Beautiful Saturday, wish I could sit on the living room couch alternating between books and baseball, but we have tickets for tonight’s Brewers game and we’re leaving in, oh, maybe four and a half hours. Still, if your “bad” alternative if a Brew game, you’re doing ok. The wind is consistently blowing through the windows, causing the curtains to appear as if they’re levitating. The shrieking neighbor kids have quieted down, thankfully, and the boys are on Wii.

Last night I watched “Persona.” Great movie. What in goddamn hell am I supposed to say about that movie here that would make the least bit of sense? Let me think. The movie meditated well on image and duality. And an erect penis emerges in the opening credits. Go check out “persona.” It’ll make you think.

After the movie, near 10PM, I crashed on the front porch. Some of the neighbors were out on the deck but I decided against drinking, as my eyes were already fluttering closed, so I slipped inside and hit the futon. This morning I woke near seven. T and I cleared out the weeds and garbage in the parking space next to the garage. He dug out a huge weed-bush and negotiated a three dollar fee for his services. I planted four strawberry plants in pots next to the parking space. I also finished off the garden except for a bag or two of mulch and a shot of fertilizer. I’ll catch up with both tasks tomorrow. Oh, I also burned some CDs for a GR reader and sent them out. Downtown looks almost finished. The city is throwing a street-opening festival in the morning. Maybe I’ll walk down and check it out.

“Alternadads” is bugging me. Pollack whines about how broke he is then shops too much at high priced grocery stores. He crows over his self-perceived parenting successes while minimizing his failures. I don’t know. He’s like every other new parent who wants convince himself (probably out of fear) that he’s doing it the “right” way. Whatever. I’ll probably finish the book, as it’s a quick read, but I doubt I’ll recommend “Alternadads” to friends.

Back on the couch. Maybe I’ll eat some lunch. More later.

Ok, the hellish post-semester meeting stretch has ended. A few bullet points for the week:

On Tuesday night both T and S had their first baseball games. I attended T’s and M and N attended S’s. Both boys played well. S, in machine pitch, got on base twice. T hit a single and got hit by a pitch. At one point T stopped between 2nd and 3rd on a steal but still (barely) reached third. I froze my ASS off on the sidelines, by the way. The temps were below fifty and the wind blew strong. My sleeping bag kept me somewhat warm but kept blowing off my lap. Yes, I’m a wuss, I know.

Yesterday was long boring meeting hell day. I survived. God, I love working at a place where I can get up and walk out of boring meetings without repercussions. Yay tenure. One of the floor queens tried to get under my skin but you know, I’m better this year than in the past to letting that slide.

I’ve worked out a few times this week but I’ve been eating like shit. Hope my behavior evens out, at least.

Did I mention I finished “Outlander”? I’m reading “Alternadads: The True Story of One Family’s Struggle to Raise a Cool Kid in America” now. So far so good. The author lived in Rogers Park and nails the neighborhood in the first forty pages. A couple weeks ago I read “Know It All”; if you like that book, you’ll like “Alternadads”.

http://www.amazon.com/Alternadad-Story-Familys-Struggle-America/dp/1400095581/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1212184892&sr=8-1

Today’s weather is beautiful, warm and breezy. M and I sat under the gazebo and talked this afternoon. We have N’s baseball practice at 6. The boys are throwing hard enough to warrant wearing a baseball glove, so I dug my ancient first baseman glove (with my original phone number written in my mom’s handwriting on the leather) out of the garage. Fun. We’ll play some baseball while N’s practicing. Tomorrow I’ll finish the garden. Tomorrow night we’re at the Brewers/Astros game with the little league.

By the way, we’re kind of broke. Not sure why. That’s ok. I don’t need anything (except maybe mulch).

More later. Cool Friday night. I’m feeling fine.

Two pics:

1. A brainstorming session from work on Wednesday. See? I do something during the day.
2. Wednesday night, 7:30PM, M at a meeting, boys and animals in the living room.

