days_unfolding

I dragged myself out of bed on Tuesday, and I do mean dragged. I was able to log onto work with my phone hotspot. The hotspot worked well for my classes too.

I was thinking that I was finally getting Discrete Structures because I knew how to solve some problems in class, when I got an 83 on some homework. I'm remaining in B territory in the class.

I had homework due in class that night that I hadn't finished. So I was pounding on it during the evening. I did finish it. However, my mom needed more milk, so I DoorDashed it.

Then I logged onto work again, and did an hour, but I was fading fast, so I went to bed.

Mom is being cranky. She wanted to get to a chest to see what was in it, but the powerstrip for my work setup was in the way. She asked me to move a box, and I said, "This box?" She said, "Well, yeah" sarcastically. Don't get sarcastic, just tell me what to do.

Work went okay. Today was my short day, and I didn't have class. I looked at my aunt's jewelry boxes, and found a bracelet that I love. I also took a cocktail ring that my mom thinks is worth something and a letter opener that says "Adrienne".

Mom and I ordered in Chinese food via DoorDash, and it was really good. Then I ran to the grocery store for soda and Chex Mix for my mom. My aunt's nephew, who is executor of my aunt's estate, gave me money for the shopping trip from the piles of cash that my aunt stashed in various spots around her house.

It's looking like I'm going to take my aunt's entertainment center if I can figure out how to get it to Lincoln. I've got one estimate from ShipSmart of $720 - $880. Ouch, but it is a nice piece of furniture.

Did a little homework, but I decided that I was too tired to do more.

I threw myself together and ran to Whole Foods for Mom. I'm really enjoying driving in Chicago (with the help of the GPS on my phone). I also really like Forest Park. People have stopped there several times to let me in traffic! Also in the store! I couldn't afford a house there, but could afford a condo. Hmm. But my car was the cheapest car in the Whole Foods parking lot :)

When I came back, Mom said that she found still more sweaters in my aunt's closet. I asked her, "How many sweaters did she have?" I think that I'm taking around ten of them. Maybe more. I tried them on and a pantsuit and dress. I grabbed a t-shirt that says, "Memphis Music Store, Beale Street, TN". I have the t-shirt on now. Then Mom folded all the "good" clothes that we want to donate to a woman's shelter, and I noted them down in a donation notebook that my aunt's nephew created. Then I bagged them. Mom says that she'll fold and bag stuff going to Goodwill while I'm gone. Mom said that she found some shorts for me to try, but I said that I was burnt out and will try them tomorrow.

I started laundry. Then I went through my aunt and uncle's CDs. I took most of my uncle's classical CDs.

I heated up some Shrimp De Jonghe for dinner, and it was very good. Now I'm fading fast. Tomorrow I leave for Lincoln, but I'm not going to leave until the late afternoon.

Mom called. The funeral is set for Tuesday.

Italian went well. My teacher said that my conversation has improved.

Someone liked my OK Cupid profile, but I want to see if I have enough money for the pet sitter, gas, etc., before paying for OK Cupid. Texted the pet sitter, and she's available. Good. The drive will take 2:42 without stops.

Had a nice nap. I need to figure out what I need from the store. And I need to get the money for the pet sitter. Hmm. There's a severe thunderstorm watch on. Stopped my mail.

Ran errands. Got Zara's meds and a ton of soda at Walmart to bring to Chicago. Then it started pouring, so I skipped Aldi. Got gas and the money for the pet sitter. Skipped returning library books until tomorrow.

Zara is now perched on my lap. I think that she wants more food, but I like to spread her meals out.

Emailed my professors and my bosses. My classmates said that they were going to ask if the first classes can be recorded for me, which is very nice. They'll give me their notes if not. Tried to book the coworking place for my class times, but got an error. I have the address of the place at least. Printed out driving directions.

Talked to Mom. Mom is scrambling to get her stuff together for the flight tomorrow, and she thinks that she won't get a lot of sleep. The executor of the will said that he would reimburse us for travel expenses from the estate, which is very nice.

