Spacious Reasoning

The day started out a little cloudy and gray, but there were enough holes between the clouds that the sun was able to shine through now and then. By noon, the clouds had all disappeared, and the blue sky took over, and the sunshine beamed down on us without interruption. This morning’s low was 51 degrees, and the high reached up to 73 this afternoon.

My blood sugar dropped down once again, to 168. A steady diet of protein, an avoidance of a daily mocha, and getting in a good number of steps no doubt all have something to do with the improvement.

Following our morning coffee and the usual online brain games, Nancy called Kathleen about her nursing program orientation today. Then she did a yoga session. I updated my Flickr account and checked in on my other social media accounts.

Nancy made a protein drink with bananas and strawberries. It was the first time in ages we have gone with a protein drink. Then we showered and dressed.

We went to the Market of Choice at 28th and Willamette streets to get shortcake and strawberries for Keira’s 22nd birthday party tonight. We got a few other grocery items we needed, as well as spanakopita, baba ganouj, and dolmades for lunch, which we ate when we got home.

Then Nancy called Kalen for the usual updates, after which we napped. When we got up, I walked 2.39 miles in a little more than 55 minutes, a total of 5,800 steps. My right foot and right hip wound up giving me a lot of pain by the time I got home.

Nancy was playing the piano when I came in. She suggested putting an ice pack on my hip, which I did while sitting on the couch and reading the current J.J. Jance novel. After about thirty minutes, the pain in my hip was much reduced.

Keira and her girlfriend, Jo, were late getting back from their visit to the coast, so Nancy and I did not go out to the family dome on Mohawk Loop until almost 7 p.m. Kyle, Seran and Sophie were right behind us, and Keira and Jo arrived a few minutes later. Kathleen and Ronin were already there.

Eventually a dinner of fettucine Alfredo with chicken was served, along with a salad, followed by a dessert of poundcake with strawberries and whipped cream.

Nancy and I left at 9:45 p.m., before Keira’s presents were opened. We were tired, and we needed to get home and give Grace her evening meds.

There may be a brief period of clear skies and sunshine early tomorrow morning, but the clouds will start moving in by 9 a.m. or so and will hang around through the rest of the day. The morning low will drop to about 45 degrees, and the high will likely be in the mid-60s.

There is nothing on our calendar for tomorrow. We will take our time thinking of something to do while we follow our usual morning routine. I imagine there will be some walking, maybe some bicycling, and certainly some tending the garden. But those are fairly routine. Anything out of the ordinary might not take place.

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On this day in 1939, the MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 973 German Jewish refugees, was denied permission to land in Florida, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later died in Nazi concentration camps.

When we were getting out of bed and starting our day, the sun was shining through the gathering clouds. Shortly thereafter, without making any commotion, it rained briefly, enough to wet the street. It remained mostly cloudy for the rest of the day, thought the clouds had thinned by the time the sun went down. The morning low was just 55 degrees, and the day’s high made it to 70.

My blood sugar dropped a few points once again, down to 181. It’s a good thing we still have some of the Greek chicken left for dinner this evening.

After finishing our coffee and the usual morning brain games, I had to plug my iPhone back into its charger. I evidently did not get the connection properly done last night before going to bed.

Around 10 a.m., Nancy and I made breakfast. We warmed up leftover bacon, then cooked cheesy eggs with garlic, and also fixed toast with jam.

When we finished cleaning up, Nancy and I decided to take a ride on our bicycles around the nice, flat neighborhood. We zigzagged through the neighborhood and wound up doing 2.9 miles in about half an hour.

We can’t remember the last time we rode together, though it certainly hasn’t been since we moved to Oregon. Our bikes remained in the garage the entire time we lived on F Street.

A bit later we went to Jerry’s for more bags of garden soil and then Albertsons for a few groceries. When we got home, we napped.

After the nap, Nancy was planning to do more work on the garden, so I carried the bags of soil around back and then took off for a walk. I managed 2.67 miles in just under 58 minutes, a total of 6,300 steps.

We got dinner going around 5 p.m. Nancy started a pot of rice, prepped some fresh broccoli for steaming, then created more sauce for the Greek chicken leftovers. Once we had cleaned up it was only about 6 p.m.

After taking brief views of a couple of shows, we settled on streaming the first episode of the new series of “Mystery Road: Origin.” Our next choice was the first two episodes of the second series of “The Four Seasons.” Finally, we turned to “Murder in the Mountains,” from PBS.

Thursday will begin with clouds, but they will begin to spread out about noon, and the afternoon should provide clear blue skies and bright sun. The morning low tomorrow will be about 50 degrees, and the high might sneak over into the low 70s.

The main thing on the schedule for tomorrow is Keira’s birthday party, to be held in the evening out at the family dome on Mohawk Loop. Nancy will prepare something resembling a strawberry short cake during the day, and we will donate some cash as our gift.

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On this day in 1889, the first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States was completed, running 14 miles between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.

June 3, 1906, was the birth date of Josephine Baker, an American and French dancer, singer, and actress whose career was centered in France. She was the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 French silent film “Siren of the Tropics.” Baker aided the French Resistance during World War II and worked with both the British Secret Intelligence Service and the U.S. Office of Strategic Services.

The day began once again with bright blue sky and plenty of sunshine streaming in the front windows of our house. A few clouds began to gather before noon, but they never overwhelmed the sun before it set. After this morning’s low of 48 degrees, the temperature rose to a rather warm 86.

My blood sugar took a dip, down to 189. I am hoping that last night’s chicken dinner, which we repeated tonight, will result in another drop tomorrow. But I won’t be crossing my fingers.

Following our coffee and playing the usual online brain games, we had a slice of cinnamon toast. Then we showered and dressed for the day.

Just after Carrie arrived for her treatment, I went to Costco to shop for a few things, including some Pinot Noir for Nancy. When I got back, Nancy was showing Carrie around the back yard and the garden boxes.

After Carrie left, Nancy and I had a lunch of tomato and feta cheese soup with some leftover egg salad on a couple of pieces of toast accompanied by a few potato chips.

Then we napped. When we got up, we started the first of a couple loads of laundry. Then Nancy went out to water the garden.

I got a text from Walgreens telling me that my latest prescription refill was ready, so I walked there then took a longer route back to get in a few more steps. I wound up doing 1.91 miles in just under 43 minutes, a total of 4,600 steps. Nancy was finishing up a yoga session when I got back.