I’m listening to Aphex Twin’s “Rhubarb”, a song I will forever associate with trains after my last Chicago trip. This afternoon I put together an ambient playlist. Sounds good.

Today I recovered from the weekend. After J and Mell left I cleaned up the house and read “Outlander” on the front porch. After some fairly cool days today the temps rose above 80. Eventually I moved into the living room, behind the cool shades, and read further. This morning I was down to the last 130 pages or so and now I’m down to the last 35. I love that exhilaration as I near the end of a book. Hopefully I’ll finish tonight. The Brewers won, I checked on and off, and I slept for a bit while M and the boys hit the beach with their friends. Since I ate like shit all weekend I stuck with bananas, salad, and yogurt most of the day. N is lining his matchbox cars on the living room floor. Earlier I took a bath as well and I feel like I could use another. The heat may keep me up a bit later but I’d be happy to sleep early, rise early, meditate, read, write, work out and go to work. I will welcome self-discipline in the morning. Good night.

Two more:

1. T and N in the apple tree.
2. Left to Right: RA and Asshole of the Century

Five new pics:

1. My new Stars of the Lid poster.
2. N and his marshmellows.
4. S and T winding down at the bonfire.

T is on the couch, watching some creepy cartoon movie. S is on Webkins. Everyone else is still sleeping, J on the porch, M and N upstairs, Mell upstairs, too. I’ve been up since about 4AM digging the quiet house.

Yesterday was long but decent. J hurt his ankle on Friday night, playing with Ahab and the exercise ball, so he limped around most of the morning. We took S to baseball practice. Only five kids showed up (who schedules basketball practice on Memorial Day weekend?) so he got lots of coaching and hit pretty well. After that we watched baseball (both Cubs and Brewers lost) and I threw some fly balls to the boys. We ordered a pizza and started a half-hearted bonfire. Some of the neighbors and their kids wandered into the yard and the energy picked up. The kids had fun chasing each other with foam swords and climbing in the apple tree. I started drinking and caught a pretty good buzz. Not long after sundown the rain started falling and the thunder and lightning picked up in earnest. By nine or so we were in full-on storm mode under the gazebo. I had the western seat so I get soaked. I decided to pass on “Lars and the Real Girl” and stumbled upstairs, falling asleep with the skylights open and the storm echoing through the room. This morning I woke to the gazebo pieces on the back deck. Apparently the drunken trio decided to take it down in the middle of the night because of the storm. Somebody better put it back together today.

Work tomorrow. Warmer today. More later.

Four quick pics...

1. T on the deck after we got back from Prince Caspian.
2. The side of the house after I finished last weekend's weeding/mulching.
3. S goofing off near the woodruff (my favorite spring flowers).
4. The sky over the garage last Saturday. That's the sky I see when I sit on the back deck.

Wow, long week, eh? I’ve not written in the journal. The semester ended, we had a lot of meetings, I caught up on gardening, etc. Later this afternoon J and Mell arrive from Chicago. The house is almost clean. The laundry needs folding, I should clean off the back deck in anticipation of the raising of the gazebo, and M’s out working in the garden. After that I think we’re done. Oh, I have to hang two prints. Then I’m done. The second “Blinking Lights” is playing, and except for a brief interlude when I had to keep Nathaniel from trying to fill up the watering can in our bathroom (for some reason, by the way, the watering can was half-filled with sawdust) I’m feeling calm for the first time in a couple days.

Yesterday was decent but cold, fifty or so and windy as hell. The yard work I had planned on completing didn’t get done. I cleaned the house instead while M observed student teachers. The Wii returned after a week of disappearance thanks to small children fighting over who got to be which character on Super Smash Brothers. After school T and I saw “Prince Caspian”. N had baseball and S was at a friend’s so he and I took the opportunity to see a movie for which his brothers are too young. I thought the movie was great but way too intense for little kids. T and I bond over films like “Prince Caspian.” He likes the broad, sweeping epics. I think he also likes doing “older kid” things with me. We both gorged ourselves on popcorn and diet pepsi. T’s a good kid. He should get what he wants sometimes.

