days_unfolding

I was doing my PT exercises, and Gracie and Oliver had to get in the middle of what I was doing. The hazards of doing exercises at home.

Someone on a frugal living Facebook group suggested getting shoes on Poshmark. That never occurred to me, and they have some nice shoes in my size. Also, I have some boots that I want to sell, so I’ll try selling them there.

Woke up before my alarm a little before 7 AM. Let the dogs out. Went back to sleep. Got up a little before 9. The dogs must have gotten good exercise because Gracie is totally crashed out. (Bella probably is too, but she’s downstairs.)

Called about rescheduling Zara’s appointment at the vet. Apparently the vet with whom we were scheduled is out sick. The new appointment is a little over a week out.

Overslept my nap a little. I’m getting caught up on my sleep.

Made some phone calls. Started to call the Secretary of State for the registration number and PIN for online renewal, but the Web site said that it should be on the prior registration card. Left a message for the garage guy about getting the gravel out of my yard.

There’s a lively conversation on one of the listservs at work about whether the new Obama Presidential Library would join our consortium. That would be pretty cool. I’d like to see it when it opens. (The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield is a member of our consortium, and I’ve been to the museum.) I’m wondering if we could get a group of people from high school to go together.

One of the books that I requested from the university library is in. I want to wait for the rest of them, though, before I trek over there.

Ordered a ton of fall bulbs from Breck’s. This time, I will stash the bulbs in my garage until I’m ready to plant them. (My last set got stolen.) I still need to order peonies for the front garden.

I’m waiting for my piano class and talking to Zara. I told her that she’s one tough kitty. Of the older contingent of my mom, Mimi, and Zara, I wouldn’t have thought that Zara would be the last one alive. (I think that she’s 17 now.) Piano went okay. I was working on a pretty piece (simplified Gurlitt Andante? I’m not near the music.)

I shut Oliver in the bedroom so that he won’t eat Zara’s food. Also, I need him in there when I get the recycling out.

Got the recycling out. I didn’t get the boxes on the porch, but I did put out some boxes from inside. Got the registration card for the Honda, and it did NOT have the registration number and PIN, so I need to call them tomorrow. I also discovered that the battery on the Honda is dead. Sigh.

Filed my taxes. It was more expensive than I thought because I had to pay for TurboTax as well as pay the taxes. Life is expensive right now (says the person who spent a pile of money on bulbs). I forgot to mention that the refrigerator isn’t working properly, so I need to get it fixed or replace it after I finish the kitchen.

Anyway, I should wrap things up and head to bed.

The cherry trees at the U of I Arboretum are in bloom. I should stop by to see them.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. Got myself together in plenty of time for my appointment. It’s raining.

My physical therapy appointment went well. They’re good; they identified weakness in my hips and glutes as contributing to my knee problems. We did some exercises, and my muscles are twinging. They scheduled me for weekly appointments for six weeks. I need to subscribe to the exercise videos (Lifelong Mobility) that I found as well. Use it or lose it.

Damn, I’m tired. My 1:00 meeting was canceled, so I’ll have time for a nap! Excellent! But the dogs are wrestling, sigh. I’m calling Bella Miss Pushy Dog because she wants pets All The Time. Gracie scratched my face and drew blood 🙁

I received my planters with legs for the vegetable garden. I got the confusion about my login for free mulch straightened out (apparently I signed up twice with different email addresses), but I need to buy a wheelbarrow first. The one that I wanted already sold, so I’ll need to spend more. I need to go get cash to buy one from Facebook Marketplace. But will I be able to lift it? Maybe I’ll have to have one delivered from Home Depot. Ace Hardware had a cheaper one but with a larger delivery fee, so I ordered one from Home Depot plus a “transfer shovel”.

Bella came inside at 3:30 PM. Gracie is still out there. (I let them out late due to my appointment and the delivery of the planters.) Gracie came in at 4:30.

I ordered a (used) book of neck, shoulders, and back stretches/exercises.

