Wildfire

 

Friday

I got up before 7:30 with RLS. I started the morning list. I watered the plants. I found a gopher in one trap. The other trap was covered in dirt. I reset the traps in other places. I watered a hole. The gopher ran out and never came back.

I practiced. I checked the cooler and found ground beef had been delivered. I read e-mail. I warmed up the old computer so I could print out a file. I updated the file, then put it on a thumb drive. I plugged it into the old computer, but was never actually able to get it to print. I walked to the swap shop and threw inside the stuff someone left by the door. I laid out the shoes. I checked our post office box.

When I got back, I posted for the swap shop. I made a flyer. I tried printing again, then sent the files to his work e-mail. Chris went to the office to print the flyer and document.

I read e-mail, then made and ate lunch. I moved the tall trap. The old computer still not printing. I tried making a copy of the flyer Chris printed. Eventually it did, but it wasn't a great copy. I watched part of the tapping summit. I made a grocery list. We went to the commissary and got nearly everything. So we didn't go to Tooele. I texted Tina about cleaning tomorrow. I worked on my blog.

I ate fish for supper. I walked to the swap shop to lock up and stayed to clean up the toys some kids had left.  Two plumes of smoke could be seen in the distance - evidence of a wildfire 2 miles away.   I went to the garden to check on the water. I put dryer sheets on little sticks all around the plot to ward off deer.

When I got home, I prepared for Game Night with a bottle of tea and a baggie of cheese squares. I drove to Michelle's house. She was sitting outside with her laptop so I joined her for awhile. Later I went inside to play Indiana Jones. Casey shot the bad guys for me, then I took over and explored the Nazi station. I came out with an inflatable raft. I saved the game, then went down the river and scraped a hole in the raft which eventually sank.

I left that game to play Michelle's game which was called Little Bang Story. It's a cute game. I paused it at 11, but she kept talking so I went back to playing. It was almost midnight before I left. When I got home, Chris was in bed. I got ready and went to bed.

Kelp fertilizer for the garden

 

Thursday

RLS woke me up around 6:30, but I stayed in bed until Chris left for work. I did some Sudoku, and brushed my teeth. I went to the kitchen to get through my morning list. At 9, I went to the garden. I watched the sprinkler run. I watered the edges which still seemed dry. I sprayed a tumeric solution on the plants. I pulled mint and weeds. I dug up a sunflower and brought it home to plant in the flowerbed where nothing else grows.

When I got home, I texted Saronna and Keli about yogurt. Then I took a jar to Saronna and chatted with the family. Then I went to the library and dropped off a jar for Keli.

Just then Melanie called me, so I headed out. She needed some figures so when I got home, I ate fiber gel and sent her pics of the loan numbers.

I made breakfast and ate it while watching The Highwire. I stayed by my laptop all afternoon so I could respond to her e-mails quickly. I took a break to repair a bag Chris got at work. I read e-mail and articles and messages.

Chris came home with a pizza. He baked some fish for me. I ran to the library to print out some forms and to get another book. When I got home, I signed the forms and took pics. I sent them off, then ate the fish and continued reading.

I went out to wash dirt back into the gopher holes and to set traps. But on the second mound, the critter came up for air. And … a trap was no longer necessary. I attacked a third mound and set the second trap there.

I emptied the spray bottle of tumeric solution and refilled it with a dilution of kelp. I worked on my blog before going to the garden to spray it on the plants. When I got back, I sprayed the home plants, then made tea and we watched TV. Chris and I both read online till bedtime.

Finally finished a pair of shorts

 

Wednesday

I got up before 7, then laid down until Chris left for work. I prepared for Coffee Morning by straightening up the kitchen, heating coffee and doing exercises. I watered the plants inside and out. I read with the red light. After 4 rounds of tapping and meditation, I cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen. I washed dishes, mopped, and vacuumed.

I laid out in the hot sun for awhile. I checked e-mail, then took a 20 minute steam session. After that, I showered and dressed. I went back to e-mail for awhile. I ate some yogurts, went through more e-mails. I addressed a loan-related request. I made egg salad and hardboiled a dozen eggs.

I went outside to address gopher mounds. No gophers appeared. I stomped the tunnels with my feet and hosed my feet off. Chris came home. We chatted.

I finished making the gray shorts. It got windy outside. I worked on my blog because the internet was down, then it came back up. I sat outside and ate some cashews until I heard gurgling sounds all around me. I ran to the back porch to avoid getting wet.

I went to the garden to run the sprinkler and see if it was covering everything. Because of the wind, it wasn't. I tried to tweak it and got wet. I watered some things with the milk jugs, then went home.

