Another weekend half gone...

The nights are definitely cooler, and getting longer by the minute each day. Weather predicted to be hotting up all this coming week though, so we've still got plenty of summer left, even as I'm having to find warmer jammies to sleep in.

Today we hit a few yard and estate sales. Happy to pick up a second air purifier for a couple bucks. Himself used his compressor to clean up the HEPA filter, and has it in his bedroom now I think. May help his breathing/sleeping this winter. I also bought a bunch of larger planters for a fiver...about $50 worth...a real coup. I will use some of them to plant veggies in next year, if we're still here. There is one very artsy looking planter/saucer I'll repot my shamrock in, as the old pot is really past its prime. The shammies will appreciate the attention I'm sure. There is also one massive decorative terracotta pot that is very attractive. I'll use it for some pretty outdoor plant next year. The large pots are so pricey new, and it seems nobody turns them loose until they die. The two estate sales we went to today were across the street from each other...a widow and her neighbor, an old widower had recently passed away at the same time I guess. They were related somehow so the families got together for a joint sale. The woman had collected antiques and there was an outbuilding expressly used to display her stuffed animal collection and countless other knicknacks. I bought a glass bird there and gazed on the large array of Teddy bears. Probably several thousand dollars worth, all brand, spanking new, untouched by a child's hand. It made me rather sad.

I wonder at the point of gathering all those things over a lifetime. Do the collectors believe that a relative will treasure them...perhaps pass them down? I can't count the estate sales I've gone to where the descendents can't WAIT to get shed of their familial obligation to peddle off grandma's beloved china, silver, glassware and 'miscellaneous junque'. The only thing the relatives stubbornly cling to it seems, is real estate and grandma's good jewelry.

On the other side of the street the old man's considerable horde of "boy toys" brought out the bargain hunters by the carload. Himself picked up numerous items he wants for his collection of dusty ol' junk, before we both left happy. I suppose it won't be long before we see 'For Sale' signs on the lawns of both houses.

Estate sales are depressing to me as a rule. I like the sales where the folks just decide to try and make a little money off the crap they bought at sales and found they really didn't need. I get a particular kick out of seeing something for sale that I used to own. It makes me giggle when I see something I KNOW the value of because I bought it once myself, and know what I sold it for at the end of its usefulness to me. It doesn't happen often, but it's always a laugh.

Once in a local shop here I saw two brown pottery glasses, fashioned like carved Polynesian warrior shields. They were advertised as antiques ("perhaps Aztec?") GAWD...we had got them in Sparks, Nevada at Trader Dick's in John Ascuaga's Nugget in the late 70's; I wound up using the souvenir glasses as containers for forcing avocado seeds to sprout! The lime deposit from years of use was clearly etched on the inner rim of both vessels, yet here was a retailer palming them off as valuable items worth as I recall, $7.50 apiece! I had sold them for a quarter each...after getting them free for buying some dopey drink in a casino bar. I nearly lost my composure that day.

Anyway...not much excitement to report. Other than that the DHL people who were to deliver my new Dell Laptop apparently have lost said machine. The mouse came last Tuesday while I was gone from the house, and I assumed the laptop would arrive the next day after I checked the tracking number on the computer site. When it didn't come a call went to the DHL folks, who are at a loss to explain what could have happened. The package arrived in Spokane, and from there they don't know whatever could have befallen the thing. I was told today they will call me on Monday. We'll be in 'town' that day at the VA clinic for Himself's latest checkup. Tuesday I'll be going south on a cigarette run.

I'm off to snuggle under my feather duvet. It's 52F, and my legs are getting cold.

Sighhh.

Gone...

A man I barely knew died suddenly at his home in Dublin on 12 July. He was the father of my two dearest friends, Willie W., Tallaght and his sister Joan M., of Luton, England. I met the three of them in person in 2003 for the first time. Tom, the Da was such a spirited old man, I'll never forget him, and always regret not getting to know him better. He lived a long time, and much of his life was a struggle, but his eyes fairly twinkled with Irish humour. Last night I lifted a pint for him. I'm glad he didn't linger past 81...he wasn't the kind of man who would have suffered being an invalid. Slan Abhaile Tom.

Meanwhile my favorite member of the Gang of Five has apparently fled the homestead. Blondel, the Golden-eyed Ginger Prince of Troubadours was last seen strolling in the yard on Saturday the 12th, when we left the house to go yard saling. We were home well before dusk, and Blondel has not returned. The other cats know that he's gone; their behavior is different. We drove round the neighborhood, and I've called out for Blondel at all intervals, to no avail. We've seen no sign of said feline...flattened or otherwise. He was not one to roam about, despite his name. He would always come home at night, and usually curl up next to my shoulder in the bed.
Something may have frightened him off...and he may still come home...but I'm afraid that's wishful thinking. He had the best personality of the bunch, and I miss him a LOT.

Here's an old Petula Clark song...a favorite of mine allll these years, though I can no longer hit the notes like I used to... Cat in the Window

It's a hazy day, with not much sun and very little breeze. The lawn is very dry so I'll risk turning the water on it this afternoon and hope to not get in trouble with the laird of the park...I can never remember if we're the odd or even day water schedule.

My new Dell laptop is floating about someplace between here and Spokane. The ruby red mouse was delivered yesterday while I was away...but the laptop needs a signature I guess, so I may not get the new toy until Friday...or later...I'm scheduled to be gone that day too, dammitall.

On other fronts...the quack wrote me a scrip for some cholesterol lowering poison...with side effects like Cirrhosis of the LIVER... I paid for the pills but after reading the literature I think I'll opt for other measures. I've got enough wrong with me as it is...I don't need a ruined liver.

