days_unfolding

I found the itineraries for the Japan and Orient Express trips. The Orient Express trip still excites me; Japan not as much. They both are long trips, so I can’t take both of them and I should take a shorter trip as a second trip in the spring or summer next year. I'll look for a shorter cruise. Okay, I like this cruise. Or I could go to Bermuda on another cruise line.

One of the little plastic cat ball toys rolled down the stairs, and Bella chewed it into pieces. Once I get the check from the trust, I will subscribe to plastic cat ball toys if I can. They will get used and abused.

Woke up at 8:30 AM.

I got my blood test results, and my vitamin D and B12 levels are normal. That’s not why I’m so tired.

It’s raining lightly. Oh good, the rain will stop in the afternoon.

I’m using the MediSafe app recommended by bill_schubert. I think that it will be helpful. Notifications are off though, and I need to turn them on.

Crap. The doggie day care is full two of the days. Now what? Called and left a message at another place. There also is a third place, but it’s out of town and not convenient. The place that I called wants to do an evaluation on Thursday, so they couldn’t do Wednesday.

I really feel like going back to sleep. I’ll skip going to the library and go on Monday.

Bella already has a small pile of crap that she’s found to play with in the kitchen. I need to get after it with a broom while it’s still small.

Hmm. I’m looking at urns for Mimi, but nothing is saying ”Mimi” to me. Etsy has some that are painted to look like the cat, which I like.

Oliver came over for snuggles, and Bella promptly jumped on my lap. Jealousy….Later, Bella was about to poop on the kitchen floor, and I hussled her butt outside.

Well, took a shower anyway. I’m dragging. I was going to watch a movie, but my Hulu account is on hold because they can’t charge my credit card. I don’t want to use another card because I need to pay for Bella’s doggie day care. Netflix is hosed too. Okay, I’ve already paid for episodes of The Golden Girls. Watched a couple of episodes.

Now I'm going to feed the hordes and crash.

Oliver went into the poke bowl bag and fell off the kitchen table :) Now Bella is shredding the bag.

Crap. I was changing into my pajamas when Oliver tried to jump on my lap, lost his balance, scratched up my leg, and drew blood. I hissed at him and he backed off. Lily was sleeping through it all. She is a champion sleeper. I need to do laundry, but Lily is sleeping in my laundry basket, so I’ll get up a little earlier to do it.

Damn, my leg hurts. Oliver really did a number on it.

Crud. I apparently didn’t pay for my drinks package on the cruise, so I need to do that in the morning (done).

I signed up for the Yazio weight loss app.

Discovered that tickseed plants need full sun rather than shade, so I guess that I’ll plant them on the sunny side of the house.

Overslept and woke up at 8 AM. There were a lot of dog walkers out when I was out with Bella. One dog really wanted to play with Bella. The walker complemented Bella on how well behaved Bella was, and I told her that Bella is shy with other dogs. She asked how old Bella was, and I said, “a year”.

Got us all fed. I put the clothes in the dryer only a few minutes ago, so I’m going to just slap on some makeup for my lesson and shower later.

Sigh. Bella plays rough with Oliver, so he turns around and picks on Lily. She can give as good as she gets though. Mass chaos.

My singing lesson was good. She gave me a bunch of music theory homework. And we practiced some more complicated sight-reading lessons. I need to remember to pick a song from choir to work on for next time.

It’s really warm out (currently 48F). Bella likes it.

The local “Stand Up for Science “ group is looking for volunteers to organize a protest, but I’m going to be gone.

Hmm. I should donate to the local LGBTQIA group (done). I was wondering if they were going to have any protests. They also have an “aging” group that intrigues me. I also need to set up monthly donations to the ACLU because they’re filing most of the court cases against Trump’s actions (done). I’m trying to donate to the national LGBTQ Task Force, but I keep getting an error.

I need to replace my Echo Spot because it fell in Bella’s water dish and now it’s malfunctioning. Sigh.

Bella is ready for a nap. So am I. Overslept my nap. I was dreaming that I was living with my dad.

Saw the tree-obsessed neighbor while I was out with Bella. He was happy that I’ll be taking the tree down when I have the garage built. He liked Bella, but Bella didn’t like him. She was barking at him. People like dogs though.

Bella chewed off the end of my shoelace while I had the shoes on! Jesus, dog.

I’m reading the BBC. It’s scary how many votes were cast in Germany for the Nazi party. Dark times ahead.

I saw a really pretty garden with bushes and lavender. Maybe I’ll plant lavender in the area by the side of the driveway-to-be.

Got us all fed. Now Oliver was playing with my shoelaces. Sigh. He’s looking like such a grown cat though!

