The Investigators, Inc. The Killer Mystery. Chapter 11. Concluding.

Posted on June 13, 2026 by

126 Comments

Man in leather jacket reading notes with ghostly woman beside him in office

Steffie had just finished her little speech and everyone throughout the chateau had gone silent while she spoke. Cristy had allowed everyone in the chateau to hear Steffie, all but Jennifer and I. We were in my office and Cristy turned off the speaker into the office so we couldn’t hear what was going on. At first Friskie had reprimanded Steffie for saying her aunties were bad, but now she was silent too. Sky had heard Jennifer and I talking before Steffie began her speech and she “sneaked” some donuts from the other girls to bring to me as a present while she apologized to me.

Sky has the ability to hear me talking no matter where I am, even if I’m half way around the world. She just doesn’t normally use that ability unless necessary. However, at times she likes to listen in, the sneak. I think Jennifer is angry just like Steffie and she says that there will be some major changes within the Investigators from now on. Sky agreed that changes need to be made. “We need to get those changes done quickly,” said Sky, “I know you can do it Steve.” “That was a quick move from ‘we’ to ‘you’,” I said sighing. “Well, you are the leader,” she said smiling.

“Sometimes I’m not so sure about that,” I replied. “I will be making the changes myself if Steve doesn’t get things moving,” said Jennifer. “Oooh, sounds interesting,” said Sky excitedly. The Black Wolves and Wildcats made it back home safely and I announced to everyone that tomorrow was going to be a free day to just relax, then we would have a team picnic two days later since that is the date that Muffin and I launched the Investigators, Inc. Everyone was totally excited about that and much of the work was already done by the home team during this last case.

That case is officially closed since there really was nothing else we could do anyway. We did close down what we could of that international gang of sex traffickers and whatever else they were. With help from Kat, Samantha was able to get Harley up and walking around again so that she will be able to participate in our anniversary picnic. Yes, we did do a little misleading of our enemies in order to bring them out in the open so that we could stop them. We just never imagined how big that group was!

I’m so glad that Harley survived, I would have felt totally responsible for her death because we never checked out her family before sending her back home. That is something we are going to do from now on though, just in case. We had to make things look good just in case we were being watched. We almost lost John though and although Samantha says he will recover, she isn’t sure if he will recover fully so he can go on cases. I think that will be harder on John than it is on me having to stay home. However, there are other ways he could still work for us, such as a driver, something that we always need.

The day between our free day and our picnic we will be having a team leaders meeting which will also include all ghosts, Samantha, Galyna, Celestine, Victoria and Sienna. I wanted our doctor and 3 counselors to be in attendance to give their opinion on some things. Sienna also has a wealth of knowledge that she can share with us. Storm, Jewel and Snow will also attend this meeting. I even called Mandar to join us if he has the time as I’m sure he could also have much wisdom to share with us.

He wasn’t quite sure if he could make it until I mentioned our anniversary picnic that would be on the following day. He then said there was indeed an opening on his calendar so he would be happy to join us. Nothing like food to get Mandar’s attention! Well, the day of our meeting has now arrived after a very relaxing day yesterday and our meeting is now underway. I told everyone that we need better communication from now on, especially keeping me informed as to what is happening on a case. So they will give me a daily update, more often if there is a problem of any kind.

Team leaders will also pick a junior leader who can take their place in an emergency. They will each give me their pick but I will have the final say. Junior leaders can’t be any of the ghosts, however, since the ghosts get moved around a lot on cases even though normally assigned to a specific team. We will also have a team leaders meeting before all cases so everyone knows what is going on first hand. There will be two ghosts at home at all times, which is something we do now, but we will try to change which of them stays home each time so that all get a chance to go on cases too.

I will not be confined to my office, or even inside, as long as both ghosts are with me at all times while outside. And one of them will have to hold my hand at all times while outdoors in order to ensure my safety. Jennifer will stay home most of the time with me as one of the ghosts, unless she specifically needs to be on a case. Mandar is going to provide extra security for our picnic so that all of our team can participate.

The last time we had such a large team picnic we were attacked by Toledo and Kat was killed. Mandar wants to make sure there is no such repeat, especially since he will be here too. Well, I wonder what kind of case we will have come our way next? I have come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as a simple case for us, but perhaps something that isn’t quite so complex would be nice. We shall see.

The End. A new case will be on the way shortly. Š2026 Steve McLeod.

