Eva’s Friends

[ksbkeys]

I was all fired up to do great things: clean the house from top to bottom, run two miles every day, and sew a Christmas present for everyone in my family...but then I got sick. Not badly, but I have had a dull headache and been sensitive to both light and noise for the last three days. Now post nasal drip is causing a cough. I hate coughing.

This week I resubmitted the background check for the USCG. Once it's approved my recruiter will put me on the early-ship list. That means I could be leaving earlier than April...it's really nerve-wracking to think about!

I seem to have an infection on the side of one finger. That makes it a little difficult to type.

A couple nights ago I came upstairs to find Con playing with a baby mouse! I managed to rescue it before the dogs got hold of it. Con has no claws and hardly any teeth, so she couldn't really hurt it, but he was awfully scared. Poor little mouse.

The moon is shining quite brightly through the trees. I have always associated the moon with stories of bravery and adventure. And cemeteries.

After an hour's intermission, I have returned to my computer here to see that the moon has disappeared and it's nearly 10:00.

Remembering Pearl Harbor today...it was a Sunday like this exactly eighty-four years ago. I wonder what people were doing when they heard? Did anyone sleep that night? Incidentally, there's only twelve survivors left.

Due to the cold weather, I was unable to take any pictures .

My favorite (and only) houseplant
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Sorry you got sick! I love how you are excited and eager to do so many things! Life is never boring as there are so many ways to use our time.

God bless you in your career in the USCG.

Speaking of Pearl Harbor day, that is the same day as my grandmother's birthday. She was born in 1915 and lived to be nearly 90. Pearl Harbor was something she used to tell me about. She had brothers serve in World War 2 and she would often tell me about ration cards and what it was like.

Your plant is beautiful.

 

[Callender Girl]

Sorry to hear that you're under the weather. BTW, I looked it up, and that phrase has a nautical origin as sick sailors were sent "under the weather deck" to recover inside the ship.

Anyway, I hope you're feeling better soon! Everything you described is unpleasant, but I agree with you about coughing! A couple of years ago, I came down with a virus (not Covid) that caused me to cough relentlessly for weeks. My stomach muscles and rib area hurt from the repeated contractions.

I was also dealing with mice this week, but mine had fatal endings. Dinah, who likes to sleep upstairs on my bed, refused to settle down a few nights ago. She was frantically running around, in and out of the bedroom, over to the guest room, down the hallway -- in short, making it impossible for me to fall asleep.

I finally got up, and she flushed a mouse out from behind the armoire; it ran into the guest room and under the short legs of a chest of drawers. I always keep mouse traps set in the winter, and one had already caught a mouse; I put a new trap under the chest, and resigned myself to sleeping downstairs on the couch. I knew Dinah wouldn't settle down, and I didn't want to hear if and when the trap worked.

In the morning, the second mouse was dead, and it seems there are no more. For now. Old farmhouses are prime winter locations for mice. I'm surprised the basement cats let any escape into my living quarters.

I discovered a less-successful escape this morning when I let Dinah and George out. She usually dashes back in when it's this cold (8 degrees), but dallied outside. I found much of the bloody remains of a rabbit, quite near the house. Based on tracks and direction, I think it's the bunny that lived under the old playhouse (where I store gardening stuff) and the most likely predator was a coyote. Before the newest snowfall, I saw coyote tracks at the end of the driveway.

In recent days, there have been two major snowstorms; last night there was just a dusting of snow. I can get the snowblower started, but it won't keep running. Consequently, I've gotten lots of exercise shoveling.

So, if you leave before April, how much notice do you get to get everything in order and prepare? I think you are very brave for taking on this new adventure, whether it's for a few years or a lifetime career.

Your lone houseplant is beautiful!