7/1/2020: First day of July.
The year is half-over already. Up about 6 AM, and thought, “Today, I must take
it easy.” Prayers, Bible. Wrapped my knee and dressed. Sat down to start Book Inventory
for the day and saw John had e-mailed me (see above) and promises to call
later. Now about 7:15 AM. Worked on BI, then went in at 9:15 AM for breakfast,
getting not only ramen, eggs and bread, but cabbage for later. Ate, then worked
on BI until 11:20 AM. Time for a break. About 12:30 PM picked up BI again. At 2
PM John called and we yakked for about an hour, about the fragility of
weed-whackers, Joey’s hearing problems, the Inventory, the nature of perception
leading into the stupidity of the civil unrest and cultural change going on. A
little after 3 PM I went inside to grass dogs and see what to make for lunch,
when Andy called to talk about groceries and Susan said to make chicken
breasts, which I’d forgotten we had. Made chicken breasts, rice with mushrooms,
and squash. Came back in and worked on BI until 6 PM, when I finished the
bottom shelf of the [Tolkien] Shrine. Ready to post. Posted. Rosary at 7 PM, then cleaned
up kitchen. Was watching a pinch of “Singing in the Rain” when I realized that
the tune that had come to me in a dream was “All I do/ is dream of you/ all
night through …” So that solves that mystery. Kam called about 9:40 PM for
supper. I had already kind of drifted off, and after I got up and did that, I
was in bed by 10 PM.
7/2/2020: Up at 5 AM.
Prayers & Bible. Started BI at 5:40 AM. Went in at 9 AM for chicken soup.
Back out and back on BI. Finished glass case in [Tolkien] Shrine, onto a drawer
of lesser books so I can get them out of the way and end on a higher note
later. At 12:40 PM ready to take a break and think about lunch. When I went in
Kylo’s green ball was right in front of the back door. I kicked it out of my
way … and it rolled to right in front of my door. Made ramen with eggs; it’s
now 1:30 PM and I think I’ll try 2 or 3 entries then see if I can nap.
Napped for maybe half an
hour then up and working. Basically, finished one drawer then went in to cook
at 3:30 PM; back at 4:30 PM, ate, then back to the books. Finished the other
drawer (not so many books), cleaned up and posted and done for the day about 7
PM. At 1,996 books. Have less than 40 to go; tomorrow, God willing, I will be
done. Rest, rest. Went in at 7:30 PM to clean up early, but Andy had a wrecker call,
and they hadn’t eaten yet; Susan tells me the AC is out. It must have just
happened, because I didn’t notice anything, but then I was cooking, so I might
not have noticed the heat.
At 8 PM, prayed the Rosary.
Now 8:20 PM. Kam came out to finish watching a MST3K, then went in. Andy was
home and working on the AC. Poor guy, when I went in at 10:30 PM, he was just
getting to have supper. I hung around and we talked a bit, then I washed up and
helped Kam grass the Chis. Tis now 11 PM, and maybe I’ll take a shower and hit
the hay. Boy, is my right leg sore.
7/3/2020: Prayers, Bible.
Got an early 6 AM start on the BI; the last shelf of Tolkien. Did not go in
until 10 AM to get the chicken soup for breakfast, and found Susan was staying
home today. She barked at me because she thought I dragged mud in, but since it
was totally dry and my shoes were clean, I think it must have been something
(like dogfood) that the chis trailed. But try telling her that; she seemed
convinced to be snappy. When I went in at 1 PM to get the leftover chili for
lunch, she was still brisk, but when I went in to get the stuff to start supper
at 2:30 PM she seemed to have settled down. Finished BI at 3:30 AM. Supper
ready at 5PM; fish and fried taters. Cleaned up at 7. Found out Amy had dropped
off $20 for me. To John:
Put my last entry to the
Inventory at 3:30 PM. Not included are softcover blank journals, Gold Key
Digests, random skinny softcover graphic novels (fat ones count; the others are
just comics), comic paperbacks (Peanuts, Wizard of Id, etc.). The final number?
2,049. You know me; that one book away from an even number bugs me. I probably
have a tome or two tucked away, but where? This is good for now. Er - you don't
have a book I might have loaned you, do you? I don't think so, but - that
number!
Reread BI on Kindle (rather
obsessive, I know – and found things that need correcting) then rosary at 11
PM. Caught up diary and ready for bed at 11:30 PM. Tomorrow: Independence Day.
7/4/2020: Awake at 5:20 AM
and I’m up. Prayers and Bible. Shaved my beard and mustache (not off, just
down). Add Encyclopedia of Fairies to BI, making it 2050. At 7:40 AM I
mean to go to town, even though my leg – and my chest, a little – are still
hurting. “Live while you live, and then die and be done with it” – rather glib
words at the moment, but one can’t simply cower away. Anyway, if I fall (by
which I mean have a stroke) in public there’s more of a chance of somebody
noticing than if I were hiding in the house – on Saturdays, unless I intrude
into the house, nobody takes the least interest in my existence, and quite
rightly too. But I have often thought how long my corpse could go unnoticed
over the weekend. My leg will not thank me, whatever happens. Later, TMC has
their annual showing of 1776. No parade, no fireworks today, all
canceled because of Covid-19. Did the trip, and it was not too bad. I was the
first in the store, the first at checkout, and all the other customers were
wearing masks too. Home at 8:30, with cookies, candy, and tea. Did some
reviewing on BI.
