days_unfolding

Overslept until 8 AM. Oh well.

My Italian teacher was nice about skipping next week. (We have an in-person meeting, and I'll be driving to it during the Italian time.)

The travel Meetup people also have a Yosemite trip that I might do sometime. I never went there when I lived in California!

Oliver is playing with his beloved little plastic ball. He carries it around in his mouth!

Got my groceries.

I saved a link to a hydration pack for larger people. That might be good for wandering around Italy. (I haven't forgotten almost passing out in Florence.) And the Sardinia trip will be in August.

The car repair people called. They want me to bring the car by so that the painter can match the color of the car. I said tomorrow morning. No, I'm going to take my shower during lunch and come by in the late afternoon. Crud, on the way back, I discovered that the stereo isn't getting any power. I called the repair shop, and they'll look at it when they put the new lock on. Hell, is this ever going to get over with?

The next "official" protest being held by the group that I joined is on May 1st. Crud, that's a work day.

I'm having a tough time finding someone to let Bella out at lunchtime during my meetings next week. I'm looking into doggie day care as an alternative. Called a place and they're sending over a release form.

I'm thinking of shelling out for a Roam hardside suitcase. They're pricey, but are supposedly well made. My Hartmann case has gotten stained, which is the disadvantage of softside luggage.

Bella, Oliver, and Lily attended my shower. Lily walked around on the shower stall and then jumped in. I thought that she might want to leave, so I opened the door and Oliver walked in. Then Bella walked in. I got Bella to leave but had to remove Lily, protesting. Oliver decided to leave on his own steam. Partway through my shower, both Oliver and Lily were standing on the shower stall batting at each other. Those two are a laugh riot!

Flaming headache.

Apparently my cleaner was texting me to confirm for tomorrow and I missed the messages. I hope that we're still on. We are.

Received the ferns for my garden. They are bare roots plants, which Bella likes to dig up and play with. I'll need to plant them this weekend, rain or not, and dig deeper to hide them.

Hmm. I haven't gotten the itineraries from the Meetup travel people yet. I'm pondering going over to Paris an extra couple of days early to wander around and follow ChatGPT's tours.

I went on the BBC’s app, and they were streaming the debate in Canada, so I left it on while I was cleaning up the kitchen. It was interesting. They brought up some of the same issues being discussed in the US. They are taking Trump's wish to annex Canada seriously. The discussion about healthcare was interesting. They were saying that their system was getting more privatized, and I was wondering why. There also was a discussion about Canada's role in supporting the Ukraine now that the US is no longer doing so. The polite Canadians were talking over each other! Anyway, I learned something and also got stuff done on the house.

I got a bad case of the shakes and did something to my knee. I'm going to go to sleep and get up very early to finish tidying. I'll set a wakeup call to make sure that I'll get up.

I did get some snuggle time with Zara. Yay. She’s still my girl. And it fills me with oxytocin (the “love hormone“), so it helps me too. She's still eating well and seems to be in good shape. (She's 16, so I'm keeping a close eye on her.)

Overslept this morning, so I wouldn't have time to shower before Italian. But my Internet was down. I finally figured out that I missed a payment and they suspended my account. I paid it, and it came back up at 8 AM. Technically, I could have logged into Italian, but I wasn't in decent shape to be seen, so I told my teacher that I was still working on the problem. But the Internet was up in plenty of time for work, and I had time to take a shower.

It's freaking cold out. The plants that I covered look okay, and so do the daffodils, tulips, daylilies, and chives. (I figured that they are used to a cold snap, so I didn't cover them.) I think that it's too cold to rake today, so I'll just give the recycling people what I have. I'll hire someone to rake once I get the money from the trust.

Urgh. My neck is getting really stiff.

I’m mulling over getting a wood stove for the living room. It would be very cozy. It would have to have glass doors to keep curious creatures out.

I need to spend some time cleaning up the upstairs this weekend because I want to get the carpet cleaned as soon as I get the trust money.

