days_unfolding

Overslept my alarm until almost 9 AM. My lunchtime nap is being attended by Bella, Oliver, and Lily. I hope that they’ll let me sleep. Overslept my nap. So freaking tired.

The CPAP people were supposed to email my forms yesterday and I still haven’t received them yet. I guess that I’ll give them until Monday and call them back.

I forgot to mention that I found Zara’s adoption papers in the box of papers that I’m going through. Apparently, I adopted her at three years old, not one, so I’ve had her for 14 years. Still a long time.

I also forgot to mention that one of my irises is blooming! I took a picture.


Gracie finally came in at 3:30 PM. I discovered that I finally got the grass seed. About time. Speaking of grass, I should get the mower out of the basement tonight and put it into the garage. Then I can mow after volunteering tomorrow.

Oliver and Lily are batting at each other’s paws under the door in Zara’s room. My singing lesson went well.

I finished the Heated Rivalry books except for the new one coming out in June. Now I know the spoilers for the next TV series, but maybe I’ll forget them by then.

My dad said that he wanted to get a tricycle but decided not to because they don’t fit in bike lanes and bike parking spots. I think that I could take side streets to the grocery store, but I need to check out the parking situation.

I think that I want to go to bed early. I’m tired. Gracie is being annoying and refusing to come in. She’s trying to dig something out of the yard. I hope that she comes in before I want to go to sleep.

I’m wondering if I could do cursive transcription as a sideline. I can read cursive unless the handwriting is really bad.

Woke up a little after 7 AM. Went back to sleep after a little while, and woke up a little after 9.

I was waiting to let the dogs out until the dog poop scooper person came by. They’ll go out at lunchtime (done).

Oliver burst into Zara’s room when I fed her, so I went in and guarded her food while she ate. Oliver did try to rush at her dish a couple of times. Little shit. Zara ate all of her food!

My Home Depot order with the grass blankets and rake arrived. I forgot about it when I let the dogs out, but they put it over the fence. I went outside and got it into the garage.

Napped. I’ll take my shower after work.

Bella came in at 1:15. Gracie came in at 2. It keeps threatening rain but I haven’t seen any. The darkness is making me sleepy.

I’m thinking that I’ll need to mow the rest of the grass while the new grass is growing. Once it has grown, then I’ll get someone to mow the lawn for me.

I’ve been wanting a peace flag for the house for a while, and I’m wondering if I should get one. I want one with a dove on it rather than the peace sign.

I think that I need more Japanese forest grass for the shady side garden. I want to plant them between the Astilbe (or maybe the ferns?), so I’ll count how many I need when I plant the Astilbe. I also have a ground cover type thing for which I need to use my plant identifier to find out what it is.

Gracie was going berserk at the window. The cats thought that she was nuts and bailed. I told her that they were right.

Well, hell. Something wacky is going on in Lessonface, and we can’t schedule tonight’s lesson. I tried some things to no avail. I guess that there’s no lesson tonight. Oliver came into Zara’s room and is being manic and obnoxious. My teacher said that she was able to book my lesson, but by that point, I had put my food in the microwave. What a mess.

I’ve been feeling achy and keep on starting to fall forward. I don’t know what’s going on. I think that I’ll finish feeding the critters and go watch Harry Potter (done).

I need to get to bed soon because tomorrow will be a busy day.

Overslept until 8:15 AM. I’m feeling groggy. I forgot to scan my music for my lesson, so I’ll need to sneak it in (done). I really need to nap at lunchtime, so I’ll need to jump into the shower right after work.

And now it’s back to cold (34F/1C). Mother Nature is having whiplash.

I think that I want to get a Japanese Maple for the front yard. I found one that I like. And planting trees is a Good Thing. Oh, I forgot to mention that I got two ferns for the side yard. It will be tricky to figure out the right spot without the other ferns though. I’ll work it out. I need to check on the little crabapple tree after the storm. It’s okay.

I’ve perked up a bit, so I’m going to shower at lunchtime. No, I changed my mind again and want a nap (done).

The crazy dogs don’t want to come in even though it’s cold. They finally came in at a quarter to 3. Gracie was busy bugging the cats upstairs, but she seems to have settled down. Right now, she’s lying on her back with her front paws in the air.

Showered after work. My singing lesson went well. We made it through a long song. My teacher said that we should be proud of ourselves.

Fed us all. Ran an errand. Watched Harry Potter. Now I need to give the beasties their crunchies and head for bed.

Oh drat. I need to scan music for my singing lesson tomorrow. Almost forgot. (Done.)

