journal

A View From the Field

August 18

I actually got to bed by 9:15 last night and I slept well until about 4:00, but after that I just dozed. I don't know why I do that, but I guess it has something to do with knowing I have to get up. I did get up when the alarm went off, and I left the house shortly after 9:00. Amazingly enough, there was no traffic all the way to Laurium, like late fall or early spring.

Church was good, but there were hardly any people there. We didn't sing; more than half the choir was missing and that, plus no rehearsal on Thursday, meant we didn't have anything much to sing.

I guess it started raining right after I got to church, so I had to get gas in the rain, but of course, the pumps these days are mostly under cover, so my only problem was getting out of church and into my car. I have to say, I was just as glad to be out in the rain. The windshield was getting too buggy to wash off, but it rained hard enough that it's fine now. In fact, it rained very hard at a couple of places on the way home. I got here about 1:00 in the middle of a rainstorm.

I had something to eat and almost fell asleep, and shortly after 4:00, the heavens opened, with a few rumbles of thunder. It really poured - 1.17" in an hour. The one I came home in was bad, too, and the total rain we had today was 1.81". We haven't had that much rain in one day in a very long time. Then the wind shifted to the north and for a while it got very strong, with 38 mph gusts. That has now died down, too. The high temperature was 69º. early this morning, and it was in the lower to middle 60s for the rest of the day. Of course, the humidity was miserable, over 90% until just recently. It was cloudy and very dull, although it looked like it was clearing some by sunset.

The sad thing about the rain was that the second day of Art in the Park was today, and the traffic was way down. I encountered a whole lot of people going south on my way home, and there wasn't the usual traffic jam in Copper Harbor. That's a shame - it's a nice show and usually there are a lot of people both days. At least yesterday was a good one.

I was waiting to put the backup disk into the computer when Debbie called. While I love to hear from her, and I wanted to know if she got her job back, I said, "Oh, shoot!" We talked for over 2 hours, until I wet my pants and the battery in the phone died. Besides, I was hungry and tired. So I had something fast for dinner and I'm on my way to bed.

The guys slept. They both got lap time today. Grayson got some when I got home, and I moved some stuff so Louie could get on the counter again, so he came and stayed a long time, until I thought I was going to get up. Grayson spent most of the time after he left my lap sitting on the desk with his back to me. Too bad about him.

So that was my day and I'm very tired. I almost fell asleep this afternoon, but I was playing a game, and when I started reading I felt better. Now it's a breezy, partly clear (I think) night in the field.

August 17

Well, I didn't go to bed as early as I planned last night, but I slept well, or I think I did. It was weird - I would wake up thinking I'd only been asleep for a little while and find that it had been three or more hours. I got up around 9:00. It was too early, but I have to go to bed early tonight, so I figured it would work. I guess it has, except that I nearly fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon and I've jhad a headache all day.

I ate breakfast late because I knitted four rows on the shawl and I finished Chart Two. Now I can start Chart Three, which is 28 rows long and has a lot of pattern in it.

The weather was nice if you were going to Art in the Park. It was sunny all day and the high temperature so far is apparently 74º. There wasn't much wind. The problem is, it's extremely humid, and my joints have been telling me so since I got up. And tomorrow it's supposed to rain...oh, dear.

The guys were asleep in the sun in the bathroom when I got up. but after a while, Louie had to move, I suppose because he was too hot. Grayson was happy, though, but he's smaller. Louie has been doing something this week that I don't understand. He grabs a corner of one of the bathroom rugs and rubs it on his head and neck. It's the strangest looking thing, like he's trying to wash his head with the rug. I have no idea why. And Grayson got in trouble this morning. I inadvertently blocked off his usual path to the spot on the counter where he likes to sit - on the laptop - so he has been getting up on the desk and coming around behind me and down the printer. There's a lot of stuff there, so he is very cautious, and today he sort of stopped right in front of the screen, so I batted his behind - and he slipped into my breakfast tray and stuff spilled all over the place. So I chased him away. He came back later and I let him sleep on my lap, but I was annoyed. Fortunately, nothing went on the floor, and while I lost a bit of my tea, it wasn't a lot. The only thing I lost was a pill that isn't important. I must move those bags.

So that was a quiet day and I intend to get to bed very early tonight. I'm tired and I need to get up early tomorrow. It's a clear, warm evening in the field.

August 16

I got back on my usual schedule last night - to bed at 11:30 - but I didn't get up until 10:30 this morning. I seem to need a lot of sleep lately. I knitted the end of the row I was working on last night, and I knitted four more rows today. Well actually, I purled four rows. They're garter stitch, but the way the rows work, they're all purled. i have four more rows to do in this chart, all plain knitting except for the center, and maybe I can do them tomorrow. I find I don't want to do plain knitting when I'm making a lace shawl. There is another chart just like this one after the next lace chart, but then I start the body of the shawl, which is lace and nupps all the way to the top.

