journal

A View From the Field

November 30

So November is history. Wow, time goes fast when you don't have much left!

Speaking of which, I was late again last night, and I don't quite remember why. So I was late getting up and...you know the drill.

I forgot to mention two things last night. A couple of days ago, I did mention that I had cast on a new sock - it's called "blue Violet Tonal" and I had about half an inch of the ribbing done when I realized that it is such a nearly solid yarn that a plain knitted sock was going to be boring to knit and boring to wear. So yesterday I tore it out and restarted it in a pattern called "Cobblestone" which I've made before. One time, I finished a pair in pale pink and white cotton, but the second time, I didn't have enough yarn and had to rip out an entire sock. That was the red pair from a couple of years ago. This time, I'm sure I have enough, so I started it yesterday, and today I finished the ribbing and did the first repeat of the pattern. It's going to be much more interesting, but the pattern isn't difficult enough that I can't take it with me to waiting rooms. And I do like the color.

The other thing i forgot to mention is that I've been writing again. I had done one scene at the beginning of the month, and I'd been mulling over where to go from there ever since. I finally got enough of it down to write some more, so in the last two days, I've written 3500 words. I have enough of an idea of where I'm going that I can continue whenever I have time. It feels good to be writing again.

I probably won't do any more tonight, though, because I have to take my schedule in hand. I have a more-or-less appointment to get my shingles vaccine at 1:30 on Thursday, and I also need to do some food shopping - I have one more meal of lettuce - so I need to get up and get out, and I can't do that if I don't go to bed until 2:30 AM.

The weather was OK. We actually had a few rays of sunshine today. I haven't heard back from the Kabcam people, so I still don't have any camera archives, but I noticed some rays and a bit of blue sky. The high temperature was 40º, but it was very windy. The highest wind was 29 mph and 39 mph gusts. The lake was singing loudly. I think it's slowly dying down, but it's still "breezy," as the NWS says.

Grayson was somewhere near me all day. He got his water dish changed, because when I first saw it when i got up, I thought a fly had died in it, but it turned out to be a tuft of fur. It needed cleaning anyway. He got something to eat that he liked a lot - something for my next Chewy order - and he spent the rest of the day near me. He did get to sit on me for quite a while tonight, after I stopped writing, but I had to make him leave because I had to pee and get my dinner. Of course, he wanted some of my dinner, but he didn't get any. I think he's probably out in the great room now. His favorite spot is right in front of the French doors to the vestibule. There is some heat in the floor out there, and I guess that's one spot.

So that was my day and now I really have to stop all this nonsense and go to bed. It's a cloudy, windy night in the field. And November is over. Sigh.

November 29

Well, I wasn't quite as late - I think I was listening to some nice music - and i slept well, but I was late getting up. I did make a couple of phone calls, but that was about all.

I totally ignored the weather. And I discovered that the camera archive isn't updating where i want it to...oh woe. Anyway, the high temperature was 34º and there wasn't much wind. It was very cloudy and dull all day.

Grayson was around me all day and he was really happy when I put down the bath rugs and really sad when I took them up again (they are white and leaving them down they just get too dirty too fast). All the time I was in the shower, he was lying on the one in front of the sink, which, coincidentally, is right under the heat lamp. Have I mentioned that he is a very smart cat? Oh, and all his good food should be here Friday. What a relief!

So that was it. Now it's a cold, dark night in the field and I am going to try to get to the potty before I have an accident...

November 28

Bed late, up late, didn't do anything.

Except Chewy finally...finally!!!...has all Grayson's canned cat food, so I put in a humungous order, which should last us quite a while. It's a relief. I was getting real tired of getting the last cans of a variety at Pat's and paying $1 a can for it. He'll eat well for about 6 months. Whew!

I ignored the weather, but looking at the camera archive, it apparently snowed for most of the afternoon and it was still snowing when it got dark. It must be wet, heavy stuff, because the high temperature was 37º. It was windy, with winds up to 29 mph and gusts to 37 mph. Of course, it was dark and dreary. I ignored it.

Grayson finally apparently got cold, so he jumped in bed with me and sacked out. He looked so comfy when I got up, but he had to come and see what - if anything - I was doing. He is curled up under the chair again. I'm so glad I finally got his food!

And that's it. It's a cold, dark and I think, snowy, night in the field and maybe I can do better tonight? I hope so. I have a nasty headache.

November 27

I got back to my usual hour, but i couldn't get to sleep for a long time, so I was late getting up and I felt lousy. I finally cast on the wool sock I've been wanting to start, but then I fiddled around. When i got to the office, I fiddled some more and I lost track of time - again. When I think about it, I've always had that problem, but in the old days, there were enough people around me to keep me more or less on track. Now I just ignore the passage of time. So it's tomorrow and I just finished eating something. That was hard, because I couldn't think of anything i wanted ot eat.

when I got up, I noticed that the camera hadn't updated, so when i got to the office, I did the usual - unplugging it and plugging it back in - before I noticed the error message: unable to connect to server. What? It was working fine when it went to sleep last night. PastyNet has a new way of reporting problems - by text - so I texted them and after asking whoever it was to give me time to type, they called - and I had a nice long conversation with Jon. There had been some sort of hacking attack on their ftp server, so he had disabled it overnight. Um... Eventually, I got a new and spiffier version of the camera software, which even impressed Jon. Unfortunately, the configuration file didn't completely carry over to the new version, so I had some fiddling to do, and I'm not done yet. You will find the verbiage at the bottom of the picture is a bit different and in white now, although I'm still fiddling with that. It should wake up tomorrow morning before sunrise and we'll see how it looks then. There was also some fiddling with secure ftp and website, so if you have any problems getting into it, please let me know.

The weather was warmer but snowy. The high temperature was 33º and there was hardly any wind. However, it started snowing around noon and it's still snowing, apparently, hard enough that the weather station is reporting precip. I suppose it's wet and sloppy, since it's so warm.

Grayson was going to be a pill, but he got something he really likes to eat - from a can and mostly chicken - so he was better. He did keep coming around and mewing at me and while I was talking to Jon, he sat under the chair. Right now, he is asleep at one side of the monitor, with his head on my little black book. It's a little warmer in here today, which we both appreciate.

