Tuesday, July 7, 2026

     I just poured a bottle of Green Gobler drain clearer into the bathroom sink.  Last night the kitchen sink would not drain and the kitchen water over flowed into the bathroom sink. We stop using any of the drains. Now I am waiting to see if the drain clears.

     But I spent most of the night entangled in disaster fears.  What If I can’t find a plumber. What about the toilets and I fell into imagining all kinds of disasters.  I tell myself I am too old to solve this problem.  My house is too old.  My kids are too old. All my friends are too old. On and on.

     And yet by morning I have a plan.  I watch videos of clogged sinks and confident women saying you can do this. The directions for green gobbler is to let it sit for 15 minutes or overnight. No clear directions here. My somewhat not young but very energetic roommate has a plan also.  She gets the kitchen sink and I stick with the bathroom sink. We may have to pick up more drain clearing medicine.

     Before the evening crises I watch the second season of ELLIS, another British detective living in a small charming town where murders happen. And I continue to read THIS IS NOT ABOUT US by Allegra Goodman. Now, I am sitting in my cold bedroom wearing my green puffer jacket, waiting for the drain to clear.

 

Monday, July 6, 2026  

     Two crows are back. Black birds with loud voices and intense eyes checking out the neighborhood.  Years ago when we had a permanent puddle at the bottom of the neighbor’s yard, a whole flock of crows would arrive in the morning and stay the day.  And then the water dried up and the crows were gone.

     The best part of the Sunday NYT’s paper is the book review section. I search for gems. I don’t read the full review, just enough to see if I would like the book. The new paperback books are usually available in the library. The hard back books take months before the library decides to order them. I can never read all the books.  I am never satisfied.

     There is frustration in reading the book reviews. Too many books, and I will miss something really important, some message or story that can open up the world for me.

     I am reading Allegra Goodman’s new novel THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU, a family story about surviving and dying. So far so good. And in the evening, we watch two more episodes of SUGAR, a confusing good story of an alien detective finding lost people. I like strange detectives, such as THE SHEEP DETECTIVES.

 

Sunday, July 5, 2026

     I entertain myself by reading the New York Times weather list of the cities in the United States.  Yep we are there in the bottom.  We will be lucky if we hit 65 degrees today. The rest of the country is hot, hot, hot. Our heat comes at the end of summer usually so we are not all clear of heat disasters yet.

     My eyelid infection is getting better with the prescribed antibiotic cream. I didn’t quite believe the medical provider’s diagnosis last week.  It is hard to give up that I alone know what is going on. I have been arguing with doctors and politicians for years. Arguing with many authorities. It is what I do, mostly silently.

    Wow, that sounds really demented. I don’t think of myself as a contrarian. Mostly I am sneaky, agreeing with the authority people, and then resisting silently. I don’t usually speak up. I am afraid of conflict.

    I have a quiet day.  Listening to the marching bands in the distance, and birds and the traffic. I am reading Ruth Ozeki’s latest book of collected stories, THE TYPING LADY. In the evening, we watch the new netflix documentary CHRIS AND MARTINA, THE FINAL SET, about the tennis stars and their changing friendships. Good film.  My roommate bakes chocolate chip cookies.