days_unfolding

I forgot to mention that “Blowing in the Wind” has been playing in my head. Appropriate.

Lily approves of my sweats alternative. 10/10 soft to lie on. I like them too for days that I'm staying home.

Overslept until 8:30 AM.

The radiologists want me to have an ultrasound of my left breast. I’m refusing to worry. Okay, I'm worrying a little.

More recession signs: job loss and issues with private credit.

Lily and Oliver are playing Chase Me! Gracie doesn't want to come in from outside. I can't blame her; it's gorgeous out. Nice and warm and sunny. And the irises are coming up!

Oh crud. The place where I wanted Gracie to be trained wants a certificate saying that the dog is free from Giardia (among other things). Gracie still has a little Giardia in her system. I guess that I need to go somewhere else. I'm looking at Polite Pups individual training, at least for Gracie.

I canceled my French lesson. We aren't studying what I want to study, so why am I spending time and money on it? I shouldn't just go along with things. I found a teacher that said, roughly (in French), that she didn't think that lessons are one size fits all. That's promising.

I grabbed Gracie by the collar and marched her in. That was mean, but I wanted to feed Oliver and Zara, and that depended on her coming in because I wanted Oliver shut away when I open the front door.

I way overslept my nap. I was dreaming about my paternal grandmother, whom I resemble.

Whoa. My printer landed on the floor. I blame you, Oliver. It seems to be working okay.

Hmm. An inflatable two-person hot tub isn't that expensive. It's cheaper than a Jacuzzi. Not right now though.

Hmm. Harry Potter is streaming on Max. It might be worth it to get it for a month or two and watch the movies.

I’m looking at piano scales charts, but nothing on Amazon is exactly what I want. Okay, I found some books that I like.

My singing lesson went well. We worked on “The Times, They Are a Changing”. I don’t like the choral arrangement. My teacher wasn’t familiar with the song, and she said, “Boy, this guy doesn’t like his parents!” Yepper. Hard to believe that the song is almost as old as I am.

My dad is worried about the federal debt. It’s a staggering number (30.8 trillion). That is worrisome. He compared it to Germany in the 1920s. That worries me.

Fed everyone. I’m washing clothes, so I think that I’ll watch the first Harry Potter movie on my computer.

Gracie got me up at 7:30 AM. I guess that I should be grateful for the extra 30 minutes.

Lily is so pretty and delicate. I love looking at her. Appearances can be deceiving though; she’ll smack Oliver, who usually deserves it.

Gracie doesn’t want to come in. At least, I got Bella in.

Booked a hair appointment. Ordered another stock.

I'm feeling like staying home today, but I have stuff on Facebook Marketplace to buy. I'll see how I feel after my nap and shower. The clock is a long drive away, but the nail gun is local.

Got Gracie in with the aid of a munchie bone. Now she’s eating Bella’s food. That’s okay; it’s the same food.

Napped. Oliver Snugglebug is snuggling. Had lunch. I think that I want another nap.

Gracie likes to nuzzle my ear for reasons known only to her.

Napped. I’m in the kitchen trying to wake up. Then a shower. I’ve decided that I’m going to stay in and work on the bathroom.

Showered. I’m wearing a pants and sweatshirt set that I bought a while ago. It’s like sweats but a thinner and nicer fabric.

Lily is parading around in my face, purring. (The cat food dishes are soaking.) My pets keep me grounded in the now.

Reading news on Iran. Sigh. On a happier note, the BBC had an article about Madeira, to which I’d like to go.

Hmm. Snow tonight.

You know that you’re getting old when you don’t recognize half the actors’ names in the Actors Awards.

Did a little work on the bathroom. Found a gazillon socks. But I want to get to bed early.

I was up really late and woke up a little after 10 AM. Lily ate Zara’s leftover food and settled in for a snooze. Gracie did a “Yes, I’m coming in”, “ No, I’m not “, “Yes, I am “ routine. It’s been a zoo in here but got us all fed. Nap time. Ugh. Oliver came into the bedroom. This is not going to be restful. It looks like he might snooze on the shelf above the doorway, which Oliver thinks is a cat perch. Oliver came down and I removed him.

Had a nice nap. Had a tasty lunch (Shrimp Chow Mein). Took another nap.

Nothing that is on the Olympics interests me (although ski jumping is kind of cool). So maybe I’ll get stuff done instead. I watched a little speed skating and ski jumping while I ate. The dogs don’t want to come inside. Watched a Mentour Pilot episode about a brave flight attendant who lost her life helping passengers off a burning plane. Bella and Gracie finally came in.