Hmm. I've got a headache. I could lie down, but I have clothes that I need to put in the dryer. I suppose that I could dry them in the morning. I think that I'll do so.

Ugh. 11 AM and it's already feeling hot. Heat advisory today :( I'm supposed to to cook tonight, but I'm looking at Door Dash because of the heat. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler.

My dad thinks that the a/c is diverting the energy to the water heater because now I have really hot water. Hmm. Later he said that he was kidding. But something weird is going on.

It was too hot to nap well. Put on shorts and a t-shirt. All I have is Ramen for lunch though. (I need to make more salad.)

I've got the futon in my home office mostly cleared off. I'm taking a break. I need more boxes to get the books off of the bookshelf that crumbled. I'll go get some tomorrow.

I ordered my Steak and Shake Door Dash with a burger, fries, and a tasty shake. Should be good. It was.

Remembered while I was eating that the light bulb above the table burnt out (fixed).

Printed out Italian to study.

Talked to Mom. She's doing okay, going through old catalogs and such. Her myeloma levels are going down. My aunt's doctors don't think that her cancer is recurring, and they have treatments that they can do if it does recur.

I'm thinking of showering and getting up early when it's cooler.

I'm kind of groggy this morning. I'm dropping things and having problems reading. I also inhaled (literally) some soda.

Zara was being cute this morning. She was rolling around on the bed, showing me her belly. Then she left for a while. Then she jumped on the bed and bounded over to where I was lying down. Hi Zara.

Sigh. I'm lying down for a nap, and Zara says, "Time for zoomies!" Now she's settled down, thank goodness.

I read a blog post on using audiobooks to learn a language, so I wishlisted Breve Storia D'Italia (Short History of Italy). Hmm, I wonder if looking for Italian audiobooks on Italian Amazon counts as studying Italian.

Yikes. I changed my Amazon screen to Italian, and it took a while to change it back. I guess that's one way to learn Italian fast!

Napped with Zara. Got laundry in the washer, but am waiting 15 minutes for the Oxyclean on my t-shirt to work (done).

Created Italian flashcards for the names of vegetables. I mucked around with a document in Canva until I found a background and text boxes that I like.

Walked on the treadmill. Now Zara is on it warily, wondering how I make it move.

Started cleaning out the refrigerator. Soaked dishes. I want to clean out some plastic containers to use for carrot soup (and carrots if I cut them up tonight and make the soup tomorrow).

Talked to Mom. My aunt is still in the nursing home, and she is having stomach pains with no way to get to her doctor to have them checked out. The nursing home also wants to send her home, but she doesn't have anyone to stay with her, and she doesn't think that she can take care of the house by herself. Mom is doing projects at home with the thought that she might have to go to Chicago. I told her about the stuff that I'm doing to save money and the stuff that I'm cooking, and she said that my life sounded good.

I decided to make Cherry-Almond-Quinoa salad tonight so that I can have it for lunch tomorrow. The only thing is that I hadn't thawed frozen peas, so I thawed them with the microwave, and I'll be damned, it worked. Now I'm using Dawn Powerwash to see if I can get some scorch marks off a pot that I want to use for the quinoa. The Powerwash only kind of worked. I made quinoa in it anyway. Now the quinoa is cooling.

My plan is to make the quinoa salad, study Italian, and have a small bite to eat. Oh, and watch a little Italian TV. And then read a little and go to sleep.

I waited for my laundry to dry before taking a nap. Rain is coming our way. It's a good day to stay home and get things done.

I'm lying down for a nap. Mimi is stressed out because Zara is on the same bed! I tried to calm Mimi down, and it seems to have worked. Cats! Mimi apparently left though.

Really zonked out. The next thing that I knew, my alarm went off. Apparently I slept though the rain. Zara was rolling around on the bed looking relaxed, but I took one step towards the kitchen and zoom, she was there. I gave her her snack.

I never mentioned that my dad had a chance to join FedEx when it was first starting up as their CTO, but he turned it down because he didn't want to move to Memphis. I asked him if he ever regretted turning it down, and he said no, becoming filthy rich was never one of his goals. So there you have it.

