Early morning entry; Tracking computer action; Sleeping and "Killing Rain"; Up; Up Again; Lunch; Lowe's - Looking for a device to hold 100-foot electrical cords; Post Office; CVS; Home; The yard! The yard! The yard!; Laundry; A nap! My kingdom for a nap / "Killing Rain"; Post nap; "Heroes"; Incoming Mail

I know that I started this morning's entry at 12:05 am. And according to one of the logs under Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Event Viewer, I stopped at 1:38. But I now remember that I didn't turn off the computer, because I wanted the ZoneAlarm Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware Scan to run. Which seems to take hours.

There does not seem to be a simple way to track what you do while you're using the computer. The viewers under Administrative Tools lists actions, but it's very cryptic. However, you can figure out when you started and stopped a session.

The History option under your browser gives info about where you've been on the web.

The data under Windows Explorer may change if you alter the size or rename a file.

I need to explore the web for such software, so I'll know that I've done at any span of time.

As you may remember, I slept a lot yesterday, so even after reading a couple of chapters of "Killing Rain," I still could not go to sleep. I think I made the mistake of taking two of the headache pills which make me wired. So I had to resort to a G.E. Alprazolam (xanax) around 2;30 or later.

As is customary and usual, the kitts woke me about 6:30 wanting their morning treat.

I took my morning meds, played around with some images for Chris Rice and went back to sleep.

This time I woke up about 9:30, and I did the kitty maintenance routine.

I was thinking in terms of an 11:00 lunch, so I felt like I had some time to mow part of the front yard. Last week I was muttering about untangling the chords for the carport blinds. Well, they have nothing on two-hundred feet of electrical cord. I decided that after lunch I was going to see if Lowe's had a product that would me this task easier.

I did about a third of the yard, then came in and made the bed, took a shower and tried to myself semi-presentable to the world. I always hate it when little children take one look, scream and then run and hide.

Nothing too exciting there. I follow a back route that's not used by a lot of people. Not used because it involves a complicated set of turns. If you take the wrong turn, you'll just go in circles. And one of the turns is at the end of what looks like a dead-end street. But there's a section, in the flood plain as I've mentioned before, that's a leafy run.

This time I selected the April 23 copy of "The New Yorker" to read. It has a beautiful cover of umbrellas on a crowded street in Manhattan. I skipped around in the "Goings on About Town" and "The Talk of the Town" sections. And started reading "Letter from Europe - Round One - The Battle for France." I don't know a lot about the French elections, but from the tid bits I've picked up, it seems unusually acrimonious.

One thing I did notice, how could I not notice it, was a very large lady adorned with a dress composed of yards and yards of turquoise-colored cloth. I'm really not trying to be snarky, but every time I looked up, she immediately attracted my attention.

(In - Monday - 20070430 - 1114: $7.51 - Cash)

I meandered into Lowe's, went up and down about a dozen aisles, then headed for the outdoor shop. I didn't see anything in the electrical area. Except for some pricy items that included the cord. I thought there might be something in the garden hose area I could use. I asked a clerk, and he said I'd find it on aisle 22.

I always take the main east-west aisle, and most of the aisles are perpendicular to it running north-south. I now know that aisle 1 is at the far east and aisle 21 at the far west.. So where was 22? I then noticed that the second set of aisles also had numbers. This time starting at 30 at the far east and going to 55, I think, at the far west. Seems like it would make more sense to put aisle 22 across from aisle 21.

Well, where the hell was 22? I headed back to the garden section, in desperate need of a St. Bernard with a keg of brandy. There I discovered a series of aisles running east-west with 22 against the south wall moving to 29 across from 30, 31, 32, etc.

There were about a dozen options from a simple piece of semi-circular metal for about $3 to elaborate plastic units that role behind you on the lawn for $80. Decisions, decisions. Eventually, I picked a plastic box that I hope will work for about $20.

