days_unfolding

I forgot to mention that I ordered two rain barrels to arrive on Wednesday. Might as well save some of what falls out of the sky. I need to get my composting bin set up too.

Gracie was crashed out cold on the bed when I went to bed. She got a lot of exercise today.

Woke up at 6:30 AM. I slept on my arm funny, and I think that’s what woke me up. My clothes completely dried on the heated drying rack. Now I know the timing for using it. It’s a chilly morning. Zara is curled up on the heat vent. The dogs want to go back to sleep. Good idea.

Had a nice nap. Ate lunch. I’m feeling draggy but I have volunteer work today because there is a training session tomorrow.

The volunteer session went okay. I’m learning where more books are.

I was running errands and parked the car. For some reason, I turned the steering wheel all the way, and it was stuck and I couldn’t start the car. Shit. So I called AAA. I had to wait an hour for the guy, but it took him about one second to get it loose. Apparently, the trick is to turn the wheel and start the car at the same time.

I followed side streets home from the local grocery store, and it’s a good route for a tricycle. And I could lock the tricycle to the end of the bike rack.

So much for my plans for the evening. I think that I want a nap. Bella came in to nap with me, but Gracie’s still outside.

Napped. Fed the fur faces. I’m tired and want to get moving early.

I read an ad for a water filter on Facebook that said that energy shortages could affect water supplies. It was trying to scare us and it said that the filters are in short supply, but you can get water filters from REI! I decided that having one (from REI) is not a bad idea though. And I want to get a folding tricycle in case there’s an energy shortage. No, I don’t trust the way things are going. (I do have a bicycle but don’t know how to ride it. And a tricycle would be better for groceries and such.) Actually, a rain barrel is not a bad thing to have too. I can always use it to water the garden.

Overslept. I was scrambling to get myself together for my physical therapy appointment, but I decided to call in sick for the appointment and dental appointment, and I’m going back to sleep. Overslept my nap too. Jammed into the shower in case we needed to appear on camera for the presentation today. (We didn’t.)

The presentation today went well except for a moment of worry because the Zoom meeting was waiting for my boss to log on, who is at a conference in LA. One of my colleagues texted her and she logged on.

Napped after work and way overslept. Fed the fur faces. I’m making myself some food. Ate. I need to go back to bed soon.

Woke up at 7 AM. Let the dogs out and went back to sleep. It’s a nice sunny day.

Bella came inside at 10 AM. I think that she wants a nap. Gracie is out lying in the mud, sigh.

It occurred to me that I should bring in a recycling bin when I watch Zara eat and go through some boxes of papers.

Oliver was snuggling up to Bella! They were even playing for a while, but then Bella got too rough. I took Oliver out of the room. Napped and overslept.

Gracie wanted to come in at 1:30 PM! She was waiting for me to open the door. I guess that she’s tired. Yeah, she’s out cold.

I really want to take a nap after work, but I need to get up early for a blood test tomorrow morning. I might have to finish up some work too (done).

Well, Project Go Through Papers didn’t go very well in Zara’s room. Oliver took advantage of my distraction to eat some of Zara’s food. Maybe a better plan is to watch Zara eat and then work on a box for a few minutes afterwards.

Fed the cats and myself. Gathered the garbage to go out. I started cleaning out the refrigerator, which sorely needs it. I’ll roll the can out after the dogs come in (done). Fed the dogs. Wrote myself a big note not to eat tomorrow morning for my blood test. I think that I’ll wend towards bed and read a while.

My dad wants me to stop taking my antipsychotic med. I’m not going to do it, but I need to sleep on my response to him.

Oh great. Champaign-Urbana has a high level of nitrates in the water. Do I need to buy distilled water? Oh! No it doesn’t. I needed to zero in further on the map. It has other contaminants though. Need to get a reverse osmosis system.

Drastically overslept this morning. Sigh.

I had a fun time feeding Oliver and Lily. Lily went down in the basement last night, and she spent the night in the basement. (She likes it down there. I wasn’t being cruel.) I went to let her up this morning, and Oliver went down. Sometime in there, Bella went half-way down the stairs to the landing, and I had to get her up. After a little while, I went to let Oliver up and Lily went down. I went to feed them, which got their attention, and both came up. Sheesh.

Lily is going after a roll of paper towels. I told her that she’s not a kitten anymore, but a full-grown cat, but she still wants it.

Had my annual physical. It went well. She is giving me a referral to Weight Management to get Wegovy. She is giving me a referral to a gynecologist for my urine leaks. (Getting older is the pits.) I have a fasting blood test next week.

I get a magazine called Hawaii magazine. It’s got me wondering if I should go back to Oahu one of these years, although I had been thinking of a trip to Molokai. I just found a perfect hotel near Waikiki. (I went to Oahu twice, one on our first Hawaii trip when I was about 10, and once when I was 17.) Oahu has cheaper hotels than the rest of the islands.

I’m reading the books on which Heated Rivalry was based. I think that they’re sexier than the TV show (although the two leads of the TV show got matching tattoos that say “Sex sells” ;))

Fed the cats and myself. (Gracie hasn’t come in yet.) Washed my clothes for tomorrow. I need to post, feed the dogs, and shower. I need to get to bed early because I’m meeting my colleague at 6:30 AM. Yikes.

