Sunday – June 26: A quiet day, except for cattle in the driveway. John left to exercise the dogs and feed the horses, but was back in the house almost immediately. There were 4 calves half way into our driveway. He and the neighbors herded them into another neighbor’s corral. Some phone calls were made, but the owner wasn’t found until almost dark that night. The cattle (4 young bulls) were claimed and taken “home”. They are used for practicing roping for the rodeo.
Monday was a crazy day. I spent all afternoon, undoing what I started a couple of weeks ago. We had been invited to play music at a 4th of July celebration for the community (for those 50 +) and it was to be on this Friday, July 1 at 1:00 p.m. Turns out, not so, and I found out TODAY when I went for exercise class and saw a flyer. In fact, the thing starts at 11:30 a.m. and goes till 1:30 — a picnic for everyone. It is being held inside at an auditorium off the city library, with room for tables and a stage with microphones.
I had to call everyone in my “group” just in case they don’t read their email. After exercise class I went to pick up a list of chords for the Mandolin, and a book written by a mandolin blue grass teacher, from a friend of mine who plays the violin, viola, and mandolin.
Also I made an appointment for an annual physical. I have not had one in the last two years when I was so sick. Now I’m able to go in for one. John had his last in March of 2010, so he will go with me and they will do us “back to back” in different rooms. Nice to combine appointments for one trip, because we have to drive 30 miles one way.
Late afternoon I went for a walk with John and the dogs to get the paper. Sunshine was on a cable table – a big wood spool from the electric company. It was near the fence, so not wanting her to jump off and over the fence; John moved it to under the tree she’s been climbing. She was up it again this afternoon, just lying on the lowest branch, enjoying life. I still have yet to get a picture of her there. It will make a cute one. Being draped over the limbs, John says she looks like a little sleeping Cheetah.
Tuesday. A day not to go to town, with plans to do some cleaning and sorting but that nor practicing the mandolin ever got done. I spent a lot of time on email and then on contacting people about music dates. John spent some time outside in the heat (one of the hottest days recently at 88), and with no wind for cooling. He worked on cleaning horse manure from the pasture, corrals, and barn, and then working on removing Canada thistle. The horses will eat the flower buds off but leave the rest unless it is chopped off at the base – then they will eat that. He came in about Noon, ate lunch and then worked on the computer awhile, but finally decided against returning to the heat, and so took a nap. We both were up quite early. While he was napping I tried to complete tasks (I wrote a review of a book for a friend of mine), and then I tried to nap. Unfortunately phone calls kept interrupting.
It got so hot and I never turned on the A/C but I took off my socks and changed to Bermuda shorts; first time this year. Now it’s cooling down outside and John opened the house… windows and it is cooling down in here. My base of operations is a recliner beside the sliding glass door/window on the west side – very sunny and warm mid-to-late in the afternoon. There is a concrete slab as a patio that, if roofed, would shade the glass. A future project.
Finally between phone calls, I got about an hour nap, 1/2 hour at a time. One call came from the Medical Insurance Company saying we would have to pay the $159 bill for cleaning out John’s ear wax because deductible and co-insurance criteria had yet to be met. This was the end of last year, so I do NOT understand but guess I have no choice but to pay it. Damned medical expenses. That was after Medicare paid some of it. I have to go back to check to be sure, but that’s the only thing I can remember that happened to John last year, besides an annual physical.
John was fixing dinner and got a call from a neighbor needing help moving a Burro a couple miles up the road… and needed our trailer. John had to remove the riding mower – its winter home had been under a tarp inside the trailer.
Just had another phone call from the Navajo relief fund in a southwest state. Probably they were calling from the Philippines as we had had a person earlier this year collecting pledges for rural older people on a North Dakota reservation. Tonight, I asked her to please remove our name from the calling list and she hung up on me. I don’t know why people are allowed to call when we are listed on the DO NOT CALL list.
Dinner was surely great. We had sliced beef (steak) fried with carrots and red peppers and mashed potatoes. Yum. Now the only thing wrong is my eye is hurting and dried out. Guess I should put some gel in it and think about going to sleep earlier tonight.
Oh, before I leave, let me thank my Aunt (80) in Guyton, GA for sending me a bunch of paperwork on the Wilkins family (my mom’s family). She and her daughter made a trip a month or so ago to old cemeteries in Savannah and the Guyton area, to obtain names and dates of birth and death from tombstones so we can update the genealogy of the family. There were many papers that had been started by my mom’s youngest sister, but she died suddenly a few years back.
Wednesday is full of household chores and I’m going in to exercise class and to the grocery store, besides finalizing more music for Thursday’s and Friday’s performances. Weather cooled down today and the wind returned, making it nicer. Also keeps flies off the horses. Our windows were open all last night, and we actually awoke to a cool house.
My right shoulder has bothered me all day (no known reason). I cannot blame it on vacuuming, because I didn’t. I did sit at John’s computer today and transpose 3 songs for our clarinet player to be able to play with us. Have to change the Key to two sharps higher, and move the notes up a whole note. I have a music program on my computer that I use. It still took me 80 minutes to do 3 songs: America, America the Beautiful, and Oh! Susanna! Still to do — the National Anthem.
