Owen.

Please feed Winter's kids, Owen. And then go see whether Hina's lambed. If so, wake me up. If not, and if I'm not up by ten, please milk. Thank you. The performance of any other chores is between you and your conscience.

I'll change the home page back later.

Busy day! We started out herding, of course, with the crew (in theory) me and Owen. In the end we were both given jobs, which we were supposed to do while herding. Save us all from trying to do regular chores with Dad around! So I was stuck trying to pick up trash and supervise the herd simultaneously, and Owen wasn't even supposed to pretend that he was herding, so far as I could tell. Sigh. So we went in from herding, took a break, and then I mashed tomatoes for Mom, who is trying to stay ahead of the garden without much success. She hasn't drowned yet in tomato sauce, at any rate. Following such indoor kitchen-based activities (there was cabbage beet relish, too) we all had some comp time, except Doug, who had gone with Dad to get a clothes dryer from Terry-at-work. While I was at Della, and therefore in an ideal position for phone answering, there was a call from a man in Adams who had a washer he wanted Dad to fix. He was willing to deliver it, and would deliver it in fifteen minutes. Did we have anyone here to help unload? I cast a panicky look at Peter and said we did. When he came, in an aged pickup with "Mayflower Honey" on the doors, he was accompanied by a grandson perhaps my age. They made short work of the dryer, I took Mr. Brewster's name and number, and they left. All very efficient.

Next the boys and I had to go pick up the pasture. Gah. They mostly sat around in a tree while I was out there, but after I went inside they seem to have accomplished something on their own accounts, which is good. They got on the computer while I waited around for Mom, and then she and I practiced my driving. I spent some time driving around the neighborhood, then she had me practice steering in the parking lot by the ballpark. It was a bit of a relief to actually get out and practice; I keep worrying that I'm just going to waste my permit and never actually learn. But maybe not.

By this time it was late afternoon, and I felt I could get away with going upstairs and reading. Mom has a new author for me, a rather good sci-fi writer named Connie Willis. The book was a novella, titled Uncharted Territories, and Mom wanted me to pay attention to Willis' backstory technique, which is very smooth. The story is fun, and I'm considering pursuing the author--except I still haven't gotten through Loretta Chase, even the books Mom wants me to read. Ack. And of course there's Diana Wynne Jones, but I've given up on getting through her in anything approaching an organized manner and am going to grab her books where and when I can. This decision was heavily influenced by the fact that Gere is the only branch with anything approaching a decent collection, and it's still pretty sad. Also I have to compete with the kids for 'em. Sigh. I may not finish reading her before I'm hunting her down for my kids.

Dad and Doug got home, after four, only to unload appliances and take off again after more. Then, when they got home for good, they had to start fixing things. The focus was on Mr. Brewster's washer, which was speedily healed; I'm still not sure if it was fixed by the time he phoned, or if Dad finished up while talking. Anyway, Dad was on the phone for quite a while, in that time discovering: Mr. Brewster is descended from the Governor Brewster of Plymouth Colony; he was very impressed with our professionalism (coughcoughchokeouch); his grandson had us pegged for homeschoolers right off; and he'll trade us a beehive for the washer repair. Ack!

Dad and Doug have replaced Mom's no-longer-functioning dryer, and they tried to put in a new washing machine but the new one didn't work. It was determined more economical to put the old one back. But we have a new dryer.

Owen is down with the flu. The germ has been making the rounds, starting with Mom, then going to Doug. Doug's symptoms have been reduced to a persistent cough, and Mom's entirely better, but Owen's in pretty bad shape. At least nobody's throwing up.

Golden Retriever, sheltie

Had to get up and get moving, because Philip had assigned housework before the bridge ladies came. I'd vacuumed upstairs and was starting on the bathroom when Stephanie appeared unexpectedly. By the time I was waiting for Syd to come for the lark, Lee was here too--albeit expected. 

It was a pretty good walk. We ran first of all into Jackson and his lady, followed shortly by the woman I'd met just before the second snake; she was accompanied by a man who might have been her husband. The next meeting was under the trees; a(n older) teenager with his sheltie stopped to engage in wary conversation with Lark. After that it was just us. When we got home I came over to Syd's to get some library books; I'd given them to her to take back, but as Philip was retreating into town while the bridge group was here, I took advantage of the opportunity to go to the library. Syd and I decided I might as well take the books back while I was at it. While I was there Syd had a video for me to watch, and then I showed her and Ralph the wedding video. They were pretty appreciative. Then Phil called and said we were leaving in ten minutes. I came home to find him sitting outside.

