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A View From the Field |
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April 2022 April 30 My goodness, that went fast. It seems like just last week I was writing that March was over.
It was one of those Saturdays. I wasn't all that late last night and I should have gotten enough sleep, but I was sitting in the bathroom this afternoon and I almost fell asleep. So even though it's very early by my standards, I'm going to bed. The bath can just wait.
The weather was very nondescript. The high temperature was 51º and there was a south wind with gusts up to 31 mph. In the past hour or so, it's started raining. That's supposed to continue all day tomorrow and maybe Monday, too.
Grayson was very patient with me, although he did want my dinner. We still have ants.
The garage door closed on the first try, and I'm thankful. There is garbage out there, and with spring coming, the bears will be waking up - if we still have any bears.
So now April is history, and we can go on to spring. It's a warmish, dark, rainy night in the field.
April 29 Oh, I was late again and I didn't get enough sleep again. And I didn't do anything again. The usual.
The weather warmed up, but it clouded up, too, and it was dull and gray all day. The high temperature was 55º and there was sometimes a brisk wind from the south - and sometimes not. I am happy to report that the iceberg ou8tside my garage has melted to the extent that I can close the garage door and get in the breezeway door, although I didn't close the garage. I will do that tomorrow, maybe. I hope the clicker works, because if it doesn't I'll have to go out into the garage and my knees are still bad.
Grayson mostly slept, although he did spend a lot of time around me, complaining. I put down the ant baits, but they haven't started working yet, so he didn't get most of his canned food. I hate to throw out food, but it was full of ants. He would like to have had some more, but I don't see wasting any more than I have to. He has plenty of kibble - three varieties now.
So it was a quiet day and now it's a warmish, breezy night in the field.
April 28 It was another night when I was so tired that I just couldn't move. I spent some time fiddling with one of the games, too. It had an ad that was supposed to run before the game started that never completely loaded, and i wasn't sure where the problem was. Well, it turned out that it was with the game site and it didn't clear up until late this morning. Having to sit through those ads annoys me in itself, and when they hang up the whole app, I get more than annoyed. There was another one last week that loaded, but it had no way to end it, so once it loaded, it just cycled forever, until I stopped the app and restarted it. It seems to me that the websites that send out those things should check them out before they lay them on their users. At least it seems to be fixed, but I haven't checked it lately.
So I was late getting to bed and late getting up. I forgot to mention yesterday that while I was talking to Debbie the other night, I knitted almost the whole leg on the violet sock and yesterday, I knitted down to where the heel flap started. Today I did the heel flap - with one very obvious mistake in one row - turned the heel an set up the gusset, so now I can go full speed to finish the sock. It will take a while. Even though this sock is on #2 needles, the yarn is a bit finer than the other two I'm working on, so it takes more rows to get the right length. I don't know exactly why I didn't like it the first time, when I was doing plain knitting, because it's coming ou8t very nicely and I like it.
I was late enough that I didn't do very much and since I cou8ldn't decide what I wanted to eat, I had two small meals rather than one bigger one.
the weather was nice. It was fairly clear most of the day, although it clouded up late, The high temperature was 45º and what wind there was came from the south. All the snow that came down on Tuesday is gone, as well as more of the drifts that were left over from the winter. Not that the piles are gone yet - they are too big. I could get into the breezeway by the door, but I can't close the garage door yet.
Grayson slept. He got to sit on me late this afternoon, which made him happy. Unfortunately, the ants have awakened, so we're dealing with ants in his canned food. I will have to try some different ant traps, because the ones I got didn't work very well.
So that was my day. There was one more change to the bulletin, but it was to take someone I know off the prayer list, so it was a good thing.
Now it's a sort of warmish, cloudy night in the field and it's late. I must go to bed.
April 27 I was too tired to even move last night, so I just sat for a long time. I think that ultimately I got 10 hours' sleep, but I'm exhausted again. I had an accident when I went to get my dinner, which set me back even further. Sigh.
My new long reach tool came today and Ron left it off without me asking, as well as the rest of my order. The belt has the wrong color buckle and no instructions about turning the buckle around so the brown side is up. I think it may be too wide, too, but I'll just have to try to feed it through the belt loops of my dress pants, which is what I brought it for. It very well may go back. The other things in the order, toilet cleaner and something that is supposed to clean up my toaster oven, are thimgs I'll just have to try. I'll be surprised if the toilet cleaner works, but it was only $2, and I imagine it will help.
I am exhausted again and I've been having trouble seeing all day, but I had a rather lovely avocado for breakfast, and that put me in a better mood.
It did make it hard to do the bulletin, but I managed to get it out and there weren't any major typos in it. It does help to have a good proofreader, which I do. I just sent her an atta-girl.
The sun came out today. There were light clouds until around 3 PM, when it cleared up, and there was a pretty sunset. There was one picture with apricot along the horizon and bright blue in the sky that was just lovely. Now, that shade of apricot - sort of pinkish - I could wear. it's still cold, though. The high temperature was only 33º. There wasn't much wind. Either the sun or the temperature melted all the snow we had yesterday - 3" wherever it is that they measure it. We've had a bit over 20" in April, which is nowhere near the record (55 in 3012-2013 - and I was here then), but it's too much for me. I hope this is the end.
Grayson stayed really close to me all day. He got a little lap time, but I guess it was too warm for him. I'm sorry to say he didn't get all his canned food - one of his favorites - because the ants have returned. Tomorrow I must put out the new ant traps. Maybe this year I can find some more effective ones. He won't eat the food when the ants get in it, and I don't blame him. I don't think they taste good to anything much except anteaters.
When I was up at the north end cleaning up after my accident, I had a terrible time deciding to make some dinner rather than just go to bed right then, and that was three hours or so ago. So I must go now, if I can manage it. I am totally exhausted.
It's a clear, cold night in the field.
April 26 Snow.. Ugh.
