journal

A View From the Field

May 26

Oh, sigh. I hurt - a lot.

I had decided I probably wouldn't go to church today, and when I didn't get to bed until 11:00 PM, I knew I wouldn't. So i didn't set the alarm, and I got up around 8:30 AM. I actually did sleep for a change, although I was up several times. I took my morning Tylenol at 6:30, which was probably a mistake, although it let me sleep that last two hours. I'm exhausted now. I need more sleep than that.

There were stars overnight, although they weren't very bright. I always like to look up and see Polaris.

I forgot to mention that I restarted the second red sock yesterday and I knitted on it. I have about 5 rows of ribbing left to do. Before I was through with that, my arm was so sore that I was crying out while I was getting dressed. Hey, this is supposed to be getting better, not worse. It's sore again because I need some more Tylenol, but I'm not going to take it until I go to bed. It's so discouraging. It's also messy. My elimination is getting worse, but probably part of the problem is that I was so sore I didn't want to move.

So except when I went trundling up to the north end to change my bottoms, I didn't do anything. I hurt. Really.

The weather wasn't as nice as yesterday, but it wasn't bad. The high temperature was 58º, but that was apparently around 5:00 AM, and it went down after that. It was clear this morning, but sometime after noon it began to cloudy up. I can't tell you exactly when because the camera hung up around 11:30, and it was clear then. It's cloudy now, though. The wind was from the north and not very strong. The humidity was 70 - 80% all day, which may be part of my problem.

Both guys got some lap time, although I had to make Louie leave. Unfortunately, my arm was so sore, I couldn't properly pet them. Grayson spent most of the day under the south windows, and apparently Louie slept in the ugly chair. I could tell because he was coughing or sneezing from over there a while ago. Neither of them have gotten used to having such a clear floor around my desk chair, which makes me laugh.

I'm not used to that, either, but it sure is nice. I hope I can keep it this way, because it's a whole lot easier to get around.

Now I'm exhausted. I find being in pain is exhausting without anything else. My head hurts and my eyes hurt and all the rest of it. So I am going up to the north end, even though it's early.

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

May 25

Along about 10:00, my arm started to feel good, and I was hopeful, but no such luck. I slept hard for two hours on my left side - big mistake! - and the rest of the night I never got into a deep sleep at all. I was up about every hour and a half. I'm sure part of that was the fish, but I hurt, too. I'm not quite sure when I got up, but it was probably around 8:30 or 9:00. Since I was in bed by 11:00, that should have been enough sleep, but...I kept trying to go back to sleep while I was in the bathroom. And my arm was very sore.

I was reading my email and minding my own business around 1:00 when suddenly the UPS started to scream at me. I tried everything I could think of to make it stop, but the only thing that worked was turning it off, which also turned off all the computer gear. However, just about the time that started happening, I began to have an accident, so I had to go up to the north end to clean up, and then I discovered that the phone in the bathroom and the clock were dead, too...and i finally realized that there had been a power failure and the generator didn't come on. Oh, woe!

When I got back to the studio, I hauled out the corded phone and called in the power outage - it's easier if I call from the phone UPPCO has on record. Then I found who had done the maintenance on the generator last fall. I used the cell phone for that call, since it's a toll call from here, and that was so nice! I love my iFrogz! The only thing that worried me was that I had only a 69% charge. That solitaire program I play so much just gobbles up battery, and I hadn't had the phone plugged in very long. I also discovered that somehow I had gotten the ringtone turned down so low that all I could hear was the vibrate, and I couldn't figure out what that was. I know now, and I've turned up the ringtone. I can turn it down if I'm someplace where it matters.

Anyway, there was a bit of calling around and I had to call the owner on his cell number, but he found somebody to come.

I figured it would take him a while to get here, soooo...I finally got at the floor in my little pod where I spend all my time. Grayson had managed to tear apart both bags I keep under the desk, one with trash and one with recyclables, and he had scattered the recyclables all over the floor, to the extent that I haven't seen the actual floor in weeks. Remember, I've had an extremely sore arm. The recyclables were overflowing anyway. It took me a long time, but I managed to get everything off the floor - including one of my very expensive blood thinner pills and a couple of probiotics - and it is so nice! I haven't swept yet, but every time I was coming from the kitchen to the studio, I already had something in both hands. Maybe I can do that tomorrow and see if there are any more expensive pills on the floor...

Then I read something out of one of my binders until the electrician came. About five minutes before he pulled up in his beautiful new truck, the power came back on. I could have predicted that; it always happens.

Geez, he looked about 15 to me, but he is obviously trained, so I guess it's just my old eyes. He discovered that the generator had tried to start and couldn't, but when he reset that, it started just fine. That happens occasionally. Then he checked the switch, too, and it seems to be all right. In the meantime, I discovered that at least one, and possibly two of my smoke detectors had dead batteries (chirp!) and he was nice enough to change the one in the hallway. i only had one battery, because those things don't fail very often. The one in the basement, which has failed before, will just have to chirp for a while.

Anyway, he was on his way to do some biking as part of the thing they're having this weekend (biking is really big around here) and all I did was hold him up an hour or so. He was a nice kid.

So I've learned a few more things about the UPS. When it starts shrieking at me, I guess that means it's going to shut down. Oh, and the on/off button works just fine, and the reset button on the side only works when it has something to reset.

Moving my arm around helped it, as I'd hoped. However, tonight, I am NOT going to try to lie on it, even if I can't sleep on the other side. No way. Besides, it's been almost 80º in here all afternoon, and that no doubt helped, too.

The weather was beautiful until just recently. The temperature peaked at 72º, before noon, but then it dropped off and by the time the power came back on, it was 65º or so. Still, it was nice when I went out to talk to the guy. The wind was ferocious. It started out from the southwest, but by noon it had switched around to the northwest and it was gusting up to 35 mph by the time the power came back on. It was clear and beautiful until around 7:00 PM, when a cloud bank came up from the west and now it's mostly cloudy, although these aren't rain clouds. Just enough that we probably won't see any stars tonight.

The guys were around me all day. Grayson wanted the guy to pet him but he apparently wasn't a cat person. When we opened the door to the basement, Louie was sitting on the first step, and he didn't even move when the guy went around him. I haven't seen him since. Grayson has been around. He is spending most of his time under the south windows these days.

So it was an eventful day, and not in the way I might have wished. i was suspicious because I seemed to come up to the end of this month with a few dollars left over. Now I know why. Oh, yes, and apparently the pill that was making my joints so sore was also trying to give me constipation, so now that I'm not taking it, things are deteriorating again. Not what I would have wished.

So now it's a warm, cloudy evening in the field, and I'm off to the north end to take my bath.

May 24

It was another terrible night. i got some sleep, but I was up about every two hours, trying to get my arm in shape. I guess I didn't mention that besides my shoulder, which is terrible, my elbow also gets extremely painful. I managed until early in the morning, and then it was harder. i did sleep on my right side for a while, and I'm going to try starting out there tonight. I know I'm up frequently all the time, but usually I can get back to bed within 15 minutes. Last night, I had to sit for half an hour and then spend another 15-20 minutes trying to ignore the pain before I could sleep. That doesn't make for a good night's sleep. I've already decided that unless things are better tomorrow night, I'm not going to church. I was out today and trying to drive with a very sore shoulder and two very sore hips isn't very safe.

