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A View From the Field |
March, 2017
March 31 Oh, I was late again last night, about the same as the night before. I went into zombie mode, I guess, but for some reason I decided then was the right time to replace the batteries in my jewelry watches. Doing one doesn't take long, but I had four. I didn't do one, because the bracelet has a problem, but as soon as I fix that, I'll do it. Now at least I have my lapis watch to wear. And, I might add, since I lost that weight, it fits much better. I don't think I'm still losing, but so far, I'm holding my own. I hope that continues.
I was only up twice, and I got up around 9:30. I got right at the knitting and I finished the border. I started the edging, but I had problems starting it and I only got one repeat done before I decided it would be better just to wait until tomorrow. It's not a hard pattern, and since I had to chart it myself, I was familiar with it, but somehow, the first three or four rows just would not come together until I ripped them all out and did them over. Now I have a foundation, so it will be easier. Of course, I have 79 repeats to go, but I don't think it will take that long to do. i've been working on this since January 9, but then, it's big. I'm about ready to go on to the next thing, though.
I went to the post office, where I discovered that the insurance company had sent the check for my repairs to me for my signature (??). It's been a while since I've been to the post office, I guess. So I called the repair shop and told them and assured them that I will send it on to them. It does sometimes surprise me how different different companies are.
The weather was nice. There was a thin film of ice on the harbor this morning, because it got down to 26º overnight, and it was clear and calm. It went away quickly, though, and it was mostly sunny all day. The high temperature was 39º, and the wind was under 10 mph all day. I guess we might have some rain tomorrow morning, but I'll believe rhat when I see it.
The guys were sleepy. Louie got some love this morning, and Grayson got to sleep on my lap until I went to the post office. I just had to yell at Louie, though, because Grayson was lying in his spot just inside the door to the studio and Louie tried to mix it up with him. I still don't know why he does that stuff.
So it was another quiet day, and I'm hoping to get to bed at an early hour tonight. It's a clear, warmish night in the field.
March 30 Geez, it's still March! I've always thought March is the longest month of the year, and this year it seems even longer.
I didn't get to bed until about 1:30. I sat instead of taking my bath, which turned out not to be such a problem after all. I've been taking Tylenol in the morning, because I'm usually stiff and sore when I wake up, but it seems after a while (sometimes quite a while), I have been having less pain and less stiffness than I have for a long time. I'm not sure why, because the temperature and humidity in here haven't changed much. Maybe it's all in my head.
Anyway, I think I got up around 10:00 or so, and now I have three-quarters of the last row of the border to do, and then I can start the edging. Since that row is just straight purling, I should be doing edging tomorrow. It's such a pretty thing!
I didn't do anything else, but I didn't have a lot of time. Tonight was choir and Bible study, and they both went well. I got home around 9:30. We have a lot of singing for the next two weeks, and I keep thinking about all the bulletins I have to produce.
The weather wasn't bad. The high temperature was 39º, briefly, and there wasn't much wind, although there were some gusts for a while from the south. It was bright cloudy most of the day, with a little sunshine late in the afternoon. Not at all bad.
Our road is still ugly, but with the 4WD, I didn't have any problem getting up the hill. My only problem was, I forgot to turn it off once I got to the paved road, so I used a lot of gas.
I have been forgetting to mention that a week or two ago, I started smelling things, and when I checked the live ships map, I found that yes indeed, shipping season has begun. I have to say that if my ship smelled like that, I'd have the engines checked! There are few that smell like diesel exhaust, but the ones that I notice are the ones that smell sooty, and the ones that smell like burning alcohol. I'm particularly curious about the latter, and if I can determine which ships they are, I might even try to find out what it is that they burn. At any rate, it all stinks, and even though I'm glad to see the traffic, I resent them polluting my pristine atmosphere. There have been between 12 and 18 ships in the lake every day, so they're starting early and fast. No salties yet, though. A week or so ago, The Mackinaw was over in Whitefish Bay, but evidently they've opened a good path and they're gone now. Whitefish Bay is the only part of the lake that iced over this winter. Even the bottom of Keweenaw Bay was pretty open all winter. Of course, we've had 267" of snow, which is more than average (242") so we can't say it was an extremely mild winter. And there was that snowdrift...
The guys were sleepy, although Louie was rather fractious this morning. His food bowls were nearly empty (not completely, though) and he got tired of waiting for me to stop that knitting nonsense. Grayson slept on my lap for a long time this afternoon.
So that was my day, and I'm going to try to get to bed at a more reasonable hour tonight. It's a warmish, mostly cloudy night in the field. And it's still March.
March 29 I didn't get to bed until midnight and I didn't have a good night. It wasn't until I got to the studio this morning and discovered a shot glass full of pills that I realized why - I hadn't taken my evening pills last night! It's been a long time since I've done that, and I don't know why I did, but as I wrote in the email accompanying the bulletins, I was rather confused last night, for some reason. Oh, sigh.
Anyway, I finally got up around 9:30 - not enough sleep, considering how many times I was up during the night. I knitted my two rows. These are getting progressively easier, and now I only have three more rows to go. Of course, they're 800 stitch rows, but still. by Friday I should be starting the edging. That will take time, but not nearly as much time as the border.
When I looked at my email, I realized how confused I was last night, because I did tonight's bulletin over and sent it out rather than the one for next Wednesday. Anyway, then there were several changes, and I only hope Steve has the right one for Sunday before he prints.
I didn't do anything. I had an accident, mostly because I was too tired to move. I almost fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon and I didn't feel at all well, so I just sat. Sigh.
The weather wasn't bad. When I got up, it was still clear - it was a clear but not very transparent night - but it soon clouded up and it was cloudy but bright for the rest of the day. The temperature during the day was nearly steady at around 36º, and the humidity finally got below 70% for a while. The wind was under 10 mph. Oh, spring is trying to come. Those of us who remember Holy Week blizzards aren't trusting it, though.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson couldn't sleep on my lap after breakfast, so he went to sleep on the laptop. They both got their love in, though, and it seems like they feel good, because they were thumping up and down the hallway while I was getting dressed.
So now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field and I have to wash my hair. Ugh.
March 28 I was in bed by 10:30 last night, but it was a rather restless night. I was up several times, and I hurt. I got up around 9:15, so I should have had enough sleep, and I feel much better today.
I knitted my two rows, and I now have all 800 stitches. The knitting isn't too hard. My only complaint is that the rows with all the pattern in them are the purl ones, so those rows go more slowly. Now I only have 5 more rows to go, so by Friday, I should be starting on the edging! Wow! I started this one on February 8, so it's been nearly two months. I still think it's pretty, though, and now I can see the end, so I'll press on.
I didn't do much else, except that I finally got the software updates done and I got the bulletins together, I think. I felt rather confused tonight, so I only hope I've done them right. I also made a couple of phone calls I've been putting off, but that turned out all right.
The weather was rather nice, if humid. The temperature got up to 40º, briefly, and it was in the upper 30s for the afternoon. There was a bit of a breeze around noon, but it didn't last, and it's nearly calm now. It was clear to partly cloudy all day, so there was lots of sunshine, and it got warm enough in here that I was sweating a bit.
The guys slept. Louie got his morning pet and they both got some lap time. Grayson just knocked over something I have propped up against a wall. I think he was grooming his whiskers. I wish he wouldn't do that, but that's a cat.
So now it's a clear (I think) nearly calm night in the field, and I'll be off to bed soon.
March 27 So I went into zombie mode again and it was 1:30 before i got to bed. I slept well, but I got up at 10:00, so I didn't get enough sleep. I was going to wash my hair tonight, but I think that instead, I will crash. I am tired. More on that later.
I knitted two rows again, but these are getting easier, except that there were a couple of places I screwed up and in attempting to fix them, I dropped stitches that I had to recover. I think it's all right, but when I do that, I stretch the stitches so much it's hard to tell before they even out. The yarn is so slippery that it's easy to drop things, but on the other hand, that same feature means the stitches seem to even out after I knit a few more rows. I'm closing the final zigzag and starting the final small motif, so I'm getting there. One reason I'm knitting so much is that I want to be done with this and get on to the edging. I only knitted for two hours, even with all the fiddling, so it seems doable.
The task of the day was to get my car back, and it is now at home in the garage. The front end looks brand new (which it probably is) and they did a nice job on the back door. It's a bit of a matte finish, but it looks like they got rid of all the bubbling paint. And they washed the whole car! Wow, it's been quite a while since it was that clean. Of course, after driving through all the puddles, especially down our road, it's not clean now, but it's still much better. I think they cleaned up the interior, too.
