2020 Diary: Second Week of September

9/8/2020: Up about 5:30 AM. Prayers and Bible. Turned off AC; could hear it was raining. Tried to get a little more sleep, and after a while did. Up a little after 8 AM. Rain had stopped. Dressed, took care of the animals (let Kia out, fed cats, Ginger’s food) turned off safety lights. Ready for Family Dollar soon.

Humidity very high. At FD got 12 eggs, saltines, and two packages of iced oatmeal cookies, for under $5. Came home swimming in sweat. Still have a dollar for lottery tomorrow, and a dollar in change if it goes to Saturday. So, besides walking tomorrow, I’m basically set. Today’s walk to FD was considerably shorter. Now 9:42 AM, and I’m making my ramen for breakfast (with eggs). Ate that, then had another ramen with eggs. Posted Gaiman books on NOT. About 2 PM had some peanut butter crackers. Also drinking tea and eating cookies, on and off. Lazed around the afternoon, gathered Pratchett stuff for NOT. Now a little after 4 PM. I figure after The Flintstones is over (about 5:30 PM) I’ll check the dogs. Wonder if John will have the energy to write me back?

Actually checked the dogs at 6 PM. Posted Pratchett books on NOT. Then about 7:45 PM I penned Kia up and locked and lit the house for the night. Made ramen, eggs, and crackers for supper. I’ve been eating too much over this vacation; that is partly from nerves, partly from boredom, and partly because I can. Anyway, that should end tomorrow. Ginger finally made another poop, only the second one since they left Friday. The Shanafelts should be home tomorrow sometime after noon. Plans for tomorrow: get a TX Lotto at 7 AM, maybe one last load of wash, and buzz my head (if I don’t do that tonight). It’s now 9 PM, and I feel like maybe I could sleep. Now it’s 9:15 PM, and I’ve just learned The Venture Brothers has been officially canceled. Darn.

 

9/9/2020: Woke up about 6 AM to hear that it was raining. Got up, prayers and Bible, and got dressed. About 6:40 AM, when I had planned to leave, it was still raining, and I almost thought I would have to give up my quest for a lotto ticket. Fed the pets and let Kia back out. By about 7:20 AM the rain had more or less let up and I heard birds and saw a bit of sun, so I went on out. Traffic was fairly busy already, more than if I had left earlier. Got my ticket and headed home. Made it back in time to watch the second half of Perry Mason (8:30 AM). Showered and changed clothes. Had my ramen and eggs, finishing off the eggs I had bought yesterday. Posted on NOT (annotated editions today). Went out about 10:30 AM and got the mail and put the green keys back. Nothing more necessary to do today but wait until the Shanafelts return. Decided wash could wait until Monday. Supposed to rain more this afternoon. Now 12:20 PM.

And rain it did, on and off. Got an e-mail from John. About 5 PM I went ahead and fed all the beasts outside (and the cat inside), and then at 6:30 PM I penned Kia up because she was already being a barking fool. Then the Shanafelts finally arrive about 6:50 PM and let Kia out again! Waiting for them to come get Ginger. She just pooped and peed when she heard them arrive, so I have my parting gift and reward for watching the dogs.

Rosary at 8 PM. At 9 PM they finally came and got Ginger, so I can settle down for the night at last. They wanted to get everything put away first, and I can understand that. They say it’s going to get down to 66 degrees tonight! Nice if it does. Reading some Kipling on the Kindle now.  That and DQ8 until bed a little before midnight, with the kitchen window open and no AC.

 

9/10/2020: How the month flies by! Up at 5:40 AM. Nice and cool in the house, and raining outside (frankly, I could do without the damp). Prayers and Bible.

And later it cleared up fairly well. The day went back to usual scheduling. Buzzed my head finally. Reached the end of the Shadow Library books. Still have plenty of biographical book list, though, and thinking of starting Wish List Wants. Peanut butter crackers. Continued cool, and I left the house open all day. Wanted to write but never got into it. During the day I attempted the Darksteel Dragon twice [on DQ8], and both times he wiped the party out. Started reading Kipling’s “Tales from the Hills”. Chicken breast and rice with broccoli and mushrooms for supper; that is, they had it, and I cooked it, having a taste of the rice (which was all I wanted) and a sandwich and a little bag of chips. Now almost 8:30 PM, and I’m going to pray the rosary. Which I did, and bed before 10 PM.

