May 2020

MAY 2020

                                   Been working on the house. Needs lots of work!

Friday 01- 100/72F with evening winds. I’m just getting over being sick with very bad stomach pains. Must have been something I ate Wednesday night. I’m feeling much better but will take it easy today. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie. 

Saturday 02- 90/62F windy all day. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I worked on the garage roof putting on the roofing felt. I have two rolls weighing 53LBs each up the ladder. I am totally beat. I must’ve smelled like a homeless person when I was done and took a hot soothing shower. Tomorrow (hopefully) I’ll do the roll roofing and hold it all down with Henry's Asphalt Emulsion and lots of roofing nails.

Sunday 03- 92/63F windy again. I did my stretches. Someone broke into my mailbox on Lear Ave. It was broken into last month, but this was worse. I don't believe there was anything but advertisements. I think the thieves are after those stimulus checks, but mine was automatically deposited into my bank account. I hope these people get caught, it's a federal offense to steal mail or tamper with mail boxes.

Monday 04- 91/62F clear and breezy. I did my stretches.

 I’m going back up today and finishing off the garage. I am getting a late start today because I kinda way overdid it yesterday. A gust of wind came up in the evening and I had to fight to keep all that I had done from blowing away. I ended up with tar all over me. Somehow my dog got tar on her too. I finished the garage roofing around 6 PM. I am totally exhausted!

Tuesday 05- 97/65F. I did my stretches and took the day off.

Wednesday 06- 98/63F. Again, I did my stretches and took the day off.

I came out in the morning and found a beehive in my tree. I ran back into my house, grabbed my camera to record the event. 

I started commenting on the hive when I remembered Cholla Needles Poetry wanted me to record one of my poems. I've been hesitant about recording a poem because I always sound like a robot when doing so.

Well, I decided right then and there since I was recording anyways to wing it and make something up as I went rambling on and on about the bees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THd11_Odhjk

Thursday 07- 100/66F hot and hazy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie. I met Christine, a new neighbor, on my jog.

The bees in the tree have moved on. I shall miss them... not!!!

Friday 08- 100/69F with a nice breeze. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Saturday 09- 101/70F and hazy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk... just ain’t used to the heat yet and neither is Cassi.

I rode the scooter to get my mail at my box on Border Ave.

Sunday 10- 97/64F windy with some clouds. I did my stretches. 

I rode the scooter to my other mailbox on Lear Ave, the one that was broken into last Sunday, to repair it. 

Monday 11 92/59F and windy. I only did my stretches because I was going to go work on the roof, that is until the high winds came up.

I don't think we're out of the woods just yet with the coronavirus and I believe we should all keep up with the social distancing. There have been some who like to compare this virus to the flu, deaths due to drugs, or automobile accidents... it's not. It is a highly contagious virus and it'll come back to haunt us if we let our guard down. As I write this there have been over 80,000 deaths. Think about how many would have died if we didn't shut down the country and stayed at home. 80,000 would have been a drop in the bucket. People you and I know would have been dead. This is a pandemic and we should remember this fact when we start going out into the world again... be safe everyone, and keep doing what you have learned to do to stop this virus these last few months.

I leave the political out of everything if I can. I go on what I feel, not what others egos tell me how to feel. 

Honestly, I think this might just be the beginning of something worse if we throw our caution to the wind. I didn't say such things in my post as to not alarm anyone, but I did hint. It may be nature's way of saying goodbye.

Tuesday 12- 89/60F with mid-afternoon winds. I did my stretches. I then turned my attention to the roof. I did the roof to the front porch and finished it as the winds came up. I am totally burned out from doing roofs. I still have some left to do. I am going to use up all the roofing materials tomorrow to see what more I need to purchase.

Wednesday 13- 85/59F with high evening winds. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I've been working hard on the roof these last few weeks laying down roofing, tarring, and nailing. I am exhausted by the end of the day. I'm almost done, just a bit more to do, and I ran out materials I need to finish... Looks like a trip to Home Depot next week or sooner. While I'm in town I need to stock up on some supplies at the supermarket. 

Thursday 14- 88/61F windy. I did my stretches, walked the dog, and took the day off.

Friday 15- 91/63F windy. I was going to go to town, so I did my stretches and walked Cassie, but my guest waited to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday because of Memorial Day, so I decided to dig a trench for the drain to the kitchen sink and run it out to the little desert willow tree I planted last year. This digging and laying of pipe took me all day to do. I will finish burying it all up tomorrow.

