days_unfolding

Checked out the room rates at Disney's Polynesian Resort, and holy cow, that's expensive. Port Orleans is more my speed. Or the Swan, but it fills up WAY in advance. Maybe whenever I get to Disney, I can at least visit a restaurant at the Poly.

Overslept. I’ll take my shower at lunch (done).

Mimi threw up again, so I might need to bring her to the vet.

I found a pair of green jeans, which look great with my "undersea" hoodie. I've gotten some nice clothes.

Talked to the vet (the one whom I usually go to). We agreed that Zara doesn't need to come, which will make her happy, but I'm bringing in Mimi during the same time slot because Mimi has been throwing up. Mimi is a terror about getting into the carrier, so I need all the luck that I can get. Got her in the carrier. They checked her out and gave her an antinausea shot and some pills to give her. I'm supposed to let them know if she still is nauseous despite the shot and pills.

I received my evening gowns from ThredUp and, I think, one or more of the swimsuits. Tomorrow is try on day around here.

Now Zara isn’t eating again. Sigh. Someone ate her food while I was at rehearsal though. She's hanging out in the kitchen.

Went to choir rehearsal. It went well.

Mimi ate some of her wet food. Then I gave her dry food, and she ate some of that. Then she ate more wet food, but didn't finish it. Zara ate most of her food.

Booked the bus to and from O'Hare Airport. However, I'll miss the last bus on the way back, so I booked a hotel for overnight in Chicago. I chose one that has an airport shuttle, but I need to find out how to contact them to pick me up. Changed my Barbados tour due to my broken toe. Emailed a person about the San Juan tour, and they said that there was a walk of three to four blocks, but I could wait in a coffee shop, so I booked it. Ordered some makeup for my trip.

Studied Italian. I have Italian tomorrow morning, although I'm wondering about the time because Europe has ended Daylight Savings Time, but we'll end it this coming weekend.

I need to look for the waterproof pouch for my cell phone and order a new one if I can't find it.

Someone (Zara?) polished off the baby food. No, it was Mimi. She’s been eating the baby food. I’m going to assume that she’s okay, just off her feed. Zara won’t eat anything, so I’ll bring her in. I’m mulling what to do on the probably long wait, so I think that I’ll grab an Italian book.

I didn’t find the waterproof pouch, but found my dress sandals. Now I found the waterproof pouch, so I canceled my Amazon order.

I brought both girls to the emergency vet. Zara was way too easy to get into the carrier. Mimi led me on quite a chase, so she can’t be feeling too badly. They’ve been through triage—Zara was her usual fractious self, and Mimi liked the fact that they petted her—and now we wait.

The vet checked them over. They want to run blood tests on the both of them. (I figured that they would.) They said that Zara is “spicy,” and they probably will have to sedate her. Then they said Mimi was hissing, which shocked me because Mimi is usually pretty easy. So they might need to sedate her too. They did an ultrasound and didn’t see anything concerning. They said that it would be another couple of hours. I told them that I hadn’t eaten dinner, so they told me to go home and they’ll call me. So I did.

I got my Land’s End order with the snow pants and long underwear. That was fast. I need to try them on because I bought two different sizes because I didn’t know which would fit.

Filled out my replacement ballot. Brought down the suitcase and started packing for the cruise. I can’t find my white jeans that I want to take with me. I’m going to have to sort my clothes and put them away.

It had been four hours and I hadn’t heard anything from the vet, so I went back. Apparently, the girls’ blood work is done, and they need to just write up their discharge papers. The girls' blood work was good. Mimi's was completely normal, and Zara's was only a little elevated.

I had gotten checked out by a friendly big white dog. The dog was still waiting when I got back. I said , “Hi,” to him or her again. I’d like a dog like that.

We're back home. Mimi promptly chowed down. Zara is looking interested in food. We'll see. I really want to crash. I'm going to skip swimming tomorrow and collapse.

The snow pants and long underwear were on sale for 1/2 off, so I bought them. I'll be ready for winter!

Soaked a litter box.

Woke up early to go pay my property tax bill. Actually, I went back to sleep for a while, but still had plenty of time. Ran to Walgreens afterward and bought foundation and eyeliner.

