Got an email from a cousin that my half-brother, Bill, died earlier this month.

There are two sets of obituaries, one from his wife and one from his estranged family, who outdid themselves, having reached new heights of hypocrisy.

“Bill had been estranged from his family for over 25 years however he always remained in our hearts. While we are sad to have missed many years with him it gives us comfort to know that he went on to live a full and fulfilling life. We are happy he found his peace.

“He shared the second half of his life with his wife and partner Gail (Booker), her daughter Kari and her husband Matthew Woodard of Southbridge; two stepsons, Stephen M. Coleman Jr. and his wife Lynn of Charlton; and Matthew J. Coleman and his wife Sara of Goose Greek S.C.; as well as grandchildren, Mateo, Liam and Isabella Coleman and Skylah June Woodard.

“In lieu of donations we ask that you pick up the phone and call a loved one, make amends with someone, choose to do the right thing even when it’s hard, don’t give up on people especially your loved ones, and always remember that it’s never too late to forgive and be forgiven. If you are suffering from addiction know there is help.

He will be missed.”

Needless to say, there hasn’t been a phone call to “make amends”.  I’m sorry Bill and I never got to meet.  It’s astounding that in the year 2018, both of the families with whom I’m connected have 6 foot pokers up their butts.

I spent a good part of the day sorting and storing Ron’s music.  We had words a couple of times.  He’d forgotten his second meds yesterday and was on a tear this morning.  He was also upset that the refund Wells promised hasn’t arrived yet.

I was able to get all of the LPs put away, but still have two boxes of CDs.

I got in touch with Stanley and with GenesisDJ about the power washer coupling and the MP3 turntable.  Downloaded user manuals.  Fingers crossed.

Picked up our CSA share and was delighted to see Seamus the dog and NO OTHER PEOPLE.  I made my escape as one of the grim-faced Falmouthites was pulling in to the driveway.

Stopped at Jack in the Beanstalk for bread, half & half and desert.  Both of us were famished for most of the day, especially Ron.  Grilled cheese sandwiches and salad for supper.

Ron had laser surgery today on his left eye.  Fortunately, it was at the Mashpee office.

Did some weeding in the corner garden and some watering in the back as well as more organizing in the basement.

Made stir fry with leftover rice for supper.

Added NoRobo to our house phone.  It already diverted two calls, both around 4 pm.

We went to Falmouth so I could get my meds at Walmart and Ron could stock up at Kappy’s.

Binged again on “The Americans”.  What a show!

It’s quarter of seven and I’ve barely stopped, except for falling asleep watching TV.

Did laundry, changed sheets, did the transfer station run.

Cooked: Swiss chard and summer squash with onion and garlic; baked frozen tortellini from Whole Foods and made stuffed zucchini to take advantage of the oven and put together a big salad with lettuce from the Pantry, our cuke and tomatoes.

Surprised Ron by winding up a ratchet strap.  Did some cleanup downstairs while the laundry was going.

GERD last night, finally got it under control.

Ron was annoyed at my singing and making noise, which made me snap.  Irritable today; thank goodness for the a/c’s, but cooking raised the kitchen temp to 86 degrees and humid.

Tired.  Maybe a low levothyroxine day?

Ron must have paid a fortune to move his LPs.  Between us, we put 8 boxes into the new den.  Must be 500 pounds or more.

We also moved the sideboard against the outside wall, thus providing floor space for any one of a number of endeavors: carpentry, workout, sorting and culling.

I found a box of documents that I’ve been looking for since we brought 5 bags of paper to be shred to the Barnstable Senior Center in mid-May!  The docs include college and even a high school transcript, SAT and GRE scores, old mortgage papers, resumes and other memoirs.  So happy to have these.

The good people at Sullivan Tire in Falmouth changed the oil in my truck today.  I had a very minor check engine light, briefly, but was able to delete it, and the mechanic said the truck is okay.  Got coffee and a fritter at Cumby.  Three cop cars were there to investigate an assault that had happened a short while beforehand.

