days_unfolding

The cherry trees at the U of I Arboretum are in bloom. I should stop by to see them.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. Got myself together in plenty of time for my appointment. It’s raining.

My physical therapy appointment went well. They’re good; they identified weakness in my hips and glutes as contributing to my knee problems. We did some exercises, and my muscles are twinging. They scheduled me for weekly appointments for six weeks. I need to subscribe to the exercise videos (Lifelong Mobility) that I found as well. Use it or lose it.

Damn, I’m tired. My 1:00 meeting was canceled, so I’ll have time for a nap! Excellent! But the dogs are wrestling, sigh. I’m calling Bella Miss Pushy Dog because she wants pets All The Time. Gracie scratched my face and drew blood 🙁

I received my planters with legs for the vegetable garden. I got the confusion about my login for free mulch straightened out (apparently I signed up twice with different email addresses), but I need to buy a wheelbarrow first. The one that I wanted already sold, so I’ll need to spend more. I need to go get cash to buy one from Facebook Marketplace. But will I be able to lift it? Maybe I’ll have to have one delivered from Home Depot. Ace Hardware had a cheaper one but with a larger delivery fee, so I ordered one from Home Depot plus a “transfer shovel”.

Bella came inside at 3:30 PM. Gracie is still out there. (I let them out late due to my appointment and the delivery of the planters.) Gracie came in at 4:30.

I ordered a (used) book of neck, shoulders, and back stretches/exercises.

I forgot that I need to straighten out some financial stuff with Lessonface before I can take my piano class. But I’m going to take a nap first if the dogs will let me. I have a headache. No, my piano teacher said that I was on the roster, so I attended piano class. I guess they resubmitted the charge.

Ate dinner while watching The Pitt. Looked at some AI instructions for developing hand independence for piano.

The dogs came in on the first try and I fed them. I need to give the cats their crunchies. I’m really tired, so I want to go to bed soon.

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.

Gracie woke me up at 7:30 AM. I managed to get a leash on her and went out with the dogs. Bella is still out there, but she’s easier to get in. Fed us all. Nap time. It’s dog wrestling time, apparently. Sigh.

Overslept my nap. I was dreaming about a guy that I used to like.

When I went to volunteer, the leader asked me to go distribute flyers about the book sale. The internet on my phone wasn’t working, so I went to places I knew and distributed only four flyers, but they were far afield. I told the leader that I could do more on Tuesday night. She also asked me if I was going to the sale, and I said that I was working it and helping to tear it down. She said that she was glad that I found the organization.

As for the phone, apparently my payment didn’t go through, so I need to pay my bill (done).

Got a baguette, donut holes, flavored water, and Chef Boyardee spaghetti at the store. I had some bread when I came home (after Bella said “Hi! You’re back!” to me). The cats want to be fed. I want to sit for a while, so I think that I’ll feed the cats and watch an episode of The Pitt (done).

Had the Chef Boyardee spaghetti for dinner. A little nostalgia from when I was a kid. Got the pupsters in and fed.

I’m feeling too tired to get anything done. I think that I’ll watch one more episode of The Pitt and get to bed early.

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.

Oh drat. I need to scan music for my singing lesson tomorrow. Almost forgot. (Done.)

I need dry cat food, but need to check if I have a bag by the front door before ordering. Nope, so I need to order (done). Ugh, I found the bag after I ordered. So I'll have dry cat food for a while.

Woke up at 8:30 AM. Took Gracie out on a leash, and it went well. Bella is refusing to come in, but I'll go out and get her in a half-hour. More good news: the Amazon packages were by the side gate and still there. Bella came in docilely at around 9:40.

Got the food portion of my groceries in. I'll get the soda later.

Oliver shut down my work computer while I was in a meeting. Luckily, it was with my boss, who also has cats and was cool with it.

Showered with attendance by Gracie (part of the time) and Lily. Lily had to investigate what I was doing in the shower (from the top of the shower stall).

Tomorrow it's predicted to snow lightly. It should be a good day to do stuff around here. I want to wash warm pajamas so that I'll be cozy. Also, I received a scrubber wand for cleaning.

