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A View From the Field |
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June, 2019 June 30 Gack! Half the year is over! Gack!
I got to bed at 9:30 last night, with all the pill dispensers full except that I forgot one thing in the bedtime box. I slept fairly well, although I was up several times. I would rather have stayed asleep when the alarm went off, but it wasn't as bas as most Sundays. Not having to take a bath helped a lot, but I have to do it sometime and usually I'd like to be nice and clean and shiny for Sunday. I kept moving, mostly, but it was still after 9:00 when I left the house. That should have been early enough but I ran across some excessively slow drivers - no RVs, though, just people meandering down the highway at 10 mph under the speed limit. I managed to pass them eventually, but it slowed me down a lot.
Church was good. I don't really like Divine Service 5 because it's the one that the liturgy is all hymns and we do a lot of singing, although at least today, we sang a lot of them while sitting down. I still had to sit a couple of times when everybody else was jumping up and down. While I wasn't in too much pain while I was sitting, when I had to lever myself up on my arms, my left arm was sore enough to make it hard. I did manage to sing and I did manage to get to the communion rail for communion.
There were a lot of people there today, including four young men who occasionally worship with us and who sat in front of me because the other side was full. One of them is one of the hunkiest blonds I have seen in a long time, and he must be at least 6'4" tall. I noticed that he was having a hard time finding a place for his legs while he was sitting down. Our church was designed by little people and the pews leave something to be desired.
Anyway, the ladies who did the setup miscalculated, and Stuart, who was deaconing, had to fill a whole tray of cups in the middle of communion. Thing is, even without all the extra people, they still didn't fill enough. I don't know what they were thinking. Yes, it's a pain to have to pour the leftovers into a little bottle to save, but it's more of a pain to have to run into the sacristy and fill more. I hope they learned their lesson. It's very hard to predict how many people will be at a service in the summertime, as people come through on their vacations. Tsk.
Despite all the singing and all the people, I was still home by 1:00, which was nice. When I turned down our road, for the second time lately, there was a deer standing in the middle of the road, and we just sat and looked at each other for several seconds before it moved off. Hey, guy, this is my road, not yours!
I didn't do much else, except that I wound all the yarn I've gotten lately into balls, so now I can begin to use it. I had less trouble with the yarn winder and the swift than usual, but i had a hard time moving around the desk, which is where I put it all. I can't do anything else while I'm winding balls, even though the winder is electric. The suction cup on the bottom doesn't work, and without it, the winder moves, so I have to hold it. And if I don't watch the yarn on the swift, it will get all tangled up, although I think I finally figured out how they tie those hanks, and it should be easier in the future.
Actually, I was (and still am) waiting for an email from Pastor. We had a member pass away on Friday and the service is at church on Tuesday, which means a bulletin. and the timing is rather tight. Otherwise, I just sat. I'm not as tired as I sometimes am on Sundays, but I am tired.
Oh, and while I was sitting, I heard a car door slam, and shortly thereafter, I started hearing barking. I have neighbors. I'm sure they are nice people, but they have dogs that bark, sometimes continuously. I was wondering if they would come for the Fourth this year, because they didn't make it last year. I wonder if they will be setting off fireworks this year.
The weather was sort of blah. It was beautifully clear overnight, and I got to see the Big Dipper straight down on the west side of the pole and I got to see my summer star (Arcturus) out the front windows. When I got up, it was cloudy, and it stayed that way all day, so it was dull and gray. The high temperature here got to 70º late in the afternoon, but it was humid. There was a bit of a breeze, with gusts up to 24 mph, before 5:00, but now it's nearly calm. Blah.
The guys did their thing. While I was sitting in the bathroom after i got home, Louie came in and said "mrow" very quietly and got a bit of petting. Grayson slept on my lap for a long time after I got to the studio.
So that was my day, and now it's a coolish, cloudy night in the field and I need to go to bed. And the year is half over. Sigh.
June 29 I think it was about midnight when I turned out the light last night. I slept fairly well, although I was up four times - the fish, you know - and I got up around 10:30, maybe? I don't remember. Whatever, I had enough time to have a nice breakfast and do some of my surfing, although those 70 ad-emails just had to wait and I ended up throwing most of them away. I don't like to turn them off, because every so often there's something I'm interested in, but most of the time, it's just annoying junk, especially the ones that send me the same emails twice a day for an entire week!
So I curled my hair and got dressed and went off to my appointment. Well, I have a picture, and it isn't bad, I guess. If I don't like it, it's not that it's a bad picture, it's that I don't like what I look like anymore...if I ever did. I will be getting a copy of the picture, and I will scan it and put it on the "Mission" page, although it probably won't be a month or so. The company does this thing all over the country, I think, and they're very efficient. It sure is neat to be able to view the pictures they took right after they take them. Ah, modern conveniences!
I got home about 4:00, I think, and I didn't do anything much, although I did fill the pill dispensers at the south end. I will do the ones at the north end as soon as I get up there. How to waste a Saturday.
The weather was meh - or maybe ugh. When I got up this morning, it was foggy, but the fog went away before 11:00 and for a while it was beautifully clear, but cool. Around 4:30 it started to cloud up, although the camera isn't showing what it's really like. The high temperature was 75º just a while ago, but for most of the day it was under 60º, at least here. It was in the middle to upper 70s in Laurium. There was almost no wind. I'm all sweaty again, but that's because I just ate something hot.
The guys slept, I think. Grayson has - or had - a tummy ache, and sometime in the middle of the night he gave up everything he had just eaten, partly in front of the closet and partly on my bedside rug. I'm sorry I couldn't cuddle him. Louie is still going after him, which makes me mad.
So that's the kind of day it was. I have to fill the pill dispensers, but I don't have to wash my hair tonight - even though I probably ought to, since I'm dripping. But I won't, so I should be in bed nice and early and maybe I'll be a little more able to make it through church tomorrow. It's a warmish, partly cloudy evening in the field.
June 28 Well, I made it into bed at just a bit after 11:00 last night, and I slept fairly well until around 6:00 - with the usual wakeups, of course. After that, I didn't sleep deeply, but it was still 8:30 when I woke up. That was much later than I intended, so I had to rush, and try as I might, I left late and got to the clinic late and then I had to get my blood drawn.
Frankly, I might as well not have gone. My blood work looks good, I will keep taking tamoxifin and see him again the first of October. I was out of there by 12:15.
I went off to Pat's to get just a few things I needed and I had to get gas. I think I was home by 1:30.
I'm writing this early because I have to wash my hair tonight, for my picture tomorrow. Ugh. I do not want to do that! But I guess I will. And I felt terrible when I got up and it hasn't gotten better as the day wore on. Even though I should have gotten enough sleep last night, I just don't do well when I have to get up so early. And I hurt today, both my shoulder and my hip. The oncologist suggested maybe I need to see an orthopedist and maybe get a shot in my shoulder to ease the pain, but I don't know about that. When I see my primary care doctor, I will ask him.
One reason I hurt so much is that it was humid today. The humidity has been over 75% all day. The temperature here only got to 66º, but it was 81º in Calumet when I left. Much too hot for me. And it's up to 82º here in the studio, but I don't want to open the window, because it's only 62º outside and I would probably get chilled and seize up. It was mostly clear here, but there was that line of cumulous clouds over the spine of the Keweenaw all day. It was neat to drive through that. The wind here has been calm since 11:00 this morning.
When I was coming in last night, I got my first black fly bite of the season - on the first joint of my left thumb. It alternately hurts and itches, but it isn't blistering or anything. It will be gone in a couple of days. I was wondering why I'd only gotten mosquito bites, so now I"ve gotten the other kind, too. They were hanging around the garage when I came in last night, because my garage door isn't closing without being kicked right now.
Louie is still going after Grayson, but I didn't see him until about the time I went to get my dinner. Grayson got a lot of lap time this afternoon and he got off me by himself both times. I did have to move him when I left this morning. And I had to wave my cane at him when I went out to get my milk after I got home. He thought he was going to get out into the breezeway, but I managed to prevent it. After I came in and closed the door, he looked at me so accusingly. Too bad, buddy. You're not allowed out there.
