Blather

Been back from Iraq for twelve days. I no longer fall asleep at six PM and wake up at three in the morning. Today, a nice California Sunday, I woke up at nine with the sun streaming in my window and one of our cats on my bed. I fed our two indoor cats, let them out and took some food to our outdoor cats. Sam, a grey and cream cat, was hiding somewhere, until he decided to saunter over and have some food. He eats more or less regularly with us, but sometimes he's gone for a few days. His tortoise-shell girlfriend Sybil was waiting on the outdoor carpet outside our glass doors. I gave her some kibble and a bit of canned cat food. She ate it and hung around. I petted her a bit, but she's still nervous around people. A long-haired cat, she's rather scruffy-looking from the gazillions of burrs she picks up. When I pet her, I can tell she's got no tissue separating her spine from her skin. She makes a runway model look chubby.

I made breakfast; a bit of Sunday-morning television got me to KQED-FM's broadcast of "Click and Clack" and " A Prairie Home Companion." I turned on the radio in the garage and got my leaf blower from the tool shed. With a bit of starting fluid, it fired right up, but died. I suspected fuel had varnished, since I hadn't fired it up for a long time. So I took the carburetor off. Then the fuel line that went under the housing to the fuel tank disappeared inside the housing. I spent some time looking for all the 5/32" screws that held the housing together and finally got it apart. The fuel lines had hardened, breaking into chunks at the places where they went through the fuel tank. I stopped, not sure how I wanted to proceed. Looking online, the tank and pieces for my ten-year-old leaf blower would cost me about $50; a new one will cost about $100.

I decided to make no decision. I gave Sybil some more food and did a bit of gardening, filling our green waste can and rolling it to the curb. Then I came back to the glass doors and scooped Sybil up. I was a bit nervous about a fearful feral cat's claws. But she surprised me. She tucked her nose under my elbow and rested for a few minutes. When she'd had enough of me, she squirmed and I let her go.

With a few hours till dark, I tackled our sticking screen door that's part of the sliding doors. I saw some scraping on the back part of the screen, so I took it down, ground about 1/8" from the aluminum frame. Then the small wheel's mounting hole got a slot treatment in my vise with a small round file. Before I put it back up, I gave each wheel a small shot of oil. When I put the sliding screen door back, it closed easily.

My big son had planned barbecued chicken, but it was still frozen. His impromptu dinner was baked eggplant with toasted cheese on top, sausages and Acme bread. I had some Gatorade to wash down the meal and gave Sybil a bit more cat food.

When not busy with chores, TV fare included some National Geographic and History International and some bad apocalyptic sci-fi. Hey, it's my television, so I watch what I want.

Tomorrow I'll drive to Stockton in the morning. Later, I may see about fuel line replacement for my leaf blower. If I get back in time, I may start tuning up my chainsaw and weed whacker.

Today was a good day- I slept well, ate well, accomplished a bit of work that I can point to and I have something to look forward to tomorrow.

Feels different from being here for a few weeks of vacation. Feels like home.