I didn't do anything much, but I did throw a load of clothes into the washer, and they are now ready to be dried. I am wearing my last clean pair of compression hose, so I had to do something, and now I know where all my summer socks and all my tees went. There are some light colored tees in this load, too, so maybe I will have something to wear. Almost every dark colored tee I own is dirty (or has spots on it) so I will have to do at least one more load pretty soon, maybe tomorrow. I've been slacking off on my laundry.

The weather was unsettled. The high temperature was 68º, and we had about 0.13" of rain in two showers...both of which I missed. So it was very humid - over 80% - and my knees and my back were telling me so. The wind was from the southwest, but it was under 10 mph all day. It was cloudy, of course, although it's clearing up now. Not my favorite weather.

The guys slept. They both got some loving and Grayson got a little lap time. Louie seems to have spent most of his time in the bathroom, which was warm overnight and fairly comfortable today.

So it was another very quiet day, and now i am going to bed early. It's a cool and, I think, clear but very humid night in the field.

August 15

I was sort of late last night, but I wanted to wait to take my bath until I was sure the Tylenol had kicked in, and then I had to wait until I finished the midnight elimination. I slept fairly well, I think. I was up around 10:00, but that didn't seem to be enough sleep, so I went back to bed and didn't get up until about noon. That was better, although why my under arm, which should have been under both the body pillow and the covers, was cold, I do not know.

I knitted, and I finished the next row and started the return row, but I only did about half of that. It took me over an hour to do that pattern row, although I'm not sure of the exact time, because Mary Ann called as I was finishing. We were going to choir tonight, but then, just as I was about to get ready to go, I got an email from our director canceling the whole thing, so we stayed home. I'm certainly glad I caught that email, but ever since the night I didn't, I've made sure I checked carefully for as long as I could.

The weather was nice. It was mostly clear, and the high temperature was 73º, early in the afternoon. There was a light wind that was from the north for most of the day, but this evening, it switched around to the south, and it was cool enough that I had to close the window. The humidity has been around 50% all day, which is so nice for my joints. The moon should be full tonight, but I can't see it yet.

The guys were very sleepy. When I got up at 10:00, they were both in the bathroom in the sun. Grayson was on the tub surround, all curled up with his head upside down, and Louie was laid out on the floor, right where I had to walk. Louie doesn't curl - I don't think he can - so he stretches out. They looked so comfy I went back to bed, and they were still there when I got up for good. They both got some loving, and Grayson got to sit on my lap for a while, but he didn't stay long for some reason.

So that was another very quiet day and now I can go to bed at a reasonable hour. It's a cool, clear night in the field.

August 14

I guess it was around midnight when I got to bed last night, but I didn't get up until 10:00, so I got enough sleep. i knitted. The two plain rows went so fast that I started the next one, which is a pattern, but I only did a little bit of it. It's going to be very hard on my hands.

The bulletin information came in overnight, so I did that. Lately it hasn't been taking me very long to do, but that's in part because there is nothing going on at church. August seems to be the quietest month, before things take off in September. There were a couple of little typos, but my proofreader found those.

The weather was cool. That tends to happen in August, or at least it did when I was growing up. My birthday was almost always hot and steamy, but by my mama's, it had cooled off. Then it would get hot again around Labor Day, so it was always hot when we went back to school. Anyway, the high temperature was 66º and there was almost no wind. It was humid, though - in the 70s - which my joints, especially my knees, have been telling me all day. There was sunshine, but there were a lot of clouds, too. I don't know if we'll be able to see the lovely moon tonight, but it will keep things light anyway.

The guys were asleep in the bathroom this morning when I got up, and the reason was that it got cool enough last night that the heat came on, so the floor was warm. They know how to be comfy. They both got some loving, but Grayson and I never did hook up for some lap time. Either I was busy or he went away.

So that was it, and now it's a partly cloudy, cool night in the field, and I have to wash my hair, joints or not.

August 13

Today would be my mother's 102nd birthday.

I was a bit later than I intended last night, but I was reading and I got to a part that I wanted to finish. I didn't sleep very well, and I don't know why. It was humid, and I hurt, but sometimes that doesn't bother me a lot. It did last night.

I got up a few minutes before the alarm went off, and I managed to get to Johanna's around the time of my appointment. I feel much better, although my knees were bothering me by the time I got home. She is working mainly on my shoulder and it's working. I won't see her for a couple of weeks, and I promised to try to do my exercises.