We both spent some time reading. I tore through a bunch more pages on the new J.J. Jance book I bought most recently.

A little past 5 p.m., we started preparing dinner. Nancy picked more lettuce and spinach from the garden for a salad. I chopped up some garlic and tomatoes for it. Then Nancy put together fresh sauce for the Greek chicken, and after warming it up she stirred in the leftover rice from yesterday.

We got the dishes done just in time for me to leave and pick up Henry and head to the men’s recovery meeting. Tonight’s reading was on relationships, and much of the sharing was about problems experienced primarily before finding recovery.

When I made it home about 8:30 p.m., we streamed the most recent episode of “Death in Paradise,” the next to last in the current series. Next week at this time we’ll begin watching the newest series of “Beyond Paradise.”

It is only supposed to get down to 53 degrees tonight, and with lots of clouds in the forecast for tomorrow, the high might only make it to the mid-60s.

There is nothing on our calendar for tomorrow, but given the relatively cool weather that is expected, we might find something to get out and do without having to go too far.

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On this day in 1924, U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.

June 2, 1907, was the birth date of Dorothy West, an American novelist, short-story writer, and magazine editor associated with the Harlem Renaissance, the cultural movement in the 1920s and 1930s that celebrated black art, literature, and music. She was one of the few Black women writers to be published in major literary magazines in the 1930s and 1940s and is best known for her 1948 novel The Living Is Easy, about the life of an upper-class black family and their attempts to climb the social ladder. She also explored the complexities of the black experience in the United States in short stories and essays that challenged stereotypes and explored themes such as race, class, and gender.

The first day of June dawned with bright blue skies and the morning sun shining ferociously into our living room through the curtains. No lights were needed. After the overnight low of 42 degrees, the high today reached 82.

My blood sugar was back up to 198 again, yet another source of stress in regard to my diet and exercise routines.

After Nancy and I finished our coffee and played the usual online brain games, we spent time perusing our social media, including my Flickr account. Nancy also went out back to water the garden boxes.

We finally dressed and went out, first to Costco to fill up the gas tank ($4.95/gallon). Then we drove down to Creswell for a loaf of multigrain sourdough bread and the chipotle ham brioche breakfast sandwiches. The weather was pleasant enough to sit at a table in front of the bakery and eat our sandwiches.

Upon our return to Springfield, we stopped at Albertsons for cream, heavy cream, cat treats, Dijon mustard, and wine. Then we napped when we got home.

Afterwards, we went to Jerry’s Home Improvement Center for four bags of soil, a pot, and onion and scallion plants for the garden. After hauling them out to the garden, Nancy open one bag and emptied the contents into the garden box.

I was so tired from shlepping the heavy bags around I went down once again for a napped again. Then I sat out back with Nancy while she had a glass of wine.

When we came in, I tried taking my blood pressure, but the device was no longer readable, even with new batteries. So, I ordered a new version from Amazon which should arrive on Wednesday.

Nancy did most of the work preparing dinner, which consisted of Greek chicken, freshly cooked rice, and freshly steamed broccoli. It had been almost a couple of weeks since we had enjoyed the chicken, so it was quite a treat.

After cleaning up the dinner dishes, I finally felt capable of taking a short walk. I did 1.32 miles, up L Street and back on M Street, in just under 30 minutes, a total of 3,200 steps.

I made it home right at 7 p.m., and we began our evening streaming, starting with another episode of “You’re Killing Me,” a mystery series with Brooke Shields on AcornTV.

We followed that up with the finale of “Hacks,” the series about comedian Deborah Vance, played by Jean Smart. It was sad to see it end, but the episode was a good one.

Then we wrapped our evening’s entertainment with the first episode of “Vicious,” a comedy about a bickering gay couple, played by Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi. It originally ran in 2013, but it has just returned to BritBox.

Tomorrow is supposed to begin with sunshine once again, but the clouds are due to move in by noon. The high, however, is expected to get to 82 degrees, up from a rather warm overnight low of 52.

Our friend Carrie is due for another treatment by Nancy at 11 a.m., and the only other sure thing on the schedule is the men’s recovery meeting in the evening, which I will probably attend with my friend Henry. I might also try and do a little bit of shopping at Costco in the morning.

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On this day in 1950, The “Declaration of Conscience” speech was delivered by Margaret Chase Smith, U.S. Senator from Maine, in response to Joseph R. McCarthy’s earlier speech to the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, West Virginia. Smith stated the basic principles of “Americanism” were the right to criticize, the right to hold unpopular beliefs, the right to protest, and the right of independent thought, and she voiced concern that those who exercised those beliefs at that time risked unfairly being labeled communist or fascist.

June 1, 1924, was the birth date of William Sloane Coffin, an American Christian clergyman and leader in the civil rights and peace movements of the 1960s and 1970s. He went on to serve as senior minister at Riverside Church in New York City and President of SANE/Freeze, the nation’s largest peace and social justice group, and prominently opposed United States military interventions in conflicts, from the Vietnam War to the Iraq War. He was also an ardent supporter of gay rights.

It was bright and sunny with a clear blue sky all day long today, and the temperature rose from a morning low of 40 degrees all the way to 70.

My blood sugar stuck around at 191, despite the candy and very sweet birthday cake I consumed at yesterday’s birthday party for Seran.

Following our coffee and the usual online brain games, Nancy and I relaxed, because we did not go to church for Trinity Sunday today.

About 10 a.m., we made a breakfast of cheesy eggs, with freshly-cooked bacon, and toast with jam.

Then we dressed and headed out with Kathleen and Ronin on board to meet Kyle, Seran and Sophie and Kalen at Thistledown Farms just north on River Road to pick strawberries. I took my camera. We spent more than an hour. Nancy filled one bucket.

Nancy and I stopped for a blended mocha at the Espresso Express on River Road south of Beltline. Ronin and Kathleen went back with Kyle and his bunch.

We got home and Nancy started washing the strawberries and preparing them for going in the freezer and the fridge.

Then we napped, after which we showered and dressed for the coming night out.

We were going to have more ravioli and marinara sauce, but we realized I had the time of the concert wrong. It started at 7 p.m., and the doors opened at 6 p.m. So, at 5:30 p.m., we ran down to Mezza Luna in Springfield and had a slice of pizza each and then hurried over to the WOW Hall, parking about three blocks away in the Hult Center parking garage. There was no show at the Hult Center, so there was no parking fee for the garage, which is otherwise free on weekends.

