Saturday August 15th 2026

Good morning!

Safe travels J22.

I'm sure Dianah is having a good time.

Stars, hope you continue to feel better.

Nothing to report here. My boss gave me the weekend off for bereavement. I think I technically get three days and should return Sunday but gave me tomorrow off as well. I'm glad because while I'm not in deep grief, I still am having trouble with motivation and focus.

I need to take a look at the primary which is happening here on Tuesday. I know in November on the ballot is a measure to significantly decrease property taxes, which helps big home owners the most and shifts burden to local governments for services. I think people will vote for the cut but the downstream effect is we still have to pay for services somehow, about 33 million dollars the first year here and then upwards to 75 from there. An estimated shift of burn statewide of 12 billion.

Otherwise I haven't decent who to vote for. I hate to say that during non-presidential elections I often skip the primaries. The last 20 years or so as we've become super red, about 99% of what and whom I vote for doesn't pass, but at least I vote.

I doom scrolled late last night, a habit I was trying to break. Not that it's horrible to entertain myself that way, but I feel it would be better spent reading a book and I might not stay up so late.

Waffles left me sleep two hours past her bedtime. Weird.

I stay up later reading a book than I do on-line or watching TV. The promise to myself of "Just one more chapter" didn't work, so I would page forward to the end of the chapter and stick a bookmark there, so that when I got to the end of a chapter, that bookmark was a reminder to stop there. It's the only thing I could do to break myself from reading on into the wee hours of the night. My sister's husband was right, we are a bunch of "print junkies".

Speaking of whom, that BiL's Alzheimer's may be getting worse, or the trip w/my sister to Michigan has knocked him off kilter by messing with his routines. She has had a difficult time with him, like when she took a shower and he told her he was 'going to walk down the hill"... something he does at home; plus, in Maine, he wanders around on their property watching the wildlife, etc. Sits outside a lot. She had to go find him after her shower, he was outside the hotel and she thought he didn't even remember where they were. She has had to do things like find a TV station or programs he likes to watch to get him to stay in one place, and one time had to put a large handwritten sign over the hotels doorknob and lock, telling him NOT to go outside unless she was there with him. She said she's going to have to get some kind of tracker on him, when they get back home. She is hoping being back in familiar territory he will resume his habit of staying within their property, but I dunno. It sounds pretty worrisome to me. I don't envy her, as she is always so busy trying to take care of everything she has on her plate, this is something that will require a serious 'fix', and that would not be something they could afford, but also not something they can afford to bypass. I think any kind of facility is well beyond their means, but it may become, if it already hasn't, a necessity.

Well it is time to get dressed. The important thing on my to do list today is go buy more TP. Plus it is time for a new chew bone for Tinker; the one she uses while waiting for me to get to the point where I can take her out or feed her, her 'frustration bone', as I think of it. She does know how to occupy her time, but when she gets to that bone, I know what she is trying to communicate to me, like, "C'mon Mom" And that bone is getting quite worn down!

In my half-asleep-half-awake state this morning I was looking into boxes and taking un-necessary ones out to the garage and bringing in things like the bagful of clothes to hang in the closet. Guess I have in mind a sort of outline of a plan?

No chew bones of Tinker's size in that brand. Maybe they'll restock soon, or I can drive up to another WallyWorld, north by about 23 miles from here? I prolly will end up waiting for re-stock to happen, or ask if they can go in the back and see if they can find one for her. Ya never know! Unfortunately that particular bone is the only one she will use; I have tried others for her, but they are ignored. Next time I will buy TWO of them!

J told me that tomorrow I may end up eating the supper she is getting tonight.... some Hibachi something-or-other... The reason she only eats parts of her ordering out meals is she gets a shot to decrease her appetite. Huh, didn't know that. It doesn't stop her from laying in bed and snacking, though. Well, not my problem. And it's a free supper for me! .... Oh, I went out for the TP today and got a few other things, and she saw me coming in with some grocery bags and said "Have you been out shopping again?" I replied, "I needed some toilet paper." She snorted and said "Well, WE have toilet paper!" I told her that they may be giving me a place to live rent-free, but I didn't expect them to take care of my butt LITERALLY! 😂

The niece brought the big dog in to stay in the big dog-kennel thingy. It was too hot out there, she said. ☹️ Great, a cool jail-cell, poor thing. But it's better than it being outside suffering the heat, I guess. 🙄 So, I bit my lip and said nothing. SMH. She'll probably be going back home one of these days. She has been doing ALL the yard-work, and that is a BIG job to take on by herself. But, right now I can't walk Tinker around the back of the house because of the din that kicks up from all the dogs barking at each other. (sigh,sigh,sigh.)

Got a lot of trash out of Twin A's bedroom. It was really bad. He promises it won't get like this again and I told him that will be a condition of living here. Not that I would really throw him out without really good reason, but he does need to accept some responsibility. This house never seemed so small when we would all visit my parents here but it sure feels that way trying to accommodate 4 adults all the time. And of course for the past 5 years it was FIVE adults.

Stars, your BIL sounds a bit like my dad was before my mother got sick. He didn't wander so much but he would not remember where they were.

We are home from our family day. Had a good outing, but I am tired. We leave in the morning.