Got the second Birdie and Louie box. I'm still working on a box of the old food, and Lily is still picking at the old food because she wants the new food. Who will crack first? Lily had got me feeling guilty because she’ll lick every last scrap from the B&L can. Oliver, on the other hand, will eat anything. Hmm, maybe I could feed Lily the B&L and Oliver the old food if I can find enough cat food covers.

I installed Gas Buddy on my phone. Apparently there is a gas station that is 20 cents cheaper than the other ones. But I drive so seldom that a tank of gas lasts me a long time.

Can't stop yawning. At least, I can sleep in tomorrow. Well, if Gracie will let me.

I sent my dad an article about how it looks like the Great Recession of 2008, and he said that it isn't because the cost of oil will go down when the war is over. He said that 2008 happened because of a mismatch between incomes and housing prices.

Hmm. I read an article about the therapeutic effects of knitting on anxiety, etc. There’s a local knitting class coming up in April, but it’s at the same time as the yoga class.

I ordered leaf bags from Home Depot. I want to get out on Sunday and do some cleanup.

My singing lesson went well. We got through a new song and went back through an old one.

I’m looking at emergency supplies based on what

susandennis has. Though I’m trying to decide whether to get a charging station with a solar charger. We tend to not have long outages. But I need my phone charged!

I subscribed to International Living because I want to read their book about Europe. If I could find a cheap place to live in Europe, I don’t have much to keep me here (except the house).

Gracie doesn’t want to come in. Sigh. I told Bella that I’ll feed her after Gracie comes in.

I’m tired, and I thought that I wanted to go to bed early, but I hand-washed my warm pajamas and they will take a while to dry. So I’ll probably watch Harry Potter #3, my favorite of the movies. But I’ll post first.

I’m trying to figure out where to hide my foam roller because I think that Gracie would love to tear it apart.

Oh! My pajamas are dry, so no Harry Potter. I'll just post and get ready for bed.

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.

I'm so freaking tired. The cats are being manic.

Bella and Gracie were chewing on my hand brace. Dogs :)

I woke up around 6:30 AM, but I didn’t want to get up before my alarm. So I overslept it by a half hour. At least I can run a little later because I’m going to Physical Therapy at 9:50.

I rescheduled my PT appointment. I forgot to turn on the dryer and Gracie is refusing to come in and this morning is a mess. Well, Gracie came in. That’s a start. I'm learning that "self-care" often involves not scrambling. I went to get Oliver to feed him, but he gave me a sleepy look, so I guess not. He really likes it in Zara's room.

Hmm, I think that I want to wear my hand brace to work. I tend to curl that hand up when I'm not typing.

I can't stop yawning. And today is my long day because of choir rehearsal.

Gracie is going nuts over something out the window. She has no idea that she's a smaller dog. She thinks that she's tough.

Lily is giving my hand brace the onceover. Oliver decided that it was time to eat. He was a "lover boy" over lunch and attended my shower. He thinks that it's curious that I stick myself under water though.

My prairie seeds are on their way. Cool. I'm wondering if I should get some woodland seeds for the side of the garage, but I think that I'm getting too ambitious. Plus, I need to clean out that area and mulch it. Plus, I'll need to plant the lilac and crabapple and set up the vegetable planters. I'm looking for cheap dirt for the planters.

Ack about the temperature tonight, but at least I have a car with a heater. Sometimes it's the little things.

I tried to get a bit of fuzz off of Lily's fur, but she got annoyed and left. I just told Oliver that I don't want feline-managed acupuncture.

Huh. It was a bad day for the stock market but my stocks are up, except for Eli Lilly, which I'm considering dumping for Novartis.

Lily cautiously started to go into Zara's room, but she turned around as I went to leave. I want to get that gate (a gate to keep the dogs out with a cat door) soon.

The window in the guest room has a million dog nose prints in it. I just bought some great glass cleaner, so I should use it!

Ran around like crazy getting ready to leave for choir: letting the dogs out, feeding everyone, putting my makeup on, and grabbing my music. I managed to get there way early, which is what I had planned to have time to organize my music. It’s all together now. I was clearly missed while I was gone by the critters. Oliver is curled up on my lap. The little thief Bella stole a sock and grudgingly brought it to me. I explained that I need socks. She is not convinced.

My dad said that it sounds like I’m doing something right with my stocks and to “keep it up”. My big problem is finding time for research.

