days_unfolding

Canceled a bunch of subscriptions on PayPal. I think that all I have left is Netflix, which I want to keep. Oh, and I should resubscribe to Hulu.

I checked into my cruise, but the boarding documents won't be available for a few days. I also bought the Have It All package, which includes WiFi, drinks, and one specialty dining meal.

Bought a ring that looks like hugging arms, and it'll have "Mom" engraved on the inside.

Now I really need to go to bed. I have a boatload (so to speak) of stuff to get done this weekend.

Gracie is trying to play dog play with me on the bed, and I told her to go play with Bella. That’s why I have two dogs. Now she’s snoozing with her head on my leg.

Woke up a little before 6 AM. I explained to the dogs that the cats get fed first. They don’t think that’s fair. Fed us all. My stomach hurts. I’m going back to bed. The dogs are wrestling on the bed and not leaving me any room. The snow has started.

Woke up a little before 11 AM. I’m feeling cold. It’s 15F/-10C out. So yeah, cold. I’ll take a shower in a few minutes. After lunch.

BuddhaStoneShop had a bracelet that I liked for only the shipping cost, so I got it. They also had a ring in the shape of a cat for shipping cost, so I got that too. And a Tree of Life bracelet. And a Yin-Yang necklace. They’re probably getting money from part of the shipping cost, but still, it’s cheap.

Oliver was warming my lap and purring.

I’m IBSing. But I’m staying home today so I guess that it’s okay.

Ate lunch.

Finished the book on James I. I just ordered a book on Charles I to continue my investigation into the Stuarts.

Oliver is knocking stuff down and being annoying.

The Precip app says 3.3 inches of snow so far, to make a total of 6.5. It’s like living in a snow globe. I saw a map on Facebook with the words “Stay home” over our band of snow. Will do.

I think that I’ll have one more nap. Slept for about an hour. I’m feeling cold and trying to warm up before my shower. It seems like the dogs and cats are sleeping. At least, they aren’t in the kitchen.

Opened packages while I and my clothes were warming up. I got the file folder wall holders for sheet music. I need to dig out my drill.

Hmm. UNICEF Market has a lot of rings that I like.

The dogs are barking at who-knows-what.

I think that I’ll have some soup.

Final snow total: 5.7, for a total of 8.4. Now we’re into the cold part of the weekend (currently 0F/-18C). I'm going to pull out another blanket and go to sleep. I hope that Gracie won't chew holes in the blanket. Oh, and I need to set the faucets to dripping.

Got into the shower early so I'd have time to put on my makeup. Gracie's vet appointment is at 10 for her kennel cough.

The vet gave Gracie some antibiotics. He said that they can't treat Bella unless I bring her in, but because her cough isn't as bad, I should just keep an eye on her.

I lay down over lunch and am feeling lousy, so I took 1/2 a sick day.

Had a brief therapy session. She says that because I wasn’t feeling well, we can wait until next time. I’m going to go back to bed.

I’m not sure what to do about my singing lesson. I really need to practice my solo piece, but I have a cold. I guess that I’ll hope to be better tomorrow.

Gracie is having a great time pulling tissues out of the box. Sigh. Dogs. Bella has learned to push up on Gracie’s belly with her legs, and Gracie gets “stuck”. Smart Bella (although I think that Gracie is the smarter of the two of them).

Someone took a package from my house again and left the gate open. I contacted the police and am going to get someone to put up my security cameras.

Today kind of sucks.

Okay, we’re all fed. I think that I should take a NightQuil and go to bed. Oh, after I put clothes in the laundry.

Ow. Oliver jumped, claws outstretched, and cut my lip. I had no qualms kicking him out of the bedroom.

Woke up at 7 AM. I’m still feeling like crap, so I emailed in sick. I’ll go back to bed after I feed the critters. Okay, we’re all fed. Gracie is eating all the dry food. Nap time. I shut Oliver out because I want to rest.

