days_unfolding

Note to self: buy Imodium and dental floss and denture tablets and protein bars and straws and travel toothpaste and hair gel and pens. Dramamine at Walgreens. Shut off outside water. Pack passport! And scissors and stapler. And pens.

I forgot to mention that Gracie attacked one of my pillows and pulled the stuffing out. There is pillow stuffing all over the place. This is why we can’t have nice things. I'm going to give up and buy cheap sheets and pillowcases for the bed. I might already have some extra pillows. I bought some inexpensive Eddie Bauer flannel sheets and duvet cover. If I like them, I'll get an extra set of sheets.

Also forgot to mention that I got the dogs a "dog puck" toy, and it was a hit. Both Gracie and Bella wanted it, but Bella got it. I need to get a second one.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. I didn't shower because my clothes were in the dryer and because I had a 9:00 meeting for which I wanted to be on time.

Bella says, “Use your time well. Pet your dog.”

Hmm. I was going to run errands tonight, but I kind of want to stay home and grab a quick nap. I'll need to be out tomorrow to drop off the fur faces, so I could run errands afterward.

Oh! United's site: "The U.S. government plans to restrict flights due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. Our schedule changes for Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8 are now in place. Check your flight status to see if your upcoming flight was affected." The flight is still scheduled on time. Yay.

Well, crud. I forgot about my therapy appointment and missed it.

I took a nap and slept until 3:30 AM. Went back to sleep, and the dogs made a concerted effort to get me up at 4:30. I can’t blame them; I was asleep for a long time.

I didn’t notice that the gate was open and Bella got out. At first, she ran away, so I got Gracie inside and grabbed her leash, but then she walked up to the gate to be let in. Good girl, Bella. Fed us all. My stomach is a little upset. I'm going to take a nap.

I'm texting with the vet about Gracie and Bella. I told them that the dry food firmed up Gracie's stools, but I'm battling with Bella over dry food. I got some new food that I'll try. And I asked about new treatments for Gracie's Giardia. He said that the other treatments are no longer recommended, and that the treatments that they did were the only ones, so no more treatments. I asked him if he'd talk to my boarding place, and he said that he would.

I really want to nap over lunch, but I need to take a shower because I have a therapy appointment at 5 PM.

I had to talk to my boss about a collision of priorities, and she was cool about it.

Bella didn’t like the Costco dry food. She’s eating the Science Diet food. Sort of. Now she and Gracie switched food. Dogs! The cats are not eating, and I don’t know why. Well. Oliver finally ate, but Lily didn't. I ordered a doohickey that opens a door just wide enough for a cat to come in but not a dog. I'm going to put it upstairs to give them a sanctuary, and maybe I'll feed them up here.

I'm investigating cochlear implants, but my hearing needs to get worse before I'd be eligible. They would be nice to have though.

It's chilly today, and I really want to hibernate. I think that I'll nap after my therapy session.

Therapy was okay. She hopes that everything, especially the trip, will work out for me.

Slept until midnight. Gracie is barking at the cats. I need to start laundry, feed us all, post, and go back to sleep for a little while. I need to get up at 5 AM to drop off the car.

I asked Oliver if it was strictly necessary that he dig his claws in my leg. Apparently, the answer is yes. I have claw marks up and down my thighs. I’ll look great for my cruises. Put on clean pajamas, started laundry, soaked the cats' dishes, and started nuking food for me.

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.

The Guardian had an article about cohousing developments, developments that have separate units but also a communal house. Many of them are intentionally multigenerational. That intrigues me. Madison has a few of them. So does Asheville. Portland (Oregon) and Seattle seem to be the nexus of them (not surprised). There is one in Bloomington, IL.

Facebook has its uses. I read a post about Grazia Deledda, a writer from Sardinia who won the Nobel Prize for literature. I’ll read her books on my trip.

Woke up at 7 AM. It’s a dark and rainy day, so I decided to go back to sleep for a little while and take my shower at lunchtime. I overslept work by a half-hour, sigh.

I'm caught up on my project for work. So, yay.

Bella and Gracie were cracking me up. I let Gracie run around the back yard with her leash trailing behind her so that I can grab her if she moves into the front yard, where there's a gap in the fence. She and Bella were playing tug-of-war with the leash. I need to get another leash to use when I actually take her somewhere because this one is getting grotty.

Had my therapy appointment. My therapist was glad that I’m going to take better care of myself. I vented about work to her. She said that I was doing everything that I could do to manage the work situation.

