days_unfolding

I was debating whether to weed this morning—I really want a nap—when it started raining. Well, that settles that. Bella and Gracie were chewing a branch that the tree people left.

I really like Bella and Gracie’s new personalized collars with my phone number on them. I think that I want to get some for Oliver and Lily too. (Zara will never get out. Well, maybe I’ll try one for her too, but she probably will resist it.)

There’s a cat (Oliver) in my face. Someone wants to eat.

Serendipity. I got a mail-order form for a “Comfort Tower Pro” that heats and cools. I’ll put it upstairs.

I think that I’ll stay home today and get the package ready to send tomorrow. My Walmart order hasn’t arrived yet. And I need to empty the storage shed. The dogs are barking at nothing in particular.

Got my groceries in. Crud, my donuts fell down and the dogs helped themselves to two of them.

They are saying thunderstorms later in the afternoon, but I have stuff to do inside.

Ate lunch. Gracie: "Why won’t you give me your food?" Me: "Because it’s my food. I get to eat too." Gracie: "Oh."

The Washington Post suggested taking your bank statements and some highlighters to see where your money is going. That’s easy. I’ll try that. Ordered highlighters.

I got my new loofahs, which I put in the shower. A program to wipe files off my old computer plus some transfer software. And I got the purse in which the tablet fits.

Went to order markers for delivery from Walgreens, but they are "age-restricted items," so I need to be available to receive them. Now they’re saying thunderstorms after 6 PM, so I need to get outside.

Well, I made it to 5 PM. I was dripping sweat, and I figured that the dogs (who were outside with me) were hot too, so we came in. Gracie liked being staked out on a long leash. I got some weeding done in front and almost emptied out the storage shed. (There are a few bags of leaves that I need to take out in the morning. Everything else, including my bicycles and the lawn mower, are out and in the basement.) And the markers arrived.

I’m looking at day lilies for the patch at the corner. I’m going to move some of my orange day lilies and add some additional ones for a day lily patch. But I should deal with the plants that I have first.

The Week keeps on trying to get my mom to resubscribe. I like The Week, so I subscribed on a discount magazines site.

I really want a nap, but I need to feed the beasts first. Here comes the storm. Fed us all. Nap time. Gracie loves having her belly rubbed. Had a nice nap. There was an alert about a severe thunderstorm, but I went back to sleep.

Me: “Bella, leave your brother (Oliver) alone." Bella: “But I like bothering him.” Sigh.

Hmm. Now I’m wondering if I should get up a half-hour early and get the package together to send tomorrow. I’m having stomach cramps and want to go back to sleep.

I'm still having issues with Semagic. It won't let me post to multiple journals.

I went back to sleep this morning. So tired.

I think that Gracie is teaching Bella to bark. She’s small but feisty. I think that she’s the "top dog" of the pack despite her size!

I’m having the antibiotic delivered. I just need to buy some probiotic yogurt.

Gracie had her first vet appointment. She was pronounced healthy and "stinking cute". They think that she might be part beagle; in which case, she might not get much larger than she is now. They think that she's six-to-eight months old because her adult teeth are in. We have an appointment to get her spayed in two weeks. Bella had to give Gracie the once-over :)

I'm wondering if I should get a reMARKable tablet and electronic planner. It would be great to store notes there. It would be great for trips. Maybe I'll check it out at Best Buy tonight. Well, no I'm not going to return the shoes tonight. I'm going to practice dog training stuff with Bella. But Amazon has it on sale with a leather cover for the same price as it's at Best Buy without one, so I'll probably get it. Now I’m looking for a purse that will hold the tablet.

Took a short nap. The dogs are flaked out.

Work is being a pain. Some of my files are now read-only, and I needed to edit them. Sigh. Then Access was being temperamental. I hate Annual Stats time. And people were bugging me about getting things done even though I had computer issues. I was posting my status! Leave me alone!

Bella had a roll of toilet paper that she’s shredding, and Gracie is trying to get it away from her. I don’t approve of shredded toilet paper, but the tug-of-war is kind of funny. Oh, and Bella stole Gracie’s lamb toy.

