journal

A View From the Field

September 17

I was a little off today and I almost forgot again. I had two accidents and I didn't do anything again. Sigh

The weather was pretty but cold. The high temperature was only 52º and there is a freeze warning out for the interior tonight. The wind was from the north in the 12-15 mph range until 7:00 PM or so, and then it shifted around to the west or something, but it's very light. The dewpoint was down in the mid 30s, so it was not humid, thankfully. My joints were thankful.

The guys were sleepy. After not sitting on me for a week, Grayson decided he wanted to sit on me twice today and he was the cause of my second accident, because he just would not move. When I went up to the north end, I found Louie asleep there, He did move down to the great room later, He was going to go after Grayson while I was in the bathroom, but I screeched at him and I guess he's getting the idea now, because he went away. Sheesh. I thought Buster was jealous.

So that was it. Now it's a cold, partly cloudy night in the field and I really must go to bed.

September 16

Almost forgot again.

Nothing happened. I was very late getting to bed and very late getting up and I didn't do anything. Lost another day. Retirement is wonderful.

The weather wasn't too bad, although it was a lot cooler than yesterday. The high temperature was 61º and it was just about steady for the whole afternoon. It's still quite humid, in the middle 60% range. The wind was from the north and it got rather rambunctious around noon, with gusts up to 26 mph, but after that, it settled down to10 mph or less and shifted to the northeast. Skies were cloudy this morning and cleared up after 2:00 PM, but the clouds moved back in by 5:00 PM and it was partly to mostly cloudy at sunset. The sun is setting behind the north end of the mountain now - it sure moved fast! - and days are getting shorter by 3 minutes 23 seconds a day. They are around 12½ hours long now. Sigh.

The guys slept, of course, but they both got some loving. Grayson wanted me to pet him but he didn't want to sit on my lap for some reason. Louie did as Louie does.

So that's it and now it's very late on a dark, cloudy night in the field.

September 15

Late again, but this time I got enough sleep, at least. i knitted, but that was about all I did. I did get the underwear folded and put away, which is nice.

After looking at the satellite imagery, I realize that the nearly white skies and wan sunlight we've had lately are due to the smoke from the west coast. Those west and southwest winds blow it right over us. Today there were some real clouds, too. It was a nice, warm day. I should have at least stuck my head outside, but I didn't, the high temperature was 74º, and for a while there was a strong northwest winds, with gusts up to 31 mph.

The guys wee sleepy. Louie was bothering me this morning, but not until I got to the kitchen did I realize why - all the kibble bowls were empty! They've been eating an awful lot lately, for some reason. Louie especially doesn't need that. Anyway, he was happy once I filled the bowls. Grayson spent most of the day on the cart, but he didn't want to sit on me.

So that was all there was. I think it may be partly cloudy now, but it's still sort of a warm night in the field.

September 14

So instead of being early last night, like I wanted, i was late - very late. I think it was because I just did not want to have to stand up. Of course I slept well, but not nearly long enough. i knitted four rows and played games until the phone died and then I took a shower, so I was almost as late eating as I was yesterday. Today, I had cheese for breakfast and a real dinner. That worked better. Otherwise, I did nothing.

Oh, I had another chat with the doctor's office. The NP is fixated on my potassium problem being caused by the diuretic I take. After my conversation on Friday, i did a little research, and that diuretic is a potassium-sparing one, so it couldn't be that. However, I discovered that tamoxifen can screw up one's electrolytes, and I think that is what has happened. So I'll just have to live with low potassium. I have at least three more years of hormone therapy to go, and I don't want to stop that. Of course, at my age, I could be dead by then. I don't make plans that far in advance anymore, if I ever did. I'm sorry to have gotten into this wrangle with the NP. She is an adequate primary care person and I need one of those. I didn't hear back again today, so maybe I'll talk to them tomorrow.

The weather was nondescript. It was sort of sunny, but there were high clouds. The high temperature was 58º and it was still quite humid. There were light breezes from the south, mostly.

The guys slept, of course. Nobody got very much loving.

So that's all there is and now it's a sort of cloudy, cool night in the field.

September 13

Well, this was a weird day. i was late getting to bed, of course, and i didn't sleep very well, probably because I hurt. I didn't get up until around 11:00. I knitted six rows on the second end of the shawl, but after that, I just didn't want to get up, so I didn't. I had mislaid a package of stitch markers I wanted to use, so I went through everything in my knitting bag and on the shelf before I finally found it - in a place it should never have been, of course.

