days_unfolding

I forgot to mention that “Blowing in the Wind” has been playing in my head. Appropriate.

Lily approves of my sweats alternative. 10/10 soft to lie on. I like them too for days that I'm staying home.

Overslept until 8:30 AM.

The radiologists want me to have an ultrasound of my left breast. I’m refusing to worry. Okay, I'm worrying a little.

More recession signs: job loss and issues with private credit.

Lily and Oliver are playing Chase Me! Gracie doesn't want to come in from outside. I can't blame her; it's gorgeous out. Nice and warm and sunny. And the irises are coming up!

Oh crud. The place where I wanted Gracie to be trained wants a certificate saying that the dog is free from Giardia (among other things). Gracie still has a little Giardia in her system. I guess that I need to go somewhere else. I'm looking at Polite Pups individual training, at least for Gracie.

I canceled my French lesson. We aren't studying what I want to study, so why am I spending time and money on it? I shouldn't just go along with things. I found a teacher that said, roughly (in French), that she didn't think that lessons are one size fits all. That's promising.

I grabbed Gracie by the collar and marched her in. That was mean, but I wanted to feed Oliver and Zara, and that depended on her coming in because I wanted Oliver shut away when I open the front door.

I way overslept my nap. I was dreaming about my paternal grandmother, whom I resemble.

Whoa. My printer landed on the floor. I blame you, Oliver. It seems to be working okay.

Hmm. An inflatable two-person hot tub isn't that expensive. It's cheaper than a Jacuzzi. Not right now though.

Hmm. Harry Potter is streaming on Max. It might be worth it to get it for a month or two and watch the movies.

I’m looking at piano scales charts, but nothing on Amazon is exactly what I want. Okay, I found some books that I like.

My singing lesson went well. We worked on “The Times, They Are a Changing”. I don’t like the choral arrangement. My teacher wasn’t familiar with the song, and she said, “Boy, this guy doesn’t like his parents!” Yepper. Hard to believe that the song is almost as old as I am.

My dad is worried about the federal debt. It’s a staggering number (30.8 trillion). That is worrisome. He compared it to Germany in the 1920s. That worries me.

Fed everyone. I’m washing clothes, so I think that I’ll watch the first Harry Potter movie on my computer.

I broke down and subscribed to the Wall Street Journal online because they have enough articles that interest me. And their newsletters! I subscribed to around 10 of them. They had a deal for $2 a week for a year. Then it gets expensive, but then I can decide if it's worth the cost.

Overslept until 8 AM. Took a fast shower.

My dental appointment went okay; the implant is healing well. We made an appointment for the impression for the crown after July 1 because that's a new fiscal year for my insurance.

I told Lily not to walk on my computer. Lily: I walk on anything and everything. Because I am a cat! Oliver keeps on sitting on my laptop. The joys of working with pets around.

Napped and overslept. Gracie has been out for three hours and still doesn't want to come in. Sigh.

My dad is saying that it seems likely that there will be a recession or depression this year. (I asked him what evidence he's seeing because I'm me and a lot like him.) I got some books on recessions.

Drat. The flight credit that I used for a trip to New York was today, but I managed to cancel it for a credit. I want to take a trip to New York in December.

Gracie finally decided to come in and everyone's fed.

I think that I want to take another nap after work. Overslept by only 20 minutes. Now I let the dogs out and are feeding myself and the critters. I keep having stomach cramps, ugh. Lily is fussing over me.

I’m thinking of just going to bed after my nighttime tasks and getting up early to do my French homework.

Fed us all. Bella started eating Gracie’s food after eating her own food, but I managed to distract her. Now it’s posting time.

I finally got into my Schwab account. Yes, I took a beating. But I bought more oil-related stocks because my dad says that they work well as a hedge. (They go up when other stocks go down and vice versa,)

Gardener’s Supply has a fence with a gate. That would work well for the raised beds. And maybe I could grow tomatoes in one of them? I've decided not to get plants for the area by the parking spaces (though maybe I could get some seeds?) and put my money in the raised beds.

They also have nice grow shelves to start seeds, but that will be next year.

Overslept and got up at 8:15 AM.

My money has posted. Yay. I'll get the battery done this weekend.

I canceled my French lesson because it was pushing up against the time that I need to leave for the doctor's appointment. Plus, I didn't get up early to do my homework. Today is a zoo.

I figured out where I want to plant seeds while I was waiting for the Uber. The doctor said that I have mild carpal tunnel syndrome. She gave me a brace to wear while sleeping, which I hope will do the trick (it feels good), but if not, I might need surgery and that will mess everything up. Here's hoping that things will go well.

Work is over. I’m opening packages while I wait for my singing lesson. (I’ll feed the hordes afterwards.) I got my “French for travelers” books. And the battery to jump-start cars. (I’ll have AAA jump-start it this time though. I’ll ask Advance Auto Parts where to put the connections for jump-starting.) And I got A Queer History of the United States. And the t-shirt with classical composers' faces on it and the caption, “I listen to dead people“. And my Chinese and Japanese cookbooks. I have to find my rice cooker.

