Yesterday, it was so hot so early that we never took a walk. We went to pilates, though. Fortunately, we were about 5 minutes early, because she turned away 3 people. I would have been shocked to get there and find there was not a spot for me! We stopped by the Farmers' Market and bought some onions and a loaf of bread for my Dad. There is a kind of baguette (epi) that he likes, with salt and rosemary.

My parents were at the house when we got there, and stayed for an extra hour or so while we tried to practice for this morning's service. Some things are virtually impossible to rehearse, and we have known from the first that there is way more material that we want to cover than we can get to in 30 minutes or so. I'm not willing to give up the hymns and other trappings...

I loved hearing the stories, most famliar, but some new. There was the time my Dad's housekeeper (?), Stella, was going out on a date. His parents were not home and she was getting herself ready and made him get in the tub. He was cross and got a bucket of water ready and threw it on her when she came in, in her nice clothes. She yanked him out of the tub, naked and wet, and spanked his bare bottom. He said, "I'll tell my Dad what you did and he'll fire you." She said, "if your Dad finds out what you did and what I did, he'll give me a raise." This from a young woman of about 20, whose parents were Lithuanian immigrants. She was right, my Dad pointed out.

Ray's salad

In the afternoon, I spent some time reading a novel. I didn't have to cook and it was too hot and I was too tired anyway. It was very pleasant. Mary Stewart is as close as I get to reading romance novels, and it had been maybe 30 years since I last read one. I am enjoying it very much. I also submitted another review: Heirloom. They are wanting a name for my column. What do you think? Eating like a local? Eating with the Natives? Food for the soul..

Late in the afternoon, it was cloudy and thundering. We were very hopeful it would rain, and happy when it started to. But it was just a tease, enough to wet the porch steps, but not do much good. It did cool off quite a bit, but it was very humid, even this morning. Maybe there is still hope.

molten chocolate cake

At 7, we headed to Hotel Indigo, to meet Deb and John and Dani (Janna's sister), who was in town. It was her birthday, so we didn't want her to be home alone. Her Mom seems to be doing well, no improvement, but very aware most of the time. We had a lovely dinner there. It is such a nice hotel. I asked if we could see a room. There was only one vacant and they showed it to us. Very classy!

We watched TV when we got home and stayed up a little late for us, 11:30 ish.

Still very hot and dry. We set up the sprinkler in the main garden yesterday evening. A couple of our tomato plants are dead and I'm not seeing any new blossoms. Still lots of peppers and a few eggplants. And the herbs are great. The hens are laying again--yay!

I spent a couple hours at the Land Trust putting labels on postcards. They apparently don't have a bulk mail permit and are putting stamps on over 600 cards. I was supposed to meet my editor at noon for lunch, but she called 10 minutes before and said her babysitter had cancelled. I hadn't brought any food, but there was plenty at home, so I went on home. We drove the truck yesterday so we could pick up the lawnmower. At 2:30, I went back to get Ray and we went to Riverside Mowing and got it. When we got back to Kenney Ridge, I went to the Community Center and put away the clean dishes from the night before. The building is lovely and I wandered around, checking to make sure it was clean. It is very light, with lots of windows.

My parents had brought us 6 ears of corn, picked Thursday, so we should have eaten them Thursday. We cooked them about 4 on Friday and they were delicious. I meant to freeze some, but we ate them all, along with some tomatoes and mozzarella. I was going to make chard omelets, but it was too hot to pick the chard! We weren't very hungry either and debated what else we should eat.

We picked up Janna's sister, Dani, at 7, and then my parents. Except my Dad has a cold and decided to stay home. We saw Blue Angel, a very old black and white movie, where Marlene Dietrich sings, "Falling in love again..." in German, with English subtitles. The differences with movies today were very interesting. The cinematography and editing were quite basic. I liked the historic information: the cabaret was dark and crowded and not very enticing. Marlene was very cute, not as I had thought of her, but mannish and brassy. We enjoyed it. I had a drink and we split a somewhat stale oatmeal raisin cookie. We took people home and went to bed.

The AC is running full tilt and I seem to have lots of things to get done that I don't feel like doing: laundry, cleaning, cooking, gardening.

There was a work day at ALT yesterday. Teens in Action came to help with some landscaping at the office. They spread compost and mulch around plantings in front and  on the side and in back. There were about 6 teens from a special summer camp. They do service projects in the morning and swim or otherwise have fun in the afternoon. They worked hard. There were also several interns and three volunteers that I had recruited, one who read about it in the paper. I took pictures and had them fill out paperwork. It was hot and I was wearing boots and jeans, but it was shady and there was a breeze. One the way, I stopped to get ice for the coolers. I had to be careful not to do anything that might hurt my back, so I am afraid it looked like I was just standing around.

At 12:45, I went to UGA to meet the shuttle and pick up Janna's sister, Dani, who arrived from Wisconsin to spend some time with her mother while Janna and Ron are out of town. I went to the library and got new books. Then I went to the pool and Ray joined me there. We came home and made a pasta salad for the Kenney Ridge potluck. My parents came by a little later after their trip, bringing corn on the cob and squash from a produce stand in north Georgia. They had spent a few days driving the Blue Ridge, where it was much cooler. Apparently, they enjoyed it overall, but had some challenges, like finding a place to stay Wednesday night.

There was a potluck at the new community center and I had said I would help set up (and clean up--I have to put away the dishes later today). It is really a lovely building, with tons of windows to look out and see who else is arriving, or watch the kids playing. One of our neighbors brought two miniature horses. Cameron had been hanging around outside, but they were afraid of him, so Ray took him home. Then some of the guys went and helped Ray move our extra refrigerator out of the garage to the community center. A couple of the women will clean it today.

And I fell asleep before 9 and slept pretty well for more than 8 hours.

Heirloom used to be a gas station

HOT and dry. I watered with a watering can a few things in the garden. The tomatoes are still chugging along, amazingly, as well as the herbs, and there is still chard. The good news is, there was an egg. The bad news? It was broken. I think the shell was too thin to hold it together after it was laid. Ray and I walked early.