I was later than I wanted to be getting to bed, because as usual, I put off my bath until the last moment. It got done, but it was 1 AM before I turned out the light. I was up several times, as usual, and the alarm woke me up at 9 AM.
And it was snowing. Snow. Ugh.''
I did my best. I didn't dawdle. I got dressed, washed my face and got our breakfast. I was about to get up and visit the powder room when everything let loose and I had a real mess on my hands. I had to visit both bathrooms before I had myself cleaned up and of course, I had to put on clean almost everything from the waist down. I should have changed my vest and my compression hose, too, but I didn't, since they weren't as bad.
All that, besides that the weather meant I could hardly walk, meant I left much later than I wanted to. Fortunately, even though it was snowing, the roads were just wet and traffic was nonexistent, at least until I got to Mohawk, and there were very few cars from there south. I got to the dentist's office 10 minutes before my appointment, which meant I could visit the rest room and not be too late/
They are so nice and I really like the girl I had today - someone new, I think. I've signed up for her for the next two appointments. Besides, she knows how to talk through her mask and mostly she doesn't talk too fast. SHe is also very thorough, which I like.
As usual, they were amazed that I have all my own teeth and only four or five crowns. It ofren amazes me, too, but I'm rather obsessive about my teeth. Everything looks good and I will go back in about 6 months.
It was still snowing when I left and by the time I got to Delaware, there were parts of the road that were snow-covered and there was no traffic.
That was probably a good thing. On the way down, I kept thinking the reason I couldn't see where I was going was because my eyes were acting up. On the way home, I put on my yellow glasses (mostly because I didn't want to try to get my sunglasses out of my bag) and then I realized that I was seeing just fine, thank you, and the reasons I couldn't see anything was a combination of glare from the snow - it was very bright, but not sunny - and the snow coming down. The yellow glasses helped enough that i didn't have any trouble getting home, although I could have driven right down the middle of the road and nothing would have happened.
I was doing my surfing and listening to the radio when Debbie called. We had a nice three-hour conversation. I knitted until I realized I'd better stop and count rows so I don't make the leg too long.
Snow. Ugh. It was snowing when I got up this morning and it was still snowing when it got dark, even though the weather station didn't record any precip at all. It was light - it looked to me line there wasn't more than 1½" on the deck. And it was cold. The temperature has finally risen to 27º. It was nearly steady at about 25º all day and there was a brisk north wind, around 18 mph, which put the wind chill down around 10º o4 12º. Not exactly what we would expect on the 26th of April! It is forecast to get back up into the 40s and 50s over the next few days, but still...
Grayson knew I was going and after he got petted a bit, he went away and I didn't see him until I got home. Then he came and curled up next to my bag in the powder room and went to sleep. While I was talking to Debbie, he asked to get picked up and he sat on my lap for a few minutes, so I guess I'm forgiven. He wanted some of my dinner, but he didn't get any. Poor little kitty, I think he worries that I won't come back when I leave.
So that was my day. I got down to Houghton and back, even though I would much rather have stayed home. Now I'm exhausted and I need to go to bed. It's a dark, cold, snowy night in the field.
April 25 I think I was fairly late last night, but I don't remember. It won't be the same tonight. I've waited until the last minute to wash my hair, and i need to get to bed at a reasonable hour, because I will have to leave for town at 11:30 at the latest - maybe earlier, because it's supposed to snow. Ugh. i got up around 10:30, so I didn't get enough sleep again.
I didn't do anything much with my time, except that I washed a load of underwear and I have to put it in the dryer on my way to the north end - which means getting the load of bottoms out of the dryer. So I'll be trundling up to the north end early tonight. They are going to be playing a Dvorak that I like, though, so I'll have to wait until that's over. None of my radios at the north end are up to music.
The weather was blah. The temperature went down slowly all day from 50º at midnight to 31º now. There was a north wind in the 15 mph range, and it was cloudy. Hey, this is April, for heaven's sake. Snow? Temps below freezing? Geez!
Grayson spent a long time on my lap, I guess to try to make up to me because he wasn't around when I got dressed. When he finally did make it to the bathroom, he was talking up a storm. Like, why are you so early? Why didn't I know you were getting up? What's going to happen that I won't like? He is a funny little cat
So that was my day. After not eating much of anything yesterday, I did fine today; I know i have to watch it, but I can't see trying to eat when I'm not hungry.
Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field and as soon as the Dvorak is over, I'll be going to take my bath. I still prefer to take it before I go to bed, as long as it's not too late.
April 24 As far as I can remember, I was very late last night. I was so tired, I don't remember clearly, but I think that when I got to the north end, I kept running off at the bottom every 10 minutes or so and it just seemed better to sit there rather than keep getting up.
I got up around noon, I think, and that wasn't enough sleep, but then I fiddled around for quite a while. Now I'm very tired again, but my gut has calmed down, I think. I am going to stop taking the probiotic I added and see if that helps. I keep hoping to get things straightened around to where they were a few months ago anyway.
The weather was amazing and I should have at least stuck my nose out the door, but I didn't. The high temperature was 56º! The wind was strong, with gusts up to 31 mph, but it started out from the southwest, swung around to the north and has been swinging back - slowly - to the west. I guess we had a teensy bit of rain between 7 and 8 PM, but it was clear and sunny until around 5 PM. Now we can get back to winter - which is supposed to happen around tuesday, of course, when I have to get to Houghton by 1 PM.
Grayson didn't want to sit on me. I guess it was too warm for him, even in the office. He spent a long time sitting beside the monitor after it got dark. Maybe he thought I had something for him to eat, or something.
He didn't because I wasn't hungry and didn't eat dinner, just a bit of cheese and a couple of small pieces of toast left over from breakfast. I suppose i should have made dinner, but I wasn't hungry, and I see no reason to eat when I'm not hungry.
So that was a quiet day and now it's a cloudy, still rather warm, night in the field. And I must go to bed.
