days_unfolding

Overslept but still managed to shower. I had thought about going back to sleep for a 1/2 hour, but managed to get my butt in the shower instead. Go me :)

Things are coming together nicely. My cleaner is supposed to come on Friday, but I thought that I had an offsite meeting, but that's the following week.

I put the plants that I wanted on a credit card. I didn't get the lilacs because they were a petite variety. I have to pick them up the weekend of May 2nd. Now I’m second-guessing myself on the lilacs. The fence will be six feet, and the lilacs will be four feet. Not sure how that would work.

Oliver likes sitting at the top of the stairs to the upstairs room. That way, he can see what's going on both upstairs and downstairs. My watch cat!

Hmm. I should make arrangements to board Bella and Oliver when I'll be at a conference in May. I'm leaving on Sunday, but I think that the vet is closed on Saturday. I guess that I'll have to drop them off on Friday.

Sigh. Another frost advisory.

The university is sending almost daily updates on the impact of Trump's cuts. Sigh again. These are the Days of Sighs.

My broken-and-healed toe is hurting again. Why? Another sigh.

I should call Schwab to get the ball rolling with transferring my money. Speaking of Schwab, I found some tools that they have to learn about stock trading.

Hmm. I found a travel set that I like, but they don't have petites. Should I buy it and get it altered? It would be good for the flight to Italy. I'm itching to go shopping. Come on, trust check. They also had shorts-and-top combos that I like. Talbots has a petite set that I like.

I should set a Google Flights alert on my flights to Sardinia. I want to use my United credit for my flights to San Diego for the cruise.

Damn, I really want to go on the "Orient Express" trip that the meetup people are arranging in 2026. It goes to Paris, Venice, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and Istanbul. I'd have to cancel the Costa Rica trip though. If I do that, I should brush up on my French. I found the price information and both it and the trip to Japan are expensive. Japan: $6810 single occupancy. Airfare: $1300 - 1900. Orient Express: $7090 single occupancy. But probably worth it. The flights to Paris and from Istanbul would add around $1000.

Ugh. Lily hasn't learned that if she sticks her claws in my leg, it hurts. I need to get her claws clipped.

Started laundry. Filed my taxes. I should get the garbage out, but damn, my toes hurt. Maybe I'll wait a few minutes to let the acetaminophen kick in. I guess that I'll post. Oh, and get new computer wallpaper for the places that I want to go.

I like this Holland America Japan and China cruise, but I was thinking of 2027 for a Japan cruise, not 2026. I'll have to see if they could cut me a deal because I'm on one of their cruises now. The cruise itself isn't that expensive, but the airfare would be (around $1700).

I’m trying to figure out what’s on the docket for today. I have a massage at 3:30 PM and a facial at 8. I want to give myself a pedicure in case I want to go swimming tomorrow. Maybe I’ll talk to the future cruise person about the Japan-China cruise. I should find out what Vacations to Go’s price would be, though, because they are usually cheaper. Got a speedy quote from them ($3667, not including airfare). Now to see if Holland America would do better.

One thing that I like about the staterooms is that they have clotheslines in the bathrooms. I have some shorts and a t-shirt soaking in the sink.

I burned the roof of my mouth on hot pizza in Miami, and it still hurts when I eat.

I think that it’s nap time.

The toilet in my room isn't working. Called, and they said that they were having "a tech problem".

I left my purse at breakfast. As I was leaving the room, a guy working on the ship said for me to go to Guest Services. It was there and everything was in it. Bless the honesty of my fellow passengers and the crew.

I looked at the cruise-line branded stuff and am trying to decide what I want. They have a coffee mug that I like, but I’m afraid that it would break. A water bottle? I forgot mine. They have a nice zip-up hoodie, but do I need another hoodie? I could wear it on the plane flight from California though.

Yeah, I think that I like this cruise. It feels less crowded than the other one, and the Aging Frat Boy Quotient seems lower. I go on a cruise to relax, not party, although there are some folks drinking their breakfast. Cruises are very relaxing, and the sights come to us (or so it seems).

Took a bunch of debit and credit cards out of my wallet and put them in the safe in my room. I don't need them here.

Well, hell. Went to take off the old nail polish off of my toes, only to find that the nail polish wipes that I bought don't have nail polish remover on them. I have no choice but to get a pedicure now.