It was our first visit to the WOW Hall, also known as Community Center for the Performing Arts, and we had seats on the front row, less than five feet away from the stage and Eliza Gilkyson and her guitar accompanist Nina Gerber. Many of the songs in the first set were not familiar to me, until right before the break, when she performed “Dark Ages,” the title song from the 2025 album of the same name.

During the second set, Eliza performed some of the many songs which had been written down on a request list by the audience. A few of them were still not entirely familiar to me, but she finally did two tunes from the album “Hard Times in Babylon” which had been released in 2000, just before she headlined the Tucson Folk Festival.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another clear and sunny day, with a high temperature around 80 degrees, after an overnight low of 47.

Our plans for the day include a quick trip to the Creswell Bakery for another loaf of sourdough bread and some of their yummy breakfast sandwiches, followed by a visit to River Bend Farm, which is located just east of Goshen on OR58, to purchase more marionberry jam and, if available, have them send some to Deborah and Sarah. We also want to get more soil for the third garden box.

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On this day in 1790, Peruvian explorer, cartographer, naval officer, and colonial official Manuel Quimper Benítez del Pino explored the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a body of water between Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state. About 96 miles long it is the Salish Sea’s main outlet to the Pacific Ocean, and the international boundary between Canada and the United States runs down the center of the Strait.

May 31, 1819, was the birth date of Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist who is considered one of the most influential poets in American and world literature and is often called the father of free verse.

Clouds dominated the morning sky, but the sun was able to shine through here and there. Toward the afternoon, there was more blue sky and plenty of sunshine, and then the clouds returned as the daylight was ending. After a morning low of 46 degrees, the high today reached 65.

My blood sugar was back down to 191 at the early level check, which was definitely more pleasing than getting higher once again.

Following our coffee and the online brain games, several of which were confusing to us today, Nancy did yoga. I caught up on Flickr and other social media.

For breakfast we made an omelet with garlic, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach, plus warmed-over bacon and toast with jam.

Then Nancy went out to tend the garden and then finished her coffee. I went out to join her, and took a couple of photos of the flowers in the garden boxes.

She texted Ronin about moving the soil from the front of the house to the back. He came over shortly after and took a wheelbarrow full of soil from the pile in the front to the back. Then we were able to drag the tarp with the rest of it to the back. All the remaining soil went into the third garden box, which needs more to fill it up.

Then we showered and dressed, followed by a nap. After that, Nancy played the piano while I worked more on Flickr. I also found an illustrator to feature for tomorrow’s update of Tumbling Pixels and prepped that post.

A little before 4 p.m. I went out for a walk and did 2.06 miles in exactly 43 minutes, a total of 4,600 steps.

At 5:30 p.m., we drove out to the family ranch on Mohawk Loop. Seran’s 30th birthday party was set up on a back road through the property. A screen was set up for guests to watch a couple of movies, the first of which was “Shrek 2.” Kyle was grilling hamburgers and hotdogs, and a popcorn machine had also been dragged out to the location. Kathleen created a lovely birthday cake for Seran.

In addition to family members, there were also other guests, several of which worked with Seran at her job in the past. Residents at the ranch were also present. Keira eventually showed up with her new girlfriend.

Nancy and I took off for home at about 8:30 p.m., just as the second movie, “Hoodwinked” was beginning.

We got home right at 9 p.m., just in time to give Grace her evening dose of medicine. Then we spent a little time unwinding.

Tonight’s low might drop as low as 41 degrees, but with the sun shining brightly from the time it rises at 5:30 in the morning, the high might make it to 71.

Three of the Episcopal parishes are gathering at St. John the Divine in Springfield tomorrow, but Nancy and I have decided to sit this one out. We are likely to rest up for much of the day, following today’s excitement. Then, in the evening, we will see Eliza Gilkyson in concert at the WOW Hall near downtown Eugene, our first visit to that venue.

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On this day in 1948, a dike along the flooding Columbia River broke, obliterating Vanport, Oregon, within minutes. Fifteen people died and tens of thousands were left homeless. The city of wartime public housing in Multnomah County was not rebuilt. It sat on what is currently the site of Delta Park and the Portland International Raceway. During World War II, Vanport—a portmanteau of “Vancouver” and “Portland”—was home to 40,000 people, about 40 percent of them African-American. It was Oregon’s second-largest city at the time, and the largest public housing project in the nation.

May 30, 1903, was the birth date of Countee Cullen, an American poet, novelist, children’s writer, and playwright, particularly well-known during the Harlem Renaissance, the first time in American history that a large body of literary, art and musical work was contributed by African-American writers and artists.

It rained early in the morning and remained cloudy all day long, though the sun did break through briefly a few times. Last night’s low was 50 degrees, and today’s high reached just 60.

My blood sugar jumped up again a few points, to 198. Other than trying to maintain and health diet and getting a little exercise, I suppose I can also try keeping my fingers crossed. And, perhaps, prayer.

After finishing our coffee and completing the usual online brain games, we had cinnamon toast. Then Nancy brushed and flossed her teeth in preparation for her 10 a.m. dental appointment.

She also called her brother, Robin, in Cottage Grove, to see if he could meet us and Joan for lunch at the Coast Fork Brewery.

Nancy texted when she was on her way back from the dentist, and I hopped into the shower. When she got back, she also showered.

Then we drove down to Cottage Grove for lunch. It began raining on us on the way down, and while we were lunching it started raining even more.

Nancy and I stopped at Chuck and Alice in downtown Springfield on the way home from lunch. We picked out a card and a couple of gifts for Seran’s birthday party on Saturday.

We napped when we got home. Then I went out for a solo walk around the neighborhood, doing 2.53 miles in under 55 minutes, a total of 6,000 steps. My right foot did not hurt a great deal during the walk, although the rest of me was chilly, since the temperature was around 60 degrees.

About 6 p.m. we made dinner. Nancy picked more lettuce and spinach from the garden and made a salad. We also boiled eggs and made egg salad, which we spread on toast. The simple meal was sufficient after the large lunch.