Saturday 16- 95/66F breezy and hot. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Sunday 17- 94/63F I did my stretches and took Cassie for her walks. I took the day off from any intensive labor or exercise.

I called my Brother to yap at him for a spell.

I took Cassie for a midnight walk.

Monday 18- 85/59F very windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I dug out and placed pavers from the patio to the small pool. Now there’s a walkway to the pool.

Tuesday 19- 75/54F cloudy and windy. I did my stretches and walked Cassie. Kjtel came over and she, Bodie, Cassie and I went for an evening walk together.

Wednesday 20- 82/57F with a little breeze. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I started getting things ready to hook up the drain to the bathroom and run it to the big tree out back.

Thursday 21- 88/65F nice day. I took Cassie for a long walk.

Me and my “guest” went to Yucca Valley to pick up her meds. I finally dropped my Chevy Spark tire off at Big O Tire after going to 3 tire stores to get it replaced; it has a hole in the sidewall; I will pick it up tomorrow. Then we went to Home Depot to get some supplies to finish up my roof and other stuff I am working on. Then to Sonic Burger to eat.

I took Cassie for a walk when I got home. And then a midnight walk.

Friday 22- 91/63F and windy. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

Me and my “guest” went to Yucca Valley to do some shopping at Vons and for me to pick up my tire which Big O Tire had to replace. It was my first time shopping at a supermarket in this new era of post pandemic. Everyone was wearing masks and standing a more or less 6 foot distance apart. It felt a little stressful to me at first, but most people were kind and courteous.

Saturday 23- 94/65F windy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I did my studies.

I took Cassie for an evening bike/run.

Cassie and I went for a midnight walk up the hill and back.

Sunday 24- 91/64F I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

I carried the 3 90 pounds each of roll roofing up the ladder on my shoulder like a gangster. I’ll probably be hurting tomorrow.

I did my studies throughout the day and finished the Molecular Biology book. I took Cassie for an evening bike/run.

Cassie and I went for a midnight walk up the hill and back. 

I also did my nightly exercise (that hasn't been so nightly) with the 15lbs dumbbells.

Monday 25- 96/67F and clear with a bit of breeze. Went right to work on the roof when I woke up and before it got too hot. I finally finished the whole roof except for too tiny eaves that I can do anytime next week. I do need to hammer in bunches of roofing nails on what I already did and then snowcoat the whole roof. 

Later in the afternoon I mounted the new tire on the Chevy Spark and also patched a small leak on the rear passenger side tire.

My “Guest” cooked up steaks on the BBQ and we had Memorial Day dinner.

I did my nightly exercises and took Cassie out for a midnight walk.

Tuesday 26- 102/72F hot. I did my stretches, core trainer, weight bench, jogged a mile with Cassie.

In the late afternoon my stomach started to feel bad and I had to stop everything I was doing and went to bed. I was very sick for a few hours and when the pain and nausea subsided I was very weak for the rest of the day and into the night. 

Wednesday 27- 107/75F windy. I did my stretches and walked Cassie. 

Watched the scrubbed launch of the first manned SpaceX mission into space. I was very excited and then kinda bummed, but safety first.

Thursday 28- 109/76F cloudy. I did my stretches. Too hot for anything else.

I drew out a pattern on plywood for the cover to the small pool.

Friday 29- 106/72F cloudy. I did my stretches. 

I cut out the pattern from the plywood.

Saturday 30- 104/71F and breezy. Very excited as I watched SpaceX launch their first manned mission into space to rendezvous with ISS space station. 

I trimmed the plywood for the pool cover and got it ready to paint.

Sunday 31- 95/66F 

Two lost dogs came to stay under the motorhome. At first there was only one I saw and tried to lure him into the yard. He was very friendly at first until he went under the motorhome and there was a female and he became really protective. I gave them water and food. I left messages on several sites about them. When morning came and I went out to feed them they had already left.

****************** Poems May 2020 ****************

It’s not how much of your brain you use but the time you spend using it.

~RD

I wish for a way to communicate, I wish there was a way to call, but you are so far beyond the veil of life, I think my message would fail, to reach across those many years, to seek out your tender smile. 

I visit you in my dreams at night, I reach to touch your cheek, but like clouds dissolve in the desert skies, only vapor do my fingers meet.  

I can feel you standing next to me, for fleeting moments your presence I sense, with words I faintly hear you say, but for now I must settle and remain content. Until we meet in a moment of time and space, where elves play, pixies flutter around, with imps that make us laugh. Fly past the midnight moon above, beyond the reaches of time, only then shall I caress and hold my love, in these strong loving arms of mine. 

~RD

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