I got out the space heater yesterday, but I haven't plugged it in yet, because I want to swap power strips. For some reason not known to me now, I put the big one on the desk and the small one by the monitor, when most of the stuff I plug in is by the monitor. Go figure. I don't remember what I was thinking about that big one. Maybe tomorrow, although I'm late enough tonight that I won't be up early.

So now it's a dark, snowy night in the field, but the temperature is rising, so it should melt. I need to go to bed.

November 26

Well, I really did it this time. I completely lost track of time and I didn't go to bed until it was getting light. So I didn't get enough sleep again. Sigh. I must be earlier tonight, for sure!

As a result, I didn't do anything again.

The weather is still very cold but not bad otherwise. The high temperature has finally risen to 30º; it was in the middle 20s for most of the day, but the wind has died down almost completely, so it wouldn't have been to bad to be out. It was mostly cloudy, although the camera went down around 8 AM, so I'm not sure about that.

Grayson was nattering at me again before he got his canned food, and he was disappointed because he couldn't get on my lap after breakfast, but later on, after I cleaned myself up, he got on my lap and settled down with his head pillowed on my left hand. It was nice - my hands were cold and he warmed them up nicely. He was lying there with his paw on my chest, and I realized it was right over my heart. I'm sure he could feel my heartbeat. What an intelligent fellow he is! Now if I could only teach him a little more English...

So that was another truncated day and now that the Schubert (played by Alfred Brendel, one of my faves) is over, I can go to bed. It's a cold, dark night in the field.

November 25 - Thanksgiving Day

I hope you got to spend this day with people you love. I, of course, spent it with Grayson, but i have so much to be thankful for.

I've really lost it now. I inverted last night, because I totally lost track of the time, and I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. So I ate my first meal late and it was filling enough that I still haven't eaten anything more, because I can't decide what I want. The turkey will have to wait. I had hoped to go to bed a whole lot earlier, but now it's late again and I don't want to go to bed without eating something - who knows what?

The weather was cold, and I guess there was a bit of snow or something, but not a lot here. The temperature went down from 34º last midnight to 25º now, and there is a northeast wind in the 15-25 mph range, which puts the wind chill down around 10º - 15º. It was cloudy and dull. It's about 62º in here. I'm cold, but I think now it's because I need food.

Grayson got something he likes to eat, but he didn't get to sit on me, because I had to get up right after I finished eating and get to the powder room as fast as I could. I made it. He has been coming around and talking to me, and I wish I knew what he's trying to tell me.

Now it's tomorrow already and it's a very cold, dark night in the field. When the Bach is over, I will try to find something to eat before I go to bed.

November 24

Time got away from me last night, and it's continued today. I was very late getting to bed, very late getting up, didn't get enough sleep, and then I sort of sat. I had a Skinny Pete's scone for breakfast, which is very filling, so I didn't feel like eating after I talked to Debbie (only 165 minutes!) and then I lost track of time again, so now it's late again. Sigh.

Tomorrow, I will have to have a small breakfast - probably jalapeno-cheddar sourdough bread toast (also from Skinny Pete) with cheese, so that I can enjoy my turkey breast. I've decided to try cooking it in the countertop oven this year. I like it in the slow cooker, although It doesn't look as appetizing, even when I tried (that was a hoot) browning it before I put it in. It's too late now anyway, because it has to be defrosted to go in the slow cooker. The countertop oven is big enough, but I haven't tried anything this large in it. The breast comes in an oven bag, but it will open and spill stuff, so I have to decide how to handle that. Anyway. I felt I should try to cook something on Thanksgiving. Of course, if my schedule gets way off, I will just postpone it. That's one nice thing about being able to start it frozen.

By the way, in case you're curious, Skinny Pete's is apparently a local bakery that is being stocked by Pat's. Things like that are one reason I shop there. They try to sell locally produced stuff, which the other local grocery chain doesn't. And I won't shop at Walmart. The downside of it is that they will have something and then the supplier runs out and they can't get it anymore. I've had that problem with honey and Skinny Pete's scones. He makes tons with chocolate chips and I'm apparently not the only one who doesn't like those. We'll see what they have next week.

Other than talking to Debbie, I didn't do anything. We haven't talked in several weeks, so we had some catching up to do. I had to reboot the desktop again, so I'm only hoping RemotePC works. I don't want to have to schlep the laptop down here and talk to customer service again...

The weather was warmish but otherwise nondescript. The high temperature was 47º and there was some wind, which has now been from the northeast for several hours, with gusts up to 37 mph. It was cloudy but bright. The temperature is now plummeting and it's supposed to be very cold and snowy tomorrow. Well, it won't be the first time.

Grayson got something he really liked out of a can today and he kept telling me he wanted more. I am resisting, at least until the supply chain issues get resolved, because I never know when (or if) I can get any more of what he likes. When he sits by his dish and looks up at me with his eyes all big and his mouth pursed up, i know exactly what he's trying to say. He keeps trying to train me, and he hasn't quite realized that I'm just as hard to train as he is.

So that was my day and now it's a cold dark night in the field and it's going to get colder and probably snowier before morning.

November 23

Nothing to report today.

The weather warmed a bit - not a lot - and the high temperature was 39º. The wind was from the southwest and gusty, with gusts up to 37 mph, although it's died down now. There was a bit of sunshine, although not a lot, and it was mostly cloudy.

Grayson was being a pill again. I wish I knew what his problem is when he starts talking up a storm. Sometimes I guess he just wants me to put my hands on him, but sometimes I can't guess what his problem is. He liked his canned food.

Oh, I forgot. I finally darned my sock. It isn't a good job, but since the hole is just above my big toe knuckle, nobody will see it but me. I really like those socks and I want to be able to wear them. The next task is to cast on a new pair of wool socks that will fit me. My knitting tension changes over time, and I've had real problems with the cast on row, as well as some problems with them shrinking when they're washed, so I don't have many pairs I really want to wear, and two of those were the ones with the holes in them. That's all solved now.

I am working up to writing the next episode in Trine 14, but I keep having new ideas, so it's not time to sit down and type. I've been having very painful hands anyway, no doubt due to the amount of surfing and game playing, which makes typing for along time painful. It's beginning to itch at me, though, so pretty soon...

And that's another cold, cloudy night in the field.

November 22

Late, late, late, but I did get my bath and I got the bulletins done.

