days_unfolding

I bought bleach because my new towels are white. I'll have to learn how to use it.

I forgot to mention yesterday that I had the impulse to clean house, which is good. But I forgot to take my morning meds yesterday. I need to keep up with them to keep my energy up.

I had gotten Bella a couple of tug-of-war ropes that I had put away because she has no one with whom to play tug. She loves them. She tosses them around.

Woke up a little before 8 AM. Fed us all. Napped and overslept. Had a dream about my mom. We were looking for a particular type of bread for an event, and couldn’t find it, and she was crying. Mom is always upset in my dreams. I don’t know why. Now it’s around 11:30.

I was wondering if I had an appointment with my psychiatrist, and I did make one for next week. I want to stay on my current dose of meds. They’re working.

The “Oliver knocks everything off of the counters and Bella chews it” routine is active.

Got my Lowe’s order, including the garden fencing. I’ll have to put it up this weekend to see if it really keeps Bella out. If it works, I’ll get more.

Ate lunch. Now I’m waiting for my Walmart order.

Hmm. I’m thinking of going back to Michigan to pick up my stuff in the July 4th weekend.

Oliver was on my lap and Bella was trying to bite him. Play bites, but they still hurt. I kept on pushing her away, so she was biting me. This is why I want another dog for her to wrestle and play with.

Got my groceries in. I’m going to sit for a moment because my back hurts. Then I’ll shower. Booked a haircut appointment.

Bella came to see what I was doing. “Oh, you’re being boring [looking at my phone].” My arm was dangling. “Oh, you should be petting me.”

I was looking for a tote bag for my book and notebook, but I didn’t find one. I know that I have a bunch of them somewhere.

Showered and put on my makeup. Brought the garbage and recycling cans by the house. I have a half-hour to kill, and I don’t want to get dirty, so I guess that I’ll read my trust book.

Bella started out gently chewing my hands, but then she got overexcited and started biting down hard. I went “Aaaaah!” very loudly, and she backed off, to my surprise. She ignores when Oliver cries out, but I feed her.

I read an article about self-hypnosis. I want to try an app, but they haven’t sent me my login info yet.

At the nail salon. I read the “Trusts” part of my will and trusts book. I have an idea of what I want. Finding witnesses for the documents will be challenging.

My toenails look nice. My feet are sandal-ready!

Went to Home Depot. They didn’t have pansies; I think that it’s a little late in the year for them. They did have a dill plant and petunias. Gerber daisies might be a substitute for the pansies. They also have sunflowers, but I was planning to put berry plants where I originally wanted to plant sunflowers. They didn’t have coneflowers.

Ate at Steak and Shake, which knocked me out.

Now I’m home and need to feed the critters. Then I want to go to bed. So. Freaking. Tired.

Woke up at 8AM. The pets are being manic. Fed us all. Found a place to board Bella and Oliver for the trip. It’s another animal hospital, so they want to see them first.

Bella is barking at Oliver. Sigh. Now it’s nap time. Overslept my nap until 2PM. Remembered to charge my razor to shave my legs. Bought a “Shock Clock” alarm clock, which is a band that you wear on your wrist, to help me get up for the flight. (My bus is at 7 AM.) Bella is trying to bug Oliver.

Ye gods, I am tired. Is this still an after-effect of the RSV shot? That’s awfully long. Lily was sleeping in my laundry basket. Bella was chasing Oliver, but Lily slept right through the chaos. I guess that she’s used to it.

Showered and shaved my legs. The razor didn’t do a great job, so I’ll have to wait until I get a new razor. Huh. I didn’t see the new razor in my Amazon orders so I ordered one.

Had my massage. Apparently, I was a giant stress ball with tight muscles, so parts of it were quite painful. And I also felt like crying partway through it, but I didn’t. My therapist would be pleased at all the self-care.

I think that I want to order a poke bowl for dinner (ordered). Lily is curled up on my lap. The poke bowl was gooood. I gobbled it right up. I was thinking of my mom because I introduced her to DoorDash when we were cleaning out my aunt's house.

I bought some Ostrich Ferns for the shade garden. They look lush.

