days_unfolding

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

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

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

Urgh. My neck is getting really stiff.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Woke up with my alarm at 7.

I had Lily and Bella attending my shower. I took off my pajamas to go into the shower, when I felt a dog nose on my butt. I laughed and told Bella that I didn't need my butt sniffed. But yes, she's a dog.

Yikes, I had an RSV vaccine scheduled for tonight, but it was scheduled for Lincoln! Oops! I rescheduled it locally for tomorrow. I'm taking Bella to the vet today, so that's enough health care.

Got the car cleaned out (well, I threw stuff in back, but it could use a good cleanout). Got the harness on Bella and adjusted it somewhat, but she wasn't cooperating.

Oh man. I got the harness on Bella, and she was tolerating it fairly well. I got the leash on her, which she was less thrilled about, and got her to the car. Then she balked on getting into the car. She got in once and I got out to close the door, and she came back out. I tried again, and she pulled--and pulled her harness off. I didn't know that was possible, but her legs were up on the seat. She hung around though, and I managed to get her into the yard. I have a new appointment for Monday, and we'll work on getting into the car with treats involved.

I seriously need carbs. I have a Walmart order coming tonight. Well, it came this afternoon, and I loaded on carbs. I saw a post on Facebook that said that Walmart is contributing to Project 2025. I'm fairly dependent on Walmart. Maybe I can switch to Meijer?

Bella was looking guilty/sad. I told her that I wasn't trying to get rid of her, just take her to the vet. I petted her, and she perked up a little.

Lily snuck upstairs while I had my hands full of carbs. I've been letting her nose around, but Mimi just saw her and is growling. No screams though. (She screams at Oliver.) Lily seemed unimpressed, but she respected Mimi’s space. Lily liked the tree window. Lily liked it up there and ran in again when I fed Mimi, so I picked her up and took her out of there.

I’m trying to buy a ramp to make it easier for Bella to get into and out of the car. I’m getting an error, so I’ll try later from my laptop.

I’m feeling tired but wired, so I should get stuff done and get to bed earlish. I hate to disturb Bella though. She’s clearly exhausted. I did get up and so did she.

I opened some Amazon boxes for my trip. I shelled out for a new Kindle because the one that I have is large and meant for annotating books. I usually read books on my phone but don’t want to run my phone battery down while I’m traveling. I got a small Kindle Paperwhite. The Kindle figured out who I was based on my WiFi, logged in, and downloaded all my books automatically. Pretty slick, Amazon. I’m charging it up. I need to clean out my travel backpack and start packing stuff in it.

Practiced piano and spent some quality time with Zara, who has been getting short shrift. I need to keep it up.

Got the recycling bin filled. I need to get up early to get the bins out and to take flattened boxes out (which will take a while).

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 don’t have the heart to take away Mimi’s chair from upstairs, but I want one in the library. I found a used chair on Facebook Marketplace that I like. The question is whether I could fit it in the car.

I came into the bedroom to see Bella on the new bed!

I’m working on getting Bella to stop bugging Oliver so much. I got her to walk away from him three times. She got pets and a treat. It’s a start.

Bella grabbed a fortune from a fortune cookie off of the table. She makes me laugh.

Woke up at 8:30 AM. It's a pajama day today, although I have a piano lesson tonight, so I'll have to make myself presentable for it.

Oliver got out again this morning, but I grabbed him. I guess that I need to shut him in the bathroom when I go out with Bella.

I decided that I would like plants upstairs, but there isn't a lot of light. I found a folding shelf with grow lights that might work.

My doctor's appointment tomorrow is in Danville, about 30 minutes away from here. I'm taking the morning as sick time because of the extra drive time.

Ugh. Our libraries are discussing how to deal with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents. I hate that this is an issue.

Mimi didn't finish her wet food last night, but she polished off her dry food. If that's what she wants, she can have it. I have a ton of it because I accidentally got two bags of senior formula, thinking that one was adult formula for Oliver and Lily.

I keep forgetting to look for Bella’s ball outside. I looked, but so far, I haven't found it.

I'm mulling over putting a rose garden in at the side of the house. I originally wanted to put my vegetable garden there, but I think that there are gas and power lines underground there. (I'll call to check.) But I could plant roses on either side of the area there, and maybe put in a path? And a bench? Though a wildflower garden would be simpler. Or maybe put in a raised box.

