j2104

A View From the Field

April 2021

April 30

Much to my surprise, April is over. It sure was a lousy month in the field.

I got caught in the game trap and instead of getting to bed early, I was late, so i was late getting up. i had to go to the post office before I ate, but that was all right. I didn't get any money but I got a whole bunch of pills and part of the kit for my new place mats. So now I will have to try to fix the sewing machine, but not until I get the batting. They are very pretty - pink stripes with roses on cream. Since a bunch of my place mats got thrown away, I need some new ones and these are very nice. Since the upper and lower edges are plain, I think I can round the corners and make them oval without too much problem. Have I ever done a sewing project without modifying it? I don't think so.

The weather was nice. It was clear and sunny and the high temperature was 51º. There was some north wind early, with gusts up to 30 mph. Nice.

Grayson got a new kind of canned fish, and he ate it with gusto, so now I think maybe when he didn't eat fish for a couple of days, he didn't feel good. There was no possibility of ants today. It was all gone by late in the afternoon and the way he acted, he would like to have had more. Well, he has kibble. The new cat pan is now inside but not set up yet. Getting closer...

So that was my day, and now it's a cool, clear (I think) night in the field and we can go on to May.

April 29

I am so tired i can hardly keep my eyes open.

i was a bit later getting to bed last night and I didn't sleep very well. I was up a lot and I had a bunch of hot flashes. I don't know why that happens sometimes and doesn't happen other times.

I got up around the right time, though and did my thing, but i didn't get up after breakfast to go to the powder room until right about when I was going to leave, and I had a nasty accident and had to change my bottoms. Then I kept dribbling off at the bottom, so I was late leaving and late getting to town.

It turned out all right, though. I got my results back, and my potassium is very good and my kidney function is back pretty much to its stable state. I don't know enough about the thyroid tests to tell how they are, but it seems like the trend is right, so I'll just have to wait until they call me to find out about that.

Then it was off to Pat's. I had help from several very nice people, which was a good thing, because I could hardly walk. I did a lot of damage, but there was a lot of stuff I needed. I have to confess, I left most of it in the car, except for the stuff that needed to be in the fridge. I will get it tomorrow and I hurt so bad I just couldn't do that much more walking.

The weather was mostly miserable. It started raining just about the time I left here and it rained all the way until I parked at Pat's. The only good thing about that is that it washed all the salt and mud off my car and it looks much nicer now. The rain was the reason I hurt so bad. The high temperature was 50º, but it was around noon and it dropped off after that. There was a little north wind. Of course, it was dark and dreary while it was raining, but about the time I started home, the sun began to come out and it was sunny until about an hour before sunset. Then it clouded up again. Ah, spring in the UP! The ends of the branches of the birches and maples are turning red, but nothing much is out yet except for the willow catkins.

Grayson sat on me before I left and that was partly responsible for my accident. then he went away. I'd love to know where he goes to sleep, but maybe it's upstairs. He came and sat on me again after dinner, so I guess I'm forgiven.

It will be nice not to have to go anywhere but the post office tomorrow. Now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field and I'm going to bed.

April 28

I'm tired again.

I got to bed around 11:00, I think. I slept all right, although I spent 45 minutes in the middle of the night trying to look at appliances. And I got up a bit after 8:00. This thing has really upset me.

I did my morning things and before I left, I spent some time on the GE website. Sigh. To replace the two appliances that are dead will cost approximately $5500. I don't have that kind of money. I expected that the ovens would be expensive ($4300), but washing machines are running around $900. That was a shock to me. A nice reader gave me a line on a place that has parts for old appliances, but I haven't had time to look at it yet. The person from GE who was answering my emails - boy, talk about terrible customer service!! - passed me off to the phone number. I did get to look at the GE website more carefully and it says that the parts (or I think they're the parts) are "temporarily" out of stock, so I have questions, since it looks like the ovens are still being made? The washer isn't, so there are no parts for it. I have some digging to do.

I didn't do any today, because I had to get my car serviced. I was almost late, because I got to the bottom of the steps in the breezeway and had to go back inside to visit the powder room again, even though I had just left it. I made it, though. Well, at least there didn't seem to be anything expensive wrong. I got my oil changed and they discovered that I had leaky valve stems on the front tires, which is why they were so soft. The parts are cheap, but the labor was $40. Am I the only person who is continually shocked by the price of stuff these days?

I expected a considerable rise in the appliance prices, because it's been 20 years, but I didn't expect quite that much. I don't really know how much the originals were, though, because I bought everything at once as a package deal and there was never an itemized bill. I think I got a discount, too. But still...

I got home just after 4.

There was a lot of very slow traffic on my way south, and of course i got caught in the beginning of rush hour on the way home, but it was better until I ran up against an obvious touron halfway up the covered road...he was going 30 mph in spots... I know he was a touron because he went straight at the blinker in Copper Harbor, and that took him right down to the edge of the water. Locals and people who know this area don't do that.

The weather was nice, if not too warm. It was clear and sunny. The high temperature here was 48º, but that was after I got home. It was warmer in Houghton. There was almost no wind. It was quite humid, and my knees are telling me so. It sure is nice to see the sunshine and get all that free heat.

Grayson got some canned food he likes today, so he had eaten it all before there were any ants. He was so glad to see me when i got home. It finally hit me that I don't have to wait until I clean out the bathtub to set up his litter tray. i have room to put it on the floor. I won't get to do that until Friday, but I will do it. He has been very patient with me.

Tomorrow, I have to get my blood drawn and shop for food. The plumber wants to come, too, but I'm going to have to postpone that, unfortunately. Maybe they can come Friday. The food isn't so important - I still have some - but i need that blood draw.

So that was my day and now it's a clear, cool night in the field and I need to go to bed.

April 27

I'm tired.

I was in bed before midnight and I got up a bit after 9, so I should have had enough sleep, but of course, I drove 100 miles today and that takes its toll.

