A slow day.

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No, I haven't hit the bathroom yet.  Oh, I'll get to it.  No worries.  It's very light work, won't take long.  The bathroom is quite clean other than just a bit of dust.  Sweeping, maybe a bit of washing, and laundry to the back room.  Hmm, I'll wash the mirror while I am at it.  It won't take five minutes.

I found an ad in my email, to Duluth Trader.  Being that they really do have the best belts I have ever owned or found, at any price, I decided to visit.  Problem?  I can't view their products without having to allow access to third party systems that aren't showing up as trusted or not.  It isn't just them, today it just happens to be them.  Sometimes I can get through without facing that, sometimes I can't.  If I can't get a bead on what they are trying to install, or pass through, my computer, I simply won't shop there.  They all seem to like to steal data.  I don't know if this is where the hack phone calls, if allowed, come from.  Or if they get the data anyway, somehow, and sell it.  Is it the companies, or their software partners who are the criminals?  I'll check over the next week or two.  If I can't get through, I'll skip the belt.  Sometimes, with these companies, they realize it isn't working and they back that off.  Other times it can be a long time before I can get through.  I think, with Eddy Bauers, it was nearly two years at one time, before they changed.  And, yeah, I let them know that unless they fixed that I wouldn't be shopping with them.  I guess they are either zombie companies and their handlers want the lesser info more than they want actual company sales, or they get more money from the sale of information, or... something.  There is, actually, one more way I may attempt to access their site.  A direct link rather than through their ad.

I can still get some things, beyond the bathroom, done today.  Tired and sore is meaning more than I thought initially.  All good, even if I get nothing done.  I have really gotten into things this last week.  If I can just, when I can, keep it rolling I will be fine.  Hmm... may take a nap if I can get the bathroom sorted quickly.  Later.

Given all, quite a good morning.

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Even so, a day of rest.  I am achy, I am sore, I am a bit scratched from the pine and bark mauling I took the other day.  A bit tired from this shopping and picking up and sorting hog meat yesterday.  All very good though.  It's a mild suffering, and a good one.  I love the things that say I have been fruitfully employed.  As a fact, though today will be restful, I will do a few things through the day.  Sweeping the bathroom, just to keep one step ahead.  Clearing a few spaces in the kitchen... counters and the table top.  Maybe at least sorting out what remains of the floor clutter in the kitchen so I know what is what.  And, if I get enough table top space opened, I may soak the water stones and start in on a few knives.  Some of them will need a great deal of work, some not so much.  Perhaps the practice will make me ready for the straight razors.

The sun is up.  It is still cool though, perhaps in the 50's or 60's as a high?  I could check the news, I just don't have much interest in trust.  I'd druther guesstimate and call it good than bring advertising money to quacks.  Voting at the ballot box isn't the only, or always even the best way.  What I am saying, though, is, for me, this weather is just about perfect.  I wish I had more done, and more going, so I could be out in it.  Maybe next week.  Though, as I said, after I do a bit of work with branches, I will be setting up a minor camping arrangement to be out in it a bit.  It's a start.

I've been thinking of what to make for breakfast.  Something better, but not too messy... or... full of effort.

A busy day.

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Not until after supper did I get out.  To town, this time, shopping and picking up an item.  Retrieving an item took a lot longer than I thought it might.  I had a feeling if I didn't do something, soon, I would lose the item.  What else I suspected was also true.  I think someone thought they were going to put one over on me.  Not even a bit.  But that is now done.  I then got on to the store, purchased most of what I need.  I just didn't have the energy to hit every place I wished.  I was able to buy more items at one store than I had intended.  While some items are not optimal, they will do.  Yeah, being single and preferring home cooked foods allows for a lot of pickiness.

I would like to get in to town tomorrow, but no chance.  I really need to rest.  Wednesday is out.  Either I will still be resting, if trying to pull up, or I will be up in the trees taking a few limbs down.  I do not know if I will get all that I want done, Wednesday or Thursday.  I just know that I will push for it.  That'll mean three trees and anywhere from five to seven limbs or various bits and parts.  No limb is right next to the other, aside from being in various trees they are in very different spots even when on the same tree.  It'll be some effort.  Well, that and working a chainsaw, keeping balance, after getting up in there to start.  Still?  I am looking forward to it.

I attempted landscape photographs with my 90 mm.  It just... yeah... no.  The 50 mm is okay, a lot sharper, better generally.  But there has to be better than this.  I would like to get a few pictures to remember the valley by.  I have never done that before.  Good people, good place, wish I could stay.  Too old to fuss with fusses.  Need to get in shape.  Finding vantages, by hiking, might help.  Camping while traveling by foot should work.  I need to learn, while I gain my feet, as I do other things yet.  A year, two...  Yeah, sometimes it takes me longer.  I just wouldn't count on it.  Though which way not to count on it... that's for you to decide.

Some reading, music, then sleep.  I'll be ready for it.  Good night.

That was a lot of pig.

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I was sort of rooting around to get going.  I did call, it was ready, I made a general note that I'd be in this afternoon or tomorrow.  Couldn't focus, wasn't sure.  As it turns out, a shower, this, that, and I ended up there today.  I have bought a hog twice.  This one, for some reason, seems twice the other pigs?  No complaints, just a bit of a surprise.  I thought, since they were going to butcher early, that they might be smaller.  Especially since it was much less expensive this year.  The price has come down, a lot, I am told.  All good.  Wow, though.  Thankfully I will be sending some out the back door.  Beef next month?  Tight.  But it's a sort of tight I can live with.  Might have to get another, smaller, drop-in, or see if they or another shop, does freeze storage.  I, this time, asked about lamb.  Yep!  Later this summer, around August.  Oh yeah.  The trifecta.  They asked about chicken but I'm... not so much on chicken.  Still... you know... if I am going to buy chicken...  I'll see what they have.  I'll buy local, especially non-organic.  Hutch or free-range isn't so much of a deal, so long as the price is right.  A dozen chickens in the freezer, per year, isn't bad.  Rabbits?  If they offered those, I'd do half and half, at least as an experiment.

I never did call my friend.  While I am a bit tuckered with the driving, sorting, lifting, hauling, arranging... it actually is a bit of work... especially whole hogging it...  I do believe I will make it to town for groceries later.  Just a quick trip, nothing fancy.  A minor haul.  Meat is now tended for the next year, or that is in the works.  Milk, eggs, corn starch, and a few minor such.  I'll make an attempt to contact him in a few minutes.  A couple of various packages of the various cuts, so as to see if he likes what is offered locally.  He knows of the place, simply hasn't quite gotten around to shopping there.  Though they do have a small shop where they retail some of their meats just down the way.  I'm not sure I have seen pork in there, if I wasn't looking all that closely.

Definitely a good day, if I finish as I am proposing.  With groceries and such, tomorrow will be a down day, for rest.  That in the hopes I can be ready to climb several trees, cutting this and that, and maybe setting some things up out there.  Not too much work, but it'll wind me.  Wednesday or Thursday, whenever it is that my wind returns.  Like a boomerang, you can only use your breath when it is back in hand after a use.  Later.

Curious things.

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Recently, a neighbor asked after my health.  Good, given the givens and then some, I bellowed.  Could be better, but that's been true since the day I was born.  I didn't mention that.  Something about having an air of fitness or vigor or... something.  I kept tossing words.  They seemed close, but not quite right.  Or maybe I did get the word.  Long days wear a man with many duties, so not always does he deal with such to it's finality.  As well, I've been noticing that my shorts keep falling off.  I kept thinking... 'wear a belt'!  When I would finally focus enough to go get a belt on, I would come to the realization...  'I AM wearing a belt'!  Cinch it, I would suggest!  No more holes.  I could punch more holes, probably two more, but then the belt tongue would be longer than to the middle of my back.  Hmm?

I looked at my feet.  I'm carrying a goodly bit of water.  While not elephantine, they are pretty thick, on up past the ankle.  So I expected stepping on the scale wouldn't show much.  Usually, when I carry this much water, I am in the 290's, even 300 range (I usually run 280, when clean).  I was a bit surprised, topping off at 271 and small change.  And, yes, my pants, too, are falling off.  I need new belts... 38's, a pair of them... the strong kind.  Duluth Trader makes excellent belts.  They cost a small fortune per each, but I have never had one fail.  Or I could go buy several on the cheap.  But as tight as I need to wear them, with how things configure and the weight of my clothes, I've had Walmart specials break on the first cinching.  *le sigh*  I'll just buck up and order the good ones.  Problem is, I know I will, if this keeps up and I think it will, end up shifting down in sizes at a very fast pace.  Hmm...  I'll just order one at a time until... until I hit 34.  If I get back down to 31?  I won't wear a belt, baby.  When you conquer Rome, they do as you do.  *wink*

The pig is in.  I have a list for the store, several places actually.  I am considering which way to go.  I am thinking, picking up the hog first.  After that is done and arranged in the freezer, I'll see where I am at.  If I've go mojo, or think I will before the day is done, I'll either sprint shop to town, or go later.  I'll take some chops in for my friend, if I go later.  Yeah... I'll just plan on later, might call him soon in an attempt to arrange a visit.  He has been terribly difficult to reach, so...  I don't want to take pork in if he won't be there.  Even with the ice chest, an hour in mid 60's/70's, in a vehicle, with a semi-serious sun raining down, and that meat would not do well on a round trip.  In is fine, if I drop it right away.

I went out to look up in the trees again.  Sneaky snaking branches.  Just a few.  Maybe just one, on the one tree.  There are others that could come down, in either of the other evergreens.  Maybe a few branches in the faux chinese elms, if I can do that.  I am thinking, hoping, to be ready for that Wednesday.  I have my climbing harness located, and I believe the safety loops, and some static climbing rope along with some other rope for... finagling.  I won't be doing miracles or playing with fire, just... tug, secure, cut, and using caution.

