days_unfolding

Woke up at 6:30 AM. I was out with Bella when I realized that I hadn’t put my clothes in the dryer. Came in and did so, but it’ll take a while, so I’ll have to take my shower at lunchtime. Decided to go back to sleep for a half hour. It's a rainy, dreary day.

The recycling people didn't take my boxes, probably because it was raining. They left a mess, so I'll need to go out and drag the boxes back into the yard. Bah.

Forgot to mention that I bought a book on Medicare that I need to read. And my trust books.

I've got a paper trading account set up on Schwab, although they don't make it easy to find. I'll start following my dad's system next week.

I had an appointment to take Zara to the vet. When I went in her room, Oliver tried to come in and then Oliver and Bella were fighting outside the door. That freaked Zara out, and she retreated to the closet whenever I went near her. I called the vet, and have a new appointment for next Tuesday. Next time, I'll corral Oliver, Lily, and Bella before I try to get Zara.

I read an article in the BBC about the health benefits of saunas, including reducing the severity of tension headaches, which I get a lot. I’m looking for a sauna in the area but am having no luck. The big gym at the university has one, but I just read a comment about how they don’t keep the gym clean, which doesn’t make me want to go there. The YMCA has one. Maybe when my required membership at the university gym is up, I’ll try there. The membership at the uni gym was a minimum of four months, so it should be over soon if not already. I guess that my next step is to check the date and visit the YMCA to see if I want to switch there. Oh! It has a lap pool! And they have swim lessons! And a "gentle yoga" class! And an indoor walking track! And "learn to play pickleball" in the fall! Okay, I want to join the YMCA (joined). I need to cancel my uni gym membership.

I'm thinking of looking for a part-time job at one of the local public libraries when I retire. It would be fun and bring in a little money.

I've been bouncing back and forth from my work area upstairs to the kitchen. I'm processing videos at work, so I set one off for processing, went downstairs and worked on the kitchen, came back up to process videos, etc. I did get some cleaning done on the kitchen. The boxes are flattened.

Cleaned up the boxes outside. I have a video processing. If it's done after I post, I'll move it to the next step. Otherwise, I'll finish up tomorrow. Okay, I got the second video uploaded. I don't have the energy to start video 3. I'll work on it tomorrow.

Oliver is asleep on top of the fish tank.

Fed us all and took Bella out for the last call of the night. She had a perfect day for doing her business outside. Yay. She’s currently zonked out on the bed.

Home Depot has a basil plant and a dill plant, so I need to stop by. They’re open only until 8 PM though.

I need to copy my dad’s investment emails into a Word document to which I can refer (done).

Woke up a little before my alarm at 6:30 AM.

I want to plant annuals in a bed that has a pipe in it. If someone needs to fix the pipe, well, they’re just annuals, so I wouldn’t be too upset if they were trampled on. I should go to Prairie Gardens this coming weekend.

I'm feeling like crying for no good reason again. I had been feeling better though. Maybe it's because of a dental appointment that I'm not happy about.

I'm lucky to have two cats who are BFFs (Oliver and Lily). I'm so glad that I adopted Lily.

Ow, my mouth hurts. The dentist did a good job though, making the temporary teeth look good. I have an appointment in two weeks to order the permanent teeth. Ow. Fuck. Ow. I'm wondering if I should go plant shopping tonight to take my mind off of it. But I'm tired, so I'm thinking of a nap. (I didn't get my lunchtime nap.) Walmart's Garden Center is open until 11, so maybe I can do both.

The Italian school in Sardinia responded to me. So yay.

My first set of linen tank top, pants, and blazer has arrived, but I haven't tried it on yet.

Overslept my nap. Crud, and I need to do Italian homework.

I was cutting up a donut so that I could eat it, and Bella grabbed it. Sigh.

I’m going to tell my Italian teacher that my mouth hurts (true—I had an extraction, although the tooth that they drilled the fuck out of hurts more), and that I need to skip this lesson.

I wonder if the hotel that we’ll be at for the conference does laundry. Probably. I want to wear my linen clothes the first day of the conference, when I’m moderating.

I wonder if I can order plants from Walmart. Maybe I want to pick them out though. I want to get pansies.

I also bought an oatmeal-and-black linen blazer with a black top and black pants. I'll be stylish :) Which reminds me that I need to start going to the Unitarian Church, but I'm waiting until I feel better. The meds do seem to be helping, slowly. I can watch their YouTube video in the meanwhile.