I’m feeling exhausted and am having digestive issues. I think that I’ll go to bed early (really, Adrienne, do so) and get up early to go to the store.

Fed us all and took the dogs out. My joints are aching. I'm going to bed. And it's still light out!

I did think of a college town to check out for retirement: Clemson, South Carolina. It ticks all my boxes. I found a senior living community to check out. The place doesn't seem to allow pets, and I'm likely to still have Oliver and Lily when I would move there. So I started to look in Greenville, SC, and found a place that I like that allows pets. It sounds pretty perfect.

Booked a massage. My neck is killing me.

Woke up at 7 AM. Bella was too distracted by the outside world to do her business. She finally peed at least. Bella was being totally manic and she scratched me in the face. I gave her a Munchie Bone and she settled down. I’ve decided to take my shower at lunchtime because my clothes aren’t dry yet. So now I have time to kill.

Cool. I got The Economist's Guide to Investment Strategies for $4 on eBay. I'm going to have quite an investment library. And I received The Economist’s Guide to Analyzing Companies, which I will read first.

The arthritis in my toes is bugging me.

Had my therapy session. I told her that the increased meds were helping somewhat, but that I'm still tired. I looked tired. I asked how to force myself to clean up the kitchen, and we decided that I would make an appointment with a cleaner, and then I would clean up the dog debris in there before the appointment. She recommended that I get the security cameras put up and contact the garage people in the next two weeks.

The new pope is from my hometown of Chicago! There are jokes on Facebook about a deep-dish* Eucharist :)

I watered my plants outside and took the new plants out of their boxes and watered them too. Opened some Amazon boxes and my investment books are coming in. Now I just need time to read them!

My digestive system is roiling. I need to get to bed early anyway because I need to drop the car off to be fixed tomorrow.

I think that I'm going to hire someone to walk Bella because I've been so drained. I found someone who also does cat sitting, which I will need when I go to a conference in June. Also I'm going to hire an organizer to keep me working on decluttering and organizing.

* Deep-dish pizza is a thing in Chicago. It's several inches high and filled with cheese, meat, and other items such as mushrooms. Jon Stewart derisively called it a "casserole," but it's quite good.

I forgot to mention that I asked my dad for a recommendation for a macroeconomics book. I want to understand what's going on with the economy better. I bought a couple cheaply from Thriftbooks.

Overslept a little and got up at 6:30 AM. I heard the recycling truck while I was out with Bella. Got my leaf bags out, which was the important part, but I won’t get the rest of the recycling out. I’m going back to sleep for a little while.

Got us all fed. I have to watch Oliver and Lily eat because a certain dog will snatch their food if I'm not watching. Zara is behind a door, so she's okay.

I was wondering why Oliver and Lily like to run around upstairs so much, but then it occurred to me that the dog isn't there to chase them.

A grant awarded to the organization for which I work from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was canceled. Trump's cuts have reached my work. Sigh. It won't impact our staffing though, just a program that we were going to lead.

My therapy session went well. My therapist said to wait a week or two to see if the tiredness wears off, and contact my psychiatrist if it doesn't. She also said that I don't need to work at coming up with as much stuff to talk about as I did this time (the cruise, Mimi, and the car)! I said that I hoped it would be totally boring with nothing to talk about!

I was feeling pretty good about myself, but then I made a dumb mistake at work. I don't handle that well.

I got a free issue of The Week, or rather my mom did, and I read it cover to cover. I think that I want to resubscribe to it. I’m also thinking of subscribing to The Economist. I’m sorry to say that US and world events are very interesting right now. Hmm, I might be able to get an academic discount for The Economist.

Bella wants me to follow her around the yard. She’ll stop and wait and stare at me if I’m slow (which is always because she’s a young dog and I’m an old human). I got out the collar and leash to take her for a walk tonight, and she got so excited and cooperated when I put the collar on. It’s a vast improvement from when I had to chase her through the house to get her harness on and when she’d freeze on a leash when I first got her. It was nice to walk in twilight. And most of the dog walkers were already gone. I’m not sure what she’d do if we met another dog. Hide behind me?

Had my quality time with Zara. Practiced piano. Zara was chirping at the piano for a couple of minutes and then sat and listened.

I’m going to go upstairs and practice Italian. My trip-to-be is motivating me. I studied Italian until my brain went into vaporlock. I'm tired.

I'm going to post, feed the critters, and crash.

Yep, a light dusting of snow. I pulled out my down jacket, and it's warm, but I need to get my gloves out of the car.

