Sunday, September 30, 2018

Rain!

Sunday morning and it’s pouring rain for the community dog walk. I’ll don gumboots and a raincoat and go anyway. As a way to cope with the weather, I lit the fire first thing this morning as much for the emotional comfort and atmosphere it adds to my place as for the heat. And I ordered a nice bright dog coat for Her Highness to wear this winter.
Truly rainy days keep us all inside. I suppose I could work on my ladies and perhaps one day soon I’ll get to that, but right now I am into reading with my one eye—slowly. TV and movies bore me except The Durrells on Corfu starts another season tonight and that thrills me. I have a massive crush on Josh O’Connor. 
Elaine and Darrrell are coming by today to advise me about my marijuana plants and to arrange for the delivery of the gravel for my driveway this coming week. I’m looking forward to spreading the gravel. I’ve ordered six cubic yards; it’s a lot. It’s going to dress up my place even more and I’ll enjoy doing the work.
I called Bruce yesterday—he’s a lot more technically savvy than I am. I called to decompress from the stress of yesterday morning. The Google glitch in my computer and the four-and-a-half hours of reparations totally stressed me out. I was so sure that upgrading my operating system would solve the problem. When it didn’t, I knew the problem had been inherited from by backup drive and imported with my past data. And that worried me: How were we to find it?
Cody had the answer, thank God, and I wrote down all we did so I can do it for myself next time. I learned a lot from Cody yesterday. I can do some “cleaning” myself next time. 
It’s all terribly impressive how things work now. Being of the introductory generation, upgrading my operating system now is truly easy and efficient. All my essential data has been imported perfectly as far as I can tell.
This morning, I spoke to my computer: “Siri,” I said.
And Siri responded in a nice male Australian accent, “What would you like me to do?”
“Email” I said.
“to whom?
“Bruce”
“Which Bruce,” she said showing me the name of three Bruces in my contacts.
“Kellett,” I said.
Then Siri asked me for a title for the email and I spoke one. And then she asked me what I wanted to say and I dictated my message. Then she asked me if I wanted to send, change or delete the email and I said, “Send.” When I opened my email software to see if there was a record of the email in my Sent box, there was!
Personal Goal Progress Report: It’s been one week since I quit eating desserts. (Instead I have little pieces of chocolate after a meal now, instead of desserts) I had only one case of cravings during that time so I’m optimistic about my potential to achieve at least modest results—at least given enough time.












As a child growing up with Connie Tyrell, I thought
Sophia was the most beautiful woman in the world.
Connie died when I was 24; when I was 45 I found my 

birth mother. She was an actor and she gave me photos 
of herself with Sophia on the set of a movie they'd made 
together called A Special Day (in English).





Saturday, September 29, 2018

Techno Horror!

Friday began with a community dog walk on a magnificent morning. I think these walks are the source of fleas that have infested Sheba. Her biting of herself and scratching is driving us both mad so I sought a treatment at the vet’s—$48 for one pill that she’ll need every three months.
I called Patsy. At 2:30 yesterday it was 24°! She enthusiastically agreed to meet me (and Sheba) at Drumbeg for champagne at four. I took potato chips to munch on while we talked through Happy Hour on a beautiful ocean-side hillock. 
We sat on a bench on the top of the hill. A gentle breeze kept us fresh in the hot sun. It was absolute summertime perfection to be together drinking Veuve Cliquot inthe view, not looking at it. That’s how to enjoy life on ‘my’ island. I’m very lucky to have Patsy to ‘play’ with.
Saturday began early in horror! I lost access to Google.
Some kind of virus took over my browser. I cannot use Google. I tried everything in my power to fix the problem and finally decided to try asking for help from Apple and, miracle of miracles, when I hit the support button, I was asked whether I wanted to chat or talk to a technician.
I chose to talk to a technician and my screen asked me to type in my phone number. I got a call immediately from a young woman in Texas who hooked into my computer so she could see my screen. We deleted programs, ran diagnostic software, re-set a zillion things and nothing worked.
We ran a Malware program and that didn’t work either so she suggested I download a new operating system (Mojave). It took an hour-and-a-half to download and install the new system and still, when I tried to use Google, it wasn’t working!
I’d arranged with the Texan technician for a call back at 10:30 to check that everything was working. A new woman called and she saw that Google was still not working. I was super disappointed. We tried a lot of things I’d already done and then she gave up.
Transfer to supervisor.
I go through everything again with the supervisor. None of her additional checks and tricks work either so she, too, gives up.
Transfer to senior supervisor, Cody.
Cody does magic. It took an hour and fifteen minutes but he finally solved the problem. All in all, I was occupied with Apple from just before eight until noon but I was sincerely relieved to have access to all my image and research resource sites. Now everything is working but looks different because I’m using Mojave, the newest Apple operating system.
Once everything was resolved, I took Sheba out for a long walk and reveled in the beauty of nature after the stress of the morning. I hate having technology problems.

















Friday, September 28, 2018

My New Lawn Looks Fantastic!


Where once there was only rock and weeds, moss and tenacious vines
there's now a fine, fine field for Croquet. Three dump trucks full of soil!

John Mulaney

Time rolls by very pleasantly on sunny days. I feel really good all day, every bright day; It’s pleasant to do everything.
I wrote in the morning while Sheba’s impatience for a walk built. Then we walked a trail in the 707 Park that I like because of the open meadows it traverses. It’s still pleasant outside—warm, fresh and sunny. After our first walk we tried a new area. I wanted to walk beneath an open sky so we went for a wander around the helicopter landing pad and the area around it.
We had another walk in the afternoon, to Drumbeg of course, and when we come home I took to the spa and then got into my coziest jammies for a evening of peace because Her Highness had enjoyed so much exercise. 
Today is the last of this reprise of summer. Tomorrow the clouds come back and then the rain starts. And so do problems.
The animals kind of drive me crazy in the mornings. Ethel moans for something I don’t seem to have. Fred howls ceaselessly for no apparent reason and Sheba is the worst. She would prefer that we go out on an adventure as soon as she wakes and I’m not into that. I have three unhappy roommates until I do go out with her.
God I hope she hates the cold or I could be doomed this winter—especially when Standard Time has dawn arriving so late (and we get up so early).
We’ll go on a community dog walk this morning and then I’ll do some errands and chill around the house. But we’re going to Drumbeg late in the afternoon for another walk and to meet Patsy to share some champagne at the most beautiful time of day in the park.
My love affair with Drumbeg is partly due to its people. It attracts a nice sort and I nearly always have a short chat with a stranger. It’s Sheba that breaks the ice.
Two days ago I saw six large Otters swimming and hunting together. The next day I saw a huge Sea Lion doing something wonderful on the surface. I just sat and watched him/her play (?) for a long time. Yesterday I saw something really big in the water. It was a woman in a wet suit. She was swimming back and forth between the headlands of the park.
I also met Rick and his daughter, Summer. He moved here in 1971 and he knew the doctor whose land I know as Drumbeg Park. He donated his land to the  public and his home was dismantled.






Dwight suggested I watch a Netfix special by John Mulaney called Kid Gorgeous at Radio City. I pretty much hate stand-up comedy but I watched the whole thing. It’s terribly impressive to see one (small) man hold the rapt attention of a full house at Radio City. That’s six thousand people!
No set, not one prop—just him, in a suit cut to emphasize his youthful appearance, a microphone and a glass of water. He’s very funny and verygood at delivery.
He does a great bit about universities wanting donations from Alumni: “My tuition was more than it took to finance the Civil War and they want more money?” And a fabulous routine about a horse loose in the hospital as a metaphor on Trump.