daily 2008 august page

Kay's Daily Journal
August 2008

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2008 Old Farmer's Almanac Predictions for August 2008 in the Mid-Atlantic Region

Temp. 74° (avg.).
Precip. 4" (avg.).
1-7: Scattered t-storms, seasonable.
8-11: Sunny, cool.
12-18: T-storms, warm.
19-22: Sunny, cool.
23-27: Scattered showers, warm.
28-31: Rain, cool.

Historic Records For This Month

Historic Record High Temp. 104° Date - August 8, 2007
Historic Record Low Temp. 46° Date - August 9, 2000
Historic Record Rainfall. 0.0" Date - Coming Soon

Important August Dates

Holidays Etc:	Anniversaries:	Birthdays:	Miscellaneous:
No Holidays	August 3 - Lex & Eunice	August 18 - Earl	Birthstone - Peridot, Sardonyx
		August 25 - Laurie	Flower - Gladiola, Poppy
			Color - Pale Green
			August's Full Moon - Sturgeon Moon
			Allergy Awareness Month
			Beach Month
			Breastfeeding Awareness Month
			Cataract Awareness Month
			Child Support Awareness Month
			Children's Eye Health & Safety Month
			Hair Loss Awareness Month
			Happiness Happens Month
			National Catfish Month
			National Golf Month
			National Immunization Awareness Month
			National Inventors Month
			National Parks Month
			National Psoriasis Awareness Month
			National Water Quality Month
			National Women's Month
			Neurosurgery Outreach Month
			Ostomy Awareness Month
			Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month
			Stevens Johnson Syndrome Awareness Month
			Women's Small Business Month

August 31, 2008 - Sunday

Temperatures: Hi - 87° Lo - 64° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):18

So here we are at the end of the month. Again, I can't believe how fast this month has gone. August's were always fast anyway when the boys were younger, all the buying of school supplies and clothes to start the school year with. But now, even though they are grown, I guess the month still goes fast. As much as I hate hot weather, I'm glad August doesn't linger. But of the summer months I suppose July is the slowest month. Maybe because it is in the middle or whatever. Anyway, I digress. August is over and now I can make new lists for the month of September. Actually I've already been working on them!!!

Guess what I found out today? Should've followed up on it earlier this month but forgot. August 7th, the day we had so many earthquakes with most of them in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, well, the reason was a volcanic eruption of Kasatochi and two other volcanoes in the same area. You can find more information at Kasatochi. They have an alert website about the volcanoes! You can also see sunset photos with various colors due to the ash etc in the atmosphere at the Space Weather Webpages. Be sure to hit your "back" button to return to my journal pages!

Slow day today seismically but all eyes are on Hurricane Gustav and personally I think all eyes of the East Coast should be watching Tropical Storm Hannah. She's changed course and currently projected to hit along the South Carolina/Georgia border. But time will tell. Will she change trajectory again? It's always possible. Will she intensify? The current computer prediction don't indicate her gaining hurricane status, but you never know. Once she enters the Gulf Stream, anything is possible. Better watch closely. And for those along the Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas coasts, even if you don't take a direct hit, you will definitely have problems with Gustav. So be smart, watchful and stay safe.

So without further adieu, here are my accomplishments for August.

Accomplishments for August 2008:

Bible Read (NIV-New International Version):
     Hosea
     Joel
     Amos
     Obadiah
     Jonah
     Micah
     Nahum
     Habakkuk
     Zephaniah
     Haggai
     Zechariah
     Malachi
     Matthew
     Mark
     Luke

Home Studies:
     Online SS Lessons: 2008 - 3rd Quarter:
          08/01 - 5. Matthew 10: Jesus and His Disciples
          08/08 - 6. The Compassionate Savior
          08/15 - 7. The Apostle John
          08/22 - 8. From Folly to Faith: The Apostle Peter
          08/29 - 9. A Pillar of Mission: The Apostle Peter

Note: Online SS Lessons are available at: Current SS Lessons

Daily & Continual Readings:
     Chancellor Church Daily Devotional - August 1 - August 31

Books Read - Non-fiction:
     Last Day Events, Chapters 1 - 6; E. G. White
     Silhouettes: Maple Sugar 11 - Roberta Hall (art book)
     Painting with Jerry Yarnell - Volume 1: Painting Basics
     Painting with Brenda Harris - Volume 1: Cherished Memories
     Bob Ross - Joy of Painting Volume 22
     Bob Ross - Joy of Painting Volume 24

TV Specials:
     Seconds from Disaster: When the Volcano Blew

TV Movies:
     Fab Five

Other:
     Sopranos, Season 5
     La Femme Nikita, Season 1
     La Femme Nikita, Season 2
     Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Season 1

Bright Ideas:
     Lots of them!!!