I forgot that I need to straighten out some financial stuff with Lessonface before I can take my piano class. But I’m going to take a nap first if the dogs will let me. I have a headache. No, my piano teacher said that I was on the roster, so I attended piano class. I guess they resubmitted the charge.

Ate dinner while watching The Pitt. Looked at some AI instructions for developing hand independence for piano.

The dogs came in on the first try and I fed them. I need to give the cats their crunchies. I’m really tired, so I want to go to bed soon.

Storage under the stairs might be cheaper if it was an actual cupboard under the stairs à la Harry Potter. I want to use it as a pantry. I need to talk to a carpenter.

Anyway, I watched and enjoyed the movie.

Oooh, I found a condo on the Dalmatian Coast with a sea view for a cost that’s a little more than my house.

Gracie woke me up a little after 8 AM. I successfully got her out and in on her leash.

Hmm. The storms are predicted by 5:30 PM, so I could have some time to do chores outside.

Okay, we’re all fed. I need to take my meds, then nap time.

I had to order a new leash for Gracie because hers has almost been chewed through (done).

Napped. Had lunch. Priced cloth napkins because I’m almost out of paper ones.

Hmm. The forecast says that it’s raining, but I don’t see it. After my shower, I went outside and got the pieces of my workbench-to-be from the box and put them in the garage. It’s still not raining but is thinking about it.

I’m feeling a little cranky. Gracie is taking a lot of the bed, and I’m frustrated. And she scratched me in the face.

Oh, there was a tornado warning. Why didn’t my weather radio go off? Have to look at it. My lights keep flickering. Gracie, typically, does not want to come in even though she’s soaked.

I got my book of strength training for women over 50. I need to dig out some gym clothes.

Gracie came in. All present and accounted for, if wet.

Watched the first episode of The Pitt. It's good. I almost lost it at the same time as when the med student fainted. That was a gruesome injury. Read about the Oscars and looked at red-carpet pictures.

Now I think that it's bed time. I should check the weather to see what's coming up. I had heard snow. "Snow starting in 41 minutes."

Ordered my knee brace. It'll just barely fit, but that will do.

Gracie finally came in after Bella burst outside another time. I shut Bella in the bedroom before trying to get Gracie to come in.

Oliver went down in the basement earlier today. Lily was hanging out near the door to the basement stairs in the hope that I’d open the door to let Oliver upstairs. I did, and Oliver came up and Lily went down. Oliver is making a fuss over me.

Overslept until 8:30 AM. It's a gray and gloomy day. It's raining out, and the crazy dogs don't want to come in.

Bella came in. I was trying to convince Gracie to come in--she looked wet and miserable--when Bella ran back out. Sigh. This is a battle of wills.

I found a setup that I like for my tomatoes, but it'll cost over $300 (expensive tomatoes!), so I'm hesitating. But I'd have the setup for subsequent years. It was $214, not $300, and I got a payment plan for it, so I ordered it. Home-grown tomatoes are so tasty! I looked at tomato cages at Gardener's Supply, but they were really expensive. I got cheaper ones at Walmart. Now I have a taste for tomato sauce. I know what tomato plants I want from Burpee, but had some trouble ordering from my phone. I’ll order from my laptop later. Ordered tomatoes and herbs. If anyone has a good recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce, I'd love to try it. I found a recipe that uses fresh tomatoes.

The muddy, wet, cold pups came in. Yay. Bella is grooming Gracie. That’s nice.

I opened the warm dryer that just finished, and Oliver went in and rolled around and didn’t let me have my socks. I had another pair of socks drying in the warm bathroom, so I grabbed them. Showered.

I've started looking at mattresses, but I want to wait until Gracie gets older and (I hope) chews less. So about another year.

Oliver squeezed into the one cat bed on my desk, which was occupied by Lily.


They stayed there for a while, but Lily left to go lie on her chair in the front window. Oliver got up and threw up. I don't know why.

I had a sudden thought that my training session at Books for Prisoners was next week, but no, it is tonight.

