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A View From the Field |
April 2016 April 30 End of April already! Geez, how could that be? Everybody I know has said the same thing. Where has the time gone? Well, at least winter is gone!
It was another late night last night, and I didn't get up until noon. I was knitting so well that I did eight repeats, so it was nearly 2:00 before I had anything to eat. Now all I have is a bit over three more repeats and I will be at the center of the first side. Then there's the second side, and I'll be done. It looks doable.
I didn't do anything much, but I did move a bunch of dishes from the sink into the dishwasher. It sure is nice not to have the dishes overflowing the sink for a change. Maybe I can keep doing that. I will have to wash soon, because as usual, I'm using a lot of cereal bowls. Not for cereal - for salad and rice. I sure am glad I have 16 of them, or I'd have to wash dishes when the dishwasher wasn't more than half full, which is wasteful.
I seem to be a type AB personality - some things have to be just so, and other things don't bother me at all. And some things bother me, but I'm in no position to fix them.
The weather was mostly sunny but cold again. The high temperature has just gotten to 44º, but it was lower all day. There wasn't much wind. There were some clouds in the sky, but mostly it was sunny and blue. It was fairly humid, which surprised me, because my joints were doing OK today. So now I don't know what makes me hurt again.
The guys slept. They slept in the bathroom while I knitted and Grayson slept on my lap for quite a while this afternoon. I don't know where Louie is. They like the sunshine as much as I do.
I just saw something outside, and when I looked there was a deer (or maybe more than one?) running around in my backyard one way and the other. Maybe they're enjoying the spring, too, even though they lost one of their number this week. This was a really good winter for deer and I've seen - and nearly run over - a lot of them this spring. Every one I've gotten a good look at looks good, too.
So that was a severely truncated day, and I'm off to the north end to get ready for tomorrow. It's a mostly sunny, cold evening in the field.
April 29 I don't know where the time went last night, but I still managed to get to bed by 12:30. I slept very well, with only a couple of wakeups. When I was awake around 4:00, I noticed a few stars in the sky, including Polaris and Regulus. I didn't get up until around 11:00, I think, and then it was rather cloudy.
I knitted eight repeats, so I was late eating breakfast, and in fact, I had to go off right after I finished in order to get to the post office before it closed. I haven't had a chance to talk to Ron in a while, so we had a nice chat. We have both noticed how high the water is in Lake Lily and how little is draining off through the culverts. Apparently nobody is very much interested in cleaning them out, so we'll just have to hope the road doesn't flood. It is a nasty job, but that's what we get for having a private road.
I got a nice contribution from a reader, for which I thank him. I'm going to need all the help I can get this year, what with the car and all.
The weather was about the same as it's been all week. The high temperature was 43º. and there was no wind. It was mostly clear and blue all day, so it was rather nice to be outside. It was quite humid - in the 70% range - so I was rather creaky, but it was pretty.
The guys were sleepy, of course. They got fish for breakfast this morning, which they both ate with gusto. I guess slowly I'm convincing them that there are other good things to eat besides kibble. Grayson just got off my lap, but I haven't seen Louie yet.
So that was another quiet day in the field, but Ron and I both agree that spring is here and we're relieved about it. And since there isn't supposed to be any rain for the next ten days or so, the lake level should go down some. I met Amanda and Braedon on my way from the post office - they are in town but both sick with colds - and she tells me there is a field of arbutus up Manganese road, right beside the road. I may have to check that out.
Now it's a clear, calm and cold night in the field.
April 28 I managed to be just as late last night - or this morning - as I was yesterday, so it was noon or so when I got up. I wanted to sleep longer, but for some reason, I was extremely uncomfortable, and it became clear that I wasn't going to go back to sleep, so I got up and knitted. Maybe tonight? I'm tired enough.
I was late enough that I didn't do much. I did wind the last two balls of yarn. It turns out that I had actually done three of the purple ones yesterday. I had some trouble, because the yarn is a single - unplied - and the strands were sticking to each other, but the hanks weren't tangled. So now all I have to do is copy the patterns and I will be able to start one of the two projects. I think it will be Wonderlake, which has an interesting construction. Both of these are on #9 needles. Talk about a change. The Russian shawl is with thread - size 30 crochet cotton size - and #1 needles, and the next two are with heavy worsted weight yarn on #9 needles. I'll be interested to see how they go. I've found that as my hands get more arthritic, smaller needles are easier to use. The Ojo de Dios shawl, which I'm finishing up, is also worsted weight, and I can't knit on it too long, but then, that's after I've been knitting with the #1s for an hour or more.
There was choir tonight, and it was good to have Pastor and Marcy back. We didn't practice too long, but we did go through the next two or three weeks' worth of songs.
The weather was cold but rather sunny. The high temperature was only 41º. There was almost no wind for most of the day. It was cloudy this morning, but it sort of cleared up later in the day. The only thing is, the humidity is rising again, and my joints have been telling me so.
Grayson got some lap time, but Louie hasn't been around yet. When I came home tonight, I brought in a box of canned food and a bag of a different kind of dry food. Then I had to pee, so I threw the food on the floor. Bad idea. Both guys immediately surrounded the bag of dry food, and before I could get up and out of the powder room, Grayson had torn a hole in the bottom of it and was eating out of the bag. I think that's the first time he's ever done such a thing, but this was a paper bag, whereas the others are plastic. Anyway, you would have thought this was caviar or something, and for a while they both had their noses in the bowl when I put it down. Well, they'll go back to the old stuff pretty soon. I guess I'd get bored with the same old stuff every day, too, but the way they eat, I didn't think they would. I don't know an answer to it, either. The other kind they liked was discontinued, and I hate to start trying things on them, because if they don't like it, it could get expensive. Sigh.
I thought the scavengers had picked the carcass next door clean yesterday, but evidently I was wrong, because today I looked out and pa (or maybe ma) eagle was out there pecking away. This guy had the beautiful white head and he/she was bigger than the juveniles who were there yesterday. Eagles may not be noble birds (they're sort of scavengers, after all), but they are majestic and I love to watch them. It's so thrilling to know I live in a place where not only are there eagles, but they are procreating, so there will be more eagles. Just another reason I love it here. And if they weren't scavenging the thing that died, there would be a real mess. I do rather wish I hadn't seen it, though.
Anyway, that was my truncated day, and I hope not to be up very long tonight, but we'll see. Now it's a cold, partly cloudy night in the field.
April 27 So I was ridiculously late last night, although it wasn't quite an all-nighter. And for no good reason. I got up around noon, and that wasn't enough sleep, so I'll be trying to catch up tonight.
I knitted, and it appears that if I'm doing well, I can knit one repeat of the edging in 8-10 minutes. So I have a few days to go before I'm done.
I was so late that I didn't do a lot. I did get the end of the desk cleared off - and caused an avalanche - and I began winding the yarn for my next two projects. The first one, the Wonderlake Shawl, went well, but the second one, the Squall Line Shawl, is done in an artisanal yarn. The first hank went all right, but the second hank was so tangled up that I had to wind it by hand from the other end in order to finish the ball. I still have three more hanks to wind, but I think I will just wait until tomorrow, when I can see a bit better, to do them. The last couple of pictures from the camera caught me sitting under the task light untangling. I need to wash my hair, and I want to get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour tonight.
The weather is still cold. It did get up to 43º briefly, but for most of the day it was under 40º. There wasn't any wind. It was clear and lovely for most of the day, but by 5:00, it was clouding up, and it was cloudy and dull. The humidity was high overnight, but went down after sunrise, although it was rising by the end of the day. My hands were telling me that.
I didn't see a lot of the guys. Grayson wanted some of my dinner, but he didn't get any, and he went away mad. Louie came while I was untangling my yarn, and he figured it wasn't a good time to stay.
The big story of the day was outside. When I got to the studio, around 1:30, there were a couple of vultures perched in the birch tree. I thought that was sort of strange, and there was a strange call going on, but it wasn't until I stood up that I discovered what happened. Something, I think a deer, died right at the edge of the water on my neighbor's beach. I counted four young eagles (maybe five) and a raven around the carcass, which was already down to the bones. The vultures were waiting in the trees or up on the lawn. So I guess the eagles are higher on the pecking order than the vultures, and the ravens will sneak in and get whatever they can. They were still at it until around 6:30, which I guess was their bedtime. I have no idea what the call was, but it did not sound good. I don't know what the whole story is, but we do have coyotes and wolves around here. How the deer got down to the edge of the water, I don't know. I was glad I was sort of screened from the scene, because it has to be pretty gory. All I could really see were the ribcage and the birds, and that was enough. Nature is sometimes very ugly.
So that was my day, and now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field.
April 26 It was around 11:30 when I got to bed, I think. I didn't sleep very well until after 4:00. The thing with Pastor has upset me much more than it should have, and while I wasn't thinking consciously about that, I think it disrupted my sleep.
I was awake around 8:00, but that seemed too early, so I went back to bed, and the next time I woke up was 11:30, so I guess I got my sleep. So why am I so tired now?
I knitted for an hour or so, and I'm making progress, but there are 94 repeats across the top of the shawl, so it will take a while. I will plug away at it.
I was late enough that I didn't do anything much. I guess it was yesterday that I unloaded the dishwasher, and I'm trying to put my dishes in it after they have soaked. Now the sink is full of frying pans, though, and I will have to clean those up. I don't seem to be able to make much progress in cleaning up the kitchen.