Contests Entries:
     Total Contest Entries for the Month: 946

Weather Projects:
     Some ideas

Skywarn/NWS/KG:
     Reports: 08/02/08, thunderstorm 8:30 am - 0.5" rain
     Reports: 08/10/08, mild thunderstorm pm - 0.1" rain
     Reports: 08/27-29/08, rainfall, remnants of Fay, 1.3" rain

     Monthly High Temp: 100° on 08-19-08; 08-25-08
     Monthly Low Temp: 58° on 08-12-08
    Monthly Total Rainfall: 2.0"

Webpage Updates - kayurie.com
     Daily Journals (dailies)
     News Archives (end of month standard)
     Index (end of month standard)
     Photos: Music Photo Page - added photos from June 14, 2008 program

Disaster Reports:
     Total Earthquakes: 1063

Inventories:
     Art Books

Ham Radio Projects:
     Interest in County Hunting, inspired by Seth

Note:
If you are interested in reading or listening or watching any of the listed items above, please check with your local library. Most of these books, audiobooks, CD's, cassettes or DVD's can be found on their shelves. The household, craft and hobby projects are mostly my own and many can be found on these webpages under the same category. If not my original ideas, then credit is given, if known, where due. For instructions, corrections, criticisms, additions or comments, please email me at the address listed at the bottom of this webpage. Hope you have enjoyed my entries.

August 30, 2008 - Sabbath

Temperatures: Hi - 89° Lo - 67° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):28

We've had a 6.3 on the Richter Scale in EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. I like to keep you informed on the "red" earthquakes around the globe.

Hurricane Gustav is now a Category 4 and will most likely intensify to a Category 5 as it enters the Gulf. Folks along the Gulf, from Texas to Florida need to keep a serious watchful eye on this storm. Hannah is still churning away in the Atlantic. There are at least two other areas of interest in the Atlantic. Heads up, folks. Tis the season. And I'm not talking about Christmas.....

I didn't get alot of sleep last night so today after lunch I took a 3 hour nap. Kinda like the "Minnow" of Gilligan's Island, a "3 hour tour". OK so you may not be old enough to remember that cute TV show. But I am, and I took the nap today and what can I say? I guess I needed it.

August 29, 2008 - Friday

Temperatures: Hi - 81° Lo - 69° Rainfall Amounts: 1.2"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):37

We got some heavy rain around 1 - 2 am this morning. So you can see we had abit finally. Supposed to get a little more or at least thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow. I think it's past for today, but we shall see.

Keeping an eye on both Gustav, now a Category 1 hurricane and Hannah, though at Tropical Storm level currently, is expected to become a hurricane by Sunday. Her track is northwest at the time being, but predictions are showing a turn towards the southwest which will lead her directly into Cuba. I don't know if I believe that track yet, but that's what the computer models are showing via NOAA. Regardless, states along the Gulf as well as the East Coast need to keep an eye on both of these systems. But wait. There's even more brewing out in the Atlantic. Time will tell if anything else develops, but it's that time of year, so no surprises.

No major earthquakes, but 37 good shakes, some as high as 5.0 on the Richter Scale. Mostly Alaska, but there were 6 in the Puerto Rico area. Interesting.

Just working on normal housework today. Painted a homemade hutch, did a little grocery shopping, vacuumed, etc. You all know the routine by now. It's never-ending, routine, but hey, that's what I do. And I'm tired so not going to linger tonight. I will comment about how fast this month has gone by. Hard to believe that the school year has begun, fall is on it's way. And I promise, I hope, colder weather will be coming in a couple more months. Please?

August 28, 2008 - Thursday

Temperatures: Hi - 73° Lo - 67° Rainfall Amounts: 0.1"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):48

It started raining a little more after midnight last night, so we ended up with a bit more than a trace. Now they are saying that it is going to rain and storm through Sabbath. We shall see. And now we also have a Tropical Storm Hannah, soon to become a hurricane also. Besides Gustav and Hannah there are currently 3 additional areas of concern to watch. And I will.

We also had an increase in the earthquakes today. We had 17 in the Vancouver Island, Canada Region all greater than 4.0 on the Richter Scale. There was a 6.2 north of Ascension Island in the Atlantic (that's near the coast of Africa). There was a 4.1 and a 4.5 off the coast of Oregon and a couple lesser shakes in Utah today. And of course the normal shaking around the Aleutian Islands, Alaska and several up and down California. Busier day.

As for my day, I worked on some projects around the house. Got a little more accomplished today compared to yesterday, not as much as I'd like to accomplish tomorrow. Anyway, not so shabby. Oh, nothing too fantastic, you know the normal stuff, scrubbing bathrooms, laundry and miscellaneous housework. That type of stuff. For the next two or three weeks I have a goal, a project a day. Remember when I talked about lists?

August 27, 2008 - Wednesday

Temperatures: Hi - 75° Lo - 66° Rainfall Amounts: trace"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):32

There were 13 earthquakes in the Vancouver Island, Canada Region today, all between 4.0 and 5.7 on the Richter scale. Those are pretty good "shakes"!!! There was also a 6.2 in LAKE BAYKAL REGION, RUSSIA.