There are two bulletins this week, because there's a service on Wednesday. My churches all learned a long time ago that trying to hold Thanksgiving services on Thanksgiving Day is futile, so they all have it the night before. It's too bad - I love all those lovely hymns, but then, I don't think I'd go out at night in this weather anyway, and this year it's at St. John's, which is in Hubble, five or six miles further away. I've been there so few times, I doubt I could find it in the dark anyway.

I was late enough that the only other thing I did was to wash the load of bottoms I've been accumulating. After doing well all day, I had a nasty accident in the kitchen on my way to the north end, so most of my sweat pants were soiled, as well as most of my compression hose. And yes, I did clean it up as well as I could before I continued on my way to the north end. I'm trying.

The wind died down to a reasonable level by noon (15 mph wiith 29 mph gusts from the northwest), but it was a noisy night. The temperature finally got up to 31º, but for most of the day it was in the upper 20s, so when I got to the office, it was only about 60º in here. It's supposed to warm up a bit in the next two days, but I'm going to have to get out the space heater. If I have enough hot food and tea in me, I'm all right except for my hands and I can't count on Grayson sitting on me all the time. I can't bury my hands in his warm fur and use the mouse anyway.

He did today. He was being a real pill before I finally gave him his canned food, but it was something he really, really liked. The only trouble is, he wanted more, and I don't think I have any more of that. I've gotten a few things at Pat's, but they want $1 a can for those itty-bitty cans, and I can't afford that. Social Security day is Wednesday, and I'll have money again, so I can see what i can scare up in the way of cat food.

So that was all there was. I think I will probably go up to the north end soon, because it's warmer up there, especially now that the wind has died down some. There was a draft in the bedroom, but I think that's actually coming down the hall and I will almost shut the door tonight, which should keep it warmer. I learned that a couple of years ago.

Now it's a cold, cloudy, breezy nignt in the field. Winter is here.

November 21

So it was another late night and another late day, but not completely my fault.

I was still in the bathroom, dressed but not washed, when someone walked into my house. Grayson had to tell me all about it, before I shouted loudly enough for him to hear me and got my pants pulled up.

It was Ron. We had had a power failure a while before he turned up and since he doesn't have a whole-house generator, he had no power. His phone runs through internet, so he had no phone, either. He is a member of a local cover band, and they were supposed to practice this afternoon, so he had to tell his band mates that there would be no practice. The problem was that a tree had fallen on a power line in back of my next door neighbor's (to the south) house, so he couldn't get out, and he has the only keys to the community center. So he got on my wi-fi and texted his friends while I fed the cat, and then we had a nice conversation before he went home to his dark, cold house. The power came back on a couple of hours ago, so for once UPPCO was right on the job.

The reason for the tree is the wind. We are having another November gale. The wind went from 7 mph at 1PM to 37 mph with 47 mph gusts at 2 PM and it has just kept building. The last reading, at 10 PM, is 41 mph with 58 mph gusts. It's noisy around here. The temperature has dropped off, too, from 33º before the wind picked up to 28º now. And by the way, that wind is making the wind chill feel like 10º. I'll stay here. Oh, yeah, and between 11 AM and 4 PM, we had probably an inch of extremely wet, heavy snow. I don't care what the calendar says, it's winter in Copper Harbor.

Grayson was a hoot. He heard Ron before I did and he had to tell me, loudly, that there was somebody in my house. He likes Ron - well, he likes everybody - but Ron was otherwise engaged and didn't have much time to pay attention to him, so he acted out a bit. I guess he knows I'm a bit hard of hearing, so he was talking up a storm before I heard Ron, who talks rather softly and doesn't shout. It was all funny.

So that was the excitement of the day. With all the trees around here, which we just let grow and/or die, it's a wonder to me that we don't have more incidents like this, but then, even here we don't have very many genuine gales. I looked at the live ships map last night, and I wondered why all the ships were either in Duluth or Whitefish Bay, and now I know. Only a cowboy would have been out in the middle of the lake in this. Since it's right from the north, there aren't very many places for a laker to take refuge.

Now it's a cold, cloudy and very windy night in the field and I'll try the bed thing again.

November 20

Well, that didn't work. I wasn't too late going up to the north end, but when I tried to log into the desktop, it wouldn't connect. I had to reboot the desktop yesterday, and clearly something got out of whack. So I hauled the laptop back to the office - not too bad a job when it's just that, but I should have taken the mouse, too - and after tryig several things that didn't work, I started a chat with support.

I have to say, their support is readily available and seems quite knowledgeable, but it took a while and i had to delete and reinstall the part of RemotePC that runs on the desktop. There are still some things not right, but I was getting tired and it wasn't worth pursuing in the middle of the night. At least I could get logged in, although I haven't tried it today yet.

Anyway, then instead of going to bed, I read for a while and played games and...you know the drill. So it was stupidly late when I did finally go and very late when I woke up.

I did do a few things. I had a pile of trash on the counter by the sink and that is now in a bag, but I have several bags in the kitchen that need to go out, as well as a lot of recyclables, but at least the counters are a bit clearer. I made rice the other night, and the insert needed to be washed, so I did that, and I also washed the griddle and pan from my pancakes. So it wasn't a completely lost day.

I didn't get my sock completely fixed, because when I looked at the yarn, it didn't look right to me, but it has to be the right thing, so I'll finish that up tomorrow. I'm not sure what's causing it, but i have several pairs of socks where one strand of yarn has been cut. It's probably moths, but usually moths will chew on several strands. I must try to be more careful about keeping my lovely socks in closed containers, maybe with some cedar balls.

The weather was sort of blah, but there's something wrong both with the weather station and with the NWS website, sp I don't have complete records. It was cloudy for most of the day but it cleared up right at sunset. The high temperature was 43º, which was nice. The wind started out from the southwest and has now shifted around to the north, with gusts up to 26 mph. Oh, it looks like they may have fixed things. I hope so.

Grayson has told me in no uncertain terms that his tray needs fixing, so I will try to do that tomorrow. He got to sit on me for a while and he curled up beside the chair several times. I wish he wouldn't do that, because I'm always afraid I'll roll over him. Right now he is curled up beside the screen and nearly asleep.

So that was a not-so-lost day and now it's a clear, cold night in the field. I think I will postpone the bath to tomorrow. I'm tired.