It was late enough when I did get going that I knew I would be only eating one meal today, and then I had to go back in the bathroom for a bit, so it was really late when I finally got to the kitchen and gave the guys their dinner. So I just continued and made my dinner, although I had some debate with myself about what I should have. Strange day.

The weather was clearing. it rained all night and it was still very humid when I got up, but the humidity is falling slowly now as it clears up. The high temperature was 62º and there was a brisk north wind - 15 to 25 mph. The humidity is slowly falling, although it will take my joints a while to react. The skies were clearing by 1:00 PM, and they're still almost clear.

The guys were quite content to sleep in the bathroom. Louie was on the floor and Grayson was in his spot on the tub surround. Nothing else can relax quite like a cat.

So that was my weird day and I'm tired again, so I don't think I will be so late tonight, or I hope not. It's a clear, cool night in the field.

September 12

I was stupidly late last night. I was trying to check on the status of a magazine subscription and I lost the password for the site. I have an ongoing problem getting that kind of email from practically every site I visit, and the "few minutes" turned into a couple of hours. I finally gave up before it came, but evidently they have that problem a lot, because the email was in my inbox this morning and the link was good for 72 hours. Thank goodness it didn't take that long. I was glad I checked my subscription, too. I got renewal notices in the mail for two magazines I subscribe to, and when I checked both of them, they don't come due until sometime in 2022! I hate it when magazines do stuff like that. These are magazines I don't want to have lapse, but if I responded to every renewal notice I get, I'd be subscribed for the next 10 years.

Anyway, I didn't get enough sleep, but I got up around 10:00 and I finished the first end of the shawl! Now the next time I knit, I can start the other end. I'm getting tired of this project, especially since I've made so many mistakes in it, but I don't want to put it aside, because if I do, I know I'll never finish it and I don't want that.

that was about all I did, but it made me rather late.

The weather was another reason i didn't do anything. The high temperature was 60º. It was cloudy and gray and there was a wind this morning, and it started raining about 5:00 AM. It rained lightly all day, so the humidity was horrible and my knees, my shoulder and my right hand have been telling me so. There was some wind from the southwest around noon, but it soon died down. Yuck. I and my joints hate this kind of weather.

So do the guys, I think. They slept, mostly. They had eaten all of the kinds of kibble they really like, and Grayson was telling me so, so I had to fill those bowls. As I was getting ready for the day, Louie stepped on the scale at a time when I could get to it before it turned off. It read 21 lb. I would have said more, and I'm not sure if he was standing in the right spot, so that may be a minimum. I'm not sure I could pick him up, even if he wasn't wiggling. He is one fat cat.

So that was my day and now I really must try to get to bed. It's a cool, moist night in the field.

September 11 - Remember

I was in bed before 10:00 last night, and oh, did I sleep! The trouble is, I didn't get up until 10:00 this morning, so I'm going to be late tonight because I just wasn't tired. I hope I won't be too late.

I ended up not doing anything except bring in the rest of my groceries. I was about to get going when Debbie called and while we only talked for about an hour and a half, that meant I didn't eat my first meal until after 3:00 PM. So I immediately got off-schedule again. That's how it goes.

The weather was quite nice. It was sunny until late in the day and the high temperature was 63º. There wasn't much wind. The dew point was around 47º, so it was reasonably dry.

The only problem I had (and have) is that schlepping the grocery bags messed up my shoulder big time and it has been going into spasms all day, which is extremely painful. I hope another day of resting it will help, except that it's supposed to rain tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.

The guys slept. Grayson was interested when I went out into the breezeway, but he didn't try to get out. Sometimes I wish he would go, just so I don't have to be so careful with the door. When I went to get my dinner, Louie was sitting on his scratching pad. I think he prefers that because I have the lights on in here now, and I've noticed that neither of them likes it when I have the radio or the streaming music on. I don't know wny. I've had other cats who liked my music, except for one who was terrified of trumpets. Cats are funny.

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

September 10

So I was stupidly late last night, but I slept well. I got up around 10:00 and got right at what I had to do. I was able to do some of my surfing, and I left around 1:30. Ron had a bale of mail for me, most of it magazines. Yes, I'm still getting some of those. Sometimes I even read them.

It was a rather pleasant drive down. There wasn't a lot of traffic and while there were some signs, there was no road work. I got my blood test and went on my way. The results were disappointing, I discovered when I got home. I'm down to under low normal again, although not by much. Drat.