I started hand-washing clothes because I’m not going to finish getting the washer fixed, and I want to jump-start the car tomorrow. I want to get to bed early. Oh, I know. I'll go do some scanning of music while my clothes are soaking clean.

A while back, I bought some Milkbones for “medium“ dogs. Well, their idea of medium is not mine; they’re tiny. Bella loves them. The box is open, but she doesn’t try to eat them all at once, so I let her get one when she feels like it. She always gets one right before we go to bed, and comes trotting in with it in her mouth. She’s almost done with the box, and I’ll get her some larger ones.

Overslept until 8 AM. I must have needed the sleep. Let the dogs out, fed us all, etc.

I’m thinking that it’s funny that Lily is the smallest cat that I’ve had, and Oliver is one of the biggest.

Why is “Puff, the Magic Dragon” playing in my head?

Showered, makeupped, ready to go. I have a few minutes before I get an Uber. At the dentist now.

Back home. The implant wasn’t too bad, but it’ll probably hurt after the numbness wears off. I took some preemptive acetaminophen, but they recommend ibuprofen, so I’ll have to have some delivered. I think that I’ll nap soon. Napped for a couple of hours.

The dogs keep sniffing my face. I think that they smell the blood from my dental surgery.

I’m feeling shaky. I’m making some macaroni and cheese. Had a good late lunch. Now I’ll order my meds to be delivered and also some yogurt because of the antibiotics. I forgot ibuprofen so I submitted another order, sigh. They’re shipping my meds although I wanted same-day delivery. Oh well. It’ll get here tomorrow. Got my ibuprofen and took some.

I’m reading the PCT book with Oliver curled up in my lap. Cozy. I bought two headlamps because they would be good to have if the power goes out.

Lousy day on the stock market. Oh well.

Let the dogs out. Can’t stop yawning. I need to make it an early night.

I did get my meds today. I’ll take the antibiotic before I go to sleep.

I really would like to see Crater Lake sometime. The closest airport is Redmond. I’d want to rent a car, although there is a bus there. The airfare isn’t too expensive.

Finished my book. I ordered her next book, but it won’t be published until March.

Fed us all. I ate more macaroni because it’s soft. Now I’m seriously thinking about going to bed. I did start another Pacific Crest Trail book. The guy worked in Silicon Valley, and oh, could I relate. I haven’t reached the point where he chucks it for the trail yet.

Ugh. Possible ice tonight. Good thing I don’t have to go anywhere tomorrow.

Cool. I found a pair of clean pajamas. They're ugly but very warm.

I always forget to set the faucets dripping until after I’m in bed. I sigh and get up. Come on warmer weather.

Overslept. Sigh. And I forgot to turn the dryer on last night. I’ll take my shower at lunchtime.

Cold out (4F/-15C). The dogs came in right away. Fed everyone except me, although Lily didn’t eat because she’s down in the basement and won’t come up. I can’t tell if she’s stuck in a crawl space or not. I put some food down there to encourage her to come out. She ate it, so I guess that she's okay. I put down some water for her too.

Work is kind of a zoo, but I'll have lots of time this afternoon to work on stuff.

I had a headache earlier and think that it’s probably because I’m dehydrated. I’m trying to chug some water down. I received some new water enhancers that I need to check out.

Managed to get my weary and cold butt into the shower. Received my grocery order. Walmart bagged three sodas a bag and the bags broke, so I'm not happy with them.

Fell asleep at my desk. I haven't done that in quite a while. I'm not sure how long I slept, a half hour? I emailed and canceled my singing lesson because I can’t keep my eyes open. I know that the sleep doctor told me not to nap at night, but I’ve got to nap.

Bella and Gracie are chasing each other through the yard and play-fighting and don’t want to come inside. I’ll give them a few minutes and try again. This time they came inside. Fed the dogs and started soaking the cat dishes. Nap time. Slept for 5.5 hours. Oliver: Mom, are you going to get up and feed us? Did so. Both Bella and Gracie have diarrhea, sigh.

I bought a Wyze scale after reading susandennis' mention of it. I bought the scale with Bluetooth so that it can send readings to my phone. What can I say; I love tech. And I paid for it with my FSA account. I'm counting the days until my annual physical so that I can ask for Wegovy. I want the pills; I'm a pain wuss.

I need more hoodies and jeans so that I don't need to do laundry all the time. I bought most of my hoodies from one shop that sold kind of bohemian and zen stuff, but now I can't find it. Cosmic Clothing Co.? They don't seem to have hoodies now though. They have t-shirts. No, they do have hoodies too. Bought a couple pairs of jeans and hoodies. I need to eat dinner yet. Then I'll feed the critters their crunchies and go back to bed.