I’m kind of attracted to a young black cat who’s been in foster care for two years. Apparently, he doesn’t go up to new people, but that’s okay. But I’m a little worried about shaking up the status quo.

Sold some stocks and bought some stocks. I have time to do that only at night and weekends.

I should go to sleep soon so that I don't oversleep.

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.

Overslept an hour. Fuck. I don’t have time to take a shower, so I’ll just throw some clothes on.

Yep, I got tickets on both cars. Occasionally, I hate the city of Urbana, and this is one of those times. I’ll have to brush the cars off after work because I have French at lunchtime. I can't wait until I can get the cars off of the street.

I feel a little like crying, but everything will be okay. Today is a hectic day though. I just canceled my French lesson. (Our big presentation is right afterwards. We have them quarterly, but it feels like we just did one! Time flies.) That helps. I'm doing some deep breathing exercises. My French teacher-to-be was cool about my canceling and said that she could teach me some useful phrases for my trip.

It was a zoo getting the cats and dogs out of the upstairs for the presentation. The cats took the bait to go down in the basement. I had to shut the dogs in the bedroom. The presentation went okay. I stumbled over my words a little, but clicking the slides (I had the slides that were displayed for the whole presentation with multiple presenters, which is why I had to corral the fur faces) went well.

Brushed off one of the cars. I’m inside thawing (currently 10F/-12C with a wind chill of 9F/-13C) and I let the dogs out. I need better gloves. Ordered some waterproof ones for brushing off the cars. I’ll go back out when the dogs come back in and I feed them.

Aargh. Got car #2 brushed off, although I want to get up early to scrape more ice off the windshields because I couldn’t see well. But then Bella stole my hat and ran to the bedroom with it and put it under the bed. Gracie thought that we were playing and scratched me hard in the face. I finally fished the hat out from under the bed and put it in a safe place to dry. The hat is a little small on me though, so I need a larger hat (ordered).

Apparently the laundry basket in the bathroom fell over and Bella stole a sock. Sigh.

Fed us all. Paid my parking tickets. Submitted a grocery order for tomorrow. Got a new pair of jeans out of its package. Now I need to post, feed the critters their crunchies, put some handwashed clothes in the dryer, and go to sleep.

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.

Email to my dad: Do you think that we are heading into a recession? Yahoo! Finance divides stock sectors into subsectors. I was looking at Internet retail because it said that subsector is up. but it looks like the "top" companies are all going down. I have a bad feeling about that. I did my dad's "stoplight' thing, and the markets are borked right now.

I was reading about a medieval museum in Paris, and it talked about how tapestries served for warmth as well as decoration. It occurred to me that I should get a quilt for the wall on the side of my bed to keep it warmer plus it would look cool. I haven't found the right quilt yet. I'll keep looking. (My bedroom is on two outside walls and is cold. That reminds me that I need to get the thermal curtains up.) I think that I might have found one. It's a Hawaiian quilt, made in Maui, with dark green leaves and yellow flowers. I printed a picture of it to put by my bed to see what I think of it in there. It looked good so I bought it. Now to bed.

Picture of the quilt:

I canceled Planet Fitness because they moved out of Urbana. They’re trying to make me feel guilty.

Whole lotta munching going on. (I fed Oliver and Lily and Bella and Gracie their dry food late-night meal.)

I kind of want to adopt a senior cat, so I’m using that as incentive to clean the place up. I’m trying to stack the deck to get it done.

I ordered a steam cleaner off of an ad on Facebook, only to find that it’s coming from China. I want to use it now! Sigh. It has a shipping label now.

Okay, NOW I’m going to sleep!

Urgh. The dogs came in the bedroom, and I closed the door. Apparently, it didn’t latch all the way, and Oliver pushed it in and jumped to the ledge above the door. I don’t want to go to sleep with him in here because he’ll come down, and either the dogs will chase him or he will bug me. I’m trying to wait him out. But he knows that I’m trying to wait him out. Who will win? I did!

I had a rare bout of insomnia, so I got up and made oatmeal.

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.

Woke up at 8 AM. Had breakfast. Packed up my stuff. Now I wait until checkout time. At the bus terminal. Shutting my phone down to conserve the battery. On the bus. I’m planning to nap. Slept all the way there. I’m home now.