Fit?  Full of vigor?  Not quite yet.  Better than a bit ago, not even close to tomorrow.  Later.

Little things to begin all else.

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Trash, collected, and out then on to the curb.  Such a simple task.  Such a nuisance.  Still, done.  I also found the source of a sour odor.  I used to use those mechanically self-wringing mops.  They really are made for women.  I kept going through them, not knowing or discovering why.  As it turns out, when I wring those, after about... a score or two wrings, the mechanism dies.  I just learned this as I decided to use up what I have in inventory.  I think I have a few more mop heads, if it wasn't the mop heads that gave way... but the mechanism on the mop handles, then I am done.  If the handle mechanisms are still good, I will use the mop heads up.  A waste either way.  Sure, light and easy to use.  But if they can't take a wring...  Well... the head on one of those had been removed, but I hadn't wrung it out... because of the failure (of some sort).  So... it got sour.  It smelled a lot like a diaper, to be honest.  Luckily, it was in the trash already.  The odd thing?  While I could smell it, I couldn't actually find it.  It seemed to be elsewhere.  But it was right where it should have been.

Trash, prepping for some dishes, little bits of this and that going on.  A spot of tea going.  Planning on a shower, after a bit.  I just wanted to get the trash out before I missed the pickup.  Well, and doing a few things sort of primes the pump.  I would like to fix a few eggs, perhaps with cheese thrown in, and onion as well?  Or I'll just skip for not.  I really need to remember to add kefir water to a cup of grains for breakfast.  That's good stuff, easy, fast to make, and actually pretty cheap.  You just have to be willing to spend more than a few seconds getting it from a package to a microwave, or such.

Funny?  I've spent the last thirty years trying to regain focus.  I used to be able to do incredible feats of focus.  Sudoku may be showing that I have little bits of that returning, though perhaps at depths I might not have had before.  While I am coming back to focus, over a rather damaged body, I see most... even the young... trying to find their way to what I have been trying to escape.  They don't want to think, or act, or be able to function.  They want to be oblivious.  I'll warn you once, coming back from that is... well... hell.  Don't go there.  I didn't have a lot of choice.  You do.  My guess is it is even harder to come back if you chose to go there.

Well... a bit of a rest, then I'll call the butcher shop, see where that process is.  Later.

Sleep was good.

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I have had better, and several layers of better.  And yet, for decades, all I had was worse, and by many layers on to the very worst... no sleep, or a type of waking sleep.  This was near the top and I wasn't exactly expecting it.  When I work until I hurt, and keep it up, and for several days, sometimes good sleep can't be had.  Gratitude is in play this morning.  Well, and shortly a handful of painkillers.  I didn't take any the last day or two, I don't think?  Not yesterday anyway.  On the good side, or not(?), I can feel the pain today.  And yet I feel good, too.

Lots of dreams last night.  I only remember one.  Some woman and I were... debating.  If you have ever known a woman with whom you should not have an interest, of a romantic nature, but do in truth... and you both keep things civil... but underneath there is a want?  Well, this was that.  It might well have been directly from a memory.  Oh, in spite of my past nature, I was actually pretty good about this sort of thing.  And, yet, playing with just a touch of fire...  What seems even worse, to my way of thinking, is that we were debating something I was rather keen about.  And I couldn't seem to really hit all that hard.  Bleh.  Still, the bitter sweet portions of life, especially when maintained in innocence over bodily contradictions, are very fond memories.  I can't remember exactly who it was, but from the hints I suspect only a handful of women with whom I had such feelings in mutuality.  Several of them are still very alive.

Today?  I honestly suspect a shower will go forth.  Trash will most likely go out and probably on time.  A bit of a sit after those, and before them as I wake.  And, very possibly, a call to the butcher.  If the hog is ready, I'll do that.  If not, I will go on to the store, shopping.  Just groceries.  I forgot, when they smoke some of the hog meat, that is on a bit of a waiting list.  Only so much so quickly?  Or is it more that it takes time?  In any case, the hog may or may not be ready.  I will get out today, though.

I may do just a bit of work in the kitchen and bathroom though.  Sweeping the bathroom to keep ahead, clearing some of the countertops and tabletop... or more... and the floor a bit more.  Nothing big, not too much, just a bit.  Later.

Naps are sometimes necessities.

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And so it was today.  About 15:00?  Somewhere in there.  I have a watch that is an half hour off.  As I was going to sleep I can't remember if that was the time piece I used.  Anyway, sometime in that range I went down.  Didn't sleep all that well, good enough though I think.  I keep checking under the kitchen sink.  It looks like my plumb job has worked, well enough for now.  I just hated having to fuss under there every time I had a spot of tea.  Too tired to be fussing like that.

I am well and truly sore and tired.  It isn't debilitating, or too much more than usual.  Just a healthy feeling that I did some work.  A twenty foot, four inch diameter, full of smaller branches, very alive with pines, branch weighs a goodly lot.  While that was probably the biggest, there were a goodly sum of various sized branches near enough to that.  Some I cut while balancing on a ladder, most I shuffled over to a pile for further breakdown, both were some small but noticeable amounts of effort.  All told, they added up heavily, for me anyway.

I did look, again, this afternoon.  While I could take a limb or two off each tree, and may, any more is not needed.  Rather than set up my hammock between two pines, I should be able to set it up between an evergreen and the chinese elm (?).  Though I might wish to do just a bit of work in the c. elm.  In some ways working it will be easier, in other ways it will be a bit trickier.  Every tree has it's ways.

Hmm?  I don't know.  Today is pretty much done.  Rest was enjoyed.  Tomorrow will mostly be a day of rest, though if I can do some minor shopping, and maybe pick up the hog on the way home, I'll be good.  The rest of the day will be for resting... other than just keeping up on trim around what is clean or targeted, on top of the noted projects, and mostly resting.  The sun helped a bit today.  The work recently, while bruising is also going toward health more than not.  Still, the work tomorrow is a hope, not a surety.

I did call my mother.  She was busy cleaning her floors, wet vacuuming I think she said.  All good.  She says she is losing ground in her home, more as time goes on.  Housecleaning isn't, completely, something on which you can ever completely, or statically, manage.  Here and there, this and then, now and over there.  On a rare moon, perhaps all seems done, or done enough, but for a moment.  And, as age happens, or if children reign...  Patience.  Though some are far more Sargent Mom than others.  It's just... how it goes.  Oh, and men are simply not capable of being in that league unless they have... other issues?  Issues I definitely don't have.  *zzz*

Later.  Maybe good night.

Actually, a few things right off.

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I did go look.  The trees are 99.9 percent, really.  Maybe one to three branches left.  But those will be tricky.  Not bad, a good minor work day.  No where near the last two to three days.  More brain than back work, though with some risk.  I may well grab some of the safety snatches and the climbing rig.  Just... at those angles, with the saw, in a tree, branch to tight branch and through the brush...  Not just a chore, an adventure!

After that, I checked the plumbing under the sink.  Leaking, I might have mentioned.  I got a little huffy.  Not enough energy to tinker long, but a need to simply the process of using the r.o.  So... I grabbed the rubber mallet, a bit of righteous anger, and a thinking cap.  Those last two don't always fit together.  If placed correctly on the board, however, they can be a spiffy combo.  As today, it turns out.  I took the thing off only to find a plug in there.  It... looks like wax.  Later on, after a nap and some thinking, music, and such, I may go do I vivisection or biopsy... of sorts.  For now, removing it should allow flow.  How could a plug get in there when I'm not using that sink, thus drain, except for reverse osmosis dumping?  Anyway... I removed that, then began attempting to fit the pipes together.  They just did not want to go, and should have fit.  No normal screwing loose or tightening seemed to have any effect, so...  *bam, bam, bam, BAM*  I did get it all back together, as a unit.  Then I had to fit it into the down and out drain pipes.  *bam, bam, BAM*  Oh, but it was, again, still leaking.  Hmm?  *knee to the joint*  Ah... peace at last.  That seems to have worked.  No, it won't last, but it will allow me to get water without flooding the floor, for a while... Hopefully long enough for me to rest a bit, get that cleaned out under there, then call a plumber to put it all together in a more permanent fashion.  Bleh.

Now, if nothing causes a major fuss, perhaps the rest of the day can be a bit restful.  Timer just went off to feed the girls.  Tea should be ready.  Then back to music, perhaps some gaming after that, maybe a nap or lunch, or lunch then nap, and... rest.  I do hurt.  Bones, chest, muscle, lungs...  No energy, less now.  But all good.  Later.

Quite right.

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Awake, and relatively early.  I didn't get to bed until right around midnight.  That's just how it works if I work later, or hard.  I pushed everything doing what I did.  Arms, chest, legs just a bit, and internals... the lungs and heart were stressed diligently.  No, not to a bad place, just to the end of capacity, then several more times.  But in, I think, the right way.  Now, that means today will be a day of very little.  Maybe burritos, perhaps some tinkering with the camera, and maybe a very little bit of work about the cave.  That will be it.  Same, very possibly, with Monday.  It's not so much a will thing as a reality combining health and physical fitness levels.  I have found that even getting over the latter leaves the former, and even medication wasn't fixing the former.  So... it is what it is.

Even so, I plan to review the project, the cutting.  If I think a bit more can be done, later this week, I will get to it.  Now, If I do that, it will be just a limb or two, maybe three.  I did more than that myself, my neighbor did double what I did.  And, even when I wasn't cutting, I was shifting limbs and logs (some limbs were dead, with no branches, but rather thick and long) out of the way.  It was pretty hefty work.  On the lucky side, for me, he really likes that chainsaw.  :)  I do too.  I bought a pro-level, and just a bit bigger, of a saw.  I really had hoped I would be able to get the major trees, or at least down to the trunks.  Five to six foot trunks take more of a saw than I would even want!  And, I may yet get to some of that.  I don't mind paying for the high, overarching, branches.  But the others I might be able to begin felling a bit at a time.