Then we did our streaming entertainment for Friday night. We started with the penultimate episode of “Hacks.” After that we turned to the first episode of the next story in the current series of “Silent Witness.” Jack finds himself in trouble and in jail, and his colleagues attempt to figure out the realities of the crime.

There is no rain in the forecast for tomorrow, though the skies are not expected to clear up completely until later in the afternoon. The low tonight will be around 45 degrees, and tomorrow’s high will be in the mid-60s.

The only thing on our schedule for Saturday is the 30th birthday party for Seran starting at 6 p.m. out at the family ranch on Mohawk Loop. Burgers and hotdogs, watermelon, chips and salsa, popcorn, and candy are on the menu for food, as is the outside showing of a couple of family-friendly films. We are to bring our own comfortable chairs, which Nancy and I are fortunate to have previously acquired for this kind of event. Given the temperature, we will likely take a couple of blankets as well.

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On this day in 1790, Rhode Island became the last of North America’s original Thirteen Colonies to ratify the Constitution and become one of the United States.

May 29, 1935, was the birth date of Sylvia Robinson, known mononymously as Sylvia, an American singer and record producer who achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with the 1957 single “Love Is Strange,” and her solo record “Pillow Talk” in 1973. She later became known for her work as founder and CEO of the pioneering hip hop label Sugar Hill Records.

The sun was shining right off the bat this morning, but clouds built up before long and it was hide and seek for the remainder of the day. Last night’s low was just 52 degrees, and today’s high made it up to 76.

My blood sugar jumped back up to 186 today. It’s hard to know what has the most impact on the glucose right now, since it feels more like a yo-yo.

Following the morning coffee and the online brain games, we made oatmeal for breakfast. Then we showered and dressed.

Nancy called her sister, Joan, and had a long conversation with her. Right up until Dale, a friend from church, came over to see the house, and we spent more than an hour chatting.

When Dale left, it was nearly 1 p.m., so Nancy and I had lunch at Addi’s. Then we drove to Trader Joe’s to do a little more grocery shopping. Then we stopped at Safeway on Q Street on the way home to get cold brew and parmesan cheese.

After napping, Nancy and I walked around the neighborhood, about 1.3 miles up L Street to Market Street and back by M Street. The measurement was done by the map app since I forgot to turn on the walking app. And just as we were getting back to the house, it began to lightly sprinkle. For about half a minute.

Then Nancy applied some salve to my right foot after the walk. It continues to hurt, due to the arthritis, even with the support sock and occasional liniment.

Before leaving for Thursday recovery meeting at 6:30 p.m., I had a little snack of crackers, cheese and pepperoni. Nancy had yogurt while I was gone.

The meeting was a good one, with a reading about the Third Tradition, “the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using.” One of my acquaintances from that meeting is about to go spend four months in Thailand, so I got to bid him “bon voyage.”

It was nearly 8:30 p.m. when I reached home, and we stumbled across a new addition to the shows on AcornTV. “The Island” is a Scottish Gaelic-language crime drama television series produced for BBC and broadcast in January 2025. Sadly, the subtitles were poorly timed and during one scene disappeared entirely. We won’t attempt to watch any more of this show.

Rain is forecast to begin about 4 a.m. on Friday, lasting until 9 a.m. The low of 49 degrees won’t even be reached until just before Saturday, and the day’s high is expected to be just 62.

Nancy will start the day with a dental appointment at 10 a.m. Once she gets back from that, we will down to Cottage Grove to have lunch with her sister, Joan. It’s been a couple of weeks since we have seen her, and in the meantime, she traveled over to Redmond to check on her and Nancy’s sister, Alie.

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On this day in 1830, U.S. President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which denied Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocated them.

May 28, 1910, was the birth date of “T-Bone” Walker, an American blues musician, composer, songwriter and bandleader, who was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues, West Coast blues, and electric blues sounds. In 2018 Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 67 on its list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

The skies remained cloudy and gray this morning until about 11:30 a.m., when the sun began shining. It continued through the rest of the day, and the temperature rose from a morning low of 52 degrees to a high of 75 in mid-afternoon.

My blood sugar dropped to a comfortable 170 today. Maybe it was the walking I got in yesterday and last night’s meat sauce, which provided a nice amount of protein.

Following our morning coffee and the usual online brain games, Nancy did a yoga session, then some gardening, while I updated my Flickr account and checked on other social media.

Then Nancy and I made a breakfast of cheesy eggs with garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, freshly-cooked bacon, and toast with jam.

After cleaning up the dishes, we got dressed and went to the Safeway on Q Street to get plastic bags and litter deodorizer for cleaning up the kitty litter box. From there we went into downtown Eugene to the Down to Earth store. Nancy bought a tomato cage, more lettuce plants, a lavender plant, and a rosemary plant.

When we got home, I went out for a walk around our neighborhood. I put in 2.23 miles in just under 50 minutes, a total of 5,300 steps.

Back at the house, Nancy was ready for a nap, so I joined her. When we awoke, Nancy gave me a massage and acupuncture treatment for the first time in a while. It was quite relaxing, and I felt quite mellow for the remainder of the day.

For part of the time, I worked on the Summer 2026 edition of BudZine, playing with an image for the cover story “Family Fun in Oregon,” which will be about the visit of my siblings earlier this month.

Later, I sat out in the back yard with Nancy while she enjoyed her afternoon glass of wine. There were big puffy clouds slowly moving across the blue sky, a light wind, and lots of sunshine.

Then we went in and made dinner. We heated up some of the marinara from last night, this time to go over some capellini, along with another salad of fresh lettuce and spinach from the garden.

After dinner and clean-up, we did our evening streaming entertainment, beginning with an episode of “Hacks.” There are only two more show in this, the final series. We followed that with another episode of the new show, “You’re Killing Me,” with Brooke Shields as a mystery author who gets involved in solving mysteries. We closed the evening with an episode of “Murder in the Mountains,” which turned out to be the final appearance of the actress who played the forensic pathologist for several seasons. Her replacement made her first appearance in the same episode.

Tonight’s low is expected to be around 52 degrees again, and the high could reach the mid-70s again. But the chance of rain begins about 2 p.m. and continues until about 4 p.m. on Friday.

The first thing on the calendar for tomorrow is a visit from a friend from church, Dale, who is part of the altar guild team with Nancy. She is stopping by to check out our place. She is in the market for a new house and has already lost out on a couple of bids. I might make it to the Thursday evening recovery meeting which is not likely to be held outdoors because of the possibility of rain in the forecast. Unless that completely disappears by meeting time.