So that was another day and now I must go and wash my hair so I look presentable tomorrow. It's a cool (or warm, depending where you are) clear night in the field. And I'm tired.
June 27 I did the best I could, but it was still 2:30 before I got to bed. It is just so hard to shower that I postpone it as long as I can. There was the cat issue, too. More about that later.
I didn't get up until after 11:00 and I knitted, I started the toe of the sock, so I'm almost through with that one! It's been a long project for a pair of socks I was mostly working on. I have the Z-socks on the needles and i got a new skein of yarn the other day - called "blue violet tonal" that i must cast on, even though I'm planning to work mostly on whichever shawl I decide to start with. I'm leaning toward an Estonian triangle, although when the directions start by saying "Cast on 651 stitches" I hesitate a bit. It's so pretty, though, that it will probably be the one. It's white.
We went to choir and Bible Study tonight. Choir was very good, although our accompanist wasn't there. We got to work hard on a couple of things we'll be singing soon. Bible Study was good, too. We are studying the book of Micah for the summer and I'd never read it. Even at Chapter 2 there have been some surprises, at least for me. It went a little later than last week, though, so I didn't get home until about 9:30. I had a fast dinner and I intend to be in bed at or before 11:00.
The weather was so-so. It started out clear but it soon clouded up. The high temperature was 70º, but that was this morning. It kept yo-yoing between 55º and 65º all day as the wind shifted or went calm. The humidity went up, too, into the 70s and while we were at church and on the way home there were a few little showers. At least here, it was nothing much, and the ground under the trees didn't even get wet.
Ah, the cats. When I came out of the bathroom after my bath, Grayson was in the window seat washing his bottom. Louie jumped up - I found out how he gets there - and attacked Grayson. He wasn't playing, he was attacking. Grayson tried to fight back, but he isn't a fighter. So I had to get up, go over to the window seat (no cane) and I bopped Louie on top of his head with my devotional booklet to make him go away, which he did. I do not understand what has gotten into Louie lately. He has been beating up on Grayson any time he thinks he has a chance. Grayson can sort of fight back with those sharp little claws and teeth, but he is no fighter and Louie probably weighs twice what he does. I've been throwing things like underpants at Louie, but last night all I had was my devotions, so I had to go over to them. I didn't want to stick my arm in there, because they both have sharp claws and teeth. Today I think they mostly slept. Grayson didn't get to sleep on me nearly as much as he wanted, because I had to run to the bathroom (made it), and then I went away. He was looking out the door when I got home.
So that was my day and now i have to go to bed. Soon. I have an appointment with the oncologist at 11:00 tomorrow, and then on Saturday I have to get my picture taken (ugh!!) for the church directory, so it will be a busy weekend and a lot of wear-and-tear on the car.
Now it's a warmish, cloudy, humid night in the field.
June 26 I was late again last night, and I didn't sleep as well as I might have wished. Hopefully, it will be better tonight. I'm tired.
I didn't get up until noon, and I knitted, I have only about 10 rows left on the foot before I start the toe of the red sock. I'll be glad to get that done. Then I can decide which lace I want to make next. I've had enough plain knitting for a while.
It appears that it is taking me a half hour to get dressed these days, and it isn't easy. As a result, I was so late that I went to the post office before I ate. I have my yarn and my book (more shawls, and good ones, too) and a bunch of other stuff. I saw Mary Ann, but it was quiet around there. Now I have a lot of skeins of yarn to wind into balls. Maybe I can start that tomorrow.
The weather was summery. The high temperature at the weather station was 81º, and it was hot at the community center, too, but I watched the temperature plunge as I got down to this end of the harbor, and I think it was only about 67º, according to my car. I need to get my weather station fixed, but I didn't get to that today. It was sunny all day and there was a nice breeze from the north to northwest, in the 10-15 mph range. No doubt that's why it was so much cooler here. Not that I'm complaining, of course. The skies started out clear and got sort of cloudy around sunset.
The guys were sleepy, and I put down new canned food so late that they weren't real interested in it. Louie has been going after Grayson a lot lately, so now he has a couple of scratches on his nose. When I see it happening, I try to stop it - I've been throwing things like underpants at him - but I'm sure it happens when I'm not around. I don't know what the problem is. Grayson did get to sleep on my lap for a while late in the day, but he sort of kept me from going to the bathroom, which was yucky.
So it was another very quiet day and now It's time to stop all this nonsense and go to bed. I'm sweaty and hot, too. It's a partly cloudy, warm summer night in the field.
June 25 I'm starting to invert again, but this time it wasn't completely on purpose. I went to bed around 2:00AM, but when I got to bed, I was freezing and my feet were like two blocks of ice. After I tried to fight it for a while, I got up again and when I went back to bed I actually put on my bed socks. That helped, and after that I slept well, except that it was so late that I didn't get up until after 11:00. I knitted a while - my shoulder wasn't too sore, because I'd been sleeping on that side - and fiddled around a while, so I didn't eat until very late.
I discovered that the yarn for Debbie's elbow warmer actually was delivered on Saturday - geez! - but I was too late to go to the post office. I hope I can go tomorrow, but we'll see, since it's so late now. Otherwise, I washed a load of clothes that still need to be put in the dryer - oops! I forgot that - and did my surfing.
I really, really wanted to write a bit, so after the talking stopped I did that for a while. I didn't get much done and I'm not sure it was very good, but I filled in a hole in Trine 14 that has been bugging me. There's another one, but I haven't gotten to it yet, since I have to read forward to it.
The weather was nice enough that I was sorry I didn't get outside. Actually not - it was hot, and for once it was cooler inside than out. The high temperature, at least at the weather station, was 79º, but it was quite windy, with gusts that got up to 39 mph from the northwest, and that kept it cooler here. The humidity got quite low when it was hot, because the dew point was nearly steady in the low 50s. It was clear until late in the day, when it got partly cloudy, and from what I couldn't see after dark, I think there was - or maybe still is - some fog in the harbor. I need to get out and get the temperature sensor fixed - the battery is dead - but I haven't gotten to that yet. I was having a hard enough time getting around inside.
The guys slept and I didn't see much of them. Grayson did get to sit on me for a while, but he wanted to lean against my left arm and that was just too painful, so finally I had to make him go away. I filled the kibble bowls, so that made them happy.
So that was another lost day. Now it's a dark, possibly foggy night in the field and I'm exhausted again.
June 24 Late as usual. I was quite late last night, but I slept well and I got up around 10:00, I think. It was a quiet day. i didn't do anything much but my surfing. It rained, so I hurt.
I'm going to have to do something, though. I've developed a leak in my freezer, most likely from the ice maker, and there is now a puddle of ice in the bottom of the freezer. It needs to be fixed. The bottom shelf of the freezer is actually a basket, and it keeps getting frozen in. Since I keep all my meat in there, it's very difficult not to be able to pull the basket out. But before I even call the repair people, I have to do something about the mess.
The weather wasn't very good. We had 0.17" of rain between 4:00 AM and 8:00 AM, and another 0.3" after 6:00 PM. After 3:00 PM it got very foggy - although some of that fog was probably rain - and there was one crack of thunder, which I think was off to the south. The high temperature was 64º, but it was going up and down between 45º and 65º all day, depending, I guess, on how much wind there was. The lake is still frigid, which brings down the temperature here. It was cloudy and dull even when it wasn't foggy. The humidity was over 80% all day. I hate that.
The guys slept. Louie got his loving this morning, and Grayson got to sit on me for a while. He was behaving himself today and not trying to knead my gut with his claws out.
So that was it. I finally checked the status of the yarn for Debbie's arm warmer and I discovered that it was delivered on Saturday. Grr. So I will have to go to the post office tomorrow. Oh, and the propane company called me to find out how much gas I have, so I had to call Ron to ask him to read my tanks. I don't want them filled until after my new contract in October unless there's no way I can make it until then. If it's not one damn thing...