After the movie we picked up the SOTL poster from the framers (slight scratch, was it there when I brought it in?) and drove home. I cut the grass quickly before sundown, took a bath with Outlander, and channel surfed until downing some melatonin and falling asleep near midnight. I slept badly. Not sure why.

This morning T and I finished the deck planters and flower boxes. We also hit the local plant place and picked up basil, peppers, tomatoes, sage, watermelon, cucumbers and some others I can’t remember. Once we got the boxes/planters done we turned over the garden to M. Half the neighborhood was over, including the shrieking neighbor children. M finally told them to play something different when one of the girls got bitchy. Oh, and S and N fought over Wii again so I relieved them of the video game privilege again. I swear, sometimes I wish we had never bought that machine.

I need a mellow weekend. I’m in a good place. I just need a mellow weekend.

More pictures in a minute.

The boys are reading on the couch (S reading a marvel hero encyclopedia, T a Deltora Quest book) while we listen to Mozart’s wind serenades. I should make a classical CD for the car. I’ve tuned out to classical lately. Anyway, the air is cool, mid-fifties, and I could use some tea. Maybe after I finish writing.

Last night I drank but my pacing was off (too much too early, too little too late) so didn’t get much besides dehydration from the experience. This morning I woke late, maybe 8AM, and saw the kids briefly before M hustled them off to church for the teacher/volunteer breakfast. I might have attended but I had graduation this afternoon. While M and the boys were gone I cleaned most of the first floor (all but the porch) while listening to Los Campesinos and Camera Obscura. I went for a quick run downtown, since I knew I would be sitting for a couple hours later, but dehydration wore me out quickly. Still I’m glad I ran. Later I took another shower, steamed the graduation gown, and got in the car for the ride downtown. I noticed my rear driver’s side tire looked deflated. I drove on it anyway as I didn’t want to show up late for graduation. After snagging a downtown parking spot (I’m getting the hang out downtown Milwaukee’s parking subculture) I hustled into the Bradley Center and found the faculty line. I had to pee something fierce, however, so I snuck down a hallway (past the Bucks’ locker room), propped a door open with my book, and found a bathroom. I hung out with friends until the procession started. My hat is kind of bent. Did anyone notice? The ceremony was adequate. I give our departing all the credit in the world for keeping the focus on our graduates. She wouldn’t have mentioned her departure, I don’t think, if the VP hadn’t stopped the ceremony to give her a present. Some students busted me for reading Cannery Row during the ceremony, yelling “Good book, Tony?” and laughing hysterically when they passed my row. Oh, an ancient nun also gave a nine minute benediction. That might be a new record. The faculty collectively held in their laughter and hustled out the door. I found a free air device next to a Cedarburg gas station, inflated the tire, and drove home. After dinner the boys played upstairs while M and I watched an episode of Heroes. I’m feeling mellow tonight. A movie, maybe? The departing president talked, in her final speech, about the importance of learning to love what you have and rely on material things for your happiness. Good speech. I’ll keep it in mind as the boys and I listen to Mozart and read our library books. Good night.

Saturday night, twenty before eight, and I’m slightly drunk. I started drinking at about 4PM. I don’t drink early often. After inhaling a few bottles I decided to pace myself. Won’t be long until I pass from “slightly drunk” to “drunk” and beyond, though.

Last night I had a hard time sleeping. I know why. Five diet cokes over fourteen hours. That’ll do it, eh? My Friday afternoon meeting lasted longer than expected for no good reason whatsoever. The committee should have approved the student request in about thirty seconds but took fifteen minutes. I left work and drove home. The lawn was long, and I thought of cutting it before dinner but the computer distracted me until I got off my ass and pulled out the lawn mower. After hanging out a while with the boys I…what in the hell did I do last night? I swear, my memory gets worse week by week. I don’t remember. Later, though, I read Outlander and answered messages until 1AM or so, when I fell asleep on the front porch futon.

