days_unfolding

Okay, my camera is at the local FedEx store. I need to go pick it up tomorrow.

I bought a pair of Coldwater Creek black shorts on eBay. I need to look at the clothes that I have this weekend and figure out what I need. Probably not much.

I roughed out a trip to St. Lucia in November (the cheapest month) in case Gracie's Giardia is stubborn. I found a hotel that I like. I would really want a driver though (they drive on the left) and I'm not sure how I would arrange that.

I need to read “Go the Fuck to Sleep” to Gracie and Bella.

Gracie woke me up at 7 AM. There was a dog on a leash outside when I let the dogs out, and Gracie went nuts. I told her that the dog had a perfect right to walk by, but she didn’t think so.

Lily is fussing over me because she’s hungry. Fed the cats. The doggos are waiting for food (done). Oliver is trying to convince me to give him more food. Not happening, guy. Okay, fed myself and now it’s nap time.

Gracie and Bella are wrestling. Gracie thinks that she’s a big tough dog rather than a small and young one.

I ran into my neighbor, who really likes the dogs. We talked about fences.

I really want to stay home but should pick up the camera. FedEx is open until 6 PM. Had lunch. I’m thinking of lying back down for a little while.

Hmm. Someone is selling on Facebook Marketplace a four-piece patio set that I like, but I’m not sure how I’d get it home.

Napped. Showered.

Hum. My back yard is still slightly shaded. I wonder if I should get a Japanese Maple tree. There’s a sale on, but I want to wait until the damn garage is built. (The guy called me back on Friday, but I didn’t pick up the message until Saturday.)

Picked up my camera. It seems nice but didn’t come with a battery charger. So I ordered one to get here tomorrow. I need to find a safe place to stash the camera in the meantime.

While was driving, I was mulling over getting a condo in downtown Champaign when the house gets too much for me. Some of them are too expensive, but I saw a couple of possibilities.

Fed us all and took the dogs out. Ordered more garbage bags. Opened some packages. Crud, I forgot to call my dad this weekend. (I want to make him my beneficiary on my retirement account, but I need his Social Security Number.)

I'm going to bed early.

Got a bunch of stuff done on the kitchen before I went to sleep. Already my plan is working.

Wow, I'm feeling groggy today. My nap didn't help much.

I got my books of musical scores for my singing lessons. I found some songs that I can work on. I think that I want to start on "Till There Was You" from The Music Man. It's such a pretty song. I got two copies of one of the books, so I need to return the extra copy to Amazon.

Because I'm feeling so groggy, I decided to stay in today and bring clothes to the resale shop tomorrow. I pushed my singing lesson later to give me more time tomorrow. I paid another bill.

Zara is lurking and wants food. I think that the cats think that I am a feeding machine.

I finally opened my laptop-camera backpack and love it. I think that it will work well on my trips.

I got an urn from the cremation society that I didn't order. I sent an email to them asking WTF? in a polite way and asked if I could drop it by them.

Shit, shit, shit. I called Truist bank (the Delta Sky Miles bank), and the reason that I didn't get my debit card is because they think that the account was opened for fraud. They told me that I have to visit a branch, and their branches are on the East Coast and South. The fraud protection people are there only during the week, so I'll call back on Monday. They have $11,000 dollars of my money that I want back. What a clusterfuck. Well, at least I'm wide awake now :) They do have a branch in Cincinnati, which is a four-hour drive from here, but I'd rather get it settled over the phone.

Facebook had an ad for a candlelight performance of Mozart's Requiem in downtown Detroit, and I bought a ticket. They also had Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, but the performance is today, so it's not happening.

I think that I want to get the magazines off of the bookcase in the hall upstairs and use it for the books that I bought. I don't think that I'll have enough room in the recycle bin this week, but maybe next week.

I think that I'll shower and deep-condition my hair. I also got the manicure stuff, so I'll give myself a manicure too (without nail polish). I've decided to do that before bed, and now I'm taking out the garbage and recycling out from the kitchen, with breaks when my back hurts.

