days_unfolding

I ran my errands. The local store didn’t have Mrs. Meyers, but had Bona, which is supposed to be a gentler cleaner with less chemicals. (I hate to say “organic” because what does that mean really?)

I’m having problems falling asleep. Hell. Overslept an hour. Scrambled to get ready to go. Dropped Bella off at doggie daycare. (They didn’t have a record of the reservation, but they said that they had space.) Bella looked excited. Made it to the meeting. I was stressing because I thought that it started at 8:30 AM, but it started at 9.

Back from my meeting. We went to an escape room afterwards, which was kind of fun. Then I went to pick up Bella. The day care people loved her and said that she loves people. A few members of the staff came over to say goodbye to her. I got things squared away to board Bella and Oliver there, although I need to send some paperwork for Oliver.

The team is going out for dinner, but I don’t have the money for it, so I’m home for the night. I’m going to take a nap soon. I’m wiped out from the limited sleep and all the peopling. I feel beaten up.

billschubert mentioned an adjustable bed. I want to live here as long as possible, so I’m looking into one. But I want a Marriott mattress so I don’t know. My bed is full size, which makes it tougher. I’m glad that there are people on my friends list ahead of me in the aging game. Food for thought.

I need to get the garbage out, but I’m too wiped out. I’ll gather it when I get up from my nap, and I’m getting up early and can take it out then.

I found a leather chair and ottoman that I like for the library, but I’m worried about the cats sharpening their claws on it. (Chaos trashed a leather loveseat that I had in California, so I speak from experience.)

Crashed out and so did the dog. Started laundry. I did something to my knee, so I'll gather garbage in the morning. I need to find shorts and a t-shirt to sleep in.

I watched a couple more episodes of The Golden Girls. The dog is fast asleep, so I’m going to get in my pajamas and join her.

Got up at 7. Bella defended the yard against a squirrel. She ate Lily’s food. Bad dog! She was trotting around with one of my bras that she found.

I was looking for pictures of Mimi because I think that I want the painted urn. Found some.

Oh shit! I just realized that a book that Bella destroyed was a library book! Guess that I need to go over and pay for it.

Tried to nap but couldn’t sleep.

I’m trying to decide what to do. I need to run over to Walmart to get Mrs. Meyers cleaner and Munchie Bones. I need to plant the new plants, which requires cleaning out the garden bed. And I need to clean the bedroom, kitchen, and upstairs.

It’s a little early for lunch, so I guess that I’ll get in the shower. Well, I needed to do laundry, so I guess that I’ll have lunch.

I’m looking for a new housekeeper because mine is moving out of town in June. I found someone who wants to support herself as a new grad student. I’ll contact her later in May.

My towels didn’t dry, so I threw on the clothes that I had on yesterday. I found my shovel and will go out and plant the ferns (done). Then the alarm on the Honda started going off. I shut it off twice, but apparently it had been going off since last night, but I didn’t hear it. I contacted an online Honda mechanic, and he said that the alarm system was built in. He said to bring it to a dealer to read the messages why the alarm was going off, but next week is problematic because of my off-site meetings. He told me how to disconnect the battery, but I didn’t have a small enough wrench. My neighbor came over and disconnected it.

I'm supposed to give someone a ride tomorrow, but that isn't going to work.

The pup is tired from being outside so long. Napped with her.

It’s a little late to go to Walmart. I’ll go tomorrow.

I started reading Judy Collins’ book. It’s interesting.

I don't feel up to starting anything new, so I'm going to crash.

Overslept but still managed to shower. I had thought about going back to sleep for a 1/2 hour, but managed to get my butt in the shower instead. Go me :)

Things are coming together nicely. My cleaner is supposed to come on Friday, but I thought that I had an offsite meeting, but that's the following week.