I stopped at the post office on my way home and got a bunch of mail plus pills. When I got home, i sat and looked at all the mail - there were several magazines, too, as well as bills. Shudder. I didn't do anything for the rest of the afternoon.

We had a little rain early this morning - 0.12" - and it was very humid. Eventually, the humidity got down into the lower 60s, but that was no doubt a good part of my problem with my knees. The high temperature was only 68º, and there wasn't much wind. It was partly cloudy all day, until sunset, but it seems to be clear now. There is a nearly full moon low in the south, so bright and pretty. I appreciate the moon when it's cloudy, because it makes it so light, but it will tonight, too.

i didn't see much of the guys. Grayson didn't get any lap time, and I don't know where Louie was sleeping.

So that was another quiet day, but maybe my shoulder is getting a bit better. Now it's a cool, clear night in the field and I must go to bed. Now.

August 12

Oh, it was 11:30 before I got to bed, and I was exhausted. I slept for 4½ hours before I woke up for the first time, and that's unusual. I didn't get up until 10;30, so I should have had enough sleep. I knitted, but then I got trapped by a game, so I didn't do anything and I only ate one meal, with a snack tonight. I hate to do that, but It happens occasionally.

The weather was nice but a bit cool. The high temperature was 72º, and there was almost no wind. The humidity was fairly low, too, around 50%. It started out clear, but by sunset it was cloudy - of course, since the peak of the Perseids is tonight. It always happens.

The guys slept. At one point a came through the great room and Grayson was sitting on the back of the navy chair, trying to look like a leopard in a tree, and Louie was laid out on the seat. They got some loving, and Grayson got to sit on me for a while.

So it was a very quiet day, and now I have to go to bed so I can get up in time to see Johanna tomorrow. It's a cloudy night in the field.

August 11

I want to go to bed, but it looks like the power glitches last week totally screwed up Windows Backup and it may be trying to do a complete backup - 4 disks - tonight. GRRRRRRR...

I got to bed about 9:45 last night, but I didn't sleep very well, especially after 3:00 AM. I got up when the alarm went off, and I managed to leave shortly after 9:00, although I still don't understand why it should take me 10 minutes to pull up my pants, collect my things, which are all around me, and walk through the breezeway to the car.

Church was good and I got home around 1:00, but I was really tired. I should have taken a nap, but instead I did the rest of my surfing - mostly reading emails - and around 5:00, I actually fell asleep. I think I woke up when my head was about to drop. I was having a nice dream - thank God, I don't have very many nightmares anymore - and all of a sudden, I could hear the noises around me again. So I'm officially old. I've always said that when I can fall asleep in my chair, I'm old. I'm old.

I wanted to go to bed around 6:30, but I decided to have my usual Sunday supper instead (shrimp). Something weird happened with the backup, and I confess I didn't read the message thoroughly enough, so now I'm stuck with this (expletive deleted) program apparently backing up the entire disk. (Expletive deleted). I still use it because I can't find a free one that will do what I want (which this one does when it's working properly) and I can't afford to buy one, if there's one out there that will do what I want. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...

The weather today was nice. Apparently, the temperature briefly got to 76º, but for most of the day it has been between 72º and 74º. There was a light wind from the north, which has now gone calm, which is no doubt part of the reason I'm sweating like a horse. The humidity was around 70% or more, which isn't my favorite, but for some reason, I wasn't too sore. I wish I could nail down what it is that makes me hurt. My knees weren't as sore as they have been lately, and while my shoulder and arm hurt, it wasn't too bad. Anyway, it was nearly clear, although there was some cloudiness in the middle of the day, which has now mostly gone away.

i guess the guys slept. Louie got a little loving when I was up at the north end, and Grayson sat on me for a while after I got home. He jumped up and left, and I'm not sure why, unless he was getting warm or uncomfortable. He always leaves abruptly.

So that was my day, and as soon (or if) this thing completes, I will be off to the north end to crash. It's a warm, summery evening in the field.

August 10

It's late, so this will be short. I got to bed around 1:00 last night - although I was almost in bed and had to turn around and go back into the bathroom. My gut is acting up lately. I got up around 10:30, I think. I knitted two rows - and that was literal. I've started the next chart, and most of it is either plain knitting or garter stitch. There are so many stitches that it took me about an hour to do two rows, though.

I didn't do anything else. I embroidered for a while this afternoon and that felt good, but I feel a bit under the weather for some reason.