All this worry about all the rain we were supposed to get today from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay. Well, it didn't start raining until after 4 pm here and then it was more of a drip here and drip there. I'm sure we got less than 1/10th of an inch, as it was unmeasurable in my rain gauge.

Watching the tropics, several items of possible interest, one, of course is Hurricane Gustav, currently a Tropical Storm but it was a strong Category 1 hurricane this morning and expected to be back in the hurricane range tomorrow and increasing in intensity up to a possible Category 3 or more as it makes it's way into the Gulf. Florida all the way to Mexico needs to watch this system very carefully. We also have another "high" potential development in the Atlantic with a couple other possibles brewing. So everyone on the East Coast should listen up.

August 26, 2008 - Tuesday

Temperatures: Hi - 81° Lo - 69° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):31

I have this thing about lists. I love to make lists. In fact, I can't sleep at night until I've made at least one list. Sometimes it's just a matter of re-copying yesterday's list and deleting the things I accomplished and adding other items to BE accomplished tomorrow. I guess I'm even a little compulsive about it. Ya think?

Anyway, what I'm getting at is, when I near the end of the month I get all excited because I can make a new list for the upcoming month. Isn't that cool? I'm excited because I have so many things I want to accomplish next month. It's like a clean slate, you know? Oh, Alright. The new monthly list is ALSO mostly re-copying the things that I didn't accomplish. But it's still a NEW list, right?

We've had a 6.3 on the Richter scale in Northern Peru today. The earthquakes are marked in red on the website when they reach at least a 6.0 on the Richter scale. Earthquakes in the 4.0 to 5.9 Richter scale are still noted in black print, but in a bold font.

August 25, 2008 - Monday

Temperatures: Hi - 100° Lo - 69° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):26

Happy Birthday Laurie !!!!

Storms around us but the only rain we got only left about 20 raindrop marks on the deck. Not even a good "connect the dots" game. And it was HOT today. We hit 100° though I'm sure the local news called it a nice day. They LOVE anything above 90°. Some of us hate it, but they seem to love it. Personally, as I have stated many times before, I'm SO looking forward to those good old 30° days. They're coming!

Not really my typical Monday, Jim took the day off so we could get some things done around the house. So that is always nice. We also ran out to pick up some items I forgot at the store last week. Other than that I guess we could say, what else? It's MONDAY.

There was a 6.7 on the Richter Scale in WESTERN XIZANG today. For those of us who don't know where that is, I checked the map and it is about 129 miles NE of Jumla, Nepal over in the Asia continent. That's a pretty hard "shake". Hope it was an unpopulated area..... They also had a couple 5.1's and a 5.3 in the same area today.

Other areas of interest, Dominican Republic had a 3.0 today and the Saint Martin Region of the Leeward Islands had a 3.5. Otherwise it was the normal 20-25 or so daily earthquakes around Alaska and other parts of the Pacific Rim.

My Bible reading for this month's accomplishments will look SO impressive. I have finished Mark and now well into Luke. It's just that so many of the books near the end of the Old Testament (which I covered earlier this month) are very, very short. So it makes it look like I've really been reading alot. Actually I read about the same amount each night, usually a minimum of 3 - 4 chapters. I will most likely finish Luke by the end of this month, however, the chapters are longer and I'm not in a race, so we shall see.

August 24, 2008 - Sunday

Temperatures: Hi - 97° Lo - 67° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):20

Well, B. Hussein Obama chose Biden as his VP. I really believe that was the most unbelievably arrogant choice to make. Especially when he knew that if he chose Hillary, they would win, hands down. What a great break for the Republican nominee. Senator McCain can almost coast into the election now. Though I hope he makes a wise choice for his VP. We shall see.

I've tried not to comment too much in my daily journal about the upcoming election, since supposedly I have another webpage dedicated to this sort of stuff. I just haven't been keeping it updated, so I had to say something in this journal.

Jim worked on digging out the creek today so that we won't lose our driveway in any downpours we might receive this fall. With eyes on the tropics, you just never know. We will probably get a little rain later this week from the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay, once it gets caught up in the jet stream and turned around to head back east. Will see what comes of it all. We're also watching another couple possibles spots for development but they are weeks away at this point so alot could happen.

On a sad note, one of Jim's aunts, Anna, passed away yesterday.

August 23, 2008 - Sabbath

Temperatures: Hi - 90° Lo - 62° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):23

Getting pretty dry around here, but it's worse where our parents live. And yet places in Florida have received over 33 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Fay. I cannot imagine how bad that would be. Even with our worst storm, we've only received around 10 inches or so in a single event. But a couple inches is enough to wash out our lane so I shudder to think about 33 inches!