I put the plants that I wanted on a credit card. I didn't get the lilacs because they were a petite variety. I have to pick them up the weekend of May 2nd. Now I’m second-guessing myself on the lilacs. The fence will be six feet, and the lilacs will be four feet. Not sure how that would work.

Oliver likes sitting at the top of the stairs to the upstairs room. That way, he can see what's going on both upstairs and downstairs. My watch cat!

Hmm. I should make arrangements to board Bella and Oliver when I'll be at a conference in May. I'm leaving on Sunday, but I think that the vet is closed on Saturday. I guess that I'll have to drop them off on Friday.

Sigh. Another frost advisory.

The university is sending almost daily updates on the impact of Trump's cuts. Sigh again. These are the Days of Sighs.

My broken-and-healed toe is hurting again. Why? Another sigh.

I should call Schwab to get the ball rolling with transferring my money. Speaking of Schwab, I found some tools that they have to learn about stock trading.

Hmm. I found a travel set that I like, but they don't have petites. Should I buy it and get it altered? It would be good for the flight to Italy. I'm itching to go shopping. Come on, trust check. They also had shorts-and-top combos that I like. Talbots has a petite set that I like.

I should set a Google Flights alert on my flights to Sardinia. I want to use my United credit for my flights to San Diego for the cruise.

Damn, I really want to go on the "Orient Express" trip that the meetup people are arranging in 2026. It goes to Paris, Venice, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, and Istanbul. I'd have to cancel the Costa Rica trip though. If I do that, I should brush up on my French. I found the price information and both it and the trip to Japan are expensive. Japan: $6810 single occupancy. Airfare: $1300 - 1900. Orient Express: $7090 single occupancy. But probably worth it. The flights to Paris and from Istanbul would add around $1000.

Ugh. Lily hasn't learned that if she sticks her claws in my leg, it hurts. I need to get her claws clipped.

Started laundry. Filed my taxes. I should get the garbage out, but damn, my toes hurt. Maybe I'll wait a few minutes to let the acetaminophen kick in. I guess that I'll post. Oh, and get new computer wallpaper for the places that I want to go.

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.

I called the auto glass place this morning to see if they will vacuum out the glass and put a covering on my window, only to discover that you can't call them directly. I emailed them about it, but haven't heard back yet. Annoying.

Oliver and Lily knocked down my work laptop while I was in a meeting. Sigh.

I finally got through to the glass people on a chat line, and they can put a "crash wrap" on the car window. I'll go there after lunch. Also, I needed to reschedule the glass replacement for later in their shop because I don't have a driveway to put the car on. (They don't want to replace it on the street because it's not safe.)

Oh, what a day. I went to drive the car to the auto glass place, only to find that whoever broke in tried to hotwire the car, and messed up the steering column. I was able to start the car, but the windshield washer fluid is fountaining non-stop (and the control is hanging off).

So, I called in a new claim. They asked me to file a police report, and also cancel the old claim with the glass place. So I did. The policeman asked me when was the last time I was sure that the car was intact, and it was over a week ago! I don't drive much. I asked my neighbor to reconnect the battery in the Honda. So she did, but first, Bella was all over her asking for petting! She's the first person other than me to which Bella was really friendly!

I moved the Honda, and it seems to be running okay. Go figure. I'm going to go get gas for it later tonight. The towing company wanted me to get all my stuff out of the Kia, so I'm going to do that tonight and they'll pick up the Kia tomorrow morning.

Phew. I'm tired. The people at work were sympathetic to my distractions though. I think that it's going to be an early night.

So far, 2025 really sucks.

I cleaned out the Kia. I suppose this is one way to get me to clean out my car, but I can think of better ways and times. Then I convinced myself to get gas for my mom's car (the Honda) because I wanted to test that it was driving okay while there was less traffic. And it was fine. I think what happened last time is that the fuel lines froze. (It's been a couple of months since I drove it.) Ordered food to be delivered tomorrow morning.