The weather was enough better today that I'm not so creaky. When I was up around 4:00, I could tell that it was clearing up, and I could see Polaris, in spite of the bright moon, which is way off in the south now. When I got up, it was sunny and beautifully clear and it stayed clear and blue all day long. I notice that the sun is setting over Lighthouse point now, and pretty soon it will disappear from the camera. It wasn't warm. The high temperature was about 40º all afternoon, and there was a bit of wind from the east. Thank goodness, it was warm and sunny enough that all the snow from yesterday is now gone. The humidity is down, too, and that helped my joints more than I would have thought. I'm not having quite as much difficulty sitting and standing and my hands and wrists aren't as sore. To make up for it, when I was putting away the Dutch oven last night (yes, I really did put some stuff away!) I pinched a spot on my left index finger and that hurts. Keeping house is dangerous. Maybe that's why I don't do it much.
The guys slept. When I was up at 8:00, Louie was sitting at attention in the window seat, staring out the west window. I guess there must have been a bird out there, and he thought it might come back. While I was knitting, a sparrow lit on the garage roof peak and that got Grayson's attention. It flew away, but he kept looking, like it might come back. I guess they don't understand that those are real, live birds. Grayson got a bit of lap time - and I nearly had another accident - but Louie hasn't gotten his yet. He did come by, but when I didn't immediately acknowledge him, he went away.
So that was a quiet day. I notice that there is a bit of green showing under the stubble of last year's weeds, and there have been buds swelling on the serviceberries and maples for week or so, so I guess spring is coming after all. It's about time. Now it's a clear, cold evening in the field, and there should be stars tonight.
April 25 I was reading, so I was somewhat later than I wanted to be last night, but I made up for it by not getting up until noon. I started the top edging on the shawl, but it was rather fiddly, so I didn't get much done and I was very late getting dressed. It didn't help that there was a snag on the short needle I was using, but I fixed that, and then it was just a matter of getting into the rhythm. It's a very narrow edging - it varies from 9 to 13 stitches - so each repeat goes quickly, but there are 47 of them on one side. Well, anyway, slowly I'm getting done.
I was so late that I didn't do anything but my surfing, and I didn't finish that until well after the talking started.
The weather was truly nasty. The high temperature was 39º and that was at 5:00 this morning. It's now 34º. It started raining around then, too, and so far, we've had 0.41". There was a south wind with gusts as high as 29 mph. And then, just to make it really nasty, around 5:30 this evening, it started snowing - or maybe sleeting. It looked to me like there had been around half an inch of sloppy, wet snow by the time it got dark. YUCK!!!! I'm sure it will be gone by morning, but still. YUCK! Also very bad for the joints.
The guys ignored it, mostly, and they slept. Grayson caused me to have a small accident again, but he came back later and slept on my lap for a while. Louie has been asleep.
I was so late that I haven't looked at chapel, and I probably won't. Right now they're playing Beethoven's 6th, one of my favorites, and then I need to go to bed, via the shower, I think. My scalp is getting bad again.
Now it's a dark, cold, rainy or snowy night in the field, and it's only good for sleeping.
April 24 I didn't make it, for some reason I don't know. I guess I spent too much time staring at the floor, so it was after 10:00 when I finally got to bed. I slept well, with a couple of wakeups, and I had just awakened for the third time when the alarm went off. I did not want to get up! But I did.
Then I started running off at the bottom, and as it turned out, I was so late that I didn't get to curl my hair again. I did make it out the door, wearing whatever I could lay hands on, and I got to church only a bit later than I intended.
Church was good, with communion, but Pastor announced that he has received a call from the seminary to a position with the advancement office. That's the office that goes around to congregations and tries to get them to give money to help the students. Why anybody would want a job like that, I do not know, but then, I'm not him. I'm praying that he will see the light and turn it down, but it will have both congregations all upset until he decides. I'm praying.
I had to get gas, so I didn't get home until a bit after 1:00, and I was tired enough that I didn't do anything but read and knit for the afternoon. And I will be tottering off to the north end soon.
Tottering, because of the weather. It was miserable. The temperature was nearly steady around 38º, and there was no wind, but the humidity was over 90% all day. That is a sure recipe for my joints to seize up. And they did. Besides, it was cloudy and dull and there was a bit of light drizzle while I was out. Really yucky.
The guys slept. Both of them got some lap time. Grayson spent a lot of time on my lap and he even got a sort of tummy rub. What he really likes is to be scratched under his front legs. Louie came up once, but he wouldn't settle down, so he went away after I started to try to comb him. Both of them are still shedding so much it's surprising that they still have fur, but that's spring in the north country.
So is the weather. We should be used to this, but it's never very comfortable even for people who don't have a lot of arthritis. It was cold and raw and nasty.
I have been forgetting to mention the wildlife again. I ran across (and almost into) at least four deer while I was out. Yesterday, while I was up at the north end knitting, I heard a pileated woodpecker drumming. I don't know why it is, but that noise always makes me smile.
There is a partly dead birch in my neighbor's yard, and this afternoon, there was a crow or a raven sitting on a twig cawing at the top of its lungs for a while. It had just gone away when a really humungous bird flew in and settled on the branch - and it's back right now. It has to be a juvenile eagle. It's all brown, with some white feathers here and there, but it has that huge hooked beak that no other bird has. It flew away and a smaller bird of some sort settled on the same branch. I don't have any idea what it was, since it was too dull to see it clearly, and besides, I am looking at it through a screen. The eagle has been back for a few minutes now, and it seems quite comfortable. What is so wonderful is that at this time of year, there are so few people out here that an eagle will sit in my neighbor's front yard and be quite at home. It's so lovely.
I didn't see any turkeys today, but we have quite a flock of them at various places around the harbor, and I've almost run over them on our road a couple of times. Oops - the eagle flew away. Anyway, turkeys. Wild turkeys have the reputation for being rather canny birds, but the ones we have around here are stupid. I've been wondering who I could get to dress one for me if I did run over it, because they will run right across the road in front of my car, and in places where stopping suddenly might not work. So far I haven't had to worry about that, but I think about it.
So that was my day, and I'm tired. Now it's a cold, damp, dull, gray evening in the field, and the clouds are so thick that we won't even get much light from the moon tonight, just like we didn't last night.
April 23 Oof. Truncated day. I went into zombie mode for a while last night, so it was somewhat later than I intended when I got to bed. It didn't help that first I re-read parts of George and then when I got to the north end, I spent some time staring at the floor.
I guess the reason for that is that Charlie's wife passed away on Thursday. I didn't know her, but I do know Charlie and Jonathan, and I know what they are going through. My mother died 23 years ago, and I still remember how I felt. The raw grief has passed, as it must, but I still miss her terribly and I remember what it was like then. Thankfully, Edie was a committed Christian, so they (and I) know they will see her again, but oh, it's so hard when it happens!
Anyway, I slept well, although I was up several times, and I got up around 10:45. I knitted, and I decided to finish the body of the stole. That meant 4 rows of about 500 stitches, so it took me a while, but it's done, and the next time I knit (probably Monday) I can start the top edging. This is a narrow edging that varies between 9 and 13 stitches over 10 rows, so it shouldn't take too long for me to finish.
Now I have to clear off the desk and hook up the surge suppressor so I can wind the skeins of the next two projects into balls. That will be good, since once the surge suppressor is in place I can begin to rewire all the stuff that has been plugged into the computer circuit since last fall. Like many (if not most) computer geeks, I have the horrible habit of ignoring things if they work, and the current wiring has been working fine, even though sometimes I kick the surge suppressor under the desk and the computer reboots. I should try to get things put together properly again. Getting the new surge suppressor in place will help a lot; I can plug the phone and the radio into it, as well as the ball winder.
For today, I didn't do anything. I was so late getting to the studio that mostly I did my surfing, although I read some. I am getting another load of spam, from a place that says, oh, yes, my address has been unsubscribed, but they keep sending me absolute junk...or worse. I'm shipping that stuff off to the government spam site, though, and they should be able to see as well as I can that it's all coming from the same place. I guess I can tolerate the get-rich-quick scams (sort of), but I don't like the ones that have pictures of sexy Russian girls. Girls don't turn me on much. I suppose you knew that.
The weather was cloudy and gray and dull. The high temperature was 45º and there was no wind. The only good thing was that the humidity, after 8:00 AM, was down below 40%, which made my joints happier. But there was no sun, and it was dull and gray all day. Blah.
I had to close the bedroom door on Louie this morning. When I woke up, around 10:45, he immediately got on the bedside table and started pushing things onto the floor. The reason was that his food bowls were empty and he had eaten a lot (but not all) of the kibble on the floor, and he was hungry. Bah. So he beat up on Grayson and tried to get in, and I ignored him and did my knitting. When I was ready to get dressed, he was gone and Grayson was outside the door, but it was all Louie's fault. I wonder if he's hypoglycemic, like I am? Anyway, now their kibble bowls are full and I gave them a can of wet food, too, so they have been much happier today. Grayson has been around to sit on me any time I'd let him, but Louie must be mad, because I haven't seen him since he ate. He is so fat, but there isn't any way I can put him on a diet at this point. We haven't had a disagreement like this for quite a while, but there was more kibble on the floor than there was in their dishes last night, so I decided it was time they cleaned up a bit. It's better, but not clean.
So that was a quiet day, and it's early, but maybe I can get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight and not fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon. It's a cold, calm, cloudy night in the field.
April 22 I still don't understand how it can take me 45 minutes to walk up to the north end, get undressed and get into bed, but it does - at least. So it was after 11:00 when I turned out the light last night. I slept very well, though, with several wakeups, of course, and I got up around 9:30. I knitted, but only two rows, because this was a row where all the decreases were knit-three-together, and they take me some time to do and make sure I have all three stitches. So now I have four rows before I start the top edging. I'd really like to start that soon, because it will mean I'm on the last lap, but it might not be until Monday. Turning the corner will be interesting and I want time to do it right.
I didn't do much else. I went to the post office to send Debbie's gift to her and get my mail, including a couple of packages, and I got a Schwan's order and had to pack that away. Now the freezer is so full I need to wait a while and eat some stuff. I'll be eating some different things, because I have some things I don't usually get, but that's probably good. I get bored with all the same stuff all the time.