Started to get the recycling out, but the bins were full. I rolled them to the curb. Wanted to get the dahlias in, but I couldn't find the plant clippers, which I need to cut the plants down before I bring them in. My pet sitter moved them. Sigh.

I'm tired, and it's going to be a very busy day.

I've started of thinking of things to do in retirement. I'll wait until then to pick up guitar lessons again, and keep learning singing and piano and languages. And I'll write. And write songs. And garden. And travel (last minute cruises? I found a South American cruise that's really cheap!) And nap. I'm looking forward to it. I'm not sure when I went from "What will I do in retirement?" to "I'm looking forward to retirement". (Hmm, I should do most of my Road Scholar trips pre-retirement because they're more expensive.)

The webinar that I was hosting went well. I’m learning new skills!

Put the registration sticker on my car. Brought the dahlias down into the basement. Pulled out some leather gloves. I can’t find my wool gloves, but they are cheap to buy.

It’s snowing again. Note to self: turn off the outside water. How’d it get to be almost December? Another note to self: replace the windshield wipers on Mom’s car. And bring the cushions in from the porch chairs. I need a winter checklist.

Mimi is annoyed that I’m downstairs instead of upstairs with her on my lap.

I’m also wondering how I went from someone who was chronically late to getting places early consistently. (I’m at the doctor’s office cooling my heels.)

I want to read Cher’s book. It should be interesting.

Holy cow. The snow is blowing sideways.

I want a baguette and some olive oil.

Went to my doctor’s appointment. Nothing major of note. I liked the doctor this time (GYN doctor). It’s miserable out. (Well, there will be a time when I’ll think that’s warm—it’s around freezing—but the wind whipping the snow is miserable no matter what the temperature is.)

Had my therapy appointment. Nothing much to say about that either. I was talking about creating my own rituals for the holidays.

Zara thinks that the kitchen table is one of her perches. I give up :) This place is not so secretly run by cats.

There is going to be a holiday concert in December at the university, to which I want to go. Must buy a ticket.

My piano teacher rocks. I was setting up my mom’s laptop in the library room on top of my digital piano for my music lessons, and got mired in Windows updates, getting my Web cam set up, etc. And the lesson was an hour earlier than I thought. She said that she had a cancellation at 8:30 PM, so let her know if I got set up, which I did. Mom's laptop worked much better than the old laptop that I was using.

Another reason to keep the digital piano even if I get an acoustic one—if I move to a senior complex eventually, I can use headphones on my digital piano.

I was feeling tired after dinner and wondered if I was going to make it until the piano lesson. I started practicing and perked up a little, and perked up more during my lesson. Now I'm winding down a little. I think that I'll post and go to bed after I finish my lively conversation with Mimi.

I think that I have arthritis in both of my big toes. It's not too bad, but it reminded me to get more acetaminophen.

Overslept but made it to work. I managed to take a shower before work.

I ate lunch at 3 PM, which says something about how the day is going. Busy, busy. Lots of meetings plus class.

Had my therapy session. She thinks that it’s important to get my mom’s house up for sale to get some resolution and closure in my grief. She suggested that I get another real estate agent if they don’t list it soon. She also said that it’s not certain that I will have the same mobility problems that my mom did because I’m more physically active. I told her about my fall, and she wants me to talk to the doctor about it. While we were talking, I realized that I could do chair yoga while my knee and foot heal. She sent me links to some chair yoga videos that she likes. She also said that because I’m worried about dementia, I should ask my doctor to take a baseline reading of my cognitive state.

Had my singing and piano lessons, and they were kind of a fiasco. My voice was “tight” in singing. I was tripping over myself in piano. I’m really tired, which might be part of it. The French have a saying about feeling uneasy in your skin, which is kind of how I feel. I need to get to bed early.

Got my clothes together for tomorrow. I need to wear a sleeveless shirt under my hoodie because I’m getting shots.

Oh crap! It's supposed to rain Saturday and Sunday, but I need to seed the lawn! Though it's a low chance on Saturday.

Made up my class time for work. I think that I'm going to bed now and, I hope, feel more together tomorrow.

Oh, wait a minute. I need to pay some bills.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I got the Ikea fabric box. It's smaller than I thought, but it'll work for the sweaters. I'll order more when I get the check from the trust. Actually, Target has bins that I like better and are cheaper.

I'm investigating Rent My Equipment so that I can rent the tiller when I'm not using it.

