days_unfolding

I overslept and scrambled to make my doctor’s appointment. Quick shower.

I had my appointment with the Weight Management person. She suggested that I take a multivitamin to add to my pile of pills. She made some suggestions to replace ice cream. She set a date for me to join the gym. She also suggested bariatric surgery, but I said that I wasn’t comfortable with that. I liked her better than the first person whom I was seeing.

I ordered the multivitamin. I also ordered some Buff Out Callus Remover and cream to give my feet some love. I should make a pedicure appointment.

Overslept my nap. I’m tired.

I’m looking into a meal plan for frozen dinners again. Tempo by Home Chef has high-protein dinners. And I can get American Airlines miles from them. Okay, they made it really tough to change from meal kits to frozen dinners because I was a previous customer, but I finally got it. I’m also looking at folding tricycles for running errands.

I have 25,000+ airline miles. Woo hoo! I wonder how many I’d need for a free flight to Hawaii for the cruise. Oh! It says that I could use them for a one-way flight. (40,000 miles for a round-trip.) But I could also use airline miles to see my dad.

I bought some things like the toothbrush with UV sanitizing. And they keep sending emails: “Your item is on the way.” “Your item will be getting here soon.” Etc. Don’t they know that’s annoying? I unsubscribed.

I joined a clothes style subscription temporarily to get ideas. I saw an outfit that I liked, and found similar pieces on Amazon that I think will work (and it’s much cheaper!) It’s a casual outfit with a flowy bohemian top and balloon pants. I wish that I had had it on the trip. I recreated another outfit with help from eBay and Amazon (belted leather jacket, flare jeans, and a belted top. I paired it with brown lace-up shoes from Orthofeet, which were more expensive than the rest of the outfit).

I can’t find my garbage bags, even though I’ve used them since I came back. I ordered more from Amazon, but I’ll just roll the garbage cans out as is tonight.

I need to feed the dogs and take them outside after I post.

Woke up at 7:30 AM to use the bathroom, and went back to sleep until 12 PM. I guess that I’m over my jet lag.

Hmm. I feel like going back to sleep after getting my groceries and feeding the fur faces. Maybe I won’t get the car until after dark.

Gracie is barking at the cats. I bought a whistle-type device to distract her from barking. We’ll see how it works.

I forgot to mention that I received the blue Orthofeet shoes and wide socks. I’ll be able to wear them daily now.

Got my grocery order. The ibuprofen wasn’t included in my order, although I’m sure that I ordered it, so I need to run out tonight.

I ordered a TAO Clean electric toothbrush, which has UV light to sanitize the bristles. I was going to order a travel case for it too, but then I told myself to see if I like it first.

My car insurance payment was due. Usually, I pay a whole year in advance, but I don’t have the money, so I set up a payment plan.

Lily is lying on my purse. That doesn’t look comfortable, but I guess that she thinks that it is.

I might not pick up the car today. I need to listen to my choir music for choir tomorrow.

Fed everyone. It’s nap time. The dogs seem to have caught up on their sleep; they are wrestling in bed. Sigh. They finally settled down, and I had a nap. I wanted to go back to sleep after my alarm went off, but the dogs wouldn’t let me.

Holy cow, it’s going to be hot tomorrow (89F/32C).

I need to shower and run out for ibuprofen. Though hmm, I feel like going back to sleep. Maybe I could run to the store tomorrow morning? Anyway, I’m making dinner.

The cat dishes are soaking, so I’ll post. Then I’ll feed the dogs, and take them out, and go to sleep.

Woke up at 7:30 AM before my alarm. Maybe I’m getting less jet-lagged, although I’m still tired.

I finally got through all the email that piled up while I was gone at work. When I first started on it, I felt like I’d never be able to get though it.

Way overslept my lunchtime nap. So tired.

I found my ticket to the electronics recycling event tomorrow. So I’ll need to get up early and lug items to the car. Then I’ll go pick up the Kia from storage.

Overslept my nap after work until 10:30 PM. Fed the dogs and cats, etc.

My tooth is still bothering me, although it’s better when I don’t eat. Maybe I should just drink protein shakes and let it heal.

My Internet access is still out. I’ll need to make another appointment, sigh.

Woke up at 3:30 AM to move stuff around for the AT&T guy. As it turns out, he spent most of his time outside because the line got cut. Talked to a neighbor, and he thought that the guy who worked on my driveway caught the line on the front loader. Anyway, I’m up and running on my Internet access. Now I can scan music for my singing lesson on Friday. But not tonight because I’m going to be very, very tired. I can’t nap at lunchtime because I haven’t showered yet (I was wearing pajamas with aplomb), and I have a dental appointment in the afternoon. Then I collapse.

Got the pets out of purdah. They weren’t too happy, but I noticed that Oliver and Lily ate the food with which I tried to lure them. The dogs are easier, but Gracie realized that I was going to shut them in the bedroom and ran out, so I shut her upstairs.

I lost weight on the trip. I’m not surprised because I frequently skipped lunch and got a lot of exercise. Also, I had weight training with my heavy backpack! I need to keep it up and join a gym.

Got in permanent bridge in at the dentist. He thought that the bottom tooth and temporary bridge were hitting each other and that’s why I had a toothache. He polished the bottom tooth and told me to call if it still hurts. (Right now, I’m numbed up, so I can’t tell anything.)

Took a nap after work and overslept until 11:30 PM. Fed the dogs and took them out. I need to feed the cats (fed Oliver and Lily–need to feed Zara). And go back to sleep.

I had a momentary loss of Internet access (ugh!), but it came back.

I ordered another electronic cables organizer to replace the one from the trip.

I’m jet-lagged and keep on waking up. Got up at 7:30 AM, which wasn’t enough sleep. I’m going to eat breakfast and then take a nap.