The weather was cold, but it began to clear up around 11:00 and it was clear and beautiful all afternoon. The high temperature was only 38º and that was at 7:00 PM. The wind, which was up around 20 mph from the north overnight - the lake was singing - died down today, so it wasn't as cold as it might have been. Oh, I love all that sunshine and free heat! Tonight the moon is full, so it should be a bright night, but it is supposed to be clear. Nice.
The guys slept, of course. Grayson was around me most of the day, but I haven't seen Louie since this morning. Grayson's eye is nearly back to normal, I'm glad to see, but he has been very clingy. That might be normal or it might mean something. It's hard to say.
So now it's a clear, cold night in the field, and as soon as the Mendelssohn is over, I will be off to the north end to try to catch up on my sleep.
April 21 Well, I pulled an all-nighter last night. I guess it was because it's such a chore to take a shower these days that I don't want to, so I do something else (in this case, nothing). Sigh. I finally did get to bed, but I didn't sleep as well as I might have expected. I think it has something to do with a strange phenomenon I've had since I was quite young: when the seasons are changing, I just don't sleep as well. I'm not sure why, but in the spring and fall, when the climate is in flux, so is my sleep. And the climate is certainly in flux! I did have two cats with me for a good portion of my sleep, and I think I finally got almost 8 hours.
So I got up eventually and knitted two rows (I wasn't that late). Only six rows to go before I start the top edging! WOW!
I didn't have enough time to do anything but my surfing, especially since a certain gray cat settled down on my lap and wouldn't move, so I had an accident I had to clean up from. I like having him on my lap, but I wish he would pick some other time than right after I eat my first meal.
Oh, and I just realized I haven't gone to chapel yet. I'll do that before I go to bed.
I did get to choir practice, but it was a short one. It certainly is nice to drive there and back again while it's light out but when there isn't any traffic, although I did get behind a couple of very slow drivers that I hac to pass and one I couldn't pass going into Kearsarge. Coming home was better.
The weather was quite different from yesterday. The high temperature, 53º. actually occurred at 6:00 this morning, and in the next hour, it dropped to 43º. It was that or lower for the rest of the day, and it's now down to 38º. The wind shifted around then, too, and then it picked up from the north. Now it's from the east at 16 mph. It was very humid (over 80%) all day, which my joints were telling me. It was cloudy and dull. While we were in choir, there was a teensy bit of rain that just wetted the ground, but it was over before we got out.
The guys were sleepy. I had both of them in bed with me for most of the morning, Louie beside my head and Grayson curled up behind my knees. They got up with me, but Grayson went back into the nest he had made, at least until I got to the studio and ate. I am happy to say that Grayson's eye is almost back to normal, although it doesn't open quite as much as the other one yet. So he's OK. Louie was on his good behavior today, so I suspect he knows he did something he shouldn't have.
So that was a severely truncated day, and I didn't get enough sleep, so I won't be up long. Now it's a cloudy, cold night in the field.
April 20 I went into zombie mode last night, and it was very late before I got to bed. I was up around 9:30 long enough to leave a message on Johanna's answering machine saying I wouldn't be coming before I went back to bed. I didn't sleep very well, but I did sleep and I got up around 10:45. I only knitted two rows, because I was so late. It's coming.
I did not have an accident today, in part because I went off to the powder room shortly after I finished eating. When I got back, I sat down and made the zipper pulls. I will try to get everything packed up tomorrow so I can send it off on its way on Friday. I think the fobs came out rather well, considering. Unfortunately, there is one big cat's eye bead that has teensy rhinestones in it that is turning out to be rather fragile, which I was afraid of. One rhinestone already came out, but it left its foil backing in the hole, so while it won't be as sparkly as it would have been, it will look all right. I glued the stone back in, but I don't know how long it will stay. The beads were just so pretty I couldn't resist them, though, and if the rhinestones will stay in place, they really add something to the fobs. My favorite color isn't pink, although I like it, but it is Debbie's, so that will be all right.
That took most of the rest of the afternoon, although I did manage to go to chapel and do my surfing. Then after the talking was over, I went back into zombie mode, and I just finished eating my dinner. Sigh.
The weather was nicer than it was yesterday. The high temperature was 60º, late in the afternoon. It wasn't very humid. There wasn't much wind until late in the day, when it got up to 20 mph gusts from the southwest. It was nearly clear until noon, when the clouds moved in until right after sunset, when they mostly moved out. I have been watching the moon and Jupiter dancing around each other for a week now. The moon is moving away from Jupiter, but even though it's nearly full, the big planet is so bright it's easy to see out my window.
The guys mostly slept. I was not pleased to see that one of Grayson's eyes was nearly shut this morning. Evidently Louie got him in or near the eye when they were tussling. I was concerned, but it was beginning to open up by late this afternoon, so I don't guess it was anything really serious, and he's in good enough shape that it will heal fast. I will watch him to make sure it heals up right. Nobody got much lap time, though. When I went to go out to the breezeway for something, Louie was telling me he wanted to go out there, too, and I had to be rather harsh with him to get him to go away from the door. I don't know why he wanted to go out, except that there are mice out there. Usually it's Grayson who wants to go out, so it's a bit puzzling.
So that was my quiet day, and tonight I have to wash my hair, so I'll be late again. Now it's a warmish, partly cloudy night in the field, although it's tomorrow already.
April 19 I got to bed shortly after midnight last night. I didn't sleep very well, at least for part of the night. Too much on my mind that I should have purged before I turned out the light, I guess. I got up around 9:30 and I knitted 4 rows. Only about 10 left (plus the edging) now! Oh, I will be glad to get this thing done! It looks like I'll have enough yarn left to make at least a scarf, although I'll just add that to the stash.
I didn't do much except for a load of clothes. I'm not sure what happened to my tummy, but I had two accidents, plus what I did yesterday, so I had to wash bottoms, at least. And I have a robe to wash, too, but that will be in the next load. Well, I had rice tonight, and that should help.
All that took me long enough that I didn't get to work on the zipper pulls today, so Deb's present will be a bit later than I hoped. We're both used to things like that.
The weather turned out nicer than yesterday, but not until later this afternoon. When I got up this morning, it was clear that it was very humid, because there was a thick coating of frost on the garage roof, and when I looked at the data, the humidity was close to 100%, and it didn't start to go down until around 1:00. Then the humidity went down and the temperature went up to 55º for a while. Nice. There wasn't much wind. It was partly cloudy all day, but there was quite a bit of sunshine and some dramatic clouds late in the day.
The guys slept, mostly, although Grayson was around, but he didn't want to sit, he wanted to groom his whiskers on my hymnal, which I didn't want, so I had to ask him to leave. I don't know where Louie went.
So it was a quiet day, and now it's a partly cloudy, not too cool evening in the field.
April 18 I don't remember when I finally got to bed, but I think it was shortly after midnight. I slept very well, although I was up a couple of times, and I got up around 9:30, I think. I knitted, but only two rows.
I did my surfing, of course, and then I turned around to the desk and finally - finally! - began working on the project I've been wanting to send to Debbie for a couple of years now. I don't have a picture yet, but I'll post it when I do. It's a key or scissors fob and a zipper pull in pinks with breast cancer awareness ribbons. I have two key fobs done, one for her and one for me, and I know what the zipper pulls will look like. There are a lot of pretty beads in them. I sort of screwed up my key fob, and I didn't get it as tight as it should be, so I might rework it or I might just let it go. Deb's are fine. And on one of the strings, I managed not to crimp the crimp bead and the whole thing came apart, but that was on mine, too. The first one was fine. Probably I shouldn't have gone on to the second one. Tomorrow I will work on the zipper pulls, which will be similar, but have a black nylon cord that will fit through the hole in a zipper pull. I've been thinking about these things for a very long time, and I have to say they are coming out just as pretty as I thought they would. The only problem I have is that with my arthritic hands, fiddling with the beads, especially the little ones, isn't easy. And it's taken me a long time to collect all the stuff I needed to make them.
So I accomplished something today.
I finally cooked my pork chops, too, and they turned out very nicely, although it took a long time. I put grandma's barbecue sauce on them again, and they were falling apart when I finally ate them, which is what I wanted. I poked a bunch of holes in the central part, and that seemed to make them a bit juicier. Pork is frequently so free of fat these days that it gets dry and tasteless. This was good, and I have another one for Wednesday.
The weather wasn't very good. It started raining shortly after I got up, and it dribbled for most of the afternoon. The high temperature was 39º. There was a bit of wind occasionally, and the humidity was over 90% for most of the day. I noticed that my shoulders and my hands hurt, and I thought, oh, the humidity must be high - and when I looked, it sure is.
The guys mostly slept, but late this afternoon, Grayson started bombing around like he was being chased or something. I have no idea why, but he was dancing around the great room while Louie sat and watched him. Sometimes cats are so strange. They both got some lap time, but not a lot, since I was doing something. Grayson thought he wanted some of my dinner when finally got it, and he bugged me until I gave him a piece, and then he didn't eat it.
So that was my day, and I will be off to the north end soon, but right now they are playing the final chorus from the St. John Passion, which I sang as a college student and still remember fondly. Ruht wohl.
It's a cold, cloudy night in the field.
April 17 Ugh. Not the best 24 hours.
I got to bed a bit after 10:00 last night, but I didn't do more than doze until after I was up at 12:30, and I was up a couple more times. The last time I was up was, unfortunately, at 6:00, and I had just begun to sleep when the alarm went off - the beeper rather than the music. Ugh.
So I got up and got my breakfast, and when I got to the studio, I discovered that I had no internet connection. So I called PastyNet. Fortunately, my daily devotion had downloaded and all I was missing were the pictures, which I don't need anyway. Charlie called me back, and then instead of being really early getting ready for church, I ended up being so late that I didn't even get to curl my hair, and I just grabbed the nearest top and bottom.