However, there were a few minutes when I didn't think I was going to get to Houghton. I got about halfway up the hill and stopped. Oh, no!! NO!!! So I backed down the hill and almost into the same snowbank where I got stuck last March. I have a terrible time going backward around curves. This time, it wasn't so bad and I was able to correct and get down to where the road was gravel. Then i went into low gear, revved up the engine and went as fast as I could - and I made it. Just, but I made it. Believe me, my heart was pounding by the time I got to the paved road. It was ugly. I can't tell you how glad I was that I didn't try to get to church yesterday.
However, by the time I got home, I was exhausted. I did check to make sure that both headlights work - they do - and then I sat and did nothing but read my email for the rest of the afternoon. I am tired. That's a long trip - 100 miles - and I'm not used to driving so far anymore. Besides, I'm a bunch of years older than I was the last times I had to go further than Houghton. I'm off to bed soon.
The weather was yucky but not bad for driving. The temperature was nearly steady - low of 33º and high of 36º. There was a little north wind. The lowest the humidity was was 89% (I took some Tylenol), and between 7:00 and 8:00 this evening, we had dense fog. In between, it was all right, and the only problems I ran into were the puddles that have formed where the snow on the edges of the road are melting.
I think the guys were sleepy, especially when I was gone. Louie got a short love-in this morning and Grayson slept on my lap before I left and after I got home. They got some canned food this morning, but they don't like that kind too well - too bad, I have a whole case of it - and Grayson wanted something else, but he didn't get it.
So that was my day, and I'm tired. Now it's a cloudy, humid night in the field, but it should be better tomorrow.
March 26 Well, I didn't make it to church. It started last night; I was moving slowly enough that it was 10:30 before I got to bed, and that's too late. I got up when the alarm went off, though, and got my breakfast. Then I looked at the weather reports and said "Ugh!" but I read my devotion and my funnies. I was already late - for some reason, it took me a a long time to read my funnies. When I checked the weather again, I decided it was a no go: the temperature both here and at the airport was 32º and it was raining, which said "ice!" to me. Then I had an accident, and by the time I was cleaned up from that, it was too late. I would have had to leave by 9:00 in order to be sure I made it to church (remember, it took an hour and a half to get home the other night!) and it was already 8:40. I am simply not able to get my hair curled, get dressed and get out the door in 20 minutes, if I ever could.
So I went back to bed, and I didn't get up again until 11:00. I felt much better. So I sat and knitted for almost three hours and did two whole rows. While the stitch count is high (over 780 stitches), the rows are getting progressively easier, mercifully. The last three were the really hard ones, and I managed to make through them. I only have 9 more to go before I start the edging. I still doubt I'll be done by Easter, but I should be done by the week after.
I didn't do much else besides my surfing, but I did get the dishwasher cleared out and began reloading it. I washed a few pots and pans and put some others to soak, and I cooked up a pot of rice.
The weather was so bad that I hurt, even though I took some Tylenol this morning. The temperature was nearly steady; the low was 32º and the high was 35º. The wind was under 10 mph, from the south, although now it's switched around to the east. The humidity was over 90% for most of the day, and around 5:00, it got very foggy. Radar showed patches of pink (freezing rain) off and on all day. Yuck. I was glad to stay home.
The guys, wisely, slept. Louie got his loving when I got up from my nap, and Grayson spent a long time on my lap. They both got brushed, and neither of them liked it very much. They are shedding copiously, and i would rather they didn't ingest all that. It must be the light, since it certainly isn't warm enough.
So that was a very quiet day, but amazingly enough, I did accomplish a few things. I have to admit, I'm feeling better than I have for most of the winter, not including my joints, and that helps a lot.
Now it's a dark, foggy, rainy (or sleety) night in the field. Tomorrow should be better.
March 25 Oh, I was late again last night, of course. It was after 1:00 when I finally turne out the light. I was exhausted, and I slept very well.
I got up shortly after 10:00 and I got right at the shawl. I had no problems with the pattern, which leads me to wonder why I couldn't do it yesterday. I didn't try to push it on to the next row, though. It's a purl row, and other than that there are a lot of decreases, it doesn't seem quite as hard. I guess I must have been upset about something, but I don't know what.
Today was washday. I was pushing my laundry cart down the hallway toward the laundry room - it's not much more than eight or ten feet - when the entire thing collapsed, with me in the middle. I finally managed to extricate myself and get the bags into the laundry room, but the cart is in pieces. There are (or were) some thin rods that kept the front and back together. One had come unwelded many years ago, but today all the other welds failed at once. I suppose it's because the parts that are screwed together were loose, but now I have bunch of pieces. I talked to Ron and he recommended a place in Calumet that may be able to weld it for me, but first i have to unscrew the parts that have screws. I will call them next week and see if they'll do it for me. I don't know what I'd do without that cart, and I can't afford a new one, if I could find one that was so nice. Anyway, I finally got things sort of out of the middle of the hallway and the second load of wash is ready to go in the dryer now. Everything I hung over the rods of the cart are now drying on my drying rack, which isn't nearly as handy.
And besides, the humidity did a number on my bod, particularly on my back, so I was in such agony by the time I had the wash started that I had to sit down for a bit before I could make my breakfast. My knees are bad today, too, and we don't talk about my shoulders...
The weather wasn't too bad. The temperature during the day was nearly steady at 32º. and for most of the day there was a light south wind, although there were some gusts during the early afternoon. It was cloudy in the morning, cleared up for a while, got cloudy again between 2:30 and 6:)0 PM, and it's now clear again. I noticed that with the east winds yesterday, the ice has been pushed down to the west end of the harbor and we have open water again.
The only thing is, I may not get to church tomorrow. The NWS has a Winter Weather Advisory out from 11:00 PM tonight to 11:00 AM tomorrow, for freezing rain. I guess we might not get it here, but they may well In Laurium. I will just have to see how things are in the morning. Even if I was driving my own car, freezing rain terrifies me and I don't want to drive in it. Period. So we'll see.
The guys slept, of course. Louie got his love-in this morning, and Grayson spent a long time on my lap this afternoon. Grayson was a bit put out because some of his dishes are empty, but that's too bad. He has plenty to eat, it just might be things he doesn't like as well anymore. Too bad.
This afternoon, I paid some bills and I think I got my checkbook back in balance. What with the car, this is going to be tight month, but we'll get through it.
Now it's a clear. sunny evening in the field, but that isn't supposed to last very much longer.
March 24 I got to bed about 1;30, which was good, considering how late I was getting home. I slept well, with three wakeups, and I got up around 10:30.
I got right at the shawl, but it seems like I had gotten completely confused, and I'd only made things worse when I started unknitting, so it took me two hours to get that first side right. I was thinking about going on, but then I started to screw that up, too, so I put it down and I'll work on it tomorrow. I don't know if it's that the pattern is so hard (although it is) or that I just haven't been able to keep my concentration. Louie didn't bother me much this morning, but I had such a mess that it took me a long time to get it straight.
And that was all I did. About 4:00, the shop called to say that my car is ready, but they close at 5:00, and there was no way I could get there in time, so I'll have to go down on Monday. I will be glad to have my own wheels back.
The weather was dull and gray, but warm. There was either some snow or fog early this morning. The high temperature was 37º, briefly, and it was 36º for the rest of the afternoon. The wind started from the southwest overnight, swung around to the north by noon and now is out of the east, but it wasn't very strong, 15 mph at the most. It was quite humid, which I didn't have to look at the readings to tell. I'm tired of dark, dull, gray days.
The guys were sleepy. Louie got his loving this morning, and he has now taken up residence on one of the scratching pads again. Grayson got a lot of lap time. They got some of their favorite fish for breakfast, and it's mostly all gone.
So we lead a very quiet, dull life, but I like it that way. Now it's a dark, warmish night in the field.
March 23 Oh, ugh! I didn't manage to get to bed until around 3:30 this morning. It was partly that I went into zombie mode because it's so hard to take a shower and partly that it took me so long. I got up around 11:30, I think, so I should have had enough sleep.
Then I was knitting along on the first side of the next knit row (the rest of the purl row went fine) when I realized that I'd screwed something up, maybe in the last row and I started to unknit...when a white cat began to tell me that it was time for his morning (afternoon?) petting, and he was so persistent that he totally destroyed whatever concentration I had left. I finally just put the whole thing down, and I'll figure it out tomorrow. Heaven knows what I did.
