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A View From the Field |
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December 2019 December 31 - New Year's Eve So, Happy New Year, everyone. May the new year be a much better one than the old one was!
I was late, of course, but I have clean hair, which is nice. i got enough sleep, too, although that meant I had a very truncated day and I didn't do anything much.
The weather was the calm after the storm. It was cloudy and dull all day, and the high temperature went down all night, but the high during the day was 26º. There was a brisk north wind, with gusts up to 31 mph.
The guys slept, and Grayson got to sleep on me for a long time this afternoon. I haven't seen Louie lately, but he hangs out at the north end, mostly.
So that was a very quiet day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field. And 2019 is over - thank God!
December 30 - New Year's Eve Eve Inverted again, so I don't have anything to report. The big story is the weather.
It evidently started snowing in earnest around midnight, and it's been snowing ever since, quite hard. Since the high temperature was 36º, it's such wet heavy snow that the branch of the pine beside the house is blocking a lot of the camera view. The wind has been from the east - or at least the weather station thinks it is - with gusts up to 31 mph. It was extremely dark and dull all day.
Starting around 6:00, we had a bunch of power glitches that were really annoying. The power would bounce several times then go down long enough for the generator to come on, then line power would come back and it would start all over again. The computer must have rebooted at least half a dozen times, making me set everything up again every time. There are times when I wish I could override the automatic cutover, so I could stay on generator power for as long as I wanted to, but most of the time, the automatic cutover is better. I really need a UPS for the computer. I also need some speakers. The ones I have that work at all have such a horrible ground hum that I finally had to turn them off a while ago. And they weren't the cheapest when I got them, either. They are just junk. I wish my old ones would work, but I haven't been able to get them to. And I don't have enough money for some Bose...
The weather station evidently went down when the power glitches happened, so I don't know what the readings are now.
So that was my day, and I'm going to try to get to bed a bit earlier tonight. We'll see. It's a cold - but not very - snowy night in the field.
December 29 So I inverted again last night - big time - and I didn't get a lot of sleep, but it was still late when I got up and even later when I ate my first meal. Lately, I've had to go back to the bathroom after I finished washing my face and brushing my teeth. I don't know why, but I do it because if I don't, I'm much more likely to have an accident after i eat.
I was so late that I didn't do anything.
The weather was miserable. It was rainy this morning and foggy all day, and I guess it still is. The temperature was nearly steady all day, with a high of 37º. There has been some wind, with gusts up to 66 mph. That is weird; the weather station has been reporting south winds, but when it was raining, the wind here was clearly coming from the east, which is where it is at the airport. It looks to me like there's something wrong with the weather station, but it may just be that it's sheltered from certain directions. It was very cloudy and dark. It wasn't a nice day at all, and I was just as glad I didn't try to go to church. When I would have been out this morning, the rain and wind were combined with snow and freezing rain and I don't do those anymore. Whew! Oh, and we had 1.55" of rain overnight. I'm just as glad that wasn't snow, since we don't have our new tractor yet.
The guys slept. Louie got a little loving after I got up and Grayson got to sleep on me for a while. They got some canned food that they like - or at least they liked it today - so they were happy campers.
Now it's time to go ot bed again, but I'm reading, so who knows when I'll go? It's a cool, foggy, yucky night in the field and the snow is coming...the snow is coming...
December 28 Late as usual, but I got enough sleep. I was dribbling off before I went to bed and I dribbled more when I got up, and then I had to go back to the bathroom for more dribbles...it's hard. At least I didn't have an accident, at least yet.
I didn't do anything much except the usual.
The weather was nondescript again, at least until sunset. It was very clear last night, although I only saw a little of it. The high temperature was 39º and there was no wind at all. Sometime after it got dark, I looked at radar and it appeared that it was snowing here, but I think it was one of those cases where there might have been snow in the upper atmosphere but it wasn't getting near the ground. However, the forecast was so dire that I abandoned any idea of trying to go to church. If it had been just rain, I might have attempted it, but they kept saying snow, rain, freezing rain, high wind...So I will stay home and hope for next week.
The guys slept. Grayson got to sleep on my lap for a long time and he was very happy about it. He does one thing that I just don't understand. He sometimes just twines himself around my legs while I'm sitting at the computer, and when he does, the keyboard keeps going offline and coming back. It has a cord and the cord isn't near where he is, so I have no idea what's going on. It's annoying, because sometimes I have to fiddle a bit before it comes back up. I know he has some static electricity in his coat, but I haven't noticed enough that it should be affecting anything. Weird. I haven't seen Louie.
So that was it. I hope not to be too late tonight, but I make no guarantees. It's a warmish, dark night in the field and the snow or rain or something is coming...
December 27 I was late again, of course. I was reading, but once I got up to the north end, I kept dribbling off, so I had to sit for quite a while. I slept well, as I always do when I'm so late, and I got up around noon. Not nearly enough sleep, but oh, well.
I had to rush, because I wanted to go to the post office and I needed some stuff at the store. I was giving Staci my order when I started to gurgle, and by the time I got off the phone with her, I was having an accident, so I had to change my bottoms before I could leave. It gets tedious.
The good thing is, Staci has stocked the store with a lot of the things I want - fresh salad greens and spinach, some of the Indian things I've been eating, honey and OJ! There are still some things I want to get at the supermarket, but if I don't get there, I'm good, because I finally got a Schwan's order today, too. So if the weather is really as bad as they're saying it will be for the next week, I won't run out of the essentials. She's making soup, too, and I'll have to investigate that.
I didn't do much, but I did do something today. I always take my desk chair into the kitchen when I have to put away a Schwan's order, so that I can sit down and get things organized, so while I was there, I finally - finally!! - got all the trash off the floor. Now the kitchen is full of bags, but it's a whole lot better. Not great, but better. At least I can walk around without tripping over an empty JD bottle! And I made rice. I always enjoy that, because the freshly cooked rice is so nice. I've finally, after all this time, found how to store it in the fridge so it doesn't turn purple, but it's even nicer when it's fresh and not reheated. I rediscovered how much I love spinach, and it cooks just fine in the microwave - in about 1½ minutes. I know, lots of people don't like spinach, but I have from the time I was just a baby and it turned my face as red as a beet when my mother fed me. I guess it was an allergy, which, thankfully, I've gotten over.
