|
A View From the Field |
September, 2007
September 30 The end of September! Wow!
The fish house is down, and I finally got tired of waiting for somebody to power cycle it, so I am on dial backup, much as I hate it.
I slept well last night, once I finally got to bed, and when I got up, I knitted for a while, then I decided to try to patch together all the odds and ends of yarn that the moths had cut off the ball I am working with, so it was after 11:00 by the time I got to the office.
It rained for part of the night, ¼" between 10:00 and 3:00, with some associated lightning and rumbles of thunder, then it was just cloudy and windy. There was a small shower around 8:30, and another around 10:30, but then between about 2:30 this afternoon and 6:00, we got almost another ½".
The afternoon storm came right over the harbor, and there was some lightning and thunder, and apparently it zapped the fish house, and the problem now is to find somebody in town to power cycle it. I hope they do it before tomorrow morning.
The day was cloudy and gray and dark, and I really didn't feel like doing anything, so I didn't. It certainly was too dark to do anything without lights, so I just sat and played with the computer. The temperature was in the low 60s all day, so it really wasn't unpleasant outside, and it smelled good.
I went to dinner at Harbor Haus tonight, and it was quiet but not empty, which was nice. It was dark enough that I could actually see the light in the lighthouse, and before I left, I was aware of the lights in the restaurant, which usually aren't on at that hour of afternoon.
When I got home, Buster was in his little box, where he had been all day, and Jasmine was curled up on the task chair. They both have gone away now, but they were both very sleepy all day long. My little four-footed barometers.
So was (and am) I, and I don't think I will be up so late tonight...or I hope not. Time to get back on schedule.
September 29 It was another late night, and tonight will be at least as late. I'm in one of those spells. Anyway, at least I was tired enough that I slept fairly well. I was awake for a little while, thinking about all the things I have to do, and what I am going to do about all the stuff I don't have room for on the first floor. I had been going to put some of those things - serving plates and trays and things - in the high cabinets in the kitchen, but I really don't see any reason to do that. So I will try to come up with some suitable boxes and put them all away. Of course, I didn't do any of that today.
I knitted for quite a while this morning, and I'm done with the ribbing, and then I had a nice omelet for breakfast. Later I rustled around in the kitchen for a while, but my back was really bothering me, so I ended up not doing a lot.
The interesting thing of the day was that when I brought my nice hot omelet into the office, and again when I brought my dinner in, both kitties thought they wanted some - I mean, they really wanted some, sticking out their paws, and in Jasmine's case, mewing at me. Well. I don't give people food to people I can't pet. So there. And Buster, I'm sure, only wanted to know what it was.
And at least twice, Jasmine was sleeping on the top of the kitty condo and she let me walk by her. Oddly enough, she let me walk by when I didn't have anything in my hands, and when I walked back with the tray of food, she ran away. She is a strange little kitty, for sure, but I feel we are still making progress, even though it's in millimeters.
It was cloudy all day, with a stiff breeze from the south, and the temperature got up to about 63º. I could tell that the barometer was falling because Buster spent the whole day asleep in a little box on the floor in the office, except when he slept on the counter. And just a while ago, we had a short thunderstorm come through, with a little rain and a little wind. It is now going off to the east of us, and so far there doesn't seem to be anything behind it, although they say it may rain and storm all night.
So that was my lost day, and even though I didn't do anything, I'm tired again, and it's time to go up to the north end.
September 28 I was very late getting to bed last night, again, for no apparent reason. I think I knitted a while. I also probably played a game for a while.
So I was late getting up and I knitted some more this morning, and that was about all I did. Oh, well.
It was clearer last night, and the moon was bright and high in the sky, and again I really didn't need my nightlight. I think this is one time of year when the camera occasionally catches the setting moon, but it has been cloudy for the past several days, and now it isn't setting until after 10:00 in the morning, when the sky is too bright to show it in the camera pictures, although it might be visible to the naked eye. The webcam doesn't have the wide exposure latitude that the Nikon or film do, so a bright sky will wash out all sorts of things I can see and take pictures of.
It was a night of strange dreams again, although I didn't have as long a wakeful time as I have for several nights. One way to prevent that, I've discovered, is to go to bed late enough that I am exhausted. The trouble is, as the days get shorter, if I get up really late, there is very little time do do anything during the day. The post office closes at 3:00 now, which means I have to go before then if I think I have packages, and all that cuts up my time to do anything here. If I want to take in my trash, I have to get that together before 2:45, and sometimes (like today) that is either difficult or impossible. Today it was impossible.
This morning, I was so late getting up that both cats were on the bed while I was waking up. Buster was up near my head, and Jasmine walked over my feet and almost came up on the other side, although she thought better of it. She was quite close to me for a while in the morning, but later in the day, she ran every time I looked at her. I do think she is beginning to believe I might be all right, but she still isn't about to trust me. Poor kitty! I know she didn't come from that bad a place, but she is just that kind of cat. I understand, because I tend to be that way myself.
It was a nice day today. The sky was mostly clear, with just a few fair-weather clouds, and there was a lot of sunshine. The temperature was steady at about 55º, and there wasn't much wind at all. When I got up this morning, there were a few breakers coming in the gap between Porter Island and the lighthouse, and they looked very white against the blue water.
I went to the post office and came back with packages, catalogs and pleas for money, but also a few magazines, so I have reading material again. I am not sure how all of those charities have gotten my address, but somehow they all have, as well as some new ones I have even less interest in. It's sort of like snail-mail spam.
I did go to dinner tonight, and it was very busy in Mariner, which is nice to see. I ate fast and came home to my splendid isolation. While I am happy for my friends, I'd just as soon avoid all that.
So that is all I know, and I will try to get to bed a little earlier tonight, and maybe even do something tomorrow.
September 27 All night long the Harvest moon was shining behind the clouds, and it was as bright as dawn. Then after the sun came up, around 8:00, it was as dark as after sunset. However, there wasn't any rain.
I apparently didn't sleep very well. I had several vivid and strange dreams, and I was up several times. The little people left me alone until I came to about 10:00, when Buster jumped on the bed and stared at me, as if to ask me if I was planning to get up today. He wasn't really hungry, but Jasmine was, and she liked her breakfast, so she chowed down. She is so little and skinny I love to see her really light into a bowl of food.
I awoke rather suddenly, and I was groggy when I got up, and I felt that way all day, as well as creaky and tired, so I didn't do a blessed thing. Oh, well. I am resigned to not getting everything done before I go to Detroit anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.
It was a mostly cloudy day, with a little sunshine late in the afternoon. The temperature was around 55º all day, with almost no wind from the north.
Buster was extremely loving all day, for some reason. He wanted to sit on me and he wanted to be petted and purr at me.
Last night, instead of going right to bed, I finished the thumb on the first glove and started the second glove...28 rows of ribbing, which I hate. But it needs to be done. I turned the first glove inside out this evening, and I have a lot of finishing to do...all those nasty ends to weave in, where the yarn had been chewed up by the moth larvae. If I can get it done properly, it actually should make the glove a bit warmer, but it is a pain and I hate it. It's just like making a large sweater (like the pale blue one I was working on last year) with yarn that has less than 100 yards a ball. So I will take my knitting kit with me to the north end and work on that, too...I guess it's better than ribbing!
When I came back from the kitchen with my very late dinner, the almost-full moon was shining through the clouds, so it will be another bright night tonight. That is one of the things that is so different about living in the country. In the city the sky is always so bright that the differenced between full moon and new moon isn't evident at all. Here, it is so dark at new moon, even when the sky is clear, and so bright when the moon is full, that the difference is remarkable and fun to watch. When it is cloudy at new moon, even my nightlight (which, I admit, isn't very bright, on purpose) doesn't light the bathroom too much and it is so extremely dark. But nights like last night make up for it, when I really didn't need the nightlight at all.
On the subject of the sky, apparently there was an aurora event a couple of weeks ago that we missed altogether, probably because it was cloudy. So even when we are nearly at solar minimum, things happen. That is why I try to always stare out the windows when I am up at night, just in case I might see something. I haven't seen anything but stars when it was clear, but I keep looking. I now have hopes of living through another solar max, and I have promised myself that this time, I will go running out onto the deck every time I see stuff, no matter what the weather. I love the stars and the faint fuzzies and the Milky Way, but for sheer excitement, you can't beat the northern lights.
So that is all I know, and my day was truncated and late, so it's past time to go to bed again.
September 26 When I woke up this morning for good, Buster and Jasmine were close together on the pillows in the window seat. Jasmine was very comfortable, thank you, and when I went down the hall to get breakfast, she was taking a bath, and she didn't even come with us. So I guess Buster has given in to the inevitable.
I didn't sleep very well last night, for some reason. I had a lot of very strange dreams, and there was a period of time when my left ear and right knee were sore enough that I couldn't find a comfortable place to lie. Every so often, that knee, which is the one with no cartilage, will get achy. Getting up and walking on it helped, but I didn't want to get up right then - I wanted to sleep!
So I didn't get up until 10:00, and I finished the index finger of the glove before I got dressed. I am now working on the thumb, and then I can start the other glove, after I weave in all the ends from the moth depredation.
