days_unfolding

My name is Adrienne. I'm 57 years old. I'm a Technical Services Librarian (that is, I work in the back processing books and maintaining the computer system) at a small college in Illinois. I have two cats, Zara and Mimi, who don't get along very well, leading to "Kitty Drama" LJ posts :)

I'm from the Chicago area originally (Evanston for those who know the area).

I previously was a technical writer in Silicon Valley. That could be a long essay in and of itself. I liked the work, but there was way too much of it and a lot of pressure. When I became sick with schizoaffective disorder, I was no longer able to do my job, so I left and got a Master's Degree in Library Science.

I have no siblings or cousins. My mom lives in the Detroit area and my dad moved to Nevada. I'm single (divorced). I'm bi, but it's a moot point right now living in a small town.

I wrote the above before the pandemic. Now I'm spending a lot of time armchair traveling. I'm about 13 years out from retirement, so I have a list of places to check out, but, of course, can't travel right now. I'm looking at camping as a COVID-friendly way to travel. The first major trip on my list when I can travel is Eastern Tennessee, and I want to do some hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. I'm hoping to squeeze in some hiking and camping trips in Illinois this fall, COVID permitting.

I've been lucky during the pandemic because I still have a job, working from home. Our college is planning on-site classes this fall. We'll see how that goes.

My journal is about half friends-only and half not. I lock down posts in which I talk about work, which is frequently lately.

I also applied to volunteer for the Urbana Park District.

My Apple Watch found my iPhone. That was useful.

Overslept until 8 AM. Hustled my butt into the shower because I want to go to the bank at lunchtime. Oliver and Lily attended my shower.

I bought some Birdie and Louie cat food for Zara. I hope that she likes it. She's been picking at her food.

It looks like the police was doing a welfare check on my elderly neighbor. I hope that he's okay.

Got the dogs in. I just need to feed the cats at lunchtime, and then I can run to the bank (done). I also got two rolls of quarters in case I need to go to the laundromat, although I really want to get the washer fixed this weekend.

Received the gate for Zara's room.

I found an end table on Amazon that’s cheap and I like better than the Facebook Marketplace one. I just need to check the chair to see if I should get brown or black. Actually I bought the brown one to match the bookcases.

Well hmmm. I found a lamp and a washable rug on Amazon, so I won’t need to buy the ones on Facebook Marketplace. I just need to buy the clock. Oh, and the nail gun.

Holy cow. I’ve made over $8000 on stocks, and I haven’t been investing that long.

Oy. Someone (Bella, I’m looking at you) stole and ate my apple fritter. I was scolding her about that when she stole a hot pad that I put under my food. Sneaky, cheeky dog.

My singing lesson went well. My teacher is a great combination of exacting and fun. It’s funny that I get a case of the “don’t wannas” before my singing lesson and choir, but I really enjoy the singing once I start. Well, I get a case of the “don’t wannas” about almost everything besides eating and sleeping.

I need a drill and am trying to decide whether to get a used one or not.

I previously bought a dry-erase board for the refrigerator, but I kept on knocking it down and its frame came off. I ordered a thin dry-erase surface, and that looks like it’ll work better. And I also ordered a thin dry-erase calendar for the fridge. I’ll use it to track the time that I’m spending on the house.

Fed us all. I'm trying to decide whether to research more stocks or just go to bed.

Ooh, I saw a floor lamp on Marketplace that I like for the library room. And a washable rug. Maybe I’ll go get them this weekend. And a Westminster chime clock (I had thought about a grandfather clock, but that would be a hassle to get here) and a basket for my meditation cushions. And a nail gun. I just bought safety glasses to use with the nail gun.

For some reason, my alarm didn’t go off, and I slept until 8:30 AM.

The dogs don't want to come in. I told them that I have a meeting and they'll be out a long time, but they don't care. They finally came in at lunchtime. Oddly, Gracie was more cooperative, and I had to get Bella by the collar to come in.

I'm looking at grant writing classes. A certificate at Parkland Community College is $2500, which is a lot, but I'll investigate payment plans.

Hmm. I should get a money belt for my trip in the fall because we will be traveling on trains a lot.

We had a mini-crisis at work because the library system that our libraries use went down. We had to scramble to respond. We're moving to a new ticketing system tomorrow, so I guess that was the last hurrah on the old system.

Piano class went well. Oliver and Zara settled down for a snooze while I played.

I’ve been busy canceling subscriptions bit by bit.

I really want to work on the library/music room (“Zara’s room “). I think that I’ll use it as a carrot to get stuff done on the rest of the place; if I spend X amount of time on the rest of the place, I can spend X time on the library room. I’m getting excited about it. Plus, getting that room together will move book boxes out of the rest of the place.

