Sunday, August 1, 2021

 Sunday, August 1, 2021

 

            I spent most of the day evaluating The Phonics Discovery System video. Because the audio is out of sync with the visual on the finished project, I decided to look more carefully at the ones posted in Zoom, which Tommy used to create the final version. That wasn't the brightest idea because I didn't use all the slides from that stream. I had mixed and matched. So after I had gone through all the slides from one Zoom video, I finally compared it to the ones I had selected and directed Tommy to use. So much fun. I found two slides where I said OMG! Totally inappropriate. I want this video to be available to homeschoolers. Many of those are profoundly religious people that would not be comfortable with me using God's name in vain. 

            I spent endless hours on the phone today. I spoke to just every one of my usual contacts. I spent a lot of time with Damon. I want to make some revisions to my will. Damon's idea of who should inherit is very different from mine. Mine involves obligations to family- just because they are. There is only one person I have removed from my will. I don't need people to pay attention to me, but she has said she wants nothing to do with me- and then she asked me to include her in a family communication when she has rejected both Mike and me. Huh? We decided I should create a 'slush fund,' which Damon, in conjunction with Karin, can dole for needy family members. Was I creating an unnecessary problem? 

            In mid-day, I heard an announcement on the radio that sections of the Big Island were under evacuation orders.   I didn't hear what the problem was at first. It was a brush fire in a section of the island north of Kona. There is always a good wind blowing up there, fanning the fire. They said 14,000 acres had burned at the time, but only two homes had been affected. Later that night, we heard the fire was sufficiently under control, so they called off the evacuation orders. However, 40,000 acres had burned. 

            I finished watching a video I started last night with Diane Keaton, Hampstead. It was okay. I don't have much tolerance for anything stressful these days. The acting was good. I tried to watch another movie, something like Good Acts. Oh, my word. The acting is just terrible.

            Tommy came over around 6 pm to help me access my Facebook account. For some reason, it switched over to a Spanish version. Tommy posted the video he compiled on Facebook so I could review it. I needed access. It took him a few minutes to figure it out. I had a list of things for him to work on. He said he was having dinner with his family and wouldn't have time. While he worked, I looked at the broken windchime at the other end of the table. I was going to have to replace the strings. As I examined it, I realized the strings were nailed into a piece of wood. I commented there was no way I could get the nails out. Tommy said he could. He took it home to work on. He also took my old computer with him to give to Brian, who would work on it to see if he could salvage it..  

            Incidentally, I asked Tommy if he was vaccinated. Surprise! No. Yikes. He puts something over his face, and we meet on the lanai. It's screened- in but otherwise open to the outside.