It was cloudy all night, and cloudy in the morning. It did partially clear late in the day, so we had some sunshine, but most of the day was cloudy. The temperature hung right about 52º all day long, with a moderate wind from the north. I didn't go out, so I don't know how it felt.
I notice that we had a little bit of rain right after midnight last night, and even less between 4:00 and 5:00 this morning. Couldn't prove it by me. At least it gives me confidence that for the time being our drought is over.
The other item on the Jasmine front is that she was lying in the pink chair - which Buster seems to have given over to her - when I went to get my breakfast, and both when I went to the kitchen and when I came back, while she watched me like a hawk, she didn't jump up and run under the sofa. So very slowly we are making progress. I do want to run my fingers through her fur...
I didn't do much, but I washed some more glass and sort of rearranged things in the cabinet. I more or less decided that the top two shelves would be for the cut crystal, the third shelf would be for the pressed glass, and the bottom shelf would be for the china and odds and ends. That isn't going to work perfectly, because I have more cut than pressed, but it is beginning to shape up. Of course, I have to get the plates out of the bottom shelf before I can get everything in there that I want. I got up on the ladder once, to get the bowl up on top of the cabinet, but when I wanted to do it again to get the stuff out of the cupboard above the ovens, I just couldn't do it. Besides, my back hurt.
I did cook tonight - one of my chicken recipes, but I substituted some blended spices that I got from Penzey's for the ones in the recipe, and it was good. I still have to put it away.
I also have a draining board full of the last glass that I washed. That will just have to air dry. My back was bothering me today, so there were some things I just couldn't do.
The only other odds and ends I can think of are that PastyNet temporarily lost the server where my website and the Pasty Cam reside. It was rather unsettling not to be able to get my own site to come up and yet be able to get the weather and the bank. Fortunately, it didn't last long, since somebody was watching when it happened. I suppose Tandems are too pricey to consider, but it sure would be nice to have nonstop capability. If I ever get to talk to Charlie again, I may suggest he look into it. Maybe I could help...nah. I don't want to go back to work.
So that was my day, and I'm beginning to get tired again. It's autumn in the field again today.
September 25 I woke up about 12:30 and it was raining nicely, thank you, with a little lightning and thunder. It didn't keep me awake, that's for sure. It apparently started just about the time I went to bed, at 10:30, and we got a nice .4" altogether. The temperature held steady at about 65º until around noon, then it dropped below 60º, so I closed the porch door, after being certain that Jasmine was inside.
It was a dull, dreary, cloudy day, and it did look like it might rain again any number of times, but except for a few sprinkles after 6:00 tonight, it didn't.
Things are beginning to sort themselves out around here, so far as the living beings are concerned, I think. Jasmine wants to be with Buster, and Buster wants to be with me...so Jasmine is having to get used to being in close proximity to me. She's coming along. Buster was sleeping on the counter this morning, under the open window, and Jasmine decided she wanted to cuddle up with him. Buster isn't much for cuddling, especially when the other guy sits on his head, so she kept waking him up, and he kept moving. However, I did grab the camera and here is the first good head shot of...well, both of them. You can see that there is a smile on Buster's face. I'm not sure Jasmine knows how to smile yet. When I enlarged the picture, I really felt bad...I wanted to wipe the stuff out of the corners of Jasmine's eyes. I do that for Buster, and while he doesn't like it very much, he tolerates it. Anyway, it's nice to have a picture of Jasmine's face...I really haven't been able to look at it very much myself, since every time I stare at her, she gets nervous. However, the camera (and the flash) didn't seem to bother her at all. Maybe it was because both my hands were occupied.
I'm sorry the color of her eyes isn't clearer, but I would say they are old gold, or maybe brass. Anyway, she is a pretty kitty. Silkie's nose was brick colored, and Jasmine's is black. I wonder how often calicos have pink noses? Half of her chin is black, and half is white, which makes her look sort of cute when she meows.
I know Jasmine bugs Buster sometimes, because she wants to play when he doesn't, or she wants to cuddle when he doesn't, but I think it's pretty clear that he likes having her around. Before he woke up, she was licking his head, which I thought was very nice of her. When he licks her head, we will have arrived...although I think he is trying to play the big macho first cat. And he doesn't want me to know he likes her. Well, I hate to tell ya, Bub, I'm on to you.
I really ought to put those two books away, too, so that they aren't in every picture I take of them.
Eventually, I got at the stuff in the great room and washed and packed away a bunch of miscellaneous glassware. There were several vases, some of which will go in the cabinet and some of which are already packed away again. I guess I can understand how things get dirty when they are in a closed cabinet, but how do they get dirty when they are wrapped in paper in a box??? Really weird.
However, I am at an impasse again. The table is covered with stuff I don't know what to do with, so I can't unpack any more until I do something with it...I guess the time has come to put the shelves in the buffet and start storing away some things. Of course, that means clearing the stuff off the shelves for the buffet. I have more sugar and creamer sets than I would have believed, and I have all kinds of odds and ends of containers, salt and pepper shakers, and who knows what...Some of that will go in the cabinet, but except for a small collection of blue and white china that resembles Wedgwood (only one piece is), I mean to put only glass in the cabinet. Maybe I will get at that tomorrow. I didn't work quite so long or so intensely today, and that made it nicer. Oh...I just remembered that I have another whole shelf of glass in the cabinet that needs to be washed...sigh.
So that was my day, and I think another early night is in order. It is supposed to get cooler tonight, which will be nice for sleeping. Yesterday was entirely too warm for any time of year.
September 24 I got into bed before 9:30 last night, but my back was so sore that it wasn't until the first time I got up, an hour or so later, that I was able to get to sleep. Apparently sitting upright for a few minutes finally put everything back where it belonged. I didn't sleep well. I was up any number of times, and I had a hard time getting the temperature right. I had the door open, and there was a breeze coming in the door, but somehow I couldn't get it right. I was awake at 8:15, and I considered getting up and decided not, so it was about 9:45 when a phone call got me up.
I decided to take the day off. I don't feel very good, it was hot, and I developed a sinus headache. After what I did yesterday, I felt I deserved it.
Besides, it was hot! The temperature got up to 85º, briefly, and it was in the low 80s all afternoon. It was far too hot to be working in the sun in the great room, even with the doors and windows open. There was a slight breeze, but it was from the southwest, so it didn't do much good. Sitting quietly and either playing with the computer, reading or knitting a glove was fine...at least for me. The computer didn't like it a lot, and it overheated when I tried play games.
It was mostly clear for most of the day, but it began to cloud up around 4:00, and the sun went down into a thick cloud. There are thunderstorms to the southwest, and behind them is supposed to be temperatures 30º cooler. I guess I will close up the house tonight and hope for the best.
I did take a couple of pictures this morning, so I got all the pictures out of the camera, at long last. First of all, here are the pictures of the old house on Champine. I guess the first one has sort of a slant on...sorry about that. Anyway, it is a nice house, and the only way I was able to move out of it was that I am living here. However, you can see how close I was to my neighbors to the east. On the west side, where the bedrooms are, fortunately, the backyards of the houses on the next street back up to the side.
This morning, Jasmine was extremely interested in the confusing fall warblers that are hawking flies on the lee side of the house, so she didn't even know I took these. I think Buster did. You can see that she is a very little cat. Buster only weighs about 10 lbs, so I would guess Jasmine doesn't weigh more than 5 lbs. I think I should have named her Artemis or Diana, though. She is definitely a huntress, as you can see by her poses. Buster was getting sleepy by that time, although he has been interested in the birds, too, as well as the squirrels and chipmunks.
So that was my quiet day, and I am going to bed early again and try to soothe my stuffy head. Hopefully the heat will be gone by morning and I can do something. I do have to go to town sometime and get the part for my fridge that I broke, but I haven't decided when. It depends upon the weather.
September 23 Boy, am I dumb! About 6:30 this morning, I heard something climbing the screens on the porch, along with some meowing from Buster, and when I looked out, there was Jasmine, for heaven's sake! And was she mad! She came running in, and she told me off in no uncertain terms. And every time I go toward one of the porch doors, both of which are open today, she runs into the house.
Now I know what all the conversation yesterday morning was all about: Buster was trying to tell me she was outside, and so was she, and dumb me, I just didn't understand. It would have been nice if I'd gotten up to see what the problem was - I'm sure she was by the door. Sometimes I wonder how they can stand to live with such a dummy. Buster did sit on my lap a lot today, I suppose to tell me he forgave me, but Jasmine sure hasn't.
It was the first day of autumn today, and it was the warmest day we've had in a while. Around 5:00 it got up to 75º, and the skies were clear until just a little while ago, with light southwest winds. The rain and wind washed out the atmosphere and it was sparkling clean. So pretty!
I didn't get up until around 10:30, and I took my time, but I had decided that since I didn't do anything much yesterday, today was the day. So I washed the next two loads of clothes...I have one left, of the stuff that has to be re-washed and the stuff I forgot was hanging on the clothes tree. I guess I can put away my shorts for the year.