Woke up at 7 AM. I'm at my wit's end with Bella. I was out with her for 45 minutes, and she peed, but she waited until she went inside to poop. I don't know what's going on in her little doggy brain.

I think that I want to buy coneflowers instead of growing them from seed. Maybe I should check out the local garden stores. Though Breck's has a set of coneflower plants that I like. I just need to figure out how many to get.

The WWF (Oliver and Lily) is now in session. Damn, they're fast.

I'm looking at plumbers to fix the leaky faucet and leaky toilet. I also want a bidet installed, but I might need an electrician to put an outlet in near the toilet first.

It looks like I got my herb plants.

Oliver and Lily are sleeping downstairs, where it's cooler. Smart cats. It's 91F/33C out, so no wonder. I need to turn on the a/c downstairs. I think that it's time to shave my legs to wear shorts.

Yay. Work is almost over, and I can go downstairs in the cool part of the house.

I'm looking at linen dresses for my Sardinia trip (and summer here). The problem is that most of them are low cut, and because I'm petite, they're super low cut. I did save a linen and cotton one that looks like it might work, and they have pretty colors. And they have pockets! Ordered a pink one and purple one.

The guys came and mowed the lawn. They did a good job, but they used a riding mower even though I asked them not to. One of the bungee cords on the back gate is broken. They recommended that I have the lawn mowed weekly. I said that I’d think about it.

It’s gotten very dark quickly. I think that it’s going to storm. (Yep. Tornado watch.)

I’m trying to get the energy to work on the kitchen.

What do you call the things that you can put on either side of an air conditioner to block the open window?

I started cleaning up the kitchen. I’m running the dishwasher. I want to do laundry tonight, so I’m hoping that the dishwasher will stop soon. (It doesn’t have a delayed start.) I did lay out shorts to wear though and changed the blades on my razor to shave my legs tomorrow morning. Maybe I’ll start laundry tomorrow morning instead.

I stayed up late enough that Bella fell asleep in the kitchen. Tired pup. Oh wait a minute. Her eyes opened.

I’m looking for a pair of leather shoes for travel. Comfortable walking shoes. Bingo. Penny loafers on sale on Amazon. Actually, I found some Clark's shoes, which I like, so I'm going to return the others. One of them is a two-tone brown shoe!

Got up at 6:30 AM. Threw myself together and dropped the car off to be fixed. Ubered back.

Do I want to tour the Allerton gardens this Saturday? I have wanted to do so. They're also having a volunteer orientation, but i think that I should wait to do that. They have orientations quarterly. The next gardens walk is right after I get back from the conference in June, and I don't think that I'll feel up to it then. Oh, but I have flower arranging there on Sunday. Do I want to go there two days in a row? I could have lunch there afterward. It would get me out of bed early, and I bet that the gardens are pretty this time of year. It's early though. I'd have to leave around 9 AM. No, I think that I won't go this time. I'm looking at July. Or I could just walk through the gardens by myself after flower arranging.

Crud. I didn't register in time for pickleball.

I love love love my new Zenni glasses. I’m tempted to buy another pair.

My car is ready, but I’m going to wait until the late afternoon to pick it up. I need a nap! Couldn’t sleep.

It’s raining. The mower guy said that he would be there tomorrow. He also said that he'd give me an estimate on cleaning my gutters then too.

Bella did not want to come in. I finally grabbed a stick and pulled her up on the porch with it, and opened the door and threw the stick in. It worked.

Got the car.

So. Freaking. Tired. Napped and slept until 3 AM.

It’s pouring rain out. I’m glad for my raincoat; it kept me dry. Bella lasted for a few minutes and then went up on the porch, out of the rain. The ferns will like it.

Woke up at 7 AM. Bella found an enormous stick that she was dragging around. She chewed up one of the ferns :(

RIP Pope Francis. You were one of the better ones.

Yay. Another colleague is driving a colleague to his hotel (we're having an all-staff meeting Tuesday and Wednesday). So I can stop worrying. I went to lunch late though because the person "on-call" had an errand to run.

I'm trying to get ChatGPT on my phone but am having problems.

Crud. I don't have the money for the Doggie Day Care. I'll call them later today. Actually, I have enough cash. I won't be able to go out to dinner tomorrow night. I neeeed my check from the trust!

I found an outfit to wear tomorrow. Black-and-white striped top, tan vegan leather blazer, and jeans.

My psychiatrist recommended that I take a vitamin B12 and D supplement.

Bella is now insisting on me bribing her with treats to come in. It works though :) Now she’s trotting around with a pair of my underwear that she’s trashed.

