Joshua Bell is playing in Chicago on August 6th. I'd like to attend the concert, but it’s the middle of the week so no can do.

I separated Bella and the pup. They were being manic, wrestling.

I think that I want to go back to sleep for an hour. I can return the shoes at 5:30 PM if I leave right away.

Bella was getting overexcited and was barking at the pup, so I brought them in early.

Hmm. Bella has gotten used to the ceiling fan in the kitchen, so maybe I could replace the one in the bedroom.

I really want to go back to sleep, but I should shower. Oh, I’ll shower at lunchtime. I need to sleep.

The puppy is tiring Bella out. She’s crashed on the bathroom floor. Oliver is giving himself a bath. Now he's asleep too. I think that the pup is tiring me out too :)

The puppy likes diet cola. Strange pup.

Hmm. The money from my mom's life insurance isn't in the trust. It's a lot of money to be "missing".

I'm still so freaking tired. The doctor says that I have a UTI and is calling in an antibiotic. I'm looking for probiotic yogurt.

I'm going around in circles with Marriott. They say "we're here to help", but they are making it very hard to get a copy of my bill.

I'm going to lie down after work.

I have a vet appointment for Gracie tomorrow morning. I booked a massage on Saturday and a pedicure the following Saturday. Silence from the garage guy.

Crazy dogs are crazy. I'm glad that they're happy. Booted them out of the bedroom. I have Oliver on my lap instead. He’s much more low-key. (Though he used to be manic too, but he’s growing up. He and Lily probably had a birthday around now. Yeah, June and May respectively.)

Overslept my nap. Bella is chewing on Oliver.

The grass was wet outside. They’re predicting more rain overnight. Bella and Gracie were barking at nothing in particular, so I hustled them back in. Fed us all.

The puppy was looking up the stairs and crying. Cat up there?

I should get to bed soon and get up early to return the shoes.

I looked for some shaggy white bath mats to go with the towels and found some. The trick will be to corral the cat litter in the room.

Woke up at 7 AM. Fed us all. Oliver came over to me, and I was petting him, and Bella jumped on me. Jealousy….Lay down for a nap. Bella was barking at the bedroom door for reasons known only to her. I got up to take my meds, and she ate her food and settled down.

Had a nice nap. Oliver was on my lap loving me up, but Bella wanted to “play” with him, which involves pinning him down and biting him. Oliver does not like it. He bites Bella’s ears, but she doesn’t seem to care. Ate lunch. I’m going to lie down for another SHORT nap because I want to make it to Prairie Gardens.

Success. I made it to Prairie Gardens. I wasn’t thrilled with their selection, but I still left with coneflowers, coral bells, and dahlias. Then I went to Home Depot and bought sunflowers and Gerber Daisies. Then I had a gyro at Windy City Express.

Bella gave me her Munchie Bone. I’m honored :) I’m feeding the hordes. I really want to go to sleep soon.

Aargh. I forgot to get twine and metal stakes to mark out the expansion of the front garden. I’ll order it for delivery from Lowe’s.

Bella is fascinated by the sunflowers. I told her that she better watch out because they’re bigger than she is.

I love sitting outside at twilight. It’s so pretty and peaceful. But Bella attacked one of the Gerber Daisies, sigh. It was the only yellow one that they had. I was not pleased and marched her inside the house.

I started on my list of bills for my end-of-life notebook. I told Dad that I was going to make one and to make sure my bills were on automatic payment. Not that I'm planning to drop dead any time soon, but it's good to get things organized.

Great. Bella grabbed my debit card off of the table and ran away with it. Eventually I got it away from her, but there are punctures in it. I’m going to have to go to the bank tomorrow.

Lily got into the napkins and dropped a bunch of them on the floor.

I only live here :)

Woke up at 6:30 AM. They’re predicting rain most of the day. I really want to go back to sleep, but I need to go to the bank to replace my debit card. Maybe I could take a short nap.

One of my irises is blooming. How exciting!