There was no traffic in my direction, so I got to church when I wanted to - at 10:00. So we sang, and we screwed up the song, but I doubt anybody noticed. It was nicer than I thought. Steve (he's the president of the congregation and the chief elder) has done this so many times that he's good at it, and the only problem I had is that he has a very quiet voice and he mumbled a couple of times while he was reading the sermon, but it was a good one anyway. We sang seven hymns, mostly about the Good Shepherd, since this was Good Shepherd Sunday. The service was truncated enough that we got out around 11:30. I don't mind being there longer, but it was nice today.
I got home before 12:30 and I had the rest of my wonton soup for lunch - yum! I fiddled around a bit and nearly fell asleep, so I attacked the trash in the studio and got it bagged up. I had to move it when Jon arrived, around 4:30, but at least both of us could move around in the room a bit. The problem with the receiver was that the power transformer died. Charlie had told me to unplug it, because it seemed very hot and he didn't want to cause a fire, and Jon said it smelled like melted electronics. So he changed that out, but then the receiver had reset itself to factory defaults, so he had to fix that, but once he did, it came right up. Ah, success! And not very difficult, either.
After he left, I did my surfing, but by the time I was done with that, it was too late to make what I was going to do for dinner, so I had freezer stuff. Now I am in the middle of a complete backup. I did the regular backup, but I was past due doing a complete one, so I decided to just go for it. It will take a while longer, but I can sleep forever tomorrow.
The weather was amazing. It was only in the low 50s when i started for church, but by the time we got out, it was around 65º here, and the temperature continued to rise to 72º at 2:00. However, at 3:00 it was 56º and now it's down to 42º. There was almost no wind and it was partly to mostly cloudy all day. I opened the south window in the studio because it was so hot in here - and I turned down the thermostat - and Jon opened the sliding door in the great room, so it's cooled off to something more comfortable in here. I think that's part of the reason I had so much trouble getting to sleep last night; it was very warm in the north end, and I'm used to sleeping in a cool room and making my own climate under the covers. I hardly had anything over me all last night. I hope it will be a bit more comfortable tonight, or I will have to open a window in the window seat. It's supposed to be a whole lot cooler tomorrow, though, and maybe it will rain. Oh, my poor joints!
The guys mostly slept, although they were very interested in the open window. When Jon got here, Louie beat it, of course, but Grayson came around and I had to remove him forcibly, because Jon is allergic. He came back, but he sat in the window. Snot. They can now get onto the desk the way they used to, via the end around the sewing machine, and they both seem happy about that.
Speaking of the sewing machine, I plugged it in, and it is working fine and I can get to it now. I have about 8 pairs of underpants that need some repair, so maybe I can do that tomorrow. I've felt an urge to sew something. There is still an avalanche between the door to the great room and the door to the deck, but maybe I can work on that, too. I'm making a bit of progress.
So that was an interesting day. It's nice to have my Internet back. That, by the way, is the reason you were seeing a black picture for most of the day, both on my website and the PastyNet cameras page. I couldn't get to it to update it. I hope that's the last of it.
Now it's a cloudy night in the field, and I will be off to the north end as soon as the backup completes.
April 16 Oh, what a beautiful day! I only wish I'd been able to really enjoy it.
I diddled around again, and it was past 12:30 when I got to bed. I slept very well, with only a couple of wakeups. The sky was sort of clear but not transparent when I was up, but the second time, Jupiter was shining in the window - and then a cloud came over and it and the moon disappeared. The moon is getting toward full, so while it's very bright, it's washing out the rest of the sky. It's so nice to have its light when I get up, though.
I got up around 9:30, and I knitted four rows, for the first time in a while. It took me a couple of hours, but they were the last four rows of the body, and I'm getting anxious. Now all I have left is the top border and the edging. That's another 18 or so rows, plus the edging, but the next time I knit (Monday, probably) I will know I'm on the last lap. There are patterns on every right side row from now on, but they aren't hard, so in a couple of weeks, I should be done with this thing. I'll be glad. Now I have to get the yarn wound into balls for the next projects, but I think I can do that pretty soon, if I ever get at it.
Other than the knitting, I didn't do anything today, though. I was sort of headachy and blah.
I think it was the weather. When I got to the studio around 12:30, it was already 60º, and it just got warmer. The high temperature, at 5:00, was 69º. Whoa! Not spring, but summer! While it was rather windy overnight, it was nearly calm all day. It was partly cloudy for most of the day, but there has been a whole lot of lovely sunshine, so that it's now 83º in the studio. I should turn down the heat and I should have opened a window, but I can't get to the windows right now, and I want it to be warm in the morning. Anyway, the sunshine has been lovely.
The guys slept. Grayson has suddenly started sleeping on the tub platform, where I have a couple of towels. Louie started the night with me, but he went away when I got up the first time. Grayson slept on me for a while today, but Louie is someplace else. I think it's so warm in here he's looking for a cooler place now. Possibly, he's in the window seat, which is one of his favorite spots.
After the post office closed, Ron came around with my other package - one package of file boxes in a huge box full of paper and coming open at the seams. Grr. At least I got to sniff the outdoors when he came. Well, now I have all my boxes. I guess I should start doing something about them. I guess I should start doing something. I did get the dishes washed last night, so that's done. As for the rest of it...sigh.
Now it's sort of clear, warm night in the field, and it's time to go and get ready for tomorrow. Normally, I would stay home, because it's a lay service, but I promised I'd go, so I will. Sigh.
April 15 I spent too much time staring at the floor last night, so it was 12:30 before I got to bed. I heard a neuroscientist tonight saying that winding down from the day is a good thing, so I don't feel so bad, even though I think maybe getting more sleep might be even better, but I've done this for so long, it's ingrained in me. Anyway, once I got to bed, I slept well, with two wakeups. I was a bit surprised to see clouds in the sky covering the moon, but when I was up, they had gone, although it wasn't a really transparent night.
I got up around 9:45, I think, and for some reason the knitting went very slowly, even though it was the two plain rows. I don't know what happened. I am actually getting to the end, and I have only about 20 more rows to go now. Whee! I will be so glad to get done with this thing! Six months is too long to be working on the same project, but I had to try it. Someday, I want to make a large Shetland shawl, and I'm sure that will take at least as long, but the next couple of projects should go faster, since they're knit with knitting worsted on #9 needles. I hope that goes all right.
I didn't do much except go to the post office, where all my packages came, including the one that should have been sent by regular FedEx. I just got off the "chat" with WalMart, and they really screwed up that part of the order. They sent one package of file boxes, which I got, and then another one in a separate shipment that I haven't gotten. Geez! My guess is that WalMart is doing delivery because they have to, and their heart isn't really in it. Anyway, I complained, and I really don't need the boxes right now, since I discovered I had another package that I must have gotten at least 6 years ago. So now anytime I can get at it, I should have enough boxes to clear out some of the stuff in the studio and the powder room. IF I can get at it. Sigh.
The weather was remarkable, and while I enjoyed it very much, I only hope it doesn't indicate that we'll be having a hot summer. It was clear but hazy all day, and the high temperature was 59º. Wow! There was quite a wind, with gusts up to 31 mph from the south. I should have been able to see Mercury, but I forgot, and it's probably set by now. It was nice to be outside, for a change, and the hill is pretty much clear of ice and snow, although there is still a lot of snow in the woods. Most of Lake Lily is still frozen, except right around the culverts, and it looks to me like the culverts themselves are plugged again. At least the water is awfully high. Of course, there are the beavers, too...
The guys mostly slept. Louie has been eating plastic and coughing again. Grayson mostly stayed away from the breezeway door, and he didn't try to get out the one time he came to see what I was doing.
So it was another quiet day. I am running out of dishes, so I absolutely have to wash them tonight, and the dishwasher is only partly filled. Otherwise, I expect to be in bed very early. I'm tired again tonight. Sigh.
Now it's a clear, warm night in the field, and there is a bright moon up there somewhere. Oh, yeah, and April is half over already.
April 14 I was really tired last night, and while I was a bit later than I wanted to be, I was in bed by 10:30. I slept well, although I was up about every three hours. I was up around 7:30 or 8:00, and that seemed too early, so I went back to bed and it was nearly 11:00 before I finally got up. I knitted my two rows. Slowly but surely I'm getting to the end of this thing. Sigh.
When I was up in the night, there were stars, and the first time, the fat crescent moon was shining over the lighthouse and leaving a wide glitter path on the harbor. When I was up around 4:00, Jupiter was bright but it seemed rather hazy (without my glasses), so it wasn't completely clear. I don't think there were any northern lights, but if there were, they were close enough to the horizon that I couldn't see them.
I didn't do anything but my surfing. I had sort of an accident that I had to clean up from, and that took time.
Then I got ready to leave for choir. Well. Grayson jumped out the door when I opened it, so he was in the breezeway. I tried to get him in, and I even caught him, but I can't go up the stairs without both hands, so I had to let him go. Then I got to the car and realized that I had left my car key in the pocket of my other jacket, so I had to go back in - and he wouldn't come. So I left him out and went on my way. Grr. Damn cat.
We had a very short choir rehearsal, but I was glad I went because we got some practice for the thing on Sunday. Pastor is away, and usually I don't go when it's a lay service, but that would put us down to about five people, so I promised I would go. We couldn't practice the thing we will sing the next week because Jan didn't have her music, so I hope she has it next week. So I left town at about 7:30. It was really nice to be able to drive home before sunset.
When I got home, oh, Grayson was so happy to see me! He was mewing and rubbing his head on the railings and so happy. Grr. And he went right in and down the hallway when I opened the door. Grr. I keep hoping he'll learn, but I doubt he ever will.