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On this day in 1927, the Ford Motor Company ceased manufacture of the Ford Model T, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans, and began to retool plants to make the Ford Model A, which was produced until March 1932, with 4,858,644 made in all body styles.

May 27, 1819, was the birth date of Julia Ward Howe, an American author and poet, known for writing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and the original 1870 pacifist Mothers’ Day Proclamation, “The appeal to womanhood throughout the world.” She was also an advocate for abolitionism and a social activist, particularly for women’s suffrage.

Today’s weather was a lot like yesterday’s except no more rain showed up. This morning’s low was 49 degrees, and the high only got up to 65.

My blood sugar jumped back up to 203, thanks to another day of poor diet and lack of exercise.

Following our morning coffee and the usual online brain games, Nancy and I showered and dressed. Then Nancy watered the garden, while I organized for the grocery shopping trip I would making shortly.

When Carrie arrived for her treatment, I left to shop and wound up getting everything on the list at Trader Joe’s. It was a quick trip, and I got home well before Carrie’s session was done and put all the purchases away.

Given my recent glucose levels and my increasing weight, I decided to pass on a blended mocha, though I had originally taken the route home that brought me right by Native Coffee.

After Carrie’s treatment was done, she stuck around for a little while to chat with us. During our talk, UPS delivered a new Chewy order, and the mailman delivered the coffee order from Odolla.

When Carrie finally took off, Nancy and I made lunch with the broccoli cheddar soup I just bought at Trader Joe’s and some potato chips.

Following the meal, we went for a short walk around the neighborhood, a total of 1.34 miles in just under 34 minutes, a total of 3,300 steps. Then we napped.

Once we finished our nap, I got a text from my sister, Deborah, about a Zillow listing for another house in southwest Eugene that looks a lot like the AirBnB where the family stayed during their visit. This version had newer upgrades and an open kitchen floor plan.

Nancy started dinner prep by making the marinara sauce for the ravioli we planned to eat. She started by cooking up garlic, mushrooms, fresh basil and oregano for the sauce. Then she cooked a pound of ground beef and combined everything together with the sauce.

While we were enjoying our dinner, Kathleen showed up with another tomato plant for Nancy’s garden, and while she and Nancy chatted, I cleaned up all the dinner dishes.

I left right at 6 p.m. to go pick up Henry and head to the men’s recovery meeting. It was well attended tonight, and the reading was from the last half of the Basic Text, which is a collection of personal stories by members of the fellowship. A couple of the shares that followed were about difficult situations in the men’s lives, but both are working hard to maintain their recovery programs.

When I got home, Nancy and I streamed the newest episode of “Death in Paradise,” in which Mervin became entangled in a puzzling case while searching for his brother on Antigua.

It looks like Wednesday will return to more sun and warmth than the last couple of days, but there is still some possible rain coming over the following days. Tonight, the low will be around 48 degrees, and tomorrow’s high should reach 74.

With that nice weather coming tomorrow, Nancy and I might consider getting out and riding our bikes. We might even ride them somewhere more interesting than just the surrounding neighborhood. One of the popular path systems is within biking distance.

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On this day in 1923, the first 24 Hours of Le Mans was held in France. Run annually in June thereafter, it is the oldest endurance racing event in the world and widely considered one of the world’s most prestigious races.

May 26, 1895, was the birth date of Dorothea Lange, an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration. Her photographs influenced the development of documentary photography and humanized the consequences of the Great Depression.

Today we got a break from the recent warm weather. There was some sunshine in the morning, though there were clouds around. The day’s high only reached 63 degrees, rising from the overnight low of 45. But the rain did not appear until late in the afternoon.

My blood sugar was down this morning to 187, a nice number than anything over 200.

After enjoying our coffee and playing the usual online brain games, Nancy and I fixed cheesy eggs with garlic, bacon, and toast with jam for breakfast.

After cleaning up, we dressed and drove out to Emerald Park for the recovery fellowship’s Memorial Day picnic. It was cool, but I managed to survive in short pants and short sleeves while we chatted with lots of friends in the fellowship.

I checked with Michael about today’s Zoom group and he confirmed it would go ahead and then sent out a text to the participants.

On the way home from the picnic, we stopped for a blended mocha at Native Coffee on Centennial Blvd., then went all the way the “other” Albertsons on Main Street in Thurston to buy more cream for tomorrow’s coffee.

When we got home, we napped. The rain started around 4:30 p.m., and it ended by about 5:45 p.m.

Nancy started beans for dinner, and I checked into the Zoom meeting, and we went over our answers to the questions on the 10th Step. Next up in a couple of weeks, the 10th Tradition, which looks like it will be a lot of work.

Then Nancy and I finished preparing dinner, which included chicken molé tamales we bought a couple of weeks ago at the Saturday Market, rice to go with the beans, corn chips and salsa, and shredded cheese. Neither of us were impressed with the tamales, so we will look for another version at the Saturday market or elsewhere.

Following dinner, we did our streaming entertainment for the evening, beginning with the final episode of “Elsbeth” for the current season. We followed that with another episode of “Hacks,” and we closed out with one more episode of “Murder in the Mountains.”

It appears there may be more rain during the night, but the rest of Tuesday is supposed to remain dry. As is the remainder of the next week. The low tonight should be around 47 degrees, and tomorrow’s high will repeat the 63 from today.

Carrie will come over about 11 a.m. tomorrow for another treatment. While she is here, I will get out to shop for a few items on the grocery list we have been putting together. In the evening, Henry and I will most likely attend the men’s recovery meeting in the evening.

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On this day in 1935, Jesse Owens of Ohio State University broke three world records and tied a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

May 25, 1803, was the birth date of Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking, as well as a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society and conformity. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called him “the most gifted of the Americans,” and poet Walt Whitman declared Emerson his “master.”

Today is Memorial Day, a time to honor those who died while fighting in the U.S. Armed Forces. It’s a holiday steeped in American history and tradition. The day began as “Decoration Day,” following the Civil War, when mourners placed flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers. Over time, Memorial Day has also come to signify the “unofficial” start of summer.

Contrary to the forecast, there were very few clouds this morning, and the bright sunlight made any internal lights unnecessary for our morning activities. The good weather continued throughout the day. After a low of 46 degrees this morning, the day’s high reached all the way to 81.