Fed us all. Bella ate Oliver’s food. I told her that she was being annoying.

Time for a short nap. Had a nice nap.

I was looking into whether I could get the bus to O’ Hare on Christmas for my cruise, and the answer is no. I’ll have to go up the day before.

Took Bella out and ran into my neighbors. Bella was very excited.

I got my Paris and Istanbul books and the security cameras. Now I need to find a handyman to put them up. Ordered the batteries for my mower.

Showered and dressed. I’m trying to decide whether to drive to Monticello to pick up my plants today or tomorrow. Rain both days. I’m feeling like sticking close to home and planting the plants that I have.

Went to the bank to get a new debit card. Their machine wasn’t working, so no card. One of the people working at the bank heard what happened and we exchanged “dog talk”. So, I withdrew money because I’m not sure if the payments to my credit cards have posted yet. Got my library books. Got gas for the drive to Monticello, but I’m still thinking of going tomorrow. It’s gloomy today but not raining so far. Bella burst out of the door when I came home, and I told her that’s not good.

Ate lunch with rapt attention from Oliver, Lily, and Bella. Oliver got a hunk of cheese and spinach from my Lean Cuisine pizza. Oliver and Lily ate the cheese, and Bella gobbled up the spinach.

The forecasters say rain in the late afternoon, so I need to get out and get planting. I’ll nap when it starts raining.

Got the plants out of the boxes, and I have coral bells, bee balm, and tickseed. The bee balm will be complicated because I want to pull up the fabric covering the bed, but don’t want to disturb the irises, which are blooming. Planted the coral bells. I need a few more for the side yard. Planted the bee balm. I’m done for the day. I’m pooped, and it’s supposed to start raining.

Napped, but it didn’t rain. Went out and watered the plants.

I’m thinking of going to bed early to get up and clean out the garden bed for the tickseed plants.

I found my missing glasses. Remarkably, they are not broken. They would have been useful when I was bending over planting plants.

Bella was whining, but it was a false alarm. When I was outside, I noticed another box of plants. I won’t order more plants until I know what it is, although I don’t think that it’s coral bells because they came from another company. It was tickseed.

I’m feeling too tired to start cleaning now. I’ll go upstairs and do some things on my computer, and then go to bed.

Ordered some Bonkers dog treats from Amazon. Bella thinks that they are canine crack.

I’m communicating with my dad about a possible trip to see him next year. I think that I’ll do that instead of taking a cruise. He said that late May to early June is the best weather-wise.

Asked for handyman recommendations on NextDoor.

I'll order some coral bells and start wending my way towards bed.

Hmm. Hibiscus is safe for pets. I’d love a container or two of them. But I’d have to winter it over indoors. I wonder if I could suspend a grow light from the basement ceiling? I’d like bougainvillea also. Hmm, it's mildly toxic to dogs. (I do have to worry because Bella eats plants.) On Lowe's site, I found a long grow light with a fixture to hang it from and a timer. That would work.

Now I’m thinking of a retractable awning for my patio-to-be so that I can grow plants on the patio. But I want it to be rainproof. Hmm.

I think that I cracked the dog code. Bella was refusing to come in the kitchen. I couldn’t figure it out, but then it occurred to me that it might be that the ceiling fan was on? I turned it off, and then she came in.

Got up at 7 AM with my alarm. Took an ice-cold shower, which sucked. I need to clear some stuff off of the basement stairs, and then I'll call Ameren to fix the hot-water heater. Lily, Oliver, and Bella attended my shower. Lily is a climber; she was at the top of the shelves in the laundry area of the bathroom.

It’s another gray and rainy day. I’m looking forward to my lunchtime nap.

I got a little money from my check. Placed a grocery order, including cat food and cat litter, and a Costco order for dog food.

Another thing to do in retirement: make printables in Canva and sell them on etsy.

