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A View From the Field |
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September, 2015 September 30 So now September is over and it's autumn. Sigh. Time just passes too fast.
I was up all night again, and for no good reason except that I just didn't seem to want to go to bed. I slept without the reading wedge and I was much more comfortable. I coughed a bit, but not enough to make me want to haul it back up onto the bed. I didn't have a stiff neck when I got up, so it was worth a few coughs. I slept well, but not nearly long enough,
I was so late that I didn't do anything but my surfing.
The weather was clear and cold again. The high temperature was 57º for a while early in the afternoon. It got down to 41º overnight, and I closed the window in the bedroom. It's probably closed for the season now. I miss the fresh air and the sounds, but it was cold in there before I closed it. There were a few clouds in the sky every so often, but mostly it was clear and blue and there was almost no wind. Nice, but you needed a jacket if you were out in it. I didn't go out. Oh, yes, and I wore sweatpants for the first time this fall. That was mostly because my summer long house pants were in the wash (except for the pair that seems to have gone missing), but I wasn't too warm in the sweats. I like this season, but I'm sorry to see the warmer weather and the long days go.
The guys were sleepy. They were both asleep in the bathroom when I got up, and while I was knitting, Louie rolled over onto his back with his hind legs in one direction and his front legs in the other. I can't believe that's really comfortable, but he seems to like it. He is a very long cat when he stretches out full length. At the same time, Grayson was curled up with his paw over his eyes. He sometimes lies on his back but he doesn't sleep like that.
So that was a very truncated day. Now it's a cool, clear evening in the field.
September 29 So I made up for my early night on Sunday by pulling an all-nighter. Sigh. There was no reason for it, I just didn't seem to want to go to bed. When I finally did, I slept well. I'm coughing a lot less, I'm happy to say, enough that I might just try to sleep without the reading wedge tonight. It's not really comfortable if I'm not lying on my back, and I don't sleep that way very much. When I lie on my side, I get a crick in my neck that goes right up into my scalp. Maybe I can lie flat for a change. I'll at least try it.
I was so late getting up that I didn't do much but knit, except that I absolutely have to wash dishes tonight, so while my dinner was cooking, I got the dishwasher almost ready to run. After I put my dinner dishes in, it will be good to go.
The weather turned very cool overnight. It was quite windy overnight, even though it was clear, and there were gusts up to 27 mph. The high temperature during the day was only in the low 50s, and it's already down to 44º. I guess there will be some scattered frost in the interior tonight and tomorrow night. Well, it's time, after all. It was beautifully clear all day, and the wind wasn't strong enough to cause whitecaps, although the lake was singing for most of the night.
The guys both slept in the bathroom while I was asleep. Grayson got some lap time, but Louie came while I was eating, so he did what both of them have been doing for the past couple of days. He sat down behind the monitor and reached out his little paddy paws underneath it. Then I touch his paw and he tries to grab me with his claws. The angle is wrong, though, so I've managed to keep from getting scratched. It's so cute to look under the monitor and see a nose and possibly a pair of eyes peering at me. I don't know where that came from, but they've both been doing it.
So that was my day. Now it's a clear, cold night in the field, and I won't be up that late tonight.
September 28 I really crashed last night. I wanted to read for a while after I uploaded the journal, and I kept nodding off, or at least my head kept dropping and then jerking up when I came to. I was in bed by 9:30 and I slept hard and long. I didn't get up until 8:30 this morning. I'm not nearly so tired, or I wasn't.
I knitted, and I washed the bottoms I soiled yesterday and today, but otherwise, I didn't do much with my long day. I still feel sort of groggy, so maybe I can make it an early night tonight, too. Not quite as early as last night, because I have to wash my hair, but earlier than I have been lately.
I didn't see the eclipse. Technically, I was still up when it started, but I was so tired there was no way I could have lasted even until it got total. It was nice and clear throughout, but then it clouded up, just like Environment Canada said it would. I wonder if the people who tend those models celebrate when they get it so right? I would, since so many times they're so wrong.
It was still cloudy and dark when I got up this morning. I just discovered that the camera hung up around 4:00 this afternoon, so we haven't seen the rest of the afternoon. It was clearing up by then, and it was clear at sunset. The high temperature for the day was 65º, although it was warmer at midnight. The wind was at or under 10 mph all day. We had 0.05" of rain between 3:00 and 5:00 this morning. I guess the rest of the week is supposed to be cold.
The guys were sleepy, although Grayson got some lap time. Louie went away and slept and I haven't seen him since I cleaned up after my accident. They both rally around when I do something nonstandard.
So it was another quiet day and I didn't accomplish anything I should have. Now it's a clear, cool night in the field.
September 27 I'm going to do this early tonight, and I doubt I will be able to stay up long enough to see the eclipse. I was later getting to bed last night than I wanted to be, but I had to fill the pill dispensers as well as take my bath. And then when I laid down, I immediately had to get up because I was coughing so much. I got up and when I got back to bed, I tried the other side and that was better, but that was my right side, where the bad hip is, so I couldn't sleep on it for more than a couple of hours.
I got up when I wanted to, though, and I was able to have a nice breakfast (not something out of the freezer) and still get away when I wanted to. The choir wanted to practice, so I wanted to get there early. We sang Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, which I love, but I'm afraid we were rather flat. Several of the people in the choir had not only never sung it, they had never heard it and they didn't like it very well.
Anyway, there was communion and we used the old service, much to my delight. We sang almost all of it, except for the Nunc dimittis, but it was getting rather late by that time and we still hadn't done our choir piece. I do love that service!
We got out by 12:00, so I was home by 1:00. Driving wasn't too bad, and my only real problem was that someplace around the Mountain Lodge, I exploded, coughing and hacking and sneezing and the whole bit, so I wet my pants. I'm not over it yet.
When I looked out the bedroom window after I got up, there was the most wonderful view. There was just under half of a full moon right behind the mountain, looking like a huge orange. It was so cool! Unfortunately, I reset the start and stop times of the camera last night, so we didn't capture it. I fixed that today, but it was too late.
Anyway, I didn't do anything after I got home. I was so tired that I nearly fell asleep - I should have taken a nap - and I will be going to bed early, for sure. Well, I've seen other eclipses, and even though every one is different, I think I can probably skip this one.
The weather was lovely. The temperature reached 78º briefly and it has been in the middle 70s all afternoon. There was a rather brisk west wind, with gusts up to 23 mph, until around 3:00, when it died down and it is now just about calm. It was clear and lovely all day.
Grayson spent a long time on my lap this afternoon, although every time I started coughing he got up and went away. I haven't seen Louie since right after I got home.
So that was my day. It's a warm, clear evening in the field, but this is likely to be the last warm day for the foreseeable future.
September 26 I wasn't nearly as late last night, but that's not saying much. I slept well, but it turned out not to be long enough. I knitted my two rows, and I started the second ball of yarn. I nearly fell asleep while I was knitting.
