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A guy from my hometown whom I know on Facebook wants to meet with me. I don’t want to go. I’m going to tell him that my mower guy is coming by tonight to mow and give me an estimate on cleaning my gutters (true). Oh okay, he's asking about the 21st.

Arthritis is bothering me. It's not excruciating, just mildly annoying. My concern is more about my fingers instead of my toes because that could impact working on the computer and piano.

I'm falling asleep at my desk. Crashed hard at lunch and overslept my nap.

I'm looking into BistroMD again. I got tired of their food, but I did lose weight on it.

83F/28C. It's hot upstairs. It feels like 10 degrees cooler downstairs, so I won't turn on the a/c yet. You can feel the heat as you walk upstairs. I'm wondering if I should get an air conditioner or bite the bullet and buy a heat pump for upstairs. I spend a lot of time in my home office upstairs. I'm running a fan by my desk. It's hotter in Urbana than it is in Miami. And a lot hotter than Chicago.

It's kind of giving me the creeps that people with whom I worked at the beginning of my tech writing career have passed away. But they were a lot older than me, so it shouldn't be surprising.

I got the strawberry pot. And the Japanese Spirea.

Hum. I'm wondering if I should go to bed really early and get up early to work on the upstairs. It's too hot to work on it during the evening unless I stay up really late.

Oliver went over to see what Lily was doing. She was flat out because of the heat, and swatted at him. He walked away to lie down on the floor too.

Mower guy said that the lawn was too wet to mow. It was foggy this morning.

For my guest room, I was looking at the 8-drawer Van Gogh dresser that [personal profile] susandennis bought. But eight drawers is really more than I need. I found a 3-drawer version. If someone has more clothes, they can put them in the closet. Though if I got the 8-drawer one, I could keep colored pencils and such in some of the drawers. And some travel stuff.

Speaking of travel stuff, I looked at the linen outfit that I wanted to wear on the plane, and the color that I wanted is sold out. I could do a black-and-white top and white pants and a white blazer. I bought a “flax” top and pants and a “driftwood” blazer. That should look okay with my brown shoes.

Done with work. I have a cat (Oliver) in my face and a dog being manic. Fed us all. I was going to take a nap, but it’s late enough that I should probably go to bed for the night.

I started reading a new biography of Jennie Churchill. It’s interesting.

I’m feeling kind of dizzy.

Bella is out cold on her bed. She got up when I did though.

Italian Day

Oct. 9th, 2024 12:49 am
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I had my Italian lesson today. It went well; she taught me some new verb tenses. The listening exercise is still hard. I need to spend time on other listening sites. News in Slow Italian is good. She still loves Mimi and spoke to her in Italian!

Zara is a funny little girl. She led me over to the bedroom to snuggle. I was petting her, but she has rules about petting that changes from day to day. This time it was "don't touch the tail". I told her that I'd snuggle during lunch, but now I have to work. She didn't think that was a good reason.

The university is having their charitable drive. I wanted to give to EarthShare, only to find that I'm already giving to EarthShare and a Bipolar and Depression fund. I'll let that ride.

From a security briefing at work: "In July, an executive at Italian car company Ferrari was contacted by someone claiming to be the company CEO. During a phone call, the voice on the other end sounded just like the CEO, even his accent and intonation. However, the executive became suspicious because the CEO was calling from a different number and asking for an unusual type of transaction. The executive then asked a question that only the real CEO could answer: what book had the CEO recently recommended? The call ended abruptly. This appears to be an incident of voice cloning, an AI-generated deepfake of a real person’s voice." This is getting scary.

I told my dad that I wanted to cruise the Greek islands to see Santorini, but they're unhappy with the number of tourists, especially cruise ships, so maybe I should stay there. There are a LOT of Airbnbs, which drive local people out. I did find a family-run hotel that looks good. But I'm going to go back to Italy first. And Paris.

Zara was happy that she got her snuggles during lunch. Now she's asleep.

I'm wondering in what box the dress that I bought for the Maui trip that I never went on because of the fire is in. The cruise will probably have a dress up night, but I don't really want to buy a dress just for this trip when I have one. I did find a lace dress on Nordstorm Rack that I liked. It might make sense to order it and return it if I find the other one.

Weeded the side yard. I found that one weeder that I bought didn’t work well, but another helped me rip out the weeds in short order. There were some thistles that were dug in, and I had to cut them down. I’ll try to dig them up in the spring. I planted some more daylilies and watered them.

