I know too many dead people
They creep up on you one by one
More smoke to add to the skies
It’s a problem to face head on
Out of control, it cannot be
Controlled by either you or me

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Today I’m feeling:

Snoozed my alarm whilst Tigger waited patiently on the bed nearby and eventually I put him on my chest for a couple of minutes of rubs whilst I woke up and he purred affectionately.
I knew I had to get up and go as I’d arranged to meet Bruno at Utopia at 9 to go for a ride. We had a good ride around in the forest and valleys that I like just northeast of home but got pretty stuffed quickly as it was so unrelentingly hot. We had to negotiate the crazy path that I had taken about 9 months ago and this time I tipped the bike and bashed myself on some jungle growth of one kind or another giving me a big bruise on my already sore tricep but it was pretty funny and entertaining as I was travelling at zero kph at the time.
When we decided to return we found a way through the valleys that is a valid way around the checkpoint. It’s still a long way around but it’s the best option I’ve found so far. I got a bit muddy on this stretch and when we got back I limped into the 7/11 to stuff an ice cream before another coffee at Utopia. It wasn’t even midday.
I hosed off my shoes and stuck them and everything else in the washing machine and cold showered. I relaxed in the aircon for a while but suddenly got the urge to go check our guttering as it looked like it might rain. The tape I put on yesterday, over the top of the existing tape was sagging off already in one spot so I squished it up again, checked the rest and then figured to actually go look in the gutter itself.
So I climbed up the ladder and immediately saw the problem of the leaves blocking the drain and piles of them stuck at various points too. Nothing for it but to get up there and clear it out. It was dirty sweaty work but I was on a roll. After carefully getting back down again (I could hear Auntie gasping next door) I poked the hose up in the gutter to see if the water drained away. It soon became obvious that the tape was still leaking and also now there were places where the guttering was rusting through. Really, it all needs replacing with something better. Something to sort out another day.
However, I wasn’t done. I was getting dizzy but still had energy so I started clearing the drain outside the classroom which gets blocked with soil and then things growing in that. By the time I was done, I couldn’t see straight.
I got into the kitchen and stripped off again shoving my fresh pants, already dirty into the washing machine. I felt like drinking something fizzy and ended up cracking a beer and drinking a cupful before another cold shower and my third change of clothes for the day.
Eventually, I sat in the living room, drank two beers with a packet of chips as my only sustenance for the day and it wasn’t even 4pm yet. I’m in bed now at 8 pm, exhausted.

Today I’m grateful for:

The reasonably priced sunscreen that worked well to protect my hands today, everything else was covered up. I thought it would be more expensive.

The best thing about today was:

Being active, doing things, and having a feeling of achievement.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I thought I’d try and find out more about Noey at Utopia to see if she might be suitable to catsit for us in future. However, she wasn’t there and when I asked they said that she had been scratched badly by a cat and couldn’t work. Hmm.
I asked Art about her personality and he said she was trustworthy and reliable as far as he could tell but that she wasn’t very active, as in pushing herself to do more.
Then she arrived, along with her new boyfriend, to show off her scars which were minimal, to say the least, but she had a tetanus injection and perhaps was worried about any side effects from that. I asked if it was her cat that scratched her, and she said no, it was a friend’s and it’s just two months old. I asked if she had cats at home here, no, and back in her home town, again, no.
So ultimately with her lack of experience, I couldn’t see her being able to handle our big cats if they had any problems.
Well, never mind. Aing says she should be able to come and take care of them in October but my guess is that she would be happy too but come the time may not actually be able to. Amy is also asking her friends to see who may be available.

Something I learned today?

I watched a video showing how to work your way up to pull-ups, something which I don’t have the arm and shoulder strength to do. I’ll start doing the simplest wall pulls and build from there. Maybe I’ll still never be able to do a pull-up but I’ll feel better either way.