Today was washday and it turned out to be rather productive. I found the compression sock I lost (it never got washed), as well as a whole lot of tops I haven't seen since last year. Unfortunately, most of the tops I found, including all the sweatshirts I wore last winter, had grease or other spots on them, so they will have to be rewashed. I washed a huge load of spotted tops, and I only hope the spots came out. Most of them are grease spots, but several have yellow spots on them that I have no clue what they are. The pre-wash got hit hard.
And I solved the mystery of the big loads not spinning out. Sigh. I don't know what I'm going to do about that. It seems like it takes so long to fill the washer with cold water that it times out. The fill completes, but by the time it does, the timer thinks the load is finished, so it doesn't agitate and it doesn't spin out. I didn't know about the agitation, but I was sitting and folding clothes when it happened, so now I know. I guess I will have to rinse everything with warm water from now on. Loads up to "large" don't time out, although it seems to me that the cold water is coming out steadily more slowly, so I don't know how long that will work. I guess I need to pull out the washer and uncouple the hoses and see if there is something clogging the end that goes into the washer. If there isn't, I guess I need a plumber. Shudder. Anyway, it's good to know exactly what's going on.
The weather was pretty nice. it was cloudy overnight, but the clouds rolled away by about 12:30 and the afternoon has been clear and lovely. The high temperature was 71º and there was almost no wind. I didn't open anything up, so it got pretty hot in here, but I wasn't here very long anyway. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear until midnight (at least that's the forecast so far) and I only hope it stays clear for the eclipse, although I'm not sure how much I'll be able to see from here. Stay tuned.
The guys slept, mostly. Grayson got some lap time but I haven't seen Louie very much since this morning. He peered in the laundry while I was working in there, but that was all.
Speaking of the laundry, things are in much better shape, although everything is now in baskets. At least it's not piling all over the floor. There were a couple of things that had gotten dirty on the floor that need to be washed over again, but not as much as I might have expected. I boxed up the blocking tiles so I can move them to the dining room table, and now that there isn't a pile in front of the counter, I will be able to get out my ironing blanket (heck, I could probably even open up the ironing board if I wanted to!) and iron a few things. Provided that my back will hold out, of course. The floor is gross, and I still have a pile of sheets and towels that need to be soaked for a long time, but it really is better than it was. I stopped putting away the laundry way last winter when I was feeling so bad and I just never did anything about it. Now that it's getting to be fall again, I can start over. Of course, everything still needs to be put away, but at least it's neater.
So that was a more productive day than I've had in quite a while. Now it's a clear, warmish night in the field.
September 25 So I was ridiculously late last night, again. And besides that, I didn't sleep very well. I used up all my plain cough syrup, and the other one didn't work, so I coughed a whole lot. I think it was around 11:30 when I got up, and I knitted. I've been coughing so much that my head hurts when I do.
There wasn't time to do much, because I had to go to the post office, where there was a ton of stuff, including some bills that need to be paid soon.
I did talk to Ron, and I put him on to find out how much gas I actually have, which he did, and it's about 20% more than the company estimated. I still haven't heard back from them, so I guess I will have to call them on Monday. There was a message on my answering machine from the drug plan, as well as at least two email messages, all of which were about the things I talked to them yesterday about. Talk about overkill...
The weather was not very good. It was cloudy all day, although there wasn't any rain. The high during the day only got to 59º, but it was just about constant all day. There wasn't any wind, so it wasn't uncomfortable outside, as long as you had a jacket on. They are saying it is going to be warm and sunny tomorrow and Sunday, but we'll see about that.
The guys were sleepy, except that when the Schwan's guy came, Grayson got out into the breezeway and he wouldn't come in, so I left him, and then I forgot he was there until I went to get my dinner, so he was out for a long time, and he was happy to get in, although he didn't run. What a snot he is! He has sat on me twice since he came in. I haven't seen much of Louie.
So it was another quiet day, and I think I will probably go to bed once I've posted this. It's a cool dark night in the field.
September 24 It was another late night. I read for a long time, and then I had to wash my hair. I'm not quite sure when I got to bed or when I got up, but I guess I got about 7 hours' sleep. I knitted, so I was late eating, and then I had an accident, although not quite as messy a one as yesterday. Rice does help. By the time I got done cleaning up from that, I only had time to go to chapel - where there was a good sermon by one of the professors and the installation of a deaconess intern (and I don't know what that means) - and read some of my email before I had to get ready to leave.
I wanted to leave early because I wanted to go by Pat's and get few things, like JD and cough medicine and something to eat tonight, before it was time for choir.
Choir was good, although Pastor wasn't there. I had a hard time singing, at least until the end, because my sinuses kept draining and making me cough, but we have so many things going on that I didn't want to miss another practice. They are going to publicize the choir concert. I hope nobody is disappointed by our little choir. At least we sing with gusto. It was a long practice, because we went through everything we'll be singing for the next five weeks, plus most of what will be at the concert, so it was 9:30 before I got home and 10:30 before I ate.
I had a nice dinner - a lamb chop - and I have some nice whitefish - finally! - for tomorrow. Pat's hasn't had any lake fish for the past month or so, but they had a lot today. They had more trout than whitefish, but I prefer whitefish. It will be nice.
The weather wasn't very good again. The high temperature was only 61º, there was no wind, and it was cloudy and dull all day. It started drizzling around 6:00, and it was raining lightly when I came home. Yuck. No wonder I hurt.
The guys slept, of course, and Grayson spent some time sleeping on me. He was right at the door when I left. He looks out the door when I go out into the breezeway, and he walked away so sadly when he saw me go out rather than come back in. He wants to sit on me again right now. I didn't see much of Louie after I left the north end. He got some petting after I stopped knitting. Grayson just doesn't like to see me go away, and I guess it's just because he's never sure if I'll come back. He was happier when I came home. He'll be happier still when he discovers that I got a small bag of his favorite dry food.
I am very sorry to say that I hit the donut hole. I didn't realize that the Medicare Part D donut hole kicks in when you reach $2900 (or whatever it is) based on the retail price of the drugs. Gaak! How grossly unfair can you get? I'm taking this blood thinner that is fairly new and the retail price is apparently something like $10 a pill - $850 or so for a three-month supply. Our congress is a group of the most hopeless assholes I have ever encountered. The pharmaceutical industry is worse. If those statements upset you, don't bother to tell me about it. You couldn't possibly change my mind.
Anyway, that was my rather truncated day, and while I won't be early tonight either, maybe I can be a bit earlier than I was last night (or this morning, actually).
It's a dark, rainy, chilly night in the field.
September 23 - Fall Equinox I was late again last night, for no good reason. I was reading, I guess. I slept well, although every time I woke up I started coughing. I got up around 11:00, I think, and I knitted my two rows.
I was minding my own business when I had another nasty, messy accident, that I had to clean up after. Yuck. Other than that, and boiling up a pot of rice, I didn't do anything.
The weather wasn't particularly good, although it didn't start raining until sometime after 4:00 this afternoon. The high temperature was only 62º, and that was at noon. There was almost no wind at all. It has been dribbling rain ever since, but it isn't raining hard yet. Well, happy equinox.
The guys reacted to the weather, and they slept. On me, a lot. Grayson was on my lap three times, and even Louie got to sleep on my lap for a while this afternoon. They react to the weather even more than I do.