I was at the Land Trust about 10:15. A couple volunteers worked a few hours. I started working on a post card that was mentioned on Tuesday, but then Nathan said he had done it. I printed mailing labels for the 600+ people on the list that have street addresses. I had lunch with Nancy S. and told her how unhappy I was and asked about my future wtih ALT. She said that they had not gotten the grants they were hoping to, and she didn't know where they might get any money. She is concentrating on fund-raising and not most of the day-to-day running of the organization. So I need to talk to Heather.

chicken salad sandwich

We went to the pool and swim pretty steadily back and forth for about 25 minutes. Today my shoulder hurts. We came home and made a new kind of sauce with eggplant and cherry tomatoes to take to potluck. There were only 7 of us there. There was bean dip and crackers, corn chips and cheese, pasta with eggplant sauce, cole slaw, and ice cream. Good thing we came! Watched a little TV, went to bed early and couldn't sleep, read for a long time.

Yesterday morning, walked some with Ray. A little cooler, in the low 70s, so pleasant out. I was trimming the blackberry bushes and got stung by a bee. I felt bad, I didn't mean for him to die... I put alcohol on it, which hurt a lot for a minute, but it hasn't been noticeable since then.

We drove the truck in, because the lawnmower needs some work. There were a couple volunteers working on the yard at the office. I worked some more on the Vertical Response e-mail system, and sent a sample out to Heather and Kate before the staff meeting.

Ray and I went to the pool and then met Deb at the dollar movies. We saw Bridesmaids, which had some really funny scenes. The overall plot is a little lame and there were those things that make me cringe and avert my eyes, where the joke is about the total humiliation of the main character.

It was later thatn I had thought when we got out, and I didn't have much of a plan for supper. We had some leftover grilled chicken that I really wanted to use. It took me a while, but I found a recipe for couscous I had made before and liked. Ray shredded the chicken, the most time-consuming part, while I did the rest. We managed to eat by 7:30. Then I zipped over to Sky's for a finance meeting--I was late, but I had eaten.

There is a faraway moon, a few stars, and night sounds: a train whistle woke me, a dog barking in the distance, and the crickets in the background. It is not cool, but pleasant. Yesterday there was a 60% chance of rain, some thunder, a few drops, but not much in the end. Plants are drooping everywhere. Other people have said their tomatoes are dropping blossoms from heat and drought, but we have managed to keep ours going, thanks to my Dad's efforts at watering. There are bugs, though--leaf-legged bugs. They look kind of like squash bugs, except more alien, and they fly. They gather on the tomatoes, but don't do much damage that I can tell. Just creep me out.

Yesterday, I spent 5 hours at the Land Trust office. Nathan asked me to help with the Annual Report, copying donor information from spreadsheets. And there was a lot of volunteer action. I was able to help Lynda with a computer problem, by uninstalling software she had recently added: PC Tune-Up, supposed to make her computer run faster and better.

At 3, I picked Ray up and we made a quick stop at Earth Fare. Otherwise, there would have been no yogurt for breakfast today. Then he dropped me at Robyn's for counseling. It was nice to see her again and she was helpful. It's sort of annoying, she repeats and restates what I am saying, but somehow it is helpful to have someone else paying attention and summing things up. I am creative, I have lots of ideas, but I am frustrated by not having a job that allows me to use them.

We didn't have to make supper, which was good, because we were pretty hungry. Captain and Vanessa had made spaghetti with meat sauce and they had a lot left. So they had brought us some, which we heated in the microwave and gobbled down. Most food is tasting really good to us now.

I spent a couple hours at the Fellowship talking about changing our structure. Then some TV and bed, a little too late. But I slept well.

Over 95 yesterday, no rain, but not as humid as sometimes.

I was the song leader at the Fellowship, which just meant I stood at the podium to sing the hymns and encourage the congregation to join me. Ray was in the sound booth. Kelly told stories, mostly about her 95-year-old mother, who is apparently quite a character. She told a variation of the story of the Three Little Pigs to the children (with a fox hand puppet she described as a wolf in fox's clothing). It was hilarious and they loved it. I will need to ask for a recording.

We came home and had some lunch: Salade Nicoise. (ask Ray about hard-boiling eggs in the microwave--don't try it at home). I researched recipes for dinner and later in the week. Then we drove down to Watkinsville to buy peaches from Thomas Orchards. We split a peach ice cream cone. We went to Legion Pool for a quick dip.

Ray cooked chicken on the grill and I had cooked some rice early for a cold rice salad. We also had green beans from Herb and Myrna. I gave them some chard and tomatoes in exchange, but they gave us LOTS of really tasty green beans. We froze the rest, which required an hour or so standing at the sink, cutting the ends of and cleaning them. This is not good for people with bad backs. By then, we only had time for a couple TV shows, and even then it was after 10 when we went to sleep.

That was a pretty fun day.

I was up early, ate breakfast, working in the garden some, harvesting and pulling a few weeds. Ray came out about 8:30 and said, "shall we go pick blueberries?" Naturally, I said yes. Our neighbor had said anyone who wanted could pick. It's the end of the season and she has all she wants in her freezer. We picked for an hour. There were still plenty of berries, although some were wrinkled and soft, maybe from the drought. It was pretty hot already, although I was in partial shade with a little breeze, so it wasn't too bad. Then I washed them and sorted them, keeping out the least ripe to use for fresh as they ripen more, and the softest to use for pancakes today. I put another quart and a half in the freezer. I might still try to get more. I'm sure I don't have as many as I can use all year yet.

 My parents arrived about a half hour later. My Dad checked his e-mail and went out to water the garden. My Mom took her daily walk for her back. I headed off to have lunch at a new restaurant with Helene, who was celebrating her 62nd birthday. Deb and Don were there too. We had a good time, the food was very good, and the prices were suprisingly reasonable. It was a little lacking in atmosphere and the chairs weren't very comfortable. I had the steak with French fries, which was not the healthiest choice, but it wasn't a huge amount, and I enjoyed it. They have cupcakes for dessert, including mini-cupcakes and they were delicious! I chose Devils Food with chococolate mousse in the middle. mmm. mini, of course.

