days_unfolding

Ow. My teeth are sore. I took some acetaminophen, but I think that I need to go to bed soon.

Hmm. There probably are a couple of spots in the yard where the puppy could wiggle through the fence. I’ll need to take her out on a leash. Or probably a harness rather than a collar because she’ll be wiggly.

Woke up at 4:30 AM but went back to sleep for an hour.

It’s 8:00 AM, and I’ve got myself together. Now I wait for the tree guy.

The tree guy came right on time. He said that it would cost around $4000 to get the tree down (ouch, but I was expecting something like that) and they can do the work at the end of June or early July. He also will take down the saplings that are growing by the fence, which is nice. I approved their quote.

I found instructions on how to lay stepping stones in grass, and it seems doable. I have big plans for the yard. I want to put ornamental grasses in the shade garden and move the Astilbe, Coral Bells (one of which is blooming!), and ferns farther out. But that will be next year. Hmm. Lowe's is sold out of stepping stones in the color that I want. I might have to wait to place the stones until next year too.

Oh awesome. The housekeeper will come by around 8 AM on Friday to do an estimate, and she can start at 3 if we agree. I've decided that I have to use my old pet sitter because I need the time to clean. I guess that I'll have to endure a week of messages about why I suck.

Got my hair cut. One step closer to being ready to leave next week.

Crazy busy at work. I complained politely to my boss, and she said that we'll get through it. She's canceling out on the conference next week because she doesn't think that she can catch up (she was out last week) and then be out again.

My pet sitter said okay to pet sitting next week. So things are falling into place.

I'm tired. I'd nap tonight, but I have a singing lesson. I guess that I'll go to bed early and get up early (after I get the garbage out).

Bella really wants a nap. If I go near the bedroom, she comes running in.

Oh shit. The box that was sitting outside is the new laptop! Luckily, it wasn’t too hot today. I need to clear off the table so that I can set it up.

I had my singing lesson. I started in the spirit of, “Oh hell, one more thing to do,” but I enjoyed it when I got into it. My singing teacher is so nice and helpful. I want to work hard on sight reading this summer to prepare for choir in the fall. Oh, and my Web cam for piano broke, so I ordered a new one.

Okay. I need to get the garbage out (done). Did dishes (recyclables). Started the dishwasher. I’m taking a break, and then I’ll need to put a clean litter box in Zara’s room.

Oh, I have to bring in an Amazon bag that probably has my new envelopes. I want to mail my ticket request for the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra this weekend before I go.

Oh, I need to fill out the forms for boarding Oliver. Too many moving parts.

I’m going to need to go to Costco on Saturday to get more dog food. They say two-day delivery “if you order by noon,” so that won’t work. There is also a big box that probably is dry food that I didn’t order. I don’t know why I got it.

It occurred to me to look for a tour of Lithuania. After finding a bunch that covered all the Baltic States, I finally found one that covered only Lithuania. (I know the other Baltic states are lovely, but Lithuania is my heritage.) I should look for one in Poland because that's the other half of my heritage. Found one!

Overslept a little. A branch of my tree cracked and is in the neighbor’s yard. I need to call a tree guy. I’ll get him to take down the tree at the same time. Bella grabbed one of my strawberry plants and trashed it. Sigh. Bella tried to get my donut. She’s full of it today.

It’s supposed to storm today.

I need to figure out a way to get my tooth in for my meeting with the bank.

At least the tasks that we’re doing today at work are quick and easy. It’s raining out, and neither Bella nor I was thrilled, so I convinced her to come in early.

I read somewhere that dogs wag to the right for something they like and left if they’re nervous. Bella looks at me and wags to the right. I guess that’s good. Speaking of dogs, the one that I was interested in got adopted. The shelter asked me if there were other dogs that they had that interested me. I saw one that’s a “maybe”. He’s shy and Bella’s shy, so maybe they’d be in sync.

I gingerly got my tooth in. It just has to hold on through my meeting with the bank. Which reminds me that I need to list questions for them (done).

More weird stuff going on at work (technical stuff, not people stuff).

Talked to the vet. Zara's kidneys are stable, and they think that she'd do okay under anesthesia. We made a dental appointment for the week after I get back from my business trip. (I don't want her to be alone, even with a pet sitter, after recent surgery.) So that's settled.

I talked to a rep from Midlands State Bank about the will and trust. They can be the executor of the will and successor trustee and also can manage my money if I become incapacitated. They are a national bank and have a lot of trust and investment assets, but are small enough "to provide good customer service". I'm going to send them the drafts that I have of my will and trust documents for them to look at. Success, I think! I liked them and what they had to say.

I really want to take a nap. After I feed the critters. And myself.

The rain is coming down in sheets. Bella noped out. I stayed on the porch with her a while in case she needed to dash out and poop. It was kind of nice being on the porch in the rain. Bella went out a little later and walked around in the rain.

Took a nap. Slept until 12:30 AM. I’m gathering the recycling and my back hurts. Got the recycling in the bin. I need to get up really early to roll the bin and take the boxes to the street, but I’ll probably go back to sleep for a while afterwards. Fed us all. My tooth popped back out.

Okay, I put the people with whom I'm meeting on Monday as the executors of my will. I can change it if necessary. So I finished my trust document. I also contacted a local bank to possibly serve as a successor trustee and maybe executor?

Damn, my tooth hurts. I hope that they'll fix it tomorrow.

I got Lily to come upstairs, but then Oliver went down in the basement. It’s a zoo here.

Fed us all. My stomach is upset.

