Where shall we ...

One of the coconuts has fallen from the tree. It is dry and brown, but full of liquid. It is a near thing whether to plant it or eat it. I think we are going in the direction of creating more missiles for hurricanes to play with.

The cat was intrigued by it when J brought it in. Right now, it is sitting under the coffee table until she has inspected it enough that we can have it back.

The web tells me to soak it in a bucket of water and plant it on its side with two thirds of it above the ground. The web also says that it must have liquid inside and this one qualifies. When I was growing up, we called the liquid coconut milk.

I'll get out the bucket ...

Dad, can I join the Cub Scouts?

J and Zeta's M have gone to visit their past haunts. J was invited to make a presentation on railroading at a Scout meeting and M went with him. It was like having a fire horse smell the smoke and paw the ground. He never turns this kind of event down unless he is absolutely unable to be there.

Class A uniform, oh yes.

He just got home ....

Bulletin ...

Southwest won a football game, today: sixty-three to nothing. Yes, that is not a misprint. Sixty-three. It made the evening sports report, highlights included.

They must have saved up their winning efforts, over the years, and used them all up in one game. Congratulations all you Alumni.

Savor the moment ....

Listen to your inner cat ...

Today was our turn in the flashback barrel. The sky was overcast but not rainy. The A/C was cool. I had clothes in the washer that needed loading into the dryer but I was in no hurry to put 'em there. Coffee first, priorities in order, no?

The electric power stuttered, came back, went off totally, came back and then went out with a bang from down the street. Transformer? The usual suspect.

The power company has a new customer service wrinkle. After making the call to them and getting a time of repair estimate (which they tell you up front is soooo subject to change), we received an automated call to let us know the technicians had arrived and were assessing the problem. We knew that: we saw the two huge trucks go by our house.

Still, it was nice to have the computer call and let us know how much it cared about our power loss. A second automated call provided the information that it was the power company's equipment that had suffered damage and the time of completion was revised to just after midday, today. Hey, great.

Then clouds drifted in from the north and thunder scared the cat to safety in the back of the hall. No windows in the hall = safety in her mind. It's one of her open safe places: she has darker ones.

Sprinkles came, then real rain and more distant rumbling thunder. I expected the repair people to be off the job like the cat was. The trucks had driven away. Big E had brought home lunch because we didn't want to open the refrigerator unnecessarily.

The rain paused and a look out the side door showed they had driven the cherry picker around the block and come at the transformer from that side.

Meanwhile, we had located the battery operated fans and were sitting in the ambient light reading. Twenty minutes after the estimate expired, they got it repaired. This was also ten minutes before the football game which J and Big E had been waiting for.

Except for the flashback to two weeks of no power, there are no effects.

Only, I am doing every bit of laundry I can find while the dryer still runs. You never know ... the cat could be right.

Look, up in the sky ...

Local commuters got another heads-up on Friday when a small plane landed crashed into the space between the edge of I-95 and a railroad track with a raised roadbed. How the commuters on I-95 did not run into each other while gawking and evading is beyond me. They actually didn’t need to evade, but with the necessity of such split-second decision making, it is a marvel that someone didn’t kill someone else trying.

The news cameras showed the pilot, still strapped into his seat, confused and seemingly wondering where the rest of the plane’s nose had gone. He will be okay, I understand, but the trauma to the poor commuters can not be overestimated.

A few years ago on a busy street, here, that is named after a Bird, I saw a helicopter rise over the power lines next to traffic, and buzz the cars ahead of me. I suppose he was buzzing as the rotor kept turning the whole time. I never forgot it and he didn’t even crash.

If he had, I might still be evading ....

How many fingers ...

Hello world. Yesterday, I had another eye injection and today someone washed the world. The blur of dilation is gone. We ate Mickie Dee last evening because I was "beat up on," as the retina specialist says. That's his technical term for the testing process.

Today I look like an alien from Dune when seen from the left side: all colored eye, no white. At least there are no sandworms around.

If I had blue eyes, they'd be patriotic, I have the red and the white going ...

What time do we get up?

I set the clock for really early this morning. Getting up when the clock beeped, I brushed m' teeth and hair. (Not with the same brush.)

Then I wandered to the dining room for coffee and noticed I had picked up half an hour, somewhere. I even called the time number and the dining room clock was correct. I must have set the b'room clock half an hour ahead sometime, somehow, somestupidly.

It was even earlier than really early.

Sad ....

To do ...

Finish the Monday crossword: Check
Finish "New England White:" Check
Finish "The Killings at Badger's Drift:" In process
Take a nap? Oh, yeah ...

The cat is a shining example, right now.

Can't get there ...

This has been a rough week for commuters so far. Yesterday, the Turnpike and major arteries to the south end of the county were completely closed in an attempt to corral a deadly criminal.

This morning, the northbound lanes of the Palmetto were shut down completely due to a multi-vehicle pileup, including semis. Who knows what tomorrow holds. Drive watchfully, y'all.

I think the library is as far as I care to travel, today.

What'll you have?

Big E and I did some extreme shopping at BJ's. Despite all the "good" food, chicken, fish, etc., that we brought home, I had two hot-dogs-in-buns which were slathered with baked beans/onions alongside some Brussels Sprouts tonight.

I enjoyed my eccentric dinner.

Use of threats in repair protocols ...

The above pictured countertop dish drainer was bought for use during a two week power outage, after we suffered a hurricane. The useful little drainer was packed away for use during future outages. J had to go dig it out and we have (poor us) been washing dishes manually. On Friday, our (almost) two year old dishwasher had refused to even try to empty itself . We had to bail the soapy water as if it were a rowboat without floorboards.

It sat, dry and silent, over the weekend. Evidently, it was considering the threat of repair intervention that we had scheduled for today. Given one last chance this morning, it decided to drain itself without aid. I can only think that whatever blockage prevented water removal dried up enough to move on through ... like a shattered kidney stone.

An intermittent problem is the worst, no?

Nappy-time ...

Today, I have consumed three cups of coffee and one cup of tea, so far. Why is it that all I want to do it take a nap? Maybe the dark and threatening sky has something to do with it.

When E was driving he told us he'd let us know if he felt nappy-time. That perfectly describes this feeling. Move over, cat. Let me into the kitty condo and I will curl up, too, while placing my paws over my eyes to shut out the light. Yeah, right.

They cut Mew's front sharpies while she was being boarded. Last time they asked if we would give permission to have them trimmed. This time, they just went ahead. Safer for them, I guess, being that she has a red dot on her card. To her way of considering, she is defending her honor or something. She never acts that way with us.

Using the sharpies on us is verboten ...

The only way ...

According to Zeta and M, this is the only way to fly.

Miracle? noooo ...

After we returned from the trip, I have been combating a sore throat with peroxide rinses. I gave up, yesterday, and made an appointment for the next day at my doctor's office. Today (which is that "next day") the peroxide showed its effectiveness. I felt so much better that I called and canceled the appointment. One just has to be careful not to swallow the stuff.

I am careful, believe me.

Even so, at such a celebration, one kisses a lot of frogs, relatives, people.

Birthday celebration ...

This is the special lady whose birthday we gathered to celebrate. Happy 85^th, and many, many more!

'Ome, James and don't spare ...

Mew is so glad to be back into her usual routine. However, she wants attention, any time, which she usually accepts on her terms, only. I carried her on my shoulder and she purred in my ear. What a nice welcome home.