My next stop was Pats, where I was very modest. As usual, there were some things I wanted that they didn't have, but they had more of what I was looking for than they have for quite a while. I have enough salad fixings, eggs and bread for a couple of weeks and I have a good supply of all three kinds of potatoes - gold, red and sweet. Now if I can just get enough stuff from Schwan's so that I can have some meat, too...

I was exhausted by the time I got home, so I sat for a while and then put away those things that absolutely had to be in the fridge. The rest is out in the breezeway and I will get it tomorrow. It's cool out there now.

It's cool all over. It was a bright, mostly sunny day, but the high temperature was only 59º and there was a north wind in the 15 mph range. It was rather humid, though, mostly around 70%.

I'm sure the guys slept. Grayson came around when I was bringing in some of the bags, but he didn't try to go out. I haven't seen Louie. He probably heard me come in and said, "Oh, she's back." and went back to sleep.

So that was my day. Now it's a cool, clear night in the field and I'm going to bed.

September 9

Well, I was in bed by 11:30 last night, but it's going to be later tonight. I went into zombie mode and I couldn't decide what to have for dinner. The old story. I didn't sleep very well last night. I was up several times and I had hot flashes all night. I did lose 2½ pounds, though. I have a fluid problem - well, really it's a circulation problem - and my weight can vary by 2 or 3 pounds overnight. Maybe I can do better tonight.

I didn't do anything useful today. Well, a little. My cat food order came and I unboxed it. When I brought the bag of kibble into the house and filled the bowls, you would have thought I hadn't fed them in days. They were both trying to eat out of the same bowl at the same time. I also broke down most of the boxes - including a couple that have been on the platform for quite a while - and got them out into the garage. That was about it.

The weather was nondescript again. It was cloudy and dull all day. The high temperature was 55º and there wasn't any wind. The dew point was around 45º, which means it was humid, and my knees were telling me so. My shoulder is bad, but it only hurts when I haven't been moving it. Since that side is "carry," I had to use it to bring the kibble into the house, so it doesn't feel bad now. It will once I go to bed.

the guys were sleepy, but they were very happy when I filled the bowl with the new kibble and the one with the last buy. I am thinking of investigating whether I can set up a recurring shipment of small bags. I think once it's opened, it gets old, and then it isn't as tasty. Most things do. It might also mean I could put the bags in the pantry, where I used to store my cat food, and that would be very nice.

So that was my day. I did a lot of vacating today, but I realized when I came in from the breezeway, that I actually felt fairly good, which is a nice thing. Tomorrow I have to go to town and get another blood test and do some shopping - I'm running out of salad and I'm flat out of JD - so I hope I feel as good then. Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field and I must go to bed soon.

September 8

I was a bit later last night - not a lot - but I was much more comfortable and I slept well, with the usual wakeups. It felt strange to get up at 9:00, but I had enough sleep. I knitted and I resolutely did not play any games beyond the nine I've been doing first every day. That came later.

I had several things on my to-do list and at least I got two of them done. The first was the bulletin. I got the information last night, so I got that out this afternoon.

The other thing I absolutely had to do today was to look at my finances and see if I can, make it through to the end of the month. It looks like I might make it. It helps that Social Security day is almost as early as it ever is this month - the 23rd - but it's going to be tight. I won't worry about it. I paid the bills that come due next week and tomorrow i will write the check for my taxes and take it to the post office. There are the issues of my house and car insurance, but I think I can wrangle that. This happens every September. I'm just thankful for that stimulus check, which funded my tax bill. We'll see about the rest of it.

The weather was nondescript but cold. The high temperature was a whopping 52º, and it was steady all day. The dew point was steady around 41º, so it was humid. There wasn't any wind to speak of. It started out clear, I think, but it soon clouded over and most of the day was dull and gray.

I'm sorry that the camera broke up early this morning. I had checked it about 8:00, and it was fine, but when i got up, it was messed up. I decided it wasn't important enough to change my habits, so I didn't fix it until I got here with my breakfast. It was only about an hour and a half anyway.

The guys slept. Now that it's cooled off, they're sleeping in the bathroom more often, even though it isn't very warm in there. Grayson got to sleep on my lap while I did my surfing, and he almost caused me to have an accident, because when I had to move, he didn't want to and I had to shout a bit.

So that was my day, and I'm going to try to continue to get to bed at a reasonable hour - I suppose 11:00 is a reasonable hour. The next task is to try to get my mealtimes under control, and I'm working on that.

Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field.