Mimi is fussing over me. She missed two days of lap time!

I'm tired. I'm looking forward to my nap, but it'll be an hour later due to a meeting.

Booked my flight to and from and hotel in San Juan. Oh crap, the tour that I wanted to do in San Juan was a walking tour. I can't do it because of my toe.

Took a nap and slept until midnight. I'm going to go back to sleep for a little while and get up early.

Overslept and didn't get a chance to take a shower.

The trust said that they are sending my check overnight mail today. I'll get up earlish tomorrow to see if the check is here, and, if so, to deposit it at the bank.

The real estate agent for Mom's house sent me an invitation to a real estate listing site, which is promising, but the listing isn't up yet.

Mimi is refusing to leave my lap today, which is making work difficult. The perils of working from home....Wacky things are happening with the system at work; the system is giving a due date that is earlier than today's date with a checkout date of today.

I need to go to the grocery store tonight because I'm out of oatmeal. I think that I'll clear off the kitchen table afterward. I'm thinking about the weekend. I need to clean the house because I didn't have money for the cleaner this week. I also want to clean the upstairs. I need to wash towels and sheets. And I need to bring down the suitcase to start packing for the cruise. (I also need to pack for the Michigan trip, but it's shorter.)

Hmm. I looked into the company that manages susandennis's senior living center, and they have places in or near Illinois only in the Chicago and St. Louis areas. Also, none near Madison. The one in Wheaton sounds nice though.

Hmm. My back hurts when I bend over boxes sorting stuff. Someone on a Facebook group suggested a rolling stool. That might help. I wishlisted a stool on Amazon.

I brought some blankets upstairs into the guest room, and Mimi is taking them over. She has made a little nest in them. The guest room is HER room, according to her.

I decided to just get a few things at the local grocery store, and make a larger shopping trip to Walmart tomorrow. I almost forgot the oatmeal, but luckily, I was still in the parking lot when I remembered it.

I’m tired. I think that I’m going to go to bed. I have a lot to do tomorrow.

I had my Italian lesson today. It went well; she taught me some new verb tenses. The listening exercise is still hard. I need to spend time on other listening sites. News in Slow Italian is good. She still loves Mimi and spoke to her in Italian!

Zara is a funny little girl. She led me over to the bedroom to snuggle. I was petting her, but she has rules about petting that changes from day to day. This time it was "don't touch the tail". I told her that I'd snuggle during lunch, but now I have to work. She didn't think that was a good reason.

The university is having their charitable drive. I wanted to give to EarthShare, only to find that I'm already giving to EarthShare and a Bipolar and Depression fund. I'll let that ride.

From a security briefing at work: "In July, an executive at Italian car company Ferrari was contacted by someone claiming to be the company CEO. During a phone call, the voice on the other end sounded just like the CEO, even his accent and intonation. However, the executive became suspicious because the CEO was calling from a different number and asking for an unusual type of transaction. The executive then asked a question that only the real CEO could answer: what book had the CEO recently recommended? The call ended abruptly. This appears to be an incident of voice cloning, an AI-generated deepfake of a real person’s voice." This is getting scary.

I told my dad that I wanted to cruise the Greek islands to see Santorini, but they're unhappy with the number of tourists, especially cruise ships, so maybe I should stay there. There are a LOT of Airbnbs, which drive local people out. I did find a family-run hotel that looks good. But I'm going to go back to Italy first. And Paris.

Zara was happy that she got her snuggles during lunch. Now she's asleep.

I'm wondering in what box the dress that I bought for the Maui trip that I never went on because of the fire is in. The cruise will probably have a dress up night, but I don't really want to buy a dress just for this trip when I have one. I did find a lace dress on Nordstorm Rack that I liked. It might make sense to order it and return it if I find the other one.

Weeded the side yard. I found that one weeder that I bought didn’t work well, but another helped me rip out the weeds in short order. There were some thistles that were dug in, and I had to cut them down. I’ll try to dig them up in the spring. I planted some more daylilies and watered them.

