Stalled

Progress is somewhat stalled right now. Mostly due to the heat, but mid-July is also sort of a bad time of year anyway. Since it doesn't cool off till really late, I'm not getting a lot of sleep right now either.

I think I'll spend most of the day today cleaning up and getting things ship shape. I've been doing a little deck work, but most of it still isn't ready to paint. Hopefully, it will cool off soon. Looks like July is the hottest month up here anyway and it's almost over now.

Reading watch:

I'm about halfway through Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast" and really love it. After I'm done, I was planning on reading Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle." However, while reading "Two Years," I've added a few other works to my list: "Robinson Crusoe," "Paul Clifford," "and "The Last Days of Pompeii." I also need to finish Lawrence's "Seven Pilars of Wisdom" which it began a while back but had to put down.

I realize this is an eclectic list, but "Robinson Crusoe" was added because the island in question was mentioned on Dana's voyage up the coast (I think I've already read it, but can't remember for sure, so I downloaded it from Gutenberg) and Dana mentioned reading, and really liking, "Paul Clifford" after joining the crew of the Alert in San Diego. "Clifford" famously starts out with the line: "It was a dark and stormy night." The author, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, also wrote "the pen is mightier than the sword" in his play "Richelieu," as well as a few other famous sayings. I haven't found "Richelieu" yet, but would like to read it as well. "Pompeii" is also by Bulwer.

Zoe watch:

Zoe got her bath yesterday evening. The water was too hot during the day, so I had to wait until things cooled off. The water line in the yard is an exposed 1" black plastic hose with spigots placed every 20-40 feet. I'm at the far end of the yard, so there's at least a couple hundred feet of it out there soaking up the sun before it gets to me. That's not bad when you want a hot shower under the hose, but not when the temperature's already in the high 80's. I decided not to cut her hair again, but did spend about an hour brushing out the knots.

Poison Ivy watch:

Seem to have gotten it all over my feet, hands, and left knee again yesterday and was itching until late into the night last night. Not sure where I got it though. I've been on the lookout for it, but haven't really noticed any. Maybe I got it off Zoe's fur. It's a lot better today, but I have several random bumps on my fingers and feet. Why does it only itch at night? There must be something to that.