I made tea and we watched an episode of Criminal Minds. Then I looked up one of the actors. I worked on e-mail, then went to bed.

Packing up the decorations

 

Tuesday

I woke up at 6:30. The back porch dry even though the sprinklers should have been running. I went back to bed and got up at 7. The milk and eggs were not here yet. After Chris left, I started working my morning list.

I flooded gopher tunnels and leveled mounds, but then the extra-long hose separated. I ate a selection of yogurts. I started a kimchi yogurt with whipped cream from the can.

I went to the garden and turned on the sprinkler and it sprayed everything! So apparently someone else is also watering at my usual time. I changed the start time. I took some compost to the garden. I planted some beet seedlings and pulled a bunch of mint because it looks like the deer are eating their tops off.

I came home. I put some pots of soil in with the strawberry plants to root the runners. I checked Facebook and she had messaged me that the milk would be delivered at 10:30. I jotted notes for my blog. I basted a waistband on the gray shorts while watching part of a video.

It was nearly 11 when I brought in the milk and eggs. I heated the milk to 180 half at a time. I made and ate breakfast, then walked to the post office. I unlocked the swap shop for Angelina. I noticed on the walk back that the upstarts that I hadn't gotten to yet were gone. Someone on a large mower was doing the field across the street.

I laid out in the sun and read for a bit. I listened to more video online. I fixed the hose. Michelle came over for the chapel key so she could take down the decorations and organize them in their boxes. While she was gone, I placed a Swanson's order and mixed up a batch of fruit tree leaves. Later she came back with the key, and said she had taken everything down, but it needed to be organized with the unused decorations.

Chris came home from work. I made and ate supper, then headed to the chapel, stopping just long enough to lock the swap shop. Moira and Sophia met me at the chapel. We brought out the boxes. Then Diane and Bill arrived. We organized all the decorations and folded those that needed to be folded, which was quite a job. Some were long float decorations. I helped Bill re-hang the wall-hangings in the fellowship hall. We finished just in time for Bible study.

Karen arrived and we chatted until Wendy and Eryne came – with cake. We read the chapter and discussed it. Then Tarah came. We discussed some more and then talked about community stuff.

Afterward, I went to the garden, arriving just before 9. I turned on the sprinkler and it was at almost full power. I watched it for 10 minutes to make sure no one else's irrigation was siphoning off water pressure. Then I went home to make tea. We watched TV, then I worked on my blog and read messages until I went to bed.

Making cheese out of whipped cream

 

Monday

I got up before 8. I started the morning list. I had two canisters of whipped cream left from Tau Day. I decided to try fermenting one with probiotics. I sprayed it into a jar of lactic acid bacteria and left it to ferment. I went outside to flood gopher tunnels and level their mounds, getting dirty in the process.

I was just finishing up when Bobbie drove up. She said 412 was putting out a washer and dryer and did I know anyone who needed one? So I called Steve and he didn't know. I went over to take pics. I also lent the man some dusting stuff. I went home and posted the pics on the Facebook pages hoping someone would want the appliances.

I ate a selection of yogurts. I went to the garden to water and weed. I ate fiber gel. Brian called to say he wanted the washer and dryer. I made a copy of my supplement sheet and crossed out the ones that are in the new complex I am going to take. I made up supplements for the week, then made and ate breakfast.

I posted that the washer and dryer were spoken for. I walked to the post office for the mail. I laid out in the sun. I took a gallon baggie of cheese squares to Steve at the gym.

I got a pair of clippers and walked down the sidewalk clipping small elm trees. I went over to a small parking lot which was full of these little upstarts. I clipped almost half by the time I was stopped by a blister. I kept going, but had to quit before finishing. I went home to wash it and bandage it. I noticed that the grass in my yard was wet.

I watched something online while I loaded my volunteer hours into VMIS and worked on my blog. I read e-mail, looked up ingredients, and picked hymns. I heated supper. Chris came home while I was eating.

I went to band. Keli came and we played through the two hymns and 76 Trombones. We talked awhile and still no one came, so we left early.

I got back online, but then Michelle called and wanted to go for a walk. I drove to the gym to meet her. We walked around English Village. When we got back to the gym, she decided to workout some more. I went to the garden to water and weed. Then I went home. The sprinklers came on just before I walked into the house.

I made tea and we watched TV. I ordered a new hand pump for the five gallon jug. I read more of some really long articles. Then I went to bed.