I headed back home for a bit and then Ray and I headed to Watkinsville to volunteer at a benefit for cancer. How do I get into these things? And get Ray into them? In this case, I read about it in the paper and thought it would be fun, and it was. It was a water polo tournament at the Lockmans. They have a lake (or pond), the kind with grass growing right down to the edges and algae. The water was pretty warm and the bottom of the lake a little disgusting. But they had set up a water polo "grounds" and several teams had paid for the privilege of competing. Dr. Lockman officiated. Ray and I were assigned to help with the canoes. The kids that were running around were welcome to go out in the canoes if they wanted. They had to wear a life jacket. We had no business. In fact, there were not a lot of people watching that were not associated with one of the teams. We sat on a bench in the shade watching. I took out a small canoe with a blunt stern and a double-ended paddle and watched from the lake for a while. I enjoyed it very much. We bought one plate of barbecue to share and drank a lot of water. Eventually, I paddled two 5 year-old girls, Addie and Eva, across to a playhouse there, and back. They were quite demanding and kept changing their minds. Their conversation was amusing. One thing that cracked me up--they said they had to make the playhouse sexier before they could live there. I asked what they meant by that. "Oh, you know, more outfits and accessories..." We saw a few people we knew, but not many of the usual suspects. Dr. and Mrs. lockman (David and Becky) do a lot of community work and share their house and lake often. The whole feeling was very relaxed, like a giant family reunion. We were thanked many times. After we got home and showered, I fell asleep watching TV and went to bed at a reasonable hour.

Fifth Element plot summary parallels current events

I stayed home yesterday. I wrote some. I worked on some financial issues and other at-home stuff. I had my dog and my chickens. The worst was not eating too much, but I did pretty well. It was hot, but the AC did its job. It's not unpleasant until the afternoon. Ray went to work and got the car realigned, and got his hair cut, and was home around 3. I spent a little time with Sky, working on KR finances.

At 4:45, we headed downtown to have dinner at the National with my parents. It was pretty crowded and by the time we left I couldnt stand the noise level. But the food was delicious and we had a good time. We had humus, although it didn't seem as outstanding as it usually does to me. Then I had a marvelous shrimp bisque, not as rich in dairy as some, but with a delcious complex flavor. For my main course, I had another "First"--lamb sliders. They were delicious, with onions and remoulade and some kind of jam--very tasty. But they came in rolls and that was way too much bread for me. I didn't eat much of the second one, I was so full. Perhaps my stomach has shurnk. Ray doesn't eat lamb and no one else wanted it either, so I felt bad. I didn't even order dessert. My Dad had the pork shoulder, still scrumptious. Ray almost ordered it again, he liked it so much the last time we were there. He had shrimp, amybe the same that I had on our last visit. It was all good--and my parents treated us, for our anniversary!

Then we went nenxt door to Cine to see Cluny Brown. We were a little early, but people started arriving. Bob and Claire sat right next to us. We saw Heidi and Al and lots of other people. Vicki J. works there. There was a lot of talking before the movie, so it was more than half an hour before it started. I began to get a little restless, but my parents enjoyed it, I think. This was a movie made in the early 40's and they had seen it when it came out. No one else in the theater had. It is not available on DVD. It was delightful, clever and cute--funny in a way that nothing seems to be today. I don't think people have as much fun now. When we were leavilng, my mother said, "I think we should go to France again next  year, get another canal boat, maybe on the Loire or the Rhine." It is rare for her to express a desire like that, so I immediately want to do it for her. If we go, it will probably be in July.

We came home uneventfully and went to bed at a reasonable hour. Now the AC ir running again...

Worked a couple hours at Land Trust. There was a problem with a volunteer, who worked for two days at a site, following the directions I was given. It turns out he mowed the wrong place. I had asked for specifics and was told it was obvious. I wasn't at the location and apparently it wasn't obvious.

Went to lunch with Janna. She is going out of town for a couple weeks and gave me her key and instructions.

Went to the Fellowship for an hour and worked on their files.

Picked up Ray and went swimming. Very hot. Went home and made supper and ate chard. Went to the movies at Cine. Enjoyed Midnight in Paris.

AC running full tilt, hit 100 yesterday. But there was thunder and a little rain in the evening that cooled it down a good bit.

I worked at the Land Trust some, looking into Vertical Response (free for small non-profits) as a way to send email newsletters. Some computer frustrations. One volunteer, who did some mowing at one of the garden sites. After lunch, I went to get the car's oil changed. They told me it needs an alignment. I picked up some sand at Lowe's for the brick walk at ALT.

Ray and I swam for half an hour before the lifeguards made people get out of the pool for thunder. We enjoyed potluck, about 8 of us talking and laughing, with some good food. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of protein.

Really hot out, AC on this morning, windows closed all night. I slept well, though.

I went to a presentation about Housing First, put on by the Stable Foundation. Excellent. And all the usual suspects were there. I have missed the big picture discussions. However, depressing, because it takes money and there is less and less of it. Separate services from housing. Do not require treatment to keep people in housing. Research shows they will improve (85 retain housing) if supported in housing at 30% of their income.

Returned to ALT to work on volunteer handbook, attend staff meeting. Volunteered to put out email newsletter every month or so. Step 1: looking for software.

Went to doctor for physical at 2:30. All is well, except sugar continues to rise (100 to 111). Still pre-diabetic, not yet diabetic, so that's good. I told her Ray and I are working on it, eating less carbs. She said, check again in 3 months, can put on diabetes medicine for prevention. Cholesterol down, due to meds. Blood pressure up. Lost 5 lbs since last year's check up. Yay!

Went home, made tomato sauce and supper. Went to meeting at UUFA re GA Sunday service August 7.

Home by 9, TV, bed.

Surfacing by Margaret Atwood

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


intriguing, appealing, somewhat dated; quite odd, but I could somehwat identify



View all my reviews

Although the high was just over 90 yesterday, it still isn't quite as bad as it was a week or so ago. The windows are closed, but the AC has not come on this morning automatically at 6. So that's good.

