days_unfolding

I ordered some summer pajamas for my trip. It’s kind of cute: purple with stars on it. I need to check on my electric razor too.

Gracie woke me up at 7:30 AM. The dogs are wrestling. Napped. Wow, my stomach is upset. I’ll eat and see how I feel. I texted in sick and am going to lie down. Oliver is burrowing and Lily is pouncing on him. A quiet day at home.

My stomach still hurts. Not sure what to do. I need to mow. Ate dinner and it seems to be helping a little.

My dad said that he hasn’t been feeling well because he’s not sleeping well. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go visit him. Found my travel razor. Napped.

Oliver was cuddling with me for both naps. Aww. Woke up at 7:30 PM. The cats want to be fed. Fed them, and Oliver didn’t finish his food. Got the dogs in and fed them. I’m not going to make it to the local grocery store because I need to take a shower. I’ll go to Meijer. Hmm, now I’m thinking of going to sleep and getting up early.

I said Good night to the cats “And don’t knock anything down “. Oliver: “That sounds like a challenge.” The dogs are so tired.

Woke up 7:20ish. It’s been a busy morning. Overslept my nap. Contacted the vet for Gracie’s shot. Signed the forms for my CPAP (and did a “facial scan”). Checked on the dogs because it’s raining, but they don’t want to come in. Okay. Bella left muddy paw prints on my shirt 🙂 Oliver is being a little shit and is picking on Lily. Sigh.

Got a place to board the cats at the end of the month. I’ll call the dog place tomorrow morning.

It’s after work, and the cats want to be fed Right Meow! Lily is fussing over me. I didn’t have time to eat dinner before my singing lesson. Threw myself together.

The singing lesson went well. I told her that choir was over for the summer, and she said, “Oh good. We can practice solo pieces.” She asked me if I had a song to work on, and I said that the Joni Mitchell song “River” had popped into my mind. She liked the range of notes on it. I wound up inwardly cursing Joni Mitchell for her range. We got through it, but I need to practice it.

Everyone is inside and fed, but I need to give them their evening snack.

I’m adding to my reading of somewhat depressing books by reading Roger Rosenblatt’s book about caring for his grandkids after the death of his daughter, Making Toast. I’m a Roger Rosenblatt fan. I loved his essays for Time magazine. I had my favorite of his essays, ”Thanksgiving Inventory” on my door at IBM. (You can search Time's archive for it if you want, but I can't link to it. Well worth it though.) But the chapters in his book are long, so I decided to put it aside and post. I want to get up at a decent hour to do yard work.

So I need to give the pets their crunchies and head towards bed.

Woke up around 4:30 AM. The dogs and cats were wondering why I was up so early. Took an Uber and met my colleague at 6:30 AM.

My colleague drove us up to the Chicago area (Elmhurst). The event went well, and no one was upset about the lunch choices that I chose.

I’m so freaking exhausted. I have a singing lesson at 7, but then I’ll be working towards going to bed. Singing went well. I left a couple of pages out scanning a song though. I need to scan it for next time.

Oliver and Lily: ”Good, you’re home. Feed us!” Fed us all. Gracie isn’t eating her food. Anyway, now I’ll post and get ready for bed.

Woke up at 8 AM. The catlings want FOOD! NOW!

Hmm, I really want to nap at lunch, but I need to take a shower. Can I shower after work? I have choir. Oh! I have physical therapy today, so I need to shower at lunch.

The dogs came in early. Because it’s cold?

I forgot to mention yesterday that because of the sun pattern, I’m going to move the raised beds over against the fence in my yard. I plan to assemble them next weekend. Oh, I have the book sale next weekend. It’s going to be hectic.

Physical therapy went okay. The physical therapist worked me really hard. I’m looking at some tools that she had me use on Amazon. She gave me an exercise band.

I think that I want to learn how to can. I should have extra tomatoes.

Choir went well. I should get a solo part. The question is which one?

Went to the local grocery store and picked up a few things. Lily really wanted my chicken sandwich and took a bite out of it. Somehow she makes that charming. I’m putty in her paws :) I also submitted a Walmart order.

I couldn’t get the door to the basement stairs open from the outside, so I stashed the roses under the porch. That should keep frost off of them. Speaking of garden plants, Breck’s has a great catalog for fall. Sale prices are until early May though. I need to figure out what I want.

The dogs came in on the first try. They’re easier to get in at night.

No TV tonight. I need to get to bed.

Things that you say only if you have dogs: “Gracie, don’t chew the stairs!” I quickly grabbed munchie bones for her and for Bella.

Woke up a little after 7 AM. Went back to sleep, and overslept work by a half-hour. Oops.

The radiology department at the local hospital called me for a CT appointment. Among other things, my phone is working.

