I awake late after a restless night.  I have noticed for several days, that when I sleep in the small bedroom I awake with clogged sinuses and a headache.  At 3:00 am, I set up one of the cots in the dining room.  It’s sagging frame combined with a folded comforter cradles my body in a hammock shape, giving me the best rest I have had for several days.

I awake at 8:ll, as my room mate is going to bed.  My grandson is still asleep.  The day is bright and clear, promising to become hot as the sun climbs. I check the hourly prediction for temperature; at 10:30 am it is already 85F, and is predicted to reach 90F by 5:00pm.  The pollen count is reported to be extremely high.   Not horrible; but definitely warm.  I close doors and windows, preparing to air condition the study and living room.  In the other parts of the house, I make sure the fans are going and windows are open.

I seize the opportunity to clean the study while I am the only person in it.  Knowing that my room mate will not yet be asleep (that chore was done between 8:11 and 9:00), I turn on some of my favorite music from YouTube:  Joe Betancourt’s “When the Craic was ninety in the Isle of Man“.  There are several versions of this traditional tune on YouTube; this particular one is a jam session from the California WorldCon, featuring Betancourt, Leslie Fish and several other Filk notables.  There’s some good old fashioned fiddling and a classic playing of the spoons.  I follow that up with another song from the LA 2003 Worldcon–the Temperance Reel, recorded at the same jam session as When the Craic was ninety.  I followed this up with a favorite Leslie Fish song, “Warriors and Warlords“.  This features some fine shots of mock combat SCA style.  Watching this lead to the discovery of a nice expository piece called “Knight Shots” about the origins and purpose of Society of Creative Anachronism.

When this was finished, the study was swept, dishes and soiled laundry removed, and I was ready to move to another room. I visit the bedroom in search of clean clothes, and encounter a distinctive cat aroma.  The floor feels gritty under my bare feet.  Seems like dirt manages to invade almost every where immediately.  I can see through the screen, the dogs have mangled a cat food bag (empty, fortunately) and scattered trash in the kitchen.  Laundry and added clothes hangers are an absolute must today. 

yesterday was something of a lost day.  I awoke with a headache, but struggled to meet a couple of writing deadlines.  I’ve been experimenting with other writing sites, in addition to Triond.  The current ones are both vocal recordings, which seem to take forever to load.  I lie down “for just a minute”, only to awaken at 2:30 pm.  I manage to complete the required writing, but have little energy left for other things.

We three gathered in the study to watch Supernatural.  I wash dishes as we watch.

The time seems to fly away.  Already four weeks of summer gone; so much left to do.  And I really want time for more naps–naps are a lovely thing, on a summer afternoon when it is too hot outside to enjoy anything.