days_unfolding

ChatGPT came up with an excellent blog post about decluttering as a spiritual practice, but I wasn't logged in and lost it. I tried several times but it didn't come up with anything as good. I modified the prompt, and it came up with something that I like. I just need to edit it slightly.

Woke up at 6:30 AM. Bella did her business quickly, so I’m going to take a nap.

I don’t think that I can do dog training today; I need to go pick up my plants. In addition, my foot hurts. I’m a mess. I ordered a bunch of dog training books instead. Yeah, I'm overwhelmed at work too. Cannot cope.

I forgot to take out the garbage last night.

I was trying to nap at lunch, but Gracie started barking. It was close to the time that I needed to get up, so I gave up. Sigh. Gracie is a loudmouth.

Had a vet appointment for Zara. She was hiding in the closet, and the door went off the track, so I thought that I wouldn't be able to get her out, but I got it open. Her mouth healed well from the dental work. She still has an ear infection. They gave me some gabapentin to calm her down before I treat her ears. We made an appointment on Friday for Gracie because she's having diarrhea, but they gave me some probiotics to try first.

Oh! I need to pick up the plants tomorrow! I could have gone to the dog training in that case, but I'm still swamped and stressed out, so no. PetSmart has training at more convenient times for me, but their next class starts right before I leave for Italy. I found a place with Saturday classes with a session that will start in the beginning of September. That will work.

I read a Quora article about a doctor who wouldn't give a guy drugs, and he took a horrific revenge on her pet (I won't say more so that you won't have the awful images that are now in my mind) and I feel like crying.

Bella is teasing Gracie. She seems to know that Gracie is on a leash, and Bella runs around, stopping just out of Gracie’s reach. Gracie gets mad and barks. I think that Bella is finding Gracie a little annoying.

Article in the BBC: “US lawmakers write to Canada to complain their wildfire smoke is spoiling summer.” Oy. Like it was a plan.

Fed us all. Got the recycling out. I need to scoop litter boxes, but I need to cool off first, so I thought that I'd post. I also need to check my work computer to see if I got messages about the stuff that I'm working on.

Printed out bank statements to analyze. Bella got into some of the highlighters (I swear that she has a radar for stuff that she'd like to chew), so I ordered more. It's supposed to rain this weekend, so that will give me time to work on them.

Crap. I forgot to check my dad’s “stoplight system” for whether to invest or not. (It’s based on some Wall Street Journal stats.) I don’t want to go back upstairs and log on though. I need to put a note on my computer to do that. Hmm, it just occurred to me to note the stoplight readings on my email calendar. That would be a good way to view trends. I did remember to do it tonight. (It's a yellow light - hold.)

Woke up at 6:30 AM. Discovered that my phone didn’t charge and my Apple Watch needed charging too. Got the good charger. Took Bella out, but it was raining pretty hard, and she noped out. I’m going to go back to sleep for a while. Hmm, the Dynamic Duo (Oliver and Lily) are in here now. Good, they just left. Had a nice nap.

At work now. The Dynamic Duo are being very dynamic and are running around.

ChatGPT can be useful. I want a paragraph in my will stating that my friends can take one personal item each to remember me by, and it gave me a nice paragraph in legalese.

Speaking of my will and my trust, the big question is whether I include the house in the trust or not. I want the proceeds of the sale of the house to go into the trust, which makes me think that it should be included in the trust, but I'll probably sell the house before I pass away to go into a retirement community, which makes me think that it should not be in the trust. Dad said in a roundabout way to put the house in the trust because it keeps someone from suing me and getting the house. He said that if I’m the trustee, I can sell it whenever.

I somehow wound up with not one but two doctor's appointments on Friday afternoon (psychiatrist and eye doctor). My boss said that I could take the afternoon as sick time. Have I mentioned lately that I work with great people?

I forgot to feed the critters this morning. I suck.

I put the YMCA's "Gentle Yoga" class on my calendar, starting next week. That'll give me time to find my yoga clothes, mat, etc. Their Pilates classes are at an inconvenient time. And their Aqua Fit evening classes are at the same time as yoga. (I don't do exercise in the morning. If I get up on time and shower, I'm ahead of the game. Though hmm, the Deep Water Total Body Workout on Wednesday mornings sounds like a good class. Maybe I should try it and see if I can get up. They have the class on Fridays and Mondays too.)