Hmm. I’m thinking of getting up early to work with Bella on dog training stuff. I’m tired and cranky right now and need my patience. I guess that I’ll feed everyone now (done), get the garbage out (done), and post my data to the Web.

Hmm. The Gracie Project might be backfiring. Bella is trying to play with Oliver as if he was Gracie, and he doesn’t like it.

I’m looking into farm stands here. There’s a place that sells different types of cheeses, and I’m looking at a fresh baguette, cheese, and honey combo. And you can volunteer to feed baby goats! Oh! They have a CSA where you can get fresh bread and cheese weekly! I’m so there! There also is a farmers’ market nearby on Saturdays and a little farther away on Tuesdays. I should stop by.

I ordered a ceiling fan for the bedroom. Oh, and I got the new cool bedding, but I might wait until tomorrow to put it on.

I’m crazy tired, so I’m going to post and go to bed. I should have time on the morning to post my data as well as work with Bella.

I evicted Bella and Gracie from the bedroom because they wanted to wrestle and I wanted to go to sleep.

Woke up a little before 7 AM. The puppy was missing her collar, so I put the slip-knot leash on her. We have a problem in that the puppy wants to go in before Bella has done her business, and Bella comes in. I found Gracie’s collar, and it is intact. I think that I’ll order an extra one just in case. I also ordered personalized collars for Gracie and Bella. Crud. The collar is sold out at PetSmart, so I ordered one from Chewy along with puppy food to get free shipping.

Bella is barking more. Protecting the puppy?

Cats: we’re hungry! (Fed them.) Bella ate Gracie’s food. Gracie ate Bella’s food. At least, everyone is fed. Nap time. Bella and Gracie are wrestling, and Oliver is looking at them in total alarm.

Hell. Someone (Gracie?) chewed off the charger for my Apple Watch. I bought a bunch of chargers for same-day delivery.

I shut Bella out because she and Gracie were wrestling. The puppy let me sleep. She’s crashed out.

Took Bella and Gracie out. Wow, it’s a hot day. The heat index is 93F/34C. Should we stay in? I really need to weed and plant things though. Hmm, they’re saying possible thunderstorms. Maybe we will stay in. I have plenty to do inside. Anyway, it’s lunchtime. I need to drink water. I’m falling behind on that.

Got a cat food can away from Bella. Oliver knocked them over, and I must have missed one picking them up.

Now they’re saying no storms, so I need to water the plants at the very least.

Treated Zara’s ears. She hissed at me.

The clock got chewed up too. Sigh.

Oliver is out cold. He is breathing though, so I guess that he’s okay. Bella and Gracie are wrestling though and making noise.

I’m going to take another short nap. It’s been an eventful weekend. Gracie is crashed out on the dog bed.

Oh! The clock is working! The outlet was turned off. I ordered another one, but I think that I’ll keep it as a backup. Alarm clocks are important.

Realized that I didn’t take my meds. Got up, and the puppy followed me. Bella came into the bedroom while we were gone. Bella is letting the puppy chew on her. I told Gracie that she’s perfect, and she covered my face with puppy kisses.

Oh fuck. I forgot to book a singing lesson for today.

Oliver is on my lap. It’s good to spend time with my little boy.

Opened up some boxes and found my new sandals to try on. Also, the new bathmat looks good.

I like the Orthofeet water-friendly sandals, but not so much the slip-ons. So they go back. I saved the box just in case. The swimsuit from the Vermont Country Store looks good, so it's going to Sardinia with me along with the sandals.

Bella and Gracie are playing tug-of-war with a Lean Cuisine box.

Fed the critters and took Bella and Gracie out. Gracie barks at passersby a lot.

I’m wondering what to do now. I think that I’ll sweep the front hall. Someone, probably Bella, has shredded toilet paper there. Hmm, I need to get up early to return the shoes. They cost $200, so you better believe that I'll return it if I don't love it. So I need to go to bed soon.

Oliver's been helping me sweep the bathroom floor. Yeah, he's a big help. Not.

Got up at 5 AM. I stepped in dog poop outside. Terrific. Washed the bathroom floor with Bella, Oliver, and Lily "helping".

It’s definitely cooler today.