 

9/11/2010: Up at about 5 AM. Prayers and Bible, a little staggered over time. Nice chilly morning; don’t even need window fan. Spent quite a while gathering material for today’s NOT post, which covered many childhood classics, including Mary Norton books. Wrote John an e-mail early; after today he should have 3 days off. Reading “Plain Tales from the Hills” by Kipling (hereafter PT). What I told John about it: “I've moved on from Twain to Kipling, starting with his "Plain Tales from the Hills". It turns out there's more to him than Jungle Books (which of course I knew, but then DOING something about it is another thing altogether). Half the fun is just riddling through his dialect. It's not simply British. It is Indian Colonial British. And what is more, it is Indian Colonial Army British. And what is more, when one of the narrators of the "Tales" happens to be IRISH - my friend, it can be like translating the Rosetta Stone.”

Began frying taters about 2:30 PM, and that took me to almost 5 PM to get the family batch done, with a while longer to finish mine. When I went in at 7:30 PM to wash up, they had eaten them all, so it must have been the just-right amount for once, or they were hungrier than usual. Kameron came in with me and we Watched a MST3K “Alien from L. A.” until nearly 10 PM, then he went in. I prayed a rosary, played DQ8, then hit the hay before midnight.

 

9/12/2020: Woke up about 6 AM from a disappointing dream that depressed my spirit: the gist of it was that I had failed to qualify for something (disability? graduation?) and now had to make my way home. For about five minutes I felt like throwing up my lottery plans for the day, but prayers and Bible put a little heart into me, and I dressed and left by 6:50 AM. After a brisk walk and the exchange of my last handful of change I was back at the house by 7:30 AM, with only a pause to take a photo of the big skeleton in front of the donut shop. I settled down to gather images for my next NOT post, worked on DQ8 to bring my savings at the Gold Bank to just over a million, then took a nap from 10-11 AM.

Up and read some PT and caught up diary. The house is open, the weather mild.

Went in about 7:30 PM and made a couple of sandwiches and dip-dip noodles for S&A. Not a whole lot the rest of the day. Rosary. Bed before midnight.

 

9/13/2020: Up about 6 AM, prayers, Bible, rosary, and YT Mass. Did not win the lottery but no one else did either. Went through most of the day on tea and candy and reading Kipling and playing DQ8 (defeated the Darksteel Dragon). The day seemed to last forever, and nothing happened. Had one meal at 7:30 PM (ramen and eggs and bread). Andy mowed all day.

 

9/14/2020: Woke up about 1 AM inspired with another Morg story (What Grampa Did During the War) and then couldn’t get back to sleep. It’s now 2:35 AM.

Woke up again at about 7 AM and started writing “What Grampa Did During the War”. Did 5 pages before I stopped. Boiled eggs and made egg salad at 9 AM, started wash, and made my ramen and eggs. At 1 PM I fixed the broccoli salad and made Kameron some toast. Lots of DQ8 through the afternoon. At 4 PM fed the animals, made fish cakes and couscous. Came back out, ate my ramen and couscous, then did me blogposts for NOT. It’s 6 PM now, and I’m going to pray the rosary.

Did so and went int clean up at 7:30 PM. Spent most of the evening getting pictures for tomorrow’s NOT, and DQ8, trying to get the Democrobot to drop a gold nugget (not unlike my real life). Had to go in about 9 PM to return the garage keys. A little after 10 PM now, and I’m thinking more Kipling, then bed.

 

NOTES

 

It is eerily similar reading these old entries, especially about the September rains. I’m also having seasonal restless sleep and dreams. And the recent Powerball lottery madness? I wish I still had the frivolities of DQ8 to distract and fill my time; my PS2 pooped out some time ago. It indulged impulses to gather resources and go roaming over its open landscape and fit in well with the approaching season. I don’t remember anything off the bat about either Plain Tales from the Hills or Alien from LA. But I am writing (on and off) on a new ‘Morg’ project.