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.

Crud. I overslept until 7 AM. The crazy cold temperatures have started. And it’s supposed to snow this weekend. I’m screwed. Actually, I can run out tomorrow morning before the snow starts.

Managed to get the dogs in early. Gracie was stalling but finally decided to come in. It’s 2F/-17C with a wind chill of -18F/-28C. The snow is predicted to start Saturday afternoon.

I've been talking cats with my colleagues via IM. I'm lucky that most of them are "pet people".

Got a bunch of stuff done at work.

I told Gracie that she has a puppy ADHD brain. She came over for some pets, and then promptly ran over to the window to look out.

I think that maybe I'll work on the kitchen table tonight. I have a singing lesson, but I'll probably have some time for cleaning. Actually, I should open some packages.

It just occurred to me that Gracie might have never lived in a house before I got her. That would explain a lot.

Fed the critters. I’ll eat after my singing lesson.

Hmm. I’m wondering if I could design and upgrade my closet (in the library) myself or with a handyman. I kind of know what I want: two rods on top of each other for shirts and pants, but I also want a smaller space that has only one rod for dresses. The shelf up top can stay there if it still fits. I keep my shoes in the bedroom closet, which really needs help but is an awkward size. Well, none of it is happening right now.Actually, I found something at Home Depot that might work (I need to measure) and it costs only $138.

Had my singing lesson. I didn’t have a song to practice, so we worked on intervals. That was a mental workout as well as a vocal workout.

Pulled out clean clothes for tomorrow morning. I need to clean the washer drain sometime this weekend, but that will require moving stuff.

Had dinner. It's gotten late (9 PM), and I want to get up early to let my hair dry before contacting AAA. Maybe I could use a blow dryer. Anyway, time for bed.

I overslept 45 minutes. I got my shower done though. No time to put on makeup. Wrestled the recycling bin out and opened the garage.

I just saw that the electricians had a “confirm appointment” link, which I just clicked. I hope that I didn’t mess up the appointment.

Jealousy, thy name is Bella. I was petting Gracie, and Bella came over and said, “Pet ME!”

The electricians are here. I showed them the circuit breaker box. I was ordering food for Bella and Gracie when the “dog alarm” went off. They’re going nuts. I shut the cats in the bathroom and want to leave them there until the electricians are done. Oliver likes to go into the basement.

I ordered some compression socks. I hope that I got the right sizes. I got some funky designs: flamingos, sloths, and polka dots.

I looked into dog training, but it won’t start until February, so I’ll wait to register.

Hmm, the dogs seem to be settling down. Are the guys done? No.

I need to order more pillows to put my feet up while I sleep (if the dogs let me!)

Got the first check from the trust. I'll deposit it into my main bank account at lunchtime. Then I'll get a cashier's check for Charles Schwab later. (I want the money safely in a bank account first, and Schwab is a little complicated.)

Meeting-o-rama today at work. Well, one got cancelled.

Ran to the bank over lunch. The check is safely away from my chewing dogs :)

Well, I did step 1 and brought water upstairs to drink. But I haven't been drinking it. Must force myself....

There's a decluttering course that isn't too expensive and has good reviews. I might sign up for it (done).

The 3:00 meeting was short. Good. I can go out and see what the electricians have done when they're done. I'm having a hard time concentrating with the guys doing the work. I should look for something mindless. I see lights on in the garage. That's progress. They're done. There are lights on in the garage and the garage door works.

Let the cats out of the bathroom, and Oliver bitched me out. I deserve it :)

Let the dogs out. Bella ate Gracie’s bribe donut, so I had to give her another one. Fed us all.

I'm going to go to sleep soon. Maybe I'll get some cleaning done tomorrow morning before I take Lily to the vet.

Woke up at 4:30 AM. Went back to sleep, and woke up at 6 AM. Jet lag strikes! The place that I want to go for breakfast is open, so I'll throw myself together and go there.

Went to the Corner Bakery Cafe. Their pancakes were recommended online, so I had some, and they were very good. I had Bananas Foster pancakes.

The downtown area seems to have a lot of foot traffic. Buses run late. That got me wondering about housing costs, but it’s California, so they’re probably high. Yep.

Had a nice nap. Checked where the cruise port is for tomorrow. It's a 10-minute drive from here, so I can check out a little before 11 and get there in time for boarding. (I'm in the first boarding group, and I want lunch on the ship!)