September 7 - Labor Day

It was around 11:00 again, and I didn't sleep well again. I kept having hot flashes and my shoulder and knees were sore, but I think mostly I might have been cold. The window in the window seat was still cracked. I shut it this morning, and we'll see if that helps. It was another lost day.

The wind began rising just about the time I went to bed, and it peaked between 6:00 and 7:00 AM, with 35 mph sustained winds from the north and 55 mph gusts. It was noisy around here last night, but more when the wind was from the northwest. I'm somewhat sheltered on the north, but I could hear it hitting the upstairs. It was another cold day. The high temperature was 57º and it was just about steady for most of the day. There was some sunshine this morning, but the afternoon was cloudy and dull. The wind has died down again, so that blow is over. These fast moving windstorms are a feature of fall around here, and meteorological fall officially starts on September 1. I'd say August 15, but then, what do I know? It's kind of fun to see whitecaps on the harbor again, after the rather calm summer we had. The dew point was around 40º, the humidity wasn't too bad, but my knees were almost too sore to walk on.

The guys slept. while I was in the bathroom this morning - and part of the afternoon, too, Louie was asleep on the rug and Grayson was back in his place at the end of the tub surround. I think there was some sunshine there for a while. They both got some loving and Grayson slept on my lap for a long time.

I think the wind stirred up the pollen. I've been sneezing. Oh, yes, and while I was washing my face, a deer ran through the backyard. It must have been a small one, because it wasn't much taller than the tansy. I think it went around the north side of the house, but I couldn't see where it went.

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

September 6

I got to bed shortly after 11:00 last night, amazingly enough, but it took me a while to get to sleep and I didn't sleep very well. If i can keep doing this, it will take me a while to get back on a new schedule. We'll see how it goes.

I knitted for a long time and then I played games, so I didn't do anything today.

The weather was unsettled. It was cloudy and windy, but the high temperature was 71º. Around 4:30 this afternoon I started hearing rumbling and when I checked radar, there was a huge area of thunderstorms out over the lake and up in Canada, with a tail that looked like it would sweep by the Keweenaw. Well, it did. We had 0.59" of rain in three hours, 0.34" between 5:00 and 6:00. Oh my, did it pour! The humidity wasn't too bad this morning, but it's been awful since before the rain, so I hurt.

The guys were sleepy. There were a few grumbles of thunder not too far away - nothing serious - but I suppose Louie was downstairs. Grayson sat around and he sat on me for quite a while. He is so funny. He'll be lying on my lap, so comfy, and all of a sudden, it's like he says, "Well, that's enough!" and he jumps up and runs off. He usually comes back, but he sits on the cart or the desk. I guess he figures one lap-sit is enough for one day.

So that was another lost day, and now I'm going to try to get to bed at a reasonable hour again. It's a warmish, cloudy, humid night in the field.

September 5

Very late night. Not enough sleep. We'll see if I can break the cycle tonight.

The weather was pretty but cold. The high temperature was 66º, late in the day, and there was a brisk wind from the north with gusts up to 25 mph. It's died down now. The dew point was under 50º, so the humidity was rather low compared to lately. There were a few clouds, but mostly it was sunny. Sunset was one of those days where the whole house seemed to be filled with golden light.

The guys slept, of course. Grayson got some lap time, but i had to make him move so I could go pee, and when I went by the couch in the great room, Louie and he were laid out side by side. Grayson was asleep, but Louie didn't look quite pleased with the situation. They are so funny.

So now it's a partly clear, cold night in the field and I must go to bed.

September 4

Another late night and lost day. About all i did was to chip the ice out of the freezer, both in the bottom and the ice maker.

The weather was more or less sunny but cool. The high temperature was 65º, briefly, and the wind was strong, with gusts up to 32 mph from the north until around 2:00, when they finally began to die down. It was much less humid than it has been lately, which was nice.

The guys were sleepy, of course. They both got some loving and some canned food, although that didn't go over so well. I don't know why sometimes they will eat something they turn their noses up at other times.

And that's all there was. I discovered that FedEx will come down the road, so I can go ahead and order the kibble I'm out of. That delivery is a long story, and I won't go into it now, but it did serve to find out I can at least get deliveries from Walmart and Chewy.

So it's a cold, partly cloudy night in the field.

September 3

Bedtime keeps creeping forward. I hope to change that tonight. I slept well. When I woke up at 8:00 AM, the clock was blinking, but it had only been about 15 minutes since the power glitch. I went back to bed and when i was awake around 10:00, there had been another one about an hour before. Oh, the beeps. I finally got up around noon. I knitted and played games a bit, but I'm at a point in two of them where I just have to keep pounding away at them until I get a favorable board to win.