The library was pretty busy. Beguilement is still not available at East branch, so I found another Loretta Chase and sat down. It wasn't bad, but my favorite is still Mr. Impossible. I think I need to read more Carsington books, though--so far I've only seen two of the brothers catch it, and I know there are at least two more with their own books. Anyway, we ended up checking out and going home for lunch. (Philip had an Ian Banks.)

Larked after dinner. It was pretty cool out, and we weren't the only ones out. The Serious Discussion couple ran into us at the curve by the pond. Lark seemed unusually uncertain about greeting them, though. She was less uncertain about charging off into the scrub on the far side of the creek; there was one very impressive bound straight into the air at one point, as she tried to get a better look at her quarry. Unlike the doe earlier, this quarry turned around. The next I knew of it, Lark was charging out of the scrub, pursued by a coyote. It saw me and did an impressive about-face; Lark promptly did the same and started to chase it. I used the Voice. She came back, without having gotten very far. Possibly she is beginning to take coyotes seriously, although I somehow doubt it. Sigh. After that we didn't meet anyone until passing the couple on their way back, near the gate.

Watched Silence of the Lambs. I guess it was pretty good, but I don't deal with creeps very well.

Episode 6 of Castle: "Always Buy Retail." Mystery: occult. Personal: ex-wife trouble.

Slept in--not sure why, but I don't think Grandma called me. That or I just don't remember. Total menace of a reprobate canine in my dream, though, and then the insane family that produced him--in training if not genetics. Seemed like they were at B's--dunno. Crazy horse, too, but that was all right. Oh well. It wasn't much of a loss--it's cold and wet outside, to the extent of wearing a jacket on our walk. Met a doe--I think she was the ill one from a few days ago, but in substantially better shape, to the extent of being able to leap the fence when Lark took after her. It began to sprinkle as we got home, and was raining seriously by noon. Carole and Grandma went to run errands, and I have laundry to do--Grandma wants me to wash it ahead of time, before packing. I feel like I'm packing a week early--not the intention, but probably how it'll end up if I don't watch myself.

Got some laundry done. Read Faust, began the Divine Comedy. 

Had dinner at lunchtime, rather late, and dinner even later--Grandma wasn't hungry, having snacked earlier, so I just warmed up some of last night's pasta. Then we larked. It was a bit cool, not that the jacket stayed on long, but we only met one person. Everywhere were signs of water, from today's downpour. The level of sand in the creek bottom was down by a couple of inches, and what remained was packed hard.

German shepherd mix?, blue tick hound

Urgh. Was reading Memory last night. Didn't finish it, for all the good that did.

It was fairly cool on our walk, at least. We were pretty warm when we got home at ten-thirty, though, after the full circuit. Oh, and there was a little white pickup parked up behind the dumpster at the Heller house. Another pickup came by a little after I saw it; there was a seal or something that I didn't get a good look at on the door, and the driver stopped to ask, before driving down to Nevada, if the truck was mine. Well, no. 

Finished Memory. Miles, Miles.....

Grandma had me do some more weeding in the rock path. I got everything in the shade. While I was out there I saw a helicopter, which is common, but it wasn't really a common helicopter. I mean I've never seen this type flying around before. It was a military type, painted olive drab, and it was the type that has two equal rotors. I looked it up, and I think it's called Chinook. The photo I found--from the Miramar Air Show--was of a white one, though.

Ralph came over. Grandma paid him for the lawn, and we discussed the lessons a little further. The problem, apparently, is that parking lots are quietest on weekends. I didn't ask Ralph for weekend lessons, Phil can do that..... oh well. Work in progress.

At seven we larked. It was sunny but cool, and very nice out. We met a group of four, two men, woman, and boy, with two dogs. The off-leash dog looked like a red German Shepherd, which was probably a mix. The leashed one was (I asked) a blue-tick hound. Never met one of those before....Anyway. The clouds, present but distant at the beginning of the walk, were coming closer, and there were rare drops of rain by the time we were halfway home. We made it home before the rain started seriously.

Hmmmm, gotta mop tonight....

Fifteen pushups, twenty situps.

Got up without too much trouble at seven-thirty. Fed Maddie after breakfast, then got dressed for church. I ended up wearing my green English teacher dress, remembering much too late that the fabric is too heavy for midsummer. Sigh. It cooled down before we came home, though, so it wasn't a morning of misery.

The sermon was on sanctification. Pastor Reese took it through the meaning of sanctification, the duties toward God and man, and sanctification as a way to salvation--the analogy he used was a road, with transportation still needed. It was a pretty good sermon, anyway--Dave's usually are.