I bought the French version of the first book of Tales of the City. The French title translates to Tales of San Francisco, which makes sense because only people who have lived in the area would be familiar with “The City” as San Francisco. I thought that was really pretentious when I first moved to the Bay Area. Then I wound up using it.

I had been thinking about buying vegetable seeds, and I got a catalog from a family-owned seed business. That’s timely.

My singing lesson went well. We were working on the hardest song for choir (“Awake the harp” from The Creation). It took us a lesson and a half to go through it the first time. Then we went through it again in half the time. I need to work on it this weekend.

Let the dogs out and fed us all. Submitted an order for more stocks. I need to submit a grocery order. Then I'll go to bed.

Crud. I forgot to scan my music for my singing lesson. I guess that I’ll do it now (done).

Overslept a half hour. That’s better than I’ve been doing. And the dogs don’t want to come in. Gracie took over two hours to come in again. The guys came to clean up dog poop from the yard, but they couldn't come in because the dogs were in the yard. Not sure what to do about that.

I really want to nap, but I need to shower over lunch because I have a singing lesson tonight.

It occurred to me that Gracie stays upstairs when I'm working to be near me. I know that Bella loves me, but Gracie is a little tougher to read. Gracie could be downstairs on the bed, although she does crash out on the futon mattress upstairs.

Showered at lunchtime. Go me. And have brand-new clothes on.

The men's figure skating is going on. Too bad that I can't watch it.

Lily and Oliver are playing Hide and Seek. Now they're wrestling.

The dogs aren't going to be happy. An Amazon package is coming between 5 and 7 PM, and I have my singing lesson at 7, so I'll let them out at 8 PM. Oh, the package was delivered, but Gracie stays out so long that I don't want to let her out at 5:30 PM.

My singing lesson went well. My voice keeps on improving. My teacher wants to do two lessons a week (on Tuesday as well as the usual Friday) to catch up from the times that I was not feeling well, so I agreed to scan a bunch of music tomorrow. I tend to be tired on Saturday, so scanning is a low-key activity.

Let the dogs out and fed us all. Watched some of the men's skating. Watched a Mentour Pilot episode about the Germanwings crash. His take on it was interesting. It's late, so I need to get to bed.

I downloaded a free flashcard deck of the 1000 most common French words.

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).

Woke up with my alarm at 7 AM. I want to go back to sleep. I did and woke up a little before 9 AM. I’m at work now. Got my scuzzy butt into the shower at lunchtime.

Finished up some stuff at work, which was satisfying.

I think that tonight I'll catch up on the trash that I wasn't taking out because it was so cold.

Off work. I finished my book on the Appalachian Trail. I love reading about the AT, I don’t know why. I don’t think that I could ever hike it because, while I could take the dogs, I also have cats. Plus I’m badly out of shape. I’d like to do shorter section hikes though. I bought two more books about the AT. I don’t like the person in my new AT book though. She’s trying to get the fastest time on the trail. Ugh. I wonder where my picture book of the AT went.

Note to self: Reschedule French lesson (because I'm having my dental implant that day). Done.

Hmm. I’m gathering garbage, but the snow should melt by next week, so maybe I won’t roll the can through the thick snow now. I hate winter. Emptied litter boxes and garbage cans. Got Oliver out of Zara's room, which he ran into. Snot.

I've done everything that I want, except that I'm handwashing clothes. I want to get to bed early to get up early, brush off the cars, and put my garbage bags in the bin.

Overslept an hour. Fuck. I don’t have time to take a shower, so I’ll just throw some clothes on.

Yep, I got tickets on both cars. Occasionally, I hate the city of Urbana, and this is one of those times. I’ll have to brush the cars off after work because I have French at lunchtime. I can't wait until I can get the cars off of the street.

I feel a little like crying, but everything will be okay. Today is a hectic day though. I just canceled my French lesson. (Our big presentation is right afterwards. We have them quarterly, but it feels like we just did one! Time flies.) That helps. I'm doing some deep breathing exercises. My French teacher-to-be was cool about my canceling and said that she could teach me some useful phrases for my trip.

It was a zoo getting the cats and dogs out of the upstairs for the presentation. The cats took the bait to go down in the basement. I had to shut the dogs in the bedroom. The presentation went okay. I stumbled over my words a little, but clicking the slides (I had the slides that were displayed for the whole presentation with multiple presenters, which is why I had to corral the fur faces) went well.

Brushed off one of the cars. I’m inside thawing (currently 10F/-12C with a wind chill of 9F/-13C) and I let the dogs out. I need better gloves. Ordered some waterproof ones for brushing off the cars. I’ll go back out when the dogs come back in and I feed them.

Aargh. Got car #2 brushed off, although I want to get up early to scrape more ice off the windshields because I couldn’t see well. But then Bella stole my hat and ran to the bedroom with it and put it under the bed. Gracie thought that we were playing and scratched me hard in the face. I finally fished the hat out from under the bed and put it in a safe place to dry. The hat is a little small on me though, so I need a larger hat (ordered).