Mimi is complaining that I didn't come snuggle with her earlier today, which is true. But all is forgiven now that I'm upstairs with her.

I think that I am going to fix up the Kia Soul and try to wait until after Trump is gone to buy a new car. The car is running well; it just needs some cosmetic fixes.

I’m still feeling tired, so I think that I’ll go to sleep early. I have a singing lesson at 11 AM tomorrow.

Woke up a little before 6 AM. The puppy was looking at me like, are you really going to get up now? I really got up now. It’s freaking cold out (wind chill of -5F/-20C) and my nose is running. There’s a cold weather advisory tonight with wind chills as low as 19 below zero (-29C).

Oliver is telling me, quit sitting and feed me! Bella says, pet me! Good to know that I’m useful :) Bella thinks that when I’m talking, it must be to her. Why would I talk to the cats? (I was talking to Lily.)

I’m mulling over a friend for Bella. There is a standard poodle that I was looking at, but the shelter from which I adopted Bella has a border collie mix that looked good. Hmm. The border collie is a puppy though. Do I really want a puppy? Though there would be a lot of grooming fees for the poodle.

I tried to shut Bella in the bedroom while I fed the cats but she noped out. Lily eats slowly, so I spent my time shooing Oliver and Bella away. I need to feed Bella (done) but I’m taking a break.

Napped. Took Bella out. She never does her business right away, but runs around and sniffs first. And she checks to make sure that I’m following her! I bring a ball out with us, but whether we play depends on how cold I am :) Today I asked her to go in, and she listened to me! That amazes me. In contrast, Oliver NEVER listens to me.

I don’t know why I thought that it was going to be warm today. It’s too cold to go clean up dog poop (12F/-11C with a wind chill of -11F/-24C).

I found a skin care place in Champaign that interests me. But I’m having a facial on the cruise, so I’ll wait until afterwards.

Got Bella her chew stick. She started whining in the bathroom where she has previously pooped, which got me vaulting up to take her out. I forgot my hat and pulled my hood up, which was made for a taller person, so I can barely see out of it. After all that, she didn’t do anything.

I’m trying to figure out my day. I think that I want another nap. Then I’ll work on the kitchen until 3 and then take a shower. My singing lesson got moved to 4:30. After that, I’ll cook. Then I’ll go upstairs and get the aquarium set up after putting Oliver in kitty jail. And then I’ll work on the kitchen again.

Hmm. Bella’s nails are long. But they’re black, so I’d be worried about cutting the quick. I guess that I’ll ask the vet to do them and see how far they cut them back.

Napped. The puppy is next to me on the bed.

Bella doesn’t like artificial chews. She picks them up and drops them.

For some reason, I’m remembering my mom hugging the elephant that I gave her, and that breaks my heart.

Hmm. I have a shoe rack over the door in the library, but I’m thinking to move it to the bedroom and put over-the-door hooks for backpacks and purses (ordered from Amazon).

Zara is being cuddly. I managed to keep Oliver out of my singing lesson. Bella too. Just me and Zara.

Had a great singing lesson. She started me on an Italian art song along with the sight-singing and the music that I’ll be learning in choir. Zara crashed out cold. I think that she likes having me in here. But I should take Bella out. I’ll come back later and practice piano.

Ugh. The cold isn’t messing around. It goes through my jeans.

Ugh again. I need a new stepladder, but Lowe’s is charging $79 for delivery. I’ll have to check Home Depot. It was cheaper, yay!

Oliver likes the warm stove. I’m baking pizza. It’s kind of cold in here. I should get to work, which would warm me, but I’m huddling next to the oven.

I should bring in the plastic food containers from the car. I want to set up a pet food center with labels for each food of the critter eating it. I have a label maker upstairs.

I printed off a ton of music for piano. My teacher suggested that I put it in a binder, so I went on Walmart's site to order one plus some other odds and ends. Then they said that there was a deal that if you spent $500 on Walmart+ Travel, you get $100 back. Sounded good to me, so I upgraded my hotel stay in Miami, and it's paid for so I don't have to worry about it. They didn't say that I'll get the $100 (actually, $133) after the stay. But it'll be good to have extra money then.