I had my lovely Chinese takeout tonight and it was very good. There is some rice left, but I'll have that tomorrow. I wish I could get Chinese takeout about every week, but they don't deliver, especially this far away. It was wonderful.
The weather was pretty nice, too. It was clear or nearly clear all day, although the sky was rather hazy. The high temperature here was 55º, and it was warmer in town - over 60º. It was a bit windy here, though, with gusts up to 31 mph from the southwest. It is so nice not to have to bundle up when I go out, and I won't be happy until I can run out without putting on a coat. There is still a whole lot of snow in the woods, though, especially in the higher elevations, and the piles are high in town. Oh, spring is coming, albeit slowly.
I didn't see much of Louie today. He was sleeping in the bathroom when I went to change my undies. Grayson wanted to sit on me after dinner tonight, but I wouldn't let him. He knows he's not supposed to go out. And he should know that nobody is going to let him in if I'm gone. Grr.
So that was my day, and I'll be off to bed soon. It's a nearly clear, rather warm night in the field.
April 13 I was late again, but not quite as late as I might have expected. I diddled around, and then I had to wash my hair. I was tired enough that I fell asleep on my back, but it didn't bother my neck quite as much because I was lying on a corner of the pillow. I was up twice. About 4:00, there was Jupiter peering in my windows, although he wasn't very bright, so I knew it was sort of clear. Ron said there were some northern lights, but they were behind the clouds. I confess, I didn't look out. I'll have to do that tonight.
I might have slept longer, but around 9:45, I got a phone call. I got picked to keep a radio diary for Nielson, and they have been calling me regularly ever since I said I would do it. It's going to be a boring diary, but at least I will tell them somebody in the area listens to classical music. It turns out that they want results from satellite and Internet, too, so that will be good, since I usually listen in the evening over the Internet because the sound is better.
Anyway, I got up, even though I had hoped to get more sleep. I did my knitting, but I'm afraid my tension was a bit tight for a while. Hopefully, nobody will notice that among the other mistakes I've made. I had time to do a bit of my surfing and I did watch most of the chapel service. That was frustrating, because the video signal kept breaking up, and when it was almost over, I discovered that the problem was apparently with something here, rather than something there. I like to see the preachers. This guy was pretty good, and he wasn't all that old, either. I didn't watch the whole thing, with communion and all, because I wanted to do some other things. I didn't finish my funnies because I had to sort of run to the bathroom (I made it) and by the time I got through with that, I just had time to retrieve my breakfast tray before it was time to leave.
I stopped at the post office, where the only thing of any interest was my radio diary, which is supposed to start tomorrow. The road was clear and dry and almost free of traffic, and even though there were warning signs about the bridge being closed, it wasn't, so I got to the dentist's office in time to visit the restroom and do some knitting. Holly is always late, so even though I ended up counting rows at least 10 times, I was able to do a few rounds on the sock. I may even finish that sock this year. I wish I would; it's a summer sock, and I could use it.
Anyway, my teeth are fine, which I guess I knew. There was some tartar on the front teeth, but that's normal for me. At least my gums are in good shape.
I was late enough that I got to Bambu at a reasonable hour for dinner, and oh, my, was it good! I had lo mein, which I love, and this was a particularly good batch. So I got some other stuff to bring home for tomorrow and I had enough of my lo mein left to have when I got here. Yum! Double yum!
I had to stop on my way home for gas. The price has gone up to $2.149, but I had coupons for 30¢ a gallon off (up to 15 gallons) so it was a cheap fill. I did take the opportunity to tell them about the ice back in March that kept me from getting out of my car at all. They need to do a better job of keeping their pump areas clear. Well, it was probably $50 or $60 worth of gas they didn't get from me.
Then it was home, and there wasn't very much traffic there, either, except for one guy I had to pass. I got home around 7:00. I warmed up the rest of my lo mein and took my evening pills, and I am - really! - going to bed early tonight. I am tired. Unfortunately, the older I get and the less driving I do, the more these drives wear me out.
The weather was remarkably nice, even though it didn't get as warm as they said it would. The high temperature was 44º, and there wasn't very much wind until late in the afternoon, when it was in the 10-15 mph range from the south. It was beautifully clear this morning, although it began to cloud up a bit later in the day. There was lots of nice sunshine and blue skies, and it was really warm in the house when I got home. I guess this is supposed to continue for quite some time, and I can take it. Ah, spring may come yet!
I'm sure the guys slept. Grayson slept on me until I had to get up to leave. He came to the door when I came in, and he did not look pleased, although he twined around my legs while I was sitting in the powder room. I haven't seen Louie.
It was quite humid today, and I had a horrible time getting up from sitting. I hope that as it gets warmer, it will be easier. It embarrasses me to have such trouble in public.
So now it's an almost clear, not very cold evening in the field, and I'm tired.
April 12 Not much to report. I was late getting to bed - I sort of zoned out again, but I slept well. I got up around 10:30 and did my knitting. Oh, I can see the end, even though it's a ways away. I will be glad to get this thing done. If it wasn't that the yarn is so beautiful, I might have abandoned it a long time ago.
Otherwise, it was nothing. Chapel was interesting - it was prayer and preaching, on the Lord's Supper, but I have to admit that Prof. Ziegler didn't hold my attention very well. It was a curiously long broadcast, because they started it a good 10 minutes before the bells even started ringing. Possibly they're trying to avoid what happened last Friday, when they never did get the thing on the air, but looking at a completely empty, quiet, out-of-focus chapel isn't exactly inspiring.
I'm happy to report that the FedEx truck got down the road, so now I have enough TP to last a long time. Unfortunately, the other shipment got sent by SmartPost, so I will have to haul it home from the post office - and since it's 20 file boxes, it is going to be heavy. I don't know how they decide how to ship, but sometimes it's dumb. I should complain, and maybe I will.
The weather was uninspiring. It was windy overnight, but the wind died down during the day to almost nothing. The high temperature was only 32º, which was a bit less than predicted. It was mostly cloudy, except that it was clearing at sunset - and I am going to have to reset the beginning and end times for the camera again. I like to keep it so that there is one black picture at each end of the run, so that we can possibly see all the interesting effects that there sometimes are as the sun is rising or setting.
The guys slept, mostly. They both got as much lap time as they wanted. Louie slept with me for a while last night. He walked over me to do it, and that hurt. He is so heavy that his little feet exert an amazing amount of pressure, and I have some sensitive spots. No wonder his feet are beginning to spread out, although that happens no matter what they weigh.
Speaking of sensitive spots, I am not quite so sore today, I'm happy to report. My hands and wrists are still sore, and so are my knees, of course, but I didn't have quite such a problem sitting down and standing up as I did yesterday. The humidity was modestly less and the barometer was modestly higher today, and i think that was the answer, but I still don't know what the combination is.
So that was a quiet day. I have to go to Houghton for a dentist's appointment tomorrow, so I need to wash my hair and get to bed, although it isn't until 3:15. Now it's a cold, partly cloudy night in the field.
April 11 Oops, almost forgot again. Almost forgot chapel again, so I just finished with that.
I got to bed around 11:00. It was much later than I wanted, but I just didn't seem to be able to move. I slept very well, with a couple of wakeups, and I got up around 10:30. It was snowing horizontally when I got up, so I ignored it and did my knitting. These were the easy rows, all knitting except for the border and edging, but it still took me almost an hour. I only have about 30 rows left, though, so I'm pressing on.
I had some idea of doing something today, but I had another accident, and by the time I had cleaned up from that, it was nearly time for the talking to start, so I didn't. I hadn't done my surfing yet, so I did that while the talking was going on. Right about the time I was thinking about dinner, Debbie called, and we had our usual long conversation, but both of us are doing all right, so that was good. Her birthday is in a couple of weeks, and it's a big 0, so I had to kid her about getting old. We all are.
The weather was more like November. When I looked out the bathroom window, after I got up and noticed I couldn't see down the harbor, the wind was blowing the snow horizontally. I don't think there was any accumulation, and the temperature was above freezing (just by a couple of degrees) all day, but still. Snow. Yuck. The story was the wind. Now it's over 25 mph, and earlier in the evening we had gusts up to 35 mph, from the north. The lake is singing loudly. Of course it was dull and gray all day.
The guys slept. They both got some lap time, and I think Grayson was partly responsible for my accident, as he often is.
The problem I'm having now is that I still hurt. The worst of it is in my wrists, especially my left wrist. It was so sore earlier in the day that I couldn't use it to lever myself to my feet, so once I got on both toilets, I was stuck for five minutes or so before I could figure out a way to get up. When I went back to the north end to get some new undies, I broke down and took some Tylenol, and that did help. I will take some more tonight, and then at least I will be able to sleep, provided I get my hands in the right places. It has to do with the cool temperatures and the high humidity, and there isn't much I can do about it except to endure. And get some more Tylenol.
So that was my day, and I hurt. Now it's a dark, windy night in the field, but better weather is coming. Really.
April 10 I don't know what happened. I went up to the north end at a very reasonable hour last night, and I thought I did what I had to without any fooling around, but it was still 10:30 before I got to bed. Of course, I did have to fill the pill dispensers, and that takes some time, but not that much! And I had to wash my hair and shave my moustache and stuff like that - there was one big chin hair that I had to track down and pull out.
I didn't have any trouble sleeping, although I was up for about 45 minutes in the middle of the night. I woke up at 6:00 and had to pee, and there was no way I was going to last until 6:30, so I got up, did it fast and went back to bed, but I was just about to fall deeply asleep when the alarm went off. Ugh.
Everything else went well, though, although I was a bit later leaving than I wanted to be, and it was too bad. There had been maybe half an inch of new snow overnight, and the Road Commission hadn't done anything to the covered road, so that part of it was slow going. Once I got to Delaware, though, either it had melted or there is still enough salt on the road that it was just wet, and after about Phoenix, it was nearly dry. I was a bit later getting to church than I wanted to be, but it didn't matter much.