I took some Tylenol when I was up at 6:30, but when I got up at 8:30, I was still very sore. So I knitted a while and played games a while. Eventually my arm settled down, more or less, but my hips got unbearable. The interesting thing is, it's not my right hip, where I've had most of the trouble before now, it's the left one that previously was pretty much all right. I think it has something to do with sleeping on that side so much, but most of it is where the med hit. I got the new pill today, but I won't start taking it until I feel better. That might be next weekend, or it might be later. I don't know yet.

About all I did was go to the post office, where there were pills and bills but not much else.

The weather was nondescript. It was cloudy and dull all day and apparently there was a bit of rain around 4:00 PM. The high temperature was 53º, and the humidity was over 80% all day. No wonder I hurt. The wind has been from the south and rather gusty all day. just lately, the gusts have been up to 39 mph. They claim it will be better tomorrow and Sunday. I sure hope so.

The guys have been hovering around me still. They got their kibble bowls filled this morning and they got some canned food I thought they liked - hah1 Well, they did eat some of it. They both had coughing fits this morning, but I didn't see anything come up. I wonder if it's because they're worried? I know they are worried. Mom is sick, and boy, do they know it!

So just now I'm having a hot flash, even though I'm eating ice (no, NOT chewing it!). And since I've been rustling around making and eating my dinner, my arm is sore again. I think I'll go to bed early and hope that helps...but not until after the Schubert.

It's a cloudy, gusty night in the field.

May 23

Oh, dear, I am so tired! I didn't think it would be wise to drive when I'm this tired, so I didn't go to church tonight.

I got to bed at a sort of reasonable hour last night - 12:30 or so - but it probably took me half an hour to find a comfortable way to lie. Then about two hours later, I woke up, extremely sore, and I had to get up and sit on the toilet for half an hour before I was comfortable going back to bed. Of course, climbing into bed screwed it all up again and the pattern repeated itself all night. The only hopeful thing was that I managed to find a comfortable way to lie on my right side for a couple of hours. But I got up before 9:00 AM because I hurt so bad. I need sleep - lots and lots of sleep!

As a result, I didn't do anything today except ror a wash load of bottoms that still needs to be dried. Well...there are some tops in there, too. I haven't messed up any bottoms in a few days - thanks for small favors! - but I'm wearing my last pair of sweats so it was time.

Otherwise, I did my surfing and that's about it.

I was upset this morning when I got to the kitchen and discovered that there was no display on the microwave. Oh, no! Is it broken already? It may be, and I called Ron before I checked it out. The interior light still worked, so it wasn't that. So later on, I did check it, and everything seemed to work fine except for the clock. This evening, I set it, and we'll see if it's all right, but I was able to nuke my veggies. It could be that I accidentally hit the "clock" button last evening. I hope that's all it was. I like that thing and I don't want to have to replace it. And I need it - there are a number of things I eat a lot that have to be cooked in a microwave.

The weather was not inspiring. The high temperature apparently happened early this morning, at 57º and it went down slowly and steadily after that, until now it's 43º. The wind shifted from southwest to north during the day and there was a little bit of rain around noon. The fog moved in around 8:30 AM and it's been dark and foggy ever since. No wonder I hurt. The humidity has been over 90% all day. Sigh. When I saw the fog, and saw how long it hung around, I decided my call not to go to Laurium was a good one.

The guys felt it, too and they were sleepy. Louie got to sit on my lap first, while I was talking to Mary Ann, and he is shedding incredibly still. After he left and I took a walk, Grayson finally got to sit on me for a while, too. I think they both know I'm not feeling good, and it worries them.

So it was another very quiet day, and even though it's early, after I put the wash in the dryer, I'm going to bed. Maybe it will be better tonight. I keep hoping, but I'm still very sore. It's a dull, gray, foggy night in the field.

May 22

I slept, but I expected to, since I was so late. I even slept for a couple of hours on my right side. That was frustrating, because it didn't hurt until I woke up and then I couldn't find the right spot again. I went back to sleep on my left side or my back, and it was almost 1:00 PM before I woke up again. That was fine, except that I was still very tired and lately I've had a bad headache beside my sore joints.

I did manage to get the bulletin put together and sent out, although I was a bit confused. We're shifting into summer mode, slowly.

The weather wasn't so good. Between 7:00 AM and 11:00 AM we had 0.17" of rain and it was quite windy, with gusts up to 43 mph from the south. The high temperature, 53º, was in the middle of the night. It was dark and dull.

The guys were sleepy, of course. Louie got some lap time, but Grayson didn't for some reason. They got canned food today, and Louie makes me laugh. He settles down and licks all the gravy from both bowls. I think Grayson knows that, so he eats what he wants - not a lot. He eats the mouse-ful at one time. Louie sits down and eats and eats. No wonder he's so fat.

So that was my day, and I have to take a shower tonight. Besides my sore joints, I've been having a lot of hot flashes lately. One reason for that is that I'm having a hard time getting places like the studio and the bathroom to be the right temperature, but I woke up at least twice last night all sweaty. I keep hoping I will be feeling better, but so far it hasn't happened. It's getting old.

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

May 21

Well, it's a good thing I don't have anything to do tomorrow (well - today, since it's almost 3:00 AM). I am so tired. I hope I can sleep.

I did sleep last night, once I finally got to bed, but around 8:30, I was so sore that I got up. I had been sleeping on my back and I hadn't moved in about three hours. That was not enough sleep and I've been so tired today - even too tired to get up and get dinner or go to bed. That's why I'm so late.

Anyway, I got up, did my thing, and I actually left just about when I wanted to. I wanted to allow an hour and a half to get to Houghton, because of the road work, but since it was around noon, they weren't doing anything much and I didn't have any problems.

I was so surprised when I got to Hancock, because the leaves are out on the trees down there. Not so here, or anywhere in the Keweenaw. It makes that much difference.

Now my car has new oil and everything else is OK, although besides the wheel bearing, my muffler has some small holes in it and I have a slightly loose tie rod. Well, that's what happens when your car is 18 years old. THe wheel bearing is the expensive one - the muffler and the tie rod are cheaper. And my tires are going again, but that happens, too.

They have a very comfortable waiting area at the dealership, but I discovered that I could almost not get out of the chairs, and I screwed up my shoulder trying. I finally made it, with the help of one of the other people waiting, but my shoulder has been extremely sore ever since, even though I took some more Tylenol when I got home. i didn't need that.

So I got home by 3:00, had some cheese and crackers and just sat. I was too tired. I was reading, too, which is one reason I'm so late.

The weather was really lovely. The high temperature was 61º here, and I think it got up to 66º or 67º in town. There wasn't much wind and it was mostly clear, although there were some clouds down the peninsula. I always like to look at the satellite imagery, because frequently when it's clear as can be here and over the lake, there is a line of clouds right over the spine of the Keweenaw. That was the case today. I also notice that slowly, ever so slowly, the Keweenaw is beginning to turn green. It's mostly brown, still, but it's coming...it's coming.

I think the guys slept. Grayson did get some lap time before I left, but nobody got to sit on me after I got home. They felt good, though, with the barometer high and the humidity relatively low.

The barometer is falling now and the humidity is rising - it's raining at the airport and it's headed in this direction. Yuck.

So that was my day, and now I really must try to go to bed. I doubt I'll be up much before noon tomorrow, unless my shoulder acts up. It's a cloudy, warmish night in the field, and the rain is coming.

May 20

It was not a good day.