Now it's late and it's a dark, foggy, rainy night in the field and I need to go to bed.
June 23 Ugh, late again, but I just didn't want to move, so I ate very late.
I made it into bed by 9:45 last night, and that was partly because I had to cut my fingernails. When they get over 1.5 mm long, they start tapping on the keyboard and they bug me so I have to cut them off. Some things are better done with fingernails and some things aren't.
Anyway, I slept fairly well until around 3:30 AM and then I couldn't get into a deep sleep after that. In part it was because my shoulder was sore and I couldn't sleep on my left side because my ear and my hip were sore. So I didn't get enough sleep.
I was moving very slowly this morning, but fortunately, there wasn't anything I had to be early at church for. I ran into a lot of slow traffic on my way south, and just past Delaware, I actually had to pass three cars, because the one in the lead was driving very slowly and very erratically. Ugh - tourist season!
Church was good, although I had a hard time getting to my feet. I made it all but one time. I had to stay afterward because the woman who is coordinating the new church directory wanted a picture of the three of us who put out the publications. Then I could come home.
I sat a while and then I had something to eat and then I almost fell asleep, but I was reading, so I was very late eating dinner and now I have to try not to read anymore...
The weather was sort of blah. The high temperature was 70º, and the humidity was sort of reasonable. There was a bit of wind from the southwest, in the 10-15 mph range. The humidity wasn't too bad, even though I went through a couple of patches of mist on my way south. It was dark and threatening all day, although there wasn't any rain. I don't know why I'm so sore.
The guys annoyed me. Grayson came to sit on me this morning and he kept sticking his claws through my nightie into my gut until I made him go away. Then, sometime in the afternoon, Louie came to sit on me and he put his paw on the bend in my elbow and put out a claw, too, so he had to go away. I do not like to be picked.
I think there is a mosquito in my bedroom, although it hasn't been buzzing in my ear. I woke up with two new bites this morning, one of which is on my ankle where I actually don't have much feeling. It sure does itch, though. Everybody agrees that this has been a remarkably buggy spring, although so far it's been mostly mosquitoes, since it's been too cool for the black flies.
So that was my quiet day, and now I really should go to bed, even though I want to read some more. It's a dark, cloudy night in the field.
June 22 Oops, almost forgot.
I was later than I should have been last night, of course, but i eventually got to bed and I slept well for a while and I think in a strange position. My shoulder hurt. I had some trouble for the rest of the night, but I did sleep and I got up around 9:00. It was too early, of course, and I'm really tired now, but maybe I'll sleep well tonight for a change.
I hurt some today, too, but not quite as much as yesterday. I fiddled around and knitted and played games, so I was late getting to the studio and I didn't do anything else.
The weather was nice. The high temperature so far was 71º and there was a little breeze from the southeast. That helped a lot when it got up to 82º in here and I thought I was going to melt, so I opened the window. It was clear or mostly clear all day, but there are some little clouds coming up from the south and they say it's going to rain tomorrow. Ugh. The humidity got nice and low this afternoon, which no doubt helped me.
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me twice, but I think I was a little warm even for him, and besides, I managed to get the front of my shirt all wet while I was washing my dishes this morning and probably he didn't like that. I think Louie has been up at the north end all day.
So that's all there is to report. I haven't mentioned my gut lately because it's been mostly behaving itself, although sometimes it gurgles and groans so much it makes me laugh, and a couple of times I've ignored it too long, but that's my problem, not it. After my two good days, the past two have not been so good, which means it hurts so much to try to get up that I don't want to. I believe it has something to do in part with not getting enough sleep. Today I didn't want to go back to bed when I got up at 9:00 because then I wouldn't want to go to bed tonight, and I have to get up at 6:00 tomorrow. We'll see how tomorrow is.
Now it's a clear, warm evening in the field and I'm off to the north end to take my bath.
June 21 - Summer Solstice Not that it hasn't been "summer" for a month, but now it's official.
Well, I had two good days, so today I paid. I didn't get to bed until around 1;00 AM, but then I slept for nearly 5 hours - and I felt it when I woke up, because, remember. I don't move when I'm, asleep. However, I got unkinked (it took half an hour) and went back to sleep and woke up again around 8:30, all sore again. I took my Tylenol, but I was so sore I couldn't go back to sleep and I got up around 9:30. So I'm tired now.
I knitted some and played games some, but I didn't feel good so I didn't do anything. I have been sore all day. I was more or less planning to go to bed early, but the music has been nice, so I won't be early. I will try to get going after I post this.
It was a very nice first day of summer. It was clear all day. The high temperature was 65º, late in the day, and there wasn't any wind. The only thing was, when I looked out the window in the powder room, there were mosquitoes flying around all over the place.
it has been so buggy this June! I haven't encountered any black flies yet, probably because I haven't been out at the right times, but every time I've gone out to the garage, my hands and wrists have gotten chewed alive by mosquitoes. I think it's because we had so much rain in May.
Oh, and the lake levels are so high. The road down in the culverts is all right, but the water level in Lake Lily and in the harbor is amazing. All we can hope is that it goes down some before we have any serious storms. I heard that people downstream, in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, have some real problems, but they can't stop up the upper lakes either, or we'll all be awash. Well, I won't, because I'm at least 12' above the lake level, but my cliff could get eroded.
The guys slept. Grayson got a lot of lap time, except that he kept hearing things that meant he had to jump up and see what was going on. Louie didn't try to sit on me today.
So that was my quiet day and now it's a calm, clear night in the field.
June 20 Of course I was late, but it was only about 2:30 when I got to bed. I went up to the north end around 11:00, but I took my Tylenol and I wanted to wait until it began to work, and then I got playing with the phone. After i took my bath, I had some things to do that I don't usually, so that took time. I slept pretty well until around 8:30, but by that time the Tylenol had worn off, so my shoulder was sore.
I do think that slowly it's beginning to heal and my hips aren't as sore. By nighttime, though, I'm tired and I've been moving around enough that I hurt. I guess that's to be expected. I was fine until around the time we started home tonight, and I hurt now, but it's not nearly as bad as it has been, thankfully. Our Bible study didn't go as long as it sometimes does and I got home around 9:00, which was really nice.
We went to choir and Bible Study and both were nice. i was late enough that all I had time to do was my surfing, and I knitted a bit this morning.
The weather started out cloudy, and it didn't begin to clear up until at least 3:00 PM. I don't know exactly when because the camera hung up at 5:00 AM and I didn't realize it for 11 hours. It's beautifully clear now. The high temperature was 60º. There was no wind and the humidity was up around 80%, which is one way I know I'm doing better. It seems to me - without rereading my old journals - that we frequently have this very humid weather in June.
The guys were sleepy. Louie got some loving this morning and Grayson got to sleep on me for a while. When I got home, he was sitting inside the door looking at me and yawning, which is a rude gesture in most animals. I yawned back.
So that was my day, and now it's a clear, calm night in the field and I'm off to the north end. Now.
June 19 I was later than I wanted to be, but it was only about 12:30 when I got to bed, which is reasonable. I slept well, with the usual wakeups, and I got up around 8:30, but I knitted and I played with the phone, so I was late eating my breakfast.
I finished the gusset of the sock and started the foot. I'm happy to say I was much less sore today, in spite of the high humidity, so I could knit and do most of what I wanted to do. I was even able to put my hair clips in place without too much pain or difficulty. I'm hoping that means I'll be able to take my bath more easily tonight. Here's hoping...
I'm not saying I'm back to normal. My shoulder, my hips and my knees still all hurt, but not as much as they have been. My shoulder aches sometimes, but I'm not getting quite as many pokes as I was. Here's hoping...this is getting really old.
