Hot chocolate for Halloween

 

Saturday

It was a long long night. I had a hard time getting to sleep, worrying about Isadora. Then, as I lay on my side, something happened in my hip – like it went out of joint. I could no longer lay on my side – either side. Fearing it would swell and prevent me from getting out of bed in the morning, I went to the bathroom to get my walker and I went to the kitchen to get the curcumin capsules and my phone. I swallowed the capsules and put the phone by my bed, just in case. I'm not sure I slept after that.

I got up after 8:30. I worked a Sudoku puzzle, then brushed my teeth and walked to the kitchen without the walker. The hip still hurt, but was not swollen. I started my morning list, not sure how far I would get.

I got through all of it, surprisingly. I told myself I had a free day, but my mind came up with things to do. I emptied my vacuums and gathered up all the sponges. They went into a bucket of hot water, soap, and bleach. I put all the cleaning cloths and mop heads and dusting pads in the washer. It wasn't a full load, so I added some fabric and a pillow case. I emptied my purse and wallet and neck pouch. Those went in as well. Then I ran the washer. I folded the king-size sheets already in the dryer, and put them away.

I made and ate breakfast. I turned on the old computer. I cleaned the laundry room. I folded the cleaning cloths when they came out of the dryer. I rebooted the old computer and this time hit F12 at the right time. It booted from the CD. But I could not find the programs that John suggested I run.

I raked all the gopher mounds so I will be able to identify new activity. I looked high and low for the Halloween toys from last year, but I could not find them.

I went to 607 to check that garden. I came away with a spaghetti squash, a zucchini, and a small lemon cucumber. Then I went to pick my garden. I got lots of cherry tomatoes. The squash were not big enough to pick. I set a gopher trap. Casey was working in his garden and came over to chat and see if I was coming over later.

When I got home, I put the cherry tomatoes and squash in the window to fully ripen. I made and ate supper. I updated my list of cleaning jobs. I took a shower. I put on some garb. I called Michelle to see if she had any blue eye shadow, but she didn't. She told me to call Isadora. So I did. She offered me gold eye shadow and that went with my outfit.

I had a few last things to do. Then I went over to Michelle's house. She had tables set up in front of her house. She was warming chocolate milk on a portable gas stove. Chairs and a firepit were off to one side. Isadora painted a gold crescent moon on my forehead.

I joined Michelle in handing out cups of hot chocolate. She sent her husband off for more milk. After adding milk, she added Mexican chocolate discs, which dissolved in the milk over time.

Lots of kids came, as did their parents. Finally the crowd thinned out. Saronna walked over and we sat around the fire and talked. Eventually Casey put all the chocolate, syrups, and whipped cream cans away. He took down the tables, too. Saronna left and the rest of us went inside.

Michelle called up the game for me. We talked a bit and she went to bed, as did the kids. Casey stayed up on his computer. I loaded the game and tried the exit again. That brought up the screen where Indy can buy more ammo. But the game was not cooperating. Casey helped, and we got through it. Then Indy was in a new place. But he was agonizingly slow. I got the block moved, but he could not jump from it to a ledge. I was going to save it and exit, but the last keystroke kept repeating over and over. Casey had to shut the computer down to stop it. Then we had a time getting the game back at a point AFTER buying ammo. I played then, for some time, following the notes I had from last night.

Around 10:30, I saved and shut it down. I thanked Casey and headed to my car. He had left pomegranates and cranberries on my trunk. I would have paid him then but I had taken all the money out of my purse earlier. I put them in my front seat and headed home. I worked on my blog, then got ready for bed.

Cleaning a day early

 

Friday

I got up at 8. I went through the morning list. I got dressed, took cheese squares from the fridge and went to the chapel for Math Morning.

The Clarks were waiting for me. Saronna had math cards. She separated them into piles of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. She placed the piles on a table. We adults sat around another table with veggies, fruit, mushrooms and cheese squares. Each child picked up one card from each pile and brought them to an adult. The kids would give their answers and the adult verified them. Then the kid could pick something from the food table. It was a little tough for Jedediah who is only 5.

At 10, we packed up. We chatted a little more, then went home. I made a grocery list, then stopped by the post office on my way to the commissary. I shopped for a few groceries and went to Shelly and got my hair cut.

I went home and put away the groceries. I made and ate breakfast, read e-mail.

The rain came down hard and the winds were strong. But eventually it died down to a dull rain. I packed bathroom cleaners in my car, along with a jar of yogurt andwent to Tina's house. This was in lieu of Saturday. I cleaned her bathrooms and dusted some shelves. We chatted and she gave me a shot of an Irish whiskey. It wasn't Bailey's but it was very good.

On my way home, I stopped and locked the swap shop. At home, I ate fiber gel and pulled up the gopher traps. I got one gopher. I did several Sudoku puzzles. I made supper from leftovers and a zucchini. I listened to a podcast on the benefits of laetrile. I prepared for Game Night. I worked on my blog. I posted Matthew's pics of furniture he wanted to sell.