Got the garbage out. Took Bella for a walk. She was really happy. I need to spend more time making Bella and Zara happy. Oliver and Lily are more independent.

I forgot to soak the cat dishes, so I came up to post. Then I'll feed the critters and spend some time with Zara, practice piano, do dishes, put laundry in the dryer, and go to bed.

Here is a picture of Lily and Oliver in the window that I took yesterday:

Oh, I forgot to mention that I discussed the timing of the Sardinia trip with my boss, and she said to do what works for me. She's also planning a trip to Italy, so we talked about it. I'm glad that I have a cool boss.

Hmm. It occurred to me that I could plan a quieter, gentler trip to Italy. Maybe I could go to Sardinia, stay in Cagliari, poke around, and go to the beach. I’m doing some research. I found a hotel that I like. Maybe I could do Italian language lessons? I think that there is a language school there? Language school I'm trying to find out how I'd get there. It looks like I'd need to fly to Rome and then take another flight to Sardinia. Excellent. The language school is a 10 minute bus ride from the hotel. I found a guidebook to Sardinia too. The weather is still good in Sardinia in September. I found a good flight too. (Apparently the more direct route is to fly to another European city, in this case Munich, and then get a flight from that city to Sardinia. I saw another route that had four flights! No!) I found a store that sells linen clothes that I’d like to check out.

Got up at 6:30 AM. The Kia is still here, so I need to stay up. Maybe I’ll start work early.

I found a place that sells astilbe (the bare-root plants that Bella has been digging up) in pots. Not cheap though.

I rescheduled my massage appointment to later this month. My membership renewal is upcoming, so I didn’t know if the massage would be paid for. Plus, I can just come home after the protest. I need to figure out where I can park for the protest. Okay, I have a plan.

They picked up the Kia. Apparently, I was supposed to leave the keys in the car, but they didn't tell me that.

I talked to the people who have Mimi's ashes, and I made arrangements to take 1/2 a vacation day on Wednesday to go get them in Bloomington (about an hour from here).

Got my food delivered.

Overslept my nap. I am so freaking tired.

Here comes a storm. Urgh, the weather will be lousy for the protest tomorrow.

Hmm. Holland America wants to "help" me book my flights. I wonder if they would book it earlier than the cruise starts.

I took Bella outside, and she wanted to come in right away after she peed. I told her that she wouldn’t like it out! It’s pouring now. And there’s thunder and lightning.

Someone on Facebook posted a protest sign, “You know things are bad when librarians start protesting”. Totally stealing that.

Apparently, the car repair place called for me to come sign an authorization. I didn’t get the message until after they closed though, so I’ll go on Monday morning.

Napped and woke up at 11:30 PM. Oliver had snuck in and was biting my leg. He was hungry. All right then. Bella was playing in the mud outside. :(

I’m too groggy to make my protest sign now, so I’ll get up early to do it.

Ugh. Bella got a big smear of mud on my jeans. And I want to wash them to wear tomorrow.

Oliver is snoozing upstairs. I ate a turnover and got Bella’s and Lily’s rapt attention. Lily has a favorite spot in the front window where she can see Bella and I come in.

I know. The pet-sitter-to-be can get water from the quarantine tank for the main aquarium. That would work.

Got up a little after 6 AM. Took Bella out and put the cat dishes on to soak. I’m going back to sleep and will take a shower at lunchtime. Overslept but made it to work.

Oliver and Lily seem to be playing Hide and Go Seek. Now they're wrestling. And galloping around upstairs. I found my work laptop knocked over when I came upstairs. Apparently, they play during the night. I hear them upstairs.

The trust people said that I would have my tax form ready when I got back. Now she says that she doesn't handle taxes, but she can see if the form is ready. They are annoying me.

Headache.

Fed the beasts. Oliver was being a jerk and kept eating Lily's food, even though he had food. The cats have settled down. Lily is looking out Mimi's window. Now she's crashed out cold by the front window.

