This week began with trying to get back to normal after the extended power outage.  But troubles will not cease.  I woke up on Sunday deaf in my right ear.  My balance was somewhat off and I was terrified, imagining being half deaf the rest of my life, imagining I had an infection or a tumor.  Monday, I spent an hour and 20 minutes on hold at Wellfleet Outer Cape Health starting @ 8:04 before I finally got through to a person, who said they had no openings, for days.  They suggested I go to Ptown for the walk-in clinic.

As soon as we finished the most essential work, Dale drove me to OCHS Ptown.  We got there @ 1 pm.  I waited an hour and a half and finally got to see a doctor.  He examined my ear, said I had no infection and he would send a nurse in to do a lavage.  I found out what that was.  For 45 minutes she pumped lukewarm water in my ears –thunder in my head—first one ear, then the other.  Finally, pebbles came out – compounded earwax.  For decades, I’ve used Q-tips to clean out earwax.  It turns out I was simply pushing it farther into the ear and compressing it.  But I could hear again! 

It has turned chilly but sunny, which after almost a week of cloud cover is wonderful.  The leaves are turning on the maples and birches.  The weeping beech hasn’t let go of its leaves or even turned color yet.  It worries me with so much wind lately. 

I had fun writing a few very short poems and then resumed my normal length.  After not being able to write during the storm and subsequent outage, it felt good to get back to work.  We planted bulbs this week, the last ones I ordered and very late.  this order was just one dozen s, little blue starflowers and some crocuses. I love spring bulbs. We have hundreds of daffodils on the hill and around the house.

Then Tuesday, I was hacked on my major email and flooded with hundreds of subscriptions in many languages besides English – French and Spanish I could read, but not Chinese, Russian, Swedish, German and who knows what else.  I called Mobile PC Docs for help.  One came and got rid of more than 450 subscriptions I had been signed u for and taught me how to label them as spam.  I am still getting some I get rid at once. The flood has slowed to a trickle.

The last of the peppers came in this week. We still have salad greens, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, various kinds of winter quashes and leeks.  I especially like to make leeks as a vegetable when we have fish.  That with brown rice makes a perfect combination. Although I don’t enjoy it much when I get overtired, in general I’m one of those people who like to cook.  I like my own cooking better than other people’s or any restaurant  except those who cook cuisines I don’t – Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Indian.   

Our friends of many decades, Bonnie and David, are coming to supper tonight.  I think I’ll make the smaller of the two legs of lamb we got form Jean Noon’s farm in Maine in September.

My dear Xena who died suddenly during the early days of Covid was a perfect writer’s cat.  Now Schwartzie, our longhaired black cat from Northeast Animal Shelter, has decided he will fill in that role.  He has taken to sitting in the other chair while I’m at the computer and just watching me or dozing, not asking for attention but reveling in it when I pet him. 

Our new TV arrived this week – we’d ordered it two and a half weeks ago at Best Buy.  It’s quite a change, bigger by a few inches but with much better picture and sound quality.  It’s great for sports, especially.  Before the novelty wears off, we have been watching cable every evening instead of reading. We have also been very tired in the evenings from playing catch-up all week and dealing with the new crises. But I have a book I’ll start tomorrow. I won’t explain until I get into it tomorrow and see if I like it as much as Woody did.

I got my booster on Friday and had a strong reaction for 36 hours.