Oh, I think I sort of got the wi-fi problem under control. I had to put the extender in the powder room - not where I wanted it - but I can usually get it in the bathroom. The only thing that annoys me is that even though I have "auto-join" on for both the router and the extender, the iPhone doesn't. I have to go into settings and select the network I want to join. That's a pain, and it sure isn't what "auto-join" means to me! At least it works.
The weather was nondescript again. The high temperature was 35º and there was a rather brisk northwest wind, with gusts up to 28 mph, until around 4:00 PM, when it went calm. It was dark and dull until about the time I went out, when the clouds began to part, and it looked fairly clear at sunset. The forecast is rather dire, though. I had hoped to be able to go to church on Sunday - at least once before the new year - but it doesn't look good. If it's only rain, I might try it, but if there is snow mixed in, I won't.
The guys slept. They were happy, because not only did they get canned food - the gravy kind - their kibble bowls were filled. When I finally sat down after I got through in the kitchen, Grayson came and went to sleep on my lap until my tail went to sleep.
So that was my day, and I'm hoping - again - to get to bed a bit earlier tonight. It's a dark, cold night in the field, but I may see a star or two.
December 26 So even though I was exhausted, I was late. I was reading and fooling around, as usual. I got enough sleep, though, and I feel much better, but it was a severely truncated day, so I didn't do anything until right now.
I have been annoyed by the variability of the cell service I get in the bathroom. Well, I shouldn't be, because I'm one of the few people who can get any cell service in Copper Harbor, but it comes and goes in odd ways. I've had that router extender for a long time now, and after I put in the wrong password from my iPhone, I couldn't use it, which made me mad The last time Apple updated iOS, i had to log into the router again, which made me pretty sure I could fix my problem with the extender. So I finally plugged in the extender, entered the right password, and wow, I have access to it! I will take it with me when I to up to the north end and plug it into a receptacle in the laundry room and hope for the best. The only problem I can see is that it might be too far from the router, although the one time I had it plugged in, it looked like it wasn't. We'll see.
The weather was blah again. It was extremely foggy overnight and it didn't clear up until the middle of the afternoon. The temperature was nearly steady, with a high of 40º for most of the afternoon. The wind came and went, but it's from the northwest and gusting up to 25 mph now. I need to do some food shopping, but the weather forecast for the next few days is dire, so I'm not sure when I will go.
The guys were sleepy, but I found them both in the kitchen when I went to get my dinner. I don't know why. Grayson got to sleep on me for a while during the talking, and he went away pretty much on his own. He does move when I twitch, for some reason, and I was glad he went, because I had to pee. I don't know what Louie's problem was. I found him sitting in front of the bag with the empty cat food cans in it. Sometimes they're really weird.
So that was a very quiet day and now it's a warmish (for December), very cloudy night in the field.
December 25 - Christmas Day Ah, dearest Jesus, Holy Child, Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled Within my heart that it may be A quiet chamber kept for Thee!
There. Now it's Christmas.
I inverted big time last night, and I had just gotten up around noon to pee when I got a call from Peg at Mariner, inviting me to dinner! Woo-hoo! I thought I was going to have to scare up something on my own. Of course, it was a bit tight, because they stopped serving at 5:00, and I needed more sleep, so I went back to bed. I didn't really sleep, but I dozed and I felt OK when I got up about 2:30.
I had a very nice dinner - actually, two dinners, because there was enough on that plate for two meals - and some nice conversation with Peg, although not as much as I wished, because she was cooking and breaking in a couple of new wait people. It was nice to see her, as well as Donny and Danny. There were more people there than I would have thought, mostly snowmobilers. I wonder how the trails are, with all the warm weather we've been having. There is probably enough snow, except for right here in the harbor. I got to see the light show in the park, which is really lovely this year. It's not just one person doing the decorating anymore and they're taking a lot more care.
The weather was yucky. Nothing came down, but it was very cloudy and dark all day. The temperature was nearly steady around 37º and there wasn't any wind.
The guys slept, of course. When I came home, Grayson finally got to sleep on my lap. It's been a couple of days since we could get together and he was so happy. They were both happy, actually, because they got their very most favorite canned food to eat. It's one of the few times I've seen Grayson actually opt for the canned food rather than dry when he decides he has to eat in front of me. I think that's left over from his days as a stray.
So that was my very quiet Christmas. I hope everyone had a lovely day doing just what you wanted to do. Now it's a cold, dark and, I think, foggy night in the field. Merry Christmas!
December 24 - Christmas Eve So I didn't get to test my theory about sleep because I didn't go to bed until after 4:00 AM. I slept well and I got up around 12;30, so I had enough sleep. I knitted the last two rows of the repeat, so I can start the next repeat the next time I knit. This is going very slowly, but there have been a lot of times lately when I was too late to spend any time knitting.
I didn't do anything else. I thought about going out, but I was late enough that I would have had to go before I had anything to eat and my hypoglycemia has been bad lately.
The weather was nondescript again. It was dark and cloudy and the high temperature was 37º. It was very windy this morning, with gusts up to 43 mph from the southwest, but the wind has died down to nothing now. As far as I know, there was no precip.
The guys slept and I didn't see them. Grayson only wanted to sit on me when I was doing other things. Louie was out in the great room, but he's gone now.
I had two accidents, one at 7:00 PM and one at 10:00 PM. It gets old and it's very depressing. I'm beginning to wonder if I can go out at all when I never know if that will happen.
So that was my very quiet day and now I'm finally getting to hear Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium. Considering that I've heard In the Bleak Midwinter at least three times every evening (twice in one hour a while ago!) I was surprised to hear the Victoria at all. Somebody who does programming for MPR's 24-hour classical stream likes Bleak a whole lot better than they ought to, and I finally complained about it last night. Considering how many Christmas carols there are, I see no reason why they should be playing that one over and over again. It's not that I don't like it - I do - but geez. Enough already.
Now it's a dark, not very cold night in the field and It's Christmas. Sigh.
