Dorothy, you have been busy! I hope you're able to find a comfortable mattress that doesn't off-gas or have material/construction issues. There are so many inflatable mattresses on the market these days, but what is the material that is being inflated?

The house is going to have the burnt-toast level of skunk for a while, it seems. Staying in the main part of the house I get used to it, but going outside or into my bedroom or sewing studio and returning, it hits me. Will be keeping a lot of doors closed.

Congratulations on the negotiations on the barbecue smoker. It sounds like the process I went through selling my dad's aluminum Boston Whaler and the outboard motor when I was handling his estate. Boys and their toys.

The child's wading pool is set up with the floating solar fountain and the nearby birdbath has a lot of traffic. There is a cooler with bottled water for postal and other delivery folks, and soakers and sprinklers are in place. It's all about staying cool. When I'm at the gym I'll shower and wash my hair there to lower my home water use. Keeping the A/C set high and lights off when not in rooms will help with the spike in the power bill. I should go around and turn off all of the things plugged into power strips to avoid the "vampire" drain of all of those ready lights and devices that aren't really off, they're doing something to be ready for when they are used. This is an expensive time of year, and after the recent administration's chopping of support for solar and wind, bills will rise.

Time to call the insurance company about the roof. Ugg.