Bloggus Interruptus

Gainesville

Actually, I got as far as the "Gainesville" above last night. Not sure what happened after that, but I found it on the computer screen this morning.

The smoke continues to be off-and-on dreadful. This morning it was fine when we woke up, but by noon it was horrible, and nauseating to be outside. We have a couple of indoor air filters. Usually Bill cleans them every 3-4 weeks, but lately it's been every day. As for face masks, they just don't work for smoke; the particulate is too small, so they are not recommended unless you are in the immediate area of an active fire with large pieces of ash.

Parts of I-75 (the way outta here north) and I-10 (east-west from Jax to Tallahassee) are closed. This is scary.

I have not wanted to go outside to do anything. Didn't go into the Lib yesterday as planned, didn't go out to shop today. This left me to concoct a Plan B dinner out of nothing at all-- and a very sour one it was. I took the remains of the Chipotle port roast out of the freezer and did it in the Tangy Pork sloppy joe-type recipe we love, a sweet and sour butter sauce. Fine-- but paired up with saurkraut, it was was a bit much. I should have done something with some mushrooms I had on hand, but imagination failed me.

I have been compulsively reading Sense and Sensibility -- realized as soon as I picked it up that I'd never actually read it! After seeing the wonderful movie, I'd bought a used paperback and started it, but was unwilling to invest the time to get past the long exposition. Now I'm about 2/3 through it, and can hardly bear to put it down. There is so much wonderful detail and verbal embroidery that a film could never hope to capture, that it doesn't matter at all that I know how it will all come out. And of course, I have the indelible images of Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant to populate my imagination with how the principals look, and the gorgeous cinematography for the settings, plus the biographical details from the Jane Mysteries to further enhance the "aesthetic bliss" (Nabokov's phrase) of this particular read. And thanks to the film, the cottage at Barton does NOT have to be some variation of the layout of our house on Oregon Avenue, as dwellings in most books do.

Just read what I wrote. Oh. Been wondering what I've been up to these past few days, and now I know. And probably I'll keep reading until my eyes fall out or fall shut with a crash, as they apparently did last night.

How's the fire situation up there? Is there any place that isn't either on fire or under water, or flattened by tornadoes? Probably-- they just don't get the headlines these days.

Broken glass and a stuck mouse on the floor-- eeek! I'll say that was an eventful day yesterday, Mom! I'm proud of you for still getting some decluttering done. I hope your new camera suits your expectations and needs. And that we all get to enjoy your colorful birds. Posting pictures to the blog is really simple, once you have them on your hard drive. My problem? The camera-computer interface.

Back to the Dashwood Saga.