I did manage to get the bulletin out and I think it's all right, even though it was late. There are so few changes week-to-week these days that it isn't much of a problem. Otherwise, I spent most of the afternoon doing my surfing. I finally called Schwan's and complained about everything that has been bugging me, to somebody who was almost completely unresponsive, but I think she probably passed on what I said. The only thing she said that sort of flummoxed me was when she asked if I had the pieces of bone I found in my salmon. Huh? Why do you want that, for heaven's sake? Anyway, I didn't think I did, but it turns out it's still on my tray, so I called back and left a message. i will be curious to see what they say about that. Like they don't believe me when I say the one piece was 1½" long? Unfortunately, their quality has been declining lately.
The weather was rather nice, if cool. At this time of year, I don't mind cool, because it keeps the bugs down. The high temperature was 56º and there was no wind. The only problem was, the humidity was over 80% all day, which isn't very comfortable. it was clear and blue. The satellite imagery is wonderful now. Everything is so bright green it almost glows, and the line of little clouds that forms over the spine of the Keweenaw is so white that the whole thing looks color enhanced.
I had to reboot the computer this afternoon. IE got totally screwed up - I think it's the game I've been playing, and it's a good excuse to stop - and kept hanging up. Thankfully, rebooting solved the problem, at least this time.
The guys slept. mostly. They both got some lap time. Late in the afternoon I kept hearing Louie sounding off someplace, so I finally started calling him and he came and sat on me for a while. Sometimes he acts a little senile. Then after he got off me, he went after Grayson, who was quite comfortable on the sewing chair, so they both went away. They are strange little critters.
So that was my quiet day and now it's a clear, calm night in the field and maybe I can get to bed at a sort of reasonable hour tonight?
June 18 So last night I was stupidly late again. I was reading, and I guess that was why. I didn't sleep well. It may have been because it was warm in the bedroom, but I hurt, or at least I was uncomfortable. For a while my feet felt cold when they were really warm. I finally got some deep sleep, but it was between 8:30 and 11:00 this morning. I won't be that late tonight. Oh, and I had been reading Special Forces 2 and I was thinking about that.
So I was late getting up. I didn't knit, because there was some stuff to read on the phone. My range extender doesn't work, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I'm afraid part of the problem is that I put in the wrong password and now I can't change it - why do people do that to you? - but there may be a problem with the device, too. I need to try to get the laptop working, but I was so late I didn't have time to work on that today. It's frustrating. You ought to be able to plug in these devices and have them work...and you should be able to correct a password. Grr.
The weather was blah again. There was 0.35" of rain between 11:00 PM and 1:00 AM last night, and it's been humid ever since. The high temperature was 54º and the humidity was over 85% all day. It was cloudy and dull. Blah.
The guys felt like that, too and they slept. Grayson did get to sleep on me for a while, but I think Louie mostly hung out in the bathroom again.
So that was my day. The information for the bulletin came in early, but not early enough, so i will do that tomorrow. It's a cool, humid, cloudy evening in the field and we won't get to see the Strawberry Moon again tonight.
June 17 I crashed, but it wasn't until 8:00, because I was just about to lie down when I remembered that I hadn't taken my evening pills, since I didn't eat any dinner. That includes my blood thinner and my Neurontin and I need both of them, so I had to totter down to the studio, eat my pills and totter back. Then I crashed. I was up several times, of course, but I didn't get get up until 8;30 and I do feel better today, although I'm tired again.
I'm not quite as sore as I was yesterday. I think that's partly because I'm not so tired and partly because the humidity was down under 60% all day. It does make a difference.
i didn't do very much with my time, because I knitted and I'm about halfway through with the gusset of the red sock.
However, I have been having enough trouble getting cell service up at the north end (which, of course, i shouldn't be getting at all, according to the guru) that I decided it was time to install the wi-fi extender. I finally think it's working, but it took some fiddling and I'm not quite sure what the problem was. It does seem to work, but I guess I'm going to have to ask somebody about it, since it looks to me like the phone preferentially uses cell service for data unless I turn it off, and I think that's unethical. Anyway, we'll see how it works when the cell service cuts out, which it's been doing a lot lately. If I have this thing, I want it to work. I still haven't figured out what's wrong with the laptop, so I can't check with that. That's the next task...
The weather was all right, I guess. The high temperature was 67º, briefly, and there was almost no wind. The humidity, as I said, was under 60% for most of the day. It was partly cloudy for most of the day, although it's clouded up now. I didn't stick my nose outside. My hands have gotten chewed alive by mosquitoes just going between the car and the house the past two days, and I don't know what might have bit me if I'd gone out today!
The guys mostly slept. Grayson got to sleep on me and Louie hung out mostly in the bathroom, I think. They did hear something this morning that made them both jump up and go off, but I don't know what it was. I heard something, but it wasn't loud enough to be a problem.
I forgot to mention that yesterday on my way out, there was a deer in the middle of our road just the other side of the culverts, or I thought it was one deer until she moved toward the harbor and there was a little teensy baby right behind her. So, so cute! I mean, that was a little baby! I wish I could take pictures of things like that, but I couldn't have gotten them even if I'd had the phone in my hand. I'm so glad to see we're still making more deer.
So that was my quiet day, and now I'm off to the north end. It's a coolish, cloudy night in the field. I'm glad the moon was out last night.
June 16 This is really early, but I just fell asleep in my chair, so I'm not going to fight it.
I was in bed by 9:45 last night and I slept well, with the usual wakeups. I got up when the alarm went off, but I was - am - extremely sore and I was - am - moving extremely slowly. I got away late and I was later than I wanted to getting to church, although there wasn't any traffic.
Church was good, and Pastor's sermon was very good. I was having a steadily harder time getting up as the service went on, and by the end, I couldn't. Nancy had to help me stand up after the end. They took pictures for the new directory, so I had to stand for quite a while, since I'm in choir, altar guild and I'm a greeter. By the end of that, I had to ask Deanna to finish without me, since I doubt I could have gotten up and down the stairs. I came right home.
I didn't do anything because I was so tired. I think fighting the pain just wore me out.
The only reason I can see that I am in such pain is that it was cool all day - the high temperature was only 53º - and the humidity has been over 80% all day. It was mostly cloudy, too, although the clouds weren't too thick, and it has now cleared up.
The guys slept, of course. Grayson got to sleep on me for quite a while, and they were both asleep in the bathroom while I was there after I got home.
So it was not a good day, and I'm so tired that I think I'm going right to bed without dinner. I'm not hungry anyway. It's a clear, cool evening in the field.
June 15 You mean June is half over already? Where did that go? When I was in my forties, it was Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, then after I retired it was Wednesday and Sunday, and now it's just Sunday. It gets confusing.
I got to bed at a semi-reasonable time last night - 11:30 - but I didn't sleep well at all. I guess I did sleep, but it was one of those nights where I didn't ever get into a deep sleep, at least for very long. I got up around 8:00, but then I had a half hour text conversation with Debbie and then I had to fill the kibble bowls - they told me so. I was - still am - moving slowly, so it was close to 10:30 when I left. So I missed setting up for communion, and Deanna was almost done when I got there.
So I visited the restroom and went on to Pat's, where I had few things I wanted, and then I went to the gas station, because my tank was almost registering empty. I still had almost 5 gallons left, but I don't like it when I pull into the parking lot at church with my low fuel warning on. I am getting pretty good gas mileage, and even without my discount, gas is only $2.799 here now. I had a 30¢ a gallon coupon on the first 15 gallons, so it wasn't too bad a hit. And i stopped at the post office to pick up my mail and leave off an outgoing.
I was exhausted when I got home and I looked at my mail and sat for long time before I brought in the groceries. I sure didn't get much for my money. I have three big boxes in the breezeway, one full of TP and two full of cat food (one of those weighs 64lb. It's a wonder the FedEx guy didn't get a hernia), which is very handy as a way station when I'm moving stuff from the car to the house. Then it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so I sat and figured out a way to get the yarn for Debbie's arm warmer before I had some dinner.