Had dinner. I’m trying to figure out what to do now. I need to make sure that I have clothes for tomorrow (done). I want to get to bed early because I need to go pick up the fur faces. I'm feeling too tired to start anything, so I guess that I'll go to bed after I put fresh sheets on the bed (without having to wrestle the dogs!)

Got up at 7 AM.

On the bus to Chicago. Backtracking, I dropped the dogs off with no issues. The dogs seemed happy to be in a place with other dogs. Dropped the cats off. I forgot Lily’s ear meds, but they’re going to examine her and prescribe. I had had a strong feeling that something was going to go wrong, but it looks like I’m going on this trip! I need to have more faith in my own competence. I need to talk to my therapist about that.

Now I'm in the hotel across the street (literally) from the airport. Apparently my reservation for tonight didn't come through, but a very helpful and patient desk clerk got me registered and made the room connect with my reservation for tomorrow (which did go through). She kept on wanting to give me water, so I finally took some, and she gave me a free toothbrush! They had a grab-and-go coffee and light food place, which I headed for because I didn't really want a restaurant meal and I figured that it would be cheaper. The choices were a salad or a salad, so I picked up a Caesar salad and ate it all! The person there was very helpful too. (As well they should be for the price that I'm paying :)) The food was more expensive than DoorDash, but it was a lot more convenient. My room has a view of a runway, but it doesn't seem to be a runway that they're using right now. I saw where to catch the L tomorrow on the way to the room.

I'm not sure what to do now. I need to assemble the cane-with-a-seat, but I'm too tired to deal with it now. I think that I'll read a little while and then go to bed.

( O'Hare Pictures )

Bella and Gracie got the chicken toy out of its wrapper and are fighting over it! I'm glad that they will have a Merry Christmas!

The dogs decimated the cat feather wand toys. Sigh. I need to go to PetSmart to get more. I checked Amazon, but they will get here the day that I leave. I ordered some toys for delivery from PetSmart.

Uhhh. No buses on Christmas Eve. I'd have to leave on the 23rd, and get up early to drop the pets off the same day. But I'd need to book the hotel for one more day. I decided that was too complicated, and I'll deal with that in the morning. No, I got it straightened out. I can work on my printables in the hotel. Plus, I got a room with a runway view at the Hilton O'Hare. There are restaurants there, so I can eat. I might pack some food too.

Got up a little after 7 AM. Nothing like a cold, wet dog nose in the middle of your back to get you up. Gracie’s good :) Bella stole Gracie’s donut. Little snot. I’m going back to sleep for a while. Dozed lightly. Oliver was in the room, and he went next to my face, purring. I had to move my head in order to breathe!

I need to pick up Christmas wrapping paper for the "White Elephant" gift exchange at work on Friday. Maybe I'll go to Dollar Tree and see if they have a gift bag and tissue paper.

I'm thinking that I want to go back to Firenze (Florence) to see the Uffizi Gallery (I missed it when I was sick on the tour), the Arno, Michelangelo's tomb, and some other sites. I'd also want Italian lessons. But it won't be next year.

Crud. I need new printer cartridges too (910). Need to go to Walmart. Oh! I can't go to the post office tonight because I have piano class! Have to go tomorrow. Maybe I'll go to the post office to mail my dad's card, and Walmart is across the street.

Hmm. Someone on Facebook mentioned an apartment complex (Elements on Main) that's pet friendly, not too expensive, and close to the hospital and shopping. That might be an idea for when I get older and can't cope with the house. It has an elevator too and covered parking. They have two bedroom apartments.

Hmm. It just occurred to me that I could take the "L" into downtown Chicago on Christmas Eve to look at the shop windows. (I'll be at the hotel at O'Hare.)

I do need another sleep study. They're going to contact me about a home sleep apnea test. They did, and it's on January 9th. I'll have to return the equipment the next day.

Ugh. Arthritis-y. I can't come up with a pattern for when it's worse. Changes in weather? It's warming up.

I think that I’m going to stay home tonight. I need to let the dogs out and feed the critters and myself after class. Plus I got the new travel laptop, so I need to set it up. I’ll go to the post office tomorrow.

Piano class went well. I have problems coordinating both hands at the same time. One song was driving me crazy, but when I went back to it to play for the teacher, it went okay.

That jerk Oliver ran into Zara’s room when I brought her food and water. But that solves a problem what to do with him when I bring the recycling out.