We stayed to lunch afterwards, which is to say I ate and Philip sat. We sat with the Boonzaijers and Ben; Jenna's always fun, and there were two toddlers as well. Annica's slightly easier to deal with than Silas, but Silas has the advantage of not trying to speak. Oh, well, sometimes she's intelligible. Ben calls her Anakin. Uh-oh. I talked to Sarah DeBenedittis for a good while before lunch, too--yay Bennet girls. Phil's idea, not mine. Pray for my sake I never get them all associated with the characters Philip says they correspond to, because then I am in trouble. I think he said Abby is Lydia and Liz is Lizzie....help me..... After lunch I talked to Mr. Marble, which is a change because when Mrs. Marble is there he doesn't talk much. She's in Alaska getting the house ready to sell, so she'll be gone for six weeks. Sigh. Mr. Marble is really nice too, though, and we had a nice talk. He gave me some good advice on the whole "what am I going to do with myself" question. He says whatever I end up doing, studying a language now is bound to be useful someday. Okay, I'll keep that in mind. He also said I should ask Dad what he thinks I should do. Philip agreed. I set them both straight.

I think it rained here while we were gone. Hm. It didn't rain while we were in church, but there was a puddle on the corner all the same that sent water spraying in my window. -_-; Fortunately it mostly went on the dashboard.

It rained again after we got home, and then after it stopped Lark and I went out. The grass and all was pretty wet. We met a young couple, probably bf/gf, out a little past the pond. We turned back when Lark finished talking to them, delayed again when she decided to wade in the pond. That's rare. O.o Anyway, we stayed on the wide path for awhile, but the call of the water grew to strong to resist and we ended up walking along and in the creek bed the rest of the way to the road. The last of the water went in the grass some time before the crossing, though.

Walked again after dinner, at seven. This time we followed the creek all the way up to the culvert, then came back by the path. It was really fun. Some idiot had scratched an obscene drawing in the trail, though, close to the creek crossing. I scuffed it out and was mad most of the way to the gate, but by the time I got to the gate I was just wishing I'd written "akumetsu" or something under the scuffed spot. That would have been cool. *sigh* Oh well. We got home in time to help Phil, just back from church elections, haul those branches jichan lopped up to Grandma's branch pile.

Fifteen pushups, without breaking stance, and fifteen situps without stopping. That was because I got distracted and forgot to stop at five, though.

Fetch paper, Lark outing X 

1 Algebra lesson X  

Read  Mistress to an Age X

Summarize reading X     

Brush dog   

Cleaning task X  

Husky/Sheltie

Bleh. Zombie blobs. I spent most of the dream waiting for everybody to be dead at the end. I think most of us were still alive when I woke up, though. It was all kinda weird, anyway....

We went for a walk about nine this morning. It was much too hot. We met one person, a man, with a familiar husky-sheltie in tow. Oh, and a man on a bicycle. Otherwise all sightings were at a distance. I think I should've gotten a boonie hat while I was at the army surplus. The hat I'm borrowing from the Seamans is nice, a good, natural color that doesn't jump out, but I'm gonna have to give it back eventually. Also boonie hats are crushable, so when I'm not wearing it it can just go in my pocket like everything else. I'll just carry a red scarf or something in my pocket in case I need to be visible for, say, a medical helicopter. Spellcheck, by the way, acknowledges "boonies" but not "boonie." Pft.

After I got home and recharged, Grandma had me do the kitchen floor. That was okay. Then I had to do the greenhouse. Geh. It is impossible to get the dog hair out of there enough to even half ignore it while scrubbing. I want my vacuum! 

Sid came just as I was starting in the greenhouse to discuss me looking after Maddy while they're gone. I have to go give her a little canned catfood and make sure she's alive Friday night, Saturday morning and evening, and Sunday morning. Well, sure, I can do that. For ten bucks. Seems reasonable. A day.  .........!!!!  Sid said if I felt like it was too much, I could go over there and read or something to keep her company a little. ............I'm getting my revenge by sending her pictures of adorable Craigslist dogs. Or expressing my gratitude, I don't know. I'm sending her ads, anyway.

Incidentally, I have got to remember that the clothing biases are completely different here. B would wince at the brown army t-shirt with the hemmed BDU shorts. Sid and Grandma say I look cute. -_-; Well, thanks, but.....it's very disconcerting. Not least because that's definitely not how it's designed to look. Not that I expect to look intimidating, but.....how about utilitarian?

Started Mistress to an Age before lunch. Finished the first chapter, plus all the prefaces, by the time Grandma said it was lunchtime.