The weather was nice. It was nearly clear all day, although from the MODIS imagery, I could see that there was a long thin cloud that looked like a super contrail that was over us for most of the afternoon. I guess that was sliding either north or south (we only get a couple of MODIS pictures a day), because now it's clear again. The high temperature was at least 60º (they don't report the 6 hour high for another hour) and there was almost no wind. It was quite humid until around 3:00 PM, and then it began to drop off, mercifully. No wonder I was (and still am) so sore.
I think everybody slept. Grayson came around a couple of times while I was in the powder room and when I was bringing in the groceries, but Louie just finally got up a few minutes ago. They don't like it when I go away.
So it was another quiet day in which I did almost nothing. I can't get anything more to eat except maybe milk for quite a while, because the fridge is bulging. I am so tired and i have to wash my hair and try to get to bed early. We'll see how that goes. Now it's a clear, calm evening in the field.
June 14 I was trying to get my shoulder in shape so I could sleep, so it was 2:00 or later when I finally got to bed. i slept well, and I didn't get up until after noon, so I should have had enough sleep, but I'm tired again. It's amazing how much pain can take out of you.
I was so late that I didn't do anything much today. It was nice to be able to hear most of the talking, though.
The weather wasn't very nice. It was cloudy and threatening all day, and around 8:30 PM it began to get foggy, or I thought it was foggy, but we've had 0.14" of rain in the past hour. The high temperature was 60º, but that was before 10:00 AM and it's been in the low 50s all afternoon - now it's below 50º. Yuck - and ouch. No wonder I hurt.
The guys slept. Grayson got some lap time, and while I was making my dinner, all of a sudden he exploded off the dining table, taking a couple of blocking tiles with him (yes, the blocking tiles are still on the table!) and when I started for the studio with my cart, he was sitting on the tiles looking very pleased with himself. I haven't seen Louie since this morning, but he usually sleeps in this weather.
So I must go to bed, even though I'd like to stay up a while longer and hear the Mozart. I'm very tired, and I have to get up at a reasonable hour tomorrow to get to church. It's a cloudy, foggy, rainy, cold night in the field.
June 13 This is getting to be a pattern and I have to try to stop it. When I have to do something I know is going to hurt, I just try to postpone it as long as possible. So I was stupidly late getting to bed because it did hurt to take my bath and there are a couple of places I just can't wash because I can't reach them without too much pain. So I didn't get up until after noon - I forget, now, exactly when - and I didn't eat my first meal until around 3:00 PM. I still hurt. I think the humidity has something to do with it.
So I didn't even read all my email until I got home from church. I read my devotion and the funnies, and that was about all I had time for before I left. We had a pretty good practice, and we worked hard on something for several weeks from now, because we have this week's piece, which is easy, down pretty good and next week Kathleen will be back to lead us through the one for that Sunday. Then there was Bible study. Mary Ann and I have missed most of the Ten Commandments, which is too bad, because I would like to have heard the discussion, but we finished up that section of the Catechism tonight, and we will be doing something else for the rest of the summer, so that we can stay in sync with St. John's, who don't have Bible Study in the summer. I'm sure it will be interesting, because it all is. I didn't get home until 9:45.
This is the pretty time of year. All the fruit trees and the serviceberries are in bloom, and when Mary Ann opened the door of the car, the fruit blossoms and the lilacs (which are just coming out) made it smell so heavenly sweet! The forget-me-nots that bloom along the side of our road are all out, and they are so delicate and pretty.
The weather was all right. It was mostly sunny and the temperature finally got up to 63º, but it was quite humid until this evening. I hurt, big time. The wind was in the 15 mph range from the north for most of the day. Now it's clear and the gibbous moon is shining in the south windows.
The guys mostly slept. Grayson got some lap time when I got home, but I haven't seen Louie since I got up.
So that's it, and now it's a cool, clear night in the field and I'm tired.
June 12 I was late again last night, but once I got to bed, I slept very well and for a long time. I think it was around 11:00 when I got up. I'm tired again anyway. I fiddled around, so I only got about half of the heel of the sock done. Maybe I can finish it tomorrow and get started on the gusset. Part of my problem was that I was extremely sore, and I have been all day. I think it's the humidity.
Part of the problem was I got a request from Debbie for a sleeve to cover the elbow she had broken in a car accident a few years ago, which aches when she is in air conditioning. So I had to discuss that with her (texted) and look around to see what kind of yarn might work. She just gave me the sizing - she is little and has little arms - so I looked around again. I will work on that tomorrow. It will be sort of like a leg warmer, but for an arm, a neat idea.
The task of the day was the bulletin, and I was so late that I didn't get that done until 4:00, but I think it's all right. At least I haven't heard from anyone, and it won't be printed until Friday, so there's time for any changes.
There was another system update today, which I installed. I'm still nervous about that virus. So there was another reboot. I'm nervous about those, too, because when I tried to do last month's update, it left me with a system that wouldn't work and I had to roll back. As an old systems programmer, I hate to have to drop back, but I'd rather have a computer that works.
The weather was sort of blah. There was a very little rain around midnight last night, and it was cloudy and humid all day. The high temperature was actually then, and during the day it only got to about 53º. There was a little north wind, but not a lot. Blah.
The guys slept. Grayson got to sleep on me for a while, but the only loving Louie got was this morning. He wanted to sit on me and he tried twice, but both times I was doing something else and I couldn't let him sit.
So now I have to go and try to wash my hair and I'm not looking forward to it. My shoulder is still extremely sore, which means I will have to do most everything with my right hand, and that means I won't get a good job. Oh, sigh.
So now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field.
June 11 I don't know how I got quite so behind last night, but it was a bit later than I wanted when I got to bed. I slept well on both sides and when I turned back onto my right side, my shoulder wasn't too sore to keep me awake, so I think it was after 10:00 AM when I got up. It may be worse tonight because it's going to rain, and a couple of times lately I've moved in such a way that it felt like somebody was sticking a knife into my shoulder, but I'll take my Tylenol and maybe I'll be all right. I think slowly it's getting better, but it's very slow.
i didn't have anything much on the schedule today so I didn't do anything important. I started the heel of the red sock, i looked through the lace yarn and found some that will work well for a couple of the patterns I want to do, and there was another system update that I did. There is a very nasty virus around right now and I don't want it to infect my computers. I haven't decided whether to start one of the shawls or just wait until the rest of the yarn comes in, so I'll try to do as much on the red sock as I can.
When I last looked at the lace yarn, I was impressed by how much truly ugly yarn I had managed to acquire, but when I looked at it again today, most of it is actually very nice and there are only four or five truly ugly colorways. Why I would ever buy pea green or brown yarn, no matter how nice, I do not know. I would love to knit with that yarn, but not in those colors! On the other hand, there is some really lovely stuff in that bag, and my only regret is that for a while I wasn't buying enough of any colorway, and now all that stuff has been discontinued. Well, I'll figure out something to do with it.
I also put in a Schwan's order. I don't need a lot, but they were having a special, so i got some things I need and I may decide I need a few other things before Thursday night. They have raised their prices a lot in the past year, though, so I don't get nearly as much for my money anymore.
Debbie called in the early evening to tell me all about her sorority reunion and we had a nice talk.
The weather started out lovely - clear and blue with no wind at all. In fact, while I was sitting in the bathroom, I actually could hear a woodpecker drumming, even through the closed windows. it frustrates me that my hearing is so good for things like that and yet I can sometimes not understand speech. The temperature got up to 66º late in the day and there wasn't any wind. Radar was showing rain late in the afternoon, but apparently not enough of it reached the ground to register at the weather station. The humidity got quite low for a while, although for most of the day it was over 60% and it's rising now. It's probably going to rain overnight and tomorrow, so I'll just have to endure.
The guys knew the weather was changing. They both got some lap time, although Louie didn't get as much as he wanted. He didn't come up until about the time Debbie hung up, and by then I was hungry and I had to pee, so he had to get down. Grayson had better luck, but he came up right after breakfast, so he got to leave when he wanted to.
