days_unfolding

Hmm. I'm feeling well enough to do my walk/run later, but it's supposed to snow. It looks like an "at home" day.

Had a nice nap. (I'm not working today because I'm working Monday through Friday next week.) I'm making something to eat. I'm trying to decide which part of the house to tackle first. Maybe the bedroom because I just walked through "Mom's room" (the TV room) and her bathroom, and they don't look too bad.

Zara's really smart. I kicked her off my lap so that I could eat, and as soon as I ate the last bite, there she was.

They've lowered the prediction to two to four inches of snow. Good. I'm getting low on milk, but I'll wait until tomorrow to get it.

Yep, we have snow.

A while back, I thought about creating a habit tracker calendar. Well someone else created one, and it's for sale on Amazon. Maybe I should get it and see what I'd do differently. I had thought of making it a 60-day display because that's how long it takes to form a habit.

I tried on my Lands' End snow boots and they fit well. I went out in the snow in them to put out my garbage and they had good traction. Note to self: Get up EARLY to deal with the snowy mess outside.

Lands' End also has a really cute pair of flannel pajamas. I wonder which would be warmer, flannel pajamas or sweats. I guess that I'll see who has them on sale in January and go from there.

I'm thinking that I should do Christmas cards to get them done and ready to mail tomorrow. Zara's on my lap though. Gathered up library books to return tomorrow. Churned out Christmas cards.

I couldn't find my flannel sheets anywhere. I finally found them in the chest in which I keep my sheets. No wonder I couldn't find them. I'm going to put them on the bed (which involves moving some books because I put them next to me like I did in college) and go to sleep.

Got the microwave, and it works well. It's bigger than I expected though. I'm having a cup of tea (that I heated up in the microwave) before work.

Ran to the storage place and got some Christmas wrapping paper.

I found some Christmas cards on Amazon that I like and aren't too expensive. It's been hard to find a card that I like because I like a dove of peace on the card, but don't want religious text on it.

Not much to say. Work was work-like. The cats are cat-like. Mimi thinks that I sit at the kitchen table so that she can sit on my lap. Zara is snuggling on her velour throw on the dresser.

The Crown has started on NetFlix, but I'm going to wait until Thanksgiving week to watch it.

Wow. Slept for 12 hours. Mimi heard me stirring and walked on me, meowing. She calmed down when I got up.

I might not make it to the dentist. I'd make it if they were open their posted hours, but they close early on Friday if they don't have any patients.

There is a fly in here. So far, the girls don't appear to have noticed. The fly appears to like me and keeps landing on me.

Zara is a messy eater. She likes to take a hunk of wet food out of her dish, put it on the top of the freezer, and then eat it, leaving crumbs of food. Thanks, Z.

I have a busy lap this morning. Zara was being extra-snuggly, and now Mimi is on my lap.

I'm going to assume that I won't make it to the dentist and will take a short nap instead.

Overslept my nap and won't make it to the gym. At least I'm well-rested.

Did the dishes. Threw in a load of laundry. Put up a new shower curtain liner. Cleaned the bathroom except for the floor. (I'll sweep and mop it later tonight.) The tub is gleaming.

Threw myself together and went out and got some soda, hand soap, and my meds.

Now I'm sitting for a minute before making the Three Cheese Butternut Squash Lasagna Skillet.

The lasagna was pretty good. Unlike a lot of the Home Chef meals, it would be relatively cheap to make. The lasagna bakes in an oven-safe pan that you used to make the skillet. The recipe had a warning that the pan will be hot when it comes out of the oven, and I rolled my eyes saying "Of course"--when I brushed against the pan and burned myself. Oops.

Hmm. I was going to feed the girls, but they're still hiding because the smoke alarm went off.

I asked Mom for a kitchen island/cart for Christmas, and she agreed "my budding gourmet chef" should have one. It would help a lot because I end up piling stuff on top of each other in here right now.

Trying to decide what to do right now. Maybe work on the bedroom. Or go to sleep.

My mom, my aunt, and my uncle weren't feeling well today, so we got a late start. My mom, my aunt, and I went to an herb/ health food store with a chatty proprietor. I bought some tea. We watched the news for a long time. My uncle and my mom got into a political argument. Meanwhile, my aunt was calling us for dinner, and she was mad that we didn't cone right away. I was sitting at the table, thinking that it all was fodder for a novel. My aunt stuffed me with so much food that I thought that I was going to throw up. Then we opened presents, which went okay. Merry Christmas??

Overslept a little, but got ready in plenty of time. At the train station now.

Trying to decide whether to study Spanish for a while or just go to bed.

Well, Christmas has come and gone. A few highlights:

• My friend came early to drive me to the train. It threw me off a little, and I forgot to grab the sandwich and soda that I had bought for the train. Oh well.


• Everyone seems so old. My aunt is walking like an old lady, and my uncle is barely getting around.


• The high point of the holiday for me was watching two choral groups sing on PBS. Love choral music.


• My aunt bought me a cool teapot. I've been wanting a teapot. Pots of Earl Grey, here I come.


• Everyone is more or less speaking to each other.


• However, my mom has come to the conclusion that there's something seriously wrong mentally/emotionally with my aunt. That's not news to me.


• We're trying to get out early tomorrow so that I can pick up the cats tomorrow and save some money. (The cats, I'm sure, will appreciate being picked up early too.)


• It's really cold. Temps in the single digits tomorrow. We're talking about getting some stuff from the store and just holing up at home after we get there.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Just woke up. I've been keeping food down okay (although I ate a slice of pizza earlier, and it smelled gross to me). I think that I'll have some Ramen.

One of the Christmas cards that I forgot to put a stamp on has been returned to me. It's the one that I'm worried about--the one for my mom, who will leave for Chicago in a week. I will mail it tomorrow--WITH A STAMP ON IT!

Added: The freezer was off again. I blame the Pork Chop, aka Mimi, who likes to go back there and is, ahem, "chunky". The vet isn't going to be happy about her weight. Which reminds me, I think that Mimi and Zara are due for shots, but I haven't heard from the vet. I need to call them tomorrow. Anyway, I pushed the freezer back.

I just ordered Christmas cards and all my Christmas presents. This might be a new record.

This is the first Christmas in about 20 years that I've had a tree. I keep ohing and ahing and staring at it. It was a pretty good Christmas present to me from me -;)

Over the last couple of years, I've been rediscovering Christmas. Last year, I discovered some classical/ecclesiastical versions of Christmas carols, and I play them a lot. However, there are some secular Christmas carols (if you'll pardon the oxymoron) that I like. Last year, the carol "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" seemed to be following me around, and I became quite fond of it. (And it's certainly appropriate for this year!) When I was growing up, "Silver Bells" was one of my favorite carols; it made me think of Christmas shopping in Downtown Chicago. So I went in search of a CD with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Silver Bells" on it.

Not as easy a task as it sounds. I wound up getting a couple of CDs with a lot of older renditions of carols (read: Bing Crosby, Sinatra, etc.) along with some newer ones. And I absolutely hated the arrangements (especially after listening to "classical" Christmas carols). I decided fairly quickly that I was going to give away or sell the CDs.

But then "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" played, and it was a knockout rendition of the song. (Sung by Judy Garland. I could see her relating to it.) So now I don't know what I'm going to do with the CD.

Now I should go back to my boxes. I'll probably update again before Christmas, but if not, have yourself a merry little Christmas.