I put some cheese squares in a baggie and went to Michelle's house for Game Night. They were not having a good night because Isadora was furious with them. However, I played the game while Michelle watched. I eventually finished the level and was given the opportunity to buy more ammo for the next level. I guess I did it wrong and the whole thing froze. Casey had to restart the computer. Since I hadn't saved it, I had to start over from the last save from last week.

Michelle and I talked about how the therapist at school left because it was only a part time position and now none of the kids have her to talk to when they have personal problems.

I re-played the game to the next level. I saved it just before walking Indy through the exit. Then the game froze up again, but now I think I know what keystroke the game is expecting. It was 11pm, so I thanked them and went home.

Halloween party at the senior center

 

Thursday

I awoke early and could not get comfortable or go back to sleep. Finally I took a Moon Drop and then went to sleep. But when the alarm went off at 7:30 I was not ready to get up. I made myself get up at 8. I went through the morning list. I added milk to my yogurts, and made a quart for Tina.

I went to Bible Study and we read through part of the book Water from the Well. We chatted and prayed. Jenni talked me into agreeing to go to Tooele Senior Center with her. I went home to pack a lunch. Then she came to pick me up.

She was dressed up like Sally from The Nightmare before Christmas. Other people at the Senior Center were dressed up too, but many were not. I had to fill out a paper in order to attend. We sat down for lunch and talked to our table mates until they brought out plates of food. I did not partake. I had brought hardboiled eggs, cashews and cherry tomatoes. After eating, we went to look at the tables of wares for sale. There was some cool stuff. All I bought was a crocheted scrubbie for my sink. I had a nice chat with the gentleman that made butterflies out of stone.  I also asked about quilting or sewing groups, but they didn't have any.

Later we went to Melanie's. They still didnt have chamomile flowers. I bought something from the outdated pile. We went to a station to add air to Jenni's tire. I feel like I did it right, but the tire did not fill. Then we went to the pharmacy to pick up salve. We chatted on the way back to base.

Passing Headquarters, we saw nothing was set up for the event this afternoon. She dropped me off at home. I checked e-mail quickly. Then I went to Housing to turn in the key to 203. Jack gave me some small pumpkins and a butternut squash. I told him his carrots were magic and netted me two gophers.

I went to my garden, picked some cherry tomatoes, turned the water back on, and dumped bad water down some gopher holes. I went to the post office for mail, then to the gym to give Davis his share.

I went home. I reset the gopher traps and brought in the recycling bin. I put on The Highwire and made tea. It was their 500^th episode so there were lots of flashbacks.

I made breakfast for supper, but it didnt put my day back on track. I listened to a book on CD in the dark bedroom, hoping to fall asleep. I may have dozed for a few minutes.

I watched two episodes of something called Best Medicine on Netflix. I did 10 minutes of red light before bed, then realized I forgot my blog. I did my blog, put the last of the yogurt away, and went to bed.

The Pennsy Dutch case

 

Wednesday

I got up after the second alarm. I rinsed the sprouts, then prepared for Coffee morning. I noted that the old computer had a blank screen instead of the defrag process I was expecting.

After meditation and tapping, I took niacin. I cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen, unloaded the dishwasher, and washed dishes. I read outside for bit, then prepared the sauna. I steamed for 20 minutes, showered, and made vit C face cream and covered my face.

I laid down to listen to a book on CD. The phone rang: a man wanted to get into the swap shop, so I told him 4 because a lady had already booked an appointment for 4.

I listened some more, then got dressed and went to inspection at 203. I passed inspection and we chatted a bit. Then I went home to load a dolly in my car.

I went to the swap shop and unlocked it, but no one came. So I headed home. At the corner, I saw the man drive past me. So I turned around. I parked then unloaded the dolly. He used it to carry bins into the shop. We put most of it on the shelves so he could take the bins home. Then I followed him home to give him a cleaning quote. He mentioned furniture to sell so I took a pic. We chatted, we loaded a table into the back of his car, then returned to the swap shop. After putting the table in the furniture room, I locked the doors. We talked some more – he is Pennsy Dutch – we both went home.

I got home about 5:30. I made and ate yogurt. Chris came home from work. I ran back out to scrub a drain that the inspectors thought was subpar. After I got back, Chris took a suitcase over to John and Michele. I ate some eggs, then went out back to check the gopher traps which I had baited with Jack's smallest carrots. Both contained gophers. I emptied the traps, but it was too dark to reset them.

I worked on my blog. I went to the chapel to help Michelle sew a costume for her son. It took over an hour and I did most of the sewing. Jenni called wanting me to go to the senior center with her tomorrow. I told her I was not in the mood. Partly because the lady never showed up and when I texted her she said 'sorry I forgot.'

When I got home, I made tea and we watched Blue Bloods. Chris went to bed and I stayed up to read messages.