Four or five years ago, I bought some pots for my back steps on Woodbury, but I never got around to putting any plants in them. So since I was in the garden area, I thought I look for a plant. To be honest, plants confuse me. There seem to be so many variables. I didn't want something that flowers. I wanted something that is evergreen. And I want it to look attractive on the front steps. The winner was the LeAnn Cleyera - glossy, leathery evergreen leaves; brilliant red new foliage; fragrant white summer flowers; good screen or specimen. OK, I guess I can deal with the "simmer flowers." Since it's going in a pot, I knew I needed rocks for the bottom of the pot. And not knowing out it will fit in the pots, I got some potting soil Of course the bar tag for the bag of rocks was at the bottom, and I giggled the bag around, I tore it. But the wonderful clerk immediately placed some tape over it.

I zipped by the post office on the way home to mail off checks to various people who only want me for my money. The "stamped" box was almost to the overflowing point. But to compensate, they have three "metered" boxes. That seems odd, since most individuals will be using stamps. I pushed the mail in and tried to make sure it was not at the edge.

I'd almost forgotten about my need to pick up Lexapro at CVS. So I stopped at the house first and unloaded, fearful that the heat might do in the plant which was in the trunk.

CVS was simple. All too many times I've been in the prescription check out line only to have the person in front of me with a single prescription and a bulging cart of 60 items.

(Out - Monday - 20070430 - 1339: $33.00 - Orchard)

Minutes before I left for lunch, the mail had stopped by. I dumped it in the card, and didn't take it out until this time. I can not leave any letters, mags, papers, etc for the second I turn my back, Tiger, Tiger wants to spray it. And he so damn sneaky about it that he can do it right under my noise, and I won't notice. So i bundled everything up and stuck it in a drawer.

I changed into my grubbies, put on my breathing mask, gloves and cap,and went out to battle the front yard again. Actually, it was not too bad. I've got the mower on the lowest setting, but it is still difficult to tell where I've cut and where I've not. The grass is bermuda, I think, and grows very flat and close to the ground. And I must admit that the power cord can be tricky at times. But I have to think of global warming, and greenhouse gases and such.

Once that was done, I realized I needed to trim the edges, which I'd not done the last time. So off to the shed to wrestle the edger to the front. It does a good job, but you have to have it positioned a certain way.

Once finished, I knew I needed to hose down the drive which has not been done in months. The hose seemed to be unusually heavy and cumbersome.

At last, praise to the forest deities, I was finished. And I felt finished.

One more wee task awaited my attention: clothes in the dryer. Unload dryer, bring in, place on hangers, sort socks together, shoot cats out of the way.

I took a shower, and immediately lay down. (I will not lie, I had to look up at LIE & LAY to see if I was using the correct form. "...lie means to recline, whereas lay means to put something down."

Oh, and I finished "Killing Rain"

I woke up about 6, only to find Hermes completely sprawled across me.

I ate my traditional turkey and cheese sandwich on toasted French bread and the last slice of chocolate cake.

Thirty minutes or so, I spent in trying to understand the various logs under Control Panel - Administrative Tools. Then started this entry.

Stopped at 8 to watch "Heroes." Which has become so convoluted, I'm not sure I know what's going on. I'm especially irritated by the scenes in which something dire is suppose to happen, but then in the next scene, it's as if nothing had happened. Tonight for example, Matt Parkman, threatens to kill Mr. Bennet if he does not tell her where Claire is; next scene Matt is at the restaurant where Claire is a server; next scene, Claire is in plush surroundings, the White House?, with President Nathan Petrelli, but it's not Nathan, it's actually Sylar. But I thought that Sylar as Nathan had just had a major battle with his brother, Peter Petrelli.

Wait! Shouldn't there be something here about doughnuts and apple pie? And where is the dwarf and the red curtains?

Orchard Bank solicitation (junk); First Premier Bank solicitation (junk); National Cash Advance solicitation (junk); Mississippi HomeCare (to mother) (junk); AmSouth Bank Statement (keep); April 30, 2007 issue of "The New Yorker" (keep); May 7 - 13, 2007 issue of "TV Guide" (keep); May issue of "The Mississippi Episcopalian" / "Episcopal Life" (keep)

(Out - Monday - 20070501 - 0010)