This next week or two I have a whole bunch of household projects that I want to complete before the fall season is over. Fall cleaning, finish moving furniture around, clean out the closets, clean out the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom cabinets, clean, clean, clean. Well, and that doesn't count hobby projects. (And just because I have good intentions on cleaning......well, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"). But I'm still happy about it!

Seriously though, fall is my favorite time of year. Yes, there have been bad fall seasons. And those memories do pop up as the nights cool down, like Mom's death, Denie's death and other major events in our lives. But I'm an optimistic person. I wasn't always that way, but as the years have gone by, well, guess I've changed somewhat. I'm happy to be here, happy to be alive, happy to have the time home where I can work on these various household projects, hobby projects. I think you start to put things more in perspective as you get older and realize it's best not to sweat the small stuff, no matter how big it is! So, as a teenager leaning towards pessimistic points of view, now as an -- hmmmm-- adult, middle-aged adult, I always try to think on the positive side of things, the bright side of life. With that said, HURRAY for the coming FALL season!!!!! I can't wait!!!!!

August 22, 2008 - Friday

Temperatures: Hi - 91° Lo - 59° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):27

No internet this evening so this probably won't get uploaded until tomorrow. No storms near us, suspect the problems lie with the satellite downlink in Texas. Hopefully, we won't be down long.

Did some grocery shopping today so I won't have to run out every other day to pick up stuff. It disrupts my routines. OK, so maybe they aren't the best routines, but hey, they're mine and they work for me. Sort-of. Yeah, Ok. I like to stay home, OK?

It was hot today, bright and sunny. Still watching Tropical Storm Fay spin on top of Florida. They are getting pounded with rain. Some places reporting over 30 inches and still raining. I cannot imagine...

Found some neat pdf pattern files on the Martha Stewart website. She has an abundance of crafts and things. Kinda neat website, didn't have time to explore it like I wanted to, but will later on.

Earthquakes today were typical, however, a 6.0 has been recorded in MAURITIUS - REUNION REGION, which is in the western part of the Indian Ocean, in case you are wondering.

August 21, 2008 - Thursday

Temperatures: Hi - 93° Lo - 61° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):22

I couldn't sleep last night, just some allergy-asthma stuff, so I didn't fall to sleep until around 4 am this morning. So I slept until 10 am!!! That's the latest I have slept in awhile. Honestly it felt kinda good, not that I don't sleep in every morning anyway....

Ironing, laundry and a little more housework. Worked on my stack of paperwork and my contesting and that's about it. Jimmy helped Jim move the mattress upstairs and visited for awhile which is always nice! Otherwise it was a quiet day for the most part.

August 20, 2008 - Wednesday

Temperatures: Hi - 89° Lo - 65° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):25

Cooler today, if you can call 89° cool. At least the humidity was also down a bit too. There was a breeze, at least I could see it in the tree tops, doesn't mean we could feel it here in the woods, not this time of year. In the winter, we can feel wind a little bit more, but nothing like we felt when we lived on that hilltop in Westminster. Now THAT was wind!!!! Cold wind too, in the winter!!!! Doesn't get that cold here in Virginia and especially in the woods. We're really protected from it all.

Routine day otherwise. Laundry and housework, and a couple miscellaneous household projects that I'm working on. I'm tired, guess I'll call it a night.

August 19, 2008 - Tuesday

Temperatures: Hi - 100° Lo - 67° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):38

Well, it was another hot day. Humidity is still not as bad as I've seen it other times, but it's still just plain HOT.

A little more active in the Earthquake area today. Just a normal mix of areas, no one area seemed to be out of the norm. Alaska, California, Japan, Indonesia. There was a 6.1 in Tonga today. So just a bit more active today than most of the past few days.

Oh, I almost forgot. If you hadn't noticed already, photos are posted at our church website, Promised Land, of the day we packed 1000 backpacks for McDowell County, West Virginia. There were 500 for the Elementary students and 500 for the upper grades! That's a LOT of backpacks!!!! If you go to the link, don't forget to come back here to my pages!

Had a doctor's appointment today. And all went well. Seth made it back home today and it has been quite an adventure! He will be posting stuff on his "news" journal web pages as well as many, many photos, in the days to come. So keep a watch on his pages at N3MRA. And again, be sure to come back to my pages. I wouldn't want you to miss any "vital" news that I might spout out.

Speaking of news, I'm going to finish Matthew tonight! I'm beginning to think that Matthew may be one of my favorite books now.

August 18, 2008 - Monday

Temperatures: Hi - 99° Lo - 65° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):19

Happy 60th Earl !!!!

We did some stuff today around the house, won't go into details, just routine stuff. Busy day none-the-less. Seth called, car is repaired, very expensive! But he is on the road now and headed out of Utah. Hopefully into New Mexico late tonight.