My blood sugar jumped higher again today, to 205. A result no doubt of the lack of protein and large amounts of carbs in yesterday’s dining.

Following our coffee and the Sunday online brain games, Nancy went out to water her garden. After a slice of cinnamon toast, we were off to church for Pentecost Sunday.

We had lunch at Johnny Ocean’s following the church service and a brief visit to coffee hour. I went with the bacon cheeseburger, and Nancy got the pork tacos.

We listened to “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me” on the way home, finishing it at home. This week’s show was Bill Kurtis’s last.

After that, we napped until about 2 p.m. Right around 2:30 p.m., Ronin’s mom, Nancy, dropped by for her acupuncture treatment.

While the two Nancys were engaged in that exercise, I went out for a walk and managed to do 2.76 miles in 57 minutes, a total of 6,300 steps. I got back just as the treatment was finishing up.

Given the warmth at that time of the afternoon, I lay down again, not so much to nap, but just to rest and relax from the exercise.

When I got up, Nancy and I sat outside for a brief time. The temperature was quite nice, but the breeze made the chimes way too noisy, so we came back inside.

Right about 5:15 p.m., I took off for the Sunday evening recovery meeting. Two folks were celebrating their recovery birthdays today, and the sharing focused on them and the day’s reading. It was about intimacy, and I got to read it to the group again.

As usual, I texted Nancy to let her know when I was heading home so she could get dinner ready. When I arrived, there was a salad on the table, and Nancy was serving up the chicken tikka masala with rice. The salad had been made from lettuce and spinach already growing in the new garden beds in the back yard, and it was quite tasty. The tikka masala turned out to be a single meal, so it divided into small amounts. But after our large lunch, it was a good meal.

For our Sunday evening streaming entertainment, we watched two episodes of “Murder in the Mountains,” the German series presented by Walter Presents on PBS. A third series recently debuted, which might mean that other shows from that service could be updated. We’ll check to see what else might be up for viewing again.

We are supposed to see some rain tomorrow, starting in mid-afternoon. Given our recent experiences, it could begin earlier than that or it could disappear altogether. We will have to wait to find out. But tonight’s low is supposed to be 48 degrees, and the high will only be 65 if the rain comes to pass.

We have no definite plans for Memorial Day. There is a recovery picnic starting in the morning, and we might make a quick appearance, if the rain holds off. Later, the Steps & Traditions Zoom group might meet, since it is the fourth Monday. But one of our members won’t be in the group any longer, since he has abandoned his retirement to go back to work. I guess there will be some communication about that before the regular meeting time.

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On this day in 1607, Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in North America, was founded. Located on the northeast bank of the James River, it was established by the Virginia Company of London, following earlier, failed English colonization attempts, including the 1585 Roanoke Colony.

May 24, 1878, was the birth date of Lillian Moller Gilbreth, an American psychologist, industrial engineer, consultant, and educator who was an early pioneer in applying psychology to time-and-motion studies. She was described in the 1940s as “a genius in the art of living.”

It was already bright and sunny this morning when I got up at 6 a.m. to run to Costco and fill the Subaru’s gas tank up ($4.99 per gallon). There was so little action at that hour this morning, I might actually start filling the tank at that time whenever it’s needed.

The overnight low was just 49 degrees, and today’s high reached 76.

My blood sugar jumped up to 195 when I did the level check at 7:30 a.m., as usual. The increase was likely due to the lack of protein in yesterday’s food choices.

After Nancy and I finished our coffee and played the Saturday edition of the online brain games, we had cinnamon toast because we were not quite ready for a full breakfast meal.

We showered and dressed and were ready to run to the grocery store to get a new box of laundry detergent sheets. Then I got a text from the bike repair shop that my ride was ready to pick up.

We stopped at Walgreens to see about getting something to help with the pain in my right foot as well as the laundry detergent sheets. They did not have the latter, and I was not sure about the former.

So, we went to the bike shop and picked up the bike. I rode it home while Nancy went to Albertsons to get the laundry sheets. It took me no more than 15 or 20 minutes to ride the 1.9 miles home. I could tell I was a little bit rusty, but at least I did not fall off.

I beat Nancy home by about five minutes, and with the detergent sheets she managed to find, we put in a load of clothes in the laundry.

We made a “lunch” of bacon, cheese and egg sandwich on toast with chipotle mayo. Afterwards, I called my Tucson friend Mark, who had checked in during our meal.

Nancy lay down to rest, and the dryer went off, so I took the clothes into the bedroom and we put them away.

I was going to run back to Walgreens to get one of the support things for my foot, but Nancy reminded me that I had gotten something of the kind before. I dumped out the contents of my sock drawer, and there they were, along with a knee brace as well. I put it on, and right off the bat my foot felt better.

We cleaned the house, preparing for this evening’s guest. Nancy swept and dusted, and I vacuumed the rugs in the living room, and the two bedrooms.

When we were done with the cleaning, we drove down to Anne and Joe’s house to fetch the grill that was left behind at their daughter’s mobile home park recently. We chatted briefly and then came home to begin fixing dinner.

Kathleen and Ronin showed up about 5:45 p.m. with salad, buns, and chocolate-dipped strawberries. The berries had been picked by them at a nearby farm earlier in the day. Nancy and I had the ravioli and marinara sauce ready, and we all sat down to eat.

After the meal and some time spent visiting, Kathleen and Ronin walked back to their house. Nancy and I settled in for a little bit of streaming entertainment. We began with an episode of “Hacks” and followed that with another episode of “Elsbeth.”

Sunday looks like a mixture of clear and cloudy, switching back and forth between the two during the day. The low tonight will drop to 48 degrees, and the high for Sunday may make it to 79.

After attending church for the celebration of Pentecost tomorrow, Nancy will offer an acupuncture treatment to Ronin’s mother, also named Nancy, in the middle of the afternoon. In the evening, I will head back to my Sunday recovery meeting.

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On this day in 1980, “The Shining,” the psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, premiered on 10 screens in New York City and Los Angeles.

May 23, 1810, was the birth date of Margaret Fuller, an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women’s rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement. She was the first American female war correspondent and full-time book reviewer in journalism, and her book Woman in the Nineteenth Century is considered the first major feminist work in the United States.