I've been exchanging emails with my dad about Paris and Europe. I forgot that he looked for some books in French for me while he was in Paris.

Hmm. I was reading susandennis’ post about WiFi connected shades, and I wonder if I could get one on a timer in my bedroom to open when I’m supposed to wake up. That would rock. I need to do some research. Yes, it looks like it’s possible with Alexa or Google Home.

Got us all fed. Now what? I need to get up early to drop Bella off at doggie daycare and get to my meeting. Oh. I need to run an errand. And go to the library too.

Crud. I got myself together, but my phone’s battery is low. I think that I’ll skip the library today (I need to bring my charger to the meeting tomorrow) and let it charge while I post. I should be able to go to the store though.

I feel like all I'm saying is "No." "Bella, leave Oliver alone." "Oliver, quit chewing my straw." "Bella, stop barking at Lily." But they've settled down now. Sort of.

Forgot to mention that ChatGPT found the maximum luggage dimensions for the train in Sardinia. A medium-sized suitcase would work.

I found a pet sitter who's a vet student and likes cats as well as dogs. I sent him a message. He's not available, so I'll try others.

Okay, I'm going to book the "Orient Express" trip if nothing at the meeting tomorrow dissuades me. I'm looking at a picture of Istanbul and going, "Oh wow". I also asked ChatGPT for "a bookstore tour of Paris".

I'm not taking out the garbage. I'm just going to bed and getting up early.

Got up a little after 7 AM. I got up in time for a shower, but I fell down a Facebook rabbit hole and didn’t have time for a shower.

Oh crud. They're predicting rain all weekend, and I need to get out into the garden to prepare the garden beds for seeds and plants. Beautiful day today. I had to bribe Bella to come in with a Munchie Bone. I’ll be glad when I replace the fence so I’d feel more comfortable leaving her out.

I distracted Oliver and Lily with catnip toys from the KitNipBox. Oliver, typically, wanted Lily's toy when he saw her having fun with it, so they switched toys.

I didn't shower at lunch because I wanted to take a nap. Couldn't sleep though. I'll shower before the Meetup about the trips and run an errand afterward.

I'm thinking that maybe I should get my plane travel clothes at Chico's. They have petite travel pants and some interesting blazers.

I felt a pang because I won't get email from my mom. (I've been emailing my dad about the weather and garden plans.) I have to hand it to Zara though, Of Zara, Mimi, and my mom, I would have expected Zara to pass away first. She's outlived both my mom and Mimi and is doing well. She's a tough old lady!

Received the little plastic cat ball toys. Oliver and Lily have no excuse to be bored. (I'll give Zara one too.)

5:35 PM: Load dishwasher
5:36 PM: Remove cat (Oliver) from dishwasher, sigh

Oliver was rubbing against me right before my shower. Then he was walking on top of the shower stall while I took the shower, meowing. Then he knocked two rolls of toilet paper into the toilet. One stayed dry, thank goodness, but one is toast. I told him that he and Bella are my resident goofballs.

Aargh! I scrambled to take my shower before the Meetup for the international travel, only for them to reschedule it for June. Sigh. Well, that gives me more time to clean. But I was looking forward to finding out more about the trips.

They did have the Meetup. They had just changed it to the next one before the meeting. I logged in a few minutes late, but got my questions answered. The travel agent is going to send me a detailed itinerary of the Japan and Orient Express trips. Both trips are fairly full already, so I'd need to make a decision quickly. Also, you can skip any parts of the tours that you want. They're going to St. Mark's Square in Venice, to which I've already been, so I'd want to do something else. (Murano?)

Ran an errand. Fed the critters. Did dishes and started the dishwasher. Ordered groceries. I'm going to get up early to wash sheets and towels and tidy up for the cleaner on Friday.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. Fed us all. Oliver sez, “About time!”

It’s in the nature of little plastic cat ball toys to get stepped on, but Oliver loves them. I need to order more.

Napped. I was trying to decide whether to work on the yard or the house, but I think that I should work on the house because my cleaner is coming this week. Bella did not want to come in, so there’s a vote for yard work.

Bella keeps whining and I don’t know why. Because Oliver doesn’t want to play with her? I gave her a Munchie Bone.

I’m looking at shirt dresses as sunshine_two recommended. I found a linen one that I like, but I’d need a steamer. I just saw the cutest dress. It’s not linen, but is it cute. Hmm, the link no longer works.

I’m looking at dates for my Sardinia trip. Leaving on August 19th, I think. Language lessons the following week.

