days_unfolding

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.

Woke up at 8 AM. Fed us all.

dame_grise was talking about providing temporary shelter to trans people from less supportive states. I’d have a lot of cleanup to do before I could do that, but I’m thinking about it. And it would have to be someone who likes pets.

Overslept my nap by a half-hour.

Bella is being kind of a jerk today. Oliver wanted on my lap and she started play-biting him. He bailed out.

Silence from the trust. God, I’m sick of those people.

Economists say that Trump’s tariffs will cause a recession. Just what we need :(

Schwab hasn’t called me back thus far.

I really want to go on another cruise. They are so relaxing. Not until December. Though Norwegian Cruise Lines has a cruise to Bermuda in August. That would be cheap.

I’m still feeling kind of draggy, but better than yesterday. I’m telling myself that accomplishing anything is better than nothing. My therapist wrote back and she thought that I was feeling grief. But the depression got worse after I wrote her.

I’ve been raking and my back hurts. Damn big chest. Bella is not being a help. She dug up another of my plants.

I’ve got a flaming headache that won’t go away, so I’m going to lie down. That’s the end of my raking. Crud, Oliver went under the bed. Got him. Couldn’t sleep, but my headache went away. Felt like crying though. Watched a couple of episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Fed us all. My headache is coming back.

Got the garbage out. Did dishes. Cut up some hot dogs and string cheese (with Oliver's help--NOT!) for Bella for dog training tomorrow night.

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.

Bought some collapsible walking sticks to take on the trip. There are some walking tours, so they might help. (And yes, it's before the boycott starting at midnight, but if I think of something that I absolutely need to have for the trip, I might have to break the boycott.)

Overslept but got up in plenty of time for my shower. Oliver was walking on top of the shower, peering in and meowing :)

Yay. The vet will take Bella for boarding. Sigh of relief.

Now I'm thinking of waiting post-Trump to have solar installed. There is more likely to be tax credits.

We have a Friday "watercooler" Zoom call. Were were talking about Little Sleepies pajamas, among other things, and they have an "around the world'" one that I'd like to get for spring. But I'll wait until I get back.

The pet waste people cleaned up the yard and did a good job. Now I need to pick up after Bella until I board her. It's kind of tough at night. Maybe I'll take my phone and note where she pooped so that I can clean it up in the daylight. Oh, the joys of dog ownership: so much revolves around poop.

I think that I'm going to be too tired to pull an all-nighter to clean, so I'll go to Plan B and get up at 5 AM to clean. Music is a must! Tonight, maybe I could open some boxes and enter info for the pets' microchips and pack and other low-key stuff. Oh, and scan my music for my singing lesson.

Hmm. I should get some protein bars for my flight. I'm probably going to DoorDash when I get to Miami, but the flight is three-and-a-half hours. And I need something to eat in the morning.

It's kind of quiet and peaceful upstairs in the afternoon sun, listening to the burble of the aquarium.

My dad said to hold off on construction because if there is a recession, you should be able to get good deals. I hadn't thought of that aspect of it. He thinks that we should know if there will be a recession by the end of the summer. But I really want the fence replaced, which requires the garage to be finished so that I know where to end the fence. Hmm.

Oh! I can get Google's User Interface design course for free from the University. All I need is the time, which I don't have. Maybe a little later down the road.

I'm getting involved in new and interesting areas at work (involving with different areas of the system on which we work). That is making me happy.

I was feeling like I perked up a little but now I'm yawning.

Yeah, I need to get to bed early. My patience with the critters is fraying. (Bella ate Lily’s food. I gave Lily more food, but Oliver, who had had a full bowl of food, tried to eat it. Meanwhile, Bella was looking for a chance to eat more of the food. And I was getting cranky.) I think that I need sleep.

Crud, it's predicted to go down to 6F/-14C. I need to set the faucets to dripping. Ugh, there’s a wind chill right now of -2F.

Lily was a little snotty. She stayed down in the basement until she heard me feeding Oliver, and then she wanted to come up.

Got up at 7:30 AM (overslept). My dental appointment did get canceled, but they rescheduled me for 4 PM tomorrow, which is actually better for me.

The uni sent information about what you retain in retirement, which includes an email address, Office 365 on the Web, and access to the university libraries. Not bad. One thing that I want to do in retirement is add tags to my older journal entries.

I mixed up something at work, and I'm hating on my brain.

Apparently the shelter sent a screen capture of Bella's shot records, and I missed it, so I made an appointment for her at the vet on Wednesday. And I made a follow-up appointment for Mimi next week. Things are cooking. I have to get the harness adjusted for her. Though PetSmart has a collar with a handle on it, which might be useful. But I have piano tomorrow night. I'd have it delivered, but I need to look at the sizes. Actually, I found the sizes so I'll order it for delivery.

I got my Costco order. I keep forgetting that when you order dry food from them, you’re ordering a 25-pound bag! So I have 25 pounds of food for Oliver and Lily.

Lily still seems to be okay though, even though she ate pizza sauce. I hope that we dodged a bullet.

I begged off of choir. I’m feeling achy and sinus headachey and it’s cold and there’s ice by my car. And apparently “occasional snow”?

I need to check whether I renewed my membership in AARP. I thought that I had?

I found a Road Scholar trip that I want to take when I retire. It’s a trip to Australia and New Zealand, and it’s a month long. But it would save the airfare for two separate trips.