I’ve decided to work on packing tonight and tomorrow night. I ordered some jars for my moisturizer creams. Found some nice shorts that need to be washed. I also found a swimsuit with a wrap-around skirt. That would be good for the pool on the ship. Cleaning on the rest of the nights this week.

I’ll need to find a new housekeeper because mine is busy this coming weekend.

Oh wow. I saw some beautiful thornless roses on a Facebook ad. That would be great for the side of the garage.

I’m about to take a shower and have Bella, Oliver, and Lily in here. Yikes! Oliver just left.

Just ordered more pairs of underwear so that I can pack them and still have some to wear this coming week.

Bought a “cruise-approved” power strip and some magnets for my door. It will make it easier to find my cruise door with them!

Need to do laundry, but Lily is snoozing in the basket. I guess not.

I’m going to do some packing while my hair dries and then take Bella for a walk. Though hmm, she’ll need to go soon. She was snoozing though. Maybe I’ll post.

I bought some reef-safe sunscreen because I’ll have a full two weeks in the sun. Got my makeup organized for the cruise.

I had to take Bella out for an emergency pee and poop run, and now it’s feeding time. I’ve decided to get up early and walk Bella before we go to the vet. It would be good if she’s tired out. I’ll set up wake-up calls to make sure that I get up.

My prescriptions are ready for pickup, so I need to go on Tuesday.

I hope that Pete Buttigieg runs for president next time, but I hope that he does what is best for his family though. These are scary times to be running.

Mimi is on my lap meowing at a moth. I told her to go get it, but she's sitting there. Oh, she did jump off and started chasing it. If I was the moth, though, I wouldn't worry. She's not a great hunter. She did catch a fly once, but it flew near her mouth :)

I have been forgetting to take my morning meds. I checked the reminder on the phone, but it is active. Maybe I should keep my pill case upstairs.

Overslept. I’m glad that the weekend is coming. Overslept my lunchtime nap and missed a meeting. Doing terrific today :(

Mimi is on my lap, yawning in my face.

I did take a shower after work, but I’m feeling tired, so I’m not going to run errands today. I will go to Meijer later though. Actually, Kohl’s is open until 10 PM, so I might go there too.

Overslept my nap. I didn’t get up in time to go to Meijer. I hope that I get up early to run errands.

Put the watered plants away. Soaked a litter box. Mimi wants me to go upstairs and is telling me her tale of woe. I told her that’s a sad tail, er, tale.

Printed off the tickets to my shore excursions. The last one in Dominica requires some walking, but I think that my toe should be better by then? Otherwise, I'd have to cancel the excursion.

I was convinced that today was Friday. Nope. Only Thursday. I want to get a lot done this weekend.

Mimi keeps settling on my lap. Apparently, I make a good heater.

Apparently, you can return ThredUp items. They charge a fee for the return mail, but okay. Worth it. My problem is that I was a size 18 top but 16 pants. I’m not sure what I fit into now. Poshmark does not take returns. So I'll get dresses from Nordstrom Rack and ThredUp once I get my check from the trust.

I got the sticker off of Zara’s tail! She was a little annoyed but still cuddled up to me.

I kept on forgetting to take my morning meds. The doctor said to set a reminder on my phone. I’m slightly annoyed but it’s also good that it’s working.

I'm looking at OSF's healthy recipes. I'd like to cook on weekends to have stuff prepared to heat up during the week. I've made their Basil Tomato Corn Bake before, and it's good. And I'm thinking of making Butternut Squash and Black Bean Burritos for lunches.

Ugh. I have a headache. Decided to take 1/2 a sick day and lie down. Overslept.

I kind of don’t want to go to the store now. It’s dark and cold out. On the other hand, I’m living on soup. Filled my med organizer. It enabled me to notice that I’m almost out of one of my meds. Sent a message to my doctor about refilling the meds. Put the bottles of meds in a cabinet on a lazy susan. They look nice and organized.

Hmm. It’s the time of year that I should think about putting moisturizer on my body. I’ll have to see what I’ve got.

Got my new scale set up, but I’m having problems getting it to pair with Bluetooth. Okay, I got it paired.

I pulled out the vote by mail ballot. I was hoping to find an analysis of the "advisory questions" (in California, they'd be referendums) online, but I just found a list of them. Thanks, I can read. I'll look for the League of Women Voters site. They came through for me and I created my ballot choices. Now I need to find a black pen. But Mimi is on my lap. So fine, I'll post while she's on my lap.

Woke up at 6 AM. Decided that was way too early to get up on a weekend and went back to sleep until 8. Much better.