I found a cheaper version of the grant-writing courses. That will work.

There’s a “slippery road” alert due to snow melting and refreezing. Terrific.

Crud. The BBC has gone subscription-only. Do I want to subscribe?

Got the recycling out. Fed us all.

Enrolled in the grant writing classes for $450 instead. Still pricey but much better.

Need to wrap things up and go to bed.

I'm so freaking tired. The cats are being manic.

Bella and Gracie were chewing on my hand brace. Dogs :)

I woke up around 6:30 AM, but I didn’t want to get up before my alarm. So I overslept it by a half hour. At least I can run a little later because I’m going to Physical Therapy at 9:50.

I rescheduled my PT appointment. I forgot to turn on the dryer and Gracie is refusing to come in and this morning is a mess. Well, Gracie came in. That’s a start. I'm learning that "self-care" often involves not scrambling. I went to get Oliver to feed him, but he gave me a sleepy look, so I guess not. He really likes it in Zara's room.

Hmm, I think that I want to wear my hand brace to work. I tend to curl that hand up when I'm not typing.

I can't stop yawning. And today is my long day because of choir rehearsal.

Gracie is going nuts over something out the window. She has no idea that she's a smaller dog. She thinks that she's tough.

Lily is giving my hand brace the onceover. Oliver decided that it was time to eat. He was a "lover boy" over lunch and attended my shower. He thinks that it's curious that I stick myself under water though.

My prairie seeds are on their way. Cool. I'm wondering if I should get some woodland seeds for the side of the garage, but I think that I'm getting too ambitious. Plus, I need to clean out that area and mulch it. Plus, I'll need to plant the lilac and crabapple and set up the vegetable planters. I'm looking for cheap dirt for the planters.

Ack about the temperature tonight, but at least I have a car with a heater. Sometimes it's the little things.

I tried to get a bit of fuzz off of Lily's fur, but she got annoyed and left. I just told Oliver that I don't want feline-managed acupuncture.

Huh. It was a bad day for the stock market but my stocks are up, except for Eli Lilly, which I'm considering dumping for Novartis.

Lily cautiously started to go into Zara's room, but she turned around as I went to leave. I want to get that gate (a gate to keep the dogs out with a cat door) soon.

The window in the guest room has a million dog nose prints in it. I just bought some great glass cleaner, so I should use it!

Ran around like crazy getting ready to leave for choir: letting the dogs out, feeding everyone, putting my makeup on, and grabbing my music. I managed to get there way early, which is what I had planned to have time to organize my music. It’s all together now. I was clearly missed while I was gone by the critters. Oliver is curled up on my lap. The little thief Bella stole a sock and grudgingly brought it to me. I explained that I need socks. She is not convinced.

My dad said that it sounds like I’m doing something right with my stocks and to “keep it up”. My big problem is finding time for research.

I’m kind of attracted to a young black cat who’s been in foster care for two years. Apparently, he doesn’t go up to new people, but that’s okay. But I’m a little worried about shaking up the status quo.

Sold some stocks and bought some stocks. I have time to do that only at night and weekends.

I should go to sleep soon so that I don't oversleep.

Hmm. Chewy sent me a coupon for $15 off an order of $49 or more. The gate that I want for Zara’s room is $45. Maybe I’ll get it plus some toys. Oliver and Zara were snoozing near each other during my singing lesson. I wonder if I should get a cat tree for there to make it a kitty playground. Hmm. Maybe I should wait until they send another coupon.

I forgot to put the brace on last night. I was already in bed when I remembered, but I just rolled over and went to sleep. I need to put it in my bedroom.

Slept until 11:30 AM. Holy cow. Oliver is on my lap and closed the news that I was looking at on my phone. Pay attention to meeeee!

We have a routine. I go in Zara’s room to get her food dish, and Oliver goes in. I leave him there when I get the dogs in so that he doesn’t run outside. Apparently, I left the piano on last night. Lily is happy to be an only cat for a few minutes. She is showing me her belly. “It’s empty, Mommy. Fill it!”

I got Bella in, but Gracie doesn’t want to come in. Gracie was barking at Oliver, who was lounging in the window in Zara’s room.

Ugh. The grocery delivery guy came while Gracie was still out, so I took the items over the fence. I was bringing groceries in when Bella ran out. Shit. I got a new fresh donut for them and Bella snatched a bite of it. They decided to come back inside to get more. Whew. I’m going to leave the rest of the soda out there until later. I don’t want them to run back out. I fed them and need to feed Oliver and Zara after I rest for a few minutes. Okay, everyone’s inside and fed. Nap time after I take my meds.