November 19

So I read and played games until a ridiculous hour this morning. Unfortunately, for some reason I had to pee a lot, so I didn't get more than a couple of hours' sleep between trips to the bathroom. That happens, too, and it may tonight, although maybe, just maybe, I can be a bit earlier.

Ron brought the mail and he was kind enough to move the TP out of the vestibule, although I still have some moving to do, and he brought both my laundry supplies and my coat rack into the house. So while I have some moving still to do, I don't have any particular lifting. I can use my hand truck without trying to lift things up the stairs. Down is easier.

He mentioned that seven or eight people in Copper Harbor have COVID, although I was having an accident, so I couldn't find out who. I didn't think we could avoid it, but there are only around 80 (or less) of us, so that's a lot. I must call Mary Ann and hope she and Bill aren't among them - they're both unvaccinated. Sigh. It certainly gets old and it just never seems to stop.

I finally had to mend my favorite socks, because my second favorite pair also has a hole in it and my third favorite pair is in the wash. I think I found the rest of the yarn for the holey pair, although it doesn't look quite right. It will do, and I will try to mend them tomorrow. The problem is (and was) that I can't see very well when I first get up in the morning. Having both the regular lights and the heat lamps on in the bathroom helps, but not a lot.

The wind died down overnight, but it was cold. The high temperature was only 38º. It was mostly cloudy and dull and there wasn't much wind.

Grayson didn't sit on me today, for some reason. He was very interested in what Ron was doing, but Ron was otherwise engaged and didn't pay any attention to Grayson, which no doubt annoyed him. So when I went out to move some of the TP and get my JD, he ran out. It's cold out there, so before I was done making my dinner, he wanted to come in. It's particularly uninteresting out there now, because there isn't stuff all over where the mice can hide.

So that was my day and now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field. Tomorrow will be OK, I think, but then the snow will come back...

November 18

Oops, nearly forgot! So I'm up at the north end and I'm trying this out. It's a bit disconcerting, because there's a significant lag, which I think I mentioned when I was writing in Word.

I was stupidly late, in part because things kept occurring to me that I wanted to check out. I got my 10 hours, and the first 5 or 6 without waking up, but I was really late getting up, so I didn't do anything.

The weather is noisy. The temperature was about steady at 35º, but the wind has shifted to the north and has now risen to 31 mph with 41 mph gusts. It was cloudy and dull all day. And it will be cloudy all night, too, so there's no possibility of seeing the eclipse.

I remember one of the last years I was in Detroit, sitting in the middle of the driveway on Champine in a lawn chair in my parka, watching an eclipse until I practically fkoze. I've said many times that the rule in Copper Harbor is that if there is something in the sky that everyone wants to see, it WILL be cloudy. You have to sneka up on these things and hope for the best.

Grayson sat on me twice today, and it would probably have been three times, except that I Had to get up because I was having an accident. After the second time, he got back on the counter and settled down with his head pillowed on one of the books. I don't know why sometimes he's so loving, although it was only 64º.in the office today, so maybe it was in part because I'm warm. He does love to be scratched around the neck, too.

So that was my quiet day and now it's a cold, very windy night in the field. Oh, and if there are any typos in this entry, it's because RemotePC isn't the best app, just the cheapest.

November 17

Up to my old tricks again. I went up to the north end at a reasonable hour, but I was almost through reading Voyages 3, which is one of my favorite stories, and then I started the next episode. By that time it was after midnight, so the daily challenge (Solitaire) was available and I had to do that, and... So it was quite late when I got to bed.

I was so tired that I slept for almost six hours, which may be a new record. It does help, I find. I slept for about three hours more before i got up and I managed not to spend the whole afternoon in the bathroom. The only thing I did, though, was the bulletin. The information didn't come in until after I was off both computers. It was late when I did it, but it was a pretty easy one, so I managed to do it without any changes, at least so far. My main proofreader says everything is fine, so unless there is anything to be added, it should be OK. Not often does that happen.

The weather was blah, but it was warm for this time of year - 47º. The wind was from the southwest for most of the day, although now it has shifted west, with gusts up to 28 mph. I am going to have to break down and check all the front windows, because something is whistling loudly, and it's not the door. I checked that and put down the brace bar yesterday. It was mostly cloudy except between noon and 3 PM, when there were a few rays of sunshine and blue skies. We're in for a couple of days of high winds, high waves and lake effect snow, although the main snow events will be south and west of us. They don't call us the "Banana Belt" for nothing. That great big heat sink out there is a big help.

Grayson was being a pill again, although he did sleep on my lap for a while after breakfast, this time with his head on my left arm, which is better.

My laundry supplies order came today, and I realized that I'm just automatically stocking up for the winter. I will still need food, of course, but if i can get the other stuff before the road gets bad, I'll be able to hibernate through the worst of it. I have two doctort's appointments at the end of February, but until then, I can hunker down.

Once the Beethoven is over, I can totter up to the north end and try to get to bed at a reasonable hour. I feel OK today, but I do notice that I feel better when my hours are more like a normal person's...or I can sleep for six hours straignt.

So now it's a warmish (for this time of year), windy night in the field.

November 16

Ooh! I got to bed before 11 PM and didn't get up until nearly 10 AM, but I felt yucky all day anyway, so it was another almost lost day.

I had pancakes for breakfast, and I discovered i had left my sausages in the fridge too long. I was able to get enough for one meal, but still. I hate to have to throw out any food.

I was back in the office after my accident tonight and thinking about dinner when the power went off. I waited a bit to see if it would come back on, but it didn't so I made my dinner, rather strangely. My generator isn't strong enough to ignore, so I nuked my potatoes before I baked my fish. It worked, without too much trouble, although it took a long time, so I took my salad into the great room, and when I sat down with my back to the slider, I realized that it's raining rather briskly. The wind is from the south, too, and that, following the strong north winds we've had lately, is no doubt why something came down on a power line.

It was cold enough that I was surprised that it's raining, but that has more to do with the mid-level temps than down here. The last reading from the weather station was at 7 PM, so I don't know what the temperature is now, but it was rising and 39º and it hadn't started raining yet. The wind was from the south and gusting to 35 mph, which is no doubt the cause of the power outage.

Grayson was being a pill again today. I think he is trying to tell me he needs to have his tray cleaned - which is true - but he as been wandering around whining all day. He wanted some of my dinner and he went off with a thump when he didn't get any.