Category: Adventure, Fiction, Mystery, Story, Strange Happenings, UncategorizedTags: , , , , , , ,

126 Comments on “The Investigators, Inc. The Killer Mystery. Chapter 11. Concluding.”

  1. Steffie is quite the leader! “A little child will lead them.” Friskie reprimands Steffie and goes silent, absorbing the message. Sky brings you donuts and apologizes. Jennifer is angry. They all begin to embrace change and Jennifer puts the leadership squarely in your hands. Everyone sees the need for change. It begins at the top, with leader Steve and goes downward. They all love you but were so absorbed in the adventure that they forgot to communicate. Change begins with one step at a time.

    The picnic and celebration of the start of the Investigators is a wonderful idea. Have some fun and then put the changes into practice. The organization has changed much over the years and you have a large group of people who are in the process of learning how to follow the leader. Steve is also going through many changes. Hope nothing like Toledo’s attack happens at the picnic. It is a time to not despise small beginnings. The past does not dictate what is done today! Go Steve!

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    • Yep, Steffie silenced the crowd quickly with simple wisdom! Yes, we sometimes get too involved in our cases and don’t think, but that can be a real problem and dangerous. I think it really bothered Sky to find out she was guilty too. Yes, Jennifer made sure that the leadership was mine and not hers. Change will happen and we will be better for it even though changes might take a little longer for some things than for others.

      Yes, we need some fun with a picnic and anniversary celebration for the Investigators, Inc. It should be a good day for all of us. I don’t think an attack like that will be easy this time since we will have more security and everyone will have their weapons with them this time, unlike last time, We will be moving forward from now on!🤔👩đŸ˜ŧđŸ‘ģđŸ•ĩī¸â€â™‚ī¸

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    • Nice you could get out flying again!
      Yep, this one works okay. This is now the hottest weather we have had since July 1975! It hit an official 110 degrees today, a new record for us! It was 105 degrees in my apartment, except for my bedroom! Gets very hard to breathe at times though. The humidity is high too so it’s very muggy which makes it worse. I have a headache again, my face feels very hot and I just keep drinking water non stop!🌞đŸĨĩ

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  3. That’s dangerous heat levels! With that kinda heat you should be in the bedroom! Take a cool shower đŸšŋ put some ice in you glass with the water.

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    • I do put ice in the water and use an insulated cup so it stays nice and cold. I can’t stay in the bedroom all the time though, but I did spend much of the afternoon in there relaxing.

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    • Yes, but I think it would have been wiser to stay home, it was hot in there too, the ac wasn’t working, the car was hot, the driver didn’t want to use the ac, it was like driving in an oven. I took a cool shower earlier and even using cold water only it was still warm! I’m going to shower again before bed though, might help a bit.

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  5. Yes, but getting out is good for your mental well being.
    What are your plans for tomorrow? A trip to a nice air conditioned super market or Walmart or Target etc, etc. You get the idea…😉 It’s great way to stay cool 😎

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    • Yep, I do plan on going shopping for sure, it will keep me cool for a while anyway. Yes, it is good to get out, but it can also be tiring in this heat.
      Well, I must get into the shower, then off to the cool bedroom before I melt completely. Have a good night Dusty and I will talk again tomorrow! đŸĨĩ😴🌛

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    • Yep, it does seem a bit odd alrighty. We hit a balmy 110 degrees today. And sunny with a south wind. I’m hot, very hot, red hot (and I mean red), super tired, weak, headache, can’t concentrate, can’t do anything. Otherwise I’m okay.

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  9. That’s good. You don’t seem to be your usual chipper self since the heat got turned up, which is quite understandable. It’s been warm and very humid here. It’s been raining on and off the past couple of days and the humidity levels make difficult to be outside and do much of anything, and when I do I get exhausted very quickly. I moved a dresser and two nightstands today and I thought I would drop over. My chest started to hurt and my energy was gone.
    I think I need to take several days off and just plain rest.

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    • Yep, that would be a good idea. You have been very busy with your move. Humidity is a killer, that has made it hard here too and our humidity isn’t bad like yours but it did kick the temp up to feel like 118 at times. Health is more important so it’s best to take it easy for a while, completely relax!

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    • Yep, I really haven’t felt normal lately, this heat is just knocking me down terribly. We’re not used to it, generally a hot day here is 80 degrees! I can barely think or concentrate on anything lately.

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  10. Yeah, that’s the hard part for me to. I get irritated quite easily when I get that tired and any little ache or pain gets magnified. The doctors have me on a statin drug and it just makes me ache something awful, I getting to the point where I’m thinking about stopping it altogether. It just doesn’t seem worth the pain. The last time they checked my arteries around my heart they didn’t find any concerning levels of plaque, and maybe if I can add a little bit of exercise I can control the bad cholesterol that way.