We sang pretty well and there was communion, so that was good, but I was so sore and creaky that I had a very hard time getting up and down, especially since there were some people in front of me. By the time church was over, I hurt all over.
However, there was no avoiding it - I had to shop, so off to Pat's I went. I did some damage, but there was more meat than I usually get, plus I wanted to get some coffee, and I think that was the problem. They had flat iron steaks today, and when they do, I usually get a couple, which I cut up into reasonable portions and freeze. And there was fish, and a sale on chicken breasts and pork chops...I'm not quite sure where I'll put all that in the freezer, but I'll figure it out.
I left town around 1:00, and the road was much better, until I got about to the Mountain Lodge, where it was ugly again down to Copper Harbor. It was good to get home.
I unloaded the car right away, so that I wouldn't have to go down and up the steps again, but I just left everything out in the breezeway. I didn't have any frozen stuff and it was nearly as cold as the fridge out there. My auxiliary refrigerator. I only wish it worked in the summer.
But oh, I ached. And I was hungry. So I changed my clothes and had something to eat and sat...until 6:00. I just hurt too much. I still do. Eventually, I brought the stuff in and packed it away in the fridge, and I had a nice lamb chop for dinner. Now the only reason I might have to shop in the next few weeks is for fresh produce. I like a nice salad, and I've been eating bananas again. Otherwise, I have enough stuff to last for at least a couple of months, with what I got from Schwan's on Friday. Food and craft stuff seem to be the two things I am most anxious about running out of, so I always overbuy. Always have. Probably always will. Of course, those are the two things where I want a choice, rather than having to eat (or stitch) something because there isn't anything else.
I think the reason I am so sore is the weather. It wasn't good. There was a bit of snow overnight and there was a bit of snow or rain around the time I got to church, so it was very humid. The high temperature was (is) 35º, and the humidity has been between 80% and 90% all day. Not the best for my poor joints. There was quite a wind, too, with gusts up to 36 mph from the south, between 10:00 and noon. I could feel it when I was driving. There was a little bit of sunshine while I was driving down to church, but after that, it was all dull and gray and yucky.
The guys were very glad to see me come home. Louie actually reached up for the door knob (lever), but it opens in, so he couldn't have gotten out even if he knew how to open the door. Actually, it wasn't completely closed. For some reason, I didn't pull it tight, so there was a bit of a gap between the door and the frame, but like I said, it opens in, so unless the wind blew it in, it wasn't going to open. Then when I sat down at the computer to rest, Grayson came and went to sleep on my lap for a very long time. He left when I started to twitch a bit, but then he laid down on the floor behind me, where there is a plastic bag on the floor. I guess he really does worry that I'm not coming back, poor guy. And it's Louie who had that happen to him, not Grayson, as far as I know. Louie got some good lap time, too, and I didn't get up to do anything until he went away.
So that was my day, and I don't plan to be up very long tonight. I nearly fell asleep while Grayson was on my lap, and maybe I would have except that I was in the wrong position to lay back. I still ache all over, especially places like my hands and my shoulders, which shouldn't have gotten the wear my knees did today, but that's the way it is.
Now it's a cold dark night in the field and bed looks pretty good.
April 9 Oh, so I didn't get to bed until a bit after 1:00 for no apparent reason except that I didn't feel like moving. I slept well, and I got up around 9:30, I think. Not enough sleep, but oh, well. Maybe I'll sleep better tonight.
I knitted my two rows - they're mostly easy now, except that there are so many stitches.
Today was washday and fill-the-pill-dispensers day. The wash is done, except to dry the whites, and two of the four pill dispensers are full, or as full as they will be until I get some more psyllium. The rest will get done when I to up to the north end.
I went to the post office, where there was surprisingly little mail, but I got to send a couple of things. Other than the wash, I didn't do anything much. I had the usual accident, of course. This evening I ordered a couple of other necessities - psyllium and lotion. I found a place where I can get the psyllium sent to me on a regular basis. I guess I could get that for the lotion, too, but it seems every time I have to order it, the places that sell it have changed. And I don't know how often I need it. I use something called Lachydrin 5, which I have used for a very long time. It was what I used after the stem cell transplant when my skin got so dry in places that it thickened and cracked, and it worked, so I swear by it. Now I use it on my feet after a bath, as well as on my hands. so I'm using more than I used to. Like all products of that sort, whether you like it or not depends upon your skin, and everybody's skin is different. Mine likes this stuff much better than any other skin lotion I've ever used. I don't use it on my face, although I suppose I could, and I may try it after I finish using the other stuff I have for faces. One reason I like it is that it isn't greasy. Once it dries and soaks in, it doesn't come off on things.
The weather was nondescript. There was a bit of snow off and on, and evidently there was enough overnight to cover up the tire tracks. There wasn't any accumulation today. The wind died down after about 2:00 AM, and it was almost calm all day today. It was mostly cloudy, although there were a few rays of sunshine, followed almost immediately by a snow squall. The high temperature was 25º. Blah.
The guys slept, and Grayson slept for a long time on me. Louie decided he wanted to sleep with me last night, so as soon as I turned onto my side, he clawed his way onto the bed and stomped on me on his way to the other side. He has finally figured out, I think, that he has to pick a spot on the side I'm not facing, or we will get tangled up - or maybe he has finally figured out that it isn't a good idea to settle down on the right side of the bed, because that's where I get out and we get tangled up both when I get out and when I get back in. Since I've been starting out on my right side lately, it doesn't seem to matter. Grayson hasn't slept in the bed with me in a long time, for some reason, but he likes it a bit warmer than Louie does, I think.
So that was a quiet day, and now I need to totter up to the north end, by way of the laundry room, and do my stuff for tomorrow. it's a cold, calm, cloudy night in the field.
April 8 I got to bed around 11:30 last night, which was pretty good for a Thursday. I slept fairly well. I was up around 3:00, I think, and I was surprised to see some stars, but while I was looking, they were all covered by clouds. I was up a couple of times later, including around 7:30, but that was much too early, so I finally got up around 10:30.
I knitted my two rows, and I discovered that in the first "knit 3 together" that I did yesterday, I had missed the central stitch, which had unraveled and almost - but not, fortunately, quite - unraveled the nupp. Whew! It wasn't very easy to get it back together, but I managed without distorting the knitting too much. The rest of the two rows was plain knitting except for the border and edging, so it went as fast as possible. It's taking around half an hour to do one row now.
I don't seem to have done anything else much today. There was a lot of email that I wanted to follow up on, and there was my surfing. I didn't get to the post office because the Schwan's guy didn't call me until almost 3:00, so I will have to go tomorrow. Both of us can't wait until he can come down to the house again, but the road is a mess right now, and I'm sure he'd have a problem making it up the hill - the notorious hill on the other side of the culverts. I didn't, but I was in 4WD.
The weather was cold. Much too cold for April. The temperature hovered around 25º, plus or minus a degree or two, and there was a brisk wind that started out from the east and has now backed northerly, and there were gusts up to 35 mph a couple of hours ago. Brr. It was cloudy and dull for most of the day, except that the clouds began to break up a bit right around sunset. It looks like we have another couple of waves of possible snow on Sunday and Monday, but after that, it is supposed to warm up a tad and maybe get sunny. Oh, that would be nice. Melt all the yucky snow that has come down in the past week. We've already had more snow this month (21") than we had all last month (13"). Well, we didn't get quite that much, but it was enough. Now the hill will have to melt all over again. Darn.
The guys slept, although they both got some lap time, and in fact, Louie helped me have another accident, although it wasn't too bad. Grayson was on my lap when Louie came up, so Grayson went over under the south windows and Louie got his pet. I had to move him when I started to gurgle, but he did get a bit of love. Just about the time I think they would both be happier if they were only cats, I find them curled up together someplace. I've noticed lately that Louie's feet are beginning to stretch out into little flowers. He's got to be around 10 years old now, so it's time. It happens to all of us. I'm sorry to see it, though, because his feet were so long and skinny when he came to me. Grayson, on the other hand, already has little short, round feet, so I'm not sure what will happen to his. I frequently just look at the two of them and marvel at how different two cats can be in shape and in personality. Just like people.
So that was my day, and I hope I will be early tonight. I'm tired already, for some reason. It's a cold, partly cloudy night in the field, but I don't think it's clear enough to see Mercury. Darn.
April 7 I was later than I have been lately, but I had to wash my hair, so it was 12:30 before I got to bed. I slept better than I have lately, I'm glad to say, but I was up several times. Around 4:00, I think, there were stars in the north, but there was a big dark cloud in the west, so no Jupiter. I was up around 8:30, but that didn't seem like enough sleep, so I went back to bed, and it was 11:45 before i woke up! i didn't plan on that, for sure.
I knitted, though, so I'm still making progress, although it's slow. Then after breakfast, I waited too long and had a rather icky accident, so I had to change my bottoms. I did go to chapel, and I did my surfing, but I didn't finish reading my email until just now.
I was thinking about going down early and shopping, but when I went to get ready, I just didn't feel like it. These days, I never feel like shopping, but I will have to do it on Sunday, because I'm running out of some vitals. I was a bit late getting to choir (not before it's supposed to start, but everybody else gets there half an hour early) because there was a big bag of trash at the bottom of the steps into the breezeway that I had to move into the garage before I left.
I'm happy to say that the roads were pretty good, with the exception of our road, which is horrible. There was a bit of slush on the northward side of the covered road that I had to be aware of on my way home, but mostly it was clear and dry. Choir was good, and we are ready to sing on Sunday, I think, although Pastor changed his mind and decided we had to sing parts on "Christ Lag in Todesbanden," which wasn't what he said last week. The tenors were the only problem, and probably they'll be ready by Sunday, although if they aren't I'm sure the congregation won't ever know. I got home around 9:00.