Hmm. I’m wondering if I should get a community garden plot. I won't be able to put my raised beds in until after the garage is built.

Wrote up an itinerary for the Sardinia trip. Looked though the clothes that I saved and have a plan.

Napped and slept until 9 PM. I suck. Fed us all.

Received The Club. So yay.

I need to get to bed. I need to pick up the car tomorrow, plus I need soda.

Hmm, if I want to go to La Maddalena (an island off of Sardinia), I'd have to take an expensive one-hour cab ride to the ferry each way. But I'd really like to go there. I need to create a Sardinia document with my findings in one place.

I was outside, and Zara was sitting with her back in the window. I tapped on it, and she kept on meowing at me. So now I’m sitting with her in her room. She heard Oliver and went away and hid. So I’m keeping her door closed at night. (I was keeping it open in case she wanted to wander around.)

Overslept this morning and got up at 7. I went to the car repair place and signed the paperwork. Now I wait. The Honda is still running smoothly though.

Man, I'm tired. I'm wondering if I'll be up for raking tonight. It's a beautiful day for it though. (I dropped out of choir for this semester because I've missed a lot and I'm worn out. I'll pick it up in the fall.)

I was wondering where Oliver and Lily went, but now they're upstairs with me. They seem to have a napping spot of which I'm not aware.

Ow. The toes on my left foot are aching. Arthritis? Now the joints in my hands are hurting too. I had something like this happen several years ago. Aargh.

Ugh. It’s cold out and windy. The forecasters are predicting a freeze tonight, so I need to cover the plants. No raking today. After I eat dinner, I’ll do some dishes, take my nighttime meds, maybe watch an episode of The Big Bang Theory, and get to bed early. I have Italian tomorrow morning.

There was a discussion on Facebook about what clothes are made in the USA. I’m actually glad that I have too many clothes. Speaking of which, I went into the library room (Zara’s room) to visit with Zara, but Oliver and Lily busted in a couple of times, so Zara wouldn’t come out. I started sorting clothes and filled a bag to go to the thrift store. And I found my white jeans that I had been looking for. I’ll try to sit with Zara again before I go to sleep, when I feed her again. Practiced piano. I need to get more money from the trust before I can schedule more lessons, but I should practice anyway. There’s going to be a recital, and I want to do “Danny Boy”. I’m slowly picking up the threads of my life.

Watched an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Now I'm going to post, feed the cats, take Bella out, and go to bed. Oh, and cover my plants while I'm outside. I should let Bella in first because I could just see her grabbing the dropcloth with which to cover the plants and running with it.

Lily is really coming into her own. It’ll be interesting to see how things go when Oliver gets here.

I need to order cat food, but I’ll do so tomorrow.

Oops, I need to set up weekly pet waste cleanup.

Woke up at 6 AM. Lily is here and said, “Hi”.

I’m trying to decide whether to work or not. I have this week off, but in general, I’d like to save my vacation time for travel.

Ordered a new pair of Kiziks because Bella did something with my old ones. Ordered cat food and human food.

Zara is warily watching Lily, who is ignoring her. Fed Lily and Zara. Did dishes.

Hmm. I really want to go back to sleep. I decided to take today off and go back to work tomorrow. I sent a message to work telling them what happened and that I’m back. Called the vet where Oliver and Bella is being boarded and said that I would be by in the early afternoon to pick them up.

My boss could not have been kinder. She said that if I needed time to recover from the sad end to my trip, to take it, and that sick days cover mental health too. But I’m okay except for dreaming that I had a stroke.

My vet left a message with her condolences.

Got our groceries. Lily thinks that my food is her food, or at least, she hopes so.

Yeah, I needed a quiet day. In a few minutes, I’ll hop into the shower and then go pick up Oliver and Bella.

I’ve gotten set with the pet waste people.

Holy cow. I forgot a bottle of soda in the freezer. I took it out to thaw. It just exploded all over my cabinets and stand mixer. I wiped them down but need to go over them with spray cleaner. The bottle is now in the sink where I should have put it in the first place.

Lily was trying to catch the waterdrops on the shower. And she had to go in when I got out.

Bella and Oliver are home. There was an issue with my credit card, but we got it straightened out. Bella’s tail is on max wag. However, she ate (and pooped out) her collar. They gave her an x-ray and she’s okay. Don’t know what I’m going to do with that crazy dog though. Oliver and Bella were faves at the boarding place though. And Bella jumped into the car and gave me a kiss!