Got a ramen and eggs after
12 PM. At 1:30 PM watched 1776. Afterwards (4:30 PM), I called John and
we yakked for about 40 minutes about what a strange July 4th it was:
no parade, no city fireworks, no big family get togethers. A little after 7 PM
I went into the big house to get the last of the cucumber salad for supper;
S&A asked me to make dips [tomato sauce noodles] and gave me the old
bananas. I went in again to clean up at 9 PM and polished off the dips. When it
really started to get dark began hearing fireworks going off all around, so
some celebration going on. Read more The Magic Mountain (MM from here on; I
had started Mann’s book a few days ago) and looking at BI again with an eye to
revisions. A late and sleepy Rosary, then bed.
All day I had been nibbling
coconut macaroon cookies.
7/5/2020: Awake about 5:30
AM; said prayers in bed. Then up for Bible reading, got dressed, and watched
the Sunday Mass from St. James, with the new pastor, Fr. Stan, who has a very
thick Polish accent (he has been serving in the United States for many years,
but apparently in Spanish, so his English is a still a little rusty).
Afterwards looked on Facebook and saw a film of an explosion of cheap Chinese
fireworks last night at Babeloth; thank goodness there was no one hurt, and
they were well prepared for fire control. Laid down again for a bit (it is
easier to sleep in the cool of the morning) then up at 10 AM refreshed and
bursting with ideas. I would really like a printer/scanner for my birthday; I
want to learn to merge documents to compare them; I want to print books of my
poems and short stories; I need to finish “Omichon”, the revisions of “King
Korm”, revise the BI and maybe publish it with pictures on “Niche of Time”, and
of course finish “American Prometheus” and get on with Bob’s Book Two. That
being said, today is Sunday, and there is no rush.
Went in at 1 PM for a couple
of boiled eggs for lunch (with chocolate chip cookies I’d been nibbling all
day, it was enough). After an afternoon nap, I got up feeling inspired, and
worked on proof-reading BI off and on until about 9 PM (supper – a ramen and
bread – at 7 PM). With the Kindle down to 15%, I finally gave it a rest, prayed
my rosary, and so on. I’m about 2/3 through BI; the corrections are mostly
rewriting sentences for clarity, working on commas and spaces, sweeping away
leftover ‘artifacts’, and changing typeface from bold or italics to normal.
It’s now 9:44 PM; if the Kindle is done recharging in an hour or so and I’m
awake, I may continue.
7/6/2020: Everything that
usually happens, happened today. Only things different: S&A have some guys
building a carport over the driveway next to the storage buildings, and after I
was up at about 2:30 AM I worked on the Revised BI (now the BIB, Biographical
Inventory of Books) and put the final touches on it at about 3 PM. And the
adaptor on the AC cord got all scorchy, so I threw it away and have to do
without AC until I can get a new one. The night is hot but not unbearable.
7/7/2020: Up at 5:30 AM with
my right leg hurting a lot. Prayers, Bible, and ready for a walk into town.
Must go early for the relative ‘cool’.
Decided not to go to town.
Guys were working on building carport from about 8 AM to 3 PM. I had gone in to
lunch at 1 PM and S&A were just there. I asked about if they had an adapter
for the AC, and S got a little annoyed (they were running late).
Made sausage and cabbage for
supper. A little after 6 PM A came in with the wrong sort of adapter and S came
in right behind him, breathing fire. They went out again (Kam called me,
worried about a wasp that wasn’t there) and later came back with the adapter and
we got it set up and emotions were soothed all round. I was able to tell S I
had talked to the medical center about assistance with my medicine. So, the AC’s
on and everyone seems happy again. Time for a rosary, then bed, I guess.
Notes
I don’t remember any details
of Magic Mountain (appropriate reading for plague
times), though I do remember enjoying it. I also vaguely remember
watching some adaptation of it (a mini-series?) and there’s a section in The
Wind Rises at a tubercular sanatorium that reminds me of it.
Long summer days often make
for short diary entries. I was still struggling to get my SSI set up, gasping toward
the end of the Book Inventory, and swinging uncertainly from meal to meal.
Speaking of food, I was getting quite a bunch of snacky stuff (since stricken
off the menu) to fill in the spaces between the ‘meals’ (all too often ramen).
Don’t get lottery tickets so
much any more; not so desperate, I guess. Also don’t read on Kindle so much;
hard to keep it charged since the cord is too loose these days. Still haven’t
finished writing “American Prometheus” much less Bob’s Book 2.
Ah, Covid. What a bad dream
that was. Will the kids ever believe us?
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