I'm running out of steam. I think that I need some Prince on the CD boombox. Oh ugh. The boombox isn't working or the CD is hosed (and it was new). I tried another CD and it's the boombox. I need another one because I can't get this house cleaned without music. Okay, I bought one that doubles as a portable DVD player.

Did some dishes and started watering the orchids. I'm going to need to repot a couple of the orchids, so I ordered some pots and orchid bark. I'm completely out of steam, but I got a lot done today. I'll take a progress picture tomorrow. I think that I'll read some of my camera book and set up the camera. I got the camera set up. I'm going to post and take the camera book up to bed with me. Tomorrow I can play with the camera.

Now I'm thinking that I should save up for a trip to Pere Marquette State Park (in Illinois) this fall if it's open. I'd like to do some hiking and bring the new camera to practice photography. It's a trip that I've wanted to take for a while. A place to stay won't be cheap, however.

Maybe I should grow some beets. My grandmother made great borscht. I wonder if Mom has the recipe. She does. And I ordered beet seeds.

Mom called. Her computer battery is giving out, so we discussed places to get a new one. And an out-of-town friend invited her to stay and go to a garden shop, and she wanted to know if I'd freak out. I said that I'd be okay if she was careful.

I forgot to mention that I saw a houseplants-of-the-month box, and they had a version that was safe for pets. I don't have a great place to put them though. Maybe on top of the low bookcase in the kitchen. Or not.

The camera is here. I can't figure out how to get the lens on, so I'll need to read the instructions. And I'll need to get the battery to turn it on. I ordered a couple of books about it.

Got my laundry started.

I'm studying mass quantities of Italian, and my brain hurts. Oy. My Italian test was HARD. I'm glad that it's over.

Now I'm in the mood for watching a Harry Potter movie.

I had problems falling asleep last night. Couldn't shut my mind off. So much for getting up early.

I was thinking how I buy possibilities. I'll have the treadmill (once I put it together) and the exercise bike and the dance videos, so I can choose what I feel like on a given day. It would kind of be a drag to have only one thing to do.

I was also thinking that my mom said that my uncle's life ended (in terms of being engaged) when he stopped working. I said that that worried me because work takes up a lot of my life. My mom said that I'd be okay because I'm interested in lots of things. Possibilities, again.

I've given up on travel plans for the year. Even in November, who knows if we'll be in a second wave of the virus. Now I'm looking at Spring Break next year.

I decided to not put on makeup because the likelihood of a video chat is low. (There wasn't one.)

Hmm. Lincoln Land Community College is offering an online American Sign Language class. It's not cheap, but it would give me the chance to see if I want to pursue it further.

Today is the first day in which I'm working using the new desk chair, and it is a lot more comfortable.

I was looking at seed potatoes to grow in a bag. I'd like to grow Yukon Golds, but their growing season has long since started. The problem with growing potatoes that you have to get a lot of seed potatoes in one order. I need to plan my garden better this coming winter.

Hussled my garbage out. Isn't my life exciting?

I'm busy "snoozing" people that are posting really dumb stuff on Facebook. I don't know why I don't drop them. I guess because they might notice. Facebook is kind of wallowing in the muck and finding a few gems.

I just made Chunky Soup for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking. Plus, I want to finally put the treadmill together and use it. I had Chicken Corn Chowder soup, and Zara was a little out of control. She even dragged her tail through my bowl, but luckily I was about done. (Now she's grooming her tail.)

BBC News: "Trump believes that there will be a vaccine by the end of the year." Oh Lord. I wish, but in your dreams. There's also an article about what travel might be like before there's a vaccine. Must read.

I've been coveting a DSLR camera for years. I've always wanted to get into photography. Well someone was selling a Nikon D3100 without a battery or charger on Mercari for very cheap. I can order the battery and charger. So I bought it.

Well, I started to assemble the treadmill. And in my unerring lack of talent for assembly, I started to put on the bottom of the treadmill backward. I undid it, and I'm done for tonight. They need arrows with "This End Up" for people like me. Do not assume anything.