I attended a webinar about the non-financial aspects of retirement, and the speaker gave a list of thought-provoking questions. It was very interesting. I took tons of notes. He said that people spend a lot of time thinking about money and where to live, but not the other aspects. I requested What Color Is Your Parachute in Retirement? from the library. I was able to get Purposeful Retirement for free with Kindle Unlimited, so I'll read it now.

Holy cow! I received a ton of plants for my garden. One set was the coral bells for my shade garden, but I think that the rest is tickseed? Maybe bee balm?

Tried to nap but couldn’t sleep. I think that the excitement about my garden kept me awake. I need to expand a garden bed, so I need to charge the tiller.

Got my food. Yay. I no longer have to eat Ramen and canned food. (That reminds me that I should replenish my stash though.) And the cats have food and litter. I need to get more litter when I get more money though. (All the boxes need to be changed out, and I have three jugs of litter.)

The Ameren guy came by and turned the pilot light on the water heater back on and told me how to light it myself in case it goes out again. The furnace is working.

Geesh. The rain is coming down in buckets. I don't think that I'll be able to plant my new plants today.

Hmm. There were a series of attempted vehicle thefts on campus that sound a lot like what happened to my car. They are targeting Kia and Hyundai cars.

Took Bella out, but it was pouring, so she noped out onto the porch.

Someone working on the slides for the presentation at work tomorrow told me of a change that I needed to make. I had to wait until he unlocked the file though, so I left work early with the plan that I would log on tonight. Meant to sleep for two hours but slept four.

The dog and cats were hungry and in my face. Fed us all. (I eat last so that they’re more likely to let me be.)

Found a new social group to try: the Illinois Club.

Oh crud. I forgot to buy napkins.

Okay, tweaked my slides and practiced the presentation. Wow, I'm going to be talking a lot!

I think that I'll post, take Bella out one more time, and go back to sleep.

I overslept, so I need to jam. I got everything done except the bedroom. I'll clean it myself.

Lily was playing with a ball, so I gave Oliver one. So Lily started playing with the one that I gave to Oliver. Cats!

My cleaner is here. Yay! She likes the new-to-her kitties and dog. She found a leak in the toilet, sigh. It probably needs replacing. I need to get a plumber in here also because the faucet in that bathroom is dripping. She says that she gets endorphins from cleaning. I'm the exact opposite. I'm able to walk right by a mess and not "see" it. When I'm cleaning, my back starts hurting and I'm done. She recommended Mrs. Meyers for non-toxic cleaning.

This is great though. Because it's going to rain, I'll get the bedroom and upstairs done and mop the living room floor. Then I'll need to get a carpet cleaner in for the upstairs, but that might have to wait until after my conference trip.

I’m telling Bella that the house looks nicer without shredded toilet paper and paper towels, but she stole the napkin on my lap while I was eating dinner, so I think that she’s not convinced. Now Bella is chewing a stick and getting wood splinters all over the nice clean floor. But I’d rather that she chew that instead of my stuff.

The trust said that they thought that the check would be ready on Tuesday.

Got the forms in for doggie day care.

Okay. Quince has an outfit that I want for the flight. A linen tank top, pants, and blazer in "driftwood" (ecruish). I could wear it to church too when I start going.

At the doctor’s office. I got a blood test that I had been putting off beforehand. The doctor is running really late. And I have stomach cramps. I finally saw the doctor, and she asked me why I was there, and I said, "Because you had me set up a follow-up appointment!" We did talk about my impacted ear wax, and she told me to use Debrox and come back, and they'll have a nurse irrigate my ear.

I’m completely wiped out. I’m thinking of going to bed extremely early. I need to run to the library tomorrow along with planting the bare root ferns.

I discovered where Oliver likes to nap—on one of the chairs in the kitchen. When the chair is pushed in, I can’t see him.

Got us all fed. Noodled around on the Internet. I'm going to feed the beasties and crash.

I napped again for an hour and a half. Then I took Bella out and fed the beasts. Now I'm at work. Oliver and Lily have been chasing each other and unplugged the docking station for my work computer. Sigh. They love my mom's wingback chair, so I'm looking for a new one for the library. I found a new one, but I would like to get a used one but have found nothing so far. I found a new one that I like with a footstool, but it's $500. Yikes.