So it was another nice, quiet day, and now it's a cloudy, possibly rainy night in the field.
June 10 I was late but not too late last night, and I slept well until around 6:30, when my arm got too sore. So I got up around 8:30. That wasn't nearly enough sleep, so I'm tired and it's late again now. Oh, well, it seems to be the way I operate these days.
My only tasks of the day were to go to the post office and pay a few bills, and I did both of them. i got to meet the wife of the nice man who mowed my grass, and she is nice, too. They are volunteering to man the Welcome Center on Monday afternoons. That's a nice time, since there usually aren't too many visitors, but there are enough that someone should be there. And as I was leaving, I ran into Phoebe, whom I met and who helped me out when I was moving in a long time ago. I haven't seen her in several years and I've wondered how she was doing. She's older than I am and she's doing much better than I am. It was nice to talk to her again.
When I got home and looked at my mail, I had another nice thing happen. I mentioned several days ago that I had trouble with some of my lace yarn and had to order more of it. It came, and it came in a nice organza bag, but what was especially nice about it is that it's the same dye lot as what I already had, even though I got it from a different source! Wow! Something like that doesn't happen very often. Anyway, now I can make my square Estonian shawl out of dark purple yarn without worrying about any changes in the color. I have four patterns picked out that I would like to do, and two of them should work on yarn I already have, but I haven't decided on the yarn yet. So in the meantime, I'm still knitting socks.
I'm not knitting too much of anything, though, because it makes my shoulder hurt. It never occurred to me how closely the muscles in my upper arm are connected to the muscles in my fingers. I should be writing, because typing doesn't seem to bother me, but that would mean either coming down to the studio before breakfast or getting the laptop working again and getting the wi-fi extender going. It's always something.
The weather started out cloudy and windy, with a north wind up to 35 mph gusts, but by 9:30 AM it cleared up and the rest of the day was so pretty. The temperature apparently got up to 67º late this afternoon and the wind has died down. There were a few clouds late in the day, but they seem to have disappeared by sunset. So there should be stars, although there is also a moon...The humidity was reasonably low, too, but it didn't seem to do me much good. It was probably because I was tired.
The guys mostly slept. Grayson got to sleep on me for a while until I had to go away, but I didn't see Louie until I went up to the north end and found him in the bathroom. Grayson feels good. The high barometer and low humidity always gets him going. My little gray barometer.
So that was another quiet day, although I did get to see some people for a change. Now it's a clear, cool night in the field and I keep hoping I'll be able to get enough sleep tonight...
June 9 - The Day of Pentecost I got to bed by 10:00 last night, and I started out pretty well. My shoulder was very sore, and i had a horrible time washing my hair, but somehow I managed. Everything was fine until around 3;00 AM, when I couldn't get back to sleep after i had to get up. It wasn't so much my shoulders as my legs, but I was just not comfortable. I sort of dozed for a couple of hours before I got up again, and then I was all right, except that I had to get up and pee at 5:15 and I was just getting soundly asleep when the alarm went off. I hate that.
I hadn't had any trouble standing up or sitting down all night, so I was hopeful, but my shoulder was still extremely sore - still is - and the more I had to stand up the harder it got. At least my hips were much less sore than they were, and I was able to work the pedals in the car with more ease and less pain. I was moving slowly, though, and I was late leaving.
Then I discovered that while I was looking the other way, the tourist season has started, and I got behind several very strange drivers, including the one who steps on his brake at every curve, every dip and every rise in the road. If you've ever driven the covered road, you know how much fun that is...So I was a bit later getting to church than I wanted to be, but the choir didn't practice anyway.
Church was nice. Pastor has enlisted is son to be a crucifer on special days, so there was a little procession and recession. Andrew is going to Marquette next fall, I think, and I wonder what Pastor will do then...
I didn't have anything else to do in town, so I came right home, and while I was sitting in the bathroom, I almost fell asleep. In fact, i almost did go to bed, but I was hungry, so I took care of that first, and it woke me up some. I'm still tired, though, and I'll be off to the north end shortly.
The temperature did go down last night, which is good, because evidently the ceiling fan in my bedroom is broken. However, once the sun came up, it got hot. The high was 78º, but that was around 1:00 PM, and then it cooled off to as low as 59º before it recovered a bit. I had opened a few windows, but I had to close the one in the studio because there was a cold and, I think, damp wind coming in. I'll close up the rest of them when I go up to the north end. The wind was mostly from the southwest, with gusts as high as 23 mph. It started out sort of clear, but it got cloudy by the time I got home and it was dull and gray at sunset. There might be some rain tonight. There was a rain cloud during the afternoon, but even though radar showed rain here, none of it ever hit the ground. I think it's more humid than it has been for the past couple of days, but I don't know for sure, since the weather station is still partly broken.
I'm of two minds about the temperature. If it was going to stay as warm as it has been for the past couple of days, i could open up the back of the house, and I love that. I had the bathroom window open while I was sitting there, and I could hear little birds tweeting and a woodpecker (not a pileated) drumming. i love all those sounds, but I have to have the windows open to hear them. On the other hand, it was so hot yesterday that when I got undressed, everything I had on was as wet as though I had just taken it out of the washer, and I hate that. I sweat like a horse and I hate that. It's nothing I'll have to worry about for the next week, though. It's supposed to get cold and rainy again.
Spring is here, though, and all the early cherries and the serviceberries are out now. It's such a pretty time of year, with all those white flowers against the green and brown. The forsythia is going and I think the marsh marigolds have come and gone, but there is a remarkable crop of dandelions this year. Pretty soon there will be other interesting wildflowers. Even though we don't have much of what you'd call spring temperatures (it's either cold or hot), we do have all the pretty spring flowers.
The guys were so sleepy they didn't even come to greet me when i got home. Grayson got some lap time both before and after I left, but the second time, he was already on my lap when Louie came around, so Louie didn't get any lap time. They got something they like for breakfast, and I filled the kibble bowls, too.
So that was a quiet Sunday, and now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field and I'm off to the north end. Now.
June 8 I managed to get to bed by 11:30 and I started out just fine. in fact, it was after the second time I had to get up that my night went to pot. I could not get comfortable and I could not get into a deep sleep for a very long time. My shoulder wasn't any more painful than usual, but I couldn't find a comfortable place to put my arm, and my feet were cold...even though the rest of me was sweating (it was a night of hot flashes, mostly because it was so warm in the bedroom, I think), my feet were cold. I finally did get a little more sleep on my left side, and I got up around 9:30. That should have been enough sleep, but I've been trying to fall asleep again all day, so it wasn't.
My shoulder was sore enough that I couldn't knit, either. I don't do a lot with my left hand except hold the needle and guide the other one, but every time I took a stitch, i got a twinge in my shoulder. Oh, yes, and i forgot to take the phone with me, so i couldn't even play Solitaire.
I was making my breakfast when I started hearing something that sounded a lot like a lawn mower, and when I got to the studio, I realized that the nice man - he lives two doors south - who cut back parts of my weeds last summer was back and doing a nice job on the edges as well as on the parking lot and around the wellhead. We had a nice conversation. I wonder what his wife thinks about things like this...I do appreciate it, though. There is no way my grounds can ever look good, but just keeping the area around the driveway a bit neater is good.
The only task I had for the day was a load of wash, and it's in the dryer now. It was the white stuff, including allthe underwear, and it's good to have that done. There is another load to do, but I haven't looked at it very much, and I think there are a number of tees that I bled on last fall. That's for tomorrow...or Monday.
I didn't do much because summer has arrived and it was so hot in here I have been as wet as if I just stepped out of the shower. I tried to open the patio door in the great room and I can only get it open about 6", and then I discovered that the screen was never locked and the wind pushed it all the way back over the other side, so I couldn't even leave it open that little bit. I didn't try the one in the studio, because the wind is from the south and opening the south window helped as long as I was sitting by it. The temperature inside has been about 85º all day, and that's much too hot. I don't remember when I've sweat this much. And all of a sudden my shoulder has seized up again - of course, since I have to take a bath!
