Sunday - COVID167 and EVAC12

I slept a little later today but not nearly as late as yesterday.  I woke up a bit achy but it eased eventually.

The fire was 55% contained when I woke this morning.  One map shows no recent fire activity, another shows many spots.  With little significant information coming from CalFire or local government, it is hard to figure out what is really happening.

After working, we took a drive up so I could pick up dog food and then turned to Tomales to check out a couple of farm stands.  We picked up more onion and some carrots and eyed the lettuce that we finally found but no longer need because Tam broke down and got some at the grocery store.

Tam and I broke out the fruit press and set to work cutting and mashing a LOT of apples.  But it turns out they were still not enough to really fill the press and we and we had to make some adjustments to get the most juice out of them we could.  We were able to get four cups and learned a lot.  In conversation later with Jess, we recognized that it could be a big help for her with processing her pomegranates.  

This is half of the apples that we used.

The mandatory evacuation was eased to a warning so I will go up to check out the house and see what things look like.  We'll tentatively return the animals on Wednesday if the air quality is good enough.

We are safe and loved and well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - COVID166 and EVAC11

I can't remember the last time I slept until 10:30 a.m. and that's what I did this morning.  I slept deep and hard and while I felt a little better today than yesterday, I was still achy and had a mild headache.  I got the dog out and then settled in to check on fire status.  At 40% today, it looks like maybe tomorrow but could be longer before I go home.

Tammy and I spent a lot of time in the kitchen today.  She made fresh basil pesto, then we cranked out charred red salsa, tomatillo salsa, and fresh peach salsa.  It was a productive afternoon!  We were going to press apples for juice but were too tired so put that off for tomorrow.

It's times like this that I really wish we had our dream property where Tammy and I could live in separate houses on the same land and share moments like this more easily.  I am grateful indeed that she is no longer in Orange County and we have the chance to do things like this and help each other out.  

We relaxed in the evening and started the last season of Yellowstone before going to sleep.

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Friday - COVID165 and EVAC10

I slept horribly last night with ongoing nightmares in black and white of being chased in a dystopian Cotati.  I woke up before the alarm, feeling nauseous with anxiety, but got the dog out, made coffee, got busy.

I felt overwhelmed and stressed out over work in the morning.  I did what I could and ended up taking a short nap in the chair at the desk.

We had big plans for the day but were all feeling pretty wiped out.  I worked on and off and then we caught up some more with Yellowstone and crochet before bed.  

The fire is at under 20% containment and the hot spots are still near the house.

But we are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Thursday - COVID164 and EVAC9

I woke up achy again this morning and the smoke is back in the air outside.  I can't believe it's Thursday already.  I really can't believe this is my 9th day of evacuation.  I'm trying to find pieces of normal while enjoying the treat of Tamily's company.

We planned to make apple everything today and some salsas.  I spent too much time working (though it was needed) and Tam and E worked on cranking out something like three pies, an apple brown betty, and Joan's delicious apple cake recipe, which we enjoyed after dinner.  

Tomorrow we hope to press some apple juice and make salsas.

The fires continue to flare in our area, so I do not know when I can return home still.

But we are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - COVID163 and EVAC8

I tossed and turned a bit with dreams but could not remember what they were when I woke up.  My body was achy and stiff.  It eased a little while taking Bella out, feeding her, and making coffee.

I discovered yesterday that I HAD packed my new vitamins, they were just in the wrong bag.  That was one of the items I wanted to go back to the house and pick up but kept myself from going.  Not worth risking my life and others if something went haywire with the fire.  There are very good reasons that we are supposed to be out of there.  I am still annoyed with the people granted special permission to tend to wine grapes.

Got my desktop online and accessible.  Then headed to the vet to get Bella's nails trimmed.  Before going to the vet, I stopped by Jessica's house to drop off my "toe shoes."  The girls got me a pair using my Amazon shopping list but I had estimated the size wrong.  Jess is going to return and replace them for me. 

Bella's curbside drop-off and pick-up for her nail trim went without incident.  I stopped by the library to return the SonomaFi that I had borrowed back in March.  The due date kept getting extended and it actually didn't move last week but I didn't notice because of evacuation.  It was late for the first time and I felt awful about that.  I am very careful to return on time because using these is a privilege and I don't take it for granted.  