My reaction to the weather was mostly that my back hurts, but I expect that. Now it's a cloudy, cool night in the field. Sleeping will be good.
September 22 I was reading, and as a result I almost pulled an all-nighter again. Geez. Well, I finished that story tonight so maybe I can get to bed. Maybe. I slept well, although I was up a couple of times, and every time I woke up coughing. I am still coughing up lots of glop, and especially in the morning, there's some blood in it. I'm not surprised, with the blood thinner I'm taking. At least I'm not coughing all the time anymore, but I'll be sleeping on the reading wedge for a few more days. One thing it does is enable me to sleep more comfortably on my back, which is probably a good thing.
I was so late getting up, and I knitted, and then I had a really yucky accident, so I didn't do anything. I'll know I'm well again when my guts get back in shape.
The weather was nice but cooler than it's been for the past couple of days. The high temperature was 68º, at 11:00, but for most of the day, it was at or below 65º. It was windy overnight, with gusts up to 30 mph, but today it was nearly calm. The direction shifted from west overnight to north around 8:00 AM. It was cloudy in the morning, then it cleared up for a while, and it was getting cloudy at sunset. There was a bright quarter moon shining in the south windows when it got dark, but it is now playing tag with the clouds. I guess we're in for some rain for the next couple of days. We need it, and besides, there is always some kind of weather thing around the equinox.
The guys were sleepy and I didn't see much of them, although Grayson got some lap time. Louie has gone back to sleeping in the window seat, I think. I keep forgetting to look for him when I get up, but when I am through knitting and I am rustling around, I hear him go thump! in the bedroom, and that's the only place he could be. I don't know where Grayson sleeps, but I suspect it's upstairs.
So that was another truncated day, and now it's a mostly cloudy, cool night in the field.
September 21 It was about midnight when I got to bed, I guess. The minute I laid down, I started coughing, so I hauled the reading wedge up off the floor and I slept the whole night on it. It's not completely comfortable, but I didn't cough very much at all, so it was worth it. I got up around 10:30 or so, I guess, although I was up a number of times during the night.
When I was up, there were the brightest stars I've seen in a long time. I could even see all the stars of the bowl of the Little Dipper, although the fifth magnitude one wasn't very obvious. When I was up around 6:00, right as it was beginning to get light, I looked out the east windows and I could see just Orion's belt between the top of the roof and the top of the window, so bright! It was lovely.
I knitted my two rows, and that's going to be about all I can do. In a while, I probably won't be able to do even that.
I didn't do anything else. I'm not coughing quite as much, but I still don't feel very good, so I didn't do anything. My chapel service was nice. It was a commemoration of St. Matthew, so there was communion. The preacher and celebrant is a young man who doesn't chant, and from his delivery, I would say he was in the military before he went to seminary. It was a pretty good sermon, although the older guys I've heard lately have been better. They used those beautiful red paraments. What I did like about him is that he had the dean serve him communion. A lot of the celebrants serve themselves communion, and I don't like that. It smacks too much of the Catholics. However, that is probably another one of those things that is left up to the individual.
The weather was nice, and I guess it got relatively warm. The high temperature was 75º. The wind was from the southwest and it was rather gusty, up to around 20 mph, although lately, the gusts have hit 27 mph. It was mostly, if not completely clear. I just discovered that the camera hung up around 10:00, so I can't report on what actually happened. I didn't stick my nose out, and I have the windows closed, except for the one in the bedroom.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson got some lap time, but this evening, he slipped and hit me so hard I yelled and he went away. Louie didn't get any yet. He has been being nasty to Grayson.
It looks like I'm going to have to reboot the computer to get the camera started. Then I need to wash my hair. Now it's a clear, warmish night in the field.
September 20 I was ridiculously late getting to bed. I was reading and I just kept on, even when I knew I shouldn't. I've always had that problem. I washed my hair, too. Then I had a bad night. About every hour and a half or two hours I was awake, coughing and blowing and walking, but mostly coughing. I had several severe coughing spells, and nothing seemed to help them.
The only time I was awake when it was dark was after I went to bed, and there were northern lights, but I didn't get up to look at them. It was quite windy, too, with gusts up to 25 mph from the northwest, so the lake was speaking for one of the few times this summer.
I got up around 11:00, I think, because I was coughing and it didn't seem to want to stop, so I didn't get enough sleep. I knitted two rows, but this was one of the bead rows. I don't think I'll be able to knit more than that from now on. I actually have finished all the rows of the original pattern, but I haven't used even one whole skein of yarn yet, and it looks like what I have would block out to be quite small, so I will press on for at least another two repeats, and then we'll see. It's a pretty thing, even though I guess I prefer lace patterns in light colors. The beads definitely add something.
I didn't do anything much, because I waited too long to take my walk after breakfast and I had a really terrible accident. After I washed myself off in the shower and put my clothes to wash in the washer, I had to try to clean up the floor. I didn't go a great job, but at least I got most of it off the floor in the great room. I've been eating so little lately that my problem is worse than usual, and this was a real mess. I'm still not hungry, so I guess I will have to be a little more careful than usual. Being sick always messes up my innards anyway.
The weather was, I think, nice. The high temperature was 73º, but it was early, at 1:00, and it went down from there. It was breezy for a while this afternoon, but the wind has dropped now. It was beautifully clear all day, and when I looked out the south windows this evening, there was a nice fat crescent moon shining through the windows.
The guys were themselves, although Louie got two rolls of toilet paper thrown at him this morning. I still don't know why he will go after Grayson like that. Grayson was just trying to sleep.
So that was another day of recovery. I hope I can sleep better tonight, but I've been coughing so much all day I'm not too hopeful. Now it's a clear, warmish night in the field and there will be stars and maybe even some more northern lights.
September 19 Time seems to pass so quickly sometimes. I was later than planned again last night, around 11:30. I didn't have such a good night. I was awake every hour and a half or two hours, coughing and blowing and walking. I woke up around 9:00 and decided not to get up, and although I coughed a lot, evidently I did sleep some more, because I didn't get up until around 11:30, I think. I knitted, but only two rows again, although they went faster than they did yesterday. I guess I should have gone back to bed yesterday, too. Anyway, that was all I did.
I still don't feel good, my head still hurts and I'm still having coughing and blowing fits, but I was able to eat a little more today, and that's a good sign. i splurged on a little JD tonight, but frankly, I could have had vodka and it wouldn't have mattered much. I'm not tasting very well. And I only ate about half of what I usually eat for dinner. Not that I'm complaining a lot - the longer this goes on, the more weight I'll lose. Besides, I have something to eat for tomorrow without cooking.
Obviously, I'm not going to church tomorrow. I can't control the coughing and blowing and I don't think I could sing, either. Too bad - I like what we're singing - but oh, well. Stuff like that happens.
My back is still bothering me, too, although not as much as it was earlier in the week. One thing that has always interested me is that when I come down with these things, it screws up my entire body, not just my sinuses or my throat. Oh, well, it will pass. I only hope I'll be able to go to choir on Thursday. We're getting into the busy part of the fall, and I keep thinking about that choir concert on November 1, for which I have no music yet. I think we've sung most of the things we'll sing, but I need to get the music.