I had time to do my morning thing without rushing, although I came close to having an accident. I didn't, thankfully. I didn't read all my emails, but I did get to read my funnies and I was only a little bit later than I wanted to be.

Traffic was nonexistent and the road was clear and mostly dry, although up in the higher elevations, there was a respectable amount of snow on the sides of the road. Ours is mostly gone, but there must have been 3" or more up there.

My teeth are now nice and clean and they didn't find anything wrong, although there are a couple of spots they're watching. i got my brush and my floss and started home just in time to get tangled up in the school busses. I have to laugh at myself for a lot of reasons, but one is how much I hate traffic. When I lived in the Detroit area, traffic didn't bother me at all, but since I've lived up here - wow! Five cars waiting to cross the bridge and I'm stressed. Anyway, I had to stop and get gas on the way home so I got here a bit before 5.

The other reason I'm laughing at myself is different: I've lost so much weight in the past 6 months. I'm still fat, but I haven't weighed this little in at least 40 years. So when I look at my reflection in the window at night, I can't believe how small I look. And even funnier, every time I pull on a pair of jeans, I expect to have to struggle into them like I used to, and now they pull up with no problem except to tuck in my vest. It's amazing. And I'm wearing my darkest pair, that I couldn't get into last year because the legs didn't fit over my calves. Now not only do they, but they're loose around my hips and thighs. I have to wear a belt with all my jeans or they would fall down and I'm on the fourth of five holes now. I'm not trying to boast or anything. It's just so amazing. I'm sure all my power suits that I brought with me would fit fine now. I wish I could get upstairs, because I have at least one jacket I could really use, if I ever get back to church, and all those beautiful poly charmeuse blouses... Well, someday, maybe.

The weather was nondescript. It was mostly cloudy and dark, although the sun tried to peek through on my way home. The high temperature here was 42º, but there was no wind, so it wasn't unpleasant to be out. The humidity was extremely high, though, so my knees were really bad.

Grayson got to sit on me this morning, and then he went away. I swear he can read my mind and he knows when I"m going away. He was waiting for me when I got home and he sat on me again when I sat down here. He got something he's decided he doesn't like very well, and I'm sorry to say the ants have found the new place where I put the canned food. I don't know what I'm going to do. I can't see that the ant baits have done any good at all. The thing is, the ants are about a millimeter long and they're brown, so except when they're on something white, like a dish or a paper, I can't see them to find out what their pathway is. We'll keep trying, and I guess he'll be eating chicken and turkey for a while, since that's the only things he eats fast enough to beat the ants. He isn't happy about that, but neither am I.

Oh, yes, and I have had some conversation with GE and they don't make the controls anymore. I don't know what I'm going to do about that. Whoever it is that I'm talking to is not being helpful and they clearly didn't read my entire message. However, they do have a phone number on their website, so if I have to, I will call them and see what I can find out. It's so annoying and disappointing. One reason I got GE appliances was that they used to have such good customer service. they used to be reliable, too.

So that was a rather busy day and I'm tired, even though I got a good night's sleep last night. I must do it again, because I have to go back to Houghton tomorrow to get my car services. Now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field.

April 26

I inverted last night and I didn't get nearly enough sleep, but that's all right, because I have to go early tonight. So I'm doing this early. I get my teeth cleaned tomorrow and the oil changed in the car on Wednesday, and I guess I'll have to wait until Thursday to get my blood draw, because I want to do some food shopping and I want to get home before midnight. So I go weeks without doing anything and then I spend a whole week flying up and down the peninsula. Figures.

The disaster of the day is the appliances. The repair guy finally called me when I could answer the phone and he says the parts aren't available. I have an email in to GE, mostly because I can't talk to them on the phone at this hour, and we'll see what they say. I might possibly be able to swing a new washer - that's fundamental - but I doubt I can afford new ovens. We'll see what happens there.

And then there was the weather. I think it was around 12:30 when I looked out the window and it was snowing, although it was coming almost straight down, so it was very wet and probably more sleet. It seems t have turned to mostly rain around 6, and I think it may have stopped now. Yuck. The high temperature was only 35º and there was a south to southeast wind that gusted up to 38 mph. Of course it was dark and dreary.

I don't think Grayson feels very good. However, I think possibly I have the ant problem under control, although only time will tell. I put out some ant baits last night, because the canned food he doesn't like very well was crawling with them in only a couple of hours. And today, I put his canned food dish on the other side of the hallway with the kibble. So far, so good. He likes what he got today, too, so it might not be possible to tell for sure, but we'll see how it looks tomorrow. It was kind of sad to see him looking at that dish last night, He doesn't like that kind too well (too bad - I have a case of it) but he would have eaten some if it had been edible. These are extremely small black ants and they come in droves. Yuck. I hope the bait I got works like it's supposed to.

So that was my day. I have clean hair and the first draft of the bulletin is done, so I accomplished oomething. Now it's a cold, dark and possibly rainy nght in the field.

April 25

I wasn't as early to bed as I wanted to be, but I had the usual problem getting sidetracked. I slept well and I think I got up around 11. I was up around 6, just as the beautiful, almost full moon was sinking down over the mountain. It was the most beautiful golden color. It's beginning to get light around then these days, so it was a lovely view to go back to sleep to. I'm not sure I'll be able to see it tonight, though, because it may be cloudy. One just has to seize those things when they come by and try to remember them. Unfortunately, the camera woke up too late to catch it, so I set it back half an hour and we'll hope. April is usually a good time to catch moonset.

I didn't do anything much. I wanted to knit on the purple shawl, but the last time I knitted, I screwed up a repeat royally and I couldn't see well enough this morning to do more than rip back to the mistake. That isn't as dire as it sounds, because the mistake is right at the beginning of the second repeat (on the right side), so all I had to rip out was the first repeat coming and going. If I remember to turn on the bright lights tomorrow, maybe I will try it again. it's a real mess.

