place he likes in the cooler months.

I have a dentist's appointment tomorrow afternoon, so I have to wash my hair and get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour. Before I leave, I have to install my license plate, and my appointment is at 2:30, so I'm working backward from then. It takes more than an hour to get there. On my way home, I have to do some food shopping. I've been out of JD for a week, and I'm running out of OJ, for starters. There are a few other things I'm getting low on.

So it was another very quiet day, and now it's a clear, chilly night in the field.

October 6

So I was late last night. I was reading and the music was nice, and well...I slept well and I got up around 10:30, but it seems clear that wasn't enough sleep.

I knitted two rows. These are two of the rows with nupps, so they take a lot longer to do. I think it took around 45 minutes, which is a whole lot less than the earlier rows did. It's shaping up very nicely, but I still have a long way to go. I'm starting the fifth repeat of the body pattern. I'm not sure how many repeats there are, because I'm pretty sure the instructions are totally wrong, but i think there are either seven or eight left. Of course, as I decrease down, the rows will go faster, but I won't be able to get up much speed until I can do more than one nupp row at a time. The next two rows are the really slow ones, with two nupps in each diamond. That takes a long time and it uses a whole lot of yarn.

From what I've read, that's the reason the Estonian ladies invented nupps in the first place. They were paid by the weight of their shawls, so the more nupps, the heavier they were. I think the people I got the yarn and pattern from are doing the same thing, but this is a very pretty pattern, and it's all right. I knew that before I started it.

That was all I did. I didn't feel like embroidering or writing, so I read.

The weather was unsettled. It rained off and on all night, and it was very windy. The wind was from the north or northwest, so it was noisy in the bedroom. It was still fairly windy today - "breezy," the NWS said - but there wasn't any more rain after about 5:00 AM, and we actually had some sunshine between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM before it got cloudy again. Just a while ago, they threw a handful or two of raindrops at us, which covered the front windows but apparently didn't register in the rain gauge. The high temperature was 61º, which is a lot warmer than it's been for several days. It's kind of humid now, but earlier it was down under 55%, which is good for my joints.

One reason I couldn't do anything was that Grayson spent the afternoon asleep on my lap. It was nice, because he's nice and warm and it kept my hands warm. I didn't see much of Louie. He has a scratch on his nose, but he's been going after Grayson, so it's not surprising.

So that was another extremely quiet day. I didn't feel too bad this morning, but by afternoon, I did, so I'm not over it yet. I am coughing less, which is good. I'm just going to have to do some things whether or not I feel like it - and I certainly do not feel like it.

I'm not sure if it's cloudy or clear, but there is a nice half moon shining down on the field tonight.

October 5

Today is my daddy's 107th birthday anniversary. I wish I had been able to know him better, but i don't think anybody did.

I was later than I wanted to be last night, but I spent some time writing. I slept fairly well and I didn't get up until after 11:00. I knitted four rows, so I've finished the fourth repeat. There are still over 270 stitches, so it takes a while, but every repeat works off 20 more, so pretty soon it should be a manageable size. I guess I shouldn't complain, since I started with 623 stitches. It's going to be a pretty thing.

I just don't feel like doing anything. I wish I knew why. So I didn't. I spent most of the afternoon reading. Today I didn't even feel like writing. The sound went away again, even though i haven't played that game since I rebooted, so I had to do it again. There's an online game I've been playing and I'm wondering if that's the problem. I will try not to play it and see what happens.

The weather was pretty miserable. The temperature was nearly steady at 52º, but the wind has been rising all day, and sometime between 6:00 and 7:00 PM, we had 41 mph gusts, from the south. To hear the forecasts, that is just the beginning. It's calmed down a bit since then, but tomorrow is going to be a hairy day - our first gale of the fall. The wind is going to shift around to the north and rise. It didn't start to rain until around 7:00 PM, but we've had 0.23" so far.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me all afternoon, so I couldn't do anything but read. I haven't seen much of Louie.

Now I have to decide whether to stay up to hear the rest of Brahms' 3rd, or just go to bed. I'm not going anywhere tomorrow - I'm still coughing - so I don't need to wash my hair until tomorrow. I am tired, so we'll see.

Today NASA has designated as Look at the Moon Day, but there's not going to be any moon to see tonight. It's a cool, cloudy, rainy, windy night in the field.

October 4

Oh, i was late last night, and I don't remember quite why. I wrote a bit, and I read some of both stories I was thinking about writing on, and time just passed. I slept well, and I got up around 10:30, which wasn't nearly enough sleep, so I'm tired now, but I want to finish at least one of the episodes I was writing.

I didn't do anything else today. I knitted my two rows and I wrote a bit before the talking started. After I put my Schwan's order away - that was nearly a disaster, because I was having an elimination problem when the salesman was here - I embroidered and I have almost three-fourths of the circle done.

I copied the next page and I abutted it to the page I was working on, so that worked. I've found a whole bunch of little three-stitch L-shaped motifs that are screwed up in the lower right corner - that suggests to me that the person who did the original sampler did that circle in the same order I did - and i made the decision to fix the mistakes. This circle has strict four-way symmetry, and that means that some of the Ls have to be rotated. Anyway, I'm still finding it a fun thing to stitch.

Oh, yes, and I made rice. It was easier to do it because I was in the kitchen putting my frozen stuff away at the right time.