I remembered that I had thawed some (rather good) burgers, and I made them with Brussels sprouts. That was very good. The problem with eating prepackaged food is that it gets boring, so maybe I should consult with a dietitian at the hospital and cook. But my insurance wants me to take an online class first. Sigh. I found some diet recipe books that I want to try.

Got the garbage out.

Spent too much time on Facebook. I’m worried about the hurricane in Florida and might stay up watching CNN tomorrow night, although there won’t be a lot of news before sunrise. I remember watching the news about Hurricane Katrina. Which means that I should go to sleep soon.

I'm looking at swimsuits for my cruise. I should order relatively soon to be sure to have it for my trip. I'll definitely have two beach days plus pool time on the ship, and possibly some beach time in San Juan. I think that tankinis are the way to go. I'm thinking this one and this one. Or possibly this one. I definitely want the purple one. I just have to decide on the second one. I also need a "wet bag" in case I swim in San Juan and then need to pack the swimsuit for the cruise.

I found out what is the best swimming beach in San Juan and want to book the Hilton Caribe, which is right near the beach, and it also has a pool. I'll have to look into transport to the cruise dock (found transportation).

I discovered that most lawn weed-killers kill clover, which I included in my lawn seed. Bother. I hope that the clover crowds the other stuff out. I found some instructions on how to kill weeds without killing clover. This guy has a blog all about lawn care, including what to do when.

I overslept this morning. We had a meeting with a job candidate at 10. When I logged on at 9, I went "Eeep" because we'd need to be on camera, so I jumped hastily into the shower. (Yes, I made up the time.) The candidate was very good. We'll have to see how the one in the afternoon is. She was very good too. I don't envy the search committee having to make a decision.

The house cleaner is here. I forgot to mention the Italian stickers to her, and she removed two of them until she realized what they were. That's okay. She's doing an excellent job and she's super nice. She finished and did a great job. And she's not open for reoccurring appointments, damn it. She said that it all depended on her schedule, and we exchanged phone numbers.

The other night, I saw a listing for a cat who loves everyone, and "species doesn't matter". If she's still available, I'll check her out once the library room is done and I get stuff out of the living room. There's another one who is similar at the same shelter, which is convenient.

I intended to go to the DMV tonight, but apparently then close at 5 tonight, not 5:30. I'll have to get up early and go tomorrow.

I'm trying to figure out what to do after work. I guess that I should unload the car. I need to do laundry and pack. And I want to clean the upstairs. That's probably the least amount of stuff that I've had to do the night before a trip. Most of the cleaning has been done.

I'm tired, so I'm going to go to bed early and finish up in the morning. I need to get up early to go to the DMV anyway.

I was leafing through a home organization book, and it’s good. It has you write down your plans for the room, barriers to organizing, etc. It should be helpful.

I need to crank music and clean the kitchen tonight.

Overslept a little. No shower for me this morning.

Mimi is lying in her favorite spot on her side on the wicker chest with her tail dangling down. She looks dead, but she appears to be breathing :)

It looks like a Facebook group deleted my post asking for a couple of guys to help me move the dresser, so I posted it on Craigslist.

I finished a major project at work, so yay. A weight is off my mind.

The trust paid for the cruise! I'm going on a cruise! I need to add the airfare and a hotel for a day in San Juan, but I'll do that later. I found a site that has sexy swimwear for older women. Maybe I should get some for my cruise. I’m not sure what size I’ll be then though.

I might have a guy to help me move the dresser. I'll have to hold the other end, but okay. I just want it moved. We made plans for late Saturday afternoon. It just occurred to me that I could have posted my request for help on Next Door. I'll have to remember that for the future.

I have an appointment at Midas at 3:30 PM on Monday for an oil change and (I hope) getting the back license plate off. Yes!!!! Things are falling into place. Now I just need to get my weary butt to the DMV to get the plates for Mom's car. Oh, and I texted the handyman, telling him when I'll be in town.

Oh cool! My Venezia t-shirt has arrived!

DHL said "delivery attempted" for my Italian keyboard, but I was home, so I don't know what was wrong. Oh good, they left me something to sign so that they can deliver the package. It was shipped from Europe (Germany)!