This morning I woke to find the predicted rain late to arrive. Yay! I worked in the yard (actually the side of the house) from about 10AM until about 3PM. I pulled wayward grass out from around the front yard tree, pulled weeds all along the side of the house, trimmed along the front and sides, drove to the mulch place and bought ten huge bags of mulch, spread the mulch along the side of the house and a few other small places (e.g. around the ornamental grass), pulled out the failed anti-weed carpet (it took the weeds along when removed, at least), put down new anti-weed carpet, and spread mulch on that. I was pleasantly tired by the time I finished. The landscaping still needs work, of course, but I was happy with today’s progress. Later I showered, started drinking, and read from Outlander a bit more. The beautiful weather turned a while back and the cold rain will be here full-on soon. I’m listening to SOTL in the dark. What should I do next?

Graduation is tomorrow. Bleh. Maybe I’ll make cookies. Good night.

Pictures from Wednesday's walk through the woods and graveyard...

Ok, I'm in my office, writing on my email. I've never written a journal entry on anything but my laptop but I have a few spare minutes before a meeting and I don't feel like working. I'm writing this directly into my email, cut and pasting it into the blog, then later I'll cut and paste the entry into my journal word document. So there.

Yesterday was a good day. I arrived at the office by 7:30AM and managed a decent amount of productivity through lunch. At 11:30 I put on my gym shoes and a long sleeve t-shirt and walked the 2 miles to the local post office. The air was a bit cool, about 60, but the sun was shining. I cut through a small residential neighborhood and say rabbits, two magnolia trees, and a woman who kept going in and out of houses with different dogs. After mailing a package I walked (uphill) back. The break from the office did me well. Seminar didn't start until 4:30 so I caught up on email and organized my office until the student teachers arrive. Our undergrads graduate Sunday so this was their last class. Always fun. Last night I caught the end of T's baseball practice (had to lean on him a bit for screwing around in the field) and read from Outlander before collapsing into bed at midnight.

This morning I woke to an alarm for the first time in forever. Normally I don't bother even setting the alarm but I wanted to rise early (6AM) and I was low on sleep. The alarm worked but I slept until 6:30 or so anyway. After picking up orange juice for today's meeting I discovered my car stereo isn't working. Fuck! I hope something magical starts and NPR and my CDs start playing again. We'll see. I'm out of here soon, thank god. I need a mellow weekend. Stupid Sunday graduation.

More later...might cut the grass when I get home.

Wow, is it the middle of May already?

I was not very productive today but maybe I needed a day like today. Tomorrow out of guilt and boredom I will kick some major ass at work. This morning I answered a slew of emails, etc. and read the paper. I didn’t wake until eight, by the way, very rare for me, but I was up late last night watching the Brew game (four out of five, they’re showing some life.) After lunch I researched alternative student teaching situations and answered some messages. Later I took S to baseball practice.

Bulllllets!

I’m listening to Los Campesino’s “Hold On, Youngster” a lot lately. They’re playing in Chicago Memorial Day weekend. Do I want to go? Not sure yet. Sounds like fun.

I’ve reached page 300 of “Outlander.” Their wedding night lasted about fifteen pages. I’m digging the book. Finishing won’t be hard.

American Gladiators started again Monday. Our family is unified around American Gladiators. It might be the only show around which we gather and shout at the television.

I’m almost done with a second viewing of “Juno.” The film holds up to another look. I would have totally crushed on Ellen Page in high school. She would have thought I was a dork, of course.

I took some cool pictures of Shadow in the woods yesterday but M has the camera at school (some thing at which Tristan is singing one song) so I can’t post them now. Maybe tomorrow.

More later!