December 23 - Christmas Eve Eve Well, it was a weird night. I waited until I was really tired before I went to bed - around 2:00 AM - but I couldn't sleep until around 4:00 AM. After that, I did fine, but I didn't get up until after 1:00 PM. That wasn't quite what I had in mind. I don't know what the problem is. I hope it doesn't mean I've gotten so programmed that I can only sleep during the day. I will try it again tonight and see what happens.
I was so late that I didn't do anything. I started the heel of the pink and lavender sock - the second one, that I've been working on for a year or so. And I embroidered. I'm not quite through with the interior of the diamond I've been working on. I had another conversation with Schwan's and I didn't get my big coupon back, but I think the rest of it is straightened out. Ol' Fast Fingers just cost me $50 and that hurts.
The weather was nondescript. The temperature was 45º at midnight, and it went down slowly after that until it's 28º now. The wind was quite strong this morning, with gusts up to 32 mph from the northeast, but it died down and now it's shifted around to the southeast. Contrary to the forecast, it was cloudy all day, but it was mostly bright clouds.
The guys slept. Grayson was not happy, because he didn't get any lap time, but I was doing other things, like eating or preventing another accident. I haven't seen Louie since this morning.
So that was another very quiet day and now I am planning to go to bed soon and hope I can sleep a bit better a bit earlier. it's a cool, cloudy night in the field.
December 22 Well, I didn't make it. I set the alarm and turned out the light at 9:30 and I went right to sleep. I woke up with a hot flash at midnight and it was 4:00 AM before I got back to sleep, after one hot flash after another. I do not know why that happens sometimes and doesn't other times. I finally did get back to sleep, but I woke up at about 5:45 and i decided I was not about to drive 75 miles and shop after church on less than 6 hours' sleep, so I went back to bed and I didn't get up until around 9:30. I was very disappointed. I really wanted to go, but i know my limitations.
So I knitted instead and I got four rows done. I didn't do much else except clean up after my requisite accident and read. I don't feel very good again.
The weather was nice. It was nearly clear all day and the temperature got up to 42º with very little wind. It was nice to see the sunshine again. Oh, and today is a whole 4 seconds longer than yesterday...at least it's longer!
The guys slept. Grayson got to sleep on me for quite a while, although eventually I had to make him leave because my arm and my tail were going to sleep and I had to twitch. They got something they like for breakfast, but I haven't seen much of Louie since. I did see him briefly when he went after Grayson, who was asleep outside the door to the studio on his pile of old nightgowns, Louie can be a very grumpy cat.
So that was a very quiet day, and now it's a dark, partly cloudy night in the field.
December 21 - Winter Solstice It sure wasn't wintry for the first official day of winter. It will be a while before we notice any changes, but we're on the upward leg now, finally. Even when it's sunny, it's dark.
I inverted, for no very good reasons at all, although I was reading. So it was an extremely truncated day. I have a notion that I'd like to go to church tomorrow - we'll see how that comes out - so I'll be off to the north end as soon as I finish this.
I didn't do much except my surfing. Pastor sent the bulletin information, and I got that out in record time with only a couple of changes. I wanted to get it out as soon as possible, so that Sue can schedule when she prints it. As usual when we go over a month end, there is stuff missing - more because it's year end - but that's all right. Sue does the Duty Roster and she is great - she put in the assignments for January 5 so she has a week more or so to get the next year's assignments put together. I really feel for people who have family obligations at this time of year. I remember it vividly, and I never did have much. There's never enough time.
The weather was not wintry. The high temperature was 39º, with very little wind. It was cloudy and dull until about 2:00 PM and then it cleared up enough that we had sunshine for the rest of the afternoon - well, sunset was at 5:04 PM, so it wasn't very long.
The guys slept. They sleep so much that it doesn't bother them when I do, too. Grayson is more bothered when I don't go to bed like he thinks I should. Louie just shrugs.
So that was it, and I have to go now. It's a partly cloudy, warmish night in the field.
December 20 So I didn't go anywhere today. I was ridiculously late and for no particular reason, so I was late getting up. I started out to go anyway, with a fast breakfast and no tea, but then I had a nasty accident and by the time I cleaned up after that, it was too late. The story of my life lately.
I didn't feel like it anyway. Part of it is not enough sleep, but not completely. I'm not hungry, but when I don't eat, I get feeling really sick - the old hypoglycemia. So I stayed home and did nothing except I embroidered. I finished the little diamond I was working on and started a really big one, that has a crown on top and a carnation and two tulips inside. It also has all those miserable three-leafed clovers or whatever they are on the outside. I'm getting to hate those things, but I'll press on. I got about half of the outside done.
The weather was surprising. The temperature has gone up to 34º and stayed there and the wind, which is from the southwest and was very strong earlier, with gusts up to 43 mph, has now died down. It was very cloudy and dark again. The weekend is supposed to be even warmer.
The guys slept, I guess. I haven't seen Louie since this morning. Grayson didn't get to sit on me until after the talking was over.
So that was it, and I really must go to bed. It's a warmish (for December), dark night in the field.
December 19 Late again. I was reading and I had to wash my hair, and my me after I had an accident, and I always procrastinate when I have to take a bath, even though it isn't quite as much of a chore as it was. Anyway, I was late to bed and I got up around 10:30, so I didn't get enough sleep. I felt so bad when I got up, and without enough sleep, I decided I didn't want to drive today, so it's tomorrow for sure. I would like to go to church, but we'll just have to see how my hours go over the weekend, and I'm usually too tired after church to shop anyway. I did nothing.
The weather was nothing, too, although it has warmed up a lot. The high temperature was 26º and there was hardly any wind. It was very cloudy and dark, though, and very dreary. It didn't snow, or I don't think it did.
The guys slept. i finally found out for sure that Grayson's place of choice at night is under the computer desk, which is weird, except that it's probably warm under there. I think Louie spent most of his day at the north end someplace.
So it was another quiet day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field, but the weather has calmed down for the time being.
December 18 Last night, I actually got to bed at a semi-reasonable hour - 1:00 AM - but i didn't have that good a night. I had at least four hot flashes, so I was up a lot and wakeful a lot. It still makes me mad that I can be having a serious hot flash and my feet are cold! I finally put on my bed socks, and that helped, but still.