I was so late that all I managed to do was my surfing. I needed to get gas for the loaner, I wanted to leave early, but then I had to figure out how to open the back doors (they don't automatically open when the front doors do) and I had to find how to turn on the windshield wipers. Mary Ann was a big help there, because their big truck is a Ford, and its control panel is about the same as this car's. And she could ride copilot, so i didn't have to take my eyes off the road.
Which leads me to wonder. One of the chief causes of accidents these days seems to be distracted driving, and with all the gizmos in new cars, including touch screens as big as iPads, how can anybody drive and not be distracted? It took me halfway home tonight to figure out how the windshield wipers actually work, and then there are all those messages...Geez. I'll be doubly glad to get back to my antique.
Anyway, our trip down wasn't bad, but it was beginning to rain very lightly before we got to Laurium. Choir was good and Bible study was very good, although it didn't let out until after 8:30. However, in the meantime, it had been raining and freezing, and the streets were ugly. I don't actually think it was all that slippery, but since I was driving a strange car and I didn't know how slippery it was, I was very cautious, which annoyed a guy who got behind me and tailgated me all the way to Allouez. Someplace at or north of Phoenix, the sleet had evidently turned to snow, and the road was partly to mostly covered with snow for the rest of the way. Like I said, I wasn't sure how slippery it was, so I was being extra cautious, and it took us an hour and a half to get home. I am tired.
Oh, and when I looked at my email, Pastor had emailed me to make sure we got home safely. Nice man.
The weather started out nondescript, cloudy and dull. It was above freezing after noon, and there was some wind this afternoon. The high temperature was 35º. The wind was from the southwest and there have been gusts up to 32 mph. Not a lot of stuff has come down, but it has been showing up in the rain gauge at the weather station. There was a special statement about ice earlier, but it has morphed into a Winter Weather Advisory, and like I say, what came down here, was snow, not rain or sleet. I hate this kind of weather. I'd rather it was either colder or warmer. This is wishy-washy and ugly. Yuck. Anyway, we made it home safely, but I will be glad to get to bed.
The guys slept after this morning. Louie was a real pain. He wandered around my feet, and when I ignored him, he waved his claws at me and then he started meowing. He couldn't go after Grayson, which is what he would normally do, because Grayson was asleep someplace else, probably in the laundry room. So Louie wa a real pest, and he bugged me so much I refused to pet him, which made him act out even more. Then Grayson came and sat on me and didn't want to move. I think he can tell when I'm going out by my pants, and he knew I had that in mind and he didn't want me to go. I've often thought they're sort of like two-year-old kids.
So that was my day, and I'm tired. Now it's a dark, snowy night in the field, although it's not very cold. Yuck.
March 22 So it was around 1:30 when I finally got to bed. I slept well except for an hour or so around 6:00 when I was trying to sleep on my left side and it wasn't working. I finally turned over - after getting up to unkink - and I got up around 10:30.
I knitted two rounds, and it took me quite a while, since these are the really difficult ones. I have one more to get through, and then I think it gets a bit easier, and I only have 15 more to go on the border, and then I can start the edging. It's huge, but it's really pretty.
Let's see. I got the bulletins done and out, unless somebody finds anything wrong with them. I finally packaged up my hamburgers and froze them. That was all.
I felt pretty good, except for my knees, which were really sore today, for some reason.
The weather was nice again, if cold. The high temperature was 26º. for most of the afternoon, and the wind has died down to under 10 mph. The humidity was under 55% almost all day, so I don't know what ailed my knees. There were a few clouds in the sky - I saw the first contrail I've seen in a very long time - but for most of the afternoon, it was beautifully clear. A really nice day!
The guys slept. Grayson didn't get to sit on me when he wanted to, because first I had to get up and then I had to do bulletins, so he came during the talking and slept until I got up to make my dinner. I haven't see Louie, but he gets his loving after I finish knitting in the morning, and that usually does him. He got brushed a little today, too, and it made him look a lot neater. Unfortunately, he doesn't (or can't) keep himself very clean, and he really needs a bath, but I don't think two people could handle him to do that, so he'll just have to be grimy.
So it was another quiet day, and I enjoyed it. I have to wash my hair again tonight (hey - gotta be presentable when I'm out in public!), but I hope to get started at a reasonable time.
It's a clear, cold, nearly calm night in the field.
March 21 Ooh, I'm late! Oh, well, I don't have anything much to do today (it's tomorrow already).
I think it was around 11:30 when I got to bed, but I had to wash my hair. I slept fairly well until after about 6:00, when I hurt. I got up around 10:00, and I knitted one row. Since I was already so late, I figured there was no reason to rush.
It was slow going, though, and I didn't get away until around 1:30, and then I had to go to the post office to send off my taxes. While I was there, of course, I had to talk to several people I haven't seen in quite a while, so it was around 3:00 when I finally got to Houghton.
I am not going to get my back door fixed. They looked at it and said they would have to repaint the whole thing and it would probably cost $400-$500. Sigh. They did say they would acid wash it and try to do whatever they could to keep it from rusting out. Sigh. So now I have a car-car and they have my baby. I hope they'll be done by the end of the week, but it may be next week before I get it back. The loaner is actually not a bad car at all. It has lots of miles on it, but it has been well-maintained. It's a Ford 500. After the trouble I had getting out of it, I'm glad I didn't take the Taurus. It's actually not that low, but there aren't very many places to push up from. I had quite a problem getting out of it when I got home. I should have gotten gas, too, but I didn't, so i'll have to do that Thursday. It is comfortable, and it has more leg room than my big SUV. Go figure.
I got home around 4:30, and Grayson was very upset with me. I didn't do anything but listen to the radio when I got home, and I went into zombie mode and I didn't make my dinner until 11:30. I don't know why I do those things, but I was tired when I got home.
The weather was cold but pretty. It was mostly clear overnight, with very high winds. They peaked at around 7:00 this morning, at 35 mph with 48 mph gusts, from the north. The lake was singing loudly. It's still singing, but the winds are beginning to die down, to 18-30 mph. The temperature dropped dramatically during the night, and it was nearly steady at 24º all afternoon. The humidity did get down to just over 50%, so I felt good until I sat for an hour or more. It was cloudy when I ot up, but it cleared up quickly, and it was mostly sunny all afternoon. There were a few puffy white clouds, but there was copious sunshine. I can't tell you how blue the lake was when I came down the hill! Oh, how I love that view!
I think the guys slept, although Grayson was upset that I left and he wanted to sit on me when I got home. Louie kept going after him, too, although I know Louie doesn't want to sleep where Grayson does in the studio. Louie has a nasty streak in him, and at his age, there's not much I can do about it.
So that was my day. The bulletins didn't get done, and they won't until later today, but hey, sometimes I have other things to do. They will get done, and hopefully, there won't be any last-minute changes. Sue doesn't print them until right before Bible study, so I have until at least noon on Thursday to get them done.
Now it's a cold, breezy night in the field, and I'm going to bed, finally.
March 20 - Spring Equinox I was in bed by 10:30 last night, and I slept fairly well, although I was up several times. I got up at 8:30, but I knitted two whole rows, so I didn't eat until noon, and then I sat for too long and had a yucky accident.
When I got to the studio, the computer was acting strangely, and very slowly, so I decided to reboot. I still have to install the March updates, but I didn't want to wait to do that. I think it solved the problem, but I'm not sure. I have to rely on Norton to keep me safe, and sometimes I'm not sure it does. It seems to be working better now, though. We'll see.
The task of the day was the taxes, and I discovered that not only am I late getting them to the accountant, there are a couple of other things that I should have attended to before and didn't. Sigh. Well, it hasn't been a good winter. Anyway, I got everything together, but I'm going to have to stop at the post office tomorrow on my way to town, because I have to get postage for the envelope.
The weather was very spring-like, but it's apparently not going to last. The temperature varied between 39º and 43º. While it was rather windy overnight, the wind was between 10 and 15 mph during the day, from the north. It was clear overnight. When I was up, I could see stars, but when I got up this morning, it had clouded over. That lasted until around noon, and then it cleared up, and the afternoon was beautiful. The sun was so warm, it's gotten up to 77º in the studio, which means I was sweating. I can stand that. Unfortunately, it's supposed to be colder tomorrow, and depending on whose forecast you believe, it may rain and/or snow a bit. Darn it. I want spring!