I've been weeding a little while I'm out with Bella. Some weeds are going to need the weeding tool, but I've been able to knock off some easy weeds to pull up. I've got the bed for the tickseed cleared, but need to pull up the landscaping cloth underneath before I plant them. I want to order some begonias for the back of the house, which gets part sun and part shade. Hard to find plants for that exposure that are also dog-safe. Pulled up the landscaping cloth and planted tickseeds. I’m wondering if I should leave the sunflowers in their pots. They would require a big hole to plant them. Now I’m thinking about putting them on the patio. Maybe I could plant Black-Eyed Susans where I was going to plant them. Prairie Gardens has them. I also want to go to another big garden shop in the area this weekend. The ASPCA Web site says that begonias are toxic for dogs. The search continues….

Bella played tug of war with the landscaping cloth that I pulled up. I finally gave up on throwing it out. I’ll have to go outside without her to get it. (I got it when I took out the recycling.)

I read an article on places to retire in if you want to travel, but I think that I'm pretty well located. I can hop on a bus (or train) to Chicago and fly out of O'Hare Airport, which has nonstop flights to a lot of places. But Urbana is cheaper to live in than Chicago.

I've decided to replace the living room furniture (loveseat and chair) with new washable pieces. And I'll put my mom’s white chair, which is in good shape, in the library room and buy a cheap footstool for it. Though actually, I have a rattan footstool, I think. And I found a small trunk table on Wayfair to use as an end table. I can put a throw in it for cozy reading. I’ve thought again about getting a grandfather clock for the library room. The trick is finding a nice used one for not a lot of money and getting it over here.

The Swedish Death Cleaning book was talking about “curating” your stuff. That’s an interesting way to look at it.

I’m resting for a moment before taking out the recycling (done). I can’t rest long because I have Italian homework to do and I need to order some fencing from Lowe’s (done) and groceries.

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.

Overslept my alarm. I had three cats in the bedroom. Now Zara is in the kitchen with the youngsters. Good girl. Managed to take a shower without Oliver in the bathroom.

I looked at Little Free Library kits because that would be a way to get rid of my extra books, but sheesh. Expensive. I'll have to think about that.

Mimi is on my lap, quacking. I told her that she's awfully furry for a duck. All's right with her world. I heard a loud crash from downstairs. Do I want to know what that was? Oliver is at the gate, and Mimi is annoyed. He's insisting on staying up here because I'm doing something! And he wants to know what!

If we got snow last night, it's melted. No, there's a dusting on the ground that I couldn't see from my desk.

Mimi is on window patrol. She's not going to like it when I have that tree taken down when I have the garage built.

Got the dog stuff set up, part of which is cat stuff. I wanted to move a litter box in with Zara because she might not want to come in the bedroom if the dog is there. Oliver and Lily checked out the dog bed. Tried to nap but didn’t quite fall asleep. I’ve been cuddling with Lily the Love Bug.

I looked into a board to go over the aquarium. It looks like I'd need manufactured wood, which comes in 4 feet by 8 feet, and a saw (I'd probably have to buy a used circular saw) to cut it to size. Does anyone know of a way to get someone to cut the board for you? I'd rather not get a saw that I won't usually use. And I don't have a workbench. I did find a used folding workbench that I could buy. Or plexiglass? I need something that would hold the weight of a cat. (The lid that it has does not.) Hmm, maybe I should ask Erik (my ex) what he recommends. (Sent an email.)

Hmm. My nose runs all winter long. I figured that it was something that I had to put up with, but maybe I should ask the doctor about it? Which reminds me, I need to make an appointment with my primary, but I don't like her, so I'm procrastinating. I need to find someone else. Okay, I scheduled an appointment. I like being able to schedule one online. And I checked Dr. Google, and runny noses during winter are normal, if annoying.

I looked up info about the Urbana Dog Park. I think that I should train Bella to come when called before I take her there. I need to look into training classes. Dog treats. I didn't get dog treats. Ordered some from Amazon. Oh, I also could pick some up at the Walmart where I'm meeting the dog shelter person.

I received another Green Chef box, and I'm not done with the last one. I need to do mass amounts of cooking this weekend.

Just remembered to stick a pen in my purse because I'm sure that I'll have to sign things when I pick Bella up. Although I did fill out some forms online, so maybe not?

Poor Lily is not happy that I'm upstairs without her. I explained to her that it's because of her brother, but she misses me.

I was about to leave to go pick up Bella (I’m meeting the shelter person at the Walmart on Bloomington, about an hour from here, and I want to pick up dog treats there) when the shelter person texted me that they were running about an hour late. It worked out well because I needed to heat up the car to get rid of some ice, so I did that and ran an errand. Now I’m having some quality time with Lily and Oliver.

I got there in plenty of time before the shelter person got there and bought four different kinds of dog treats for Bella (and some human treats too). I waited inside the Walmart for them to text me because it was cold outside. Finally they did, and I drove over too them, and they gave me Talley/Bella. She was crawling along the ground, poor scared girl, but she jumped in the car.