April 23 Oh, it was another nothing day. I got to bed around 1:30, but there were several problems. We had a nice thunderstorm around 3 AM - quite noisy - and I was up several times. The last time was around 9:30, I think, so i got up, and that wasn't nearly enough sleep. I fell asleep at the computer in the middle of the afternoon. And I'm exhausted now.
I've been running off at the bottom this evening. I don't know whether it's because there were a lot of jalapenos in my sourdough at breakfast or something else is going on.
The sourdough is yummy and the avocados I got from Gaslite yesterday are small but very nice. I did accidentally pour too much bagel seasoning on them, but they tasted good. I hate those bottles with tops that have shakers on half and pourers on the other half. I always open the wrong side, and the opening isn't big enough to get a measuring spoon in. So right now there is a lot of bagel seasoning on the kitchen floor.
The weather was yucky again. The thunderstorm hit us with 0.43" of rain between 3 and 4 AM, but I think most of it came down around 3:15. Oh, my, did it pour! It was like somebody turned a big bucket upside down. It was very foggy this morning, although the fog did lift by about 2 PM. The high temperature was 45º, briefly. We had another thunder shower between 7 and 9 PM, but just one crack of lightning - Mother Nature clearing her throat. There was a strong south wind, with gusts up to 30 mph. It was dark and dreary even when it wasn't raining.
Grayson slept, although he did spend quite a while on my lap and he wanted my dinner. I had to go out into the breezeway a couple of times and he acted like he was contemplating trying to get out, but he didn't. I don't know what he thinks might be out there that wasn't the last time he got out.
So that was my day. I was going to toddle up to the north end and crash, but then they started playing Schubert's "Trout" and I have to hear that - I wouldn't mind hearing it every day - so I have to wait. I know, i know, I say my favorite composers are Bach (first) and Beethoven, but I just melt down every time I hear Schubert - and especially "Trout" and "Death and the Maiden. I can't hear those enough.
It's a dark, possibly rainy, night in the field.
April 22 I was actually in bed by a bit after midnight, amazingly enough. Unfortunately, I'll be later tonight, but oh, well. I slept well, although I was up several times, and I got up around 9 AM - and did nothing. When I do get to eat breakfast, I don't seem to be able to do it before 2 PM. That will have to change.
Actually, I did a couple of rows on the violet sock, but that's it.
And I ventured out to the store to get some JD and some lettuce and avocados - an odd combination, but those seem to be the things I eat most regularly and run out of most often. The brakes seem to be OK, although the brake light came on. I will get it checked out, but it's probably the same thing that happened a couple of years ago. At least it seems I'll be able to get to Houghton and back on Tuesday.
'The weather was sort of nondescript. The high temperature was 41º. but it was nearly steady, and there was a bit of wind from the south, with gusts up to 21 mph. Marquette radar seems to show that it's raining, but so far I don't think so. According to the forecast, we could even have some thunder tonight, and there is some to our west, It will be interesting.
Grayson asked to come onto my lap and i ignored him, so he climbed up on the counter and down onto me, but he didn't stay long. Now that he has figured out how to get up on the counter, I wish he'd do that all tie time. '
So that's all there was and now it's a sort of warmish, possibly rainy night in the field. I won't be quite as early tonight.
April 21 I was more tired than I thought last night. I was earlier to bed and I was only up once in 8½ hours. And I'm tired again. I didn't eat dinner until late because I had to make rice and I forgot about it. It takes around 45 minutes.
I didn't do much. I worked on the violet sock a bit and finished the ribbing. There were a few changes to the bulletin that between us, Sue and i got made, including one that came in at 8 PM, but Sue will check her email before she prints tomorrow. Sometimes there are no changes and sometimes...
The weather was yucky. It was warmish, but it was very humid and very windy. The high temperature was 44º and the wind got up to 46 mph gusts from the northwest. Between 10 AM and noon we had measurable precip, but I think it rained or drizzled for most of the afternoon. My knees were really bad.
Grayson did the obvious - he slept. He got to sit on me for a while, but mostly he slept.
Oh, yes, and I called the bank and they couldn't refund my fees and they can't close my old checking account. Sheesh. I will have to pursue that further.
Now it's a warmish, windy night in the field and I'm tired again.
April 20 Of course I was late again. The task of the day was to get my hair washed, and that got done, but not much else did. I did a couple of rows on the violet sock, and i think I will work on that one before I go back to the second sock in the other colors.
And I got the bulletin done and out, with my shoehorn. The 175th anniversary of the founding of my denomination is on Tuesday and there was a wordy message about that which took up a lot of space.
The weather was sort of mixed. The high temperature was 40º, and there was a strong south wind all day, with gusts up to 32 mph. It was cloudy and dull, and around 6 PM it started to rain. Well, maybe it will melt more of the snow, which is going slowly.
Grayson slept.
And that's all there was. From the way my knees felt while I was in the shower, it seems clear that a good part of my trouble with all my joints is the cold dampness. I felt much better after the hot water ran on me for a while, but of course everything froze up again as soon as I got dressed. I don't know what the answer is. I can't stand hot weather, either, even though my joints feel better.
Now it's a cold, dark, rainy night in the field and I need bed
April 19 Another lost day, but oh, well. I thought I'd forgotten the phone, so when I finally got up, I got right at the socks. I cast on the second #1 sock and did two rows, so that's started. Then I looked at the violet one and decided I didn't like it in the pattern. It would have been quite bulky, even though it's only a knit and purl pattern, and I didn't think I'd like it. So I ripped that out (I think it's the second time) and cast it on for my basic sock pattern and did two rows on that. Then I discovered that I hadn't forgotten the phone, and... Well, you know where that leads.
The weather was cold but not too bad. The high temperature was 33º, but it was more likke 30º for most of the day. There was a brisk northeast wind, with gusts that got up to 33 mph early in the morning. It was cloudy most of the day, but around 4 PM, it cleared up. It was clear at sunset. The sun is setting over Porter's Island now, which means it washes out the pictures for 30 or 45 minutes before it sets. It sure has moved fast in the past month, and pretty soon it will be setting off the right side of the pictures, not to reappear until late August.