So that was a nearly lost day, and I'm going to be later tonight than i was last night, but hopefully not much. I didn't feel any better when I got up this morning than i did when I went to bed last night and it hasn't gotten better.

So it's a cool, dark, rainy night in the field, and the generator just went off. YAY, but I'm glad I didn't wait for dinner.

November 15

Another nearly lost day, but I did get a bath.

There was snow on everything when I got up and it was snowing more. Most of it seems to be gone, but I had to go out onto the front porch to get my package (GRR!!!!) and it was crunchy and slippery but not completely covered, so some of it did melt. The temperature was steady at 38º again and the wind gusted up to 29 mph from the northeast. It was dull and gray. It is supposed to warm up a bit over the next couple of days before it cools off again. The Road Commission says they got 5" of snow at Delaware.

Grayson was behaving himself again. He got to sit on me for a while and he got a tummy rub. I think he would have come back later, but I had to pee, so he didn't get to sit.

So now it's a cold, dark night in the field and it may snow some more. Sigh.

November 14

Well, that was a lost day. I did get all the pill dispensers filled, though, amazingly enough.

The weather is still Novemberish. THe temperature was 38º all day and the wind was blowing around 26 mph (called "windy" by the NWS) with gusts up to 37 mph. There was about half an inch on the garage roof this morning and it apparently rained lightly between 2 and 7 PM. The weather station didn't report any precip overnight, but I kept hearing something a bit harder than rain hitting the windowsill in the bathroom. When I came back from the kitchen, I looked up and there was a hazy gibbous moon shining high in the sky, so maybe we won't have any more snow.

Grayson felt iike I did - like the weather. He was very patient with me. The only time he got excited was when I started eating my ice cream cone. He loves ice cream and yogurt.

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

November 13

It was a noisy night around here last night, but even when the lake is roaring it soothes me to sleep. I was up several times - fish for dinner - but I didn't get up until noon and I didn't do anything. The box is still in the vestibule, but Walmart had the gall to ask me about my experience, so I unloaded on them.

The wind has calmed down some but it's still gusting into the 30s and the lake is still singing. Besides, it's cold and we had a couple of snow showers with no accumulation except in the valley. The temperature was only 39º and it was steady all day. Oh, yes, and the temperature in here is down around 65º or less. i don't know what I'm going to do about that, but today I drank a lot of tea and that helped. There's also herbal tea and chai and cocoa...and a bathroom 40 feet away.

Grayson complained that I didn't feed him early enough, but after we ate, he came and sat on my lap - well, on my right arm, actually - and got rubbed and rubbed and rubbed. He really likes that.

So that's all there is. I don't feel so good, so I think I'll go to bed. It's a cold, dark, windy night in the field and I would say winter is here.

November 12

We must have a new FedEx driver. I just finished hassling 60 mega rolls of TP off my front porch and into the vestibule in the rain. Our regular drivers know they are supposed to leave those things inside the breezeway. Grr. Since I have another package coming Monday, I will be putting a sign on the door. GRR!

I was a bit late last night, but once I got to bed, I slept well. I got up at a sort of reasonable hour, but I fiddled around, so I was late eating.

I forgot to mention that sometime early yesterday, we had a power glitch and I forgot to set the clock in the bedroom, so at about 5 AM this morning, I did that. At least I have the phone to tell me what the right time is. I've given up on trying to keep the weather station clock correct. Somehow, it knows what the phases of the moon are - or it seems to - but the rest of it is way off. It never has been able to pick up the time signals, which annoys me. I've finally figured out - I think - a couple of places I can try putting it, but I don't think that part works right. Well, I didn't pay a lot for it (although I think the price has close to doubled since I bought it).

Otherwise, I didn't do much except wash the three pairs of bottoms I soiled yesterday. Yup, I had another accident before I went to bed. It gets old, but fortunately, there aren't many days when I have three. I will dry them tonight.

The weather was, um, changeable. Until around 3 PM, it was mostly sunny with not much wind and the temperature was in the low 40s, although it topped out at 46º. After 3 PM, the wind picked up and after about 6 6 PM, it has been from the northeast with gusts up to 30 mph. It clouded up, too. The weekend forecast is for snow, possibly accumulating snow. Right now, it's raining lightly. The snow won't stick around next week, but still.

Grayson went his own way today.

So that's about all there is, and now it's a cold, cloudy, rainy, windy night in the field.

November 11

I was a bit later than I planned, but I slept well for a long time, so I felt better today. I actually did a few things. i got the rest of the groceries into the house, finally. It's cold enough out in the breezeway already that there wasn't any trouble with leaving stuff there. I didn't get everything done that I wanted, but it's a start.

The weather wasn't as quite as horrible as they forecast, although I imagine it was pretty bad out in the lake. The temperature finally got to 50º, and there was some rain, so it was very dark and dismal. The wind was from the south until it died down, and while the gusts got up to 44 mph, the sustained winds were never over 20 mph. There is either a window or a door in the great room that isn't sealed, so when the wind is from the south or southwest, it whistles and drives me nutty, but I haven't had time to track down where the noise is coming from. It's probably the door, but I'll have to check all the front windows.

Grayson was mostly on his good behavior today. He slept on my lap for a good half hour after breakfast and he got the juice from my lamb chop, which he loved.

The downside was that I had two accidents this afternoon. The second one was just after I put my chop in the hot pan, so I had to turn it off. Fortunately, I didn't overcook it - it was one of the better ones I've had lately - but one side wasn't very well browned. And two pairs of sweats and a pair of compression hose need to be washed. Sigh.

My shipment of rice came today and I guess the time I spent talking to the UPS driver paid off. Being nice usually does. The box is 30 lbs, and I can't lift it. So I opened it and moved the bags onto my wonderful shelves. One bag has a hole in it, so I guess I'll have to use that before I use the last one of the old shipment. I'm hoping to be able to change up the way I eat the rice enough so that I don't get so tired of it, like I have before. It still does a better job of calming down my gut.

Oh, yeah, and after I panicked and ordered small packages of TP, now they have the big ones in stock again, so I'm going to have plenty to last me well into next year. I don't believe in hoarding, but I see nothing harmful about getting large quantities of something like that, which I know I'll use. It just means it will be a longer time before I have to order it again.