Today is Tuesday, right? I can’t remember. Once my classes end I have to reorient to new “days of the week” indicators. Yes, today’s Tuesday. I remember because C was at work (she only works Tuesdays and Thursdays) and we watched the first hour of last night’s “American Gladiators” tonight.

Today was a sucky day. This morning was productive and calm, at least until noon or so, when I got in a screaming match with another chair at work. Ok, maybe we didn’t scream at each other, but we weren’t exactly friendly. I don’t need that shit. More on it, later, maybe.

I don’t feel like writing. Rain is about to fall and I want to go stand in the rain. More tomorrow.

Ok, here are some pictures I took this morning. M's mom bought her a new camera. Our other camera was only a couple years old but apparently camera technology accelerates quickly because this camera was cheaper but way better. This camera has a black and white setting (and sepia and blue, too!) so I walked through town and took some pics.

I took the pics while walking with Shadow through Port this morning. Eight are of different scenes in Port, including the coffee shop at which I often work and a few view of downtown (under construction) and the park along the water. You can see Shadow in a couple. Four of me screwing around with the camera in the library doorway. I like those. More later. Cold and rainy today.

Not long after dawn, looks like a rainy day. I can hear the birds. Last night the weather channel said today featured a “100%” chance of rain. I had never seen that prediction before. Apparently they were quite confident on their prediction.

What the hell did I do yesterday? In the morning I went to Target for a backpack (for M’s mothers day present) and a new water bottle. I went with the 20 buck Thermos “rock” model. It goes for thirty bucks online but Target had it on sale for 20 bucks.

http://thermos.com/Product_detail.aspx?CatCode=THER&SubcategoryID=1&ProductID=273

Doesn’t my new water bottle look like a torpedo? It’s huge but 1) it won’t give me cancer, I hope, like plastic water bottles and 2) it’s cool.

Later I just sort of hung around the house until M and her M left for the day. The boys played on the computer, and outside for a bit, while I cleaned, ate lunch, and watched both “The Office” and “30 Rock.” M and her mom arrived home earlier than expected, about 2PM, so I took the Stars of the Lid poster to the framing place. They had me sign a piece of paper so they cut down the litho about an eighth of an inch. I didn’t mind. I wish the litho didn’t have a small tear, but I don’t think the defect will show once the framing is finished. As stupid as it sounds I felt as if I accomplished something after I left the framing place. When I returned home I took a bath with Outlander (again) and gathered up my energy for a dinner out with M.

We settled on a decent Italian place after M picked out a mothers day present for her mom. I sort of watched the end of the Brewers game (fucking Gagne…I had so much faith in you) over her head and struggled through the fatigue. After dinner (pretty good panini, didn’t finish it all) we returned home. Maybe we should have hit Starbucks or something, but I was exhausted. I read a bit more from Outlander, considered getting drunk, but fell asleep. I managed to asleep until 5:10AM. Rock and roll. More later.

Middle of the night, or early Saturday morning, whichever you prefer. I woke near 2:30, freezing, and came downstairs to check the thermostat. Someone lowered the heat to 65 during the day but forgot to raise it to 67 at night. The temperature outside hovers near 35. So I’m up, I guess, for now. Maybe I’ll watch “The Office.”

Thursday sucked but yesterday was much better. Thursday night M’s mom pissed me off to the point where I saw colors flashing before my eyes and I thought my inevitable heart attack would make a premature appearance. I had picked up the boys up from school and, as I walked in the house, M’s mom gave them instructions as to what they could eat and do for the next hour. What the fuck? I’m their dad! Back the fuck off! I think she sensed my frustration so she scuttled off to the living room with her book (a biography of Barbara Walters) under the full spectrum light. Later I teed off on M, which I do maybe once every five years, because M gave her mom instructions as to what to do with the kids after school like I was f—king retard (excuse my politically incorrect language, please) or something. M said she wasn’t sure if I was going to be home (I had picked the kids after calling the neighbor who planned on picking them up to warn her I would pick them up) so she told her mom what to do. Whatever. Even if that were the case M’s mom should have deferred. The men in M’s family are traditionally useless. There’s some deep hegemony there. You get a lot of control when you characterize fathers as useless. And I’m not fucking buying that. Anyway, I took T to baseball practice where I froze on the sidelines while reading Outlander and listening to Wilco. T did well but he’s always nervous when he first meets new people so he faked an injury near the end of practice. Hey, I’m with you buddy, I did that for years. He says he wants to keep playing, though. He’s a good kid. After I arrived home I showered and went straight to bed.

