days_unfolding

I’m in the stateroom with a cup of tea, waiting for the vet to open. I thought that they opened at 7AM, but it’s at 7:30. The tea is good. Love Earl Grey.

The pet sitter found Lily! I called the vet about Mimi and left a message. Now the pet sitter is saying “Don’t come back.” She’ll get Mimi to the vet. Talked to the vet and they said to bring her in.

Ye gods, I am tired.

Excellent French Toast for breakfast. I bought the Holland America jacket (it isn’t a hoodie) and it looks very nice (as well it should for what I paid for it). I also bought a plastic glass and metal water bottle.

I napped for a half-hour. Then I went to a burger and hot dog “stand” near one of the pools. The food was good, but I didn’t realize that it didn’t have a bun! I might try their hot dogs another day.

I’m trying to figure out what to do now. There is a library area mid-ship, and it might be a nice place to sit and read. Though I don’t know how thrilled the people there would be with my getting a phone call. Maybe I’ll read in my stateroom.

The sea is kind of choppy today, but I must be getting used to it. Walking in the cafeteria was kind of interesting.

Read a little. Dozed a little. My kind of day.

Connected with the vet after some phone issues. Mimi has a bad ear infection which *might* be causing her balance issues, so they are going to treat it. They’re also worried about a possible neurological issue, so if treating the ear infection doesn’t work, they want to transfer her to the U of I for them to take a look with their MRI machine.

Hmm. Something interesting. I’m not getting headaches on this cruise (although I bought some Tylenol just in case). Less time on a computer? Something else?

Crud. I didn’t bring my swim goggles. I have to limit my eyes’ time in the pool.

I’m debating going on the shore excursion tomorrow. I have no real interest in Cartagena. And I’m enjoying my laziness. The places that I really want to go to are later in the trip: Costa Rica, Puerto Vallarta…and of course, transiting the Panama Canal. I always wondered why people took those long trips with many days at sea. Now I get it. It’s like staying at a luxury resort.

Maybe I could go to the fitness center tomorrow. Though walking the track (where’s the track?) would be good too. There doesn’t appear to be a track.

My feet are now sandal-ready. The manicure/pedicure technician took a lot of time working on my feet, and they have never looked better. I need to have a pedicure periodically because I have trouble getting my toenails short enough. I also got a manicure because as long as I was there, I might as well. The only down side is that most of their nail polish was for gel manicures. I’ve tried to get a gel manicure off and no. That was a nightmare.

I thought that dinner was until 9 PM, but it was until 8. So I just ordered room service. They told me that my Coke Zero wasn't covered under the drinks package--Fine, fine, just give me the food. I get testy when I get hungry.

So now I wait (and post).

I paid for my Italian lessons and some music lessons last night. I couldn't get a full 45 minutes this week with my piano teacher, so I booked 30 minutes.

My groceries arrived. Brought them in and fed the cats and myself.

Overslept my lunchtime nap. I don't know why I'm so sleepy right now. The cats are being extra-snuggly, maybe because it's getting cooler. They want to share body heat!

I received an email about my swimming lessons on Sundays. They want us already in our swimwear to decrease the time spent in the locker room, but I'll need to shower and get dressed afterward. I'm looking forward to it! And there's free parking!

I ordered some Churu treats for the girls. They're the only treats that they like.

The National Park Service has pictures of the Shenandoah Valley in the public domain, so I might intersperse their pictures with me singing.

The trust and the real estate agent for Mom's house are fighting in my email. The trust thinks that we've spent too much on the house, and we have spent a lot. The real estate agent is convinced that we'll get the money back. I'm just tired of the whole mess. I'm getting a headache :(

Had my songwriting and music theory classes. For the songwriting class, I need to write a song in a few weeks as a “final project”. I think that I’ll write a blues song about decluttering my house :) It’s a topic that I’m very familiar with.

A comedian whom I follow did a thing about Trader Joe’s (a specialty type of grocery store that’s kind of like Aldi’s for Yuppies). I would love one here, so I just wrote the company asking for one. I think that it would really do well here.

Hmm. The weather forecasters say that it’s going to go down to 54F/12C tonight. I guess that I need warmer pajamas and to turn on the heat.

Hmm. I’m wondering if I should get a Border Collie and train it to be my service dog to get me up, bring me my meds, etc. There is a place near St. Louis that trains service dogs.

Threw on sweats and got the recycling out. It’s smoky out, so I think that people are using their fireplaces. I got my grass seed, so I need to seed this weekend. I also bought fertilizer meant to be used in the fall, but it hasn't come yet.

Got my pharmacy card. Yay. Made an appointment on Friday to have my COVID, flu, and shingles vaccines. I need to find a sleeveless top to wear. And I'll probably go to sleep early on Friday because I usually get a headache when I get a COVID shot.

I finally remembered to drink tea today. (I read an article that said that flavonoid-rich foods combat dementia. Can't hurt; might help.) Dad is trying to get me to drink herbal tea, but black tea has flavonoids. I like Earl Grey tea. When I get more money, I think that I'll get a warmer pad for my tea and maybe an electric kettle. There are some good deals on Mercari for them.

I practiced piano and voice. Piano is going very well. I sent the song "Shenandoah" to my singing teacher. I have both singing and piano lessons tomorrow (back to back!).

Now to sleep, quickly.

There's a way to transfer Evernote entries to OneNote, so I'll archive my notes in that way. I'll just keep Evernote for one more month and then cancel it. However, there's a problem with the Google Keep extension not working to keep Web clippings. THAT'S a problem. No, now I got the extension to work. Cool beans.

I looked at 55+ communities in California just for kicks. "Low to mid 1M". Ha Ha Ha. Not. I could live in Redding or Los Baños, but they don't really appeal to me.

Mower guy left a sign for his business on my lawn. He sent me a text asking me if I minded. I don't mind, but it's the people who run the complex that he needs to worry about. I've heard that they take stuff that they don't like.

Overslept this morning. My cell phone updated, so it didn't go off, but the other alarm did. Have a crashing headache. Thought about calling in sick, but I have too much to finish up before I take next week off. It's a good thing that I came in because the front desk worker was off this afternoon.

Interesting cataloged book of the day: The Radioactive Boy Scout, about a kid who built a nuclear reactor in his backyard. No, I'm not making this up. It's really not funny, but it kind of is. Must read.

Hmm. I'm eating dinner (my lunch) at work because I'm low on gas until I get paid tomorrow. But if I ate dinner at work all the time, I'd cut the amount of gas that I use in half (except for trips to Bloomington or Springfield). But I like going home for lunch. Need to think about this.

Mom bought the shelves for me. One organizing thing down.

I looked up "tea to get rid of headaches," and peppermint tea, which I've been drinking, is supposed to help. It hasn't. I should try chamomile and ginger tea. I've got to find more mango passion fruit tea because I love it.

The budget webinar was selling something, of course. But I was able to get the presenter's books "free" with Kindle Unlimited (which isn't free, but I use it enough for it to be worthwhile).

Zara is being a kamikaze kitty. She's freaking Mimi out. Settle down, Zara.

I have some leftover celery that I'm trying to figure out what to do with. Any ideas? I might make some hummus and eat the celery with it. I'm trying to decrease my food waste, but with some mixed results. I found a good Cream of Celery Soup recipe, but it requires more celery than I have.

I'm working on a grocery list for Saturday. I'm going to get new tires first, but will shop afterward. I'm not going to use the grocery pickup because I don't know when I'll be out of the tire center.