days_unfolding

Woke up with my alarm at 6 AM. The Echo Dot alarm did not sound, sigh. The critters think that this is too early to get up.

Ugh. Zara was out roaming around, and Bella lunged for her. I grabbed Bella. Sigh. Zara took off for her room. I took the puppy out. Now I’m thawing and then will gather the recycling.

Got the recycling out. I’m going to thaw for a moment, soak the cat dishes, and let Oliver out of kitty jail. (I’ll never convince him that I do that for his own protection.)

I read online that Neil Gaiman based his Sandman series on Tanith Lee's Tales of a Flat Earth series, so I went looking for the Tanith Lee books. The public library does not have them. The university library does have them, but the first book is checked out. I'm leery of buying it until I see if I like it or not. (I have too many books, so I'm trying to be choosy about what I keep.) And it sucks that Gaiman didn't give her credit and make her books circulate more! Though I'll probably set up a Little Free Library in the Spring, so I could recycle it there if I don't want to keep it. Oh okay, I got it for the Kindle.

We have some dedicated bicyclists for neighbors. I saw two separate people out riding their bikes. And it's cold out (31F/-1C, although that IS balmy compared to the weather that we've been having). Bella was fascinated by the bicyclists. She didn't bark but watched them intently.

I've been redesigning the yard in my head while I'm out with Bella. I want a six-foot-tall white picket fence to replace the current fence. There is a raised bed and trees by the side of where the driveway to the garage-to-be will be. I think that I want to take the trees and raised bed out (they're "junk trees'") and plant redbuds and holly bushes along the side of the driveway. Bark mulch underneath them. And I want a crabapple for the main part of the back yard and roses along the side of the garage. I probably want a path from the back door to the garage, but I'm not sure yet what to put in. I’m thinking a concrete sidewalk because its purpose is a way to unload stuff from the car, not to be pretty.

Bella did not want to come in when I took her outside after our nap. There was a garbage truck! And the outdoor cat went by the neighbor's house! Lots of interesting things to see. And it felt downright warm in the sun! Oh, it WAS warm, 37F/3C.

The doctor's office called to reschedule my appointment for next week.

When I paid my AT&T bill, they had an offer for one month of Hulu free, so I took the deal and added Max to it. I want to watch TV sometimes cuddling with the dog.

I had a nice chat with my neighbor who lives right next door to me. Bella barked at him for some reason, but he didn't seem to mind. I told him that the dog was new, and he said that he had cats, and I said that I had them too! He said that he liked my Harris/Walz yard sign, and we agreed that we weren't looking forward to the next four years. I like living in Urbana.

I'm thinking that I want to get the fish tank and plants set up, but I might wait to get fish until after my trip. I'd hate to get the fish and then leave them to the pet sitter or automatic feeder. I want to know more about how their rhythm is.

I'm also thinking that I should try to meet more people. I was going to wait until I got the house together, but meeting people would provide me with the motivation to get the house together. My therapist thought that was a good idea.

Because it's warmish, and it's supposed to get cold this weekend, I'll get the garbage out tonight. Nope.

Played a fun game of feeding the fur kids. I need to go get Bella out of the bedroom and take her outside. There was a person on a scooter walking two dogs. They stopped in front of the house for the dogs to sniff. Bella barked once and then retreated by my side for me to protect her.

I’m trying to figure out where Bella’s collar went. I have her harness, but I’m not sure where the collar is, but I know that it arrived. And I should get collars for Oliver and Lily. I need to spend this long weekend getting stuff organized. I think that I’ll start in one corner and do a 360-degree thing.

Oliver and Bella seem especially tired today. I wonder what they’ve been up to. They’re both asleep, and I’m kind of stuck here because I don’t want to wake them.

I cleaned off the heater for the fish tank, but it's getting late, so I'll fill the tank tomorrow. Paid bills. Now I think that it's bedtime.