Yesterday I woke near four and left for the train at 6:30. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to park downtown and get a ticket. The ticket machine was broken so I bought one at the counter. The new Milwaukee train station is decent, but I don’t know how long the space will remain clean and airy. I hope they maintain the building and windows.

http://emptystreets.net/media/images/20060815_amtrak_new.jpg

I settled into a station seat in the corner and listened to a little music but mostly spaced out and people-watched. A couple of old women sold (gave away?) copies of the Watchtower near the track entrance. They gossiped back and forth while the passengers passed. The suit guys with their expensive coffee talked on their cell phones. If you’re so important, buddy, why are you taking the goddamn train?

I snagged a decent seat, once I boarded, and listened to Aphex Twin (“Rhubarb” twice in a row) and other ambient as we rolled through the Racine/Kenosha fields. An Asian woman, studying for a CPA exam on her laptop and with index cards, sat next to me from the airport stop on to Chicago. I tried to sneak answers to her multiple choice questions but I didn’t want to intrude. There was something wrong with the ticket machine at the airport, too, so the conductor let some people ride without paying. Free train trip! Not for me, though. I had already paid.

J and I met in the Union State great hall. We snagged breakfast at the satellite Billy Goat. I had a decent omelet, the first one I ever had on Styrofoam plates, while J had a disgusting egg thing that I don’t even want to describe here. He needed money, so we hit his cash machine at his old job. He ran into a friend and I sat on the edge of a fountain and watched guys clean the ground with those big machines you associate with polishing floors. I had never seen one outside before. We clean the ground now? Afterwards we walked to the Art Institute. The lines were long, two of them, one for members and one for the proletariat. Intimidated, we batted around the idea of skipping the exhibit. The lines moved quickly enough, however, and we snagged 1PM exhibit tickets at 11AM.

Since we had time to kill we hit Millennium Park. You know, I don’t miss Chicago all that much. I like visiting. I don’t think I’d want to live there again. Still, goddamn, the city did a great job with Millennium Park. I wish we had a similar space in Milwaukee. If you ever thought park design was a non-profession, walk through the space just north of the Art Institute. The designers, landscapers, and whoever else is responsible for this former-railroad space all deserves kudos for their efforts.

First we stood under the bean. I love how the gulls sit on top.

http://www.yellow-springs.k12.oh.us/ys-mls/_borders/Cloud%20Gate%20Millennium%20Park%20Chicago%207-04.jpg

Then we crossed the Pritzker Pavilion, where black kids on a field trip were playing football (I’m open!) and traversed the cool, snaking Gehry (sp?) bridge:

http://www.pps.org/graphics/upo-pages/millennium_bandshell_large

http://www.lynnbecker.com/repeat/Gehry/bridgecolumbusend.jpg

J says the city should keep the tennis courts, but fuck that, nobody was using them. We walked around the gardens, crossed back, and sat in the square drinking three dollar sodas. Man, what a beautiful space. As our exhibit ticket time drew near we walked past the face buildings (I don’t know what else to call them) where all the kids ran through the water:

http://sallygreene.org/Chicago/Chicago-Images/40.jpg

Good job on the park, hometown. I’m proud.