Funny how just a bit of that real work tightens my body up though.  It wouldn't take much to build fast either.  Remember, the last time I was able to work out, if with a helper, I went from just being able to do the bar to benching 350 in three months... along with swimming just five laps, in that same time, to swimming a mile a day three days a week.  If I can, I do, and do very well.  I don't know if I can push on through, without anything, but...  Well... we'll see.  I best be able to get to some level of function before I hit the road.

That reminds me...  I need to get my camping gear and packs in, figure out, again, what is what.  Repackaging all that so as to begin a backyard excursion into prepping for the real outdoors and camping.  I am excited for this.  Both packs will probably be a major hurdle initially.  But, I think, in time, even the big one will be doable.  The small one gets to about 40 pounds, the big one, if packed lightly, starts at 60, but can probably stow an 100 and much change, perhaps 150.  Starting with 35-40, though, is the way.  Ugh.  Thinking of humping and it isn't even Wednesday.  :p

Good morning and good day.

Awesome.

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A call and a deal.  A neighbor visited, to see about the saw.  I wasn't sure what all needed to happen.  Cleaning, oil... what kind, where, or such.  Yeah, well, not that hard at all.  What I thought would need lab and lab coat work just needed a minor bit of rag work.  Showed me this and that, worked this over, and... bam.  She lit like a 4th sparkler, without the sparkles thankfully.  Then I asked if he would watch as I cut limbs... just in case.  I cut, cut, cut some more, moved the ladder, cut, cut, moved...  I got a lot down, but not close to what I needed.  So, he asked if I wished that he help?  Well, yes.  And so he did.  It is good enough, absolutely for sure.  I may look it over in a day or two, and I might go back up if I think so.  But, really, quite good.  I should be able to walk under the branches without ducking.  I will see about setting up a camp under there.  Though I am not sure about the hammock.

After which I visited.  Then, talked as his wife and their new little one were set to arrive shortly.  I was so tired I might have seemed a bit dull.  Even what I had done with the tree and chainsaw had quite tuckered me out.  Anyway, it was a marvel to see such a young one again.  And the Mrs. really looks good.  She has done well after delivery.  It sounds as if she learned some things and is still learning.  I still think it's wonderful, and as she said, a miracle.  These things, in some odd way, are in God's hands.  We have made choices that set us apart a bit, and so can and do fall prey.  But when it works, even when it doesn't exactly, often there is another chance.  Such tiny noses, feet, and hands.

So, it does end up a major victory today, on many fronts.  I am pretty done in for it.  Well worth it.  Though, tomorrow, I... I have no idea.  I was invited to a ceremony for their girl, and would love to have gone.  While I said maybe, my back, energy, head, neck, and legs were... I think they were openly threatening me.  Not with extra pain, just with making a fool, again, out of me.  It took many years to learn to say no, or even maybe.  But as unfair as it is to me, in what I have missed, it is more unfair to those I give my word and do not keep it.  Better a distant friend than a bitter one.  I can't keep some words, so I no longer give them.

All good.  Just a touch of music then on to bed.  Good night.

Not much, not very successful.

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I did get the camera going, using the 50 mm lens.  I figured out how to switch from RAW to jpeg, and did so.  I took a number of photos.  While I was out, I remembered that I wanted to cut branches on one of my evergreens, the lower ones, so as to have an easy to walk under canopy.  I did some on the other everygreen, though I think the last owners had hit that first, a bit.  The ladder was still out, so I moved that into place and set it up.   A crosscut saw had been out there, with other tools.  I found the other tools in the shed, but not the crosscut.  I grabbed another saw, to give it a shot.  Not so much.  It just wasn't built for cutting branches.  And while I have a very good woodsman's axe, that just isn't functional on a ladder.  My chainsaw would be best, if not an easy task.  It needs... well...  I'll try to remember to get that to the shop Monday.  Hmm... though I might call to see if someone might give it a quick thrift work.  All it needs is a reconfig, really.  I know someone, if he has the time.  He wouldn't want money for it, but I would have to insist.  It would be cheaper, and likely better, than the shop, if he has time.  Money is good, if time is to be had.  If I get those branches down I can set up my hammock, perhaps goof with the bivy system, and practice camping, in place, safely.

I brought the camera in and just goofed on the machine for a bit.  Today simply isn't a working day.  I'm not moving fast.  I am not pushing.  I goofed for long enough, to my mind.  Finally deciding to pull the card and see what I could do.  Nothing, it seems, to be done.  The machine simply indicated that it couldn't or wouldn't open the pictures.  There are both RAW and jpeg on it, is probably the problem.  Though who knows.  Everything on this machine is very old.  I could try the laptop, but I would have to bust MS's attempt to hack Win 8, 8.1, or 10 onto it first, by rebooting back to a saved image.  And, then, again, try to shut down the attempt by that machine to hook to the internet, where MS would again attempt to hack on one of their useless twisted junk OS's.  Bleh.  I'm not going to hassle with that today.  So... just no success.  I do have pictures, in a usable format, just no way to access them atm.  This is why I haven't rushed into figuring this out.  It's a mess, and they mean it to be unless you comply.  I do not comply.

I may make burritos in a bit... or not.  Back to... drifting.  Later.

Well?

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Okay, I can be a little... out of the loop.  The bread was not green, had no other sorts of growth... natural or not.  It looked like it might do as a base for an odd food experiment.  A little hard, perhaps... but, you know how ends can be.  So I grabbed the bread knife, set it far enough away from the previously cut end, and... cut through stone.  It isn't an otherwise dense bread.  The crust, of course, should crunch.  It just didn't stop there.  The crumbs looked and felt more like gravel.  So much for a sandwich, experimental or not.  Bacon and eggs it is.  Scrambled eggs, with cheese, this time.  And salsa.

I don't know if I will do all that much today.  I'm not in bad shape, in pain, or too tired.  I simply do not wish to push my luck.  No, no shopping either.  I will do little things, here and there.  I might find a small section of the kitchen counter to clear and clean.  I may work on the table top.  I might do little things other than those, perhaps sharpen some of my kitchen knives and make an attempt at working one of my straight razors to a truly fine sharpness.  I have something with which to compare it, so as to get a better idea, now.  Kitchen knives don't have to be so sharp, mind you.  They are only used on the dead, the unfeeling.  Though a truer degree of sharpness makes them safer for the feeling, living. to use on the products.

I am finding, by the way, a much greater success with my cast and high carbon pans through the use of wooden and bamboo utensils.  As such I am moving to those.  I ordered several sets of wooden tongs, and wooden and/or bamboo spoons, spatulas, and such.  I have a small collection.  But, when cooking several days, I tend to go through them quickly.  Some reuse is okay, there are simply limits.  Now that I have utensils down, I may check the seasoning on my pans and dutch oven, to see if they can, or should, be redone.  I think most will need it.  On the good side?  Even without reseasoning, as is most likely wise, just using the wood and bamboo has almost proved enough itself.  With new seasoning and the wood and bamboo?  I think it'll be snazzy.  I was actually able to cook scrambled eggs in my newish high carbon skillet without having scrambled the eggs in a bowl first.  I did it right in the pan.  Not a problem, no stick.  And yet I want it that tiny, or maybe even large, bit better.

Beside going wooden, I am trying to add kitchen towels that work.  Some flour sack, some tea.  Flour sack are good, not just for glass, but for wrapping tortillas, pancakes, and such to keep warm when more than a few are wanted... or even just a few.  They go cold so fast, especially in the higher, low humidity, area hereabouts.  I had tea towels, mostly old and worn, but I never did invest in flour sack... just wasn't sure, had other demands, this and that.  Well... as I push cooking and backing, taking things to a new level, I need certain items.  These are included.

I am hoping to take a few photographs today.  Just with the 50mm.  I may also review my camera, then look for specific instructions about how to use a non-auto focus lens on this camera.  That whole thing may have been a busted load of bs by someone who didn't know what he was talking about, or is so complex that it isn't worth the effort to do unless you are a complete camera nerd with zero life and zero interest in more.  I'm just not seeing it working at all.  Though, if there is a trick that will just let me set, use, override an error message, and click, I'd be quite pleased.  I don't need to take pictures, landscapes, quickly.  I just need to take them in a general time window, when the light, cloud, look, or feel... to me... is right.  Or even just when I wish to do so.  I am praying.  Otherwise, for auto-focus of this quality of lenses, I am looking at, starting, around $800.  I'm not into the serious zooms, for wildlife.  And some prime lenses, while quite limited, are much cheaper and, for what they are good for, are the best solution within those limits.  Zooming with feet, or wheels, is fine if not helpful for a serendipitous fleeting moment.  Huh?  Oh, I mean I have no clue.  I'll try to get a few shots, make a jab and putting them up, research a few other notions?  Yeah.

Rest, today.  Rest tomorrow.  I am getting closer to having clothes in order.  I may look for shoes, too.  While I found some, they aren't good for my feet.  Hurting and pinching aren't good for diabetics, even if I am only a look-alike one... from what I can tell.  I need some larger, boxier, oxfords.  The spiffy, classic, torpedo just doesn't work.  But finding the right ones for proper slacks?  Oh, and I need new button down oxford shirts.  Nothing fancy, but I need to try them, or be prepared to return them if they don't fit.  Oh, ties too, and undershirts.  I have dress slacks and cords and a few of the others, if dated a bit.  Bleh.  I'll... keep working on it.

Later.

Up and almost shiny.