There are six ads for Rottweiler puppies in the newspaper, plus one for a brindle male Rottweiler/mastiff puppy (tail docked) for....wait for it....$500. Plus various puppies and mixes (there were rottie/bloodhounds posted today) on Craigslist. Dad should come out here for a month or so. I'm sure Rick knows somebody he could stay with.

Jinn came by with some shopping commissions from the Sunshine Market and a negative review of the place. "It's overrated," she said, giving us a bag of cherries, cartons of blueberries and blackberries, and some lobster tails. Lark was delighted to see her. On a related note, I need to start letting her out more during the day. Actually, she's tied out right now, but that's due to trouble on the other end: some kibble got caught in her throat, and by the time she coughed it up, her gag reflex was thoroughly engaged an she couldn't stop throwing up. It improved somewhat after I put her out, but she's still retching a little, occasionally. It's raining now, though, so I'd better go let her in.

Grandma's wandering around without her cane. I think I'm going to have a heart attack.

It's four-thirty and raining buckets. With wind. And big fat drops. The windows are all shut and I can still smell the rain.

Dinner was the lobster tails. They were delicious. Grandma boiled them and served them with melted butter, and they were great. Note to self: when interested in a guy, try the Lobster Test: does he mind paying an arm and a leg? (You can skip this one. Split the cost or buy them yourself for dinner at home.) Do either of you mind watching the sort of messy eating lobster entails? How resourceful is he in figuring out how to eat the stupid things? I look forward to such an excuse. Lobster has a purpose! Yay! (Besides the physical and intellectual workout, of course.)

We larked a little after seven. The rain had mostly stopped, confining itself to a sporadic misting drizzle. It was cool out, and I wore a hoodie and my boots--which, naturally, turned out to be useless against tall wet grass. What astonished me was that the creek was running. Not all the way to the crossing, but there were signs--dried foam--and runnels, from earlier. Higher up it was going strong. It was noisy up at the culvert, where crossing the rocks was like walking over a symphony of water, possibly by Stravinsky. It began to rain as we came back up the Heller road, leaving me unsurprised that we met no one until Eagle Rock. A woman from the big house on the Circle was coming down from getting the mail. Lark was suspicious, but she wriggled up once we got closer. We cleared off when she almost pawed the woman's skirt. I went over later, after putting out the trash, to ask her if she wanted her trash hauled out; she was weeding the marigolds, and explained, through a thick accent, that her husband took it out every day--I'm not sure where: the noun was too accented. The people living there are widely said to be the parents of the Pole on the hill; nobody talks to them much, but Maria is thought to do for them. Possibly. It feels like a victory, though: contact made! I've been eyeing her for a while, you see.....

Fetch paper, Lark outing X 

1 Algebra lesson X  

Read  ?

Summarize reading     

Brush dog X  

Cleaning task X  

Fetch paper, Lark outing X 

1 Algebra lesson 

Read Dinesen X  

Summarize reading X    

Brush dog  X 

Cleaning task X  

Lark....

Woke up about seven and got up to put on dry underwear and rinse some of the blood out of the wet ones. Went back to sleep and slept in. Interesting dreams--involving horses, unusually. Lambs, too. I made the interesting discovery that my subconscious thinks the sewer pond is a lot shallower than it is. Uh-oh. My conscious self believes that no self-respecting livestock over the age of two weeks should need to be pulled out anyway, though.....although sheep aren't particularly self-respecting......and waterlogged wool can create balance issues.....Fortunately none of the ponies were involved at that point.

Pulled some more weeds out of the walk instead of walking the dog. Threw a lot of balls while I was at it, though. It was really hot.

Fell asleep after lunch. Woke up to let Diane in, then crashed again. Grandma came into the studio at almost five to find me petting the dog, on the floor to stay awake and cool off. She said if I was cramping I should probably walk the dog--I had arrived at a similar conclusion, although along somewhat different paths. Anyway, we got out before five. It was sunny when we started, and while the sun went behind the clouds pretty quickly it remained hot. We met a man on a bike in the trees on the first leg, and then there was a jogger as I was coming out of the wash where Lark drinks. I heard him go by, and then, as Lark streaked past, swear. I called her as I came out, and then I got clear and could see him. The very well-tanned jogger was bent over with his hands on his knees, panting, and when he saw me he said, "Didn't know what that was!" "Australian Shepherd," I said, and then, "Hello, doofus," as she sidled toward us. The jogger started off again, and I had to call her back from following him. Lark, Lark.....She didn't cause any trouble with the next jogger, a young man with longish hair over halfway along the second leg--we passed one another, and went on. I don't think he was much older than me, if at all. After him there was no one until the gate, where we passed a young man on a bike with a pale, emphatically smooth-shaven lower face. I don't know if his upper face matched under the sunglasses, but I wondered if he'd just got rid of a beard.