I remembered that I had thawed some (rather good) burgers, and I made them with Brussels sprouts. That was very good. The problem with eating prepackaged food is that it gets boring, so maybe I should consult with a dietitian at the hospital and cook. But my insurance wants me to take an online class first. Sigh. I found some diet recipe books that I want to try.

Got the garbage out.

Spent too much time on Facebook. I’m worried about the hurricane in Florida and might stay up watching CNN tomorrow night, although there won’t be a lot of news before sunrise. I remember watching the news about Hurricane Katrina. Which means that I should go to sleep soon.

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I disabled my OKCupid account because I'm not interested in dating right now. It's just sucking up money. I'll get back into the dating game after I lose weight.

Mimi likes lying on the mat for my standing desk.

Slept until 10. Did my morning routine, took a nap, and slept until 2:30.

Crud. I forgot to charge the mower batteries. I think that maybe I’ll do stuff inside today, although I should do some weeding. I did something weird to my back while I slept, which will cramp my style. I’m pressing my back into the chair to stretch it out.

I’ve been sitting here reading The Wishing Year, and it’s getting interesting. At first I thought that it was going to be a Law of Attraction book, and there is some of that (which wasn’t what I was looking for, but she’s convincing me to try), but she is getting philosophical about desire, which is what I need.

The short version: she was pondering how many people don't go after their wishes until after a loss or tragedy. I was thinking that it’s strange how much of my long-term wishes are coming true since my mom died, most notably the house and the trip to Italy. I need to do the work to get the rest of them.

ExpandExcerpt from the book )

She said that she liked the Hindu God Ganesh, and I found a statue of him reading a book that I kind of want. I need to figure out what I did with my Kwan Yin statue.

Earlier, she was writing about the things that were blocking her from getting what she wanted. For her it was remorse about an affair that she had. For me, it’s my stuff and my weight, which I’m working on.

I think that I want to take my Italy poster to Staples to see if I can get it laminated. Oh crud, they’re open only until 6 and I won’t make it. Oh! FedEx is open until 10 and they do lamination! I can’t find the command strips that I ordered from Amazon, but Walmart has them. Plus I need a flash drive if I don’t have one upstairs. (I couldn’t find one.)

I found my “Don’t stop until you’re proud” and “When you change your habits, you change your life” magnets and put them on the refrigerator.

I’m feeling kind of tired and want to study Italian, so I will. Studied the flashcards. I'll study verbs later.

I had accused Facebook of following me around because my hairdresser trims my eyebrows, and as soon as I came back from my appointment, I saw a Facebook ad for an eyebrow trimmer. I wound up getting it so that I can trim them myself.

I added Lingopie to my Italian repertoire so that I can watch videos in Italian. They also show the words written in Italian, which would be easier than watching Italian TV on Sling, at least at this point.

I found my command strips, although I ordered more from Amazon, but I’ll use them. So I ordered the USB drive from a Meijer order, which will come tonight (done). I just need to run to FedEx with the poster. Well, hell. I threw myself together and went to the car and brought up FedEx on my Maps app. Well, I don’t know where I saw one open until 10 because the local one closed at six. They’re open tomorrow.

I had joined the local chapter of Girl Gone International to make friends in the local area. They're having a meetup at Sholem Aquatic Park next week to walk the lazy river. Sounds like fun, although I'll have to scramble to get there after yoga. (I think that I'll wear my swimsuit under my yoga clothes.)

Started excavating the corner of the living room that has the chest on which I want to put the upstairs TV.

I keep running back to look up stuff on my phone. I was looking for a used utility cabinet for cleaning supplies to put by the stairs in the basement, and found something that would work. The question is whether I could get it in my car? I’ll ask for the measurements.

I cleared out enough to get to the chest that I wanted to bring upstairs, and wrestled it upstairs. I need a break, so I'm going to study Italian. Mimi is on my lap. Oh, I figured out where I could put my personal "altar": under the stairs.

Cleaned out the chest. There are some old sheets that I will give to Goodwill. There are some flannel sheets that I will try on the bed, but the bed is a full and the sheets are queen. I'll get rid of them if they don't fit. There are some Lithuanian tablecloths and such that I left in the chest. Hmm, I could put travel stuff in there because it won't get used often. Put the TV on the chest. I have no idea where the remote went, so I ordered a universal Sony remote and also a power strip because the Roku needs to be plugged in.

