days_unfolding

Depressing morning. I overslept because I stayed up quite late. I still can't believe it.

I'm wondering if I should get a light box to deal with my S.A.D. The last time that I had one, I experienced racing thoughts when I looked into it, which isn't good. But depression isn't good either.

Thunderstorm again?

A health newsletter suggested apple slices with almond butter if you want a sweet treat. That sounds good.

Had a session with the life coach. We came up with a plan to work on the library room, which is key to the rest of the house. I'm going to contact my housekeeper to work with her on decluttering.

Mom's house is listed. Finally! There have been multiple showings and one agent said that they were going to submit an offer.

Had my last songwriting class. I asked him about writing melodies, and he gave me some ideas. I kind of want to start with "Angel from Montgomery" and modify it and turn it into a blues song.

Checked in for my flight.

Went to Aldi to get Keto snacks and Walmart to get cat food and dental floss. I thought about getting cat food at Aldi, but Zara previously said, “No” to their food, and she’s the boss, so I went to Walmart.

Got the recycling and garbage out.

Okay, I'm ready. This might be a record for being ready early. Well, sort of early. I'll get some sleep. I want to take a shower tonight to expedite getting out of here in the morning.

It's another dreary, rainy day. Mimi is being talkative. She skipped food to talk to me! Now she ran off to go eat.

The doctor's office called, and they want me to get an X-Ray before my appointment.

Happy scary day eve.

The doctor said that my toe is healing well, but it'll take three months (!) to heal completely. She showed me the X-Rays and explained them, which was nice. She said that I could walk, but "no running or jumping". I told her that I was going out of town, and we talked about travel a little. I have another appointment in a month.

I want to learn how to play pickleball on the cruise, but I guess that I'll just watch people who know what they're doing so that I don't run.

I'm freaking exhausted. I'm thinking of staying home from choir rehearsal and napping. The choir director was gracious about it though. I need to go get money though for the pet sitter.

It occurred to me that tomorrow would be a great day to clean because of stress.

I've gained some weight, ugh, but not surprising because I've been eating crap.

The Sierra Club is sending me emails that the election is tomorrow. is there anyone on the planet that doesn't know that the US election is tomorrow?

Went and got cash.

Thunderstorms in November?

Lay down for a nap and Zara came running. She’s snuggled up next to me. Aww. Slept through until 7:30 AM.

Zara apparently was traumatized. I came into the room, and she went and hid. It’s okay, Zara, I don’t want to go back there either. Now she jumped on the bed.

Sleepy morning for all of us. Zara came into the kitchen for a few minutes. Mimi is nowhere to be seen.

I need to go pick up my meds today, but the pharmacy is open until 5 PM. I also need to drop off my ballot.

Zara is fussing over me and head-bonking me.

Napped. Ye gods, I’m tired.

I still haven’t seen Mimi at all. She’s also going, “Don’t take me back there.” Now she’s here telling me about her bad day yesterday. Mimi, at least, is eating. Zara is still not. I need to give her the med.

Ran out to get my meds. The flirty pharmacy guy was there. I haven’t seen him in a while. I got a coupon for $2.00 off, so I decided to get a pot of mums that caught my eye. I also got some odds and ends in the drug store part of the store. Dropped off my ballot at the library drop off point, this time properly enclosed in the envelope.

The mums need water, but I’ll water them in the morning because it’s been getting cold at night. Looked at other mums on eBay, but they cost more than I want to spend. I should check out Walmart and Home Depot. Walmart has some in my price range.

Got the med on Zara’s ear, where I’m supposed to put it. It’s supposed to “enhance” her appetite. So far, it’s been bugging her. Took a nap. And Zara ate!!!!!

I read a post to Quora about a woman’s mom with dementia, and that got me shaky remembering my mom shortly before she died.

Filled my pill case. Put away the stuff that I bought. I need a plug for my new charging brick (ordered). I checked into the types of plugs on the cruise ship, and they have one US plug and one European plug. I have an adapter for a European plug, so I should have plenty of outlets.

Note to self: check on San Juan tour and Barbados shore excursion. Call travel agent on WiFi and drinks package. Call bank about currency exchange. Submit claim for pet insurance!

Did dishes and scooped litter boxes. Set up Zara’s carrier for tomorrow. Bought a four-in-one charging cable, including an Apple Watch cable, which will be good for the cruise AND home. Now it’s time for bed. Told Mimi that she doesn't have to go back to the vet because she's eating without extra help.

Land's End has long underwear in petite sizes too. Way to go, Land's End. I think that I will get waterproof snow pants and a coat for snow removal. I need to get the snow blower put together. (It's still in the box from last year.)

Mimi wants to be fed upstairs now. Spoiled much? Now she's crashed out on the blankets that I brought upstairs.