I need dry cat food, but need to check if I have a bag by the front door before ordering. Nope, so I need to order (done). Ugh, I found the bag after I ordered. So I'll have dry cat food for a while.

Woke up at 8:30 AM. Took Gracie out on a leash, and it went well. Bella is refusing to come in, but I'll go out and get her in a half-hour. More good news: the Amazon packages were by the side gate and still there. Bella came in docilely at around 9:40.

Got the food portion of my groceries in. I'll get the soda later.

Oliver shut down my work computer while I was in a meeting. Luckily, it was with my boss, who also has cats and was cool with it.

Showered with attendance by Gracie (part of the time) and Lily. Lily had to investigate what I was doing in the shower (from the top of the shower stall).

Tomorrow it's predicted to snow lightly. It should be a good day to do stuff around here. I want to wash warm pajamas so that I'll be cozy. Also, I received a scrubber wand for cleaning.

Got the second Birdie and Louie box. I'm still working on a box of the old food, and Lily is still picking at the old food because she wants the new food. Who will crack first? Lily had got me feeling guilty because she’ll lick every last scrap from the B&L can. Oliver, on the other hand, will eat anything. Hmm, maybe I could feed Lily the B&L and Oliver the old food if I can find enough cat food covers.

I installed Gas Buddy on my phone. Apparently there is a gas station that is 20 cents cheaper than the other ones. But I drive so seldom that a tank of gas lasts me a long time.

Can't stop yawning. At least, I can sleep in tomorrow. Well, if Gracie will let me.

I sent my dad an article about how it looks like the Great Recession of 2008, and he said that it isn't because the cost of oil will go down when the war is over. He said that 2008 happened because of a mismatch between incomes and housing prices.

Hmm. I read an article about the therapeutic effects of knitting on anxiety, etc. There’s a local knitting class coming up in April, but it’s at the same time as the yoga class.

I ordered leaf bags from Home Depot. I want to get out on Sunday and do some cleanup.

My singing lesson went well. We got through a new song and went back through an old one.

I’m looking at emergency supplies based on what susandennis has. Though I’m trying to decide whether to get a charging station with a solar charger. We tend to not have long outages. But I need my phone charged!

I subscribed to International Living because I want to read their book about Europe. If I could find a cheap place to live in Europe, I don’t have much to keep me here (except the house).

Gracie doesn’t want to come in. Sigh. I told Bella that I’ll feed her after Gracie comes in.

I’m tired, and I thought that I wanted to go to bed early, but I hand-washed my warm pajamas and they will take a while to dry. So I’ll probably watch Harry Potter #3, my favorite of the movies. But I’ll post first.

I’m trying to figure out where to hide my foam roller because I think that Gracie would love to tear it apart.

Oh! My pajamas are dry, so no Harry Potter. I'll just post and get ready for bed.

I also applied to volunteer for the Urbana Park District.

My Apple Watch found my iPhone. That was useful.

Overslept until 8 AM. Hustled my butt into the shower because I want to go to the bank at lunchtime. Oliver and Lily attended my shower.

I bought some Birdie and Louie cat food for Zara. I hope that she likes it. She's been picking at her food.

It looks like the police was doing a welfare check on my elderly neighbor. I hope that he's okay.

Got the dogs in. I just need to feed the cats at lunchtime, and then I can run to the bank (done). I also got two rolls of quarters in case I need to go to the laundromat, although I really want to get the washer fixed this weekend.

Received the gate for Zara's room.

I found an end table on Amazon that’s cheap and I like better than the Facebook Marketplace one. I just need to check the chair to see if I should get brown or black. Actually I bought the brown one to match the bookcases.

Well hmmm. I found a lamp and a washable rug on Amazon, so I won’t need to buy the ones on Facebook Marketplace. I just need to buy the clock. Oh, and the nail gun.

Holy cow. I’ve made over $8000 on stocks, and I haven’t been investing that long.

Oy. Someone (Bella, I’m looking at you) stole and ate my apple fritter. I was scolding her about that when she stole a hot pad that I put under my food. Sneaky, cheeky dog.

My singing lesson went well. My teacher is a great combination of exacting and fun. It’s funny that I get a case of the “don’t wannas” before my singing lesson and choir, but I really enjoy the singing once I start. Well, I get a case of the “don’t wannas” about almost everything besides eating and sleeping.

I need a drill and am trying to decide whether to get a used one or not.

I previously bought a dry-erase board for the refrigerator, but I kept on knocking it down and its frame came off. I ordered a thin dry-erase surface, and that looks like it’ll work better. And I also ordered a thin dry-erase calendar for the fridge. I’ll use it to track the time that I’m spending on the house.