After the library, I picked up online order Starbucks for me, Tam and E and headed back to Cotati.

I was able to work some more in the afternoon while Tam and E ran errands.  I took the dogs out at one point and when we came back in, Tootsie the cat was out and in the living room window.  She does not like Bella in the house and makes that very clear each time she sees Bella, with a hiss and sometimes a growl.  So she was probably not very happy to discover that the dog's exit was temporary.  I kept Bella near me until Tootsie decided to make her escape.  Bella wants to play with her - she's used to cats - but Tootsie wants nothing to do with that.

We all walked to the farmers market in the evening, which was pretty sparse, and picked up a few items, then walked to get to-go food from WingMan and then back to their place.  It is still strange to see the old Cotati Cabaret and not be able to go listen to music because it is now a temple.

We enjoyed some more Yellowstone while crocheting before bed and finished season one.

The smoke wasn't as bad today and every time I think I'm close to going home, another hot spot appears on the map near the house.  

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Tuesday - COVID162 and EVAC7

I felt better this morning.  No headache, though I am still having trouble sleeping.

I worked this morning.  It's hard to do sometimes when there is so much going on in my brain.

Tam and E and I took a drive this afternoon.  We went to the outskirts of Sebastopol, nearly to Forestville, to grab some fresh Gravenstein apples.  Tammy will do some baking and I'm hoping an inexpensive fruit press I ordered will allow us to easily make cider.  The remains from the press can be enjoyed by the pigs.  And then Tam and I started wondering about how to make that cider alcoholic.  Of course. 

We also received copies of an apple recipe cookbook from the woman who gifted us the Gravs.  Looking forward to making especially the apple cake.

We then headed out to Pepper Road north of Petaluma to hit a couple of cute fruit stands.  Across the road from one of them I was drawn to this cutie pie.  

We went to another farm stand that is across the road from an old craft barn that I used to visit 35 years ago.  They are closing the business and there were screaming deals if you wanted old timey crafts such as ceramics, decoupage, wood painting, macrame, doll making, plastic mesh cross stitch, and similar crafts.  Tam was able to find some things for her projects but I didn't buy anything. The few items I thought about getting can wait until I know I have a home to put them in.

We picked up Chipotle for lunch and dinner (servings are so big) and then I worked for a bit while Tam and E ran their own errands.

I worked a little and relaxed while Tam and E ran errands.  Tam and I watched a couple episodes of Yellowstone and crocheted before going to sleep.

Some people are returning to evacuation zones but not me yet.  There were still some hot spots near my home as I went to bed.

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Monday - COVID161 and EVAC6

I've had a headache the past couple of mornings.  Possibly from the smoke.

I worked for a bit this morning.  Transcription work has been put on hold until I can get a monitor hooked up to my desktop.  Note to self for next evac: Go ahead and bring the monitor because you never know.  And Windows 10 doesn't have magic transfers.

I did my best to work today, though hot flashes were happening all day and my vitamins that usually keep those at bay are at the evacuated house.  A reorder is on the way but not fast enough.  I will make some hops tea and see if that helps - I haven't had any since the evacuation and am glad Tammy reminded me that I gave her some so it's available.

Tam and E went to the farm to shear sheep for part of the afternoon.  It was quite an adventure.  As they described it, I thought they might be able to put my milk stand to good use.  If it survives the fires.  So much of my life is still tied up in that house.  "If it doesn't burn up" is a regular comment when I'm talking about future plans.

Tam had an appointment and then the electrician came late in the day to fix the breaker that went out the night before.  After getting the fridge properly situated again, I drove with E to get takeout for dinner.  

Tam and I watched Yellowstone before bed.  She hasn't seen it before and I enjoyed the first couple episodes of the first season again.  I had forgotten about some of what had happened.

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - COVID160 and EVAC5

I was back home after five days for the Kincade Fire evac last year.  At five days for Walbridge, I am not sure what is going to happen.  The fire finally got to 5% containment by the end of the day.