Then I attacked the glassware. Everything that was sitting on the table or in the cabinet has been washed, and the glasses are all put away in the cellaret. I found something to shine a pewter candlestick with, something to shine silver with.
When that was done, I decided to try to find THE vase. As a result, almost everything that was in the dining room cabinet is unpacked. Of course, after unpacking two whole boxes, I still hadn't found the vase. The table and the buffet are chock full of miscellaneous glassware, cruets, sugar and creamer sets, and other odds and ends. There is another full shelf of stuff in the cabinet that needs to be washed.
Then I went to dinner, which was good. This is the time of year for the old people (my age) and newlyweds, and while it was nicely busy, it wasn't packed. Dinner was good, and I brought home enough for tomorrow. Yum.
When I got back, I got stubborn, and I found another dish pack that said "vases". Of course, I had to unpack most of what was in it before I finally found the vase. It is now safely in the cabinet, and I don't see myself moving it very much, ever. Now that I have finally located it, I want it where I can find it. Tomorrow I can start washing glassware again. I think the thing to do is clear the table first, then work on the stuff in the cabinet. That's what I did today, and I was able to sit down while I dried the stuff that goes in the cabinet.
That is the problem - all the standing to do the washing. My back hurt and the neuroma in my right foot was bothering me before I was done. But pretty as the cut glass looked before, it really looks great when it's clean. It was nice to have the sun shining on the cabinet as I put things away. Nothing is where I want it for display, of course, and there are a bunch of big plates on the bottom shelf that just don't look right there, but at least about half of it is clean and sparkling.
I also ended up taking all the paper out of one of the boxes and putting it all back, because there is a little ruby glass cruet (actually a liqueur bottle) that I could have sworn had a stopper, but I didn't find it. I looked carefully when I unwrapped it, too, and it seems to be gone. Darn. If I had been the packers, I would have packed it with the stopper in place, if it was still there. I confess I hadn't looked at it closely since the middle '90s when I inventoried the china cabinet. Sometime I'll find my inventory list, too...it's in the basement.
So now I am tired and hot, and I think I will try to make an early night of it. I might not go to bed, but I may sit and read for a while. I feel the need for a bath...I was dripping by the time I got through unpacking. It does feel good to know I actually accomplished something today, and that if I work for three or four hours, I can do a lot. I need to do a lot.
September 22 The wind howled and the lake roared all night long, and I slept like a baby. The few times I was up, I sat for a few minutes by the window listening to all the noise, and it was wonderful, and it sent me right back to sleep.
Unfortunately, the little people weren't so happy with it. Buster slept with me all night long. Jasmine disappeared down in the basement, and she still hasn't come up, even though all the noise is over with. This morning, about 7:00, Buster wandered up and down the hallway meowing, and Jasmine apparently sat at the bottom of the stairs, meowing back, but she wouldn't come up, so he missed his morning romp. And he tries to make me think he doesn't like her...
I was going to do something today, but somehow I got sidetracked or something. I did a little more on the kitchen, including making blueberry pancakes for breakfast, and I put away some of the things I washed yesterday. I did wash the reflectors for two of the lamps in the great room, which were incredibly dirty...but then, nobody had done anything to them for probably 14 years. Every time I stood up for any length of time, my back hurt.
I also started washing a load of jeans, because I have gone through four or five pairs this week. I seem to have these phases when I wet my pants all the time, then it gets better for a while. However, I put the jeans in the washer and forgot about them, so I am rinsing them the second time now, and they will be in the dryer when I go to bed. My mind...
I went to the post office, and there seem to be a lot of people in town, which is nice.
It was a beautiful day. The wind gusts never got over 46 mph last night, at least at the NWS station. I still think they were stronger here. It cleared up by about 2:00 am, although I can't say there was very good seeing. Part of that may be the gibbous moon, which is now shining brightly in the south windows. The temperature was about 55º all night, and it got up to 65º, briefly, today. The wind was from the northwest, and it was quite strong - in the 15-30 mph range - all day, so there were pretty whitecaps on the harbor. It finally died down around 6:00, and it is now nearly calm. There was not a cloud in the sky all day long, and the sunshine is still pretty strong.
So it was a lovely day to do something, and I guess I did a few things, but not as much as I had hoped. Tomorrow, maybe.
I hope Jasmine will come out of the basement by tomorrow. So far as I know, she hasn't even eaten anything, and there aren't any water dishes down there either. Poor kitty! At least Buster knows enough to stay close to me, and I will protect him.
And that was my day, and it's certainly time for bed again.
September 21 Well, I will write this, but I don't know if it will get uploaded or not, since we are on dial backup - ugh!
It rained most of the night, and the temperature went up. I woke up around 1:30 and I was hot, so I didn't get back to sleep right away, and eventually I opened the porch door. That helped a lot, and I did eventually go back to sleep. It was nice to hear the rain on the deck.
Apparently we also had a power glitch before 1:30, because the bedroom clock was blinking. It couldn't have lasted a long time, because the clock in the bathroom was only a minute off (it has a battery backup that sometimes works). However, I had to set all the clocks in the kitchen, and when I got to the office, the broadband was down. It turned out it wasn't me: apparently something happened to the equipment on Brockway. It came up around 2:30, and it was up for less than an hour when it went down again. This time it is Mt. Horace Greeley, and it is still down. So most reluctantly, I finally went on dial backup, and I have been having a terrible time keeping it up.
The reason for all the equipment failures is that we have been having thunderstorms off and on since yesterday evening. The rain overnight was just rain - not much in the way of thunder - but today we've had several waves of thunderstorms pass through, punctuated by short periods when the sun almost came out. The last storm passed through about an hour ago and dropped .4" of rain on us, making a total for the day 1.31", a nice amount of water, thank you. Then the rain stopped and the wind has now picked up to gale force. I don't care what the NWS station says - it is sheltered on the northwest - we are having gale force winds. It is howling and banging and causing things to vibrate and it is really noisy around here, and I can hear the surf.
I was talking to Ron while all this happened. We haven't had a chance to talk in quite a while, so it was a long conversation, but we had some things to catch up on.
Otherwise, I only did a little today. I did get the big bowl that goes on top of the china cabinet washed, as well as three pretty stemmed glasses and two pressed glass cruets. However, when it came to put the bowl where it belongs, I couldn't get up onto the stool. So I will have to get out the ladder, and my back was sore, so I gave up on that.
I did discover that all the crystal that goes in the china cabinet is dusty and needs to be washed, too, so I will have to get at that. I will have to get at something. Time's a-wasting.
While the internet was down, I finally read through my 1200-page jewelry catalog. I'm sorry to report that nothing I saw got me so excited that I had to start beading again. Certainly nothing got me so excited that I had to put in an order. I even had pad and pencil all ready, and I didn't write anything on it. Not that I'm planning to stop beading. I'll get back at it eventually. Winter is long.
There were quite a few people in Mariner tonight, which I was glad to see. The fall season is beginning. I got there after one storm went through, and it was just beginning to rain again when I got into the car to come home, so I timed that right.
It just occurred to me that the equinox is Sunday. This is our equinoctial gale. There have been a few years when it didn't happen, but more often than not, we have wet, windy weather between about the 19th and the 24th of September.
And it really is noisy. I am going to try to get this uploaded right quick (well...not at 28.8, I'm afraid) and run off to take my bath, because the power could go at any moment, with this wind. I doubt the noise will keep me awake for very long. I only wish we'd have these blows in the daytime so I could at least think about going down the road a piece and watching the waves come in.
It's a hairy night in the field tonight.
September 20 I did sleep some better last night, although I was awake a bit and I had some very strange dreams. When I turned out the light, Buster and Jasmine were lying back-to-back on one of my fleece tops that I had thrown on the dresser. It didn't last long, but as I suspected, they get along better than Buster would have me believe. I think he mostly goes after her when it looks like she might be coming to me for a pet or something. He's jealous. At least he has somebody to cuddle with when I'm not here.
I lost another day, I guess. I did clean up the kitchen a bit again, but otherwise, nothing much got done. Oh, well. I still feel sort of blah, and my back does still bother me, so those are my excuses. However, the state of the kitchen is beginning to get to me.
It was partly clear last night but not very transparent, so there were a few stars occasionally, but not many. It began to cloud up around 10:00 and it was a rather gray, nondescript day, with not much wind. the temperature was almost steady at 55º...not what was predicted at all. There are showers coming but so far there has only been a little mist, enough to make part of the deck dampish.
Tomorrow is supposed to be one of those interesting days, with rain followed by high winds - they are predicting gusts to 60 mph, although I will have to see that to believe it. It does sound like time to batten down the hatches again.
So that was my quiet day, and I hope it will be another early night and maybe I can shake whatever it is that ails me.
September 19 I don't remember quite why I was so late, but it was 11:30 when I turned out the light. It was raining hard - we ended up with 1.05" for the 24 hours - and it was fairly warm and the humidity was nearly 100%. As usual, I went pretty much right to sleep, but when I woke up at 2:30, I didn't go back to sleep until after 6:00. I don't know why. I wasn't comfortable on my right side, and my left ear was too sore to lie on, and I got twitchy, so I was not comfortable.