The weather was lovely. The temperature has risen to 77º, but for most of the day it was around 75º, with a 15 mph north wind. The humidity has been dropping, too, and at 8:00 PM it was under 40%. My kind of weather! It was clear and blue all day, although there is still some smoke in the atmosphere. Nice.

Nothing to report on the cats. Grayson got some lap time and Louie got some loving this morning before he went after Grayson again. I do not know why he keeps doing that. He should know by this time that he isn't going to make Grayson go away - or stop loving me.

So that was it. Now it's a clear, warm evening in the field and I'm going to be late again.

August 9

Of course I was late last night, considering when I got home. I slept well and I didn't get up until around 11:00. I knitted two rows, but these were easy and it only took me an hour. That, plus petting various cats and getting dressed meant I was too late to go to the post office today, so all I did was get my Schwan's order.

It was clearer than I thought last night. I saw the moon before it went down, and when I was up for the first time, there were stars. The end stars of the Little Dipper were at about 7:00 and when I got back to bed, I could see Vega setting in the northwest. It wasn't as clear as it has been sometimes lately, but there are more wildfires in Alaska and Canada that are polluting our skies.

Tonight, when it finally got dark enough, not only was there a nice, just-more-than-half moon, but about two moon diameters, at around 4:00, was Jupiter, so nice and bright. It's a nice conjunction.

The weather was nice, too. It was clear all day, although the smoke was making the sky white in the morning and evening. The high temperature was 72º, and there was a brisk north wind, with gusts up to 26 mph, The humidity was tolerable, between 50% and 60%. It helped.

I was a bit concerned, because Louie didn't appear during the night or when I got up, but it turned out, he was sleeping on the tub surround this morning and eventually he got down to get petted. Grayson was around, and he got to sleep on me for quite a while this afternoon. They were happy, because not only did I fill all their kibble bowls, they got canned food, too.

So it was a very quiet day and now it's time for bed again. It's a coolish, clear night in the field.

August 8

I was a little later than I wanted to be last night, but I wanted to wait until I was sure the Tylenol had kicked in, and after I took my bath, I had to cut my fingernails. They were around 2 mm long, and I have a hard time typing - or using the phone - when they're that long. It's a bit harder to knit, because I don't have anything much to separate the stitches, but the rest of what I do is much easier. I was pleased, though. I managed to scrub the place on my head that I haven't been able to reach, and I reached all the way to the back of my armpit without too much pain. So something is working. It was humid last night, too.

I got up around 10:00 and knitted two rows. These were easier, because there were only two nupps in each repeat - plus two in the center - but it still took me about two hours. That's all right, actually, because it takes me nearly that long to get my body arranged. I took Tylenol when I got up, so it wasn't too painful, and it wasn't until this evening that I began to feel it again.

Tonight was choir and Bible Study, and we went down early, because I had to sign a paper at the hospital. Sigh. I did not know that that med has been a controlled substance for several years now. Evidently they open the capsules and snort them. Geez. How stupid can you be? Anyway, the document is three pages long and I had to individually initial 27 statements about what I will or will not do while I'm taking it and then sign and date it at the end. Geez. Talk about comprehensive! Not that I would ever consider abusing it, but if I can remember, the next time I see the doctor, I'm going to explore whether there is something else I might take for my neuropathy that isn't controlled. I find it sad. Evidently there are people who will take - or snort - any pill they might find to see if it will give them an altered state. Aren't there better things they could be doing? I can understand the opioids, because people mostly start them because they need pain relief - oh, do I understand that! - but some of these other things are just beyond my understanding. I decided sometime ago that I would just try to live with the pain, but not everybody can do that. But the stuff I'm taking - I won't name it - or, as our organist reminded me tonight, Sudafed? I took that for a while after the combo pill I'd been taking for my allergy got hard to get, but I stopped when it got to be such a hassle to get. I don't understand that at all. Rant of the day.

Choir was sort of frustrating because one whole family wasn't there and our other man got called away by a late equipment delivery. We will sing a hymn on Sunday. There were only six of us in Bible Study, too, but that was rather nice, because we got to discuss things together for once. Then Mary Ann got talking to Pastor and i got talking to Nancy and it was after 9:00 before we left for home. Good thing it's still not completely dark at that time. It was still 10:15 before I got home.

Just as I was going to bed last night, I heard something that at first I thought was wind, but then I realized we were having a short, heavy rain shower. It didn't rain for very long, but it rained hard for several minutes. The weather today was lovely. The high temperature here was 74º and I think it was about the same in Laurium. There was a brisk wind, gusting up to 32 mph, from the northwest and the humidity was actually under 50% for most of the afternoon. It was clear until around 5:00 PM, when some clouds moved in, and it was sort of cloudy when it got dark. I saw the moon after I left Mary Ann off, but it's gone now. Drat. There is a conjunction between it and Jupiter tonight and tomorrow, and I thought I might see it out the south window, but no such luck. Anyway, it was nice.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on my lap for over an hour this afternoon, and he didn't really want to leave when I had to get up. I don't know where Louie was - wherever Louie goes. He'll be around tonight, I'm sure. Grayson was not pleased when I got home so late.