Today’s morning was another bright one, with the sun filling the blue sky and blasting through the blinds into our living room, so that we needed no artificial light to start our day. Last night’s low was 48 degrees, and the high made it to 80.

My blood sugar was up a few more points, to 179. My triglycerides are also up, way above normal, which is why my PCP increased one of the doses of my meds today.

Following our coffee and the online brain games for Friday, Nancy and I made oatmeal for breakfast. Then we showered and dressed. Nancy reminded me to order more Odolla Coffee online, which I did.

At 11:10 a.m., Nancy left for her chiropractic appointment. I walked to Walgreens to pick up the new med, then to the Mini Pet Mart on Main Street to meet Nancy, who was going there to pick up more litter for the cats.

My walk totaled 1.9 miles, completed in a little more than 37 minutes, a total of 4,100 steps. Nancy arrived a few minutes before me because the process at the chiropractor is so quick.

From the Pet Mart, we drove up to Costco, hoping to fill up the tank, which was down to one-quarter, but because it was Friday near the noon hour, the lines at the pumps were very long.

We came back by way of Albertsons on Marcola Road and picked up a few items. We also stopped at Rooster Coffee for a blended mocha.

When we got home, we made lunch with tomato and basil soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and potato chips.

Then we napped, after which Nancy put some arthritis liniment on my right foot, which was aching badly once again. After getting up, we enjoyed a few bits of watermelon that we bought at Albertsons.

I gave Nancy some money via Zelle from my monthly Social Security payment which came in today. The amount goes to pay the monthly “rent” for our home to Kalen.

Nancy had a glass of wine, and I joined her in the back yard with my iPad and read the new J.J. Jance novel, OverKill, starring Ali Reynolds, which is my latest attempt to move past the mediocre Reacher book I have not been able to finish.

Kathleen and Ronin showed up with another garden box, which they set down in the back yard. Nancy will decide where to place it, and we may be able to drag the remainder of the soil from the front yard into the back for use in the box.

For dinner we took the last of the shredded chicken left behind by the family after their visit and heated it up with the sauce from the Greek chicken recipe. Nancy made a pot of rice, and I stirred up some sauteed spinach with garlic.

Following dinner, we settled in to stream the final Colbert show. It was chock full of guest celebrities, including former music director Jon Batiste, and the official final guest was Paul McCartney. Someone noted that Colbert never mentioned our troubled president once, which did not stop him from posting an insane rant on social media. Not a big surprise.

After that sad closing, we cheered ourselves up with episodes of “Elsbeth” and “You’re Killing Me,” a new series on AcornTV with Brooke Shields as a mystery writer who starts solving murders.

As I began preparing for the close of day, I was notified of the selection of one of my iris garden photos for the day’s “Explore” collection. It was my 23rd selection since May of last year. It’s becoming a regular thing.

There will be more sunshine on Saturday, but perhaps not as much in the morning, when there will be a few clouds around. Tonight’s low will be about 50 degrees, and the high tomorrow will most likely be in the upper 70s.

We will be having Kathleen and Ronin over tomorrow evening to share a dinner of ravioli and marinara with us. They will bring salad and rolls. Before that, there is nothing planned for our day except cleaning the house in preparation for our guests.

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On this day in 2002, a jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicted former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murder of four girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.

May 22, 1859, was the birth date of Arthur Conan Doyle, the British writer and physician best known for his four novels and fifty-six short stories about the fictional consulting detective Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson.

It was sunny and bright this morning, and the day continued in that way. The overnight low was 45 degrees, and today’s high reached 80.

My blood sugar was up a couple of points from yesterday, to 173. That’s still a decent number for the kind of life I have been living.

There was no coffee for me because I was headed for Quest Diagnostics to provide blood for testing at 8:20 a.m. But I did make coffee for Nancy, and we did most of the Spelling Bee before I had to take off. Nancy finished it and texted me the final words.

Taking my blood was the easy part, but of course I could not manage to provide a urine sample, given that I had peed upon arising. I took the sample cup and left.

I went next door to Albertsons, got eggs and cold brew, and came home. Nancy and I played the remainder of the brain games, and I finished drinking one bottle of water and started on a second.

I finally managed to provide a urine sample, then I drove back over to Quest to drop it off. Thankfully, it’s only about five minutes away.

Nancy had some yogurt while I was gone, so instead of doing breakfast at Addi’s, as we had considered, we went by the credit union on the corner of Centennial and Mohawk for some cash, then we got on I-5 toward Salem.

We tried first stopping at the Odolla Coffee Roasters to get more coffee, but we learned that the location is not generally open for customers. We thanked the person who answered and said that we were glad that mailing turned out to be so convenient.

Then we continued on to Schreiner’s Iris Gardens on the north side of Salem. Since we were still in the mood for some food, we got hamburgers and fries from one of the food trucks. After eating, we spent time wandering around the display garden while I took lots of pictures.

We made our way back without going via I-5. We stopped in Junction City for a blended mocha at Hillbilly Brews, which took over the spot formerly run by another business.

Once we were back in Eugene, we also went by Costco for gas, because we were below half a tank. But the lines were too long, so we came on home.

After a brief nap, we fixed dinner, which was just microwaving the leftovers of the chicken casserole we made a couple of days ago.

I had decided to skip the Thursday evening recovery meeting, so we switched into streaming entertainment mode. We began with the first three episodes of Colbert from this, his final week on the air. The programs were all filled with lots of good comedy and some nice punches in the direction of the politicians who need to be punched. His show will be sorely missed.

We closed out our evening with the second half of the “Silent Witness” story, “The Enemy Within.” It was a difficult watch, touching very closely to some of what is going wrong with our society. And there was no real ending.

During our TV watching, we got a text from Kathleen announcing that she had been officially accepted into nursing school for the fall semester. The family group chat blew up with all kinds of congratulations.

Friday’s weather is supposed to be pretty much a repeat of today, with lots of sunshine and clear skies, a low of 51 degrees and a high of 78.

Nancy has a chiropractic appointment tomorrow at 11:30 a.m., but there is nothing definite on our schedule. We had discussed taking in the new movie, “The Sheep Detectives,” with some of Nancy’s family members, but there has been no decision on that.

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On this day in 1758, 10-year-old Mary Campbell was abducted in Pennsylvania by members of the Lenape tribe during the French and Indian War. She was returned six and a half years later.