Not a lot to write about for today.  I had a deep and healthy adult conversation in the park in the morning.  The air was good at the time but started to get smoky and warm after about an hour.  Tam and E told me when I returned that Bella had looked at the door and out the window constantly the whole time, whining softly.  

We didn't go anywhere today and I relaxed with more crochet in the afternoon.  Tam made dinner for us and while she was working, a breaker went and half the power in the kitchen went.  The breaker didn't turn back on so she continued while we waited for word on an electrician.  Then E discovered the fridge was also on that line, so we worked to figure out a solution.  Fortunately, the fridge can be temporarily plugged into another outlet, so no need to grab coolers and ice.

Dinner was super good, as always.  Turkey burgers loaded with farm fresh tomatoes and onion and homemade relish.

We listened to music and crocheted again before bed.

We are tired and a bit overwhelmed but are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - COVID159 and EVAC4

I woke with a headache again.  I've run out of vitamins.  One type is reordered and on its way.  The other is was at the post office and about the time I realized this, notification came in that another package was going to be delivered.  Shortly thereafter, a notice that my mailbox was inaccessible so it was returned to the post office.

I called the post office and confirmed they were open until 1pm and that my mail was still on hold.  Tam and I headed up after breakfast.

The farmers market in town was beginning to close down, and I cannot imagine shopping or being there at all in the smoke that hung in the air.  I was the only one at the post office so the hardest part was the worker locating my two packages.  I got the mail and reviewed it inside, dropping much of it into the trash.  

We stopped by Jessica's to drop off mail that had come for Q.  Windsor had the worst smoke of all of the place we had been.  

We tried to relax and forget after we got to Tammy's house.  We took a short drive out to some local farmstands to pick up fresh veggies and flowers.   I will show Tammy how to make tomatillo salsa and am glad I have my recipe book with me.

Tam and E painted rocks and I was going to see what recorded on my DVR while crocheting when I realized that I had taken the WiFi hot spot with me that the Dish received was connected to.  So it had no internet access for me to access it.  I contacted the company to see if they could change the settings for me, but their access also required internet access.  Another thing to remember if/when we evacuate.   Make sure the WiFi is connected before you leave.  And a dozen other things. Leave the camera.  Leave your cell phone number for fire personnel. 

I saw that there was a fire in Novato and called my folks to let them know.  It was good to talk to them both again, no matter the reason.  They'll be packing up the van so they are prepared just in case.

We listened to music again last night until bedtime.

We are safe and well.  I hope you are too.

Friday - COVID158 and EVAC3

I slept better last night and had no headache this morning.  Bella really likes going outside, so I decided to start my work day on the computer out on the patio. The table was a little high, so I didn't stay long but the morning was nice.  No smell of smoke, but small occasional falls of ash onto the keyboard.

One good thing is that all of us get along well at Tammy's, including the pups.

There was not a lot to report regarding the fire.  Information is hard to come by this time around and it is frustrating.  The good news is there was a lot of air support and increased personnel on site. Tam and I stopped checking for nonexistent updates and listened to music and crocheted and talked.  It was a much needed relaxing evening.

We are well and safe.  I hope you are too.

Thursday Update

 The afternoon was a blur. I learned a dear high school friend died this morning. I last saw her four years ago and haven't been able to since because she has been so ill. 

Dinner was good and we took a drive after dinner and saw lots of animals including deer. But everything feels far away. I'm sad and stressed. 

The fire continues to move. It's at 20,000 acres and 0% containment and getting closer to the house, now about 1.5 miles away. 

We are safe and well. I hope you are too. 

Thursday - COVID157 and EVAC2

 The last two days are a blur.  I woke up with a headache that as of noon has not gone away.  The first thing I did at 7am was take two Tylenol with my vitamins which should have taken care of it but it didn't.  It's getting warmer now and we closed up Tammy's house because smoke is very present as of an hour ago.

I had a zoom work meeting at 10am.  It was nice to catch up with them but it's difficult sometimes to refocus on work.  The good thing is that when I am working, I am not worried about the fire progress toward my house.

Recap.