Mimi came over to me, meowed a few times, and went back and lay down. I’m not sure what that was about. It is feeding time. She wanted food.

I started working in my home organization book on the kitchen section. I decided to just write in the workbook and just chuck it when I’m done rather than preserve it for someone else (though that’s not a great use of our natural resources). I also discovered that I need a pencil sharpener for the upstairs.

I think that I want to charge the mower batteries in the basement instead of the kitchen counters as I have been doing. (I want them off of the counter.) I’ll need another power strip. As it turns out, an extension cord that I have is perfect because I can get the chargers on a shelf in the basement. I ordered another extension cord because they’re handy to have.

I also need a basket for apples (ordered). Found a place for my measuring cups. Put the Chillwell on a shelf. Cleared some counter space. Now the counters are cleared off except for the apples and my tools. Just ordered a large tool box.

Hmm. I was wondering how to store my winter blankets in the summer, and found instructions to make a DIY blanket ladder that I like. I’ll also look around for one premade. Amazon has one that I like and isn’t horribly expensive. I also ordered furniture sliders for hardwood floors in case I want to move the dresser and to move the piano into the living room.

I'm taking a break to study Italian and enter the date on which I need to register for swimming on my calendar. They also have a "Walkers Book Club," in which people walk and discuss the books they've been reading. That's a good way to meet some readers! Oh, ugh, it's at the same time as swimming lessons. Drat. I'll see when the uni has lessons. I'd really like to go to that.

Studied Italian. I'm losing steam, so I'll go to bed. I did get a lot done today though, so I feel accomplished.

Urgh. I had added a credit card to my Allivet (vet pet meds) account because it was missing, which was weird. And I changed my billing address. Then I received a message that the charge didn't go though. So on the phone I went, and apparently the change to the address didn't go through. Le sigh. But it's fixed.

The insurance person at the trust got back to me and said that she would check the status of the insurance policy. I haven't heard back since then.

Now I'm thinking that if Doodles are high-energy, they're probably not for me. (Though the one with heartworm is haunting me.) I got some books on corgis. (I like the looks of Doodles, Corgis, and Maltese dogs.) I noticed that there is no “Dummies” book on corgis. Maybe I’d be the one to write it? I checked, and there already is a "Cats for Dummies" book. Oh well. Hmm. Corgis are energetic too. One of the corgi books says that because corgis are herding dogs, they might try to "herd" other pets. They recommended getting puppies if you have other pets. Zara, I think, would teach them manners.

I found a grooming and boarding place and a (for fee) dog park in Urbana. And a dog training club.

Well, I went back to sleep this morning and didn’t finish the kitchen. But I got the counter cleaned off and the stove, so the cleaner can clean them.

I lay down for a nap at lunchtime. Mimi jumped off the bed when I put the phone on to charge (the charger is across the room) but came back when I sat up after the nap. Silly cat :)

I’m looking at step bookcases (ones that look like a set of stairs) for under the stairs in the new house.

I discovered Zara's new spot. She's sleeping on the love seat in the TV room. I told her that we would be taking it with us when we move. She went back to sleep :) I still think that I'll take the wingback chair for her though. I found a new cover for the wingback chair that has a skirt because she likes to hide under the one here. It's taupe, not gray, but I think that it will work. I'll put it in the "music room".

The orchids seem to like the new self-watering pots. I need to get the rest of them potted.

Hmm. My cleaner hasn't showed up. Maybe she thought that she was supposed to come next week, when it was originally scheduled. That's okay. More time to work on the kitchen after I finish the box because I want to throw it into the dumpster that's being picked up tomorrow. And I need to remember to move my car (done). I have no way to contact the cleaner though. She has called me previously, but I deleted the message. I don't see her in my text messages. She called at 4 PM and said that there was a snafu in her morning job. She said that she could still come, but I said let's just do it next week. And I added her to my contacts.

Oops, Zara is up and she wants food. I told her, as I have many times before, that she's a walking stomach. Yes, I'll give her her lunch now.