May 21, 1901, was the birth date of Regina M. Anderson, an American playwright and librarian who, influenced by Ida B. Wells and the lack of Black history teachings in school, became a key member of the Harlem Renaissance.

This morning was bright but overcast. The sun came through now and again during the day, but it disappeared again in the late afternoon. This morning’s low was 46 degrees, and the high reached 70.

My blood sugar dropped back down to 170, a good bit closer to the safe zone than the last few days. After today’s events, though, it might not be as good tomorrow morning.

Following our coffee and the usual online brain games, Nancy did a brief yoga session, and I caught up with my Flickr account and other social media.

Then we made breakfast featuring an omelet with cheese, garlic, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes, plus bacon and toast with jam.

After cleaning up, Nancy talked with Kalen to catch up on things, then she watered the garden, tended to plants on the back porch and fed the birds and squirrels in the back yard.

After uploading the latest OS update for my desktop, Firefox was no longer connecting with Flickr for some reason. So, I set up Google Chrome, and it worked just fine. So did Safari. Then I clicked on a previous Flickr link from the History panel, and Flickr then opened without a hitch. No idea what happened.

We showered and dressed, with no plans to get out and do anything. Nancy decided she needed to lay down and rest because her shower wore her out.

When she got up, we went to Prince Pückler’s Gourmet Ice Cream, the shop near OU that has been serving Eugene for nearly 50 years. We got a certificate for the place during the Community Counseling fundraiser we attended earlier this year. After enjoying some of their delicious product, Nancy and I walked around that neighborhood for a little bit.

After getting home, I checked my steps and decided I needed to do more walking, considering the amount of sugar in the ice cream. I did 2.07 miles in just over 45 minutes, a total of 4,900 steps.

Nancy decided to enjoy a glass of wine, and I joined her for a little lap time. When she finished the glass, we got up and started making dinner. We bought a fresh bag of spinach and mozzarella ravioli recently, so we boiled up five pieces for each of us. We heated some leftover marinara sauce and added a few pieces of chopped up pepperoni that was left over from the snacks my siblings bought while they were here. We also had a small salad.

Tonight’s streaming entertainment started with another episode of “Death in Paradise,” then we caught one of the “Elsbeth” episodes we had missed over the last couple of weeks. We closed out the evening with the Colbert show from last Thursday that featured David Letterman as the only guest. Together the two went to the roof and tossed some of Colbert’s furniture off the roof, along with a few watermelons and a large cake. Tomorrow night is the final Colbert show, but we won’t be able to stream it until Friday, but we have the other shows this week to catch up on as well.

Tomorrow is supposed to be all sun and clear sky once again, and the temperature is expected to rise from a morning low of 48 degrees to a high of 80.

My day will begin with a visit to a medical lab for a few tests ordered by my PCP. Following that, I will head to the Albertsons next door and buy a couple bottles of cold brew and a dozen eggs. The rest of the day is wide open, though I will likely try to get out to the Thursday evening recovery meeting.

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On this day in 325, the First Council of Nicaea, a council of Christian bishops convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine I, formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.

May 20, 1825, was the birth date of Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the United States. She was ordained in 1852 by socially radical Wesleyan Methodist minister Luther Lee, a passionate and vocal advocate of women’s right to theological education and leadership.

There was more bright sun and blue sky awaiting us when we arose this morning, and the day remained like that throughout. The high reached 72 degrees this afternoon, rising from an early morning low of just 41.

My blood sugar was back up a few points to 187, but still within a decent range of better numbers that I hope will show up in the next few days.

Following our coffee and the usual daily brain games, Nancy and I had cinnamon toast, then we showered and dressed.

A little before 11 a.m., we headed for the 5th Street Market, where Nancy had her hair appointment at the Gervais Salon.

While she got her hair done, I walked over to the Farmers Union Coffee Roasters for a hot mocha. Then I wandered around taking pictures with my iPhone. One of the Down to Earth building and two of the Hult Center were posted later in the day on my Flickr account.

After finishing my first drink, I stopped for another mocha at the Palace Coffee Roasters on Pearl Street. Then I headed back up the street, past some protestors setting up near the federal building, and sat on a bench outside the salon until Nancy was finished.

Then we drove down to Creswell, where we bought a loaf of multigrain sourdough bread and two chipotle ham brioche sandwiches for our lunch. After eating them in the comfort of our Subaru, we came home.

Next, we took my bicycle to a shop named Len’s Bikes that is located near the Mini Pet Mart at Main and 20th streets. Len will replace the busted front tire tube and check out the rest of the bike for anything else in need of repair since it has been unused for the two years we have been in Oregon.

We came home again and napped, after which I went for a quick walk around the neighborhood by myself. I did 1.32 miles in 29.5 minutes, a total of 3,100 steps. Added to the wandering around downtown earlier today, I totaled just over 3 miles today.

For dinner we heated up a couple of plates filled with some of the leftover casserole we made yesterday.

Then there was time to stream a little bit of the Colbert show from last week with Julia Louis Dreyfus and Pedro Pascal before taking off for my Tuesday men’s recovery meeting. Nancy watched the rest of it while I was away.

Tonight’s meeting included a reading about being a parent, which I personally have no experience with. But there were several heart-felt shares, including one from a fellow with a child who was just born last Saturday.

By the time I dropped Henry off at his place and made it home, Nancy and I had time to watch another Colbert before signing off on the entertainment for the evening. It included President Obama taking the Colbert Questionnert, Tom Hanks, and a group of famous Broadway performers doing “Putting It Together,” from the Sondheim musical “Sunday in the Park with George.”

It looks like there won’t be quite as much sun on Wednesday. The clouds take over around noon, but the high temperature is expected to hit 70 again, after an overnight low of only 49.

There is nothing on our schedule for Wednesday, so I suggested to Nancy that we could sleep in all morning. I doubt that will actually happen, mostly because we would have to be up at least by 9 a.m. to give Grace her morning meds. And Nancy and I will certainly need our morning dose of caffeine to get ourselves moving.

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On this day in 1848, Mexico ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican-American War and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other current U.S. states to the United States for $15 million.

May 19, 1903, was the birth date of Ruth Ella Moore, an American bacteriologist and microbiologist, who, in 1933, became the first African-American woman to be awarded a Ph.D. in a natural science.