days_unfolding

The lawn is shaggy and I need to mow this weekend. And I should seed the bare spots. And plant my seeds. And clean the house. Busy, busy. Actually, I should wait to plant things until after the conference to which I'm going in early May. Speaking of which, I emailed a plant store, asking if they could ship my plants a week later due to the conference to which I'm going, but I haven't heard back. I need to check my spam filter. Okay, they did email me and they're shipping it a week later. Yay.

Woke up at 7 AM. Today is a work from home day, which is nice. Lily went into the shower and Bella was barking at her.

i keep forgetting about AARP discounts for travel. I should compare their price when I book hotels for my trips.

The Medisafe app is working well for medication reminders. I always remember the nighttime doses, but in the morning, I get distracted.

The May 1st protest will be in the evening, so I can go. I need to make my sign this weekend.

I had to turn my fan on upstairs. Spring tends to go from cold directly to hot in Central Illinois.

Silence from the trust about my check. I'm getting annoyed.

Had a therapy session. My therapist thinks that I should get a lawyer to deal with the trust. She also is concerned that I'm still having depressive symptoms and wants me to talk to my psychiatrist. I went online to contact the psychiatrist, only to find that I have an appointment on Monday. That'll work.

I don’t know what to do. I should go pick up a library book, but I’m crazy tired. I’m dropping the Kia off to be fixed tomorrow and don’t know if I’ll have it on the weekend. I did get new wrenches though, so I should be able to connect the battery in the Honda though. Ugh. My stomach is upset.

Slept until 11 PM. Started laundry. I figured out what I'm going to wear tomorrow. I have another offsite meeting. My colleague is going to pick me up at the car repair place.

Oliver, get off of the keyboard!

I need to make a list of things that I want an electrician to do: motion-sensitive light on porch, outdoor outlets, Nest thermostat and doorbell, outlet in bathroom for bidet, outlet near fish tank….Huh. Should I get the ceiling fan in my bedroom replaced? Might as well because it would be nice to have in the summer.

I didn't get up early to get the recycling out. I need to get it loaded up on the weekend.

Ran out and deposited my check. It's cold out (0F/-18C wind chill this morning), but seeing the temperatures that sunshine_two is dealing with shamed me into going out. It wasn't too bad. However, there was ice glued to my windshield that took forever to get off. I want to have the money available this weekend to go get makeup for my trip. I'm also wondering if I should get my brows waxed and laminated (booked an appointment in a week). Should I get my nails done? Booked an appointment right before the trip. I need to remember to give myself a pedicure too.

Had my therapy session. She's glad that I want to expand my social network. I told her about the political group and also that I want to join the Unitarian Church after I get back from my trip. I also found a tropical fish group that I might join. I wonder if I could join the Friends of the Urbana Library?

Submitted a grocery order.

I think that when I retire, I want to work on a database for planting flowers if I can get the data. Meanwhile, I’ll add entries on my Hotmail calendar.

Fed the dog and myself. I’m about to feed Oliver and Lily. Then I need to corral Oliver to 1) feed Mimi and Zara and 2) bring one of the recycling bins inside the back door so that I can throw stuff in it at 1 AM if I want to (done).

Bella is whining because the cats don’t want to play with her. I told her that if someone larger than me pinned me, I wouldn’t want to play with them either. This is tough for her doggy brain to comprehend. She ran laps around the building until she got tired though.

I should get Bella a job breaking down boxes. She’s good at it, but she tends to break them into small pieces.

Oliver and Lily are filling out nicely. They’re a lot more shaped like a grown cat.

I think that I want to wait for my grocery order (between 9 and 11 PM) and then go to bed. I think that I’ll put stuff on my calendar in the meantime.

I ordered a couple of hardcover books to read on the plane. The rest will be on the Kindle. (I should find my Kindle so that I don’t run down my phone. Oh, I need to pack my battery bank. I need to make a packing list.)

Having a recycling bin inside was a great idea. I have 2/3 of a bin filled. I’m working on Bella’s “lair” outside of the kitchen. She thinks that this is a game and is nipping me. Sigh.

I received my grocery order. I’m going to go up and post and feed the hordes. What is Bella barking at? It's a mystery.

I put wallpaper on my laptop that relates to the cruise (Panama Canal, Puerto Vallarta, Miami). I looked for one with a sloth (Costa Rica), but all the ones that I saw were AI representations. I'm getting excited!

Hmm. I would like a cruise to Bermuda too. But I’ll wait and see how this cruise goes.

Oh, what a day.

Ugh. I've been constipated, and I had a GYN appointment today, so I took laxatives. So I wound up with both constipation and diarrhea. I went to my appointment and talked to the nurse about it, and she talked to the doctor, and they rescheduled it. Yay. I was worried about making a mess.