I got up around 10:30 and I actually knitted today! Four rows! Of course, that made me rather late, but it was all right. It felt good. The information for all the services next week came in, so I spent the latter part of the afternoon making bulletins. I sent them out around 5:00, and I haven't heard back from anybody yet, but I think they're all right.
I spent the talking time finding my programs on the internet - my local station was broadcasting the impeachment "debate," which is no debate at all, just a lot of people shouting stupidities at each other - so i had to find what I needed someplace else. It's easier than it used to be. While I was listening, I embroidered, but actually, I mostly un-embroidered. I got about a third of the way around the wreath and discovered that I had started the little tree above the wreath about 10 rows down from where it should have been, so it wasn't going to work at all. Before I stopped - around 8:00 - I had half of the wreath done, but if I hadn't screwed up, I would be almost done with it. Well, I don't feel too bad about it, because it's always hard to work a spot pattern, especially one like this, where it isn't clear how the original stitcher worked. I only begrudge all those stitches I had to remove.
The weather was frigid. It eventually did get up to 10º, briefly, and the wind chill got up to 0º, but for most of the day it was colder. There was a very strong north to northeast wind overnight and this morning, with gusts up to 39 mph, but it has died down now and shifted around to the southwest. it actually snowed lightly all day - the camera never showed the mountain - even though most of it didn't register in the rain gauge. I don't think there was a lot of accumulation.
The guys wisely slept. Grayson was frustrated, because I was working and he couldn't sit on my lap. After breakfast, I think Louie probably went back up to the north end where it's warmer. Grayson thought he wanted something I was eating for dinner, but I'm not sure what. He seemed mostly interested in the chocolate chip cookies, for what reason I don't know. Chocolate is toxic to cats, so he didn't get any. He's sort of weird anyway.
So that was a more normal day. Tomorrow I have to go food shopping unless we're having a blizzard. I don't want to wait until Friday. I don't think I'll stay for choir, but I will at least try to stop at the hospital and get my blood test. The last time I tried that, I couldn't find a parking place, so I couldn't stop, so we'll see what happens this time.
Now it's a dark, frigid night in the field, but at least the wind has died down.
December 17 Oh, I inverted last night again. This has got to stop, and I'm going to try to start making it stop tonight. Wish me luck. So I was late getting up and I didn't do anything much except some embroidery. I finished the weird bird and two very small motifs and I started a nice wreath with a pair of birds in the middle. The thing about these patterns is that if you just looked at them, or at the finished embroidery, you would never see all the neat little details that make it so much fun.
The weather was nondescript, and I was a bit annoyed. I didn't try to get to bed last night - or this morning - or wash my hair or anything because all the weather people said it was going to snow. I need to do some shopping; I don't have enough breakfast food or some other things to last until my doctor's appointment on January 6, so I need to lay in some supplies. It's supposed to snow tomorrow, too, but Thursday is supposed to be good. I won't go to church, but if I can stop at the hospital and get my blood test and then do some shopping - not a lot, because I don't have much money and I really don't want to spend my Benjamins - it will be a good thing and I can go back into hibernation. The long-term forecast is saying no more snow until the 26th, but I don't want to attempt to shop on Monday, and even if I can get to church, I've learned that plus shopping is more than my poor old bod can handle.
It was another one of those days where the high temperature was early in the morning - 26º - and it went down slowly all day, until it's 11º now and it may get down to 0º before morning. There was - is - a strong north wind, with gusts up to 39 mph. I'll be curious to see how the temperature in the north end is holding up. It was dark and cloudy all day. And the days are only 8h27m long now, so mostly it's dark. And cold. And windy.
the guys slept, wisely. Louie got some loving when I got up and Grayson got to sleep on my lap while I was doing my surfing. He wanted some of my dinner, too - or he thought so - but he never eats it, so I didn't give him any. Althogh sometimes when he reaches out that paddy-paw with his claws out, what he apparently really wants is for me to pet him.
So that was another very quiet, very truncated day. Now I want to hear the Mozart, and then I plan to go to bed and sleep long and hard. We'll see how that works. It's a dark, frigid, windy night in the field.
December 16 Happy Beethoven's Birthday. Or we think it's Beethoven's Birthday - he was baptized on the 17th and that was usually done the day after a baby was born. It will do for a celebration.
I was a little earlier last night, but not a whole lot, and I got up very late, so I didn't do anything again. Well - I did talk to Schwan's again, with no resolution of my problem, but they will probably be calling me back in a day or two and we'll see what happens. I didn't knit on the shawl, but I got my sock back to the studio and I knitted while I was reading. I'm glad to know I can still do that. I get antsy when I don't have something to do with my hands. I worked on the sampler and did the top part of a diamond with two birds on top of it, and another weird looking thing that I think is a bird and is solid stitches.
The weather was nondescript again. There was some snow, mostly early in the morning, although it was still snowing lightly when I got up. The high temperature was 25º. There was a brisk northwest wind this morning, with gusts up to 32 mph, but this afternoon, it died down to almost nothing. It was another cloudy, dark, gray day. There's ice on the harbor again, and it would surprise me if it disappears again.
The guys slept. i think Louie spent the whole day at the north end. I hope he isn't sick. Grayson got some lap time, but not as much as he wanted.
So that was it. Now it's another dark, cold night in the field.
December 15 I inverted last night, so it was a truncated, quiet day. Mostly I read and listened to music.
The weather is still nondescript again. The high temperature was 20º, For a while there was a west wind with gusts up to 22 mph, but that only lasted for a few hours, and it's now nearly calm again. There was apparently a little snow this morning, although it didn't register at the weather station - I saw it in the camera shots - and for most of the day it was just dull and gray.
The guys slept, although I haven't located Louie lately. During one of my trips to the north end, when I came out of the bathroom Grayson was lying outside the door, on his side, with his paws curled up in front, like Louie frequently does. They learn from each other, but I didn't think it would be something like that. Anyway, he looked just as cute as Louie does.