So now I'm very tired and I need some more Tylenol. It's a warmish, cloudy (I think) night in the field.

August 7

Oh, it's so nice to have it quiet! There's still some hums - from the speaker and the two pumps - but mostly it's quiet.

I'm not sure when I got to bed, but I think it was around midnight. I slept fairly well, and I didn't get up until around 10:00. The rows I knit on the shawl were the hard ones - four nupps in every repeat (there are 28 repeats - you figure it out). Actually, the right-side row is the easy part. It's the wrong side, where I have to purl-five-together that's hard, and very hard on my hands. It took a long time.

However, I actually did a few things today. Under duress, of course, but I did them. There is a load of bottoms in the washer and ready to be dried, so I cleared out the dryer and finally got the rest of my underwear at least into a washbasket.

When i got to the kitchen, I discovered that the ice in the bottom of the freezer had gotten so thick that it was rubbing on the bottom door shelf and preventing the door from closing completely. That took a while to fix, and I had to get my desk chair into the kitchen (something to sit on that I could get out of, you know). I attacked it with the big screw driver and mallet, and when I was bending over, I missed and hit my hand with the mallet. That hurt, and I think I'm going to have a rather large bruise beside the two bug bites I got yesterday. Eventually, I moved the desk chair into the kitchen, so I could get at the bottom of the freezer, and I whacked away at the ice until I got it clear back to the bottom of the basket. Now the door closes nicely, at least for a while. While I was there, I was able to unload the basket enough to get my dinner, which was at the bottom. I had to sweep up the ice with the broom and dustpan, but I learned a long time ago how to sweep while sitting down. It's not hard.

It's not that I felt so good, which I don't. I'm still very tired and my knees especially are very bad. My shoulder was bothering me a lot today, too, but I took some Tylenol and that helped. It's just that what I did was dire necessity. I need to do at least one more load of clothes, because I'm also running out of compression hose, but I can do that tomorrow. Then there's the rest of the tops and the underwear again. It never ends.

The weather was sort of unsettled. The high temperature was 72º and it was extremely humid - over 80% for most of the afternoon, We had about a dozen drops of rain. I heard it on the siding, but there wasn't enough to register at the weather station. There was a little north wind - around 10 mph - earlier, but it was calm or nearly so for most of the afternoon. It was mostly cloudy. Not my favorite weather.

The boys both got some loving, and Grayson got to sleep on my lap for quite a while. I still say he can read my mind, and he knows when I'm thinking about getting up before i ever move at all.

So it was a nice, quiet day and now it's a sort of warm, very humid, cloudy night in the field.

August 6

Whew. It's quiet around here!

I think it was around midnight when I got to bed and I slept well, despite the chirps. I set the alarm for 8:00 and I got up when it went off, although I was moving slow. I made my appointment with Johanna, and she worked on my shoulders for a long time. I think it helped, but I'm going back next week for more work, and I promised to exercise in the meantime.

I didn't do much for the afternoon; I was very sleepy. However, late in the day, Mike called to say he had some equipment to install, so I said sure, come, but be prepared to do some other stuff. It turns out that for the next week or so, the computer won't be on a UPS, but after he does the rewiring he needs to do, I'll have a UPS just for my stuff. That's fine with me. They are very generous with me. Anyway, the whistling is gone, which is a great relief. I had to reboot the computer, because the first time it didn't come up right, but it's OK now.

Then he was kind enough to remove and replace the smoke detector. When he did that, he discovered that there are wires to wire it into the electric system, they were just never used, and he said that when he comes back, he will check and see if it's possible to just plug the smoke detector in, or there are other problems. Didn't make me very happy, for sure. When I checked the battery in the one that was chirping, I found it is fine, so that smoke detector has obviously died. I will have to decide whether to try to get another one for the bedroom. I don't think it's really necessary, because the one that's working is only a few feet down the hallway.

Oh, yes, and he moved the wi-fi router up into the shelf beside the radio. I don't know if that will make any difference in whether I can get wi-fi at the north end, but it has to help. Mike is tall and he has long arms, so those things were easy for him. I have a few other things I want to talk to him about, but the really important things are done. He will be back in a week or two to finish the rewiring and give me my UPS and maybe we can resolve my other problems then.