Grayson mostly slept, although i was late enough that he did come and complain to me. He didn't want to sit on me, but he did want my dinner.
Which I overcooked. I tried the mahi-mahi, and I think I will like it, if I can figure out how to cook it so it isn't dry. It is a very mild flavored fish, which is fine.
Today is Debbie's birthday, so I called her late and found her at home, which is unusual, but she's been gallivanting around the country for the past two weeks and she was recovering. Anyway, we had a nice conversation, if a bit shorter than usual. She will be here for the 4th of July this year, and I think I can keep her busy...
So that was my day and now it's a cold, clear night in the field, and it's late.
April 18 So I nearly inverted last night. It started with all the nice music - although I was rather disappointed in my usual station, because this year they had almost no Easter music. They didn't play any Bach until tonight. Weird. Anyway, then I started with the games.
That was after I cleaned myself up, though. This afternoon, for the second time in 24 hours, I got TO the toilet and had an accident before I could get my pants pulled down. It gets discouraging. And I have a full load of bottoms to wash. Sigh. Oh, and I had to clean up the floor and the toilet and me, so when that was over last night, I wanted to sit and relax for a while.
So I was late getting up. Then I finished the sock. I think I had about 2 yards of yarn left, although I didn't measure it. I think the foot ls long enough, although it might not be if my feet were swelling as much as they did when I weighed more. The plan is to cast on the second sock tomorrow, but then go on to one of the others. I haven't decided whether to work on one of the other second socks or try to work on the violet one. That's the one I'm knitting a pattern into and I really don't like working on it, but since it's all shades of the same color, I thought it would work better if I didn't make it with plain knitting. We'll see. I have to look at it again. Of course, I could also work on one of the summer socks, but I got turned off from that when I lost that pair last fall (I still haven't found it). Decisions, decisions...
The weather was wintry, the only difference being that the temperature wasn't so low. The high temperature was 36º, but it was nearly steady around 35º all day. It was a bit breezy this morning, but it was nearly calm in the afternoon, from the south. Between 6 AM and 3 PM, it snowed lightly. I don't think there was any accumulation.
Grayson got some lap time, but mostly he slept somewhere around me.
I was so late getting up that I didn't do anything much except soak my dirty bottoms.
Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field and I'm thinking I forgot something I wanted to say, but oh, well...
April 17 - The Resurrection of Our Lord Of course I didn't get to church. I was enough on my old schedule that I didn't get up until after church was over. Sigh. I must keep trying.
Not that I did anything today, either, and now it's really late again. Tonight it was mostly that I wasn't hungry and couldn't think of anything I wanted to eat. I finally had breakfast again, about the time i was beginning to feel empty. That was filling, if not very inspiring.
'I did finally get the sock pattern nailed down and I started the toe. It looks like I will have just enough yarn to finish it. I hope I'm right. I hate to rip.
The weather was sort of nondescript. The temperature finally got to 36º late, but it was around 33º for most of the day. There was almost no wind and the humidity was a bit more reasonable, so my knees were better, although my hands still hurt. IT was cloudy and dull in the morning, but after about 3 PM it cleared up some and there was some sunshine until around 7:30, when it got cloudy and it looked like it was a bit foggy as well. There were some strange effects in the camera shots - I forgot to look outside to see what was really going on.
Grayson mostly slept, of course. He did get some lap time and he came up while I was eating my "dinner," so I guess that's just a habit now. There couldn't have been anything that smelled good.
I had two accidents and a period of fright while I contemplated my situation again, but I got over that. However, I woke up singing "Wondrous Love" - not out loud, of course - and that tided me over. I don't know where that came from, since I haven't heard it this year, but oh, well.
Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field and I really ought to go to bed.
April 16 Slowly I'm going back to my old habits. Sigh. I was late last night and i'll be late tonight, too, because I've been reading.
I didn't do anything today except try to measure the #1 needle sock. I'm running out of yarn and it looked to me like the sock was getting long enough anyway, but it's hard to measure the foot when it's on the needle because the #1 needle makes the fabric curl horribly. I think I've finally got it straight - five more rows before the toe - but we'll see. It might be too short. If it is, I will have to rip out beyond the heel and do that part over or start the whole thing from the toe. Neither sounds like much fun.
I hoped to get the yarn for the next shawl wound into balls today, but that didn't happen.
I did get the new space heater put together and tested, and it works well. It's a strange thingie. It is full of oil, so it's very quiet, but it isn't like an old-fashioned radiator. It just has long fins. The oil heats the fins, I guess. I had to attach the legs, which have wheels (it's heavy), but otherwise, it was easy to set up. Of course the cord is too short, but they all are. Anyway, i had been using the old one, so it wasn't hard to get the new one to take over and it has been keeping my pod at a comfy 71º. I won't be able to tell how it does in the really cold weather until next winter, but I think it will do as well as the old one and it's so nice to have it quiet in here. The old one has been getting steadily lou8der as it gets older. So next year, I can take the old one into the bathroom and maybe get it warm enough in there to take more baths. My only consolation is that according to Mary Ann, everybody in Copper Harbor has the same problems keeping warm that I do, no matter what the state of their heating system.
I had to wear the flannel nightie last night. Not that it got so very cold - the low was only about 24º, but the wind shifted north and it was so strong that the wind chill was in the middle teens and that end of the house seems to be sort of like a sieve. The high today has gotten to 30º lately and the wind is finally dying down. It was gusting up to 35 mph early this morning. It was cloudy and dull all day and we had a little bit of snow between 10 and 11 AM.
Grayson didn't do anything remarkable. He didn't get to sit on me when he wanted because I had to get up and go away, but he did get some time later and a nice tummy rub. He wanted my dinner again, but he didn't get that either.
