HELLO CATHY ANNE…

I did my usual walk into town this morning and met Cathy Anne in the central square. I call her Pewaukee Cathy because her family owned a greenhouse in Pewaukee. The building is still there, but her family no longer owns it.

We went to the Buckle and Trip for a coffee and tea. I was surprised that the coffee was awful. My first experience with bad coffee here. Perhaps it is something new that I’m not used to, but I had to leave it, barely touched.

Cathy is still healing from an accident in July when she was hit by one of the town buses as she crossed a street. She seems to be doing well. Love to talk to Cathy about books and movies. Knitting and watching movies and series is her favorite. She’s also a fabulous cook.

I didn’t notice it, but Cathy pointed out to me that many of the new Christmas decorations in town are made out of plastic bottles. I think that most everything in the photo behind us is made from recycled plastic. So Panamanian.

Jerry stopped down yesterday and brought me banana bread.

He also asked if I like lamb. I said yes, and he told me that he just bought too much at the store recently and was hoping I would come to dinner and help them out. I’m realizing that this guy has a unique sense of humor. I’ll like him even more when he fixes the toilet.

Linda just came down to ask me if I could hear the bass beat of music. Yes, I could hear it. She told me that it is driving her crazy. She can’t sleep at night because it goes on until 2 in the morning. I suggested earplugs and was hoping I had an extra pair to give her, but I couldn’t find them. I must have brought an extra pair. I’ll keep looking.

My sleep experiment is moving along. I feel like I’m back to my pre-Ambien pattern of feeling sleepy, going to bed, and then lying awake for hours. I think I may be going to bed too early. I’m going to see if I can hold out until 11. That’s when the Fitbit shows that I am more steadily asleep. The Fitbit showed that I slept over 9 hours, but the graph was loaded with wakeful moments. I didn’t feel great when I woke up; I don’t feel great right now. I have to stay awake for seven more hours. I think I can do that. I’ve put off my calligraphy and a new painting idea until after I have finished writing for the day. Those activities don’t stress my brain like writing does.

I received a lovely encouragement from my editor, Kathie, yesterday. She said that sometimes a book comes along that she has to just read first and then save the editing for later because she wants to keep reading. That was a fantastic bit of positive reinforcement on her part. Now I think of that instead of the drudgery part. To imagine that someone is experiencing joy from my writing is a true gift. Thanks, Kathie!

Hot chocolate has replaced my nightly wine habit. Getting my protein!