Fed the catlings. The dogs don’t want to come in (no surprises there). I’m pondering how I can reseed the front yard when the dogs have trampled the lawn. Maybe I should just put mulch there? Hmm, I saw a grass-and-clover mix intended for lawns with dogs. Maybe I’ll try it and put down mulch if it doesn’t take.

Bella came in at 12 PM. Gracie came in at 1 PM. I put her food bowl under her nose, and she decided that she wanted to eat. Now both dogs are crashed out.

I’m having an IBS flare-up, but I’m hoping that I’ll make it to choir. I really need to be there. I think that I’ll skip dinner to settle my insides.

I picked up Lily and carried her downstairs for food. She clearly said “NO!” when I picked her up, but she ate the food. (It amazes me how creatures without a common vocabulary can communicate so well.) Fed the cats and dogs.

Choir went okay. My choir director wants me to come in with the book sale flyer tomorrow and leave it in the choir room. We’re trying out of solos next week, and there’s a song that I really want. I’ll send it to my singing teacher.

Ate while watching The Pitt. (Luckily, nothing gross happened while I was eating.) Got the dogs back inside and fed them.

Need to get to bed soon. Tomorrow will be a long day.

Woke up at 8 AM. Let the dogs out. Fed myself and the cats. I think that I might have fixed my phone, but I need to log onto my work phone and test it. Yep, it’s working. Yay!

Napped and overslept until a little after 1 PM. Rescued my Costco box (dog food). The delivery person put it on the sidewalk because the dogs were out, but it was still there. Oliver is climbing all over me. I told him that he had breakfast and doesn’t get lunch, but he’s still hopeful. Ate lunch. I’m trying to decide what to do. Usually, I take a nap after lunch, but my first nap ran long. I should work on the bathroom. Maybe I should start on the bathroom and take a nap when I need a break.

Well, Bella came in around 2:30. Gracie is still refusing to come in. Bella wants company, so I guess that I’ll take a nap. Yeah, it’s a real sacrifice :) Bella is one tired pup. Napped. Got Gracie in at 5 PM. I told Bella that she doesn’t need to stay up with me, but she thinks that it’s her duty as The Dog. Fed us all. I had to carry Lily down from upstairs because the dogs are in. She nestled in but also was saying “No” clearly. (She doesn’t like being picked up. Oliver doesn’t mind it as much.)

I think that I’m procrastinating working on the bathroom because I’ll need to stand up. I did start on the bathroom with frequent breaks. Bella came over and yawned at me, and I told her to take a nap. But she thinks that she needs to fulfill watchdog duties.

Watched Season 2, Episode 1 of The Pitt. Fed the dogs and cats their nighttime crunchies. Bed time soon.

I applied to volunteer for Special Events for the Humane Society (fits better with my schedule, and I'm less likely to wind up with another pet) and an organization that provides books to prisoners, which is right up my alley. The books for prisoners people emailed me back right away.

Overslept until 7:45 AM. Today is a pajama day for me.

At work, the conversion to the new ticketing system seems to be going well.

The dogs wouldn’t come in until 11:15 AM.

I way overslept my nap at lunchtime.

The cats like the bed that I bought for the top of my desk upstairs. And I haven't even plugged it in yet! I need to rearrange stuff.

I need to log back on tonight to make up my nap time.

The lamp that I liked is pending sale, but I found another one that's similar. I need to figure out how much cash to get so that I can buy furniture this weekend. $185. I’ll need to break some bills. Oh, plus $15 for end table?

I got my new ergonomic keyboard. I need to set it up.

I screwed up and forgot to soak the cat dishes. Did so and fed Lily. Submitted a grocery list for tomorrow. Fed the rest of us.

Note to self: Scan music (done) and do French homework tonight. It turns out that I don't have French tomorrow, so while I started the homework, I'll finish it on the weekend.

Ye gods. I slept for 10 hours and still overslept and had a hard time getting up. I guess that my body needs sleep to heal. My implant doesn’t hurt much though.

Gracie doesn’t want to come inside. Sigh. Finally she did. Fed us all.

I'm having a little bit of a lull at work today, but I want to work ahead. Next week will be busy.

I’m crazy tired, so I’m going to nap over lunch. I’ll need to jump into the shower right after work before my singing lesson. Wow, did I crash.

The cats have the zoomies.

I told my singing teacher that I won't make it. I want to sleep so badly..... I asked my dad if you need extra sleep if you have a wound, and he said,”Yes, healing happens during sleep.”

Let the dogs out and am feeding the beasts. Fed us all. Now it’s nap time. Slept until 1:30 AM. Gave the critters their crunchies.

Oliver likes to sleep on my down coat. So I looked for a down cat bed, and there aren’t any. I found a plush self-heating bed that wasn’t too expensive and ordered it. We’ll see if he likes it. I also found a shag dog bed on Chewy, but it’s large.

Got up reluctantly at 6 AM. The problem with getting up early is that I want to go back to sleep. But I need to feed the cats first. I think that I forgot to give them their crunchies last night. I suck.