I've been talking to him about the County-Hunting and am excited to learn more about it. I can also do it right from home without being on the road and that is cool. So, I'm going to start just listening to see what people and counties I hear and then I'll start making contacts! There are 3,077 counties in the USA. I LOVE a challenge!!!!

Pretty hot today, humidity not so bad but higher than it has been. It's the sun, it's just hot.

August 17, 2008 - Sunday

Temperatures: Hi - 93° Lo - 60° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):27

More busy today. Some housework and then a trip to town. Had just odds n' ends to pickup. We picked up Chinese on the way home and watched some "Nikita" in the late afternoon or evening and called it an early night.

Seth had called us while we were in town and he had broken down on the highway in Utah. So that wasn't very pleasant. But he did all the right things and they are resting in a motel tonight. Hopefully the car will be repaired tomorrow.

August 16, 2008 - Sabbath

Temperatures: Hi - 93° Lo - 64° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):24

Quiet day, what can I say. Spent some time on the computer just reading and surfing mostly. Not much else new. Just one of those "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" type days! Love the weekends!

August 15, 2008 - Friday

Temperatures: Hi - 88° Lo - 63° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):26

OK so we got a mild brush from a thunderstorm last night. Lost internet from a bit of rain. There was a little lightning so I shut down and didn't reboot again until today. Looked like the worst of the storm passed to our south.

It's been cloudy off and on today and the humidity is higher too. We're under a severe storm watch until 9 pm which will probably be extended until midnight according to our local alert system. So we shall see. I don't currently see anything near us, but a lot of heavy stuff just north of the Virginia Beach area moving eastward across the Bay.

We do have Tropical Storm Fay who is moving west at 14 mph currently over Dominican Republic, then over Haiti, Cuba and the future projected "cone" of concern has Florida right in the center. However, the good news is this. The longer it lingers over land the less likely that Fay will develop into a more serious situation such as a full hurricane. But she's young and they often don't follow the predictions and I'm not a meteorologist, so what do I know?

And believe me, a tropical storm is nothing to sneeze at either. And for those of you not familiar with that expression, well, it means you can still get alot of wind, rain and unstable air leading to multiple tornadoes and such. So don't take a Tropical Storm lightly. They can be devastating. We get just the remnants of them often here in Virginia and I can tell you, they are no picnic. I'm sorry for all the "expressions". But I have seen small tornadoes and funnel clouds and lots of rain and flooding and wind damages from just the remnants of these tropical storms. (Let alone a Category 1 hurricane back in September 2003 named Isabel). I won't go there. It was surprisingly bad.

I can't imagine why anyone would want to "sit out" a Category 3, 4 or 5 coming directly at them. Not me, brother. I'd be packed and this gal would be gone. I saw what the Category 1 did to trees in our woods and in our county and in the neighboring counties. No thanks. Call me gone.

August 14, 2008 - Thursday

Temperatures: Hi - 93° Lo - 62° Rainfall Amounts: 0.1"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):27

Storms all around us but so far nothing directly over us. We've actually lost the internet temporarily. The storms are so close that it's black as night and thunder rumbling and we can see some flashes of lightning, but not right over us yet. Looked like the storms were developing and streaming just south of us. But I think they are growing and may catch us yet.

OK, now that I typed that it is starting to rain. But it still looks like the worst of it is south of us.

August 13, 2008 - Wednesday

Temperatures: Hi - 91° Lo - 64° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):23

Another bright day though clouds moved in late afternoon. It's also a bit warmer, well, about the same temperature-wise, but the humidity has just started to increase. Still not as bad as it was and everyday that passes puts us closer to fall, so there is a limit to how many more super hot days we can have! Yeah, I know. September and even October can have some hot days. But they are fewer and less in a row than in July and August, so it's tolerable.

Just a normal busy day, worked on ironing and routine housework. You'd think that my house would be clean by now, wouldn't ya? Not so, I just move at my own slow turtle-snail pace. That's all.

August 12, 2008 - Tuesday

Temperatures: Hi - 92° Lo - 58° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):30

Another beautiful day, though a little warmer. I think it will continue to warm up each day now for a few.

Busy day, working on the kitchen cabinets. I went through more stuff and changed some things around, tossed out some old out-of-date stuff etc. It's getting there, slowly. I just move slow right now. I don't know why, I just do.

August 11, 2008 - Monday

Temperatures: Hi - 86° Lo - 59° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):25

Absolutely a beautiful day, very low humidity, breezy, sunny with big puffy clouds. Almost like fall. It could still be about 30-40 degrees colder for me, but otherwise a gorgeous day!

Haven't felt very good the last couple of days, so am watching what I eat a little better today. Hopefully, this will help. I go along several days being careful and start to feel better. Then I eat something fried or whatever and realize that I can't do that anymore.... I'll learn.

Otherwise a quiet day. Worked on a couple things around the house, ongoing projects and a little housework and that's about it for today. I'm going to call it a night for now...