I sent a message to a company about snow removal for the new house. They also create patios, so I'd like to get to know them. I bet that they would put in garden beds too. They said that they don't do snow removal anymore because of the labor shortage. But! They can put in gardens for me as well as the patio! (Hmm, it looks like I'll need a snow blower.) Hmm, if there’s a labor shortage, I probably can’t get anyone to rake leaves at the new place. I need to grab my mom’s rake when I go.

After work, I came into my bedroom to lie down for a little while and turned on the lights. Mimi was asleep on my, er, her bed and gave me a bleary-eyed look. Now she’s back asleep.

Apple is sending me a replacement watch, which has shipped.

I'm wondering if I should take Mom's bird feeder, but I don't know where the trays are for it. I need to look in the garage.

If I ever get to Japan, I’m taking Japan Airlines. That evacuation was amazing.

I received a message from the travel agent for my cruise next year. I emailed back asking how I can make payments for the cruise. I booked my shore excursions, except for San Juan because I need to know when I'll arrive there. I had thought about skipping one of the destinations for a spa day on the ship, but I really want to go for the destinations, and I can have a spa day anywhere.

The lining on my down coat is stuck in the zipper. Someone online suggested using a tweezer, but that just pulled out a thread and poked small holes in the lining. Any suggestions are gratefully accepted.

The IRS almost gave me a heart attack by sending me a letter, but it was just saying that someone (me) accessed IRS data for the FAFSA. Whew.

I'm going to go to sleep now and work on my box in the morning.

Got the stuff out of the room and checked out. Went looking for lunch, but the restaurant that I wanted to go to opened at noon. Bah. A local fast-food place was open, so I had a couple of corn dogs and some really good ice cream. It's very peaceful here.

Got on the road. It was a long way to the first rest stop. My neck was killing me. As soon as I stopped, I started rolling my head.

I'm back. The girls gave me the once-over. They liked the pet sitter though. Note to MDOT: why do you have both 696 and Telegraph under construction? There's no good way to avoid the construction. Bah.

The house was hot. I turned on the a/c. Boy, the bathroom is gross. I didn't get a chance to clean it before I left.

I was looking at cruises for next year. I realized with a thud that I won't have anyone to celebrate Christmas with. But that is true of this year too. There's a cruise next year that stops at St. Lucia, which I really want to see, and the one that I'm looking at stops in St. Lucia on my birthday, so I'm taking that as I'm fated to go on that cruise. I gave "Vacations To Go" my phone number. I put down a deposit on the cruise. Now it's nap time. No, it's too hot upstairs to sleep. Not sure what to do.

Zara is perched on my lap.

I'm mulling over how to get the loveseat out of the "plant room," and I'll need to get the dining room cleaned out. Oh, my piano teacher responded to my message, and she said to play a bunch of pianos to find the one that draws me in.

I took my nighttime meds. I think that I'll be able to sleep after I get the stuff upstairs. At least I just have to work tomorrow, and then it'll be the weekend.

It was a Mondayesque Monday. The person on call for the tickets opened by members of the consortium wasn't in during the morning, and I was the backup person. So I waded in and made some mistakes, but now at least I've done it (routed the tickets to appropriate queues). One step closer to being a "regular" staff member. But my computer was acting weird--my headphones weren't working and Skype didn't come up.

Now I'm looking at an Italian school in Venice that comes highly recommended. Hotels aren't cheap though. Hey, they partner with people who rent flats for a week or more. I wonder if my mom would want to go along? I'm looking at 2023.

Mom called. She's coming down on Wednesday. So tonight is homework and tomorrow I'll finish cleaning.

I managed to get something for encryption, but I'm completely stumped by function growth, so I gave up. No, I got some problems done. I'm tired of this math class. Two more weeks of assignments though. I'm assuming that we're having a final but it doesn't say.

Hmm. I don't think that I can afford a $450 deposit on the cruise this month while I'm paying for school, but I'll put some of the money aside.

Well, hell. Zara is deeply asleep on "her" box, and I don't want to wake her up by cleaning. No, now she's up and diving into boxes. But I need to practice.

I think that I'm going to take Thursday and Friday off.