Showered during lunch, attended by Bella and Oliver. Bella chewed a hole in my sock. Oliver was meowing.

I need to order canned dog food from Costco.

Bella had an appointment for booster shots, and she was a very good girl. She has figured out that when I ask her to go into the car, we're going from place to place, but I'm not giving her away, so she'll jump right in. She peed a little at the vet but otherwise was very good. I told her that after she gets dog training, I'll take her in the car to the dog park. They have a special place for more timid dogs. Also, she seems to like collars better than harnesses. Good to know.

I am not looking forward to explaining what happened with my cruise at choir. Well, some people didn’t know what to say, so I added, “But my other cats and dog were glad to see me “. Rehearsal itself went well. Bella was thrilled that I came home :)

I need to feed the beasties, take Bella out one more time, and crash hard because I have Italian tomorrow morning. I’m not looking forward to explaining what happened to my teacher too :(

Had my Italian lesson. She's excited about my trip, and told me to be ready to tell her about it in Italian.

The Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana are having a concert on Sunday. I'd like to go but might need the time to get organized for my trip. You can buy tickets at the door, so I guess that I'll decide at the last minute.

I have to say that it's weird but freeing, knowing that I don't ever want another job (I'm planning to retire from this one) or need new skills. I do want to study in retirement though to keep my mind sharp. The uni also has short lecture series for retirees.

Ordered my prescriptions to be sent to me. One less errand....

Took Mimi to the vet. Her weight is staying stable, so we’re just going to keep an eye on her. I asked if there was a way to weigh her at home, and the vet suggested that I use my scale and weigh myself with and without her. I also want to use the carrier because she doesn’t like being held. But my scale needs batteries.

Dropped off my ballot. Ran to the post office. Picked up some odds and ends at Walgreens, including some trial-sized stuff for my trip and batteries.

Now I went out with Bella and am feeding the beasts.

Had my piano lesson, which was a fiasco. First my teacher was in the wrong lesson. She was calling me, but I wasn’t answering because I didn’t know who it was. I finally answered a text. Then she chewed me out (justifiably) because I didn’t practice everything on her list. And I’m so tired that I’m almost shaking.

I need to gather garbage to take out (done). I want to start the food process and post, but Lily is stretched out very relaxed on my lap. Now she dug her claws in my leg and started biting, which is less charming.

For some reason, the song "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" was playing in my head, so I listened to it. Actually, my internal radio started with "Southern Cross" and changed to "Suite..." Why songs pop into my head, I don't know.

Now I'm upstairs to post. Mimi almost came downstairs earlier, but saw Lily, and beat a hasty retreat. I was surprised that she did that.

I had my Italian lesson. The teacher thinks that my trip sounds fabulous. Wellesley has a free online Italian course that I might work on. That would give me daily tasks in Italian.

I just realized that I need to clean out the back seat of the car for Bella's vet trip tomorrow.

A while back, I bought a pair of gym shoes that were waterproof. They got sent to Michigan by accident, got lost, and got found again. I brought them back home, and then I wasn't sure what I did with them. I found them in the bathroom and are wearing them now. They would be great for going out in the yard with Bella. They kept my feet warm and dry outside. We have a winner!

Had my dental appointment. They came up with a treatment plan including implants, which I asked for. The total today is for $10,000, but they said that if I waited until July for the implants, insurance would cover more of it. We're going to start work after I get back from my trip.

I canceled my piano lesson tonight because I’m too tired. I need to feed the critters and lie down. Got the garbage out. Fed us all.

Napped and woke up at midnight. My piano teacher made a video for me.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I ordered and got recycled toilet paper. That should do my bit for the environment until I get a bidet.

Running late this morning, so I decided to take a shower during lunch. My Echo alarm did not go off.

Mimi sez that it's lap time.

