days_unfolding

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.

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.

Overslept until 8:30 AM. Tired. I think that I’ll nap at lunchtime and shower after work.

Fed the cats. Oliver seems to be learning that I don’t want him to eat Lily’s food. The dogs don’t want to come in. They’ll probably get wet in the rain predicted for 11. I have a meeting then, but they could stay on the porch. Oh! My 11:00 meeting was canceled! And the rain doesn’t seem to be coming.

Wow, did I oversleep my nap. I’ll need to make up some time for work this weekend.

It looks like I got my roses. I’ll need to assemble and charge the tiller on Saturday to plant them on Sunday.

I want to sign up for an app in which you earn Amazon gift cards when you walk. (You also pay for it, so they’re making money, but I think that the gift card incentive will work.) I’ve decided to do the mobility exercises first to walk better. Hmm. I could ease into walking on the treadmill. I ordered a (used) book on walking. I ordered some more (used) books on yoga, stretching, and hydration.

Hmm. Someone is selling a Pilates Reformer in Normal for $100. Though I think that I want a folding one. I should take Pilates classes, but I’ll wait until I get farther on the Lifelong Mobility classes.

Hmm, because I’m doing volunteer work on Sundays (although not this Sunday), I could get up a little earlier and go to the UU Church. It would be my community day. I could have lunch out.

My singing lesson went well. We were singing my two favorite songs for this year, and I got a good sound on the solos (although I want to practice more this weekend), so I was happy. I’m feeling full of music!

Fed the cats. Ate dinner and watched an episode of The Pitt. Got the dogs in and fed them. Watched another episode of The Pitt. When I watch it on Sunday, I’ll be caught up with all the released episodes. I think that I’ll watch Heated Rivalry next because it got a lot of buzz.

I’m washing some clothes, but then I’ll go to sleep. I think that tomorrow I’ll work on the bathroom, but I’ll work on seated tasks in the kitchen when I need breaks from standing.

Zara came out of her room. Today is not the day that I wanted her to do that because I need to give her her meds and take her to the vet. I’ll figure something out. Now she's on top of the refrigerator and totally freaked out. I'll have to tell the vet that I can't bring her in today. Now she's on top of the kitchen cabinets. Pretty good jump for an old lady. Ay-yi-yi. Zara is still on top of the cabinets, but she wants food. She looked like she wanted to jump on top of the refrigerator, but Lily was there eating. Gracie was barking at Zara. Sigh.

I'm feeling like crying for no reason. Maybe because I screwed up with Zara.

It looks like my lilac bush arrived too. How exciting!

I’m going to nap for a little while.

Now Zara is in the bathroom, so I put her food with meds in it in there. I might be able to get her to the vet after all. Nope. She didn't eat her food with the meds in it, and she's hiding somewhere (behind the washer?) Yep, she was behind the washer, and went back there when I came in. I rescheduled the appointment.

The powers that are are letting us out of work early today as a thank you.

Hmm. A company called Kikoff said that they could match me with a nutrition/exercise coach, and it would be covered by my insurance. I’m not quite ready because I need to finish the kitchen, but I saved the link.

I picked up Zara and brought her back into her room. That jerk Oliver jumped on my shoulders and jumped into the room. I’ll feed her after I get Oliver out of there. Oliver left, thank goodness. Zara came over to say hello.

Huh. My singing lesson is at 7:30 PM, not 7, so I’m killing time waiting for it. Zara looks much more relaxed in her room. My singing lesson went well, although my teacher was also wondering why it was scheduled for 7:30. Zara fell asleep while I was singing!

Let the dogs out, fed everyone, etc. Now I'm going to watch Harry Potter.

Overslept because my alarm didn’t go off. Took the dogs out and it’s cold. We came in when Bella wanted to come in. I need to take a shower because I have a hair appointment, so I’ll be late for work. I emailed in sick to get more time. And my stomach is upset, so it’s not lying.

Got my ballot ready to drop off. Thank you, League of Women Voters' Web site.

I’m having my hair cut and conditioned. And my eyebrows waxed. I look much better. Dropped off my ballot. Now I'm at work. I emailed in sick because my stomach is upset. I ate, and it is not agreeing with me. Crawled back into bed. Gracie is fascinated by my ears.

Hmm. Travel and Living recommended Uruguay for retirement. It’s not expensive, has liberal politics, has good weather, and it’s safe. Something to check out. It would be a pain to get to Europe from there though.

Slept until 5:30 PM. The dogs don’t want to come in. Fed us all.

Transferred money to pay for my investment newsletter. I need to call Schwab to get my debit card sent to me.

Checking in on the election results. Hmm, the Champaign County Park District hires people for the season. That might be a good retirement job.