Now my doctor wants me to call a Mental Health place that already said that they weren't taking new patients. Sigh. I did find some psychiatrists outside of the medical complex who are taking new patients and are "Tier 1" on my insurance.

Yay, I got the check. About time.

I am really dehydrated, so I'm chugging down water. It's supposed to be hot today and tomorrow.

Deposited the check at the bank. Cleaned out the rest of Mom’s car. I’m feeling dizzy, so I’m going to skip rehearsal tonight. (I emailed the choir director.) Plus I need to get going early to pick up a colleague and drop them off at the Annual Meeting.

I’m feeling a little better now that I’ve eaten, but I’m still going to stay home and get to bed early because I need to get up early.

Looked at driving directions for tomorrow. I need to get up at 6 AM to make it to the hotel where I'm picking someone up at 9 AM. I just found out who I'm taking. Got my clothes ready for tomorrow morning.

I saw a Web site last night that was about the Village to Village Network, which sets up a network of people who can help older people. I'm wondering if we can set one up here in Champaign-Urbana. I'll have to see if other people are interested.

I think that I'm going to post and start heading towards bed. It usually takes me a while, plus I need to pack up my laptop.

Drat. I was supposed to put my vote by mail ballot in the envelope, but I just put my ballot in there. So I need a new vote by mail ballot. I just emailed them asking what I needed to do. Note to self: read instructions carefully!

I was convinced that today was Friday. Nope. Only Thursday. I want to get a lot done this weekend.

Mimi keeps settling on my lap. Apparently, I make a good heater.

Apparently, you can return ThredUp items. They charge a fee for the return mail, but okay. Worth it. My problem is that I was a size 18 top but 16 pants. I’m not sure what I fit into now. Poshmark does not take returns. So I'll get dresses from Nordstrom Rack and ThredUp once I get my check from the trust.

I got the sticker off of Zara’s tail! She was a little annoyed but still cuddled up to me.

I kept on forgetting to take my morning meds. The doctor said to set a reminder on my phone. I’m slightly annoyed but it’s also good that it’s working.

I'm looking at OSF's healthy recipes. I'd like to cook on weekends to have stuff prepared to heat up during the week. I've made their Basil Tomato Corn Bake before, and it's good. And I'm thinking of making Butternut Squash and Black Bean Burritos for lunches.

Ugh. I have a headache. Decided to take 1/2 a sick day and lie down. Overslept.

I kind of don’t want to go to the store now. It’s dark and cold out. On the other hand, I’m living on soup. Filled my med organizer. It enabled me to notice that I’m almost out of one of my meds. Sent a message to my doctor about refilling the meds. Put the bottles of meds in a cabinet on a lazy susan. They look nice and organized.

Hmm. It’s the time of year that I should think about putting moisturizer on my body. I’ll have to see what I’ve got.

Got my new scale set up, but I’m having problems getting it to pair with Bluetooth. Okay, I got it paired.

I pulled out the vote by mail ballot. I was hoping to find an analysis of the "advisory questions" (in California, they'd be referendums) online, but I just found a list of them. Thanks, I can read. I'll look for the League of Women Voters site. They came through for me and I created my ballot choices. Now I need to find a black pen. But Mimi is on my lap. So fine, I'll post while she's on my lap.

I overslept and couldn’t take a shower, but I made it on time for Italian. It went well. She asked if I had gotten more sleep because it went better.

I just realized that I put the garbage out a day early yesterday. I’m getting my days mixed up.

Apparently I broke my little toe when I fell. That’s why the foot hurts. The radiologist also said that I have mild arthritis in my big toe, but that isn’t bothering me. Oh, and I have the beginnings of osteoporosis. I need to start doing weight training. I also need to get some soy milk. (I don't digest regular milk well.)

I had been considering adopting two cats in Lincoln whose human passed away, but after talking to my colleague/friend, I think that adopting two new cats would be a bit much for Zara and Mimi. I'll just adopt one cat, and if the cat needs a young companion, adopt another cat later. It just occurred to me that I could put a new cat in the "guest room," although Mimi would not be happy because she looks out the window there and snoozes. But it would be cozy for the new cat. It would force Mimi and the new cat to interact.

Happy 100th birthday President Jimmy Carter!

I'm wondering if I should mow the lawn now that I know my toe is broken. On the other hand, I had been mowing it with a broken toe and nothing dire happened. I’ll wait until I hear back from the doctor.

I was looking into arthritis, and I think that I would benefit from an anti-inflammatory diet. I need money to get various foods though. I was able to get a book about it from Kindle Unlimited. I also got Exercise for Better Bones from Kindle Unlimited.

Crud. I went to the grocery store and bought a few things, but I forgot to get soy milk! Aargh. I did get some calcium vitamins though.