Tuesday, I think, yes it was.  My dad's birthday.  About 11am I got word via email from our local fire networking group of the fire, which had started from a lightning strike the day before.  I started preparing and then shortly after received the all-Sonoma-County warning that went out.  Made everyone crazy who received it and didn't need it, but it mobilized my support network, who arrived shortly to help me get everything packed in the cars in case evacuation was needed. I contacted Erica at Flat Broke Farm to see if she could pick up the animals and keep them at her place if we needed to go, and she was on standby.

It was hot, sweaty work.  It was worse in the house than outside, but the temps outside got to 106 and even though we enjoyed the occasional breeze, it brought with it concern about how that would impact the fire to the northwest.  We walked to the end of my driveway at some point to see if we could see any smoke, and the towering gray plume above my neighbor's house was terrifying.  Turn around 180 degrees, and we saw the huge plume from the fire nearly surrounding massive Lake Berryessa in Napa with a huge white thundercloud on top.

As we continued to work, it started raining ash.  When burnt leaves started floating down, I called Erica and told her I was ready to go NOW.  She was at the feed store and said she'd pick up the trailer and get on the way to us.  Not long after, our phones blasted the mandatory evacuation notice, and I got a call from Jess.  She and Cory headed up to help get us out.

Photo by Tammy

We were starting to load chickens when Jess and Cory arrived with Laina. They didn't want to be caught and it took a bit to get hands on them.  The hens went two to a laundry basket with a rubbermaid bin lid duct taped to the top. Easy to clean, and good ventilation.  One of the hens escaped and Jess earned her new title of Chicken Wrangler when she calmly walked up to her and picked her up, putting her back in the basket.  Another almost got out later.  They took advantage of any opening to try to escape.  Yellow the rooster was the last to be captured and put into a borrowed travel crate from Tammy.  Everyone was ready to go when Erica arrived with the trailer.

The goats loaded well into the trailer, the chickens and a bale of hay and chicken feed were loaded in to the truck, and they were on their way.  Shortly after Erica arrived, a trailer appeared for Bette's goats.  As Erica prepared to leave, we waited for an impressive maneuver of the goat trailer passing the arriving horse trailer on our narrow driveway at the upper gate.  These folks are amazing.  Erica headed out, and I wandered into the kitchen to see what else I needed.  I kept saying, "No, that can be replaced."  Then Tammy reminded me that last year the things I wished I had grabbed were my handwritten recipe book and lotions and potions notebook.  So we grabbed those and some more pictures and headed out.  There are things I need now and remembered forgetting to grab, but overall we did a good job.  I will be compiling a list for next time and hope that there is no next time.

Jon snapped this shot as we were leaving

We went to Jessica's place to relax and plan further, had some food, and then Tammy and I headed down to her place with Bella.  Oliver stayed at Jessica's with Bex and Q. Not long after we hit the freeway, I received word from Tammy that she'd stopped at a gas station in Santa Rosa because her tire was losing air.  The gas station didn't have FixAFlat in stock.  Neither did Cory when I called but he offered to come change the tire for us. We can change tires but we were wiped out from all the packing we'd been doing and gratefully accepted his most efficient help.  There was a nail in the tire.  It was probably around midnight when we got to Cotati and adrenaline kept me up for a while.  Bella settled in easily, hanging out with Tammy's dog Zoe.

Wednesday was a bit of a blur.  I did some remote work and then ordered more feed for the animals housed at Flat Broke.  Tam was getting her tire fixed nearby and picked up the order for me.  Then we delivered it to the farm (socially distanced - dropping at the steps) and went to Penngrove to pick up scraps for the pigs at Faletti and visited animals there for a while.  Windsor is threatened so Jess and Bex and crew started looking at options for evacuation for themselves.

The fire was headed like an arrow to my place but overnight shifted to the east and toward the city of Healdsburg, which is now on evacuation warning.  Everything is much too close for comfort.  I keep joking when I talk about things at home that I'm going to use or loan to Tammy or give to her:  "If it doesn't burn up..."  Dark humor helps sustain me.

I got a text message that a package had been delivered to the house that I can't get to.  I thought the police would have blocked off the roadway and had felt secure in my house because of that.  Apparently the postal service is still trying to get mail to us - when no one is supposed to be there.  I called the post office and he said he'd have the carrier grab the mail and bring it back, and they'll put me on hold for the duration of this mess.