The guys were sleepy. Grayson spent a long time on my lap before he went to sleep on the pink chair. Louie seems to like the sofa best, at least now. At other times, he's slept elsewhere, but on the couch he can spread out, and he's a very long cat when he stretches out.
So that was a quiet day, but at least I accomplished something. I will be gone tomorrow afternoon, to take the car in, so the bulletins will probably be late this week. I haven't heard from Pastor yet, but his family was in town for a few days, so I suppose he's behind.
Now it's a warm, clear night in the field.
March 19 Surprisingly enough, I made it into bed by 9:30 last night. I slept all right, although after about 5:00, I didn't do very well. I was up several times. I think it had to do with the humidity, which was high.
The alarm woke me, although I don't think I was completely asleep. I managed to do fairly well, although I left a bit later than I wanted to, because I was pretty sure the covered road would be ugly, and it was, so it took me longer I wanted to get to church. From Delaware south, it was fine, and almost dry in some places, but there was still some slop in the woods.
Church was very good. We had Matins, which is a service I love, and Pastor's sermon was a very good one. And for once, I could come right home. I had to get some help to get into the car, because I parked over a patch of ice, but Stuart put some salt and sand on it, and he braced my foot as I was getting in, so it worked well. I got home around 1:00.
And I didn't do much for the rest of the afternoon. I did write the next episode of Trine 14, which I'm glad to get rid of. I've been thinking about it for about three weeks, and I finally decided I'd better write it before I forgot what I wanted to write. I think it came out well, but we'll see. Usually, when I sit down to write, I reread at least the last day's writing, and sometimes more than that, and then I reread it several times over again. I read this one through after I wrote it, and it seems all right, so now I can go on and see what happens next. This is one of those things where I know in a general sense where the story goes, but I will have to fill in the detail as I go.
The weather was yucky. It was dark and dreary all day. The temperature got up to 37º here, and a bit warmer in Laurium. There wasn't any wind in the morning, but after about 2:00 it started gusting up to 31 mph from the south. Radar showed some snow and/or rain, but none of it hit the ground. It was so humid that I have been sore all day. Yuck.
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me. He would get off and then come back, at least three times. It was a good day to sleep.
So I'll be doing that soon, although it's early enough that I may just break down and do the dishes. We'll see. It's a warmish, dark, windy night in the field.
March 18 This is early tonight, but I'm hoping to get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour. I am still on standard time, and that extra hour is making things difficult for me.
I managed to get to bed before midnight last night, but I didn't have a very good night. I'm not totally sure why, but the humidity was high - still is - and I wasn't completely comfortable. After about 4:00, I got six hours of pretty good sleep with only one wakeup, and I got up around 10:30.
I knitted almost two rows. They were fairly easy ones, so it went fast. I'm getting into the confusing rows, though, so it's likely to take me longer, and I won't be able to knit tomorrow, and maybe not Tuesday, either. I still have 18 or so rows to go on the border, but I'm close enough to the end of it that I'm getting anxious. Then, of course, there's the edging, which will take a long time, too.
I didn't do much. I had a load of clothes in the washer that never got dried, and I had some more bottoms that needed washing, so I did that, and they are now all in the dryer. I had been planning to fold the sheets and towels when I took them out of the dryer, but that didn't happen. Folding the sheets, particularly, is difficult with my shoulders as sore as they are.
The weather was better off ignored. It was 34º all night, but then it went down to 30º, where it's been all day. The wind was from the north, and it got up to 31 mph gusts, although I didn't notice that. It was, and still is, very cloudy and dark and dreary. From around 7:30 until noon, it snowed lightly, but I don't think there was any accumulation. The lowest the humidity was all day was 88%. Yuck.
From about 8:00 AM to noon, there were a bunch of fisherfolk out in the harbor, and this time they were where the camera could see them, although they were far enough out that they just looked like little dots. I'm a bit wary of people who claim to be fishermen who arrive at 8:00 and leave at 12:00, pretty much on the hour. I thought that was supposed to be a leisure activity?
The guys feel good, but they were sleepy. Grayson wanted to sit on me all afternoon, and while he was sleeping on my lap, Louie came around. I'm sorry, guy, my lap is only big enough for one of you at a time, and Grayson was here first. Louie did get his love in the bathroom, so he didn't get left out.
So now it's a gray, yucky evening in the field, and I'll be off to the north end soon.
March 17 I don't acknowledge St. Patrick's Day much. I do have a little bit of Irish in me, but I understand that my Irish ancestors were Orangemen.
I sat around doing nothing after I ate last night, so I didn't get to bed until 2:00, and I didn't sleep all that well. It took me a little while to get to sleep, and when I first tried to sleep on my left side, I couldn't, and when I tried to move after that, I had excruciating pains in my left arm. I have no idea what that was all about, but my shoulder is still bad. Finally I did get some sleep, but I didn't get up until around 11:00.
I knitted, another one and a quarter rounds, which puts me in the middle of a knit round. Already the zigzags are getting confusing, so I imagine it will only get worse for the next ten or fifteen rows.
When I saw the weather forecast, I had already decided I wasn't going to Houghton today, and then the shop called me to say that the estimates they had gotten from the insurance company were detailed enough that I didn't have to go. I will take the car down on Tuesday, weather permitting - and right now it looks like the weather will permit.
Today was ugly. It started snowing about the time I got up and it snowed wet, heavy, sloppy snow all afternoon. The temperature was nearly steady at 33º. It was breezy, with gusts up to 32 mph early, although it has dropped off lately. It was from the south. I was happy to be able to stay home, and Ron left off my mail, including all my pills.
The guys were mostly sleepy, but they both feel good, which is nice. Louie got his loving in the bathroom and Grayson got to sleep on me for quite a while.
So that was my quiet day. I guess it's supposed to be sort of snowy tomorrow, too, but then it should be getting better. Now it's a dark, snowy, but not very cold night in the field.
March 16 Oh, I was late again last night, but I had to wash my hair, and it always takes me a while to work up to that. I got to bed around 1:30. I got up about 10:30, so I got my quota of sleep.
I knitted a row and a quarter, and I think most of the time I'll be doing about that. There are just too many stitches. But it's the prettiest thing! I'm starting the upper zigzags now, and those will go slowly, but I only have 20 more rows to go.
I didn't do much of anything, because there was Bible study and choir tonight. We finished our study of weekly communion, and we all think we should have it - not that we didn't before. I think it will start after Easter, and then we'll see how it goes. The other development is that we've changed the schedule, so that choir will start at 5:45, before Bible study, which will be at 7:15. We hope that will work out better. I know I didn't get home until 10:00 again, and that's just too late. even if Bible study lasts more than an hour, we'll still get back to the Harbor earlier.
The weather was nice. The high temperature was 35º, briefly, and it was above freezing until nearly 8:00. There was a little wind around midday, but for most of the evening, it was calm. It was clear, although there were some high clouds beginning to come up while we were driving down to Laurium. Nice.
The guys thought so, too, and they slept in the sun. Grayson got to sit on me for a while, at least. And I think Louie was playing with a toilet paper core when I got home tonight. At least, I think it was Louie.
So that was my quiet day. I'm going to wait and see what the weather is before I decide whether to go down to Houghton tomorrow. It's supposed to snow. Typically, we have some kind of snow event on St. Patrick's Day, and it looks like we will this year, too. If we do, I'm not going to drive 50 miles in it. So we'll see.
Now it's a warmish (for this time of year) maybe cloudy night in the field.
March 15 Well, I was earlier last night, but not really early. I was reading again. I got up around 10:00, I think, and the knitting went quite well. I'm starting the upper zigzag, though, and that's a hard part, especially since the hardest decreases will be formed on the purl rows, which is messy. It does mean I only have a bit more than 20 rows to go, though, so even though they're the longest rows, I'm getting there. And then there's the edging. I'd say another month, so I might get it done by Easter - or I might not.
I actually did a couple of things today. I finally got the dishwasher completely unloaded, but I didn't begin loading it again. I hope to run it sooner than I did the last time.
And I finally called the collision shop and I'll be taking the car in Friday for them to look at. I wish I could wait some more, because the road is still icy, but I have to get it done before April 9 in order to get the insurance, and I don't want to wait any longer. Their loaners have front-wheel drive, so probably I'll be all right.
Tonight I made a double batch of rice. I got tired of having to do it over about every three days, but I don't want to freeze it - I don't have room in the freezer anyway. So now i have enough for several days, more because I didn't eat all I dished out for tonight.