"Dark Blue" by Jack's Mannequin running through my head the whole time. Well, at least it's a song I like...

Grandma made dinner, some pasta with veggies. She needed to make at least half again as much.....but I supplemented with cheese sauce on bread. The pasta was really good, though.....

I just remembered I have some assigned reading to do tonight. Gotta go.

Hm. Looked it up and I came out on May 15. So.....let's see if I can stay until July 15......

Father Paul called about eight to ask when would be a good time to come over. He's slated for Friday, in the end. The schedule is a terrifying thing......

The "Human" channel just opened with "This Boy." O.o

I found out on MangaU that Shojo Beat's not gonna run anymore. Viz is dropping the magazine. Nooooooooooo! Please, no! Do you guys have any idea how long it'll take me to buy the volumes of Honey and Clover up to where the magazine was? Huh? Huh? And now I have to get the chapters up to date on my reading list for stuff like Crimson Hero so I can read the chapters when the scanlators release them! Granted, at least I can drop Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time and Sand Chronicles now (Sand Chronicles I'll read the end when it comes out, though), but you know what? IT AIN'T WORTH IT. At all. 

Ten pushups and situps right before bed. They weren't all in a row, but they weren't too hard, either. Lark lay down and watched wistfully without being told. I am, however, reasonably certain that this training will somehow not be applied to, say, Peter doing pushups. I'm not sure if I'm going to try to apply it or not.

Golden retriever and Border collie

Got to church in time. The pastor was Shane Stickel from Westminster, who traded with Dave for this week after the synod. He isn't as good as Dave. Philip says he's only been doing this a couple years, being formerly from this congregation, so maybe he'll get better, but his technique needs work. The sermon topic was Psalm 123, focusing on its exposition of certain aspects of prayer. I stayed awake better than I expected, considering the night I'd had, but it didn't benefit the sermon. Philip and I agree that the man has trouble with his analogies, for one thing--one made no sense and another was just wrong.

I had a nice chat with Jenna, and then Mrs. Marble with Mr. Marble in attendance (he listens, mostly), and then Jenna came and hijacked Mrs. Marble, at which point Philip took the opportunity to drag me home. We also have an invitation for next Sunday at Jenna's house for lunch--today, she said, was a bad time because it was leftover soup. It was also a bad time for us, because Chuck and Phil were coming.

They showed up in the middle of lunch, having calling from Monument to say they weren't hungry. We chatted until two, about Walden and, come to think of it, quite a lot of things, and then they went back to the hotel for a nap. Phil's still driving the Escalade. Chuck, behind his back, demonstrated the clear belief that his little brother was insane. I love those two......

Lark and I went out at three, after I caught up with a few things. We met a couple of young men early in the first leg; the main impression I got of their faces was brown hair over sunglasses with light beards below. One seemed to be shading a dark patch on his upper arm, and after giving Lark a few words ignored her. The other petted her a bit, and exchanged greetings with me. Later, in the second leg, we met a youngish woman with a Border collie and a golden. The collie was pretty close to Lark in size, if possibly lighter. The Golden, while on the small side, was not.

It was sunny when we started, but by the time we met the guys I'd taken off my shades and hat, and there was a constant rumbling mutter from the sky behind us as we came up the Heller road. A few fat drops fell as we came up the driveway. It was raining buckets within a minute of getting inside.