I forgot to wear my night vision glasses on the way back. (They did help on the way out.) Bella came out of the car willingly and went into the yard. She did not pee. She really didn't want to come in the house, but she finally did. I brought her into the bedroom because it was quiet. She saw my bed and promptly jumped on it. (So much for the dog bed that I bought. I wonder if I can return it?) Oliver and Lily came in and met Bella and seemed a little cautious (which is to say, Oliver didn't get in her face) but were mostly unfazed.

I gave Bella some food and water, but she didn't touch it. She ate treats from my hand though, so I hand-fed her some food. Then I gave her the bowl on the bed, and she ate a lot. I gave her water on the bed, and she drank. I took her outside, and she didn't pee. I fed the cats.

Now she's in the bedroom. I'm going to try taking her out one more time and then get ready for bed. I'm going to set my alarm for 5 AM to take her out again. Then I'll feed her and the cats, and then go back to sleep.

Got the flannel sheets and flannel duvet cover on the bed. They’re so soft! Zara came in partway through but decided that she didn’t like what was going on. Later, I came in to go to bed, and she was happily curled up on top of the comforter with the flannel cover. Now she's glued to it except when she wants food :)

I had problems falling asleep. I got up once because I realized that I scheduled my piano lesson at the same time as Dial-A-Carol. I ate oatmeal and finally fell asleep. And overslept, sigh. I have to find the box with the "Sonic Boom" alarm.

Yeah, I think that staying home over Winter Break is a good idea. Hard to believe that I work Monday, and then I'll be off!

Very quiet at work. My boss told me to "feel better" when I went out sick yesterday, which was nice.

I'm about done with Walmart delivery. They dumped my groceries by the gate, and I had to go across my lawn with slippers on. How hard is it to put them on my porch?

I just emailed the real estate guy about the closing date on Mom's house. He said "sometime this week".

Ugh. My back and shoulder hurt. I shouldn’t be this sore shortly after a massage. Showered, so at least I'm clean.

Went down to get the mail and found a Jenny Craig order. I need to cancel them, but at least I'll have a stash. I'm now thinking of doing a bunch of cooking and freezing stuff next week, when I'll have time. I'm getting a bunch of emails from Costco, but no card yet. I plan to bring the cars up to Costco for gas because, why not? And maybe I could get new windshield wipers for the Honda there. And investigate moving my prescriptions, although it's convenient having them down the street. Maybe not.

I think that getting a used aquarium is the right idea. I priced new ones and geesh. Expensive. And I'm getting only a 20-gallon tank! Though I also want a 55-gallon tank for the library room. Actually, I found a used 50-gallon tank that I like, but I'd need movers to move it. And I need someone to check that the floor is stressed for it.

I've decided that I don't like the prescription face cream that I've been using. (It was making my skin flake.) I'm trying something new from Dermstore, and we'll see how I like it. But the shipment is delayed.

I forgot to say that I'm proud of myself. I had been having problems with the sound on the laptop that I had on the digital piano. I bought two computer speakers to try to fix it, but they didn't help. Eventually, I got rid of the laptop and swapped in my mom's laptop. So I still had the speakers, but didn't need them, so I gave them away on Buy Nothing! It's a drop in the bucket, but still, I'm pleased with myself.

Hmm. I had been thinking of getting a used grandfather clock for the library room, but now I'm thinking that I should move the Buddha in there and put a wall clock (with chimes) above it. Also cheaper. Though I wanted a "Namaste" hanging above the Buddha. And maybe, above the aquarium-to-be, I want one of those maps where you can rub off the paper on the country if you have visited it.

I got my Beaches calendar for by my computer. December is Maui. Excellent. I just need a nail with which to hang it. I need to make a list of things to get done over break.

I was eyeing the treadmill. I think that the first errand on my list is to get the small Smart TV for in front of my treadmill. I'll watch The Golden Girls and The Big Bang Theory while exercising!

I found the “Sonic Boom” clock! Good because I need to get up early tomorrow because the house cleaner is coming tomorrow morning. I also found my hatchet, which should go in the basement.

Now I’m eating dinner and putting the Jenny Craig meals away (done).

Hmm. Holland America is trying to upsell me on dining. They have a steakhouse and an Italian restaurant. I need to think about it.

