The hospice nurse says the itching is caused by the build up of uric acid which the body can no longer excrete.

The new Pella windows will be installed in the house tomorrow, I am glad.

When I am low on oxygen, my lips become numb and I slip easily into sleep. MC says I become very pale. I hope you are taking notes; this will be on your final exam.

This has been weighing on me. Now the bills are all paid. I had to start teaching MC how to do it. He has never even seen a credit card statement. But it is done and I am exhausted.

The entire series "Picket Fences" came today. I am suspicious because the invoice is in Japanese. :)

Perched to one side of the room where I mostly live now is a device oddly resembling Artoo from the Star Wars films. (That is the dumpy one, isn't it?)

( Air )

This morning, Gissel came over wearing a bathing costume beneath her outer wear.

( Bath Time )

One week ago today, I was taken to hospital by ambulance suffering from a combination of congestive heart failure and renal failure.

( Hospice )

I finally have my e-mail working again. For the past week, I have been able to receive but not to sent e-mail from my principal addresses. Just another glitch in Comcast.

( Finally! )

I seem to be doing little these days other than reading.

( Whining )

The engineer from Pella came this morning to measure for the windows.

( Hope )

I saw an unusual sight at the grocer's. Two nuns in habit.

For you literary types:

( Fun )

Got the Dark Boris and the icon hung. They are both in the studio and glow against the paper-white walls like Ukranian Easter eggs. I knew they would. We had done the icon a disservice by hanging it in a corner of the dark library all this time. It needs and wants to catch the sun and throw it back from the gilded background. Now it is in its proper place. The Boris is over the computer where he can scowl down at me as I work and the other is above the desk. I am so glad to have them back.

There are others to hang but I have to sort out some frames for them. My g-d, there must be hundreds of paintings in storage. I had not thought I had done - and kept- so many.

I am feeling distinctly frustrated these days. Yesterday, the power went off for about ninety minutes, in the midst of the window salesmen's presentation. Today we went grocery shopping and came home to find the power out again - this time until about four thirty PM. When it came back on, I went to get some lunch only to find that the water had been cut off. They are doing sewer work and it overlapped with the electrical boondoggle. I had been very calm but the loss of all water was just too much. This is like living in Baghdad. They had it all back on in a short while but I need a Xanax.

One thing these past three days have taught me - keep the Kindle fully charged at all times.

While I was desperately fighting to stay awake as a window salesman droned on and on ...

( Want )

We had a stormy day yesterday with high winds. Almost 300,000 people in the metro area lost power due to falling trees, tree limbs and the like. We were powerless from shortly after nine AM until just before 5 PM and lucky to come back on line so quickly. As a result, I spent the day reading.

I seem to have lost my taste ...
( Just Thinking )

But do cats have to be so dramatic?

I saw the Criterion DVD of the Sadler's Wells/ London Philharmonic production of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffman last night.

( Love )