Edward’s in Clearwater for two days for an ombudsman meeting and I am on my own. I had a 280 calorie chicken/stuffing “dinner” to heat in-the-microwave for 1 ½ minutes. I didn’t choose this in order to diet but it was simple to do and I, for some reason, felt totally exhausted (see below). Then I was still hungry so I had half a bagel with cream cheese and cherry preserves. A glass of chardonnay washed it all down.

There were some guys in their late teens who broke into 5 houses on the island in the middle of the night earlier this week. At least two were caught so, I am guessing, they will give up their pals. Rocket scientists, they’re not. There was a time when no one locked their doors, but things have changed. There’s only one way off this island so anyone with a getaway plan better have a boat.

Just before Edward took off for his meeting this morning, Embarq, our phone company, came by to say they have hooked up our new highspeed internet (yes, we are getting a 3-way package, including satellite TV and phone service – hoo-ha). The modem had come in the mail the day before. Ed tried to hook it up before leaving but ran into problems. The port wouldn’t receive the plug. He sat with his head in his hands, muttering with half sobs that he hated this and I was the wife from hell. I don’t know why I was part of this equation and I so advised him. I used strong terms

Then, as women will, I called the Embarq support no. to get information. It turns out that we need a gizmo that one buys at Circuit City to make it possible for the modem gizmo to hook into the back of our computer. So Ed re-enabled our dial-up and said he would get it all done when he gets back. I guess I can live with two or three more days of dial-up – the end is in sight.

Then Ed was all sweetness and said he knows he’s “difficult” and all that gooey stuff guys say when they know they’ve put their foot in it.

I have a lot of clean-up to do around the house due to being lax over the past year. My filing system, that I am in the middle of changing, is in deep doo-doo. There are aaccordion files and detritus on the floor in the “library”. So I will tackle it while Ed is away.

I have a binder full of recipes and another binder full of household cleaning tips. Both binders have a lot of unsorted stuff in the front and I am wondering if I should wake up and realize that I never go back to this stuff, so why save it? If I need a recipe, I can just google it on line. Yes? If I haven’t made a recipe in a year, should it not go in the trash?

One of the frustrations Ed ran into when he was trying to hook up the modem is that space on either side of the computer desk was filled with stored items like a Kodak carousel for showing slides, camera tripods, rolled-up maps/posters. And all of it had to come out so he could locate the wires, etc. I too get upset if I have to do 51 things before getting into my main project, but that’s life. I told Ed if he just stepped out, I would be happy to clean up around the computer and get things organized, but it was too late. He was already in a state. I might add, none of this stored stuff was mine, zero, zip, zilch.

I am of the mind that if you haven’t used something in 10 years, maybe it should be sold or given away or put out in the trash. Zounds. Ed, however, is a keeper. For me, the exception is pants that the Lose-Weight Fairy has promised I will get into again.

After Ed left, I put all the program disks that cluttered the low shelves under the computer on a high shelf. We haven’t looked at or used any of these in years. He’s tall enough to reach them anyway if he really needs them. But as computer technology zips along, it’s just possible that none of these programs will be up to date.

Might I also add that everything had to be wiped clean as dust and cat hair ruled the day.

When Ed called me from the road, I told him I wanted to put the Kodak carousel into the attic. No, he says, keep it where I can get at it. Hey, how about in the space next to the computer?

While I was clearing stuff away I came across a piece of dark chocolate, a present from Lila (dear New York friend who comes down now and then to work with Fort Myers-based Chico’s and often stays with us. She’s a bright spot in any day.) The wrapper had been eaten into by bugs but the chocolate itself was untouched. I think it was too dark for the palmettos. Probably got a whiff and said, whew, this stuff is lethal … So I stored it in a ziploc. Eventually I will try it.

Yesterday I got my first physical therapy session to deal with neck pain. My doctor had given me three or four tests to rule out serious causes and it turns out to be the traditional problems – shrinking cartilage, etc. I got ultra-sound, massage with goo, and traction. The therapist was sort of a bland fellow. I was hoping for an interesting sort, but I’ll have to make do and I’ll be okay about him as long as he knows his stuff. He gave me a set of exercises and I am doing them. I am also considering getting a home-use traction device for when the therapy runs its course.

Finally it is time to sack out but not before I pick up all the stuff Chewy has knocked off the desk.

xx, Teal