Fed us all. I'm trying to decide whether to research more stocks or just go to bed.

I forgot to mention that Zara's getting used to Oliver because he jumps into her room so often. She'll give him a warning hiss, but he's not very interested in her, so she does her own thing while he's there. She even fell asleep while I was having my singing lesson and he was in there! Maybe eventually I'll be able to just put up a gate in the doorway to keep the dogs out.

Bella really really wanted Oliver’s dry food. I told her to eat her own food. But Oliver was eating something that she wasn’t!

Woke up around 8:15 AM.

I solved someone's problem at work, so that made me feel good.

Hmm. I want to nap at lunchtime, but I have piano tonight. Maybe I could just throw some clothes on in the afternoon and slap on some makeup.

The dogs came in on the first try. Yay.

Napped hard and overslept.

I checked when the World Figure Skating Championship is, and it's right after the Olympics. I should put a note on my calendar to find out when it will be broadcast each year.

I'm trying to figure out what prairie plants to add to the garden. I marked almost every page of my catalog, but I can't afford to buy it all. Maybe I'll get coneflower seeds and grow a patch near the fence in front. They also have "eco grass" that you can grow in spring and is drought resistant. But the jerky garage guy needs to get the gravel out of the back yard! I also want raised garden beds, but I can't afford to add them all this year either. Maybe I'll get one with legs and one low to the ground for root crops. I can grow herbs in pots this year.

I asked my dad about investing in foreign markets.

When did we start a war with Iran?!?

I’m looking at a raised bed with a “critter guard”. That’s what I need because there’s a groundhog and rabbit that used to live in the yard, although I haven’t seen them lately. (Probably afraid of the dogs.) Plus I want to keep the dogs out of the vegetable garden. I think that I want two of them. I need the garage guy to get the gravel out quickly because I want to set up the raised beds and grow lettuce and spinach, which are early crops. And peas. Hmm, I need a bed with legs for tomatoes though, but that can wait a while.

Piano class went okay. I had the urge to start private lessons, but I can't afford it right now.

Somehow it got late, and I want to get up early to jump-start the car and get the battery installed.

I did scan some really long songs to work on in my singing lessons. That should keep us for a while. I saw a condo in Champaign that I really like. But I won’t get a condo while the dogs are alive. Oliver and Lily will probably outlive them, and we three could move into a condo. Put the clothes in the dryer.

I forgot to mention that Gracie scratched a hole in the mattress. Damn dog. And she chews the comforter. I just bought a cheap “bed in a bag” that I won’t care about replacing.

Woke up at 9 AM. I’m having a leg cramp. Ow. Turned on the dryer.

I have two doctors’ appointments next week. I need to make an appointment for Zara to get some mats near her tail shaved, but I’ll wait until a less busy week.

I’m trying to psych myself up to get stuff done today. After a nap :) The dogs don’t want to come in. Sigh. Finally got the dogs in. Nap time after they finish eating and I feed Oliver and Zara. (Lily already ate.) I got Oliver out of Zara’s room, but he didn’t eat. I brought Zara her food—and Oliver busted in again. Gracie ate Zara’s food. I’ll try again after my nap, and will corral Oliver before feeding Zara.

Oliver was napping and didn’t want to come out. Watched a little of the pairs skating while I ate lunch. I had turned the dryer on before I ate, so I’m waiting for it to stop. (Peacock stopped broadcasting the skating.)

Bella is barking her head off at something. Gracie is barking too.

Hmm. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all would be good days to go to the DMV and get the Honda’s registration renewed.

Showered. I think that I want to lie down for a little while, but at least, I’m clean. And yay, I can watch the ice skating later on NBC’s Olympics stream.

Napped. Let the dogs out, and they don’t want to come in. Started soaking clothes.

Oy vey. Oliver burst into Zara’s room again and smacked me in the head. I have to admit that I yelled at him. And Bella has stolen a cat food can.

I think that I’m going to go to bed early and get up early to jump-start the car. Watched some skating while I ate dinner. Got Oliver out of and Zara's food in Zara's room.

Crud. I forgot to scan my music for my singing lesson. I guess that I’ll do it now (done).

Overslept a half hour. That’s better than I’ve been doing. And the dogs don’t want to come in. Gracie took over two hours to come in again. The guys came to clean up dog poop from the yard, but they couldn't come in because the dogs were in the yard. Not sure what to do about that.

I really want to nap, but I need to shower over lunch because I have a singing lesson tonight.

It occurred to me that Gracie stays upstairs when I'm working to be near me. I know that Bella loves me, but Gracie is a little tougher to read. Gracie could be downstairs on the bed, although she does crash out on the futon mattress upstairs.