It rained a bit overnight, then some more between 6:00 and 10:00 this morning. I got up around 9:00, I think, partly because the wind was picking up and with the door open, it was noisy. For a while we had 40 mph gusts, but for the rest of the afternoon, while it was windy, it wasn't that windy. The temperature was 66º at midnight, and while it fell off a bit when the wind picked up, it got up to 67º for a high. I opened the office window, because it was warm in here. The temperature is dropping off now, and it should be a pretty good sleeping night. The humidity is down, at least a bit.
I put away the pots and lids I washed yesterday, and the draining board is nearly empty now, but after doing that, putting stuff in the dishwasher and gathering up the trash, my back was bothering me, so I gave up again.
I did go to the post office...my box was full of catalogs again, as well as a dozen pleas for money...and the general store to get more bags, but otherwise, not much.
I spent some time looking at books online, but that was it. I got little enough sleep last night that I am planning on an early night tonight, and I will hope I can sleep a bit better. Part of it is the change of seasons thing, I'm sure. For years I have had a hard time sleeping in the spring and fall when the temperatures change a lot. Otherwise, I have no explanation for it, and it's frustrating to be very tired and yet not be able to go to sleep.
There was some sunshine and clear blue skies today, and the harbor was a mass of whitecaps on the blue water. That was so pretty! About 7:30, the sun went behind a cloud that came up out of the west, and it's all clouded up again, so no stars tonight.
And that is all there is for today.
September 18 I made it into bed by 10:30, and didn't get up until 9:45 this morning, which sounds like a lot of sleep, but I had several hours of wakefulness, so it wasn't all that much. It was partly that it cooled off a bit, and I didn't have the comforter over me, and partly that I had some gurgles in my tummy that demanded attention. Add to that a sore left ear and sore right hip, and it took some time to get everything settled down.
We apparently had a little drizzle over the harbor between 11:00 and midnight, which must have been when I was seeing the lightning, but most of that cell was out over the lake. We didn't have any more rain until after 7:00 this morning, but there was quite a wind for a while. The low temperature was 55º. There was some rain between 7:00 and 9:00, some more between 1:00 and 3:00, and between 7:00 and 9:00 this evening there was a major event - ½", accompanied by pea-soup fog. It actually got to 72º between showers, but I didn't open any windows.
I did a few things in the kitchen, unloading the dishwasher and washing a few pots and lids. And that was about it. I still don't feel very robust, but when I get twitchy in the chair, it's time to get up and do something, until my back gets sore. The kitties felt like the weather, pretty much, too, and Buster slept in a box that was empty except for packing material all afternoon. He is still there, and every so often he rustles around a bit. Jasmine spent some time in the pink chair, but she hasn't yet gotten the idea that when I have both hands full, I'm not in a position to grab her and stuff her in a box. Poor kitty. Maybe someday she will get it.
Now my head is beginning to hurt again, so I guess it's time to lay it on my little pillow again. It is supposed to storm all night long, and there are more storms coming in this direction, all the way down to Minneapolis, although the last one has now exited off the east end of the lake. So it should be a good night to sleep. I will go and do.
September 17 Well, I jumped into bed last night. I shouldn't do that; my hair looked like a pot of oil had gotten dumped on it today, but I didn't go out. I had forgotten (again) that fish is a wonderful diuretic, so I was up about every two hours all night. It was so warm in the bedroom that I just had the sheet blanket over me, but I did sleep, although there were some weird dreams that I can't remember and I dozed a lot.
So I was up around 9:00, I think. It was partly cloudy in the morning, and the temperature overnight never got below 52º. It was partly cloudy most of the day, and the temperature got up to 69º, with a moderate wind from the southwest.
I sat down in the ugly chair to do some embroidery around 4:00, and it was fun to watch. When I sat down, there was some sunshine, but it got progressively more cloudy, and I started hearing rumbling in the distance. Then it began to get very dark, and the rumbling got closer, and pretty soon there were lightning strikes on the hills and some wind, and shortly thereafter, we had a lovely thunderstorm that continued, in two waves, for about an hour. The second part was particularly fun to watch, because it started raining over on the west end of the harbor several minutes before it got here, and I watched that impenetrable sheet of water march slowly down the harbor until it got to us. I love to see that. It's when I realize just how far 2½ miles is. Anyway, before it stopped, we had accumulated .57" of rain, which was very welcome. I guess it is supposed to continue to rain and thunder until tomorrow night, which is just fine by me. Any amount of rain we get is welcome.
I didn't do anything. I do think I have a slight cold, and I didn't feel very robust, despite having enough sleep, so I just sat. I read part of my Penzey's Spices catalog, which is very educational besides making me drool, and I got quite a lot of embroidery done, although to look at it, you wouldn't know. It's a big piece. I did some sneezing this morning, and I had a runny nose. So another long sleep is in order.
I think Buster is sleeping in the loft. At least I heard something that sounded like an elephant coming down the stairs right before he appeared for breakfast this morning. Jasmine may be going up there with him, but try as she might, she isn't heavy enough to pound on the stairs like that. She spent most of the day where I could see her, although she erupted from the pink chair when I went out to the kitchen to get something to drink.
So that is all I know, and I am yawning, so I will toddle off to the north end and hope we have lots of rain but not enough thunder to keep me awake.
September 16 It was another magazine last night, although I was in bed before midnight, I think. I'm not going to do that tonight, for sure.
I was up around 9:30, I think, so I had a long enough day. I washed dishes and tried to do a little in the kitchen. I had to scrape my cast iron Dutch oven with a spoon to get the stuff off the bottom...I really did let that spaghetti sauce cook down too much. I think I got it clean enough. I did find some cold oven cleaner the last time I was at Econo Foods, so I will have to try that on a few things. I am reluctant to use it on the cast iron, for fear it would soak in and leave a nasty taste in the pot, but I may have to try it. Stuff does bake onto the sides of those Dutch ovens, and after a while I am not sure they are completely sanitary. Or maybe I am sure they are not completely sanitary. Pick your word order.
Anyway, doing that messed up my back pretty much, so I sat in the ugly chair and did some embroidery and looked out at a pleasant day.
It was clear overnight, but it had clouded up by the time I got up, and it was more cloudy than sunny for most of the day, although there was some sunshine and blue waters. There was no wind at all for most of the day, and the temperature, which got down to 44º overnight, briefly hit 65º around 5:00 this afternoon. It was really nice when I went to dinner...I like mid to upper 60s.
I have a feeling that I acquired a little cold last week, and I had a headache and kind of a runny nose again today, and now I'm tired again. Only sleep will cure it, though, so I will try that tonight.
The only problem I have is that I have been hungry all the time lately, and that is not a good thing. I had lost a few pounds while I was packing, and I really don't want to gain them back again. So I will try to control myself.
It was clear at sunset, so we may have another starry night tonight, and that is always nice. I will go and see.
September 15 Last night I think it was a magazine and a catalog, and it was 2:00 this morning before I fell into bed. I woke up around 9:00 (only my second time up) and I decided I'd better get up, because I thought Adam was coming. I was right: I had just gotten to the office at 10:00 when he showed up. I slept hard, but just before I woke up, I dreamed that I was an astronaut about to blast off...first time that's ever happened.
So now a lot of my weeds are cut down, my mirror is hung, a couple of shelves are moved, and the storm doors, pump and pond are ready for the winter. He did look hard at the septic tank and the control panel, and he can't find anything obvious wrong with it, so he is going to call the guy who did the installation (oh - I thought he did) and ask him about it. He did say there is quite a mat of junk on top of the water, and it is only a couple of feet from being full, so something clearly is wrong. So I am waiting to see where we go from here.
I am really tired. I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night, which has resulted in a headache all afternoon, so I think I will be going to bed real soon.
I got the old magazines into the archive box I had brought upstairs, and went through the catalogs again, although there are still too many of them. I have a small pile of things to read. I did finish my Sky & Telescope, which I usually read cover-to-cover. Oh, yeah, and I gave the keyboard its semi-annual cleaning, to get out all the cat hair, crumbs and general junk that gets into it. I thought it needed something, since I noticed I had been missing a lot of spaces lately. It works much better now.
The weather has moderated. The wind blew for most of the night, but the temperature only got down to 44º overnight, and it warmed up fast. It was fairly cloudy in the morning, but the clouds soon began to break up and it was clear at sunset. I forgot to look for the moon, darn it. The temperature got to 54º, which wasn't nearly as warm as the forecast, but it was nice outside this afternoon.
So that was my day. Adam accomplished some things, and I accomplished some things, and that was good. It's time for bed...
September 14 For some reason, I had a hard time getting the journal to upload last night, so since I started late, I was late getting to bed. I slept all right, and I slept late, but I had some really strange dreams again.
About 4:15 am, I was sitting in the bathroom when all of a sudden the wind started to blow hard. It blew for about 15 minutes, then it backed off again. Really weird.
The wind has been in the 25-40 mph range all day, mostly out of the north, so the surf is roaring in. There were several very light rain showers, and the temperature was in the upper 40s. With that wind, it put the wind chill in the upper 30s. Not a really nice day, but when I was out, I didn't find it particularly nasty. I just have a cotton sweater on and I wore my jacket when I was out. No big deal.