Got the puppy paraphernalia in and the back seat of the Honda set up for the puppy (place to click her into a seatbelt and a waterproof covering for the back seat). The critters are curious about the goings on.

I need to treat Zara’s ears in a minute. Zara was hiding in the hope that I wouldn’t squirt stuff in her ears. Sorry, Zara.

Lily is bonking me. Oops. I forgot to feed them. I'll do so after my meeting.

Okay, I found a refrigerator that would work for me. But it's $2500!

It's a very quiet day at work. A lot of people are out of the office.

I have a meeting set up with one garage person and left a message at another place. Left a message with the lawyers. The lawyer got back to me and he's sending me some documents. (He was very confused by my last name :)) He sent me the documents.

The second garage guy came out. It was a little bit of a hard sell, but it sounded like he knew what he was talking about. He’ll give me a quote on Monday.

Fed us all. Washed my face before putting makeup on. My skin is looking really good.

I’m sitting here waiting for the storm to pass.

Oliver really likes the puppy bed that I bought. I’ll have to get one for him and one for Lily.

I’m in Normal now waiting for the puppy to arrive.

Back home with Gracie. Bella was checking her out and already tried to play with her. I think that she’s a hit! Oliver is a little dubious. Lily is nowhere to be found. Gracie inhaled her food.

I think that it’s bedtime soon. I’m tired. I need to order a proper collar for Gracie. I just have a leash with a slip knot. I need to order more puppy food too.

I’m planning to get up in the middle of the night to take Gracie (and Bella) out.

Lily is staring at Gracie.

I took Bella out on a leash. No possums though. Now I’m cooling off for a moment, and then I’ll give Zara her pain med. It wasn’t too hard to give her the pain med. She wasn’t thrilled, but she’s a lot easier to handle than when she was younger. (I gather that it tastes funny.)

I didn't make it to the store, but I did log on by 8:00 AM because I have the training session with Bella at 5 PM. I'll go to the store at lunchtime.

I kicked Bella out of the bathroom because she was chewing on the bath mat, leaving Oliver in with me. That was good; he got some lap time. I thought that Lily was going to be the cuddle bug, but it's Oliver. Usually Bella gets jealous. (I had to remove him from the shower stall though.)

The water reminder does seem to be working. It's reminding me on an interval, and I'm drinking.

CNN Wirecutter recommended some sheets and a comforter for cooler sleep. Given that Bella doesn't like ceiling fans, it sounds like a good idea. I'm not clear on what their colors are (maybe it's the screen on my laptop), so I emailed them my question. I suppose that I could get white sheets and a gray-striped duvet cover.

I found an attorney's office that does both estate planning and real estate law. (I'll have to transfer the house to the trust.) Note to self: Tummelson Bryan & Knox. And they're nearby!

1% raises this year from the university due to "fiscal uncertainty". Thanks a lot, Trump.

I'm eyeing Monarch Money for a financial dashboard. It supports multiple accounts and types of accounts, and costs $100 a year. This is roughly the same thing for which Mom's trust wanted to charge me $100 a month. (I said no and a few other pointed things because Mom had just died, and I had other things on my mind.)

Bella thinks that the hot dogs smell good. She was a very good girl at the training session. She didn’t stress pee and stayed calm even with all the dogs in the ring. She mastered sit and down, but did the worst job of the group at walking on a leash. Personally, I think that it was a victory even being there. I tried some of what we learned at home, and it flew out of Bella’s head. We’ll work on it.

Watered the outside plants. Fed us all. Now I need to get the recycling out (done), but I want to corral Oliver and Lily so they don’t go down in the basement. Oh, and I need to give Zara her pain meds and ear infection meds (done). She’s eating well.

I'm looking for someone to clean out the area of weeds by the storage shed/garage to be. I'm also looking for someone to pressure wash the tiny patio because I'm not going to get a new one this year.

I’m turning on the ceiling fan in the kitchen even though Bella doesn’t like it because it’s so humid in here. One more day of heat wave.

I'm beat.

I forgot to mention that I got my camping mattress from REI. My sleeping bag should arrive on Monday. Then I'll have to test them out. I second-guessed my choice of sleeping bag, but it has an outer polyester shell and a removable inner down bag. So I could take the down bag out for summer camping.