I watched most of the vice presidential debate. I intended to have it on as background noise, but got interested. I was surprised at how civil it was and how much like a real debate it was. Vance told some whoppers though, like Trump saving the Affordable Care Act?!? Oh, and I got my Harris/Walz lawn sign and put it out.

I'm feeling an impulse to drop my class, but I should just get my homework done. There's so much else that I want to do though. I need to think about this. I think that I want to learn Javascript more slowly than this class will allow. Yeah, this class is too accelerated for me. I need to get some good books and work through them. The trick will be to block out the time to do it. I'm going to drop the class, practice piano, and go to bed.

I think that's was the problem with my other programming classes too. I can learn programming, but I learn it more slowly than other people who are really good at it. I'm a slow programmer.

I tried to drop the class, but it won't let me drop. I emailed the head of my program to find out what I need to do.

I'm looking into ways to be held accountable for studying Web programming. I might have found an online meeting app, but have some questions that I sent to the company.

I'm going to practice piano and go to bed.

No contact from the lawn mower guy so far.

Had a nice nap at lunch and overslept.

Crud. My dad thinks that the economy is acting a lot like 2008 and there is likely to be a recession. He said, "If it happens, the shit will hit the fan between the third week of September and the third week of October." That's when my mom's house is likely to go up for sale. Dad said that if there is a recession, it is not likely to affect the real estate market right away.

Contacted the real estate guy who's managing the rehab of my mom's house, and he said that the waterproofing of the basement is done, and they're just doing some odds and ends like the backsplash for the kitchen.

Ran out to mail the package containing the backpack that I sold on eBay and dropped off stuff at the thrift store.

I attended the volunteer session for Kamala Harris. They mostly are looking for phone bank volunteers, for which I did not sign up because I suck on the phone. (I hate phone calls.) I did sign up for some social media work though. And I'd do postcards, but they didn't have a slot for postcards. Illinois is a reliably blue state, but I'm wondering if I should knock on doors in Wisconsin? But they don't like Illinois people up there? I ordered a lawn sign.

Well, the lawn guy came and mowed. He said that he ran into a metal pole and it almost destroyed the mower. if it's the one that I think, it's visible coming up to it. Now he wants to charge me an extra $100 for "cleanup," when he didn't actually clean everything up. I am not happy with this guy. And now I’m not happy with their support team because they just keep sending me email on how to approve the quote, which I did not approve. He said that they did not pay him for mowing, which they should have done. I told him that I was going to talk to the company, and he said, “Okay.”

I need to put out the recycling and get my blood pressure down (done).

Today is the day where reality sinks in. I’m not going to get a chance to study Italian or exercise before I leave for my flight on Friday. I should have plenty of time to study Italian at O’Hare Airport. (I should start throwing stuff, including Italian verb exercises, in my backpack for the flight.)

I need to empty the dryer, put clothes in the dryer (done), and write some emails and messages (done). Then I’ll go to bed.

Cool. I changed my Apple Watch face to the skyline of New York City in the hope that I’ll go there soon. The picture changes according to the time of day, here instead of New York. I never have seen the nighttime view because I’ve always been busy during the evenings until now. It’s lovely. Sometimes it’s the little things.

I just remembered to check whether I entered the number for TSA Precheck on my flight. (I have it through Global Entry. Some of the best money that I've spent.) I didn't, so I fixed it. I just need to throw some stuff in the backpack that I'm taking with me, and then I really will go to bed. I'll pack my suitcase tomorrow.

I remembered to do 1SE for this month!

Oh cool. threemeninaboat on DW mentioned a volunteer group in which you write postcards encouraging voters to vote. That's more like me than knocking on doors. I sent an email asking to volunteer. They responded, and I need to do a "sample postcard," take a picture of it, and send it to them. I ordered some postcards to use to do the sample.

We had a doozy of a storm this morning. I got out of the shower, and it was pitch dark. Lots of lightning. They said that there might be more storms later today.

More craziness at work. And I need to work tonight because I overslept my nap.

Someone in a Facebook group mentioned an electric tiller. I had only looked at gas ones, which are heavy, and electric tillers are much lighter! I wishlisted a cordless one for next Spring.

I was thinking that the last guy to whom I was strongly attracted was also a dark-haired guy from Europe (Denmark). What is it with me and European men? I should move to Europe :) Maybe it's the European genes that I have (Lithuanian and Polish). I have no "American" genes at all. It's all from a small area of Europe.

Crud. I tried the new remote, and the upstairs TV doesn’t work. I found a TV repair place in the area, but I’ll have to wait to get it fixed. In the meantime, I’ll listen to audiobooks on the treadmill. I need an adapter to plug the headphones in to my iPhone, which will come tomorrow.