Hmm. A local gym has Zumba classes, which I would have to pay for out of pocket, but I've always wanted to try it. I should find out how much it costs.

I found some Yoga studios in Champaign that I'd like to try. One has classes for 50+ people!

I found a nice Airbnb in downtown Memphis. No parking though; I'd have to pay to park in a lot.

Apparently I'm gearing up for a diet. I'm checking out cookbooks on Kindle Unlimited (though I'd want print versions to actually use them).

Showered my grungy bod. Made German flashcards. Now I have a crashing headache, so I'm going to lie down for a while after I feed the beasties. Couldn't sleep. Studied German.

Talked to Mom. She's doing well, although she's been sleeping a lot. She approves of my checking out Memphis after I explained what interested me. My aunt is in the hospital because her legs swelled up. The doctors and nurses are treating it, but they don't know why at this point.

I've decided not to go to Springfield tomorrow because I'd have to pay Best Buy to take my busted monitor, and I'd rather have it come out of my next paycheck.

German went well. My studying is paying off a little. Now I think I'll do the dishes and go to sleep.

I got up around 8:30 AM. The forecasters are predicting freezing rain today, so it's another day spent cocooning.

Oh hell. Now Sunday is supposed to be as cold as Friday was. The parka can't get here fast enough.

Mimi went back to her dish to eat her wet food, but Zara had already eaten it. You snooze, you lose! Plus, Mimi doesn't really need it (she's chunky) but Zara does (she's really skinny).

I bought a set of purple hat, scarf, and gloves on eBay to go with the new parka. I'm eyeing a pair of quilted mittens to go over the gloves for shoveling snow, brushing snow off of the car, etc., but haven't gotten them yet. The seller gave me a discount, so I bought them.

An article about conserving forests had a link to land-conservation nonprofits, and there's a prairie conservation group out of Urbana (next to Champaign). I might volunteer there when I move to Champaign. And give them some money.

I have a boatload of stuff to do today, but a nap comes first! Slept for an hour.

Ugh. I'm having IBS symptoms again. I don't know why I've been having them so much lately. Stress?

Hmm. A YouTube video gave me some ideas. They record landings (and sometimes full flights) but the videos are too long. A short video showing a landing at say, Costa Rica, would be interesting. I need to figure out how one would film them. Plus maybe a video of the cloud forest? I'd need a GoPro. I saw a video about how to record a video inside a plane, and they recommend a GoPro 7. I'd want to get the GoPro sooner rather than later to give me time to experiment with it before going on a trip that I wanted to capture. I'd need video editing software too. Maybe when I sell the guitar, I could put the money into a GoPro. Possible name for my vlog: Adrienne's Bucket List. I requested some library books on video blogging and YouTube. Note to self: video editing software: CyberLink Power Director 365.

I have dishes soaking in the sink, and now I'm going to study Italian flashcards. Did dishes. Went on the computer to look at a recipe for a grocery list, and Zara jumped onto my shoulders again. Sigh. No, Zara, I don't go on the computer to provide a perch for you.

Here comes the rain....

Paid some bills. Also signed up for Fluent, which will take some words on an English Web site and translate them into the target language. I chose Italian, of course.

Had frozen toasted cheese ravioli for dinner. Yum. I'm back to studying Italian while I digest it. Hmm. Maybe I need a nap. No, couldn't sleep. I wound up watching Rick Steve's Italy on YouTube.

I looked at some of Rick Steve's tours, and some in Great Britain caught my eye because I wouldn't want to drive there. There's one in Southern England that especially interests me. Actually, their "Best of England" tour is pretty cool too.

Talked to Mom. She's still worn out and sleeping all the time. On Monday, she should hear the details about her chemo from her doctor. On Tuesday, my aunt should find out about her cancer symptoms. Mom is going to call on Tuesday with information about both.

I'm mulling over going to sleep and getting up early to study Italian. I need to figure out what to talk about first, just in case I don't get up early.