Soaked the cat dishes because I want to feed them after I get them home.

My Orthofeet shoes were incredibly comfortable. I just ordered a blue pair and wide socks to wear for everyday.

Tried to nap but couldn’t sleep. Jet lag. I guess that I’ll shower.

Picked up the car at the storage facility. Picked up the cats, who were boarded near there. The cats are at home and are cruising around checking stuff out. I’m going to rest a minute and then go get the dogs. Lily was the first one to say “Hi” to me.

I got the dogs. Bella was crying and piddled out of excitement when she saw me. They’re running around the yard now.

I’m feeling tired (it’s late Istanbul time), so I’m going to skip choir. Plus, Bella keeps on whining. Fed the fur faces and myself. They ate with gusto. Oliver and Lily were waiting outside the door when I fed Zara.

I’m So. Freaking. Tired. I need to submit a grocery list, but I’m too tired to do so now. I’ll go to sleep soon and get up early.

I got a three-hour nap. Woke up on time, showered, and made it to the lobby to be picked up on time. The driver showed up at exactly 4:15 AM. Smooth for that hour in the morning.

Now I’m at IST airport and just had some chia pudding. I’ve been having a toothache for the past couple of days, which is annoying. I have an appointment at the dentist on Wednesday.

Security at IST has been extra, as the kids say.

I hate Heathrow. My connecting flight to Chicago was in another terminal at the end of the gates. The flight was boarding when I got there.

In Chicago now, waiting for the bus to Urbana. Submitted my first Amazon order, for a charger to replace my Apple Watch charger, so I guess that I’m back in the US.

On the bus now.

I’m back home. I’m going to eat and crash because it’s been a loooooong day.

Slept in a little. Ubered to the Grand Bazaar. There were crowds of people. I bought a necklace like a tree of life, a scarf, and a magnet. It started raining when I was outside, and a guy said, “Sister, what do you need?” and he helped me pull the hood of my rain jacket up.

Later, we met for the cruise on the Bosphorus. At first, it was overcast and moody. But then there was a beautiful sunset. There was contention about how to get back to the hotel, but we did take an Uber.

I ran out to get some food. I ordered a pizza, which was okay. I brought back leftovers. I bought a bottle of Coke Zero, and the guy put it in the bag with the pizza. I’m set.

Most of the people on the tour are leaving tomorrow. I'm staying an extra day. I’m trying to decide what to do during the day. I have a Turkish bath and massage scheduled at 5:30 PM. I could see the Hagia Sophia.

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Woke up at 6:30 AM. Had a nice leisurely shower.

I’ve had two different guys ask me for money or food. Things apparently are not good in Budapest.

We made our flight to Istanbul. We got through passport control and got our luggage quickly. And we waited and waited for our shuttle. Traffic in Istanbul is horrible.

The hotel is amazing. It’s called the Pera Palace, and Agatha Christie stayed there.

We are sightseeing for a full day tomorrow, starting at 9 AM, so I need to get to bed soon.

I'm having issues getting my photos to upload, so no pictures tonight.

Oh. I had a conversation with one of the group leaders about the prevalence of English in the places to which we went, and he said that it also was because a lot of people have English as a second or third language. I hadn't thought about that.

I forgot to mention last night that a (drunk?) guy went up to one of the guys on our tour and said that he wanted to fight him. Eventually his friend convinced him to go away, but it took a while. Yikes. Welcome to Prague.

The shower in the room is kind of treacherous. It’s a tub with no non-slip mat. It has a grab bar though that I used.

I Ubered to the Old Town Square. Lots of old buildings with ambience. There is a famous astronomical clock, for which I missed the tour this morning.

It’s a little scary that there is a Starbucks in the Square. But I might get some chai tea.

Hung out for a while and window shopped. Bought a magnet. Had lunch at a sidewalk cafe.

Ubered back to the hotel. Man, these drivers are crazy.

Nap time. I shut my alarm off and slept until almost 9 PM. Yikes. Luckily the hotel restaurant was still open. The food was excellent (roast perch and risotto, plus dessert).

Time to go back to sleep….

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Got up at 6:30 AM. Actually, I was lying on my back on the bed to stretch it out, and woke up at 2 AM. Then I went back to sleep properly.

The hotel in Paris wanted to ship the stuff that I left, so I went with it even though I’m spending more than it’s worth. We’re shipping it to the last hotel on our list in Istanbul.

I’m going around in circles trying to get to the Peggy Guggenheim museum, and I’m about to give up. I had a light brunch and some gelato though. My phone died on the way back to the hotel, so I stopped at a cafe and ate dessert while it charged. (I brought a charging brick.) Now I’m back at the hotel.

We went to the train station. One of the people on the trip noticed that my backpack was open. It turned out that my chargers were missing (except my phone charger luckily). Another person had a wallet stolen.

We got on the train. I had a berth to myself. I did sleep, but kept on waking up. I distinguished myself by getting off the train a stop early. The intrepid group leader got me and my luggage back on the train.

And now we’re in Vienna. I expected to like it more than I do. There are used bookstores and music stores though. It’s too clean. I liked the grittiness of Paris.

We went for a walk, but my back started to really hurt. The group leader told me to sit in a coffee shop and relax. I did. I decided to go back to the hotel, my style, with lots of stops, including for lunch.

Finally got our rooms. Took a nap. Wow, it was nice to shower.

We had a group dinner. Then some of us, including me, went to a chamber music concert. The music was fabulous. I’m not a big fan of Mozart, which is heresy to say in Vienna, but I liked the concert. And I have to look up the Haydn piece. One of the other attendees said that I was glowing.

I need to figure out what to do tomorrow and pack up. We’re checking out tomorrow and are taking the evening train to Prague.

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