I was late enough that I had a rather truncated day, but I did manage to accomplish a few things. I collected all the trash. I had to split the bag in the office into two, because I couldn't carry a full bag of catalogs. I dumped the cat pan that was upstairs, which Buster told me last night was much too nasty to use. I wrote a check and went to the post office and the compactor. I came home with lots of stuff to play with and lots of stuff to put someplace...again.
After I got home from dinner, I filled the tray, and Buster immediately sat down in it and used it. I should try to find a bigger one, but I am hoping Adam will come tomorrow and find out what is wrong with the septic tank. It has been really bad since the power outage, which leads me to wonder if something is wrong with the control panel. Anyway, Buster just isn't going to go downstairs to pee until that is fixed, so it's rather important.
So that was all there was. The wind is howling and the lake is roaring and I think an early night is in order. I still say this is strange weather for this early in September.
September 13 Hmm, Friday the thirteenth came on Thursday this month. Maybe that was why I didn't do anything.
I did sleep last night, but I kept waking up all hot, and I had a bunch of weird dreams, so I guess I didn't sleep very deeply. I got up around 9:30, which was fine with Buster, so we had our morning love-in. Jasmine wasn't so frolicsome this morning, I think because the barometer had dropped quite a bit.
There had apparently been some rain between 5:00 and 6:00 this morning, which I may or may not have heard. With the windows mostly closed and leaves on the trees, I have a hard time distinguishing between light rain and just wind. But there were some wet spots on the porch when I got up. It was a gray day, mostly, and there was a little more rain between 1:00 and 3:00.
Then it cleared up a bit, and there was a very nice sunset, the first we've had for quite a while. Of course, I didn't get a picture. I wanted to do something else first, and by the time I was done, the color was gone.
It was breezy and the temperature got up to 59º. The wind has swung around to the north again, and the forecast is for a cold, rainy day tomorrow. Methinks this is happening a bit early this year...usually we get this weather at the end of September.
So I did not much except spend so much time in an online catalog that I hung the computer and had to power fail it. I've been trying to be careful, and I haven't done that for a while. Of course, I lost the order I had been putting together, and I found, when I went back to it, that I couldn't remember everything I thought I wanted, which I guess was a good thing.
So that is all there is, and it's time to try the bed thing again and see if I can do better tonight. I have been sneezing all afternoon, and I hope that doesn't mean something. We'll see.
September 12 I think I spent some time staring at the floor last night, so it was around midnight when I got to bed. Actually, I was just sitting and listening to the wind and the waves, which were wonderful. I slept pretty well, except that I closed the bedroom window and I got hot, so I ended up opening it a bit, and that helped, but I was wakeful for a while. I woke up at around 8:30, and I knew that if I went back to sleep then, it would be 11:00 when I got up, and I would probably be half asleep all day.
So I got up and did my thing, and left the house around 11:00, I think. I had to stop at the post office to send my taxes, and low and behold, there was another nice check. I think this is the very last one, darn it. It has been fun to get all these nice little pieces of paper in the mail. It does seem to me that it should be possible to calculate things like pay-off balances a bit more closely, and it would certainly save money for the lenders, but it doesn't seem to bother them, and it keeps a lot of people employed.
It was cloudy and about 46º when I left the harbor, and it stayed about that temperature. About the time I got to Lac LaBelle Road, though, the sun started trying to come out to the extent that I put on my sunglasses. It was a nice ride...no traffic at all. I am amazed by how many of the leaves have turned, a lot more than even last week. It looks to me like it might be an early fall this year. It was pretty, but not pretty enough to stop and take a picture.
Noon-ish is a good time to get to Econo Foods, and I scuttled around and got what I wanted, except that I forgot the ammonia. I have squirrels in my garage, and the only way I know to really get them out is with ammonia soaked rags, although I am particularly sensitive to it and I hate it. That's a long story from my college days that I won't go into now.
Anyway, I did get my lunch meat - lots of it - and some more pasta salads. I had been cold from the time I got up this morning, but by the time I got out of there, I was anything but cold. They keep that place much too warm, in my opinion. I stopped to top off my gas tank, and gas was down to $3.05, which was nice, even though it's a lot higher here than in the rest of the country I think. I haven't figured out how our prices relate to the averages.
I left Houghton at about 2:00 and except for two sort of weird drivers I had to pass around Allouez, I had a clear shot home. It was getting nice and sunny by the time I got to the covered road, but the temperature never got above 50º. Fortunately, there was almost no wind at all.
Buster was very happy to see me when I got home.
Before I left this morning, Jasmine had dug up a ball and she spent quite a while playing with it, although when I looked at her, she stopped.
So I packed all the stuff away in the fridge, which is really bulging now. The other task of the day was spaghetti. I thought I had seen a recipe on a can of tomato sauce, and it sort of was, although I edited it severely. I like to make things like that, where you just keep pouring stuff into a pot, then let it work. I did let it simmer too long without a lid, though, so it isn't very liquid, but I have to say it sure did taste good. I ate a huge portion, and there is enough pasta for tomorrow and I think enough sauce to freeze some. I decided I'd better write down how I made it before I forgot, so I added it to my working cookbook.
So now I am tired again, and I have to put everything away and set the pot to soaking before I can go to bed.
While the sauce was cooking and I was listening to my evening news programs, I pulled out the glove I was working on last spring, finished off the first finger, and started the next one. I like those gloves, but working on fingers isn't exactly my favorite task. However, I'm getting a notion I may just need those under-mitten gloves this year.
So I did what I intended to do today, and it's time for bed.
September 11 Just a short moment of silence in honor of the day.
I was a little late getting to bed last night, because of a catalog full of Waterford Crystal. I don't want any - I have enough cut crystal - but it certainly is pretty to look at.
And I slept very well, thank you, with only two walks, until nearly 10:30 this morning. When I got up, it was raining lightly and the wind was beginning to rise. That was the story all day. The temperature has stayed between 50º and 55º, and is now 50º and the north wind has been getting stronger all day... at 9:00, it was a sustained 36 mph with gusts to 50 mph...we're having a gale, folks, the first one of the autumn. And it certainly looked autumnal today, with leaden skies and whitecaps on the dark gray water.
However, before that, and before I got up, there was a picture worth saving from the camera. Thanks to the people who pointed it out to me: while I frequently take a peek at the pictures as they are stored on my disk, they are just thumbnails, and I wouldn't have noticed this. That's also a fitting picture for 9/11, don't you think? The rainbow has always been God's promise.
It rained lightly on and off all day, although we've only had about ¼" total.
The other news is that the power was out from about 1:30 to 4:30 this afternoon. It got a mite chilly around here. I got a call from somebody at UPPCO asking if my power had come back on about 3:00, and he let slip that there are a lot of trees down. Not surprising, given the dry summer and the lack of wind. However, it got me thinking about the generator again, and I think I will call the electrician who was working on it.
Anyway, I was glad I had decided not to go to town, both because I got up late and because I would have had a hard time getting back into the house with no power. The garage door opener wouldn't have worked.
So I caught up on my catalogs. Jasmine was very upset when the wind started to rise. She apparently didn't like all that noise. She went away and I haven't seen her yet this evening. Buster is pretty much used to those things, having lived here for a while. He slept on the counter to the left of the computer all day and is now curled up on the task chair.
When the power came back on, the septic alarm went off, and I had to go down and turn it off. It kept coming back on (which it isn't supposed to do), but it seems to have settled down now again. While I was in the basement, I looked for, and didn't find, the mirror I wanted to hang over the dresser. I didn't actually open several mirror boxes, and it may be in one of those, but if so, it's smaller than I remember. My recollection was that it was about 4' high. If I can't find that one, I guess I will have to hang the one that was over the chest on Champine, which is a little more ornate than I wanted. I also located and brought upstairs an archive box, so I can get the magazines out of here. So that was useful.
I also had a hassle with the computer, which got all confused with the power bouncing. When the power went out for good, I turned off the wall switch, but it had apparently bounced a couple of times before it went down, so the computer came up in safe mode, which explains why I have occasionally had such a problem getting it restarted remotely. I had quite a time with it today, and I think I had to reboot three times before everything came together the way it was supposed to. But of course, there weren't any pictures of the lake effect rain showers we had all afternoon, and the rain being blown across the harbor in sheets.
I unloaded the dishwasher while I was boiling some water. I had a large and mostly healthful dinner tonight (if you ignore all the butter and cheese): cheeseburger with a big slice of tomato, the rest of the tomato and a cucumber with balsamic vinaigrette, and three ears of sweet corn. The corn was just scrumptious, so sweet and tender. It probably would have been even better if I'd had it when I brought it home last Thursday, but it was pretty darn good tonight. The tomato was pretty good, too, although I don't think the modern varieties have the flavor the old Beefsteak and Big Boys used to have. The cucumber was great.