The weather was actually not bad. It was fairly sunny all day. I can't check that, because the camera hung up shortly after 11:00 this morning. It was a pretty picture - little puffy white clouds in a blue, blue sky - but it would have been nice to see the sky clear up. The high temperature got up to 28º and the wind was from the north at under 15 mph. The humidity was down under 50%, so I'm not sure why I've been so creaky, except that I'm tired, and I'm always creaky when I'm tired.
The guys spent most of the afternoon in the sun, moving around as it moved. Grayson got some lap time.
So that was another rather truncated day, and now it's a cool, clear (I think) night in the field.
March 14 - Pi Day You know - pi: 3.14... Cute, huh?
I was ridiculously late again, but this time it was because I was reading.
I got a robocall at 9:00, which made me mad enough, but I got another from the same number right before I got up at 11:30. It did make me feel better that I was at least partly awake both times, but still, the second one startled me so much it took a while to get my heart back in place. There are no words to express how I feel about those lowlifes.
I knitted. It's now taking me two hours to do two rows. That was nearly all I did, although I got the first draft of the bulletins out.
The weather was nondescript. The temperature has gotten up to 23º just lately. For most of the afternoon it was about 21º. The wind was under 15 mph mostly from the northeast. It was mostly cloudy, and between 11;30 and 2:30 we had a few little snow showers with no accumulation. Then there were some periods of sunshine, but not much.
The guys slept, of course. Grayson slept for a long time on my lap. He has taken his green catnip mouse up to the north end and every so often he plays with it a bit. Louie just watches him when he does that. I don't think Louie knows much about play, but he's too fat to go dancing around like Grayson does anyway.
So that was my day, and please, may I get to bed earlier tonight! However, I'm still reading...
It's a cloudy, cold night in the field.
March 13 I was stupidly late last night, but I zoned out and time just passed. I was only up once and I got up around 10:30, but that wasn't nearly enough sleep, so I didn't do anything but my knitting today.
The weather was nondescript. The temperature got up to 19º and the wind was under 15 mph from the east. It was partly cloudy; there was some sunshine, but there were some cloudy periods, too.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson got some lap time, and Louie got a little love in the bathroom. Grayson is still feeling pretty good, I think. He has a couple of toys he keeps playing with, including a mouse that is so covered with his fur that I wonder that he can smell the catnip. Louie just doesn't play much. He'll play with the rope occasionally, but catnip toys don't interest him.
So that's all I know, and I hope to get to bed soon. It's a frigid, cloudy night in the field.
March 12 i hate Daylight Savings Time. I said that last night. I still hate it. I got to bed about 9:30 EDT, but of course that was 10:30 EDT, which was too late. I slept well until around 4:00, and then it was intermittent. I found out why at 7:00 - I'd forgotten to set the alarm. I was awake then anyway, so I got up. I actually felt better when I woke up at 6:00, but oh, well. And after finally getting to get up when it wasn't completely dark, now it is again. I've always hated to get up in the dark.
I had the same thing happen that happened last week - I was early until I began to get ready to leave, and that took me so long that I was late. We had had a little bit of snow overnight, and that meant that the roads were covered with a light coating of snow, which meant it might be slippery, so I had to go at a moderate pace, and besides, I got behind a guy who was driving really strangely - slowly when it wasn't necessary and too fast at other times. I got to church at a reasonable time, though.
Church was good, and there was communion, so that was nice. I didn't get to sit with Mary Ann and Bill because he was deaconing and they sit in back when he does that.
After church, I had to shop and get gas. I spent more than I wanted to at Pat's because they had some new deli salads that I wanted to try. I really didn't want to go, but I was running out of some things I can't get at the Gaslite. So besides those things, I got a nice lamb chop and a lovely looking piece of whitefish, small fillets that only added up to 0.7 lb. I can't wait to eat it, but I had deli salads for lunch/dinner today.
Then i had to get gas, so it was nearly 2:30 when I got home. I moved everything to the platform outside the back door, changed my clothes (after I spent some time in the powder room) and had some salads. Some of the stuff is still out there, although the cold stuff is in the fridge. It's at or slightly below freezing in the breezeway, so it serves as a very handy second fridge. I wish it could do that all year.
I was relaxing and eating my salads when Mary Ann called. Evidently Pastor asked her to check on me, in case I got stuck in another snowdrift. I assured her that we don't have any aggressive snowdrifts anymore, and we had a nice, long conversation, but we didn't get to talk before church today. So that took up most of my afternoon.
When I filled the pill dispensers yesterday, I discovered that I'm running out of most of my prescriptions, so tonight I tried to refill them online and one was missing - that website is a continual source of frustration to me - so I had to call and refill them on the phone. I must try to remember that this year when it's time to enroll in Medicare, I have to call the broker and see if there's any other prescription service that can give me better service.
The weather was frigid again, but there was hardly any wind, which helped. The high temperature was 16º, briefly; for most of the afternoon it was about 14º. We had a few light snow squalls. On my way home, there was a little snow and I went through one area where there was fog - really weird. Now I know what "freezing fog" means. The skies were partly cloudy and there was enough sunshine that I wore my sunglasses on both sides of my commute.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson slept on me as much as he could, and while I was talking to Mary Ann, he got off and Louie got on for a while. They are both shedding. Not that they don't shed most of the time, but this is much more than the usual. Spring will come. They're telling me so. Grayson was interested when i went out to the breezeway to bring in the groceries, but he has not yet made any move to try to get out there. In fact, he usually runs in the other direction when I open the door. So he can learn.
So that was my day, and now it's a frigid, cloudy night in the field, but thankfully, the wind has died down.
March 11 I hate Daylight Savings Time. i think I've said that before.
So I'm going to be later than I wanted to be tonight, but there are just too many things to do. I have to fill the pill dispensers tonight, as well as wash my hair, so I'll be late. Sigh. And I know I won't want to get up at what, to me, is 6:00 tomorrow morning. My body never goes on DST, so I have a problem for most of the year. And someplace, not too long ago, I read that DST causes jetlag in people. I can attest to that, for sure! Dumb, dumb, dumb. It just means that our esteemed legislators care more about people who own malls and golf courses than they do about the vast majority of their constituents. Dumb, dumb, dumb. In my world, those people would be consigned to the outer darkness, where they could weep and gnash their teeth and I wouldn't be at bit sorry for them. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
So much for the yearly rant.
I was later than I wanted to be last night, of course. I think it was close to midnight when I got to bed. I slept well. The first time I got up, around 3:30, I had to take off my hoodie, because I was sweating. The wind was winding down, finally, and it was warming up a bit in the bedroom.
I got up around 9:30, which should have been enough sleep, but it wasn't. I put my hoodie back on and covered my legs with the robe and knitted my two rows. It took me two hours. It's easy knitting, and I didn't have any problems except for a couple of yarn-overs that I missed, but with more than 700 stitches on the needle, it just takes time. I discovered that I hadn't counted right on the sheet where I make tic marks to count the rows, and I don't know how I did it, but that was just a bit of confusion. It's such a pretty thing, and the yarn is so soft!
I didn't do a whole lot else. However, I did gather up the trash and put it either in the wastebasket in the house or the one in the breezeway, which is for the big stuff. I'm trying to keep things under control. I hope it continues to work. I really don't like those piles of trash on the counters.
The weather continues to be frigid and windy, although the wind is now down to more reasonable levels. It's 17 mph sustained with 25 mph gusts now, still from the north. When I got up this morning, it was snowing, but that stopped a little after noon, and there was even some sunshine this afternoon. I don't think there was much, if any, accumulation. The temperature got down to 9º about the time I got up, but it's 16º now, and with the lower winds, that's reasonable. I guess tomorrow is supposed to be about the same. This will continue through Tuesday or Wednesday and then it's supposed to warm up again. I hope so! As long as we don't have another blizzard, of course.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson slept on me as much as he could. Louie came around while Grayson was on my lap, but Grayson wouldn't move, so he went away. Louie got brushed this morning, and he didn't like it. In spite of the temperatures around here, they are beginning to shed. That confirms my suspicion that shedding is triggered by the longer days, not the temperatures. it's too bad. It was cold enough around here this week that they need their winter coats. Of course, they both shed all the time, but it gets worse in the spring.
So it was another quiet day, and now I need to run up to the north end and do my thing. It's another frigid, breezy night in the field.
March 10 Of course I was late last night. It was 2:00 before I turned out the light. I slept well, with only a couple of wakeups, and I got up around 10:30, so I think I almost got enough sleep.