I think I got to bed around midnight, and I slept some, with wakeups about every two or two and a half hours. It was hard, because when I got up the first time, my left ear was so sore I couldn't sleep on it, so I laid sort of on my back. It's hard to find a place for my arm that doesn't stress my shoulder. And that's why I got up a bit before 8:00. I got to a point where I couldn't find a comfortable place to lie. I'm taking Tylenol, but it only lasts three or four hours, and I can't take that much - it's too hard on my liver.

Anyway, I finished the red sock and started picking out the toe of the other one. I got dressed and had my breakfast...and then I had an accident and had to change my bottoms. It took three pairs of jeans before I found some that fit comfortably, and I never did get completely into them.

So I was all set to get ready to leave...and I had to sit in the powder room. I forgot to check the time, and then it took me 20 minutes to get into a jacket. I am really stiff today. I went out to the car and discovered that it was 1:00 and I was supposed to be in Calumet at 1:30. Oh, and I didn't have the eye doctor's number in my cell phone (I do now!) so I had to come in the house to call them. They couldn't reschedule me today, so I went back outside, got my stuff out of the car and moved some stuff around the breezeway. When I came in, there was a call from the eye doctor saying they could fit me in on the 30th. Very nice, since they are scheduling appointments with my doctor in October already. That's Ascension Day, but I don't think I would be going to church anyway.

I changed my clothes and I almost took a nap, because I was and am so tired. I am not getting enough sleep, because I can't find a comfortable way to lie on my right side. Maybe I can do better tonight. I sure hope this wears off soon.

The weather was nice, and at least I got to be outside for a few minutes while I fetched the snow shovel into the garage. It was so nice to hear the soft shushing of the water! The high temperature was 54º, but it was late this evening. There was a moderate wind, with a few gusts up to 30 mph late, but it appears that is changing, since it's died down and gotten variable in the past hour. It was clear to just a few clouds all day, and the humidity has finally gotten down below 50%. I had to reset the start and stop times of the camera again, because I still think some of the best pictures are at dawn and dusk.

The guys felt good, but as a result, they annoyed me a lot. Louie got some lap time a couple of times - the UPS guy came and he ran away - but Grayson didn't. I will have to try to make that up to him tomorrow.

So that was a frustrating day, and I'm very tired. I need to take a bath, because among other things, I've been sweating. I hope I can sleep better and longer tonight. It's a cool, clear night in the field. We probably won't see any stars, because the moon is still nearly full, but we will have moon.

May 19

I actually got to sleep last night. I turned out the light around 10:00, and apparently my hot shower did my shoulder good, because i was able to sleep on it, almost on it, and for an hour or so, on the other side. I didn't get enough sleep, but I did get sleep. I woke up five minutes before the alarm would have gone off, as I frequently do.

I had decided that if I hurt so bad this morning, I wasn't going anywhere, but it wasn't too bad. I was moving slowly, so I was late leaving, but I managed. I got to church before the choir practiced, and it was an easy song. I really wanted to go today, because we used Divine Service 3, the old one, which is my favorite. I know it by heart, which makes it even better. Pastor's sermon was a good one, but I think it was long, because we were late getting out - I didn't get home until 1:00.

I changed my clothes, had something to eat - more of that Indian stuff, but not the same as the last one - and spent the rest of the afternoon reading. Along about 5:00, i hurt so bad that I finally had to take more Tylenol, and that has helped, but I waited too long to get up, so I made a mess. And I messed up my shoulder so bad getting out of my vest that I ate the fastest thing I could find for dinner. Indian and Tex-Mex on the same day...I guess there's nothing wrong with my stomach.

The weather was miserable. The temperature was steady at 40º, the humidity was nearly steady at between 86% and 89%, there was a brisk wind out of the east or northeast, and it started raining around noon. Actually, it started earlier in Laurium and it was snowing there. It sleeted most of the way home. The rain stopped here around 6:00, but it's nasty out there. No wonder I hurt.

We can't see the moon because of the clouds, but having it up there makes it so bright out that I can see to walk around in the dark and not step on a cat. And this morning, there was a short period that the camera caught where everything was orangey-pink. Well, red sky in the morning...

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me as much as I'd let him. Louie wanted to, too, but he started wiping things off the desk with his tail and I made him go away. The way they felt this evening, I think tomorrow will be better.

I hope so, since I see the eye doctor tomorrow. I changed into my nightie before dinner, so now all I have to do is take off my socks and shoes and brush my teeth. I think I can get enough sleep tonight, if I can sleep. My shoulder feels better now, but it depends upon the angle between it and my arm. Forward is fine, backward or out is not fine at all. I'm hoping it will get better as the week goes on, but it's supposed to be very humid all week, so I'm not betting on it. Oh, and it's not just my shoulder. Both hips and my knees are nearly as bad. My knee collapsed while I was getting back into my pew this morning in church, and that hurts. This is miserable, and I hope it gets better as soon as possible.

Now it's a dark, windy night in the field, but while It's very humid, at least right now, it's not raining.

May 18

Oh, I hurt! I have rarely hurt so bad. It's mostly my shoulder, which is like a toothache, but both hips and my back are sore, too. Oh, yes, and my thumb joints. I mean, I hurt all over! It's partly the weather, which is miserable, but now that I'm not taking that pill, I hope it will get better eventually. In the meantime, i hurt.

I hurt all night long, too, but I did manage to find a few ways to lie that helped. I almost got up around 7:00 this morning because I was so sore, but I decided to try it one more time, and I was able to sleep for a couple more hours on my left side. I'm tired again now.

We'll see how the night goes, but if I have the same problems and I still hurt tomorrow morning, I'm not going anywhere. Getting out of a chair is extremely difficult, and I have to get up a lot in church. We'll see. I'm hoping that as the med flushes out of my system it will get better. It did the last time. It takes a while, though.

So I knitted and did my surfing and nothing else. Just existing with pain is exhausting.

The weather didn't help at all. The high temperature, 45º was before 10:00 this morning, and it went down to about 38º after that. The humidity has been mostly over 90%, which is part of my problem, of course. Around noon it started to rain, and we've had 0.3" since, so it's been dripping all afternoon. Of course it's cloudy and dull and there's been some fog, too.

The guys slept, as usual. They know what to do in weather like this. Grayson got to sleep on me for a while, although I couldn't pet him like he wanted. He wanted to come back later, but I was about to get my dinner, so I couldn't let him. I think Louie is probably still up at the north end. They had eaten all their kibble this morning, so I filled the bowls and that made them happy. They actually ate a whole can of pate cat food yesterday. I have to see if I can get a case of that variety, because it's one of their favorites. It's fish, but they're good Keweenaw cats, so I'm not surprised. And canned cat food is so fortified these days that I'm sure it's safe for them to eat. Oh, it has cheese in it, too, and that's another one of their faves.

So it was another very quiet day, and now it's a cold, cloudy, damp night in the field. I hope I can sleep.

May 17

Oh, I am so tired, and I hurt so bad! They're related.

I did not sleep well at all last night. My left shoulder was so sore that I couldn't sleep on my right side at all, and when I sleep on my left side, while my shoulder didn't hurt, after a couple of hours my ear gets sore for some reason. My right ear doesn't do that. So I didn't get a lot of sleep. I was in bed before 11:30, but I got up around 7:00 AM because I was so sore. That was all right, and I got to do some of my usual morning stuff. However, I managed to drip my egg down the front of my brand-clean shirt, so I had to change it and I got away a bit later than I wanted.

