short stories, volume whatever

I think I'm having hot flashes again. What the fuck is up with that! I can be sitting here doing nothing in my air conditioned house and break out in a sweat. They're not as bad or last as long as they were/did back when I was going through menopause but they are annoying as hell. Just about every night I wake up in a sweat. Just now, sitting here, I broke out in a sweat. It's bad enough sweat rolls off me when I'm working outside. I'd just as soon it didn't when I'm sitting inside. Granted, we keep the thermostat at 78 but still...

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The last bit of cool air we will see til fall rolled in Tuesday night. I know I think I've said that before but this time it's really true so sez the weather prognosticators. Am I taking advantage of it and getting something done outside? No, no I am not. Clearing that fence took all my outdoor work ambition for now.

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The flowering meadow of the big backyard has been mowed. Plenty of things that escaped the flower beds were still blooming in the yard although declining but so much other spring stuff was done done and it was getting too hard to walk out there it had all gotten so high.

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We've had several phone calls from family the last few days. One of our peers is dying. He’s the second. The first being my sister's husband nearly 10 years ago. Now it is my sister-in-law's husband.

“It’s beginning”, I said to Marc.

“Yes”, he answered, “we’re dying”.

And yet Marc’s mom, Aunt Anna, and Uncle Sid persist. I think my brother-in-law only has days from the looks of it. Dying in the days of covid-19 is a dilemma. What, where, how, and when do you do what you would ordinarily do? And while Jerry is not dying of covid-19 and has his family there with him, how do you go through the rituals when so many who would participate are in the 'at risk' category. We will not be traveling to Dallas but there is a vague plan to somehow do something via FB Live or Zoom maybe.

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Making more progress on the house for my sister. In fact I think I've done just about everything I can until we have a house. I got the elevation survey certificate needed for the permit, I got a new address for the future house since you can't have two electric meters at one address, I've picked a septic system provider though I still need to get a copy of the plat of the property (phone call made, it's in the mail). Now all we need is a house and to put it all together. Pam and I are going to risk driving to San Antonio next week (with masks and social distancing and maybe even gloves) to look at houses at the place my daughter bought hers. If infections are going to explode here because our Trump toadie governor is opening the state even more than he already has next week, then we'd rather take the risk now rather than later and time is also a faction. Right now we have plenty of time but if we wait til things have settled (and when will that even be) then we may not be able to get the house ready for her to move into by the end of November.

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Progress on the shop room buildout continues but sometimes the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Besides the room for working in, Rocky is building new walls for the half bath. Before Harvey, only the toilet was enclosed in a little closet while the sink was not, just there in the back corner room where the water heater had been and we had all that torn out, the toilet, the sink/vanity, and the water heater (don't need hot water over there). So they built walls enclosing the new half bath (and I will be so glad to finally have a toilet over there again so I don't have to run around to pee behind the shop), sheet rock on the inside, beadboard on the outside, two outlets inside for lights (ceiling, wall) and we only need one but no light switch to turn either one on, and while the connections for the water lines were sticking out of the wall, they had sheet rocked over the sink drain pipe. Uh, guys...