Picked up a red pepper and coffee at Shaw’s, we were out, and made a deposit at the Credit Union so I could make a payment that was due tomorrow.

Ron picked up a doodad at Aubuchon which he hoped will fix the power washer hose fitting, but no joy.  He was able to scrape off the old transfer station stickers.

I spent some quality time in the hammock and watched a hummer feed at the bee balm.

We fed the gardens.  Ron did the back, I did the front.

Ron painted the floor yesterday and today I put down Carolyn’s rug and moved furniture into the new room.

We brought 4 pieces for donation.  The Falmouth Service Center wouldn’t take them, but the Habitat ReStore took 3.

I drove Em to work this morning and Peter to pay for and pick up the car this afternoon.  The parts killed us.

I was mulling over how I’ll keep busy now that the room is a den, but remembered that we have a whole section of basement to organize.

After supper, Ron moved his LPs into the den.  He says it’s temporary, but I can envision shelves to store them.

I cleaned the bathroom yesterday and figure to work on the kitchen this weekend and feed the plants.

Ron has finished the doors!

I blue-taped the baseboard, vacuumed and mopped and am waiting for him to leave the room so that I can paint the floor.

He kindly offered to paint the little pine chest I’ve had for years.  I thought with the right doodads it would make a nice “beach” piece.

Uploaded Roving to Jim’s server this morning, barely in time for his managers meeting.

A bright green hummer visited the hibiscus while I was having lunch.

Ron continued to work on doors.  I figured out how to get the caps off the small closet door pins.  We had to grease the pins to get them out.  An Allen wrench worked quite well for that.

Made a big lunch today with some of yesterday’s produce: spiralized the big white zucchini and sauteed it with onion, our garlic and kale.  Made a salad with romaine, tomato and cuke.

I picked up our share and washed multiple heads of lettuce, carrots and potatoes.  Huge harvest this week: cukes, zukes, summer squash, potatoes, carrots, basil, green beans.  Lots of free stuff.  No beets, though.

Got more trim paint at Aubuchon, they had a 15% off coupon for today only.

Yesterday, we ordered an electric toothbrush for Ron, Amazon Prime special.

Ron is working on doors today.  He finished the walls yesterday.

I brought home groceries from the Service Center: bagels, canned and fresh tomatoes, black beans, corn, romaine, onions, zuke, eggs, shredded cheddar, peanut butter, canned pineapple, shelf milk, brown rice, wheat rotini.

We did the usual yesterday: laundry, changed sheets, transfer station.

Hulu has been having trouble with Roku TVs.  Subtitles only show in Spanish.  Their tech support was working last night (Sunday) and filled us in.  Impressed.

Been polishing up Roving.

Hot, humid and horrible today.  There should be a law prohibiting any outdoor work on days like this.  A woman at the bank told me a friend of hers who works outside was brought to the ER with heat exhaustion during the last miserable spell.

For those who are sick of politics because they feel attacked for supporting Trump: his message should be resonating with a lot more people, but his personal style is antagonistic and bombastic, which turns many off.

Supporting Trump also gets tangled with excusing bad cops and advocating for military/industrial complex waste, and I daresay no one wants either.

I’m a registered Republican and like a lot of Trump’s ideas but think he comes across as amateurish, entitled and conceited: common for men his/my age (72).

Trump supporters have done a lousy job of explaining why they like him, claiming that he’s responsible for events beyond the control of a single individual, like unemployment or GNP statistics.

I get frustrated with Rush Limbaugh and other right-leaning personalities: his screeds are emotional and too often not based on fact. He, Anne Coulter, Laura Ingraham: bright, informed people who haven’t made the case for why their brand of conservatism is good for the people they claim to represent.

For example, I don’t see that tariffs are helping American farmers, even the wealthy agribusiness owners.

Trump is right to challenge “progressive” clichéd reactions to any and all conservative opinions, but name-calling and character assassination isn’t effective, for anyone.