For over a year I have been depositing checks from my phone and I have not been having any trouble until this last one. They have rejected it twice now. The first time, the MICR was unreadable (I forgot to check that), but the last time, they said something about not being able to find the item (!). The trouble is, every time they reject it, they charge me $12. I almost got to talk to somebody about that Thursday, but I had just begun explaining my problem when Ron came, so I had to hang up. I will have to attack them on Monday. I am a retiree of that bank, so I don't think I should get fees, especially since the second time sounds like it was their problem, not mine. I will have to get on the phone Monday and hope I can hear the person I talk to (I couldn't on Thursday) and we can get this straight. I need that money and I don't need those fees. Why I'm having such a problem with this check, I do not know. Sigh.
So now it's a cold, dark night in the field and I can go to bed any time.
April 15 - Good Friday Sheesh. Half over already!
For some reason, I kept feeling that today was Saturday. It didn't hurt anything, but it meant that I missed the talking for the second day in a row. That's all right. The news has been depressing me anyway.
I was a little later getting to bed last night and a lot later getting up, so I didn't do anything but my surfing. I've signed up for a lot of newsletters lately and while I like them, it takes me a long time to read them.
The weather has gone back to winter. The high temperature was 31º and there was a strong northwest wind with gusts as high as 36 mph. It snowed lightly off and on, but late in the afternoon we had a bit of sunshine.
Grayson was in the doghouse today. He was lying on the rug beside my feet in the bathroom and I thought he wanted me to pet him and he got me with a claw. It's a very small slit on the base of one finger, but it bled like crazy for a long time. So he was not my friend. He slept on my lap for quite a while this afternoon, but I didn't lift him up - he got on me himself. And I didn't let him come back even though he asked. I don't know how i'm supposed to know when he doesn't want to be petted.
So as usual, I couldn't put together two useful days in a row. I guess I should be grateful that I got one. Now it's late, but they're playing Brahms and I want to hear that before I go to bed.
It's a cold, windy night in the field, but it's not very dark, because the moon is nearly full and it's lighting up the clouds.
April 14 - Maundy Thursday Well, that didn't turn out so well. I got to bed early and got up early and nobody came. I am beginning to think my new PT is out of town or something. It was nice to have so much time during the day, and I took advantage.
I got all the trash in the kitchen sorted and bundled up in bags, and when Ron came with my Schwan's order, I got him to take the bags out. I rearranged things in the freezer so that I didn't have much problem putting the new stuff away. And I cooked rice and my pork chops. They were a bit old, but they tasted fine and I have another meal. Tomorrow I get to have fish, though. Schwan's didn't have everything I wanted, but at least they had most of the fish. It will be salmon tomorrow, but I have some mahi-mahi, which is a fish I've never eaten. My friends say it's good, so we'll see.
The weather was yucky. It rained all night, and while it didn't start precipitating until around 7 PM, it was mostly dull and gray. The temperature was nearly steady at around 34º and there was a strong southwest to west wind with gusts up to 30 mph. Around 7 PM it started to snow and by the time it got dark, there was at least an inch, maybe two, on the ground. Geez, enough, already.
Grayson was very lovey. He was glad to see Ron and after he left, Grayson came and sat down on me and curled up in the crook of my right arm. I finally had to move to keep my hand from going to sleep. And then he wanted my dinner. I don't know if pork is good for cats, but I know onions aren't, so he didn't get any. That's too bad, because most of my cats have been attracted by the smell of onions.
So that was my day and I'm tired, but it's so nice not to see all that trash on the counters! It's a cold, dark, snowy night in the field.
April 13 It was another almost nothing day, but I did get my hair washed, which feels good.
I also missed two calls from my new physical therapist. The first one was at around 9:30 AM and I was nearly asleep - as I think you know, I don't do mornings, and I don't normally answer the phone in the bedroom because it doesn't have caller ID. The second one was while I was in the shower. I also got four spam calls. I don't recall the phone ringing that many times in ages. Of course, I had to leave a message with Troy. I hope he got it.
So I will be going to bed much earlier than usual tonight. It's a good thing. Maybe he can help me get my schedule straightened out for real. Also my bod.
The weather today was so lousy everything hurts. The temperature peaked at 41º overnight and it was about steady at 37º all day. It rained some, but not as much as it did last night, and it was very foggy at intervals. The wind was from the southeast with gusts up to 31 mph. Of course, it was very dark and dreary and humid. My back was particularly bad.
Grayson slept. He has finally remembered how to get up on the counter next to the monitor, and he did that and climbed onto my lap. He stayed until I had to do something - I forget what. He just won't stay when I start moving around. He still wanted my dinner, but of course, he didn't get any.
I habitually weigh myself before I take a bath during the day - no clothes, no food, all elimination over. I now weigh about what I did in 1980, when I was on my way up from my big weight loss. It's the intermittent fasting, of course, but I just haven't been very hungry lately. I suppose it will go up some, because I have 2 lb of See's candy, but that's all right. Mother's Day is about the last time I can order from them until late September or October, so if this keeps up, I'll lose more. It's funny, too. I'm wearing a pair of old sweats that have a drawstring waist and as much as I can pull the string in, they still want to fall down, which is very uncomfortable. I have a new belt for my jeans, but if i plan to ever wear my dress pants, I'm going to have to get a belt for them, too. I do not want to stand up in church - if I ever get back to church, which is another problem - and leave my pants behind me. I had that almost happen once when I got some "low rise" pants by mistake and the waistband stretched (!!) when I wore them. Yikes! And no way can I afford to buy a whole new wardrobe in a size that I may or may not be wearing for long. I like my clothes loose, because they're much more comfy, but I do not like my pants falling down!
So that's all there is for today. It's a cold, dark, foggy, ugly night in the field.
April 12 Totally lost day. Didn't do anything, so nothing to report.
The weather started out all right, cloudy and warmish. Around 8 PM it started to rain. The high temperature was 48º and there was almost no wind until just an hour or so ago, when it picked up to 20 mph gusts from the south. It was cloudy and dull.