Back in the Art Institute I checked my backpack and we walked through the galleries. F called from work so I stood in the hall and talked while J checked out the older paintings. For a guy who hates art museums J looks at every picture for about ten minutes. We got into the Hopper exhibit right at 1. The last-day crowds were heavy but not unmanageable. I spent more time in the middle of the exhibit, around the city and Cape Cod pictures, this time. I noticed two new things that should have been obvious:

The woman in the NY theatre picture is an usherette, not a theatergoer. I should have noticed her uniform years ago. That painting is up in my dining room.
The background street in Nighthawks is very similar to the street in Sunday Morning. Again, both pictures are up in my dining room, and I never noticed the connection.

I’m glad I saw the show again before the closing. J and I walked back to Union Station. I read “Outlander” on the way home and reached my front door by 5PM. After shoveling lasagna into my mouth I took a bath with the book. Yes, historical romance in the bathtub. Draw your own conclusions. N and I read for a while (he said he only wanted to read with Daddy…take that, M’s mom!) until we both fell asleep.

My legs are killing me. A lot of walking/running lately. Hopefully I can take it easy today. More later.

Ooh, definitely journal-slacking in May. Time to get the journal in gear. I blame the end of the semester. Yesterday was exhausting. I showed up at work by 7:30AM and didn’t leave until 6:00PM. All the final student papers are flying into my mailbox at an alarming rate. I met with struggling students yesterday. Most of them have come along well. At the end of every semester, since I started teaching, I’ve never reached the end of a semester without feeling as if I should have covered more material.

So today was a decent day. I had planned on training down to Chicago for another look at the Hopper/Homer exhibit but construction traffic near the train station and general malaise kept me from the platform. By ten I had returned home. Apparently a car ran into a cable pole or something (I couldn’t see far down the block because of the police and fire vehicles) so we had no phone, cable, or wireless. I hit the coffee shop where, whew, the wireless worked. Wednesday mornings, however, are the unofficial “let’s meet at the coffee shop and gossip at 130 decibels” mornings for the local houswives. Jesus Christ, I swear at least twelve of them were present across three different tables. I sat at the counter and caught up on email. Those women are LOUD.

Later in the afternoon I finished “We Are The Night” (good, not great) and caught up on work.

Bullet points!

Sunday in Chicago wasn’t bad. My sister was in good spirits, the kids had fun spazzing out with their cousins, and the drive was clean. Plus I snagged a Giordano’s pizza out of the deal.
I started reading some weird book named “Outlander” I found on goodreads. It’s a historical romance. Yes, you read that correctly. I have never read one before and thought I should have the balls to check one out. Yes, the book is 850 pages. Apparently it reads quick.

I ran yesterday…felt good. As long as I run before 6:00AM I’m good to go.

James and I are meeting in Chicago Friday for the last Homer/Hopper exhibit look. I’m a bit worried about the crowds, as the exhibit closes Saturday, but how often do you get to see those paintings up close? Tomorrow I’ll have to work doubly hard to take Friday off, but that’s ok, I never take vacation. The U owes me.

M’s mom is in town. Maybe I’ll take in some movies while staying out of the way.

I need to do laundry. Maybe I’ll start it now.

More later! All the windows are open…need to work in the yard.

Whew, I haven’t written in a week. That’s rare. Oh well. Busy week. Let’s start with yesterday, shall we?

So…what did I do yesterday? Let me think. I didn’t leave the house much. In the morning I cleaned, wrote letters, and listened to the new DCFC and Scarlett Johannson. Oh, the boys had friends here for a sleepover, so they were in recovery mode. Shadow and I walked downtown to mail letters. We saw a cardinal on the bike path. The sky was overcast and full of fog although warmer than expected. Later I hung out with the boys and later after that I read from “Vurt.” I took a bath and started to fall asleep in the water. After I got out I took “Vurt” in the guest bedroom and, yes, fell asleep at about 4:30PM. I slept until 6AM. Guess I needed to sleep, eh?

Today we’re supposed to take the boys to see their cousins in Illinois. I wish we didn’t have to go but I guess today is as good a day as any and I usually avoid visits as a general rule. I suppose I can give in and go for a few hours. More later.