I’m not going back to sleep. I need to take a shower because I have a short lunch today.

Bella is being manic.

I rescheduled my lab visits so that I can wait until Sunday to jump-start the car. I have to brush off the cars today so that I don’t get a ticket.

The cold bathroom is COLD. (I think that it once was a porch that someone converted into a bathroom. There's very little insulation and the floor stays cold.) I almost didn't take a shower because I didn't want to take my pajamas off. And after the shower, I was chanting COLD COLD COLD as I got dressed. It's cold upstairs too, but I'm cranking the space heater. My dad said to close the bathroom door so that the heat vent heats only that room, but I have litter boxes in there, so I need to figure out what to do with them. There is a door hook thing that opens a door to let cats in but keep dogs out. I should look into that as a possible solution.

Note to self: Cabela's is where I got the wool socks. Cozy! I ordered some more compression and regular socks on Amazon, and I'll order wool socks later (done).

sunshine_two's passing has left me a little shaken up. She was two years younger than me. I wonder what happened to her dogs and cats. You never know, so I was thinking about my dogs and cats. I think that I'll contact Hospice Hearts (dog and cat shelter for pets whose human becomes incapacitated or passes away) and see if I can mention them in my will along with a hefty donation.

I have a short lunch because my 11:30 meeting ran long and I have a 1:00. Bella and Oliver are in my face; Bella for pets and because she’s lonely when I work upstairs (she won’t use the stairs), and Oliver because he’s hoping that I’ll feed him again. (Not.) Oliver and Gracie: We’d be happy to eat your food. Me: I bet you would.

Piano class went well. Nothing exciting to report. Zara was happy for the cuddle time.

I shut Oliver in the bathroom when I let the dogs in so that he doesn’t get out. There are other advantages. Lily can eat without him eating her food when he’s done with his, and I can feed Zara without Oliver bursting in there.

Gracie still has a scarcity mentality about food. She needs to clean up every scrap of food around. She was found in a park (probably dumped—people suck) and probably had to scrounge for food. I told her that she hasn’t missed many meals here, but she still worries.

I’m not going to fix the washer tonight because it’s gotten late due to my piano class. I have some black clothes that someone, probably Lily, got fur on. I’ll run them in the dryer along with some hand-washed underwear and socks.

I think that I’ll wait until lunchtime tomorrow to brush off the cars, even if I get a ticket. There’s a wind chill warning now through tomorrow morning.

I’ve been reading Pete Buttigieg’s autobiography. I thought that it would be dry, but he’s a good storyteller, plus the way that he built his career is fascinating. Recommended if you are interested in politics and like biographies. It’s called Shortest Way Home.

I've got the underwear and socks soaking in the sink. I grabbed out the wide sink plug that I take with me for traveling. It's very useful to make a good seal. So I'll post, give the cats and dogs their crunchies, put the clothes in the dryer, and go to bed.

I’m buying more “Good Energy” and “Clean Eating” cookbooks. I need to build up a set of recipes to make. And I need to work HARD on the kitchen this weekend.

I forgot to mention that I ordered herbs for my Aerogarden yesterday. I'll have fresh herbs with which to cook!

Woke up a little after 7 AM. Lily had a bottle cap with which she was playing. Gracie took her sweet time coming inside. Bella stole her donut. Got my weary butt into the shower.

I was coughing up a storm while I was eating granola. Don't know why. I’m still congested and cranky about it.

Gracie wants to see what Bella is barking at.

I asked the electricians if they would take an electronic check, but no. They said that it was okay if I mailed one, but my peel-and-stick envelopes are not sticking, so I included some in a Walmart order. I'll mail it tomorrow.

I'm having a "cat on computer" crisis. Yesterday, they shut down my work computer three times!

I'm thinking that I'm not going to feel up to going to the DMV tomorrow. I'll set a goal to have the Kia jump-started this weekend and will go next week. Oh, I need to mail the check! Hmm. Have it jump-started tomorrow? Saturday?

Slapped some makeup on because I have an on-camera meeting this afternoon plus therapy. Nap time. Sigh. Dog wrestling on the bed. They finally settled down. I wasn’t able to fall asleep though. Gracie is using me as a heated pillow and I hate to move. I'm up but have a strong impulse to go to sleep. Early night tonight I think.

Uh-oh. The tingling is starting up in my thumb again.

Therapy was okay. I didn't have a lot to talk about. She asked if I was feeling more settled now that things were being accomplished (we were talking about the electricity in the garage), and I said "No." I need to declutter first.

Hmm. If I want to use weight-loss drugs (and I’m not sure that I do), I should use them before getting Medicare. I’ve heard that Medicare doesn’t cover them.

Fed us all. The dogs came in as soon as I opened the door, which left me wondering what the catch was.

I’m tired. I’m going to bed soon.