The weather was cool but absolutely beautiful. The high temperature was only 64º, and there was a brisk wind from the north, up to 23 mph, but it was clear and lovely all day. I'm sorry to say the camera hung up around noon, but it really didn't matter much. The sun is setting over Hunter's Point now, and the days are only 12h 21m long and getting shorter fast. Sigh. Still, it was so pretty!
Nothing much to report about the guys. I threw a roll of TP at Louie this morning, because he had his teeth in Grayson's back, and for once I hit him - right on the head. Not that it hurt, but it did startle him enough that Grayson was able to get away. They both got some lap time this afternoon, which may mollify Louie a bit. I know he's jealous, because he thinks Grayson gets more attention from me than he does, which I don't think is true. Oh, well, all little kids are like that, and they like little kids sometimes.
So that was another quiet day. Now it's a clear, cool night in the field and there will be stars tonight.
September 18 I got to bed a lot later than I'd planned, but I think I actually fell asleep in the bathroom. Once I got into bed, I slept well, only waking up about every three hours to blow and cough and pee. I got up around 9:30 and I knitted, but I think I only did two rows, because I was knitting very slowly for some reason. Well, no, the reason is that my head still hurts and my eyes are still watering and I'm still blowing and coughing. If I feel any better it's because I got almost enough sleep. That's not saying much.
Of course, I didn't do anything.
The weather was rather nice, but it was cooler than it's been lately. The high temperature for the day (not including the middle of the night, when it was still going down) was 65º, and there was a 15 mph wind out of the north. There were some stars early this morning and it was clear when I got up, but it clouded over by 4:00, and I think it was cloudy at sunset.
The guys were themselves. Grayson is a little less worried, I think, but he actually jumped onto my lap while I was sitting in the bathroom after I got up. It's been years since he did that. He stayed for several minutes, too, even though Louie came in to see what was going on. They tussled all the time I was knitting, but Grayson now has two safe spots: on the counter and under my feet. It's less effort to run under my feet.
This thing will eventually go away and I'll be back to normal, but for the time being, it's a pain. I will be trying to get to bed earlier tonight.
Now it's a coolish, cloudy night in the field.
September 17 Ugh. I had a terrible night last night and a terrible day today, and I'm going to crash right after I post this. I think the problem is sinuses, and all night and for quite a while this morning, I coughed and blew some of the stickiest glop I ever have. I've been coughing and blowing all day and my head hurts. I made the mistake of wearing slippers, and when I had to go to the bathroom, I couldn't get down onto the pot either place and then I couldn't get up. I'm sure it's because I didn't get any deep sleep and I'm exhausted. I'm creeping around like I did last winter when my knee was sprained, even though that's not the problem now.
So I called Pastor and told him not to look for me tonight or Sunday. I'm sorry about that, but no way could I sing. I'm having enough trouble talking. Sweet little Grayson has been following me around all day.
The weather was warm and sort of humid. The high temperature was 78º, and there was a little wind from the southwest, up to 24 mph gusts. It was sort of clear all night, much to my surprise, but it was cloudy at sunrise and partly to mostly cloudy all day.
Grayson was concerned about me, no doubt. Maybe Louie was, too, but he wanted to get on my lap when I was trying to get up and pee, and then he went away.
Now I'm wetting another pad, so I'll have to change that. I had to get up and put on some undies in the middle of the night when it became apparent that I was coughing so hard that I couldn't hold it. Same thing is happening now. I'm running low on the good cough drops, too, so I'll have to see if I can get some delivered.
So it was a miserable day, and I feel awful, so I'll be going away soon, without doing any reading. It's a warm, cloudy night in the field, and we might get some rain, although right now it doesn't look too probable.
September 16 This will probably be short, because I'm sick. I started coughing around the time I went to bed last night, but I thought it was probably just my sinuses draining, because the wind and the low humidity were stirring up the pollen. I didn't sleep very well, and I was still coughing when I got up. As the day wore on, I got feeling worse and worse, and now there's no question - it's not allergies. Geez. I miss washing my hands one time and I get sick! This reminds me of the thing I had several times two years ago, but we'll hope it's not that bad. It's not so much in my head as it is in my throat. Anyway, I feel pretty bad.
I didn't get to bed early last night, but I didn't get up early either. I knitted, of course, and pretty soon I'll be down to two rows a day. Maybe one before I'm over, because I've decided to do at least two more repeats, and by that time I'll have 400 or more stitches on the needle. It's a pretty thing, and I'm glad I'm doing it, even though I keep doing things I probably shouldn't. I noticed, when I was looking over what I knitted, that I hadn't caught the whole thread in one bead, so I slipped stitches over to it, and then I forgot where I was and had to rip part of that pattern back a couple of rows, so it took me a while. I'll never learn, I guess. I want everything to be just right, and I seem to get myself into more messes because of it.
Then after I ate, I spent too much time looking at my email (would you believe 64 messages by 1:00?) and had a nasty accident, Once I cleaned up after that, I went to chapel, which was communion again this morning. The preacher/celebrant was a rather young man from a local church, who was a good speaker, although his sermon wasn't as tight as some of the others I've heard lately, and he had a wonderful voice for the chanting. I really enjoy being able to go to church every day.
I had another conversation with the propane company which resulted in my getting a break (I hope!) on my bill for the winter, but it's clear I'm going to have to do something about a spreadsheet for that. Anyway, then I called Ron to tell him about it, and we had a nice conversation, mostly about how difficult it is to be on a fixed income. My bills keep going up but my income doesn't. Trouble is, when I got into this place, propane and natural gas were close to the same price, but propane has gone ballistic. And of course, almost every other month, it seems, the local electric company gets to increase their rates. I have to have heat and electricity, so I have to pay them. Sigh.
It was another warm day, but not quite as warm as yesterday and not as clear. It was pretty clear overnight, but by the time I got up, it had clouded over. The clouds sort of went away later in the day, but they never left completely. We did shoot the moon tonight, but it wasn't a good enough picture to post. It was warm. It only got down to 69º overnight and the high this afternoon was 78º, briefly, but it was over 70 all day. There was a strong southwest wind, with gusts up to 24 mph when the weather station was reporting, but it was down for a couple of hours, and from what I saw, I think the wind got even stronger for a while before it died down.
The guys slept, of course. Grayson was following me around all day, and I guess maybe that means he knows I'm not feeling good and it worries him. He sat and stared at my dinner (chicken) until I gave him a little piece. He ate it, but I think mostly he just wanted to know I would.
So now it's a warm, breezy night in the field, and I do not feel good, so I think I'm going to bed, via the shower.
September 15 So last night I tried to stay up all night again. I was reading and time just passed, and then I had to wash my hair. My scalp is still so oily that I can't go more than two or three days without washing it, and if I wait for three days, the next week, I have to be very diligent about washing every two days. I guess that's better than every day, like I did for 40 years or so. Anyway, it was late. I was up once, before it was light, and there were some nice stars, but no northern lights.
