|
Barbara
Fritchman Thompson Diary
Week
of 2 June 2008
Latest Update: Sunday, 8 June 2008 1:30 p.m.
|
Monday, 2
June 2008
I'm
back. We had great weather and a great time. We arrived at the house at
the beach at 2pm on Thursday afternoon. It takes roughly 4 1/2 hours
with a lunch stop. Thursday afternoon and evening was spent getting
settled in, visiting, etc. The back of the house faces the beach with a
nice deck. The front of the house, the street side has a nice deck
facing the marsh which is on the other side of the street. With the
house facing east/west you can sit in either the shade or the sun all
day.
Overall I guess I walked 8 to 10 miles up and down the beach
starting Friday morning through Sunday. Friday I did two short walks,
one in each direction from where the house sits, one in the morning and
one in the afternoon. Saturday, I did a three hour walk, going one
direction, coming back past the house, the down to the other end.
Sunday I did the two short walks. Otherwise I sat on one deck or the
other reading.
We had a few late afternoon clouds but nothing to keep up indoors until
the sun went down, around 8:15 until last night. A horrible storm
rolled in around 7 with jagged lightening and thunder that shook the
house. The storms finally blew on through around 10 last night but we
had another mild one about 1 this morning.
When we left this morning at 9 to come home it was pouring down rain
again. As we drove west the skies cleared up making a nice drive home.
I dropped the folks off at their house and arrived home a little after
1:30. After unloading the car and spending some time with Bob and dogs
I went out mow the lawn. Although we have had no rain since I left, the
grass had still grown pretty high. It's a good thing I set the mower
deck down on notch last Monday. The few bedding plants I set out
survived since I watered them Wednesday night before I left. After I
mowed and came in to cool off, it was in the high 80's, we delivered
Shane's birthday present, the Chemistry set Bob purchased. He was
delighted with it all the while telling me all about the names of
dinosaurs. He can remember and say some pretty big names for a five
year old. We only stayed a few minutes then I came home and watered the
plants before dinner.
My uncle is an excellent cook. We fixed our own breakfasts and lunch
then he and his wife prepared those two hour meals based around
chicken, pork, beef, etc. We had a wonderful meal every night. When we
left this morning he sent the leftovers we had been freezing home with
me of which we ate part of for dinner tonight.
My beach reading went as followed: I finished the Death on Demand
mystery I started last week. Started and finished a new Maddy Hunter,
Norway to Hide, and am now in the middle of Murder on Monday by Ann
Purser. The Maddy Hunter series, A Passport to Peril, features Emily
Andrews travel agent for a group of senior citizens from Iowa. In
Norway to Hide they are off to Scandinavia where they meet up with a
group of senior citizens on the same tour from Florida. The two groups
do not get along very well especially after one of Emily's group is
accused of murdering one of the Florida group. Hunters books are light
and funny with some really different characters other than her senior
citizens to keep the plot interesting.
Ann Purser's Murder on
Monday is a new series for me. She has written one for each day of the
week up through Sunday. Bob has read the first three which we bought at
the used book store. Character, Lois Meade lives in the small English
Village of Long Farnden. Monday - Friday's she is the house cleaner in
five of the village homes. As a mother of three, her house cleaning
helps to stretch the budget for her and her husband. As a side to house
cleaning, Lois wants to become a special constable, but is turned down
because the local police feel like she is too busy with her family and
house cleaning business. But, when a local villager is killed in the
town hall, the police call on Lois to help with the investigation.
Though she prides herself on not being a gossip about the things she
knows from cleaning houses, she is willing to help with the
investigation if she learns any inside information that will help to
solve the case. Purser's books are very much the small English village mysteries Bob and I like to read and watch.
[Top]
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Back to real life today. I was not too snowed under with backed up work.
While I was gone to the beach another robin, or perhaps the same one,
moved back in the same place on the gutter top. My neighbor and Bob
said she started building the day I left. Guess we will raise another
family of robins.
We had a warm, stormy day. Bob said it poured this afternoon for about
ten minutes then stopped. We got between a quarter and half inch of
rain. Good enough to wash in the lawn treatment Scott's put down
earlier in the day.
[Top]
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Bob put a couple of pictures I picked out from the beach trip up on my
page for me today. Did I mention the house has an elevator? From street
level to the main floor of the house is actually three levels. There is
a short series of steps to the first floor sleeping area inside. From
there it is a steep stairway up to the main floor. As with all beach
houses it is built high off the ground. Dad is standing on the street
level. We were just back from a walk down the street.
These are just two of several flocks of pelicans that flew over the
deck off and on all day. They have rejuvenated their flock on an
isolated island nearby. They are beautiful creatures flying over the
water hunting for fish.
The first night we were there I missed getting a picture of the sun as
it set over that row of trees. The next three nights we had clouds
blocking a full view of the sun as it went down behind the trees. These
clouds eventually brought us a really bad storm on Sunday night.
