It was around 12 degrees outside this morning when I got up at 0630 so I turned on the fireplace and went back to bed. It’s not a real fireplace. It’s an electric portable one that we store under the bed when we travel. So, technically, it’s a heater that looks a little like a fireplace. It works perfectly to keep the house warm.

Twelve degrees was an exaggeration, too. It was more like 20 … no, it was actually 47. Still, for Arizona, that’s cold, don’t you think?

Diane and I both wear Fitbit devices to keep track of our sleeping patterns and how many steps we take throughout out days. It’s interesting to see how well we sleep but it doesn’t work every night because one of us forgets to switch the mode to do that. This morning, I found that I got a 77 last night. Not too bad but being in the 80’s is better. I don’t do that very often.

The reason for my low scores is that no matter when I go to bed, I wake up between 0500-0600 every morning. That’s when my brain turns on. I’d really like to go back to sleep, but a lot of stuff is going on behind my eyes making it difficult. Most days the theme in my head is a reenactment of the dog fight Max and I got in while visiting a park in Imperial Beach, CA. I shared this many posts ago, so I won’t subject you to another rendition of that event. The repetitive morning episodes has convinced me that my continuous exposure to that event is PTSD.

Yup. Most people who suffer from PTSD were exposed to traumatic events related to warfare, not dog fights, right? Well, I’m sure PTSD can be triggered by any traumatic event. I speak as an expert though I’m not one. The point where I have to get up to end the memory is when I extract Max from the jaws of this big dog who was doing his best to kill my little friend. I always prevail but lingering in the back of my mind is the fear of what could have happened had I not been close enough to intervene.

OK now. I got that out of my head, and we can move on to something more pleasant.

It’s another beautiful day here in Tucson. Bright clear skies, and just a little chilly out there now. Diane said it’s supposed to be around 81 today, according to the weather people. It’s yo-yo weather; up and down. Yesterday evening, before the sun went down, we were lounging on the patio, and it was perfect. We haven’t had many days like that because previously it was just too hot. Being from the NW, we run out of sweat quickly, so it’s no fun being outside in the heat, watching your skin just wrinkle up and flake off in little, tiny pieces. It’s like having dandruff all over the exposed parts. Not very attractive. I think I read in a comic book that after a while the flaking stops, and everything just turns brown. I don’t know how long that will take, but it hasn’t happened, yet. My little stick figure legs will never get brown because it’s just too chilly for short pants. There’s just something about walking around in short pants on a clear, sunny day, and having to walk fast to stay warm just isn’t appealing. So, I wear long pants so Max, and I can just walk slowly, enjoying the scenery without feeling the need to shiver.

Around noon Diane went to the commissary to, once again, replenish our depleted food supply. Max and I stayed home and took a long walk. When we got home, I reclined on the couch to watch TV for a bit and fell asleep for a little while. Thankfully, I woke up before Diane returned so I was alert and able to help carry everything into the bus. I did it in four trips and everything fit in the proper place depending on whether or not it was frozen, cooled, or just happy in a warm cupboard.

Then we ate what was left of the meatloaf, the potatoes and a new can of peas. Both the peas and potatoes were smothered in an excessive amount of butter and a little sprinkle of salt and pepper. The meatloaf received an additional layer of ketchup. Sunday Linner was very good.

To end the day, we were blessed with this …

Good night.