The weather was nice for most of the day. It was clear and sunny until around 6 PM, when the clouds moved in. The high temperature was 39º and there was little to no wind. Nice. One of these days, I'll stick my head out onto the deck and try to get my remote temperature sensor installed outside. I don't think it's very accurate, but at least it will help. This one has a humidity sensor, too, which will be interesting. Oh, and most of the snow is gone. Thank goodness. I've had enough white.

Grayson spent quite a bit of time on my lap. He is so nice about it. He gets on the cart and puts one paw on the arm of the chair and sort of pokes at me with his other paw, so I know he's there. If I move my arm out of the way, he comes and sits down, usually on my right arm, which is OK if I'm just using the mouse. I can't type when he's on my lap anyway.

So that was another very quiet day and now it's a cool, probably cloudy night in the field.

April 24

I was even earlier last night, but it was well after midnight, and I slept fairly well, although I had some really weird dreams, which I have fortunately forgotten, I didn't get up until almost 1 PM and I did my usual Saturday thing, except that this time I spent most of my time knitting. I worked the heel on a sock, so now I can do the foot. Those socks were supposed to be for last summer. I hope I can have them for this summer.

I had to laugh at myself. Most of my knitting these days is knit stitches, either something in the round, like socks or sweaters, or garter stitch, which is what most of my shawls are. But the heels of socks have to be knit back and forth to get the shaping and when I started the heel today, I discovered that I had almost forgotten how to purl. it took me most of the heel before I felt comfortable with it, and of course, now I am going back to working in the round. I've been knitting so long that my fingers know the motions without me having to think about it.

When I got up, it had started snowing -apparently around 10:30 - and it didn't stop until around 7:30 PM. Just what I did not want to see. I don't think it accumulated more than an inch or so, but since the temperature was around freezing, it was wet, heavy stuff, as you could see if you looked at the camera, where the tree branch is obscuring the top of the window. It was pretty, with every twig and branch covered with snow, and when I looked at the tree in front of the kitchen, it looked like there might be some ice under the snow. It's amusing, though, to notice how much prettier it looks in November than it does in April. I am tired of white, even though we didn't have all that much this year.

The temperature fell all night and part of the morning before it settled down right around freezing at noon. The wind was from the north around 15 mph with gusts up to 28 mph. Of course, it was very cloudy and dull, at least until just before sunset, when there was a ray or two of sunshine. Not what we expect the last week of April.

Grayson slept, although he was complaining by the time I finally got him something canned to eat. i had taken a chance on a variety of canned food he's never had before, just because it was all I could get, and it looks like we have a winner. He hasn't eaten it all yet, but he did a pretty good job on it. I'm glad, because I have a whole case and it was just a guess that he would like it.

So that was my lost day and now it's a cold, dark night in the field and maybe I can roll back another hour or so tonight?

April 23

I was a little earlier last night, so I was a little earlier getting up and I did a few things. I got all the trash into an orange bag, but it's a small one and I haven't been able to tie the top. I went to the post office and got my mail, where I discovered that I guessed wrong about what I was supposed to put on the loss statement. And I called about my appliances, but i didn't get any answers - yet. We'll see what happens next week.

And the bag that I use to tote my stuff from the south end to the north end - including my iFrogs - has disappeared. I was using them when I called about the appliances, but I don't know where it went. I can't find it. It's so frustrating when something like that happens.

The weather was nice. It wasn't very sunny - more of those high, featureless clouds that let the light in but not the sun - but the hiigh temperature was 60º. briefly. It was in the middle 50s for most of the day, with a north wind that got as high as 20 mph with 31 mph gusts. That was early this afternoon and it died down after that. It was nice when I was out. i didn't even put on a jacket - I am wearing a heavy sweatshirt - and that was nice. First time this year I could go running out with nothing on... The forecast for tomorrow is yucky.

Last night when I turned out the light, the moon was shining brightly in the windows, and when I woke up for the first time, it was an orange rind hanging over the lighthouse. There weren't any stars, but oh, that moon... it's supposed to be a super moon and already it's brighter than normal. Oh, lovely moon...

Grayson slept, of course, mostly on the cart next to me, although he's gone away now. He was mad because I didn't offer him any of my dinner, but he doesn't like salmon and he wouldn't have eaten it anyway.

I haven't put out my ant traps yet, but I did install the battery. It was charged to 60%, just like the review said, so i charged it fully and then closed the lid. We'll see how it holds a charge, but I have some hope. It says something to me that Amazon isn't selling the one that won't hold a charge anymore. I just got unlucky. I really want that thing up at the north end, but I won't move it until I'm sure it's working all right.

So that was it, and I'm tired again. I didn't get enough sleep last night. Now it's a dark but not very cold night in the field.

April 22

I Inverted big time, so I didn't get enough sleep. I did get up and I did a few things, but next week I have appointments, so I have to get back on a human schedule again. I would have made a good observational astronomer.

I called the HVAC people and they will send someone, but maybe not for a couple of weeks. Having no water in the laundry tub is most unhandy. And I got an appointment to get my car's oil changed on Wednesday. On Tuesday, I have to go down to Houghton to the dentist, so I will be in traveling mode next week. Spring is coming and it's time to come out of hibernation.

Debbie called and we took up where we left off yesterday, but we didn't have a whole lot to talk about, so we only talked for about two hours.

My battery and my ant traps came, but I didn't bring them in.That's for tomorrow.

The weather was nice but not very warm. The high temperature was 50º,, briefly, and the wind shifted from the north to the southwest. It's been a little gusty. It was clear except that for part of the afternoon there were those thin, high clouds that turn the sky white. It was better around sunset.

Grayson didn't do anything in particular, but I don't think he feels very good.

So that was a nearly lost day and now it's a cool, clear night in the field...or I think it's clear.

April 21

I came pretty close to inverting last night, so I was late getting up and I didn't do much of anything except the bulletin.

The weather was cold but pretty. I think it was cloudy early in the morning, but by 8:30 or so it started to clear and the rest of the day was sunny and pretty. There were a few little clouds around 5 PM, but they didn't interfere with the sun. It was cold, however. The high temperature was 37º and there wasn't a lot of wind. It was nice to see all the sunshine and nice to get all the free heat.