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    • Sometimes the side effects of these drugs can be bad and hard to deal with. I wouldn’t stop the drug though until you talk with your doctor, sometimes these things need to be stopped slowly or other side effects can show up. Exercise is definitely a good way of doing it but don’t you need to follow a diet of some kind too?

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  11. Yeah, I am. I eat almost exclusively chicken and fish as my meat protein eggs for breakfast salad for lunch and fish or chicken or turkey burgers if I eat in the late afternoon. So… I don’t know where else I can cut my bad. cholesterol

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    • Hey, that’s good, nice to see you’re sticking to your diet. I don’t know what else you could do either. Hey, the temp in here has dropped almost 2 degrees!

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    • Yeah, somewhere around there, maybe 88.
      Well, I must get to bed, my headache is so bad again. Have a good night Dusty and I will talk tomorrow!😊😴🌛

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    • Kind of, sort of, I think so. Actually, forget that last one, I didn’t think today, takes too much energy and I had none to take. I was dizzy all day, no energy, didn’t feel like eating, though I did eat a bit, sat, sat some more, did nothing much except sort of this morning I did but had to stop. Wasn’t so hot outside today, only 88, should be 82 tomorrow. It will take a couple of days to cool off my apartment though, but it is 2 degrees cooler in here today.

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    • All except the ones that fell on the floor yesterday and the ones that were attacked by the spider mites. The others survived without problems. Do you have any garden around your new place? Flowers? Plants? Trees? Shrubs? Desert?

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  16. Two trees, but I can’t recall the names of either one. Oh, yeah the ones a cedar but the other no idea. No garden space or flower beds, a few potted plant to help keep the biting bugs away, (but I don’t think they work well) I’m going for low maintenance property.😅

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    • Smartly good thinking! Low maintenance is great, that’s why I mentioned desert, get rid of grass, haul in sand! Yeah, plants don’t keep bugs away very well, sand works better. 😂

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    • Ooohh, you have lawn service! That’s the way to go! No sweating on those hot days mowing the lawn, no tripping in gopher holes, no getting grass in the kiddy pool and other such things. I think maybe I’m going bonkers or something, my sentences are almost making sense.🙄

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    • I’d run away fast, very fast and hope no one sees me!
      Oh me oh my, tis time to lie, on me bed, me brainless head, so I can sleep and dream a heap!đŸ¤Ŗ
      Hopefully I will sleep better tonight, though it’s still too hot in here. Have a good night Dusty, i shall return tomorrow with something exciting to say! 😃😴🌛

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  21. I did 2!😛 Well I installed a sliding cabinet rack on the island shelf which was no small accomplishment I might add, then I rested the rest of day!!đŸĨĩ I just can’t find my energy right now. I’m not really sure why. Maybe it’s because I ache something terrible and it takes so much energy to force my self to do it.

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    • Aha! You did work instead of relaxing! Yep, that’ll do it for sure, pain means we need to use much more energy to do things, even normal things. It was much cooler today, only 75 degrees, but the humidity was very high all day, so I was still sweating. In here the temperature wasn’t much different, still 90, but it’s going to be cooler tonight so that will help.

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  22. That’s good to hear finally it’s cooling off. A good night’s sleep will feel good after the past few days huh?
    Yes, it was work, but mostly just an awkward place to get into to measure drill and screw it into place. But, it did work really well when I finished. Now tomorrow I start laying out shop area and start to build an assembly bench/table to work on my planes. I have to layout where my drum sander, bandsaw, scroll saw, drill press and other items will work best. Then it will be time to start building it all.

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    • Hey, good thinking! Always best to do the layout first so everything fits properly and you have a good place to work. Glad that you will have a bigger area as well, that makes things easier.
      Yep, I should sleep much better tonight and the rest of the week should stay around 80 for a high and down to 68 at night, so that will give a nice break. We might even get some rain which we desperately need. That heat really dried things out and we now have 128 forest fires burning here in the northwest.

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  23. The rain most certainly help! It’s rather surprising how quickly things can dry out with a few days of heat. When ut cools off at night are you able to open a window or two to let in the nice cool night air?

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    • Yep, I have two windows I can open. There are 3 windows, but the other one is being used for the ac. Actually it’s only showers really, but it might help if it hits the fires. Fires have burned through 3 small towns so far and several others have been evacuated.

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  24. I wondered when they start this year. MN had some in the BWWCA this May but they were able to get ahead of them pretty quickly and put them out. I feel sorry for those who live in those towns though, it’s never easy to just pull up and leave not knowing if there’ll be anything to come back to.

