Dear Readers,

Another week done gone. It was a rather slow week for me, marked only by a regularly scheduled doctor appointment on Friday. Next week will be a little busier as I have two CT scans on Tuesday, a doctor appointment on Thursday, a doctor appointment on Friday, and on Saturday I am attending an Air Force commissioning ceremony at a nearby university. I’m sure my next entry will be more exciting than this one for those reasons.

I’m still waiting to find out when the release date for Molly’s Song will be along with when the pre-order date will be. I hope to learn something soon. Obviously, you’ll be the first to know as I think that calls for a special post unrelated to the pandemic year series. As soon as this semester ends, I’ll go back to working on the sequel (I’m already six chapters into it).

Last spring, when all of this was relatively new, I was beset with crazy dreams at night. Apparently, I was not the only one, as I came across an article back then about “pandemic dreams.” The dreams only lasted for a month or so, but here I am a year later having crazy dreams again. They aren’t bad dreams, nightmares, or anything of the sort, just bizarre, very vivid dreams. I have had some very bad allergies all week and have been taken allergy medication which could explain it, but that doesn’t explain last year when I wasn’t taking the medication. I can’t complain about the dreams though, because it means that I am actually sleeping rather than being plagued with insomnia like usual.

Last night I stayed up to watch the Canelo fight. It was held in Arlington at the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium. It was weird to see 73,000 people inside an arena. I hope that doesn’t turn into some kind of super spreader event. It was a good fight though. Canelo won by TKO in the 9^th Round when his opponent was unable to answer the bell for the next round. And speaking of sports, the Red Sox are doing pretty well though I fear that the bullpen issues will overshadow their ability to score runs as the season progresses, but it is still early.

Virtual final exams start this morning (Sunday) and will run through noon on Wednesday. Then, I have to enter grades and complete all of the end of the semester paperwork all while being bombarded with student emails wanting to turn in missing assignments after the semester is finished or wanting me to round their 76 average up to a 90. Typically, this is the only week of the semester that I am in a truly bad mood. When I am working on school stuff on the computer, I like to have something on TV for background noise and the occasional distraction. This week, I am planning on binge watching Big Sky which is based on a novel by CJ Box, which I have read. He is also the author of the wonderful Joe Pickett series. That said, the final episode won’t air until the following week, so I will have to finish it then. Assuming I get through all of those episodes, I then want to watch The Nevers on HBO.

Once my grades are submitted and the paperwork completed, I plan on sitting on the porch and enjoying a small glass of brandy and a fine maduro cigar.

Until next time, Dear Readers, take care of yourselves. And each other.

L.H.