Holy cow, it’s 62F/17C today! No wonder that Bella didn’t want to come in!

I'm going to have to log on tonight and finish up some stuff for work. We have a presentation on Thursday that crept up on me.

The local Indivisible group got back to me. They're having a Zoom meeting on Saturday. They're concentrating on local elections though. There is a counter-Trump rally in Chicago on Wednesday at our Senators’ offices, but I can't go. If they had one in Springfield, I would have tried to go, but a 2.5 hour train trip each way is not happening. I’ll call my Senators’ offices though. Heh. I’m on a Representative’s email list in California.

The trust is freaking out over my wanting the money from the sale of my mom's house, even though I've said that I wanted it several times.

I'm feeling like crying for no good reason. Overwhelmed.

My bad day continued. I couldn’t find my water bottle, so I brought soda in with me to choir. And spilled it. But the singing was nice. And some young women were thrilled that I was a librarian and had heard of the consortium for which I work. That was nice.

I’m wiped out. I think that I’ll get up early to work on my slides for work. Oh crud, I have Italian tomorrow morning, so I need to do my homework for that too.

It’s going to be a lot colder tomorrow.

I should have gotten Bella’s collar, leash, and harness in this Amazon shipment. So we can work on harness training. She’s happy that I’m home from choir.

The university for which I work sponsors trips abroad for alumni. They have some nice trips. Something to keep in mind.

Had my Italian lesson. She wished me luck with Mimi. We were talking about “una casa stile,” a stylish house. She asked me if I had a stylish house, and I said that with four cats and a dog, I have a chaotic house :) She laughed.

Speaking of Mimi, she walked around the fountain to get to her bowl to drink. Sigh. She did eat her food though.

Mimi's bloodwork was normal. The vet is going to give us an anti-nausea medication. We're going to do a follow up in three to four weeks to see how her weight is doing. If she's still losing weight, then we'll do an ultrasound.

My dad recommended that I move my assets to Charles Schwab. I filled out a form for them to contact me.

I ordered the shims for the fish tank.

I have a taste for Chinese food, but shouldn't spend the money. I found a place on DoorDash though that has Empress Chicken, which I like. I used to get it in a great Chinese restaurant in Lincoln. Okay, I did order it. I should get three meals out of it though, which brings down the price a little.

Bella’s wet food bowl is missing. WTF? (I found it.) And I missed Bella’s cues and she pooped in the bathroom while I was outside getting my DoorDash.

The food was really good. Oliver earned a trip to the bathroom with the door closed because he tried hard to swipe my Crab Rangoon. (Bella and Lily were interested too but less obnoxious about it.)

Gathered the garbage with Oliver repeatedly crawling into the garbage bag. Thanks, Oliver. Got the toilet paper and paper towels that Bella shredded cleaned up in the cold bathroom. Oliver dashed down in the basement (I can’t get too upset because Zara and Mimi have been down there), so I took advantage of his distraction to get the garbage out. However, the door to the basement was left open, so Lily is probably down there too. Yep.

I worked on Operation get Bella to walk on a harness and leash. I got the harness on her, but it was a little tight. Also, the buckles were a bitch to get on and off. I took her outside to play ball, but the harness was bugging her, so I took her in and got it off. I gave her lots of treats while she had it on. Then I took her out to play ball without it. Bella lost the ball somewhere in the yard. I ordered a new, simpler harness for delivery tomorrow. (Bella is not used to a harness and leash. She grew up in the country where she was mostly off leash.)

Oliver came up from the basement but Lily was enamored of it. It took some time to get her trust down there. Then I abused it by picking her up and taking her upstairs.

I need to get into the nightly feeding routine and then post and print off some piano stuff. Then I’ll practice piano and singing; I need to get my act together about practicing, plus I can spend quality time with Zara. Then I’ll go to bed.