I went down to the future cruises desk. It wasn’t open. It will be open later in the cruise. I gather that I can get a shipboard credit if I book with them, but I’m dubious about the price.

I’m at the spa now. I made an appointment for tomorrow for a manicure and pedicure. It’s at 5PM, which is later than I would like, but that’s what I get booking at the last minute.

My pet sitter is very worried about Mimi. And she can’t find Lily. She wants me to come back, but I explained that I’m on a cruise ship. I’ll look into ways to get back, but I’m not hopeful. There is a flight from Cartagena, Columbia in two days. But I want to talk to the vet first. I don’t know what to do.

(She also managed to blame me and the dog (?) for Mimi being sick. Never mind that I took Mimi to the vet a couple of weeks ago.)

Had my massage. My brain was whirring, so I wasn’t in a receptive mood. But she upsold me to a hot stone massage. I guess that it helped my tight muscles. She said that it did. She also asked me what I did for my tight muscles between massages, and I said ”…nothing?” She thinks that I should get one of those massaging shower heads, which is do-able. (I really should start up yoga again.) And she sold me some body oil because my skin is dry (it is) and some foot cream. My neck does feel loose now.

Okay, I found a reputable service to get me from the cruise terminal to the airport in Columbia. Now I see how things play out.

I think that facials are largely the placebo effect, but the glop that she was putting on my skin must have hydrated it some. I got a new moisturizer to try. And she told me to drink more water.

I was thinking that I needed to have laundry done if I take the flight from Cartagena. But they want 24 hours, which is cutting it a little close. But I have some clean jeans. I could wear jeans, a t-shirt, and buy the Holland America hoodie and be presentable enough. It’s no worse than what other people wear on planes. If I wind up staying, then I will have laundry done.

I want some late-night nosh.

Overslept but made it to Italian. My Italian is definitely rusty. (We missed a couple of lessons.) I told her about the vet visits, and she felt sorry for the cats.

I'd like a Pilea Chinese Money Plant. They're safe for cats. I should wait until I get back to order it though. And it might be too late to mail it?

Mimi is picking at her wet food but ate the dry food. I guess that's okay. I'm going to try her on the Hills dry food for senior cats because she doesn't need to lose weight.

Got my Jenny Craig food and put it away.

The real estate guy for Mom's house is waiting on some signatures to list Mom's house for sale. He showed me a preview of the listing, and it looks good. I suggested mentioning the built-in lawn sprinklers though.

I got on the waitlist for Prolific, which bill_schubert mentioned. It might help pay for my Amazon addiction. Oh! I'm off the waitlist! Speaking of Amazon, I was looking at a cookbook holder because I have a bunch of diet cookbooks that I want. I was going to buy spiral-bound when available, but they are very expensive, and I could get cheaper versions of the cookbooks with a holder.

I was looking at some essential oils made by a company affiliated with Disney. (I'm subscribed to a Disney group on Facebook.) The company has a way expensive diffuser, so I was looking at some cheaper options on eBay. I like how the house smells when the cleaner is here.

Booked my drinks and WiFi packages for the cruise. Dang, they're expensive. They must make their money on the packages and extras. I checked in to the cruise. I'll be boarding at 3:30 PM, so I guess that I'll go to the cruise terminal and have lunch and kill a couple of hours. Looked at the cruise schedule. Wow, there's a lot to do aboard ship, though a lot of them are selling something. Do I want to do Karaoke? I’ve been exploring their app and found out when breakfast is. Because I’m doing shore excursions, I’ll mostly be having breakfasts and dinners. You also can get a complementary Continental Breakfast in your room.

Hmm. Celebrity has a Japan cruise that looks interesting. And it’s not horribly expensive, although airfare will add a lot.

Fed the catlings. They’re sort of eating and sort of picking at the food. I’m keeping an eye on them. I don’t really want to go back to the vet yet again. Got the garbage out.

Went to Walmart. They didn't have any mums. I bought a “Happy Halloween” window cling, the word “Spooky” to put in a window, and some crime scene tape with skulls on it. And candy, which I had to sample :) That’s it for this year. I might get more ambitious next year.

Tried on the evening gowns. The one that was smaller fit me (yay!), but it's not terribly flattering.