I knitted, but of course that takes a while, even though there were only two beads in the whole four rows. It's going to be a pretty thing.
I was late enough that I didn't do much except wash the bottoms I soiled. I did do something about the mess in the kitchen - not a lot, but something. I need to wash dishes, so I had to wash the pots that were in the sink so I could put the dishes to soak. That's going on now, and before I go to bed, I will have to put them all in the dishwasher. It is still a mess out there, but now that the dishes are under control, I can get the trash bagged up.
The weather was quite summery. The high temperature was 82º, which is why I was sweating so much while I was in the kitchen. There was a breeze from the southwest with gusts up to 20 mph. Actually, that 20 mph was this morning and it lasted for about 10 minutes, which was weird. Anyway, I have the south window open and the breeze is nice. It was clear until about 6:00 and then a few clouds moved in, but it was clear again at sunset.
The guys were sleepy, of course. Grayson was around, but Louie was probably upstairs.
I have noticed that there is something in the bathroom that smells like something died there. I will have to check that out more thoroughly, because it's nasty. It certainly is possible. If a critter got in and the guys were playing with it, it might have crawled into some small spot and died. It's a little early for that, but it's one of the joys of living in the country.
So that was a quiet day, and now it's a clear, warmish night in the field.
September 14 Last night, I got to bed around 11:00. I slept fairly well, I think, although it didn't feel like it. It was a nice clear night and it was good to look out and see stars, although there were no northern lights. Around 8:30, I woke up abruptly thinking I heard knocking. This has happened before. It must have been either the wind or in my head, because the guys were sound asleep in the bathroom, and if it had been somebody knocking at a door they would have been on alert and Louie would probably have been in the basement.
So I got up and I knitted, and now I have over 300 stitches on the needle. That means it takes a long time to do one row, and pretty soon I'll have to stop trying to do four rows. Of course, one row was with beads, and they take a long time. I dropped a few things when I started, too, and somehow I got off-count and had to figure out where that happened.
The task of the day was to pay my taxes and get another couple of envelopes ready to send. I did that, and I got to the post office. Most of the packages I was looking for came, so now I have a nice new top, which I hope to wear for Christmas Eve, and I can start my German sampler any time I want. That one will be fun, even though it's all in one color, because it's done on 40 count linen. I guess I'll have to stab stitch, which I hate, but it has all kinds of round medallions and it will be fun to to. Maybe tomorrow.
The weather turned out to be nice. The high temperature got up to 77º briefly, and it was over 65º for most of the afternoon. Until noon, there was a brisk wind out of the southwest, with gusts up to 26 mph, but then it shifted to the north and died down to nothing. It was almost completely clear all day, and so pretty! It will be another clear night tonight.
The guys were sleepy, although they both got some lap time. They spent some time on the chairs in the great room, but at one point, I went through and they were on the floor under the chairs. I guess it got too warm for them.
There was a partial power glitch sometime overnight - I think around 6:00 this morning. All the circuits on the east side of the house reset, which includes the computer, the clock in the bathroom and the microwave, but the clock in my bedroom and the fridge were fine. Weird. This has happened before, and I wish I could get an explanation of why it happens. Anyway, even though the clock saw a second one, the computer came up just fine, so everything was good. I hate to have to reset all those clocks, but oh, well. Someday I hope I can afford a UPS for the computer.
I forgot to mention that the other day, the printer stopped printing again, but I haven't had time to investigate why it did. I guess the print head must be clogged again. This time, I will try to clean it thoroughly and hope it doesn't happen again for a while.
Now it's a clear, warmish (compared to lately) night in the field, and it's time to go to bed.
September 13 I made it into bed by 10:30 last night, but I didn't sleep very well. There were a lot of dreams - that I don't remember - and I was up several times. It was a nice clear night, though, so I got to see stars.
I set the alarm for 6:30, and it was only lucky that the music was slow and rather soothing. I did not want to get up. And It didn't help anyway. I still left later than I wanted to. Drat. it didn't matter a lot, anyway, because I was able to get my parking place. Of course, I had to pass a few very, very slow drivers, but I managed to do that most of the way. It was only from Kearsarge to Calumet that there were the really slow ones.
Church was nice, and I think we sang well, even though we were a soprano or two shy. There was communion, which was good. It's been a month.
My car started telling me I was running out of gas just about the time I got to church, so as soon as I left, I went off to the station and filled up. I put in almost 23½ gallons, which is much more than I usually do, and I'm only glad that prices are so low - $2.429. I don't even like to think what it might have cost a year ago. Shudder!
Then it was home, and I took my time getting undressed. I made it to the studio in time to watch the opening service at the seminary, live, and it was an impressive one. There must have been over a dozen pastors from the Indiana district, all in their robes, plus all the faculty, in their academic robes, which are sooo pretty! The incoming class marched in, too, and as best I can tell, there were close to 50 new men, plus maybe a dozen women (deaconess students). They installed a new faculty member, too, in a rite that is not much different from installing a new pastor. I got lots of good ideas for George.
The service was Vespers, and it's been a while since I've heard that. I like it. They actually sang three hymns, all three of which we've sung at church lately. Two of them, our choir has sung or will sing. What interested me is that before everybody marched in, I could actually hear sopranos for a change. There was a mixed choir, not very large, but very good, with one extremely fine, extremely strong soprano, and there was a brass quartet. Plus that wonderful organ, of course. President Rast gave a fine sermon. In all, it was a very impressive service and I'm glad I heard it.
The weather here is still autumnal. When I left this morning, it was 50º - cool enough that I wore a corduroy jacket - but the high got up to 73º, which is a nice temperature. There wasn't much wind except that it was a bit gusty this afternoon. It was partly cloudy all day, in spite of what the forecasts said, and it didn't clear up until almost dark. There was a lot of sunshine, though.
The guys slept. Grayson wanted to sit on me a lot, for some reason. Louie came around once, but I was tied up with Grayson so he went away, and he went to sleep in the pink chair.
So that was my day, and I'm off to bed. It's a clear, coolish night in the field.
September 12 I don't know where the time goes. Even though I think I started up to the north end at a reasonable hour, it was midnight before I got to bed. No matter. I didn't sleep all that well - I hurt all over - but I didn't get up until after 10:00, so I think I got enough sleep. However, I've decided I'm going to have to set the alarm clock for 6:30 from now on, so I need to get to bed early tonight.
I knitted, and then I hurried to get my mail ready to go. I had to box up the skein of yarn I'm returning and the small priority box is a weird one that was hard to get together so it would stay together. Needless to say, I added some extra tape. Then it was off to the post office, where there was a lot of mail and packages, mostly pills, but a couple other things I've been looking for. Not everything, unfortunately, but some of them.
I will be back Monday, though, with my taxes, since the transfer I've been looking for hasn't hit my bank account yet. I hate to write checks against money I don't already have there, even when I know it's coming. What if the person I'm sending to should happen to cash the check before the funds are in my account? I may have to do that, though, because my taxes are due by Tuesday. So we'll see.