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Like a shiny coin, the only one happy might be the owner... if they like shiny things.  Huh?  Well, a shiny coin is shiny because it has just freshly been torn from it's bed, boiled, pressed with massive power, then drop-shipped into circulation.  Probably not a fun process, even for a metal.  First, I did say almost.  Second, I think, even for it, I am pretty good this morning.  I didn't get to sleep until about 0:30 (half past midnight).  I woke right about 9:30... that is alarm time, which is half past fast.  Which doesn't matter in one sense, as it is as wrong on one end as the other.  So, nine hours down.  Not bad for what I did yesterday.

I've been through the kitchen at least twice this morning.  I didn't have my wits about me, not enough to review things on the ground, literally and virtually, out there.  I know I was a bit miffed that getting everything down to the basement hadn't seemed to really make a dent on the bulk taking up floor space in the kitchen.  I do need to re-evaluate.  You know how that last thoughts of the night can be of a inordinately disappointing nature?  Something about being tired, the mind beginning to shut down for the night, and other such, which just don't allow cheery, or even sometimes fair, thoughts.  Yeah.  Still, it might hold.  I just won't be as disappointed about it, at the least.

Probably just a few boxes, and packing material, that should be easy to manage.  Maybe a box of stuff that should have gone down but wasn't seen clearly as such in the waning of the day.  Nothing as bad as it seems when one expects the North West Passage and only finds a bay with a short river run.  And yet that short river run might be better for setting up a starter colony, though certainly a good place to know, so as to shelter a small fleet should a terrible storm draw near.  Oh, right... Never mind.

Breakfast, though, first thing.  At least first thing after I can do first things.  Then, perhaps, that shower.  When going to bed, priorities are what they are.  Sleeping on things rearranges those.  Not absolutely, or always.  Just... food for a hungry morning ogre means more than it did to a full evening ogre.  Eggs and liverwurst...  If the bread is still good.  I was thinking of toasting the bread though, so it can be a wee dry.  An odd mix, but mayhap a good one.  And certainly good for you.  Liver is a wonderfood all itself... in proper portions.  Now, processed liver?  I'll stick with the Germans on this one.  Hmm... onion on it would be good too.  Plus, no modern will ask for a bite of your sandwich.  :)

Later.

That water heater was a Hillary.

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At least it tried to be, if probably no better than she does, a ballbuster.  The replacement was supposed to be about 100 pounds.  So I assumed the old one was about the same.  Even with the packing, the new one was much lighter.  Getting that chunk of junk up, even with the cart, was a bear.  I actually needed two hours to recover.  I can handle moving my 100 pound plates easily, or more easily.  A long cylinder shouldn't be a problem.  It definitely was.  Might just be getting old though, older... well, and out of shape.  After the break I did get the other boxes, goods, and sundry down.  There was more than I thought and yet it opened up less space than I had hoped!  How that works I won't even guess.

I don't know if I can work tomorrow.  Perhaps just nibbling around the edges of the work area, stacking and sorting.  Or maybe just a day of rest, some cooking and gaming, maybe a spot of photography, which I didn't get going today.  The only other thing I didn't do, on my list, was shopping.  Monday.  Or... Tuesday.  Maybe Thursday.  We'll see how much these days of thunder have cost me.  Never can tell.  Sometimes it kills the system, sometimes it lights the coal and gets a head of steam set to charge the machine.

A shower, first thing.  There is little so luxurious as a shower in a freshly cleaned bathroom.  I have even added bits that allow me to clean the shower when I am done.  Of course, those only work if the water is draining.  Which it is again.  Funny how we find clean things, even with good intent, and mess them up?  It's our job.  It's the cycle.  Dance or die, the only choices.  And some of us don't even get both of those.  Well, as easily or well as others.

I forgot to mention it.  This morning?  My new second best sudoku solve time is now... wait for it... six seconds.  Just one second faster than my fastest time!  Now, to finish a puzzle in four, or even three seconds.  Yes, yes, crack my phone and look.  Oh, but the six second, 8 second, 9 second, and others won't show.  But the five second speed shows up on several counters in the app.  Again, while I can't stop you, I can bless you.  With what?  Something honest folk don't mind so much... an inability to be believed in a lie.  Go ahead kids, kick the kit and see if it stings.  You have been warned.  Though, if you do it, and find my words true?  In time I do believe you will thank me.  A truthful life is much easier and more satisfying to live.  The gig will sort of make you a putz.  But I make much effort to be a putz.  A putz in this world is an honest man in a true world.  Eventually you will lose your faith, for you will not need it... in heaven or hell.  You will know.

Later.  Or, urhm, good night.

Who knew?

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I had a water heater to bring up.  And old, rusted out one, which had opened and flooded my basement.  I got the replacement down just fine.  Removing the old one has proven too much, until now.  I tried several ways, with ropes and just wrestling it, all to no avail.  Skinned elbows, knees, and other patches... bruises, cuts, abrasions, and pinch cuts... until now that was the only payment for my efforts.  I purchased a dolly, hand cart, or some other names, depending from whence you hail.  It was supposed to be able to handle eight to twelve times what the water heater weighs, plus was supposed to be able to manage stairs.  It did help me complete the job, but it was only enough better to get the job done, not enough to call it a really good tool.  Then again, unlike my last one, it didn't twist in the effort... becoming useless.  I purchased much more carefully this time.  Urhm, which means beside extra homework, I spent more.  Yes, boys and girls, that is how it works.

About busted my left... nuts, I forgot to... never mind, I'll do that later.  What?  Ah, right, ask me later.  I'm taking a break just from that.  I still have some hope to get the other boxes down.  Some of food stuffs, some of just empty but well packed half gallon jars for future use.  Plus... this and that?  I can't remember what all has to go down.  I really want it done tonight.  If I catch my breath in the next hour, enough to get to it, I will.  And, then, I will sleep like a babe, twice blessed in fresh nappies.  Only an ogle worthy food source could possibly enhance sleep beyond.  Could dream?

Back to music.  Nothing in the news, so far.  Though, who knows.  Odd how being spotted can make even the most perverse change course.  Sometimes the look of a child can change a crooks plans.  *blink blink*  Later.  Actually?  Good night.  I think I am done for tonight.  If I finish up, I'll relate and regale your eyes with the fruits of my labor in the morning.  Sleep well.

Pushing.

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I didn't make or eat a breakfast or lunch.  I was moving as quickly as possible cleaning and such.  I simply didn't have the time and energy.  Which was fine until after a shower.  I though, perhaps, I would take a shower, then kick a few chores out, then go get something, maybe do shopping, or even go shopping then cook.  Yeah, no.  When you are using yourself up, there just isn't more to give at some point.  Food had to happen.  Right after the shower.  Just fast food, and drive-through.  Not the best but I had no way to cook, no energy to go into a restaurant, zip.  And food was needed.  That down, I now need a bit of down time.

I am still hoping to bring the water heater up and get everything down and sorted.  I think, however, that will be that... if I can do even that.  I sure have high hopes.  It would mean the next time I have full batteries I can really rip into the kitchen.  That won't be a one day project, hasn't been.  I have done a good deal of work out there already.  Two, maybe three days, like today, of work and it will be as good as the bathroom.  The only things in the bathroom, wrong, are mechanical.  Some of that I can do, some I can't.  I figure, in time, I can knock out the dripping faucets and crossover, rehab some of the drywall that got wet when the original toilet was leaking.  Didn't notice, got behind the trim.  Bleh!  The rest, the slow sink drain, a look at the tub drain, and some kitchen faucet problem and drain, as well, I will probably be calling a plumber in to consult and offer a quote.  Maybe several plumbers?  I've never worked with professionals before.  I'm not sure how one is supposed to go about that.  If it was a single task, I might just ask around.  But this might end up being bigger or smaller than how it looks.  Best to have several opinions, I think?

Don't know what is up with the... sight.  Just... bugging me, off and on, during breaks.  I didn't check the news the first time.  After the second, last, one I did go look.  Something about protesters, but I didn't get any real sense of urgency.  I sure did in my daydreams.  Though, as I might have suggested, I couldn't... their were more than one targets one the board, and more reasoning and thinking.  But more as if those things had been thought through, and implementation was on track... maybe even reaching the point for a call and a word.  That word is just, if a positive, bigger than they have any imaginings.  Moths to a flame.

Well, back to some music.  Perhaps something more fun, distracting.  Though if I can make anything look better, why not do so, innit?  Later.

Warned em', I did. Vibes... VIBES.

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Wow.  Just wow.  Killing zero won't kennedize the next president.  Murdering Trump will just make us peons really angry.  Remember, cops and .mil are mostly... well... peons.  The grand houses will fall if you play one of these cards.  This isn't the 60's.

Taking a bit longer, but then when is that a surprise.

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The bathroom is sparkling.  Tub to toilet, floor to shower curtains, clean and clean smelling.  I had it really clean not too long ago.  And it stayed that way for a rather longish time.  Actually, while a bit scruffy, it really wasn't too bad.  One thing to note, ladies may avert eyes, is that even a sprinkle on carpet or off to the side, and it smells like an old folks' home.  So it had to be strip cleaned.  Which is exactly what happened.  The floor was scrubbed, then again, rinsed, and again.  If it isn't tacky to the touch, when it dries, I am done.  Otherwise one more shot.  I hate sticky floors... for any reason.  It has simply taken longer to dry, being a bit cooler today.

No worries.  I will keep at it.  Now it doesn't look like even a bathroom in even a three star motel, not a new one anyway.  But she will do for a daily decor driver.  Though I might see about the flooring, and whether it could or needs to be treated.  A sealant or such.  I think the owners purchased extra tiles, and know where they are.  I think it says on the box what they are as well.  That might make mopping easier, or more productive?