Mimi is being extra snuggly. It's chilly up here. I’m leaving the space heater on; it has an automatic shutoff if it tips over. I might bring up the large heater.

The pizza is knocking me out, lol. I’m thinking about feeding the critters and going to bed soon.

Got my second wind and started organizing pet stuff. I just spent a ridiculous amount of money on cat food and dog food can organizers. Set up the dry food containers.

Oliver thinks he’s a kitten and jumps onto my leg when I’m standing. Ouch.

Bella did her business rather efficiently, so I guess that she’s feeling the cold. I wore the hood over my hat and it helped. Everyone is fed. I was holding off Bella from eating Lily’s food, and then Oliver tried to eat the food, and Bella got in his face. “If I can’t have it, you can’t have it either.” LOL.

Ten o'clock and I'm going to crash.

I’ve been decorating the library room in my mind. Mimi is not going to be happy because I’ll be bringing the wingback chair downstairs (what’s a library without a wingback chair?) and that’s her sleeping spot now. I brought a lamp with a small table from my mom’s house, but now I’m thinking of getting a good reading light and round end table. Actually, I have a round end table that I brought from my mom’s house, but it's tall. I'm looking on Facebook Marketplace for a table, and found a perfect one, but I'd have to get it this week. Actually, I found a nice table and lamp on Wayfair, and they aren’t even expensive. And I found a gray cover for the chair. (The walls in the room are gray-green.) Hmm. I think that I want a rug in there too. Maybe this rug?

I feel sad that Mom can’t see how I’m decorating with her stuff. It’s her stuff (the wingback chair is hers) but I’m putting my stamp on it.

My goal is to get the library room cleared out by the end of the long weekend (except for boxes of books). Then I'll get the guy in to assemble bookshelves.

There are a lot of Facebook Marketplace people selling cat wheels. I doubt that Zara or Mimi would use one now, though Zara probably would have when she was younger. (She still jumps really well. She did a three-foot jump from the kitchen table to the kitchen counter the other day. Plus she jumps on top of the kitchen cabinets. Not bad for a 15-year-old cat.) I might look into one when I adopt a younger cat.

Stayed up ridiculously late and overslept my shower. That's okay; I'm not going anywhere but need to get dressed and slap on some makeup for my Italian lesson.

I had my Italian lesson at lunch because my teacher was busy during the day. I was trying to explain the Thanksgiving holiday to her--in Italian. She asked why we celebrated it. I told her about the Pilgrims and Native Americans, but then I told her it was a time to give thanks for what we had. (And eat lots of food!)

There is a free Thanksgiving meal for members of the community that I might go to. It's at a local high school.

Hmm. Sunday has a high of 23F/-5C so it’ll be cooold. (Yes, some of you will think that I’m a wimp. And you’re right :) I remember visiting my Mom from California under those conditions and burrowing under my scarf. Mom said, “I do that too, but I do that when it’s really cold!” Bah.) Saturday it might snow. So it looks like Friday will be errand day. I need to call the thrift store to see if they’ll be open on the day after Thanksgiving. Best Buy will certainly be open for Black Friday.

Another way that I can tell that it’s winter is that my eczema is flaring up. The skin on my fingers is peeling. Time for Neutrogena Hand Lotion. And I wonder if I should get some cotton gloves to sleep in.

I want a nap with Zara. Well, we had snuggles, but it’s already 8:30 PM, so I should just go to bed early and get up early to practice piano and singing. And I found some kitchen stuff in the library room that I need to bring into the kitchen.

Okay, I frittered away an hour on Facebook and Quora. Not how to get things done. Put clothes in the dryer and did dishes and fed the cats. Now I really need to go to bed.

No check yet. We’re all fed. I’m going to take a nap and fill out my ballot when I get up. Then I’ll go out to drop it off and go to Walmart. I think that Zara wants me to go lie down.

I hate to admit that my doctor was right, but it is easier to have my meds in the pill case.

No check after my nap. I guess that it’s coming on Monday. Marked my ballot. Took another nap.