Grayson did his thing. I picked him up and set him on my lap after I got up and he sat there for a long time and purred while I petted him. I don't know if he really liked it or he was just being nice.

So that was all there was and now it's a clear, cold night in the field.

April 20

I was very late last night, because i just sat until i had a nasty accident and had to clean up after myself. So I got up late, ate late and didn't do much of anything.

I did was a load of underwear. I was down to my last pair of clean panties, so it was time. There is something not quite right about the part of the washer control that does seem to work, but I will have to track that down sometime later.

The weather was more wintry than spring-like. The high temperature was only 32º and the wind was still from the north and quite strong until mid-afternoon. The wind is dying down now and tomorrow should be marginally warmer, but still. I want warmer at this time of year. Under the snow, the grass was beginning to turn green, which was a welcome sight, and the willow catkins are out. I haven't taken a good look at the birches, but their catkins should be showing, too. But it's cold.

Grayson was his usual self. He had some difficulty because I had the laptop open beside the desktop monitor, where he usually sits. And when I didn't react when he wanted to climb onto my lap, he was going to go away, so I picked him up and cuddled him, which made him very happy. I must do that more often. Buster and DC were not cuddle-type cats, and Louie was too fat, so I have gotten out of the habit of cuddling. I must start doing it. It makes us both happy. I suspected he knew what I unboxed in the breezeway, and it turned out that he certainly did. I went out to get some potatoes, and I brought in one of his bags of kibble, and he went crazy until I opened it and gave him some. He sat right down and ate some. That's because he liked what he got for breakfast and it was mostly gone. It was something in gravy and I don't really approve of that, because there isn't enough meat in it, but he loves gravy almost as much as Louie did.

This evening, I started, in a very small way, to get my information together to file my taxes. This was minor - I had to look through the calendar on my phone and transfer it to a written calendar so I could find how many trips I'd made to the hospital and to Houghton. Turns out, I drove 1400 miles. And this year will be worse. Maybe tomorrow I can start on the ledger. Most likely, I can file the short form for the Federal taxes, but I like to have the information just in case I can't. And the state form is different...

So that was my day, and maybe I can be a little earlier tonight. When I get to bed determines when I get up, because I usually sleep about 9 hours, and the time before that is only 6½ or 7 hours, which isn't enough. I need more time during business hours.

Oh, and I was sneezing today. I'm wondering if maybe it's time to start the antihistamines, even though there's snow on the ground. If the catkins are blooming, there's pollen.

Now it's a dark, cold night in the field.

April 19

Well, I wasn't quite as late last night, I got up a bit earlier, and I did a few things. Not much, but something.

The story was the weather. It was around 38º with almost no wind all night long, but between 6 and 7 AM, the wind shifted to the north and blew at 31 mph with gusts to 48 mph. I'm sorry I was asleep. It's the neatest thing to watch the weather change so abruptly. The strongest winds were between 7 and 8 AM, with sustained winds of 33 mph and gusts to 51 mph. All that wind wound up the lake effect machine and it snowed for most of the day, although it didn't accumulate more than an inch or two. The temperature was nearly steady around 29º. The snow seems to have stopped, but the wind is still blowing hard and the lake is roaring

Grayson got to lie on my lap today, which seemed to please him. He hasn't been finishing his canned food lately, but I think the reason for that is that I have an ant problem. I wouldn't eat something that was crawling with ants, either. His food order came today, and while i unpacked it, I didn't bring it inside. He watched me unpack, and I think he knew what I was unpacking. I still want to get the food into the pantry cupboard and then I will bring more inside, although what I will do with that 16 lb bag of his favorite kibble, I don't know.

So that was my day and now it's bedtime, although they're going to play Sibelius right before 1 AM, and that's tempting. It's a cold, windy and probably snowy night in the field. Spring? What spring?

April 18

It was another lost day. I didn't invert, but I was late and when I got up, I didn't do anything. As you've no doubt observed, I get these times when I simply can't.

The weather was pretty nice, I think. There was sunshine, but there was a layer of thin, high clouds, so it was gray instead of blue. The high temperature was 51º and for most of the day, there was almost no wind. Lately it has shifted southwest and picked up to 20 mph gusts. The forecast for tomorrow is dire - accumulating snow, especially in the higher terrain. We should be used to this; I remember one year when we had something like 22" this week. This event won't be like that, but there will be snow and there will be wind and cold. After that, the sun should shine again.

Grayson mostly slept.

So now it's a cool, cloudy night in the field and the snow is coming...the snow is coming...

April 17

So I inverted and I got up around 1:30, so I didn't get nearly enough sleep. I did my usual Saturday thing.

I finally ate my second meal around midnight. I wasn't hungry, but I didn't want to be as hungry as I knew I would be in the morning. I couldn't decide what to eat. I need to try to lay in some good, easy to prepare frozen stuff. Schwan's has some that are tasty but they're all too small - and two are too big, as well as being too expensive. Sigh.

The weather wasn't bad. It was apparently clear at sunrise - I was up briefly around then - but then it clouded up and it didn't clear again until noon. The high temperature was 44º and there was a very light wind from the north.

Grayson mostly slept, although he didn't sit on me today. He was sleeping on the cart tonight when I decided I wanted to hear some music, but when I turned it on, he woke up and left with a thump! I guess he likes it quiet. Well, too bad, buddy. He never did finish his fish yesterday, so I gave him something else and it's all gone. OK, I get the message. No more fish. it's just as well, because I can't get the varieties he was eating anyway. I was sitting in the powder room when he went upstairs and started pounding on the floor and the stairway ane he actually said something. He does not do what Buster and Louie did - he doesn't get up in the loft and sound off - so I was surprised to her him say anything. Mostly he wafts around like a little gray shadow and he only gets talkative right around me and when he wants something. You should hear him when I'm preparing his canned food. You'd think he hadn't had anything to eat in a week. I still think there may be something wrong with him, because he's gotten very thin and he sleeps a lot, but it could be that he's just older than they thought he was. He should be around 11, according to the people I got him from, but he acts lilke he's two or three years older. I am so used to Buster, who never did sleep very much, that it's hard to get used to a normal cat.