I wanted to be early because they are doing road work all the way from Lac La Belle Road to Mohawk, and I expected delays. Well, they actually aren't doing the whole 18 miles at one time, of course, but one never knows when the road will be down to one lane. They've started at Mohawk, so there were a couple of miles where the downward lane was barricaded off. On the way down, I was fortunate enough to reach the flagman right when they let us through. On the way home, I had to wait, but that was all right.

Anyway, I got to the hospital just after 11:15, so I had plenty of time to get my blood drawn. I was amazed when I didn't even have time to go to the restroom before they took me into the examining room, so I went in one of the restrooms inside the offices. I guess I'm not the only old person who has elimination problems.

The doctor only spent about 10 minutes with me, which was fine. I expressed my displeasure with how I fee, and he will put me on the third med. I'll get a couple of weeks off first, of course, and I'll see him again in about 6 weeks. The new one is something we all know and love - tamoxifen - and we'll see how I react to it. In the meantime, I should be feeling better in a week or so. It can have the same side effects as the others, but I may react better to it. It also can cause blood clots, but since I'm already taking a blood thinner, apparently it should be all right. We'll see.

I certainly am not feeling better today. Every joint in my body hurts and I am very tired. So I will be trundling up to the north end very soon.

After I left the hospital, I got gas. I had a 35¢ a gallon discount on 15 gallons, which helped a whole lot. The trip home took longer, because I had to wait at the one-lane road, but after that and I passed a jerk, there wasn't any more traffic. I stopped at the post office, but even though there was a goodly amount of mail, most of it was useless. I had a light lunch when I got home and I spent most of the rest of the afternoon doing my surfing and hoping not to have to get up. i finally did, to get my dinner. When both shoulders and both hips ache (read: pain level 8 or 9) it's hard to get up and down. Oh, I hope this stops soon! I am so tired!

The weather was cold for May, but nice. The temperature did get up to 50º, briefly, and there wasn't much wind. It was clear for most of the day, but it began to cloud up around 5:00 PM. it was very humid for most of the day, which is no doubt part of the reason I was so sore. Last night was clear but not very transparent, so almost all I could see was the moon. The camera shot the moon setting over the Mountain Lodge this morning. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we'll see it tomorrow.

The guys were themselves. They both got some lap time. They make me laugh. Grayson will sit and wait until I take everything off my lap before he climbs down into it, but Louie just barges in, no matter where my hands are and whatever else I may have on my lap. Usually he isn't very demanding, but when he wants to sit, he wants to sit.

So that was my day, and now I guess I might as well listen to the end of the Mozart before I go to bed. it's a cloudy, cool night in the field.

May 16

I wasn't quite as late last night, but after I took my shower, my shoulder was so sore that it took almost an hour before it wasn't too sore to sleep. I did well after that, with two wakeups, but I'm exhausted again.

I didn't go to choir. I decided against that last night, in part because I'm so sore and in part because I have to be at the doctor's office at 11:15, so I have to get to bed earlier than usual so I can get up. I didn't take that pill this morning, either. It will no doubt take several days for me to feel better, but I just can't tolerate the pain anymore, when I know how to stop it. I know, I have joint pain most of the time, from my arthritis, and that shoulder is the joint du jour, but only very rarely has it been as painful as it's been continuously. I can't do anything that requires two arms without aggravating it, and then it takes at least an hour of sitting quietly and doing nothing for it to stop aching. That's not tolerable. There are things i have to do around here, and I can't do any of them. The doctor and i will talk about it tomorrow.

They called me, and I had to roll my eyes when they did. Somehow they lost track of whether they had ever started the prescription for what I've been taking, so the nurse called me to find out if I'd been taking it. So I asked why there didn't seem to be an order for any labs beforehand - I'm an old hand at this, and I've never known an internist or an oncologist who didn't want labs before a visit - and it turned out that she had just put in the order! Geez! That was 6 weeks ago! If I hadn't asked, I would have turned up 15 minutes before my appointment, at the wrong end of the building, and discovered that I had to go to the other end to get my blood drawn. Geez! It changed my plans slightly, but I sort of expected it. I don't know what people who don't keep track of those things do, besides being terminally frustrated.

That was about all I did except make a couple of last-minute changes to the bulletin. Sue made some changes, but I got Pastor's email about a death before I got Sue's so I had to send it out twice. I think we're on the same page now, though.

The weather was nondescript. It was cloudy all day. We had a little rain early this morning and a little more around mid-morning, but otherwise it was dull and gray. The high temperature was 54º. In the morning, the wind was from the southwest, and the gusts got up to 38 mph, but around noon it switched around and picked up from the north, not quite as strong. I guess tomorrow will be sunny, but after that, we're in for at least a week of rain. The humidity was high today, too, and my poor old bod knew it...

The guys slept. Grayson kept coming and going until finally I could let him onto my lap. He went away of his own accord. Louie (I almost wrote "Lovie," which would be appropriate) got his this morning.

So it was my usual quiet day. it's so painful to get out of a chair that I had a combined accident this evening, but the result of that is that all I have to do is take off my shoes and socks and brush my teeth and I can crach. And I need to crash. It's a cool, cloudy evening in the field.

May 15

So I was stupidly late again, but I just didn't want to face trying to sleep with my shoulder. It turned out that sitting for a while calmed it down and that, plus the Tylenol, meant it wasn't as sore as I might have thought. But of course, I was so tired It probably wouldn't have mattered much. I got up late and knitted a while and played with the phone a while. I kept losing my cell signal, so I'm finally going to have to get the wi-fi range extender configured. Once there are leaves on the trees, I expect the signal to go away for the summer.

Speaking of leaves, we don't have any yet, but the catkins are beginning to appear on the birches and the maple flowers are beginning to show. It's so nice to see them! I'm pretty sure this is a year when we won't have leaves on Memorial Day, though. The grass is beginning to turn a bit green and there was enough snow that a lot of the tansy stalks got beaten down. I haven't seen any lupines yet.

The weather wasn't too bad. The high temperature was 52º and there was almost no wind. I was up briefly around 8:00 and I was very surprised to see thick fog down the harbor. That wasn't forecast. By the time I got up for good, it had cleared up, but the clouds moved in by 4:30 and it was cloudy at sunset. I guess it's supposed to rain overnight - there is a big, thick cloud mass west of us - and tomorrow morning as well, but we haven't had any rain in a while. See? Spring will come, even here.

By the way, I guess there was a fantastic red rainbow that they were able to see from down by the docks, although we couldn't see it here - we have the wrong angle.

The guys slept. They both got some loving and Grayson got to sit on me for a while. I just had to make Louie go away, because I can't type with him on my lap. I'm a bit unhappy with him anyway. He was sitting by my feet this morning and he put out his patty-paw and stuck a claw into my foot hard enough to draw blood. Even with my neuropathy, I could feel that and I yelled. That's not allowed, I don't care how much you want me to pay attention.

So it was another quiet truncated day and now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field.

May 14

I was late again, and I'm going to be even later tonight. I slept quite well, actually, and I got my nine hours. I find it curious that my shoulder is actually sorer when I've been sleeping on the other side than it is when I've been sleeping on it. it's been bad today, but the humidity is up. That's one reason I'm so late: the only time it doesn't hurt is when I'm sitting still and not moving it, so I didn't want to get up and even eat something.

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

I should have stuck my nose outside, except that then I would have had to move. The high temperature was 66º and there was a moderate wind from the north, although early in the afternoon, it gusted up to 36 mph for a while. The wind has died down and shifted to the southwest now. It was partly to mostly cloudy, but the rain they were predicting went south of us and it's cleared up again.