I've had a sore throat over the last couple of days. I'll make an appointment for a COVID test. Done—I've got one on Wednesday.

Now the temperature is back down to 51 F. Yo-yo weather. And it's raining. Oh ack. It's supposed to be 92 F on Monday.

My leg is still painful. I was able to sleep though.

Zara has been climbing all over me again today. She even jumped on my shoulders! I fed them breakfast, so I'm hoping that she'll settle down.

Had a nice nap. Zara completely crashed out. Canceled some subscriptions while lounging in bed.

Studied a little Italian. I'm trying to convince myself to go take a shower. Decided that I felt funny and needed to lie down a little longer. I've decided not to go out today. Put a litter box on to soak.

Talked to Mom. She was concerned about how my leg was doing. I told her that it was getting better slowly. She told my aunt about it, and my aunt said that some sprains are as bad as broken bones. Mom sounded in fairly good spirits, but she'd like to know the results of the biopsy already.

I was going to work on homework, but I've started yawning, so I might go to bed early.

Well, I tried to read last night, but started falling asleep over the book. Turned out the light and conked out.

I have a mechanical alarm clock that's really obnoxious. Zara used to freak out when it went off. Now she's coping with it better (although I'm sure that she'd prefer that I didn't set it).

So sleepy this morning. Snoozed over lunch. I really needed it. Still kind of draggy with a sore throat.

Voice class went okay. It was a master class, but I didn't have anything prepared. We worked on my breathing a little. I need to start doing breathing exercises. I also want to work on "What a Wonderful World" to have something to sing.

Mom called. Apparently my aunt was worried that the fire in California was impacting my dad, who is in Nevada. I said that I thought that the fire was a distance away from him. I emailed my dad to get an update. Apparently there is a fire that is south of him.

Washed a load of rags. I was waiting for the dryer to stop to go to sleep (the washer and dryer are next to my bedroom), but now it's stopped. I've gotten better about tidying up before I go to sleep.

I had the impulse to ask for Friday off to have a four-day weekend, but I have stuff that I'll need to finish off on Friday. And it might carry over into Tuesday, so I can't take that off too. But then we'll have some glorious open time.

I looked into New Orleans and Florida for snowbird purposes, and the cheapest way would be to buy a condo in Clearwater, FL. Maybe I could spend a week in New Orleans on the way down.

I could not fall back asleep at all. (The Fitbit agrees.) I finally got up at 6:30 AM and made breakfast and fed the girls.

There's a snafu with my timesheet that I hope won't delay my paycheck. The person who does timesheets for our team forgot to remind me to do mine. Then HR sent an email at 11:45 saying that I needed to do it by noon. I saw the email at noon, but the current timesheet wasn't on the drop-down list. So the timesheet person emailed HR. We'll see what happens. It looks like HR will submit the timesheets. I now have a reminder on my calendar until forever.

I walked my garden. Most of the plants are dealing with the rain okay. (The mint is ecstatic.) However, one of the tomatoes has a yellow leaf, and I don't know why.

Sent an email to my dad asking if I should open a Roth account as well as a traditional retirement account, and he said that it depended on taxes. I'm in the middle of my tax bracket, and there's no way that I could save enough to bump me down.

I'm trying to decide whether to go to the store after piano class. I'm really, really tired, but I'm almost out of bread. I'd like to stay up in case my mom calls about my aunt though.

My mom and my aunt called right before my dinner. The upshot is that, while the doctors can't cure my aunt, they have ways to contain the cancer. They're going to analyze the tumor and see if they can prescribe a hormone to fight it. Next they'll try tamoxifen. And finally, they'll try chemo. My mom and my aunt feel more upbeat.

Had my piano class. My teacher pushes me really hard and doesn't let me get away with sloppy playing even though I'm a beginner. She must think that I can learn. And I really like piano. I'd like to take private lessons, but I can't afford it right now. I'm having a problem with guitar because I really don't like guitar. I need to figure out what to do about it.

I think that I'm going to head towards bed and read a little.