Lily is lying flat on the floor upstairs, stretched out. I don’t know why she is up here when it’s cooler downstairs. Hmm, Oliver was upstairs too. Keeping an eye on me?

Crud. I forgot to put clothes in the dryer, including my summer pajamas. I dug out some shorts and an “A Woman’s Place Is in the White House“ t-shirt (so much for that) to sleep in, which I can also wear for cleaning tomorrow.

Hmm. A CNN article about beating the heat suggested sleeping in the basement. Maybe I should test my camping mattress down there.

Oliver discovered the package of little cat ball toys, and he’s trying to open it.

I’m in bed, and Bella is zonked out cold in her bed.

Woke up at 8 AM. It’s already 80F/27C out. Sigh. Fed us all. Now it’s nap time. Napped, and now I feel groggy. Had lunch. A box of donuts fell down and Bella snatched one.

91F/32C now.

I’m going to nap for an hour and then get cleaning. Boy, did I zonk out. I dreamed that I was looking for a place to be buried in Urbana. Hmm. Bella is still asleep.

Oh fuck. I forgot about the garden walk today. Oh well. But it’s too hot anyway.

It is oppressively hot out (94F/34C). Crazy Bella wanted to lie in the sun. I convinced her to come in quickly though.

I’ve got the sleeping bag and the tent! The sleeping bag seems nice and cushy. I’m assuming that next weekend will be cooler so that I can practice pitching the tent. (The forecasters are predicting the high 80sF.) Maybe I’ll test the camping mattress and sleeping bag later. Oh, and I got the cooler. Bella is playing with the box that the sleeping bag came in. Now she’s bugging Oliver.

Okay, I’ve cooled off. I should get cracking on cleaning the house. I was petting Lily, and Bella was jealous. Critters :) Oliver is trying to tell me something, but I’m not sure what.

Oliver was climbing in the dishwasher. Fun with cleaning with pets. Got the clothes in the dryer.

I’m feeling shaky, so I’m making something to eat.

Hmm. Sling is advertising Queer As Folk for Pride. I always meant to see that, so maybe I’ll watch later if it’s on demand.

Bella is playing with a tug-of-war rope. She’s twirling it around.

I asked ChatGPT for women’s hiking sandals with wide widths. It recommended hiking sandals without wide widths. Sigh. Okay, the last one that they had did have a wide width, so I bought it.

Hmm. The BBC had an article about a "death cafe" in Bangkok, which asks, “Who would you talk to if it was your last night?” I don’t know the answer to that. I need to make more friends.

I have a headache. I need to feed the critters , but then I’ll lie down for a little while. Watered the outside plants while I was out with Bella. It occurred to me that I need to pull out the stake from the camping supplies because I’ll need to stake the puppy out while I work in the yard. I could put the dog pool out for her. Bella is flaked out on the kitchen floor. I’ll feed the cats and start cleaning the bathroom. Then I think that I’ll shower before bed.

I found a pair of waterproof Columbia hiking boots on sale. I checked, and I don’t have hiking boots, so I bought them. I need a taller shoe rack (ordered).

I’m feeling headachy and tired. I think that I’ll take my nighttime meds, post, and go to bed. I can clean in the morning when it’s cooler. Wow, it's hot upstairs. Work is going to suck on Monday. Maybe I'll bring my work laptop downstairs, where it's cooler. I need to get a workman to install my new air conditioner.

I confirmed that Illinois Canyon Trail at Starved Rock doesn't have stairs. It sounds like a nice hike. I need to dig out my hiking boots. Hmm, I need to get a second phone charger battery for camping. There's a limit to how much I'll rough it! I bought a travel dog bed for Bella.

It looks like Bella found another dead possum. Is she killing them? I might need to take her out on a leash at night. I’m calling her “Possum Breath”. Okay, she’s a dog and doesn’t know any better.

I was going to get ready for bed. Cats: not so fast. We didn’t get our second meal! They were right, so I fed them. Now I’m in bed.

Woke up at 8 AM. Emailed in sick. Two of the tickseeds are blooming!

We get Thursday off for Juneteenth, so I plan to do some gardening and cleaning.