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    • Yeah, being evacuated is no fun, you can’t take much with you and if the town burns, then what do you do? Only 4 of the fires are under control, 10 are being held, they are not even fighting half of them since they are not close to any people and we just don’t have the resources to fight that many fires so they concentrate on fires that are close to communities or parks.
      Well, time for bed again, hopefully it will be a good night for sleeping. Have a good night Dusty, I will talk again tomorrow!😃😴🌛

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  26. I did get the plan laid out, and purchased the lumber for my build table. Bruce is coming over tomorrow to help me build it. Oh, and I have the window air conditioner being delivered tomorrow also.

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    • Hey, good for you! That’s how you get things done. And here I thought you had air conditioning already. That’ll teach me for thinking! slap, slap. It was only 75 again today, lots of smoke hanging over us now. There are 156 fires burning now, the largest is more than 800,000 acres in size, quite a few around 80 to 120,000 acres. Only a dozen fires are under control.

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  27. The air conditioner is for the shop! I already have it in the house.
    You’re gonna need your quilts for sleeping now! Your weather needs to make up it’s mind.
    We’re you able to sleep well last night?

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    • Aha! I was right! Ha! It’s still too hot inside for that, it will take a couple more days to cool down this apartment. I slept okay but it took me a long time to get to sleep. I just lay there for 2 hours, I was tired enough but my brain wouldn’t stop thinking!

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  28. Must be the moon phase!🤔🙄 I had trouble getting to sleep myself. I had to take my pain med and drink a beer đŸē then after an hour it finally calmed down enough so I could get to sleep. I don’t like those kind of nights.

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    • Oh, is there a moon out these nights? It’s cloudy here today so I can’t tell if the moon is shining tonight or not. Same thing with last night. I missed taking a picture of the strawberry moon in July, so sad. Yeah, I don’t like when it takes ages and hours to get to sleep, then i was up at 5 this morning. Sigh. 🙄đŸ˜Ŧ

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  29. I think its still up there…🤔
    I don’t know anymore, the way things are going on this planet it probably left and went to Mars!😲🤭😂

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    • How could it leave our planet and go to Mars when it isn’t on this planet, it’s it’s own planet, kind of, though it’s not a planet because it’s a moon and moon’s can’t be planets even though some moons are big enough to be planets but they still can’t be planets because they’re moons and moons are not allowed to be planets even if they’re not a loud moon they are still not allowed to be planets so they stay as moons. Did ya notice how I used a loud and allowed?đŸ¤ŖđŸ¤ŖđŸ¤Ŗ🌛

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  30. You were very allowed to use loud and a loud anyway you see fit! As for the moon… well it is a moon even though it is smaller than other moons which are actually larger than some planets yet are still a moon except for earth, is called a planet but is it really? Perhaps it’s just a moon of the sun? 🌞 🤔🤔😲đŸ˜ŗ
    Anyway you want to look at that, it’s still nighttime and nighttime is my time to go to bed time. So I will say good night sleep tight don’t let yer head hit the bed stead on your way bed. (I know it’s bad…đŸĢ¤)
    But Goodnight 😴 💤 🛏

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  32. Oh, I were pretty sore Friday Night, and didn’t get to sleep until around two in the morning and I was up early between 6:30 and 7 so I went to bed early last night. I’m feeling better today I slept much better.
    Anyway, what did I miss with you?

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  34. That’s good to hear. I guess the east coast got a big dose of Canadian smoke this past week. 😂
    It also looks like we might get some rain down this way by the end of the week.

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    • Yep, eastern Canada did too, including southern Ontario. This is the worst year in our province’s history for fires. And it’s bad right across the country. Usually provinces help each other out but this year they can’t. We might get some thunderstorms tonight but they are not supposed to give us much rain. That’s bad, it could start more fires. Two communities here in the northwest have been burned to the ground so far, 10 more have been evacuated and 6 others are on evacuation alert.đŸ˜ŦđŸ”Ĩ

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  35. I hope it rains up there soon. I’m headed back to MN for my Granddaughters graduation party next Saturday and I don’t want to be breathing in that stinky smoke. Also I’m hoping this rain down here doesn’t develop into a hurricane. đŸ˜ŗ

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    • Well, it depends on the direction of the wind, plus the jet stream. South or west wind is what you want. What you need is big fans along the border to blow the smoke back to us.đŸ”Ĩ🙄
      Well, time for bed already, early morning in the morning. Have a good night Dusty, will talk again tomorrow!😃😴🌛

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    • Kinda warm still, but we did get a couple of showers today. The fires are getting some showers too, but not enough to really help much, they need some heavy, or at least steady rain. Shopping went well, kinda.