One thing totally discombobulated me until I figured out what had happened, because It hasn't in a long time. When I looked at the clock on the weather station base unit, it gave a certain time. I usually rely on it, because since it's an atomic clock, it's usually very accurate. However, today, it's been a little more than half an hour fast, which disoriented me until I checked the other clocks in the room - the computer and the analog clock, mostly. It surprised me that the atomic clock would do that. Usually it only happens during a solar max when the ionosphere and the metal in our hills interacts with the signal, which is from Denver. However, even though we're just coming out of solar minimum, there have been holes in the corona that have been spewing CMEs and other streams of particles in our direction, which also screw up the ionosphere, and I assume that's probably the cause. I have to get the temperature sensor in here and change the batteries in the whole thing, and maybe that will help. I haven't had any outside temperature readings since last winter, and that annoys me, but I haven't been out on the deck all summer. Maybe soon...

The nice thing is, it's not that late, and maybe I can get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour tonight.

The weather was nondescript. It was cloudy until around 7:30 PM, when I watched the clouds fly away to the east, and it was clear by the time it got dark. I knew there had to be a moon up there someplace, but it was evidently behind the tree and I didn't see it until I was coming back to the studio with my dinner. It's a fat crescent, and it's so pretty! The high temperature was only 49º and there was only a little wind from the north for most of the day. It was still very humid, and today it was affecting my back.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me until I made him move, and then, after the Schwan's guy came, he wanted to sit on me again and I wouldn't let him. He spent some time on the desk and Louie spent some time asleep in the ugly chair. I've found out where they've been eliminating, but I won't tell you where it is, because it's gross. I'm going to have to exert myself and try to get downstairs.

Getting down isn't such a bad problem, because as a last resort, I can bump down on my backside. It's getting upstairs after I've exerted myself down there that's a problem. We'll see. I still feel lousy, and it's not entirely not enough sleep. Last night, I had a sneezing fit, and I've had a scratchy throat as well as a runny nose, so I'm not sure what's going on.

So that was my quiet day, and now it's a cool, clear night in the field. If only it would stay clear...but no such luck.

October 3

I wasn't as early as I hoped last night, but I didn't invert, either, and I got a good night's sleep. I knitted the next two rows - the slow ones, with all the nupps - and I spliced in the second ball of yarn. These balls have 880 yards of thread in them, which is nice, because there are fewer splices.

That was all i did except to make one last change to the bulletin that I'm not sure will get printed. I had to reboot the computer because my game finally zapped the sound again. While the talking was going on, I embroidered and I got about half of the next circle done. I'm halfway done with the center flower. The chart is annoying, because most of the right half of the circle is on the next page, but not enough so that I can just turn the page, so I had to copy it. It's the only way to print it, but it's hard to work with, especially since the magazine is smaller than 8½" x 11".

The weather was miserable. It started raining around midnight and it kept up until around 1:00 PM this afternoon. We had 0.36" of rain, and I noticed there was a tiny bit more just before midnight tonight. The temperature was steady at 48º and the humidity was over 80%. It was dark and cloudy.

The guys slept, I think. Grayson slept on me until I had to ask him to leave so I could turn on the radio and do some embroidery. I think Louie slept for most of the day, except there was some sort of altercation while I was making my dinner.

So it was another very quiet day and now it's a cold, rainy night in the field.

October 2

Another inversion, and while I thought I got enough sleep, I felt lousy when I got up, so I didn't do anything. I was late enough that I didn't even knit again. Oh, but I went to bed clean, and that feels good. It feels good not to have greasy, stringy hair anymore.

Probably one reason I didn't feel good was the weather. The high temperature was only 48º and it was cloudy and humid all day, but there wasn't any rain, at least here. I guess it's supposed to move in overnight and tomorrow will be ugly. I still need to shop for food.

The guys slept, of course, and they both got some loving. Grayson slept on my lap for a long time while I did my surfing.

So now it's a cold, dark night in the field and maybe I can get to bed a little earlier tonight?

October 1

So I inverted again, but at least today I got enough sleep. I was late enough that I didn't knit - the rows are the slowest ones - so I almost had time to do my thing. While the talking was going on, and after the cat went away, I embroidered for a couple of hours. I finished the urn I was working on, did a couple of cute little motifs and started the next big circle, although this one isn't as large as the last one. It seems to have fewer mistakes in it, too, so it's completely symmetrical. That will be a help, because it goes over a page turn, which is annoying to say the least.

I just noticed that my email server seems to be down again, so I'll have to call about that.

The weather was nondescript. It was cloudy all day, and the official high for the day was actually overnight. It only got to 55º during the day and that was before noon. There was a brisk wind from the north, in the 10-20 mph range. It's still very humid, although it didn't rain, so I was not very ambulatory. There was a bloody red sunset tonight, at least down by the horizon, but it went away to fast to take pictures, except what little the camera caught.

The cats slept. Grayson slept on me for part of the afternoon. I didn't see much of Louie until he apparently really went after Grayson and I had to chase him away. I wish I understood that.

I still don't feel good and I'm still coughing any time I try to talk. I hope to get to bed a bit earlier tonight, although I've been doing a little writing and I don't know where that will lead. It's a cool, dark night in the field.

Last updated 10/18/19 09:39 PM