I was at the Land Trust before 9 to meet a volunteer (who didn't get there until 9:30), but before that I had to have blood taken for my annual physical. So, I packed my breakfast and brought it with me. They were mercifully quick at the lab I must say. I had to give them my credit card to swipe, in case there is any problem with the insurance. The cost? $378.

After Victor got started on laying the brick walk (we are so pleased to have a highly skilled volunteer like that), I left again to go to my Small Group Ministry meeting. A fascinating dicussion: the impasse in Congress, countries in the Middle East, and Africa is not something one person individually can change. How are impasses in world events reflected in your own life? What can you do about those impasses? I never really thought of things in my life as impasses, but it was a very good and caring discussion. Unfortunately, I did not suddenly have any insights as to how to solve the things that are causing me stress. But I did feel loved and supported--and of course, many people have much harder things to deal with--one woman's granddaughter is about to become homeless. She has mental health problems and, at 18, is unwilling to have anyone tell her what to do (like take her medicine).

At noon, I went back to the Land Trust and did some work trying to activiate software for the new computer, a somewhat frustrating and unproductive activity. Even more annoying, the lunch I had left on Friday had disappeared from the fridge. They tell me the cleaning lady is ruthless. I was quite annoyed. At 2:30, I picked up Ray and we went to the pool. It was cool and lovely and we swam back and forth talking for about half an hour. This is not heavy-duty cardio exercise, but I am sore this morning nonetheless.

It was a littile hard for me to cook, I was so tired, but I made a pretty simple pasta with cherry tomatoes and Ray helped by cooking the pasta and grating the cheese. There are still more tomatoes than we can eat. i will have to make some more salsa or sauce to can or freeze this week. And there is Swiss chard falling over to be eaten. It must be good for us to eat nothing but tomatoes and Swiss chard (we really eat other things too). We watched some TV and went to bed early and slept well.

We had the windows open again last night--it was great and makes me want to bake bread!

Yesterday morning I made pancakes with blueberries. They were delicious. I spent about an hour out in the garden; the weather was nice. I made tomato soup to freeze, using up all the plum tomatoes, but then I picked 20 more. We have a guard spider in the tomatoes, so there are a few that are not getting picked--one of those impressively large yellow and black garden spiders. I know she is doing good work protecting them against all kinds of bugs, so I don't want to disturb her, even if it means losing a tomato.

Ray and I went to the Fellowship and it was pleasant. There is a different, more relaxed feel in the summer. There was a young family who came for the first time and I thought, they might be a replacement for one of the families moving away.

In the afternoon, I put away my cookbooks and tidied some, while Ray did the heavy cleaning of the bathroom and vacuuming. My parents arrived about 3:30 and brought some wine. Several people came to discuss the American Dream in a house meeting for Move On. One I had met at the Fellowship and three new faces. Janna and Ron were there briefly. Ray stayed in the other room, working on his class, after all his work preparing! Linda brought delicious chocolate chip cookies, and I put out some veggies and dip. We offered water and wine. It was a little challenging, following the prescribed script and procedure. People mostly cooperated. After two hours, we had identified everyone's top ideas, but we didn't have a local action plan.

At 5:30, there was a Kenney Ridge meeting and Ray went to that. I followed along after my guests left. There was still some food for me, but I missed the dedication of the community center. There was a song from the UU hymnal I was planning to sing...May nothing evil cross this door...The community center is very pleasant. There were children and adults eating and talking and wandering around in a daze. It is really nice, lots of windows for watching kids playing outside. I think you can see Bill's pictures of it here. Two dishwashers. No plastic utensils or anything else. We are planning to have potlucks there every week, and talked about a dinner club too. There was a fussy new baby and several of us sang her to sleep together. It was very relaxing. Then we went home and watched a few shows and went to bed.

I am having blood work done today for my physical later in the week, so no breakfast for me.

My birthday present, a grape arbor

Sadly, we are back to the hum of the air conditioner. I'm actually a little too cold right now, sitting her in my summer nightgown, watching it get brighter out. I can start to see the lawn, which Ray mowed yesterday, so it looks really nice and park-like this morning.

I made quiches early yesterday and zipped over to the Farmers Market by 9:30. Ray was just getting up, so he didn't come. My Mom had made an apple pie as well, and we entered them in the PLACE pie contest. Two categories: sweet and savory. There weren't tons of pies--4 sweet and 3 savory, maybe. We only got 3 votes each, so I don't know what that's about. I didn't stick around to taste and vote, but my parents were pretty disappointed. Not sure what they were going on. For $5, you could enter a pie and/or taste pies. It seemed like a fun idea.

Ray met me and we headed to pilates class instead of eating pie.

When we got home, my parents cooked their corn on the cob and we cooked our corn on the cob (from the Farmers' Market), and we had a little pre-lunch together. Ray and I ate leftover tabouli, but they declined to join us. Of course, there were also sliced tomatoes with oregano. They left after a bit. I made some salsa, but it only used 4 plum tomatoes. I need to catch up.

zinnias

even the grass at Kenney Ridge is beautiful

another baby melon!

Another published review here. (Can I tell you how much I hate that title?) I spent another hour writing my science fiction novel. It is not particularly good. I am just trying to get myself to write for an hour a day and see what comes out. It will have to be rewritten and improved, if it seems worth doing.

At 5, we headed to UUFA. I had scheduled a going-away party for Rich and Janet Clapp-Clark. They are moving to Vermont in a week. I am jealous and sad. I really like having them at the Fellowship. Also, another family, Cindy and Trish and their two children are moving to Chapel Hill. They have been here 6 years and their family has changed a lot in that time. I will miss seeing these kids become teens and adults. The party was very low-key, a potluck dinner. About 25 people were there, and we just chatted. Some people wanted to have a cake or give them presents, but I was pretty adamant that I didn't want to buy anything, and it worked out well. We were a small enough group for people to all talk together for a short time about things we would miss about them.

By the time we cleaned up, there was not much time before bed. We watched one episode of John Stewart. I love him, he is so funny, but I do get discouraged because it is still current events, and the news is mostly bad. I truly believe that the economy will never recover and lots of people will suffer even more than they are now. The idea of perpetual growth is not realistic, and I don't know why we were not changing our expectations before the bubble burst. I am grateful to have a home and what we need, but I worry about the future.