Tammy is picking up some things from Jon that he took in his truck to put into her storage unit.  I'm trying to get some work done.

Erica sent some photos of the critters this morning.  They are doing well.  Luna was bloated when we loaded her onto the trailer but she looks better today.

I'm going to post this early today, at about 12:30 p.m., because I have no idea these days when/if I'll get back to the computer, and what the power and WiFi situation will be like hour to hour.

We are safe and well and hanging in there. I hope you are too.

Wednesday - Day 156

 A day spent watching the fires Ave trying to ignore them. I was able to work a little in the morning. We delivered feed to Flat Broke Farm for the goats and chickens. Stopped to get scraps for the pigs and visited Faletti Farm. 

I swear I'm write more when I feel more settled. 

We are safe and well tonight. I hope you are too. 

Tuesday - Day 155

 I woke up before the alarm this morning to an already warm and humid day.

And that's all I got written before the world turned upside down. It's 1:15 am Wednesday morning as I write this and we have evacuated due to the currently named 14-3 wildfire. We are all safe but exhausted and worried. More tomorrow when I have a keyboard to use instead of a phone. 

We are safe. We are well. We are loved and so blessed. I hope you are too. 

Day 154 - Monday Thunder

 I woke up a little late to the sound of rain and thunder.  I thought it was over so I'd put the camera out in the open.  I needed to get it back under the awning again this morning.  This weather is so strange.  I started working as fast as I could in case we lose power again.

We didn't lose power, though PG&E called to say that we might between 3pm and 10pm.  It rained with thunder and lightning throughout most of the morning and then settled into wet heat of 90 degrees until nightfall.  It stayed warm and still before bedtime, not much cooling in the house.

Work was really busy and I'm behind on a deadline, so I did as much as I could.  

I received word that the old phone had been unlocked, so Bex and I inserted my phone's SIM card into it.  It still didn't work.  So, despite the guy at the Verizon store telling us that the most recent phone wouldn't work, we decided to try it anyway.  It transitioned perfectly.  It took most of the afternoon to transfer from my old to new phone, but I no longer have the crazy glitches that I've been struggling with.  It's nice to have that taken care of and I'm grateful Bex thought to offer me one of her old phones.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - Day 153 - Thunder, Lightning, Rain

 I had a huge post written and it didn't save apparently.  Didn't properly post either.

I woke up to thunder and lightning and wind.  After about an hour of tense watching and touching base with friends and family, rain started and continued throughout most of the morning.  The thunder was huge with lots of lightning.  The animals seemed okay with it.  Oliver wanted to go outside but he waited until I went out to do chores.

The day was warm and humid, getting to just under 90 degrees and humidity starting at 68% and then dropping to around 40% at the end of the day.  Thankfully we didn't hit 100 as power was out for quite some time.

I stayed away from the computer and relaxed, crocheting for most of the day. I finished one project and started another.  I am waiting on supplies to finalize the two I have done at this point.

It was an odd day but a relaxing one that I needed to recharge.  I don't look forward to a Monday work day but feel better prepared this week.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - Day 152 - Another Hot One

 I slept in until 9 and then reluctantly got up when I felt the heat coming through my window.  It got hot fast today, and I was drenched in sweat after chores.  

I took it as easy as I could this morning and then joined the kids for a backyard distanced celebration of Angelo's 7th birthday. It was fun to see the kids and sit outside with the misters in the shade for a while.  

It was a quiet evening.  We are all pretty tired with the intense heat.  It wasn't as bad as yesterday, but still 102 in the shade and 85 in the house as we went to bed at 11pm.

We're hanging in there.  We are well.  I hope you are too.

Friday - Day 151 and My First Birthday in a Pandemic

 I woke up with the alarm reluctantly.  My room had gotten cool and if I'd woken up earlier, I would have crawled under the covers and slept longer.  It was too hot to do anything but sleep on top of them last night.

I don't care that much about celebrating my birthday these days.  But I did enjoy opening the card my parents sent first thing.  It's a beautiful LovePop pop-up card of a Monarch butterfly on roses.  I have it open on my desk so I can enjoy it.

