Molli took this a couple years ago.

Woke up hot and sweaty, turned the AC down. Got up early because i went to bed before 9:30.

Worked, met with Sara Ruth, worked on class, ate dinner, taught budgeting class, watched TV. I am looking forward to my travels, starting with the beach this weekend. I have to get this project done and pack by tomorrow night. I can do it.

I got my bill for next semester. It is over $1200 for one class! I don't think I am going to do it. I have to work more than a month to earn that much and it is due August 7. And I am not getting paid for my vacation time, of course.

Well, yesterday I slept until almost 7, so no time to post. Not much time today either. It is hot and humid, so not great for sleeping. We had the windows open last night, but the AC came on this morning, meaning it is at least 78 in here, so I closed it all up again.

All day Sunday was heavily overcast, a little cooler, and threatening rain. In the end, it started to rain a few times, but never managed it. The Captain even had to water everything yesterday. It is still overcast, but only a 20% chance of rain.

We had an enjoyable day, going to church to hear people on the top of why I love my country? Interesting stories from children of immigrants, especially, and a summary of Thomas Paine's life and writing Common Sense. I'll have to read it.

We made some tomato sauce and a great dinner. Vanessa made blueberry pie! We also managed half a game of Oh Hell. And I got some school work done.

Yesterday, I worked 6 hours, went to lunch with Ray, went swimming with Ray and worked in the library with Sara Ruth for 2 1/2 hours, then worked some more at home.

Another old picture, from a trip to Cape Cod, a great place to be, especially in the summer.

It is not quite as cool this morning, and a little damper. It is supposed to rain this afternoon. I certainly hope so, even if it is just a thunderstorm.

We got the strawberries in the ground yesterday, with a 6 ft. fence around them. Hopefully, they will live and prosper safely there. Ray started putting the fence around the fruit trees too. He gathered up the peach pits for me, in case we want to plant them. (I don't know if they might be hybrids).

Yesterday started with a disappointment. Our trip to the blueberry farm was something of a bust. We were there before 10:30, but he said the berries were mostly gone. He had so many people there, he had to close the gates for a few hours. There were some berries, but mainly they were soft and dried up, perhaps from not enough rain. There were also green berries that fell off the bush when touched. We did manage to find a few good ones, mostly Ray and Vanessa. I picked probably less than a pint. Vanessa is promising a blueberry pie, so I don't think we'll freeze any. Pancakes this morning! Deb Brenner said she went to a new place around the corner from there, called Whippoorwill Blueberry Farm, and they were good. Apparently they have early varieties--sounds like it's more expensive though. Miller Blueberries (where we went) has new owners, so maybe they are not managing them as well. They told us yesterday they water 16 hours a day, but still can't do without rain.

We had a lovely Fourth of July evening. After a little school work, we went first to Alison's, where we met Chris's family and ate some great holiday food, and then to Janna's. She grilled turkey kielbasa and some real beef hot dogs. She had grilled onions, French bread as well as hot dog rolls, red, white and blue fruit salad (berries and bananas) with just a little lemon juice, Mom's potato salad, John's green salad. Bertha was there, looking good (she may have lost some weight?), John and Debbie, Kent, and the four of us. We had a lovely time, talking about anything and everything. My parents have gotten to know most of them quite well, and the Captain especially likes talking to Debbie and John, who seem to have the knack of relating well to all different kinds of people. Debbie had been helping Jaime pack up and get rid of stuff before moving to Lake Tahoe to take an AmeriCorps job for a year.

We had brought the ice cream freezer and the mix for lemon sherbet. We stopped to get ice for it. So after supper, we churned on the back deck for almost an hour. Kent took a turn and so did Deb. It was delicious and there is even a little bit left in our freezer now. Janna and Ron took a small taste each. They seem to be doing well.

We talked about our trip to Fripp next weekend. Debbie was coordinating the menu. I was talking about my realization that my class meets for the last time next Friday. We came up with a plan to drop me at an internet cafe of some sort in Beaufort (which I have to research) and Ron and Janna will pick me up when they come through.

None of us (except Kent) actually watched the fireworks. The four of us came home and watched some on TV. Barry Manilow was in DC and Neil Diamond on another channel in Boston. They both can apparently still sing and the crowds were singing along with them. I knew all the songs and was a little jealous, although it was comfortable to be home. This morning, when I woke up, I had been dreaming that I was somehow backstage with the Neil Diamond show, talking to his family and being helpful in some way. It was very amusing.

It's cool and lovely again this morning. I need my slippers on. With the windows open, there are birds twittering, a rooster now and then and a neighbor's dog barking. It's definitely morning at 6 am and I wouldn't want to waste this pleasant time of day. But I went back down to watch the rest of I am Sam (even though I had seen it before) after I tried to go to bed at 10--it wasn't over until 11:30 and I thought I could sleep a little later today. Ha! If I don't have a little nap this afternoon, I won't make it to the fireworks.

We (mostly Ray) worked some on fencing the strawberry patch, so I will set them in this morning and hope for rain. There's only a 10% chance forecast.