Gracie woke me up at 6:30. I let the dogs out and went back to sleep. Then I drastically overslept. Fuck.

A lot of people at work seemed to have had a tough week. Yay, weekend.

Fed the cats and showered at lunchtime. I’m wearing used clothes and will change later before the concert.

It’s a good day for planting tomorrow–a high of 56 F/13C. It’s supposed to be windy though, which isn’t great for assembling the planters. I guess that I could put a brick on the instructions? I need to find my stapler to staple the instructions together. I checked on crops, and I should plant green beans as soon as I get the planters built. Sweet potatoes are a warm-weather crop, and I like them. Zucchini? I ordered bean seeds and sweet potato slips. I’m going to order my soil on Sunday. I’ve been looking at and saving green bean and sweet potato recipes. I bought a book on canning.

Hmm. I added a cooling comforter to my Amazon list (not expensive because Gracie chews stuff). But I’ve been sleeping without a comforter, so do I really need it? But that does give Gracie easy access to me to wake me up. I need to dig out my linen sheets.

I fell in love with a t-shirt that is artsy and would make a good travel t-shirt. But it’s $72! Yikes! I found the perfect shirt for my mom in the same catalog, sigh. I would get it for her if she was still alive.

Gracie came in at the last minute before I had to leave. Give me a heart attack, dog. I slammed their food down and left. I left early for the concert because the first floor is sold out, and I didn’t know what parking would be like. I found a spot though, and I’m in my seat chilling. It’s interesting to people-watch. Most people dressed up a little (including me—I’m wearing a linen top, pants, and blazer), some are wearing jeans, and some dressed to the nines. I’m in the balcony. Some people got seats right above the stage, which is something to think about for next time. Most of the people are older. I guess that classical music attracts an older crowd.

They did a good job building the venue. There are no bad seats.

This is my second time to see Joshua Bell. I saw him once in California.

The concert was fabulous. His wife has a lovely voice. He substituted the Massenet "Méditation" from Thaïs for one of the songs, which is one of my favorite violin pieces ever. He played it in honor of a friend of his from Indiana University who got a job at the University of Illinois, where we are. The friend had an untimely death while on tour. He commented that he was from nearby (he’s from Bloomington, Indiana) and said, “Go, Hoosiers,” and we all laughed. We gave them two standing ovations and they did one encore. Then he made a gesture with his hands that clearly said, “Enough “.

I’m sitting with a Diet Coke waiting for the traffic to clear out. Well, we ended with a bang with a tornado warning. The staff brought us down into the basement where the sets for plays are made. A nice person found me a chair.

I’m home now. It’s storming but not too bad now. At least I know that my phone makes a nasty noise when there is a tornado warning.

I slept for about an hour. I think that I’ll skip piano class tonight to get more sleep.

Bella came back outside when I went to try to get Gracie in. Okay.

Got my groceries. The delivery guy thought that the dogs were cute. I also got something from Fast Growing Trees. Raspberry or blueberry bushes? Oh! Both of them!

Damn, I feel groggy. Maybe another nap at lunchtime. And it’s getting dark in here.

Lily is sprawled out on the futon. For a little cat, she can sure stretch out long!

The dogs came in. I’m surprised that they did something that sensible. But Gracie was thirsty, so maybe that’s why she decided to come in. Bella followed her.

Oliver was on the ledge above the bedroom door. Well, the nap was a fiasco. Oliver came down and jumped on the bed. The dogs went to bug him. I held them off, but he went under the bed. Gracie started barking at him. Well, Gracie's barks would wake the dead; my Apple Watch popped up a message saying that I was in a loud environment. I was tired; in the few minutes that Gracie stopped barking, I started dreaming. Then Oliver jumped back on the bed, and I gave up. Now I’m back at work, still groggy.

I’ve perked up a little. Food helped. No, I wiped out again, so I emailed in sick and went to lie down.

The doctor did confirm my sleep apnea diagnosis though and ordered me a CPAP.

Woke up at 7 PM. Showered. I’m looking for a plain black t-shirt to wear to the concert on Friday.

Fed the critters. I’m microwaving butter chicken for me. Ate dinner and watched Heated Rivalry. I need to get to sleep soon.

I need a name for my side hustle business. I had thought AJR Enterprises, but there is already two of them, one in Illinois. Need to mull this over. Some suggestions of ChatGPT that I like are Paper & Flourish and AJR Studios. There already is an AJR Studio though. Adrienne R Studios? I’m leaning hard towards Paper & Flourish.

Woke up with my alarm at 7 AM.

My refrigerator is working again. I don’t know why it stopped working and why it’s working now, but I’ll take it. I don’t want to have it fixed or replace it.

Fed us all. Nap time. I was singing and Gracie came over and licked my face.

Woke up at 11. Ate lunch. Showered. Put on my makeup. Left for my volunteer work.

