Monday, June 22
For June 21 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 52 min with AHI=0.13 Events: 1H, 1CSR. No major mask leaks (max=8 L/min); oximeter on, 9 hrs 1 min, AHI =0.11
Over the weekend, I wrote my statement to the court requesting an Exemption from Jury Duty for medical reasons of not sitting longer than an hour. I am mailing it today. Later in the week, I received notice I am exempted from service.
I spent 45 minutes trying to sort out the new AMEX card that was supposed to be on Auto-Pay and was not, so we were charged interest in addition to a late payment penalty ($35) wow, for a total of almost $50. I got a responsive person and we went through my account and all the info was there, but something had not been set up correctly. It is now fixed and the penalties & interest were rescinded.
Rest of the day, cleaning & sorting cherries, washing dishes, worrying with music to hand out this week (and copy tomorrow), to be ready to do the Ellensburg City July 4th celebration on July 2, that our group, Kittitas Valley Fiddlers & Friends, has provided music for more than 2 decades.
Tuesday, June 23
For June 22 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 28 min with AHI=0.62 Events: 4 H. No major mask leaks (max=7 L/min); oximeter on, 6 hrs 55 min, AHI = 0.58
We left for town about 10:15 to pick up cinder blocks, and while there, we were given more wool & cotton socks, and a tin apple basket I need to transfer to a friend in Cle Elum for use at the Grange crafts show. We went by Rite Aid to take advantage of a coupon and great price on Pepsi and Diet Pepsi cans and 2-liter bottles. I got some eye moisture drops for dry eyes on sale too. A few months ago we were in Rite Aid and they set us up with a rewards card of some sort. This time they wanted to change that to a new and better rewards card. Mostly useless stuff as far as we can see. Almost all these store-cards are a pain and simply fill one’s wallet with extra cards that never get used. The nice advantage is if you don’t have your card, you can give your telephone number. Needed to pick up meds from our pharmacy, so succeeded in that. From there off to CWU surplus, where we had put a bid (with my same lucky number involved) on a metal rolling cart. The minimum bid is 5 bucks so we bid $5.66, and won.
John says it was used in the library, and if you put weight on the shelf, it lowers and then comes up as you remove the weight. How does he know that previous use? (Because as he was moving it from the truck, a thin book fell out that had last been checked out in 2004). I think he was primarily interested in the wheels. But this is rather unique. Wonder what we can repurpose it as? John found similar wheels on the web – a set of 4 for $59.04.
However, the real surprise was this $809.95 beauty:
It is particle board (aka false wood) while the CWU surplus-sale one is steel. Nancy’s comment: We made a real steal. John says, do you suppose the new digital world makes it unnecessary to truck real books around?
From the surplus sale, we moved on to print my music for handing out tomorrow at the Food Bank and Thursday at the Kittitas Valley Fiddlers & Friends. Now I have to staple and arrange, but the hard work is done that would have taken me hours at home with my computer printer, collating, and 3-hole punching. In addition, I can copy/duplex much faster than on my printer.
We will meet Jim Gardner and Penny Codding at the Cottage Cafe in Cle Elum about 6:00. We determined it has been 42 years since he left Iowa (1973), and we have not seen him since. He and Penny were involved in a 4-day Photographic Workshop in the Palouse, and contacted us about meeting on their way back to Victoria, British Columbia. We look forward to their future trip to the Palouse during harvest. Nice visit and good meal. John and I had our normal favorites, Jim had a meatloaf platter, and Penny had a pot roast platter. I think it is something to consider the next time I go there. The guys had a Roslyn dark Lager and Penny had Chardonnay. I have to abstain because of being on the medication, Coumadin.
Here are the 3 of us, Jim Gardner, me and John taken on my camera by Penny. The wind was blowing hard and blew my bangs right up over my head.
Wednesday, June 24
For June 23 CPAP. Reported figures. 5 hrs 40 min with AHI=0.53 Events: 2 H, 1 CA. No major mask leaks (max=12 L/min); oximeter on, 9 hrs 8 min with an AHI = 0.33
Food Bank. Nothing exciting today but a very low number of volunteer servers, so one of our players joined to help serve; also was a smaller number of people being fed. Only Evelyn on Banjo and I on fiddle, played and sang. We had our fan club sitting at the front table. The food today was chicken casserole with broccoli and cheese sauce, a green salad, and chocolate frosted chocolate cake for dessert. On to SAIL for an hour. It was hot today.
For dinner we had leftovers from last night’s doggie bags. Added some fruit from our fridge: red grapes and Bing cherries.
Thursday, June 25
For June 24 CPAP. Reported figures. 8 hrs 34 min with AHI=0.93 Events: 8 H. No major mask leaks (max=18 L/min); oximeter on, 9 hrs 33 min, AHI =0.84
Got my July, August music all set up and ready to deliver today before we play at Hearthstone. There was some stapling, collating, and organizing with paper clips left to do with packets of 25 songs, printed back to back with 3 holes punched.