When the floor dries, I'll quickly set the room back... extra tp rolls holder, standard tp use pillar... changing chair (which doubles as kitchen/home (very solid) step stool... laundry chute with a laundry bag...  Yeah... maybe not fully classy but much closer to more functional... and some of it with just a touch of elegance.  Who knew?  Ah, then a shower.  I think I can still get in to town.  If not, at least get clean.

If to town, then just simple shopping.  Either way, I will get the larder and storage stuffs to the basement.  Oh, and probably the old water heater up first.  Yeah.  That will sure clear some space down there.  I think I will get a good lot done.  More?  Well... if, on one of my breaks, I can pull it off, remember, and make it happen, I'll put my 50mm on my camera and take some snappies... then attempt to pull them over.  Might have to go .jpg, as I don't think my connected machine has a translater.  Bleh.  Still...  Even darker, she is a pretty world outside my windows.  Hmm... might even open up, even without any sun of which to speak... write.

A bit more music.  Later.

A nice bite out of the list.

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The bath tub needed serious cleaning.  You know how slow drains can muddy up a tub.  Then doing a bunch of dishes there because the kitchen faucet is tagged out.  Bleh.  Scrub, clean, brush, wipe, rinse, repeat.  It's the stooping.  Though elbow grease raises a sweat, more if cohabited with stooping.  The inside (plastic, clear) shower curtain had also become pretty nasty... dish grease and all.  So it got scrubbed, on both sides, twice, as well.  The work I did on the drain has helped a great deal.  It's still not a straight shot, but a full tub, up to four to six inches is gone, now, within thirty seconds.  It had been taking hours.  Bleh.  So, a shower can be had before too long.

Next I hit the toilet.  I didn't just do the bowl down.  I moved everything off, out, took off the seat assembly and washed that, took off the plastic floor bolt nubs and scrubbed those, then went to work on the main attraction.  Tickling this nook, scratching that corner.  Between dust and fur... though why the cats are involved I can't be sure :p, she needed a cleaning spanking, and got it.  After this, that, and the other thing, I even cleaned up my cleaning equipment.  I cleaned the plunger and holder when I was working on the drain yesterday, so that is good.  Now a rest.

Next I will hit the floor.  I may go in and towel off the floor, to let it dry, before trying to sweep.  Who knows how much water went everywhere in my doom's day cleaning mania!?!  I always have bath mats, those will do and will just be put in the wash while I am at it.  Then, when the floor is dry, I'll hit it with the broom, then mop.  I will then declare it done and begin thinking about lunch.  I would like to make lunch, but if I want to hit the store, that might not be wise.  And I do.  I don't know if I can though.

The plans are to either have lunch then go to the store, or vice versa.  After unpacking, I may need to nap.  If so, all good.  Then on to the kitchen.  I am hoping to take all that is packed and ready to go down to the basement.  It's not that much and yet it is.  Oh, but before that, bring the old water heater up.  Yeah.  When that is done, the goal is to clear the floor space in the kitchen and side room.  It isn't that much, but, again, it is.  If I can do that, and still have juice, I will hit the counters.  This time I will be trying to figure out how to keep those clear when not in timely use.  I see women who do that.  I have always liked that.  I have never been good at it.  Each time I improve, or even catch up, I try to change one thing before going through the flood of reality to the next time.  Clean counters and kitchen tabletop are the changes for this time.  And, yeah... it actually does add up.  The improvements, mostly, stay.  Especially if they are actually useful.  You can't imagine how much I have changed in the last five to six years, and my life.  Might not look like it to the casual observer.  To others it is a world of change.

Later.

Watch for it.

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A minor daydream, I suppose.  Of self, but also a warning.

Awake, with a plan.

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The bathroom is the plan.  Well, the first installment.  I am hoping to nail that before much else.  Beside, I want a shower!  When you are running on batteries that don't always charge up well or quickly, hold a charge, or put out energy evenly, you sort of have to figure that if you want this, and you have to do this and that to do what you want, it may take a while.  You do learn patience.  Your body can crush you, or die, if you push it.  Mine seems to take, and give, a joke.  "Ha, ha, ha...", *zzzz (for days, a week, more) *.  I'm telling you.  Now, my body and myself have come to some understandings.  If I am kindly, it will try.  If it needs rest, and the need isn't vital one way or another, or exciting, or it is, then we will negotiate what we can.  Anyway, we are working on these things.

I do think I can get the bathroom and a shower knocked out before noon.  Friday is it?  Good.  I may attempt to sneak to a store.  I have a non-laundry laundry list of items.  Minor things, but major in some sense.  Eggs to milk to cheese to flour...  Plus just the pleasant addition to life of getting out of the house, to a market, and having some single-serve interactions... if often with people I have at least seen, but more likely met, and with whom I have spoken.  Having basics stored is a good feeling too.  When I buy things like corn starch, I like to buy one or two extra, for down in the pantry.  Which means, yeah, I have to check the pantry before shopping.  Hmm... should work up a list.  A computer and printer are great for that... even keeping it alphabetized, neat, even, with room for the count as well.  There aren't that many staples, to be honest.  Even tossing in honey, maple syrup, baking soda, olives,  and things, I'll bet there isn't an hundred, maybe two hundred at most if you are a serious home cook, items on the list.  (As to whether to use isn't or aren't in the list?  I think, since even a multiple number is actually the noun, sort of, it is a singular of a plural... just so you know I actually consider such.  Well, that's what I think anyway.  I happen to be in a mood to consider such, and share it.)  *blink*

Breakfast before anything?  Maybe.  But a bit of blogging and music first.  Of course, today being what it is, food is on the mind right off.  Incentive, if I don't push it too far.  Liverwurst and egg sandwich?  Just maybe.  Not for the faint of heart.  Even if it seems I am dying of a faint heart, I am most likely not dying from it, and it ain't half so faint as that of the most daring of angels.  Which... is probably why they are angels and I only have attempted to play the part for damsels in distress, or datdress, or... not.  A long story from long ago.  Braggadocios.  Not always a bug, certainly not always a feature.  Either way, whether you can bona fide your tongue is a whole other thing.  Anyway, liverwurst and egg sandwich?  I have both, never tried them together, might do it now that I think on it.

Oh, right!  Yesterday I did get my camera out.  I tried to set some things up, get some snappies.  It's been too long, and I am attempting to use a manual focus lens.  I just didn't have to mojo.  I might check around this area, see if there is a photographer or shop or teacher who might be willing to offer a few lessons.  I don't have much... a few ducks, maybe a meal, and gas to get both of use somewhere to shoot... or a class.  Meh... Can't afford that right quite yet, though maybe a class, or online course.  A private tutor is so much better, truly, at least to get over the learning curve.  These things are, now, essential rubik's computers, sort of.  I may fit the 50 and make another jab at it today, in both dx and extended.  I was just too... after making the attempt and fail and fail, I just put it up.  Knowing when you are licked, especially at the end of your day, is a good thing.

Good day, and later.

Not a bad day at all.

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Oh, sure, I didn't get it all done.  I didn't even get much done.  Dishes, and a secondary load, catching me up... mostly I think.  I did tinker with the plumbing.  And it does seem as though the effort has provided dividends.  The tub drain is moving more swiftly.  Maybe, again, it really was just clogged.  I'll do baking powder and vinegar treatments for a while, and begin cleaning the tub, and bathroom in general.  I hope.  While I didn't take a shower, I did sneak in for fast food.  I wanted to shop as well, I just didn't have the energy for a shower, so a shopping trip would have been out in any case.  Oh, and I did open up and enjoyed the sun for a goodly bit, which helped induce me to go out for a drive in it.  A bit of caution though, I may burn even in this weak sun... if I go out for too long or when it is high in the sky.  I did a few other minor tinkering things as well.  Sure, as I wrote, not all... enough.  I'll keep at it.

Sun!

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I've been... drifting.  Reading here, writing there, mostly staying out of trouble?  Mostly.  An "old" friend, I found, has married.  Didn't surprise me, but I did miss the event.  Still, congratulations were in order.  Oh, and cooking is happening there.  Though more there than here, the ideas are merging.  Always been, started out as, a cook's sight.  Morphed, grew, became lots of things, richer.  I just... haven't been around for a while.  Anyway, when I became aware of the flesh I noticed the sun is out!

Okay, I have to do something before opening the windows.  Shorts, at least.  I have sheers coming in, and some new curtains.  When Sass was younger, before I figured out how to keep box elder bugs away and before she learned they really didn't taste good, she... made the ones in place holy!  I simply refused to replace them until I had that situation under control.  I think it is done.  Anyway, until the sheers and new curtains arrive, opening the windows is and expose in being exposed.  I'll put these on the back window.  If, indeed, Sassy is done murdering the curtains I'll buy new replacements... if I am here next year.  If not, if I see too much trouble right away, I'll switch them out and keep figuring... or just learn to live with Sassy's special ways.

I did do most of the remaining dishes.  The last are in a soft soak.  They are clean but I double sudsed them anyway.  I'll just wash them, run a rinse, and probably push through them quickly.  Few and easy.  And I want a shower.  So much rain though, lately, that the drain is slow.  Yeah, too much water, or too cold, and the drain simply slows to an absolute crawl.  Though, perhaps, I need to fidget with the tub faucets and shower switch.  They seem to be in need of new gaskets or some such.  That'll be a first time project.  I'll have to shut off the house water.  Though if I do that, I might as well see if the water softener is messed up, blocked, or something, while I am at it.  Bleh.  Soon, I hope.

I did check on something.  Several sites indicate, if you aren't a darned fool about it, hiking in Alaska is possibly better than most of the lower 48.  Winter has it's problems (rare travelers).  Though if you are prepped, you might be able to handle that.  Summer has it's own problems (bears).  Though a little knowledge and some technique will at least modify that threat.  Yes, if need be, that'll be the way it is.  Easier since I should be able to rig a base station somewhere in one of the cities, and I'll have some finances to help here and there.