So that was my day and i really must go to bed. It's a clear (I think) cool night in the field.

April 16

After the camera stopped updating last night, a little crescent moon cut across the top right corner of the picture. I didn't save it, but it was cool. I fiddled around until I was very late getting to bed, so I didn't get up until noon. That meant that I had to move about as quickly as I ever can, but then it turned out that later was better for Vicki anyway. I got my paper notarized and sent off in the mail and I got my mail - and somebody else's. I've been getting a lot of misfiles lately. I think perhaps someone else is having the same problem I do - they see what they think they should see rather than what's there.

The weather was actually rather nice. It was cloudy until noon and then it cleared up. The high temperature was 41º officially, and that was late, but my car said it was 44º when I was out. There was a north wind in the 10-15 mph range. Nice, for this time of year. The sun set over the lighthouse.

Grayson didn't like his breakfast. I guess he's decided he doesn't like fish. I know Louie did, and now I think Grayson was eating it just to get his share. He didn't get to sleep on me as much as he wanted, but he did get some time on my lap. It was hard, though, because he wanted to curl up on top of my arms and not only is that uncomfortable for me, I can't do much of anything. He also wanted some of my fish, but he wouldn't have eaten it, so he didn't get any.

So it was another day and now it's a clear, cool night in the field.

April 15

I have to confess I get really tired of doing this thing, but it has been so useful to me - I tend to forget what's gone on in the past - that I will try to keep doing it.

I wasn't too late last night and I slept well. I got up a bit before 11 AM because Amanda called to tell me that the guy who I thought was going to notarize my paper is having sort of emergency surgery and won't be available and she would try to find someone else to do it. She did, but I can't get it done until tomorrow afternoon, so that didn't turn out the way i wanted it, either.

So I fiddled around and didn't do much. I did remember that I wanted to make a copy of the paper. I had hoped to do it after it was notarized, but that won't happen, so I'll make do with what i have. I started a wash load of bottoms, and I will do the second rinse on my way up to the north end.

The weather was mostly cloudy and cold today, although it began to clear up around 7:30 PM. The high temperature was only 38º and there was a brisk wind from the north or northeast that got up to about 20 mph. The lake was singing. They were all wrong about the rain and/or snow, at least here. Not, you understand, that I'm complaining. It's time for spring.

Grayson slept, of course. He got to sleep on my lap for a while late this afternoon. I don't think it's very comfortable for him, but then, he only seems to sleep for long periods on the floor and he changes position fairly frequently. It was nice to have that warm, fuzzy pad on my lap for a while.

Tomorrow I should get all sorts of packages, and there is something at the post office that I will get, too. Then Grayson will have some new stuff to eat, although something has happened to Friskies, and most varieties aren't available anywhere anymore. I even had to buy a 16 lb bag of his favorite kibble. I don't know what's going on. I suppose they will say it's the pandemic, but I have to believe that's just an excuse. i wish I could get some different stuff for him to eat, but I'm afraid to try a whole case of something on him, because he might not like it, even though he seems to eat almost anything out of a can. Sheesh. I never expected that kind of problem.

So that was my day and I'm tired. It's a partly cloudy, cold, breezy night in the field.

April 14

I wasn't too late last night, and I slept well because I was so tired. I got a single phone ring about 10;30 and I got up not too long after that because I had to.

I guess it was a fairly successful day. I actually got some of the stuff off the counters - my counters are filling up again. I unboxed the TP that was delivered, along with my replacement wastebasket for the powder room. I had to move some boxes into the garage, because the TP came in a box the size of a baby casket. And in the bottom was the PAM spray I ordered.

Then I did the bulletin. I had just sent it out when Pastor sent a change to the hymns, so I had to fix that and send it out again. I don't mind doing this job, but I could never stand to be a secretary without trying to strangle my boss.

I called the insurance company. Evidently my adjuster is supposed to help me with stuff like filling out that form, but he has been AWOL, so another adjuster from the company helped me. The only problem I had was that I had a terrible connection - the first time that's ever happened on my cell phone, so I could hardly hear her or understand her. I think I got it right, though, although I had to do a little writing over my figures, because I almost left out the payment to the cleanup company. Or I think I was supposed to add that in. Well, whatever. Now all I have to do is get it notarized and I can send it off and hope it's right.

I feel about the same way about this thing as I do when I do my taxes - shaky.

I had to search back through these journals, because I'd forgotten the exact day when the flood happened. I must go through them and write down in my little blue book all the events in this saga, because people keep asking me about them.

So tomorrow, after I get my paper notarized, I can start on my taxes - finally! I've been trying to do that for at least a month and something keeps getting in the way.

The weather wasn't good, but it wasn't as bad as yesterday. It was dark and cloudy and there was some rain or maybe snow this morning. The high temperature was only 40º. The wind was from the north in the 15-20 mph range this morning, but it shifted east and died down this afternoon. It wasn't very nice out.

Grayson mostly slept. Unfortunately, he didn't get to sit on me, because I was rustling around too much. I tried something new on him for breakfast and I've come to the conclusion that he will eat anything out of a can. He wanted some of my dinner, too - or he thought he did. He didn't get any, because I'm pretty sure he wouldn't eat it. I think I could train him to eat people food, but I absolutely do not want to do that.

So it was a sort of productive day, and now it's a cold, dark night in the field and I'm tired again.

April 13

I was late again, and for no good reason except that i was obsessing over the insurance form. It was a frustrating day. The appliance guy didn't call, and the adjuster didn't call me back.

I scanned the form into the computer so that I could enlarge it enough to read - not even my magnifiers worked - and while I think I understand it a bit better, I don't understand it well enough to swear that my answers are right. I hope he will call back tomorrow.