Yes, I was up to the north end twice. I didn't have any rice or other fibrous stuff yesterday and I paid big time. I have to wash a load of bottoms tomorrow. It gets very old. And I need a bath.
So that was my day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field.
December 14 I was late last night and I'm late tonight. Mostly, it's been the lovely music. Last night's was good and tonight, I just finished listening to Beethoven's Third, which is one of my most favorite symphonies, even if they play it in the middle of the night.
I got up late and I didn't do anything.
I was sitting in the dark, reading, at 6:00 PM when I heard pops and thought I saw something reflected in the screen and when I turned around, they were setting off fireworks in the park. Tonight was the lighting of the Christmas decorations and they have been having fireworks with that. It only lasted about five minutes, but it was very pretty - all red, white and green.
The weather was nondescript again. The high temperature was in the morning, 29º, and it went down slowly after that. There was a brisk northeast wind, with gusts up to 32 mph. It wad cloudy and dark all day.
The guys slept.
So that was it and it's a dark, cold night in the field and there may have been a few flakes of snow, too.
December 13 I guess it was about 1:00 AM when I got to bed. I didn't sleep very well. I had a wakeful period between about 3:00 and 5:00 AM and I had numerous hot flashes. It may have been a little warm in the bedroom, but I was wearing my nightgown, so I shouldn't have been hot, especially since my feet were cold, or at least cool. I finally got back to sleep when I put on my bed socks. I thought I got enough sleep, but I nearly went back to sleep while I was sitting in the bathroom.
I persisted anyway and I got to the post office and the store. My new jeans came, but I haven't tried them on yet. My winter tax bill came, too, and it was quite a bit more than I thought it would be. Oh, sigh. And I have to pay off that heating bill, so I can't save anything yet. Fortunately, it's not due until the middle of February, so maybe I can get a little ahead.
The weather was nondescript. The high temperature was 28º and there was very little wind. It was cloudy and dark all day but there wasn't any more snow.
The guys slept. Louie got a little loving and Grayson got to sit on me for a little while.
So that was it, and now it's a cold, dark night in the field.
December 12 Well, I guess it was the wind. By the time I got up to the north end last night - around 10:30, I think, because I was tired - the wind was shifting and dying down and it was beginning to warm up. I had turned on the heat lamps when I was there earlier in the day, and it was about 69º when I got there. So I washed my hair and went to bed clean. It was a good thing; I had some diaper rash on my bottom. That stuff that comes out of me is toxic.
Anyway, with all that, I guess it was about 1:00 when I got to bed. I wore my sweats and I was quite comfortable all night - no hot flashes, no too cold. I got up around 9;00, I think, and it was quite comfortable at the north end. So I knitted four rows on the shawl, since I didn't have to get dressed except to put on my compression hose. I don't sleep in those. It was so nice it's tempting to do it every night, but I think not. I know the last time I did it, things got a bit fragrant after a while.
I didn't do anything else. I was playing a game around 2:30 PM when my eyes started going shut and i was too sleepy to stay awake, so i went up to the north end and after I changed my bottoms - yes, the usual - I went to bed and slept for a couple of hours. I only got up around 5:30 because my left ear was so sore I couldn't lie on it anymore and the one disadvantage of wearing my sweats to bed is that it's close to impossible for me to move around when I'm wearing them. It was time anyway. I misses most of ATC. And I'm going back to bed as soon as I finish this. I don't know why I'm so tired, but I'm not going to fight it.
The weather was snowy. It snowed lightly all day. The high temperature was 24º and there was no wind. Of course, it was dark and cloudy all day. When I was awake during the night, I could just about see the full moon through the clouds, but I didn't see anything that looked like sun today. Geez, i just checked the snowfall totals, and they've had 93" up at Delaware already this season! Thankfully, we haven't had nearly that much here, but it will come.
The guys slept. They are as happy as I am that the house has warmed up. Louie, especially, has moved back into the bedroom, where ther floor is usually warm. Grayson got to sit on me for a while, but not nearly as much as he wanted, and he wanted some of my pork chop tonight - or he thought he did. He wouldn't eat it, and I understand that tomatoes aren't good for cats. That frustrated him, so he went off in a huff.
I still think there may be something wrong with my heat, particularly in the bathroom, but now maybe I can wait until after I pay off my current bill before I talk to the heating people again. It may be something inherent in the way my system was built, in which case, my only solution will be space heaters. We'll see.
So now it's a cold - but not as cold as the past days - dark night in the field and I'll be off to bed soon. Really
December 11 I don't think I have any heat. At least it's frigid around here anyplace where I don't have auxiliary heat. Oh, sigh.
I was earlier than usual last night, but not really early. I didn't sleep very well, and I think it was probably because I wasn't warm enough. I expect to wear my sweats to bed tonight. I had intended to wash my hair tonight, but now I'm not sure I'll do that. It needs it, but it's cold!
I didn't do much. I knitted two rows - it was so cold in the bathroom! - and I did my surfing and that was about it. While the talking was going on, I embroidered. I am working on the satin stitch in the middle of the triangle motif I've been working on, but I'm not through with it yet.
The weather is part of the reason it's so cold. it bottomed out at 7º overnight, with a strong north wind. The wind shifted a bit to the west for a while but then it went back to the north and we had sustained winds of 30 mph with gusts to 44 mph around noon. it's died down a bit now and the temperature is up to 17º finally, but it's still frigid and windy. The snow finally stopped around 3:30 PM and the clouds started to break up. When i came back here with my dinner, the full moon was shining in the upper east windows, very blue and frosty.
Louie spent his day at the north end. When I was up there to change my pants, I left the heat lamp on in the bathroom and he moved in there, where it's marginally warmer. Grayson's solution to the cold was to sit on me, although he couldn't do it as much as he wanted to.
So that was another very quiet day and now it's a frigid, windy, partly cloudy night in the field. Brr.
December 10 Late again, of course. One problem with the phone is that while I'm sitting in the bathroom, questions occur to me and I just have to look them up. I take it with me so I can check the weather when I get up. I think I was checking the cooking time for my pork chops - for which I didn't get an answer. I saw everything from 2 to 9 hours. Sheesh.