When I got back and read my email, I had gotten one from one of my efriends about Windows 10. That was extremely valuable to me (thanks again, Frank!) because there was a link to an article that linked to another one saying that Microsoft has added keylogging software to Windows 7. That is part of Windows 10, but I didn't know they were doing it to earlier versions, too. That led me to Windows Update, which it appears I never ran in August for some reason, I guess because I never got a notification. And from now on, unfortunately, I will have to search through the updates every month to uncheck the three I don't want. I do not like Microsoft. I never have, but now it's worse. They assure us that they will secure our privacy, but they ought to know by now that if there is a feature in the OS that the hackers can use, it will be used. I do enough online shopping and banking that I do not want any keylogging going on. Besides, what I do is not their business, no matter how innocuous it is.
I have also determined that I will not be upgrading to Windows 10 anytime soon - maybe never. They have added too much invasion of my privacy. Besides, with Windows 10, updates are automatic, and they can't be made manual. I have always done my updates manually, mostly because my Internet connection is slow enough that I don't want it bogged down by massive file transfers. Also because I like to have control over my computer and what goes on in it. These people who think they know better than I do how to manage my electronics really, really annoy me.
Anyway, that just about took care of my day, and I didn't do much else. I haven't even looked at my funnies, I just remembered!
The weather was nice but cool. The high temperature was 60º, but there was much wind. It was clear overnight - no northern lights, but lots of lovely stars - but it was partly cloudy at sunrise. The clouds soon went away and the rest of the day has been beautifully clear and sunny.
The guys were mostly sleepy, but Grayson wanted to sit on my lap, and he didn't get to do it until quite late. Then he went to sleep until the phone rang (another robo-call). I haven't seen Louie since this morning, when he was annoying Grayson.
So that was my day, and now I have to read my funnies before I go and take my bath and get ready for tomorrow. It's a cool, clear evening in the field.
September 11 - Remember Heh, heh. I pulled an all-nighter last night, but this time it was a book. I was just about to got to bed when I remembered that there had been a book I heard about a week or so ago, so I hunted it up on Amazon and downloaded the ebook. It's a sort of mystery, and I'm enjoying being able to read the ephemera without having another hardbound book to find a place for. Anyway, I made the mistake of starting to read it, and things just went on from there. My eyes were so tired when I finally finished it that I could hardly see. It has a good plot and good characters, but it's poorly written and it would benefit a whole lot from a good editor. I guess that's what you contend with when you read self-published books. I do know I would never let anything that poorly edited go out under my name.
I won't tell you when I went to sleep, but I got up around 2:00, because I knew the Schwan's guy would be coming today. Turns out, I could have slept more, because he didn't come until after 4:00, but oh, well. I was so late that I didn't do anything except - finally - get the load of bottoms I've been adding to all week washed and into the dryer.
The weather was cold, but pretty. The high temperature was only 57º, and there was a brisk north wind with gusts up to 25 mph. It was partly cloudy, with more of those lovely fair-weather cumulus clouds. I think it's been years since I've seen them up here, and they are so pretty. It was nearly clear at sunset. I notice that the sun is setting over the west end of Porter's Island now.
The guys were sleeping together in the bathroom when I got up, and Louie just stayed there for most of the day. However, when the Schwan's guy came, I had the door open and Grayson got out. The Schwan's guy tried to shoo him into the house but he went under the platform instead, so I closed the door and went my way. When I was done putting everything away, I found him at the other end of the breezeway looking out the door. He looked at me, but he didn't move, so I went back to the studio, and then I forgot about him until I got up to make my dinner. When I went to pee, he was sitting by the door, so I let him in, and he's been trying to make up to me ever since. What a little snot! I guess he'll never learn that I'm not going to wait on him. If he won't come when I call him, he can just as well stay where he is.
So that was a truncated day, and I am definitely going to be earlier tonight. I didn't get nearly as much sleep as I need today.
Now it's a partly clear (I think), cold night in the field.
September 10 Of course I was late again last night, but it wasn't anything like an all-nighter. I didn't get enough sleep, either, but oh, well. I don't remember exactly when I got up, but it was close to noon, I think. I knitted, somewhat slowly, because one of the rows is the one with the most beads in it. I finished the fifth repeat, so I'm making progress. It's a pretty thing, and I will have enough yarn to make it much bigger than the pattern.
I was late enough that I didn't do very much, but I spent over an hour on the phone, with the people who hold my long-term care policy and with my financial adviser, who was glad to give me some much needed advice. I think I have the long-term care problem under control for now, and I soon I will have enough money to pay my summer property taxes. However, after talking to Terry, I am going to have to take myself in hand and work on my ledgers. He asked some important questions I couldn't answer.
Then it was off to choir practice, where we now have a list of everything we will be singing for the next several months. And on November 1, we will be giving a choir concert. Gaak! With about a dozen of us, plus anybody from St. John's who wants to sing with us. I hope it will be all right. We know most of the pieces, but it will mean a lot of practice. We'll see how that goes.
The weather was cool but mostly sunny. Well, I would say cold, at least in comparison to last weekend. The high temperature was actually at midnight, and the high during the day was 62º, briefly, and there was a 15 mph or so wind from the north. It's supposed to stay cool, too, which I guess is good. John Dee says that fall actually begins September 1 here in the north country, and I think he's right. We get a few of those warm days, but mostly it cools off abruptly when September rolls around. There were some clouds in the sky - fair weather cumulous, so pretty! - and some pink against the gray when I was leaving church.
The guys mostly slept. Grayson got a little lap time, but Louie wanted his while I was eating, so he didn't. They both feel all right. We are beginning to get the fall influx of flies, and each of them caught one (and ate it, of course) today. Otherwise, I think they slept in the sun.
The days are now under 13 hours long, and it was getting dark when I was driving home. Sigh. That's the only thing I don't like about fall. The days get so short! Now it's a partly cloudy (I think) cold night in the field.
September 9 Well, I tried to pull an all-nighter last night. I didn't quite make it, but I was ridiculously late, and I only got about 6 hours' sleep. Maybe I can be a bit earlier today.
I knitted, but otherwise, I didn't do anything.
The weather has turned autumnal. The high temperature was 71º, and it was about 70º all afternoon, but there was some wind that varied from west to north. The humidity is gone, though, which was nice for a change. It was clear until late in the afternoon - the camera hung up again - but it was cloudy at sunset. I missed the northern lights again last night, and I don't know if it will be clear enough to see anything tonight.
The guys mostly slept, but they both got some lap time. When I got up, they were both asleep on the little bit of dirty towel that was lying on the floor beside the tub in the bathroom. I suppose they like the warm floor.
I've been forgetting to mention that chapel services have started again now that the school year has started at Fort Wayne Seminary. And they're using the whole chapel and the big organ, although for the past two days, they haven't recorded the whole prelude, unfortunately. I would love to have heard the one yesterday, which was a wonderful riff on the hymn of the day, with most of the stops open. For the past two days there has been a thin young man sitting in the first row in front of the pulpit, and today when someone came to help him, I realized that he is blind. What a wonderful thing it would be to graduate a blind minister! Anyway, I'm glad to be able to go to chapel again. The Dean preached yesterday, and today was a local minister, who was also good and had a very nice singing voice, too.