Walmart appears to have diet root beer, so I’ll go there. I need to remember to bring bags to recycle.

I didn't remember the bags, sigh. And I forgot to get light bulbs for the lamp for my bedside table. I did drop off my ballot in the ballot box by the library though.

I'm turning into my mom, who said that she couldn't get anything done after dark. I think that I'll go to sleep.

I better renew my driver's license in October to have it for my flight to San Juan. Speaking of which, I might book it myself instead of going through the travel agent because it'll be cheaper. There's a United flight that I like, but I'd have to go down on the Thursday before the cruise departure on Saturday to have time touring San Juan on Friday. I found some hotels that look promising and probably would be cheaper than what I'd get from the travel agent.

I stayed up late playing with flights to and hotels in San Juan. I got up at 11 after a dream about my mom. She never is happy in my dreams. I wonder why.

I dropped a pill in the kitchen, so I swept the floor looking for it so that the cats don’t get it. I still didn’t find it, but the floor is swept. I need to wash it on my hands and knees because it’s too dirty to mop only. I’ll wash it tonight.

I’ve been stuck on a weight plateau, but I have lost inches. I’m acquiring a waist! Yay!

Yes!!!!! I finally figured out how to turn on the outside water (and turn it off in the winter)! Now I can have the grass reseeded. I need a longer hose though. I think that I’ll hook up the hose that I bought and water my garden! I booked the weed treatment and aeration and overseeding for the lawn.

I put a dual-voltage curling iron on my wish list for my next Italy trip. I should add a dual-voltage hair dryer too; I found one for curly hair that looks good. I found both on eBay, but I don't want to spend money on them right now. I did get them for much less than retail and put them on a credit card.

I just fell in love with a medium-sized poodle on Petfinder, but I'm not really ready for a dog right now.

Got rid of the boxes in my bedroom, except for the box containing my nightstand. I put two feet on it with two more to go, but my back hurt, so I went upstairs to post my Pacsafe backpack on eBay.

I kind of want to go to bed. I'll put the other feet on the nightstand and get it out of the box. I'll take a picture of it to post tomorrow. And then I'll go to sleep. Hmm, I need to study Italian first though.

I'll be able to get NBC Sports (the Olympics) with a premium subscription to Peacock TV, so that's what I'll do before the Olympics.

Ow, my knee hurts. Fuck.

Mimi started eating the food that Zara didn’t eat. At first, I tried to stop her, but I want someone to eat it.

Best laid plans: I couldn't fall asleep until 10 PM. I woke up at 4:30 AM and decided to go back to sleep for an hour. Then I decided to get up at 7 AM, and woke up at 8. I was dealing with an issue with the handyman and ran late, so I didn't get my shower, which I'll take at lunch (done).

I'm fighting my impulse to retire again today. Work is heating up. I don't know how I'll get everything done this week, both in work and at home.

Mimi: I want attention! Anyone who thinks that cats are standoffish should meet her. But she's dubious about strangers. She got fur all over the clothes that I want to wear to the grocery store tonight.

I've resigned myself to the fact that I won't get to yoga and tai chi this week. I have too much stuff to do. I'm getting off work late due to an urgent request. And I need to log on later to prepare for a presentation tomorrow.

I finished mowing the back yard. There is an area that I think is supposed to be a dog run that is full of flowering weeds, but I’ll need to take a weed wacker to that. That’s not going to happen before I go. I think that I’ll put down mulch there, but maybe I’ll need to wait until I have the garage built. I was wondering if you could put down black plastic sheeting to kill the weeds, and yes, you can (but I’ll need to cut them down). Now I’m cooling off. I need to get the garbage out and then run errands. The fun never stops.

Mom used to say that she didn’t have enough time to spend on the house, and I said that she’s retired, so how much time does she need? Now I get it. Sorry, Mom. (Though she did have someone to cut the grass.)

I finally got some mail forwarded from my mom’s house. Yaaaaaaaay! About time!