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    • No falling, got some things on sale which was nice, always good to save a dollar or two here and there. Nope, no plants this time. I was able to hold myself back from buying any.😃đŸĒ´

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    • Yep, that’s me, I can use that self-restraint stuff whenever I want, yessiree! Besides, they didn’t have any plants today. 🙄đŸĒ´đŸ˜‚đŸ™ƒ

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    • Yep, I can walk past plants even when they are not there! I have nothing planned for the morning and in the afternoon I thought maybe I would take a break and do nothing for a change and in the evening I will just relax and check out my blog for a while.

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  40. Well… you really should take a break from such a hectic schedule…🤭 it can really wear you out!
    I think I’ll go fly in the morning, and if it all goes well I might just do it again on Wednesday morning to! Though I wont know that until I’m done with tomorrow and if it doesn’t go well I will most likely spend tomorrow afternoon fixing planes and just resting on Wednesday from kicking myself for not having a good Tuesday of flying!đŸĨĩ whew! I’m worn out just thinking about I t.

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    • Wow, you made me tired reading about all that activity! You young guys are so full of energy, just wait till you’re my age!
      Speaking of tired, us old guys need to sleep again unfortunately! Oh well, have a good night Dusty, have flying away tomorrow,🛩ī¸ please don’t crash😱 and I will talk again later! 😃😴🌛

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  42. Great! No crashes!đŸ¤Ē The wind was a little tricky though! I don’t typically fly in that much wind, but it was gusty at times and that’s the tricky stuff. Better winds tomorrow is forecast so, should be better.
    How about you? How went the down time at home?

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    • Well, this morning I broke down and watered my plants outside on the balcony, they were starting to wilt, well, one pot of plants was anyway. My PSW was just here and did she ever give me a good massage. This PSW is one of the two best. She’s good. Anyway, I digress. So, continuing with this morning, after watering my plants I sat down to think about how to rearrange some of my plants inside so some will get more light. That took a while, plus a nap, to figure it out. Then I had lunch. But after lunch came the big fun time! 😃đŸ˜ŦđŸ¤Ŗ🙄😱đŸĒ´

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    • What? Resting on such a beautiful fall day? It was cold enough to see my breath out there today, almost. Anyway, this afternoon I put my thoughts into action and rearranged my plants, some of them anyway. And then…

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    • Ha and Ha! My notifications are not notifying me of new notifications, so I’m slow answering. Sigh. I put all my insulators back on their display shelves that I moved before and then washed the insulators but never got them moved back onto the shelves but now it is done finally. Then I made plans for tomorrow, then I decided to make a list of things that need to be done so I can get things done, and I wrote a post in there somewhere too, then I relaxed before making supper. Okay, not very exciting but it’s better than most days.🙄🙃

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  45. 😂 That sounds like a very full afternoon. I’m glad you decided to get your insulators back on display. Have you had them in a box since the move?

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  46. Don’t worry about it. It happens to me also. Sometimes I get a chime when they come in, but most times I just keep refreshing my notification until I see one. Kind of a nuisance, but it works.

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    • Yeah, I have been refreshing, only way to do it, but I keep forgetting to do it, sigh. It worked this time though. The clouds are breaking up, it’s supposed to be sunny tonight and cloudy all day tomorrow. Sigh. It might be warmer though.

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  47. It’s gonna be sunny tonight? How strange!🤔 I’ll need to watch the northern sky for that. I wonder if I can see it all the way down here?😂😉
    So it’s going g to be a clear night? Might get chilly again tonight.

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    • Right, guess I’m tired and didn’t see what I wasn’t typing when I typed it. My eyes are wonky from being open all day except during my nap this morning before lunch when I had a nap, though I wasn’t trying to nap, it just happened. Maybe I should try that at night when I can’t sleep, try not to sleep and maybe I will sleep. That’s it!!! I’ll try it tonight.
      Speaking of sleeping tonight, Good night Dusty, time for bed, have fun flying and don’t hit your head! Talk again tomorrow! 😃😴🌛🌞

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  48. Nighty night sleep tight, I wont hit me head on the way to me bed, but instead I shall shower in less than an hour.
    😴 💤 🛏 🌟

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  49. It was good! Yes, windy! As for the coffee… not so much. I had tea! But it’s all good. The thermometer on my truck this afternoon read 108! Degrees! I think that’s the highest temp I’ve ever experienced.

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    • Hey, not bad! That’s what we had before, you’re catching up to us. My PSW was late which is why my slow response. It was a bit warmer today than yesterday, got all the way up to 75 and it’s real smoky today, like a thick fog out there.

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    • Can’t keep it out no matter how airtight a house is, that smoke finds a way in. But it doesn’t like to leave as easily as it comes in. There is rain in the forecast for the weekend, hopefully some of it will hit those fires too.

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