Getting both Oliver and Lily was a great idea though. They keep each other entertained.

It might rain both Saturday AND Sunday. Terrific (NOT!)

I never mentioned that the door to the basement and back door is not shutting, I guess because the wood has swelled. It occurred to me to get a hook and eye for each side to close it to keep the cats out. I ordered them from Lowe's and also ordered a cordless drill because the one that I have doesn't have all the pieces. I received the hook and eye packages, but the drill will get here on Saturday. Now the door is working. I only live here.

My glasses fell off of the table, and I stepped on them. Sigh. I need to order another pair of glasses for around the house that are tight for bending over. My other glasses are more fragile and slip. I tried Glasses USA, thinking that they would be cheaper than Zenni, but not really.

Oliver and Lily have finally settled down.

I attended a Webinar about the relationship between physical activity and the immune system. It's inspiring me to get more exercise. I registered for a yoga class this Saturday and will take Bella for a walk.

Bella, Oliver, and Lily were attending my shower. Lily was trying to take a nap with all the chaos swirling around her. She's tough.

I'm feeling like crying for no good reason. I'm feeling overwhelmed. I think that I'm having a delayed reaction over how the trip worked out. Plus I have a dental appointment this afternoon, and I almost forgot about it.

I'm using my new Holland America glass for soda. Now I can wash the other one!

Note to self: check supply of 9-volt batteries

The dental appointment went well. I got two fillings and a CT scan of my mouth. They were very efficient. I'm hungry but I'm waiting for the numbness to wear off. I’m taking advantage of the wait by making pizza.

I have been bringing out recycling when I take Bella out, so all I have to do is roll the bin and flatten cardboard boxes and take the boxes out (done).

The pizza is knocking me out, so I'm going to go to bed and get up early to walk Bella.

Panama Canal Lock Closing

Someone (Oliver, I’m looking at you) dumped Mimi’s dry food all over the kitchen floor. Little pig :) That’s going to be a bitch to clean up. He is not feeling guilty though. Bella is eating it.

Lily and Oliver are chasing each other upstairs.

I'm pondering working part-time as a travel agent when I retire. The question is where I would get leads. It would be fun though.

Thunderstorms tonight, which will play havoc with my taking Bella out for a walk. Maybe they'll be over quickly.

I’m trying to decide whether to rake leaves this weekend. Arguably, I should hire someone because I’m the only person who can declutter, but Mimi’s hospitalization and the hotel and flying back were very expensive. Maybe if I get up early, I can do both. At least, I called and the U of I vet hospital has Mimi's carrier, so I won't have to buy a new one for Lily. I'll stop by later or tomorrow to pick it up depending on the weather. There's a tornado watch until 9, so I will go afterward. Though I need to get the recycling out too.

Lily likes the front window upstairs (as well as the fish tank). I had put a rocking chair in the window, thinking that a cat would like to sit in it, but no one has until now.

Urgh, I have a stiff neck already, probably from stress. I need to make an appointment for a massage.

My daffodils are coming up and also those daylilies that Bella didn't dig up. I want to transplant them near the street but I'll let them bloom first.

I'm pricing carpet cleaners.

Here come the storms. They stayed in the distance. There was a tornado miles away. Okay, now it seems to be storming.

Fed everyone except me. Now I ate too. Bella wanted my frozen yogurt bar, but I ate it.

Did dishes and brought down recycling. Maybe I’ll post while I’m waiting for the storms to clear up. Now the forecast is saying that the rain should stop in three minutes. I could get the recycling out. No, I’ll wait until 9 PM when the watches and alerts end.

I ordered a "dusk to dawn" light bulb for the porch for delivery from Lowe's. I completely forgot to get a light bulb.