Uh-oh. Oliver and Lily had a little squabble. And Bella needs lots of reassurance, not surprisingly. So much for taking Bella for a nice long walk. (I’m not going to choir tonight. Actually there is no choir because of Spring Break.) She needs a collar or harness. I ordered both from Amazon.

The pupster is settling down.

My stomach hurts. I’m going to lie down. Slept with Bella and slept so deeply that I wasn’t sure if it was morning or night. The pup is still asleep. Oops, she just woke up. She just rolled over.

Took Bella out. She needs to sniff every square inch of the yard. I need to get someone to rake leaves. Fed Bella and the catlings are in process (done). Ordered cat food covers because I now have an odd number of cats. But Bella ate the extra food :)

Oliver and Lily are playing "Catch Me If You Can!" upstairs. I'm going to take Bella out one more time and then go to bed early. I'm still tired.

I like this Holland America Japan and China cruise, but I was thinking of 2027 for a Japan cruise, not 2026. I'll have to see if they could cut me a deal because I'm on one of their cruises now. The cruise itself isn't that expensive, but the airfare would be (around $1700).

I’m trying to figure out what’s on the docket for today. I have a massage at 3:30 PM and a facial at 8. I want to give myself a pedicure in case I want to go swimming tomorrow. Maybe I’ll talk to the future cruise person about the Japan-China cruise. I should find out what Vacations to Go’s price would be, though, because they are usually cheaper. Got a speedy quote from them ($3667, not including airfare). Now to see if Holland America would do better.

One thing that I like about the staterooms is that they have clotheslines in the bathrooms. I have some shorts and a t-shirt soaking in the sink.

I burned the roof of my mouth on hot pizza in Miami, and it still hurts when I eat.

I think that it’s nap time.

The toilet in my room isn't working. Called, and they said that they were having "a tech problem".

I left my purse at breakfast. As I was leaving the room, a guy working on the ship said for me to go to Guest Services. It was there and everything was in it. Bless the honesty of my fellow passengers and the crew.

I looked at the cruise-line branded stuff and am trying to decide what I want. They have a coffee mug that I like, but I’m afraid that it would break. A water bottle? I forgot mine. They have a nice zip-up hoodie, but do I need another hoodie? I could wear it on the plane flight from California though.

Yeah, I think that I like this cruise. It feels less crowded than the other one, and the Aging Frat Boy Quotient seems lower. I go on a cruise to relax, not party, although there are some folks drinking their breakfast. Cruises are very relaxing, and the sights come to us (or so it seems).

Took a bunch of debit and credit cards out of my wallet and put them in the safe in my room. I don't need them here.

Well, hell. Went to take off the old nail polish off of my toes, only to find that the nail polish wipes that I bought don't have nail polish remover on them. I have no choice but to get a pedicure now.

I went down to the future cruises desk. It wasn’t open. It will be open later in the cruise. I gather that I can get a shipboard credit if I book with them, but I’m dubious about the price.

I’m at the spa now. I made an appointment for tomorrow for a manicure and pedicure. It’s at 5PM, which is later than I would like, but that’s what I get booking at the last minute.

My pet sitter is very worried about Mimi. And she can’t find Lily. She wants me to come back, but I explained that I’m on a cruise ship. I’ll look into ways to get back, but I’m not hopeful. There is a flight from Cartagena, Columbia in two days. But I want to talk to the vet first. I don’t know what to do.

(She also managed to blame me and the dog (?) for Mimi being sick. Never mind that I took Mimi to the vet a couple of weeks ago.)

Had my massage. My brain was whirring, so I wasn’t in a receptive mood. But she upsold me to a hot stone massage. I guess that it helped my tight muscles. She said that it did. She also asked me what I did for my tight muscles between massages, and I said ”…nothing?” She thinks that I should get one of those massaging shower heads, which is do-able. (I really should start up yoga again.) And she sold me some body oil because my skin is dry (it is) and some foot cream. My neck does feel loose now.

Okay, I found a reputable service to get me from the cruise terminal to the airport in Columbia. Now I see how things play out.

I think that facials are largely the placebo effect, but the glop that she was putting on my skin must have hydrated it some. I got a new moisturizer to try. And she told me to drink more water.

I was thinking that I needed to have laundry done if I take the flight from Cartagena. But they want 24 hours, which is cutting it a little close. But I have some clean jeans. I could wear jeans, a t-shirt, and buy the Holland America hoodie and be presentable enough. It’s no worse than what other people wear on planes. If I wind up staying, then I will have laundry done.

I want some late-night nosh.