Obligatory Comment About Not Writing ; Daily Routine - Morning; Daily Routine - Lunch; Daily Routine - Afternoon - Inside; Daily Routine - Afternoon - Outside

For whatever reason, journaling has seemed like a chore for the last few weeks.

I've tried to establish a rough pattern to what I do each day. The cats usually wake me very early wanting their early morning meal. And I'll take my morning pills, then surf the web for news. Then I'll go back to bed.

A couple of hours later, more or less, I'll get up and deal with the morning chores: making the bed, cleaning the cat litter boxes, sorting laundry, collecting garbage, placing laundry in the washer, showering, shaving, dressing for a trip out to lunch.

(Shaving: I hate all companies that sell razor bands. Razors are a couple of dollars, but the razor bands are outrageous - $10, $12, $15! About a month ago, I tried some generic bands, and each one would last only three or four days. Last week, I picked up a package of 15 disposable blades for around $3. I'm not crazy about them, for they seem to irritate my skin, but I'll try them.)

(Cat litter: I'm also not enamored of companies that produce cat litter. It too can be very pricy. I could easily spend a $100 a month on this. I tried the cheapest bag which was about $3, but it provides no odor control and is very, very dusty. Next I tried mixing it with sand. This helped with the dust but caused problems with the clumping. However, I've settled on a 28-pound bag that appears to be the best bargain, is fairly good at odor control and dust. And costs around $6.)

Lunch is fairly standard. The same buffet place most days. Chinese buffet food bothers me. The Japanese place I used to visit is far too expensive for me now. As are the various chain restaurants.

I usually try to grab a back table against the wall where I can read my magazine and be out of the way. This also limits the number of people around me that I might have to listen to.

And there are always those four or five gorgeous watercolors of flowers on the wall. These never cease to amaze me.

And ever now and then, there's a humpy blue-collar worker worth watching. The restaurant is not far from the National Guard facility, so frequently there are guys in jungle or desert camouflage outfits.

There is always an eclectic mix of diners: Mexican workers, African-American office women, elderly couples, various school athletic teams, and lots of people whose only connection is a shared lunch.

There's a very prim elderly couple who never fail to attract my attention. He is always in a white shirt with a black bow tie; I think I've seen him working in a nearby pharmacy. She wears what I think is a modified beehive hairdo. Her hair is pure white and worn tightly pulled back and pinned. I keep thinking she reminds me of an image from a classical painting. Possibly one of Diego Velasquez's pictures of Spanish royalty.

If I have errands to run, I try to do them immediately after lunch, so that I'm able to save a little on petrol.

Actually there are only a few places I go: Lowe's, WalMart, Borders, Gateway Rescue Mission to look at the books, CVS pharmacy.

The reminder of the afternoon goes to inside tasks, followed by those outside.

A couple of weeks ago, I moved a set of five inexpensive bookcases on the north wall of the living room, filled with books of my parents, into the den - less of a den and much more of a messy store room. Then moved the laminated cubes from the south wall of the living room to the north wall. I now have a wonderful set of white laminated cubed furniture that runs along the north and east walls. The pieces are all based on a 15 x 15 x 15-inch cube. Some are a single cube, some are 30 by 15, some have a center horizontal or vertical divider, some have drawers. It is a perfect height for the windows, so the cats can pick a spot and watch the outside world.

I've done a much as I can do with the floors. The next option up the scale would be to have then professionally re-sanded, but that would prove very inconvenient and expensive. (I'd have to move everything out of the room, it would then take a couple of days for the floors to be stripped, sanded and stained.)

I had a set of rugs at the other house that I really liked. I bought them from the insurance money I got when all my electronic equipment was stolen. But I put then down just before I got the cats, and then the cats had kittens. The kittens didn't understand that they were supposed to use the litter box and not the rugs. I had all the rugs cleaned and floor mats cut for underneath. Now I have no idea why I thought this would solve the problem, because the kittens just repeated their actions. I finally wound up the rugs and placed them in the back room. When I got ready to move them, I noticed how bad they smelled, so they spent at least six-months on the carport. But I recently decided I'd try them again inside, so I vacuumed and cleaned them, attached no-slip tape and mats to the underside. So far there's been an accident or two, but I've learned to checked for problems, so I can clean it as soon as possible. They give the living room and hall a very comfortable but slightly elegant feel.

I also replaced the security light on the carport. When I installed it, I snapped a connector, so I was unable to control the direction the sensor unit should point. Also, I was thinking of the ones I had at the other house; they came with a unit you plugged into an inside socket, and a chime would sound whenever the beam was broken - daylight or dark. I thought I'd looked for something like this the first time, but I didn't find it. But this time it was no problem. And with all the work I'd already done, it only took about 15 minutes to put this one in place. But I've yet to install the inside module.

I'm also back in the kitchen attacking the knotty pine. I'm carefully cleaning the outside and inside of the doors one at a time. I'm finished about 80% of the upper doors on the west wall. I want to get a good type of furniture polish and go over them next.

I'm trying to do something outside each day. It rained all of Monday, so I spent yesterday picking up limbs, twigs, pine cones, sticks, etc.

Today I tried cleaning along the north border at the back. I did ok for about 30 minutes until I struck a yellow jackets nest. I've concluded from what I've read on-line, that since their nests are underground, they are yellow jackets and not wasps or hornets. I've also read that "yellow jackets are extremely aggressive when the nest is disturbed." Since this is my fifth encounter, I'd say that was an understatement. I've learned to stop everything if stung and place ice on the bit as soon as possible. My left knee still itches from this afternoon's encounter.

I left the yellow jackets to their home and came to the front yard to being a raking campaign. I'm hoping to have that done in a day or so.

PAX!