The weather was nondescript. It was dull and gray, but there wasn't any rain after about 11 AM. The high temperature was only 41º. The wind has shifted to the north, but it was very light. It's still very humid. Blah.

Grayson caught a mouse right after I finally got to bed, and since I wasn't in the bathroom, he brought it into the bedroom, and after the scuffling I heard, I suspect there is a dead mouse someplace in there. He relaxed today, knowing he'd done a good job. He curled up on me after breakfast, but i had to move him so I could go to the bathroom. He wanted some of my dinner, but he didn't get any. and he went away mad - or at least disappointed.

So that was my day, and now it's a cold, dark night in the field, but so far it isn't raining - or snowing.

April 12

Oh, I was late again. Not too late, but not early. I started for the north end at a reasonable time, although I would have been in bed after midnight, but when I got there, I discovered that the range extender had crapped out again, so I had to go back to the powder room and reset it. That started it, because of course I had to try it out once it was working again...

So I got up late, but I managed to get moving, although now that I think about it, I didn't do anything until just recently. Then I started to look at the form I have to fill out for the insurance, and I simply cannot understand any of it. I don't know what goes in all those spaces, and the type is so small I have to look at it with a magnifying glass. So I will call the adjuster tomorrow - again - and see if I can get some help.

Oh, and I got a phone call around 8:45 this morning that woke me up, so I didn't answer it, and it was the appliance repairman. Maybe if he calls tomorrow, I will be able to answer the phone. Maybe. This is getting ludicrous.

I was foolling around with the laptop again this evening. The battery I got is a piece of junk - it doesn't hold a charge. So I plugged it in again and started trying to learn how to use RemotePC. I got it running, finally - it takes a very long time to get going - and I was back using the desktop again when all of a sudden for no reason, the display popped into 640 x 480! i have one game that uses that, but I wasn't running it at the time. The only thing I could think to do was reboot - it was about time I did that anyway - but it took two tries to get everything working right, and the first reboot took forever to come up. I'm wondering if RemotePC has a data leak. At the same time, I was hassling Norton on the laptop. Every time I start it, it wants to do a disk scan, even though I haven't done anything since the last time I ran it. Any respect I might once have had for PC software is long gone.

The weather was miserable again. The high temperature was in the low 40s all day and it went down slowly from 45º early in the morning to 40º now. There were very light winds from the southeast. It rained pretty much all day, but since 3 PM we've had close to half an inch. Yuck.

Grayson slept, and he spent a long time on my lap. Wise kitty.

The weather did not do anything good for my poor old bod. When I woke up for the first time, the muscle in my back that bothered me over the winter had seized up again and it was sore all night. When I got up and got dressed - and was warm - it went away, So tonight I will pull up the comforter and hope that keeps me warm enough. I hope Johanna is doing massage this summer. I need her - my back needs her.

So that was a mostly useless day and now it's a cold, wet night in the field. Once the Mozart is over, I will go to bed.

April 11

It's getting better. I was in bed by midnight, and while it took me a little while to get to sleep and I was up several times, I did pretty good. I got up around 10 AM, took a bath, and ate breakfast around noon.

I even got some of the things on my to-do list done, but not everything. Every time I look at that package from the insurance company, I get nauseated. I will have to do that tomorrow, for sure.

The weather was nasty, and my joints were telling me that all day. The high temperature was 47º, and I don't know when it was, because for most of the day it was in the low 40s. It started raining around 4 AM and continued until at least 1 PM, and then it started again around 6 PM and it is still raining. So far, we've had 0.35", but as I think I've said before, sometimes what's coming down is so light it doesn't register at the weather station. There wasn't much wind, and it varied between north and east. It was very dark and dull, as you'd expect.

Grayson spent most of the day with me, either on me, on the cart or on the floor. He got a lot of loving.

So it was a very quiet Sunday, but I did get a few things done. Now it's a wet, dark night in the field.

April 10

I fiddled around much too long last night, so I was very late getting to bed. I started out sleeping well, so well, in fact, that I had to change my underwear the first time I was up. After that, it was sort of iffy. I slept, but i was wakeful and I felt like I was getting tangled up in the body pillow. Then I pulled my usual weekend thing and got only one meal. It was a good one, but still.

The weather was nondescript. It was cloudy and dull all day, but there wasn't any fog at all. The temperature was mostly in the lower 40s. They say the high was 48º, but it must have been a momentary thing because I can't see it in the data. The wind was from the north, but it wasn't strong, and it was under 10 mph all afternoon and it's been calm for the past couple of hours. The humidity is very high, but my knees were telling me that before I looked at the numbers.

Grayson did his thing.

So it was a lost day and now it's a cool, dark night in the field.

April 9

I was late, but not too late and I slept fairly well, but I was up a lot. I finally got up when the iPhone rang - it was a wrong number, of course - but I sat around for quite a while before i got dressed.

Then I attacked the phones, before I even had anything ot eat. I haven't been hungry today anyway. It took two calls to my insurance agent and one to the adjuster, but I think I can see my way forward now. I don't know what I'd do without that adjuster. He has been so extremely helpful.

I also called the appliance repairers - they work out of Kirkish Furniture - and while there was nobldy there, The woman who answered the phone was extremely helpful and very nice. I suspect she may have something to do with the owners. Anyway, we'll see what happens on Monday.

Then I just sat and either read or played Bookworm, alternately, and I completely lost track of time, so I didn't get my usual nice Friday dinner. Tomorrow, probably.

The weather wasn't too bad. The high temperature during the day was 53º and there was a moderate south to southwest wind. It was mostly cloudy, although every so often the sun would peek through. It set right at the end of Lighthouse point, so pretty soon it will be out of the camera's view. The humidity was rather high, but my joints, particularly my knees, were telling me that.

Grayson did his thing and he got to sit on me until I had an accident that started with a severe cramp. After I got back to the office, he came and tried to sit down on me, but he had peed on the floor again and his rear end was all wet, so I wouldn't let him sit down. That situation is on my "to-do" list, too.

