WaspSting of Simmer

The week of non-rest continues. Yesterday I was semi-paralyzed with tiredness, because I only slept for four hours. Then I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. By 4 pm I was reeling, said, "Screw dinner" and had a nap instead. It was hardly good enough, though. I woke up in time to go meet with the group of women I see every couple of weeks or so. It was the first time for awhile that we were all there. I was awake enough to really enjoy seeing them. They of course wanted to hear about my brother, so I tried to make it brief enough that there was time to catch up with all of them as well. And mine was not the only tale of woe. Good heavens, so much death, stress, and ill health! It's really tough to hear. Just as an example, one of our group had been looking forward to retiring, and did so on the 4th. However, one of the things she'd been looking forward to was spending more time with an old friend who was in poor health. But the friend died a few days earlier. So now one of the first events of her retirement will be a funeral. It seems to be like that all over. One can never overestimate the amount of kindness and compassion that is needed in the world. I appreciated theirs for me.

Today was Madame Day, and that is always hard on me. She was in pretty good spirits today, and had her checkbook with her. We enjoyed seeing some cute babies in the cafe. I happened to notice that she had her hearing aid charger in her purse as well. This is strictly forbidden! And, of course, as long as it's in her purse, it's not doing anyone any good because nothing is charging. I was going to tell the staff about it, but when we got back, the person who eventually opened the door for us walked away without speaking or looking at us, so there was no one to tell. I guess they'll figure it out eventually . . . .

We're having torrential rains from Beryl. I thought of going for a walk while the Sparrowhawk went to the gym, but it was raining some more, and I was again stunned with tiredness. I took a nap, but it was the kind of nap where you wake up and can't remember what time of day it is or why you're lying down. I haven't cooked anything in awhile, and I didn't want all the good things from the farmers market to go to waste, so I roused myself and fixed dinner. We had chicken with mushrooms and fresh green onions and sour cream, steamed baby beets, sweet corn, and a mixture of beet greens and turnip greens chopped and cooked with bacon and a splash of some fancy balsamic vinaigrette. And sliced peaches for dessert. Yum! The delights of the season. Enjoy their fleeting splendor while it's still within reach.