Grayson finally started shouting at me - I guess the radio was rather loud - and he wanted my dinner again, but he ate his own.
And that's it. It's a sort of warmish, rainy night in the field.
April 11 I wasn't too late last night, but i didn't sleep very well. I think it was too hot in the bedroom, but I'm not sure it was all that. Things were going on in my gut. Anyway, I was in bed long enough, even if I spent more time awake. I decided that this was the day to do something, and I did, finally.
The bulletin information came in last night, and i wanted to get that done first. This is the busiest week of the year, with three services, and my teammates need time to look things over and make any necessary changes. Pastor threw my a curve by changing up the order of things for Friday, too. Sue seemed to think most everything was all right, although there were a lot of changes for Thursday. I think it's all OK now, and the hard work is done.
Then I finally - finally!! - got my taxes done. I guess everything is all right, although I discovered that it appears I never got a 1099 from the government. Michigan is always slow, but the IRS accepted my return. I hope there isn't anything wrong with it. Interestingly enough, for the first time in several years, my itemized deductions were almost as much as the standard deduction - not quite, but close. The online service I use is pretty good about checking things over, and they caught something I apparently missed - although I don't remember seeing it - that decreased my adjusted gross income quite a bit. I noticed that it wasn't on the form when I originally looked it over, but I don't remember seeing a reference to it when i was entering the numbers, which i thought was weird. Anyway, it's done, thankfully. Now I can go on to other things.
The weather was interesting. I've noticed from the time I've lived here that things that happen in March further south happen in April here, and today was one of those days. We had a serious wind storm. I can't really report how strong the winds were, because they mostly came from the south or west and the weather station is sheltered on those sides. The official report was 45 mph gusts, when the wind shifted to the northwest, but I know it was stronger than that earlier, because it was slamming the house too hard - I mean, like a piece of 3/4" plywood hitting the house flat. We had a power glitch around noon, but all it did was interrupt the clocks. The high temperature was 49º. There were some periods of dark clouds in the morning, but the afternoon was mostly clear and sunny.
Grayson got some loving and he has finally figured out how to get up on the computer desk again. He just went away, but he slept beside the monitor for quite a while. Earlier, he was curled up behind the sewing machine. I'm glad to see that he's finally figured it out again.
So right now I'm feeling fairly satisfied with my day. There are some other things I've been postponing because I said I wouldn't do them until the taxes got done, so now I can go on to other things. Nearly every room I go trough has some things that need to get done, the kitchen being the worst and the closet the next worse. Now maybe I can work on those things and begin to get the trash out. It's nice to feel I've accomplished something that had to be done.
Now it's a clear (I think), sort of warmish night in the field.
April 10 - Palm Sunday So I picked up the phone when I got to the north end, so i wasn't as early to bed as I intended, but it wasn't too bad. I didn't get up for 10 hours, though, so it was late when I did, and then I picked up the phone again... Oh, and I had to take the laptop out of its bag to untangle the power cord, so I decided to turn it on. Sigh. It rebooted, and then Norton caused it to reboot again. I think it's all right now, but I left it on the counter, and I'll see when I go back to the bathroom.
The result was, I didn't do anything. I must do something tomorrow.
The weather was spring-like. It was mostly cloudy, but bright. The high temperature was 47º and there was a brisk south wind in the 12-25 mph range.
Grayson was very patient, but he enjoyed his canned food so much that it was gone in three or four hours. He got to cuddle with me for quite a while. He wanted my dinne, of course, but he didn't get any.
I will probably regret my dinner. It was cube steak, and since my toe was already sore, I imagine I will have a gout attack tomorrow or the next day. But i get so tired of chicken and fish! I do have my channa masala, which I will eat, but I've noticed that I seem to have more accidents after I eat something spicy, so I don't want to start eating that too much. I should cook up some beans, and I may do that this week. With Schwan's having so much of what I eat out of stock, I will have to pay attention to changing my diet a bit. What a pain. Some things should stay the same. Sigh.
An I spent so much on meat at Pat's that I'm not sure I would be able to get everything from Schwan's that I want anyway. i have to determine if I have brake problems with my car. Sigh.
So now it's a cloudy, rather warm night in the field.
April 9 I have completely lost track of time for the past 24 hours. So I was very late going to bed, very late getting up, very late eating, and I didn't do anything.
The weather was surprisingly nice. The high temperature was 40º. The wind was from the north and it was rather brisk earlier in the day - 15-25 mph. It was perfectly clear all day, so beautiful! This morning, the open water in the harbor was down at this end, but the wind pushed it away and by sunset, it was all ice and the open water was down by the channel. At least it's going away.
Grayson was quite patient with me, but he wanted my fish. He didn't get any, so he went away mad. I remember too vividly what happened with Buster as he got older - I would have to get him his own filet of whitefish because he wanted a meal of it. I don't want that to happen with Grayson.
So now it's a not-very-cold, clear night in the field and I just might see a star or two, because I am going to bed.
April 8 I don't remember the exact circumstances, and I wasn't especially late, but I was so exhausted by the time I went to bed that I feel asleep on my back. I've been lying flat on my back - no pillow - lately because peering at the computer has caused spasms across my shoulders. Just lying flat for a few minutes every night has already made it better, but usually I have to turn over before I go to sleep. Last night, I woke up two or three hours later right where I was when I got into bed. Didn't even get to say all my prayers.
I didn't get up until after 11 AM today, so I didn't do much of anything until after it got dark. Then I attacked the Amazon orders I had to, because there were meds, but it's an awful job, even when I do it more often. I guess all the information is out there, but it's the way Amazon looks at it, not the way I need to look at it, and figuring out what charges go with what orders is sometimes close to impossible. It was even worse, because I was having trouble with my eyes today and I couldn't really see either the screen or the bills. I think I have everything straight now, but I am going to have to try to be more timely about updating the ledger. It's hard, because it's a chore I really hate, as long as I've been doing it. I think I started keeping a ledger - by hand - back in the late 70s. I was really good about it until around the time I retired and it's just gotten harder ever since, even though it's more important now than ever. I spent a whole lot of money on food even before prices went up so much. And I have so many fixed costs these days... Ugh.