Now I'm going to feed the critters, start a load of laundry (drat, I need to run down and do that) and crash. I should get up early in case there's an issue with towing the Kia, although I might go back to sleep if I see it gone.

Oliver is snoozing upstairs. I ate a turnover and got Bella’s and Lily’s rapt attention. Lily has a favorite spot in the front window where she can see Bella and I come in.

I know. The pet-sitter-to-be can get water from the quarantine tank for the main aquarium. That would work.

Got up a little after 6 AM. Took Bella out and put the cat dishes on to soak. I’m going back to sleep and will take a shower at lunchtime. Overslept but made it to work.

Oliver and Lily seem to be playing Hide and Go Seek. Now they're wrestling. And galloping around upstairs. I found my work laptop knocked over when I came upstairs. Apparently, they play during the night. I hear them upstairs.

The trust people said that I would have my tax form ready when I got back. Now she says that she doesn't handle taxes, but she can see if the form is ready. They are annoying me.

Headache.

Fed the beasts. Oliver was being a jerk and kept eating Lily's food, even though he had food. The cats have settled down. Lily is looking out Mimi's window. Now she's crashed out cold by the front window.

Showered during lunch, attended by Bella and Oliver. Bella chewed a hole in my sock. Oliver was meowing.

I need to order canned dog food from Costco.

Bella had an appointment for booster shots, and she was a very good girl. She has figured out that when I ask her to go into the car, we're going from place to place, but I'm not giving her away, so she'll jump right in. She peed a little at the vet but otherwise was very good. I told her that after she gets dog training, I'll take her in the car to the dog park. They have a special place for more timid dogs. Also, she seems to like collars better than harnesses. Good to know.

I am not looking forward to explaining what happened with my cruise at choir. Well, some people didn’t know what to say, so I added, “But my other cats and dog were glad to see me “. Rehearsal itself went well. Bella was thrilled that I came home :)

I need to feed the beasties, take Bella out one more time, and crash hard because I have Italian tomorrow morning. I’m not looking forward to explaining what happened to my teacher too :(

Got most of the recycling out. Went and got Mimi’s carrier from the U of I vet; I saved around $70 doing that. And now I have three carriers for three cats.

Got up at 7 AM. It’s cold, wet, and miserable out. Even the dog was less than thrilled.

I need to get someone to clean the gutters.

Bella ate Lily's food. Twice. Aargh. Bella is running around with her squeaky ball. She loves that thing. The pup is tired though. Oliver and Lily got kitty racetrack out of their system, I hope. Oliver is in Mimi's window looking at the birds. Lily is sitting on the rocking chair in the front window. I deem that "Lily's chair". Now Oliver is tunneling under the blanket on the guest room bed. Lily digs her claws in my leg when she goes on my lap. Ouch. Points to Oliver; he doesn't do that. Now Lily is checking out the mattress in the guest room. LOL. Oliver is tunneling under the blanket in the guest room, and Lily is jumping on top of him. Those two keep me entertained. A guy came by with two dogs when I was in the yard with Bella, and she hid behind me. That makes me wonder how she's going to do in the dog training class. The Dynamic Duo managed to 1) knock my soda onto me and 2) unplug my work laptop. Now Lily is on top of the fish tank.

I told work to load me up with meetings, but it hasn't been too bad.

I'm freaking tired.

I need to close my purse right now. I need to have the house cleaned, but I can do it myself. I'm getting pretty good at picking up the kitchen before I go to bed. Though hmm. The U of I music venue is having the Mozart Requiem on the 29th. I love the Mozart Requiem. Okay, I bought a ticket.

I asked my dad how to keep my energy up, and he said, “Lose weight”. All right then.

I'm looking at flights to San Diego for the Mexico cruise. I might have to go on Christmas Eve because I think that the bus isn't scheduled on Christmas. Or I might have to take the train, but I think that my suitcase might be too big for it? Oh, I can check luggage to Chicago. It would take me about an hour to get to O'Hare from the train station. I need to figure out something to do in San Diego before the cruise. The zoo? They have a great zoo. San Diego city tour? I'll need to find a hotel too. Found a hotel that I like.