[Top]
Thursday, 5 June 2008
[Last
Week]
[Monday]
[Tuesday]
[Wednesday]
[Thursday] [Friday]
[Saturday]
[Sunday]
[Next
Week]
We went from cool/warm spring weather to
sweltering. Highs have been in the low to mid 90's most of the week
with more of the same through the weekend. No rain in sight. This is
more like late July, early August type weather. I hope we are not in
for another hot, dry summer.
Obviously with it that hot out I did not walk at lunch today. Yesterday
I had to walk to the post office mail a package. By the time I got back
to the building I was dripping sweat. With all the buildings and
sidewalks downtown it makes it seem even hotter.
I am still reading the Ann Purser, Murder on Monday. I have been so
tired when I go to bed I have not been staying up as late to read. Work
is still busy with one project or another.
[Top]
Friday, 6 June 2008
[Last
Week]
[Monday]
[Tuesday]
[Wednesday]
[Thursday]
[Friday]
[Saturday]
[Sunday]
[Next
Week]
Happy Birthday to Bob and to my
brother-in-law Al. Bob elected to have me fix one of his favorite
dinners rather than going out. Since the temperatures were still in the
mid 90's at five o'clock.
Last night I finally finished the Murder on Monday. Today at lunch I
started another Martha's Vineyard mystery, Vineyard Stalker. J.W. finds
himself helping out a young woman's whose brother is being vandalized
in his home. It just so happens a relative owns the land his simple
cabin is sitting on and apparently does not want to wait for him to die
so she can sell the land. J.W. stakes out the place one night and
catches the guys in the act but they get away. While all this is going
on J.W.'s family is safely away visiting Zee's parents. What turns out
to be a simple assignment once again turns into much more in the way of
murder and mayhem.
After dinner I watered the few bedding plants I have in the front. The
stuff I planted last month in back is mostly in the shade and is much
more drought tolerant. I can give them a drink tomorrow.
[Top]
Saturday, 7 June 2008
[Last
Week]
[Monday]
[Tuesday]
[Wednesday]
[Thursday]
[Friday]
[Saturday] [Sunday]
[Next
Week]
It's been a busy morning and early afternoon.
I did not sleep in late this morning, getting up right after Bob took
the dogs out. First thing this morning I brushed the dogs good and
trimmed up the hair under their tummies and back legs. Then they got
their Frontline treatment.
I spent half an hour or so picking up and putting away after having
been gone last weekend before getting the house cleaning chores
completed. Two weeks makes a big difference with all the dog hair and
stuff tracked in. As soon as I finished up the inside I headed out to
mow the lawn. Even at 10:15 it was getting close to 90 degrees. When I
finished up mowing I came in for a bite of lunch and to cool off a
little.
After lunch I let Malcolm out back to play. In the shade and with the
little bit of breeze it was not too bad. Still, I only let him out for
ten minutes. At nine years old he is getting too old to be out in the
heat and of course Duncan it way too old. After I let him back in I
edged and swept up. By then it was really getting hot. The robins, in
building their nest on the gutter, left a trial of twigs, leaves, and
assorted other materials strewn across the front porch. I guess they
dropped a lot of stuff flying over to the nest leaving a mess for me to
sweep up.
Fortunately the humidity is low, 37% with the temperatures at 95
degrees. If this was July and August when we get the high humidity, 50%
and up, it would be well over 100 with the heat index. I called it
quits in the yard and came in to cool off before taking my shower. The
dogs had another quick out but otherwise we will stay indoor this
afternoon. Temperatures are supposed to reach 97 before it tops out.
[Top]
Sunday, 8 June 2008
[Last
Week]
[Monday]
[Tuesday]
[Wednesday]
[Thursday]
[Friday]
[Saturday]
[Sunday] [Next
Week]
Yesterday afternoon we went over to Frances
and Al's for dinner. Frances made deviled eggs and egg salad and Al
made a delicious squash dish. They had honey baked ham and KFC to go
with the sides along with several types of rolls and biscuits. Frances
and Al returned home last Monday from a ten day trip to Canada. Part of
the trip, Niagara Falls, Montreal, and Quebec, they have done before.
On this trip they added Ottawa which we were supposed to go to later
this year but changed our trip. We traded stories of our beach trip and
their trip. Frances brought me several very interesting books on Ottawa
which I will talk about further as I read them along with some other
mementos from their trip. We had birthday cake in honor of Bob and Al's
birthday on Friday.
I slept in this morning until 8:30 and spent an hour or so taking my
time reading the Sunday paper. While it was still cool, 80 + degrees at
9:30 I took the guys down back for some play time. Afterwards I cleaned
up the unfinished part of the basement putting things away and doing a
general sweep of the floor with the big broom, flattening cardboard,
etc. I then vacuumed and tidied up the finished area of the basement.
Once I finished up downstairs it was time to fix lunch. The
temperatures yesterday topped out at around 97, 98 setting new records
since 1933. In some areas of the state it topped out over 100. Today is
to be worse, with higher humidity along with the 98 degree
temperatures. The dogs will get quick walks this afternoon but
otherwise we shall stay indoors. It is too hot there even for me.
[Top]
Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
by
Barbara
Fritchman
Thompson. All Rights Reserved.
