Sat 31 Jul

Humidity's back up to 83% which would explain why we got sweaty walking home from the Farmer's Market. Might still be okay to hike in the woods this afternoon if the temperature stays reasonable. It's 66° at 8:45 am and I don't think it's supposed to get out of the 70s today. Saw Emma selling pastries at the market today; nice to chat with her. Food: 8:45 am Antwerp square, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 30 Jul

Happy Birthday, Mama! She would have been 105 today. Lovely sunny day, 60°, humidity feels reasonable. Nice. Food: 7:50 am Honey bear, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 29 Jul

Fortunately the big thunderstorms missed us to the north last night; we only got the very edge with some rain and wind. I could watch a constant light show to the north through the bedroom window before falling asleep. Food: 8:00 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 28 Jul

Had a sort of dream about having to leave my phone with a bunch of others and then identify it. It got me thinking to how easy my passcode would be for someone to guess and to decide I needed to change it, so I promptly did so this morning. Now I have to hope I can remember the new one as it's not tied to any date or event. I have my physical this morning, so no breakfast til after labs. If labs go quickly, there may be enough time to run home and eat, but it's not likely til after the physical. Food: 9:20 am Blueberry danish, 68 g blackberries

Tues 27 Jul

Thunderstorms and lots of rain in the night, continuing on into this morning. Temps a little cooler for now. Won't need to water plants for awhile again. Food: 8:00 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 26 Jul

Summer is sliding away, just three weeks til we leave on vacation. When we get back, a week til the Fair, and then summer is for all intents and purposes, over. Right now, it's still steeped in warm weather so it's hard to feel it starting to move to the end, but you know it's coming. Food: 7:55 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 25 Jul

Had a lovely time in Madison yesterday. A very nice lunch with Laura, behaving as if nothing was ever any different and she hadn't gone several months ignoring my emails and texts. We said nothing about it and had a good time. I need to let it go. Bob and I had a really nice dinner at Lombardino's before heading home, with Aperol spritzes. I had a delicious ricotta gnocchi with asparagus and pecorino romano cream sauce, and Bob had an asparagus/mushroom pizza, half of which he brought home. Food: 8:00 am Cherry danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 24 Jul

Looking forward to having lunch with the daughter today for the first contact since before Christmas. Learned the real name of the berry danish today: Antwerp squares. David has mentioned it before, but it never stuck in my brain. Going to try to remember it now. Food: 8:50 am Antwerp square, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 23 Jul

Warmer and definitely more humid this morning, with the promise of weather like this for awhile now. When I met with my old work friends, they mentioned that I was the one who liked to be hot; I had to update them that I now sweat like other people so I no longer seek the sun and maximum warmth. I even succumb to occasionally using the A/C! Food: 7:50 am Panera coffee cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 22 Jul

Turned into a sunny, beautiful day yesterday as the morning clouds disappeared. Was a great afternoon for Linda's party on the deck, but because it was so sunny, we all wore sun hats for the first hour or so. Great visiting with Linda, Bill, Elaine, Deb, Lisa, and Jennifer. So nice that we keep this tradition up yet. Food: 7:55 am Panera coffee cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 21 Jul

Kind of a dreary day outside this morning, a little cooler at 59° and feels a little less humid. Hope the weather is okay for Linda's party this evening. Looking forward to seeing old friends. Food: 8:00 am Panera coffee cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 20 Jul

Feeling pretty humid today even though the temps aren't bad at 68°. Going to try to get the vacation itinerary set up today if I can motivate, and possibly even look into the fair and Applefest. Having gotten out of the travel mode last year, it's harder than I would have expected to resume my usual planning. Food: 7:50 am Panera coffee cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 19 Jul

Had a very nice time in Escanaba/Pictured Rocks. A little adventure on Saturday when I took us the wrong direction out of Escanaba and it took about an hour to realize it, so we got a long drive in before getting to Pictured Rocks. We still had time for a very nice hike through a wooded portion with occasional overlooks. We were blessed with beautiful sunny weather, pleasant temps, and a breeze from the lake that kept the bugs off of us. We had a fun supper club dinner on Friday night and casual pasties on Saturday, and good breakfasts at the Swedish Pantry both mornings. The only downside was that after a lovely hike along Piers Gorge in Norway, MI, Bob wasn't hungry yet even though it was already 12:30 Central time, so we didn't stop for lunch. By the time we did, it was 2:30 pm to get sandwiches at a grocery store in Rhinelander. It had been over 7 hours since breakfast and I was beyond thinking clearly and not in a good place. I had eaten a cucumber, some blueberries, and a slice of cheese in the car as I felt myself sinking into the not-so-good place, but it was too little, too late. I revived after the sandwich and chocolate milk, but it was a quiet and not particularly pleasant drive home. Food: 8:00 am Panera cinnamon coffee cake, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 16 Jul