I knitted, and these rows are easy, they're just long, so it took me two hours to do two rows. However, that included splicing in a new ball of yarn - twice, because I inadvertently left the scissors open and cut the thread. Moral: don't ever leave your scissors open when you put them down. I thought I knew that, but I was using my nail scissors and I didn't pay attention.
I had to go to the post office and to the store. Ron was kind enough to bring my mail out to me, so that wasn't bad, but getting into and out of the store is always hard. I usually try to park close enough to the railing on the steps that I can use my car to go down the last step, but I didn't get quite close enough this time, so I had to ask Jeff to help me, which he did, and he also helped me into the car. When it's slippery, I need somebody to wedge their foot against my left foot so that it doesn't slip when I get in, and he did that.
When I got home last night, a critter had apparently been trying to get into a bag of trash in the garage, and today when I got home, the trash was strewn all over the driveway. I managed to get it all into the garage again, but it needs a new bag. I just used the snow shovel to push everything in. It's a mess, and I guess i'll need somebody to help me get it bagged up again. Grr - the critters shouldn't be out yet!
It took me so long to do that that I was almost late getting back to US-41 to get my Schwan's order, but I made it, and everything I ordered was in it. All that activity, and how cold it is, left me exhausted and very sore, but it was after 4:00 before I finally got the groceries packed away.
The weather was frigid, and it's still extremely windy. The low this morning was 5º, but it's finally gotten up to 15º. The trouble is the wind - it's still blowing at around 28 mph with gusts to 40 mph, from the north. and around the time I was out, the gusts were around 40 mph. When I was out cleaning up the trash, I kept hearing things that sound like flapping, but if it is, it's on a part of the house I can't see from the driveway. It doesn't make me very comfortable. Anyway, the wind chill was well below 0º. I had enough clothes on top that I was warm there, but my legs got pretty cold. There was a little snow early this morning, but most of the day was partly cloudy, and there was enough sunshine that I had to wear my sunglasses when I was out. It's supposed to stay frigid until Wednesday, when it will warm up to over freezing again - the same cycle we've had all winter. At least the wind should be dying down some. It's the weird, windy winter.
The guys slept. Grayson has been most unhappy, because he only got a little lap time. I hate it when he walkes away and goes thump! on the floor, but hey, I was busy. He even played with one of the cat toys for a while. Poor Grayson. I haven't seen Louie, but that's pretty normal. He slept with me for part of the night, and he slept under my feet while I was knitting. He got some loving this morning. And they got some of their favorite canned food this morning, although they haven't eaten a lot of it yet. Maybe they like it better when it's beginning to get hard.
So that was my day, and I'm tired and I hurt. The humidity hasn't been that bad but it's been over 70% all day, and I could tell. Shoulders, hips and knees were all bad. Sigh.
Now it's a frigid, dark, windy night in the field and maybe I can go to bed at a reasonable hour?
March 9 It was only 62º in the bathroom when I went up to wash my hair last night, so I turned on the heat lamps and sat for a while, so I was even later than I thought I'd be. I slept well, in my hoodie and bed socks, and I got up around 10:30. I knitted, with some difficulty. I had made a number of mistakes yesterday and I kept losing my concentration at first today, so it was slow going, but I did get two rows done - 696 stitches.
I was so late that I didn't get to do everything I wanted. I hadn't read the chapter of the book we were going to talk about tonight, so I had to do that. We did get to church. The road was fine, and somebody came around and cleaned up the mess in front of the garage so that I could get out. The worst part of the trip down was at Lake Medora, where it always drifts across the road when the wind is from the north or west, and it was near-whiteout for several hundred yards, but after that it was good. There was ice on the road on the covered road, but the rest of US-41 was clear and dry. It was nice to be able to pass a couple of drivers who somehow thought it was still icy.
Bible study was good, with some good discussion, and choir turned out to be good, too, when Kathleen finally arrived (she had been in Ontonagon). but it was long. We didn't get out until almost 9:30. At that time of night it's nice to have somebody else in the car.
So I'm late. I didn't get here until 10:30 and then I had to make and eat my dinner. I'm tired.
The weather was frigid. The temperature hovered around 20º all day and the wind was from the north with gusts up to 40 mph, which put the wind chill down around 0º. To make it easier, it was clear or nearly clear all day. It was nice to sit in the sun, and we had to use our sunglasses on the trip south. I guess the next few days are supposed to be just as cold, or colder. Hey, this is March! It's supposed to be getting warmer!
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me as much as he could, but I wasn't sitting as much as I usually do. I don't know where Louie was, but he was sitting at the end of the hallway when I got home. He was probably up in the bathroom, which is slightly warmer than it was here.
So that was another day. It was nice to be back at church. Now it's a clear, frigid, windy night in the field, and I'm tired.
March 8 Man, is it cold around here!
I think it was around 11:30 when I finally got to bed. I went right to sleep and I didn't wake up until around 2:30. However, then I couldn't get back to sleep. While I was lying there, all of a sudden it felt like somebody had stuck a knife into the back of my left hip. Ouch! So after thrashing around for a few minutes, I got up, but that didn't help, and I couldn't get back to sleep. Finally, around 4:30 or so, I realized I was probably cold, so I put on my fleece hoodie, and shortly thereafter, my hip felt better and then I got back to sleep, although I was up one more time, and I got up around 9:30. That wasn't nearly enough sleep, but oh, well. It was 62º in the bedroom when I went to get dressed, and it was 59º in the studio.
I covered myself up with the fleece robe, and I got my two rows knitted, although I dropped something on the purl row, like I usually seem to. While I was knitting, I had two cats under my feet, curled up on the fleece. THEY know how to keep warm!
I didn't do anything. I was sleepy and tired and creaky, so I just sat. My main proofreader assured me that I have the bulletins right this week, so that made me feel better.
All that is because of the weather. It has been blowing nearly a gale all day, and finally, around 8:00, we got to a bona fide gale - 39 mph sustained winds with 52 mph gusts. I mean, it's blowing! Needless to say, besides my sore hip and cold feet, the other reason I couldn't sleep was the noise. The wind is from the north, but it's so strong that it sounds like it's trying to tear all the siding and shingles off my house. Besides, by the time I woke up the first time, the temperature was on its way down, and it's been nearly steady between 16º and 18º all day, which puts the wind chill well below zero. And it snowed, off and on in lake effect waves. I don't think there was much accumulation, but at times we had white out conditions. And this is March! This isn't supposed ot happen now. It was cloudy and dull all day, lighter at times, and darker at times, depending upon the lake effect waves.
Like I said, the cats slept under me and under the tent of my robe, and they've been going someplace all day. I don't know where Louie goes, but Grayson spent as much time as he could on my lap. One time, Louie came and wanted to sit on me, too, but my lap isn't big enough for both of them. Too bad I sit in a chair instead of a love seat. They got some canned food today, but they didn't seem to like it very well. Too bad.
Ron reported that the road was better than he thought it would be, and there was not as much drifting as one would expect with the wind as high as it's been. He thinks it's because the harbor is fairly open, and he could be right, but I think it's also because we didn't get very much snow and the base is rock-hard ice. Whatever, it's nice not to be drifted in. I sort of am anyway - there is 12" or so in front of my garage, so I'm not sure I'll be able to get out tomorrow if i decide i want to go. I will have to get out on Friday, though.
Oh, yeah, and as you would expect, we've had several power failures. What's nice is that the computer has been solid, as has the UPS. I think the problem I had with the UPS the last time is that we had a power surge that set its circuit breaker. Now that I know that, I can deal with it. I had to reset the clock in the bedroom twice, and I haven't set the one in the bathroom, because I can only set that on the hour, and I've ignored the ones in the kitchen until I'm sure we're over the glitches. We may have had another one a little while ago. I guess the only thing about that that surprises me is that we haven't had a real outage so far. Ron said a really big tree came down not far from US-41, but Dave has a chainsaw, so they were able to get it cleared this morning. Well, the generator self-tested today, so I guess I'm in good shape. Ah, the joys of living in the northwoods! This has been a long winter.
So that was another quiet day, and whether or not I go to church tomorrow, I have to wash my hair tonight. Of course I waited until it's just as cold as possible in the house, but that seems to be the way I operate.
It's a frigid gale in the field tonight.
March 7 Sigh. I zoned out again last night, and it was close to 1:30 before I got to bed. I had a little trouble getting to sleep, but once I did, I did good.
