I’ve been pounding my head against the wall for days looking for McLean relatives.

I was sure that at one point, I found a whole family tree.  After hours of searching, though, I think it might have been Ron’s family.

In any event, I am worn out.

After doing almost nothing all day, Ron volunteered to cut the grass; good fellow.

We picked up baked goods at the Senior Center.  Peter was passing through and stopped in for rolls, a cuke and tomatoes.

I got the manure unloaded and spread.  We added chopped leaves and some of the fine tree debris.

The plan is to rent a tiller, first to mulch up the beds in the front and back and then later, to mulch the garden once it’s gone by.

Watched a glorious animated film last night from Ireland called “Song of the Sea.”  It’s up for an Academy Award.

I drove Robert and Alpha today.  Did the transfer station run as well with Ron.

Stopped at Emma’s a little after 5 for sheep manure.

Ron did laundry.

Got some ideas for plantings at the top of the driveway at Mahoney’s: pennisetum alopecuroides, porcupine grass (micanthus), Gaura.  Came home with another yard of loam.

Rinsed and washed the seaweed a second time.

Did a brief volunteer stint, as promised, at the Yellow Dog Music Fest at Craigville Beach, a fundraiser for the Barnstable Land Trust.  It was the first and probably only time I’ll ever be welcome to the beach side of the CBA!  My biggest contribution was taking home a pile of cardboard for recycling.

Learned that Paul died two days ago.

Hummer was flying around the autumn clematis at lunch time. They are almost as elusive as Lucy!

We had quite a deluge yesterday, including thunder and lightning. We were able to clean up the last patch of grass clods before it started.

Did laundry and Ron ran errands.

I’m still trying to configure at least one laptop that can run SQL and Visual Studio and that won’t crash with SonicWall.

Tweaked CCO one more time, hope to get their sign-off today. Got RFC and Triumph done for Jim.

Gathered seaweed for the garden at South Cape this afternoon. Gloomy day turned gorgeous, enjoyed both.

We rented a big hydraulic tiller this morning and got two arid areas nicely cleaned up and prepped for better things by 5 PM. Had pizza at Zoe’s with Robert.

Maybe, just maybe, it was that $34 million exit package that Cheney got when he left his CEO position at Halliburton to become an honorable public servant. Halliburton received around $40 billion in government contracts in the decade after 2003, many of those without bidding. Three years after the Iraqi invasion, its stock had risen by about 300 percent.

There was an estimated 31-60 billion dollars worth of contractor fraud and waste in Iraq war, and a large part of that came from Halliburton, now known as KBR. As Adam Weinstein reported for Mother Jones, KBR cost “at least $193 million in pay for unnecessary personnel, and maybe as much as $300 million,” which includes $100 million of government-furnished property that cannot be accounted for. KBR has also been blamed for the electrocution and death of 12 soldiers, because of poor wiring jobs at army bases.

http://www.salon.com/2015/09/05/dick_cheneys_savage_revisionist_history_inside_his_disturbing_campaign_to_twist_the_facts_of_iraq/

On the phone first thing with First Data.  We got the website fixed.

I mowed the lawn, back and front; left the clippings.

Yesterday, truck and I hauled 2 yards of loam, purchased at Mahoney’s, for planting at the end of the driveway.

Unfortunately, I didn’t think to rent a tiller until afterwards.  Ron was nice enough to pick up a small one at the last minute from Botello, but it can’t cut it, haha.

Hot dogs for supper!

Today, I did 3 loads of laundry and made the transfer station run.  Transplanted a flower that was overwhelmed in the grass garden at Edgewater.  Ron and I changed the sheets.  Watered the side and herb gardens.  Drove Robert to work.

Spoke briefly with Cathy, she was too sick for a long conversation.  Texted Cindy yesterday.

Drove Bonnie and Robert to work.

Intestinal distress all afternoon.

Peter got his Jeep back with $800 of work comp’d inadvertently.  Couldn’t have come at a better time.

Spent the afternoon with Alpha.  Dropped Ron off to pick up his van at GMC and continued to the Registry in Yarmouth.  There being an almost 3 hour wait (!), we visited a blood drive.

Alpha’s hematocrit wasn’t high enough to donate, but I (finally) passed muster.  Stopped at Subway afterwards for her lunch; I had enough points for a free foot-long and a cookie.

Made a deposit at the Rockland branch in South Yarmouth and bought pepper at Job Lot.  When we got back to the Registry, though, we had just missed her number being called.

She panicked and at first, refused to go back to see if she could still take her exam.  I asked the customer service rep if it would be all right, and she assured me it was.  Alpha finally got up her courage, showed her credentials, and took the test.

She passed!  I am so proud of her for overcoming her fear and accomplishing her goal of getting her learner’s permit before Labor Day.

Today’s harvest.

I’ve been pulling a lot of dead leaves from the tomatoes and squash, piles of them.

With Jaffrey no longer part of this week’s agenda, we got a head start on Fall cleanup by pruning gone-bys from the fence garden, back and front, including the purple hydrangea.

Heard from a lady in Australia who may be a distant relative!

I was taxi yesterday and today for Alpha, Peter, Robert and even Bonnie.  Gassed up last evening in Wareham, but missed out on an extra 10 cents off at the Cumbie in Buzzards Bay, though.