The guys did their thing. Today the lap cat was Louie. He arrived just before I wanted to turn on the radio and he sat and got his tummy rubbed for an hour before he finally went away. I don't know what's gotten into him. He did settle down and not wiggle so much today, so it was more comfortable to have him on my lap, although I did have to pee pretty bad before he moved. Grayson didn't get any lap time, but he went away before I finished eating. I guess it's just Louie's turn.

So that was my day, and now it's a clearing, cooling night in the field and there should be a moon again.

May 13

Once I got to bed, I slept pretty well, although my shoulder was sore enough that I spent a good part of the night on my back, which messes up my back. I was so tired that it didn't matter. I'm tired again now.

I got up around 10:30, I think, and I knitted on the red sock. I hope I have enough yarn to finish the first one, but if I don't I think I will do the other one and see if I have any yarn left. This thing is really annoying me. 400 yards should be enough to make a pair of socks, even with my big feet. and especially since I made the leg shorter than most of the socks I've made lately. I'm adjusting the pattern (such as it is) because the last few pairs I've made, the leg is too long. I'm wearing the plum socks this week, and they could easily be an inch shorter, at least. It has to do with the kind of heel, and I'm going to have to make some notes. It seems I had made some already, and I'll have to make more. There is a book called Custom Socks that I thought I wanted (well, maybe I do, because it has some really neat socks in it) but I'm making my own custom pattern as I go along. Now I have to figure out how to make the leg wider than the foot... Stay tuned.

I didn't do much else, because I was so late, but Debbie called around 6:00 and we had our usual looong convresation, and while we did, I started doing something about the cart between the computer station and the sewing station, that has my seed beads in it. I found some stuff that had been buried for six months or so (one thing I found was the Medicare book, so you know how long it's been) and it's partly cleaned off. I have a lot of odds and ends of yarn, at least four shawls, and some other stuff to get put away, and I uncovered the pair of slacks that the button came off of and I have to sew back on. I still have to do something about the floor, but that will come.

The weather was nice, although I didn't go out. The high temperature actually got up to 60º, although it was while I was talking on the phone, and there wasn't much wind. The humidity was down, too, late in the afternoon. I still hurt. It was mostly clear all day, although a couple of cloud banks came through. It was clear at sunset.

Last night was clear, too, and even though the moon is just past first quarter, it was so bright and so pretty.

The guys slept. Grayson didn't get any lap time, because he and I couldn't agree on when my lap was available, but Louie did. He sat down right after Debbie called, and he stayed for a while.

So it was a nice, quiet day, and I'm tired again. I also hurt. This has got to stop, but I see the doctor on Friday, and it will stop.

Now it's a clear, cool night in the field.

May 12

So I was too tired to move, so I'm late.

I guess it was around 10:00 when I got to bed last night, and as usual on Saturdays, I didn't sleep well. In part it was because I kept having hot flashes - it was warm in the bedroom - and I hurt all over, in spite of the Tylenol. My left shoulder is just impossible. Well, on Friday I will be able to tell the doctor that.

Unfortunately, I had to get up around 5:00, but I went back to bed. I only dozed, but the alarm woke me up. I managed to be fairly efficient, even though I had to feed the cats, and I left about 9:05, so I was nice and early getting to church. We practiced - "Brother James's Air," which I love - and Deanna and I greeted. By the time I sat down I could hardly move, and I had a terrible time getting up during the service.

I got home just before 1:00, changed my clothes and had something to eat. in the middle of the afternoon, i actually dozed off for a bit, but like I said, I was so tired I didn't want to move. as a result, I didn't have anything more to eat until nearly midnight, and it's now late. I'm still having trouble getting up and my shoulder comes and goes, depending on what I've been doing. Well, I don't have to get up tomorrow, so I can sleep forever once I get to bed.

The weather was sort of weird. All my sources said it would be clear all day, but clouds moved in during the night, and it was cloudy at sunrise. When I left the house, I was surprised to see a few raindrops on the windshield, and someplace around Kearsarge, I went through a fairly heavy rain squall. It had stopped when I got to church, but it was very damp...no wonder I hurt! Here, the clouds came and went, but by the time I got home, it was beginning to clear up and the rest of the afternoon was nice. The temperature here was 56º all afternoon, and the wind was calm to light from the southwest. It was much less humid here than it was in Laurium. Weird - that's only 37 miles.

I think the guys slept. Grayson slept on me for a long time after I got home. I brought home a lovely plant from church last week - I guess it used to be called cineraria, although now it's something else. It's very dark blue-purple with daisy-like flowers. I would like to bring it into the house, because it needs a lot of water, so i wanted to know if it's toxic to cats. As it turns out, nobody knows for sure, but the opinion was that it should be treated as toxic, just to be safe. I'm disappointed. It's so pretty! Now I have to decide whether to trust Grayson not to nibble on it.

So that was my day, and now it's really late and I'm really tired. It's a clear, dark night in the field, but there should be a moon and some stars.

May 11

Oh, it was 2;00 AM before I got to bed again, but I slept fairly well. My shoulders were very sore, but my neck was OK. That's the way it seems to go - sometimes one thing hurts, sometimes another. I got up at 7:00 AM. I had set the alarm for 8:00, but I knew if I went back to bed, either I wouldn't sleep or the alarm would wake me up, which I hate.

So I had time to do all my surfing. It looked like I was going to be able to get away around 10:00, but then I made a bad decision - I decided to put on my jacket while I was sitting in the powder room. Geez! I did finally manage to get it on, but when I finally got both arms in the sleeves and the neck up around my neck, everything I had on above the waist was up around my armpits. Note to self: don't try that again.

Anyway, I didn't meet any traffic in my direction until I got to Kearsarge, so I made good time. I pulled into the parking lot at church - to find it full! Steve, our president, was going in the other direction, and he told me there was a baptism going on that nobody else knew about, and he checked and found that Deanna was there and waiting. So I parked in a non-parking place and went up to join her. She was folding bulletins and the baptism was going on when I got there - I stopped in the restroom - so i sat with her and played solitaire and talked to her kids, who are 5 and 3. They are the sweetest little things, even though they are both boys, and they had some neat new trucks to show me.

The baptism itself didn't take long, but then there were pictures...and pictures...and more pictures...and everybody standing around talking. Geez, there was going to be lunch downstairs! Finally, we were able to get to the chancel to do our thing, which didn't take very long, as it never does, but it was 12:30 before we left. I wish somebody had said something, because we could have come at a different time!

Anyway, I had a misfile to leave off at the post office, and besides Ron, I met the girl who is tending the Laughing Loon these days, and we had a nice conversation. That is where I got my sweatpants - men's, and I recommend them highly - and I wondered if they still had them. Oh, yes, they do, so one of these days I will have to invade. It is nearly impossible for me to get out of that place because of the steps up, but Hannah said she will be happy to help me, especially since if I get in there, I will probably lay down close to $100. My original sweatpants are finally wearing out. The waistbands are beginning to separate from the body, and there are holes where I stick my fingers to pull them on. Those are the ones poor little Buster did a number on when he was just a kitten, so I guess I'm happy they've lasted so long.

So I came home, read my mail - the Health Department is after me again about my septic system - and had something light to eat. I didn't do much else, but late in the day, I decided i'd better start looking for something I mislaid - a check from a friend - so I attacked part of the mess in the studio. It took me a long time, and it's still a mess in places, but not where I was working, which is good, and I can get over to the ugly chair again. And i didn't find the check. I have some other places to search, but it doesn't look good. I found my other Christmas cards, but I apparently put that one aside because of the check, and where I put it, I do not know. I'll keep searching. I now have a storage box with all the papers since about last June in it, and I will be adding to that.