Fed us all. Started a load of laundry. Got the recycling out.

I looked into replacement keys for my "home" laptop, and it looks like I'd have to replace the whole bottom of the laptop. I might have a tech do that then.

I really want to go to sleep, but I want to finish my load of laundry first. I guess that I'll post and do some Christmas cards and packaging stuff up while I wait.

Canceled a bunch of subscriptions on PayPal. I think that all I have left is Netflix, which I want to keep. Oh, and I should resubscribe to Hulu.

I checked into my cruise, but the boarding documents won't be available for a few days. I also bought the Have It All package, which includes WiFi, drinks, and one specialty dining meal.

Bought a ring that looks like hugging arms, and it'll have "Mom" engraved on the inside.

Now I really need to go to bed. I have a boatload (so to speak) of stuff to get done this weekend.

Gracie is trying to play dog play with me on the bed, and I told her to go play with Bella. That’s why I have two dogs. Now she’s snoozing with her head on my leg.

Woke up a little before 6 AM. I explained to the dogs that the cats get fed first. They don’t think that’s fair. Fed us all. My stomach hurts. I’m going back to bed. The dogs are wrestling on the bed and not leaving me any room. The snow has started.

Woke up a little before 11 AM. I’m feeling cold. It’s 15F/-10C out. So yeah, cold. I’ll take a shower in a few minutes. After lunch.

BuddhaStoneShop had a bracelet that I liked for only the shipping cost, so I got it. They also had a ring in the shape of a cat for shipping cost, so I got that too. And a Tree of Life bracelet. And a Yin-Yang necklace. They’re probably getting money from part of the shipping cost, but still, it’s cheap.

Oliver was warming my lap and purring.

I’m IBSing. But I’m staying home today so I guess that it’s okay.

Ate lunch.

Finished the book on James I. I just ordered a book on Charles I to continue my investigation into the Stuarts.

Oliver is knocking stuff down and being annoying.

The Precip app says 3.3 inches of snow so far, to make a total of 6.5. It’s like living in a snow globe. I saw a map on Facebook with the words “Stay home” over our band of snow. Will do.

I think that I’ll have one more nap. Slept for about an hour. I’m feeling cold and trying to warm up before my shower. It seems like the dogs and cats are sleeping. At least, they aren’t in the kitchen.

Opened packages while I and my clothes were warming up. I got the file folder wall holders for sheet music. I need to dig out my drill.

Hmm. UNICEF Market has a lot of rings that I like.

The dogs are barking at who-knows-what.

I think that I’ll have some soup.

Final snow total: 5.7, for a total of 8.4. Now we’re into the cold part of the weekend (currently 0F/-18C). I'm going to pull out another blanket and go to sleep. I hope that Gracie won't chew holes in the blanket. Oh, and I need to set the faucets to dripping.

Woke up at 7:45 AM.

Read about the flooding in Washington state. I hope that

man_of_snows is okay.

Gracie doesn’t want to come in. Sigh. Now Bella ran back out.

My grandboss was cool about the fact that I won't make it to her place tonight.

Finally got the dogs in. I ordered more donuts--for the dogs. My life is getting terminally weird :)

Well that sucks. One of our member libraries laid people off right before Christmas. And it's a Catholic school too!

Why am I tired again? I got a ton of sleep last night! (It's dark and gloomy again though.)

Nap time for Gracie. The futon in the guest bedroom is now hers. (It's next to my home office, so she can also keep an eye on what I'm doing.) This house is secretly run by dogs, much to the cats' chagrin.

I took myself off of Dial-A-Carol for Saturday because snow. I'm not sure what to do about Sunday. It'll be really cold, but I do have a warm coat. And it's big so I can layer a sweater. Nylons under my pants? Do I have long underwear? Need to check. I think so.

I'm seeing ads on Facebook for thermal pants and leggings, and none of them are for petites. Sigh. Found some on Amazon. Got some in navy blue to go with the "Snow Day" sweater. I should wear the sweater on Saturday!

I have a taste for a steak and mashed potatoes (and a vegetable. Brussels sprouts?) Maybe order them tomorrow? I hate to make someone go out in the snow tonight. I'd have to get three or four steaks, but I could freeze the rest. I'll get extra mashed potatoes (instant) and veggies so that I can have a steak when the spirit moves me. That makes me think of my mom because she liked to make steak.