I was late enough that I didn't do much of anything again.

The story of the day is the weather. The power glitches are because we are having a fall windstorm. See? I said fall started on August 15. Anyway, there has been a little occasional rain and the wind has been awesome, with northwest winds gusting as high as 53 mph. They may even have been higher, but the weather station was down for a couple of hours after the second power glitch. The high temperature was only 63º and the dew point was at or below 50º, so the humidity wasn't too bad. It was partly cloudy, but there was a lot of sunshine after the rain went away. The barometer was rising rather quickly, so I woke up with a sinus headache and I had it for most of the day. That's my response to the pressure changing - either up or down - quickly. So I don't feel very good, even though i had enough sleep.

The guys slept. i didn't see either of them very much. When I came through the great room with my breakfast, Louie was lying on one of the scratching pads in the sun and Grayson was on the floor near him with a bit of sunshine on him. I expect to see that a lot, now that it's cooling off.

So that was my day, and now it's a partly cloudy, windy night in the field.

September 2

I was much later than I wanted to be last night because I got trapped by FrontPage. I had done my monthly rollover and everything was fine when I realized that a couple of the past months had the title in blue rather than white, and I wanted to change it. Well, that's in a special file, along with another one for the sidebar and I should know by this time that when I change it, I seem to get caught in a loop. It may be because the program changes every page individually and there are a lot of files in my site, but after I fooled around for about 15 minutes I got impatient and stopped the program, not noticing that I hadn't saved either the "Prior Months" file or the August file. That wasn't a problem with the Prior Months - I just did it over - but not saving the August file completely wiped out everything I had written. Ouch.

After thinking about it for a while, I realized I had backed up the journal on Sunday, so I was able to get it back - and yes, I did all the renames so I didn't have to write the September 1 entry over again - but I lost Sunday and Monday. No great loss, I guess, since I didn't have much, if anything, to write about except the weather, which was miserable, but I hate it when things like that happen.

So I was late and I had a little trouble getting to sleep. Then, I woke up at what I thought was 11:30, but when I looked at the time on the phone, it was only 9:30, so I took off my glasses and crawled back into my nice warm bed and I didn't get up until it was really 11:30. I guess my clock/radio/phone is getting old, because I sometimes have a hard time reading the clock during the day.

I knitted and I was a good girl. There are nine games I play every day, and I did those, but I didn't play any other games.

Today turned into washday. I have been postponing it, but I was running out of panties and nighties - I have had a couple of accidents at night lately - and it was time. I think that load is dry. I hope so, so that I have a nightie to wear tonight. And I almost have the dishwasher ready to run overnight. I have a few more things to put in it, including my dinner dishes, and then I can go to bed. Oh, and I did the bulletin.

The weather today was much nicer than it has been lately. Oh, since the journal for Monday didn't get saved, I should report that we had 0.73" of rain, including 0.47" in one hour. Oh, my, did it rain! Oh, my, was it humid! Today was much better. The high temperature was 69º and the dew point was right around 50º, so for most of the day, the humidity was tolerable. It was windy, though. The highest wind was 22 mph with 39 mph gusts, from the northwest. That hits mostly the front corner of the bedroom, so it was a bit noisy up there today.

The guys slept, of course. They got canned food today, and something they both like, so they were happy. Grayson is asleep on the cart right now. Louie came down to the studio briefly, and I petted him, but he didn't stay. I think he just wants to be sure Grayson isn't getting something he isn't.

So that was my day and now my head hurts, so as soon as I finish my drink, I will be off to the north end. I think it's cloudy tonight, so we won't be able to see anything of the full moon except the light on the clouds.

September 1

I got to bed around the usual time last night and I slept well, although I hurt, at least until the Tylenol cut in. When I got up, I knitted and fell into the game trap for a while, so everything is late today, too.

I was so late that I didn't do anything.

the weather was better than yesterday, but it's still cold. The high temperature was 69º, but that was this morning and it went down slowly all day. The dew point went down slowly, too, so the humidity was lower than it has been, although only while it was warm. It's up around 68% again now. There was a little sunshine this morning, but it was cloudy and dull in the afternoon.

The guys were their sleepy selves and I didn't see much of them until lately. Louie was muttering around and Grayson wanted some of my dinner, but he didn't get it.

So that's all there is. it's September again and fall is here. It's a cold, cloudy night in the field.

Last updated 09/18/20 01:48 AM