We have a problem in that I don’t know what the organizers did with the pill splitter for Zara’s meds. I remember them showing me several and asking if I needed all of them, but I don’t know where they put the one that I kept. Okay, finally found it after searching the bathroom twice.

Took my morning meds. Oh meds, why did I ever take you for granted.

I’m wondering what I can wear for cleaning the bathrooms. I have some sweats in some box somewhere. I’ll think of something.

Dozed a little but couldn’t nap. The bed is firmer than I like, which might be part of the problem. So I’m looking at plush mattress toppers. Eventually I’d like a Marriott mattress, but that won’t happen soon.

Well heck, I can’t run errands tomorrow because it’s Easter. I kind of want to stay home today though. And my stomach keeps getting queasy.

Got the carpet cleaner and lawn mower. (At first, I couldn’t figure out what the large Amazon box was, but it was the mower.) I need to charge up its batteries.

I really want to work on my filing cabinet, but that’s something I can do in bits and pieces. Yard raking awaits.

Zara wants me to feed her on the bed. I told her, “No way.” She grudgingly jumped down off the bed.

I have Perennials for Dummies, which is surprisingly good, so I ordered Annuals for Dummies and some garden design books. I’m looking at garden design software and saw some free options that I’d like to try. But I’d need to know the dimensions of my lot though. 50 x 110 square feet according to the real estate listing. Hmm, I want The Essential Garden Design Workbook, but I need to wait until my return is posted on Amazon. It occurred to me to check out some library books on landscaping. One book that they're selling is basically graph paper! I have graph paper!

I got the estate sale check, so yay. I’ll deposit it on Monday.

I raked about 1/3 of my lot. It’s a start. But I got hungry and came in.

I forgot that I got a subscription to a home warranty service with the house. I just got my account set up online. It's a $125 service fee per visit. The leaky pipe is covered, but the caulking is not. Hmm, just watched a video about redoing caulking. It doesn't look too hard?

Queasy stomach (when I eat), so I'm going to lie down for a little while. I think that the headaches were due to the lack of meds because they have gone away.

Studied for my math (algorithms) test. I need to bring some of the books up here to compare the problems from class with the book. I have an idea where I went wrong with one of the problems.

Mimi is upstairs with me talking to herself, which she does fairly often. She has quite a mouth and knows how to use it!

I think that I'll do dishes and go to bed.

Oh cool. I found a place that sells custom frames (for my maps) that isn't too terribly expensive.

I had my appointment with the physician's assistant. She took a thorough medical history. She's going to submit the prescriptions for my meds, but she wants me to see a psychiatrist to manage my meds. She wants me to have a fasting blood test tomorrow morning. I'll get called to set up a mammogram and something else that I've forgotten. She's giving me a referral to a dermatologist about some of my moles. She'll do a pap smear during my appointment in September. She wants me to make an appointment with an eye doctor, which is on my list. It was a lot :) I just booked an eye doctor appointment for after I get back from Michigan. The hospital called to set a time for the mammogram.

Ugh, there is some sort of delay for the prescription I need. I hope that it gets straightened out soon.

yshaloo gave me a taste for chili. I found a slow cooker recipe that I'd like to try. Maybe I'll cook it this weekend. I should stop by Aldi. I have a bunch of money from my Amazon returns, so I’ll get spices there. (The organizers threw out a bunch of expired spices.)

I now know why the cats love the window in the guest room; there's a cardinal who lives in the tree there!

I received the rake. Wow, it’s humongous! Maybe I’ll start raking tonight on my dinner break.

I had my meeting with the life coach and discussed my plan for this weekend into next week.

My flaming headache is back. I think that I’ll watch the class recording and lie down (done).

I raked the NE corner of my front yard. It’s a start. I’m thinking of planting wildflowers between my fence and the sidewalk.

My meds are finally ready, but CVS is closed. And it opens at 9 AM, but I have a meeting at 9. Bother. I guess that I'll go at lunchtime.

I have a meeting at 9 AM tomorrow, so I'll have the fasting blood test done on Monday.

I did as much of the homework as I was able to do. I was stumped by a few problems. I have a lot of studying to do this weekend.

I'm wondering if I should set up the space heater in my bedroom. I guess that I'll see if I can do without it, but I'll take it out of the box in case I decide that I need it. I brought it into the bedroom, but then I remembered the electric blanket. That should keep Zara and me warm. Zara loved the electric blanket. And I didn’t wake up during the night cold.

The cats think that the kitchen counters and table were cleared off for them to walk on.