I also looked through my sock yarn to try to plan out the next set of socks, and I've lost at least one and maybe two balls of one yarn - one I really like. I have some other places to look, but I know it isn't in that bag! I need to transfer that bag to a tub, but at the point where I was going through it, I couldn't get out the door and the tubs are in the great room.

The weather was really lovely. The high temperature was 58º. right about the time I was out. It was clear to parlty cloudy, but there was a lot of sunshine. The wind was moderate (15-25 mph) from the southwest, and the humidity has been under 40% all day. Oh, that helps! I took some aspirin this morning because my shoulders were so sore, and that helped too, at least for a while. Oddly enough, my knees were OK today and I didn't have any trouble getting up into the chancel from either direction. I noticed when I went by that the ice is almost gone off Lake Medora, and I think that's the last one. There is still snow in the culverts and in the woods in the higher elevations, but it's going. Finally.

I assume the guys slept. Grayson did finally get some lap time when I got home, and he went away on his own. He was dying to get into the studio while I was rustling around, and he finally did by climbing over some stuff. I haven't seen Louie, but he usually hangs out at the north end and I haven't been up there.

So that was my day, and now I have to go up to the north end and wash my hair and get to bed early. I need to get to church early tomorrow, both to practice and to greet. Now it's a fairly warm, dry, partly cloudy evening in the field.

May 10

So I was late again, but not so bad. I slept well, and I got up fairly early - about 9:30, I think - so I'm tired now. But I have to get up and get going tomorrow anyway, so I'll be going up to the north end soon. I knitted on the red sock and I finished the heel and started the gusset. That and my fooling around made me late enough that I was eating my first meal around 3:00. I do that frequently. And I didn't do anything else but my surfing. Sigh.

The weather improved markedly overnight, but not as much as they were predicting. The high temperature was 48º and there was a north wind in the 15 mph range for most of the day. Even though there were some dim stars when I went to bed, it was cloudy until around 3:00 PM, but then it finally cleared up and it's lovely now. The humidity is down a lot, too, but it always takes my body a while to react to that.

The guys mostly slept, although I did notice that the rug beside my bed isn't quite beside my bed anymore. They both got some loving. I had to get Grayson off my lap when I visited the powder room and he didn't come back, and for the first time in a while, he scratched on the blocking pad on the table.

So it was a very quiet day and I'll be going up to the north end soon. It's a clear, cool night in the field.

May 9

I was late last night, of course, but not as late as sometimes. I got my full quota of sleep, though, which meant I was late getting up. I knitted on both the Z-sock and the red sock, and I got about half the heel flap of the red sock done. I decided to try to do a flap heel on these socks - again - even though I'm not sure I have enough yarn. 400 yards should be enough for a pair of socks, but after my recent experience with these, I'm not sure of it. Now the question is whether I can do the rest of the sock with what was on the one I'm knitting from. If I can't, I will have to do a toe-up design, but I have a pattern for a flap heel for a toe-up sock. We'll see how it goes. It's the process anyway, actually, since I have enough socks. I need something to keep me occupied while I wake up and get my body moving in the morning. I would like to start another shawl, but I haven't found just the right pattern yet.

I ended up being very late getting dressed, though, because Mary Ann called. We decided not to go to choir tonight, because the weather was very unsettled, and as a matter of fact, when I finally read my email, Kathleen had canceled choir, because she is sick. I admire that lady so much, but she does so much that she gets sick frequently. So whatever it is we're singing Sunday (Brother James's Air) we will have to practice it before church. I think some people get there early just to listen to us.

So I was late, and I decided to have a big breakfast and a little dinner. That worked out well, because the weather caused me to be so sore that I didn't want to move and I've just finished eating a little dinner. Well - it's little by volume, but humungous in terms of calories, but I don't worry about that as much as I used to.

I was so late that I didn't have any time to do anything but my surfing.

The weather was bad. The high temperature was only 38º and the wind finally switched around to the north, at around 18 mph. It was dark an cloudy all day, and it rained. It rained hardest around midnight, but from midnight until 5:00 PM, we had 0.68". It's been so humid that I hurt so much that I was shouting at myself when I couldn't get up off the toilet.

Of course the guys slept. Grayson got some lap time, although I don't think he got as much as he wanted. I think Louie hung out at the north end. I haven't seen him since I got dressed.

So that was my day, and maybe now I can get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour. It's a dark, cold, humid night in the field, but I don't think it's raining anymore.

May 8

So I was late. I slept fairly well, although as frequently happens, the first time I tried to sleep on my left side, I couldn't. I was late getting up, of course, and then I finished the second plum sock, so now I have another pair of socks to wear! I still have the Z-sock to finish (I've only just started it) and the red ones, which are getting to be a pain, and I decided that I can finish the pair I put aside last winter because I don't like the colors of the yarn. I do like the yarn, though, so I'll finish them and they will be another pair to wear in the winter.

I didn't have much time to do anything today, but I did get the bulletin done and sent out.

The weather wasn't very nice. It clouded up overnight, and it was cloudy and dull all day today. The temperature did get up to 49º late in the day and there wasn't much wind until lately. Around 8:30 PM it started to rain. Until then the humidity was relatively low, and i didn't feel too bad. Now it's up to over 80% again. Sigh.

The guys knew the weather was changing, so they slept. They both got on my lap, although Louie was stomping around and hurting my legs, so he couldn't stay long. Grayson didn't get as much as he wanted either because I had to do the bulletin. When I woke up, Grayson was curled up on the end of the bed. He doesn't sleep there a lot, but I think he's discovered that my feet don't get over there so I'm not likely to kick him. I think Louie was in the window seat then, and that's his favorite place besides the rugs in the bathroom. Those rugs need to be washed, so I will be taking them up one of these days.

So that's all I know. I have to wash my hair tonight regardless, so I'll probably be late again. because they're playing Beethoven's Sixth, and that's about my most favorite. I'm not sure about church tomorrow, because they are saying there is going to be some snow in that rain, but we'll see what happens.

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

May 7

Oh, journal.

I was late again, of course. I thought I might wash my hair, but as usual when I want to do that, I fiddled around too long and I just had to go to bed. I wasn't sure I was strong enough to stand in the shower. I slept well, of course. It was a beautiful morning, and sometimes i wish I could get up earlier when it's so nice. But subtract 9 hours from 7:00 AM, and maybe you can understand why I don't. I knitted on the plum sock and I started the toe. Another morning's work and that pair will be done. I will probably work on it tomorrow...well, later today.

I didn't do a lot, but I did go to the post office, where there wasn't anything I didn't expect, and I stopped at the store, so I can have milk in my tea again, I had nice long conversation with Chris at the post office and got caught up with the news about her kids, and at the store I had a nice conversation with Red, who is back in town. Such nice people!

This evening, I paid the rest of my monthly bills, so now I can try to figure out how to live on what I have left.

The weather was nice but cool again. The temperature got up to 48º for a little while, and there was hardly any wind. It was clear and blue all day long, although there was a phenomenon I haven't seen for a while - there was a line of clouds right over the spine of the Keweenaw. It looked neat on the satellite pictures, but by 3:00 it had gone away, and there was just the white from the residual snow in the higher elevations. Tomorrow and Thursday will be worse - rain and maybe even some snow. It was so nice to have humidity under 50% for a while - and even now it's under 60%. I wasn't nearly as sore.