Chuck and Phil came back, in the pouring rain, bringing with them a lemon meringue pie. Philip left after  eating, after a good long chat session, for the church meeting to report on the state of the denomination after the synod. I elected to stay. Everybody chatted for awhile longer (which mostly means that Grandma and the boys talk and I--or Philip and I--listen) while I took the dog in and out for ball and brushing, and then Phil noticed the loppers in the greenhouse. Apparently the branches in the driveway had hit the Escalade, which I can well believe, and Phil couldn't resist. He lopped quite a pile, which I dragged out to the curb, with some canine assistance. She actually brought one branch right up to the pile and, upon request, left it there. The rest of the assistance was more questionable, of course, and then when we had finished and were walking around looking at the result, she disappeared. I went behind the house and Phil stayed in front, and we both called until the dratted dog came running down the street to Phil. At which point I shut her in the house. Anyway, I had to get the sap off my hands when we went in (Phil didn't have any) and then it was decided to go get some frozen pizzas. Phil drove, Chuck got us there, and I got us to the frozen foods. We left with three frozen pizzas (one for the freezer), a box of Coke, and a package of Oreos. So for dinner we had pizza with Coke followed by ice cream. Grandma and Chuck had coffee, with one Oreo, but Phil had mint chocolate chip, and crumbled four Oreos over it. Philip and I had more pie. Karen called with an update on their third dog, a pointer-ish mutt younger than Lark who's having a seizure phase. He's Karen's darling, and he's so upset by the seizures that she's pretty upset. So she called after dessert to say she was taking him to the vet, which was supposed to be tomorrow.  All the guys left about nine, with hugs all round. The house is pretty quiet now. Maybe I can get Philip to take me along when he takes them up on their invitations. And they say they aren't stopping by in the morning.....*whimper* Although I must say, it would be nice if the next time I see them it's one at a time. Both of them together is tricky, because of the brotherly teasing that got old about fifty years ago at the latest. You don't want to laugh, but.....you really can't help it, because they've had all that time to come up with jokes that are actually funny. Sigh. Also I haven't heard the stories very many times, and Phil tells stories well.

I want them both back already. Maybe I'm just missing boys around, but.....I don't think that's it. Part, maybe, but not all. Also they're both very huggable. Something about the shape, maybe. Sigh.

Fetch paper, Lark outing X 

1 Algebra lesson X 

Read Out of Africa X  

Summarize reading X   

Brush dog  X 

Cleaning task X  

Fetch paper, Lark outing X

1 Algebra lesson X

Read Out of Africa X

Summarize reading  X

Brush dog X

Cleaning task X

Golden retriever

Well, this one was interesting. It seemed like Cetaganda had been discovered and was an actual planet (although actually it's, like, nine?) and Beta and Vervain, but not Barrayar. Maybe they were just still isolated, though, because then I was Miles, in some sort of tunnel complex, anticipating Cetagandan invasion--which was two generations before him, but oh well. Anyway....then I woke up and it was still early enough to go back to sleep.

We larked at almost nine. Early in the first leg, before the scrub, we met a woman with a very fuzzy Golden puppy. I'm certain he was younger than Lark, but he was a little taller and much heavier. I got to pet him, although Lark was getting a bit hackly by then. ^_^ Fuzzy fuzzy!

Got home to deal with the laundry I'd put in the drier on the way out. Mom called during sorting--always nice talking to home. *huggles*

After algebra I started on the diagnostic test for math ability. It's really interesting seeing some of the strategies--I cheat a bit on the problems by looking at the choices on the next question, which is "So, how did you solve that last problem?"  But--yeah--it's interesting. I am scraed out of my mind now.

Lots of comp time--finished Superior. More chappies, please! I mean, come on! There're only two or three vols to go!

Was feeling restless, so Lark and I went for a run. Lasted from the gate almost to the end of the slope, and then I had to drop into a walk. It worked, though--now I'm just tired! ^_^ Seven pushups a bit before that helped too....Still have to do the situps.

Chicken and veggies for dinner. Lark dragged me outside right after to play. Doofus.

Looking forward to tomorrow. :D

Restarted Mother Sarah. They've scanlated ten volumes, and it's twelve volumes--completed. Nice, but....the closer to the end you are, the more cliffhangers there are!

Fetch paper, Lark outing X

1 Algebra lesson X

Read Out of Africa X

Summarize reading X 

Brush dog X

Cleaning task X

Fetch paper, Lark outing X

1 Algebra lesson X

Read Out of Africa X

Summarize reading X

Brush dog X

Cleaning task X

Husky/Sheltie

Last night was a debacle. Philip was watching Minority Report in the studio, and I didn't want to. So I took The Blue Hawk down to the sitting room, and when I finished it I went and got Strata, because the movie wasn't over. Strata didn't keep me awake very well, though, so I went to sleep. Philip kicked me off the couch at ten-thirty, and I moved to my bed. I woke up to shower at one-thirty, and the fabric creases were deeply imprinted on my skin.

This morning I was light-headed with lack of sleep. Grandma very firmly kicked me outside at nine, though, and we went for our walk. I was alive by the time we reached the Heller road, where I had a short conversation about lawns and mowers with a guy from the green house, who apparently was lending the riding mower to the neighbor, who only had a push. Or so I gathered. He had an odd, unidentifiable accent, and while I'm pretty sure he's not the one who told me about the cat I have no idea what his age was. He was maybe kinda youngish.....I think....although he talked to me pretty readily, which is more typical of older groups......never mind. I just wonder if he was the one practicing the drums in the garage last night.