I gave up and turned on the heat. It was 54F/12C in here. The auto setting doesn’t appear to be working. Another reason to turn the heat on is the freeze tonight. Had lunch. I think that I’ll go back to bed for an hour and then take my shower. I have a therapy appointment in the afternoon.

The heat is helping. It feels a lot nicer in here.

Lily is attending my shower, lying down looking serene. Showered.

I forgot to mention the other day that I got the bulbs that I ordered, so I need to find time to plant them this weekend. And charge my tiller.

Therapy went okay. She’s thrilled that things are working out and that I got my bulbs. (She loves gardening.) She thinks that I should talk to my doctor about my dizzy spells though.

Lay down after my appointment and slept until almost 10 PM. Had a dream about my former friend Deirdre being in rehab.

The auto heat seems to be working.

Fed us all. Now I need to start laundry and go back to bed.

I’m thinking of staying out one more day; I’m still having dizzy spells. Yeah, I emailed in sick.

I’ve been thinking about 9/11 for the past few days, probably because of the New York City trip that I had planned. Never forget. It was a very big deal when I lived in California because one of the flights was headed towards the Bay Area. There’s a memorial there that I never saw. I remember my mom leaving a message because I was still asleep: “You will find a lot has happened when you get up.” Hard to believe that it’s been 25 years.

I’m reading Byron Katie’s book Loving What Is. The basic idea is that our thoughts about an event cause suffering, not the event itself. I think that it will help. She has worksheets on her Web site. I want to download them on my tablet and work with them.

I think that Bella is a little annoyed with Gracie’s play fighting. She’s keeping her at bay.

Napped. Woke up a little after 12 PM. Rescheduled my COVID and flu shots for Saturday after my singing lesson. Ate lunch.

I want to lie back down, but the doggos are wrestling.

I need to pick out a song to work on in my singing lesson.

Napped. Threw myself together. Went and picked up my groceries. Made dinner.

Now I need to post and feed the critters one more time. I'm really tired.

Holy cow. A post on Facebook was about how they used ChatGPT to create their itinerary in Italy, so I asked ChatGPT to create a five-day NYC itinerary that included a list of places that I wanted to see. It delivered, including subway stops and walking directions. Wow. Some of them were what I figured (the Lower Manhattan day was what I had already figured), but there were some surprises. And they told me the best nights to see a play! I need to think about the play nights because I want to stick close to the hotel on the day that I get off the cruise ship so that I can check in, but I won't want to see a play that night because it'll be an early day, unless I can grab a nap. Do I want to take pictures with a GoPro of the cruise departure from Manhattan? Or maybe just use my phone with a tripod? Hey actually, I'd like to do the cruise around Manhattan on my first day. ChatGPT said that it would be better on the Greenwich Village/Chelsea day though.

Hmm, maybe I should do the WTC and lower Manhattan on the first day and make it an early night.

Overslept and woke up a little before 8 AM. I thought about napping at lunchtime and taking my shower after work, but I have a therapy session this afternoon (online). So I need to make myself presentable.

I got everything done at work that I wanted to get done before the long weekend. (I'm taking tomorrow off.)

I'm going around in circles with FedEx about the camera. I think that they delivered it to the pickup facility, but I'm not sure.

My stomach is doing flip-flops.

Crud, AAA had my old address in Lincoln, don't ask me why. The card said that it expired on August 15th. I logged on and changed my address, and it said that it actually expires in December. I asked for a new card. I'll have to wait to jump-start the Kia until I get it. Though I think that I can use my phone app as a card?

Okay, good, my retirement contribution went through.

I checked the weather in Bermuda, and it's raining every day, so I ordered a rain poncho. (I have a raincoat, but it's heavier.) I hope that I can have my beach day though.

Had my therapy session. Nothing much to report; I'm doing everything that I need to do. I just need to wait and see what happens with Gracie.

Yay. CVS has the COVID vaccine, and I made an appointment on the 5th. (I'm getting a flu shot as well.)

Fed us all. Opened up some packages. More used clothes. Some photography books. A tripod for my iPhone. My back hurts.

I'm thinking of going to bed soon and getting up early to do stuff. I don't feel like I have the energy to clean now.

Emailed in sick this morning.

We had a little excitement this morning: a mouse got in the house. (They can get in through the basement stairs.) Lily had it, and Bella took it away and flung it. Then Lily had it again. That had me almost feeling sorry for the mouse.

I’m in the process of feeding the critters, and I’m groaning like an old person. I need to get back to bed. I can’t find Gracie’s meds. I need to tear the kitchen apart looking for them. Bella is still on a hunger strike over the dry food, so I need to start feeding her canned food three times a day.

Slept and woke up with my alarm at noon. I want to go back to sleep, so I’ll go out sick for the rest of the day. I’m making lunch, and Oliver is lying on my copy of The Week.

Bella saves stuff under the bed. She went under and emerged with a full cat food can. I tried to take it away, but she went back under the bed.

Slept until 5 PM. Managed to get my skuzzy bod into the shower. I really want to go back to sleep, but I need to feed the critters and get the garbage. Fed us all, but I'm not going to get the garbage and am just going to bed.

Gracie woke me up at 5 AM. (I can’t remember when I went to sleep. 11?) I removed her from the bedroom and slept until 7:30. Much better.

My stomach is upset again. I don’t know why. I hope that food will help. Fed us all. Bella is busy stealing napkins.

I bought some reusable produce bags because I’ll need them when I start cooking. I also bought some reusable grocery bags.

I forgot to mention yesterday that the battery on the Kia is dead. I need to call AAA.

I checked, and Mint Mobile has an International Pass. Good.

Napped. I shut Gracie out because she’s more hyper, but Bella is always up for a nap.

Gracie met my neighbor and her friend. Gracie was thrilled by the attention. They pronounced her “cute”. They said that beagles like to run away, so now they know where she lives :)

I should return the stoneware to Costco, but I really want to stay home today and get stuff done. I could take the stoneware to Costco after my COVID shot. Or I could move my COVID shot to Tuesday. I moved my COVID shot to Friday.

My stomach is upset, so I’m going to lie down for a few minutes. Then I’ll shower. I’ll wear shorts because I’m going to be around the house.

Bella and Gracie were chasing Oliver. I told them that they can be little shits, but I was focusing on Bella because she’s teaching Gracie to chase him. I pushed her down and told her “No” repeatedly.

I guess that I feel a little better.

Hmm. I wonder if I’d save money replacing my hot water heater with a tankless one. I asked my dad about it.

I’m about to take a shower. Oliver jumped on my shoulders, claws extended, on his way to the top of the shower stall. I called him an asshole. Now he’s sleeping like a little angel. Not.

I’m getting IBS symptoms, so that’s probably what my upset stomach was about. I’m glad that I’m staying home.

I spent some time trying to figure out how to get my to-do list on my phone's Lock Screen. It didn’t work, but I think that I can create a graphic that says “Work on the House “ in Canva and use it as my Lock Screen. I’ll try it anyway. I got my Lock Screen to say “Work on the house!” with a link to my to-do list. Awesome.

I have a goal to save up the six months of money that you’re supposed to have in your emergency fund (a year would be better because I’m moving towards retirement). I have $1700 and I’m not touching it. Let’s hear it for automatic savings. It comes directly from my paycheck.

I’m getting back to the point that I look at things and say that they’re too expensive. This is good.

Oliver has another new annoying habit in that he’ll eat half his food, then abandon it to eat Lily’s food. I watch them eat though, so I tell him to stop it and move his food near him. (Don’t get me wrong; I love him, but I can love him AND think that he’s annoying.)

I'm still not feeling great, so I decided to open up some Amazon boxes (I got some Mason jars to prep salads or soups) and then I tackled my travel backpack. I got my charging cords organized, except for some usba to usbc cords that the dogs got into. (Now I'll have everything in my backpack and will zip it closed, so they can't get into anything.) I ordered the cords and a couple more US-to-Europe adapters. I had bought some Beats headphones (this was before my austerity kick), so I'm charging them. And I have a dongle to plug into the airplane seat's electronics to broadcast Bluetooth. I have no excuse to get bored on the plane.

I want to get up early in the hope that I'll feel better, so I need to go to sleep soon. I want to find my boombox first though (and feed the beasts).

Gracie, beauty consultant to the stars, is giving me the coveted dog-saliva facial. Ask your consultant about it today!

Woke up at 6 AM. My stomach is upset. I think that I’ll skip the dog training class tonight.

I'm feeling like crying for no good reason. I need to go downstairs to take my meds. I had a dream about how I was going to lose my job, but it was a different job. Honestly, I'm feeling at the end of my rope.

Okay, I got more caught up at work and feel a little better.

Gracie's spay is going to cost a lot. Oh well.

Oh, my antibiotic was delivered. So I just need to run out tonight and get the yogurt. Gracie was thrilled when I took her out to get the mail. so I need to take her for a walk. They seem to be getting a lot of exercise wrestling though! Bella is a tired pup! I placed an order for the yogurt (and some cat food).

I introduced Gracie to the neighbor. Gracie was barking, and I told her to stop, and he said that it was okay, dogs bark. He thought that she was a nice pup.

Oops, I missed a meeting at work.

I got my tablet. I have a lot that I want to get done this weekend, so maybe I should set it up tonight. I also need to set up the new laptop.

I got the estimate for the garage. It was around what I expected (around $25,000). So I think that I'll call him back on Monday and say "okay".

I found an antitheft purse on Magellan's site in which the tablet will probably fit. I need to measure it to be sure. I found a travel bag with pockets for a water bottle AND an umbrella, so I’ll probably get that instead.

Fed us all. Got the recycling out. I’ve got the ReMarkable Paper Pro charging. I’m not sure what to do now. I guess that I’ll post. I need to stay up until my grocery order comes a little after 9 PM.

Okay, I put the people with whom I'm meeting on Monday as the executors of my will. I can change it if necessary. So I finished my trust document. I also contacted a local bank to possibly serve as a successor trustee and maybe executor?

Damn, my tooth hurts. I hope that they'll fix it tomorrow.

I got Lily to come upstairs, but then Oliver went down in the basement. It’s a zoo here.

Fed us all. My stomach is upset.

Smoke from Canada has arrived here.

Got up at 6:30 AM. My stomach is upset. I need to get into the shower early because I need to put on my makeup for my dental appointment.

Oliver and Lily are being cranky with each other and are doing whappy paws.

Well, hell. This morning I had a dental appointment to get impressions for my permanent bridge. It wound up being surprisingly painful. They numbed me up, but they kept on pressing on a tooth that still hurt. The good news is that they replaced the missing crown with a temporary one, and that tooth feels fine. But I told work that I was taking 1/2 a sick day and was going to lie down, but that I would be in for a team meeting. Ate a little yogurt. Clio mini greek yogurt bars are pure crack. I love them.

It occurred to me that Munchie Bones are kind of like dog currency. Bella was like, “You expect me to come in FOR FREE??” I went and got a Munchie Bone, and she came in. She saves them for a while too.

Nothing from the bank that does trust work so far. I might have to call them this afternoon because I want a choice of who to pick to handle my estate.

Well, hell. The people whom I wanted as executor cannot serve as executor. They suggested that I try another firm. I'll call the bank first. I set up an appointment with the bank for Wednesday afternoon.

It's freaking hot upstairs. I just remembered that I saw a combo air conditioner/heater at Lowe's that seemed to be small enough for the windows upstairs. I need to measure to make sure. Nope, the window is a smidge too small. Ack! Up to 90F/32 C tomorrow. Shorts weather. Maybe I'll shave my legs tonight because I have Italian tomorrow morning. I ordered an air conditioner from Amazon. I’ll deal with heat in the fall. At least you can put more clothes on when it’s cold.

I got my new “Dog in Yard; Please Close the Gate” signs. They’re copper and a little fancy for my lousy fence, but they will look good when I replace the fence. I need to get wire to attach it to the fence. I also got my NokBox (Next of Kin Box).

My dentist was worried about the temporary bridge and crowns coming off, so I bought some filling repair stuff to take with me on my business trip.

I am not feeling great. I think that I’ll go to bed early. The sore tooth hurt a bit when I ate. Submitted a grocery order for tomorrow morning. We’re low on cat food. I bought cloth napkins and placemats as well as food. Oops, I want microfiber cloths too (done).

I brought the NoxBox supplies upstairs, but it's too damn hot to clear off the top of the filing cabinet for it. I'll go to sleep soon and get up early to do stuff up here. But I do have some packages downstairs to open before I got to bed. The downstairs is quite comfortable. Also, I have some Italian homework, but I'll bring it downstairs to do.

I bought a Baggalini purse because I need to get the zipper pocket fixed on my Italian purse, and I need a purse meanwhile.

Woke up before my alarm at 6 AM, but my stomach was upset. Took Bella out for 45 minutes, but she wouldn’t poop. I brought her in and she promptly pooped on the kitchen floor. Sigh. She gets distracted by the outside world. Bella was being obnoxious this morning: grabbing my clothes, bugging the cats, etc. Meanwhile, my stomach was still upset. I did get a shower, but then I called the car place and told them that I would bring the car in on Monday and emailed work and told them that I would be out this morning. I’m going to lie down.

I checked out Windy City Express (a local fast food place) online because I thought that it had deep-dish pizza. No pizza, but I can get an Italian beef. Maybe I’ll run over later if my stomach settles. Okay, I found a deep-dish place in the area. Maybe I'll order some tomorrow. Hmm, I'm craving pizza now.

Bella tried to eat Oliver’s food and knocked his bowl over. Honestly, I want to put her in time-out.

I woke up at noon. My stomach is a little better, but I have IBS soreness. I’ll work this afternoon. I had some food.

I got my Roam suitcases! I haven't opened the boxes yet. And a ton of books. I need to open the book envelopes and boxes and squirrel them away because Bella likes to shred books. I have investment shelves on my bookcases upstairs.

Here’s the larger of the two suitcases. They roll like a dream.

My boss okayed my time off in August, so I'll book the Sardinia trip this weekend. How exciting!

I'm feeling like crying for no good reason. Oops, I didn't take my meds this morning.

I bought a cooling blanket for the summer. I guess that I won't get my ceiling fan in the bedroom fixed because Bella is scared of ceiling fans. Sigh.

Bella has been eating the dead flowers off of the hibiscus. This is why I buy dog-safe plants. Although technically irises aren't dog-safe, but a dog would have to eat a lot of them to get really sick. So far, she's leaving them alone.

Yay. I fed the beasties, and Bella pooped outside. Some people going for a walk said “Hello” to her and were petting her through the fence. Bella got excited and started running around the yard. Now I get to eat :)

I’m feeling tired. Maybe I’ll start booking the Sardinia trip tonight because that’s something that I can do quietly.

My dad says that he checks his investments daily at market close. That will be a bit of work, but he says that it doesn’t take long.

I listed my old suitcases on Buy Nothing, and some people are interested.

I’m going to go upstairs and start booking my trip! Done! I booked the flights and hotels. The flights are freaking expensive. (Hey,dadi, I'll wave to you because I'm flying through Munich on the way in.) So is the hotel in the Costa Smeralda, but that's the resort area with beach access. The hotel in Cagliari is quite reasonable, but I got a single room with a twin bed. I contacted the Italian school. I still need to book the train from the Costa Smeralda to Cagliari.

I'm going to feed the hordes and go to bed early. I have a lot of planting to do tomorrow plus clean the kitchen.