Anyway... I best get something on so I can enjoy whatever taste of a bit of sun that I can.  Need that v. D.  Milk might offer some, but nothing beats the sun.  Oh, but you know?  I am up days!  So ill, and slow moving, and then the quiet pain... I just didn't see that sneak up on me.  Hmm... if I can do dishes, get some sun, and wake a bit, I might run for something for dinner rather than cook... or starve.  Later.

Update:  Dishes were done, so I could, in good conscience, bask in some daylight.  The sun is past, but shining well enough.  I can't handle full sun anyway, certainly not yet.  After doing the dishes, I decided to plunge and otherwise treat the tub drain.  Not sure it helped, but I feel better for trying.  I hope to clear and clean the tub, not as fun as a rifle or pistol in any sense, then shower.  There is a lot of evening left for my to sneak out.  All good if it could be just a bit better.  Hungry.

Taking a knee and a breath.

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I checked my account today.  Both of them, while I was at it.  The other accounts are low but unmolested.  No one has seen fit to take, at least inordinately large amounts, of the money without reason or rightness.  The returned sum, plus what I cashed in from the other account, makes the bankrupted account look splendid.  Almost rich, for a poor man.  And, after adding what is in all, what is coming, and what will be going out this month, even with the hog, I am back to fiscally copacetic.  After working for years to keep my accounts clean, for moral and mental reasons... life is just better if one isn't choking on pennies, overdrafts, and such... that to have a bad spell that was rigged, and worse, is troubling.  With phone calls from thieves, this sort of thing, and the V.A., I am beginning to suspect these sorts of things have very little to do with money.  I think they are trying to murder the ill through harassment.  I really do.  I doubt if I am the only one suspecting that, at this point.  Proof is in the pudding.

Anyway, after checking, I called to see if the bank would, as it suggested, remove the fees and fines.  I'm getting the feeling that they aren't going to do that.  We'll see.  Still, it was good to see black ink, or the electronic form of that.

I haven't been able to do all that much.  I reset the dishes in a fresh soak earlier.  I have fed the girls, and let Sam out at least once.  The dish water became too cool, so I just reset that.  I would love to get out for groceries, or a meal.  Won't happen.  I simply can't, or not yet.  The sun teased earlier, but then, as suggested, never showed.  It is so close, and seems to pop out, but for just a bit.  I might try to push through to get out, I just don't know when... or even if.  Dishes first.

What is needed?  Milk, butter, more cheese along with corn starch, whole whipping cream but just a few cartons since I don't use it in coffee, a bag of ice, fruit, maybe a few veggies to mix in things... spinach with the beef and beans actually sounds good for example.  I only have a few meals a week, I can thus afford better meals.  Though anyone who homecooks probably does even better.  Some I know for sure do.  Oh, flour too.  For now.  When the hog and beef are paid, I'll order replacement wheat so I can in good conscience begin grinding my own wheat.  I want a year supply, plus anything open.  It's just how I do.  Actually I'd like to add another year of supplies.  That can go with me should Alaska become my new home.

I really am enjoying various cooking projects, some new some old.  Menudo would be wonderful, might have to check on tripe, hog's feet, hominy and such... now that I found my pressure cooker.  I'd sure like to get in to town.  Not sure today, tomorrow, or even until some day next week will see me there.  Rough and exhausted.  I just remembered to take the pain killers, though I did remember to turn on the furnace.  Caught in a web of toils troubles and other such.  I'll keep at it.  Later.

Update:  I was wrong.  While I eat some crow, I will thank my bank.  I didn't name them but they know who they are.  It was a small thing.  And yet it very much was not a requirement that they do anything.  They did that out of good ethics.  No, that isn't even true.  They really did it out of an abundance of good will.  Ethically, legally, they had no reason to return anything.  Remember that when you think about dealing with a company.  I have... made some effort.  Though, if it is obvious that they cheated me... then names will be tossed about quite frankly... most surely.  Gah!  I better go before I do more word and name goo fun.  I am terrible at it, but... you know I have a hank for it.  Gah!

I am going to just say it. It's the weather.

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Well, the weather and my body's inability to handle some things.  No sun for too long, currently, is the problem.  Whether it was because I was sleeping nights there for a while, plus recent weather, I can't be sure.  I simply haven't seen the sun more than sparkle through for a moment in weeks.

However, that isn't taking me down completely.  Once I dug up through that I went on to begin working.  Some days better, some not so well, others not at all.  More than I thought would be done has been done.  Cooking, dishes, cleaning up, financial business, figuring out meat orders, and many other things.  Not quickly, but timely, mostly.  I will keep at it, even if things seem to be slowing down.  I am hitting a brick.  Hmm... what is that... the sun?  It almost looks like the sun is out.  if so, I'll open up, a bit, what I can take, and try to soak it in.

Breakfast first.  Drat, I forgot to soak oatmeal.  Hmm, no milk though.  Could open a tin, the dry stuff, but being this close to payday, I think I will wait.  I do have one pint of heavy whipping cream, but that is a bit thick solo, sometimes, often.  Especially for kefir soaked grains.  That, while filling and tasty, is rather toothsome, even on the viscosity side, when kefir soaked.  But it IS definitely tasty.  I am trying to think of something beside bacon as a side to eggs.  I am saving the tortillas for this afternoon, beef and bean again.  Yeah, but I like it.  It's easy, tasty, filling, and it's cool to finally have homemade tortillas with it.  Plus, one batch can easily feed me for a day or two, solo, if need be.

Someone has been looking through music I have played for the last six months, some of it from longer ago.  While it isn't showing as hits on my blog, it is... being noticed.  I don't mind.  I'm not a hit-hunter.  And I see several patterns, at what is being reviewed and, possibly, why.  Warnings of this, the sight and it's possibilities, such and so, this and that.  Not all by one, I don't think... though possibly.  I sort of like it, because I don't have to look back through it all to be reminded of songs I have enjoyed.  Not all of them do I like.  As I have said, they sometimes simply fit.  I don't have to like them.  Other times I would like the music save for what it is showing.  Even if true, the truth can hurt, innit.  Anyway, I have been waking to lots of music.  That can be a terrible, and horribly deep, drought... more for the uninitiated... the disbelievers who did not know of God or terrible things... myths, lore, legend, they thought.  Perhaps they knew nothing.  Some children are only taught secular these days, and for decades past.  Most likely, once they shake the chill, they may well go back to whatever state of denial is possible.  Perhaps I am their occasional hair shirt?  Or will become it?  I would suggest they go find the better parts, and find their faith and learn to manage it.  Why look to hell, and hell on earth, when there is heaven?  Good to see, from time to time, for contrast.  But you, nor I, should want to live there.  Good only for a bearing check, if very good for that.

Hmm...  I just can't figure quite yet.  I'll go reset the dishes, scout for egg pairing food, pour tea, and...  I don't know!?!  Listen to more music?  While some of it is terrible, in certain moods I am quite good with it.  There is a comfort knowing the door to hell will close, and the eyes I used to see which then show you what is seen will be party to closing that door.  A time killer, one who will delay this to ensure that, at His behest.  Will be judged, have been requested that death is not preferred.  So, yes, the music... helps? keeps things in perspective? provides a bit of incentive, or drive?  I have told others this.  If you war to be good, or because you are right, or to save a life, you won't fool me.  Not on my gig.  You war because you want to war, you merely find a reason or excuse.  Use caution when you fly Doom's skies.  Honesty, about it all, is a start.  The humility.  Even I use caution, and listen to the sagest of advice.  Death is not preferred.

Later.

Not heavy, steady.

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Now, when I write "steady"...  More dishes worked up.  Tortilla dough rolled, parted, cooked or bagged, then refrigerated or frozen.  I did make a quesadilla.  I think I went a bit too thick on the dough.  Though, too, I had to use some whole wheat as I didn't have quite enough unbleached to finish the job.  Mostly white, say 65 to 35 percent?  60:40?  Perhaps that was the problem.  It took longer to "cook" on the flat, but worked out.  Just a bit dense.  Tasty enough.  And I meant to go more that way, especially as I consider grinding my own here at home.  Adjustments, for some things, are worth it.  Though... I think I'll roll even partial whole wheat tortillas thinner, by double... half... depends on which way you see the glass with the middling portion.

I did the dishes to be washed, again.  Reset the rinse for the others.  I just can't quite keep on that.  I also need the change out the trash container cum water bucket before I dare draw off any r.o. water.  I don't think my r.o. is as water using as some.  Reverse osmosis machines can dump as much as six times what they produce.  Mind looks to hit right at two times, maybe a bit more.  If I had a garden, and if I could get my sink hooked up to also kick out soapy water, I might send that water out for that.  Not sure if it really would need some sort of treatment, but I don't think so.

Bit by bit I am dragging myself back up by my bootstraps.  Might never quite make it all the way.  But, then, not sure that is absolutely needed.  All I need to do is be where and when I am supposed to be, and that will be by God's grace.  I'm already a bit of a miracle.  Even if my time were to be done, I've... done some things.  Though I think my tale is a long way from over, even this episode of it.  I feel life creeping back into these ancient bones.  A life that is stronger than any metal, surer than any will, and older than this grouping of star, planet, and moons.  Or so it seems.

Later.

Round and round.