I'm looking at another dress online. I also tried on the Land's End long underwear and snow pants and they fit (the smaller long underwear and larger snow pants). Now I just need to get some alpaca socks.

I need to check whether I have sunscreen and go to bed. I need to get up early to practice piano. It's been a quite a week.

Urgh. I had added a credit card to my Allivet (vet pet meds) account because it was missing, which was weird. And I changed my billing address. Then I received a message that the charge didn't go though. So on the phone I went, and apparently the change to the address didn't go through. Le sigh. But it's fixed.

The insurance person at the trust got back to me and said that she would check the status of the insurance policy. I haven't heard back since then.

Now I'm thinking that if Doodles are high-energy, they're probably not for me. (Though the one with heartworm is haunting me.) I got some books on corgis. (I like the looks of Doodles, Corgis, and Maltese dogs.) I noticed that there is no “Dummies” book on corgis. Maybe I’d be the one to write it? I checked, and there already is a "Cats for Dummies" book. Oh well. Hmm. Corgis are energetic too. One of the corgi books says that because corgis are herding dogs, they might try to "herd" other pets. They recommended getting puppies if you have other pets. Zara, I think, would teach them manners.

I found a grooming and boarding place and a (for fee) dog park in Urbana. And a dog training club.

Well, I went back to sleep this morning and didn’t finish the kitchen. But I got the counter cleaned off and the stove, so the cleaner can clean them.

I lay down for a nap at lunchtime. Mimi jumped off the bed when I put the phone on to charge (the charger is across the room) but came back when I sat up after the nap. Silly cat :)

I’m looking at step bookcases (ones that look like a set of stairs) for under the stairs in the new house.

I discovered Zara's new spot. She's sleeping on the love seat in the TV room. I told her that we would be taking it with us when we move. She went back to sleep :) I still think that I'll take the wingback chair for her though. I found a new cover for the wingback chair that has a skirt because she likes to hide under the one here. It's taupe, not gray, but I think that it will work. I'll put it in the "music room".

The orchids seem to like the new self-watering pots. I need to get the rest of them potted.

Hmm. My cleaner hasn't showed up. Maybe she thought that she was supposed to come next week, when it was originally scheduled. That's okay. More time to work on the kitchen after I finish the box because I want to throw it into the dumpster that's being picked up tomorrow. And I need to remember to move my car (done). I have no way to contact the cleaner though. She has called me previously, but I deleted the message. I don't see her in my text messages. She called at 4 PM and said that there was a snafu in her morning job. She said that she could still come, but I said let's just do it next week. And I added her to my contacts.

Oops, Zara is up and she wants food. I told her, as I have many times before, that she's a walking stomach. Yes, I'll give her her lunch now.

I sent a message to a company about snow removal for the new house. They also create patios, so I'd like to get to know them. I bet that they would put in garden beds too. They said that they don't do snow removal anymore because of the labor shortage. But! They can put in gardens for me as well as the patio! (Hmm, it looks like I'll need a snow blower.) Hmm, if there’s a labor shortage, I probably can’t get anyone to rake leaves at the new place. I need to grab my mom’s rake when I go.

After work, I came into my bedroom to lie down for a little while and turned on the lights. Mimi was asleep on my, er, her bed and gave me a bleary-eyed look. Now she’s back asleep.

Apple is sending me a replacement watch, which has shipped.

I'm wondering if I should take Mom's bird feeder, but I don't know where the trays are for it. I need to look in the garage.

If I ever get to Japan, I’m taking Japan Airlines. That evacuation was amazing.

I received a message from the travel agent for my cruise next year. I emailed back asking how I can make payments for the cruise. I booked my shore excursions, except for San Juan because I need to know when I'll arrive there. I had thought about skipping one of the destinations for a spa day on the ship, but I really want to go for the destinations, and I can have a spa day anywhere.

The lining on my down coat is stuck in the zipper. Someone online suggested using a tweezer, but that just pulled out a thread and poked small holes in the lining. Any suggestions are gratefully accepted.

The IRS almost gave me a heart attack by sending me a letter, but it was just saying that someone (me) accessed IRS data for the FAFSA. Whew.

I'm going to go to sleep now and work on my box in the morning.