The pup is asleep under the kitchen table :)

I posted the following as a comment on dadi's journal, which I thought that I should post in my journal as well:

Thanks for your thoughtful post. I have been following the (US and world) news, but don't know what to do about it (plus I've been distracted by my new fur kids). I came up with a bit of an action plan:

1. Donate money to the American Civil Liberties Union, which often will sponsor court cases on civil liberties matters in the US.

2. Donate money to Amnesty International (although one of their action items is to sign a petition against Trump's actions. Yeah, like that would help.)

3. Join the Unitarian church, which I've been talking about for years. They have Social Justice committees, one of which is on immigration. I'm not sure what they can do in the face of Trump's actions, but at least I'll be with like-minded people to discuss actions.

Any additional thoughts would be welcome.

Bella has found a way to play with Oliver. They play a little rough, but no one is getting hurt so okay. She also wants to play with Lily, but Lily is having none of it, which is just as well because Lily is so delicate. Lily has no fear of telling Bella to back off though. She's like the tiny cat that ROARED! She seems to have grown some too, but I think that she’ll be smaller than Oliver.

I requested to sign up for the 3D Italian Campus, but haven't heard back yet. It sounds like a very well organized course, and I can practice with my Italian teacher. The point, though, is to do a lesson every day.

I had two cats and a dog watching me get ready for bed. Apparently, I need supervision.

Bella: The best toys are found toys. Me: Ummm.…I’m going to sign her up for the obedience training class and we’ll shop for some toys afterwards.

I'm leaving Zara's door open except when she's eating because I hope to get her integrated into the rest of the family. She has seen Bella several times but is unsure of her.

Got up on time but decided to spend the day in pajamas. I'm very sleepy. It's a good morning, though, when I had a purring Lily and purring Mimi on my lap.

Went to enroll Bella in a training class, only to discover that her medical record says only "adult vaccines". Texted the shelter, asking for a list. Oh crud, it looks like the class is full. The next class runs into my trip. I need to look into other classes. The Dog Training Club of Champaign-Urbana has Spring session classes starting on March 30th. I could do that. I'm kind of curious about "nose" training classes too because Bella tracks steps in the yard.

I didn’t close the door fast enough when I went for my nap, and Oliver burrowed under the covers. Okay. Then he bit me on the thigh, and I forceably escorted him out of the bedroom. Ouch.

Had a nice nap. The puppy crashed out too. I took her out afterward, but she clearly wanted to go back to sleep. Received my three-prong-to-two prong adapter plugs.

I read tommx on DW's post on Bach's "Air on a G String," and I haven't heard it for a while, so I listened to it. Bach is my favorite composer, and I loved it. It occurred to me that I should listen to Bach when I first wake up; it would help me wake up. Hmm, if I set up my Echo Dot, could I get it to play a preselected piece when I wake up? That would be cool. Maybe I should listen to Bach while I clean and organize too. There hasn't been enough music in my life. Well, not enough recorded music.

I was thinking about my reaction to various composers of classical music. I love every instrumental piece by Bach, but his choral music leaves me flat, although I listen to the Mass in B Minor occasionally. Mozart is pretty but generally leaves me cold, but I love the Requiem and can listen to it over and over. I watched the Marriage of Figaro though, and the embellishments drove me crazy. (There would be one sentence on the subtitles, and they'd sing for 10 minutes!) I don't know a lot of Mozart's work though, so maybe there are pieces that I would like. I do like the "Clarinet Concerto". I went to play the Clarinet Concerto, and Amazon Music played instead Massenet:" Méditation de Thaïs," which I also love. I should listen to more Massenet.

Because I'm not going to go to the dog training session on Sunday after all, I just ordered some Kong dog chew toys from Amazon. I hope that Bella likes them.

I’m kind of rolling my eyes over how many doors and gates I need to close when the hordes are eating. They are no respecters of each other’s food. All the hordes are fed. I haven’t been fed yet, but I’m the low creature on the totem pole :)

I thought that Bella was acting like she wanted to poop, so I took her out even though she had been out not too long ago, and I was right. I’m learning to read her.