It was another good day to ignore the outside. It snowed lightly pretty much all day. The temperature finally got to 33º, although it was just about steady all day, and there was a brisk north wind as high as 21 mph with 31 mph gusts. Of course, it was dull and dreary. Ron got into my driveway, so I don't think we had much accumulating snow, but still. This is April.
Grayson got to sit on me for a while, but I had to answer the phone, so he had to get down. He wanted to come up while I was working on the ledger, and he wanted my dinner, which he did not get. He is still sitting down in front of me when I'm walking around and I still don't know why.
Well, now i think I'm in a position to file my taxes, so I will get at that tomorrow. I know I've waited a long time, but I hate the process so much and I was otherwise engaged so that I didn't get around to putting together the information I need. It would be good if I could do it earlier, but it never seems to happen. At least I haven't waited until Easter weekend.
Now it's a cold, snowy night in the field and i need to go to bed. I wonder if I'll fall asleep on my back again.
April 7 Sorry for no journal yesterday. I had a lot to talk about, but it was a crazy day and after I did the bulletin, I was just totally exhausted, so I went to bed.
Let's see if I can reconstruct what happened. Today was easier.
i didn't get up until about 10:40, but I had my clothes all ready to go and I didn't diddle around much. I didn't get to do all my surfing, but that was all right. I left a bit later than I planned (15 minutes or so, I guess), but that turned out all right, too.
The road was just wet, but I kept running into and out of patches of dense fog. There was no traffic, though, so it was all right. And there wasn't anybody at the hospital. I got my blood draw; this time it bled like crazy for some reason. I don't know how much of that is my problem and how much is the technician's problem. I didn't discover it until I was going to bed, though, so it was all right.
Walter and I talked for a long time again, but not as long as the last time. He had some suggestions about things to do to try to get my elimination under control, so I'm trying that. And we still aren't through talking. , although I've talked about most of what I see. He is going to try to get me some home physical therapy, and hope that works. As is usual with things that are sort of difficult, I need somebody standing over me with a bullwhip to do them. We think that possibly if I can get somebody to come here for a month or so, I should be able to get back to my exercises. I hope so. I need them, but I just can't get myself to do them.
Anyway, he was 30 minutes late and we talked for 50 minutes, then it took them about 15 minutes more to get my release document (not everyone gives out one of those, but I sure like it when they do), so it was after 5 PM when I left the hospital.
There weren't many people at Pat's. I got mostly lettuce, bread and meat. Schwan's is out of stock on just about everything I get from them, so I needed to lay in some meat and fish. It was expensive; I bought about what I usually pay Schwan's once a month, and I'm not sure I have enough, but we'll see. I need to do some sorting and repackaging, but I was too sore today. It's safely in the bottom of the fridge, so it will be OK until tomorrow.
The road was dry when I came home, but there appears to be something wrong with my brakes - again! Oh, dear. Every time I think I might be getting a bit ahead... I'm not sure what it is yet, but it may be either a brake like or a frozen caliper. I guess I'm going to have to drive around a bit and see what happens. Sigh.
Anyway, I didn't get home and get the car unloaded until around 8 PM and then I sat for quite a while, ate dinner - part of my rotisserie chicken - yum! - and started on the bulletin. I didn't get it sent out until around 12:30 and then I was so tired it was hard to walk up to the north end. I got into bed as quickly as I could, but I didn't sleep very well. I was up at least four times before I got up for good at around 10;30.
I often check the weather or the camera when I'm up after it gets light. When I tried it at around 7:30, it was fine, but when I got up for good, the internet was down. It came up briefly - just enough for me to discover that the weather station is up again - and then it went down. It was down until around 7:30 or 8 PM tonight. Evidently there was an icing problem on some of the relay stations, and the Copper Harbor tower was the last one to come up.
So I worked on the 2021 ledger. i have it sort of under control, but then I discovered that Amazon never lists the items in a shipment, so I had no way of knowing what bucket to put my items in. From June onward, they're all in "misc" but I have to go back and figure out what all that stuff is. I need to know what are pills. Tomorrow. it's too late tonight.
The weather station came up at about 11:00 this morning - what a relief! I simply do not trust those personal weather stations the Weather Underground uses. I think the temperature yesterday was about constant around 38º. There was some fog early in the day and an occasional drip of rain. The high today was 38º, evidently between 10 and 11 AM, and it's been sliding down ever since. It snowed lightly to medium all day and the wind is from the east around 24 mph with gusts up to 37 mph. It was dull and dreary all day - a good day to ignore all that.
Grayson was upset when I left and let me know it when I came home. He begged for some of my chicken and I gave him a little. He thought he wanted some of my pasty tonight (not very good - mostly potatoes), but he didn't get any of that. He wanted to sit on me and he did get one cuddle, but I was to busy with the ledger to let him sit again. He has been running around in front of me and sitting down so that I have to shoo him away. I don't know why he's doing that.
So that was two days. The weather and my exertions of yesterday left my knees so sore I could hardly move, so I didn't and had two sort-of accidents. And now I'm really tired again.
It's a windy, snowy night in the field.
April 5 I wasn't too late last night, but everything was late today. i got my bath, but that's all I did.
The weather was nondescript. I guess the temperature got into the low 40s, but the weather station is still down, so I don't know. There was a bit of wind from the west.
Grayson was very patient with me.
And that's all there is. I have to go to bed, so I can get going tomorrow. My appointment is at 3:20, but I need to be there a while beforehand to get my blood draw. It's supposed to rain, so I'm not looking forward to it. Ugh.
It's a cold, dark night in the field.
