Saturday, June 27, 2026 

     The murder weapon in SHEEP DETECTIVES is a poison made from the yew tree.  Well the yew tree saved my life. My chemo therapy, docetaxel was originally made from the bark of the yew tree.   

     I put on hold and receive two history books last week that I might want to read.  But each book, over 800 pages each, weighing too much for me to manage. Written by Tony Judd earlier in this century. I read POST WAR when it was first published to understand the effects of World War 2 on our lives. And now he has a later book.

     So, I am just reading the final chapter of each book where his conclusions are written. Now that I am old, I want to understand a bit more how my life played out. I know I started on my first job in the 1967s because of Lyndon Johnson’s war on poverty and left this job in 1999 because of Clinton’s war on women.

     Mourning doves cooing this morning. Fog and sun light outside my windows. Sitting in my room deciding what to do today. What to do besides dishes and straightening up my areas of the house.

 

Friday, June 26, 2026

     I am surprised this morning with sunlight warming the house. Summer fog lurks in the distance. Yesterday downtown I saw a woman walking across streets while looking at her cell phones. Bad enough to do it on the side walk, but in the middle of street, no, not safe. She must feel safe until she gets hit by a car or trips on the rough streets.

     I return books to the library drop box, and then on to the clinic for a routine blood test. Sign in and am called in for the test.  No waiting. The woman is friendly as she sticks a needle into my arm. Unexpectedly, a short quick pain. Amazing how the blood pours into the little tube. A quick tape placed on the puncture spot and I am done. The report comes in later in the afternoon, pretty much the same as all the other tests. I am healthy enough for an 86 year old woman with a weak kidney and bladder cancer treatments.

     The downtown looks deserted, lots of parking places, little traffic, people walking around.  I park on the street at San Carlos Park. A few people here. The beach section is overrun with sea lions. The ocean is calm. I talk on the phone with a friend and then listen to a book review podcast. As if I need more books to read.

     In the evening, we eagerly watch the movie SHEEP DETECTIVES on Prime. It is clever and funny and colorful.  I love those sheep characters. I can’t tell if they are real sheep or AI sheep. Probably both.  But I do love the sheep and will watch again with whoever wants to see it with me. I may have to add a support sheep creature to my collection of support chickens.

 

Thursday, June 25, 2026

     I am nervous about heat waves. The European heat waves scare me.  Usually, I am complaining about the daily fog here. I sit in my room this morning wearing my puffer jacket.  But I know the heat will come later in the summer. I wilt in the heat.

     A neighbor came by to talk about the water damage to his house.  His house is downhill from me.  Have I have done anything to contribute to his flooding?  I explain to him that everyone on this hill struggles with a rising water table during rainy season. I have struggled with water damage for 55 years. Cal Am crews are currently digging up our street to fix some leaks. I have no magic answers for him.

     My personal librarian arrives with a bag of books that were on hold for me. Always exciting to get more books. Books and friends create a good life. Tomato plants and sunflower plants are thriving in the back yard. My roommate is a skilled farmer.

     I watch two new series in the evening, SUGAR, a strange detective story and PATIENCE, another police show. Both are satisfying with the first episode. I also watch THE NEWS HOUR with NPR. The president is in freefall, I think. or maybe I just want to see him fail spectacularly.