Thursday. Early morning phone call from friend that he had to go to ER last night (11:30 p.m.) with atrial fibrillations. They treated him with an IV and took an EKG and a chest X-ray. He had no pain, and got home by 2:00 a.m. and to bed. He called me at almost 7:00 a.m. with the report that he was all right, but needed to contact his family physician this morning for making an appointment. Couldn’t do that till after 8:00 so I suggested he go back and catch a little more shut eye, which he did. He called back at 8:15 to say he has an appointment tomorrow at 1:00 in Cle Elum, so he won’t be able to be with us at the July 1 Hal Holmes play date tomorrow. He does feel good enough today to go see his wife in the Rehab center (but will NOT tell her what happened so as not to worry her), and then will join us at Mt View Meadows today.
Play date went all right this afternoon, and they had punch and cookies for everyone there, plus us. Nice touch. They also cancelled the request for us to come back on the 4th of July. That’s fine. We are missing many of our group anyway at other events.
John saw two more kittens on the fence near the barn. They ran down under our motor home. He put out some water for them. We’ll take some food out soon. He tried to grab one from the fence but it did not want to be caught. Speaking of food, we had a great dinner with pork and chicken, green lima beans, and mashed potatoes with gravy John made from the drippings of cooking the pork roast and chicken thighs.
Now we are seriously thinking of working an hour and heading for an early sleep. It has been a long day that started very early.
Talked to a Sears Repairman in Austin, TX tonight to schedule someone to visit our refrigerator to see why it is occasionally screaming (probably a bearing in a fan in the freezer compartment going bad). He told me Austin had had 22 days already this summer of over 100 degrees. WHOA, that’s too hot for me.
I spent a lot of time yesterday at the Patriotic party given for seniors in the community every year by the Adult Activity Center. Our music group has always provided the entertainment, but this year it was at the down-town auditorium off the library, inside, out of the wind and the heat. They provide a picnic already described above. I was the MC this year from a stage with microphones. We had two groups, and I played with both, so I didn’t eat lunch till the very end. Started setting up at 11:15, played with one group for 25 minutes, and then a larger group came on the stage, our normal Kittitas Valley Fiddlers and Friends, minus several regulars who were out of town, ill in a nursing home, or going to a doctor’s appointment. We had two stand ins (accordionist and guitarist) who never play with us. That was rough to keep us all together. As well as MC, I’m sort of the lead off and the conductor. But, we made it through and got lots of compliments. We did the national anthem at NOON, and invited the audience to join in singing. They stood up and put their hands over their hearts, looking at the flags all around the room. It was very moving. I stood up with all but three members who played accompaniment (accordion, guitar and clarinet).
Came home and laid down to rest. Maybe got an hour’s nap, or less, and was awakened by a long time friend from Othello. She and I hadn’t talked in over two years. We had a great chat on her lunch break from Wal*Mart, where she works.
Went for a walk up the driveway with John and the dogs to retrieve the paper. We stopped and examined the blue bird house that has had a Tree Swallow living in it. They usually are friendly and great flyers, and look a bit like tiny penguins.
We hadn’t seen her in 4 days, and we wondered. The dogs were sniffing as we walked by. The mom had been flying out every time we got near the house. John took off the top and looked in, and all the babies were dead. Either something got the mom and she was no longer feeding them or something caused them to die and she left the nest for another location. Rather sad. Each year “we” have raised a family in that box, that John made and carved the name BETH on the front of. Other boxes around the property by the barn have different names.
Saturday: When we went to town I looked to see what I could find ON THE WAY at garage sales… and didn’t go out of the way for any. The first one was on the road to town a mile west of us. They were very nice people and we enjoyed visiting with them. Their clothes were 50 cents each, and John found a beautiful 100% wool sweater that is probably too small for him, and I cannot wear wool, but we figured for a half dollar we could find someone who would like. I could also wear a long sleeved tee shirt underneath it. It is red/white/blue lovely design but with the high temps, it will not work for the Fourth of July. Also, he found a sweatshirt for him, one that will fit me, and a tee shirt with Leavenworth written on it. I normally don’t pay more than a quarter for a tee shirt, but the people were so nice that we went ahead and handed them 2 bucks and didn’t bargain. Then we stopped at another sale at an EXPENSIVE house on the way to town, but they had stuff we didn’t need (baby clothes), and high prices also. On to town for my meds, ice cream, cantaloupe, potatoes, onions, and fritters. Back by the Dollar Store near the town’s center looking for tops for the canned cat food. John checked the $ store, but came out empty handed. Meanwhile, I walked to a sale (leaving our car in the shade) and found an aluminum cooking pan (9 x 13) with a lid, for a buck. That is what we use for our cobblers, and having the top will be nice. I looked at sweatshirts for John but they all had hoods, which he does NOT like. Then while I was paying for my pan, he found a large glass serving plate with an interesting scene – period 1900s, horses pulling a sleigh with a Christmas tree. It was only a buck too, and it will be perfect for serving round upside down cakes or something similar.
It’s hot here today; 88 with no wind. I was burning up, so John just flipped on the A/C. I will finish this and send it to him to put on the blog. We hope you all have a nice July 4th weekend.
All our best regards
Nancy and John
and summer