So that was a truncated day and it's a dark and possibly cloudy, cool night in the field. September 8 Oh, I was much too late last night. In fact, I was so late that I never did see the northern lights. Ron has some great pictures up on his Facebook page. I slept. I don't remember exactly when I got up, but it must have been before noon, because I knitted and I ate around 1:00. I was sitting and knitting when it started thundering, and then we had a short, heavy shower - 0.41" in about half an hour. The lightning was out over the lake and over the end of the peninsula, so it didn't get here.
I didn't do much of anything. I got into the linen closet, just to see what I have in towels, and I discovered that I have a third set of bath towels that I've never used! Amazing! I must have been thinking straight when I bought those, even though it was in 2000, when I knew I'd be being sick for most of the winter. Then when I got here, I must have forgotten about the third set, so I've been using two sets for all these years. I don't have one of the really big bath sheets I bought later - by that time I'd forgotten - but there is one that is adequate. Now all I have to do is get all the other towels into the washer and soaking. It will take about a week to get them clean. They are dirty, but mostly they are brown from all the crud in my water. The bath rug is particularly bad, because my shower door leaks, and it leaves a residue in the rug.
The weather was not very nice, actually. The high temperature was 70º, for a while this afternoon, but for most of the day it was in the upper 60s again. The wind has picked up a bit lately, but for most of the day it was almost calm. It was very cloudy until around 8:00, when the clouds all went away. Maybe I can see a northern light tonight? It was - and still is - extremely humid, although again lately, the relative humidity has finally dropped below 60%. I guess tomorrow is supposed to be dry. Oh, I hope so! I feel like I'm beginning to grow mold.
The guys weren't very happy with the thunder, but when it went away, they went to sleep. Louie got some lap time, but Grayson didn't today. His timing was bad.
So that was another quiet day, and it's a cool, clear night in the field.
September 7 - Labor Day I was later than I wanted to be last night, but I spent some time staring at the floor and then I took a shower. I felt much better after that, although my towels were still almost as wet as they were Saturday night. I slept well, with several wakeups, and every time I woke up, I added another layer of bed clothes. I started out with none and ended up with everything including the quilt. It cooled down much sooner than everybody was predicting, thankfully. They had it being warm until later in the week.
I got up around 10:00, finally, and I knitted. That was still earlier than I have been lately, but I didn't do much to take advantage, except to hunt up the invoice for the yarn I want to send back.
Like I said, the weather started out still warm last night and ended up much cooler this morning, but it's still terminally humid. The high temperature during the day was 71º, but it was in the high 60s for most of the day and there was a light wind from the north. The humidity was over 80% all day. Really yucky, but at least I wasn't sweating very much. It was mostly cloudy, but it was a light cloud cover, and there was a little sunshine. The camera hung up, so it isn't possible to tell when it started to clear up. It was clear at sunset, which is no doubt why it will be quite cool tonight. I will have to shut most of the windows at the north end, and probably the door, too.
The guys slept, but they both got some lap time. In the middle of the night, Grayson discovered that I had draped the towels over the edge of the tub, and he immediately had to attack them and scrudge them all up. Why, I don't know. Louie went to sleep under my feet while I was knitting. They both like to be someplace near where I am, although Grayson was upstairs for part of the afternoon, probably because it was warmer up there.
So that was a very quiet day. I had a nice little strip steak for dinner tonight, just in honor of the occasion. It was too thin to cook the way I like it, but it was tender and tasty. Now it's a clear, cool night in the field.
September 6 Wonder of wonders, I made it into bed before 10:00 last night. I didn't sleep very well, actually. I was up frequently. I suppose it was because I drank a lot of water yesterday. And of course, I was asleep when the alarm went off. I was almost late leaving again, but I rushed and I wasn't too late getting to church. At least "my" parking place was still open.
However, I had to visit the rest room, because I discovered after I left home that I had put on my blouse backward. It's been a while since I wore that one, and I forgot that the opening is in the back, not the front. It doesn't fit very well that way, and that was how I discovered my error. Oops. After that, things went better. It was just miserable in church (more on that later) but we sang well and since the service was Matins, it didn't take very long.
I decided I'd better shop today, so after church I changed my shoes to my sandals, which was not exactly easy. I don't bend very well in the middle, especially when I'm wearing rather tight pants. However, I managed. I was exhausted when I finished shopping - blew my budget, unfortunately - and on my way to my car, a nice lady offered to help me unload. She is a Methodist lady, and they had been talking about helping people. I don't know very much about Methodists, but they don't seem to spend as much time on the basics of the Gospels as we do. Anyway, I was grateful.
I was exhausted and hot by the time I left town, but I used the A/C all the way home, and that helped, but then I had to unload the car and pack away everything I bought. I think I managed, except for the watermelon, which is still in the breezeway. I hope it's all right tomorrow, but I don't have anyplace to put it the fridge anyway.
The weather was absolutely miserable. It was warm and so humid last night that my towels felt like they had been used before I used them. And it was even more humid this morning. Yuck! The high temperature for the day here was 86º (oh, that's why it felt so hot around 6:00!), and the dew point was around 70º all day. It was even hotter in Calumet, of course. Any way you look at it, it was miserable. I was so sweaty by the time I got the groceries onto the platform in the breezeway that I had a hard time getting out of my clothes. It was camisole time, for sure, and I don't do that often. By sitting very quietly and doing nothing for the rest of the afternoon, I managed to keep relatively cool, but I am so sticky and icky I'm going to have to take a shower tonight. Yuck! Oh, there was hardly any wind, and that didn't help, either. I hate this kind of weather. Fortunately, we don't usually have much of it, although we're apparently going to have another day before it cools off a bit. It was mostly cloudy all day, which was a blessing. It would have been worse if it had been sunny.
Today was the Trails Festival, and I don't know how those cyclists could stand it. I wonder if they had any medical emergencies because of the heat.
The guys thought so, too, although Grayson spent a long time sleeping on my lap. We both just sat quietly, but he's hot. I didn't see much of Louie.
So that was my yucky day, and now I'm full of lamb chop and risotto (not very good) and I need a bath badly. it's a warm, humid, cloudy night in the field.
September 5 I made it into bed around 11:00 last night, for some reason, and I slept well. I got up around 8:30, and I knitted. The second pattern row I knitted is the one with the most beads in it, so it was slow going, even though I didn't make any mistakes.
I had blueberry pancakes for the second morning in a row, and oh, are they yummy! They weren't very pretty, though. I tried to make two big pancakes, and they are so tender I couldn't turn them over, even with my wide spatula, so they were sort of pre-chewed. They still tasted good, though. I will have to try to remember to make three smaller ones in the future.
I didn't do much else. I still felt tired, so I mostly did nothing. I mended four pairs of underpants, though, and I finally got the elastic out of the elastic-waist pants that have been half in pieces all summer. I don't think the rest of the task will be very hard. I just need to sew up the waistband and put new elastic in it. When I look at the old elastic, it doesn't look very stretched out, but it's very soft, and it just wasn't holding my pants in place. I hate it when I get up after sitting down and my pants are halfway down my hips - especially in church!