It was nice to finally have the corn boiling kettle here. This is an old aluminum pot with a tight lid that I think was called a "waterless cooker" back in the '30s and '40s. This one is only about 6" high, but it's about 12" across, so whole ears of corn fit in it. I've tried cooking corn in the microwave, and it's OK, but I like it better in water. You bring the water to a boil, put in the corn, bring it back to a boil, then turn the heat off and leave it for 3-5 minutes. I learned that from my mother when my dad grew corn in the garden, and it worked for fresh-picked Golden Bantam. It also works for the modern varieties, which are more tender and keep better. This was bicolor corn, white and yellow. I've had that from the supermarket, but fresh from the organic farm it's much better. I didn't even have much between my teeth, which is always a hazard of corn on the cob. It was so sweet it almost tasted like it had sugar poured on it...just delicious. Yum. Too bad that with the cold weather, we won't get much more.
So that was my quiet day. The wind is still howling out of the north and the lake is roaring nicely...there are 13' waves out at the mid-Superior buoy, and I wouldn't be surprised if they are just about the same here. At least it sounds like it. With the wind from the due north, I won't get the battering around the house quite so much, which is OK, but it sounds like it will be a good night to sleep. I guess tomorrow is the day to go to town, since it's supposed to rain again Thursday. We'll see.
I just checked the graphical marine forecast, and if it is right, we may be seeing 20' waves along the shore right now and through the evening. Darn, these things always happen at night, when you can't see a thing! I thought recognized the pitch of that roar...the higher the waves the deeper the pitch, and it's pretty well down there right now. What fun!
A blast of wind just hit the office windows and they creaked. It was nice to be here to experience the first gale of autumn. I love it when the lake gets really riled up, and I will go peacefully to sleep listening to her roar.
September 10 I seem to be back on schedule again. I jumped into bed around 10:30 and got up just before 9:00, and slept well in between, and while it's a little late tonight, it won't be bad.
I did forget to wash the dishes yesterday so I had to scrounge around for something to feed the kitties, but I did get the dishes washed today. The other thing I wanted to do was to see if I could find what was leaking in the breezeway. Well, I looked at all the stuff in all the crates, and I couldn't find anything that looked or felt like it was leaking, so what is I don't know. Eventually all that stuff will be put away in the laundry, but that will require moving some shelves, and it is down on the to-do list, after I get all the boxes out of the great room. There is some good stuff in those crates, that I will be happy I don't have to buy.
I also finally managed to track down my tax bill, which is due before Saturday. I finally got to the township office when the right people were there and got it printed off. I also talked to the guy who prints up the bills, and he has no clue why I am not getting the bill. He can print it, so he assumes it printed, but nobody has any idea where it is going. And it sounds like nobody cares very much. I promised him I will call him when it doesn't come in December and we will try again.
Anyway, I wrote out the check immediately, and I will get Clyde to cancel it locally and put it right in the township box, so it will get there by the time Jo does the accounting on Wednesday.
I was thinking about going to town tomorrow and getting my deli meats, but it sounds like it is going to be a very windy day, so I think I will stay here and enjoy that. It is also getting to be time to acquire a wireless card for the laptop, so I can use it when I'm in Detroit. I haven't had the laptop out of its case since I've been back here, and I do need to do some maintenance on it, like delete the DSL software, which I will never use again. Darn. Apparently setting up a wireless hot spot is cheaper than having DSL, so that is what all the motels are doing.
The weather was cool but calm. The temperature eventually got up to about 57º, and there was no wind to speak of. It was cloudy for most of the day, but it did clear up around sunset, and when I went into the kitchen to turn on the lights just now, Jupiter was twinkling in the south. It is supposed to rain overnight and get windy and rainy tomorrow...I think I'll stay home. What a good excuse!
I had three packages at the post office, including my Godiva chocolates (half price in a collectible tin - I couldn't resist) and all my new sock yarn, all of which I want to start knitting right away. However, all the yarn is fine, with #1 or #2 needles, and I'm using those. I made a rule a while ago that I will only have one project on one size needles at a time. I think I've violated it occasionally, but for the most part, I at least finish one sock in a yarn before I go on to something else. It's time to put away the summer sock and get back to work on my under-mitten gloves, I think.
Some of the new yarn has silk in it, some has bamboo, some has soy silk, and some has colorways designed by Kaffe Fassett, so it should be fun to work with. Too bad it takes so long to make a sock on #1 needles. When it gets really cold out, I prefer thicker socks anyway, but the thin ones are good for spring and fall, especially when they aren't all wool. Now that I have shrunk my feet down to size, I will be able to wear all my socks again, and that's good.
So that was my day, and it's time to toddle off to bed again. I do seem to be coming out of my need for 10 hours' sleep a night, which is all to the good. But it's better to get it starting before midnight...
September 9 I did it again last night. I got to reading a book which turned out to be rather interesting and it was 4:30 this morning before I put my head down on the pillow. As a result, I didn't get up until after noon and it has been a rather truncated day. Sometimes I wonder about me.
It was a good night to sleep, in the middle 50s with some wind and some noise from the lake. It was just about the same today, with a northeast wind and a temperature that hung in just under 55º. It was cloudy for most of the day, although we didn't get the rain that they said we might. Around 5:00 it began to clear up, and it was nearly clear by sunset. I broke out the sweatshirt that has been hanging on the clothes tree since sometime in June, and it felt very cozy, thank you. But I already miss having the windows open and hearing the birds and beasts.
Oddly enough, even though it was a short day, I did do a few things. I finally went through the piles of catalogs and magazines and threw out the old catalogs and reorganized the rest. I really need an archive box for this year's keeper magazines, but I'm not sure I can find one in the basement, and all the ones up here are full of other things. I also updated my ledger. It feels real strange to only have one electric bill and one gas bill to enter. I won't be writing nearly so many checks from now on.
Buster finally gave up on me last night and went to sleep on the task chair, which is where he is now, too. Jasmine was a bit puzzled, because I haven't pulled that stunt since she's lived here, so she kept coming in and jumping on top of Buster on the chair, which made him grumpy, of course. She'll learn.
So tonight I think I will be a little earlier - no more books for me! I did get about 8 hours' sleep last night, but it feels like that wasn't enough.
Harbor Haus was quiet tonight, which I enjoyed, although I wasn't there long. Service was very quick...they are used to the crowds now. It was a pretty evening to be there, with a nice blue lake and white breakers, and one large ship going by. The patrons are the older crowd, too, as is usual at this time of year. My family and I aren't the only people who prefer to travel when the kids are in school. And I have a quarter of a rotisserie duckling to have for dinner tomorrow. Yum.
So that was my short day, and I think it's time to crawl back into bed.
September 8 Well, I'm tired.
I read until 11:30, and I forgot that fish is frequently a diuretic for me, so I was up about every hour from 2:00 on. I got up shortly after 9:00, and I booted Buster off my lap long before he wanted to go It was a good thing, because Mark and Paula appeared around 10:00. Adam didn't come, but it was just as well.
I had planned to do some things around the kitchen, but my knees and my back were very creaky and achy, and after I couldn't get onto the top step of the stool, I sort of gave up. I did manage to get all the glasses put away, which was a step forward, but I wanted to put the plastic stuff away in the top of the pantry, and that just didn't get done.
So I talked to Paula and Mark and I embroidered for a while and I played with the computer for a while. I did help them out a bit. Among other things, Mark worked on the shower doors with Barkeeper's Helper and a scraper, and while it isn't perfect, it's a lot better than it was. The water here is even harder than it was in Detroit, and it showed mostly on the shower doors. Strangely, the tile seems to be mostly OK, so I'm not sure why the doors get so gooped up.
Anyway, they finally left about 6:30. It cost me a bundle, but they did a lot besides the windows, and I even have a relatively clean house for a change. The windows are wonderfully clean. So of course it might rain tonight.
Anyway, I listened to Weekend ATC from the website (streaming audio is wonderful) and I am now having my fruit dessert, so it will be a late night tonight.
I was just as glad Adam didn't come today, because Mark discovered that a piece of siding is coming off the house above one of the backside windows, and he also noticed that the squirrels have made a hole in the air vent on top of the garage and are coming and going through it. I wonder if maybe they didn't make the hole to get out after I shut them up inside, but it's hard to say. So Adam has a couple of other things to do whenever he gets here.
It also seems that the seals on two of the full-light doors have been broken. I will have to talk to Adam about that, too. I don't know if they came from the same place as the windows or not. One of them is the front door, and if it has to be replaced, that will be good, since it was stained backward. The black stain was supposed to be put on the outside and the pecan on the inside, and it was reversed...duh! And this time, I will do the staining myself.
The kitties, of course, made themselves scarce, and it was actually quite a while after Mark and Paula left that they finally appeared. Now Buster is asleep on the counter, and Jasmine is doing whatever Jasmine does at night.
The weather was pretty good for windows. It was mostly cloudy all day, and the temperature was in the low 60s most of the time, with a light wind from the north. It was OK to have the windows open, but it was cool enough to work. I'm sorry I couldn't.