So, success. I'm going to study my Italian verbs, do dishes and scoop cat boxes, and toddle off to bed. Oh, in The Wishing Year, she put a piece of paper about the type of guy that she wanted to meet under her bed, and it worked. I figured that I might try it; the worst thing would be that I wasted a piece of paper. I'll put two things: that I want to have sex with Mimmo, and that I want to meet and get involved with someone who turns me on as much as Mimmo. So I'll do that. And I want to put my new linen sheets on the bed.

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Yay. I got Mom's printer to print off the return label for the clothes that I'm returning. Apparently it takes a long time to come up. I need to package the return up and get it to Michael's for UPS pickup.

Did a few chores: dishes and soaking a litter box. I killed the dryer the other day by putting some clothes that didn't spin in the washer in it, so I need to contact a repair person. I think that the washer is okay, but I'm testing it. Yeah, it's working. I made an appointment to have the dryer looked at.

I shaved my legs and clipped my toenails, so I'm ready to swim tomorrow. (Tonight is yoga. Though my right knee is bothering me.) I wound up cancelling yoga because I didn't have proof of membership. But the person whom I talked to told me that I can get a card the next time that I go over there and how to log into the app (I needed to reregister in the app).

Yay, the jeans and one t-shirt that I put outside to dry are dry. I put the rest of the wet clothes outside.

They still haven't picked up my recycling. And I have more to put in the bin!

Need more email? Subscribe to MarketWatch (in the US), and you will be bombarded. It's more than I wanted to know about the stock market.

Some people on Facebook with cats whom I follow had to put one of their cats to sleep. And I'm crying for a cat whom I never met, but not my mom? I think that my feelings about Mom are mixed up with the house and car. When it's time to leave, I'm sure that it'll be rough.

ExpandMore clothes... )
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I did decide to stay on an extra day. I contacted the pet sitter, and she said to stay as long as I want. Mom is happy because she wants me to vacuum later.

The snow finally started close to 4 PM. I'm kind of glad because I did postpone my departure, but Mom would like to go to Trader Joe's tonight.

I think that I want a Panda Planner, but I'll wait until I get paid again. The New York Times recommended it, FWIW.

Now I finished the book about writing on Medium. I'm off to look for writing groups on Facebook (done). Found a few that look promising.

Mom and I had Chicken Kiev again. It was good. Mom said that she likes eating with me because I finish all the extra food. I said that means that I'm a walking garbage can :)

I never did vacuum because Mom slept most of the afternoon. I spent the evening reading about Portugal. I'm going to go to sleep early to get good rest before my drive tomorrow.

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I had problems falling asleep last night. Couldn't shut my mind off. So much for getting up early.

I was thinking how I buy possibilities. I'll have the treadmill (once I put it together) and the exercise bike and the dance videos, so I can choose what I feel like on a given day. It would kind of be a drag to have only one thing to do.

I was also thinking that my mom said that my uncle's life ended (in terms of being engaged) when he stopped working. I said that that worried me because work takes up a lot of my life. My mom said that I'd be okay because I'm interested in lots of things. Possibilities, again.

I've given up on travel plans for the year. Even in November, who knows if we'll be in a second wave of the virus. Now I'm looking at Spring Break next year.

I decided to not put on makeup because the likelihood of a video chat is low. (There wasn't one.)

Hmm. Lincoln Land Community College is offering an online American Sign Language class. It's not cheap, but it would give me the chance to see if I want to pursue it further.

Today is the first day in which I'm working using the new desk chair, and it is a lot more comfortable.

I was looking at seed potatoes to grow in a bag. I'd like to grow Yukon Golds, but their growing season has long since started. The problem with growing potatoes that you have to get a lot of seed potatoes in one order. I need to plan my garden better this coming winter.

Hussled my garbage out. Isn't my life exciting?

I'm busy "snoozing" people that are posting really dumb stuff on Facebook. I don't know why I don't drop them. I guess because they might notice. Facebook is kind of wallowing in the muck and finding a few gems.

I just made Chunky Soup for dinner because I didn't feel like cooking. Plus, I want to finally put the treadmill together and use it. I had Chicken Corn Chowder soup, and Zara was a little out of control. She even dragged her tail through my bowl, but luckily I was about done. (Now she's grooming her tail.)

BBC News: "Trump believes that there will be a vaccine by the end of the year." Oh Lord. I wish, but in your dreams. There's also an article about what travel might be like before there's a vaccine. Must read.

