I am a day or so away from Panic Mode, with respect to my house and yard.

However, I got a bunch of green stuff I pretend is grass weed-whacked down this evening. As I go out the door the side yard looks halfway decent. As in it's halfway done.

But the Forces seem against me. To wit--the weed-whacker really appreciates a freshly charged battery. And it works MUCH better with weed-whacking string. I ran out about three whacks into it this evening, so had to change the reel. I'm not sure if I have a new reel, but there was a partly used one on the dead weed-whacker.

Before I go out anywhere tomorrow I'll check to see if I have any more reels in the garage.

CC didn't help matters this morning when she brought in a mouse. A live one. When I left for PJ's and other errands she was looking for it in the office room.

Oh well--if it's still alive it has to come out some time for food, at which point (if I'm lucky) CC may catch it again. I will not let a little thing like a mouse bother me.

Not when a young raccoon dashes off the front porch in late afternoon broad daylight. The raccoons don't usually appear till about 9 PM. This must be a youngster that got chased away by its parents and is trying to find a territory for itself.

By the time I get home from vacation I'll probably be able to put up a sign saying "zoo." There's already an invisible one saying "free food."

Weather is in a "nice" phase, with cooling afternoon showers and/or overcast. Much better than that hot, rainless spell.

I was at PJ's this afternoon when my cell phone rang. It was a friend from high school, trying to persuade me to go the the 55th reunion--in New Jersey.

Friend now lives in Jacksonville, but spent a lot of her adult life in Atlanta.

I have no particular interest in going. Aside from the fact that I'd be lost from the minute I touched down in Newark, I haven't been in contact with more than a couple of classmates. I left New Jersy in 1957 and the only times I've been back are when a plane flight takes me through that airport. And that's not often.

But it was fun talking to her.

I picked up my euros today from the bank. And I already got traveler's checks. I need to decide which credit card(s) I may take, then tell them what my travel plans are. I have no intention of using them, but it's best to be on the safe side.

Let's see--tomorrow I need to keep at the yard so it looks halfway presentable, and rationalize that there's no point to running the vacuum around till Thursday.

Procrastination--I am an expert.