Oh My God! Peace agreement in Gaza! About fucking time! I am so happy to hear that!!!!

I subscribed to online access to The New Yorker to get access to an article that I’ve wanted to read for a while. (It was about a woman who had postpartum psychosis and killed her kids. No, not Andrea Yates.) That linked to an article about a guy whose brother died in the Lockerbie bombing, and he has been trying for years to solve the case. Both articles were very good.

I think that I’ll go to sleep early and get up early to get the recycling out and to scrub the aquarium heater.

The puppy is crashed out cold and is snoring a little.

Oh, I should set up the Echo Dot. I need to find it first.

Aargh!! I spent a ton of time getting Alexa set up and trying to get it to play Bach to wake me up tomorrow morning, only for it to say that “music alarms are not supported for this device”. Did I say “aargh”? Google Home is easier to use, but I don’t know where my Home device is. A Google Home Speaker would have better sound. I ordered an open box one on Mercari for half-price. Oh, it looked like I needed an Echo Spot. Okay, I ordered one and will use the Google Home to play music while I’m organizing. I could bring it or the Echo Dot upstairs to remind me to take my meds.

I pulled out Mimi’s wet food dish, which had a little food left in it. Oliver was eating the food, but some of it got on my hands, and Lily was licking it off of me. And my heart filled with love for this cute little cat. I never thought that I’d meet another cat whom I loved as much as Harlee (although Zara comes close), but I might wind up loving Lily as as much.

Got my home insurance taken care of. Now it's bedtime.

I had major problems falling asleep last night. I got up and ate oatmeal. Got up again and did some dishes. I finally fell asleep around 3:30 AM?

Got up with my alarm at 7:30 AM. It’s cold out with a wind chill of -2 F/-19C. The puppy didn’t spend as much time sniffing outside as she usually does.

Lily discovered the kitty highway above the kitchen cabinets. Both Lily and Oliver were up there.

Hmm. Got my check. I should take it to the bank today, but it's cold and I'm tired. I guess that I'll shower over lunch and go from there. It'll be just as cold tomorrow. Oliver was meowing while I was in the shower. I don’t know if he was afraid that I’d drown myself or just that I was doing something that he wasn’t involved with.

I want to see A Real Pain when it comes out. It’s about two cousins who go to Poland when their grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor, dies. It’s getting rave reviews. It would be kind of fun to see a movie in a theater. Hum, Fandango offers it in streaming.

That little stinker Oliver got upstairs and cornered Mimi, who was screaming. I finally picked him up and put him in the bathroom so that I can come and go without having to deal with him wanting to come upstairs.

Bella is getting better at entertaining herself while I'm working. Bella barked at a dog across the street today. I guess that she has adopted this house as her home.

I'm feeling wiped out, so I'll go to the bank tomorrow. I need to brush off the car though, so I'll do that tonight.

Ugh. My cough is worse when I lie down. (Is that why I couldn’t sleep last night?) I lay down for a nap, but couldn’t sleep. I’m going to throw myself together and go to Walmart for soda and duct tape.

The weighted blanket fell down, and Bella is chewing holes in it. Sigh.

It’s too damn cold to go run errands. I’ll go tomorrow. And I need to get up early because I have Italian tomorrow. Worked on the kitchen.

Hmm. I need to have the faucets dripping to keep the pipes from freezing.

I can’t find the heater for the aquarium. I checked the delivery notice, and they put it in a spot where I would not have seen it. I’ll look in the daylight tomorrow. I’ve got the decorations set up, and need to add water and heat it up for the plants. I have the electrical cord set up. I need to see if there’s a heater in the equipment that came with the aquarium. (Yes, so I'll fill the tank tomorrow.) I need a basket for aquarium paraphernalia.

I’m going to feed the critters, take Bella out, and go to bed. Oliver got in the upstairs again. Sigh.