I want to enroll in Will Harlow's program for "lifelong mobility", but I can't quite afford his program right now, so I'll use his YouTube videos for now. (You can pay quarterly instead, so I'll probably do that when I get paid again.) I also bought a book that he wrote. I bought a book with weight training for women over 50 that uses dumbbells, so I'll do that. (I have the beginnings of osteoporosis, so I want to get some weight training in.) I already have dumbbells. And I would be able to not pay for the gym then!

I've been craving a baguette. I'll stop by the grocery order on the way back from my training session, but they might be sold out by then.

Went to the Books for Prisoners orientation. I liked it and liked the volunteer coordinator. I had one easy request and one hard request. I made a list of types of books to donate to the program. And I volunteered to work at their book sale.

The store was out of baguettes, but I bought a garlic chicken sandwich and some focaccia bread. Oh wow, the focaccia bread is delish.

The dogs are out in the yard. Lily wants me to feed her, but not yet. I think that I’ll post. Tomorrow is an at-home day.

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).

I stayed up late reading old LJ entries. I wanted to look up what I wrote when my grandmother died, but then read entries for the rest of my graduate degree through getting my first full-time job. (I updated only a few times a month then.) It was interesting.

Bella ate Gracie’s dry food, but she won’t eat her own.

Woke up a little after 7 AM. After I took the dogs out, I went back to sleep and overslept until 9:30.

It's a gray day. It was raining lightly when I took the dogs out, but I don't know if we'll get more serious rain today. I hope so.

I'm subscribed to Burnalong through my health insurance (or is it through the university?) I went looking for balance exercises and found some. I need a cushion to stand on though. I also found exercises for "tech neck release," which I sorely need. I just need to find the time for them.

I was feeling kind of dizzy so I went to lie down.

The dogs were trying to get me up at 2:30 AM, but I got up at 3:30. Fed the dogs. I mixed wet food with Bella’s crunchies and she ate most of it. I had to shut Gracie in the bathroom because she wanted it. I need to feed the cats and myself. I also need to order groceries. Gracie pooped in the bedroom (I can’t blame her, I slept so long), so I need to clean it up. And I need to start laundry to have something to wear to my hearing aid appointment. Crud, it’s going to be 39F/4C tomorrow night. I need to get the rosemary and thyme in.

The farmer's market closes at 6 PM. I work until 5:30. That's not going to work. I'm going to try the Harvest Market grocery store in Champaign tomorrow. They make deals with local farmers, so maybe their produce is more fresh?

Overslept a little and got up at 7 AM. Now I'm at work, and Oliver and Lily are wrestling with each other. Gracie is pretty good upstairs and lies quietly.

Yikes. It's halfway through July. Where does the time go?

One of the perils of working from home is cats on my keyboard. One of my cats sent messages to the IT guy with whom I was working. He thought that it was funny.

My mercury retrograde story: we had a big-deal meeting with the people from our libraries on our committees. So, of course, the Zoom link didn’t work, and we started late because of it. Then, when we were in the meeting, it kept on showing the presenter’s view of the slides. Finally someone else did the slides, so it was okay. I volunteered to post the recording, so I hope that I won’t get caught in the technical glitches.

Cool. My recipe calls for whole wheat bread crumbs, but I've never been able to find any. Amazon has them. They were eligible for overnight shipping if you order $25 worth of stuff, plus I had some USBA plugs in my cart, so I went looking for something else to order and found pumpkin chews for dogs that are supposed to help with diarrhea and other digestive problems, which would be good for Gracie. Overnight shipping! I'll get my ingredients tonight and make the Basil Tomato Corn Bake tomorrow night. (I already checked on pans and mixing bowls.) Now I'm second-guessing ordering BistroMD instead of cooking, but I don't need to add regular cooking to my list of to-dos.

After reading dadi's post about her bruising from the implants (I asked my dentist about it, and he said that there shouldn't be any. I'm not sure that I believe him.), I ordered two small bottles of Estee Lauder concealer to take to Sardinia with me. dadi said that the bruising was from sinus work though, but a friend of mine had some bruising from an implant. Oh! I need to check whether I have enough reef-safe sunscreen!