I received early morning greetings from Mom and the kids, and as I was starting chores, Dad called to wish me a happy birthday and to ask if I could call my grandmother.  She was trying to call me but her "Dot" device didn't have me listed.  I called her and she sang me happy birthday.  It made me smile and tear up.  She called me Laura D/Dee which also makes me smile because it's part of history.

By 9:00 a.m., the house and the outside temps had equalized at 72.  That did not bode well for temps today.

Jon came by for a socially distanced birthday visit this morning and brought some of my favorite wine.  It was nice to be able to talk for a while in person.

Jess, Cory, and Lorna came by to share fair food that Bex picked up for us.  We ate outside in the containers just as if we'd been at the fair and had a good visit until dark.  AJ called me and I was able to talk with and video chat with Mandi.  

It was HOT today.  The temperature kept climbing until 105 in the shade outside and 95 in the house.  It was still over 80 when we went to bed at midnight.  Forecasts do not bode well for the next few days.

It was a good day.  I'm hoping for a little bit of a break in the weather tomorrow, despite what they say.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Thursday - I Can't Believe It's Day 150

 Up with the alarm again today.  Thankfully my wonky phone still works for that.

150 days since I walked out of my office for the last time and went to Trader Joe's and the feed store in a mild panic to get food and feed to last two weeks.  

It's been a wild ride.  We're still at home.  The routine is in place but over the last few weeks a deep depression is annoyingly present.  Working from home is more challenging in some ways than I thought it would be.  There are so many things in front of me that I want to do but don't because of work responsibilities.

On the plus side, thank you for no weekly fill-ups at the pump.  Less wear and tear on my car.  No annoying slow-down at River Road, watching the rear-view to make sure no one slams into me.  Lower insurance premiums because I'm really not driving.  The ability to pretty much set my schedule.

I had a planned long weekend reunion/retreat with the Wind Children scheduled for this weekend.  I would have been packing this morning and heading out to Camp Meeker this afternoon for relaxation and reconnection and lots of music and good food.  I'll miss the cool redwood shaded paths but can go back in my memory and look forward to next year.  

My SIM card did not arrive today.  Hopefully tomorrow.

It got to 95 degrees today.  I now have thermometers in both bedrooms, outside, and in the living room connected to one display.  When it hit the high of 95 outside late today, the temp indoors reached 88 in the living room.  It feels hotter in my office, and is probably more like 90.  My bedroom stayed the coolest at 81, Becca's room, 83.  Now I can put numbers to what we feel on these really hot days.  Despite doing everything right - opening up the house last night and closing it at 65 indoors this morning, it still got hot.  I'm hopeful it will cool down again tonight so we don't start off with a higher temp tomorrow.

Some of the tomatoes are almost ready to pick.  I'll grab the jalapenos when I harvest tomatoes.  They are getting pretty big, though it looks like there are only two on there.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - Day 149

 I slept well last night and woke up with the alarm.  My phone was nearly dead and that's probably a symptom of the ongoing problems with it.  The new SIM card should arrive tomorrow.

Lots of work today.  It still feels like working through quicksand sometimes but remote work is getting easier.

Thanks to Mom I have some new books to read.  I need to carve out the time to do so.  Hopefully the weather will hold and I'll get some hammock time in.

Not a lot happened today.  But we are well.  I hope you are too.

Tuesday - Day 148

I hit the snooze button, and when my phone vibrated itself off the table, I turned off the alarm accidentally.  I slept another hour.  Oops.  Ollie didn't bother me this morning.

I worked for the morning and then Bex and I headed to Verizon to set up her old phone as my new one because mine is spazzing out and hardly working.  But the phone we wanted to use cannot be unlocked from our old provider.  So we went home and tried to replace the SIM card in another phone, which the guy assured us would work.  But it doesn't work.  

I worked some more and then Bex asked if I wanted to try again, so we headed out again so he could activate the other phone.  But it is locked, which is why we couldn't get it work at home.  We called my old service provider to unlock it, but it doesn't have the SIM card that used to be in it, so they couldn't do anything.  Thankfully, they're sending us a card for the phone so it can be unlocked.  I hope my current phone lasts two days.