Smoke from Canada has arrived here.

Got up at 6:30 AM. My stomach is upset. I need to get into the shower early because I need to put on my makeup for my dental appointment.

Oliver and Lily are being cranky with each other and are doing whappy paws.

Well, hell. This morning I had a dental appointment to get impressions for my permanent bridge. It wound up being surprisingly painful. They numbed me up, but they kept on pressing on a tooth that still hurt. The good news is that they replaced the missing crown with a temporary one, and that tooth feels fine. But I told work that I was taking 1/2 a sick day and was going to lie down, but that I would be in for a team meeting. Ate a little yogurt. Clio mini greek yogurt bars are pure crack. I love them.

It occurred to me that Munchie Bones are kind of like dog currency. Bella was like, “You expect me to come in FOR FREE??” I went and got a Munchie Bone, and she came in. She saves them for a while too.

Nothing from the bank that does trust work so far. I might have to call them this afternoon because I want a choice of who to pick to handle my estate.

Well, hell. The people whom I wanted as executor cannot serve as executor. They suggested that I try another firm. I'll call the bank first. I set up an appointment with the bank for Wednesday afternoon.

It's freaking hot upstairs. I just remembered that I saw a combo air conditioner/heater at Lowe's that seemed to be small enough for the windows upstairs. I need to measure to make sure. Nope, the window is a smidge too small. Ack! Up to 90F/32 C tomorrow. Shorts weather. Maybe I'll shave my legs tonight because I have Italian tomorrow morning. I ordered an air conditioner from Amazon. I’ll deal with heat in the fall. At least you can put more clothes on when it’s cold.

I got my new “Dog in Yard; Please Close the Gate” signs. They’re copper and a little fancy for my lousy fence, but they will look good when I replace the fence. I need to get wire to attach it to the fence. I also got my NokBox (Next of Kin Box).

My dentist was worried about the temporary bridge and crowns coming off, so I bought some filling repair stuff to take with me on my business trip.

I am not feeling great. I think that I’ll go to bed early. The sore tooth hurt a bit when I ate. Submitted a grocery order for tomorrow morning. We’re low on cat food. I bought cloth napkins and placemats as well as food. Oops, I want microfiber cloths too (done).

I brought the NoxBox supplies upstairs, but it's too damn hot to clear off the top of the filing cabinet for it. I'll go to sleep soon and get up early to do stuff up here. But I do have some packages downstairs to open before I got to bed. The downstairs is quite comfortable. Also, I have some Italian homework, but I'll bring it downstairs to do.

I bought a pair of waterproof orthotic shoes for Italy. We'll see how they work.

Oops, I forgot to ask the Italy tour guide if my suitcase will be too big for the train. I’ll do so tomorrow (done). They said that there were no limits, but I need to be able to lift it.

Got clothes in the dryer. Showered and shaved my legs so that I can wear shorts. First, I need to find what box the shorts are in, but I think that I know which one. Yeah, I found them. I'll bring a couple of pairs to Italy, but a lot of the places (e.g., museums) have a dress code that precludes wearing them. I need to dig out some sandals. Now I'm working barefoot. But it's 88F today, and I'm able to cope in my home office upstairs with shorts and a t-shirt, my fan, and bare feet. I want to use an air conditioner only if I have to use one.

I'm debating whether I should go to tai chi tonight or not. I'm so freaking tired and want to lie down after work. I'm going to stay home. Self-care :)

I looked up "how to tame unruly brows," and found a recommendation for some brow gel that is made from mustache wax. I'll give it a try (ordered). It's certainly cheaper than brow lamination.

I'm trying to figure out how much money to put in my flexible spending account (FSA). I'm going to have a ton of money from last year because I didn't have therapy appointments. (I plan to spend a pot of money on glasses. I checked into moving up my eye doctor appointment, but can't move it earlier.) I will have dentist appointments though. The amount that I can carry over from this year will pay the copay for two-thirds of my therapy appointments. I think that I'll log on later after it cools off to figure the amount out. I need to look at my copays for previous dental appointments, although I'll be going to another dentist in Urbana. Crap. I looked up my balance, and I have way too much money to spend by June 30th. I need to set up a dental appointment for right after I get back from Italy. The flexible spending account should be $700 plus dental. Dental is looking like $110 a visit, with four visits, so $1140 total. This, apparently, is when my medical ship comes in.

Okay, now it's too hot to be working on a computer upstairs. I'm going to go downstairs and cool off. Bother. The ceiling fan in my bedroom doesn’t work. Zara thinks that it’s cuddle time. Aren’t you hot, Zara? Though she’s been downstairs where it’s cooler all day.

I finished reading the novel about a family with a transgender child: This Is How It Always Is. It’s good.

Okay, I want to use part of the FSA funds to get a fancy scale, an ear cleaner, and an eye mask for headaches. And maybe a massage gun. No, a Sharper Image massage heating pad. Maybe a shoulder relief pillow system? I think that I can spend the money. And compression socks. Okay, I bought a mini massager that will go with me to Italy if it gets here in time, a headache wrap, a neck wrap, and the scale. Oops, I went back and got compression socks, which I hope will get here before I leave for Italy. And the ear cleaner.

I had thought about getting an electric toothbrush, but apparently, that’s not FSA-eligible. Why?

A security bulletin at work convinced me to change my passcode on my phone to an alphanumeric one. It’s kind of a pain, but probably is more secure.

The cats are off their feed. I don't know why. Because it's hot?

I'm going to go to bed and get up early, when it's cool.