The temperature outside got to 79º and it's been in the upper 70s all afternoon. There has been a nice wind from the south with gusts up to 28 mph, which is all that made it tolerable - well, it wasn't. The humidity was low, but I don't know how low because the weather station isn't reporting dewpoint right now. It was clear all day, although right now there are some high, fuzzy clouds and the sky isn't really blue.
The guys don't like the heat, either. They both sat on me for a while - too hot - and in the open window - too windy - and now I don't know where they are.
Michigan very rarely has a season one could call "spring." I didn't know what spring could be like until I lived around Philadelphia for a few years. I don't think this weather will last even through tomorrow, and then it will get cool and rainy again, but this is too hot too soon. There have been summers lately where it never got this hot in Copper Harbor. One reason i always wanted to move here is that it is usually cool, and I need cool.
Oh, and when I was outside there were bugs. I think there were a few black flies already, although I didn't get bit. There were some nice butterflies that I was happy to see.
Well, now it's too late and I still have to take my bath. It's a warm, breezy night in the field.
June 7 The sad thing is, It's such a struggle for me to take a bath that I just don't want to. So I'm a mess, and my hair looks like it's wet it has so much oil in it. I'm really a mess right now, because it's been hot in the house all day. But I don't want to take a bath two days in a row - it dries parts of my skin out too much - so I'll just have to endure until tomorrow. I know, I do shower every night in the summertime, but that's different. When I think how much I used to love my showers...
Anyway, that was the reason I was ridiculously late getting to bed and I didn't get my quota of sleep. I slept well for about six hours, but when I got back in bed the last time, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I finally got up.
I was so late that I didn't do anything except to finish that load of wash. The bottoms are in the dryer and the socks are all hanging up. Oh, and I made rice, not that that's much of a chore.
The weather was remarkable, but as is frequent in the upper Midwest, early spring suddenly turned into summer today. It has been warming for the past couple of days, but today there was a southwest wind and the temperature jumped up into the middle 70s - high was 75º. It felt so nice to have the south window open, although around 9:00 I had to close it because it was cooling off. However, the rest of the house is so hot I've been sweating continuously. It was mostly clear and sunny, and the humidity has been at or below 50% all day.
That means my shoulder and my hips have been much less sore. My shoulder still hurts, but it's quite tolerable and my hips have been comfortable. It's a relief, both to be in less pain and to know that at least part of the pain has been due to the weather and not the pills. It's also nice to be able to get out of a chair without a horrible struggle. I might as well enjoy it while I can, though, because next week it's apparently going to rain almost all week. Ugh. Anyway, I hope to get a good night's sleep tonight and feel good tomorrow.
Tomorrow I think I'm going to have to get the braces out of the patio doors and open them up at least for a while. It's supposed to be even warmer. I appreciate all the free heat - I don't think the boiler came on more than a couple of times today - but when it gets up to 80º in here, I have to take action.
The lovely lady who helped me so much last fall by driving me around called this afternoon and we had a nice conversation. She had knee surgery over the winter and it turned out just fine, although getting her strength back is taking longer than she hoped. She is my age, and we just have to deal with the fact that it takes us longer to heal now. She is back here for the summer and she is so glad to be here! I'm sure the rest of our summer residents will be here soon, if they aren't already. I keep forgetting that it's June already.
The guys were sleepy. Grayson got some lap time, but Louie came around when I was about to do something else, so he couldn't sit on me. He did make his way over to the open window to at least sniff the outside air, but both of them were much less interested in it than I thought they'd be. Sometimes they're weird.
So that was my day and now I hope I can get to bed at a semi-reasonable hour. Maybe knowing i won't take a bath and I can crash will help.
Now it's a warmish, clear night in the field.
June 6 Oh, I was late last night, and I didn't wash my hair. I just sat around doing nothing. My shoulder and my hips hurt and I was so tired that I was afraid to get in the shower. I slept well, of course, and I didn't get up until close to 11:00 AM, I think. I was sore, but I was able to knit on my sock, which was good.
I was so late that I didn't do anything but a load of wash which is still in the washer and is going to stay there until tomorrow. It's mostly socks, with a couple of pairs of bottoms.
Now I'm tired again, but maybe I can wash my hair? We'll see. My shoulder is sore again.
The weather was nice, I guess. I didn't stick my nose out. The high temperature was 66º and the humidity got down below 50%, which is probably why I'm not as sore as I was yesterday. There was hardly any wind. It was mostly clear and sunny. Maybe spring is finally coming? The cherries and the serviceberries are all comoing into bloom, and it's such a pretty time of year!
The guys slept. Grayson slept on me for a while, but I didn't see Louie after this morning. He had a little coughing fit this morning, so I don't guess he felt very good.
So that was another very quiet day and now it's a cool, fairly clear night in the field.
June 5 I got to bed around 1:00 AM last night, and I slept very well, actually, with only two wakeups. I got up around 11:00 AM. Of course, that wasn't a full 10 hours' sleep, because I had to sit for half an hour every time I was up, but It was enough, and my shoulder was surprisingly pain-free...until I got up. Then it got so sore I couldn't even hold my knitting or my phone. It got better later, but if I don't move it around occasionally and accept the pain that causes, it gets so sore and stiff I can hardly move it at all. I hope I get over this soon.
I didn't have much on the task list, and I didn't do any of it. I was too late to do anything but my surfing.
The weather has cleared up some, but it's still very humid, which no doubt is the problem with my joints. The high temperature was 56º, but that was briefly late in the afternoon and for most of the day it was around 50º or lower. The wind was calm or nearly calm all day. It was mostly cloudy, with only a couple of hours of sunshine. And there was a whole lot of fog before 3:00 PM. That's not surprising, given the humidity and the cold lake.
The guys were sort of sleepy. Grayson got a lot of lap time, but I didn't see Louie after breakfast today. I'm sure he's been up at the north end fast asleep. They got canned food today and it's one of the ones they like a lot.
Now it's a cool, humid night in the field and I'm tired again, but I have to wash my hair, which I'm not looking forward to. My shoulder - and my hips - are so sore!
June 4 I was late again last night, but not as late as the night before. I slept well. I had a little pain when I first turned onto my left side, but it went away, and I was so happy that i didn't have any pain in my shoulder at all when I sat up...then. I got up around 10:30, and then it started. I'm sure the weather had something to do with it.
I didn't have much planned for today, but Mary Ann called and said she wanted to go to choir practice, so we went. I was glad we did, actually. We're singing mostly hymns, but there are little gotchas in all of them, so it was good to practice. It was good to practice anyway. I got home around 9:30 and I'm tired, but there isn't much to keep me up after I post this.
The weather wasn't good. I woke up around 7:30 to hear thunder. It was raining, thundering and the harbor was full of fog. Yuck! It had evidently started raining around 4:00 AM, and by the time I saw it, we'd already had 0.84". it continued to rain more lightly until about 3:00 PM, and the total so far is 1.3". it spit at us on the way home, but not a lot. The high temperature was 55º, briefly before noon. Most of the day it was around 50º. There wasn't much wind, even when it was thundering. Needless to say, it was cloudy and dull. The interesting thing was that the rain was in a long thin line from around Isle Royale, through Copper Harbor, and on toward the Soo. I don't think it was ever more than 15 or 20 miles wide. They didn't get much rain at all in Laurium. Now, though, there's a big green blob down from Ontonagon to about Ironwood, so there's more to come tonight. Ah, spring...
The guys were mostly sleepy but they were sort of clingy, too. I think Louie hid during the thunder, but Grayson was around, complaining. It's been a long time since we've had a thunderstorm. They both got some lap time, although I had to make them both go away for various reasons. Grayson had to go away because I had to to to the bathroom and Louie had to leave because I had to leave. Otherwise, they slept. This weather is not good for any of us.