Got the garbage out. The goofball dogs are both trying to jump on my lap. They make me laugh.

Watched an episode of The Pitt. I'm hooked.

Overslept until a little after 9 AM and was late for work. Sigh.

I haven’t seen Lily this morning. Where is she? She might be in Zara's room, but Gracie is still outside, so I haven't opened the door yet. Gracie is still refusing to come in and it's been 3.5 hours and counting. Oh, I just remembered that Lily and Oliver ran into the bedroom, and I shut the door to keep Oliver from running outside. Gracie was out for almost 6 hours. She was refusing to come in the last time even though it was raining, when I started to go back in and she suddenly came in. I'm wondering if I should put a doghouse out there in case that it rains, though they could go under the porch. They could stay on the porch, but they aren't smart enough to do that.

Gracie is completely crashed out after her long exercise session.

I'm looking into training classes for Gracie that are not in PetSmart because she is so hyper. There's a place that should have classes in April, but they aren't up yet.

I received my clock! I haven't opened the box yet.

Piano class went well. One of the songs that she gave us was hard, but I was getting there. I still have problems when both hands are doing independent stuff that’s harder than chords and the like, so I asked for extra practice. Also, we did a little work with improv, which was fun. Note to self: Etude two hands two brains 162

My psychiatrist told me to take a double dose of vitamin D, and it seems to be working. I actually have energy to do stuff.

Got the recycling out. Fed the critters. I’m making myself some food. I decided to hand wash underwear, socks, and a t-shirt, and rewear my jeans and hoodie to go to the dentist tomorrow. I need to get to bed at a decent hour because I have a 9:00 webinar.

I’m telling Bella that she’s a little self-centered. All food belongs to her; all pets belong to her; all things are her toys.

It occurred to me to get a nail gun and Westminster Chiming Clock on eBay, and I ordered both. And they’ll arrive at my door!

Facebook was showing clips of the Harry Potter movies, and I have an urge to watch them again.

It looks more like rain than snow out, or at least the snow is melting when it hits the ground.

Got up at 7:30 AM. There was a very light dusting of snow. Lay down again for 15 minutes. It was nice to snuggle under the blanket. The dogs came in on the first try.

Huh. I expected the stock market to go down due to the war in Iran, but my stocks look pretty good, except for financial services stocks.

I asked my boss if it was okay to skip the annual conference for the software that we manage (it's in LA this year), and she was cool with it. Excellent. I need to get more organized before going to another one.

I ordered a hook-and-eye fastener for the upstairs door because Oliver knows how to open it when it's closed. It comes in a two-pack, which is what I need so that I can hook it from the inside or outside. Free delivery from Home Depot.

Lily is being a dickens today. She walked on my computer twice and shut it down once, and jumped on my lap and dug her claws in. Sheesh.

Finished a project at work.

Choir went well. It was our piano player’s birthday so we had pound cake and berries. We’re singing another song that I might like for my memorial service, “Let the Life I’ve Lived Speak for Me”. Maybe the choir could sing it if it’s still around.

Submitted a Walmart order for way late because tomorrow is going to be a zoo. I have meetings most of the day up to my mammogram mid-afternoon. The order took a long time because this has been a glitch-ridden day.

I'm staying up late to wash clothes for tomorrow because I'll need to go to my mammogram.

Oliver and Lily are being manic.

Oops, forgot to mention that I got my vegetable seeds. Now I just need the planters.

Ooh, I saw a floor lamp on Marketplace that I like for the library room. And a washable rug. Maybe I’ll go get them this weekend. And a Westminster chime clock (I had thought about a grandfather clock, but that would be a hassle to get here) and a basket for my meditation cushions. And a nail gun. I just bought safety glasses to use with the nail gun.

For some reason, my alarm didn’t go off, and I slept until 8:30 AM.

The dogs don't want to come in. I told them that I have a meeting and they'll be out a long time, but they don't care. They finally came in at lunchtime. Oddly, Gracie was more cooperative, and I had to get Bella by the collar to come in.

I'm looking at grant writing classes. A certificate at Parkland Community College is $2500, which is a lot, but I'll investigate payment plans.

Hmm. I should get a money belt for my trip in the fall because we will be traveling on trains a lot.

We had a mini-crisis at work because the library system that our libraries use went down. We had to scramble to respond. We're moving to a new ticketing system tomorrow, so I guess that was the last hurrah on the old system.

Piano class went well. Oliver and Zara settled down for a snooze while I played.

I’ve been busy canceling subscriptions bit by bit.