After dinner, I got a text from my neighbor that packages had been delivered by mistake to her mailbox, and she brought them down to me.  While we were chatting, she asked what was under my car.  As she was describing it she said, "Opossum!" and I looked, and it was a tiny baby opossum wandering around under our cars.  It later came back and went down the hill.  No adult in sight, so I hope it's okay and finds its mama and siblings.  

We tried to see the meteor shower tonight but the cloud cover was too dense to see anything.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Monday - Day 147

I woke up with the alarm and got up easily.  Yesterday was a long day and I slept well.

Work was nuts with all of the crazies (literally!) coming out of the woodwork all at once.  Happy Monday to me.  My assistant is also going to be out the rest of this week, so even the little bit of help she provides will be gone.  

But!  The fuchsia is starting to bloom!

And my newer Equinox is still really pretty, even with a light coating of dust.

The body styles are so different.  I'll have to take a photo of them both side by side before the white one goes away.

I took her for a spin with Bex to get wrapped alfalfa (that still leaked a little, so I need to vacuum the back) and then worked the rest of the afternoon.  

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - Day 146

I woke up as soon as Oliver said I should.  

After verifying the car I wanted to see in SF was still available, Bex and I started getting ready to go.  The salesman I had been working with via email then told me he couldn't put the hold on it yet because another salesperson had an appointment to view the car in 15 minutes.  We decided to head out slowly and be prepared to turn around if need be.  Forty-five minutes later, he texted to let me know the appointment had been a no show and the car was available.

The test drive was good.  It passed inspection and our review of the mechanic's report.  We worked out a price and financing and got all the paperwork done while they further detailed the car.  Bex headed home as she had had a tough three days on the road and was tired.  I went to Amanthony's for a visit, and they fed me a delicious dinner.  It felt good to visit, even if it had to be at a distance, and fun to see the grandkids too.  I stopped at Mom and Dad's on the way home after that to visit and so they could see the car.  Now that I know I can travel the distance, I will see Mom and Dad more often.  We sat with a window between us.

Even though I drove 5 mph up the driveway to minimize dust, the new black Equinox has a coating on it already.  This is going to require more upkeep than the white one.  But it sure looks nice and drives great.

It's been a full day and I'm pooped.  

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - Day 145

I slept in until Oliver peed on the bed.  Grrrrrrr.  First time he's done that in months and months.  He kept trying to wake me up to feed him.  Guess he figured out the way to get me out of bed.

I did some housework and then Bex and I headed out for a socially distanced picnic with Tamily.  We had a great visit by the pond at SSU and they laid out lots of good picnic foods to munch on and brought a little wine as well.  But by the time we were done eating and ready to go pick mulberries, Bex and I had to go to the bathroom and we had a dilemma.  There were no bathrooms open.  And no restaurants or stores allowed anyone into "public" restrooms.  We had to cut our visit shorter than we wanted and head back north.  We asked at the feed store when we picked up chicken feed, but were declined.  Then I remembered I had the key card for my office, so we were able to stop there.  We picked up groceries from Jess and headed home.

Bex made mac and cheese from scratch tonight.  It was good.  She's becoming quite a good cook.

Laundry's been done.  Here's hoping the cat doesn't get mad at me again.  

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Friday - Day 144

Alarm woke me up easily today.  I went to bed earlier, and though it was pretty hot indoors, fell asleep okay.

Sometimes I forget what day of the week it is.  We receive automatic payments from clients at work and when I saw whose payment came in today, I had to check the computer's date because I didn't think it was Friday.

Just when we switched up the plan on buying a vehicle, something new comes along.  Always in flux, this search.  But one was sold just before I called, and the other ended up having an engine replacement due to going underwater in a recent flood.  Plus the transmission issues with that model, so no bueno.

I finished up a challenging work day.

The biggest fuchsia is getting more buds and the largest bud looks close to blooming.

The cucumber is finally starting to produce but I'm not sure how many this small vine will give.

And the tomatoes are beginning to turn red.

It was a good evening.  I'm looking forward to sleep and hope for a relaxing and positive weekend.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Thursday - Day 143

I overslept a little.  Today was a busy work day, lots of ups and some downs.  