There's a Chipotle across the street. I looked at their menu though, and it doesn't excite me. I guess that I'll DoorDash. Oh, Cava (Mediterranean restaurant) is open until 10:30.

Yay, I DoorDashed clean socks (and soda). I had been wearing dirty socks. Ugh. Note to self: bring lots of socks next time for the beginning and end of the cruise. (I'm planning to wear sandals through most of it). I'll do laundry once I get on the ship.

I'm trying to get the energy to work on my Medical Journal. I just want to read though. I don't think that ChatGPT will do what I want. I'll try Word.

I got confused as to what time it was. My computer said that it was 4 PM, so I thought that I would have an early dinner. But my computer is on Chicago time. So I had a late lunch. I went to Cava and ordered the Chicken Shawarma Pita. The thing was enormous and messy. I wound up wearing part of it despite strategically placed napkins. It was good though. I had cinnamon pita chips dipped in honey for dessert.

I want to read and maybe nap. The food is knocking me out.

Yikes. My dad and his wife have COVID, and they haven’t had any of the shots. I’m worried.

Overslept my nap. It’s raining out. I’m not sure what to do now. I should get to sleep early because I need to get up early and pack, such as it is. I want to be ready to go at 10:30 AM.

It feels later than it is, not surprisingly. I think that I'll read for a while and get to bed early.

Got up a little after 7 AM. Went back to sleep after the dogs came in. Overslept. It's dark and gloomy out. Raining.

I'm quietly writing documentation for our new ticketing system at work. I like writing documentation because I used to do that as a living!

The snow is off of the roof of the garage!

I'm trying to decide whether to wear my Christmas sweatshirt and jeans for the flight out. Or for the Christmas Eve Loop expedition.

I don't know what to do about my snow boots for the trip. The snow will have melted before I leave, but I don't know about when I get back. I might have some ankle boots with a good tread on them.

For some reason, Oliver and Lily are picking at their food. They’re young, so I’m not so worried, but am wondering what’s going on. The dogs ate their food. Bella and Gracie are now fighting over the duck toy :) Hmm, I have new dish detergent, and I'm wondering if that's why Oliver and Lily aren't eating. It doesn't smell right?

I think that I’m going to give up on getting Christmas lights up and save them for next year. Too much is going on.

I'm wondering if I should try BritBox when I get back. On the other hand, I don't watch TV much and haven't made it through all of The Big Bang Theory yet. Maybe I should wait to catch up on my TV watching.

I need to figure out how to get from Michigan Avenue to the Loop in Chicago. I guess take it over the river and then head west? I'm got my Chicago friends on Facebook working on it.

Hmm. The weather forecasters are saying a "wintry mix". I wonder if I should skip the post office tonight. Yeah, it does look like a "wintry mix". Ugh.

Had a good session with my therapist. She thinks that I should contact a lawyer NOW to deal with the trust. I'm going to go through the info tonight and figure out how much money is missing between the last account balance I got and now. Spoiler alert: it's a lot. I'm going to contact some estate planning attorneys to whom I've talk to see if they know someone who would take my case. (She asked me if there was anything else, but I said, "Isn't that enough?" She laughed.)

Scrambled to get the stuff ready to mail. I'm still iffy about the weather, but I'll go out and see how it is.

Oliver must have seen my entry about wanting a lap cat because he's curled up on my lap right now.

I think that I will go to the Post Office on Saturday instead. I’m tired and hungry. And the beasts are hungry too. Fed us all. I think that I was right about the dish soap because I rinsed the cat dishes without soap, and Oliver and Lily chowed down. I need to get different dish soap for them. Preferably without a smell. Or let the dogs “clean” the dishes. They do a good job.

Zara is lying on the heat vent, so I need to get her new heated bed set up. It's getting warmer, but it also has memory foam in it. (I got the top of the line for my girl!)

I’ve got the new travel laptop open. It’s a rose-gold color and pretty. (It was the cheapest color, so I guess that others didn’t like it.) I’m cleaning the kitchen while it’s doing its update. I've got it set up. Did I say that it's a really, really nice laptop?

I was creating a grocery list while I waited for the laptop to finish updating, when I realized in a panic that I didn't get any wrapping paper for the gift exchange at work tomorrow. So I added a gift bag and tissue paper to the Walmart order, and expedited the order. BUT I FORGOT TO GET SODA! I'll have to submit another order.

Anyway, I'm going to post. (I'm still on the new laptop.) I'll go to sleep after the Walmart order gets here.

Added: I was wrong about the amount of money in the trust. It matched the last valuation. Good because I don't want to deal with it right now.