Apparently the laundry basket in the bathroom fell over and Bella stole a sock. Sigh.

Fed us all. Paid my parking tickets. Submitted a grocery order for tomorrow. Got a new pair of jeans out of its package. Now I need to post, feed the critters their crunchies, put some handwashed clothes in the dryer, and go to sleep.

My phone finally charged, but I’m not sure what I did with its case. But I was doing laundry, and my washer isn’t spinning. Sigh. I wrung some stuff out and put it in the dryer. I’m not going to shower tomorrow because I had all this stuff to do today and I took a shower late. I looked up the error codes and it’s a drain-related issue.

Overslept and got up at 7 AM. So much for getting the car registered.

Had a dental appointment. I thought that it was for the implant but it was just a cleaning. I now have a date for the implant, 2/5. I'm planning to take a sick day that day. My boss has had an implant, and she said that was a good idea.

I almost forgot that I had piano class after work, so no jump-starting the car tonight. We worked on an simplified excerpt of Chopin's Impromptu Op.66 in C#, and I fell in love with it (although it was difficult to play). So I ordered a CD with the whole piece on it. I haven't listened much to Chopin. (My teacher gives us pieces with a range of difficulties, and I always tackle the harder ones. Maybe that's why she likes me. Or maybe it’s because I can read music.) I bought a couple of sheet music books with simplified Chopin for beginning piano players.

I booked a French lesson for next week because I should get cracking on it. (I'll be wandering around by myself in Paris.) I hope that she will teach me "tourist French". We'll see. She emphasizes speaking, which is good. I have an online French class that I need to also get cracking on. The good thing is that I remember a fair amount of it (I took French from junior high through part of college) when I review. I need to pick up Italian sometime, but one step at a time.

The BBC had an article about menengiç, which is a Turkish drink similar to coffee but made with pistachios. I ordered some to try. I love pistachios.

I need to get to bed soon because I want to try to get the car's registration taken care of, and it's already late.

Overslept and got up at 7:30 AM. I was going to delay my shower when I remembered that I have a singing class at 11, so I took it.

I was about to get in the shower when Oliver used my shoulders, claws outstretched, as a launch pad to get to the the shelf above the toilet. Ouch! I was thinking about how Lily is the almost perfect cat (she sharpens her claws on my legs occasionally, but that's about it for trouble), but Oliver makes up for it and then some!

Put my hearing aids in. Everything sounds loud :) But I need to build up the time that I wear them before my in-person meetings next week. They are bothering me a lot less than yesterday. I guess that I'm getting used to them.

I'm trying to decide whether to pick up Italian again. I also need to work on French for my trip next year.

Singing class (scales and intervals) went well. I want a book of scales (ordered one).

The garage guy called and said that he would be there in a few minutes to pick up the check. I told him that I was eating lunch. We got in an argument about the gravel that he left on the side of the garage, and he said that he needed to see it, and I said fine, I'll put away my lunch and meet him. When he got there, I told him that he seems to think that his time is more important than anyone else's, and it is NOT true. I gave him the check. He said that he didn't know why he left the gravel by the side of the garage, and I said that I didn't know either, but he said that he would clean it up.

It just occurred to me that I might be able to get some help with a project at work from one of the newer people, so I sent an email to my boss (who's out today) asking about it.

I don't know what happened to the Web cam that I bought for piano. I messaged my piano teacher about it, and she said to attend the class anyway. I ordered a new one.

Had my piano class. Man, oh man, am I rusty. I can read the music (from singing), but my hands get confused. I need to practice before the next class.

Yay. The boarding place said that they’d board Gracie despite her Giardia with some precautions. I need to make a reservation. I’m going on my cruise! Did I say “Yay!!!!”

Fed us all. Discovered that my freezer needs defrosting. Took out the recycling.

Ordered a pair of "overnight glasses". Because they're expensive, though, I'm going to save them for trips out of the house and wear my cheaper Zennis around the house.

Lily sez. "I'M the laptop! Not that funny thing that you play with!"

Suckage. I'm not finding the ticket for my flight to Miami for the cruise. I found the hotel, and I would have booked the flight first, so I don't know what happened. I found flights, but United Airlines Web site is acting up. I printed and took a screen capture of the flights that I want. The only thing is that I won't be able to catch the last bus out, so I booked a hotel in Chicago. I want to take an early bus back so that I can pick up Bella, Gracie, and Oliver the same day. I'm going to get up early to try to book the flights again, book the buses, and send a reservation request to the boarding place. (I didn't send one because I wasn't sure if they'd take Gracie.) Sheesh, flights have gotten expensive!

Overslept an hour. Took the dogs out, only to realize that the tree guys were here. I forgot. Managed to get the dogs back in.

I signed up for Monarch Money last night. I tried to get my main bank accounts linked, but PNC was having issues.

I bought a Powerball ticket just because the jackpot is so high. I figured what the hell.

Gracie is barking at nothing in particular. That girl sure loves to talk. I want to pet her, but she's constantly in motion. Oliver and Bella have been getting along really well. Oliver thinks that Gracie is a terror, and I don't blame him. She barks at him a lot.