It looks like it's raining a little. I wish that it would pour because it's been so humid. I was coated with sweat when I was out with the dogs a little while ago. 82% humidity. Ick.

Hmm. I was wondering if I should work with a personal trainer at the YMCA to get me to exercise. It's not horribly expensive. Exercise would help my energy levels too. I'd have to start with a "wellness consultation".

Hmm. It's predicted to storm right when I have to go mail my return. The post office opens at 8 AM, so if I could get going early, I could go then. There's a big honking rain cell over Urbana right now. Yeah, I'll do that. It stopped raining, but I should have left already if I was going tonight. I’ll go tomorrow morning.

I bought a carpet cleaner for upstairs. Gracie has peed there a couple of times. The cats have missed the litter box a few times. It would be easier to be able to control the cleaning.

Fed us all. Bella and Gracie chased each other all over the yard despite the heat. Now they’re tired. Adopting Gracie was a great idea. They keep each other amused much of the time.

Oliver was on my lap, and I thought, “Aww. He wants to cuddle.” Then he knocked down my glasses and my phone. Much less cute :)

Got the garbage out. I’m cooling for a few minutes, and then I’ll get packages off of the porch. I couldn’t have gone to the grocery store tonight anyway. If I get up extremely early, I could go in the morning, but it’s doubtful because it’s a 15 minute drive each way.

I bought a six-pack of Sterlite containers for my emergency supplies and camping supplies.

I took my meds early in the hope that I'll go to sleep early.

Woke up at 6:30 AM. I was out with Bella when I realized that I hadn’t put my clothes in the dryer. Came in and did so, but it’ll take a while, so I’ll have to take my shower at lunchtime. Decided to go back to sleep for a half hour. It's a rainy, dreary day.

The recycling people didn't take my boxes, probably because it was raining. They left a mess, so I'll need to go out and drag the boxes back into the yard. Bah.

Forgot to mention that I bought a book on Medicare that I need to read. And my trust books.

I've got a paper trading account set up on Schwab, although they don't make it easy to find. I'll start following my dad's system next week.

I had an appointment to take Zara to the vet. When I went in her room, Oliver tried to come in and then Oliver and Bella were fighting outside the door. That freaked Zara out, and she retreated to the closet whenever I went near her. I called the vet, and have a new appointment for next Tuesday. Next time, I'll corral Oliver, Lily, and Bella before I try to get Zara.

I read an article in the BBC about the health benefits of saunas, including reducing the severity of tension headaches, which I get a lot. I’m looking for a sauna in the area but am having no luck. The big gym at the university has one, but I just read a comment about how they don’t keep the gym clean, which doesn’t make me want to go there. The YMCA has one. Maybe when my required membership at the university gym is up, I’ll try there. The membership at the uni gym was a minimum of four months, so it should be over soon if not already. I guess that my next step is to check the date and visit the YMCA to see if I want to switch there. Oh! It has a lap pool! And they have swim lessons! And a "gentle yoga" class! And an indoor walking track! And "learn to play pickleball" in the fall! Okay, I want to join the YMCA (joined). I need to cancel my uni gym membership.

I'm thinking of looking for a part-time job at one of the local public libraries when I retire. It would be fun and bring in a little money.

I've been bouncing back and forth from my work area upstairs to the kitchen. I'm processing videos at work, so I set one off for processing, went downstairs and worked on the kitchen, came back up to process videos, etc. I did get some cleaning done on the kitchen. The boxes are flattened.

Cleaned up the boxes outside. I have a video processing. If it's done after I post, I'll move it to the next step. Otherwise, I'll finish up tomorrow. Okay, I got the second video uploaded. I don't have the energy to start video 3. I'll work on it tomorrow.

No Italian. We got snarled up in the time changes. We rescheduled for next week. I guess that I'll start work early after I feed the critters.

I'm feeling kind of chilled. And tired.

I saved the links to some exercise classes (yoga, weight training, pilates). Now I just need to do them.

I overslept my nap, dreaming that I was staying at my mom's house, but my dad was taking me to the airport.

