I still have no power. We went to my house about 11 today, and it was hot inside. We opened the fridge, and even though we’d cleaned all the perishable food out of here, and it had appeared to be clean, it STUNK. So, Dan took out the drawers and hosed them out outside. I got a cleaner and sprayed and washed down the whole inside. It smelled fine after that.

We had some piles of brush that needed to be put on the curb with the rest of the limbs and brush we’d moved out there this week. Dan did most of that while I cleaned out my fridge. Then we ate some warmed up hot and sour soup, outdoors on the deck.

As we were eating, one of those damn fruit rats (which we have been setting traps for) ran right out the back door. Dan jumped up immediately and managed to chase him back inside and over to the traps, where the stupid rat backed onto one of the traps and was caught! Yay!!!! Dan felt bad, he was wearing his big boots (so as not to be bitten by any more fire ants. Which is another story altogether. Let me just say that the horror stories of the fire ants floating in water is true.) and when he stomped his feet to scare the rat, he stomped mud all over the kitchen floor. I said, “Small price to pay to find one of those damn things in a trap!” The last two we’ve caught have been big fat ones. With tails about 8” or 9” long and bodies the same size, and quite fat. They give me the creeps in such a bad way!

Just before we left Dan’s for my place, he noticed the pool guy was here, cleaning and rechlorinating the pool and the hot tub. It was his first trip to service the pool after Irma. We were so glad to see him, because the hot tub and the pool feel so good on things like arthritis, fire ant bites, sore muscles from yard work. So tonight we may head over there, once darkness falls for sure.

On the way back to Dan’s we continued what has been a daily search for ice. The icemaker in his fridge doesn’t work, and until last night we have wanted it for the coolers. Well, now that we’ve thrown everything out, and now that his power is back on, we just needed one bag of ice for the freezer to use for cold drinks. Of course, we’ve had very little luck all week. It comes in to a store and is gone in about 20 minutes. But today since our need was not so great, of course we found it at the 2^nd place we looked. I have to say though, that it made me feel so “back to normal” to be able to drop ice in a glass of water. Thank God for small things.

And for large things. Like the beautiful weather we’ve had all week. Like the love of a good man. Like being retired, and not having to work through all this. Love and light.