August 10, 2008 - Sunday

Temperatures: Hi - 94° Lo - 64° Rainfall Amounts: 0.1"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):28

There was a 6.2 on the Richter Scale in ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION today. Otherwise seismic activity appears about the same as every other days reports. Always stuff around the Pacific Rim area.

Storms around us, coming towards us, but looks like they are diminishing as they approach. Will see what happens.

Well, we got about 1/10th of an inch of rain, not too much, very little lightning and thunder. I would call it an extremely mild summer thunderstorm at best.

August 9, 2008 - Sabbath

Temperatures: Hi - 92° Lo - 61° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):30

Busy day today. I helped for 4 hours packing back-packs for our mission project to West Virginia. We had 1000 backpacks to get ready for one of the counties in WV, 500 for their elementary students and 500 for higher level grades. Others worked a few hours longer! Anyway, hopefully they were able to finish up later this evening!

Today is the anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing.

Humidity has been lower but the sun is still quite potent. So it was quite warm today regardless.

I'm tired and I'm gonna call it a night!

August 8, 2008 - Friday

Temperatures: Hi - 93° Lo - 63° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches)
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):49

Largest earthquake today was a 6.0 in SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA. Twenty-one of today's total were again at ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA. I'm not a fan of earthquakes though the one time we felt one in Laurel MD years ago, I thought that Jim and Seth were devilin' too hard and I told them to stop, that they were shaking the whole apartment. Then later we heard on the news that there was a minor 2.? earthquake in the area.

Did you notice that today is 08-08-08???? Next time that happens, well, a similiar situation will be 09-09-09 and so on. Cool, huh.

Did some shopping today and ran into a friend from church. I got some of the acrylic colors that I need for some paintings that I want to try. I'll let you know how they turn out of course, when I get time to do them. I'll, as usual, take photos of them and post them on my "arts-acrylics" web pages.

Currently no activity in the Atlantic so we can be thankful about that. As much as I wouldn't like an earthquake, I've decided I don't want another hurricane either. Too many trees, too close to the house. Not a pleasant thought.

Seth was all over Elgin, Texas yesterday, which is the town where Dorothy was born and lived for awhile. He visited the Historical Society and was looking up data for us. Also took alot of really nice pictures for us! Thanks Seth!!!! Awesome!!!

Otherwise, besides shopping today, I did some ironing and a little housework. That's it. But I have HIGH hopes for this next week! I'm on the down slope of getting some good organizing done and hoping to get my eBay stuff listed in the next couple of weeks!

Well, I'm tired, so going to call it a night. So, ......'Night.

August 7, 2008 - Thursday

Temperatures: Hi - 96° Lo - 67° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches) trace - thunderstorms nearby;
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale):205.

Notice the huge amount of seismic activity today! Only 18 quakes around the world, all the rest of the 205 quakes were in or near the ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA. Most were 2.5 to 4.6 with a handful up to 5.8 on the Richter Scale. They appeared to happen every few minutes throughout the day. That is scarey.

Yes, I have added in the Daily Earthquake totals so you can get a feel for some of the world's happenings. I'm happy to provide this service to y'all. I went back through August 1st and will keep these numbers for you, just because I can. Oh, by the way, I didn't go back and add them in for the month of July, but the grand total of earthquakes worldwide, greater than 2.5 on the Richter scale for the whole month was 542. Yep, pretty scarey, huh?

I actually accomplished a little more today. Moved more stacks of stuff that need to be sorted and tossed. I have all the books I want to sell on eBay downstairs (well, the hardbacks). I still have a few paperbacks that I didn't trade in at the used bookstores, because I know these are "hard-to-find" authors, and they are selling on eBay for a little bit more. So I'll list them there instead. But the hardbacks are downstairs. Well, the ones I've gone through anyway. There may honestly still be some more but I have a huge tub full for now, so I'll see how it goes with these first before hauling anymore downstairs. I made myself tired just typing it into this journal....

One thunderstorm has skirted just to the south of us, quite close as I could hear the thunder getting louder after each flash. But we barely got enough rain to lay the dust. So I don't consider it as having gotten the storm at our house. And I'm calling it a "trace" of rain for now. We'll see if I have to upgrade that later as there are storms all around us.

August 6, 2008 - Wednesday

Temperatures: Hi - 97° Lo - 70° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches);
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale): 38

Well, I'm in the section of the Bible that is fast reading. At least it feels like you are making speedy progress. Because I read several chapters a night, already this month I've covered Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah and will finish Micah tonight. Most of these books have only one or less than six chapters and short ones at that. So my accomplishments for August at the end of the month will look very impressive to someone not familiar with these Books of the Bible. But I'm reading the same amount each night that I have been reading since the beginning of January.

Edouard is downgraded now, if you haven't seen the news lately, to a tropical depression, bringing much needed rain to central Texas. And currently, as of this morning, there is nothing of interest going on in the Atlantic for now! But we aren't to the peak of hurricane season yet, so we'll keep a watchful eye upon the sky, actually the NOAA reports! I'll report as soon as I see something of interest.