I got up around 10:30 and knitted. The part I'm working on now is easier than I thought it would be, so it's going fairly fast for the number of stitches. I'm getting to the end of a ball of yarn, but it looks like I'll have at least one ball left. That's nice, because I really love this yarn and I'll be able to make a scarf or something out of the rest. This is such a pretty thing!
I didn't do much, but I did get a first cut at the bulletins done. I tried to be careful, and I think I got everything right, but I'm going to have to trust my proofreaders. I really screwed up last week, and I don't want it to happen again.
The weather was weird again. It blew hard overnight, and around 6:00, there were gusts that sounded louder than anything I've ever heard before, but the weather station only reported 39 mph gusts. I wonder about that, but I don't have any way to check it. In spite of what the forecasts said, from that time on, the wind has been from the west to northwest and so far it hasn't been nearly as strong as they predicted. However, we have another day of this stuff. There was some snow, too, between 6:00 and 11:00, but not much, and it melted pretty fast. The high temperature was 46º, but that was overnight, and it went down into the 30s before it went up to 42º during the day. Mostly it was cloudy, but we had a period between 2:30 and 6:30 when it was clear or nearly clear. Ah, sunshine! Probably part of the reason I had some trouble sleeping is that it was extremely humid overnight - over 90% - but then it dropped to around 60% and the barometer rose, so both I and the cats felt much better today. Not that i don't hurt, it's just not so much.
The guys slept, and Grayson slept on me for a lot of the time, except when I was typing. This evening, they were both skittering around for a while. I brought in some more canned cat food, so they'll have something yummy tomorrow.
So it was another very quiet day. I've been having trouble with my eyes lately. I think it's because it's been so dry in the house, but my eyes have been very dry, which interferes with my ability to see. I've been using the greasy night stuff in them, though, and they were much better today. I guess they were bad yesterday because I didn't use it the night before. Lesson learned. I'll just have to use it until it warms up and it gets more humid in the house. Before you start emailing me, I haven't been able to use the humidifier this winter because of the condition of the basement. It's my own fault, but that's the way it is. Besides, last winter, I destroyed the finish on my windows because it was so humid at the north end. Nothing is every exactly right.
Now it's a cloudy, warmish, and extremely windy night, but that means it will be a good night to sleep. And I will. Right now, they're playing Mozart (Piano Concerto #20 with Uchida) and when that's over with, I'll be gone. Really.
March 6 I wasn't as early getting to bed as I wanted to be, of course. I think I was too tired to move. I did make it by 10:00. I slept well, with the usual wakeups, and I got up around 8:00. I knitted my two rows, with some difficulty. Actually, only the start was difficult. I kept dropping things right at the beginning of the first row and it took me some time to recover. I think it's right now. At least it looks OK. After that, I made good time, but it took me two hours, unlike the hour and a half on Saturday.
I didn't do anything. I hurt, probably because the humidity is up again, so I just sat. I still don't feel very good otherwise, either.
The weather was weird again, and it's going to get weirder. The temperature is 43º now, and it's breezy. The wind got up to 34 mph gusts a while ago, and then it died back a bit. There was some light rain, but not a lot. The humidity is over 95%. Oh, my aching joints! The story is that over the next two days, we are going to have more very high winds, maybe as high as 55 mph gusts (but the NWS always overstates) and some rain which will turn to snow Tuesday night and Wednesday. Yuck. Well, it's still winter, and this has been the windy winter, for sure. I need to go to the store - I'm running out of JD - but I'll have to pick my time. It was cloudy and dull, but not quite as bad as yesterday, and there was fog down the harbor for most of the day. Yes, that was fog, not snow, for once.
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me a lot, but I didn't see Louie until I went to get my dinner, when he started yelling for some reason. Sometimes I think he does that just to make sure I'm still here and I know he is, too.\
So that was a quiet day. I just finished my dinner, so I'll be late tonight, but I want to sit a little while to digest. It's a dark, cloudy, windy night, but it's still warm. Just wait.
March 5 This is early, but I'm going to crash. I got enough sleep last night, but I don't feel good, and the best thing I can do for that is sleep. I got to bed about 10:00, which was later than I wanted, but still early enough. I slept well, but I was up several times. The last time was around 6:00, but I felt so lousy that I didn't want to get up then, so I slept until just before 7:00. Canny me, I woke up about three minutes before 7;00, so I could turn the alarm off before it sounded. I have it set on music, but it still startles me, because at 7:00 they are breaking the station and there is talking.
I was really good. I read my devotion and my funnies and nothing else, so I was early going to get dressed and early to get ready to go. I was only a little later than I wanted to be when I backed out of the garage. Our road was good, but US-41 from it to Copper Harbor was snow or ice covered, and there was a tree down on the other side (more about the reasons later) and I hit Copper Harbor just as the Copper Dog dog race was getting set up and they had the road closed, so I had to find my way around that. The rest of the trip was good, with the road mostly just wet, but that plus the time it took to get from my house to the blinker made me a bit later than I wanted to be. Sigh.
Church was good, although I discovered that I'd screwed up the bulletin. I sang, even though I wasn't at practice on Thursday. I was glad I decided not to go then. Faye said that it was 9:15 before they got out, and that means it would have been after 10:00 before I got home. Yuck.
I was a little late leaving, because I met the lady who is printing the bulletins and we had a nice talk, and then I was waiting for Pastor, who had some sick list information for me, but I think I got home around 12:45, because it was a short service. Pastor has very good terminal facilities, and sometimes his sermons are quite short. If he says what he needs to say in 15 minutes, I don't think anyone is going to complain too much.
I didn't do a whole lot else. I had to make rice, and while it was coming to a boil, I began filling the dishwasher. I will have to wash in a day or so, and it was nice to get all that stuff out of the sink. I tapped my store of frozen whitefish for dinner, and oh my, it was good. I'm just not very hungry. although I did have some cheese and crackers when I got home.
The weather was, um, interesting. It has been all winter. It was extremely windy overnight, with gusts up to 44 mph mostly from the south. It was very noisy, even though there wasn't any lake noise, and sometimes it sounded like all the siding was coming off the house. It's still windy, but it's died down to 30 mph gusts. It was warm. At midnight it was 29º and now it's 37º, which is where it's been for most of the afternoon. It was very cloudy and dull and gray. Blah.
The guys knew what to do - they slept. Grayson slept on me a lot. I think after my escapade in the snowdrift, every time I go out, he expects me not to come back, so he's very happy when I do. Louie tried once, sitting on the laptop, but I was doing something else, like eating, so he went away.
So it was another quiet day, and I feel bad enough that I am going to bed early. Oops. Backup just asked for my DVD, so I'm glad I didn't go earlier. Once that's done, I'm out of here. It's a warmish, windy, very cloudy night in the field.
March 4 Of course it was 11:00 before I got to bed again. I slept fairly well, although I was up four times (fish, you know) and I hurt. I guess it must have been the humidity, which was high overnight. I got up about 8:30. I could have slept longer, but I decided it might make it easier for me to get to sleep tonight.
I knitted two more rows - 656 stitches - and I'm very pleased by the way this is developing. Of course, I dropped something, which I frequently do on a purl row, but I think I managed to get things back together right. It never ceases to amaze me how the huge holes I leave when I'm fiddling seem to go away. Alpaca is slippery, though, and I wonder if I would have more problems if I was using real Shetland wool. Maybe I'll find out someday, since there are a couple more Shetland patterns I would like to knit, and I would like to use real Shetland cobweb yarn.
As usual, I didn't do very much. I did get the towels, sheets and placemats washed and they are in the dryer. And I now have just about a load of bottoms to wash. Three days in a row. It's depressing.
The weather was weird again. When I turned out the light last night, there was a very bright, narrow crescent moon dropping in the west. I mean, it was very bright for as small as it was, just as bright as the lighthouse on my walls. After it set, there were stars all night. A week or so ago, I woke up around 5;00 and when I looked out the front windows, I said, "Gee, that looks a lot like the head of Leo." When I checked the planisphere, yes indeed, it was Leo. If you do astrology, I was born under Leo, and I've always thought of it as "my" constellation. I was up around 4:00 this morning, and it wasn't quite as low in the west, but it's certainly there.