The weather was nice. It was clear, and the high temperature was 74º. The humidity was a bit high, but not excessively so - 70% or so was the highest. There was very little wind, and it was calm for most of the afternoon before it switched from north to southwest. Nice.

Grayson was disgusted when I went away, but after I got home, he was able to sleep on my lap for a long time. I think Louie slept. Grayson made me laugh again. When Mike came, Louie disappeared into the basement, of course, but Grayson ran toward the door to see who was coming. I have to believe that people were always kind to him when he was a stray, because he loves everyone. It's a nice attitude. Louie is more suspicious, but then, he's very timid anyway.

So that was my day, and it's so nice to have peace and quiet around here. I think I have neighbors to the south, and there were a couple of inflatable rafts in the harbor this afternoon, but they are older now and much quieter...or my hearing is getting terrible. i would say it was a bit cool to be swimming, but whatever. I wish I could do that.

It's a warmish, clear night in the field.

August 5

Well, this turned into an interesting day.

i wasn't too late last night, and I slept well. I almost closed the door to the bedroom, leaving it ajar just enough so the cats could get in, and that muted the chirp from the smoke alarm enough that it didn't bother me. I was tired enough that it probably wouldn't have bothered me anyway, but I guess I'm getting old when i can sleep through smoke alarms and sunshine and all sorts of other stuff. I got up around 9:00, because I wanted to be able to get to bed fairly early tonight. Hah.

i knitted two rows on the shawl. This pair had three nupps in each repeat - whatever three times 28 is. And the next two have four in each repeat. I won't get to do that tomorrow. This is such nice yarn that it's a pleasure to work with, even with nupps.

In the middle of the afternoon, a severe thunderstorm moved in, with high winds and lots of rain - I couldn't see beyond the deck railing. But that wasn't the worst part. We had several power glitches. None of them was more than a second long, but of course, without the UPS working, the computer and the wi-fi shut down. And then the UPS started whistling. It still is. Sheesh. Besides, when I first tried to stop it, I powered it off and on several times, which completely confused Windows and it wanted to do a "repair." Well, after sitting for an hour or more, it decided it couldn't repair anything - there was nothing to repair - and it shut down. The UPS was still whistling. So I rebooted and we had at least two more power glitches. The last one must have been the worst, because not only was my Internet connection down, the iPhone couldn't get Internet either, even though I had a cell connection. I forgot to try to call home to see if I had cell service. That went away for a while, too, and it was three hours before everything finally came back. Oh, and I just discovered that the camera hung up, too. Now I'm not sure it's really clear out, but there is a moon in the camera picture I just took.

I sort of fooled around while everything was down, because I had some things to do online and there was no online. The UPS is still whistling. And the smoke alarm is still chirping. It's noisy around here.

The high temperature was 80º but that was apparently between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. It was in the lower 70s for the rest of the afternoon. We had 0.65" of rain between 4:00 and 5:00 PM. That was an extremely powerful but short storm. It started with a bang - literally - when there was a short, sharp thunderclap that sounded like a cannon going off and echoed off the hills on the other side of Fanny Hooe. I love those things. Then all hell broke loose for about 15 minutes. We haven't had that violent a storm in a long time, and it was neat. Now it's cool and humid and yucky.

I think Louie probably went down in the basement when the thunder started, but Grayson was sitting on the laptop, although he was not pleased when the cannon shot went off. He wasn't even fazed when the Battery D was setting off the cannons at Fort Wilkins, but this was too close - just east of us and not far away. Even I winced.

So that turned into a more interesting day than I expected. I did manage to call the doctor's office and get my meds straightened out, so maybe i won't have to go without my blood thinner, but otherwise, I didn't do anything. Mary Ann tried to call me, but I was in the powder room and she never called me back. So I will have to close the bedroom door again tonight.

Now it's apparently going to be a clearing night in the field, cool and damp, but maybe we'll see a star or two.

August 4

My bath was a bit easier last night, for some reason. I even managed to get my left hand into my right armpit, which doesn't happen very often, and when I went to bed, I wasn't in much pain. I didn't get to bed until 10:00, which was later than I wanted, but I move so slow these days...Then I woke up around midnight, or I should say, my arm woke me up. The backside of my upper arm was so sore it woke me up. The rest of the night wasn't very good. I wasn't comfortable, from my shoulder to my gut.

Tonight is probably not going to be a very good night, either.