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A drip under the sink, which I noticed not long ago but was trying to ignore... until I was an old smaller waste basket that had no other use.  A marriage made in a tinkerer's mind.  Not so bad of a leak, but with reverse osmosis and a twelve pot coffee maker it adds up splendidly quickly.  Still, it's fixed.  I simply have to remember to check the level and empty it often enough.  Whether I go or stay, there are some things I would like to fix or have fixed before I go.  A pride thing?  Passing on a hidden gift?  Something.  I don't want them to find the problems that I inherited or made.  I can't do it all, but some things.  I would like a plumber to look at the drain system, and fix it.  Whatever it is.  And to look at the input plumbing, as my kitchen sink faucet fails every winter/spring.  Shouldn't... three faucets, all with solid reviews, each of different price markets... from just middling to what was supposed to be sterling... almost literally.  Bleh.

I did wash the last of the dishes, drying and putting up some of it so far.  Some remains to do.  Oh, and I took the pot and utensils used to make ghee, rinsed and soaped those for a wash.  Those are so few I should be able to wash them again, rinse, and finish with the other dishes.

I also have things prepped for tortilla making.  All I really need to do is boil water in the microwave, mix that in, kneed the dough for a bit, let it set, and begin prepping for the last parts.  I should have that done in an hour.  I am resting, after wrangling the dishes, checking a few projects... such as seeing if the ghee was cool enough to put the lid on tight, or even put in the refrigerator.  I just don't like putting hot things in there, never works well.

Bit by bit things are getting done.  It seems as if the sun sparkled through the clouds and my curtains, but just long enough for me to notice.  A long but not too long second look sees that the world is going back to overcast.  So be it.  I'll keep working.  The painpills and a little extra heat seem to be double teaming my doldrums, breezing me into function... some anyway.  Later.

Not a bad start.

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I actually went to begin breakfast.  I had a couple of things on my mind... a few eggs and bacon, dutch baby, who knows what all.  I never did settle.  However, several of the recipes I wanted to make suggest ghee, clarified butter.  I made some several weeks out, and left it out.  I have heard both that is should be, and that it doesn't need to be, refrigerated.  In this case, two weeks and it was done.  However, I was not as careful with it as I could/should have been.  On the other hand, it has been cool.  Heat seems to help things rot to the core much more quickly.  This time I will be much more careful, I am keeping it in the fridge, and I have a proper jar and lid.  I just used an old, washed, olive glass jar last time.  I just don't think the seals on those last.  When I started buying jars, for this and that, I went big-mouth... for all sizes, down to pint... I think.  Then I bought plastic lids, a bunch of them, for refrigeration and for non-canning use.  I used those lids.

As well, I hit the dishes for a fresh soak.  The goal is to hit the dishes by, say, 9:00 or 10:00.  Laundry is on the list.  As is tortillas, and one cheese and onion quesadilla for lunch.  One is quite enough.  I did make three slices of toast while I was tinkering in the kitchen.  I need, probably, to see if there is a neater, cleaner, way of dealing with ghee.  Or, maybe, practice makes perfect.  Last time I used a simple straight-walled little pot to melt the butter.  I had ghee dripping off everything!  So, I went smart.  I used a bigger pot, but one with pour spouts, and... I had ghee dripping off everything!  FM running.  I'll look around.  Maybe there is someone who understands ogres and chefery both, in such a way as to advise.  Either way, clarified butter is not a part of my diet.  A little dab will do, quite nicely.

Beside dishes, tortillas, a quesadilla, laundry, and research?  Ah, right.  Back to taking things downstairs and bringing something up.  A shower before that.  That isn't the type of work that will make me sweat, so a beforehand shower is good.  Also, I want to dress more properly, in order to wear boots, as I will be using a dolly to get the water heater up, and maybe the boxes and sundry down.  I hate messing with stairs, cement, somewhat heavier products, and such, without being dressed for success.  Further, for the most part, to my mind, I don't dress unless I dress with clean clothes (crosses fingers behind back... whispering 'minus some wash days' and perhaps occasionals out of my control).  So... for me to dress right, I have to dress fresh.  For me to feel right about dressing fresh, I must be clean.  Yes, yes, it is how I do.  *fingers crossed*

If all that goes through, and it might could, ya know, then I may take a look around the kitchen and see if I can begin hitting that ball out of the park.  Heyyyyy.... batta batta batta ~ SWING!  We'll see.  It's fun when my turn at the bat is arriving, but before the stress of hitting or missing has quite sunk in.  Who, though, ever decided to let the opposing team's people in.  Stinking animals!  :p

Later.  Oh, but...  How 'bout some tunes.  Tunes even you, yeah you, might be able to handle.  Like?  That's... not my choice.  *wink*  Uhrm, look at the titles.  Yep, they are what they seem, only... absolutely not.  Just how old Tricksters do.  *blink blink*  *grins*

Desert Cat, I included one just for your sentimentality.  If you still read here?  It's a kindly thing, mind you.  Only... perhaps... another perspective to offer, and maybe just a... minor gift in any case.  Yeah, you will know which it is with a very short view.  And, yeah, even you can handle it.  *laughs*

Not much yesterday.

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Ugh.  I remember, in highschool, in track and field, trying to improve my "standing" jump.  I suppose they had to differentiate between non-tool and pole vaulting.  Still, couldn't they just have called it race or sprint vaulting?  Anyway.  Over the course of a season, you really could improve, your first, maybe second, year.  After that, every little bit of improvement became a bear to obtain.  An eighth, or even a sixteenth, of an inch was a hard won victory, and would only last... maybe... if you kept at it.  I guessed then, and suspect more strongly now, that the fight wasn't with reality, but with one's own self.  When we understand things, beside jumping pole vault and more heights we will also walk on water and think no more about it then we do getting up out of a chair.  I nearly skip out of bed usually, and hop out of chairs without a thought, even now.  But getting to work is another thing.  I do aim at it, I don't always hit the target.  Though it has more to do with a lack of sun than a weakness.  Odd for one who is so sensitive to the sun though, really.

Today?  I am hoping to finally get the last of the dishes.  I rotated, then reheated, them yesterday, but never did do them.  As well, tortilla dough.  I have decided, with those, I will probably make a quesadilla, but just one, just cheese though maybe onion too, and that will be that.  Two batches will go in the fridge and three or whatever is left will also be split out, then frozen.  The last thing I hope to do is take food and glassware (1/2 gallon jars that have been cleaned) downstairs, and organized.  I might try to get the kitchen a bit more squared away with the room made through storing... and I might try to get the old water heater up and outside, to be taken to a metal pile next time I am out and about.  Yeah.  Not sure about any of it, but that is the list.

Well, and maybe a smallish breakfast before long.  I have kefir water again, but keep forgetting to soak oatmeal in it.  That makes a really good breakfast.  Then again, until later, I don't have milk.  I really like milk if I am going to eat gruel.  So, perhaps tonight, I will remember to sour some oatmeal grains for breakfast tomorrow.

Dreams... lots of them... but they didn't stick.  In one of them I used my powdered milk.  What I have is the best I have tasted, and I sampled around.  Carnation stuff is the worst, I think.  Not sure why it remains common.  Is it the cheapest?  Bleh.  What I have, after looking at what others like, and tasting the bottom, middle, and top of several lists, is what I like.  And?  And it is still powdered milk.  I have found how to add enough powder to get the so-called full-fat milk that I prefer without getting clumps.  And the flavor degrades.  Still, in an emergency, after all else is gone for a bit, this will do.  And it will work in baking fairly well.  Can still taste some of the oddness, but it is s-okay cooked/baked.  Oh, and there were other dreams.  I know I laughed in there.  Though I doubt if you and I always share the same sense of humor.  No tears, though some serious struggle consternation.  Dealing with the government, about something.  I don't always have to win to win, and winning isn't about my pride these days but about justice, truth, and some other things.  My will is the least of my worries.  God's will, if I can have a concern, is my concern.  So winning isn't going to get me something, it's going to be right.  Details, of dreams, though, are like dust in the blender.  :p

Painpills, again, first thing.  I am going with a chomp of those, first thing, for the rest of the week.  It really does help, even if I don't sense the pain, usually.  I don't need more later, though... maybe?  A nooner, give or take, too?  Only this week, to try to push through.  After that I am just going to have to suffer and suffer poor performance.  I am trying to kick over but I won't medicate myself to death to do it.  They really have been opening some things up, if function isn't quite following.  Yeah... nooners... all week.  Odd that I can't feel what can fell the oak that I can be.  Later.

French toast and bacon.

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Not as fancy as one is lead to believe.  Just filled the tank without going too far.  I haven't done much else, and may not.  I have hopes.  I also have doubts.  I really want to make tortilla dough.  Why tortillas?  It's like fresh bread you can then cook both quickly and in small enough portions that little goes to waste, especially with the freezer, or even fridge really.  While cheese (which morphed to cheese, bean, and beef) quesadillas sounds good, there is no way, at my present trajectory, that I will make dough, cook the other parts, and put it all together.  However, if I make the dough, portion it out, put several portions in the fridge and the rest in the freezer, maybe tomorrow I can do the other parts.  Just not today, especially if I want to do anything else, most likely.

It's a dark, cool, day.  I don't mind either, I just am choking for sunlight.  I just hope when we get a splash of the stuff it doesn't make the world molten!  Any time soon the world hereabouts will begin sunning, drying, then burning.  I tried an homemade humidifier last summer, to anemic results.  This year I may be trying an engineered, commercial, system.  If that fails, I have my eye on another sort of ac.  Something that is an indoor unit, using both in and out piping so as not to create a negative pressure inside the house.  I figure, even if the humidifier doesn't work alone, alone with the ac in the bedroom it might work much better, maybe more than enough, with fans directed rightly.  More so with another ac.  Sure, a whole house would be nice, but with all else, this summer is more about limping through than championing a cause.  Too many other money pits in the way, and the future isn't clear.