Today was a good turnout of audience and players. We had 6 guitars, a banjo, a fiddle, a tambourine, a bass fiddle, and a clarinet. Our repertoire started with patriotic songs, finished with U.S. songs, and we will be playing the first 13 songs next Thursday at the Adult Activity Center’s annual Fourth Celebration BBQ/potluck.
Because we expected high temperatures, John was up early to pick rocks and move them to the big-rock-hole. He watered plants and fed horses and by 11:30, with high sun and not much shade, he came in to fix a brunch. I had cleaned the counters and dishes, cooked bacon, cleaned cherries, and he made some pancakes to go with the leftover strawberries from last night, and fried eggs for us to go along with the meal. Now at 7:00 p.m., he returned to work in the shade. The temperature is 96° at the airport but only 90° on our front porch. We just fed Woody, the outside feral cat, and John left to drive the old truck to the front part of our property (where the fence busting logs and bulldozer stirred things up) to load more rocks. The big hole is slowly filling – a few hundred pounds at a time. We have a Crockpot meal cooking for later this evening, when he comes back.
Friday, June 26
For June 25 CPAP. Reported figures. 5 hrs 24 min with AHI=0.93 Events: 5 H. No major mask leaks (max=11 L/min); oximeter on, 7 hrs 49 min, AHI = 0.64
John left the house very early to pick strawberries (not many, because we have a bad crop this year, for unknown reasons – we think the buds froze). Then watered strawberries and the younger plum trees (with no fruit this year), and we will have no cherries or plums on the older trees either. Late freeze took care of that. The small bed of everbearing berries are starting to bloom again so we will still have small batches of fruit – just not a lot.
We were both dead tired today and took a 2-hr nap. I had had weird dreams last night and not slept well.
In addition, today’s temperatures were extremely high. Some folks in the Kittitas Valley had 105°, but we never saw it higher than 98.6° in the shade.
Saturday, June 27
For June 26 CPAP. Reported figures. 5 hrs 41 min with AHI=1.76 Events: 10H, 1 CSR. No major mask leaks (max=19 L/min).
John left for the White River at Mt. Rainier at 5:30 (car needs gasoline) for his trip. Oddly, the cheap price in Ellensburg is the same as the cheap prices in Yakima. He went to the same place as last Saturday, the Summer Land Trail near the White River at Mt. Rainier. Last week we had no photos, but below is a collage of John (in brown Carhartt work pants we got at the CWU Surplus sale for $1.00), with last week’s logs, cut, peeled, for use to make steps on the trail.
These trail-work trips start at the White River campground on the east side of the park.
White River Region – Mt. Rainier
{The Wikipedia site has a null or stub page that sometimes appears, so if that happens you can search or ignore.}
The work is on the SE side of Goat Island Mountain along Fryingpan Creek.
There is better and more parking at the White River Campground so they go there, spread out the tools and do the safety and tool talk, then carpool to the Summer Land Trailhead. At about 2 miles up, the trail comes close to Fryingpan Creek where there are falls and cascades – and rocks – a very neat spot that almost no one ever sees. They need rocks for the trail work and so go with buckets and a heavy canvas-strap net. Big rocks anchor the ends of the log steps – note these on the left side of the photo on the right (above).
This week we have no pictures until mid-week from today’s work at the same trail. The principal job (but not the only one) was making a turnpike. Here is a photo of one under construction in northern WA. Logs, rocks, and mineral soil are the go-get items.
Trail turnpike during construction
I watered the Carpathian trees – 3 moves of the hose this morning and then once after I got home.
I went to Briarwood for Collette’s potluck memorial starting 12:30. I cleaned some of the cherries and took a platter of them along. Many people and lots of food. More people than chairs. Some of the residents left to give their chairs to family. I decided to stay for lunch, and to visit with some of the residents I have gotten to know over the years. On my way home, I went by Mountain High Sports to pick up John’s new bucket hat pictured in last week’s blog. That shop is located on the street where the Saturday Farmer’s Market sets up, so I could not drive to the front door. I skipped it on the trip into town, but managed to go back to within a block after my meeting was over. It was a block from my dentist’s office, where I parked, to get to the store, and the temperature was 107° (according to the airport), but my car was reading “only” 102°.
I was happy to get home, where the house a/c was turned on, but claimed it was 82 in the hall (it is supposed to come on if higher than 77° and reduce the temperature. I do not know why it hadn’t. I flipped the temperature down to 75 and it is cooling now. It is sitting at 76. Outside our front porch reads 98.8° (in the shade).
John called from the Yakima Bi-Mart store where he went to buy something salty.
I was hoping he would call sooner so I could take a nap. He realized the vitamin & mineral pill he’s been taking at lunch on trails does not have any sodium. He failed to take salt along this trip and will have to add another regular item to his backpack. But what are (the suggested) buffered salt tablets?
Sunday, June 28
Just before publishing this — the temperature reading on the front porch (in the shade) is 103.8; happy to be in the a/c house.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan