days_unfolding

A friend recommended Bark Box, and I'm also looking at KitNipBox for the cats. This place is going to be all toys of various sorts. I'm wondering how to keep Bella from chewing the cats' toys. Maybe I should keep them up somewhere when they're not being played with.

Bella has decided that it’s bedtime already. She’s a morning dog.

Overslept and had to scramble because I was taking Oliver and Lily to the vet for their first checkup. Made it there, and they were pronounced healthy. I'm getting Feline Leukemia shots for them because I think that Oliver will get out sometime (he is fast), and there is an outdoor cat nearby.

Bella has started jumping up with her front paws on me. I don't mind it but don't want her to do that to anyone else, so I'll have to train her not to do that. Now I'm mulling over the training class again.

Bella is whining because she's lonely. I'll be down for lunch in a few minutes.

Crud. In the hour that I was upstairs, Bella got a roll of toilet paper and shredded it plus brought out some things that Oliver knocked down this morning. I thought about taking her out at lunchtime, but I had taken her out as soon as I got back from the vet, so I thought that she would be okay. Well, she pooped in the bathroom (at least it was the bathroom) when I lay down for my nap. Now she's sleeping. I guess that the moral of the story is if if I'm thinking of taking her outside, to take her outside.

Bella's pacifism doesn't apply to squirrels :) She chased one out of the yard. She saw another one in the tree, and was standing transfixed underneath it. Eventually, I got her to come in after telling her that it wasn't likely to come down if she's there.

Because Bella likes to shred things, I've been giving her empty Lean Cuisine boxes to shred. Maybe I should give her mail to be shredded! I ordered her some deer antlers (forgive me, Bambi) and rawhide bones from Amazon.

Bella saw another dog when she was out. We were coming in but she stopped cold. She doesn’t run over to other dogs, just looks at them.

Hmm. I have Pilates tonight, but I’m tired and Bella seems kind of fragile today. Plus it’s getting really cold tonight (19F/-7C now with a wind chill of 9F/-13C). I can rationalize anything :)

Zara has discovered the cat bed that I put in the library room for her. She was looking at Bella but then ran away. Lily and Bella almost went nose to nose.

I was realizing that Bella doesn’t understand me as much as I don’t understand her. But it’s been only a few days. She likes lying on the bed with me, so I could take some time to sit and read. Tried to nap, but decided that I want to do my chores and get to bed early.

I’m wondering if Bella needs a dog companion, but want to wait and see. The training class would be a good way to see how she interacts with other dogs. I did see a Sheltie online who likes cats and other dogs.

Got the garbage out. The cans were frozen shut, so I gave up and put the bag next to them.

Ate some soup and now I’m wiped out. I need to put clothes in the dryer (done) but I think that I’ll get up early to do dishes. Oh, and I need to feed the cats (done). And take Bella out for the last time tonight.

I had intended to get up early, but I overslept, and heard the garbage truck as I woke up. Oh well. They did pick up the recycling, so yay. I can get the kitchen cleaned up.

Do I want to attend a Pilates class tonight? Probably, getting to yoga tomorrow is enough.

I forgot to mention yesterday that the power went out briefly. I was lying in bed for a nap when the lights and fan went off. it was back on before I went to sleep. Just enough time to reset my alarm clock.

I'll need to throw myself together and run out tonight to pick up meds for me. No, the handyman is going to get here at 8 AM EST (ack!), so I'll let him in and run out to get my meds. I trust him to not steal the computers.

Hmm. I was wondering if Blue Cross Blue Shield covered weight loss injections for after I come back to Urbana, but it depends on the plan. However, I read in the Washington Post that some people using them had stomach paralysis that didn't go away when they stopped taking them. It probably would be better to do without them. The uni has an online weight-loss course with a dietician though.

I was wondering if I'd have time to go to the pool the day that I arrive in Maui (in October), but it'll be a little late. I think that it'll be dinner and then collapse. I wonder if there will be a restaurant near the airport? Or a grocery store? The California Pizza Kitchen in the airport closes before I will get in. Oh, Sammy's Beach Bar and Grill is in the airport and is open until 10 PM. I'd want to pick up the car first though. Stinger Ray's is also in the airport and has an Ahi (tuna) sashimi salad that sounds kind of good. And there's a Safeway just off of the airport property. I asked Dad if there was a place to eat near the airport, and he said that he had no idea. He asked why I wouldn't eat near the hotel, and that depends on whether I can grab a bite during my 1.45 hour layover in LAX. LAX is huge and I've had a bad experience there running from gate to gate. (Note to self--put granola bars in my bag.)

Bought three geeky t-shirts: an apostrophe with cat ears saying "catastrophe", a Hawaiian shirt with a pattern of 0s and 1s, and "2B || !2B" ("to be or not to be").

I ordered some travel-sized silicone containers for my shampoo, conditioner, face cream, etc. I bought some reef-safe sunscreen too.

When I go upstairs, Mimi runs in front of me and rubs against things. I told her that the fact that I open cans for her gives me squatter's rights to her territory. Plus, I pet her when I get upstairs. She thinks that that might be a fair exchange.

I finished the book Hidden Valley Road. It's about a family of 12 children, six of whom had schizophrenia. It's very good. In it, I learned that people with schizophrenia lack a neurotransmitter, and that nicotine emulates that neurotransmitter. I vape, and the times that I tried to quit smoking, I couldn't follow conversations and left my wallet in a store, etc. Apparently a drug company came up with a drug, but people would have had to take it four times a day, and they said that it wasn't practical. I would take it and quit vaping! But I'm not a typical schizophrenia patient.

It's amazing what some regular attention with the right tools will do. My face has never looked better with the (expensive) face wash, serum, and cream that I've been using. The (expensive) shampoo and conditioner that I've been using makes my hair shine. The body lotion was helping, but I misplaced it when the handyman was working in the bathroom. I need to find it. I also have a foot exfoliating cream that I need to try. Now I got some manicure cream and tools. I won't paint my nails because it'll come off with all the work that I'm doing, but I could take better care of my cuticles. I also bought some "Rich Girl" hand cream too.

I went to book a hotel for the night before my Hawaii flight (even if I come from Urbana, I'll need to stay near the airport overnight because the flight to LA is in the morning), but Hotels.com is updating their site. Bah.

I'm going to do dishes and then take a shower and shave my legs. It's been getting hot, so it's shorts weather.