The good news: I went and got the dresser that was for sale on Facebook Marketplace. And I really like it! It looks like it was built in the 1930s. The bad news: I need to get someone to help me bring it in. And I'm too wiped out to work, so I'm going to go to bed and get up early to take out the recycling, study Italian, and make up time for work.

Just remembered that I needed to subscribe to Peacock for the Olympics (done)! I'm looking forward to them.

Crap. I need to go up to Michigan soon because the city of Southfield is complaining about my mom’s car parked on the grass. I’ll talk to the trust about booking a trip for me.

Hmm. I could put an air mattress in my mom’s house, but I don’t know what I’ll do about food. I suppose that I could haul my microwave up there. No, the carpet and flooring installation are supposed to go in soon. And the dumpster is still there, so I’ll need to find another place for my mom’s car.

I’m feeling dizzy this morning (and overslept), so I emailed in sick 1/2 day. I drank some water, which helped. Fed the cats and myself, and am lying back down. I overslept my alarm, and jumped online for my first meeting. Speaking of which, the person with whom I primarily work had SEVEN meetings today! That's crazy-making!

Finally got through my work email. There was a notice about a paid internship in Florence, Italy. Do you think that I could convince them that I'm still in library school? :)

I’m lying down for a while. Then I need to throw myself together and return the Daily Look clothes. Then I need to study Italian and send an email to the trust. I overslept my nap slightly. I’ll go to Michael’s tomorrow to mail the clothes.

Just ordered a “Cat Ladies for Harris” sticker :)

Started laundry. Hung a picture.

Tried to turn on the upstairs TV with the replacement remote, but it didn't work. Ordered another replacement remote, then discovered that someone on eBay was selling the original remote. Tried to cancel the first order, but there seems to be no way to do it. I emailed the store to try to cancel the order. The remote that I ordered from Amazon is going back.

Studied Italian. Scanned and sent a bill to the trust. I need to get to bed early to run an errand before work and also attend a Jenny Craig coaching session.

Added: Oh, and I got my Jenny Craig order today.

I overslept. I'll take my shower at lunch. No, I'm being a skuzz queen today with no shower.

Mimi, of course, wanted lap time as soon as I sat at my work computer. She has settled down now.

Hmm. I was pondering how to remember verb conjugations because that's my downfall in foreign languages. I looked for suggestions, and found one that said to find a story that uses the appropriate tense and write out the appropriate conjugations. I also found a video that I will watch later. (Both were suggestions for English learners, but it should still apply. I'm impressed by anyone who learns English as a foreign language because English is really weird :)) I also thought that I could draw pictures with stick figures for some of the verbs. (It won't work for essere and avere -- to be and to have-- but I remember them pretty well.) If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

I do remember some Italian from the first time that I was studying it. I was trying to remember the formal you, and I thought that it was Lei, but then I decided that it couldn't be right. I looked it up and it was.

I'm going to add studying my "Italian for travelers" book to my daily tasks. It contains a lot of basic, useful phrases like, "Where is the bank?" I keep telling my Italian teachers that I want to learn "tourist Italian," but they always want to teach more formal stuff. No, I don't want or need to get certified in Italian. 40 years ago, yes, that would have been good.

Okay, I feel obligated to watch the Biden-Trump debate tonight, so I might not get as much done as I want.

I unpacked my backpack and found my tourist Italian book. I have a hall closet that I think was supposed to be a coat closet, but it had carpet remnants stored in it. I took the remnants out and put them in the basement with a drop cloth over them to keep them clean. The closet is a perfect suitcase storage space. I put the backpack in there and one of my suitcases. I still need to finish unpacking the suitcase from my trip (done). Both the suitcases (the one that I took to Italy and my old Travelpro) wouldn't fit, so I put the largest one that I took to Italy in the closet upstairs. I only will use it for long trips, so it won't be a problem to bring it down in that case. I need to get a handyman to put the closet and guest room doors on.

Hmm. I wonder where my index cards went for my tourist Italian. I ordered some colorful index cards from Amazon, so I can use different colors for different subjects.

I have some papers that I want to save from the Italy trip, such as the schedule and the hotels that we stayed at. I just ordered a binder, dividers, and sheet protectors for information about my trips. I’m wondering what to do with my copies of my passport and Global Entry card, and I’m going to put them in the same folder as the passport and card.

I watched the debate. I like Joe Biden, but that was a disaster for him. CNN said that Democrats are panicking. I think that we're screwed. I think that he'll need to step aside, but I don't know if that will happen. I'm glad that my mom wasn't here to see that. Part of the reason that I watched the debate is because I knew that she would have and then called me about it.

I signed back up for Sling to get CNN.

I swapped out stuff into the purse that I bought in Italy.

I think that I should sign off CNN soon and go to bed.