The problem seems to be that every slow cooker is different and the way every cook wants the chops done is different. For me, and this recipe, and this slow cooker, it seems to be 4 or 5 hours. I think I probably let them go close to 5 hours, because I had to roast my potatoes. Whatever, it was an exceptionally nice dinner, along with some cooked veggies and a salad. i haven't eaten so much in a long time, but it sure was good. And I have another meal to go, too. That chop is a bit smaller, which is fine. I baked my baby potatoes, and while they took some time - about 25 minutes in the convection oven - they came out very nice and tasted great.
One of the other things I keep looking up on the internet is the amount of fiber in things, and I was interested to see that there is more fiber per ounce in potatoes than there is in brown rice, so my elimination should be OK tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. I really have to cook up some of the barley and quinoa I have. Barley has more fiber than anything. I want to mix it with the rice, just for a change of pace.
I embroidered while the talking was going on and I finished two small motifs and started a big one, this a diamond with a crown on top that has both backstitch and satin stitch in it.
The information for the bulletin came in around 1:30 for once, so while I was waiting for my potatoes to cook, I put it together and sent it out. The next couple of weeks will be hard, because of all the services, but this one was easy, unless I missed something.
The weather was, um, wintry. When I got up this morning, they had put out a Winter Weather Advisory until tomorrow - I was wondering about that last night - and it snowed lightly all day, although it didn't start to register in the rain gauge until around 4:00 PM tonight. The temperature started out at 16º this morning and has now fallen to 8º. The wind was strong this morning, with gusts up to 28 mph from the north, but lately it's died down and shifted toward the west. 0f course, that has put the wind chill well below 0º. I was glad to stay home.
The guys slept, although Grayson didn't get much, if any, lap time, because I had to get up and do things. He was pouting.
So it was another very quiet day, but at least I got to play with my slow cooker and get the bulletin out of the way. It's a frigid, snowy night in the field.
December 9 Oh, I was late again, but not nearly as late as the night before and I got a lot of sleep. Then I knitted two rows, for the first time in a couple of days, so I was late eating. I have to make those pork chops tomorrow, so i hope I get up earlier, but we'll see.
I was so late that I didn't do much else. While the talking was on, I embroidered on another round motif. This one is mostly flowers and leaves, sort of like a wreath, with a flower in the middle. It's fun to see all the different ways to fill in a circle.
The weather was snowy and cold. The temperature slid down slowly from 23º this morning to 19º now. It snowed all day, and I think it probably still is, even though there hasn't been any measurable precip for the past few hours. Snow is harder to measure than rain anyway. The wind has slowly shifted from east to northeast, but it's gusting up to 37 mph. It's a good day to hunker down.
We did that. Louie got a little love this morning and Grayson got to sit on my lap for a while.
So it was another slow day and now I'm listening to Beethoven, which means I'll be a bit late tonight, too. It's a very cold, snowy, windy night in the field.
December 8 So I inverted again last night. I wrote about 1100 words and I was reading a lot and time just passed. So I was late getting up and I don't feel good. I just about fell asleep several times during the afternoon.
The weather was nondescript. It was 38º all night long and the temperature has been falling all day, until now it's 24º. There was a strong wind that started out from the north and is now from the east, with gusts up to 28 mph. I find it curious that for the past few years we've had so many snowstorms with winds from the east. That didn't used to happen. We are under a Winter Weather Advisory until 10:00 PM tomorrow, but as far as I know, it hasn't started to snow yet. It's supposed to get extremely cold in the next three or four days, too. I think I'll stay home.
The guys slept. Grayson didn't get to sleep on me because he went away before I was ready for him. I think Louie has been up at the north end again.
I put the load of underwear in the dryer before I went to bed, and today I washed the load of sweats. I will get the underwear out and the sweats in before I go to bed. They take forever to dry.
So that was a nothing day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field and the snow is coming...the snow is coming...
December 7 Oh, I almost forgot - this is Pearl Harbor Day. I always try to commemorate it, because I was about five months old when it happened and it had a big impact on the early part of my life, and probably the rest, too, because I've always thought my dad came home with PTSD and that affected all of us. PTSD wasn't a thing at that time, but he sure acted like it.
So i was late again and I didn't get enough sleep again, but oh, well. And it's late, but I've given up going to church tomorrow - the weather forecast isn't good - so it doesn't matter.
I was writing. The reason I was so late last night - I'd intended to get to bed at a reasonable hour - was the computer again. Sheesh. This time, I lost that file completely. I had it open and it saved and I could open it from Word, but when I tried to look at it with any version of Explorer, it wasn't there. I searched and fiddled and tried to copy and renamed and nothing worked, so finally, i gave up, but it was late.
Tonight I decided I was going to conquer this thing, so I fiddled a whole lot more before I finally managed to get a file with the right name to save so I could see it. The thing is, I couldn't see it. It was fine when it was showing up in my Word recent files list, but those turn over rather quickly, the way I work, and since I couldn't see the file in Explorer, if it rolled off the bottom of the Word files list, it was lost. So finally I saved it as a different file, took a deep breath and deleted the file I had to search the whole stupid disk for and renamed the new one. So far, it's all right, but I'll be watching. Whatever stupid bug I uncovered in Explorer, I do not know, but it just about drove me crazy. Let's hope it doesn't happen again.
I did the system update and got the warning that Windows 7 is going off maintenance next month. Of course, they want me to buy a new PC. Fat chance of that happening! So I don't know exactly what I'm going to do. I'm afraid there are a couple of apps I use all the time that won't be compatible with Windows 10, and of course, ultimately, I need two copies of Windows and two copies of Office Professional, and that gets expensive. Eventually, I will figure out the problem with the laptop and get it running again, and I want both computers to be the same, as much as they can be.
Oh, yes, and I finally broke down and washed a load of underwear, which is in the dryer now, and soaked the load of bottoms I've soiled in the past few days. So as of tomorrow, I should have panties again.
