days_unfolding

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 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.

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.

I overslept an hour again. Sigh. The dogs don’t want to come inside. Bella came in after two hours and Gracie took 2.5 hours. By the summer, they won't come in at all. Gracie is completely crashed out on the guest room futon. Now she's sleeping with her paws in the air :) Oops, she's up now. And barking.

There is a skating controversy about the scoring of the French judge for the ice dancing. What’s an Olympics without controversy.

It's another crazy day at work, plus I had my French lesson over lunch. The teacher is good and keeps me talking, which is what I need. She complimented me on my vocabulary and pronunciation. (I did throw in a couple of Italian words though. Oops.) She isn't going over what I would call "tourist French" though, but I'll get a Berlitz book and do some studying. I need to drill on verbs too.

Had a therapy session. She thought that my trip in the fall sounded very cool. She agrees that I should get more exercise to build up my energy. Maybe I'll start on the weekends. Maybe instead of a "second nap," I should take one of the dogs for a walk. I need to find my gym clothes too.

Gracie took over an hour to come in tonight. Then I had to shut Bella in the bathroom because she was trying to eat Gracie’s food. Bella had already eaten! Ate dinner.

I want to go to sleep early so that I don’t oversleep tomorrow. I might do a little work on the bathroom, and I need to feed the critters again.

Note to self: Move blood test (done). Book French lesson (done). Crossroads (boarding) for Memorial Day weekend? Check with Dad (done).

Emailed in sick. I’m going to feed the fur faces and go back to bed. Oliver will abandon his food and follow me to see what I’m doing. Curious cat.

I had set my alarm for 11:30 AM to check if I felt up to working. The reminder on my phone went off at 10:15, but I thought that it was 11:30. I emailed in sick for the afternoon. I woke up again when I thought that someone was knocking at the door, but no one was there. Then at 11:30, I shut my alarm off and slept until 1. Ate lunch.

My dad sent me an email that he was worried because he hadn’t heard from me for a while “and there’s all that crazy weather”. I told him that I was fine.

Told my choir director that I wasn’t going to make it to choir.

Napped and woke up at 5:30 PM. The dogs don’t want to come inside. “Mommy, it’s warmer!” It is warmer (28F/-2C). Gracie finally came inside and ate. Fed us all.

I remembered to pull market stats from WSJ’s site. Go me.

I want to make apple fritters, so I bought a deep fryer on Mercari. I need to submit a grocery order (done).

I'm going to 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.

I had a hard time getting up this morning. Called Carle and rescheduled my doctor's appointment from today. Told work that I feel better but need a nap. The dogs aren’t letting me sleep. Gracie is going to get evicted from my bedroom in three-two-one. I didn’t evict her, but she wound up snoozing with her head on my leg.

Slept until a little after 11:30 AM. Fed the critters. Ate lunch.

Bella the glove-stealer is busy stealing gloves. Sigh.

The forecasters are predicting light snow.

Work is a zoo right now. Well, I got through my email :) I might have to work a little this weekend. Well, no, a colleague kindly took some work off of me. I work with nice people.

I want to put in a coneflower garden this Spring. Also, I’ll need to order roses for the side of the garage. Hmm. I stopped ordering bare roots plants because Bella dug them up. I wonder if she’ll stop now that we have Gracie? I could put a fence up too. She can knock down the little garden fences that I put in, but she respects them. I ordered some beautiful roses. I’m excited!

Here's the flashiest of the roses:


My dad was telling me to walk to get exercise, and it’s important because I’ll be walking in Europe this fall. (Do I need a cane? I bought an “all-terrain” folding one in purple.) I decided that I would trade off taking Bella and Gracie for walks because the two of them can almost knock me over. And I’ll be walking with a cane.

I wanted to make some frozen burritos for dinner, but they require an air fryer. I need to get it set up this weekend. I also need to find a good recipe to make some from scratch. Found one.

I might need to change my car appointment on Friday to another time because I need to renew the car’s registration. I’ll see if I’m up to getting the registration renewed tomorrow, but I doubt it. I’m planning on going to bed soon though.

Damn. I opened the door to get soda off of the porch—and Oliver ran out. I stood there stunned—and Gracie ran out. Oliver would poke his head out occasionally and Gracie would chase him, so clearly, I had to get Gracie in to be able to get Oliver in. I was chasing Gracie around the yard with a leash, but she is fast. I got the idea to open the garage, and Gracie ran in there. I closed the door, and chased Gracie around the inside of the garage and eventually got her on a leash. I got her in the house. So, Oliver. He came out from under the stairs, and I tried to get near him, but he went under the stairs. Then he came out on one of the stairs—and I was able to grab him. Whew. He scratched me when I brought him in the house, which I probably deserved.

Woke up a little before 7, needing to pee desperately. That’s one problem with getting more sleep. I wound up getting up.

Lily's vet appointment went well. Her ears are much better. (She had an ear infection.) I almost didn't get to take her because she was hiding, and I was walking around calling her. Eventually, she popped up in the living room.

I'm looking at tool (shovels and such) organizers for the garage. I need to check, though, if there's a way to hang my power snow shovel from the wall. I’m also thinking of getting a nail gun. I have all those bookcases to put together, and I’m lousy at hammering nails. It would be cheaper to buy a nail gun than to hire someone to put them together though. And I would have the nail gun. Maybe I could rent it out.