I'm back from Dial-A-Carol. This apparently was Pros night. There was a group that was singing in four-part harmony and sounded fantastic! (One of looked embarrassed when she saw me listening, but I don't know why.) And there was a young woman who must have been a singing major. (In fact, I think that she might have been at the carols concert?) I was somewhere in the middle. I'm usually on tune if I know the song, but I don't sound as polished. I just bought the sheet music and a couple of CDs of "traditional" Christmas music. I'll work on them during break. Driving home, I felt full of love for Champaign-Urbana because there are so many fun things to do here.

I'm sitting for a moment with Mimi, and then I need to tidy up the kitchen and bathrooms for the house cleaner. Oh, I think that I'll post because I'm here. No one needs the blow-by-blow of my tidying :)

Hmm. Someone on Facebook is organizing a trip to St. Lucia in April.

Went to bed early. Got hungry because I hadn’t eaten dinner, so I got up and ate. Woke up at 5:45 AM. Fed myself and the girls and took a nap. Woke up with my alarm at 9:30, rolled over, and slept until a little before 11. Oops. Zara is sleeping on my foot.

Aaargh! I’m having problems copying files off of the laptop that I want to get rid of. I guess that I won’t drop it off today. Actually, most of the files are on OneDrive, so I guess that I don’t need to copy them.

Also aargh: I received my swimsuits that I ordered a long time ago, and I emailed the company asking to return them. They said that they don’t take returns but will offer $21. I guess that I’ll go through PayPal to try to get my money back.

I’m trying to convince myself to go to the Carol Concert. I’m sure that I’ll enjoy it when I get there, but I’m feeling unmotivated. Well, I managed to get my lazy butt into the shower. Loaded the car for my errands.

Mimi is complaining loudly. I think that it’s because I haven’t gone upstairs yet.

I did go to the Carol Concert. They mostly did obscure ones, but they had singalongs of more common ones. I’m not a big fan of Christmas—It’s kind of the Godzilla of a holiday—but I like the carols and the lights.

I ran errands afterwards. I bought some black folders to use for the music at our concert tomorrow. Bought some “puppy pads”. (Mimi pees on them.) Dropped off the clothes and blankets at the thrift store. Ran into the thrift store and bought a basket for my charging stuff plus a binder and sheet protectors for a binder of instruction manuals. Ran to Best Buy and dropped off the laptop to be recycled.

Now the girls are telling me that I need to feed them NOW! It’s LATE! (Done. Now I’m eating.)

I’m feeling really tired, but I need to get my clothes together for the concert tomorrow (done) and put the music in order. I came upstairs to print off the order of the music. Mimi is all over me. I decided to post and then go downstairs to get the music together.

Mimi was having problems jumping on my lap, so I picked her up. Surprisingly, she didn’t mind.

I found a recipe for a mixed berry smoothie. They suggest adding 1/2 a frozen banana to it, so I need to pick up some bananas and freeze them.

Ow. My right arm was hurting when I pulled up the comforter. Don’t know what’s up with that. Getting older is the pits!

I signed up for BlueSky: adriennerad.bsky.social.

Ugh. I woke up at 7, decided that I'll take my shower at lunchtime, and went back to sleep for a little while. And overslept. So much for getting the recycling out.

Holy cow. 7.0 earthquake in Northern (way Northern) California. I hope that people are okay. The "pretty big one," the Loma Prieta Quake that I experienced, was a 6.9 or 7.0. Personally, I don't want to experience a quake again over 5.5. Funny, a person that CNN interviewed said that he got "seasick" because of the quake. I described the movement of the cruise ship as "being like an earthquake".

My dad is annoying me. I had sent him an email saying that I wanted to take a Panama Canal tour in a couple of years. He sent a response that the most important things are 1) finding a life partner and 2) getting your financial house in order. He said that travel, while satisfying, was less important than 1 and 2.

Well, I’m not certain that I want a life partner (most men remarry after a divorce, but women are more dubious), although I’d like to date, and that was the reason I was losing weight, although I’ve fallen off that wagon. Plus, I need to declutter my house, both to make it look nice for dating and also I don’t want to leave as much of a mess as Mom did.

As for finances, I have retirement money. And I’m working to get a pension from the uni. (Honestly, that’s the thing that is keeping me from retiring right now.) I’m working on getting the rest of my finances in order.

As for travel, I know that there will always be “one more place,” but when I die, if I haven’t been to a majority of the places to which I want to go, I will be pissed. Plus, I belong to a Facebook group of retired women, and they consistently say, travel while you can. I’m aware that my traveling time has a limit. And it makes sense to me to travel as much as I can while I'm still working. And I'm consciously doing the things that are important to me: travel, singing, piano, and Italian.

My therapist agreed that I need to live my life my way. She thought that my dad was out of line and doesn't know how to parent an adult child.

I’m waiting to cool down before responding.