Okay, the tree guys are gone, so I can get the dogs out at lunchtime. I also want to take a nap at lunchtime and shower after work.

Taking the train to NYC isn't going to work this time. I'll fly. Unless I take the train back? Found a hotel near the cruise terminal. Restaurant near the hotel: Pershing Square. There's some crabcakes and a lobster roll calling my name :) I need to find a place to pick up some bagels for breakfast.

I think that I will wear jeans and blazers to NYC. (Shorts in Bermuda.) I could use a couple of extra pairs of jeans (ordered). I'm looking on ThredUp for some nice short-sleeved tops (ordered). I have plenty of blazers.

I'm looking into French lessons for my trip next year, although I need to start up my Italian lessons again. I had previously signed up for a language study Web site, and I'm looking into a tutor.

I think that I want a rolling cabinet like the ones that you can use for a microwave as a feeding station for the pets. I want one with doors on the bottom to keep food in (and Bella out!) I found one that I like, but I'm waiting to clean up the kitchen first. It will be stored under the stairs, but I might roll it out into the kitchen.

Note to self: Remember to bring Gracie's sample to the vet on Friday morning.

I got my accounts synced up with Monarch Money. It also provides a budgeting tool that I think will be helpful. (But it says that I spent $60 in coffeeshops? Huh?) It's similar to a tool for which Mom's trust wanted to charge me $100 a month. Much cheaper.

I want to get to bed early to drop Gracie's sample off at the vet (I hope that she will cooperate in providing one) and running some errands.

Woke up at 6:30 AM.

I had an online seminar at work given by a committee for which I'm a liaison, so that took up at lot of my day. Otherwise, I've been discussing retirement with my dad. (I asked him how he decided when to retire.) My dad also thinks that I should "paper trade" his investment system until I get the money from the trust. I need to write the trust about wanting the money, but I've been dreading the explosion.

I was discussing with my dad things that I want to do in retirement, and learn photography is one of them. I ran across a photography tour of Yosemite, which would check two things off of my list---photography and seeing Yosemite.

My list: Mostly learning things. I wanted to learn how to do Web programming, but the classes at the U of I were too fast-paced, so I want to work on it at my pace, and maybe volunteer to do Web site work for non-profits. Also, work on programming for mobile devices. Learn more about economics. Work on my languages (Italian and French). The big thing that I want to do is spend a year studying Italian in Italy (and possibly French as well). Learn singing (I belong to a chorus), piano, and guitar. Garden. I don't have a plan for a part-time job but am open to one. Basically doing stuff that I'm already doing but with more time to do it. Oh, and start writing again (a mix of non-fiction and poetry). And I want to learn to write songs. I want to write humorous songs about getting older and post them on YouTube. And learn photography. I have a lot of resources about it, but haven't had the time to put into it.

My therapist said that Obamacare gets more expensive as you get older, and COBRA is expensive, so I should wait until I'm eligible for Medicare to retire (2.5 years). I need to learn more about it. I think that Fidelity has a webinar about Medicare that I'll look for.

Got the recycling out, including a ton of plant boxes that were on the porch. I have more boxes inside, but I’ll get them out next week. I strained my knee in taking out the recycling, sigh. I need replacement parts :)

I forgot to mention that I received more plants. The ferns for my shade garden look like happy little plants.

Hell. I feel like going to sleep and getting up early. I need a snack though (done). I DO have to get up early because of my Italian lesson. I didn’t go to the grocery store. Tomorrow.

I’m looking into French lessons as well.

I’m explaining to Oliver and Lily that they are not starving to death. They are not convinced.

It’s hot.

I brought a garbage bag into the bedroom to clean it up. Oliver is reaching under the door and pulling it out. This is a zoo :)

I got my electric bill and need to start turning off the porch light at night. Expensive to leave it on.

I’m pleased with myself. There is a book called No New Things, which I want to read, but I requested it from the library.

I’m having problems falling asleep. Suckage. Finally did. Got up a little after 6 AM.

I'm ready for my Italian lesson. Had the lesson. My teacher was sad about Mimi. We talked about the cruise for a while. Oliver and Lily showed up to say "Hi". We won't have a lesson for another three weeks because I'm gone next week and my teacher is gone the following week.

I'm really stressing about my check. Silence from the trust.

I have to hand it to Ameren. They replaced my gas meter and asked me to call them to have the gas turned back on. (They had been trying to set a time with me, but I kept forgetting to call them.) They had someone come out right away. Hot water for showers!

I have stomach cramps, plus I have to gather garbage, plus I’m tired, so I’m not going to the store tonight. I need to eat up some of the food that I have stashed. I listed my pet ramp that I bought for Bella to get into my car for sale on Facebook. (She didn't need it. She can get into my car perfectly well. She just didn't want to go in there.) I hope that someone will buy it. I'm trying to think of other things to sell.

Got the garbage out. I’m going to have some Ramen noodles and go to bed.