Bella was digging in the back garden, so I threw a stick and distracted her. She’s busy chewing it. Now we’re inside. Bella is trying to “play” with Oliver and he gave her a swat. I told her that I speak Cat and he’s annoyed with her.

I need to check whether the lab at the hospital will be open on Thursday (Juneteenth). It would be a good time to get my blood work done.

Fed us all. My stomach hurts. Time to sleep.

Hmm, it’s going to go up to 87F today. I guess that I’ll shave my legs and put on shorts.

Bella is always up for a nap. My bed potato :) Woke up at 1PM.

I received the camping food. I want reusable grocery bags to put them in. I also received a tie-out for Bella, a lantern, and some pots. The tent should arrive on the weekend. Hmm, maybe I should save a box to also put stuff in. I’ll be "car camping".

I’m feeling better but shaky with some stomach cramps. Food should help. It did.

American Airlines flights to Reno are either early in the morning or late at night. I need to take a morning flight to get picked up in Reno by my dad. I’m wondering if I’ll need to overnight in Chicago.

Maybe I’ll take another nap. Bella was already in the bedroom ready to take a nap! Napped and woke up at 6 PM.

I’m feeling dizzy.

It’s predicted to be 93 and 95 F on the weekend. Fuck. Not great for yard work. It looks like an iris that I planted is coming up.

There are ants in my mailbox. It looks like some food spilled in there. I don’t have ant spray. I left the mail outside.

Fed us all. Ordered groceries. I’m trying to get the energy together to gather the garbage for pickup. Woah. I’m feeling dizzy.

The BBC had a video about how Cologne, Germany is sex-positive. It sounds like an interesting city that I’d like to visit.

Bella has a crinkly brown mailer. I can see the appeal. She’s now ripping it up.

I flipped through the destination guide to Greenville, SC, and it looks interesting.

Got most of the garbage out. Hot and dizzy.

I’m looking into Bark Air for when I study in Italy and France. Apparently they do take cats also.

I never did take a shower. I need to get up early to do so because I need to hand off my check to someone at work. It just occurred to me that I need to find out if I need to spell out the name of the consortium or not.

It's oppressively hot upstairs. And Lily wants to snuggle.

Woke up at 7 AM. Had an early morning meeting. Now I have a headache.

Oh good. My neighbors got the dangling tree branch down, and it fell into my yard. I told them that I had made an appointment with a tree guy, but it isn’t for a couple of weeks. They said, "Not to worry; it’s all good." I have the nicest neighbors.

Bella says, "This is the biggest stick ever!"

I ordered a small address book, which would be good to have when I start meeting people.

Dozed lightly during lunch. Oliver was in the room and wanted to snuggle, but it took a while for him to settle down.

Work is being frustrating. I keep on finding issues with the statistics that we are computing. There's no way that I'll have everything done before I go out of town next week.

Bella dug up and destroyed one of my coral bells. Sigh. I need to weed and get the fence up.

Got the recycling out. I’m feeling wiped out, so I’m going to go to bed early. I need to rinse out recycling and soak a litter box first (done). Started laundry. Got my groceries in.

Lily is chewing on paper napkins. Don’t ask me why. This is why we can’t have nice things :)

I found a puppy that I like at the place at which I adopted Bella. She's going to be around Bella's size and she's cute. I'm going to sleep on whether to contact them. I wouldn't be able to pick her up next week though.

Oliver is eating Zara’s leftover food. The vet told me to feed Zara as much food as she wants because she has been losing weight, but that means that I feed her more food than she wants.

I bought a lockable fireproof safe that takes file folders plus a laptop because mine keeps running out of space. (I got a 2 TB hard drive. That should keep me for a while.)

Bella is taking the stuff that I’m throwing out and is squirreling it away.

I woke up at 5 AM. I decided that I wanted to go back to sleep for a while but put clothes in the dryer first. Overslept my nap. Soaked a litter box.

The dentist will glue the tooth back on at 4 PM today. Excellent.

I emailed the shelter about the puppy. Either I’ll get her or I won’t. Lily is sleeping in the window.

My Bee Balm is blooming! And the rest of them have buds.

I’m getting the puppy!!!! They said that they could transport her the following week. I'll pick her up in Bloomington.