The vehicle search goes on.  A few ideas, possibilities, but nothing concrete.

I'm still feeling blah and low.  Doing my best to keep positive and notice the good things.  

I spent some time with Bex this evening.  We may look at a car tomorrow, but probably not.  I don't think the salesman at the dealership will be able to give me the answer I want to be able to move forward.  We'll see.  Don't ask, don't get, right?

It got hot today.  Up to 87 degrees inside the house.  I didn't look at the outside temperature.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Wednesday - Day 142

I overslept this morning.  

Work was busy.  A couple of vehicle possibilities but no one is answering messages.  One ad I saw increased the price beyond my range within moments of my seeing it.

At the end of the day, I feel discouraged.

A calendar reminder popped up for a retreat I'd planned for this coming weekend that was cancelled.  The socially-distanced pot luck music fest we'd planned to replace it has also been postponed indefinitely.  Being able to get away for a weekend with these friends is something I look forward to every year.  It's hard to add that to the growing list of changes and disappointments.

I know I'll sleep well tonight and hope for an easier day tomorrow.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Tuesday - Day 141

I slept well but woke up feeling a little heavy.  The app says my sleep was 52%.  I was glad that the house had cooled down overnight.

I worked a bit and looked through listings for vehicles.

I called HughesNet to cancel my service.  I ended up in tears and using a couple of cuss words - then apologizing and settling down - because when I switched from residential to business service this year, I was told that I would not have to renew my contract.  Today I was told I have 19 months left on it and if I cancel, I owe over $700 in termination fees.  She gave me a discount and I canceled the static IP line, so that will save some money, but I am super pissed and this just added to the cloud over my head today already.

In the good news front, there are two new buds on the fuchsia.  They are slow to bloom, but it's something to look forward to.  My rose bush has another bud starting to open.  It has not been doing so well this year and I've only had one bloom before this one so far.

Mandi called me tonight and we had one of those great, long, real conversations.  I love my girls and love when I get a chance to talk with them.

A quiet evening with Bex.  

I might have a car to look at, but I'm not excited about it.  Mainly 'cause I've never encountered one up close.  I'll talk with my experts tomorrow and see if it's worth looking at.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Monday - Day 140

I woke up an hour before the alarm.  Lots of work this morning and too much vehicle frustration.

It got really hot again.  I haven't paid attention to weather reports and am hoping this is not the start of a long spell.  It got to 87 inside the house.  Even though it's cooler tonight, the house isn't cooling down much.

Watched a show with Bex before bed.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Sunday - Day 139

Another good night's sleep.

More work in the morning.  A couple of messages sent about vehicles but people are slow to respond.

I discovered what we think is a opossum on video from the back yard.  It has no tail, so it's either something we don't recognize or has unfortunately lost its tail.  If it's truly a opossum without a tail, that's a sad thing because they really need and use them.  The video is too large to upload here so I will get it on YouTube and share the link later.

It got hot fast today and took a lot of my energy.  I focused on work instead of play and hope to find a day to take a real break and do what I love and need to do.

We are well.  I hope you are too.

Saturday - Day 138

Saturday - yay!  I slept well.  I hope this is a trend.

No word on the van I inquired about yesterday.  No new leads today.

Oliver is mousing again.  He left a present for Bex in front of her bedroom door.  I'm glad I saw it before she walked out sleepily.  She might have stepped on it!

When I took the picture of Oliver's "gift" to send to her, I discovered a couple of photos on my phone that I had intended to share this week and forgot to.

This massive - MASSIVE - beetle greeted me and Bex as we stepped out of the back door one night.  We walked gingerly around it and let it be.

That's sitting on a 2x4!

I also have the first bud on my fuchsia plant.  I rescued two fuchsias and a bougainvillea plant from a retreat last summer that were nearly dead.  They are coming back to life, and this bud was a big pick-me-up.

I picked up groceries from Jess and was able to spend a little time with her and C in the back yard for a visit.  It was good.  The only thing I missed was hugging them. 

A quiet evening with Bex cooking dinner.

We are well.  I hope you are too.