Then I had my haircut, and the hairdresser did her usual excellent job. She kept trying to upsell me though, and I kept on saying "No" politely.

Then I had a therapy appointment, which was good timing because I was feeling overwhelmed and almost in tears. She agreed that I should try to book an appointment with my former life coach to sort through all that I need to do. She also recommended that I do chair yoga. I'm also thinking about taking a hot bath this weekend.

Then I had a piano lesson. I told my teacher that I didn't get much time to practice (although I scrambled to do some practice today) and she said, "Okay, let's do a practice session." I really like her. She's good at finding pieces that stretch me. She also told me how to find a drum on my digital piano, and suggested that I practice to it. She also said that people who play piano are less likely to get dementia because of the mental workout, which is good news for me.

Then I got the recycling out. I reserved Ubers for San Juan after discovering that airport shuttles were too damn expensive. I wrote my pet sitter about the trip.

Now I'm going to crash. I'll put up my Halloween decorations at lunchtime tomorrow.

Oh crap. I lost my entire entry that I wrote in Google Keep. I can re-create the parts that I also posted to Facebook. I'll see what else I remember.

I think that I want to get a shoe bench with a top that flips up for storing hats, gloves, and scarves. I like this one.

My Web programming class went well. I'm really enjoying it.

Had a therapy session. We talked about motivation, and she suggested that I set natural deadlines for things. I commented that my singing and piano lessons will take place in the library room (I almost called it the "room that no one talks about," which was my mom's name for a room that she was using for storage) so that provides incentive to get those boxes out of there. She thinks that I should just hire someone to mow the lawn, so I'll look into it. I booked a lawn care appointment. They also treat the lawn and do aeration and overseeding, so I'm considering having that done too. I was going to do that myself, but it might be good to get help with it. I also booked a cleaner. I can spend the long weekend decluttering!

My therapist also was encouraging to take a trip over winter break. (I want to take a trip because I used to get together with my mom over the holidays.) Road Scholar has a trip to Costa Rica that I was eyeing, but it's kind of pricey. I previously had been thinking of a trip (not with Road Scholar) to New York City, which would be a little cheaper. I'd like to take the train to New York. Both depend on selling my mom's house, so we'll see.

I was the only student at yoga again today. My instructor seemed to enjoy having only one student and tried a bunch of new things and ran over time. I’m getting more limber, which is exciting. I’m still way less limber than the teacher, but still, progress. Next week is the beginning of the fall class, and I hope that she gets more students though.

Because I’m going to travel a lot, I bought a yearly travel insurance policy for cheaper than Road Scholar’s insurance, and it will cover my non-Road Scholar trips too. It’s probably better insurance too; people have complained about Road Scholar’s insurance. (Road Scholar trips are good though.)

Studied Italian.

Hmm. Someone is selling a dresser for $25 in a moving sale that I like. It's black, not gray, but otherwise, it's what I want. I need to think about it. I found some other dressers that are more expensive but still reasonable. I found the absolutely perfect used dresser, but it's located south of Cincinnati. I think that I'd have to drive a U-Haul down there to get it. Sigh.

Mimi is industriously grooming me. She's on my lap.

I keep having headaches; I don't know why. It's annoying.

I finally have a committee appointment at work. Most of the staff has one, but I hadn't. Yay.

I had a great therapy session. During it, my therapist said that once my duties to my mom's estate are taken care of, my life can be anything that I want. That hit me hard and felt like the world was opening up to me. Anything I want! We also discussed my joining Stitch (I need to pay more to access the events that I want), and she said that she heard me saying that I wasn't ready for it yet. But she encouraged me to go to the Unitarian Church to check it out, that I don't have to make a commitment, but I should try it and see how it goes.

We talked about discussing what I want from a relationship at a later date, probably in the fall.

The handyman called me about some work that needs to be done to the basement of my mom's house. The once and future project. I've decided to go to Michigan for just a short trip rather than a long one. I'd have to travel either to or from during the week, but I still have a little vacation time left. I found a hotel that's a little less expensive.

Yoga went well too. I was the only student there, so I basically got a private lesson. I told her that I was enjoying it more than I had expected, and asked for her recommendations for books or videos on it. She gave me a couple. Then she said, "Teacher training is good even if you don't want to teach," but I have a long, long way to go before THAT. I floated back from yoga full of endorphins. I want to continue with these Park District classes rather than finding a yoga studio because they're cheaper and I like the teacher a lot. I bought some yoga books though.

I ran to the grocery store and picked up some salad, strawberries and bananas for a diet-friendly dessert, and a really expensive orange-carrot drink. If I like the drink, I'll try to make some myself using the very expensive and good blender that Lotus bought for Mom.