After lunch, I spent some time on my plan for my budgeting class. I made some progress, but like so many things, there is as much work to do as I am willing to put in time. I realized that my last class is Friday night and I had been planning to go to Fripp Island with our friends Friday afternoon. I emailed Sara Ruth to see how she felt about doing the presentation without me.

Then I made supper, we ate it, watched 4 hours of TV and went to bed.

Another lovely cool morning--and I don't have to go to work! Ray's grades are entered for the summer semester and he doesn't teach again until mid-August. Yesterday was a little wild for me. I worked in the morning, with the usual pattern. A little bit of activity early (the residents are supposed to leave by 9) and then a good quiet stretch when I can get some hard stuff done, and then it gets crazy again with the case manager and Americorps volunteers arriving, and then Alison. The residents can come back for lunch, too.

The thing that I do that takes up most of my time is submit expenses for reimbursement by grants. There are 7 main grants. One reimburses the shelter case manager's salary, up to a certain amount. Three reimburse Job TREC expenses, with slight variations. One pays for all of some salaries and a percentage of others. Some require copies of reciepts to be attached. Alison has to sign all of them before they are submitted. Anyway, keeping track of what can be reimbursed by whom, making copies and mailing them off is my biggest job. After I get it down, it may take a little less time, but at the moment, it's pretty intense. Five of the grants run from July 1 - June 30, so the grant years just ended and we have to submit everything we can to use them up. There was $28.50 left in one that covers child care, so that is only part of one bill. Some things can't be reimbursed, like buying dish soap, so individual donations cover those.

Yesterday, I had a quick lunch with Janna, picked Ray up to take him to his doctor's appointment and then go back to work. He figured out it made more sense for him to take the car and come back for me. So we were home by 4. Vanessa and the Captain had made vichysoisse, with a lot of cream and homemade chicken stock. It was really yummy. She had also made blueberry muffins. I think they were a little offended that I suggested some pasta as well. He peeled some tomatoes for me and I made a tomato-garlic sauce to go with pasta and sliced up some cucumbers with a dill dressing. Also fresh oregano in the tomato sauce. It was a lovely meal.

Some who know me know that Overboad and The Matrix are two of my favorite movies, while quite different. They were both on last night, so I had to switch back and forth for a while!

I have chiggers again--I think I had them about this time last year. The way for me not to get chiggers is always take a shower after I have been outside in the grass at all. The other night Ray and I looked at where the fence will go for the strawberry patch. At first, I thought it was mosquitoes, but now I realize they are concentrated behind my knees. They will eventually go away.

I've been working for over a month!

I woke up with cold feet. They are right under the fan. Also I seem to have a million mosquito bites. Captain thinks gnats come in through the screens and bite him. I wonder if they get me at the pool and I don't notice. They especially like the backs of my knees and other delicate areas.

Work was okay. Swimming was okay. Carol Meyers has been at the pool the last few days, so that has been fun. I worked some on a UUFA project I am responsible for. And then we went to potluck for the first time in a while. It was a small group (no choir or drum circle), but the food was very good. Homemade bread pudding and chocolate cake, as well as a variety of good main courses and salads. I made cole slaw with cabbage from our garden, as well as pepper, cherry tomatoes, scallions, and parsley. And store bought carrots and celery. It was good.

Another pleasantly cool morning, which should have been really good for sleeping. Instead I was lying awake for about an hour before I got up. Maybe there was a noise outside that woke me (since the windows are open). More likely, I am feeling guilty because I made a mistake in my work that has caused someone suffering. One of the night staff had asked me to discontinue direct depositing his pay check. Last time (mid-June), I was able to do that. This time, I failed to notice that the program had automatically reverted to direct deposit. He came by yesterday to get his check (which he needs to pay his rent) and there was not one. My boss called it "an honest mistake," which doesn't really make me feel better, although I am glad she is not angry at me. Apparently, his account is overdrawn, which means his paycheck will be eaten up by all those bounced check fees. There is nothing I can do to make it better at this point. Obviously, I will make sure it is right next time.

Or maybe I am worrying about the class that I have to design and teach and write about before July 10. I finished most of the reading and other preparation before last night's online class, and there won't be any more until the 10th, when each group will make a ten-minute presentation of their project. Sara Ruth and I are planning a class on budgeting for the residents at the homeless shelter. As uaual, it sounded like a good idea when I came up with it a few weeks ago.

It has been about a month since I started working. I am still very happy to be working there. I mostly like the people I work with and the work I am doing. I love getting paid. But of course, I am beginning to wish I could make more money. I am making a living wage ($15/hour). That means it will take about a month's earnings to make enough to pay for the plane tickets to Mexico. That credit card bill is due soon, and Ray doesn't get paid in the summer. The mortgage has to be paid today too. I know I am very lucky, though.

I worked in the morning, went to the pool, and bought $200 worth of fencing for the peach tree and the strawberry bed before coming home to work on my class, eat dinner, watch TV and go to bed.