Showered at lunchtime. Go me. And have brand-new clothes on.

The men's figure skating is going on. Too bad that I can't watch it.

Lily and Oliver are playing Hide and Seek. Now they're wrestling.

The dogs aren't going to be happy. An Amazon package is coming between 5 and 7 PM, and I have my singing lesson at 7, so I'll let them out at 8 PM. Oh, the package was delivered, but Gracie stays out so long that I don't want to let her out at 5:30 PM.

My singing lesson went well. My voice keeps on improving. My teacher wants to do two lessons a week (on Tuesday as well as the usual Friday) to catch up from the times that I was not feeling well, so I agreed to scan a bunch of music tomorrow. I tend to be tired on Saturday, so scanning is a low-key activity.

Let the dogs out and fed us all. Watched some of the men's skating. Watched a Mentour Pilot episode about the Germanwings crash. His take on it was interesting. It's late, so I need to get to bed.

I downloaded a free flashcard deck of the 1000 most common French words.

Crud. I overslept until 7 AM. The crazy cold temperatures have started. And it’s supposed to snow this weekend. I’m screwed. Actually, I can run out tomorrow morning before the snow starts.

Managed to get the dogs in early. Gracie was stalling but finally decided to come in. It’s 2F/-17C with a wind chill of -18F/-28C. The snow is predicted to start Saturday afternoon.

I've been talking cats with my colleagues via IM. I'm lucky that most of them are "pet people".

Got a bunch of stuff done at work.

I told Gracie that she has a puppy ADHD brain. She came over for some pets, and then promptly ran over to the window to look out.

I think that maybe I'll work on the kitchen table tonight. I have a singing lesson, but I'll probably have some time for cleaning. Actually, I should open some packages.

It just occurred to me that Gracie might have never lived in a house before I got her. That would explain a lot.

Fed the critters. I’ll eat after my singing lesson.

Hmm. I’m wondering if I could design and upgrade my closet (in the library) myself or with a handyman. I kind of know what I want: two rods on top of each other for shirts and pants, but I also want a smaller space that has only one rod for dresses. The shelf up top can stay there if it still fits. I keep my shoes in the bedroom closet, which really needs help but is an awkward size. Well, none of it is happening right now.Actually, I found something at Home Depot that might work (I need to measure) and it costs only $138.

Had my singing lesson. I didn’t have a song to practice, so we worked on intervals. That was a mental workout as well as a vocal workout.

Pulled out clean clothes for tomorrow morning. I need to clean the washer drain sometime this weekend, but that will require moving stuff.

Had dinner. It's gotten late (9 PM), and I want to get up early to let my hair dry before contacting AAA. Maybe I could use a blow dryer. Anyway, time for bed.

Gracie got manic a little before 7 AM, so I got up. The roads are not plowed yet. The dogs are bounding through the snow.

I should check into my cruise. I need to do that tonight.

Got the dogs in without a hassle. But someone knocked down the cat food, and Bella has a can. Sigh.

I'm cozy in my sweats. Got my makeup on because there's a meeting with the new grandboss this morning, only to find that my primary colleague is out and I need to host a conflicting meeting. Oh well.

No nap today. I have a meeting at 11 and one at 1, so not enough time for a nap. (I worry about oversleeping.) Oh! My 11:00 got moved! I dozed a little but started coughing. Gracie was resting in the crook of my legs and wasn't happy when I got up.

I'm reading some documents linked from my meeting about "vocational awe," the idea that librarianship is not just a job, but a "calling". Apparently librarianship was originally associated with churches. There is a strong belief that librarians will do whatever is needed no matter what. And that's not fair.

Ordered some new-to-me hats, scarves, and gloves from Poshmark. Cozy is the theme right now.

There was someone standing in front of my mailbox. I went outside to see what was going on, but the guy had left by then. That makes me a little nervous.

I'm exchanging emails with the vet at which I'm boarding the cats. They said that they got them in. Good.

Petalura had a cotton top with stars on it that I like, but it’s $100. As it turns out, it’s out of stock. I did ask them to email me when it’s back in stock, but still, that’s one way to keep me from spending money. (Very pretty top though.)

I definitely have a pop singer’s type of voice. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was a lot easier than my choir songs, even if Mariah Carey’s notes jump all over the place. I seem to have had a breakthrough with high notes too. Cool!

Fed the beasts. I’m making myself some Greek soup (eaten).

I saw a Facebook ad for becoming an LGBTQ+ coach. I don’t think that I’m together enough to do that, but it’s a nice goal.