Anyway, I got up when the alarm went off, even though I didn't want to. I was cooking my breakfast when the smoke alarm in the hallway chirped. It has gone off several times lately when I was frying something, so I thought that was the problem and I turned on the range hood right away. Well, that's not the problem. It is still chirping. I hoped Mary Ann could get out here to remove it and maybe disable it, but she didn't. I can't climb a ladder, and I don't think I have a tool for my long poles that will fit around it. I don't know what's wrong with it - do smoke alarms get old, or something? Anyway, I have the one from the bedroom, and I think maybe I will just swap it with the one in the hallway. I will probably still have to continue using the hood when I fry, but maybe the other one won't be eating batteries. I just thought about that, but it's the obvious solution. Anybody who knows anything about smoke alarms, I would appreciate your help.

So I went off to church, and it was nice. There was a potluck afterwards, but I don't like those things and I had to go to Pat's. That was a trip. Just about as I got my cart and started around the store, my left (yes, left) knee got so sore I could almost not stand on it. If I moved, or tried to move, it got better, but any time I stood still, as one does in a store, when I tried to go on, I almost couldn't. It was excruciating. I got what I needed, except that we are having the summer bread problem again - no bread. I must call them. A very nice lady offered to help load my car and see me into it, and i really appreciate her help. People around here are so nice!

Anyway, as I hoped, by the time I got home, my knees - both of them - were fine, so I don't know what happened, except that it was cool and humid this morning. I got home around 2:00, because it took me so long in the store, and except to put everything away - most everything went in the fridge - I didn't do anything for the rest of the afternoon. I was really tired.

The weather turned out beautifully, but I don't know what the humidity was around here, because the NWS station isn't reporting dew point right now. The high temperature was 77º, briefly, and it was in the middle 70s for most of the afternoon. There was a brisk southwest wind, with gusts up to 26 mph, and eventually when the temperature started to drop, I had to close the south window because I was getting cold. One doesn't usually talk about wind chill when it's that warm, but it's there and the feel of the temperature was probably in the low to middle 60s. It was clear or nearly so all day, but there was that white look to the sky, and around sunset, a blob of thick clouds started to move in. I got to see a it of the thin crescent moon, but it quickly got swallowed up by the clouds.

On that subject, last night was one of the clearest I've seen all summer. I could see all the stars in the Big Dipper, as well as my summer star, Arcturus, which is setting in the northwest now. I think I got a glimpse of Vega overhead when I was up at midnight, but I'm nto sure about that. Anyway, there were 4th and 5th magnitude stars visible through the screens with no glasses on. It was so pretty! I wish we'd have more like that. Maybe we have and I've just not been awake at the right times, but I don't think so.

Johanna called this evening, and I won't see her until Tuesday, so I can sleep in and recover tomorrow. She is trying to do three or four things and she had a conflict for tomorrow. That's all right with me.

The guys were sleepy. I think I mentioned that Grayson had been sleeping on top of the kitty condo, which is just the right side for him to curl up on. This morning when I went to get dressed, Louie was curled up there, and it was a laugh. He is too big, and he was lapping over on all sides. It didn't seem to be bothering him, though. When I got home and went to change my clothes, Louie got some loving and later in the afternoon, Grayson got to sit on my lap for a while. They were happy because I gave them their canned food at 6:30 or so this morning, which is when they would like it. Sorry, I'm not going to get up at 6:00 either to take some pills or to feed cats. They'll just have to continue to cope.

So that was my day and now it's a night that's beginning to get cloudy in the field.

August 3

When I take out the cell phone and start playing solitaire, I really must make sure I set the timer. I wasn't too late going up to the north end last night, but I didn't set the timer, so it was late when I finally got to bed. I was awakened around 10:00 by the sound of a lawn mower. Evidently, my neighbor decided it was time to cut my weeds again. I'm sorry I didn't go out to meet him, but I would have had to get dressed and brush my hair...and get up. I actually didn't get out of bed until after he left. I really appreciate his efforts, though, even if I didn't think it really needed cutting again. His point is that if the weeds aren't cut, it looks like nobody is living here, and that's right. I wish I could do some landscaping, but then somebody would have to mow...and weed...and all the other gardening things I can't do anymore.

I knitted two rows on the shawl. The nupps went better today, but they are still hard on my hands. I'd better get used to them. This pattern has a ton of them. They are so pretty when the piece is finished and blocked that it's worth the effort. This yarn is alpaca and silk and it's so soft that it's a delight to work with.

I didn't do anything else. I was tired from not enough sleep. And I'll be late tonight, too. Sigh.

The weather was rather nice, even though there is smoke in the air again, which means the sky was nearly white all day. The high temperature was only 73º, which is fine with me, and there was no wind. The humidity was high, though - over 70%, so I hurt. I don't think there were any clouds in the sky, but there was that white haze over everything from the smoke. It's a shame - at this time of year the skies should be pristine and they aren't anywhere near like that. I hope we'll be able to see the meteors.