So that was another quiet day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field, but the wind has died down.

November 10

I don't know why I even mention it. Of course, I was late going to bed, late getting up and I didn't do anything.

Oh, I forgot to say yesterday that I did the bulletin and there weren't any changes, so that was good. Sometimes pulling together all the one-sentence emails is confusing.

The weather was blah, but oh, tomorrow! The high temperature was 48º and there wasn't any wind. It was cloudy except for a couple of hours after noon, but they were high clouds, and after dark, there was a hazy moon in the south windows. Ah, but tomorrow! Wow. Our first November gale! This one is coming from the east, weirdly enough, and there is a high wind warning and a lakeshore flooding warning out for all day tomorrow. It will be warm enough to rain, but starting Friday through Sunday, the forecast is snow. Probably not much snow and if it sticks at all, it will melt, but still... Snow. I will be hibernating.

Grayson apparently spent most of the day at the north end - it's warmer up there. He was agitating before I finally got him his canned food, but it was something he liked, so it's gone alreasy.

So there wasn't anything else and I didn't get enough sleep, but they are going to play Mozart after the Corelli, so I will be here a while longer. I was thinking about washing my hair, but I won't. I'm too tired.

It's a cool, cloudy night in the field, but the snow is coming...the snow is coming...

November 9

Late. Very late. And I didn't sleep after the last time I was up, so I'm really tired...but they're playing Beethoven, so I'll stay at least until that's over.

I fiddled around, so I was very late, and then I had another yucky accident, so I'm just about ready to put a load of bottoms in the dryer. Sigh.

The weather was nice again. The high temperature was 56º and the wind was from the northwest, with gusts up to 22 mph. It was clear all day, with lots of sunshine. I can take lots of this, but I think it's about to come to an end. They're talking rain for the next couple of days and snow on Saturday. Well, it's time. Well, at least tonight, I got to see the little crescent moon in the south windows until it disappeared behind the tree.

Grayson is still being a pill. He is so funny. I could almost see his little lower lip sticking out like a two-year-old. I don't know why, because he got some good canned food and his favorite kibble bowl is full. He even got to sleep on my lap for quite a while. He's happier now, though. I had my "sizzler steak" for dinner and it had so much good juice that I gave him the plate (finally) and it looks like the plate went through the dishwasher. I didn't know if he'd drink the juice, but he sure did like it, as well as the little bits of meat or something. Boy, how to spoil a cat!

So it was an almost lost day. I had to put in another Amazon order, because I'm running out of detergent and I still have lots of things to wash. I've been getting these big cardboard boxes of detergent and fabric softener, and I really like them. I keep them on a shelf above the washer and they have spigots in them and little cups to dispense the liquid. It's so much cheaper and more convenient and I don't have to worry so much about running out. Laundry supplies are something I'll always need, so I can buy them in big quantities.

Now it's a clear, cool night in the field and the Beethoven is over, so I can go to bed. Hah.

November 8

Late, but not too late and I got up around 10 AM. I am left wondering why it is that I seem to have accidents after breakfast only when I'm dressed to go out and I don't have much time. At least this morning, I had the time, but I had to change my bottoms and there was no way I could have made it to the bathroom before I soiled them. It gets hard.

I am now completely vaccinated against COVID. I was annoyed that they kept changing the time of my appointment, but it seems to have been a screw=up in the schedule of the nurse who does it, and besides that, she was running almost half an hour late. I frequently wonder about the people who make up those schedules. Don't they know anything about health providers?

Then I was off to Pat's. The plan was to get lettuce and JD and eggs, but I ended up spending a whole lot more than that. For one thing, they had a lot of interesting artisanal breads. And I got some more non-chicken, non-fish meat, as well as a couple of ham hocks. I have some mixed beans and i finally found a recipe for cooking them in the slow cooker. I will add the ham hock and an onion and eat them with rice and probably freeze a lot. I'm in the mode of trying to find almost anything different to eat. I can go for a while with the same things and then I have to do something different.

My appointment was at 2 PM, but since I got my shot late and I had to wait a while before I could leave and then walk all the way around Pat's, it was 5 PM before I got home. The frozen stuff and the meat is in the fridge but there is stuff out in the breezeway. I will take care of that tomorrow. I would like to freeze some of the bread, but the freezer is packed full,so I'm not sure what I'll do about that. I will probably run out of lettuce, but otherwise, I should be in pretty good shape for the rest of the month. One thing I got from Schwan's was a turkey roll. Now all I have to do is decide how to cook it - oven or slow cooker. They are both good.

The weather was OK. The high temperature was 56º and there was a brisk wind that varied between northwest and north, with gusts up to 33 mph. It started out cloudy, cleared up for a couple of hours around noon and then clouded up again. Coming home was interesting, because the cloud bank had a definite edge to it, right over the Keweenaw, and above it were some high cirrus clouds. I guess it's suppsed to clear up again.

Grayson was not pleased that I left, so while I was bringing in the stuff, he bolted out the door. So I turned out the light and left him while I sat for a while and put the food away. When i went back, he was sitting at the door and he yawned at me, so I let him in, but I wouldn't pay any attention to him. Two can play that game. He wasn't too unhappy, because I filled his kibble bowl and he got something out of a can that he likes. I found some more cat food at Pat's, but wow! They want $1 a can for those little 3½ oz. cans of Fancy Feast. At least they have it, which Chewy doesn't. As I keep saying, he has to eat. I don't.

So that was my day. The traffic was light, although on the way down, I got behind an overloaded logging truck and that was difficult. Oh, and some poor soul going 10 mph under the speed limit...coming home was better.

Now it's a cool, dark night in the field and they're playing one of the few pieces by Wagner that I like, so I'll wait till that's over before I go and crash.

November 7

Oh, so i did it again. I wrote (!) for a while - needed to get a scene off my mind - and played games until I couldn't see, so I was very late getting to bed. I got up late and knitted and played more games, so it was a one-meal day.

I did wash my hair with the new shampoo and conditioner and all my hair didn't fall out. At first feel, I think it may be helping with my frizzies, but I won't know that until tomorrow. It does feel softer. Of course I won't know if it's making my hair grow for quite a while. I'll be interested to see if it makes my scalp more oily. The curious thing is the odor. When I smelled the bottles and did my skin test, the perfume was extremely strong, but when I used it on my hair, there wasn't a lot of smell to it at all, and my hair doesn't smell perfumy. Since I've lived here, I've been very careful not to use soaps and things with much perfume. It doesn't matter in the winter, but in the summer, the nasty bugs are attracted to perfume. Well, we'll see how the hair does.