Fuck. I overslept until after 6 AM. The zap things went off, but I incorporated them into my dream. It’s doubly annoying because I woke up at 3:30 but went back to sleep. I’ll need to skip choir to get things done. Anyway, I should get cracking.

I forgot to mention yesterday that my neighbor came over to say “Hi” to Bella, and Bella gave her a kiss through the fence. Then her husband came over, and Bella hid behind me :) She said that a neighbor’s dog might be a good playmate for Bella.

Speaking of Bella, she got into the magnets for my cruise ship door. Sigh. I hope that she didn't swallow one.

My choir director is SO nice. I told her that I wouldn't be at choir tonight, and she said to have a safe trip and happy practicing!

I booked WiFi and another "fine dining" restaurant on the ship. Sheesh, the second restaurant was expensive, but filet mignon is calling my name. Or "surf and turf". This trip, I'm indulging myself.

I'm looking at Japan cruises for 2027. I'd prefer one that also includes Hong Kong, a "bucket list" place. Holland America has one that goes all over Japan, but no Hong Kong. Norwegian has one that I like, but no Hong Kong. Hmm. I like this one on Norwegian.

We have a toilet paper winner. The Who Gives a Crap? recycled paper is strong and soft and recycled! I do want to start the process for getting a bidet when I come back though. I need to have an electrical outlet put in near the toilet.

I was looking into food when I arrive in Miami. Uber Eats has food while DoorDash does not. I found something that I like, but I don't know if it will be open late because I'm getting in late. I'll find something.

I ordered another alarm for under my pillow to get up early on Wednesday.

Ugh. The weather in Chicago on Wednesday, the day of my flight, is supposed to be rainy and windy, with possible snow. Worst case, I leave a day later and miss my Miami tour.

I booked a conference in Chicago in May. I'll have to see if people are available to connect with. I also booked a conference in Atlanta in June.

I'm trying to decide whether to do the U of I's Student Farm's CSA for produce. I probably won't be set up for growing vegetables until late in the season. By the way, I found some raised boxes that I like for growing produce.

I’m plugging away at the kitchen and making progress. Bella and Oliver are very manic and are (not!) helping. Lily wants to go down in the basement. Bella was being manic beyond belief, so I shut her in the bedroom to calm down and give the cats a respite. It worked; she's a lot calmer.

I'm still working on the kitchen but have made tons of progress. I brought some mail upstairs, and Mimi started meowing, so I decided to post.

Reading the effects of the funding withdrawal from universities is making me sad. I work for a university, but not in research, so I’m probably okay. But I wonder what I can do for the university. They have been saying business as usual for the time being.

I’m going to investigate getting a Lithuanian (EU) passport after I get back from my trip. I want to keep my options open.

Someone is looking for a large dog bed on Buy Nothing. I’m going to wash Bella’s old one and give it away if it comes out okay.

I stayed up until 1 AM messing around. Exactly what I don’t need to be doing. I’ll set “quiet hours“ on my phone right now. When I was getting ready for bed, Bella was lying flat on the floor and Oliver was yawning. I can get the hint.

Woke up at 8 AM. It’s snowing and looks completely uninviting to run errands. Bella went out, peed, and wanted to come back in. I’m thinking about a Plan B for errands. I’ll be at Ulta next Friday to get my brows done and can buy makeup then. I need to look at my other errands. I can get some stuff on Amazon. Actually, I found some eyeshadow and such on Amazon too.

Lily is showing me her belly. New frontiers in dog grossness: I had to pull dangling poop from Bella and wash smeared poop off of her butt. Did I say “Gross!!!” Oliver is looking out the window at the snow.

Ordered makeup on Amazon. Ordered some chicken wire (there’s a small gap in the fence) for delivery from Lowe’s.

I think that it’s nap time. I had Bella, Oliver, and Lily in the bedroom for a while, which did not look restful. Bella chased Lily out, and Oliver decided to see what Lily was doing. Whew. NOW it’s nap time.

I just realized that I need wire cutters for the chicken wire. Sigh.