Hallelujah! The windows are open and my ankles are cold! I even turned off the ceiling fan. Yesterday was much cooler; I think maybe 86 was the high. It was overcast and rainy much of the day, but in the evening, it was pleasant and breezy out. And now, it is below 70, I'm sure.

Yesterday, I took Ray to work and then went to Herb West's mother's memorial service at Highland Hills, where she lived for almost 10 years. It was very pleasant, learning about her history. She was 95 and lived a life of mother, wife, and volunteer, after she married. She studied library science and was an ecellent organizer, according to the speakers. She met her husband at VJ day in Casablanca, where she was stationed with the Red Cross, and he was with the Air Force. I liked Highland Hills--every room seems to have a balcony or porch and there are flowers and birds. So I talked to someone at the desk and picked up some information. For two people, the starting rate is $3050 per month. That includes rent, utilities, and one meal a day. It seemed like a lot to me. Housekeeping is extra and it's more if you need assisted living. Later in the day, though, Ray and I talked about it, and his pension will probably cover a little over that. Plus we have IRA's and social security for both of us. That will have to cover medical expenses and any travel.

My parents were at the house when I got home, surprised to see me. They picked and froze some more broccoli, and I gave them some food to eat, sliced tomatoes and leftover frittata. My mother had made rhubarb sauce and left me some. And it had rained on the garden. Now there are 4 melons growing, plus there are still fresh tomatoes, chard, and plenty of herbs. Then my Dad started reading news events out loud, one of the things he does that really bothers me: a house blew up in Salem and killed x people...a  young man killed his mother and stepfather...please, why do you want to know that? I don't.

After they left, I had a quiet hour to work on whatever I wanted and I submitted a couple more reviews and started on a science fiction project. It's certainly not very good, but it shows that if I sit down and work at it, I can get some writing done.

At 2:30, I went to Earth Fare to buy a few things and Ray met me there. We came on home and went to Sky's to pick blueberries, it was so pleasant--high 70s, overcast. She let us pick one to keep for every one we picked for her and they were beautiful. Mine have been over for weeks, but she has several different varieties. Her freezer is full and she is not selling at the Farmer's Market any more this year. We have four pints in the freezer now!

I cut some herbs and we got dressed and went to Clela's. She is back from her time in Romania with the Peace Corps and invited us to a cocktail buffet. There were margaritas (and other beverages) and lots of things she had made--dips and veggies and sweets. It was marvelous. And we enjoyed hearing stories from Rocky and Bill H. He was in the NSA in Greenland, 600 miles south of the North Pole. There were days of darkness and days of light--and polar bears and foxes and giant Arctic hares. He was there a year and had to be flown out because of a tumor on his lung. A woman pilot saved his life, waiting on the runway for the winds to drop below 40 mph so they could take off.

The summer heat wears me out. I am achy and I do not sleep well because of the heat--or maybe because of the air conditioning--or sometimes the noisy frogs or the early light. Yesterday, it stayed below 90 all day, blessed relief, but was very humid and overcast. In fact, there was a lot of thunder and lightning and brief storms. We had 1/3 of an inch, here, but I think there was more in town. It's a lot better than nothing and we're grateful, my Dad and I.

I spent a couple hours at the Land Trust, but there wasn't much interesing to do and I already worked more hours than I will get paid for this week. Instead, I headed back to the UUFA to work on the files some more. There are now two small empty file cabinets and a basic structure. I started going through the files and throwing out things more than 7 years old, with a few interesting exceptions. Information about a service we did after  9/11, for instance.

I picked Ray up and we went for a swim. I wasn't sure the weather was nice enough, but it was very pleasant. The pool was a little cooler from the rain and there was no thunder while we were there. I swam pretty steadily for 30 minutes. I read at Spark People that treading water is good exercise, too. Come to think of it, that is probably why my leflt shoulder hurts so much this morning. We headed home and I made the frittata I had planned on. I picked and washed the chard in the morning, so it wasn't a lot of work to make. We were done a little earlier than usual and I went to Sky's to do some bookkeeping for Kenney Ridge. It's a little annoying that I just got the information for the first half of the year, so I have a lot of information to enter at one time, instead of doing just a little every now and then. I stayed over an hour, but I'll have to go back soon to finish up.

Then a couple TV shows and bed about 10. When I wake up too early, like I did this morning, sometimes I get up and read in Molli's room, so I don't disturb Ray. Then he comes looking for me, to make sure I'm okay, when he realizes I am gone. It's reassuring.

Summer garden

In July, I do not urge people to come admire the vegetable garden. It is not as beautiful as it was in the Spring, all green with promise. The plants are worn out now, after producing and fighting drought and other enemies. There are tomatoes with yellowing or brown arms, some broken with the weight of the fruits. The sweet potatoes crowd luxiariantly into the path--summer is their time to shine. The chard are so hardy and hearty, they keep producing no matter how much we eat, growing in each other's spaces, the outer leaves falling over with their own weight, with holes where the sun has burned them. The squash droop and turn yellow and die after only a few fruits, succumbing to borers and squash bugs in spite of my father's repeated efforts with organic insecticides.

As consciousness returns, I open my eyes and take stock. I glance at the clock. 6:04, yes it is time to be awake. Out the window, the light is returning, the sky is gray but brightening and the moon is no longer shining in. The air conditioning has started blowing, set to come on at 6 on days that the temperature has not naturally already dropped to 78. This is probably what nudged me awake. Thoughts begin to come more quickly. There is nothing urgent in the front of my consciousness, nothing I have to jump up and do (except use the bathroom). A little more sleep might be good, but it does not usually turn out that way for me. I might miss something wonderful if I went back to sleep. I take stock: a little ache in my lower back, my shoulders, but nothing bad. These are my familiar morning companions. How is my emotional health this morning? Pretty good, no big new hurts. I am not as enthusiastic as the birds, who are starting their day with lively calls that I can hear even through the closed windows. But I am cautiously optimistic, guardedly hopeful. It could be okay. Yesterday was pretty good, So far it is a good day.

