We, mostly Ron, got the rest of the fencing installed yesterday.  Almost finished: we are short less than 2 feet.

Ron was up early to give a blood sample for his physical next week.

Laura brought us a box of chocolates from Hamburg.  The landscapers put her raised beds together, so I might be sharing some vegetable seedlings.

By 5, I’d had it with construction and yard equipment noise from no less than three neighboring properties.  Decided to return library books but traffic was snarled because of the Mashpee fireworks, so took back roads to East Falmouth.  Mercifully, the library there has extended its Thursday hours, so I was able to drop off the books.  It was bliss to be in my air-conditioned truck for a few minutes; we’ve held off on the A/Cs.

Got the web service call to work.  Did laundry.

Purple hydrangea is starting to bloom!  Many more blossoms than I expected.  Bee balm has started as well.  A few sprouts have appeared from the Crocosmia bulbs.  I’m sure I planted a bunch upside down!

Ron picked up our tools from What A Grind and dropped off a couple more.

Grilled chicken and vegetables for supper.  Fell asleep rather than fight the crowds.

Storm with tornado warning this morning.  I drove through it to meet with Bert in Hyannis and do three errands.  Not so very horrible except for the road flooding.  I’m relieved that Laura’s flowers got an extra dowsing.

While buying tires for his van at Cape & Islands Tire, Ron met a neighbor of Matt West, the trooper who helped us yesterday on the Mid-Cape!

Another coincidence: while Bert and I were finishing up, a mutual acquaintance walked in.  Long story short, he’s offered my services as a grantwriter to his nonprofit organization.

I stopped at Cape Cod Tire for a check of my tires.  Everything looked good to them.

Made two calzones from bread dough picked up at the Senior Center.  Cut up a watermelon yesterday.

Ron mowed and mulched the grass in the front and back yards.

Laura, Joe and Ben arrived late afternoon, said they had a great time in Germany.

Blowout between Exits 5 and 4 on the way back from Hyannis. Ron insisted on changing the tire himself and did a fine job.

Turns out, we have 7 AAA road assistance requests remaining until next March.

Trooper Matthew West – we’re not sure if he’s with the Bourne or Yarmouth State Police – was a huge help. He and one of his fellow Staties kept us from getting crushed.

We’ve received over an inch of rain since the storm started last night/early this morning.

Pool boy and hose meister have the day off.  Well, not quite: Ron’s Pond needed a cleaning.

I went to the new French patisserie/boulangerie in Mashpee Commons this morning.  Picked up 3 cinnamon rolls for Alpha, Ron and me.  Stopped by Edgewater to check up on things; Alpha’s been very diligent about taking care of the pets, much to her credit.

Ron and I went back to the Commons after lunch for more pastry, bourbon sauce at Williams Sonoma, and peppercorns at the spice shop.  We also bought some accessories for the kitchen compost pot, including charcoal filters and bags.

We finally got our Sunday New York Times and had a quiet afternoon reading. Bliss.

I got smart – WHAT was I thinking – and decided not to attend the TEALS training workshop today at my least favorite place in the universe, NERD in Cambridge.

Instead, I picked up books on hold at the Library, and pruned the front bushes at Edgewater while Ron dealt with trash and recyclables.

We did the transfer station run and grabbed pizza and mozzarella sticks for supper with Alpha.  Dropped her off, cleaned the cat boxes.

I didn’t water today; looks like rain may be starting in an hour or so, expected to continue through a good part of tomorrow.

More frustration with damnable third party lead tracking for Jim.

Good checkup yesterday with the cardio doc!

Laura’s sister Ellen and nephew Will came over for dinner last night: beef and vegetable kabobs and grilled corn.  Ellen brought a very nice white wine and a fruit tart.

Checked in on the great grandbird, Azir.

Rained a little this morning.  Watered the back lawn behind the oval.

Chris pumped out the septic.

Alpha asked to come over for lunch.  Ron foraged for naught at the Senior Center.

We dropped off a bunch of tools to be sharpened.

Tornado warning last night.  We kept power.  Terrific wind and rain, but no damage to either property.

Drove Alpha and Robert yesterday.  James got the lawn mowed before the rain.  Got to drive Robert again this morning after going to C-Lab for a blood sample, dropping a check off at Weed Man, filling up the truck and buying a few groceries at Stop & Shop.

Ron mowed our lawn and cried for beer!

Brought James his cash for PortCon.

We’ve managed to save a couple, but a chipmunk or some other small thing has been beating us to most of the strawberries.

It’s especially vexing because it/they sometimes only take a bite out, spoiling the rest of it for us.

Yesterday, watered the center segments of the “U”, the rhodies, the front garden and the herb garden.  Pulled out a bunch of oregano around the little birch, but couldn’t get most of the roots.

Ron drove Peter to Wareham for the elliptical they’d planned to get yesterday before they were rained out.

Ron and I did a big shop at the supermarket this morning.

I’ve been back and forth for most of the afternoon with Jim on NEPS.

Got some watering done.  Asked James to hydrate the grass over there.

Humidity is disgusting and expected to continue.  86° high.

Rain this morning and humidity this afternoon and evening.

We did the transfer station run and our NYTimes finally arrived afterwards.

Spent the rest of the afternoon reading the paper.  Bourbon steak and mixed vegetables for dinner.