The guys were sleepy. Louie got some loving this morning and Grayson got to sit on me a couple of times. They were happy, because I filled the three kibble bowls that were empty. The other one is something they used to like, and the only reason I can see that they might not eat it now is if it's old. Well, they'll have to eat it. I'm not going to throw out 3 or 4 pounds of kibble!

So it was another nice, quiet day, and now I have to go up to the north end and work fast to get to bed as early as possible. It's a sort of clear, sort of warm, calm night in the field.

August 2

Oh, is this still the second? I've been feeling like I lost a day all week, especially last night, when I didn't go to church. It is Friday, finally.

I was a bit later last night, and I don't remember why. I think it was about 1:00 when i got to bed. I slept well, mostly, and I got up around 10:30. I knitted two rows on the shawl. It will be like that for quite some time now, because I've started the part of the lower border that is full of nupps. Remember those? Those pretty little bumps that drive me nutty? There are two in every repeat for the next 40 rows or so. The right-side row is only a big increase - five stitches in one - but on the return row, i have to purl those five stitches together, and that's a pain in the hands if I haven't done the increases loosely enough. I didn't do badly on the first two rows, considering that it's been quite a while since I've done any, but I think the more I do the easier it will get. it's slow, though. First it's all those increases, and then, every time I purl-five-together, I have to check to be sure I have five and only five stitches. It's easy to either miss a stitch in the middle or try to include the stitch that follows the nupp, so I have to check carefully.

I didn't do much of anything else. Debbie called and we had a relatively short conversation (for us), but she wanted to warn me she may turn up sometime in the next couple of weeks. She is changing jobs again, and if she can find someone to come with her, she's coming up. She likes her arm warmer, and it fits just fine, which is good.

The weather was nice. The high temperature was 74º and there was a brisk - 17 mph or so - north wind. The humidity was high, though, which didn't do my aches and pains any good. As has been happening lately, the morning was clear and sunny and the clouds moved in in the afternoon. It was cloudy at sunset.

The guys slept. They got a little loving this morning, but every time Grayson came around I was doing something on the computer, so he never did get to sleep on me. i suppose he's frustrated.

Now there is Mozart, and then I'm going to bed. It's a cloudy, warmish night in the field.

August 1

So I just spent the better part of an hour enlarging the "Previous Months" table by 10 years. If I ever make it that long, it will amaze me, but I don't like to do that exercise, and I didn't want to have to do it again.

I got to bed around midnight last night and I mostly slept well. i didn't get up until 10:00, so I should have had enough sleep! Then I knitted three rows, so I was late eating breakfast anyway

That was about all I did. My shoulder was so sore I couldn't do my exercise very much and it ached a lot. While the talking was going on, I got quite a lot done on the cross stitch project - "a lot" being relative. This is a huge sampler on very fine linen. I'm working on the second vase of flowers that is under the alphabets and I'm working down the left side, although I did most of the central stem today. I would have done more, except that I had to jump up and run - and I mean run - to the bathroom. I haven't been eating enough rice, I think. I still don't know why this sampler interests me, but it does, so I will keep at it. I'm going to run out of thread, though, the publisher notwithstanding, and when I do, we'll see what I do next.

Kathleen canceled choir tonight, so we didn't go. I did get to talk to Mary Ann, which was nice, She is still painting the outside of her house..."just" on the 10' ladder. Sheesh. Her husband has a lot of the same problems I do, except from different causes, so she does most of the heavy lifting around there.

The weather was fairly nice. The temperature did get to 75º, but I didn't notice it because the wind was nearly calm for most of the day. Now it has picked up from the southwest, and it's cooled down enough that I had to close the window. The humidity was around 70%, which is higher than I like, and I suppose that was why my shoulder hurts. It was clear this morning, but by noon the clouds were building in the west and it was quite cloudy by sunset. Oh, and last night, I lopped half an hour off both the start and stop times of the camera. We're down to a day length of 15 hours now and it will be getting shorter at a great rate from now on. Sigh.

The guys got their loving, and Grayson got some lap time. Louie got up on the counter, but when he got over to the computer, he discovered I had my back to it and I was embroidering, so he went over to the window, kicking the salt shaker onto the floor. Good thing it's wood.

So that was my day, and I'm getting used to being a year older. Actually, I've been thinking of myself this age since about the beginning of the year - I always round in the scientific way. Now I can't correct myself when I think 78, though.

It's a cool, cloudy night in the field, and it's August already. Sigh.

Last updated 08/18/19 10:50 PM