Okay, I bought the grass seed and some wildflower seeds. And a book on growing plants from seed.

Now it’s apparently dog wrestling time on the bed. I’m telling them that they had been running around and should be tired. Take a nap! They finally did.

Napped. Patched the hole that Gracie made in the mattress with duct tape and put the new “bed in a bag” on the bed. It’s not bad. We’ll see how long it takes Gracie to destroy it. (I had to hustle to get it done while the dogs were outside. Lily was on the bed, however, and got in the way.) Fed the hordes and am making food for myself.

My dad said to figure out why I'm getting carpal tunnel. I think that I need to move the two-monitor setup for work closer to the center of the desk, but that means that I have to clean off the desk first. I also need to move the power strip under the desk.

Hmm. There is a sale on cedar planters with legs. That would be cheaper than the ones at which I was looking, for which I’d need a fence.

I need to get up early to go get the car's battery fixed. So I need to get to bed soon.

Gardener’s Supply has a fence with a gate. That would work well for the raised beds. And maybe I could grow tomatoes in one of them? I've decided not to get plants for the area by the parking spaces (though maybe I could get some seeds?) and put my money in the raised beds.

They also have nice grow shelves to start seeds, but that will be next year.

Overslept and got up at 8:15 AM.

My money has posted. Yay. I'll get the battery done this weekend.

I canceled my French lesson because it was pushing up against the time that I need to leave for the doctor's appointment. Plus, I didn't get up early to do my homework. Today is a zoo.

I figured out where I want to plant seeds while I was waiting for the Uber. The doctor said that I have mild carpal tunnel syndrome. She gave me a brace to wear while sleeping, which I hope will do the trick (it feels good), but if not, I might need surgery and that will mess everything up. Here's hoping that things will go well.

Work is over. I’m opening packages while I wait for my singing lesson. (I’ll feed the hordes afterwards.) I got my “French for travelers” books. And the battery to jump-start cars. (I’ll have AAA jump-start it this time though. I’ll ask Advance Auto Parts where to put the connections for jump-starting.) And I got A Queer History of the United States. And the t-shirt with classical composers' faces on it and the caption, “I listen to dead people“. And my Chinese and Japanese cookbooks. I have to find my rice cooker.

I bought the French version of the first book of Tales of the City. The French title translates to Tales of San Francisco, which makes sense because only people who have lived in the area would be familiar with “The City” as San Francisco. I thought that was really pretentious when I first moved to the Bay Area. Then I wound up using it.

I had been thinking about buying vegetable seeds, and I got a catalog from a family-owned seed business. That’s timely.

My singing lesson went well. We were working on the hardest song for choir (“Awake the harp” from The Creation). It took us a lesson and a half to go through it the first time. Then we went through it again in half the time. I need to work on it this weekend.

Let the dogs out and fed us all. Submitted an order for more stocks. I need to submit a grocery order. Then I'll go to bed.

I forgot to mention that Zara's getting used to Oliver because he jumps into her room so often. She'll give him a warning hiss, but he's not very interested in her, so she does her own thing while he's there. She even fell asleep while I was having my singing lesson and he was in there! Maybe eventually I'll be able to just put up a gate in the doorway to keep the dogs out.

Bella really really wanted Oliver’s dry food. I told her to eat her own food. But Oliver was eating something that she wasn’t!

Woke up around 8:15 AM.

I solved someone's problem at work, so that made me feel good.

Hmm. I want to nap at lunchtime, but I have piano tonight. Maybe I could just throw some clothes on in the afternoon and slap on some makeup.

The dogs came in on the first try. Yay.

Napped hard and overslept.

I checked when the World Figure Skating Championship is, and it's right after the Olympics. I should put a note on my calendar to find out when it will be broadcast each year.

I'm trying to figure out what prairie plants to add to the garden. I marked almost every page of my catalog, but I can't afford to buy it all. Maybe I'll get coneflower seeds and grow a patch near the fence in front. They also have "eco grass" that you can grow in spring and is drought resistant. But the jerky garage guy needs to get the gravel out of the back yard! I also want raised garden beds, but I can't afford to add them all this year either. Maybe I'll get one with legs and one low to the ground for root crops. I can grow herbs in pots this year.

I asked my dad about investing in foreign markets.

When did we start a war with Iran?!?

I’m looking at a raised bed with a “critter guard”. That’s what I need because there’s a groundhog and rabbit that used to live in the yard, although I haven’t seen them lately. (Probably afraid of the dogs.) Plus I want to keep the dogs out of the vegetable garden. I think that I want two of them. I need the garage guy to get the gravel out quickly because I want to set up the raised beds and grow lettuce and spinach, which are early crops. And peas. Hmm, I need a bed with legs for tomatoes though, but that can wait a while.