I got a couple of messages from Walmart saying that some of my order had been delivered, and when I looked out in the breezeway, yes, indeed there were boxes. Or i think so. I haven't checked for the second one yet. There's more to come. I was gratified that the delivery guy actually was able to get the breezeway door open, even though there was some snow in front of it. But he's a nice guy and I think he knows I'm disabled. I was surprised that they evidently delivered on Saturday, but there are so many packages flying around this season that I guess I can understand it. My TP was delivered yesterday evening, which was a relief, but I haven't gotten into the box yet.
I have a very slowly running drain in the bathroom sink. I guess it's just 20 years of crud, but it's an annoyance. I have some drain stuff, but I'm not sure it's the right kind. I'll try it, though, because pretty soon the drain is going to be completely plugged, and that won't do. I also had to run some water in the bathtub. If you never do that, eventually the trap dries out and the least that can happen after that is you get some really strange noises if you flush the toilet or run the shower. i think it's all right now. I still wish I could use that tub, but no way could I ever get out of it if I got in.
The weather was OK. It was clear and sunny this morning, but by about 2:30 PM a cloud bank had come up and it was cloudy and dull and maybe spitting snow at sunset. The high temperature was (is) 34º and evidently it rose steadily all day. There wasn't much wind.
I was sitting in the bathroom knitting when Louie, who was sleeping beside my feet, woke up and put his paw on my foot. He does that, and I don't mind, except that this time he flexed his toes and stuck a claw into my foot deep enough to draw blood. I do not appreciate that. It hurt, too. So i didn't pet him and I made him go away. Grayson got to sleep on my lap while I was doing my surfing.
So that was my interesting day, such as it was. Now it's a dark, cloudy night in the field.
December 6 Oh, I'm forgetting again. I want to try to get to bed a lot earlier tonight. I wasn't early last night, and I got up around noon, so I didn't get enough sleep by far.
I wanted to get up, though, because I wanted to go to the post office and I had something to drop off at the store. I did get to do those things, and there wasn't much mail. I finally got my church directory. I wasn't very pleased with my picture when I got it, but they're all about equally bad, so I feel better about it. It was a pretty good picture of my shawl. There was also a nice Christmas present from the anonymous person in Traverse City. It helps a lot.
The weather was very cold, or it was when I was outside. It seems the temperature dropped all day and it's 17º now. Until about 5:00 PM, there was a strong north wind, with gusts up to 33 mph, so the wind chills were pretty low. It was cloudy and dull all day.
The cats slept. Grayson slept on me for a while, but not too long. I don't know why one day he wants to sit on me all the time and the next day he doesn't. I think Louie is still up at the north end.
So it was a very quiet day again, which I like, and now it's a very dark, very cold night in the field.
December 5 Not much to report. I was late getting to bed and late getting up. For once, I took my bath before I ate. For as long as I've been an adult, I have always taken my bath at night. I like to go to bed clean, and besides, the hot water relaxes me if I need relaxing. But lately, I've been so tired when I got up to the bathroom that I just couldn't face that chore. So I did it today. I'm happy to say that it wasn't very hard. I can reach under my right arm now and the only problem I have is the one spot on the back of my head. Anyway, it's nice to be clean.
I was so late that I didn't do anything. I called Mary Ann, because I haven't heard from her in several weeks, ans we talked until my phone died. The cordless phone battery only has about 2½ hours on a charge. I think it should be more, but it's so old. I have another battery pack for it, and maybe I should replace it. That's long enough to talk anyway. She is well, but her husband is still having problems.
The weather was nondescript, but it was cold and dark and there was some snow. The temperature was nearly steady, with a high of 29º. There wasn't much wind until just now. On the subject of snow, I finally looked at the Keweenaw totals, which are taken at Delaware. I was surprised, because we didn't get much snow here the day before Thanksgiving, but up there, they reported over 18". I'm a bit suspicious, because they've been reporting tenths of inches this year, and I'm not sure they can actually measure that accurately, but anyway, they had a whole lot of snow in the higher elevations.
The cats slept, but Grayson was bugging me all day and I don't know why. He got to sleep on me for quite a while, but I guess it wasn't long enough.
So that was my day and now it's a cold, dark, snowy night in the field.
December 4 I almost inverted last night, so I was late getting up. I was late enough that I decided not to knit, but I played games long enough that I could have. Except that I couldn't see very well at all. My eyes were all gluey.
I was so late that I didn't do anything except for my surfing, and I did a lot of that while the talking was going on, but most of it was while I was talking to Debbie - for more than two hours. We had a good conversation, though. Oh, and I talked to the woman who owns the store and I think we straightened out my last bill. I owe her over $50 and we don't know how it happened. I will give her a check on Friday.
The weather was blah again. The temperature was nearly steady, with a high of 33º, but there was a strong north wind, with gusts up to 41 mph. I don't get any of that here at the south end, but I did notice that the lake was singing. It was dark and cloudy and I even had to turn on the kitchen lights at 3:00. We're down to 8¾ hours now, but we're losing less than 2 minutes a day. It's dark. It was so nice to see the sunshine a couple of days ago that now it seems darker in contrast.
I think the guys slept. Grayson slept on me for a while, but I was doing something when he wanted to come back. I haven't seen Louie very much except when he tried to chase Grayson out of the pile of nightgowns outside the door to the studio. I don't know why he does that - he doesn't want to sleep there.
So it was a very quiet day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field.
December 3 I started out to be relatively early to bed last night, but then I started surfing and I was late. Maybe having that phone with me all the time isn't such a good idea after all. I now have passwords stored for several of the sites I use most frequently. Only I won't ever go to my bank on that device in anything less than a catastrophe. I do not trust Apple or Verizon. Especially when I read what happens if I enable Siri! Wow! NO WAY will I do that!
I think I got up around noon, and I knitted, but only two rows, because I discovered that I had screwed up the very first repeat on the right side. i fixed it, I think - it looks OK - but I decided not to push it. I think it happened because I have such a hard time seeing when I first wake up, and the yarn is very dark purple, which means it's hard to see the stitches anyway. But then I started playing with the phone again, so I was very late leaving the north end. In fact, I was so late that I didn't do anything else. I embroidered while the talking was going on (I'm having coordination problems between my right and left hands again) but mostly I worked on the border. I'm working on a diamond shaped thing with a crown on top of it and i think I should be able to finish it tomorrow.
