I caught the other gopher

 

Tuesday

I got up before 7:30, as Chris was taking his shower. I hadn't slept well even though I took only one drop of progesterone. Then again, I forgot to turn off my phone last night. I began the morning list, I exercised and practiced all three songs for Sunday. For some reason, it was easier at home than at church. I watered all the outdoor plants.

I checked e-mail, then went out to flush all the gopher holes, squish their tunnels and rake the mounds. There were quite a few on both sides of the house. I had to hose down my legs afterward.

I washed dishes that were sitting in the sink.  I went to the garden. I bagged the gopher from yesterday. One trap had been covered in dirt. I reset both traps, and added a soaker hose to the sprinkler set-up.

I went home, ate fiber gel, then read my book. I made and ate breakfast while reading e-mail. I walked to the post office but there was no mail. I tried to catch up on messages.

I went to the commissary for canning jars at Jenni's request. Lots of people I know were there at the same time. I ate fish for supper. Chris came home from work and fixed himself supper.

I went to the chapel at 6. I sat in the fellowship hall and finished picking out the stitches on a pair of shorts, then I ironed the pieces and pinned them to the fabric. I rolled up the project and threw it in the sewing room.

I went to Michelle's house where she was setting up for an early birthday party for Cedric. The Clarks came over and we had cake. Then I raced back to the chapel for Bible study. I was in charge of chapter 32. We read it and discussed it and many other things. It was almost 9 when we left.

I went to the garden. Another gopher was caught in the trap, but not dead. I put it in the bucket.  My garden should be safe now.   I watered a bit with the hose. I went home, made tea, and we watched TV. I worked on my blog, then read other things before going to bed.

Yogurt and cheese

 

Monday

I got up at 8, having slept pretty well. I brought in the milk and eggs. I pulled the yogurts from the dehydrator. I started the morning list. Having so much yogurt, I decided to make cheese instead. I heated and cooled half a gallon of milk for future yogurt and cheesed the other half with rennet. I soaked sunflower seeds and added them to the fermented cashew butter for Michelle.

I ate fiber gel, then hardboiled a batch of eggs. I posted to the Facebook pages for band and used my last music meme. I laid out in the sun and read a book. I came in and made breakfast. Faye texted me more music memes. I ate breakfast. I walked to the post office to get the mail.

The library wanted some fabric for a project they are doing on Wednesday. So I picked out some I could part with. I also packed gopher traps in my car. Then I drove to the library to deliver the fabric. I went to the garden, watching the engine temp meter rise. I found places to put the traps. I watered here and there. I pulled mint because it is taking over.

I drove home. I called William to see if there was anything I could do to keep my engine cooler. I looked online and one guy said to remove the thermostat and drive to the repair place without it. I cleaned my trombone slide and packed it to take to the chapel. I had a bite to eat and jotted notes for my blog.

I went to the chapel for band. Chaplain was there, all dressed up like Patrick Henry. He had a costume for Chris as well. Keli came, as did Sophia, but he talked to us until Chris came. Then he had Chris say his part while Popken adjusted the sound. Then we played our hymns and chaplain said some of his part so he could time the music.

All in all, we left late and didn't play much.

When we got home, I ate some cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. I worked on my blog. I watered gopher mounds in the yard, but no gophers came up. When I heard the sprinklers come on, I headed for the driveway as the nearest safe place. I caught my breath and drove to the garden.

When I checked the first trap, there was a gopher partially caught in it. Sadly it was still alive. I put it in the bucket while I watered what needed watering. Then I released it from the trap and reset the trap in the same hole.

When I got home, I made tea and we watched an episode of Criminal Minds. Michelle came over to get the fermented cheese. She took some whey as well. After the show, I worked on my blog and listened to part of a video discussion. Then I went to bed.

Tau Day

 

Sunday

I got up at 8, not having slept well due to RLS. I wondered if it had anything to do with the progesterone drops. RLS and hot flashes never coincide.

I began the morning list, then worked on the pies. First, there weren't any bananas left. I was going to use the last one to make an oat/banana crust. So I substituted butter in one crust and bacon fat in the other one. But neither one did well. There wasn't quite enough dough. I pressed it into the two pie plates and baked them. But they did not get hard. Then I worked on pie fillings. One was a tomato/cashew cream pie. And there wasn't enough cashew cream. So I ended up throwing grated cheese over it. The other was just cashew cream. Still didn't fill the pie plate, so I threw in the firmest yogurt I had. I used the rest of my soaked cashews to make cashew butter. I made a batch of cheese squares but cut them out as circles. I ate fiber gel, then made up a week's worth of supplements. I ate the leftover tomatoes and the cheese from between the circles as breakfast.