Piano class went okay. I had the urge to start private lessons, but I can't afford it right now.

Somehow it got late, and I want to get up early to jump-start the car and get the battery installed.

Oliver left a large scratch near my right eye. Thanks a lot, Oliver. I know that he loves me, but he’s a handful.

Woke up at 5:15 AM. I’m feeling hammered.

I did pull myself together and get the car jump-started. The guy came quickly and started it, but he said that the battery was bad and needed replacing. Sure enough, I ran the car for a half-hour and it won’t start now. I’m going to have to take Uber to my doctor’s appointment. Then I’ll try to have a battery delivered. Yes, I know that it’s more expensive, but I have a ton of things to do today.

So freaking tired.

A multicultural museum at the University has a book club. This month's selection is An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, but the discussion is in two days, and I can't read that fast. June is A Queer History of the United States, and I just ordered it, so I should be able to go. Oh! That was June last year! Oh well.

My appointment with my psychiatrist went well. I really like her. She’s concerned about my levels of vitamins though.

Ate lunch. Just emailed the battery people. Oops, they aren't in my area. Contacted Advance Auto Parts for same day delivery/installation. But it might be too late for choir. I emailed the choir director. Got the battery from Advance Auto Parts, but they didn't install it. Then the first place contracted me, but they wanted payment in advance and some things seemed fishy, so I'm in going to have the car jump-started tomorrow and have Advance install their battery.

Oliver and Lily are playing Pounce! I forget how young they are because they look like full-grown cats, but they're only a year old. (Bella is two and Gracie is one and Zara is 16.)

Oliver is snoozing on my lap, and I think, "How sweet". But see paragraph 1. He’s being extra cuddly today.

I think that I just want to crash tonight. I'll have to get up early to deal with the car.

I think that it would be cool to have a collie or a sheltie. Then I look at my two dogs and realize that I have my hands full.

I’m trying to nap but my brain is whirring. I got up to buy duct tape (to fix the mattress) and a lilac bush. I ordered a crabapple tree too after my nap.

Watched a little skating.

To bed, quickly.

I was up really late and woke up a little after 10 AM. Lily ate Zara’s leftover food and settled in for a snooze. Gracie did a “Yes, I’m coming in”, “ No, I’m not “, “Yes, I am “ routine. It’s been a zoo in here but got us all fed. Nap time. Ugh. Oliver came into the bedroom. This is not going to be restful. It looks like he might snooze on the shelf above the doorway, which Oliver thinks is a cat perch. Oliver came down and I removed him.

Had a nice nap. Had a tasty lunch (Shrimp Chow Mein). Took another nap.

Nothing that is on the Olympics interests me (although ski jumping is kind of cool). So maybe I’ll get stuff done instead. I watched a little speed skating and ski jumping while I ate. The dogs don’t want to come inside. Watched a Mentour Pilot episode about a brave flight attendant who lost her life helping passengers off a burning plane. Bella and Gracie finally came in.

I started hand-washing clothes because I’m not going to finish getting the washer fixed, and I want to jump-start the car tomorrow. I want to get to bed early. Oh, I know. I'll go do some scanning of music while my clothes are soaking clean.

I overslept an hour again. Sigh. The dogs don’t want to come inside. Bella came in after two hours and Gracie took 2.5 hours. By the summer, they won't come in at all. Gracie is completely crashed out on the guest room futon. Now she's sleeping with her paws in the air :) Oops, she's up now. And barking.

There is a skating controversy about the scoring of the French judge for the ice dancing. What’s an Olympics without controversy.

It's another crazy day at work, plus I had my French lesson over lunch. The teacher is good and keeps me talking, which is what I need. She complimented me on my vocabulary and pronunciation. (I did throw in a couple of Italian words though. Oops.) She isn't going over what I would call "tourist French" though, but I'll get a Berlitz book and do some studying. I need to drill on verbs too.

Had a therapy session. She thought that my trip in the fall sounded very cool. She agrees that I should get more exercise to build up my energy. Maybe I'll start on the weekends. Maybe instead of a "second nap," I should take one of the dogs for a walk. I need to find my gym clothes too.

Gracie took over an hour to come in tonight. Then I had to shut Bella in the bathroom because she was trying to eat Gracie’s food. Bella had already eaten! Ate dinner.

I want to go to sleep early so that I don’t oversleep tomorrow. I might do a little work on the bathroom, and I need to feed the critters again.

Note to self: Move blood test (done). Book French lesson (done). Crossroads (boarding) for Memorial Day weekend? Check with Dad (done).