On this pill one is not to drink or eat grapefruit!!! WHY you ask...well it seems that large amounts of grapefruit juice make the pills work TOO quickly.....hmmm???? WTF...wouldn't that be a good thing....to drop cholesterol like a ROCK??? Anyhow...I think I'll try a fish oil pills and grapefruit diet. I doubt seriously if either one will kill me. I'll try to lower the goddam cholesterol on my own, thankyouveddymuch. The "practice" of medicine just fucking boggles my mind.

On a happier note I see a few little green tomatoes popping out on my one Bush Early Girl plant. There are a LOT of hopeful looking yellow blossoms, so maybe we'll get a small crop of salad fixin's, if I can keep the plant contented. Fingers crossed.

Today's events...

Not a lot going on, really. Much cooler this morning, with less gusty winds and smoke from the fires over in Washington. I got dressed and went yard saling in the afternoon, but didn't find a lot I couldn't live without so I spent $3.75 on some French Ribbon, a good hole punch, a windchime I liked the tinkle of, a stoneware vase complete with a silk flower bouquet. and a set of sheets and pillowcases. Oh and a beautifully handcrafted large candle holder made of multicolored leaded glass panels. It will be pretty with a big ol' candle when we lose power.

We went to happy hour for a couple drinks and came home. Made BLTs on croissants for supper and eventually put in a VHF video tape I'd never seen. Play it to the Bone, with Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson. A love story of two second rate boxers and their last chance at a title shot. It was better than I expected, and I expected it to be good. In the opening shots I found my newest favorite song, Here's to Life... I'm sorry I don't sing as well as I once did...this would be my theme song.

I went to Montana too early maybe; the weather was gorgeous and the mosquitoes weren't all that terrible, but in checking the Fort Benton Chamber of Commerce events calendar this morning, I see that there's a Peddler's Fair upcoming on July 19th...I would LOVE to attend. They also have a weekly Farmer's Market on Thursday afternoon's...I'm sure that would be fun to stroll through along the levee. I really enjoy events that involve local people doing their thing.

Which is certainly not to imply that I didn't have a super time on my solitary sojourn in June. I love going back to Montana, for any length of time, especially in the good weather months. I'm a fair weather traveller anymore. Winter is nothing more than a test of survival and sanity for me, so I know I couldn't actually LIVE in my homeland. Gawd knows it's bad enough suffering Idaho winters. I couldn't do it without the help of Himself to do all the driving, and most of the heavy drudge work entailed with winter months. I do well enough shovelling a small section of our entry way, but it's actually difficult for me to even get dressed after the snow flies. The season enshrouds me to a point where I'd make a good mole I suppose...or a forgotten turnip in a moldy root cellar.

Anyway, I got up early and loaded up the car after a quick shower. Himself was still home the day I left for Montana, so we had coffee together and double checked all the things I might be forgetting. I left him a tentative list of where I'd be, kissed him goodbye and pointed the car in the direction of the sun, which hadn't quite poked over the horizon yet. I wanted to be beyond the Montana border before the rising sun blinded me.

Half an hour later I was looking at Big Sky, breathing Montana air. The border is only 30 easy miles from our house, and I was cooking up the road, just getting to know the feel of the Cutlass. By the time I bypassed Missoula I'd found a stride that was comfortable, and easily slid into my travel mood. Miles didn't matter, and neither did being alone under the wide Montana sky. Whatever cares I had were left behind me, and I had a week of absolute freedom ahead. No coffee to make, meals to prepare, cats to clean up after, and no one to answer to for any damn thing I chose to do. How much more perfect could it get. Every woman ought to try a little solitude, and I was long overdue.

The lack of traffic on the Interstate surprised me a little, but the price of gas explained a lot; after I turned off I-90 toward Lincoln there were even fewer cars. I was delighted. The CD player was playing my favorite Celtic Chill album and I tootled along in my own cocoon like I knew where I was going. I stopped once before I reached Lincoln to take a couple pictures.

The silence and the cloudless sky were brilliant.

In Lincoln I stopped at a cafe and had coffee, some sausage and hashbrowns before topping off the gas tank at the shocking price of $4.10 a gallon! My first mistake was not gas-ing up in Missoula where petrol was still under $4.00, but my fuel tank wasn't all that thirsty. I just wasn't sure what kind of mileage the Cutlass would get on a trip of this nature, or how long it would be before I hit another town where choices were not limited to one station. I had nearly 200 virgin miles to cover and one thing I needed to know for sure was that I wouldn't be running out of gas on some forlorn prairie.

Efficiently I wrote down the mileage and tucked the gas receipt in my notebook and hit the trail again. Next stop, Augusta.

Simply lush and lovely music...

1. Today was warm and breezy, not hot enough to paralyze the legs off me, so I started some laundry and did a bit of drudge stuff before I sat down to surf. There's a new album I'd heard of from Tara Music (a fine place for lovers of Celtic/Irish music BTW), but I couldn't find adequate information about it at first so the Wildlife Album caught my fancy. Just a few clips convinced me I should seek out the first and second discs of this interesting work, which I'd never heard of before. Well well well, was I ever so pleased to find both CDs for sale in iTunes.. TA DAH...I spent most of the rest of the day listening to my latest acquisitions. Can't express how chuffed I am. It's exactly the kind of music I love to listen to while driving...and the price was right. Hopefully some of the profit will make it to the Wildlife charities that sparked the idea for these musical treasures. If it helps at all it will be worth it.
   
   This song is on one of the albums, but a more professionally recorded version is proffered.
   
   
   
   Note to my lovely girls... I have burnt a copy of the compilation for you...one disc for each...to share or use as drink coasters...whatever...watch for 'em...
   
   I see Himself is home so I must need go and look busy...