Hey There! It's 8:21 AM EDT, 63°F, Humidity 71%, Wind 9 mph SW, sunny
While the weather hasn't been overly hot lately, we've had a few blustry days with high winds. It looks like those are now calming down, and we're in for a pretty nice weekend of weather.
Yesterday started out with a bang. I was going through my regular coffee, had it made, and when I looked out into the screened porch, the screen doors leading out from the porch were open, and it seemed there were a number of flies in the porch. So I figured I'd get my tennis racket bug-zapper and do a little fly demolition. But when I stepped out onto the porch, there was a small animal carcass lying right in the center of the floor. It was about the size of a squirrel, but I could not really tell what kind of animal it was.
Needless to say, I was startled and grossed out. I spent a minute or two staring at it, trying to figure out how it got there. With the screen door having been open, my best guess was some other animal dragged it in. I figured it had to have happened between the time we finished dinner yesterday to the time the security camera came on at 10PM, which is not a big window of time. The cameras run from 10PM to 7 AM, so there is a small chance it happened just before I came downstairs yesterday morning, which would have been around 7:30. And neither DW nor myself can remember leaving the screen door open, which of course doesn't mean that we didn't. DW speculated that the high winds might have blown the door open, but I find this explanation unlikely.
At any rate, I went to the basement, got the snow shovel, and got the carcass on the shovel and took it outside. That was the extent of my immediate reaction. I went back inside and had my coffee, waiting for DW to come down before we cleaned up the scene of the crime.
After we discussed all the possibilities (none of which we could prove), I took the garbage pail outside and dumped the carcass in with the body, then sealed up the bag and put it in the garbage pail, waiting for garbage day. I got the mop and pail for DW, and she sanitized the floor and washed the screens while she was at it. As she was doing this, I went down to the mechanic and picked up the second car - another $1K+ repair bill. When I got back, she was done and resting in her chair. I had to caution her not to work too much, but she seemed OK and had taken her break at just the right time.
We had some breakfast while the porch dried out. I'm feeling very fatigued from working on my project, and am trying to rest during the day, but things have to get done. I started my laundry while I sat down to read some headlines and finally write yesterday's post. I took a shower, did a correction from an Amazon order, did some research for my rotisserie team for replacement players, and finally headed out to project work.
I was at the project site for 4 hours, and working in the afternoon has proven to be a bit challenging, as it's not my usual time to work on this kind of project. My partner is a good person but rather flighty, one of those people who presents an optimistic personality, but doesn't quite grasp information as quickly as you'd like. She's also slightly on the defensive side, making excuses or apologizing when it's not necessary. I imagine the final product will be OK, but not exactly great. It's not a consequential project by any means, so I don't care all that much. But I am already wishing I hadn't said yes.
I got home about 6:30 PM, and had a leftover slice of pizza with a salad. I watched the ballgame, checking out a few videos on the side - not watching them, but just trying to get an idea of what they were about. When the game ended with a win, I played one video completely. It contained a tutorial on how to use a solar controller to charge a power station directly, bypassing the unit's BMS controller. It's interesting, but I doubt I will ever put it to use.
As I got ready for bed, I realized that the change in my routine has been challenging to adapt to. Whereas my days were filled with things I chose to do, now they are filled with a major project I have to do, and my mornings have shifted from being relaxing and waking up slowing to getting everything ready to get to the project. It's also physically hard to sustain the energy needed for each day's work. Back in the day this wasn't a problem, but now of course it is, and I have to adapt to it. The feeling of being constantly fatigued is not good, and I am learning a hard but useful lesson - I will never return to pre-retirement energy levels. If I don't lower the expectation bar, I will always be feeling like this. Adaptation is the key.
Bedtime was 10:50 PM
Notable deaths: James Burrows, creator of the TV sitcom "Cheers" and famous TV sitcom director, 85.
'Til We Meet Again!