The guys slept. Grayson was frustrated, because he didn't get to sleep on me until after I got home, but then he did good. Louie apparently spent the day in the bathroom. Grayson thought he wanted some of my dinner tonight - lamb chop - so i offered him the plate to lick the juice, and he didn't want that. He doesn't really want what I have, he only wants to know I will give him something. Snot.

So it was another quiet day and now it's time to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

May 6

I think it was about 12:30 when I finally got to bed. I slept very well, with not too many wakeups. I think I came to at 8:40 AM - or at least that's what I thought I saw on the clock - and I thought I just closed my eyes for a few moments, but the next time I looked at the clock, it was 10:45!

I knitted on the red sock again, and I'm at the point where I have to decide whether to do four more rows or start the heel now. It looks like the leg will be long enough, so I may just start the heel. I really don't know how much yarn it takes to make a sock, because this is the first time I've had any problem with yardage. We'll see how this goes. If I don't have enough, I guess I'll have to do a toe-up one and make the leg as long as I have yarn for. I did that last summer with the blue/green ones, and they turned out OK. Too short, but OK.

Then I went back into zombie mode and didn't do anything else. I had a couple of things I wanted to do, but they didn't get done. I didn't hurt as bad today as I did yesterday - thankfully! - but I still feel like I'm coming down with something, headachy and sick. I think that's the pills, too. Well, I see the doctor in two weeks, by which time I should have it nailed down.

It wasn't very warm today. The high temperature was only 41º. It was a mix of clouds and sun. It started out clear, then around 9:00 AM it clouded up. There was a bit of sun, but mostly it was cloudy until around 4:00, when it cleared up again and it was completely clear when it got dark. I happened to be looking at the camera about 9:15 PM and i got a wonderful picture of a little crescent moon hanging to the east of the lighthouse, with just a bit of sunset glow in the west. Soooo pretty! I've had to change the end points of the camera pictures again, and I discovered that somehow the interval between pictures had gotten changed from 15 to 16 minutes - my fast fingers, no doubt. I fixed that, too, which should help keep things on track. I'm starting and stopping closer to nautical twilight, too, because I would like the camera to keep taking pictures until it's completely dark. The way I was doing it isn't working now, for some reason.

The guys slept. They both got some love and Grayson slept on me for a couple of hours this afternoon. Louie got his loving this morning. It is so sweet when he lies at my feet in the bathroom, apparently asleep but purring. It's taken a long time, but I think he thinks I'm OK now. If only he liked Grayson more...

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

May 5

Oh, I am SO tired! I had one of those nights last night, and I think most of it was because I hurt all over all the time, so I was awake frequently and I didn't get into a deep sleep very much. In fact, I only dozed between about 4:30 and 6:00. I got up before 6:00 because i had to - I had to pee and I had to move. Even though i got to bed at 9:30, I didn't get nearly enough sleep. I will say that when I was awake during the night, there were stars, but not very bright ones.

I was moving slow, and even though I started with plenty of time, I didn't leave until 9:20 and I had to push it to get to church by 10:00. So I missed practice, but I sang anyway, since it was a hymn. I had some problem with the words, but I doubt anybody noticed.

I had trouble standing up, too, and I hurt so bad that I could hardly move. And after church, I had to shop. That was hard, too, so I forgot to get a couple of things. I could hardly crawl into the car when I was through. When i got home, I went right into the house and left almost everything in the car

I had something to eat - something different. When I went to get my noodle bowls, I noticed some pouches of stuff that were Indian dishes. One of them was lentils, and the other one is called channa masala, and it is chickpeas cooked with tomatoes, onions and spices. I tried that one, and oh, my, is it good! I love anything chickpea anyway, and this was delicious enough to get me looking at recipes. Evidently it's something a lot of people like, because there are a ton of them out in the internet. They're all too involved and make too much for me, so I'll continue to buy the pouches, if I can get them. Apparently some recipes for this thing make it very spicy, but the pouch wasn't, just a little zing besides all the good flavors. Yum!

Anyway, I had a hard time staying awake for the rest of the day, and I hurt so much that it was 9:30 before I finally got the stuff out of the car. I left almost all of it out in the breezeway, and I will have to figure out what to do with it tomorrow. I was so tired I didn't make my usual shrimp, just threw some stuff in the microwave. I wasn't nearly as sore when I was moving groceries, but I'm very tired and weak. This is not tolerable.

The weather turned out fairly nice. The temperature finally got up to 53º here, with a moderate north wind, around 15 mph. It was cloudy in the morning and there were a few little spritzes of rain on my way to church. It cleared up here around 2:00, about when I got home and the rest of the afternoon was clear, until sunset, when there were a few clouds. I don't know how it is now.

I didn't see much of the guys. Grayson wanted to sit on me but he never got to because I was doing other things. I was a bit concerned, because when I came into the house when I got home, I forgot to shut the door to the garage. After Friday, I was afraid Grayson would dart out when I went out, and then he would have a clear path to the outdoors. However, I managed to get out without him being at the door, so that wasn't a problem. I must be more careful in the future. Louie was around, but I think mostly he slept and I didn't see him.

So that was my day. I am so tired and my legs are twitchy, which means I've been sitting here reading for too long, but as soon as I post this I'm going to bed. It's a cool, dark night in the field, and there might be some stars.

May 4

I was never into Star Wars, because I don't do movies, but every time I see "May the Fourth be with you" it tickles me. I like people with that kind of sense of humor. My daddy was a terrible punster - well, he was an English major, so it figures - and I frequently think of one of his - "a dead clam" - when the winds are calm.

I wasn't quite as late last night, so I woke up around 8:30, I think, and after trying to go back to sleep with a full bladder, I got up and took care of that. I knitted on the red sock again, and I'm about two-thirds down the leg. I did a row or two on the Z-sock, too, but I want that red pair first.

I ended up so late that I didn't have time to do much of anything else. I have filled the pill dispensers at the south end, but that's about it. I was too late to go to the post office.

The weather was nice, but interesting. The temperature got up to 55º between 10:00 and 11:00 AM, but then it dropped back to 45º for the next three hours, before it started up again. Apparently the high was 57º, but the way the NWS reports those things, I won't know for sure until another hour (they report the high in six hour increments). The wind was in the 10-15 mph range from the north until around 2:00 PM, after which it went calm and it is now from the southwest, gusting to 25 mph. It was cloudy in the early morning, and it cleared up in about 15 minutes between 8:51 and 9:07 AM. It was clear until around 5:30 PM, when it began to cloud up, and it's now cloudy again. Weather systems move fast in the spring.

The guys got a lot of lap time. Grayson slept on me for a couple of hours, and he went away of his own volition. Then after I got back to the studio, Louie came. He is not a good lap cat. He's too big, but that would be all right if he didn't continually wiggle around, kick me and try to pick my clothes. He did get a good long tummy rub, which made him purr loudly. I finally had to make him go away because I had to pee. Grayson wanted to come back, but I had to fill the pill dispensers. He was very interested in my dinner - beef - but there wasn't enough for both of us, if he would have eaten it. He often thinks he wants what I'm eating, but with very few exceptions, after I give him some, he doesn't eat it. Now he is back under the south windows, which is his favorite warm season spot to sleep. Louie, I think, is in the bathroom again.