Had a nice nap. Bella was lying near where I was sitting when I got into the bed, and she moved. I said, "You are so nice and cooperative. You're a joy to live with--except when you steal my gloves." (Well, she IS a dog :))

My EKG came out normal. I have to hand it to my doctor; I'm getting called for appointments with the specialists to whom she referred me.

It's been gray and overcast all day, and I want to sleep. Apparently, it's going to rain soon.

My dad says that he can teach me to improve my health. I just bought the books The Mind-Gut Connection and Good Energy (about metabolism). And some nutrition books. What I'm reading has scared me enough that I added some fruits and vegetables to my grocery order tomorrow.

Gracie has decided that she really likes being petted. She'll come over to me and put her front in my lap, and I'll pet her. Then she'll go away because she has the attention span of a gnat. Then she comes back, and repeat.

I submitted a grocery order for tomorrow morning, mostly to get donuts to bribe the dogs to come in. I also ordered cheap pillows to put my feet on to drain the fluid. Oh, and I got the compression socks.

Fed us all. I think that I'll go to sleep early again. I get more sleep if I go to sleep early, which sounds obvious, but if I go to sleep early and tell myself that I'll get up early to do stuff, and don't get up early, at least I've gotten a good night's sleep. Also, having the mindset that I'm going to bed early helps me go to bed early. (I'm still a night person though; I'll get a burst of energy around 10 PM if I'm still up.)

I had problems getting up this morning, but I think that I got up at 7:30 AM. Had another good breakfast. Great service—I was having problems cutting the pancakes, and a guy showed up with fresh pancakes for me and took the old ones.

Now I need to pack stuff up. Emailed my travel info to my dad. Suitcase packed. Backpack packed except for the stuff that goes in at the last minute (chargers). I’m going to lie down for a little while.

At the airport. Dropped my suitcase off to be checked. It was just under overweight, so I can’t buy anything.

I think that I might buy a meal on the flight. The timing would be right.

Made it to the gate, stopping twice. It was the farthest gate once again. No charger plugs. Or at least, they’re not working. Yay, found a charger that works. I got to the gate so early that they were using it for another flight.

The flight is overbooked. They asked for volunteers to take a later flight for a $1000 voucher. I went up to the podium, although I wasn’t sure how that would work with my checked luggage and the San Diego hotel. But enough people got there before me. I’m on the flight.

Had a large hamburger for dinner. And I slept the rest of the time. Airplane drowsiness strikes again!

In San Diego at the hotel. I want to get some stuff from Walgreens, but it just occurred to me that it’ll be closed. I thought that I ordered two bottles of soda, but just got one. Oh well. I need to order socks from CVS tomorrow.

Had a protein bar. I think that I’m going to go to sleep early because it’s later Chicago time. Not sure about tomorrow. Right now, the idea of going anywhere sounds awful. I’ll see.

Woke up at 7 AM. Gracie was barking at something upstairs, but I couldn’t figure out what. The dogs didn’t stay out long. While Bella likes snow, they didn’t like it falling on them and making them wet. It’s only a dusting so far. It’s nice to have the dogs off-leash because I can stand on the porch out of the snow and watch them.

I want to go back to sleep. I need to feed the critters first.

Gracie will not stop barking.

I keep getting messages about the winter storm. Yes, we know.

I forgot to mention that my dad fell the day before yesterday, hit his head, and required seven stitches. Yikes. He should be okay though.

I’m not going to get the cat wheel this year. I need something to get next year. Plus, Zara’s bed cost more than I expected (but it sounds heavenly). I did get some sweats on Land’s End. I found a color that I don’t hate in my size. I wish that I had them now.

Fed us all. Nap time (after I take my meds). Oliver knocked the cat food on the floor and cans rolled all over the place. I picked them up, muttering. (It matters because the dogs like to steal them.)

My new pajamas are out for delivery. Cool. But I’m assuming that I might not get packages today because of the snow.

Bella cracks me up. She stole one of the cat food cans, and hid under the bed so that I won’t take it away from her. But she really wants to jump on the bed, but she doesn’t want me to take the can. So she’s going under the bed, coming out, and going under the bed again. Multiple times.

I really like Donna Karan’s dresses. Maybe if I lose weight.

I found a web site that will show me total precipitation. So far, one inch.

Napped for an hour. I’m awake but don’t want to get out from under the covers. It’s nice and toasty warm under there.

Two inches of snow and counting.

Oliver thinks that because I’m in the kitchen, I’m going to feed him. Wrong-o.

Oh! The box that I got are my pajamas! They look nice and cozy. I’ve been opening packages. I got the bird feeder stuff and am staging it near the door. Also Christmas decorations.

I bought some Christmas cards. Thought about having them personalized but decided against it. If you’d like a Christmas card from me, send me a message on LJ/DW with your address.

Bella doesn’t like the storm and comes in early. Gracie thinks that it’s great and has been running around the yard, playing in the snow.

I’m wondering if I should get a Fi tracker for Oliver and Gracie, my escape artists. I’d need to get a collar for Oliver because he lost his. I’m a little afraid that he’d lose the tracker.

Took another nap. There’s nothing better than cuddling under blankets while it’s snowing outside.

Seven inches of snow.

Fed us all. I’m mulling over going to bed early, but I should do a few things first. Changed a litter box. Had a dizzy spell, so I should think about bed.

Let the dogs out. They were having a great time chasing each other (mostly Bella chasing Gracie, to my surprise), play-fighting, and tunneling under the snow. The fence is the best Christmas present ever. They think that the snow is cool too.