A terrible sleepless night last night because of bedsores on my  bottom — I’m stuck in the same position all night because of my necrotic hip.   Then a peaceful day’s sleep today in my reclining chair where both bottom and hip are much more comfortable.  Now it’s nearly time for bed again. Not much of a life. No knitting. I think Helen will be home from Strathardle tomorrow.

    Still, I was conscious long enough greatly to enjoy the Obamas’ endorsement of Harris. I saw it somehow as a package clip with Hillary’s nomination eight years ago — she went straight for the “glass ceiling” idea, even then. Whereas Harris ended on the word “fun”.

    The vice-presidential choice will be interesting. Shapiro of Pennsylvania turns out to be a devout, practising Jew. I fear that wouldn’t leave Harris enough room to manoeuvre on Israel, so I’ll have to switch my choice to the astronaut. 

   Wordle: five for me this morning, but many of us didn’t find it easy. My starters gave me two greens and a brown. I didn’t use any Jean-words today — all legitimate guesses. Line three made it three greens. Line four achieved nothing except to eliminate two more useful letters. There simply weren’t enough left to form any English word. I went off to read my newspaper and suddenly thought of another way of looking at it.

   Ketki and Rachel were fellow-fives. Alexander scraped home with six. Thomas and Mark had fours, which passes as a good score today.

   Roger scored six and Theo five on the far shore today.

    

 Another inert day. The weather is grey, dull, warm. I had probably better make an effort to get out, once Helen gets back who is the only one qualified to use our getting-out machine.

   No knitting, either. No excuse.

   I heard Biden’s speech. I was 3/4’s asleep — it was after midnight, Edinburgh time. It seemed to me pretty banal. Obama’s continued  silence continues to worry me. American politics will now, presumably, cease to absorb for a while.

   Archie came to see me, ostensibly not for lunch but in fact he ate more than I could. 

   Wordle: my starters gave me two browns and a green. I used a Jean-word in line three and now had two greens and a great.y-reduced range of possible places for the brown. I got it in four. The home team were evenly divided between threes and fours, and split along gender lines.

  In DC or thereabouts, Theo got four and Roger three. 

Here I am. It has been what passes around here for an exciting day. Clare came early this morning. Mungo came at lunchtime — and cooked lunch. But by then I was hit by a stone wall of weariness and couldn’t eat. I have somewhat recovered after a good nap.  Mungo and his brother Fergus had a good time in Strathardle but came back yesterday (easily done by train once you get to Pitlochry). Helen will be there until the weekend.

 No more American news. Still no sign from Obama. I like Harris’ youthfulness and energy and cheerfulness. I hope the World Service broadcasts Biden’s speech tonight.

   I read a New Yorker story about Charlotte Dujardin before the last Olympics, and as a result watched the dressage with great interest, and rejoiced in her success. This is sad news.

   With the help of this blog and Google, I have discovered that the knitting I hope to return to is not a Kate Davies pattern at all, but one called “Spalding” from the Brooklyn Tweed website. And I have found the pattern in my Ravelry library. Maybe tomorrow I’ll resume knitting it. 

Wordle: four for me today — not the worst in our little group. My starters gave me two greens and two browns. Should be easy. Wasn’t.i used a Jean-word in line three, and now had three greens and a brown, which obviously had to be in the place it was’nt in. I now have a winning streak of five!

   Three for Rachel and Mark. Four for Alexander and Ketki (and me). Five for Thomas. 

   In the USA it was three for Roger in DC and five for Theo from whatever distant clime.

   

 All well. The carers have been exchanged. I’m not sure I don’t feel better already. Wendy is better at food.

And I like the way Kamala has taken charge of things, although I remain slightly worried that Mr Obama hasn’t endorsed her. 

I know the relationship with Israel is very difficult for an American administration. My own feeling is that we can’t go on like this, killing Palestians in quantity in Gaza most days  So I was pleased to hear that Harris was going to be out of town while Netanyahu was addressing both houses of congress, and pleased to learn that the Israelis were cross about it.

   Wordle: another five for me. That’s three in a row. No Jean-words today. Two browns and a green from the starters. Three greens (but no more) in line three and four. I think there was another possibility so I was probably lucky to score five.

   Three for Ketki, Alexander, and Thomas. Four for Rachel and Mark. Six for Roger, four for Theo. The latter has now gone off to lend a hand at the Convention. His lips are sealed.

 A pleasant day, weather-wise. I have done nothing but doze. My present carer insists that I keep my feet up. Dozing is close to the only option.

   I still need to look out the KD pattern which I am knitting as Fergus’ Calcutta Cup sweater . I got as far as finding the one identified in the sidebar, which is indeed here although there’s no reference to the Cup in it yet. But the nearly-finished one, with the cup in place, which we looked out yesterday, is more along the lines of a fisherman’s rib. I need to finish off the current sleeve (top-down) and knit the other one. 

Franklin is interesting on the horrors of living in Paris as the Olympics approach. He had some hope that the mayor might drown in the Seine but I gather she got out all right.

   KD’s essay on Coroner’s Pigeon was very interesting. I may have to read the book again. Interesting photographs accompanying the essay, too.

   American politics continue to be fully absorbing. I sort of hoped everything would coalesce around Kamala Harris and she could hit the ground running. I am surprised this morning at how hostile to her much of thr British press is.

   Wordle: five for me again. All my guesses were valid. Starters gave me three browns. First guess turned one of them green. Second guess (line four) was much more productive — three greens and a new brown.

Mark and Alexander and Rachel and Ketki all did it in three. Thomas was a fellow-five. Three for Theo, four for Roger.   

   

 Another day. Helen has gone off to Strathardle for a week, with two of her boys. I am somewhat anxious. I am meant to have a change of carers on Tuesday. I am not fit to look after myself, even quite briefly.

   Otherwise, there is not much to report. C. came this morning with a nephew and his girlfriend. Helen briefly this afternoon. No news from either. Helen and I had a mildly interesting conversation about how families don’t sit down and eat together any more, at least among us.

   And there are no developments on the American presidential front. Clouds are gathering over the domestic political situation. 

   Wordle: I scraped through with a five. My starters gave me two browns, a vowel and a consonant. A Jean-word in line three was no help at all — except of course for more positions in which the browns couldn’t appear. Line four was a serious guess and yielded three greens.

   I was the last to post, this morning. Nor did anyone else have so much trouble. Three for Ketki and Thomas. Four for Rachel, Alexander and Mark. Brilliance in DC: two for Theo, three for Roger. 

   

 Another quiet day. The world seems to have calmed down after yesterday’s exceptional computer outage. Helen was here this morning and we got some tidying done.

   We found the knitting I was doing before I switched to the KD MKAL. I’m much further along than I remembered. Only a sleeve to finish. I need to find the pattern, but I think I can do that. And I think I’ll be able to knit it, once I do. The yarn and the needles are much bigger.

   Helen says she would like a simple, short pullover such as other people’s mothers knit. It would be wicked to buy more yarn.

   A welcome, quiet day on the political front. I continue to follow events in America with obsessive interest. My current carer, who does not read or listen to the news at all, thinks Biden is not strong enough to go on. How does she think she knows? Even odder, a woman who comes most days to read the bible with me — we’re about to finish First Samuel — occasionally tells me that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. 

   Wordle: my starters gave me three browns and a green. I found a word, not at all likely but qualified, and typed it in. It was right. Three for me.Rachel and Ketki had fours. Three for the rest of the home team.Three for Roger. Four for Theo.