Napped. While I was out with Bella, my colleague and her daughter delivered my Girl Scout cookies. I’m making lunch, so cookies for dessert!

I’m feeling like I need another nap, but I’m probably just groggy.

Fuck. The remainder of my Lowe’s items are in a pickup locker at Lowe’s. I wanted all my items delivered, not just the first one. I can’t get there before Tuesday. Well, maybe Monday after choir. I reordered them for delivery.

Took another nap and overslept. Now it’s shower time. I need to feed the hordes too.

I’m preheating the oven for pizza and cleaning the kitchen floor. Bella does not like me cleaning the floor and bit me hard enough to hurt. Lily, on the other hand, likes the cleaning.

I used my Apple Watch to find my phone, which had fallen on the floor. It worked well, but it took me a while to realize that I needed to log into the phone to get the beeping to stop.

Oh crap. Lily ate some tomato sauce off of the pizza. I Googled and got some bad signs to watch out for. My bad; I didn’t put the pizza away fast enough. So far, she seems okay though.

I swapped out the recycling bin inside for an empty one. And Lily went down into the basement. Sigh.

I’m starting into my night routine and will get up early. The "quiet hours" on my phone worked well. Sometimes I overrode them, but I did spend more time cleaning than I usually have. I'll leave them turned on.

I need to make a list of things that I want an electrician to do: motion-sensitive light on porch, outdoor outlets, Nest thermostat and doorbell, outlet in bathroom for bidet, outlet near fish tank….Huh. Should I get the ceiling fan in my bedroom replaced? Might as well because it would be nice to have in the summer.

I didn't get up early to get the recycling out. I need to get it loaded up on the weekend.

Ran out and deposited my check. It's cold out (0F/-18C wind chill this morning), but seeing the temperatures that sunshine_two is dealing with shamed me into going out. It wasn't too bad. However, there was ice glued to my windshield that took forever to get off. I want to have the money available this weekend to go get makeup for my trip. I'm also wondering if I should get my brows waxed and laminated (booked an appointment in a week). Should I get my nails done? Booked an appointment right before the trip. I need to remember to give myself a pedicure too.

Had my therapy session. She's glad that I want to expand my social network. I told her about the political group and also that I want to join the Unitarian Church after I get back from my trip. I also found a tropical fish group that I might join. I wonder if I could join the Friends of the Urbana Library?

Submitted a grocery order.

I think that when I retire, I want to work on a database for planting flowers if I can get the data. Meanwhile, I’ll add entries on my Hotmail calendar.

Fed the dog and myself. I’m about to feed Oliver and Lily. Then I need to corral Oliver to 1) feed Mimi and Zara and 2) bring one of the recycling bins inside the back door so that I can throw stuff in it at 1 AM if I want to (done).

Bella is whining because the cats don’t want to play with her. I told her that if someone larger than me pinned me, I wouldn’t want to play with them either. This is tough for her doggy brain to comprehend. She ran laps around the building until she got tired though.

I should get Bella a job breaking down boxes. She’s good at it, but she tends to break them into small pieces.

Oliver and Lily are filling out nicely. They’re a lot more shaped like a grown cat.

I think that I want to wait for my grocery order (between 9 and 11 PM) and then go to bed. I think that I’ll put stuff on my calendar in the meantime.

I ordered a couple of hardcover books to read on the plane. The rest will be on the Kindle. (I should find my Kindle so that I don’t run down my phone. Oh, I need to pack my battery bank. I need to make a packing list.)

Having a recycling bin inside was a great idea. I have 2/3 of a bin filled. I’m working on Bella’s “lair” outside of the kitchen. She thinks that this is a game and is nipping me. Sigh.

I received my grocery order. I’m going to go up and post and feed the hordes. What is Bella barking at? It's a mystery.

I put wallpaper on my laptop that relates to the cruise (Panama Canal, Puerto Vallarta, Miami). I looked for one with a sloth (Costa Rica), but all the ones that I saw were AI representations. I'm getting excited!