Tea, and my usual products, seem to not be satisfying my thirst.  I've been mixing and matching, looking for anything that will work better.  Currently a mix of tea and crystal light seems to do okay.  I suspect some flavors more so than others... cherry pomegranate does okay, fruit punch might be nice.  Mostly tea, just, perhaps, a third of the regular portion per fluid of the dry powder.  Works well.  Oh, and ice.  Everything else lately has left me thirstier than I started.  Oddly, though I have been drinking more, I have been keeping body fluid levels down.  I can tell by the ankles, and whole foot if it gets that bad.  Strange.  It seems if one thing isn't killing me or trying to, it is saving me against the other things trying to kill me... somehow.  I'm telling you, it's a gas.  A comedian would know.

That reminds me... thirsty!  I'll check the dishes... either giving them a wash or heating the water.  I hate trying to wash in cool to cold water.  Later.

Already awake.

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I woke sometime within the last hour.  I did look at the clock.  If it had eyes it would have looked back.  Just because I am awake doesn't mean my memory is.  Who could forget what time they woke?  *raises hand*  If I am really tired I can forget almost anything.  If I have no vital, time demand, functions chores or places to be, moments of forgetfulness can be a blessing.  Bliss and ignorance and all that.  This morning, while I couldn't be absolutely sure, I was pretty sure this was the case.  I'm still not absolutely sure.  I am ignorant and probably will be until life sneaks back up on me and clobbers me with reality.  Until then, though... bliss.

I'm not in a hurry about that which I do know.  The cave could sure take some work.  But this isn't the type of knowledge that disturbs my morn or mind.  As with the poor, house work will be with us as long as houses are.  I have, perhaps, half a load of dishes, maybe a load of laundry, food prep... if I get to making tortilla dough yet today I was thinking cheese and onion quesadillas.  Nothing fancy, just a tasty warm gooey works while waking or a snack while resting.  A few poached eggs and some salsa on top wouldn't be too bad, just not required if I am not up to it.

Now, I am making serious headway into various areas.  The boxes out was a big thing.  My continued encroachment on clutter beside has already been amazing.  Keeping up with dishes while continuing to cook, for the most part, has been helpful on two fronts... an army, even a cleaner army of one, crawls on it's stomach and neatness lends to more cooking, thus more crawly.  Everywhere, little bits are being done.  It seems as if I am solitary grasshopper in the Savannah, but that is what it is.  I'll never clear it, but if I can push enough away to see and live less congested, that will have to do.

Three dreams last night.
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In the first, I was traveling with two women, an aunt and a cousin.  Real ones, two of the more... sophisticated dames in my family.  You may well know what I am talking about.  We were headed to the North West US.  Maine?  Mass?  Rhode Island?  Something like that.  We were to meet with my mother.  Health issues, and that is where she was.  Road trip, as one of the ladies had an issue with flying and health.  Actually I was enjoying it immensely.  The company of a couple of true ladies, without the... difficulties of... sexuality?  Something like that...  Without that, and yet with some serious familiarity, and family ties that allows for even more and safely, was a gas.  Dames, grand dames, can be wonderful company.  Anyway, my mother had arrived where she was in a medical flight, so didn't have her wardrobe.  We avowed ourselves to purchase a number of outfits for her on our way.  We each had veto power, and such.  We ended up doing quite well for her.  The hope was to entice her to get out, when we arrived.  And it worked.  That was that.  While some of the clothes were just daily wear, some of it was more formal, think the old proper Easter attire.  I didn't think that would be fun but it actually was.  Plus... some payback for her having dressed me funny as a kid.  I'd show you pictures but I don't.  That is a future I already know doesn't happen.
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Another dream was of wild animals, and what they think of us.  I could understand their thoughts.  Now, there are some general notions of humans by animals.  There are also specifics.  If the animal, say a lion, is the top of his food circle, then there is some disgust that we, as such weak seeming creatures, can terrify them.  They don't fully understand.  If they, to their minds, since they are vegan, don't really fit into a food circle being too big to be easily taken, then they have disgust that we are among their sole hunters, and yet seem so weak compared to other hunters.  And if they are the smallest, and are always at risk, they fuss that we could have anything and yet still sometimes choose them.  It was interesting to hear, dreamwise, some of the various things they thought.  Littering, by the way, bugged many of them.  They couldn't really understand how we could possibly carry so much that we could throw so much away!  It was interesting.
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The last dream was a dream debate.  Or, really, a debate in a dream.  Someone suggested that the state government should be adhered with, supported, and obeyed.  So I asked, if the state, then more so the federal government?  There were problems with that, and the feds had caused major problems with this man's heritage.  Well, no, he suggested.  I had to remind him that the state only existed under the auspices of an allowance by the federal government.  Well, so, he suggested?  Well, if the states very existence is dependent on the fed, and you demand allegiance and obedience to the state, then you, by proxy, require obedience to the fed.  He tried to plug three or four times, for him being right without the incumbent furthering of his suggestion.  He never allowed what I suggested, though I wasn't sure if he as acquiesced to the truth or was simply going to ignore reality, save his version of it.  He simply stopped discussing the matter.
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Back to figuring out the day.  Well, waking up before even that.  While I might have hit everything possible and such, I really have no idea what I am talking about... writing... quite yet.  It'll hit me before long or I'll end up back in bed, if I see my shadow?  If I don't?  I can't remember.  Good morning either, any, way.

Well?

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Other than forgetting to set the dishes to a soak I did well.  That isn't even a problem, since I found and broke down probably another dozen boxes.  The back of my Xterra, from the back seat, then floor to ceiling, was stuffed with boxes.  And, yes, I separated the shoe-box like material from plain cardboard.  If I am going to mess with it I will do my best to do it correctly.  The check was put toward my account.  I am not sure how long it takes to transfer.  I did find enough dollars, here and there, for a meal.  I should have just bought milk.  I know.  I was pretty hungry, and pretty sure I wouldn't be able to cook.  And it has been a while since I have been out, or even really able to be out.

I'll set the dishes up shortly.  I might or might not get a few loads down into the basement.  Wonderful, really, to be catching up, getting on top of a few things, working things out, cooking and staying ahead of dishes mostly...  It is coming together.  It is too much for anyone.  Life is just too complicated.  That is what I have for now though.  So... I will just dig in as I can, do what I am able, and figure it out otherwise.  Later.

Back to it.

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I couldn't get going after that last post.  I did make a call.  It seems my friend has been very ill.  He has been ill for about five days to a week.  His memory is off.  I told him I had just finally gotten over something myself.  He is a bit ill, but is dealing with crushing exhaustion.  His illness was a bit different, but the signs indicate that it is rather similar.  I offered to bring in chicken soup.  Without declining he did decline.  All's fine.  I won't intrude or push.  Take an offer or leave it, not a worry on my part.

I need to pop into the shower, air dry just a bit, then more fully dress, get the dishes to soaking, bring the trash bin in if it has been emptied, then head to town.  Just two stops... the recycling center and the bank.  I am hungry, but things are so tight.  If I have a few dollars stowed somewhere, I may eat out today.  Nothing much, not fancy, just an easy meal.  Or not.  Hmm...  I don't think I have to go inside my bank, can probably do the work from the drive-through... just depositing a check.  Might just go as is, so I can, maybe, eat, do those bits, and return for a nap.  I might, if I keep it simple, even be able to slip a nap in without crashing fully... thus be awake for dinner.  Later.

Moving through the morn well.

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I have been slowly collecting dishes, as I have cleaned here and there.  Collecting trash and recycling too, then getting that out.  I did find various bags of potatoes.  Some still sweet, some not so much.  As well, I have begun collecting storage foods for the basement, putting those together and ready for an easy two to four... or more... runs down to the cellar.  Most of it is food, some of it will be jars or other food works gedunk which isn't in current demand and won't be for a bit.  I haven't been doing long turns at the mill, just what I can, then a rest.

Trash and recycling didn't just go out.  Not a recycling week, but the bag was full.  And though I took trash out last week, because of breaking down boxes, and packing materials, I had plenty and filled the trash bin... plus I had a box and parts of a box out, which had soaked up rain so I won't be taking to town.  Into the trash with that all.  Then to the curb.

I won't be taking a nap.  Even so I believe I will shower again.  Then I will set up the dishes.  I haven't hit the laundry, not sure that I will.  Too much.  I still have to shower, set the dishes, put on another pot of tea, perhaps fry a burger or make something else to eat, then hit recycling in town, visit my bank, and check a few other things.  I should be... if not perfectly set at least much more on top of things after today.  No real chance to do much more, what with money being a bit short, gas costing money, everything else costing even more than a fume of green...  I am, pretty much, done for the month.  Friday is as early as I can be out again, minus a major problem.  I always have options, if need be.  The deeper things get, the less I might like those options, of course.  Still, I have a couple layers of more or less easy ways in, if need be.  Then it would become difficult, at least on the short term.  Odd though... if you learn to tend your own needs, and rather deeply and surely... and then you help others climb into comfort... trust and help become quite easy to find.  Some have money, some have time, some know this or that.  It doesn't have to cost, and accepting gifts while difficult... if honest, is quite nice once in a rare moment.

It will be good to be out.  I'd love to hike, might actually.  Just a mid layer, an over shell, a spot of water, and maybe the camera?  Maybe...  Or bino's, instead?  Dunno.  I'll know later.  I might call, but my friend hasn't been calling me or returning calls.  Not sure what the problem is.  Then again, my mother said, when she tried to reach me, that my phone is saying it isn't set up for messages.  Hmm... phone attack? update needed?  Dunno on that, either.  Still...  I will make an attempt, but not until a bit later.  Still a few things to do, a shower to take, resting here and there.  I'll call around 11:00 or noon, most likely.  Either way I hope to get out, with or without company.

I think it is the anacin that is helping.  Glad I checked my back door.  I ought to add that to my checklist, if I could only remember better, more often.  Later.