I got dressed for church and took the cheese circle and the no-bake pie to the chapel. My engine was heating up quickly. I put the pie in the freezer at church, then assembled my trombone. I chatted with people till the service started. After the service, I played the two hymns with only Sophia for accompaniment. I decided I should only be playing the small bore trombone in public.

I chatted with John. He came out to look at my car, said it was probably the thermostat. It was hard to get at. I called Chris to bring the other pie and the two canisters of whipped cream. When he brought them, we walked back inside. Pies were on a table to the side of the room. I added mine and Michelle brought some plus one from Steve who couldn't be there.

Popken said a prayer and I explained to the group what pi and tau meant and that all their personal numerical info was contained somewhere in the unending digits of pi and tau. Then people lined up to get pie, both savory and sweet. After I ate, I gathered a group of people and gave each one a note to play (on some vibe sticks that Eryne brought). We played through the first 50 digits of Tau and then of pi.  I told the chaplain that my pin number was the last four digits of pi and he thought that was hilarious.  

 Then people fellowshipped and cleaned up and left. I washed some knives in the kitchen and cut a finger. Then the chaplain helped me carry out the whipping cream while I carried the pie remains. There was a little tomato pie left. Of the yogurt pie, only oat crust crumbles were left.

When I got home, I changed clothes. There was a lot of oat crumbs left.  So I scooped up as much as I could, added cinnamon and took a spoonful.  It was ok.  I added some whey from one of the yogurts and let it ferment.  

Saronna came by to get the chapel key because she left stuff in the fellowship hall. She also took my porch spider. When she came back with the key, she had some empty jars for me. She said they put the spider in their garden. Randy looked under my hood and said he would check online to see where the thermostat sits. 

 I put out the cooler. I got ready for gaming. At 5 we signed into Discord. Surprisingly, there was not a lot of pre-game chatter. We got right into the game, which was a battle we got into last time. I had trouble figuring out exactly where we left off. So each time it was my turn, I just asked if anybody needed healing. That was my greatest contribution to the war effort. And it ended early.

Chris drove me over to the school. We met John and Michele. I went walking with them, but Chris went home. After we completed the circle, they walked home and I walked to the garden. I watered and pulled weeds. Gophers had eaten some of the petunias. I made a mental note to bring traps and another sprinkler.

I called Chris and he picked me up. When we got home, we took the three water jugs and went to the water machine to fill them. After that, I made tea and we watched an episode of Criminal Minds. I looked some actors that looked familiar. I worked on my blog. I read a few messages, then went to bed.

Researching healthy pie and crust recipes

 

Saturday

I got up around 7. Chris was already up. I decluttered the kitchen and started on my morning list. Chris went to Mass. I looked at pie recipes, then decided there wasn't time. I went out to water the plants and flush some gopher tunnels. I put the solar lantern out to recharge. I ate 4 yogurts. I read e-mail and messages.

Chris came home and gave me a massage. I took a shower while he got started on the laundry. I went to the commissary for whipped cream for tomorrow. I read outside in the sun.

I made and ate breakfast. I went back to looking at pie recipes. I took a bucket of cleaners and a jar of yogurt and drove to Tina's house. We talked while I cleaned and dusted shelves of books and videos. Then she paid me, we talked some more, and I went home.

Casey came over to get a pan and a bottle of the pink stuff (pink acid for toilets). Chris cooked fish for supper. John and Michele came over to eat and talk. Then I went to the chapel for Project Night.

I unlocked the doors. I wrote the first 50 digits of pi and tau on the white board. I picked up thread and scraps from the floor. Victoria arrived with crochet. John and Michele were not far behind. I started on my project. Casey and Cedric came. I spent most of the night picking stitches out of a pair of shorts so I could use them as a pattern. Eventually, only Casey and Cedric were left. They walked out with me.

They got in their car and I drove mine home. The sprinklers were on full blast. Unexpected since the power outage requires the system to be switched back on. I changed into pants, then went to the garden to water the corners. It was windy. As I drove home, I realized my engine was hotter than normal.

I made tea. We watched an episode of Criminal Minds, then folded laundry and dressed the bed. I looked at more crust and pie recipes because I had left my notes at the chapel. I posted to my blog and went to bed.

No tubing after all

 

Friday

I woke up before 7. Chris was sleeping on the couch because he had to get up at 4 to take his antibiotic. I went through part of the morning list and then Michelle called. We talked about what to pack or not or to buy on the way to the Provo River. She wanted to leave in 20 minutes and I was getting a little frenzied. We hung up so I could get to it. But as I was packing, she called back to say Cedric was sick so Casey was staying home with him and they would reschedule the trip. We had all bought tickets but she thought they would allow them to be used on another day.

So my day opened up. I went outside to water all the plants. Then I came in to practice and eat yogurt. I refilled the jars with milk and put them in the dehydrator to cure. Then I worked on the payoff letter. Halfway through, OpenOffice crashed and I had to do it all over again. Then Steve called. As I talked with him, I added some numbers and recalculated some numbers to be certain. Then after his call, I finished the letter and e-mailed it to Melanie.

