days_unfolding

I'm feeling a little better today. I enjoyed some of my meetings at work and talked a lot. Maybe I'm coming out of the med withdrawal symptoms, but I go to the doctor tomorrow.

Oh! One of the Aerogarden plugs has a tiny sprout! No, there's two sprouts! No, there's even more!

I've been looking at reprints of vintage travel posters for the upstairs. One said "Paris is always a good idea". I have to get that. And I was looking for a picture to go up near the ceiling where I want to put the standing desk, and found a picture of Hana, Maui, Hawaii, which is one of my favorite spots on earth. I wishlisted a new version of my map of Italy because my old one got crumpled in the move. Ooh, and I also want a Paris Metro map. And the London Underground.

Mimi has discovered the futon mattress (and now Zara too). Anyone who stays with me better not be allergic to cats because I doubt that I'll keep the futon completely free of cat fur and cat dander. One of the mattress-cleaning articles that I read suggested a Bissell Little Green Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner, and I also need to clean Mom's rugs, so I'll get one (done). I ordered the enzyme cleaner for the mattress and some file folders to finish my filing system setup.

I'm figuring out what books I want upstairs and what books downstairs in the living room and music room. Some are obvious: computer programming books upstairs, travel books and garden books in the living room, and music books in the music room.

I ordered an electric cordless Worx lawn mower that comes with two batteries. It has good reviews on Amazon. Lawn mowing soon! And it's starting to need mowing soon.

I'm setting priorities on what spend money on. I obviously had to get the lawn mower. I suppose that I could have waited to get the carpet cleaner, but I really want to get the futon mattress cleaned and folded up. I've decided that I'll wait on getting the garden put in until after my mom's house sells. Buying bookshelves is more important so that I can get the house organized. I need to stash some money from the estate sale for spending money for my Italy trip. And I need to stash money for property taxes. And I need to pay for the cruise in November. And I need to take the cats to the vet. Also, I think that I'll get two posters a month until I get all the posters that I want. Oh, and I have to get the tree in the back taken down.

Now I'm thinking that I won't go to New York City for Christmas this year because I'd like to spend Christmas in my new house. I might even put lights up! And my "Charlie Brown" tree. And staying home is cheaper :)

I submitted an enormous Walmart order, including food, cleaning fluid for the power mop and carpet cleaner, and a rake and yard waste bags. And I also ordered some really cute bins for the cube organizer to go into the guest room.

Hmm. I should get a composting bin, but probably not until after Mom's house sells.

Hmm. I want to put my white board over the work desk for to-do lists. The only thing is that in order to be able to reach it, when I get the standing desk, it'll not be available when the desk is at standing height. (I want to get one that goes up and down.) But I still want to put it up now. It might be a long while before I get the standing desk.

I dropped off my returns at the UPS store. I tried to ship the CPAP, but it was over $100 and didn’t go through. I think that I’ll have to drive it to Springfield and eat the three-hour round trip. Sigh.

I'm looking at ground cover (now that I bought a lawn mower!) and like microclover. But I doubt that I'll switch over the lawn this year. Actually they say to do it in the fall. I just bought the book Groundcover Revolution. (My Amazon return money is going into gardening books!) I also consulted with a friend from high school who is into "natural" gardening.

I have a hard time doing homework late at night. I'm waiting for my enormous Walmart order, but then I think that I'll go to bed and get up early. I need to get up early anyway because I have my doctor's appointment at 9 AM, and I want to allow enough time to get lost because I haven't been there before.

Zara says, "Food is love!"

Oooh, I saw an ad for this purple smoke tree on Facebook, and it would look cool in the back yard.

If I like the Aerogarden, I might get a second one for cherry tomatoes. Or cooking herbs for the winter.

I'm now thinking of getting a new electric lawn mower rather than dealing with the one that I haven't gotten to work. I found a small, fairly cheap one that gets decent reviews.

Cool. Burnalong has a decluttering class that I want to take.

So sleepy this morning. I thought that I had a meeting with my professor today, but it's tomorrow.

I've decided to put my herb garden in pots on the porch. I need to go back to the storage unit to get more pots.

I’m getting pretty good about turning off lights, computers, etc., when I’m not using them. But the Aerogarden is on all day.

I was looking at Endless Pools. (They are small pools with a current, so that you can swim laps without going anywhere.) I’d want one indoors though, so I’d need an extension on the house. No time soon though. I wonder if I could get a home equity loan for one. I could use the pool room as a sunroom too and put my orchids in there. I found a company called Sunshine Rooms that creates aluminum sunrooms.

I decided that I should put in wall-hanging bookcase shelves upstairs. They would fit my space and would be cheaper than having bookcases built. I found some on Bed, Bath, and Beyond that would work well. I need a "stud finder" to proceed.

I've been emailing Dad about lawn mowers, hanging pictures on the slated walls upstairs, and saving up for home renovations. He had good suggestions.

I was bringing stuff from the wicker chest in the guest room downstairs. I have bedding to bring upstairs.

My Asian art posters look great in the warm bathroom. I need to get a new frame for one of them because the backing has curled. And I want to put various figurines on the bookcase in there. I also found a poster of the Alhambra that I want to put in there.

My money tree has resurrected itself. It looks nice in the window.

I decided to read Jan Morris’ The World of Venice next. It’s good. The Road Scholars have a good reading list.

I dropped off the FedEx items that I was returning. Went to the grocery store and got potatoes, chives, and sour cream (and dessert and soda). Came home and put clothes in the dryer. Wrote some Italian flashcards. Put sweaters away in my closet. Wrestled the air mattress down in the basement. Soaked a litter box.

Oh crud. I forgot about my TA’s Office Hours tonight.

I had a sour-cream-and-chive potato, and oh, was it delicious. I have to get more.

I’m going to finish tidying the kitchen and then go to bed.