Lily was rubbing against my hand. She’s starting to like me :)

Um, I want to go to sleep, but the Dynamic Duo is in here. I don’t mind Lily, but Oliver isn’t restful. Actually, he slept with me and didn’t bug me. Yay.

Oh man. I got Mimi set up upstairs, although I had to scoop Oliver out of there. The gate is up. Fed the cats. Now I have some time to kill. Maybe I’ll eat breakfast (done). There’s peace and quiet now that the cats are fed.

Hmm. I’ve got to remember to add Oliver (especially him, the Kamikaze Kitty!) and Lily to my pet insurance (done).

Oliver was in the bathroom when I showered, and he was very unhappy that I was doing something with which he wasn't involved. He walked into the shower as soon as I was done.

The gate upstairs is working well, and Mimi is happy that Oliver can't come up here. She's on my lap, purring. She was screaming at him before. I never heard a cat make such a noise, and I thought that I had hurt her.

Oh, I found the long extension cord that I bought for the Christmas lights that I never put up, so I'm going to use it for the aquarium.

I'm the only person at work. Everyone else took the week off. I need to save up on vacation time though. I'm assigning support tickets to different queues for different areas of the system. It's been fairly steady. I had to help someone whose account had expired.

There was an ad for a good French course on Facebook, which I saved, but I don't have time for it right now. Just studying Italian is enough for now.

Lily thinks that whenever I go in the kitchen, I'm going to feed her.

Submitted a grocery order, including extra cat food. We should be good for this weekend's snow (currently 8 -12 inches predicted). Though actually, I should add some frozen food (done).

Mimi is asleep somewhere, but I don't know where. Now she's on the chair. She seems to be realizing that Oliver can't come in here. And she's happy.

I’m lying down for my nap, with two inquisitive cats with me. I hope that they let me sleep. Oliver jumped on the bed but did let me sleep. Good kitty.

Ugh. My knee and elbow are hurting. I don't know why.

Went downstairs to soak the cat dishes. Oliver is playing with the box with the remaining balls in it. Whatever distracts him works for me. I received the TV for my bedroom, an aquarium thing, and The Dog Encyclopedia.

Fed the cats. Zara was hanging around waiting to be fed too. Got my food. Yay.

Lily, not Oliver, was waiting outside the gate upstairs when I got off of work.

Lay down after work. Lily climbed all over me and asked for pets. Then she lay down on top of me and slept. I think that I’ve been adopted :) Oliver is snoozing with me too.

Zara came in here with Lily and Oliver in here. She growled and Lily backed off, but she seems to be calming down. I’m kind of glad that she’s trying to come into the bedroom.

I’m thinking of going to bed and getting up early to get stuff ready for the dog, but I don’t want to leave with Zara in here. I did, and she came into the kitchen!

I’m microwaving a frozen salmon meal. Lily wants it. I told her, “No way. It’s mine.” I’ll feed them before I eat. Fed the cats. I have an assembly line going in which I soak their dishes, rinse and dry them, fill them with food, and dole them out.

Hum. I’m getting a headache, probably because I’m hungry.

The weather says that there is a snow shower, but the big weather news is the storm on Sunday. I hope that Bella will go out during it.

Did dishes and watered plants. Oliver tried to “help”. I need to empty the dryer and put more clothes in (done).

Now it’s bed time. Oops, Mimi just jumped on my lap.

One might ask, why were you studying Italian when you hadn't been to Italy yet? I was thinking of an answer to that, which led me to my relationship with foreign languages in general.

I grew up around foreign languages. My dad immigrated from Lithuania when he was a kid, and the older generation all spoke Lithuanian, which I did not know. My mom's family was from Poland, second generation, and a lot of the older relatives spoke Polish, which I don't speak either. Sometimes it was awkward, when I would hear "blah blah blah Adrienne blah blah blah," and I would sit there with a stupid smile on my face :) But hearing foreign languages is kind of soothing to me? I know that people complain about people speaking foreign languages around them, but I don't feel that way at all. Do I kick myself for not learning Lithuanian and Polish when I was a kid? You bet.

My school started foreign languages in middle school, around 12ish years old for folks not in the US. The choices were French or Spanish, and I took French. Thus began a long love affair with French. I took it from middle school into high school, and placed in Advanced Honors French at university. There I kept it up until I was taking classes with the people who were majoring in French, which I wasn't, so I dropped out. Why didn't you minor in French, Adrienne?

I still think in French occasionally. (I remember being mortified in high school when I found myself trying to translate French into French, not realizing what a good sign that was.) And it's there somewhere. One of the most annoying things about learning Italian is that when I think of how to say something in Italian, my mind pops up with the French first, and I think that the French is right. But the problem with living in the US is that you don't get a chance to use it. One of many reasons that I love the Internet is that it allows me to take language lessons over it. And when I go back and review my French, I suspect that I'll relearn it quite quickly. Last fall, I had a teacher for Italian and French who taught in Italian and French with very little English (just when I needed a word defined), and the French was much easier.

I also took a two-semester class in Chinese over a summer at the end of my university days because I needed some extra credit hours and it sounded cool. Well. Chinese is HARD. Hardest "B" I ever got. Plus I was sick of Chinese by the end of the summer. I remember none of it except "ni hao" (hello).