Bella is tired too. We’re the Sleepy Family. And yes, it’s very gray out. Had a nice nap with the dogs snuggled up to me.

Got my groceries, including the all-important dog bribe of donuts.

Need to wash my cardigan. The jeans, black-and-white striped top, and cardigan are a nice "I want to look decent but not fancy" outfit.

Got my wool socks. They would be good for the cold on Sunday.

My mom's trust contacted me about the final distribution of the funds. Hello, I don't want a check coming when I'm out of town. It'll be a big check. God, I hate those people. Their communication skills are abysmal.

I saw Chanel Coco body oil. I love the scent of Coco, and checked the price. $136. No. Anyone know where I could get cheaper body oil? I’ll check Amazon. I found one much cheaper with a rose, jasmine, and sandalwood scent. That sounds lovely. They also had a sandalwood and vanilla one that I also ordered. I love that combination.

Got the dogs back in. The snow is coming down at a good clip.

I clipped a recipe for lentil meatloaf that I want to try. You can make it ahead of time too and freeze it. I’m in the mood for cooking. Which means that I need to clean the kitchen.

I want to find the music for “All I Want for Christmas Is You” because that’s a common request for Dial-A-Carol. I’ll send it to my singing teacher for my lesson tomorrow (done).

Yeah, they’re saying a -28F/-33C wind chill at 7 AM on Sunday. Hmm, that’s when the dogs go out. I don’t want “pupsicles”.

I want to get into bed early and read. I'm still reading the bio of James I of the UK.

I overslept, but the cats didn’t provide a fecal sample anyway. Are they pooping somewhere else?

Last night, I ordered someone else on

holiday_wishes some gnocchi that was on her Amazon wishlist. I love gnocchi. I told her to enjoy.

A song from the concert is playing in my head.

I'm not going to be able to get the Kia jump-started on Thursday because my grandboss is having an Open House. Wednesday is the Symphony concert. Friday is my singing lesson. This weekend, it's cold. So I guess next week (unless I get it done tonight).

Had my lunch with the local AARP women's group. The people were nice and easy to talk to. I had to leave early because of a meeting however. They're having these lunches monthly. I'm so sleepy after lunch. Went to take a "short" nap and overslept. I'll need to log on again tonight.

Fed the beasts. And yay, got a fecal sample from Oliver and Lily. I just need to get a fresh one from Zara.

Crap. Walmart was out of donuts, and I need them to get Gracie in. Can I DoorDash some? Yes, I did.

Crud. I was about to take the garbage out, when I realized that the area by the side gate isn’t shoveled. Hmm. I also keep having dizzy spells, so I threw the bags of garbage by the back door and called it good. I'll deal with it tomorrow.

I have a load of laundry going. Because I need to get up early to drop the fecal samples off at the vet, I'm going to go to bed as soon as it's done.

I was looking at

holiday_wishes. I don't need anything, but it would be nice to get a surprise present. (I don't get Christmas presents anymore because my mom, aunt, and uncle have died, and my dad doesn't give presents for reasons known only to him.) I thought that I might ask for toys and treats for the fur faces. I created an Amazon wish list for them, and I need to gather pictures of them.

Woke up at 7 AM. The cats did not leave me fecal samples. Sigh.

Took Oliver and Lily to the vet for their checkup and shots. It's really cold out, so I brought a blanket to put over their carriers. Lily had an ear infection, but otherwise, they checked out fine. Oh, and they said that Oliver and Lily were at good weights. I thought that Oliver was a bit chunky, but they said that he was just a big cat.

I think that I'm going to get a combination long-term care and life insurance policy, offered by my work. I don't need the life insurance, but long-term care would be nice to have. The question is how much I can afford.

I'm tired. I didn't get my lunchtime nap because the vet appointment took so long. I'd nap after my boss's retirement party, but the sleep doctor said to not take evening naps and just go to bed early, so I guess that I'll go to bed early.

I'm telling Gracie that it's okay that the cats don't want to play with her, and we're all about consent. She is not convinced.

Got my new (well, I got it a while ago, but haven't used it yet) space heater/fan working. It seems to work well.