I've been coveting a DSLR camera for years. I've always wanted to get into photography. Well someone was selling a Nikon D3100 without a battery or charger on Mercari for very cheap. I can order the battery and charger. So I bought it.

Well, I started to assemble the treadmill. And in my unerring lack of talent for assembly, I started to put on the bottom of the treadmill backward. I undid it, and I'm done for tonight. They need arrows with "This End Up" for people like me. Do not assume anything.

Hear Hear

Aug. 3rd, 2019 02:50 am
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Exhausted this morning. Had a tough time getting out of bed. Got up.a little after 11 AM.

I didn't get a chance to make my sandwich, so I need to come home for dinner. I should be able to pick up some library books to return too.

Mimi has discovered that I cleared off "Mom's chair" in the kitchen. Good. Then she won't take mine. It might be a problem when Mom gets here though.

I had a doctor's appointment. Afterward, I asked them to get the wax out of my ears. They discovered that I had an earpiece from when I was wearing hearing aids in my ear. They wanted me to drive to Springfield today to get it out, but I said no because today's the last day before my vacation. They also are going to call me about a measles booster shot. My hearing is better though.

Now I'm on vacation. Though I have some cleaning to do before Mom gets here.

I fell down the Facebook rabbit hole, reading Facebook groups about Disney. I'm learning a lot though.

Stayed up to almost 3 AM Swagbucking. Opened a savings account just for travel. Got a Target Red card to use to get a discount on Disney gift cards. Definitely time to crash.

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Woke up around 11 AM. Feeling hammered. Decided to go back to sleep for a little while, and woke up at 2.
 
Slowly made and ate breakfast and put some clothes in the dryer. Still feeling weak.
 
Took a nap. I'm trying to wake up. I need to run out and get a few things at the store, and I'm trying to decide whether to go to the gym as well. It would be good to get back into a routine, but I did walk two miles every day while I was gone, so I got some exercise.
 
Showered and started another load of laundry.
 
On Facebook, someone posted the video of teenagers trying to use a rotary phone with the comment, "My grandmother had one of those!" Now I feel really old....We had one when I was a kid....
 
Ran my errands. It was a drag wearing a hat, scarf, and gloves after the perfect weather in San Jose.
 
Was ravenous, so I made some grilled cheese and tomato soup when I got home.
 
Trying to figure out what to do. I want to know who wins the Academy Awards, but don't necessarily want to watch them. I could work on Spanish flashcards. I feel like going back to sleep again, but it's still early.
 
I dug out a pair of clean pajamas, and I'm going to bed. It just occurred to me that I probably have homework for class, but I'll do it in the morning. I also need to get up early to go get the cats.
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Woke up at 9 AM. Good. I'll have some time to get stuff done before my Spanish lesson. Almost went back to sleep because I was yawning, but decided to eat breakfast first and then take a nap.
 
We're all fed. 
 
I've been looking at a Facebook page called "Fake Library Statistics," and it's pretty funny. Its latest is "On any given day a librarian will have 7 books checked out, 7 of which are overdue," and I, along with a bunch of other librarians said, "Only 7???"
 
Emptied the dryer and put my towels and rags in it.
 
More snow is coming. Glad that I didn't brush off the car yet.
 
Took a nap. We might have gotten a little extra snow, but it looks like it's done. Now they're saying that there will be more snow at 5:30. Now they're saying no more snow. Yay.
 
I want to make lunch, but Zara is asleep on my lap. I finally woke her up and ate lunch. Now she's back on my lap again.
 
Threw myself together, brushed snow off of the car, and shoveled the driveway. I'm warming up a little, and then I'll go run errands.
 
Bought soda, bread, and milk. The soda froze on the truck though, so I need to wait for it to thaw before opening it.
 
It just occurred to me that I should try to write my LJ posts in Spanish as well as English. I'd learn a lot of Spanish that way. I should look for news in Spanish too.
 
Had my Spanish lesson. My instructor keeps me guessing as to what we'll do in each lesson. I prepared different stuff than what we discussed. I'm working on flashcards because if I don't get them done on the weekend, I won't get them done during the week.
 
Talked to Mom. She was in a talkative mood. She still has been tired and sleeping a lot. She thinks that there won't be another government shutdown in February. Good because the temporary hiatus will end right before I go to San Jose.
 
I'm feeling tired. I fed the girls, and after I eat, I think that I'll go to sleep and study more in the morning.

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