We took a short walk in the morning, in order to get going in good time. I had to be at the Land Trust at 9 to meet a new volunteer. He turned out to be amazing, 10 years experience in landscaping. He did all the lawns on my list in one day and asked about donating some landscape design. He has a degree in permaculture, an awesome fit for ALT. Another young man came at 10 and he helped Victor for a couple hours. They are both coming back next week. I talked with Nathan about what work they could do then. I spent most of the day driving the lawn mower from place to place. Victor apologized. "I tried to work more slowly, but I am used to gettting paid by the project, where it's good to be fast." The air conditioing on the old van that was donated to the Land Trust doesn't really work any more and the temperature hit 100 again yesterday. It was hot. I was wearing jeans because I knew I would be involved in moving tools. In the end, Victor said he could get the lawn mower and weed eater in his little SUV, so I didn't have to go back to the site. In between, I didn't get much done. Entered a few names in the database.

Picked Ray up at 2:30, went to Earth Fare. It was raining and thundering and lightning. We were hopeful that it was raining at home, but when we got there, we were disappointed. We took in the laundry in case it started, but no such luck. I made some tabouli using tomatoes and a cucumber and herbs from the garden and let it chill while I spent time with my emails.

We enjoyed potluck at UUFA. There were 8 of us and enough good food and conversation. With no choir rehearsal, we were back before 8. I made it through Wheel of Fortune and part of Jeopardy before I fell asleep. The bed felt better than the couch and I finished my book before going to sleep again.

The ground is pretty dry, but there are persimmons ripening.

Yesterday, I ended up spending 5 hours at the Land Trust. Heather has asked me to work on a homeowners' manual, which is good and useful work. I did, however, have some frustrations, having to work at a different computer, and learning about some upcoming events at the staff meeting that I don't have much lead time on, to try to get 15 volunteers, for instance.

I realized I didn't have my cell phone with me, and Ray had to stay for a meeting, so I left at 3 and drove home. At 4:20, I went back to pick him up at the end of the bus line. I made supper, we ate after 7, we watched TV.

Monday morning, we took a short walk. It was really too hot and humid, even at 8:30, to be outside much. I took Ray to his office and was at the Land Trust before 10. I talked to two potential volunteers on the phone and listed our volunteer opportunity on a website. By 11:30, I left because I was bored and had nothing to work on.

I went to the bank and made a deposit, I stopped by Wendy's for a sandwich and a milkshake (no fries). I went to the library. It is under construction, part of it being demolished, but the rest of it trying to go on as usual. It was really strange. Then I went to UUFA and helped Shaye reorganize her filing system. We had fun. It needs a lot more work.

I picked up Ray and we went to the pool for an hour or so. We came home and made supper and then I drove to the Fellowship with Karen P. for a meeting on the Green Sanctuary process. It is going to be very slow and frustrating. For starters, we can't really do anything until we are an "official" committee. The Board is meeting tonight, but they can't consider that because it would have had to be put on the agenda a week before. So, I have to make sure it is on the agenda for next month. Then we can start doing the other things, step by step. Here is the website if you want to know more: Green Sanctuary

The meeting lasted an hour. It took us a while to figure out how to lock the front door. Karen and I tried and tried. I called Ray, and tried his suggestions. Then I called Shaye and she told me how to find a key to lock it. When I got home, I fell asleep before 10, watching Jeopardy.

I am not a psychologist. I took an intro to Psychology course in college...omg, that was 35 years ago! I am a social worker, although I am sure the psychologists will tell you, that is not the same thing. However, I believe there is some idea that some people's issues stem from their challenge early in life to separate the self from the other, in that case, their mothers.

I am often surprised to realize I have more in common with my father than my mother, and a little dismayed. My mother is gentle and patient, while I am often not. This may or may not tell you something about my father. Of course, given the crapshoot that is genetics, probably half of us are more like our fathers than our mothers. Still, it seems a little unnatural as a woman, to take after a man. One wonders how much is genetics and how much environment, that age-old question. No doubt about it, my father has a strong personality and dominated our family. In fact, he still does at 83.

My question at this point is how separate is my self from that of my husband's, after 30+ years?

Saturday, Ray and I enjoyed pilates and a visit to the Farmers' Market, where we got some summer squash (ours was done in by borers, we think), potatoes, a pork roast, and some Romano cheese. When we got home, my parents were making pesto in the mortar, by hand. They left us some and went home. Ray and I had lunch. I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about what we'll eat, preparing it and eating it. We've been doing well at cutting back on carbs and Ray has lost some weight. Not eating as much seems to have a bad effect on my depression, though. Hmm.

In the evening, we went to Cine for a showing of Chocolat with Ron and Janna. It was really good. I had missed a lot about the movie. For example, the Mayan connection. When I saw it before, I didn't have a daughter in Mexico, so it wasn't such a big thing. A really fun movie. Then we went to dinner at Big City Bread (review in the works). Ray and I were pretty moderate, ordering salads and splitting an entree, although I did not resist the chocolate mousse. They had beautiful cakes, too. When we got home, I worked on the review right away.

Yesterday morning, we went to church and I stayed for the Social Action meeting. Then Ray mowed some (in 90-degree heat) and we canned 3 pints of tomatoes. It seemed like there were a lot more than that. It was hot, exhausting work, and we didn't eat supper until 8, so I was a basket case.

Sometimes, like yesterday, I feel like my life is so routine, there is really no need to write it down. It's not a bad life, it's just fairly predictable. Get up, work on the computer until it gets light, eat breakfast, go for a walk, pick tomatoes, go to work at the Land Trust. Thursday, I did a couple minor things that people asked me to (like finding out where to recycle styrofoam), and picked up the lawnmower at the repair shop).