I finished my current 44 Scotland Street book, but I don’t have money for the next one. I guess that I’ll start on the Italy books. Appropriate because some characters in the Scotland Street books were just in Italy. Oh! I forgot about a credit card, so I can get the next book and I will be able to ship the CPAP. I’m having problems with the card on Amazon though. I tried to order some magnets elsewhere and the charge didn’t go through. I’ll have to contact the card company.

Hmm. I’m wondering if I should stay home today because I have another return, but I need my new printer ink to process it. It’s supposed to come today.

I put Mom’s magnets on the refrigerator last night. I love how the kitchen is taking shape; it’s my favorite room in the house. I want to get a couple of magnets with conversion charts for cooking and put them on the side of the refrigerator. I’m looking at magnets with quotes on them and saw the “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end” and started crying. I’m not okay. The anniversary of my mom’s death is also coming soon (April 11th).

Some people knocked on the door to tell me about “a party in honor of Jesus’s death”. I was a little cranky and told them that I had been lying down.

I looked for a Great Books group locally but no luck.

I’m trying to figure out where to put the urn with my mom’s ashes until I get to Chicago to inter them. I guess that I’ll leave them in the bin that they’re in.

I had a nice nap. I dreamed about a guy with whom I was friends in high school. I had a crush on him, but he liked me as a friend. Then he was in the hospital for a long time, and I called him every day because being in the hospital sucks, so then he decided that he wanted to go out with me. But I was interested in a mutual friend by that point. Apparently they had a discussion about which of them got to go out with me, but I wound up dating the mutual friend. (And I wound up marrying another mutual friend!) Anyway, in the dream, I was writing him a letter, telling him what was going on.

Zara napped with me and is being cuddly.

I got the Daily Look box.

I went looking for one of the Italy books, and wound up with Four Seasons in Rome. I need my reading time! It’s good. Residents are insisting that Rome is the most beautiful city in the world. More beautiful than Paris, I wonder? The book reminded me that I need to spend some time with a tourist Italian book. I found one! I want to study a page a day. I need index cards. Berlitz has an app, so I’ll work with it first.

My goal is to get to a point where there are only book boxes in the living room. I also want to empty the hamper in the bathroom so that I can use it as a hamper.

Oh crud! The ink order says “Payment revision required!” I guess that I’m not getting the ink today. Maybe I should just throw myself together and go to Best Buy. Or Walmart.

I took a nap while my hair was drying from my shower. Zara napped on my legs.

The mixer that I bought from Aldi is broken, so I’m looking at used Kitchen Aid mixers on eBay.

Went to Walmart with a little trepidation because one of the articles that I read about withdrawing from my med said not to drive, but it was okay. I got my printer ink, some food, and index cards.

I have stuff to do, but I’m tired. I wrote up some Italian flash cards to study; I now know how to say “Where is the ATM machine?” in Italian. It’s a start. I need to dig up the info from my first Italian teacher about directions. I’m also noting down places from the Rome book that I want to see.

Some of my classmates in a group project want to meet tomorrow, so I should respond to them. Then I think that I’ll go to bed.

I told Zara that her legs will atrophy if she lies on the bed all the time. She says that she'll risk it.

I’m getting a lot better about putting things away. I washed a beach towel with my towels, and instead of leaving it in the bathroom, I walked over to my closet and put it in. Unusual for me because I pile things. I need to keep it up.

I was awake long enough for my warm pajamas to come out of the dryer, toasty warm. Yummy.

This morning, Mimi was complaining about my closing the bathroom door when I showered. They’re getting back to normal.

I'm cold again upstairs. I don't see a heat vent up here. I leave the door open for the heat to rise through. I need to buy some tea to help me warm up (ordered). Mimi is in a sunbeam. Solar-powered kitty. I think that I need a space heater for the upstairs.

I'm getting "brain zaps" due to my lack of venlafaxine. I didn't see the order on CVS' app, so I submitted it again. I wish that they'd fill it quickly.

Made a couple of phone calls. I'll now have an extra garbage can. Yay.

Hmm. yshaloo mentioned someone who does pet portraits. I kind of would like a wall of the cats that I have had. I wonder how much they cost.

Zara was annoyed about my getting into bed to nap during lunch, but she came back. I really love the warm comforter, and so does she. She is now perched on me.

I've been reading the Alexander McCall Smith books, the 44 Scotland Street series. It was a serial like the Tales of the City. Each book ends with a party in which one of the characters reads a poem that he wrote. In the one that I just finished, he said that parties end like life ends, but maybe we wind up going to another party. That hit me really hard and I started crying.

I called CVS, and they sent a fax to my doctor. I hope that she will respond quickly. I need my meds.