I got the garbage out. Then I ate dinner. I never got out to run errands because it got late and I needed to log back onto work. Now I'm done with work. I'm going to do dishes and start laundry and go to bed in the hopes of getting up early and running at least some of my errands before work.

I'm really fighting the impulse to quit my classes, quit my job, and retire. But I'm only 61 and should wait. But I'm tired and have been doing too much for too long. When the work on mom's house is done, that will help.

Today is the one year anniversary of my mom's death. It's hard to believe; the year went fast. It's probably not helping my mood though.

Had my meeting with the life coach. She keeps asking what I will do for me, and for me that's gardening. So I need to get with the guys about the garden first thing. I also need to bring down the pots for the front yard. I want to plant Japanese spireas in them.

Hmm. The nature retreat/conference center (Allerton) in the next town over is having an event in which if you hike all their trails in a year, you get a t-shirt. I'm mulling over signing up for it (done--I need more incentive to get out of the house). It sounds nice. Campus Recreation is offering ice skating lessons, which I'd like to do but not this year. Yoga and Tai Chi and swimming lessons are enough.

After work, I bought a couple of dahlias to grow in pots. I thought about putting them in my tall planters, but dahlias are tall, so maybe not. I'll order large pots for them (done).

I bought the following book: You Don't Have to Change to Change Everything: Six Ways to Shift Your Vantage Point, Stop Striving for Happy, and Find True Well-Being. I hope that it helps.

I got my program working!!!! I am so stinking happy!!! Done and dusted. Now I just need to run errands and tackle my mom's house.

I'm wondering if I should set up the space heater in my bedroom. I guess that I'll see if I can do without it, but I'll take it out of the box in case I decide that I need it. I brought it into the bedroom, but then I remembered the electric blanket. That should keep Zara and me warm. Zara loved the electric blanket. And I didn’t wake up during the night cold.

The cats think that the kitchen counters and table were cleared off for them to walk on.

I finished my current 44 Scotland Street book, but I don’t have money for the next one. I guess that I’ll start on the Italy books. Appropriate because some characters in the Scotland Street books were just in Italy. Oh! I forgot about a credit card, so I can get the next book and I will be able to ship the CPAP. I’m having problems with the card on Amazon though. I tried to order some magnets elsewhere and the charge didn’t go through. I’ll have to contact the card company.

Hmm. I’m wondering if I should stay home today because I have another return, but I need my new printer ink to process it. It’s supposed to come today.

I put Mom’s magnets on the refrigerator last night. I love how the kitchen is taking shape; it’s my favorite room in the house. I want to get a couple of magnets with conversion charts for cooking and put them on the side of the refrigerator. I’m looking at magnets with quotes on them and saw the “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end” and started crying. I’m not okay. The anniversary of my mom’s death is also coming soon (April 11th).

Some people knocked on the door to tell me about “a party in honor of Jesus’s death”. I was a little cranky and told them that I had been lying down.

I looked for a Great Books group locally but no luck.

I’m trying to figure out where to put the urn with my mom’s ashes until I get to Chicago to inter them. I guess that I’ll leave them in the bin that they’re in.

I had a nice nap. I dreamed about a guy with whom I was friends in high school. I had a crush on him, but he liked me as a friend. Then he was in the hospital for a long time, and I called him every day because being in the hospital sucks, so then he decided that he wanted to go out with me. But I was interested in a mutual friend by that point. Apparently they had a discussion about which of them got to go out with me, but I wound up dating the mutual friend. (And I wound up marrying another mutual friend!) Anyway, in the dream, I was writing him a letter, telling him what was going on.

Zara napped with me and is being cuddly.

I got the Daily Look box.

I went looking for one of the Italy books, and wound up with Four Seasons in Rome. I need my reading time! It’s good. Residents are insisting that Rome is the most beautiful city in the world. More beautiful than Paris, I wonder? The book reminded me that I need to spend some time with a tourist Italian book. I found one! I want to study a page a day. I need index cards. Berlitz has an app, so I’ll work with it first.

My goal is to get to a point where there are only book boxes in the living room. I also want to empty the hamper in the bathroom so that I can use it as a hamper.