Heading up to Escanaba today, and Pictured Rocks for hiking tomorrow. Looks to be a beautiful weekend, sunny and low 80s. Should be fun. Food: 8:00 am Honey bear, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 15 Jul

Lots of rain yesterday, some wind, a tad thunder in the distance, but the storms did not pan out as bad as threatened. Looks like a nice comfortable morning for a walk with Kathy today, temps at 64°. Gotta sneak laundry in between the walk and Bootstrap as we're heading up to Escanaba after lunch tomorrow. Food: 7:45 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 14 Jul

Happy Bastille Day! Power to the people! Nice out now, 70° and some sun, but storms expected this afternoon. Food: 8:00 am Blueberry cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 13 Jul

Finally planning Michael's belated birthday dinner celebration tonight. I have to research how to grill whole tilapia. Will also try to make a blueberry crumble or some such fresh blueberry dessert, and he can also have chocolate cake if he wishes. Food: 7:45 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 12 Jul

Michael and Taylor will finally come over tomorrow for his celebratory birthday dinner! We bought some whole tilapia to grill which should be fun if I can cook them properly. Food: 7:50 am Chocolate pecan snail, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 11 Jul

Very nice day in Madison yesterday, pleasant temps, a little sunshine between the clouds. Had a delicious sushi lunch, then hit Costco, TJs, and Woodman's for things we wanted. Safe driving, good day. Food: 7:55 am Cherry danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 10 Jul

Lovely morning for a walk to the Farmer's Market, and a good selection of pastries. They surely are tasty. Food: 8:40 am Berry pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 9 Jul

My monitor is flickering in the background this morning - disconcerting. Another sunny, pleasant day, with hopefully a nice weekend in store. Food: 7:50 am Honey bear, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 8 Jul

Sun is shining again this morning, temps still cool at 57°. Should be a lovely morning for a walk with Kathy. Will be nice to just do a regular shift at Bootstrap this week. Food: 7:50 am Apricot danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 7 Jul

Considerably cooler this morning - 56°. The rain last night brought temps down for a few days to more tolerable levels. Might see more rain today. Food: 7:50 am Kouign amann, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 6 Jul

Couldn't believe how much I sweated last night on our hike at Rib. My merino t-shirt was soaked in a huge area around the armpits and even the back was wet. Doing a wash of merino today as I can't stand the thought of all that sweat evaporated and remaining in the fabric even if it doesn't stink. Also I had a massage yesterday, so there will be residue of massage oil inside. Food: 8:10 am Chocolate pecan pinwheel, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 5 Jul

Bob is home today for the legal holiday, but the gym is open as usual and I have a massage scheduled this afternoon so I have a fairly normal Monday. Glad he has a day to relax though. Food: 7:50 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 4 Jul

Happy Independence Day. Mary chose a song for church this morning that has absolutely beautiful lyrics. It is to the tune of Finlandia, which I find somewhat amusing for American Independence Day since it was written by Sibelius as an anthem for Finland, but the words talk about loving our country and its beauty while acknowledging that other countries are also beautiful and asking the Lord to bless us all. Food: 7:50 am Cherry danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 3 Jul

Independence weekend is here. We don't feel like displaying a flag because it has become more a symbol of the right-wing extremists than a symbol of a united country that it should be. Nice walk to the Farmer's Market, relatively cool yet. Full complement of pastries for the week, plus trout and a carton of local black raspberries. Food: 8:55 am Berry pastry, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 2 Jul

Heading into a hot Fourth of July weekend with no real plans except to cantor and Bob to usher at Mass Sunday. I want to get to the Farmer's Market on Saturday to get pastries (hopefully), and we are committed to water Michael's plants and care for the cats. Maybe we'll go somewhere to hike on Saturday if it's not too oppressive. Food: 8:00 am 1 c Quaker Oat Squares (stale), 1/2 c soy milk, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 1 Jul

In for a long day at Bootstrap today, going in at 10:30 after my walk with Kathy. Morning shift has been short-handed lately, so several of us are going in for all or part of the morning to help the one person on the regular schedule this week. Food: 7:55 am Morning bun, 101 g blackberries, coffee