I got the estimate for the electrical work on the garage, and holy cow, expensive. But they seem to know what they're doing.

Went to my grandboss’ retirement party. It was wall-to-wall people. I got about a few seconds of a hug with her and she told me to eat. So I did and sat with a kind of a fringe group outside the party room. Then I left.

Fed the critters and the dogs are now outside. I want to post and then go to bed. I'm wiped out.

Hmm. I've been mulling over adopting another older cat. There is one at the local Humane Society who is four years old, 18 pounds (!), and a lap cat. And he's lived with dogs. I kind of miss having a lap cat. Mimi was one, but Oliver, Lily, and Zara are not. But I wouldn't adopt one until after my trip if at all. NO MORE DOGS!!! I have my hands full with the two of them!

Woke up a little before 7 AM. I want to go back to sleep, but I have to wait until the dogs come in. The dogs came in earlier than I expected, although Gracie stood near the doorway for a while with the warm air coming out, so I’ll get an hour nap. I had a Munchie Bone out to try to get Gracie to come in, and Bella snatched it!

Overslept my nap a little.

My grandboss is having an Open House on Thursday, so I won't go to the Wind concert. The question is whether I go to the choral concert on Sunday.

I need to get my new heater set up in my home office. It's supposed to be a high of 18F/-8C tomorrow!

I gave Bella and Gracie some old food that Bella was refusing to eat because I'm low on the puppy food that they've been eating. (Bella has gained weight, so I need to get her on other food.) Gracie started to eat it, so Bella pushed her way in and started eating it! Jealousy!

Cranky cats. Oliver and Lily are squabbling.

I really want to take a nap, but I have 1) piano class, 2) litter box cleaning so that I can get a stool sample from the cats, and 3) getting the recycling out. And my sleep doctor told me not to take naps in the evening, but to go to bed early instead. And I do need to get up early to get the stool samples. Oh, and 4) get the clothes together for the Open House tomorrow.

Piano went well. My fingers are getting used to the keys again. I worried about Zara because she wasn’t checking out what I was doing, only to find that she was sleeping behind me while I was playing! She came over at the end of the class.

I got my Land’s End sweats (hmm, I could wear them until I change for the Open House tomorrow) and Zara’s heated bed.

I need to figure out how I can get the recycling bin out because I’ll have to drag it through 10 inches of snow. And the pickup people want us to shovel a spot for the bins. Ugh. I don’t know how I can dig out a spot for the recycling in the dark, so I’m going to give up for tonight. I can dig out a path and spot on the weekend when I can get out during the day.

OY. I let Bella and Gracie out, and Gracie was barking non-stop at a recycling bin (or at least, that was my only guess as to what she was barking at. So I got Bella in, and started trying to bribe Gracie with a hot dog so that I could grab her. She was too wily. I kept at it for a long time, but eventually went in and ate dinner. Then I opened the door, and she was almost ready to come in, and Bella burst out! I got Bella in with a hot dog (she'll do anything for a hot dog), and tempted Gracie with a donut. She was interested, and I got her to come on the porch. I opened the door and threw the donut in. It worked; Gracie came in. Whew. (Some neighbors across the street go to bed at 9 PM, and it was almost 9, so I was really stressing.)

Other people on the street got their recycling bin out, so I could have done so, but I was busy chasing Gracie.

Then I looked for the bag with the fecal sample vials, only to find that they fell out of the pocket of my purse, and the dogs did something with them. I was about ready to cry at this point. But then it occurred to me that I could use plastic baggies for the samples. Bella had left a nice sample outside, so I went out with a baggie, got hers, and put it in the refrigerator (ick). Now all I need to do is clean litter boxes to make it easy to get samples from the cats. I decided to sit and post and calm down a little first. Oh, and I need to sort out clothes for the shindig tomorrow.

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Entries tagged with cats

Physical Therapy Intake

Choir Day

Volunteer Day

Fixed My Phone

Some Good News

Banner Day at Work

Choir Night

Crazy Tired

Hectic Day

Busy Day

Late Sunday

More Cookbooks

Chicago --> Champaign-Urbana

Cruise - 4 Days: Chicago

Everything's Booked for My Trip

Another Snow Day

Let It Snow?

Social Gathering

Another Vet Visit/Retirement Party

Well, I Said That I Wanted Dogs....