2020 Diary: Cricket, Covid, and St. Roch

7/17/2020: Kelsey’s party. The day went as usual with prayers, Bible, rosary. Found out that the rest of Magic Mountain was there after all; they had just transposed the author’s note into the middle! Talked to John about 1 PM. Blogged thrice on the Niche of Time. Not-Ginger (can’t think of her name; it is late. Oh yes, Cricket) in very poor shape today. I’m afraid she’s on her way out. Worked on my SSA forms from 8 PM to 10:30 PM and finished them. Watched Rules of the Game on and off. Now 12:30 AM and I think I should try to sleep. Tomorrow to the postal box and DG.

 

7/15/2020: Up, short prayers, and dressed. Wrote dream. Left for town about 7:45 AM. Mailed SSA forms, went and got ticket, and then to DG. They finally had corn chips and iced oatmeal cookies, but no spaghetti! Got Cosmic Brownies, too. Home about 8:30 AM. Stripped and sanitized. Went in at 9:20 AM and Kam asked for bacon and eggs, so made that, then ramen. Posted on NOT. Now about 10:40 AM, and I feel like nap. I’m tearing through the brownies.

A little after 1 PM I went in and got the leftover cabbage and taters for lunch. When I went in at about 3 PM to start supper, I noticed Cricket was having great difficulty breathing; her lungs were going like a bellows. Whenever she got tired and would begin to lie down her breathing was worse, and she had to drag herself up again. I tried to hold her up but that didn’t help. Finally, I had Kam text Susan about the situation, and she and Andy called to vet and then came home to be with Cricket for a while before they had to put her down. The whole process was done by 5 PM; the clock chimed almost simultaneously with the vet pronouncing the operation done. Everybody pretty broken up as you can imagine. Andy went out to dig the grave. I went over a gave her a last pat and a gentle nose beep, then went in and prayed a rosary, partly for her and partly for all who loved her. St. Roch, patron saint of dogs, of those sick with plague, and of bachelors, pray for us all. Rosary. Rest of the evening mainly devoted to Shadow Library mania.

 

7/16/2020: Got up and almost immediately into Shadow Library stuff. But first, a dream, prayers, and Bible (I skipped ahead into doing Psalms now). Fried eggs and bacon for Kam’s breakfast, ramen for me. Worked on Shadow Library [that is, books I no longer have]. Called John about 1 PM. Kam called me at 3 PM because of knocking on front door; I went out, and Walmart had delivered an empty box! Called Susan and reported to her. Corn on cob, chili, rotini for supper. Ate cookies and corn chips all day. The heat. My God, the heat! Rosary about 10:30 PM. I keep remembering more books to put on the SL list. Up till 1 AM working on SL.

 

7/17/2020: No, up until 4:30 AM working on SL; I could not turn it off. I was up by 6:30 AM again. Prayers, Bible, and MORE work on SL. Went in a little after 9:30 AM; Kam up. Made him eggs and bacon and made my ramen; he came in with me and visited all morning! My S key got stuck for a while. At lunch S&A came in. She is working on Kam’s application for SSA, and wanted to ask me a few questions, for which my memory was already rusty. Ate chicken salad for lunch. I laid down for a little nap and Kam did too. I was up about 2 PM and started frying taters and brought Ginger in with me. Fried till about 5 PM when I woke Kam up and brought him into the house. Fed the pets. Supper: fish and taters. Spent the evening with MORE SL; forgot to even pray rosary.

 

7/18/2020: Yen’s Birthday. Up about 5:30 AM. Cleaned up, prayers and Bible, dressed, and out the door at 6:40 AM. Got lottery ticket and home by 7:25 AM. Made ramen, took medicine, showered, dressed. Made blog posts. Now 9:30 AM, and I feel ready for another nap.

About 10:30 AM Andy comes around and tells me to help myself to leftover chili, rice, fish, and cucumber salad. Puttered around, made some more notes on SL. About 1 PM I went in and got some cucumber salad. Listened to music, watched some Kill Bill, read some Mark Twain biography (his last years). Rosary for Yen’s birthday. About 5:30 PM (just after I had gone in and got the chili) Andy comes again and says we’ve got Chicken Express. I go in: spicy chicken, biscuits, gravy, corn nuggets, hush puppies, and sweet tea, and dining with the family. The Maltese Falcon on at 7 PM and I sleep through most of it. Up about 8:45 PM. Post SL. Finish off chili.

 

7/19/2020: Up about 4 AM and felt compelled to write down expansions of my notes on ‘The Fellowfeel’ series. Prayers, Bible, Mass. More writing. Nap. About 10:30 AM Andy brings me in bananas and chicken rice. More writing. At 12 finish FF notes and send them off, suggesting round-robin effort to the boys. Went in at 1 PM to find S&A working on changing the living room rug. Got some Chicken Express chicken. Posted on NOT. Worked on list of stuff I could get with birthday money. The Subject Was Roses on today. About 5 PM prayed rosary. Went in a little before 7 PM to get paper towels and a ramen and was told that I had failed to put macaroni on the list (apparently, I’m supposed to write on the list – except when I’m not). I had been doing OK; this bummed me out. 9 PM and no answer from Kenny or John.

 

7/20/2020: Up about 6:20 AM from a dream about being at Loop Drive; the rooms were full of the worst hoarding garbage. I sometimes have dreams like that, where I’m wandering around a trash heap that might contain treasures that have been carelessly neglected or mislaid. They are only too true of some periods at the old house and might be taken as emblematic of my life. Prayers, Bible. Spent the morning sweeping and dusting. Figured out how to pin my dark blue bathing suit so it would stay up. Kam called me about 8:50 AM; Susan had left, and he was ready for breakfast. I started the wash (decided not to do the towels today). Kam had taquitos with sour cream and some chicken strips; I had a few strips too, and the last corn nuggets. Came in and lay down and started to listen to GGACP and almost fell asleep; sat bolt upright when I suddenly realized I had forgotten to boil eggs and make egg salad. Rushed out, started eggs, changed laundry, then made salad. At 11 AM wash was done. Rosary. About 1 PM I went in and started making the broccoli salad; Susan came home with Kam from taking him to the SocSec office. Finished salad about 2 PM and Kam came out with me and read me some game reviews. We went in at 4 PM and I started supper (fish patties and couscous), and Kam went to take a nap. I ate broccoli salad and couscous with ramen. Still no reply from the boys about FF, so I suppose that fell dead from the branches. Going in at 8 PM to wash up. Reading early parts of Mark Twain biography (Jumping Frog, Innocents Abroad, lectures).

 

7/21/2020: Short Summation of the day: got up, prayers, Bible. Went in at 9 AM and made Kam taquitos; made me cup ramen, eggs, and bread. Worked on Omichon. At lunch packet ramen and eggs and a peanut butter sandwich. About 3:30 PM started taters, cabbage, and sausage. Finished by 4:40 PM. Went in and washed up; Susan said there were roller skaters down in the ditch. Rather sleepy rosary. Read MT. Finally got an answer from John about the Fellowfeels. “Sounds like fun - I remember thinking those chapter names were mighty evocative.  I think counting on me to write anything right now would be a pretty iffy proposition, but who knows?” Bed.