So, Italian. My mom loved Italy, and she was taking an informal Italian class at a nearby school. I did something similar, thinking that we could practice bad Italian together. I didn't like the class, but it got me interested in Italian. I bought Rosetta Stone in Italian, and worked with that a little, only to find that I didn't like it as a language-learning method. Then I saw an Internet ad for online tutoring, and I thought that I'd try Italian. I did that for a few months, but then my teacher needed to take some time off. In the meantime, I saw an post about a group Italian class that someone was having, so I joined it. I did the class for a few months and liked the teacher, but we were having problems finding a time that was good for everyone, so we switched to private lessons. That was working well, but then my teacher decided to go back to school for a Master's Degree, so he stopped teaching.

Somewhere in there, I fell in love with the language.

So, I was looking for an Italian teacher again. I chose someone who also taught French, thinking that it would be good to have someone who did both. This was the teacher who taught in Italian and French, which was good, but her idea of teaching was to march through the grammar book. I can teach myself grammar mostly on my own, but I really need conversation practice. Plus we had problems scheduling the Italian lessons, so I took more French lessons from her than Italian. Then I dropped out when I was moving and taking my programming classes. I intended to start back up with her, but decided that I didn't like the way that she was teaching.

So I'm in search for teacher #4. I hope that the teacher that Mimmo found will work out well. I intend to tell her to make me speak the language a lot. And also that I want to learn "practical Italian", so I can get myself in trouble wandering around Italy. And if we're reviewing grammar, let me do most of the work as homework.

I might need to learn Lithuanian someday because I'm eligible for a Lithuanian passport, which would give me an EU passport, which would make spending an extended length of time in Europe easier.

I looked into Sling's Italian TV package in the interest of total immersion. It has a 7-day free trial, so I'm waiting until next weekend to sign up.

I put clothes in the wash.

Woke up at seven. I need to put clothes in the dryer and charge the mower batteries (done).

I haven’t seen the friendly outdoor cat in a long time. There is another cat roaming around.

I found a 625 most common French words deck of flashcards that I want to get. I made more Italian counting flashcards. I found a set of premade Italian flashcards that I want to get. I need to find my library card. There is a set of Italian vocabulary words set to music that I'd like to check out. I'm thinking that I should take a few months to work hard on Italian and then add French.

Found my missing credit, debit, and other cards, including my library card. I put them in the filing cabinet. I just borrowed Rapid Italian, Volume 1. I'll listen to it while I'm going through boxes.

I'm feeling kind of peaceful. Zara is loving me up.

I found a Web site that drills Italian verb tenses.

My portable a/c unit is being shipped. Yay.

I want to order food from Walmart, but they seem to be out of everything.

I planted the thyme and watered the herbs and tomatoes. A firefly flew in front of me, blinking. It was kind of magical.

I looked up "I want to learn Italian to impress an Italian guy" on Google Translate ("Voglio imparare l'italiano per impressionare un ragazzo italiano"). And there you have it :) I've been drilling on regular Italian verbs. Verb tenses were my downfall last time. It helps.

I think that I should go to bed soon and get up early. Well, after doing the dishes and scooping cat boxes.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. Yay.

At work. Mimi wants to get some snuggles in before it gets too hot. I'm being smart and wearing shorts today. We were talking yesterday about the heat; my boss was wondering if she would make it through the presentation due to the heat, but she rallied. Eeek. Now Italy has the heat too. I'm keeping an eye on the weather in Rome to see what the weather is like at different times of year.

Today isn't quite as hot. But Tuesday is supposed to be 98F/36C! Ack!

I want to get gym clothes together this weekend and maybe go to a local gym. Hmm. I'm looking for a padlock, but it'll get here on Sunday from Amazon. Bah. I guess that I could go to Lowe's and get one. Hmm. One of the weightlifting books that I was looking at is for dumbbells, and I have some dumbbells somewhere. I need to get organized, no question. Hmm, the journal says "Your mind will quit a thousand times before your body will". True.

Overslept my nap at lunch. I've got the shakes and need to eat something (done).

Work is up and down. It's quiet today after a crazy day yesterday.

I found a French tutor who looks promising (Note to self: Amandine K. I could do a lunchtime lesson on Fridays.) Yes, I want to study both Italian and French.

The cats have discovered that lying on the stairs keeps them cooler. I want to work on boxes, but it is hot in here. I’m drinking decaf soda so that I’ll go to bed early and get up early while it’s still cool.

Hmm. I think that I’ll work in the “music room” (which is going to be a library because I want to move the piano into the living room) because I can turn on the ceiling fan in there.

I did tackle the music room. I’m dripping sweat despite the fan, but I was also listening to CDs and singing and dancing. And I was listening to Bonnie Raitt singing about “walking the floor all night long" (“I sho do…want you/I sho do…need you/I sho do…wish for you/I sho do…walk the floor all night long.” Know the feeling, Bonnie :)) I was singing surprisingly well given that I haven’t had lessons in a while. I think that the exercise in Italy did me good. I haven’t found the gym bags yet though.