Working on the old computer

 

Tuesday

I got up at 8, having not slept as much as I had hoped. After some Sudoku, I went through the morning list. I listened to part of series on soil health. It contained directions to making a nuruk cake – fermented grain for soil health.

I plugged up the old tower to the power strip, plus the mouse and keyboard and monitor. I looked up a video on Youtube to show me what to do. I downloaded Hirons boot CD and Rufus. I used Rufus to write the Hirons file to a thumbdrive. Then I put the thumbdrive in the old computer and turned it on.

I reset the gopher traps while waiting for it to boot up. I chose Windows from the menu and hit enter, then set the timer for 5 minutes. I jotted notes on my blog. I checked again, and it said it was loading Windows, but that lasted for 10-20 minutes, then the screen went dark.

I made and ate breakfast. I got the computer up and booted from the drive. I walked to the post office and came home with a package. I went to the commissary for kombucha, then to Housing to schedule an inspection for 203.

I went to 607B to pick the garden. But Janet and Molly were sitting outside next door so I stopped to talk to them. Jack rode up and we talked to him as well. I followed Molly to her house to see the flowering plants she inherited. Then I picked the garden at 607 and went to my garden. I picked tomatoes and put water down a gopher hole.

When I got home, I ate fiber gel. I saw the computer was still defragging. When Chris came home, he fixed supper for us both. I ate while listening to a podcast labeled “No - War is not good for the economy”. I jotted notes for my blog. I made tea. We watched an episode of Blue Bloods. Chris and I both went to bed. I got up in the middle of the night to put the house to bed.

Scoby snacks

 

Monday

I got up at 8, having gotten up earlier and tried to go back to sleep. I went through my morning list. I checked e-mail and posted an announcement to Facebook for band and bells practice. I made tea to feed the scoby. It was way too big so I pulled it apart to find the strongest layer. I put that back in the jar and cut the rest into pieces which went into the dehydrator.

I made and ate breakfast. I read e-mail and checked messages. I went to the post office, but there was no mail. I proceeded to the library for an enlarged copy of a hymn. Then I went to 203 to finish up and get all my cleaning stuff out. I stopped at the swap shop to drop off a few things he left behind.

I put leftovers in the toaster oven. I re-set the gopher traps. I ate supper, then went to the chapel for band practice. Keli couldn't make it because she was needed at the club for troop feeds. I set up for bells, then Jenni and Sophia and I played through hymns for Sunday, for Thanksgiving and for Christmas.

When John and Michele arrived, I dismissed the band. Only Sophia left. Jenni wanted to play bells. So I gave her the part I played last week. We got out more boxes of bells, then got them situated in place. They were not in order which really through me off. We played through 790 until it went ok. Then we practiced 794. I pulled out the really high B and C to demonstrate for Jenni how it was supposed to sound. They agreed it was a nice addition.

After an hour, we packed up and turned off the lights. I followed John and Michele to my house. There, they picked up all the bags of glass recycling. I gave John money for helping to clean. Then we all chatted for a bit and they went home. Michele wanted to get started on a cranberry pear pie.

I made tea and watched Blue Bloods with Chris. He went to bed and I read e-mail and messages until I remembered my blog. Then I jotted notes for that and went to bed.

Praying for Boone

 

Sunday

I got up at 9, having been awake most of the night. For whatever reason, none of my RLS tricks worked for long. It was as if RLS was trying to make up for being absent all week.

I went through the morning list. I made more breakfast mix and the supplements for the week. I also made cheese squares. Then it was time for breakfast and to get ready for church.

When I got to the chapel, I dropped off the cheese squares in the back. I went up front to set down my handbag and music bag. I heard the kids playing in the back of the sanctuary and it reminded me to go back there and remove the xylophone toy. I hid it in the sewing room under fabric.

I talked to Diane and Jenni. Chaplain started the service with praise songs. We prayed for Boone and Jamie. He is in the hospital with cancer and all his family was there. We the band (though Keli didn't come) ended it with hymns. Diane tried to play the piano part. Then Chaplain followed the hymns with a prayer.

John came over to talk to me and we talked of many things. Lastly, I asked him about my Windows 7 computer. He told me to download Hirans boot CD, put it on a thumb drive and boot up the computer from that. It sounded so simple.

I went to Jenni's house and she gave me eggs. Then I went to Michelle's house and Casey gave me kimchi fried rice.

Then I went home to discover Chris was already home from Virginia. I changed my clothes. I ate the last grapefruit while watching a video on Hirans. I watered all my plants at home. I went to the garden to check for squash and to water the outer tomato plant. Then I sat in the sun till 5.

I signed into the game and the others were soon there. We only chatted a bit before getting into the game. Our intrepid explorers bought updated gear in the city, then picked up a dragon friend and headed to a fight. We fought giants on wyvern and dispatched them all. But they were only the advance guard.

After the game, I worked on my blog and made tea. We watched an episode of Blue Bloods. Chris went to bed but I stayed up to read.