My shade garden has shipped. I’ll need to get after the garden that I will put it in this weekend.

Bella: Pet me! Pet me! Pet me! She found a piece of styrofoam somewhere and was shredding it. I guess that I need to get out the broom. Had some Girl Scout cookies. Bella: Aren’t you going to give me some? Me: Nope!

Headache. I’m going to lie down for a little while. But the doggo wanted a belly rub. I’m sharing my bed with a can of tuna that Bella brought in. I only live here :)

Slept until 10:30 PM. I must have needed it.

Oliver knocked over Mimi’s dry food again. Sigh. He and Bella are eating it in a moment of feline-canine cooperation. Oy. I think that I'm going to leave the kitchen a mess, put clothes in the dryer, and go back to bed. Oops, I need to order soda.

Lily is really coming into her own. It’ll be interesting to see how things go when Oliver gets here.

I need to order cat food, but I’ll do so tomorrow.

Oops, I need to set up weekly pet waste cleanup.

Woke up at 6 AM. Lily is here and said, “Hi”.

I’m trying to decide whether to work or not. I have this week off, but in general, I’d like to save my vacation time for travel.

Ordered a new pair of Kiziks because Bella did something with my old ones. Ordered cat food and human food.

Zara is warily watching Lily, who is ignoring her. Fed Lily and Zara. Did dishes.

Hmm. I really want to go back to sleep. I decided to take today off and go back to work tomorrow. I sent a message to work telling them what happened and that I’m back. Called the vet where Oliver and Bella is being boarded and said that I would be by in the early afternoon to pick them up.

My boss could not have been kinder. She said that if I needed time to recover from the sad end to my trip, to take it, and that sick days cover mental health too. But I’m okay except for dreaming that I had a stroke.

My vet left a message with her condolences.

Got our groceries. Lily thinks that my food is her food, or at least, she hopes so.

Yeah, I needed a quiet day. In a few minutes, I’ll hop into the shower and then go pick up Oliver and Bella.

I’ve gotten set with the pet waste people.

Holy cow. I forgot a bottle of soda in the freezer. I took it out to thaw. It just exploded all over my cabinets and stand mixer. I wiped them down but need to go over them with spray cleaner. The bottle is now in the sink where I should have put it in the first place.

Lily was trying to catch the waterdrops on the shower. And she had to go in when I got out.

Bella and Oliver are home. There was an issue with my credit card, but we got it straightened out. Bella’s tail is on max wag. However, she ate (and pooped out) her collar. They gave her an x-ray and she’s okay. Don’t know what I’m going to do with that crazy dog though. Oliver and Bella were faves at the boarding place though. And Bella jumped into the car and gave me a kiss!

Uh-oh. Oliver and Lily had a little squabble. And Bella needs lots of reassurance, not surprisingly. So much for taking Bella for a nice long walk. (I’m not going to choir tonight. Actually there is no choir because of Spring Break.) She needs a collar or harness. I ordered both from Amazon.

The pupster is settling down.

My stomach hurts. I’m going to lie down. Slept with Bella and slept so deeply that I wasn’t sure if it was morning or night. The pup is still asleep. Oops, she just woke up. She just rolled over.

Took Bella out. She needs to sniff every square inch of the yard. I need to get someone to rake leaves. Fed Bella and the catlings are in process (done). Ordered cat food covers because I now have an odd number of cats. But Bella ate the extra food :)

Oliver and Lily are playing "Catch Me If You Can!" upstairs. I'm going to take Bella out one more time and then go to bed early. I'm still tired.

Bought some collapsible walking sticks to take on the trip. There are some walking tours, so they might help. (And yes, it's before the boycott starting at midnight, but if I think of something that I absolutely need to have for the trip, I might have to break the boycott.)

