Fern Spores

Our old contractor friend David came by at 7am with his electrician. By 8am it would appear that they had solved the problem with the battery. John and I are both so exhausted by the whole thing that we're almost afraid to believe that it's true, but if it is, I feel vindicted because I kept saying that I thought it would turn out to be some simple thing. The fix is to replace a defective GFI switch. One was not to be found in either David's or the electrician's truck so a temporary fix was made and David will be back with a replacement. Either way it does appear that it is now working properly and may receive the ultimate test this weekend when another extreme heat warning goes into effect. Power outages are predicted.

A real in-person visit to Kathy's studio later was a much needed treat. She rooted out all the long stored tension in my body and had me feeling like taking a nap by the time we left. That didn't happen, but I am definitely ready for a glass of wine, the Tour de France and early to bed. Hope I can wait until the sun goes down!

Speaking of the Tour, I think I was more upset than Julian Alaphilippe when the race officials took away his yellow jersey when he had a drink just inside the final 20km zone in Stage 4 byesterday. The quotes tell the story of grace under the pressurepressure of this grueling race.
"I don't think any rider would want to take a jersey like this "
-- Wout Van Aert, whose stage win was eclipsed by the jersey kerfuffle
"It was a very long and boring stage with a very nervous finale. I had to stay concentrated to defend the jersey.  But if that's how it is, than no worries.  Tomorrow I'll pick myself up and we won't talk about it anymore."
--Julian Alaphilippe

It seems to me that if they can have a long queue of team cars weaving in an out of the cyclists, it's a bit archaic to ban the intake of food or water in the last 20km.