About half-way through the first leg we met a lady and her dog, who was a little shorter than Lark but at least as heavy, if only with fur.  She was a husky-Sheltie cross, one eye dark, the other blue. I spotted the Sheltie at once; she bore a certain resemblance to Radar, with a similar outer coat. I never would have figured out the husky. We chatted a bit, and the wet little dog let me pet her. I got away with it because Lark was off staring up at a squirrel or something. That pair got around--the next person I met, an older guy at an outcropping shortly after we spooked a deer (I saw it because I could hear the impact of its feet--Lark never noticed) had seen them at the pond. He had been watching another deer, which bolted up the hillside when we came. We had a nice chat; his conversational style favored Old Nebraska Farmer, which was rather a whiff of home, even though he talked about deer and bears rather than hay prices. The weather was still there, though.

We stopped by the dig on the way back, when Lark was worn out. A campus cop pulled up as we came in; he told me someone had called to say they couldn't get the gate open--but it was open and everyone was there when he came. No one knew who'd called, either. Nobody worried about it much. I said hi to Michaela, who asked after Grandma. There was a new girl, too, Megan. The professora introduced her to Michaela. Megan shook hands with her, and then held out her hand to me. I shook, introducing myself and explaining that I wasn't on the dig. Michaela added that I was their daily visitor. "Yeah. It's my dose of external human contact." "Very important," someone said. 

Cleaned the bathroom. Grandma approved it.  ^_^ Had some comp time, and then they made me do math about three. Next is reading: SAT handbook and Out of Africa.

Philip left before I finished algebra. Acquainted myself with the handbook independently, therefore. I'm not surprised it's three inches thick, the way they squander space in there. About three-thirty Grandma, who had expressed a desire to go outside with me when I brushed the dog, came and said how about you brush the dog now? So we went outside, and Lark and I alternated grooming and wrestling under the crabapple while Grandma walked up and down the patio.

Rereading From Far Away. I think next I'll read Chizumi and Fujiomi. I do love Hikawa-sensei--she's just so sweet, and somehow the romance has such a serene tone. I've never expressed this to my own satisfaction.

Took Lark for a shot run amid gathering clouds at eight. Went a little way into the loop, until the trail goes into the scrub, and then turned back. Met a jogger at the gates--I hope she isn't getting soaked, besides ruining her motivational electronics. New iPods are expensive. ;p Lark took us to Sid's on the way home, where Ralph was out on the porch with the phone and Sid was watching TV. I talked to Sid for a little, then called Grandma to tell her where I was. When I told her it was beginning to rain she said to come right home, so we did.

Having a float with my manga now. Grandma's in bed. G'night.

You know, reading the bit in the last volume, where the people of Ennamarna are trying to protect Noriko, I'm thinking......I read too many cynical stories. Bujold, I'm talking about you....

Golden retriever

Well, after I'd gone to sleep with a headache at about ten-thirty, in the middle of No Wind of Blame, and woke up to shower at about four a.m., Mom let me go back to bed with my cold after I made coffee. I got up about nine, in the end, and Diane came about nine-thirty. Fedex came at nine-forty-five; Mom signed for the package, since I'm not going to open the door to someone I don't know in my bathrobe. After dressing, I read No Wind of Blame until Mom kicked me outside to dig thistles before lunch. I got eight, and finished my book before lunch. The ending was rather unexpected, for while I figured out who the murderer was before Inspector Hemingway did, it took me a good two-thirds of the book to even suspect how the couples would come out. While the subordinate pairing was relatively typical, at least at first glance, the heroine was most unusual.

After lunch I went on to reread Arabella, discovering in the process that the first six pages are missing. Well, there are advantages to reading something multiple times; but I think if I ever do order Devil's Cub, I'll get another copy of Arabella while I'm at it. I could put up with the missing pages, but besides that the spine is in a sad condition, and in general the book is rather battered.

Our walk was more taxing than I anticipated. It began with a slight limp for Lark, which intensified as we approached the Heller dig. I asked to borrow the tweezers again, and the professora made me free of the medkit. Everybody was kinda busy, although I did have a little company initially. By the time I had extracted several spines, including a deeply embedded one that may even have justified the limp, everyone was gone. This was, to a certain extent, explained by the large group of well-dressed older people listening to the professora near the cars as we were heading out. Lark limped all the way around the loop. We met a few people: an older couple, including an enthusiastic lady who said that Lark was so sweet, was she rescued? well since she's so sweet, I thought she had been--obscure logic, but I appreciated the sentiment; an older gentleman with a polite golden retriever, who sedately exchanged courtesies with Lark, and followed his master when I told him to "go on;" and a girl with a bike, coming from the direction of the pond, and seen struggling up the road from Nevada when we were almost home. By that time Lark and I were both pretty tired, from the combination of the heat and her limp. You may well ask how the limp tired me, but as I took her up and carried her for several short periods, it really does follow.