So it was another very quiet day. I don't feel good. I think one of the side effects of the pill I'm taking is that I always feel like I'm coming down with something, and I'm very tired besides. There is also some kind of involvement with my sore joints and muscles, probably just making them worse. At least I don't have as many hot flashes and my diarrhea is back to normal. There is a third option, and maybe I'll try that one and make my choice among the three of them. I have to take this stuff for five years.

So now it's a warm, cloudy night in the field and I'm off to the north end to do my Saturday thing.

May 3

I was late again, for no good reason, except maybe I was too tired to move. I slept well, of course, and I don't remember when i got up. Maybe it was around 11:00? I don't know.

I knitted mostly on the plum sock and I got about two-thirds of the foot done. I couldn't see, but my fingers were moving well today.

I was too late to go to the post office, so I'll have to do that tomorrow. I got a Schwan's order and packed it away. To do that, I moved the desk chair into the kitchen, and while i had it there, I decided to replace all the burned out light bulbs in the kitchen and the hallway. I have a wand with a grabber on the end that makes it pretty easy to do that. While I was opening the first package, I cut myself on one bulb that had broken a long time ago when I dropped it. Because of the blood thinner, it bled and bled and bled all over everything. It's fine now, though, and it isn't too painful. It's on top of the first joint of the middle finger of my right hand, so I don't think it will bother me too much. I may put a Band Aid and some ointment on it tonight, just to be sure.

I thought there were six lights out, and I got them all replaced, five in the kitchen and one in the hallway. It's not hard, if I'm in a position where I can look up easily. When I went back to the kitchen to make my dinner, though, I discovered another one that was burned out, right over the sink. It was harder to change that one while I was standing. I can't look up very well when I'm standing up.

I've had the new bulbs for several years, and I thought I bought CFLs, even though I hate them, but when I looked at them, I didn't - they're incandescents. A good number of my bulbs are CFLs, because when the last set burned out, that was all I could get. I was surprised to see that they weren't available when I bought new ones, and LEDs were too expensive then (it was a while ago). The next ones I get will be LEDs, because they have come down in price. I guess I wasn't the only one who hated CFLs. The light is fine, but I hate that it takes them a minute or two to come up to full light. My 48" fluorescent tubes don't do that, so I'm not sure why the CFLs do. Anyway, if Walmart's web site is any indication, these days, you can only get either incandescents or LEDs. I think the LEDs should last longer, as well as being more energy efficient, but I'm going to use what I have first.

I was surprised by how bright it is in the kitchen now. Some of those lights have been burned out for quite a while, but when four of the five on the stove side of the kitchen were out, it was getting pretty dim in there. Now there's no problem seeing anything! I think the incandescents are actually brighter than the CFLs, too. And now I can leave the hall light on and when I come in after dark, I can see where I'm walking.

The weather was rather nice, or at least there was some sunshine for a while this afternoon. The high temperature was 50º, late in the afternoon, and the wind was under 10 mph all day. The humidity actually got under 50% for a short while this afternoon. I guess it might rain overnight, then get close to 60º tomorrow. That would be nice.

The cats mostly slept. They both got some loving. However, when I was talking to the Schwan's guy, Grayson jumped out the door into the breezeway. The Schwan's guy chased him under the platform so he couldn't get out, and I ignored him. He sat over by the other doors for a long time and every time I went by, he looked at me. I finally got him to come in, reluctantly, when I told him I was going to go and sit down and if he stayed out there, I would ignore him. I swear they understand what I say to them, as long as I stick to concrete thoughts. It's been a long time since he's been out there, so I figured he wanted to check it out, and there isn't anything interesting.

Oh, and I forgot, while I was getting undressed last night, the critters were skittering around in the upstairs bathroom. Both Grayson and I were staring at the ceiling while that was going on. I'm really afraid to go up there, not because I might meet a critter, but for what I might find they've done up there. Squirrels are not potty trained, and besides, the toilet is where the water is. I'll have to go sometime, though, because there are a lot of things up there that I want.

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

May 2

So I was stupidly late last night, but I hurt so much that I just didn't want to take my bath. It's not possible to wash my hair without my shoulders being almost too sore to move, and I can hardly reach my head. So I was late. I slept, of course, and I got up around 11:00, I think, but it wasn't nearly long enough.

I knitted on the red sock and i made some progress. And Mary Ann and I decided not to go to church tonight. She was tired from having to be driving around in the snow yesterday and I was exhausted and I hurt. Still am and still do.

There was one change to the bulletin, but otherwise, I didn't do anything.

I was really glad that we didn't go out when I got up to make my dinner - we were surrounded by thick fog! Mary Ann had heard that that might happen, but I hadn't. Oh, I would not have liked to drive home in the dark with that! it's ugly. It was cloudy and dull until around 6:30 PM, when the clouds started to break up, and if it weren't for the fog, it would probably be clear. It was at sunset. The high temperature was 45º and while the wind was from the southwest it was gusting up to 20 mph before it shifted north and is now calm. I just noticed that there was a bit of rain between 7:00 and 8:00 AM. I wouldn't know - I was asleep. The humidity has been over 80% all day, which is no doubt part of the reason I hurt so much.

The guys slept, of course. Grayson got some lap time, and Louie wanted some, but at the time, I was talking to Mary Ann with my breakfast on the tray in front of me and I wanted to eat when we hung up. I have been interested to see Louie playing. A long time ago, an e-friend sent me a toy that slips over a doorknob and has interesting things that dangle down on elastic. A couple of years ago, he pulled one of them off the elastic, and it is now someplace in the bedroom, but the others are still attached. The whole toy is hung on the back of my bedroom door, where it is almost hidden, but every so often Louie remembers it's there and he starts to grab the dangles with his claw and try to chew them off the elastic. Or maybe chew the dangles? I don't know what he's doing, but whatever, it can keep him interested for five or ten minutes. It keeps Grayson interested, too, watching him.

So that was my day, and now it's later than I intended. It's a dark, foggy night in the field.

May 1

I'm still trying to process that a third of the year is gone already...

I was a bit late last night - I got to bed about 1:00 AM - and when I woke up around 8:30, as usual, I decided it was too early, so I went back to sleep and I didn't get up until 10:30. I didn't have any trouble getting back to sleep, so evidently I needed the extra two hours.

I worked on the red sock again and finished the ribbing.

Today was the day to do the bulletin, but I was so late getting to the studio that it didn't get out until 5:30. I don't think there will be any changes, though. Fortunately, my editor usually reads her email rather late in the evening, and I think she said she was going to be out of town anyway. Sometimes I wonder how we do it, with the emails flying around between the three of us, but somehow it always happens.

The weather was miserable again. It snowed pretty much all day, and while there was only about an inch of accumulation - it was melting slowly as it fell - the ground was still white. Enough already! I think it stopped around 5;00 PM. The high temperature - 40º - happened at 8:00 this morning, and it was 35º for the rest of the day, There was a brisk southeast wind, with gusts up to about 30 mph. I don't feel most of that, because I'm shielded on that side. Of course it was dull and gray. Yuck.

The guys slept. They got some loving, and Grayson slept on me for quite a while. At one point, though, they were both sitting on the laptop and Louie, who was behind Grayson, bit him. Grayson went on over toward the south windows, and I chased Louie away. I'm not going to put up with that!

So it was another very quiet day, just the way i like them. I'm hoping the snow will stop now. We had 303" before this happened, and that's plenty, since our average is 240" or so. It's time for spring.

Now it's a dark, cold night in the field and i have to wash my hair.

Last updated 05/26/19 09:11 PM