The weather was nondescript - cloudy and dark. There was about an inch of new snow on the garage roof this morning, but I expect most of it melted, because the temperature was over freezing for most of the day and the high was 35º. There wasn't much wind for most of the day, but it has shifted around to the north and it is now blowing at a steady 20 mph, and the lake effect machine is supposed to get going tonight and tomorrow.
The guys slept, of course. Grayson didn't even try to sit on me, which surprised me. He sat on the desk for most of the day. I don't know where Louie was.
So that was it. Now it's a cold, dark night in the field and there is snow coming - or here.
December 2 I was medium late last night, but I didn't sleep well again. I was uncomfortable and my feet were cold. I did take my pills, so I don't know what the problem was. I finally got some quality time after about 6:00 AM. I knitted the last four rows of the first repeat on the shawl - finally - and when I looked at it, I discovered that I'd made a lot of mistakes, including dropping one stitch. I was able to sort of fix it, though, and I doubt anybody will ever look closely enough at it to see what I did. I'm more comfortable with the pattern now and I know most of the gotchas, so it should go more easily from now on. I like the pattern, and it's working well with the yarn and needles I finally decided on. There are a couple of things that are difficult, but I know what they are.
That was about all I did, except that I spent a little money. I needed a bunch of household stuff from Walmart, including TP, so I got that. Lands' End was having an exceptional sale, so I succumbed and ordered a new pair of jeans. My jeans are all at least 15 years old and they're getting sort of ratty, and they're all those bleached colors that were fashionable then. I've wanted to get at least one pair of new ones in a darker color for quite some time, but a number of years ago, they doubled the price and even with their usual 40% off, they were too expensive. They had 55% off everything today, and it was too good to pass up. Now I have to hope they fit when I get them, but we'll see about that. I don't pay as much attention to fashion as I did 15 or more years ago, but I don't like to look like I was in a time warp. I actually prefer the lighter color jeans, but the ones I ordered aren't so dark they look black.
Anyway, that took most of the afternoon. After I got the cat off my lap, I embroidered during the talking. I did several very small motifs and started the next larger one, although most of the ones in this part of the pattern aren't as big as the ones in the first half. I made hearts and squares and a crown and there are flowers and birds to go. That's what makes it a fun thing to do.
When I was up around 3:00 this morning, when I looked out the front windows, it was so clear and starry I could hardly believe it. i didn't know what I was looking at until I looked at the star chart, but evidently I was seeing Andromeda and Perseus. Without my glasses, I can't see really well, but I think I was seeing third magnitude stars easily. In fact, when I was up again at 6:00, I looked out the north windows and not only could I see the two end stars in the Little Dipper, I think I could catch the brighter of the two on the other side of the bowl part. It's been a long time since it's been that clear!
It was clear all day, too. The temperature got down to 21º overnight, but when the sun came up, it rose rapidly to 37º, between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, but then it dropped back rather quickly for some reason, but it's sort of bounced around. There wasn't any wind. It was clear and blue all day and when it got dark, there was a nice crescent moon shining in the south windows. Unfortunately, this won't last much longer and we're in for more snow. It sure was nice to see the sunshine.
The guys slept, of course. Grayson slept on me until I twitched and he moved. I should have twitched earlier. When I went out toward the kitchen to get my dinner, he ran by me just as I put my foot down and I almost stepped on his feet - and I wet my pants. I wish he wouldn't do that. Sometime he's going to get us both in trouble. I think Louie has been up at the north end. While I was knitting this morning, he was asleep on the floor beside me and purring in his sleep.
So that was my day and now it's a clear (so far) cold night in the field.
December 1 Ooh, how I hate to write that date!
I had a terrible night last night, and at the time I thought it was because I was so upset over my lost files. Well, not quite. When I finally got to the studio this morning, I discovered I hadn't taken my evening pills last night. For the second time this week. Just in case the health providers don't think I really need that stuff, well, think again. So I didn't sleep well and I don't feel good. Besides, I've been sneezing again. Geez.
Anyway, eventually, I did get some sleep, but not enough, and when I got up, I knitted two rows. I'd had an accident on my way to bed last night, and I had another one right after breakfast - 30 seconds from being fine to all over the place. It's discouraging. Fortunately, I washed a load of bottoms yesterday and dried them overnight.
I did my surfing, but there weren't very many emails to read. I think there was something wrong with PastyNet, because around 10:30 tonight, I suddenly got a whole slew of new emails, including a lot I should have gotten overnight and during the day. I wish I could trade their clogged server for my unclogged gut...
Then I started trying to write. On reflection, I decided that a lot of what can remember of what I wrote that night wasn't right, but I've had a terrible time going forward. Now that I'm calmed down a bit, I think I'll let it lie a while before I do any more.
Writing is frustrating for me sometimes. I want to write, because I want to see how a story is going to come out, but there are times when it's nearly impossible for me to move forward, and then I have to wait, re-read what I've written and wait for the next idea to hit. I don't think a lot of what I wrote today is very good or moves the story forward much, but I'll know more tomorrow when I read what I wrote. I'm going to let it lie tonight.
The weather was so-so. We didn't get very much snow, although I think they did down around the airport. We had some wind, from the east with gusts up to 32 mph. The temperature was around 31º or 32º all day. It was very cloudy until around 2;00 PM, when the skies started to clear, and it was nearly clear at sunset. We all enjoyed the blue skies and sunshine. And there was a nice crescent moon in the south windows after dark.
Otherwise, we slept. When I came out of the bathroom, Grayson had curled up in the covers on my bed, and I can't tell you how comfy he looked. That's his winter place to sleep while I'm in the bathroom. I don't know where Louie was, unless he was so far under the bed I couldn't see him.
So that was my quiet day. And yes, I've already specifically saved the file. I'm hoping I can train myself to do that every night. I don't know why this hasn't happened before, but I want to try to prevent it from ever happening again!
It's a clear (I think) cold night in the field. And it's December. Wow, talk about a lost year...
Ooh1 When I went to save this thing, I discovered that somehow I had managed to delete all of November. What in the world is happening to my files???
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