The temperature bottomed out at -2º around 7:00 this morning, which wasn't surprising with clear skies and almost no wind. Between 7:00 and 9:00, it rose abruptly to 18º as the sun came up, and it finally topped out at 32º around 5:00. However, between 9:00 and 10:00 the wind picked up from the south, and it's now up to 17 mph sustained with 31 mph gusts. The temperature is holding, though, and it's supposed to be warm - like almost 40º - tomorrow. This certainly has been a weird winter! It was clear and blue all day, although there are some little clouds off in the west that I don't like very well. It was so nice to sit in the sunshine with a cat sleeping in my lap.
They slept. After Grayson got off my lap, they both slept in the great room, where there is the most sunshine.
I still don't feel good. I'm OK until about 4:00 PM, and then it all goes to pot. It seems to be the Shari syndrome again and not any specific ailment. I was moving rather well today, but that seems to be because the humidity went down to something reasonable, like 60%. I forgot to mention that I have been dealing with a gout attack. It hit my right thumb joint last Sunday, and while it's not as painful as it was then, it's stiff and sore. I think it was the herring. I have a weakness for pickled herring. I got a small jar to celebrate the New Year, and it was sooo good that i got a bigger jar, and that was a mistake. So now I am trying to watch what I eat and hope that this will go away soon. Well, at least it didn't hit my toe. And no more herring (unfortunately) until next New Year. What it means is that I had a frozen chicken pot pie instead of a little piece of steak for dinner tonight. Sigh.
So now it's a warm, windy night in the field, and shortly I will be tottering up to the north end to get ready for church tomorrow.
March 3 As usual, I didn't get to bed as early as I wanted to. It was about 11:00 when I turned out the light. I think I lay there about 30 seconds before I was asleep, although I did finish my prayers. I was up three times, and I got up not long after 9:00. I felt much better until around dinnertime.
I knitted my two rows, and it only took me about an hour and a half, but from now for the next dozen rows, it's going to be harder, since it's mostly openwork with not much plain knitting, and the pattern rows on the purl rows are the hard ones. Well, I decided to do it this way, so I'll just have to forge ahead. The border is so lacy, mostly holes. I think this is going to be even more beautiful than the Forest Floor stole, which was my first (or second, depending upon how you look at it) lace project and is still one of my favorites even with all its problems. I think I've done a shawl in most of the other ethic styles, as well as a number of modern ones, and I still find Shetland shawls the most beautiful. This isn't a historical pattern, but the designer is very true to the tradition.
I didn't do much else. I had to change my bottoms, and I'm gathering a load of them that will need to be washed soon, but I have to wash the load of towels that's soaking. I plan to do that tomorrow, and add all the placemats that never got properly rinsed and the crumpled up sheets. I did decide to do the sheets over. The yellow didn't all come out, so it won't hurt them to be washed over again.
While my dinner was cooking, I got the dishwasher unloaded, and maybe tomorrow I can begin to load it again. I'm running out of medium plates and cereal bowls already - those are the ones I seem to use most of. Have I mentioned lately that I have always hated to do anything that had to be done over again? No wonder I've always been a terrible housekeeper!
The weather was frigid. The high temperature was only 16º, and it's down to 9º already. It was quite windy all night, but the wind has now died down to calm, so at least we don't have to contend with that. It was cloudy to partly cloudy all day, and nearly clear at sunset. It will be a cold night.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson got a lot of lap time, and Louie got some loving this morning.
So that was my day. I wrote the next episode of Trine 14 tonight - it wasn't a long one - so now I can attack how to proceed. Whatsername still doesn't have a name, and since she's a principal character in this story, i find it hard to go on without knowing who she really is. It will come to me eventually. Eventually I'll find my list of possible names, too. I know it's around here someplace. If you saw this place you'd understand why it's hard for me to find one sheet of paper.
Now it's a frigid, nearly clear night in the field.
March 2 i was late last night, but I had to wash my hair, and I spent the usual time zoning out. It was 1:00 before I got to bed. i was only up twice, and I got up around 9:30. I didn't want to - I had to go back into the bedroom and get my glasses - but I wanted to knit. As a result, I didn't go to church tonight and I don't feel very good. I will be going to bed soon.
I knitted two rows, but after the next one, things get difficult, and I doubt I'll be able to do more than one (geez - my right and left hands are totally out of sync tonight!). Anyway, things are coming along well, and I'm happy I'm making such a beautiful thing.
I didn't do much else. Yesterday or the day before, I realized I had misplaced the small blue tote that I keep stuff like my cell phone and my checkbook, as well as a few other things women usually keep in their humungous purses. I looked all over for it yesterday and finally gave up. This morning, i remembered that when I came down to the front vestibule to hang up my long coat, I brought it with me and there it was, on top of the pile behind the navy chair. So now I have everything up to date again, and I know where everything is. I hate it when I do things like that, but I find my very short-term memory isn't what it used to be, and it never was very good.
I had a nasty accident after breakfast and had to change my bottoms, but I was planning to go to church. Mary Ann called to say she wasn't going, because she is still coughing. I read my chapter for Bible study. But by the time I had to leave, I was getting tired and not feeling very good, so I bailed. I'm glad i did. By the time i would have been driving home, I was very tired and headachy, and I don't like to drive, especially in this weather, when I feel like that. Beides, I would have to have worn my parka, dirty or not.
The weather was frigid. The high temperature, 24º, was at 10:00 this morning, and it went down after that, to around 17º for the rest of the afternoon. After the wind being almost calm for most of the night, around 3:00 it began to rise, and now it's up to 23 mph, with gusts to 31 mph from the north. We had several periods of snow this morning, but it was partly cloudy for most of the afternoon. I don't think there was much snow.
The guys were mostly sleeepy, and Grayson got a lot of lap time. When I went out to the powder room before I got my dinner, he was dancing around like he feels pretty good, but the barometer is rising. I didn't see a lot of Louie after this morning.
So that was another quiet day, and now it's a frigid, windy night in the field.
March 1 - Ash Wednesday Well, now it's March, and hopefully the winter is winding down. You wouldn't have known it last night, though.
I was late again, of course. I think I turned out the light before midnight, but I don't remember. I slept well, with only two wakeups, and I got up around 10:30. I actually woke up around 10:00, because I hurt, and I dozed for a while. Twice last night, I woke up from dreams, which I'm glad to see. They were both strange, but it's been a long time since I've done that. I have always embraced my dreams, even though some of them are nightmares, and there is one story that even took up where a rather nasty dream left off. The story isn't nasty, though.
I knitted, and I got another two rows done. Pretty soon, though, I won't be able to do two rows, especially since the serious pattern rows are the purl ones for the next 20 or so, and that means slow - very slow. I'm making progress. I'm about at row 37, I think - that's out of 80. I folded the underwear and put it away, finally.
Otherwise, I didn't do much. I put my towels in the washer to soak. I must really start washing towels every month. The brown rust and other stuff in my water makes my towels get really nasty looking, and only soaking them in bleach for several days gets it out. I think, though, if I washed them every month and soaked them for a day or two, it would work out. I'll have to try that. This time, it will be about 6 weeks, but that's all right. I tried to fold the sheets that have been in the laundry room since last fall, but since i can't raise my arms over my head, that was frustrating, and I only got one done before my back started telling me I had to stop. I guess I didn't realize how huge queen sized sheets are, and these have been in a washbasket so long that they are hopelessly wrinkled. No, I won't wash them over, although that's an option.
I was late enough that after I did my surfing, there wasn't much time left. I realized again that all my placemats had never had the soap washed out of them, and I will have to fix that, too, and be more careful about the settings on the washer. Sometimes when I spill OJ or JD on the placemat, I try to get it up before it soaks in, but now everything tastes like soap - yuck!!
Ron came by late in the afternoon with my mail and a package, for which I thank him. The weld on the blower has failed again, so we'll have to find another solution to that problem. For the time being, they have a temporary fix that seems to work, but it needs a permanent solution.
The weather was so-so. It was very windy overnight and this morning, with gusts up to 34 mph from the east. The lake was singing loudly. Around 3:00 PM, it started to die down and shift to the north, and now it's down to 13 mph. The high temperature for the day was only 25º, but that was at midnight, and it was 21º for most of the day. It was cloudy but fairly bright all day.
The guys slept. Grayson slept mostly on me, and while I was knitting this morning, Louie wanted my attention. He finally got it, but for a while he slept under my feet.
So that was another quiet day. I decided last night that I wasn't going to church tonight, and I was glad i did. When I went out to get my dinner, about the time the service would have been ending, I was so tired, I was glad I didn't have to drive home.
Now it's a cloudy, cold night in the field, but the lake is quieting down finally.
Last updated 04/01/18 10:47 PM |