So that was my day and now i must go to bed, as soon as I take my pills and finish my drink. Oh, yeah, and hear the Beethoven.

It's a rather warm, cloudy night in the field.

April 8

Oh, I was stupidly late last night, although I didn't invert. I slept well, but it was after 1 PM when I got up. I did my usual stuff, and I got caught in the game trap again, so I was late getting to the office.

Then i had to find a mortgage report so it was after 4 PM when I called...and got redirected to HUD. Several years ago, my reverse mortgage was taken back by HUD, although it's serviced by a private company. Somehow, I have to believe it isn't necessary to have everything so convoluted, but that's why I write science fiction. MY universe doesn't work like that.

Anyway, I had to wait on hold for half an hour, with announcements every 30 seconds, but that gave me time to do my morning surfing. Amazingly enough, I did get my questions answered very neatly, although the person I was talking to had such a thick accent I had a hard time understanding him. I think it was some African language, although I try not to assume things like that. Unfortunately, by the time he sent me the email - yay, they're using our technology!!! - it was too late to call my insurance agent, so I'll have to do that tomorrow.

The weather was nicer than it has been. The high temperature was 61º and the wind was from the south. It was strong for a few hours this afternoon, with gusts up to 23 mph, but before and after, it was nearly calm. My eyes could see some sunshine, but it was mostly cloudy. Mercifully, there was no fog.

Grayson did his thing, alhough he did sleep on my lap for a while this afternoon.

So that was a rather truncated day, and I'm going to try to do better tonight. It's a rather warn (for this time of year) cloudy night in the field.

April 7

I don't remember exactly when I got to bed last night, but I think it was sometime around midnight, plus or minus half an hour or so. I slept well. Thank heaven, I can usually do that, even when I'm bedeviled with stuff. I got up around 10:00, and while I fiddled around some, I talked to the contractor and I took a bath.

That was about all I did on my current problems, because my Schwan's order came. This time, I was able to intercept the UPS guy and he actually brought the box to the door and put it down on my mover's dolly! Wow, did that help!

I cleaned out the ice, but there wasn't nearly as much as there had been, for some reason i don't know. I didn't take the time to try to get most of it out of the bottom. That is going to take a hair dryer and time and I wanted to get my stuff put away before it thawed out. I think it would have been all right for a while longer, because some of the dry ice was still frozen. Then I pushed the box out the door and down the steps. It landed upside down, but when it's empty, it's light enough that I got it upright. I didn't take it all the way out into the garage, but it's sort of out of the way.

One of my Amazon packages came, but the one i really wanted didn't. It may come tomorrow or it may not come until Friday. I think they're taking advantage of the supply chain disruptions, frankly. Since the package just left Connecticut today, I don't expect it tomorrow. Amazon annoys me frequently, but I have to buy from them because of their prices.

So I got some things done, but not a lot. I was too late to call the HVAC people or the appliance repair. Of course, the guy who was supposed to call me from the appliance repair didn't. I thought he wouldn't.

The weather was totally miserable. The temperature was nearly steady around 43º and there was almost no wind. We were socked in all day - couldn't see the water at all. Between around 7 AM and noon we had a quarter inch of rain. Yuck.

Grayson was awfully loving all day and I don't know why. He sat on me two or three times and he even got a tummy rub. He thought he wanted both my breakfast and my dinner, but he didn't get any.

So that was my day, Now my freezer is full of good things again and maybe I can eat for the next month. Now it's a cold, dark, foggy night in the field. Yuck.

April 6

Well, that was better. I was a bit late last night, but I slept well and got up around 10:30. I got to the post office and got my mail - including something from the insurance company that I don't completely understand. When I got home, I did my phone calls, but I didn't get either of the people I wanted to talk to. we'll see what happens tomorrow.

I saw Mary Ann at the post office and we had a nice conversation.

The weather was ugly. Last night after I got up to the north end, we had a thunderstorm and 0.33" of rain, and all day today, there was so much fog that you couldn't see down the harbor at all. The high temperature was 49º, early in the afternoon, and there was a light wind from the north. We have a lot of weather like this in the spring, although it's usually a month later. However, Mary Ann says she found a tick on one of her dogs, which is another sign of an early spring.

Grayson was his usual self today. He ate all his canned food - something else Louie didn't like - and he got to sit on me a couple of times after I got back from the post office.

Now it's a dark, foggy night in the field and while it's early, I think I will go to bed - or something.

April 5

So I inverted again, but I promised myself that I would do something today, and I did. I didn't get up until around 2 PM, but I didn't diddle around. I had something to eat and had at it.

I filled the pill dispensers, and I had some bills to pay and I had to find some stuff in the mess on my computer desk. i got a storage box put together and got rid of all the paper on the desk. There were a couple other things on my list that I also accomplished..

I recently read some articles about "bedtime procrastination" and I think I'm beginning to understand what it is in my case. I am going to have to try to discipline myself. The only thing is, i had to do that for so many years that now it's just so easy to do what I want to... Sigh.

The weather was nice again. The high temperature was 60º. or I think it was. The weather station has been missing reports again. That meant the temperature in here got up to 76º, because it was mostly sunny. There was a strong southwest wind again, with gusts up to 40 mph. There was a lot of sunshine, but for most of the late afternoon, there was a high deck of featureless clouds overhead. The good thing about that was that the camera actually caught a halo around the sun at 7;21 PM, and the next shot wasn't a halo, it was a huge circle around where the sun was. I saved the pictures and sent one to EPOD, although I don't know if they will use it, since it's just a webcam picture. it was neat.

Grayson slept. I was a bit worried, because he didn't eat all his canned food yesterday, and that was one of his favorites. He did better today, but he slept most of the time. When i was moving the paper off the desk, I inadvertently dropped some on him, and he just gave me a look, although when I continued to work, he got up and moved. And he was following me around.

I had two accidents and narrowly averted a third one, but I think that has to do with what I've been eating - or not eating - lately. I was fine while I was sitting down, but when I stood up - oops. It gets really old.