The only clocks not reset are the one on the microwave and the analog one with the '"Minute Sampler" in it. I did have to stop and start the camera software, but I expected that. It shut down at the right time.

The weather was cloudy and a bit warm for this time of year. The high temperature was 59º and there was almost no wind except for a couple of hours around noon. It was dull and gray. Having the sun set at 5:30 PM wasn't nice, especially since it doesn't rise until 7:45 AM. That's what you get when you live at 47º north latitude and winter comes.

Grayson was a pill again, but he got something he really likes to eat, so that made him happier. He just got off my lap, where he sat for quite a long time.

So it was a nothing day. Tomorrow I have to get up at a semi-reasonable hour, because I get my COVID booster at 2 PM, bit maybe I can get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight. Maybe I can avoid the laptop.

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

November e

i read for a while last night, but I was in bed at a sort of reasonable hour (I forget when) and I think I got at least 10 hours' sleep, so I felt much better today.

There was a spam call at 9:30 AM that annoyed me. They aren't supposed to call me, because I'm on the Do-Not-Call list, but even if they do, they are not supposed to call before 10 AM, so they are breaking the law twice. I'm thankful for caller ID, or I'd never answer the phone at all.

I had a package to mail, that I didn't get ready until last night, so I went to the post office and I actually had to go in. I am appalled by how much the cost of mailing things has increased... but then, I'm appalled by the amount the cost of everything has increased. An, well. One thing that didn't, and it surprised me - the cost of my long term care insurance apparently didn't go up this year. Not that I'm complaining...

Anyway, there was a pile of empty boxes in the breezeway, so when I got home, I moved them into the garage. I am enjoying my neat breezeway so much that I want to keep it that way. It did occur to me, though, that you who don't use a cane probably don't realize what a problem it is to move things when you have only one hand available to carry with. I was able to shove the boxes around because they were all light - the Schwan's coolers are only heavy when they're full - and I frequently use my cane as a tool to push or pull things, but still. So now the only box left in the breezeway is the one with my new sponge mop in it, and i didn't think I needed to unpack that yet. I moved a couple more things onto the platform so they will be easy to access.

The weather was very dark and dull for most of the day, and it was just before sunset that it cleared a bit. The high temperature got to 58º right around sunset and the wind died down to almost nothing by noon. I reset the end points of the camera, but I think I will probably have to stop and start it tomorrow to get it working right. The only thing that seems to accept DST seamlessly is the phone. There was an opinion piece in the NYT this week (I didn't read it) that probably echoed my disgust with DST. I hate it. I always have hated it. I always will hate it. And I will never understand why some people think it's necessary. Bah!

Grayson was being a pill today. He ate all the kibble he really likes and he wanted more, even though the other bowl is full. Evidently, even though the kibble is in a nearly air-proof bag, once it's open, it changes taste. The last time I bought the one flavor, I had to get a 16 lb. bag, and since he's just one little kitty and that isn't his favorite kind, it takes a long time for him to eat it. He did finally sit down and eat a few pieces, but his heart wasn't in it. Maybe he'll be hungry enough by morning. And when I got back from the post office, I sat in the powder room for a long time and he complained about that, too. He wanted some loving. He finally got it, but in the meantime, he was wandering around whining at me.

So that was another quiet day, and I'm glad I at least did a few things. I think I will go to bed tonight and save the bath for tomorrow. I got my new shampoo and conditioner that is supposed to thicken up my hair and I need to try it. Let's hope it works. I have very little hair left and it's all scraggly and frizzy.

Now it's a cool, cloudy (I think) night in the field.

November 5

Well, that didn't work. I read for too long and then I played games and it was ridiculously late when I finally got to bed. There was a phone call around 9 AM - why do people call so early? - and i guess I got up around noon, but I'm really tired. Then I sat and played with the computer and the phone or most of teh afternoon.

I didn't want to read any more because I decided that I wanted to combine the part I called "Prologue" to Voyages should be combined with the next part and I wanted to do that before I went on - and I wanted the big screen when I started doing that. So I did some of my surfing and played games. Sigh.

The weather was OK, I guess. The high temperature was about 52º and there has been a strong wind from the southwest with gusts up to 33 mph. It was cloudy but not particularly dark.

Grayson was hungry and he told me so, but after that, he waited until he was sure I was settled down before he got on my lap and we had a nice love-in.

So it was a nearly lost day and now it's a cloudy, windy night in the field. this time,I'm going to bed. I don't like Ferruccio Busoni.

November 4

Well, I read for entirely too long last night, and besides, there were some more changes to the bulletin. It is so nice to be able to go up to the north end and still access stuff on this computer. Anyway, I was very late getting to bed and late getting up.

Oh, and before I went to bed, I decided to try to order some TP - and Walmart is out again. This is getting really annoying, and besides they've made some changes to their website that makes it very hard to do things the way I want to, so it was frustrating. I still have enough TP for about another month, but not much more than that.

I didn't do much today. I was too late. However, I was beginning to read a new story tonight and there were some changes I wanted to make and somehow, I lost a whole paragraph or more right out of the middle. Thank heaven for my backups! I was able to restore the file from the last time I saved it and it was fine. What particularly annoyed me is that the "undo" function in Word just did not work. It completely lost a lot of what I had done by accident. If I hadn't had the backup, I don't know exactly what I would have done, because I sure couldn't remember what I'd written, even though I've read it many times. There were some good things about scratching things out with my pen - or recopying pages because I had changes to make. I don't think my hands are in good enough shape to write longhand anymore, though.

The weather turned rather nice. The high temperature was 49º and there was almost no wind. It was cloudy this morning, but it cleared up around 11;30 and the afternoon was really lovely. I do like getting all that free heat.

Grayson didn't do much of interest. He did get to sit on me for a while, which made him happy.

So that's all there was and I think I will go up to the north end and read from there again. It's a clear, cool night in the field.

November 3

So of course, i was late. i was reading and time just passed. I got up rather late, too, and took my time about my morning routine, although I didn't do the whole daily challenge (Solitaire). And I had an accident - the first one in several days.