April 4 Late again, and this time I think it may have been because I was running off at the bottom, but I don't remember. It might just have been because I got caught in the game trap. So i was late getting up and everything else was late, too.
I got two phone calls before i got up, and one of them was from the woman at AT&T. You'd think that after all the times she's called me she'd know you don't call me before noon at the earliest. Whole company is like that. Anyway, once i did get up, I checked my email immediately and yes, indeed the bill is there. I hope she calls when I can answer her, because I want to ask her what I do the next time this happens...besides getting a new carrier.
Otherwise, I didn't do anything much.
The weather was gloomy, and I think the temperature was about steady at 35º. I can't tell, because the weather station is still down. Since the guy I email in Marquette is away, I can't even find out what's going on with it. The wind was evidently from the east but nearly calm.
Grayson did his thing. Something about his food was bugging him, but I don't know what. When he sits in the kitchen straight up with his tail around his legs, I know something isn't quite right.
I forgot to mention that yesterday I got the pill dispensers all filled. It seems like they get empty a whole lot faster than they used to...
Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field and I need to go to bed.
April 3 i don't remember why I was late last night - or this morning - but I wasn't early. I got up a bit after 11 AM. The task of the day was to get TP, baby wipes and paper towels in from the breezeway, and I did that, although the TP and wipes are still sitting in the middle of the hallway. The interesting thing was, I almost didn't make it up the three steps onto the platform. My right knee just did not want to hold me, even though I was hanging onto the railing and my cane. I can only hope that as it gets warmer, my knees will get better. And I keep wondering what would have happened if I hadn't lost so much weight. Oh, and they hurt, too.
The weather was nondescript. It was cloudy all day. The weather station is still down, but what data I can find seems to indicate that the high temperature was around 46º with a fairly light wind until lately.
Grayson watched me bring in the stuff from the breezeway, but I had to keep the door open for a while and he dashed out. It was kind of funny. It's so bare out there that there isn't anything interesting to investigate, so he ended up sitting at the far end of the platform and looking at me over his shoulder. i ignored him while I was moving things around - part of the TP has to go in the powder room - and when i finally opened the door again, he decided it was wise to come in. I don't know what he thought he was going to find out there, but he didn't. He is a funny little cat, just like they all are.
So that was my day and now it's a cold dark night in the field and we won't see any northern lights again.
April 2 Sorry about no journal last night, but I really did forget about it, and after the troubles I had getting the month to roll over, I just decided it wasn't worth it. The screen on the laptop is only about 13" wide and that makes things so small I can hardly read them, especially when I'm having trouble with my eyes, which I was.
I lied, though. I did do at least one thing, even though it was with difficulty. I cooked my pork chops. I had just started when I had to get to the powder room, and I was only back at the stove for about five minutes when I had an accident. Since I was in the middle of browning the chops, it meant that they and the onions got a bit browner than I like. The chop i had tonight was so brown that I had a hard time cutting it. I discovered, though, that the crisp little flakes of onion were kind of nice, a bit of crunch in the rice. Once I got my clothes changed, I got the rest of the dish put together fast enough that the chops weren't overcooked, so it worked out better than I thought it might. Tasted good, too.
Otherwise I didn't do anything either yesterday or today.
Part of the problem was that I was very late getting to bed Friday morning, and I didn't get nearly enough sleep, so I went up to the north end fairly early last night - and then I remembered the journal. It had been so long since I used the laptop that it had to reboot, and if I think the desktop boots slowly - wow, the laptop is even slower and slower getting ready to use. Norton, particularly, is such bloatware these days that it takes forever to start up on either computer. I think it probably took 10 or 15 minutes before I could use the darn thing, and then I had to get logged into the desktop. Then...there were a couple of things I had to do to the web pages that I simply could not do...four or five times. Grr... By the time I finally got whatever got out onto the web done, Norton was doing an update, so I had to wait for that to finish (I'm not sure what happens if I shut down while it's in the middle of one of those). So it was 12:30 before I finally got to bed. Not what I intended.
I was so tired by that time that I ended up not getting up until 11:30 this morning. I was up briefly around 8:30, but that clearly wasn't enough sleep. I do feel better tonight, but I'm going to try to get to bed early again.
Yesterday started out cloudy, but by noon it was clearing up and it stayed clear until sunset, although there were some clouds looming up in the north. The high temperature was 35º and it was windy, with a north wind as high as 28 mph with 41 mph gusts. I can't tell you much about today, because the weather station has been down since 10 AM or so. I don't know why. I do know there was snow until around 9:30 AM or so and the wind had swung around to the southwest. I think the high temperature was around 37º, but I don't trust those private weather stations very much. It was cloudy and dull all day.
I was disappointed that we didn't see some of the northern lights, but if this is a taste of things to come, there will be lots to see over the next few years and surely it will be clear some of the time. I'll take anything I can get. Back in 2002-2005, I was thinking I would be lucky if I saw the next solar cycle, and now we're starting another new one. It will be harder to see now, because the trees have gotten so tall, but maybe I'll be able to get up to the top of Brockway this time.
Grayson spent most of the last days someplace around me. However, he was under my feet last night when I moved the chair and apparently rolled over at least some of his fur, if not his tail or toes. He seems all right today, so it wasn't serious, although you would have thought I was rolling over his legs by the way he yelled. He was so mad at me last night that he didn't come into the bathroom, but he had forgiven me today and we had a couple of nice lap sits. And he's still sleeping right beside the chair. Not now, though. Maybe he has learned to be a little more careful. He leaves his tail hanging out more than any other cat I've ever had. He can curl it around his body or sit on it, but evidently it isn't very comfortable for him, especially when he's eating, it's straight out behind him. I know his tail is short and evidently it doesn't bend very well at the bottom end.
So that's two days and now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field.
April 1 No journal tonight. I forgot, but nothing happened anyway. I'm doing this from the north end and it's just too agonizing.
Last updated 05/01/22 10:40 PM Copyright S. I. Smith, 2000-2022
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