Got the garbage out. I had more than a can’s worth, but I’m waiting for the second can to get it all out.

I received Lawn Care for Dummies. I might bring it with me to Michigan to read in my hotel room.

I'm working upstairs. Zara comes to find me when she wants to be fed. Because she's the boss, I come down and feed them. Mimi chimes in, but Zara initiates the process.

I'm thinking that I should get up early to walk on the treadmill. That would get my blood moving and warm me up.

I finished my to-do list for work. Awesome. Now I think that I'll do a bag of clothes and call it a night. Actually, I think that I'll have to skip the clothes. Oh, and I want to sweep the kitchen/dining area. And I need to post.

Crud. DailyLook sent my box to Michigan, so I need to call them tomorrow to have FedEx go pick up the box. Sigh. I changed my address in their system. Oh well. I can't be the only person to whom this has happened.

Oh. I need to call about the CPAP because they want it back because I haven't been using it. I got it right before my mom died, and I never got it set up. They can have it back. I'll do a CPAP later.

Oh, I got gardening tools yesterday as well. I want to work on the front garden in the hopes of planting roses there.

Now Zara is filing herself in the "to file" box. I have goofy cats.

I woke up at 5:30 AM and went back to sleep until 8. That’s better. I might not make it to the UPS Store if I nap after breakfast, but they’re open tomorrow.

I’m getting pretty good about keeping the kitchen clean: putting stuff away, wiping up spills, etc. The bathroom needs scrubbing.

I’m trying to transfer a prescription from Michigan to here and am running into problems. I need to call CVS. And I’m out of Venlafaxine (generic of Effexor) and I won’t get a new prescription until next week. Suckage.

Had a nice nap. I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to run errands, but I should probably do some of them. Now I’m thinking of running errands at places that are open late: Meijer, Lowe’s, and PetSmart. Xfinity is open until 7. Can I make it there?

Had lunch, and now I’m taking another short nap.

Okay, showered, dressed, and makeupped. I pulled out the Xfinity router. Now I’m waiting for the call from the estate sale person.

I finally left. I drove to Xfinity. It took all of 10 minutes there, including the phone call from the estate sale person. The estate sale did $4500 today. The first day basically covered costs, and today and tomorrow are profit for me.

I realized that it was still early, so I went to Goodwill. They wouldn't take the blender, but they took the rest of the stuff. I found a nice jar for my mascara, lip gloss, etc. there.

Then I went to PetSmart. I took some time looking at the aquariums and the fish. I do want angelfish, and I found a 60-gallon tank that I liked. There was one cat for adoption. Then I scored some 'Nip for the girls.

Then I went to Lowe's. I found some cleaning supplies, including a toilet brush and plunger. I finally found a plug for the tub after wandering around looking lost.

Then I went to Meijer and picked up some tape and the remaining cleaning supplies. My plan is to clean the kitchen and bathrooms myself for the time being.

Now I need to feed the beasties and prepare my Amazon returns. I now know where the UPS Store is so that I can go there tomorrow. Hmm, I'm having some problems with return labels.

I have stuff to do, but I think that I want to go to bed. I'm turning into such a morning person. How weird.

I bought Reeve Lindbergh's book about turning 60. Maybe there will be some insight there.

I've gotten Zara hooked on Churu--she comes running when I bring one out--so maybe I'll be able to get her in the carrier today (fingers crossed).

Took a nap over lunch but couldn't sleep. I'm not surprised because I slept in this morning.

I finally was able to contact the real estate lawyer. He said that he needed a copy of the contract, and then he can generate a Power of Attorney. So I emailed the real estate agent.

I forgot to eat lunch! Too much going on.

I did get Zara in the carrier. She jumped on my lap and I took advantage of it. It was an hour early though, but she's such a pain to get into the carrier that I'm just leaving her in there. She is NOT happy and is trying to take apart the carrier. Good thing that I bought really sturdy ones.

We're back from the vet. Zara emitted some kitty swear words (as the vet put it) but didn't lash out. They gave me some meds to put in her food on vet days. I made appointments for their booster shots on the week between Christmas and New Year's Day.

Finished work. Fed the cats. Requested that my CVS meds be delivered. Zara is smart enough to know that I won't take her back to the vet when I've just taken her. I'm going to eat and take a short nap.

I kind of want to watch the movie The Way We Were after reading about Barbra Streisand’s description of filming it. It isn’t available on digital, so I’d have to get a DVD or VHS of it.

I'm turning into my mom, who said that she couldn't get anything done after the sun went down. I'm going to sleep and getting up early to prepare for the organizer.