So that was a more productive day than I've had in some time and I hope I can keep it up. Maybe the problem is, I've been getting too much sleep? We'll see what happens.

Now it's a warmish, breezy night in the field and the rain may not come until Wednesday.

April 4 - Easter Sunday

Oh, I did it again. I got to bed at a sort of reasonable hour and I slept long and well, although I was up for a while around 8 AM because something occurred to me and I had to check it out on the phone. Sigh. At least I can do those things now, whereas before, I would forget what it was I wanted to know by the time I got to the computer.

Then when I got up, I did nothing, and when I finally got to the kitchen, I got a bunch of grapes, went to the office and did nothing, so I'm going to be late tonight, too. I did put in a Schwan's order and I tried to do a Chewy order.

That is worrisome. I noticed that Pat's shelves of cat food are almost empty, and now I find that Grayson's favorite flavors of canned food are evidently not available. I don't know what I'm going to do. We're running out of all of them and I wanted to stock up. I guess that's another phone call I will have to make tomorrow.

The weather was amazing. it was cloudy, but the high temperature was 56º. There was a strong southwest wind, which has gotten up to 41 mph gusts recently. The humidity was under 40%, which is very good for my joints. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, too, but then it's going to rain for the rest of the week.Well, at least we'll have a couple of nice days.

Grayson slept, although by the time I finally got up and did something, he was beginning to complain a bit about the service.

So it was another lost day, and I really must do something - a lot = tomorrow. It's a warmish (for April) dark, windy night in the field.

April 3 - Holy Saturday

Another lost day. I got to bed at a semi-reasonable hour and slept well for a long time, but when I got up, I didn't do anything except fill the pill dispensers at the north end. I don't feel very good, for some reason. I have sort of a sinus headache.

The weather was lovely again, The high temperature was 57º, There was a moderate north wind, in the 15 mph range, for most of the day, but it has now gone nearly calm. It was sunny and mostly clear, although there was a little high haze this morning. I should have stuck my head outside, but I didn't.

Grayson slept. Nothing to report there.

So that was all. Now it's a clear dark night in the field. Spring has sprung.

April 2 -Good Friday

I don't remember when I got to bed, but it was around midnight, maybe before. I was exhausted. Then around 2 AM I woke up feeling like I had to pee, but when I sat up to put on my shoes, I had an accident. Ugh. It wasn't too bad, but there was something on the floor and I had to change my underwear. That all took 45 minutes or so, and then an hour or so later, I woke up again. This time, I made it to the pot, but I just sat for another 45 minutes before I went back to bed, and I didn't sleep very well after that.

Then around 9:30 this morning, I got a spam call, followed shortly by the nurse. Sheesh. After a month or more of no spam, I've been getting them again lately. They seem to go in waves, and I'm on a wave again.

Anyway, I got up around 10:30, even though I really didn't want to, and I've been tired all day. As a result, I didn't do anything I was supposed to, except that I did wash my load of bottoms. I haven't put them in the dryer yet, though.

The weather was quite spring-like. It was clear overnight and in the morning, but it began to cloud up late in the day and it was very cloudy at sunset. The high temperauture was 46º. The wind was from the southwest with gusts as high as 36 mph.

Grayson was very lovey again today, and he contributed to another accident this afternoon. He wanted some of my dinner, but he didn't get any, so he went away mad.

I must try to discipline myself to visit the pot right after meals, especially breakfast. I'm getting really tired of this. However, there isn't anything I can dp about what happens while I'm asleep, so I guess I'll just have to cope. And i need to wash the sheepskin pad, which is getting pretty dirty. At least it keeps stuff off the mattress. The problem with that is that I have to unmake the whole bed and make it up again and that's a chore that nearly does me in. Things that involve bending over are very difficult for me.

So that's the way it is, and it's a dark, cloudy night in the field.

April 1 - Maundy Thursday

I was in bed by around 12;30 last night, which was nice, and I slept fairly well, although I was up several times. I got up around 9:30 and I took my time about things, because I thought I had plenty of time to get ready and get to town at a reasonable time.

Ha.

Well, I didn't quite make it to the powder room and although it wasn't the worst accident I've had, it wasn't good, and I had to change my bottoms, which put me behind. So it was after 2:30 when I got to the hospital. The roads were clear and dry (well - Woodland isn't dry) and there wasn't any traffic. I got my blood drawn and went off to Pat's, where I did some damage, although i got almost everything I wanted, with the exception of something I couldn't find. I went around in circles trying to find it, though, so I was exhausted by the time i checked out. There wasn't any traffic coming home, either, and I got here about 5:30. it only took me about half an hour to unload (surprised me), but I sat and rested for over an hour before I brought in the cold stuff and put it away.

The weather was still cold, but it was sunny and when I came down the hill into Copper Harbor, the lake was as blue as I've ever seen it. I do love that color! The high temperature was 32º, but it was after I got home, and there was a north wind in the 10-15 mph range. although in the past couple of hours, it's shifted around to the southwest. That should warm it up tomorrow. I noticed that the camera is showing that the sun is setting over Porter Island now, and pretty soon, it will be out of view. Days are almost 13 hours long now.

Grayson went away and hid when he realized I was going away, and he sat at the door and watched me all the time I was moving the groceries. I had a sandwich with a lot of meat in it for dinner and he wanted - and got - a whole lot of my meat. I don't think he can taste very well, and he scarfed down both turkey and beef, although he got more chicken. Then he went away again.

The results of the tests came by the time I got back to the computer, and I'm happy to say my potassium and my kidney function are both holding steady. The potassium is good, although the kidneys are less so. My uric acid is up a bit and my thyroid is down, so I'll have to discuss that with the NP. i may have to watch my gout diet a little more closely for a while. Anyway, none of it was too bad, which I guess is good.

Now it's a clear, dark night in the field and I'm tired. And March is over!! Yee-hah!

Last updated 05/02/21 03:00 AM