So that was my quiet day, and I'm home until Sunday, except for the post office. Now it's a cool, rainy night in the field and I need bed.
June 3 I was almost too tired to go to bed, so I was very late, but I made it. Needless to say, I slept. My shoulder was sore, but after I laid on it for a while it stopped hurting and I slept on it for almost four hours. It felt fine when I got up, but then...oh, my. I almost couldn't do anything for about an hour. It's still sore, despite the Tylenol, but not quite as bad as this morning. I didn't get enough sleep, though, and I've been cranky and dropping things all day.
I wanted to start the shawl today. It's called "Fox Paws" because the pattern looks like little interlocked paws. I managed to get it cast on and do the first three rows, but it was slow going. I'm sure it will get easier as I go along. I understand how the pattern works, but doing it is a learning procedure. It doesn't help that I don't like the colors very well. I was so intrigued that I bought it when it was first offered, and a few months later they came out with colorways that were much nicer. I don't like the yarn very well either. It's sport weight, which is a little heavier than sock yarn and it's sort of scratchy. And the pattern works on big needles - much too big for yarn that thin. Well, it's sort of interesting, so I'll keep at it, at least until my lace yarn comes. The lace shawl I want to do next needs yarn I don't have (of course!) so I ordered it and it's on the way, I think.
The task of the day was the bulletin. Pastor sent me the info yesterday and I wanted to get it out today if possible because the lady who does the printing is going out of town. Fortunately, it was an easy one to put together and evidently I didn't goof.
Otherwise, my arm is so sore, I didn't do anything.
The weather started out clear, but by 11:00 there were clouds looming up in the west and by 1:30 PM it was cloudy. The high temperature was 58º. The wind started out from the north, swung around through east, went calm and has picked up from the southwest, although it's not very strong. The humidity was under 60% all day, which was nice. There were stars last night, but there won't be any tonight, I think.
The guys felt good, particularly Grayson, who kept bombing around and getting into things, including Louie. Even Louie felt pretty good, although this morning, first he tried really hard to wash behind his tail - he couldn't - and then he had a coughing fit. All that didn't seem to bother him much, and even he was moving around more than he usually does. My little furry barometers.
I finally finished the load of bottoms that has been lurking in the washer for several days, and it's in the dryer now. I have to do a couple of loads of wash this week. I'm out of compression hose and I'm getting low on underwear. For lo these many years I have always washed all at once, usually on Saturday. These days I seem to have started washing any time i have a load or I'm running out of stuff. I suppose it makes sense, since the laundry room is right on the way to the bedroom and I'm around all the time.
So that was my quiet day, and now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field, and it might even rain a bit.
June 2 Ugh. I'm late tonight.
I managed to turn out the lights at 9:30 last night, with all the pill dispensers filled - although I found a mistake this morning. I slept, even though my shoulder was sore after taking my bath and I when i got up I had to sit for half an hour before it felt good enough to go back to bed. The alarm woke me at 6:00 and I started go get up right away, partly to turn the alarm off, but my pulse was sounding in my left ear in a way I've never heard it before, so I had to take it easy until it went away. It was a weird sound. Unfortunately, I was moving very slowly, so I was very late leaving and later than I wanted to getting to church. At least the song was something I know, sort of, so it didn't matter a lot that I missed practice.
Church was good, but I had a terrible time standing up and sitting down. I've been very stiff and sore today. I stayed a while to listen to some people talking to pastor, so it was about 1:00 when I got home and I was still moving slowly. While I was sitting in the powder room playing with my phone, my head kept dropping forward and my eyes kept closing. Moving around and having something to eat helped that.
I've been wanting to wind some hanks of yarn into balls, including some for an interesting stole and some of the yarn I got a couple of months ago, so I did that this afternoon. The yarn for the stole is thick sock yarn, so it was easy to wind, once I found the pieces of the swift. Then I started on the dark purple lace yarn. Ugh. I love that yarn, but it sure is hard to wind into balls. I wish the manufacturer would do it for us! The first ball went fine. The second one got all tangled up and it probably took me almost an hour to get the last 30 yards wound on the ball. The third hank...well, that one is now in about seven pieces, because it had breaks at various random places. It looked almost like moth larva damage, except that the breaks weren't on top of each other, so all I can figure is that I got a defective hank. The fourth hank was fine. but I immediately had to go find more - i hope the dye lots are fairly good matches! - because even if I'd had four good hanks, I wouldn't have enough yarn for what I want to knit.
The shawl bug is biting me again. I've been knitting socks exclusively for several months, and it's getting very boring. I will work on the socks, and also on the black sweater, but I want something more challenging, like a shawl or a stole. The one with the thick yarn isn't lace, but it has some unusual construction that looks like it might be fun. It works on size 8 needles (read: thick) so it shouldn't take long, and by that time I should have all sorts of large quantities of lace yarn and all the patterns lined up.
The weather was cool but pretty. It was clear or nearly clear all day and all that smoke seems to have dissipated. The high temperature was only 52º and there was a brisk wind from the north for most of the day, so there was a wind chill in the lower 40s. The humidity was a bit lower, too, so I don't know why I'm so sore. There will probably be stars tonight.
The guys mostly left me alone, although when I was in the bathroom, they came by and had a wrestling match. They got what is apparently their very most favorite canned food for breakfast this morning, and curiously, it's not fish. I mix one bitty can of two varieties of Fancy Feast Chicken and Liver, and they inhale it. It and one fishy thing are the only varieties that are usually gone by dinnertime. They had eaten all their kibble, too, so I had to fill those bowls tonight. I discovered two small bags of kibble in the breezeway that I'd forgotten I bought, so we're set there. I'm not sorry i got all the cat food that came Friday, though. They'll eat it. it will just last a bit longer.
I'm hoping that with all the cat food and all the TP I bought, I'll be good until October or November and then I can lay in enough to last through the winter. There is a method to my madness... Buying in bulk is so much cheaper overall that I try to do it as much as I can.
So now I'm very tired and it's time to totter up to the north end and crash. Tomorrow's main task is the bulletin. Because of various people's schedules, I got the info this afternoon and i need to get it sent out by tomorrow. There are a couple of other things, but they can wait until Tuesday if necessary.
Now it's a cool, clear night in the field and I'm exhausted.
June 1 I can't believe I just wrote that. It's not only that I can't believe where the time went, the weather is just not June-like. Well, I can't argue with the calendar.
I didn't want to go to bed last night, so I was quite late. I slept well, with only two wakeups, and I slept very nicely on both sides until early this morning. After I turned back to the right side, I had a little trouble finding a comfortable place for my arm, but under most circumstances, if I just pick a spot and wait a while, it will stop hurting enough for me to get to sleep. It was very sore when I got up, though and it took a while and some Tylenol to tame it.
I was rather late getting up and I didn't have much to do, but I had to fill the pill dispensers. The ones at the south end are done, and I will do the others when I go up to the north end.
Wow, am I having trouble typing tonight!
The weather was all right. It wasn't as sunny as they predicted, but it was bright-cloudy all day. The high temperature was 57º and there was almost no wind. It's beginning to clear up now, so there may be a star or two tonight. Maybe. It appears that some of the white stuff in the sky is in fact smoke from fires up in Alberta. I didn't notice it quite as much today, but for several days, I could see streaks of stuff that looked too thin and uniform to be clouds. Isn't it a bit early for fires?
The guys were sleepy, of course, but they both got some lap time. Grayson went off on his own accord, but I had to move Louie because he was bugging me. I have a hard time reaching across my body from left to right - that seems to be the worst spot in my shoulder - and I can't stand having a cat leaning his whole body on my right arm. Makes it hard for Louie.
So it was a very quiet Saturday, and now it's a partly cloudy evening in the field and I'm off to the north end to get ready for tomorrow. I do intend to go to church.
Last updated 07/01/19 11:18 PM Copyright S. I. Smith, 2000-2019
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