I was reading about Naples. Mimmo thinks that I should study Italian there instead of in Venice because Venice has too many distractions. So there.

Mimi is loooooonely. And shedding big gobs of fur. I need to get the brush out.

I’m hungry.

Okay, I think that I’ve done enough for one night and I'm getting a headache. I’m going to take a cool shower and go to bed.

I printed out two listings for chiropractors. Too bad that I won't be able to see them before I go to Italy. My back is killing me. I thought about getting a massage, but I really need the money for the trip. I wonder if I should get a back brace for the trip. I read an article that said, "No".

I think that I'm going to live in shorts this summer.

My groceries have been delivered. I need to go put them away.

Hmm. I think that I need a small wallet and small credit card case to put in different pockets of my travel vest (ordered-got RFID blocking ones). My therapist suggested a money belt, so I'm wondering about it.

Oh good. I can study more than one language in the AI language app. Excellent. I'll sign up.

Talked to the handyman at my mom's house. We talked about the flooding in the basement (which I know about--he's not making it up) but he said that it would cost thousands of dollars to fix. Then he talked about getting rid of the refrigerator and stove. Someone please get this house out of my life!

I’m lying down for my nap, and Zara is cuddling. She’s alarmed by the people picking up the recycling though.

Had my session with my therapist. I asked her how to tell the difference between self-care and being indulgent by skipping tai chi and yoga this week, and she thought that I was doing self-care. That conference last week really took it out of me. She also told me to stick to my guns about my boundaries with the real estate agent.

There was a knock at the door. It turned out to be my neighbor across the street. She got some more iris bulbs donated to her and she gave me some. She's really nice and easy to talk to. We were talking about the critters that live in the neighborhood (no deer, thankfully).

I’m thinking that I’ll repot the herbs tomorrow. It’s supposed to rain, but I can do it on my porch.

Hmm. I was wondering if I could get a massage in Venice. I should have more money then because I'll get paid again. Need to think about this. I found a place with Thai massage, but I need to see how far it is from my hotel. The prices are reasonable.

I’m working on getting my American Airlines app set up. It looks like I didn’t get air miles for my Hawaii trip, which is disappointing.

Lay down for a nap but couldn’t sleep. Decided that I was hungry. Went out and planted the new irises that my neighbor gave me and some of the herbs. I thought that I bought more pots though, but I can’t find them. I ordered more pots. I want the herbs in larger pots so that they’ll stay moist while I’m gone. I already lost a thyme plant that shriveled up.

I’m dripping sweat. Ate dinner. What now? I guess that I’ll tackle the list from yesterday. Though Mimi wants food. And I’m thinking of going to bed early and getting up early. Fed the cats. Yeah, I'm going to scoop the litter boxes and go to bed. Got my flight up on American's app. Mimi has been walking on the laptop. Sigh. Chaos Central :)

Got my French homework printed off and stashed in my backpack. Got my clothes together for both days of flights. I'm getting my second wind, but I still think that I'll pack my clothes in the AM.

Intel is going to be providing foundry services to NVIDIA. I'm trying to scrape together cash to invest. Okay, transferred some money. Bought shares.

Getting up before dawn sucks. I ate breakfast and fed the cats, but I decided to go back to sleep and pack tonight. I’ll go swimming in Kauai.

The handyman came to put up the screens right after I woke up. I had a new frontier of weirdness; I took a shower while he was in the house. I trust him though. He spent the rest of the morning changing some door locks. He said that the cost of the aluminum framing on the roof will be about $4500. Sigh.

I really like my new Hawaiian hoodie. It’s a coral reef and very nice-looking. So of course, I got some food on it. Aargh.

I found out how to use the fabric AirTag holders, so now they’re securely fastened in my suitcase and small carryon bag. I’m missing a couple of them, but I have one for the backpack. They aren’t expensive, so I can order more.

It’s really cold out. I think that I’ll wear the wool trench coat tomorrow because I’ll be waiting outside for the shuttle car.

I have hot and cold running meetings, so I'm going to go to the UPS Store tomorrow before work.

I talked to the life coach, and she was her usual helpful self. I now have a list of things to do when I get back, but the TaskRabbit ones, I can do from Hawaii. We also talked about my getting a spa treatment, and I found a place that I like. I need to figure out when to go there.

Talked to my weight-loss coach, who is still like nails on a chalkboard. She wants to turn everything into an end goal, and I'm more about the process. And I have been losing weight, so I wish that she'd back off.

Mover guy called me back. He asked if the move could be later if I need it delivered later, and I said no. He said that he’d look into a “container move” and will get back to me tomorrow morning.

I got everything done that I wanted to get done for work. The pet sitter stopped by and got the key. I dashed off some things for my goal-setting class.

Had my Dare to Dream class. Put my stuff for the UPS Store in the car for tomorrow morning. I’m freezing cold so I went upstairs. Packed my main suitcase. Now I'm boiling hot, so I came downstairs to print stuff off. I just need to pack my little "jump bag," and I'll be ready to go.