The weather was so-so. It was clear for most of the day and just started to cloud up around 7:00. I can't say for sure, because the camera hung up around then. The temperature was nearly steady around 30º officially, although it was warmer out here, or at least my thermometer said so. It was very windy overnight, with gusts up to 31 mph from the east, but it died down during the morning and it's now nearly calm. Curiously enough, there is a winter weather advisory for Houghton that isn't for Keweenaw County. We may get a bit of snow, but it won't be bad. I can handle that, except that I will have to go down into it on Sunday. Darn. For the next three days, Mercury and the thin crescent moon will be over in the west, and with the forecast we have, I won't get to see it. Of course. Whenever there's something in the sky that I want to see, it will be cloudy. That's the way it is.
I think the guys slept. Grayson got some lap time while I was in chapel, but I haven't seen Louie yet.
So that was another quiet day, and now it's a calm, cold, cloudy night in the field. Winter, will you please go away?
April 6 It was a little after 11:00 when I got to bed last night, and I had problems. I went to sleep, because I didn't even try to sleep on my left side, but after I woke up for the first time, I had about three hours when I couldn't get into a deep sleep, and in fact, it wasn't until after 7:00 that I finally did, so I didn't get up until a bit after 10:00. I don't know what all that's about, and I wish it would stop, although I've always had trouble sleeping during the change of seasons. Not that the seasons are changing here yet, but it's that time of year.
I knitted my two rows. From now on, the knitting will be easier, because every other pair of rows is almost all plain knitting, and the pattern is much easier. It appears I got through the nupps without any mistakes this time, thankfully.
I didn't do anything except to knit on the other shawl a bit. Oh, that one is horribly boring. It's all plain garter stitch, two stitches more on each row, and I don't like doing it, but I do want to get it finished. I hate to leave a project unfinished if I can avoid it. The colors are nice, but the yarn and pattern leave a lot to be desired.
The weather was horrible. When I went to bed, I could tell that it was snowing, because I couldn't see down the harbor at all, and it apparently snowed all night - and all day, too. I don't think we got more than 2" or 3" here, but that was enough. It looks like the snow is finally getting to our east, although we had a measurable amount of precip over the last hours. The temperature was almost steady, around 34º. The wind is rising, and it is now 26 mph with gusts to 32 mph, from the east, and the lake is singing. It was dark and dull all day, and mostly I ignored it, except to watch the snow come down.
The guys got their lap time, when they weren't sleeping. Louie sat on me first, and I had to get firm, because he wanted to lean on my arm. Then after dinner, when I was at chapel, Grayson came and sat for a while. Otherwise they slept.
So that was another slow day. I hope the snow is over, although they're saying there will be more. Sigh. Now it's a dark, windy night in the field, but the lake will sing me to sleep.
April 5 I made it into bed by 10:45 last night, but I didn't sleep very well for most of the night, for some reason. When I sat up to turn over, a bit after 11:00, Orion was balancing on RIgel over the mountain. Every time I see that, it amazes me how big he is - I'm used to seeing him in star charts, where it isn't so clear. He's huge! There were other stars, too, so I knew it was going to be a good night. I was up again around 3:00, and when I looked out the north window, I could see fifth magnitude stars in the Little Dipper, without my glasses! I could almost see the sixth magnitude star that joins the bowl to the handle. Wow! It's been a long time since I've been able to see that! I could see all kinds of stars in Ursa Major, and Cassiopeia was rising in the east. It was glorious! Jupiter was still too high, but I saw him at 5:00, blazing out over Hunter's Point. Oh, it was lovely!
After 5:00, I finally got into a deep sleep and I didn't wake up again until 10:00! Wow! Between 3:00 and 5:00 I had one of the recurring dreams - this was the road dream - that I haven't had in a very long time. This was a different take on it, but still, it was the same idea.
Once I got up, I got right at the knitting, but it took me an hour and a half to do two rows. These were the nupp rows, and there were 34 of them, but that's the last. I had to do them carefully, to try to avoid the problem I had with the last ones, and then I had to go back and inspect each nupp to make sure I hadn't dropped anything, and I will do it again tomorrow when I do the next row. After this, the only real problem is that I have so many stitches on the needle that it just takes a long time to knit them.
That was about all I did. I was late eating, and then I had an accident, but not too bad, so I had to clean myself up. And I forgot to go to chapel - I'll do that when I'm done here. My surfing took up the rest of the afternoon, until the talking started.
It was a beautiful day, at least until the clouds started to move in around 3:00. There was lots of sunshine an blue skies. It got rather windy this afternoon, with gusts up to 23 mph from the southwest. The high temperature was 37º. I'm afraid another snow event is headed our way, though. Geez. I thought we were over that.
The guys mostly slept. Louie decided he wanted to sleep with me last night, and that's always a problem, because he wants his piece right out of the middle, and he won't move. When I had to turn over, it was hard and the covers got all messed up. He also got some lap time today. Grayson didn't get much, but he may be back this evening.
So that was another day. Now it's a cloudy night in the field, and we may well have snow before morning. Sigh.
April 4 It was a much quieter day today.
I got to bed around 11:30, and I slept fairly well, with only one wakeup, which means I really needed the sleep. I got up around 8:30, and I knitted two rows. I toyed with the idea of doing more, but the next two rows are the nupps, and I decided to wait on that.
I didn't do anything much with my time, unfortunately. I washed a load of clothes, mostly the ones I wear all the time, since i had managed to slobber down the front of three of my tops. Then I had an unscheduled accident - after I had made it to the bathroom the first time - and I had to wash my bottoms, so I did the whole load over again. It's ready to be dried now. Those weeks when I ran out of the various things I take to keep my innards under control are coming back to haunt me - or maybe it really is a cyclic thing, and I'm in the bad part of the cycle. Someday I should go back to all the old journals and see what kind of pattern I can find. Anyway, it wasn't a horrible one, just yucky.
After that, I didn't do anything at all. So why am I so tired now? Maybe it's because I've been awake longer than I usually am. I won't be up very late tonight, although I do want to hear the Brahms. Right now, they're playing a Strauss waltz, which makes me put on my ball gown and whirl around the floor in the arms of my favorite emperor...that's Trine.
The weather was much nicer than yesterday. It was cold; the high temperature was 26º, but there was hardly any wind, and it was nearly or completely clear all day, with lots of sunshine and blue skies. All the ice that was on the harbor in front of my house yesterday is gone, thankfully. There should be some stars tonight. According to the Road Commission, we've had 14" of snow so far this month, 8" yesterday alone, so we've had 212" for the season. We didn't get that much here, but the tire tracks I made coming home yesterday are completely gone now, so there was a significant amount. Enough, already. The Weather Underground thinks there will be more on Wednesday, although the NWS isn't quite a sure about that.
Today, Louie sat on my lap during chapel, and Grayson didn't come by until later. Louie is not a satisfactory lap cat. He stomps around too much and he wants to lie on my right arm, which makes it hurt. Grayson is better, because he curls up, mostly with his head on my gut. Anybody who doesn't think cats love their people hasn't met my cats. They even obey me sometimes.
So that was all there was. Now it's a clear, nearly calm night in the field and there will be stars!
April 3 Are you sure this is April? I keep having to look at the date. It seems more like January to me.
I actually got to bed around 9:30 last night, although I didn't really go to sleep until around 10:00, and I was up any number of times. When I was up around 3:30, there were even a few stars! Oh, teasing us!
I didn't sleep well after 6:00, and I got up at 6:30 as usual on Sunday. I was thrilled to see that sunrise has gotten early enough that it was light enough when I went down to the kitchen that I didn't have to turn on the lights in the hallway. The next real milestone will be when I don't have to turn on the lights in the kitchen.
I was a bit late leaving the studio - I guess I was reading my funnies - and on the way from the kitchen to the powder room I had an accident, and a nasty one. That was after I had to stop there twice before I got breakfast. Then, of course, I had to clean it up and clean me up, so I was very late. By the time I was over that, I was toying with the idea of not going to church. I sort of wish I hadn't. I was late enough that I didn't have time to curl my hair, but I had pretty much decided what to wear, so I threw it on, and it turned out that what we sang was in the hymnal, so that was good. I was only a few minutes late leaving and only a few minutes late getting to church (late means after 10:00 - I like to get there early, in case I have to use the restroom).
It had started snowing before I went up to the north end, which was what made me think about staying home, but it didn't seem that bad, so I went. it was a rather slow commute. There was snow on the road all the way to church, but since it was so cold, it wasn't particularly slippery. It did mean I couldn't go at my usual speed, though, and of course, every time a car passed in the other direction, I was blinded by the blowing snow. Sigh.
Well, I got to church and we sang and Pastor's sermon was a good one, but it was Matins, and there is a lot of standing and sitting in that one, more today for some reason. I was struggling. I stopped in the restroom after church, and I had a terrible time getting back to my feet, so I sort of decided not to stop for gas, which I was going to do.
When I got into the car, though, I discovered that I only had about 3/8ths of a tank, which isn't enough for three trips of 37 miles, so like it or not, I had to get gas. I didn't go to the station owned by Pat's, where I get the discount, because by the time I left church it was snowing hard and there was almost a white-out. So I went to the station where I've gotten gas the last two times. Their prices are the same, without the discount. Curiously enough, for all my problems getting up from sitting, I didn't have much trouble getting into the car. Strange.