Studied Italian. I seem to be memorizing the verbs even without my flashcards. I need to put them in sentences. Next time. Now I need to do dishes, scoop the litter boxes, and go to bed.

I also ordered a hat for Italy. I'll be glad to have it.

I haven’t had time to make any of the HungryRoot Meals. It just occurred to me that I could freeze the meat (done). And I should eat the salad.

Oh good. My mower is in Champaign. It arrived (but they didn’t have me sign for it, which would be a problem if it arrived next week). But yay. I have the batteries charging.Wow, they charge a lot faster than the ones for the other mower.

Just got off the phone with the Michigan Secretary of State. I can get a duplicate title for my mom's car mailed to me here. But I can't get a temporary plate for it in Michigan because the insurance is in Illinois. It just occurred to me that I could get the title and have it registered to me in Illinois and bring the plates up to Michigan with me. That's what I'll do.

I’m a little worried about my dad. He isn’t responding to emails. Oh, he just popped up and told me "Wait until you see your electric bill" when I talked about getting an electric car.

Done with work and am eating dinner and getting ready for tai chi. I’m wondering why the cats aren’t bugging me for food.

I went to my tai chi class. The people there are so nice. They thought that my business trip to Minneapolis next week sounded nice. So I told them that if they thought that was nice, I'm going to Italy in June, and they said that I should bring them back some wine :)

I finished my final exam and even did the extra credit question. Now I just need to finish my final project.

Oh crap. I had a therapy appointment tonight and completely forgot about it. I sent an email apologizing.

Got my recycling ready to go, but I’ll have to get up early to haul it out because it’s too late to take it out now. Also, they didn’t pick up my garbage for the second week in a row, so I need to find out what’s up with that. Started boxes for my trip next week and also for Italy. Crud, I need to put together the lawn mower. Maybe during lunch tomorrow? I’m feeling hopeful about getting a lot of mowing done Friday and Saturday because the batteries charge so fast.

I need to submit a grocery order (done). Crud, I need to wash more litter boxes. Too many balls in the air.

Mimi says, "Mom Mom Mom Mom. Pet me." She could care less that I'm busy. She doesn't have a concept of busy. They keep me grounded though.

Oh, I just remembered to order maps of Rome, Florence, and Venice. I might take them with me to Minneapolis to figure out what I want to do on the free times on my Italy trip.

Well, here's a new wrinkle in the "where should I live" question: I just got one of the best haircuts that I've had in my life. The stylist asked lots of questions and gave me what I wanted. And the stylists give you a shoulder and hand massage as well. I'm feeling so relaxed. I just bought a new hair dryer with a diffuser that is supposed to decrease frizz. And I bought the product that my stylist used. I also asked her if I could have highlights if I swim, and she said that they would have to be redone more often (monthly). Hmm. They also have facials and a brow treatment that tames unruly hairs, which is what I need. I might get a deep conditioning treatment for my hair the next time that I'm there.

There also is free Tai Chi in a local park. Urbana does have a lot of amenities.

Had a nice nap over lunch.

I booked the hotel/spa place near Lake Michigan for a room and a massage, facial, and body scrub. I hope that Deanna will watch the cats.

All the tension of the last few months seemed to hit me all at once, and all my muscles were aching pretty badly. So I booked a massage for tomorrow morning also. Two massages in two weeks is pretty decadent, but I think that I need it.

I ran some errands and went and had a beer with some of my classmates. It was fun. Urbana has a nice beer garden too, but it was hard to find my way back. The 1/3 of a beer that I drank seemed to relax me some.

Now I'm thinking of going to sleep early. My massage is at 10 AM tomorrow. My therapy session is at 1 PM.

Oh, and Road Scholar said that I can book the tour now and the airfare for the Italy trip later as long as it's by December. I should know where I've decided to live by then.

Bingo. I found a yoga studio in my mom's area that takes drop-ins. Most of the classes are on Zoom, which I might not be able to do because there's no room in my mom's house, but there's an onsite candlelight yoga on Sundays which sounds restorative.

I found a house cleaner. She'll do every two weeks on Wednesdays. She's kind of pricey, but gets great reviews. We'll see how this works. And I found a cleaner to help me clean the old place. Facebook to the rescue.

I've decided that I'll get a chair that converts to a bed for Mom to sleep on when she's here. It might be easier for her than a couch.