Yesterday, I spent hours on the phone with HP, trying to figure out how to get our new computer connected to the internet. Eventually, the technician, who had a heavy Indian or Pakistani accent, said he would send packaging and a shipping label so we could return it. In between, I had to perform all kinds of tests, includling creating a diagnostic CD (fortunately, Nathan was able to get me a blank CD). Several times, I was on hold while he checked with a supervisor, who was the one who finally told me the instructions for returning it. The ethernet card, which is integrated into the motherboard, appears to be defective. After they receive the computer, which is after they send us the return label and packing materials, they will fix it in 7-10 business days. He did offer to cut that time in half for an additonal charge. I laughed and said, "no, I am not going to pay you to repair the brand-new computer that we bought from you but doesn't work." Fortunately, ALT will be able to manage, although it will be nice to have it. The other thing I did yesterday is drive to the recycling center, a little ways out, to take the styrofoam packing materials. Turns out it is not really styrofoam, but plastic, and they do not recyle it. They did take it, however, for some special need, fortunately.

Ray and I went to the pool yesterday. I got tired of swimming pretty quickly, I guess because it has been a while. It was pleasant to sit there in the shade. 

We were home by 4:30. I spend a lot of time and energy on eating these days. Ray and I are trying to eat a lot less carbs and it seems to require an incredible amount of planning. Plus we are eating garden produce as much as we can. Quick, what can you make using tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes) and chard, but no pasta or tortillas? And plenty of protein, but no red meat. It's hard, if you are trying not to use processed foods and to eat good and interesting things. I read cookbooks for hours. We made tomato sauce with ground beef for the freezer. I peeled the tomatoes (by dunking them in boiling water and then cold water) and Ray cut them up, as well as the other ingredients and started cooking it. In addition, I made an eggplant omelet. It was okay, but eggplant sauce with pasta is so much better. And, of course, cooking requires cleaning up, which he does generously and graciously. The meat sauce was too hot to stick in the freezer last night; we left it to cool. It should be okay this morning.

lots of big chard in the sink

will this melon make it?

hummus at the national

Worked for a few hours at ALT, writing thank you letters, and trying to get a new computer on line. Came home for lunch and spent the afternoon on the computer, deleting files to make room for pictures. Wrote another reveiw. Made supper for potluck. Had a pleasant time with 6 other people. Came home, watched TV, went to bed a little after 9.

Ray had a bad headache yesterday morning, so stayed in bed. I picked a few things in the garden, including chard for supper, and foudn dodder. Dodder is like a horror movie. It is just tendrils, no leaves or roots, that wrap around the plants and choke them. I put it in the burn pile and my Dad burned it, but it hwas been in that same part of the garden before. It must be in the soil. I washed the chard, one and a half pounds of it, and cooked shrimp for dinner.

I went to the Land Trust and did a small amount of work. I had lunch with Becky (and Lara). She is getting ready to go to California and work, with a horse trainer. I went back to the office for the staff meeting. They have hired a Housing Program Assistant, who is an attorney and former intern. I feel used and abused, having put in so much time for free, and being told there was no money to hire anyone. Six months I've been working there. I went home, since I wasn't doing anything anyway, and Ray was home. I bought some yogurt at Daily Groceries, $5 for the cheapest kind they had, but I didn't want to go to the store. It was convenient, and local.

When I got home, I peeled the shrimp and cut them up, as well as some tomatoes. My parents came back to get their laundry. They hadn't had any lunch, so I gave them leftover potato salad (they added mayonnaise) and a few other things, including peaches from the garden.

I did some work on my computer and Ray and I ate dinner late and watched TV.

We celebrated Independence Day by saying goodbye to Amelia. She took some basil and other herbs. I picked more tomatoes and a few more berries. The mornings are quite pleasant for a couple hours. I made potato salad, but I decided not to put in the mayonnaise.

We picked up my parents and went to swim in Becky's pool. It was lovely and cool. She had snacks for us: drinks and chips and carrots and dips. We all really enjoyed it. It began to thunder as we were leaving. We took my parents home and went on to Le'Ann's, where there were many people, most of whom we had known a long time ago, including ther two children, now adults. There was lots of good food, but we were all crowded in the house because of the rain and it got pretty warm in there. It was great to hear her talk about teaching with Janna, although a little depressing. I told her I would come volunteer in her class when she needed me and she said she would call me. We were home before 6 and had time to sit around for awhile. I ate some leftovers and a little frozen yogurt. We watched fireworks on TV (and Steve Martin playing banjo) and went to bed early.

Yesterday was mostly good. Picked a few tomatoes, made a special eggplant quiche for lunch. We went to the Fellowship. Ray had to do the sound, but Amelia and I were specatators in a service involving members of the congregation sharing readings about Freedom. There were fewer people there than usual.

My parents joined us for lunch: the quiche and a salad made of beans from the freezer with an herb-y dressing. There was also some leftover birthday cake and very ripe peaches, and iced tea my Mom made. We chatted a bit and they left. Amelia and I went to see Bertha, bringing a quilt Amelia had made. She had bought Bertha's sewing machine and has lots of her tools and materials: scissors, threads, bolts of fabric. It is a little easier to talk to Bertha now. Janna asks her questions and waits for her to answer, which she usually does, although it clearly takes an effort. I talked some with Amelia on the way home about my recent philosophical wrestling with questions involving quality and length of life, in a world with limited resources.

We came home and had a light supper Ray made: a delicious kidney bean and onion salad. We added some garden lettuce and cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. Then we went to Buffalo's to play trivia, meeting my parents there. We had won there once before. It is not our favorite setup, but they have a Sunday night game. We won again! One of the things we don't like about it, is we won $35, but in $5 coupons that must be used one at a time, not on a trivia night. We would not willingly eat there, so we don't use them. Last time, we were in a separate room in back, but now they have the tables in the regular dining room and it was hard to hear. A group near us was not playing, so naturally talked through the questions. And Ray was very angry, because they added up the scores wrong and we didn't really win. I had to talk him out of telling them. I just thought it would be unpleasant--and it was possible he was wrong and had misunderstood or miscalculated himself. What do you think? Is it unethical to take advantage of the moderator's math error? I felt useful; I knew some of the answers, even one that no one else in our group knew. Can you name the four railroads in Monopoly?

We had a long chat with Molli on Skype before we went to bed. This morning I woke up with these thoughts about Holovetsians in my head; I guess I was dreaming about them. Check out the link and add your ideas to mine. 