I wound up being one of the people who ran cards on Square and managed the cash box. For some reason, whenever the volunteer leader looked over, there was no one there, but I did get some traffic. Then I helped box books, but my back was killing me, so then I sat and took tape off of things. I left around six. Ran to the local grocery store and picked up some things.

Fed us all. I was feeling completely beat, so I decided to watch the last Harry Potter movie. It’s over, and I really want to crash.

I ordered some peonies also. I should be done with buying stuff for the garden. Wait, no, I want to buy blueberry and raspberry bushes. And I’d like strawberries, but the birds eat them. Hmm. Okay, I bought the blueberries and raspberries with bird netting. I’m not sure how many strawberries to get. I have a big strawberry pot, but don’t remember how many pockets it has. Ordered a new lilac bush, and I’ll put chicken wire around it.

Gracie was biting me because I was trying to disentangle the blanket. Then she rolled over to have her belly scratched. Dog logic. Young dog logic. Bella wanted her belly rubbed too, but at least she wasn’t biting me to begin with.

Got up a little after 7 AM. I’m charging my cordless drill. Showered, and it feels good to be clean. I really want a nap.

The Japanese Maple should arrive today. Arrived. I have lots of planting to do. Oh, and the chicken wire top for the raised bed for the tomatoes arrived yesterday.

Got the registration renewed for the Honda. Yay. And I hope that they will email me a reminder in the future.

Napped. I’m feeling groggy. My work computer crashed but came back up. Someone was running around here and unplugged two devices.

Received the cane with a seat and the small stepper.

Hmm. Someone in a Facebook group online starts extra plants and sells the seedings. I was looking into that for next year (I want to get a setup for starting seeds next year), but apparently I’d need a couple of licenses to do that. Might not be worth it. My other plan for next year is to get a third planter with legs for herbs (I’m growing herbs in pots this year) and to clean out the area behind the garage and put down mulch. Eventually, I’ll want to take down the trees there and plant redbuds, some pink grass with a name that I’ve forgotten, and lavender. Maybe have stepping stones that lead to the back.

Had my therapy session. She told me that there are straw “blankets” for grass seed, so what I’m going to do is get the “dog-safe” seed and buy those blankets. Excellent. I need to remember to bring the measuring tape out when I go outside after work. Ordered the “dog-safe” grass seed.

Garage guy called me back. He’s coming over on Sunday (note to self–3ish) to rake up the gravel and talk to me about what I want for the driveway. Things are taking shape.

I planted the three roses and four ferns. Watered the side garden, roses, and crabapple tree. The Japanese Maple is soaking in a bucket. (This sounds so simple, but it was a lot of work.) My small Craftsman shovel worked better than my big shovel, so I’m wondering if I should order a big Craftsman shovel. And I need a rake to loosen the dirt for the grass seed.

Oh, I also got my Astilbe in, so I’ll need to plant it on Sunday.

I’m beat. Bella came in but Gracie did not. I need to sit for a minute and then I’ll feed the cats. Fed the cats and dogs. Ate dinner while watching the latest episode of The Pitt.

Ordered the grass blanket, stakes, and a rake.

Woke up at 8 AM. The catlings want FOOD! NOW!

Hmm, I really want to nap at lunch, but I need to take a shower. Can I shower after work? I have choir. Oh! I have physical therapy today, so I need to shower at lunch.

The dogs came in early. Because it’s cold?

I forgot to mention yesterday that because of the sun pattern, I’m going to move the raised beds over against the fence in my yard. I plan to assemble them next weekend. Oh, I have the book sale next weekend. It’s going to be hectic.

Physical therapy went okay. The physical therapist worked me really hard. I’m looking at some tools that she had me use on Amazon. She gave me an exercise band.

I think that I want to learn how to can. I should have extra tomatoes.

Choir went well. I should get a solo part. The question is which one?

Went to the local grocery store and picked up a few things. Lily really wanted my chicken sandwich and took a bite out of it. Somehow she makes that charming. I’m putty in her paws :) I also submitted a Walmart order.

I couldn’t get the door to the basement stairs open from the outside, so I stashed the roses under the porch. That should keep frost off of them. Speaking of garden plants, Breck’s has a great catalog for fall. Sale prices are until early May though. I need to figure out what I want.

The dogs came in on the first try. They’re easier to get in at night.

No TV tonight. I need to get to bed.

Woke up a little after 9 AM. It’s raining. Bella was lingering in the doorway like “Make it stop!” Oliver tried to eat Lily’s food, and Lily bit him. Good girl, Lily. The wet dogs came in early. Bella is grooming Gracie. That’s nice.

Nap time. Woke up way before my alarm. It’s still raining. Had lunch. Napped again.

I’ve started opening up packages and putting packing material in the recycling bin. I’m feeling exhausted and not sure what to do now. I’m charging the batteries for my cordless tiller.

I decided that I wanted to create a semicircular bed of wildflowers on either side of the front sidewalk. I ordered twine and bamboo poles to mark out the space.

Fed the cats. Got the dogs in and fed them. Watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

The dogs are barking at who-knows-what.

I’m going to feed the critters their late-night snack and go to bed.