I'm getting a bad sinus headache.

I've been gathering the forms that I need for taxes. Some of them won't be ready until the 31st though, so I guess that I'll write the trust about taxes on the weekend.

I think that I'll get will and trust books/software. I probably will have a professional look it over, but I can take a cut at it and think about the decisions that I'll need to make.

Hmm, I think that I found a niche for a book or garden shop: pet-friendly garden designs. I did find one book (used) on Amazon. Coneflowers are safe for pets, so I might work with them for my side garden. And Western Wheatgrass. Or maybe just wildflowers.

Had my piano lesson. I said that I liked playing songs that I knew how to sing, which led to the song "Danny Boy," which is so pretty. She dug up music for it and I'll work on it.

It got kind of late to get the recycling out, so I'll get up early to gather it. I need to feed the hordes' last meal of the night, and then I'll go to sleep. I have my doctor's appointment in the morning, so I can leave a little later.

Oh hell, there was a midair collision between a passenger jet and helicopter in Washington DC. There are divers looking for the plane in the Potomac River. This doesn't look good.

I forgot to do laundry today. I guess that I start work in my pajamas. I can sleep a little later in that case.

I’ve been using the electric toothbrush and WaterPik. I wind up dousing the mirror with the WaterPik, but my teeth do feel squeaky clean.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. The puppy was sleepy but got up. Now she has her squeaky ball. I’m trying to wake up and warm up.

Submitted a Walmart order. My membership in Walmart+ has really paid off.

Oliver was up on the “kitty highway“ above the cabinets. Bella was looking at him like, what are you doing up there? Now she’s chasing the youngsters. It’s a zoo here. I told her that I was told that she was chill. She’s not acting like it :)

Got the clothes in the dryer.

Hmm. There is a “new to CU” mixer in February. Also, Hospice Hearts (the organization that takes care of pets when their owner is sick or dies) is looking for volunteers. I might join. I could do pet transport and work adoption events on the weekend. Hmm, I wonder if I should foster a dog? That would get Bella a friend but I could give it back :) But the dog would need to like cats. Maybe not.

Oy vey. Oliver ate some of Lily's wet food. I gave her some dry food, and he knocked into it and spilled it. I threw my hands up. At least, she got SOME food in her.

I was pondering on how to set up Mimi when I'm gone in March. I might take the gate down so that she can get water if something happens with the pet sitter. Better to deal with Oliver than no water. Yeah, I worry.

Bella is being manic. She’s been squishing Oliver, which he doesn’t like. I told her to cut it out and that I wouldn’t like it either. I’m worried because he’s crying out and she could hurt him.

Napped over lunch. The puppy is still dozing.

The ladder is here. It's tall enough that I should be able to change light bulbs in the living room. And the light in the cold bathroom, which is why I bought it. The critters are like, what is THAT? I also got the binder for my piano music. I forgot to get sheet protectors, so I ordered some from Amazon. And I got my Google Home speaker, so I'm going to set it up and play Bach while I excavate the kitchen.

Mimi has been picking at her food. I wonder if I could ask the vet for an appetite stimulant. She must have heard my thought because she went over to nose at the food.

Bella lay down in the yard to chew on a big stick, so she clearly thinks that it's warm. I talked her into coming inside though.

Hmm. I saw susandennis' post mentioning yoga pants with pockets, and I thought, oh that would be good. But I wear petites. But I found some on Amazon. Excellent.

I want to get Bella one of those round fluffy faux fur beds, but they're kind of expensive. They have them on Amazon though. I would like one myself! They sell small ones for cats too, but I was going to get the cats heated beds. But Oliver would like one because he's been sleeping on the folded faux fur rug from the bedroom.

Now Mimi is seriously eating. Good. And drinking.

Fed the poochka. Now I’m working on the cats (done).

Hmm. I want some white plastic baskets to organize pet stuff. I need to go to Dollar Tree and see what they have.

Got my Google Home speaker set up. It’s a lot easier than Echo Dot. The sound is better too. I decided to play classic rock.

I’ve got 2/3rds of the kitchen floor done. (Yes, it was trashed.) I also soaked and filled a litter box and scooped litter boxes. I need to take out the garbage and recycling. I’m planning to get up early to do more and drag the recycling to the curb.