Today was the fun task of taking the cats to the new vet in Urbana. Zara noticed that I was hanging around when I fed her, and went "uh no" and ran. I had to chase her a little and drop a towel over her to get her in the carrier. Mimi hid in the bedroom, which was one of the better rooms for her to be in, and I got her. The new vets were fabulous in handling Zara (handling both of them, but Zara is the problem child). They clearly like cats and were very patient. Zara was the calmest that I've seen her at the vet, which isn't very calm, but she wasn't lashing out. I got senior blood tests on the both of them, so the bill was high, but it's worth it if they can handle Zara. I have a dental appointment for Zara after I get back from Michigan and California.

Cool. The Urbana post office is near Walmart. I hope that they have the postage machines that you can use after hours so that I can mail the passport renewal form tomorrow. Now I'm thinking if I don't pull off Hong Kong, I might take my London trip to see the museums in the fall.

Oh bloody hell. Mom called, and she apparently fell the other day and was on the floor for seven hours while her friend Kate was doing some work elsewhere. Kate convinced her to order one of those emergency buttons, which is good. But Mom wants me to figure out how she will get care all the time, and isn't happy that I'm going to California. She finally said that she would see what she could do for respite care, but she wants me to make all the arrangements for her, and I can't. She asked me what I thought that I would do when things got to this point, and I said that I figured that I would move out there and bring the cats. We went back and forth on the cats a little bit. She doesn't like the fact that I'd have to work from there, and I told her that I couldn't afford to take family leave, which is unpaid. She hopes that she'll die soon "and that will solve everyone's problems". Sigh.

I'm wondering when my next therapy appointment is. Next week, I think.

I need to do some homework and get the recycling out, but then I think that I'll nap for a while. Okay, I contacted the pet sitter. Got the recycling out. Did my homework. I need to eat something and then nap time. Exchanged text messages with Mom's friend Kate. She's going to try to get someone to look in on Mom after she leaves.

It's gotten late, so instead of napping, I'm just going to go to bed and get up early. I gave the girls their nighttime treat, which is similar to the treat that I gave them before I took them to the vet, and they both vanished :)

I was going to do laundry last night when I realized that my detergent was in the old place. Sigh. I'll pick it up tonight.

I have a therapy appointment on Saturday at 2, but I was planning to be in the old place. I need to figure out how to do the video appointment on my phone.

My meeting today was canceled. Cool. I'll be better prepared for it in a couple of weeks.

The maintenance guy came by to look at the basement lights (scaring the hell out of me), and he showed me that one of the mystery light switches turns the lights on. Cool. I won't need to move the shelves to set up my pantry then. The guy coming traumatized the girls though. They have vanished.

I'm thinking of not going to the old place tonight and getting out early tomorrow instead. I'll need to sweep out the storage space during daylight hours. And I could go to Lowe's and get one more shelving unit and start setting up the pantry.

Napped, and overslept. Too late for Lowe's.

Threw myself together and ran to a local grocery store for laundry detergent. I like that store, and it couldn't be closer (four blocks?)

Now I've got laundry going. Mimi's freaked out by the sound of the washer.

I decided to push the truck rental back a week to give me more time to pack stuff up. I still need to finish cleaning out the storage space too. And I'm tired and I have a therapy appointment tomorrow.

The clothes are in the dryer. It seems to be a good washer and dryer. I'm going to bed as soon as I get toasty pajamas out of the wash.

I woke up a little before my alarm at 10. I have the shakes, so I need to eat something.

Shopped for used hoodies to go with my new jeans. Found three. I need something else in navy, and I'm trying to decide between a Volcanoes National Park hoodie, generic Hawaii hoodie, or a Hawaii sweatshirt. I'm leaning towards the sweatshirt (bought).

There is a study session for one of my classes at noon that I'm going to sit in on. I haven't studied for my test yet. I'll do that in the afternoon.

I'm glad that I attended the study session; it was very helpful. My brain is now primed for code, so I'm going to study after I eat lunch.

I am so shaky today. I don't know why. Eating pizza helped, but now I'm kind of tired and lying down.

Well, I slept for three hours. The weather is doing a yo-yo thing and it was 80 today after being 55 yesterday, so I woke up boiling. Finally threw myself together and went grocery shopping. I'm wondering if inflation has gone down a little because I got a full cart of groceries for $100. (I've spent $100 for a lot less.) An older lady was in front of me in line and was bouncing to the store music. She was chatting with me. I thought that she was kind of neat.

I bought some frozen Chinese food in single servings. As soon as I got home, I put the shrimp fried rice in the microwave, and oh, was it good. I need to get more.

Talked to Mom. A friend of hers is taking her to Best Buy on Monday to get her new smart phone, so that's good. We mostly talked about food. She wanted to know how my therapy was going, and I said "Good". I didn't tell her that my therapist said that I should set boundaries with her!

Studied some Italian. Took a break to write an email to a friend in California. I also want to respond to the OKCupid person with whom I've been exchanging messages. Then I'll finish up Italian.