I’m feeling dizzy and want to lie down, but I need to get the recycling out. It’s supposed to rain though most of the day. I guess that I’ll just get the bins out and skip the boxes. I did lie down and overslept. Took the world's fastest shower. Ducked out of work to take the recycling out. (It took 8 minutes.)

I have some sock organizers that I bought a long time ago. I found some underwear and bra organizers by the same company on eBay. I’ll buy them when I have money. Actually, I had money in my PayPal account, so I ordered a set.

I've decided to get an Apple Watch when I get the check from the trust (after all, I spent $700 of my own money on Mom's car), and sell mine when I find it. I want a way to track my walks. Target has one on sale for a good price.

One of my decluttering books suggested getting the Closet+ app to document your clothes. Then you have a list of what you have when you shop. I just downloaded it. Though given that I'm losing weight, maybe I should wait to use it.

I can feel a difference in my neck and shoulders when I don't have yoga. I should do some yoga stretches on my own.

Placed a grocery order.

Had a quick therapy session. I didn't have a lot to say, so we cut it short. I'm in a good place for the most part.

Well, crud. I was trying to put together a rack for the dumbbell plates, but it is missing parts. I just emailed the company. I guess that the weights will just lie around until then. I also brought the exercise bench upstairs, which was a workout in and of itself :)

Started putting away my t-shirts in an organizer that I put in a drawer. I might have too many t-shirts for one drawer though. I did dump some clothes in a bag for the thrift store though.

Got the grocery order. I'm running out of steam, so I'm going to study Italian (done--I'm getting back in the groove).

I think that I'll go to bed early and get up early.

I bought a pair of waterproof orthotic shoes for Italy. We'll see how they work.

Oops, I forgot to ask the Italy tour guide if my suitcase will be too big for the train. I’ll do so tomorrow (done). They said that there were no limits, but I need to be able to lift it.

Got clothes in the dryer. Showered and shaved my legs so that I can wear shorts. First, I need to find what box the shorts are in, but I think that I know which one. Yeah, I found them. I'll bring a couple of pairs to Italy, but a lot of the places (e.g., museums) have a dress code that precludes wearing them. I need to dig out some sandals. Now I'm working barefoot. But it's 88F today, and I'm able to cope in my home office upstairs with shorts and a t-shirt, my fan, and bare feet. I want to use an air conditioner only if I have to use one.

I'm debating whether I should go to tai chi tonight or not. I'm so freaking tired and want to lie down after work. I'm going to stay home. Self-care :)

I looked up "how to tame unruly brows," and found a recommendation for some brow gel that is made from mustache wax. I'll give it a try (ordered). It's certainly cheaper than brow lamination.

I'm trying to figure out how much money to put in my flexible spending account (FSA). I'm going to have a ton of money from last year because I didn't have therapy appointments. (I plan to spend a pot of money on glasses. I checked into moving up my eye doctor appointment, but can't move it earlier.) I will have dentist appointments though. The amount that I can carry over from this year will pay the copay for two-thirds of my therapy appointments. I think that I'll log on later after it cools off to figure the amount out. I need to look at my copays for previous dental appointments, although I'll be going to another dentist in Urbana. Crap. I looked up my balance, and I have way too much money to spend by June 30th. I need to set up a dental appointment for right after I get back from Italy. The flexible spending account should be $700 plus dental. Dental is looking like $110 a visit, with four visits, so $1140 total. This, apparently, is when my medical ship comes in.

Okay, now it's too hot to be working on a computer upstairs. I'm going to go downstairs and cool off. Bother. The ceiling fan in my bedroom doesn’t work. Zara thinks that it’s cuddle time. Aren’t you hot, Zara? Though she’s been downstairs where it’s cooler all day.

I finished reading the novel about a family with a transgender child: This Is How It Always Is. It’s good.

Okay, I want to use part of the FSA funds to get a fancy scale, an ear cleaner, and an eye mask for headaches. And maybe a massage gun. No, a Sharper Image massage heating pad. Maybe a shoulder relief pillow system? I think that I can spend the money. And compression socks. Okay, I bought a mini massager that will go with me to Italy if it gets here in time, a headache wrap, a neck wrap, and the scale. Oops, I went back and got compression socks, which I hope will get here before I leave for Italy. And the ear cleaner.

I had thought about getting an electric toothbrush, but apparently, that’s not FSA-eligible. Why?

A security bulletin at work convinced me to change my passcode on my phone to an alphanumeric one. It’s kind of a pain, but probably is more secure.

The cats are off their feed. I don't know why. Because it's hot?

I'm going to go to bed and get up early, when it's cool.