I want to take a nap. I have Oliver, Bella, and a munchie bone in the bed with me. Life with pets :) Aww. Oliver gave me a little kiss. Bella was bugging Oliver, so I put her out. Oliver let me sleep for quite a while, but woke me up around 11 PM biting.

I ordered the collar for Bella.

Paid my sewer bill. Now I think that I'm completely caught up.

I need to finish feeding the cats and scoop the litter boxes, and then I'll go back to bed.

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!

I didn't get up early. I had some problems falling asleep (my brain would not shut off), so I was tired and having problems in Italian, so she said that I didn't have to have the lesson today, which was nice. So I can log into work early. The alarm on the Echo Spot did work though. And it did play Bach, but I didn't have time to listen to it.

So. Freaking. Tired. I’m feeling dizzy. Maybe I need water. I emailed in sick and will lie down this morning. I told them that I might not have my slides done by 5 PM.

Everyone’s fed. Someone knocked a chair over.

Napped. I feel better now.

I asked my dad:

What do you think will happen with the stock market with Trump's tariffs? And consumer goods? And construction (I want to have a garage built this Spring)?

He said:

Nothing much in the short term. There's going to be a lot of posturing back and forth until things settle down. Don't worry about your garage, small jobs are always sourced locally and so are not affected by tariffs. If you were about to build 100 houses, then you would have a source of worry.

Got my slides done for work. So yay.

My face has been looking puffy, so I need to go back on a diet. Need to figure out what to eat for dessert--yogurt?

Oh joy. Freezing rain is expected tomorrow morning. That's worse than snow.

There ARE going to be some people going to a Senator's office in Springfield tomorrow, but I can't go. I need more lead time than that. It will be great when I retire and can do spontaneous things like that.

I want to lie down after work, but I need to feed the critters first (done). Nap time. Yikes, I have Bella, Oliver, and Lily in my bedroom.

Napped until midnight. I must be getting acclimated to the colder weather because it’s 26F/-3C and didn’t seem bad. Bella was running around in it too.

Mimi really chowed down on her food. Good girl.

The trip to protest in Springfield was postponed to Friday due to the ice storm. Hmm.

Woke up at 8 AM. Bella saw some dogs out for a walk.

I’m looking for used grow light setups to start plants in the basement. I would have to start tomatoes right after I get back from my trip.

Okay, I don’t get this. I took Bella outside and stayed out for a good long time. She peed. And we came in. And she pooped in the bathroom. I did find her lost ball, which might have distracted her.

Bella on the picnic table:

There is a group called Indivisible that is holding a webinar about action plans to combat Trump’s changes tonight. I’ll attend. And there is a local group that I emailed.

Got us all fed. I want to take a nap, but I have Bella, Oliver, and Lily in here. This is not restful :) Oliver is out but Lily is still in here and Bella wants to play. I think that Lily needs to leave, alas. Okay, they’ve settled down.

Lily above the bedroom door:

Napped. Bella and Lily crashed out too.

Some neighbors look like they’re tapping a maple tree? Bella keeps trying to pull slimy leaves out of the plant saucers, so I tipped them all over. She keeps trying to pin Oliver down. Bella is now pawing the water dishes.

I’m trying to decide what to do when. I’m going to eat lunch. Then I think that I’ll corral Oliver and work on the aquarium so that the water can warm up so that I can put the plants in. But hmm, do I need to throw myself together for the webinar tonight? I need to put clothes in the dryer first. Then I’ll work on the kitchen. Okay, dryer, food, shower, aquarium, kitchen.

Me: Bella, whatever you’re doing, don’t do it. Leave Oliver alone. Lily, don’t eat the plant. Etc.

Hmm. I also like tops with pockets. (This is why I live in hoodies all winter long.). I looked at The Vermont Country Store and found a top that I really like, but no pockets. Sigh. I found a linen tunic with pockets on Etsy that I’d like in Dusty Rose.

It got up to 53F/12C today. False Spring.

I had Oliver and Lily in with me in the bathroom while I showered. I moved my soda so that Oliver wouldn’t knock it over but he did anyway :)

Bella pooped outside so yay.

I think that I’ll need garden fencing because Bella walks through the garden, especially because I want a vegetable garden. I’m looking at some fencing at Home Depot. I also need to get the fabric covers out of the gardens. It doesn’t keep the weeds out anyway.

I attended the Call to Action webinar. They want us to visit our Senator's offices to put pressure on them to keep Russell Vought from being confirmed as OMB Director. I emailed the local group to say that I want to join, but I don't have a group with which to go to Springfield.

I haven't eaten dinner yet, so I'm going to go downstairs and work on the kitchen while the pizza is baking. I should take Bella out first (done, and the pizza is in the oven).

I’m trying to gather up the recycling, but Bella is grabbing the cat food cans, which is why they’re on the floor in the first place. She also grabbed an envelope from me. Aargh.

Ate dinner with marked attention from Oliver, Lily, and Bella. Now I'm upstairs with Mimi. I didn't get as much done as I had hoped. I'm going to get up early to give Bella more time outside before work. Mimi is paying attention to me. I need to get my music in the binder for choir tomorrow. Oh, and I need to do Italian homework tomorrow.

Oops, I need to write the trust.

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.