I got out onto the deck for the first time in a while, and I looked around some. The temperature sensor is under the tree, but there may be a feeder hook missing. Mark took down the one that got stranded up above the roof (it was in segments, and the lower segments fell off, leaving me with a hook that was too high to reach). The pond is very low and very green, and I discovered that the barley ball has somehow ended up in the middle of the yard. I have to credit the bear for that. There are a couple of nice big frogs residing in my pond. There is a nice crop of weeds in the flower beds again, but I expected that. It isn't as bad as it was in the spring, so if I can get out there either this fall or next spring, it should be OK.
We let in a few very small flies, but I have noticed that the dry weather has been good for one thing: the fly crop is very small this year. That was probably a good thing, since the doors and windows have been open a lot since I got back from Detroit.
And now it is time to trundle up to the north end and sleep again. Maybe I won't be up so many times tonight. I hope not.
September 7 The temperature had recovered to 73º by the time I went to bed, and there was a little wind, so while it was still very humid, I was comfortable with not many covers. After I was up at 3:00, though, the temperature was a little lower, and I had a hard time finding the right amount of covers, and I dozed for quite a while.
I was awake a little after 6:00 when I heard the lovely sound of falling rain, and that sent me back to sleep, at least for a while. Again, I got up before 9:00. Buster isn't used to me getting up so early, so he missed his morning love-in.
We had another shower between 10:00 and 11:00, and then the temperature started to plummet. By 3:00, it was down to 60º, and the wind got up to 35-45 mph around 4:00, from the north. Needless to say, I started shutting windows and doors, and the house is now closed up for the first time since June. The wind has backed off a little, but it is still in the 20-30 mph range. I was out to the post office while it was blowing its hardest, and there was quite a wind chill there. It is nice to hear the roaring of the lake again.
Unfortunately, we missed the greatest amount of rain again, but we did get another .57". Any amount will help. Late in the afternoon, the clouds started to roll away to the south, and it is nearly clear now, although there are a few clouds in the west.
My exertions yesterday plus the cool, damp weather left me creaky and achy, so I didn't do much except put some more stuff in the dishwasher and start a new orange trash bag. I did wash a couple of things that had gotten packed dirty, but that was about all. I just didn't feel that this was the day to get up on a stool, and everything I have to put away in the kitchen needs to go on upper shelves.
Buster was very sleepy all day, and he kept wanting to sleep on my lap with his head pillowed on my arm. I think it's because it was a little cool in here for a while. Jasmine has taken up residence on the first floor of the kitty condo, but every time I walk by her, she runs between the couch and the buffet, like I was going to grab her or something. I really don't know how to make her understand that I won't do that, at least for a while.
I made another appointment for when I am in Detroit in October, and of course my doctor is out that week, so I will get another one, hopefully not the one who stands with her back to me and mumbles. All that means is that I won't get to discuss a few things I wanted to talk to my doctor about. Oh, well.
So that was my day, and it's time to toddle up to the north end again. The window washers will be here tomorrow, and Adam might come, too, so it is likely to be a busy day, and I need to be up early just in case.
September 6 I slept pretty well last night, considering how warm it was, but I woke up at 8:30 this morning with heart palpitations...whatever brought that on, I just can't imagine. I wonder if it had anything to do with the valerian? If it's not one damn thing, it's another...
Anyway, I got up, because I knew if I managed to get back to sleep, it would be after 10:00 before I got up, and I did want to go to town. I took my time, however, and it was sometime after 11:00 when I left the house. I discovered that I seem to have misplaced my ice packs, and they never got frozen after the last time I was in town. Of course, it would have to be today, which was the hottest day we've had in quite a while. Figures. I will have to hunt them up and get them into the freezer.
It was warm but not hot when I left the harbor, and there were some very black looking clouds building over the mountain. I left the car windows open while I was on the covered road, and that was pleasant, especially with hair short enough that it didn't blow into my face.
It wasn't too warm until I got to Houghton, where it was 86º already at 1:00. I would have to pick a day like that to go to town! I did my thing, and I think I got most of what I wanted, although when I got home, one of the deli meats I had gotten never got through the checkout. I have no idea where it went. So I won't have very many breakfast sandwiches, unless I go back next week and get it. At least I didn't pay for it.
I was dripping by the time I got to the checkout. They don't keep stores as cold up here as they do in Detroit, and scuttling around for what I wanted and pushing a very full cart, including 40 lbs. of kitty litter, was a chore. However, it didn't take me much more than an hour.
I stopped for gas, and that was nice, because while the temperature was up to about 88º by that time, there was a strong southwest wind, so I sat in the breeze and cooled down while my tank filled. Gas is up again. It was $3.10 at Econo and $3.20 most other places. The guy who put my bags in the car and I were grousing about how prices usually go up around a holiday weekend.
Needless to say, I had the air conditioning on when I left town. When I got to Calumet, the roads were wet, and I had clearly just missed a short shower. That cooled it down to about 83º there, but it has been horribly humid all over.
Because I didn't have the ice packs, I had to unload the car as soon as I got home, and I had to unload it completely, because the guy put some of my deli stuff in regular bags and I didn't know where it was. That was when I discovered that my roast beef was missing.
By the time I finished that, I was as wet as if I had just stepped out of the shower, so I took off all my clothes (almost), including my compression hose, and put on a pair of shorts and a tank...only the second time this summer for those. It shortly started to cool off around here, and while the wind is nearly calm, I turned up the ceiling fan in the office, and every so often a cool breeze will waft in the windows.
The temperature here never got below 72º all night long, and it got up to 83º about the time I got home. There was a breeze overnight, but it has been calm all afternoon. There wasn't a drop of rain in Copper Harbor, but it had rained on the covered road, up to about the Mountain Lodge. Not a lot, but enough to wet the road. Really, really scattered showers. The humidity has been brutal - the dew point has been in the middle 60s all day, which puts the relative humidity at over 70% most of the time.
So that was my day. I have lots of TV dinners and frozen veggies, and a few fresh things I got at Hughes. I have some things to eat for breakfast, but not as much as I'd planned on. I may have to go back next week and get the rest of it.
When I got home, there was a call from the window washer, who is apparently having trouble getting away, although he is in Mackinaw City now. He will be here Saturday. That is OK, too, because they are predicting rain for tomorrow (boy, do I hope so!).
So now it's time to go and take a nice tepid shower and try to get another good night's sleep. I certainly hope it rains!
September 5 I didn't have a very good night last night. I think it was partly that I went to bed too early, partly because I couldn't get the temperature right, and partly because the dampness made me ache. Whatever, I was wakeful for a good part of the night. It wasn't that I wasn't tired - I kept yawning - I just couldn't sleep. I keep forgetting that I have a bottle of valerian that has helped in the past. I should try it again. I will have to remember.
Anyway, I got up around 9:30 this morning, because the natives were restless. For a few seconds, I had both of them sitting on the bed staring at me. Jasmine, at least, didn't seem to be much affected by the weather. She was bouncing up and down the hallway for some time.
Buster got a good loving this morning, and he didn't want to get off my lap when I was ready to stand up, but he should be used to that by this time.
However, I was still eating my breakfast (brunch) when my new hairdresser came. This is a lady who lives down M-26 a ways, who comes to her client's homes. How nice! I think she gave me a very good haircut, although it is a tad shorter than I would like...well, it will grow, and since it will be the end of October before I get another one, I guess it's just as well. She is a nice lady, and she is extremely neat, even to putting down a sheet to keep all the hair together. I really needed a haircut. It was losing its shape, and it was so long, I couldn't keep it where it is supposed to go. Having it short is so handy that I will probably never let it grow again, although we'll see how I feel about that when it gets cold. I am used to having hair over my ears and on my neck.
That should be a sign to get out some of my lace-weight yarn and knit up a scarf to wear with my parka, but it is all in tubs that are behind the boxes that were moved into the basement last year, and I have promised myself that I will get the first floor taken care of before I start on the basement. I might have enough of the yarn I am using for the new under-mitten gloves, but I need to finish the gloves first. Oh, yeah...I guess the summer socks are on hold for a while, huh?
Anyway, I didn't do much else. I cleaned out the sink and started loading the dishwasher, and I took a big bag and a small bag of trash to the compactor, and brought home a 4" package of catalogs. It's time to go through the catalogs again, I can see.
I also brought home a couple more checks, one from AT&T, and one from title company, which I didn't realize was coming. They kept something (I'm not sure how much) just in case something in the house wasn't right, so now they have released it.
It was nice to get such fat checks, but the one from AT&T gave me a few moments of confusion, since they refunded the charges for the phones here, too. So I called, and they have opened a new account with a new closing date. They have not terminated my phones here. Oh. The workings of the telephone company, no matter who it is, have never made any sense to me. The result if my call is that I can expect a two-month phone bill sometime around the end of the month. Sigh. So my nice, fat refund check really is what will be put toward my next bill.
And that was about all I did.
It wasn't a very nice day, but it was better than they had predicted, by about 15º. It was humid and foggy and nearly calm all day long. The temperature did top out at 79º at 7:00 this evening, but that didn't last long, and for most of the day it was right around 70º with no wind at all. Now the wind has begun to pick up a bit, and while it is still warm, I think it will be an OK sleeping night. There was a little sun late in the afternoon, but most of the day was cloudy and dreary.