I’m also planning to fill the fish tank and turn on the heater and filter. Then I’ll post and go to bed. I got a lot done tonight though. The music helped. My goal is to clean the kitchen and bathrooms this weekend. Oh, I forgot to mention that I got the hamper today too. I want to get it set up this weekend too.

Oh crap. The water bucket is in the bathroom with Oliver. I guess that I’ll fill the tank in the morning.

Did dishes. Fed the cats. I had a hard time keeping Bella from eating Lily’s food. And Bella and Oliver charged into Zara’s room. I have to hand it to Zara. Bella kind of got in Zara's face, and Zara went Wap! Wap! Wap! across Bella’s nose. That was gutsy.

More crap. Bella completely chewed up one of my shoes. And now she’s going into the cats’ litter box and digging. She scattered litter all over the floor. I’m feeling annoyed with her and Oliver. I need to get to bed and sleep it off.

Costco isn't sending me a card. I need to go over there and visit the membership desk to get my photo ID. Meanwhile, I have a digital membership card on my phone.

Hey, I don’t need to set an alarm tomorrow! So I woke up at 5:30 AM. Sigh. Fed myself and the girls and won’t set an alarm while I nap. Slept until 10:30. That’s better.

Yikes, American Airlines had a ground stop. I’m glad that I’m not traveling.

I’m trying to figure out what to do. This is a “working” vacation for me (plus I have nothing to do for Christmas). I think that I’ll chop the stuff for the chowder tonight and put it in the slow cooker tomorrow. I need to finish cleaning the aquarium and get it upstairs. I guess that the rest of the time will be spent in the library room. I’ll bring a boom box and play Christmas carols.

Hmm. My chopping knife is missing. I came up with a Walmart order for delivery, but the earliest that it will come is Thursday. So I guess that I need to shower and get dressed and go over there. I checked Costco, but they’re all about expensive knife sets. Meijer didn’t have much of anything.

I played a fun game of “where are my bras hiding” but finally found them. (The house cleaner/organizer reorganized my clothes.) It’s great to go into my drawers and pull stuff out though.

I decided to take another short nap. Walmart is open until 6 PM.

I want to see A Complete Unknown, but I’m not sure when I’ll go.

On my way to Walmart, I passed a Domino’s Pizza and thought that pizza would be good. I told myself to buy a frozen pizza at Walmart because it would be a lot cheaper. I found an Uno’s pizza there, and I love Uno’s. Got the chopping knife, some food storage containers, and some frozen food. Oh, and some caffeinated soda because I’m going through it quickly. Now I’m preheating the oven for the pizza. Zara wants food.

I can’t eat a deep dish pizza without thinking of Jon Stewart saying, “What is this, a casserole?” :)

I got my musical notes clock! That’s a great Christmas present to myself. The only thing is that I want to move the piano under the stairs, so I need to wait to put it up.

I’m getting lots of aquarium supplies from Amazon. And some of my plants should get here this weekend. I hope that I get the substrate, which has also been shipped, before I get the plants.

The pizza was delicious. Food coma now though. I’m lying down, and Zara has happily flopped down next to me. Love my girl.

I’m in my sleep dilemma again. Instead of taking a nap, I should just go to bed. I need to pay my piano teacher for some music and print some music out, but then I’ll go to bed.

I’m lounging in cozy purple pajamas. They’re warm. And cute.

Got up at 7 AM. Fed the cats and myself. Napped. Zara is still asleep, and Mimi is hanging out on the heat vent. I’m feeling like going back to sleep, but I should get up and get things done.

Had lunch. I need more soda, so I should submit a grocery order.

Tonight is the Solstice thing at Allerton, but I don’t think that I’m going to go. It would be better to get stuff done around here.

Mimi is looooonely. I'm at the computer, and she hopped on my lap. Submitted a grocery order.

A friend recommended Ruby’s Rescue and Retreat for a dog. I found one that I like. (She’s a schnauzer, and I love fuzzy dogs.) I’m trying to get personal references together. Done and applied and the dog was already adopted. Sigh.

I have a weird thing in that I have to start my shower on a quarter hour. I don’t just jump in.

Mimi is lonely again. Now that she had her snuggles, she's curled up on the futon giving herself a bath.

Got myself together. I have enough money for the fish tank, so I guess that I’ll hang out until it’s time to go.