I tried to nap at lunch, but I was too excited about the puppy. Bella, on the other hand, is a "five more minutes" kind of gal.

My permanent bridge came in! Things are looking up. The dentist wants me to come in a little earlier, and they'll put it on. I’ve nicknamed the dentist “Dr. Payne” because he keeps doing stuff that hurts (to be fair, my teeth are very sensitive), but it looks great.

Hmm. Feeling dizzy. Must drink water. I get dizzy learning back in dentist's chairs.

Hmm. There's a cruise line that guarantees that you will see the Aurora Borealis during their cruise, or you will get a second cruise for free. I would like to see that. Ooh, I want their astronomy voyage.

I need to get to bed early because the tree guy is coming at 8:30 AM tomorrow.

Hmm, I'm missing a bra that I ordered a few weeks ago. I can live without it, but I wanted to take it with me on my business trip. Anyway, I need to do some maintenance on my "paper trading" account, do some dishes and tidying, and get to bed so that I'll get up really early.

Lily smacked Oliver. Cranky cats.

I was feeling very sleepy but drank some water, which helped. I need to get to bed. Ordered some ear wax removal drops and a bike helmet.

According to my dad’s system, now is a good time to buy stocks. I’ll “paper trade” some tomorrow.

Good. The tree people got back to me and they can come by on Tuesday morning “to assess my situation.”

I was eyeing a Lincoln plug-in hybrid car yesterday, but need to compare prices with other ones. The price was less than I expected. I wouldn’t want to buy a car until after I get the garage built. The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid is more expensive. The Toyota RAV4 plug-in is comparable, so it’s all about which car that I like best. Also Consumer Reports, which says to get the RAV4. It doesn't have a report for the Lincoln though. Actually, I really like the Mazda CX-90 PHEV, but it's more expensive. (Consumer Reports says no on it though.) Actually, the CX-70 is more my size. Most dealers do not carry plug-in hybrids, so how can I test drive them?

Placed a grocery order to get Munchie Bones, lots of cat food, and some food for me.

Came in with Bella after an hour. She tried to grab my donut. Bad Bella! Urgh. I brought food into Zara’s room and noticed that she needed water. I went to get her water dish and Oliver busted in. Zara hissed and hid. I went to get Oliver out, and Bella ate Zara’s food. Sigh. What a zoo. I’ve got it sorted now.

I’m leaning more towards “Freckles” for a dog companion. If she’s still available after I get back from my business trip, I’ll look into her. Unless I go for “Rita”, but I don’t know if they will adopt across state lines. She looks like a real sweetie though. I saw the most adorable puppy at the place where I adopted Bella, but I don’t want a puppy. She sure is cute though. Look at that face!

I almost forgot to feed Bella with the brouhaha about Zara’s food. I filled her dish and sat on the stairs to the upstairs. I felt cat feet on my head and knew who it was (Oliver) without looking.

Napped. When I got up, I had Bella with her paws on my chest, licking my face, and Oliver on my back shoulders. Got my groceries in. Ate lunch and read The Washington Post. Started opening packages. Found the “good” dental glue. I’m having a dizzy spell, so I’m sitting down and chilling carbonated water in the freezer. I need to clear a spot for the air conditioner, and then I’ll be done. Got the air conditioner in. (My next step will be to get someone to install the air conditioner.)

I started doing my “things that I need for my business trip” shopping.

I’m being poked with a Munchie Bone :) Finished my water.

Ugh, I don’t feel like going out. I should take my shower and fix my tooth though. I certainly have a lot of stuff to do here. Glued the tooth back in and it's setting. It came out when I took my partial out. I guess that I didn't let it set enough.

Took a shower. Bella was pulling stuff out of the garbage and strewing them on the floor. I told her that she was creating a dog mess. I need a trash can with a cover (ordered). I just remembered that I need to sign Bella up for obedience training.

It’s raining. Bella is noping out. I love my raincoat. I never use umbrellas anymore.

Do I want to subscribe to the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra? Most of their upcoming concerts sound interesting. They have a "pick 4" deal that I'm going to get. No online sales though; you need to send the order form in or call.

I can’t stop yawning. I need to make it an early night.