Oh crud! The ink order says “Payment revision required!” I guess that I’m not getting the ink today. Maybe I should just throw myself together and go to Best Buy. Or Walmart.

I took a nap while my hair was drying from my shower. Zara napped on my legs.

The mixer that I bought from Aldi is broken, so I’m looking at used Kitchen Aid mixers on eBay.

Went to Walmart with a little trepidation because one of the articles that I read about withdrawing from my med said not to drive, but it was okay. I got my printer ink, some food, and index cards.

I have stuff to do, but I’m tired. I wrote up some Italian flash cards to study; I now know how to say “Where is the ATM machine?” in Italian. It’s a start. I need to dig up the info from my first Italian teacher about directions. I’m also noting down places from the Rome book that I want to see.

Some of my classmates in a group project want to meet tomorrow, so I should respond to them. Then I think that I’ll go to bed.

I told Zara that her legs will atrophy if she lies on the bed all the time. She says that she'll risk it.

It's looking like May won't work for Paris due to final exams, assuming that I get into the Masters in Computer Science for Data Science program. September is probably the best time, unless I decide to spend New Year's in Paris, but that's a different program. Now I'm leaning towards New Year's in Paris. I need to make a decision quickly because one of the New Year's trips is sold out. I put a deposit down on New Year's in Paris (2025)! I'm so excited! That way, I can just enjoy and not worry about school. And I could have a glass of French champagne on New Year's Eve! It'll also give me a long time to pay for it too.

Because the trip is so late in 2025, I'll probably take a trip within the US earlier that year. My top places are Seattle or Charleston/Savannah, maybe over Spring Break or late May. I'd also like to go to Miami, but given the politics there, not. I have lots of time to figure out what I want to do.

While I was on the Road Scholar site, I looked up the reading list for my Italy trip and it's 17 books! I better get cracking! I started to order them new, but realized how much that would cost, and got most of them used for a low cost. It cost me a little over $100.

It occurred to me that I could have an aquarium, which I’ve wanted for a while, but where? Then it occurred to me that I would like one in my office space. I got a couple of books on them. There is a tropical fish group in Champaign. That would be another good way to meet people. I think that I know where I'd want to put the aquarium, but I'd need to have an extra outlet installed.

I had a problem falling asleep last night until I ate some oatmeal, so I didn't get up early. Sigh.

It’s snowing. The forecasters said up to four inches. It's kind of pretty out.

I saved an article yesterday called “Five Steps to an Organized Dresser”. Getting my clothes organized will be my first task in my new house. I’ll have to Marie Kondo my clothes because I bought a bunch of new stuff up here.

I found a desk that I really like for the home office for work. And another wooden folding desk that I could use for my home computer. Now I'm thinking that it would look better if I got two of the same desk. I also found drum coffee tables (in silver) and end tables that I like and are cheaper than the Art Deco table that I liked. I'd like a set of a coffee table and an end table if possible though.

Classes are still going well. I keep talking in class to the point that it gets embarrassing. I'm trying to help my classmates, but I'm a lousy teacher. One classmate said that I used too many words.

I needed to go get the trash and recycle bins in the snow. I need a shoehorn to get my new snow boots on because my left foot is slightly bigger than my right foot. I wound up putting rain boots on, and they worked. I ordered a shoehorn.

Now I'm working on my homework that's due tonight. Mimi thinks that it's woefully unfair that I'm not snuggling with her. I told her that I need to do well so that I can get in the Master's program, and she didn't like the sounds of that. She wants me to flunk out so that I'll spend more time snuggling :)

Okay, the homework is done. I need to go back to work for a while.

Heck. I'm going to have to go down to Urbana to get my mail soon, but I'm waiting for the painter to finish so that I can see the new paint and give him a check.

I was "talking" to my mom, telling her my plans for the Urbana house, and drawing the similarities to her house. I think that she'd really like it.

I did a couple of hours of work, but it's gotten late, so I'll do the other hour tomorrow. I need to do dishes and tidy up the kitchen a little (I'm trying to keep on top of it) and start a load of laundry, and then I'll snuggle with Mimi and go to bed.