I now have a (used, but new to me) 20-gallon fish tank. The guy had water in it, so I could see that it did not leak, but then I had to stand around while he emptied it. We got it in my car, and now it’s inside the house. The tank needs scrubbing, so I need to find out with what I can scrub it.

I bought a reflective beanie, thinking that I will get a dog eventually and will be taking the dog for walks. A reflective collar for the dog is not a bad idea too.

I spent a pot of money on the aquarium-to-be. (Aquariums are an expensive hobby.) I wanted a heater that shuts off if it overheats, which the one that I have doesn't. And a vacuum for water changes. And an automatic fish feeder for vacations.(I might use it all the time because the fish can't get in my face like Zara and Mimi do.) And some driftwood, rocks, aquatic plants, aquatic dirt, and sand. Did I say that aquariums are an expensive hobby? I found some instructions on cleaning aquariums on Chewy. I need to get some vinegar to clean the outside of the aquarium. I ordered an algae scraper. Here's a question: I want the aquarium heater and lights to be plugged into a UPS in case the power goes out. Do I dare get a used one or is that a bad idea? I also want to put the lights on a timer. Oh, never mind, I bought a new one.

Zara’s in her happy place, snuggled up right next to me. Aww.

I’m not having a lot of luck in getting a used TV for upstairs, so I’m looking at small, cheap new ones. Best Buy has one that I’m interested in ($59). Okay, ordered.

Well, I was going to take a nap, but I have a grocery store order coming at 8, and it’s 23F/-5C out now, and I have soda in the order, so maybe not. I’ll print off some music and practice piano.

I've reached a new height in Cat Mom-dom or geek-dom: I was able to add paper to my printer with Mimi on my lap!

I’ve got my aquarium book, so once the Walmart order gets here (done), I’ll get into my pajamas and read.

Applied for another dog. We'll see what happens.

I’m flagging a bunch of meals in my Meal Prep book. Yum!

I overslept, but it’s okay. It just means that I can’t take a nap after breakfast.

Will wonders never cease! Zara and Mimi went nose to nose with no hissing!

I booked the walk in the cloud forest in Costa Rica. I plan to go back to Costa Rica, so maybe I can see sloths then. Though hmm, Road Scholar’s trips do not include sloths, so maybe I should switch. Yeah, okay, I switched.

I need to go get cash to tip the massage person before I go to the memorial service.

Yeah, it looks like the Urbana Park District isn’t continuing the yoga program that I like. Champaign has one on Thursdays that I could do. I tried to register but was having issues on my phone. I need to go upstairs. Though hmm, the one at the yoga center is closer. I need to think about this. I enrolled in Pilates in Urbana. Oh, but the class that I want at the yoga center is online. I think that I need a face-to-face class. I'll enroll in Champaign's class (done). I'm going to have to leave early to get there. I’m not sure about Zumba (in Urbana). I think that they let you try the first class for free?

I chugged down a protein shake because I won’t have time for lunch.

I wonder when they’re going to send the Dial-A-Carol instructions. It starts tomorrow.

I got to the Funeral Home for the memorial service early. We (the choir) wound up sitting in the back. Our first song went well. The second song was a singalong to “Amazing Grace,” and everyone got lost at the beginning of the third verse. However, I thought the memorial service was an hour, but they were still going strong at 1.5 hours, so I left. I think that I stepped on someone’s foot on the way out though :( Then when I parked the car, I pulled in too close and scratched my mom’s car. What a sucky day.

The massage was pretty good, not awesome. I wound up leaving a fairly large tip because I didn’t have change.

I thought about going to Lowe’s to get extra keys made and a lockbox, but the rain is COLD (39F/4C) and yucky. I think that I’ll feed the cats and myself and take a nap.

Sucky day is continuing to suck. I had a Walmart order delivered, and over half the order was missing. And they left the stuff that I did get out in the rain. They're giving me a refund for the missing items, but meanwhile, I need the missing items. I'm going to try Meijer later. Well, maybe I should do it now and then go to sleep so that I'll get up early. I have a singing lesson at 11 AM tomorrow. And the recital at 5 PM. And Dial-A-Carol at 8. (I need to go to one of the dorms for Dial-A-Carol. It's going to be kind of a pain.)

I’m looking at LGBTQ organizations to which to donate because the next four years are going to be hell.