Holovetsians are very precise. They live in tidy houses that are all set back the same distance from the lane, with walkways centered exactly in front of their front doors, which are in the precise middle of the house, up a certain number of steps, with a front porch running the width of the house. They are painted in bright colors, the significance of which has not yet been determined by space anthropologists. The edges of the walk and the front of the porch are planted with bright flowers, and the sides of the house with vegetables. The backyard is fenced, the fencing uniform and shared by the neighbors beside and behind, and is used for their outdoor family games. No measuring devices have been observed. They appear to have an innate ability to measure distances accurately without any tools.

Each Holovetsian couple has two children, except for the Head Couple. They are required to maintain the size of the community by having as many children as it takes to replace any couples who do not reproduce. Sometimes these children are given to other Head Couples to do not have their own children, for whatever reason. Occasionally, the Heads will award some of these additional children to a couple who already have two children as a reward for outstanding community acts, but this is rare.

Holovetsians wear colorful clothes and pointed red hats, which they have never been seen to remove. It is not known if their heads are pointed, or how the hats stay on. They are shorter and smaller than humans and thus, their houses are smaller. It has been difficult to observe the interiors as of yet, but they appear to be two stories, with a full basement.

If you know any additional facts about Holovetsians, please post them for everyone's enlightenment.

It's too bad I can't seem to enjoy Amelia's visit as much as I should, feeling sad about her leaving again while she's here.

We had a lovely time yesterday, starting with breakfast and checking out the garden while it was still cool. By 9:30 it was really too hot to be out. My parents spent a couple hours with us. Amelia mainly worked on the cake for Gloria's sister's birthday. She left at 12:30. Ray and I cleaned up some, ate some lunch, and read or otherwise relaxed for a while. I started on a fancy eggplant quiche for today.

Amelia came home about 4:30 and told us about the party. Then we put on our swimsuits and headed to the Dunns' pool. Gloria was working on food for all of us, but the life of the party was Loretta, Amelia's friend Becky's daughter. Her name is Loretta Amelia, and Amelia is her godmother. She is almost three and very cute, with long blond hair and bangs. Her Mom had a floatie for her to wear and we all encouraged her to come in and swim with us, but she mainly sat on the steps and splashed people. Even so, we mostly didn't do anything but watch her!

At 7:30, just as the food was being served, we left for the National, where 4 of our friends were meeting us for dinner after they saw a movie. They were excited to see Amelia and talk to her and the food was very good. It was a little loud in the restaurant and hard to hear across the table. 

We came home about 10 and went to bed. 

Amelia's home!

She was at the beach in Panama City, on vacation with Kevin's family, and I had a vague notion that she would be passing through Athens at some point and we would get to see her briefly. When she called at 10 Thursday night, I was half asleep and didn't really take it in.

Yesterday, when I got to the Land Trust a little before 10, Nathan was back from his vacation in Maine (jealous!) and I moved to Nancy's office for the time being. There was a volunteer (Daniel) waiting that I knew nothing about. Nathan put him to work at the office, raking leaves and doing outside work. I was a little miffed that someone told him to come on when I had two other people working already and broken equipment. But George never showed up after working 5 hours on Wednesday. And Daniel was able to restring the weed-eater after Kate told me that was all that was wrong with it.

I had to go get the van from Kate's house (no air conditioning), have Daniel put the mower in for me, and drive it to the repair shop. They were busy there. When it was my turn, they took it out for me and assured me that they would let me know by next Friday if it could be fixed inexpensively. I got a chicken sandwich from McDonald's and a fruit smoothie and made copies of some keys for Heather. I also talked to her about interviewing potential homeowners and taking more responsibility for them.

I left at 3 after conversations with Ray and Amelia and went to EarthFare to buy some things. When I got home (it was in the 90s), I looked for a recipe I wanted to make for Amelia, but couldn't find it anywhere. It was a bean salad and a ratatouille-like salad with eggplant that I thought she would really like and I was frustrated not to be able to locate it. In the end, though, I decided that since we already had ratatouille, there was no need to make more. I just marinated some beans and the broccoli my parents had picked. There was also corn on the cob at the store (although it turned out to be old and not very good). We tidied some and made the beds. Amelia got here a little after 7, in spite of the holiday weekend traffic, so that was really nice. I gave a bag of home-grown tomatoes to Gloria and she was excited. I told her there were many more and she assured me she could eat them as fast as I could grow them.

After dinner, Amelia made a large birthday cake (sheet cake) for Gloria's sister's birthday. Trish is in hospice. She has cancer and diabetes and COPD and this is her last birthday. Gloria is bringing people to the nursing home where she is to celebrate. I am not sure that is what I would want, but I hope she enjoys it.

Looking sunny and hot already this morning, but the AC is running.

Yesterday morning, I was at the office by 9, to meet a new volunteer. I was surprsed to find lots of other people there. Apparently there was a big garden meeting at 9:30.

There was a note for me: Have her water the plants out front first thing. So I did, and she did. And filled out an application for me. Then we took the lawnmower and the weedeater in the old van and drove to a couple vacant lots. I left her there with water and insrructions to call me if she needed anything. It was going to be another hot one.

I had been back at the office long enough to do everything useful I could think of when the phone rang. She had hit something with the mower (a piece of rebar, it turns out, sticking out of the ground) and it wouldn't start. If I had a screwdriver, she was sure she could fix it. I couldn't find a screwdriver. I went to a hardware store and bought some, but the cord is broken. Meanwhile, the weedeater worked okay for a while, but then it stopped cutting too. Eventually, we loaded everything back in the van and came back to the office. It was not very productive. I felt completely stupid. I have never used a weed-eater or mowed a lawn and don't know how to fix them. Other people at ALT were busy and it didn't seem worth interrupting them. This morning I will have to find out about getting them fixed.

Meanwhile, I headed home about 1:30 to get something to eat. Homegrown tomato with cheese sandwich. Ray and I spent the afternoon appreciating the air conditioning. I worked on another review for Patch. Later, we made dinner together. It was good, but too hot. We pretty much only want cold food now. I have to make more main-dish salads. I went outside for a bit, but it was still over 80 and I sweat a lot. Picked more tomatoes and some broccoli.