Anyway, I started for home around 12:15, and I didn't get here until 1:15. I haven't been out in that kind of snow in several years, and I don't like it any better than I did the last time. It wasn't a white-out, but it was snowing hard, especially from Calumet to Delaware, and visibility was severely impaired. It didn't help that the road had not been plowed, and since it was cloudy, it was very hard to see any tire tracks or anything else to tell where the road is. I think I drove most of it right on the center rumble strip, and I think my maximum speed was only about 50 mph, mostly less. I did meet a plow truck going in the other direction, which helped show me where the road was, but he had only plowed from Lac LaBelle Road south. It wasn't a fun trip at all, but I made it. It was snowing here, too, but not as hard as further south. It looked like there had been close to 6" up in the highlands, but I don't think we got more than about 2" here.
I didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon, although I did pay the first-of-the-month bills. Unfortunately, I had to tap the savings account to do it, and I may have to do that again. Next month should be better, unless there's another emergency. I will pay off my heating repairs, though, which is a real relief. Otherwise, I just sat, and I almost fell asleep again.
The weather was like January. Not only did it snow all day, sometimes rather hard, the high temperature was only 24º. The wind boxed the compass, but it has now come around to the east again, and it's up to 26 mph gusts. This was system snow, so it didn't come in waves. Once it started, it just kept right on. Curiously, while it was very cloudy, it wasn't dark. it would have been better seeing if it had been, but it was bright, and there was very little, if any, contrast on the road. We only had 13" of snow in all of March, so it seems like it's trying to make up for lost time. They are predicting another one of these things on Wednesday. I hope they're wrong, but they've been disgustingly right lately.
The guys slept. Grayson spent most of the afternoon asleep on my lap, although he did move when I started to twitch and he laid down on the floor between me and the door. Louie came by once, when Grayson was asleep, but we both ignored him and he went away. I hope Grayson isn't sick or something, but I think he was doing the same thing at this time last year. Maybe he's just sick of winter. Me, too.
I have been forgetting to mention the deer. They are all over the place. When I was going toward Copper Harbor, I think on Thursday, I ran across five of them near the waste management site, and another three near the boat ramps, and today there was one on our road on the other side of the culverts. There have been more, but I don't remember when or where. There have been tracks all over our road. This is the first year I've ever seen so many, but it was such a mild winter, I guess they came through fairly well. The ones I saw near the waste management site were interesting, in that they all had backs that were black. I guess that means they are all the same family. Well, the last couple of winters were so bad it was hard on them, so it's good to see so many, and they all looked to be in pretty good shape. The only problem is they seem to feel it's their country and these big loud tin cans are interlopers and should go away.
Oh, yes, and I can't tell you how many squirrels or chipmunks or both I've nearly run over when they ran across the road right in front of my car. I don't recall that happening before, at least in such numbers.
So that was my adventurous day, and I wish I'd stayed home. Now it's a very cold, cloudy night in the field, but it pretty much stopped snowing around 8:00.
April 2 What was I doing last night? I don't remember. I read and listened to the radio (well - the radio stream over the Internet) and played games. I went up to the north end at a semi-reasonable hour, but then I seem to have sat and stared at the floor for an hour or so. I guess I need that time to flush out all the stuff that has built up in my head during the day. If I went to bed without doing that, I don't suppose I would get to sleep so easily. I did manage to get my prayers done before I fell asleep.
i was awake around 8:30, but that was far too early, so I finally got up around 10:45. I knitted my two rows. One row is taking me about 25 minutes to do now, so most days I'll only be able to do two. I am getting tired of this project, especially since I made a couple of mistakes that I will always see when I look at it. Now I'd have to rip out 60 rows or more to get back to where I made the first mistake, and I just can't see doing that, although it's always an option. I hate to finish a project with visible errors in it, except for socks, which I figure nobody but me will ever see. If I wasn't so tired of the thing, I might just rip back and do it over right.
Strange, isn't it, that my studio (and my whole house, actually) is a disaster, but my needlework projects and my cupboards have to be perfect. Mind is funny.
I washed dishes last night, which is nice, and the dirty pots and pans are soaking in the sink. I think this time I will finally get the lid of the Dutch oven {known as the schedrah in my family - a name that seems to be German, but which I have not been able to track down, even on Google) clean of the ketchup that had deposited on it while I was cooking barbequed pork chops. And I have a special pan that I use to fry pork sausage that needed to be soaked. It's the cheapest frying pan I could find at WalMart, and it would be nearly useless for any other purpose, but since every so often I have to toss that frying pan and get a new one, I didn't think it was worthwhile spending any money on one - I think it cost me less than $4. Frying is a problem anyway, and there is one small pan I use only for frying fish that is better quality than the pork sausage pan, but it's a terrible mess. I guess you have to designate certain pans for one purpose and try not to spend too much money on them. When I get those ads for the $100 pans, I just shake my head and delete them. Or the $100 paring knives. Even if I had the money to be able to afford that stuff, I wouldn't buy it, just because I think it's grossly overpriced and people who buy it are stupid. Rant for the evening. I've been getting a lot of those emails lately.
I have a Farberware non-stick frying pan that I bought when I moved up here for around $20, as I remember, that is still in great shape and is my go-to pan for about 80% of my stove-top cooking. And I got a cheap sauté pan that has a lovely glass lid that I use for a whole lot of things - the lid was worth the price of the pan, which isn't the best but works when a recipe requires a non-stick sauté pan. I even use the lid with my Farberware stainless steel sauté pan that I got for a ridiculously low price at Damman Hardware when they were still in business in Detroit. The glass lid actually fits better than the lid that came with the Farberware pan. I am not hung up on glass lids, though, because once you start cooking, they fog up so much you can't see what's in the pan anyway, but it does fit all my 10" pans tightly, which is a plus. There are a couple of lids, including the glass one, that I have to soak one of these days, because they are gross.
The weather was more like January. The high temperature during the day was 25º, at noon, and it was in the lower 20s all afternoon, with a northeast wind that peaked at 40 mph gusts. It snowed off and on all day long, although I don't think we had much accumulation. Over at Marquette and east of there, they got hammered. I'm only a bit concerned about tomorrow, because they have issued a winter weather advisory for the whole day. Well, if I can't see down the harbor when it's time to get dressed, I just won't go. I'll go back to bed.
The guys slept. Grayson slept mostly on my lap, for some reason I don't understand, but it was nice. At least my innards have settled down enough that I didn't have an accident because of it. Louie came and sat, but he wouldn't settle down, so eventually he left. Grayson is small enough that he can curl up on my lap and rest his head gently on my right arm and I can still function at the computer. I can't do that when Louie is on me, in part because he doesn't like to curl up and he is so big that he falls off on both sides and when he rests his head on my arm, I can't move it and it goes to sleep.
So it was another quiet day. Now it's a very cold, cloudy and sometimes snow evening in the field and I am going to try to get to bed early tonight. Wish me luck.
April 1 I don't believe in April Fool's Day. Most of the pranks (if you can call them that) are cruel and embarrass those subjected to them, and not only don't I believe in being cruel to people or embarrassing them, it makes me angry. If you play jokes on people on April 1, please rethink what you're doing.
Mother Nature played an April Fool's Joke on us today, but more about that later.
I went up to the north end at a relatively reasonable hour for a choir night, but then I seem to have sat in the bathroom for an hour. Probably it was because I was having such a hard time getting up that I just didn't want the struggle. Anyway, I finally got to bed, and I slept fairly well. I got up around 10:30 - not enough sleep again - and I knitted my two rows. If I plug away at this thing, eventually it will be done. The yarn for the next project came today, so I have something to look forward to, and it will be on #9 needles, which are large. Or I think it will. I want to make that shawl, but the big needles may mess up my hands enough that I won't be able to work on it very much. Small needles, like 3½ mm or less, are much easier on my hands.
I was late, and i had a cat on my lap, so I had to rush off to the post office. I almost didn't go, because of our April Fool's Joke, but I decided I'd better get it over with. There were packages, including all my pills. I discovered, when I got home, that they had only renewed my thyroid med for another 90 days, so I guess they assume I will be seeing the doctor for my physical sometime around then and they can do the blood tests to see if maybe I need more? I hope so. I think it would help a lot.
Ron informed me that he was trying to clear Horizon Road so the guy who is doing the finishing work on his house out there could get unstuck, when he hit a rock and did something to our snow blower. I said he should make the guy pay for the repairs, and we both agree that it's getting to the point where the association should be helping us keep the road open. There are too many people who take advantage of it being open who don't help us out. We'll see where that goes. Ron doesn't go to the meetings either, but I suggested he should write a letter to the board to suggest it. It's one reason I haven't been paying my dues.
Anyway, then I stopped at the store and got some JD and lettuce, so I don't have to go shopping on Sunday, and I picked up my package which has been there for over a week. Mostly it was my DVDs, so I can back up my system on Sunday, but I snuck in a small book, too. This is a reading-type book, even though it's about yarn. Every so often I have to do that.
I have some bills to pay, and I wanted to pay off what I owe the plumber, but I didn't have time for all that.
The joke Mother Nature played on us was a cruel one. When I was up around 5:00 or so, there were a few stars, but when i got up at 10:30, it was snowing, and snowing hard. Gack! I don't know exactly when it started, but there was at least an inch on the garage roof, and it was snowing quite briskly. That stopped around 2:00 but it dribbled off and on for the rest of the day. When I was at the post office, the sun actually came out briefly, but it didn't last long, and then a few more snowflakes came down. The temperature was nearly steady around 28º during the day, and there was a brisk wind, up to 20 mph, that started out from the east and ended up from the north. The humidity was rather high, too, and it was raw and unpleasant when I was out. Yack. This is supposed to be spring, people.
The guys slept mostly. Grayson got a lot of lap time, and it was one reason I didn't get my other bill paid. Louie got some love when I was in the bathroom, and I didn't see him much for the rest of the day. He was going after Grayson behind my back tonight, but that was before I turned on the lights, so I didn't see much of him.
So that was my day, and I was not pleased by the snow. Enough, please! Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field. I'm tired, so I may try to get to bed a bit earlier tonight.
Last updated 05/01/16 10:56 PM |