Sleeping with Ira Glass

We will get a visit soon from this one

I am a Google Earth junkie. This is our house that we are trying to sell in September of last year. They have a program that will show your house over the years

From a different angle. I knew it must be early September as the black eyed Susans are still in bloom. Note garage covered with wild grape. I've been hacking them away. Please someone, Buy Me!!!

Our new house taken 3 years ago. The biggest tree is gone, a Bradord pear though now the house is more visible. Too bad as they are so pretty in spring. They must have installed the sprinkler system after this photo as grass is much greener now than anyone else's

Insomnia is my constant frenemy. What I am finding is that I will sleep to the sounds of movies and TV shows thus listening to podcasts, This American Life, in particular, will lull me to sleep. I thought I could remain in the same bed as Steve as I do have headphones and he is fairly deaf but the light of the old phone keeps him up so off to another room. The podcasts are interesting and informative though sometimes depressing: corrupt police forces, evil Guatemalan governments and the ilk. I will listen usually to a full one and fall asleep sometimes in the middle of the second. Thus there are plenty of episodes I haven't heard completely. Ira Glass is the creator and announcer. I have no idea what he looks like and no, I haven't slept with him literally: just his voice. His voice isn't particularly soothing, probably grating would best describe it, but yay for him for creating this show. Josh listens to this during his long commutes and also to Radio Lab, which I guess I should get too as I am running out of episodes (20 years worth).

So I fall asleep with earphones still in my ear. I keep the volume very low to preserve my ears. Yesterday at 5:15 am, I am awakened with a siren blasting at full sound!!!!!@#$#&!!!!!directly into my ears.

Turns out it was an Amber alert. Someone stole a kid somewhere in Michigan and everyone is to find a certain car. I wasn't the only one awakened by this but I bet everyone else didn't have on headphones. Meanwhile I had left the iPhone that I use for everything else back with Steve. He will be so mad at me. But his phone woke him up so he didn't hear my phone.

The Amber alert only has gone off once before. We were travelling across an isolated area of Oregon (what a huge state; I had grossly underestimated the time it would take to cross a small corner of it) and the siren went off with a news flash on how somebody in San Diego had kidnapped his girlfriend's teenage daughter. WTF! NW Oregon is quite away from San Diego. Later he and the girl were found in a wilderness in Montana so he crossed Oregon at some point. The mom was dead. He had only wanted the girl in the first place. Not sure what happened to the current Michigan girl.

After a run in the cold, I put away all the junk I rescued the day before from the old house. The junk removal people were very helpful back at the Money Pit and the painter is becoming more efficient. Small objects will be recycled or thrown away but they removed the big stuff. The other day I tried to give this clock below to the charity folks. It was too disgusting for them but I have since cleaned it up and will find a home for it here.

 Steve is off buying more Italian goodies. Some will be for the Easter Brunch I am having for our big family. I will take a day off of running and instead entertain Josh and Allie and later, start a House of Cards, season 3 binge watch.