Saturday, August 15, 2026

     Lots of sunshine on Friday. The house warms up. I am ready to face the day.  This morning, we have thick fog. I have a long list of things needing to be completed. If I do one or two, I will be happy. Some tasks have been on my list for a year.  I am hopeful that I will actually clean out the linen closet and eliminate my clothing pile in the bedroom. 

     The large sunflower is still watching me through the kitchen window. The yellow and red tomatoes are ripe ready to be picked and eaten. A friend comes in the morning bringing a piece of cake and conversation. The Meals on Wheels volunteer brings me my daily meal. A long friendly phone conversation with another friend who just returned from a plane trip. I sleep in the afternoon for two hours.  Guess I was really tired. 

     My roommate’s friend invites me to read and comment on a new memoir coming out soon. At first I say yes and now realize that my brain is not trained to read books on screens. Maybe it is not too late to learn but I am not willing to try. There are so many new shortcuts on line that are beyond my interest to learn. 

     I am still watching the netflix series, THE BOMBING OF PAN AM 103. It is quite moving and now I am grateful for each uneventful plane trip by my family and friends. And am reading NORTHWOODS by Amy Pease, a detective murder story, much less scary than airplane bombs. Dogs barking this morning, lots of airplane noise in the sky. This weekend is the climax of car week. Time to learn how many speeding tickets were given by the local police. No new worrying political news to think about just now.

 

Friday, August 14, 2026

    Six booms come through the open windows, fire crackers or maybe gun shots? Dark outside, lights on in the house. No sirens. A dog begins barking. Still no sirens. No flashing lights. I don’t know what gun shots really sound like. My only gun experience is through books and TV. No gun exposure in my family. 

     Wind and fog all day. Today more of the same. I approach each day with the thought of anything is possible. A friend arrives with eleven more library books and conversation. 

     The solitary potted giant sunflower plant is now outside in front of the kitchen window.  I sit in my blue recliner in the living room. The large golden flower keeps an unblinking eye on me. I am being monitored. 

     I cannot continue to read AGING OUT, an exploration of caregiving, community, and how ‘Americans grow old.  Too scary to read as vulnerable older woman. The book I am liking is a self published book, THE MEDICAL ETHIC, A PHILOSOPHICAL MEMOIR by Russell Noblett, MD. The focus is on the creative process of medical decision making. And a third book I start last night, a novel NORTHWOODS by Amy Pease.

 

Thursday, August 13, 2026

     Don’t think I just sit in my recliner all day, because I also lie on the couch for napping. I also walk on the deck, wash dishes, move laundry and do my yoga chair exercises. Sometimes I go outside to collect the mail. Probably not enough movement but I am trying.

     Before falling asleep I listen to the sounds of individual cars revving up and racing in the neighborhood. Zooming on our streets. I thought the police were going to stop this from happening this year. As I lay in bed, I realize the noise isn’t the problem, it is my imagination upsetting me. I create ugly images of angry drunk men based on a car engine sound.

     More books waiting at the library. Another friend is picking up books for me while the personal librarian is busy. It is such a treat to put a hold on books I have heard about and then they are delivered to my home.

     My roommate has started a new serious community activity. The house is full of energy and good will. I watch more of THE BOMBING OF PAN AM i03. We watch THE PATRIOT, an older series that is somewhat funny and startling. And the regime of the current demented president hangs over us. And the devastating fires in Big Sur continue through the night.