I really want to work on the library/music room (“Zara’s room “). I think that I’ll use it as a carrot to get stuff done on the rest of the place; if I spend X amount of time on the rest of the place, I can spend X time on the library room. I’m getting excited about it. Plus, getting that room together will move book boxes out of the rest of the place.

I found a cheaper version of the grant-writing courses. That will work.

There’s a “slippery road” alert due to snow melting and refreezing. Terrific.

Crud. The BBC has gone subscription-only. Do I want to subscribe?

Got the recycling out. Fed us all.

Enrolled in the grant writing classes for $450 instead. Still pricey but much better.

Need to wrap things up and go to bed.

I'm so freaking tired. The cats are being manic.

Bella and Gracie were chewing on my hand brace. Dogs :)

I woke up around 6:30 AM, but I didn’t want to get up before my alarm. So I overslept it by a half hour. At least I can run a little later because I’m going to Physical Therapy at 9:50.

I rescheduled my PT appointment. I forgot to turn on the dryer and Gracie is refusing to come in and this morning is a mess. Well, Gracie came in. That’s a start. I'm learning that "self-care" often involves not scrambling. I went to get Oliver to feed him, but he gave me a sleepy look, so I guess not. He really likes it in Zara's room.

Hmm, I think that I want to wear my hand brace to work. I tend to curl that hand up when I'm not typing.

I can't stop yawning. And today is my long day because of choir rehearsal.

Gracie is going nuts over something out the window. She has no idea that she's a smaller dog. She thinks that she's tough.

Lily is giving my hand brace the onceover. Oliver decided that it was time to eat. He was a "lover boy" over lunch and attended my shower. He thinks that it's curious that I stick myself under water though.

My prairie seeds are on their way. Cool. I'm wondering if I should get some woodland seeds for the side of the garage, but I think that I'm getting too ambitious. Plus, I need to clean out that area and mulch it. Plus, I'll need to plant the lilac and crabapple and set up the vegetable planters. I'm looking for cheap dirt for the planters.

Ack about the temperature tonight, but at least I have a car with a heater. Sometimes it's the little things.

I tried to get a bit of fuzz off of Lily's fur, but she got annoyed and left. I just told Oliver that I don't want feline-managed acupuncture.

Huh. It was a bad day for the stock market but my stocks are up, except for Eli Lilly, which I'm considering dumping for Novartis.

Lily cautiously started to go into Zara's room, but she turned around as I went to leave. I want to get that gate (a gate to keep the dogs out with a cat door) soon.

The window in the guest room has a million dog nose prints in it. I just bought some great glass cleaner, so I should use it!

Ran around like crazy getting ready to leave for choir: letting the dogs out, feeding everyone, putting my makeup on, and grabbing my music. I managed to get there way early, which is what I had planned to have time to organize my music. It’s all together now. I was clearly missed while I was gone by the critters. Oliver is curled up on my lap. The little thief Bella stole a sock and grudgingly brought it to me. I explained that I need socks. She is not convinced.

My dad said that it sounds like I’m doing something right with my stocks and to “keep it up”. My big problem is finding time for research.

I’m kind of attracted to a young black cat who’s been in foster care for two years. Apparently, he doesn’t go up to new people, but that’s okay. But I’m a little worried about shaking up the status quo.

Sold some stocks and bought some stocks. I have time to do that only at night and weekends.

I should go to sleep soon so that I don't oversleep.

I overslept an hour again. Sigh. The dogs don’t want to come inside. Bella came in after two hours and Gracie took 2.5 hours. By the summer, they won't come in at all. Gracie is completely crashed out on the guest room futon. Now she's sleeping with her paws in the air :) Oops, she's up now. And barking.

There is a skating controversy about the scoring of the French judge for the ice dancing. What’s an Olympics without controversy.

It's another crazy day at work, plus I had my French lesson over lunch. The teacher is good and keeps me talking, which is what I need. She complimented me on my vocabulary and pronunciation. (I did throw in a couple of Italian words though. Oops.) She isn't going over what I would call "tourist French" though, but I'll get a Berlitz book and do some studying. I need to drill on verbs too.

Had a therapy session. She thought that my trip in the fall sounded very cool. She agrees that I should get more exercise to build up my energy. Maybe I'll start on the weekends. Maybe instead of a "second nap," I should take one of the dogs for a walk. I need to find my gym clothes too.

Gracie took over an hour to come in tonight. Then I had to shut Bella in the bathroom because she was trying to eat Gracie’s food. Bella had already eaten! Ate dinner.

I want to go to sleep early so that I don’t oversleep tomorrow. I might do a little work on the bathroom, and I need to feed the critters again.

Note to self: Move blood test (done). Book French lesson (done). Crossroads (boarding) for Memorial Day weekend? Check with Dad (done).