God and Country service

 

Sunday

I got up at 8, having had RLS. Chris was already up. I started the morning list. I did not exercise because my back hurt and I was swimming yesterday. I watered the plants outside and in. I ate yogurt with the red light, then read a few pages. I made a batch of cheese squares. I made breakfast mix. Chris got dressed and went to church early because the chaplain sent out a text. But I wasn't ready.

I cut up a pineapple and a package of strawberries and mixed them together. I threw in some frozen blueberries, but they kinda made the pineapple blue. I put a freezer pack under the bowl and another one on top.

The patch on the long red dress I was supposed to wear wasn't quite dark enough. I dabbed some paint on it, but it wasn't dark enough either. So I tried thread painting it. The thread was right but I didn't get coverage. So then I clipped some frayed threads from a seam and glued them on top. That seemed to work.

I went to my closet for a slip and saw another red dress. I tried that on and decided to wear it instead. I packaged the cheese squares and took them, the fruit, and my music to the chapel. It was 12:10.

I put the fruit in the fridge and the cheese squares in the fellowship hall. I returned to the sanctuary and put the music on the stand. I assembled my trombone. The chaplain did a practice run through the service so Keli and I played one verse of each hymn. Then we sat and waited. People arrived and found seats. Kyle was taking pics of Chris and Chaplain and Randy in their outfits.

The service started with a prayer and an invocation. We played a hymn, then had scripture readings. Another hymn. People got up to say what they were thankful for about our country. A third hymn, then we sat down with the congregation.

A video montage with music played while chaplain got in character. Then Chris as the town crier got up to give his speech introducing Patrick Henry and the events of the time. Finally, the chaplain gave Patrick Henry's speech, word for word, and very dramatically.

After the service, people went to the fellowship hall for cake and drinks. The chaplain had two small watermelon and we cut them up. It made more than I expected. We sang Happy Birthday to America and two young boys. People ate and talked. Then the women cleaned up the food. Diane took the extra cake to the gate guards. We decided to leave the decorations until Tuesday, then pack them up before Bible Study.

I went home to change clothes. I checked e-mail. Chris canceled the game because his foot hurt. He made fish for supper. I read outside, then came in and ate. I made two more batches of cheese squares for the firefighters.

I went to the garden to water and weed. I went home and put away the squares. The sprinklers did not come on, so I watered by hand. I made tea and we watched TV. We dressed the bed. I read more messages and worked on my blog. Chris went to bed, and I worked on VMIS, then went to bed.

Sewing flags

 

Saturday

I got up at 7:30. Chris was gone to the Tooele parade, but I could smell the chicken he put in the oven to slow-roast. I went through the morning list.

I read a book by the red light. I read too long and suddenly it was 10:45. I jumped up to go to the garden. Then got ready for making the flags. I cut some fabric and packed others. I made templates for the red and white fabric and for the blue fabric. I packed scissors and pens.

I thought I heard something so I walked out into the hall and nearly ran into Chris. I nearly screamed in surprise. Since he was home to take out the chicken, I took a quick shower and put on my bathing suit and wrap. Chris carried the dishes of chicken out to the car. I brought my sewing stuff. We headed to the pool, but he dropped me off at the chapel. I went in to get a sewing machine in a rolling cart. I walked it to the pool pavilion. While he set up the chicken, I set up the sewing machine. Then he left to get plates and flatware. I talked to Janet and Michelle. Chris came back with Michele, but not John. Later Victoria showed up.

Anca sewed a flag, had her husband take a pic and posted it on Facebook as an advertisement. People put out their food and men grilled. We ate chicken, hotdogs, burgers, and potatoes. Some kids made flags. We talked with Michele and Victoria.

After they left, I went to the empty pool. But kids followed me. I swam for an hour. Chris went home.

Janet made two flags. I packed up the sewing machine and called Chris. He brought me home (stopping at the chapel to drop off the machine). I read some e-mail. We cuddled and fell asleep. I woke up and ate fiber gel. I put fish in the oven and read e-mail for a bit, then ate the fish. I worked on a pair of shorts. I pinned the fabric to the carpet to keep the edges from curling. I pinned the pattern and cut out the shapes. I looked up how to stop the curling and it said to wash and press the fabric. A little late for that. I got the four pieces sewn together by serger, and investigated using the elastic from the jersey sheet for the waist band.

I took the pepper plant and the biggest squash plant to the garden. I planted them there and ran the soaker hose. I came back, sat with Michelle and Isadora at the park. I paid Isadora for trimming the yard. Kim came by to pick up her dog. We all talked, then everyone went home.

I made tea and we watched Criminal Minds. I worked on my blog and read. Then we went to bed.