Does anyone have a favorite discount or price-tracking Web site or extension? I have PayPal Honey, Capital One Shopping and CamelCamelCamel. And Rakuten for cash back. And eBay and Mercari to buy used things.

Eeep. 15 days until Christmas? Good thing that I don't have presents to buy, although I was going to donate some items to a local children's home. Need to look into it fast. The presents are due by the 13th, so I can't buy anything from Amazon, only Walmart. I'll go shopping at Walmart on Thursday and drop the gifts off at lunchtime on Friday. I should try Meijer too. Duh. I can have the items delivered to me (ordered)! That'll save a trip!

I have a boatload of things to do today. I need to make up some time at work. I need to practice piano and have my lesson. I need to get the garbage and recycling out and clean up the kitchen so that I can get someone in to look at the garbage disposal. And I have Italian tomorrow morning, so I should look over my notes.

And I want to text the house cleaner/organizer about some sessions. Done. She’ll come clean a week from tomorrow and we’re discussing the organizing. She’ll start the organizing after cleaning and will finish on Friday.

Had my piano lesson. It went well. I really like my teacher and I learn a lot from her.

Got the garbage out and a lot of the recycling, but I’ll need to finish the recycling tomorrow and clean the kitchen. Now I need to sit, so now I’ll work (done--it's funny how adept I've gotten at working with Mimi on my lap!)

Somewhere along the line, I need to find "something festive" to wear when we go caroling. Though caroling is a misnomer; we're doing some of the same songs as we did at the concert. I think that I have a sparkly top somewhere. If not, I have the purple dresses.

Now I need to do dishes and get to bed to get up early for Italian. Though I need to figure out what to talk about tomorrow (done).

Mimi was having problems jumping on my lap, so I picked her up. Surprisingly, she didn’t mind.

I found a recipe for a mixed berry smoothie. They suggest adding 1/2 a frozen banana to it, so I need to pick up some bananas and freeze them.

Ow. My right arm was hurting when I pulled up the comforter. Don’t know what’s up with that. Getting older is the pits!

I signed up for BlueSky: adriennerad.bsky.social.

Ugh. I woke up at 7, decided that I'll take my shower at lunchtime, and went back to sleep for a little while. And overslept. So much for getting the recycling out.

Holy cow. 7.0 earthquake in Northern (way Northern) California. I hope that people are okay. The "pretty big one," the Loma Prieta Quake that I experienced, was a 6.9 or 7.0. Personally, I don't want to experience a quake again over 5.5. Funny, a person that CNN interviewed said that he got "seasick" because of the quake. I described the movement of the cruise ship as "being like an earthquake".

My dad is annoying me. I had sent him an email saying that I wanted to take a Panama Canal tour in a couple of years. He sent a response that the most important things are 1) finding a life partner and 2) getting your financial house in order. He said that travel, while satisfying, was less important than 1 and 2.

Well, I’m not certain that I want a life partner (most men remarry after a divorce, but women are more dubious), although I’d like to date, and that was the reason I was losing weight, although I’ve fallen off that wagon. Plus, I need to declutter my house, both to make it look nice for dating and also I don’t want to leave as much of a mess as Mom did.

As for finances, I have retirement money. And I’m working to get a pension from the uni. (Honestly, that’s the thing that is keeping me from retiring right now.) I’m working on getting the rest of my finances in order.

As for travel, I know that there will always be “one more place,” but when I die, if I haven’t been to a majority of the places to which I want to go, I will be pissed. Plus, I belong to a Facebook group of retired women, and they consistently say, travel while you can. I’m aware that my traveling time has a limit. And it makes sense to me to travel as much as I can while I'm still working. And I'm consciously doing the things that are important to me: travel, singing, piano, and Italian.

My therapist agreed that I need to live my life my way. She thought that my dad was out of line and doesn't know how to parent an adult child.

I’m waiting to cool down before responding.

Had my piano lesson. She commented that I had did a lot of work on my recital piece. In fact, I had played it so much before the lesson and at the lesson that I got really tired and stopped being able to play. That never has happened before. And I never have been so aware of my ability to concentrate as a limiting factor.

I'm need to go to bed early because I need to get up on time and take a shower and put on my makeup because we will be introducing ourselves to the governance board at work. I know I keep saying that but staying up late, but I need to stick to it this time. Posting is a start.