The weather was warm, although the high temperature was only 79º. it's very humid, though, so it wasn't too nice, at least until I got the whole house opened up. I retaped the screen on the porch so I could open the doors and window. It had come loose in that storm we had a couple of weeks ago, and it was cool enough that I didn't worry too much about it at the time, but now I need the doors open. It was clear this morning and partly cloudy this afternoon. They say there's rain coming in our direction, but right now it's way west over the Dakotas, so I doubt we'll see it until tomorrow afternoon. The wind was mostly under 10 mph, from the southwest, but it feels good coming in the window.
The guys mostly slept, I guess, until I opened up the porch. Grayson slept on my lap for a long time this afternoon. Louie got his loving this morning while I was knitting. He hasn't been on my lap for a while.
So that was another quiet day. Well - not too quiet. As usual, there were the ATVs roaring up and down US-41. I'm sure riding those things is lots of fun, but I do not know why they feel they have to turn off their mufflers when they accelerate. Evidently my desire for the quiet there usually is around here is a concept beyond those people's understanding.
Now it's a partly cloudy, warm evening in the field and I hope to get to bed nice and early again.
September 4 Well, Thursday is usually a late night, and it was 1:30 before I got to bed. I got up around 10:30 and I knitted.
I didn't get to do much because I had an accident and I had to go to the post office. I did fold some more tops and I now have a full load to rewash. I can understand the grease, but I don't know what those brown spots are. I only hope they come out.
It was a lovely late summer day, but I was reminded of my youth. It seemed like we always had a cold snap in the middle of August, then when we started school, it would get intolerably hot for a week or more. We always started school the day after Labor Day. I wouldn't say it was intolerable, but it did get up to 80º for a couple of hours this afternoon before it dropped, and it is now 67º. It will be good sleeping weather. There was no wind at all for most of the day. It was completely clear all day, and there was no haze or smoke or anything. There were clouds on the horizon at sunset, though, of the kind that wash out the color. The sun set in the little gap between Lighthouse Point and Porter Island - the teensy bit of the big lake I can see. It's moving pretty fast.
I think the guys were sleepy. I saw them this morning, but that was all.
So it was another quiet day, and now it's a cool, clear night in the field.
September 3 I made it into bed around 12:30 last night, and I slept, with the usual wakeups, of course, until 11:00 this morning. I feel much better. I knitted my four rows with no problems - it's amazing how enough sleep can sharpen my eyes and my brain.
I didn't do much of anything. I have been moving some of my clothes from the laundry room to the closet and folding them before I get dressed, and today I discovered that most of the ones I moved still have spots on them and must be rewashed. Some of the spots are grease, which doesn't surprise me, because Eddie Bauer tops have always been very hard to get grease out of, but a couple have brownish spots on them that I hope I can get out. Since I dropped my dinner down the front of a clean shirt tonight, I will have to do a load of wash soon, but I want to see if anything I washed last week has the same problem.
Tonight was choir practice. Pastor and Marcy arrived at just about 7:00, and they had apparently just gotten home. They both looked tired. Anyway, we had a good practice. I was surprised by one thing: this week I could hear. My ears (or my Eustachian tubes) get really plugged up during allergy season, and I was so surprised that everything seemed to be so loud tonight.
I got home around 9:00, I think, but I spent some time reading my newspapers, and besides, I couldn't decide what to eat. I was toying with the idea of having pancakes, but that seemed to take too long, so I just got some other breakfast stuff out of the freezer. It was OK. I don't like it very well, but it's fast and easy.
The weather finally cleared up. It was clear and blue all day long. The high temperature peaked at 72º, briefly, but for most of the day it was in the middle 60s. There wasn't much wind, but what there was came from the east. It was much warmer in Calumet, although it had cooled down some by the time I got there. It was so nice to see blue sky for a change.
The guys were rather active this morning when I got up, but then they went away - I think to the loft - and went to sleep and I didn't see much of them. Grayson just got off my lap a few minutes ago, but Louie hasn't gotten any lap time for several days.
So that was another quiet day. I noticed, on my trip away from home, that the bike people are beginning to congregate for the Copper Harbor Trails Festival over the weekend. That's nice, but I think I'll stay away. In fact, when I was passing the Fort, there were three people going in the other direction in the middle of the road, in spite of the car coming up behind them. Evidently they didn't understand that US-41 is an car road and they should keep to the side of it, where there is a shoulder, or even better, take the bike trail that parallels the road all the way to the fort. It's no wonder some people are annoyed by bicyclists, when they behave that way. They do not own the road. They have every right to ride there, as long as they obey the rules, which say that they must stay to the side. There was a piece in the local paper a few weeks ago by a state policeman about that.
Now it's a clear, cool night in the field, and I'm off to the north end.
September 2 I was a little earlier last night, and I slept well. I got up around 9:30 and I knitted so well that I did four rows. That took a long time, so I didn't have a lot of time to do anything much else. I did add a few words to George tonight. It was an episode I've been thinking about for a while.
The weather station finally came up around 1:00, thankfully. I still am not sure what the high temperature was, but at 1:00 it was 71º. it cooled down some during the afternoon. The winds were almost calm all afternoon. There was a big glob of rain south of Houghton, and while they got a little, we didn't get any up here. It's a weather pattern I've seen before. It was cloudy and dull almost all day, although it was clearing at sunset. I guess I didn't have to set the camera stop quite as early as I did, but it will be dark at 9:20 pretty soon now.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson got a little lap time, and Louie was just by wanting some, but I was typing so he had to go away.
So that was a very quiet day. Now it's a partly cloudy, coolish night in the field and it looks like I might even get to bed at a reasonable hour.
September 1 So it's September. Sigh.
I was very late last night. It was late enough when I stopped reading, but then I realized that I'd better get the dishwasher ready to run. By the time I was done with that, I knew that, late as it was, I was going to have to take a bath. It was hot in the house and I was all sticky and icky. So I was ridiculously late again.
I got up around noon and knitted the last two rows of the third repeat. Now I have 205 stitches. I took some time to be sure I knew how many stitches I would have after each repeat. After breakfast, I had a small accident, and I read one of the magazines I got yesterday, so I didn't even get to listen to all of ATC. I did get a nice dinner - fish on Tuesday - so that was good.
The weather was rather cloudy and strange, and I'm sorry that the weather station is still down. The temperature here never got over about 74º, I think. There were periods where it was rather windy followed by periods when it was calm or nearly calm. It was cloudy and hazy and humid all day. Not the nicest weather, although it was warm enough. I think the wind was probably from the west or northwest for most of the day, because when a ship passed by, I could smell it all the way from Eagle Harbor. Yuck. Messing up our pristine air! That one is the Joyce L. Van Enkevort, and I've smelled it before. Yuck.
The guys slept. They don't like this humidity, I think.
So that was my nothing day, and it's a cloudy, humid night in the field.
Last updated 10/01/15 10:53 PM
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