The UPS guy was a bit late, but I now have a freezer full of good things to eat and my new shampoo, which will either thicken up my hair or make it all fall out (evidently not very usual). I was thinking about washing it tonight, but I think I'll try to get to bed earlier instead. I will probably have a problem, because I got some more enchiladas and ate them - they are sooo good! We'll see how that goes.

The information for the bulletin didn't come through until after I went to bed (!) and it was after dinner before I managed to get it put together and sent out. Sue wants to print tomorrow, so I'm sorry I was so late, but among other things, I had to put the frozen stuff away.

There is a pile of empty boxes in the breezeway now, but I think I can just kick it into the garage tomorrow. I decided it could wait.

Oh, yes, and I got all the little bottles of spices out of the cabinet beside the stove and put in a basket. Mike gave me that idea, it's just that it's taken me a while to do it. I get my spices from Penzey's (very good) and they have a lot of mixtures that i really enjoy, but there are all these little quarter-cup jars and I have enough of them that I was having a hard time seeing what I do have. Getting them out of the cabinet and into the basket seems to be helping. Now all I have to do is decide whether to use garam masala on my salmon or cumin and coriander (idea from NYT). I got plain salmon filets this time because they were on saie, so I can experiment with spices. I forget what I used the last time I had them, so I can start all over again. I don't cook much, but I still enjoy experimenting with different flavors.

The weather was sort of nondescript, but it did clear up a bit for a while in the afternoon. When I got up tis morning, there was snow on the garage roof and the deck, but not a lot, and it soon melted, except for what is still in the valley, i think. The high temperature was 41º and the wind has finally died down. The humidity has gone down quite a bit, too, which makes me feel better, although my knees still hurt.

Grayson was frustrated. He wanted to sit on me, but every time he tried, I had to move him because I had to do something else. He got some canned stuff he hasn't had in a long time, and he seemed to enjoy that. I still don't understand why he thinks he has to come and eat every time I get near his bowls, but he does. I guess I'd have to know how he came up to understand it.

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

November 2

We didn't have an election today. If you did, I hope you voted.

I didn't get to bed quite as early as I thought I might last night - I was reading - but I turned out the light at 11:20 and got up at 10:20 this morning. For all that sleep, I sure feel lousy, so maybe another early night tonight.

I didn't do anything much. While the talking was going on, I embroidered a bit and I now have only a few stitches left on the little bouquet of roses. I haven't decided whether to do another one from that set or go on to one of the big pictures. I hate to work in a frame so much that I'm hoping I can work in hand on the bigger one, but I've never used 16 count aida, so I don't know. Aida, the way they make it these days, is as stiff as needlepoint canvas so it's hard to work on. We'll see how I feel when the current picture is done.

Well, at least it waited until November. When I got up, it was snowing. There was snow in the valley between the garage and the breezeway, but there wasn't any accumulation. It continued to snow or sleet off and on all day. The high temperature was only 39º and the north wind was 20 mph or faster with gusts up to 31 mph. It was dull and gray.

Grayson slept all day, for quite a while on my lap. He doesn't like this weather any more than I do, but I think he was happy to have me here again. I think that for some reason he worries when I go away that I won't come home, and a couple of times I have left and been gone for a couple of days.

So that's all there was and now it's a cold, snowy, windy night in the field and I think I'll go up to the north end again and read there.

November 1 - All Saints' Day

Well that didn't turn out the way I expected.

I was in bed by 10:30 and I slept well until around 5 AM, but after that I just dozed. The alarm didn't go off - later I discovered it was because the last time I set it I got the AM/PM thing wrong (every clock in the house is different) - but I got up around 7:15 anyway. And i felt awful. I got ready to go anyway, and I was moving at a pace I didn't think i could. Gives me confidence. Anyway, when I looked at all the weather forecasts, and considered how I felt, I decided there was no way I was going to drive 300 miles through rain, sleet and snow.

I tried to call Mary Ann, but she was out, so I drove down to her house and we had a nice conversation and she agreed with me, that it was stupid to try it. So I came home and called and canceled the appointment.

I did the rest of my surfing and I was sort of sitting at the computer when I fell asleep, so I tottered up to the north end, changed into my sweats and took a two-hour nap, which got me through the rest of the day, but I still feel tired and yucky.

The doctor's office called me back - fortunately after I got up - and I now have a Zoom call set up for December. Oh, goodie! I'll get to use Zoom! I can't use it on the desktop, but my laptop has a camera and a microphone. So I will download Zoom to it, and they sent me instructions. Debbie uses Zoom a lot, I think, so maybe I'll be able to practice with her.

Mostly it was the weather. While I was trying to decide what to do, we had a short, sharp squall that left, besides rain, graupel on my deck. That was when I decided it was a no-go. I never did like driving in those conditions, and now that I'm old I think it's just stupid to try. The high temperature was only 44º and there was a north wind with gusts up to 29 mph. It was, of course, very humid. The weird thing was that around here the precip was incredibly spotty. We had that one squall and five minutes later, the sun was out. The road was wet until about the holding ponds, and then it was dry. They never did get it in Copper Harbor. Mary Ann said she could see something coming down over in our area, and late in the afternoon, I happened to be looking out the windows when there was a short, heavy rain someplace just south of the mountain that didn't last for more than five minutes. However, when I looked at weather radar, I could see waves of lake effect all the way from L'Anse to Marquette, and particularly in the highlands around Michigamme, so my initial thought to call off the trip was justified. Fortunately, the nurses seemed to understand.

Grayson was so happy. He knew I was going, and he sat on me while I was doing some surfing, but then he went away. When I came back in only about half an hour, he slept on my lap for a long time and then after I got up from my nap, he sat on me again. The only thing he wasn't too pleased about was that I had to pick up his bowl and scrape some of the canned food, and when I did, he thought I was going to give him something new. Sorry, guy. That's all there is.

So that was not quite the day I had expected, but much nicer. Now it's very early, but I'm very tired, so I think I will just go to bed. I was amazed how much more time I could have if I got up at a reasonable hour and didn't diddle around. Maybe this is the start of something? I'm not counting on it, but it would be nice.

So now it's a dark, cloudy and probably snowy night in the field and I'm off to the north end after the Beethoven ends.

Last updated 12/01/21 12:00 AM