Checked in and printed off my boarding pass. Printed off maps. The spa is just a short distance away from my hotel. The only thing is that with the time change, I won't be able to call them from here tomorrow morning. The time that I'd need to call them is the time that I'm being picked up. I might be able to call from my hotel in Chicago. Otherwise, I'll have to wait until I get there. Okay, my travel documents are printed off. Printed off cat instructions.

The landlord leaving stuff at my rental house can't get into the garage. I didn't know what to tell him.

I'm going to go finish off packing my little jump bag, pack my meds, clear off the mail on the table, and then go to sleep. I should get a decent night's rest.

Okay. The plan is to stay home tonight and finish my packing. I’ll drop off stuff at the UPS Store tomorrow. And go swimming tomorrow.

I did get up early to clean. Scrubbed the bathroom floor. Scrubbed the sink. Vacuumed the dining room. Yay for rubber gloves; my manicure looks fine.

Crud, I forgot to move my car because they were picking up the dumpster. They were nice about it though.

I was chatting with a colleague/friend, and it occurred to me that I could use a wet-dry vac to clean out the crawl space and basement. I'll get one when I get back.

The cats are confused because I fed them early. No, you don't get an extra meal because of that!

It looks like I have a mover! Really nice guy. He wants me to look over the quote, although he told me what it would be (app. $3000). No deposit required, and I can pay with a debit card.

I made an appointment to have the girls get leukemia shots at the local vet, but I scheduled over a meeting, so I might have to move it to the next day.

Now my weight-loss coach says that I’m losing weight too fast. Some people are never satisfied.

Had my French lesson, which went well. I got her to note down the homework, which I will do on the flight.

Got my white sweater. I think that it will look good with jeans and the leather blazer. I need a casual necklace to go with it, so I’ll raid Mom’s jewelry. Or a scarf? I found a perfect scarf.

Got the garbage and recycling out. It's freaking cold outside. I was going to wear a light trench coat on the flight on Wednesday, but I might need something warmer. Urbana, though, is going to get SNOW tomorrow. I had to contact the property management company and have them turn on the heat.

I'm freaking tired. I think that I'll go to sleep early and get up early and pack. After I find a pair of jeans for the flight. I have lost a lot of weight, so the size 16 jeans will fit me quite nicely.

Found a really nice tan leather blazer in a bag of stuff from Stitch Fix. Went on the Internet to find ideas of how to wear it and bought a white sweater and green jeans. Actually, I think that I’m going to wear it on the Detroit-Chicago flight with blue jeans and a white sweater.

Woke up at 8 AM. I’m trying to convince myself not to go back to sleep because I need to practice guitar and voice.

I bought a cashmere sweater and skirt in burgundy from Quince. Actually, I bet that it would look good with the tan blazer. Or better yet, the pink leather blazer!

Bought some music flashcards. Practiced guitar.

We almost finished the crawl space. I have some papers that I need to go through, and there is some stuff way back in the space. Also, there is a ton of stuff that needs to be shredded, and I discovered that the UPS Store will do that. So I need to gather the shred stuff in boxes before I go there for my Amazon returns tomorrow.

I was sneezing from the dust in the crawl space until the organizer recommended that I wear a mask. It helped.

Had lunch and fed the hordes. Now I'm practicing voice.

Music theory and voice went really well. Guitar was a fiasco. Ah well. I’m kind of muttering,”I do this for fun?” I did buy a system of learning guitar chords that I’ll try when I get back. My teacher wants me to learn “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” but I’m stymied by the C chord.

I’m really tired. I think that I’ll get my laundry started, pack up some stuff in my backpack, set up the AirTags in my suitcases, and go to bed. I need to do some cleaning in the morning.

Mimi has been complaining up a storm, probably because she didn’t get her snuggles this afternoon. She wants me to go lie down. Now she’s snacking.

Got the laundry started. Filled a litter box. Gathered stuff to wash the bathroom floor in the morning. Packed up most of the things to go in my backpack. I couldn't get the AirTag containers that attach to fabric open, so I just tucked the AirTags in pockets of my luggage.

I just remembered that I have French homework. Le sigh. I can't remember what sections of the book we were in though, so I guess that I won't do it.

Time to crash and get up early to clean.

Profile

days_unfolding

May 2026

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

Syndicate

Page Summary

Active Entries

Style Credit

Base style: Patsy by sforzinda
Theme: Clay Deco by timeasmymeasure

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Page generated May. 19th, 2026 10:09 pm

Navigation

Entries tagged with french

The Answer Is Blowing in the Wind

Recession?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Singing Lesson

French Lesson

Appalachian Trail Dreams

Hectic Day

Dentist, Piano Class, and French Lessons

Yay, I Can Go on My Cruise

Trip Planning and Money Tool

Retirement Plans

First Italian Lesson in a While

Back to Work

My Relationship with Foreign Languages

Total Immersion

A Little Progress

Chaos Central

Almost Ready to Go

It Is Nice to Have a Clean House

The Crawl Space is Mostly Done