Had my piano lesson. She commented that I had did a lot of work on my recital piece. In fact, I had played it so much before the lesson and at the lesson that I got really tired and stopped being able to play. That never has happened before. And I never have been so aware of my ability to concentrate as a limiting factor.

I'm need to go to bed early because I need to get up on time and take a shower and put on my makeup because we will be introducing ourselves to the governance board at work. I know I keep saying that but staying up late, but I need to stick to it this time. Posting is a start.

Woke up at 7 AM. Went back to sleep. Woke up at 9:30 AM. Dreamed that I moved to San Francisco.

Someone (Zara?) ate Mimi’s piece of turkey. Fed the cats and myself. Watered the spider plants because they were looking a little unhappy. Nap time. I woke up after only one hour. I guess that I’m caught up on my sleep.

Um. It’s snowing! It’s a good day to stay home. The snow didn’t stick.

I forgot to put clothes in the dryer. I need to dig out my cordless drill and charge it so that I can hang the pots for the spider plants. But first, I need to shower and try on some jeans that I bought in Michigan.

Um, I’m trying to decide whether to take one more nap. I’m a little sleepy after lunch. I did decide to lie down. Zara is snuggling. And I did put clothes in the dryer. Slept for another hour.

I’ve been scrolling through the Black Friday deals although I’m not buying anything. I like the flannel sheets from L.L. Bean. They also have a flannel comforter cover, but would it lock to the sheets? I might need to call them.

I need to go get coffee filters later today. I might go to Meijer late.

I read the weather report. It’s good that I’m not in Michigan this weekend because it’s slick up there.

Finally got my lazy butt into the shower. Afterwards, tried on my Ann Taylor LOFT jeans, and they were too big. I like the cut though, so I might look for some in my size. I think that I’ll sell the two pairs that I have on Mercari because they’re new with tags and nice jeans. I also tried on the corduroy blazer and don’t want it. Into the donation bag it goes.

Zara wants food. I think that my full-time job is being a chef and waitress to cats :) Fed myself and them.

Got my new stand mixer.

I need to get the ingredients for Snickerdoodles when I have more money. Got my mom's coffee maker out (Ninja) and found the model number. I got a PDF of the instructions for it. I'm trying to print out the PDF, but for some reason, it's not printing. There we go. The printer wanted more paper but didn't tell me that.

Hmm. I'm trying to decide whether to go to Meijer now. I'd like a few donuts as well as the coffee filters, and I'm afraid that they'll sell out.

Mimi is being pushy about lap time though. I tipped her off when I was dealing with the printer, and she jumped back. Multiple times.

I have a headache, so I’m going to lie down for a little while with Zara. Rested for a half-hour. Mimi has taken to lying just inside the bedroom door when I’m in here. She ate Zara’s leftover food.

Went to Meijer and got the coffee filters, donuts, and a baguette. It was freaking cold out (currently 20F/-6C with a wind chill of 9F/-12C). Ack! It’s nice and toasty in the house though. I’m thinking of hibernating soon. Ran downstairs and turned off the outside water because it might freeze.

My mom’s Zig Zag plant is really happy and is putting out shoots like crazy.

I'm now upstairs with a loudly meowing Mimi. It's surprisingly warm up here. Maybe I'll just get by with a small space heater.

Started a load of laundry when I went to bed. The front-loading washer holds less clothes than a top-loader. I needed to wash some clothes to donate too.

I have a singing lesson at 3, so I’m going to stay home today and bring my stuff for donation/recycling next weekend. Put clothes in the dryer and washer. I need to decide whether to keep a corduroy jacket. I guess that I’ll try it on.

Zara likes to lean against me in bed. It’s very cute.

My singing lesson went well. My teacher is very helpful. I need to practice singing intervals. I'm looking for interval singing exercises. I just remembered that I had a bel canto book that had me singing intervals. Who knows where it went though. I thought that I had boxes of music books by the piano, but they weren’t music books. Oh well.

Fed myself and the catlings. Mimi wants me to go upstairs, and she will be happy because I need to print some music out for piano (done).

I got some arthritis stuff (extended relief Tylenol and a rub) and the charging cube for my bedroom. I need to set up my charging station (done). Oh, and I got my Christmas cards.

My spider plants are growing so big that they’re trailing in the sink. I need to repot them in the hanging pots over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Zara wants food. I’m telling her that it’s too early. I was in the kitchen, so she was hopeful. Now I had both of them. I told them that their dishes were soaking.

I'm feeling wiped out. I think that I'll go to bed and get up early to do my Italian homework and practice piano. I have an Italian lesson over lunch tomorrow.