I read e-mail. Jack came by to get keys from Chris. We chatted and he left. I went back to e-mail. I trimmed the tree that is shading my lounger. I laid out in the sun. I made and ate breakfast. We went to the commissary for a few things, then came back and put them away. We went to Tooele to shop at the usual places.

When we got home, the power was out. Chris called people and I texted people, looking for information. Turns out the power company shut it off due to wild fires. I went to the garden to pull weeds and put out more sonic stakes. Something took out a sunflower that was growing really well. I poured some reeking water on the plants to make them taste bad.

When I got home, I went out to mow for awhile. Afterward, I was going to lay down, but decided to read while there was still light. So I sat outside and read for awhile. Then I got ready for Game Night and took a solar lantern.

Michelle invited me in. When she saw my lantern, she got out the one I gave her. I talked to her and Cedric until Casey came back from the garden. Then we played a game called Labyrinth. It was kind of fun. The power came back on.

When the game was over, Casey called up Indiana Jones. I loaded the last save and tried to go back to get a treasure I missed, but couldn't make the jump. So then I tried to jump onto the bridge. But I couldn't manage that either. Casey tried as well. Then the figure got stuck and he had to reboot. But it didn't come back right. Lots of fiddling later, we decided to call it a night.

I thanked him and walked out to my car. Then he brought out my phone which Michelle had plugged in to recharge. I thanked him again and went home. Chris was just going to bed. I put my yogurts in the fridge and hoped they weren't too far gone. Then I worked on my blog and went to bed.

Dugway Days

 

Thursday

I got up at 7:30, and started the morning list. After watering, I worked on gopher mounds. A gopher came up for air and … never went back down. I refilled all my watering containers.

I read e-mail. I got a message asking how much to pay off the loans. They suggested two numbers and I tried to replicate them through online calculators without success.

I laid out in the sun and then made breakfast. I watched The Highwire for awhile. Then paused it so I could work on the loan payoff info.

Isadora came at 2. I got her started on cleaning the tubs and toilets. We went to the swap shop to look for water shoes again. I found a nice pair that I swear were not there yesterday, but was able to kick them off pretty easily. Michelle came by to drop off some stuff. She insisted that we stop at WalMart tomorrow and buy such shoes.  We all went home. I continued to work the numbers, not getting what they got.

I put on a bathing suit and tied a wrap around me. I parked at the chapel, went to pavillion for Dugway Days, already in progress. I talked to Michelle and Ria. I checked out the petting zoo, then went back to the pavillion. Jack told me that he changed his watering to every 3 hours and now his plants are growing. Isadora wanted to go to the petting zoo, so I went again, This time Michele and John were there. We petted a snake, rabbits, chinchilla, lizard relatives, pot belly pig, goats, and a few others. 

 Isadora and I went in the pool. We swam around, trying to stay away from kids jumping off the side and splashing. I watched Isadora go down the big slide, twice. W went down the small slide, swam around some more. I talked to some kids, and Bryce. I got cold and Isadora said she was ready to go, so we got out and toweled off. I found Chris and we walked back to the chapel parking lot.

When I got home, I mowed until the sprinklers came on. But they never did. So I quit around 9, then went to the garden to water the corners. I changed the timer to water less time but more often. I noticed there were fewer squash plants. Grrr. I went home and worked on my blog. 

There wasn't time for TV. Before 10, we went to a parking lot by the parade field and watched fireworks. They lasted about 15 minutes. When we got home, I finished watching The Highwire, then looked for cheese and cashew pie recipes. Finally I went to bed.

Shoes for tubing

 

Wednesday

I slept well and woke with the alarm. Chris had gone to work. I prepared for coffee morning. I watered the plants outside, then proceeded with meditation. I cleaned the house, including bathrooms and kitchen and dishes. I read outside in the sun. I sat for a steam session, then showered and dressed. I read some e-mail, then ate a mixture of yogurts. I watched tubing videos, hoping to see what to be prepared for. I looked at Tao Day flyers. Chris came home early because of an awards ceremony.

I went to swap shop to find water shoes and came home with sandals that I thought would work. I also picked up the mail. When I got home, I mowed until the rain hit. I plugged in the battery to recharge. I sent a pic of the sandals to Michelle, but she didn't think they were grippy enough. I looked at water shoes online.

I looked for the highest safe dosage of Krill Oil. One study gave mice a dose that created amazing benefits, but when I applied it to my weight, it was almost 3 grams a day. Another study used a dosage in units I'd never seen before.

Janet posted pics of her new baby. So cute! I didn't bother going to the garden because of the rain. I made tea and we watched an episode of Criminal Minds. I ordered my ticket for tubing. I read some messages and went to bed.