Overslept but got up in plenty of time for my shower. Oliver was walking on top of the shower, peering in and meowing :)

Yay. The vet will take Bella for boarding. Sigh of relief.

Now I'm thinking of waiting post-Trump to have solar installed. There is more likely to be tax credits.

We have a Friday "watercooler" Zoom call. Were were talking about Little Sleepies pajamas, among other things, and they have an "around the world'" one that I'd like to get for spring. But I'll wait until I get back.

The pet waste people cleaned up the yard and did a good job. Now I need to pick up after Bella until I board her. It's kind of tough at night. Maybe I'll take my phone and note where she pooped so that I can clean it up in the daylight. Oh, the joys of dog ownership: so much revolves around poop.

I think that I'm going to be too tired to pull an all-nighter to clean, so I'll go to Plan B and get up at 5 AM to clean. Music is a must! Tonight, maybe I could open some boxes and enter info for the pets' microchips and pack and other low-key stuff. Oh, and scan my music for my singing lesson.

Hmm. I should get some protein bars for my flight. I'm probably going to DoorDash when I get to Miami, but the flight is three-and-a-half hours. And I need something to eat in the morning.

It's kind of quiet and peaceful upstairs in the afternoon sun, listening to the burble of the aquarium.

My dad said to hold off on construction because if there is a recession, you should be able to get good deals. I hadn't thought of that aspect of it. He thinks that we should know if there will be a recession by the end of the summer. But I really want the fence replaced, which requires the garage to be finished so that I know where to end the fence. Hmm.

Oh! I can get Google's User Interface design course for free from the University. All I need is the time, which I don't have. Maybe a little later down the road.

I'm getting involved in new and interesting areas at work (involving with different areas of the system on which we work). That is making me happy.

I was feeling like I perked up a little but now I'm yawning.

Yeah, I need to get to bed early. My patience with the critters is fraying. (Bella ate Lily’s food. I gave Lily more food, but Oliver, who had had a full bowl of food, tried to eat it. Meanwhile, Bella was looking for a chance to eat more of the food. And I was getting cranky.) I think that I need sleep.

Had my Italian lesson. She's excited about my trip, and told me to be ready to tell her about it in Italian.

The Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana are having a concert on Sunday. I'd like to go but might need the time to get organized for my trip. You can buy tickets at the door, so I guess that I'll decide at the last minute.

I have to say that it's weird but freeing, knowing that I don't ever want another job (I'm planning to retire from this one) or need new skills. I do want to study in retirement though to keep my mind sharp. The uni also has short lecture series for retirees.

Ordered my prescriptions to be sent to me. One less errand....

Took Mimi to the vet. Her weight is staying stable, so we’re just going to keep an eye on her. I asked if there was a way to weigh her at home, and the vet suggested that I use my scale and weigh myself with and without her. I also want to use the carrier because she doesn’t like being held. But my scale needs batteries.

Dropped off my ballot. Ran to the post office. Picked up some odds and ends at Walgreens, including some trial-sized stuff for my trip and batteries.

Now I went out with Bella and am feeding the beasts.

Had my piano lesson, which was a fiasco. First my teacher was in the wrong lesson. She was calling me, but I wasn’t answering because I didn’t know who it was. I finally answered a text. Then she chewed me out (justifiably) because I didn’t practice everything on her list. And I’m so tired that I’m almost shaking.

I need to gather garbage to take out (done). I want to start the food process and post, but Lily is stretched out very relaxed on my lap. Now she dug her claws in my leg and started biting, which is less charming.

For some reason, the song "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" was playing in my head, so I listened to it. Actually, my internal radio started with "Southern Cross" and changed to "Suite..." Why songs pop into my head, I don't know.

Now I'm upstairs to post. Mimi almost came downstairs earlier, but saw Lily, and beat a hasty retreat. I was surprised that she did that.