Today is the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. I had the privilege of visiting the Trinity site in New Mexico last October where they tested the first atomic bomb. It's an impressive thing and walking on that ground, well, words can't describe the feelings and thoughts you have when you hear the history of it all. I highly recommend you read the book "The Day the Sun Rose Twice" can't remember the author's name off the top of my head. But extremely interesting true story of how it all came about and how effective it was, how far away it was seen etc.

Housework and a little contesting and a little going through magazines to toss are the finishing touches on my day. Nothing out of the ordinary, just another day in the life of a homemaker. I don't care if you think it's boring. I don't, so that's all that matters!

Oh, yes, I'll tell you one more story. We seem to have a couple stray cats hanging around our house. Probably dropped in the woods or something. One is a calico and the other is black with white feet. The calico is also a black calico and she too has white feet. Anyway, the first time I saw them they were up on my bird feeders eating seed they were so hungry. I felt sorry for them so gave them some food. Well, they come to visit me everyday and are very sweet cats. I think they were used to being inside of someone's house because they are so tame and just crave love. Anyway, once again I have strayed from my story.... Well, Bandit, the racoon comes every evening to visit us also, looking for some peanuts or whatever I happen to have for her. So last night when Bandit appeared, Boots, the black cat was still eating some food on the deck. Bandit came over and puffed all up but then turned her back to Boots and started backing up until she had pushed the cat away with her rear-end. It was so funny to watch. The calico was laying in my chair just watching the whole scenario. So Boots went over and sat on the little table next to my chair until Bandit (the racoon) had finished up and left.

Never dull back in the woods. Like the deer in the backyard yesterday also. It was a young buck and he was just standing there stomping first his right front leg and then his left front leg and looking into the woods. I wondered what he was doing and Jim said it's a male territorial thing that they do. Like I said, always something going on.

Bright sunny day today, hot but low humidity so didn't feel as bad. Course I didn't go outside so what do I know? I only record the temps for now. But never fear, I'll re-enter the outside world later this fall when I can breathe good again, when the temperatures fall below 50°, or maybe 45°. For now, I don't want to "push" it....

Did I tell you that I hate hot weather?????

And have you seen the Paris Hilton ad, where she says stuff about the wrinkled old white haired guy and the other one who claims he's going to change things? It's really good. She's no dummy and I think it's a really cool video. Good for Paris. I'll vote for her.

August 5, 2008 - Tuesday

Temperatures: Hi - 89° Lo - 69° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches);
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale): 32

One earthquake today was a 6.0 in SICHUAN-GANSU BORDER REGION, CHINA.

We were supposed to get some big thunderstorms today but as the front moved close, clouds broke out and the storms didn't have the trigger to fire. So what we got was a little cooler temperature with complete cloud cover after about noon today.

I had to run into town for a prescription so checked out a couple of my favorite "haunts" while there. There were some sales around and I wanted to check them out. I had coupons for some free sodas, but couldn't find the kind that I like, so will use them another time, hopefully before they expire!

So with my town trip behind me, I can concentrate the rest of the week on housework and some of the rearranging and sorting of stuff that I've been working on forever.

I know I keep mentioning it, but honestly, I'm excited about getting things organized after all these years. I'm nowhere near done, like I've said before, but it's just a good feeling to actually be working on it! I'm estimating that I'll have most of it done before Christmas. I hoping I'll have most of it done before October. I wish I could have it done this month!!!! Well, miracles do happen, right?

August 4, 2008 - Monday

Temperatures: Hi - 94° Lo - 64° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches);
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale): 23

In the next few weeks of August, I have so much that I want to accomplish. I really want to get the house cleaned up and declutterd. I want to get my "store" set-up on eBay. I want to paint (as in art). I want to paint (as in rooms). I want to scrapbook. I want to do some genealogy research. I've got scanning to do, lots of it. I've got ripping to do, lots of it. I've got recordings to do, lots of them. So much to accomplish. So much that I've fallen behind in. Guess when I had gone off some of my meds, it really did slow me down for awhile. Now that I'm starting to feel better, I just can't get enough done! Ain't that just the greatest???

No sarcasm implied. I'm just happy to be feeling a little better so that I can get some things done. Don't get me wrong. I'm not able to do hard housework or even hobbies for several hours straight. But if I can spend a couple hours in the morning and then a couple more in the afternoon, hey. That's fantastic!!!

Oh, my friend, Glenda emailed me some photos from the June 14th program that we did in Chestertown. So I added a couple photos of me and Dad on the Music Photos Page. Check it out if you get a chance. And yes, I had my hair almost platinum blonde at that time. I've currently gone back to a light brown or dark blonde color for now.