So that was all there was, and I will try not to go to bed too early tonight. I do have to go to Houghton for food tomorrow, so a good night's sleep and an early rising are in order. It's a moist, summery night in the field tonight. Summer isn't over yet.
September 4 By the time I got to bed, it was raining nicely, and it pretty much kept up all night long. There were a few flashes of lightening, but nothing close by, and I could only hear a few far-off rumbles of thunder. Here in the harbor, we got cheated, as has been happening lately. We only got about .6" of rain out of it, whereas down in Houghton they got 3.83", along with thunder and lightning and the whole bit. They've had even more in Marquette. Not fair, especially since I'm sure some of that lightning I saw was out over the lake. Most of the action went either north or south of us.
I was rather wakeful last night, and the achy parts of me were acting up, and besides, by 9:00 this morning, Buster was insisting I get up - apparently they had eaten everything in sight and they were hungry. The temperature in the bed wasn't right, either. The door kept swinging shut, so it was a bit warm in the bedroom, as well as being dampish.
Apparently I slept well enough to miss the oops of the night. I had put the little basket I kept on the table on Champine on the table here, with the sugar bowl, a bottle of almond flavoring (why I don't know), and a couple of other things. Well, now the sugar bowl is on the floor, along with the spoon, the almond flavoring, and a flashlight. The basket is still on the table, so I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I do have to clean up sugar from the floor by the dining room table. I wonder what they were up to? Actually, I'm afraid it was Jasmine. Buster has never done things like that.
Otherwise it was a quiet day. I folded and put away the clothes I washed yesterday, and I washed the towels, and that was about all I did. I spent some time in the ugly chair, embroidering. I thought I had started the white thread at the wrong spot, so I ripped it out, then I found it was right all along, so I did it over. It was a bit too dark to embroider much on dark blue fabric.
It had stopped raining by the time I got up, but the humidity was over 90%, so it was icky. The temperature was in the upper 50s overnight, and it got up to 63º this afternoon, and it was foggy and dark all day long, and night is falling faster than usual. If it's going to be like that, the least it could do is rain.
The dampness made me creaky and gave me a backache, so I didn't feel like doing a lot. One of these days, I will have to do something.
Now I am going to toddle up to the north end and hope to get a better night's sleep tonight. Maybe if I read for a while?
September 3 - Labor Day Happy Labor Day always seems sort of strange to say, but I hope everybody celebrated the day off the way they wanted. Last night, about 10:00, somebody set off a few fireworks in Copper Harbor.
As for me, I crashed. I turned out the light at 10:00 and got up at 9:30 this morning. I was awake (sort of) at 9:00, but I dozed for another half hour, until Buster jumped up on the bed to see if I was OK.
It was a clear night last night, but not especially transparent. I could see Vega and Deneb out my window, but I had a hard time seeing Polaris and the handle of the Big Dipper. The moon was out, but it is waning fast, so the shadows weren't so bright.
The temperature was between 60º and 65º all night, and there wasn't much wind, so having the porch door open was OK. It was about the same temperature all day, too, but there was a northeast breeze for a while that seemed rather cool, so I shut a couple more windows.
With a start like that, I should have done something, and I did do something, but when I did, my back was bothering me again, so I didn't do a lot. I had one of my Potatoes O'Brien omelets for brunch, and I was hungry all day for some reason.
I unloaded the dishwasher and spent some time looking at cabinets, but I still haven't decided just how to stash the stuff away, so the kitchen is still a disaster.
I had been thinking about how I arranged the furniture on the porch, so I rearranged it, putting the eating table and chairs more toward the kitchen, and I like that better. I retrieved the towel I had put on one of the chairs (which is imitation wicker) so that Buster would lie on it, and I put it on the seating chair, and a while later, Buster was out there lying on it, sound asleep. He didn't stay long, because it was cool, but he likes that turquoise towel.
And I washed. I ended up throwing the last two loads - underwear and light-colored tees - together, and that is ready to go in the dryer when the sweat jacket comes out. So I guess tomorrow I will have to put the clothes away. Except for the underwear, I really hadn't worn that much. After the last time I washed, I threw away half a dozen pairs of underpants that had holes in them, and I will probably do the same this time. It means I will have to wash more often, but that's all right. The other reason I had to wash was compression hose. I have four pair of those, and I really don't see getting any more. I went without today, so I could wash all four pairs, and my ankles have swollen again, so I really need to wear them all the time.
So that was my quiet day. In the afternoon, I spent some time in the ugly chair - the first time since I've been back - with my embroidery, and I finished the color I had been working on and I can now start a white strip, if I can figure out where to start it. That felt good, although the lighting wasn't so good.
It was clear in the morning and partly cloudy for part of the afternoon, but then it began to cloud up, and the NWS keeps promising rain, lots of rain. I think they are wrong. There were some showers around, but they seem to be dissipating, and it has only dribbled enough to wet the deck here. I was hoping they would be right, since they were predicting as much as 3" of rain overnight, and that would have helped us a lot. Of course, they are saying that it may be late before the rain comes, so I can still hope.
So that was a quiet day, and I really did do something again. I will be later to bed tonight, I think, but more sleep is in order. It's a sort of yucky night in the field tonight.
September 2 This is going to be another short one. I had a bad night last night. The wind was blowing so hard I had to shut the porch door, and I was warm and achy and I couldn't find a comfortable place to sleep. I read for a while, until I kept yawning, and I got up at 9:00 this morning, but I certainly didn't get enough sleep.
I was tired and sleepy and my back was killing me all day long, so I didn't do a lot. I did get the dishes washed, and I got the boxes out of the laundry room, but that was all. At least it was something. Tomorrow I have to wash, for sure!
Tonight I met Rox for dinner at Harbor Haus, and it was good as usual, although Chris had to poke us to get us to leave our table. Two women, you know, with a lot in common...
It was a lovely day, although the wind was something else. I think the NWS station is sheltered from the west, but even there, it was blowing in the 15-20 mph range with gusts up to 35 mph. I know it was stronger here, and there were some amazing whitecaps on the harbor for most of the day. It was beautifully clear, and it looks to be a clear night, too. And the sun set at 8:30! Oh, dear!
Oh, and early this morning, I opened my eyes and there was Jasmine with her nose about 6" from my nose, looking at me. Evidently I am getting accepted, so long as my hands are under the covers. Slowly but surely, we make progress.
So that is all there is, and I think I will try a repeat of last night and read for a while and hope to get a better sleep tonight. At least I think I can have the door open tonight, which should make it more comfortable.
September 1 It was a good night to sleep last night, and I did. I got up around 9:30, because the natives were restless. I don't know if there were many stars, because I wasn't awake that long, but late in the night, the moon was certainly bright.
It was a lovely day today. The temperature actually got down to 47º over night, but it rebounded quickly, and we reached a high of 73º late in the afternoon. It was a good day to work, at least with the slider open.
My friend Roxanne arrived around 11:00, before I had eaten, so she knitted while I ate, and then we attacked the boxes. We really accomplished a lot. We got all the kitchen stuff unpacked and a lot of it stored away, and we started on the dining room stuff. There is even stuff in the glass cabinet, although it isn't washed and it isn't placed where I want it.
And I have a horrible mess. Every counter space in the kitchen is covered with stuff, as is the dining room table and the buffet and the boxes that still aren't unpacked. There are things that need to be washed, and things that need to be put where something else is, and things I'm not sure what to do with. So I think tomorrow is a day to regroup, try to get everything that needs putting away stashed somewhere close to its final resting place, wash what needs to be washed, and generally tidy up the kitchen. Right now, it is nearly impossible to do anything in there.
I also need to move the boxes out of the laundry so I can do some wash...I have one more clean pair of underpants.
Rox was kind enough to move the empty boxes and boxes full of paper to the garage for me, and that was a big thing. There are quite a few of them.
So we made a big dent in the boxes, and maybe that will encourage me to keep it up...after, of course, I figure out what to do with what I have unpacked now. The new buffet isn't nearly as deep as the old one was, so there are some things, like large serving plates, that I simply don't know what to do with. I don't have any room in the kitchen for that stuff, so I suppose it will all be repacked and taken down to the basement. Some of those things may fit on the bottom shelf of the glass cabinet. I will have to check.
Now I am tired and I was sweating profusely today, so I am sticky and icky and I need a bath.
I was most surprised that Buster showed up in the middle of the afternoon, while we were taking a rest. He let Rox pet him and he sat on my lap for a while, then he slept on top of one of the boxes for a while before he decided that what we were doing wasn't very interesting and we were too busy to pay attention to him. Of course Jasmine was no where to be seen.
So that was a most productive day, and now I will take an early walk up to the north end, and I suspect I will sleep well tonight.
August is gone, and September is upon us, so summer is over. It seems like there wasn't any summer, but that is because I lost the month of July in Detroit. However, autumn is my favorite season of all. I only hope it is rainy, because we really need the water, even though the trees won't be so pretty.
And I am yawning as I type, so I will stop.
Last updated 08/04/11 08:45 PM
|