More misery

 

It was a wind storm for the record books. About a half million people in western Washington don't have power this morning and there is much damage yet to be discovered when it finally gets light. We live on the edge of the most vulnerable West Seattle electrical grid, and felt lucky that ours only went out for a few hours in the middle of the night. 

Most of our storms are predictable, coming in from the Pacific, but this whipped the wind from the other direction. It was unnerving hearing the rain and wind beating on the east side of the house.

So we're just slogging along through the miserable week. This heavy congestion seems to be "breaking up" which is good, but I sound like a hacking smoker in the morning. 

We wasted most of the day yesterday taking my car back and forth to the Toyota dealer in Burien-- that's two hours of driving in heavy traffic. I will not waste more time here describing what happened, which is basically nothing. We dropped it off at 9, and by 2 pm so disgusted with the service department's total lack of communication (no one answered our calls or texts) we went back to get the car. 

As it turned out, even making the service appointment days in advance, they didn't bother to order the replacement front door seal for the job. Nothing got done. I put packing tape along the seal to hopefully keep the water out for a while. I'll deal with it after Thanksgiving. Suffice to say, my next car won't be a Toyota.

Galloping inland

 

For all intensive purposes, this is a hurricane, except in the Northwest they are called typhoons instead. 

The sinister looking thing will bring heavy winds tomorrow as it moves inland. It is snowing in the mountains and raining in the low lands. It is cold and dark. End of weather report.

We are doing our best to keep spirits up with whatever distractions we can find, like reading, napping or mindless coloring.

It beats doom scrolling in the computer. 

Our colds are dragging along through the predictable stages and slowly, slowly feeling better.  The turkey enchiladas helped last night. The fact I had enough energy to make them is a good sign.

News from gloomy land

 

Our colds are progressing through the typical, boring stages of misery. I don't feel as sick, other than sudden violent coughing. (The sounds in this house are not pretty.) John is a couple days behind me in symptoms, since I gave it to him. Nice.

It's been raining almost constantly this week. The sun came out today, and the bright light seems intrusive. No worries, more storms move in tonight.

I found a quarter inch of water on the front floor of my car this morning, for second time after overnight rain. All the AC vents were bone dry, so the culprit is likely a damaged/leaky door seal. The new seal costs about $100, although the Toyota dealer probably charges 10 times that to install it. Appointment next week--stay tuned. 

I've been grateful the well-stocked freezer, even though we don't have much appetite. After all the mushy soups and casseroles, I'm making fried steak and baked potatoes tonight. Maybe red meat will build up our strength. And some popcorn and football. Have a good weekend.

Feeling low, laying low

 

We made vegetable beef soup yesterday with some leftover pot roast. That was about it, other than a quick trip out for cold medicine. I've been mostly horizontal since Monday. And now John has come down with this same nasty thing. We are seldom sick, so a miserable experience. Travel has a way of catching up with you.

We are avoiding the political clown show as much as possible and just watching a little diversion TV, until I fall asleep at 7:30. We saw "Martha" on Netflix, the new documentary. 

Oh, Martha. She was displeased with how she was portrayed as an "old lady" in the the production, and made her feelings clear afterwards. A formidable, tireless person, and the documentary was kind of fun to watch. Not one to hold back, she had some real choice words for James B. Comey and former boyfriend Charles Simonyi. And opinions on every subject.

 

Waiting for eggs

 

Red Sex Links are usually the most friendly in the chicken world. Amanda says that's true with hers-- the hens are never skittish, they come running and follow you around like pets when you go in the coup. Gentle Nica looks worried. What a funny dog. This is one who goes berserk at the sight of a deer or wild turkey and the chase is on.

The hens are plump and healthy after 6 months of eating table scraps and expensive chicken feed. Where are the eggs? An increase in day length is a key driver, so Amanda put a light in their house, also some fake eggs in the nest boxes. If all 12 start laying at once, that will be a very good problem.

I came home from California with a bad cold (what a surprise) and spent yesterday laying around the house. It is good weather for hunkering down.

Mood indigo

 

 

With all this jet-setting around, we fell behind on the fall outdoor chores. Yesterday was the last dry day in a long time, so we had a window to get stuff done. 

John cleaned the gutters; I tided up the messy front porch and threw out the dead mum-- the pumpkins can stay until after Thanksgiving. Then my least favorite seasonal job, putting lights on the arbor, which goes a long way in brightening up the dark time. 

As for the garden, I'm taking a laissez-faire approach to cleaning out the beds-- I usually have everything cut back to the ground by now. This is better anyway for the wintering birds and the insects. Not to mention, more interesting to look at. When the trees and shrubs drop their leaves, I'll mulch the beds and skip the compost delivery this year.  

Today is Veteran's Day:

“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.”

Bob Dylan