It won't stop raining.

Called Holland America to get my bookings straightened out on their app. I had two IDs, and they are in the process of merging them. I hope that it will be fixed tomorrow.

Oliver and Lily are best buds, except when they're eating. Then it's every cat for himself or herself.

Ordered more canned dog food for delivery.

I have a little over a month to get things in order for a new pet sitter when I go to a conference in May. I need to set goals for myself. I should meet with the life coach to set goals, but I don't want to spend the money right now. Hmm.

I tried some Dubai chocolates from Costco with pistachio and knafeh. Oh, are they ever good. I tend to be picky about chocolate because I don't like chocolate unless it's cut with something, but these are great!

Lily is crashed out on the guest room futon. Not sure where Oliver went. Now she's loving me up because she's hungry.

Bella seems to recognize dogs as dogs, but she is nervous around them. One guy who walks his dogs on our street is trying to get her to say “Hello” to his dogs or him, but she hasn’t quite gotten the nerve up yet.

Hmm. There are some Corgi mixes that like cats and other dogs and are 73 miles away. Their adoption fees are reasonable too.

Huh. I was looking at a Lucid Air, but sheesh. Expensive. I don’t think so.

Got us all fed. I need to clean up the kitchen because Bella shredded toilet paper in here, but I think that I need a nap first. I got up early today. Slept through until 5:30 AM.

I’m in the stateroom with a cup of tea, waiting for the vet to open. I thought that they opened at 7AM, but it’s at 7:30. The tea is good. Love Earl Grey.

The pet sitter found Lily! I called the vet about Mimi and left a message. Now the pet sitter is saying “Don’t come back.” She’ll get Mimi to the vet. Talked to the vet and they said to bring her in.

Ye gods, I am tired.

Excellent French Toast for breakfast. I bought the Holland America jacket (it isn’t a hoodie) and it looks very nice (as well it should for what I paid for it). I also bought a plastic glass and metal water bottle.

I napped for a half-hour. Then I went to a burger and hot dog “stand” near one of the pools. The food was good, but I didn’t realize that it didn’t have a bun! I might try their hot dogs another day.

I’m trying to figure out what to do now. There is a library area mid-ship, and it might be a nice place to sit and read. Though I don’t know how thrilled the people there would be with my getting a phone call. Maybe I’ll read in my stateroom.

The sea is kind of choppy today, but I must be getting used to it. Walking in the cafeteria was kind of interesting.

Read a little. Dozed a little. My kind of day.

Connected with the vet after some phone issues. Mimi has a bad ear infection which *might* be causing her balance issues, so they are going to treat it. They’re also worried about a possible neurological issue, so if treating the ear infection doesn’t work, they want to transfer her to the U of I for them to take a look with their MRI machine.

Hmm. Something interesting. I’m not getting headaches on this cruise (although I bought some Tylenol just in case). Less time on a computer? Something else?

Crud. I didn’t bring my swim goggles. I have to limit my eyes’ time in the pool.

I’m debating going on the shore excursion tomorrow. I have no real interest in Cartagena. And I’m enjoying my laziness. The places that I really want to go to are later in the trip: Costa Rica, Puerto Vallarta…and of course, transiting the Panama Canal. I always wondered why people took those long trips with many days at sea. Now I get it. It’s like staying at a luxury resort.

Maybe I could go to the fitness center tomorrow. Though walking the track (where’s the track?) would be good too. There doesn’t appear to be a track.

My feet are now sandal-ready. The manicure/pedicure technician took a lot of time working on my feet, and they have never looked better. I need to have a pedicure periodically because I have trouble getting my toenails short enough. I also got a manicure because as long as I was there, I might as well. The only down side is that most of their nail polish was for gel manicures. I’ve tried to get a gel manicure off and no. That was a nightmare.

I thought that dinner was until 9 PM, but it was until 8. So I just ordered room service. They told me that my Coke Zero wasn't covered under the drinks package--Fine, fine, just give me the food. I get testy when I get hungry.

So now I wait (and post).