A 3:30 Morning

Several things occur at 3:30 in the night. I need to visit the commode. I realize that I have sweat once again and decide it would be best to change my shirt. At the same time. I also have some uncomfortable body parts due to poor sleep positions, so when I try to go back to sleep, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, I just can't help some of the contortions that I get into when I am asleep.

That's a trifecta of issues that are not exactly sleep-inducing, particularly after about 5 hours of pretty sound sleep. Sometimes when nature awakes me at that time, I can get back to sleep, but last night, the three separate issues plus a decent sleep until then, causes me to give it up for a lost cause before 4 o'clock.

First thing is to start the coffee a'brewin. I set it up before I go to bed, so it is just a matter of pushing the switch.

Then comes computer time: checking social media, blogs and a bit of news. Although I caught up on posts before bed, there are a few more waiting for me. I write the post that I published yesterday. I am writing this after I have done everything else that I will go on to describe in this post.

At some point, I go downstairs and make toast. I usually wait until at least 8 o'clock for breakfast, but I am peckish this morning. I bring my toast up to my den and brew a second cup.

Soon, it is time to take to the chair, open the tablet, and have a go at my daily puzzles. I wonder how the games will go today. Will I be fuzzy-headed, or have I had enough sleep and coffee? I cannot tell ahead of time, but my daily sudoku challenge goes well enough. It is an expert level puzzle today — most daily challenges are expert-level. The few that aren't designated expert in the course of a month are still classified as hard. There are no medium or easy puzzles in the daily challenge.

I solve it in 23 minutes: somewhat under my average time at the expert level. 

Then I turn to Wordle. My start words do not give me much to go on, but I am pleased to get it in 4. For the sake of variety, I now often just choose start words at random. I used to begin with soare and follow it up with unity to cover all of the vowels and some major consonants, but now I often switch it up to whatever word pops into my pea-brain. The variety tends to keep up my interest.

I try The Mini. Although I have more of a Sudoku brain than a crossword brain, today goes well enough. Although not great for many, 3:31 is quite good for me.

I didn't think to screen capture the Across clues

Finally, I play Connections. As with crossword puzzles, I find that my brain does not tend to align with the puzzlers brain. In fact, I fail at Connections more frequently than I care to admit. But wonder of wonders, I get it today and fairly easily too. For  a change, I get 3 connections quickly. What I don't get is how the last 4 are connected. I know that they are, but I don't see the relationship. Then they tell me, Disney Characters, and I go hmm, for I am not familiar with some of the more recent characters. Who the heck are Scar and Stitch?

Finally, I play another game of sudoku. The daily challenge is done, but I tell the app to generate a random expert-level puzzle. It does, and I manage it fairly well. Apparently, I haven't taken a screen-capture although I meant to and thought that I had.

It is 6:16. I decide to compose this piece. For the second time in recent weeks, I choose to write in the present tense. I find this to be challenging, and it certainly requires editing, for I find myself slipping out of the present from time to time.

Sue is up and has come in to make her first cup and to commiserate with me over my very early morning. It is 7:08. I will add the screen captures: those that you have already seen, above, and will set this up to post tomorrow, Sunday.

Now, what to do or expect for the rest of the day? I won't have a ton of energy for sure. The make-up fireworks from the Canada Day disappointment will be set off tonight, weather permitting. After this early rising, will I have enough energy and stamina to drag my weary self out at 9PM? We shall see.