We have Edouard, currently a tropical storm in the Gulf. He's moving slow, only 8 mph currently due west and is expected to affect the coast of Texas sometime tomorrow. We'll be watching to see what happens, as Seth is currently in Texas for a few days, in the projected pathway. Let's hope Mr. Tropical Storm Edouard doesn't decide to intensify!

One of the earthquakes today was a 6.3 in the Bandea Sea.

August 3, 2008 - Sunday

Temperatures: Hi - 93° Lo - 66° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches);
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale): 34

Happy Anniversary Lex & Eunice !!!!

Hope you-all are having a great one!!!

We thought about going to the hamfest today, but they said the temps will still be in the mid-90's tomorrow. Originally, they predicted the storms would pass through and cool things down to a balmy mid-80's. But since they are talking mid to upper 90's, I don't think so. We would've enjoyed going to just look around but I just can't take that kind of heat. Spoiled, I suppose.

The good news is that the humidity is definitely not as high as it has been, so though the sun is hot, the humidity is under the 60% levels, so the temps are much more tolerable. I don't have a good "gauge" for measuring humidity so I'm thinking it could've even been below the 50% mark. The sky is so-o-o-o blue and the puffy cotton ball type clouds litter the sky. You really couldn't paint a picture and have it look that good!

In honor of "August" we decided to make some homemade ice cream today also. I have a smaller ice cream machine now that I can just fix a couple quarts at a time. So, even though we made some for the July 4th weekend (and it's LONG gone!) we made some more and yes, it's chocolate. Of Course!

So, other than that, today has been a typical Sunday in that I did a little housework in the morning and goofed off the rest of the afternoon!!!

August 2, 2008 - Sabbath

Temperatures: Hi - 93° Lo - 69° Rainfall Amounts: 0.5"(inches);
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale): 20

Well, guess what? (again)....Actually July was the third anniversary of my Daily Journals. Seems I can't count or something.... Anyway, it is also the 3rd anniversary for August also, so there.

Started the morning out with a thunderstorm. We got ½" of rain. Now, we're under another "severe storm" until 8 pm tonight. There are some storms popping up around the Commonwealth but nothing close to us currently. That could change as the afternoon bears onward.

We had a nice visit from Jimmy & Jessica last night! It was good to see both of them. They were passing through the area and decided to stop by for a visit. Enjoyed that, you all!

Storms all around us again this evening but nothing directly on us. Noticed that the locust killer bees are about now. Sometimes in August we see them at night when the outside light is on, buzzing around, I guess they are looking for spiders. Don't worry though. Even though they sting, they are only a number 2 on the scale of of painful stings, 5 being the most painful and 1 the least painful. Tell you what, though, I wouldn't want to be stung by one of them!!!

They normally aren't about at night, only in the bright sunlight like normal bees. But if they have a nest nearby and they see the outside lights come on, well, that's just an attraction for "dinner", a nice big juicy spider. I used to hate having the locust killers around, but they are in a battle with one of my own enemies, spiders, so the locust killers are begrudgingly welcome to do their best. As long as they leave me alone!

It is amazing what kinds of bugs get on the windows and doors during the night when the outside lights come on. Some of the biggest bugs I have ever seen! And that, in turn attracts huge spiders and the above locust killers. Not my bag of tea. Didn't I tell you that winter and cold weather is a better thing? Didn't I? Huh? You betcha.

Tonight, while we were watching TV, the racoon was on the deck eating the last of the cat food and a huge bug hit the door and landed right in front of the racoon. He grabbed it and the bug started making the loudest noise I ever heard from an insect. Sounded like a small airplane had landed in the backyard! Anyway, the racoon released him and the insect flew to the other side of the deck and laid there quietly for a few minutes. Then it flew away with a lesser noise. The racoon lifted his head to look at it when it flew by but he didn't try to grab it again. Weird. Glad I was INSIDE....

August 1, 2008 - Friday

Temperatures: Hi - 97° Lo - 69° Rainfall Amounts: 0.0"(inches);
Daily Worldwide Earthquakes (greater than 2.5 on the Richter Scale): 28

Another new month! I always considered July and August as the two hottest months of the year. So we're at the 50% mark of the summer. Hump day? Anyway, we're starting the downward trail towards cooler weather. Yeah, yeah, I know. It's August. Ain't no cooler weather gonna show it's face this month and most likely not next month either, as Septembers in Virginia are still pretty warm. But oh, October, how I long for your longer nights of dryer, cooler air.....

As usual, you know the routine. If you missed the last day of July's journal with all my accomplishments for the month, just check out the old Archives link at the top of this page. I sure wouldn't want you to miss out on words of wisdom I might accidentally write!

I heard that snort. Cool it.

Hey, guess what? Today is the 3rd Anniversary of my August Daily Journals! Wow. I actually have managed to continue spouting off much ado about nothing. Whoda thunk it? And the most amazing thing? You're still reading it!!!!

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