We made it home alive, however, about three-thirty or so. I sat down to do some writing, and then Owen called. Mom talked to him for a bit, and then handed him over to me. He was in a somewhat petulant mood, trying to convince me of all I'm missing by staying here. I reacted unsatisfactorily, I'm afraid, which somewhat supported his claim that they'd be perfectly happy as long as Mom brought Lark home with her. I pointed out that while they wouldn't be able to give her as much exercise as she now requires, I would be in serious trouble physically if I weren't exercising her. It didn't seem to make much difference. All in all, I was rather obnoxiously cheery, which is always fun to pull when Owen's being difficult, but he got some small revenge when I said I had to go to the store with Mom. "Reeeeeeally." I hung up.

So then Mom and I went shopping. I stocked up a bit on Pocky, since I have to send a couple of boxes home to the boys, so that now they know what they're missing there. She seems to have some dinner plans, which is nice, although I'm not sure what she's planned after the salad nicoise. I read Arabella in the car, aloud on the way home.

Hm, Doug's asking me about getting a copy of Windows XP out of Philip again. Although it was Peter last time. I did tell Phil, but....I can't guarantee any results.....so good luck, guys.

Wheeeee, cake! Mom bought an angelfood cake, and she dolled it up for dessert tonight! The icing base was whipped cream, spread on the outside and between the layers. The she drizzled chocolate on the top and down the sides, and topped it with raspberries. It was beautiful, and absolutely delicious. Grandma suggested, afterwards, I take some next door. Ralph met me, and as close as he can get to Gollum without a conscious imitation, he went. It was hilarious. He says he'll take a picture and then put it in the fridge, so Sid knows he hasn't tampered with it. I was laughing all the way home, until Lark met me with a ball. Then I switched into Huntress Mode to play.

Having finished Arabella, I'm now reading Shards of Honor, delighted to have a copy of my own.

Well, I did end up watching Batman Begins last night. I think my favorite supporting characters would be Alfred, Lucius Fox, and Jim Gordon. Hm. Anyway, Yay main char getting to train with ninjas! :haha:

Mum emailed this morning to say she'll come out tomorrow. It was nice to hear her voice again, even in writing--I'd been thinking about calling her, over the last few days. PM's from Doug were becoming inadequate. It does sound like a mess back home, though. I wonder if Dad'll end up replacing the pump? Oh, and they're having to get water out to the hogs, too....dear me.

Philip hasn't appeared yet. I've still got two math lessons to do, and I've run out of anything but word problems. Oops. I think I'll save these for when I've got help.....

Lark and I got out about ten-thirty. It was pretty bright out, but as it's supposed to rain this afternoon I figured I might as well get it over with. If it's nice light ran and I feel like it we might go out again later. We took the Heller trail loop, ending up at the dig site, which had sprouted some diggers while we were on the trail. Michaela wasn't there, but I did talk to the young man who she was with the first time I stopped by. This time he petted Beautiful. :D

Most of the afternoon was spent online, in Tolkien, and watching (I confess) for Philip. Drat the man.

At five to four I called Sid to ask if I could bring back the tupperware from last night's cole slaw. She said sure, but wait ten minutes for us to get our guests gone. In the intervening time Philip materialized, so that it was four fifteen when I got myself hence. I then proceeded to spend half an hour chatting with the Seamans. It's always fun talking to them--subjects discussed include Philip, birthdays, robots, Mom coming, expectations, and psalms. When I came home, it was with the tupperware again, this time containing a different salad. Good thing, too, because when Philip isn't playing Iron Chef with expensive fish he just thaws out a pizza.

I'm reading Jodi Meadow's livejournal. I see her around a lot, as she's one of Robin's core from her blog, but I didn't know about much beyond the yarn and the ferrets. Well, it turns out she's a lit agent's assistant, and is meanwhile trying to sell several books of her own. Nor does she have Robin's qualms about making cryptic comments about how the writing's going and what she's doing with the plot. Cryptic--no spoilers--but it's something Robin doesn't feel she can do. Add this to the ferrets, the cat, the husband, and the yarn, and I'm enjoying myself. Maybe I should read Southdowner's lj--she's the one with seven dogs, after all.

We're going to watch The Matrix tonight, but PC is going to cut in before we finish, so I'm going to have to write about that tomorrow.