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Woke up at 6:30 AM and took the dogs out. Went back to sleep for a half-hour. I'm nice and shiny clean.

Okay, I did something a little crazy. I had a favorite stoneware set at Macy's, which I ordered (not the really expensive one) and one at Costco that I liked. So I ordered both, and I'll keep the one that I like best and return the other one.

Well, crud. I had a front tooth crack while I was eating and come out. I have an appointment this afternoon at the dentist to look at it.

I’ve been going back and forth with my primary doctor and my psychiatrist about my fatigue. The primary doctor is out until the end of October. The psychiatrist asked me if I had sleep apnea, and I told her, “Yes, I had gotten a CPAP right around the time that my mom died but couldn’t cope at the time,” and she made a referral to a sleep clinic. Have I said lately that I love my psychiatrist? She also lectured me about how what I eat can have an effect, and I ordered BistroMD as the healthiest stuff that I can eat without cooking. I think that I want to make some Tomato Corn Basil Bake in the meantime. If I get my act together, I could go to the Champaign Farmers’ Market tomorrow night for tomatoes and zucchini (and I think that there’s onions?) (I think that I want to use frozen corn because it’s easier.) I have a basil plant in my backyard. I can work on the kitchen and bathroom while the thing is baking. It’s fairly easy to make.

The dentist recommended an implant. They did a scan of my teeth, and they will put in the implant in 2.5 to 3 weeks. They will put in a temporary tooth called a “flipper” at that time. They know about my trip in the middle of August. Meanwhile, I’m short a tooth. Sigh. Apparently my insurance company is fighting paying for my bridge that was previously put in because one of the teeth was extracted with different insurance. They’re arguing with them.

Now I know why the pets run out of water so quickly; Gracie plays in the water dish and spills it. Not sure how I can get her to stop doing it, but at least it isn’t someone drinking a ton of water. I need to put a separate water dish on the counter for the cats that won’t get spilled by Gracie.

Cool. I got my other lantern. And my MREs (“Meals Ready to Eat,” developed by the US Army. They can be stored at room temperature and have their own special heater.) I had to buy a set, so I don’t know what I got. Hmm, I need to stash some silverware to use. I’m thinking of replacing my silverware too because I’m low on forks (I have no idea where they went), so I can snag some of my current silverware.

Fed us all. Gracie kept on barking at a neighbor (and her barks are piercing), so I dropped the leash and let her and Bella run around the backyard. It worked; she quieted down. It’s in the front yard that I have to worry about her getting out.

Okay, I ordered silverware from Costco.

I read an article about retirees who are into video games. I’m not a gamer. My game time ended with text-adventure games, which shows how long ago THAT was. I asked ChatGPT for some recommendations for someone who likes text adventure games, and it recommended “80 Days,” which is a steampunk version of Around the World in 80 Days. That sounds like fun. It has a few other recommendations that sound interesting. But I’m reluctant to get into any of them because I don’t need a distraction right now.

Not sure what to do now. I should start bringing stuff down into the basement, but it’ll be easier after I get the garbage out tomorrow. I’m feeling tired. I could try on some clothes to figure out what dresses to bring to Sardinia. Oh, I need to package up the duvet cover to return tomorrow.

I was wondering if I should get a crate for Gracie, but she likes my bed and doesn’t usually have accidents in the bedroom. But I should have a crate in the basement for my power failure stash because Zara would not like interacting with the other critters. Maybe a collapsible crate? I wishlisted one on Amazon, but need to check if Gracie could fit in there if needs be.

I think that I will just go to bed and do some stuff in the morning.

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Hmm. If I went to the Missouri State Fair to see the giant rubber duck, I'd have to stay overnight because it's a 5.5 hour drive. I found a hotel that I like.

Zara ate her food!! I gave her more. And she really fought my squirting stuff in her ears, so I’ll need to use a sedative.

I bought a couple more pairs of summer pajamas so I don’t have to wait for them to wash. I do have another pair, but the shorts are missing.

Forgot to mention that I got a couple of merino wool t-shirts. They’re supposed to stay fresher longer than other shirts. I’ll bring them to Sardinia. They’re a pretty berry color and a twilight blue color.

Bella likes play-fighting with Gracie. She jumped on the bed, and I thought that she had enough (Gracie chews her ears) but she jumped back down on the dog bed to wrestle with her some more.

Got up a little after 8 AM. I need soda and garbage bags, so I submitted a grocery order. Ordered checks because all the workmen want checks, and I wanted some with my current address on it. Gave Zara some food mixed with Gabapentin. I hope that stones her out.

Fed us all, although Gracie ate her food and then Bella’s food. And Bella let her! Nap time.

Hmm. The weather forecasters say storms after 12 PM.

Got two lanterns and batteries. One will go in the basement and one upstairs. I think that I want one more for my bedroom.

I looked at Costco for cereal, and they have a nice set of cereal bowls. Mine are missing in a box somewhere. I saved it to consider later. (They also had some cereal that I liked.)

Aww. Lily is curled up sleeping on the cat tree in the bedroom. Woke up but the dogs and the cat are still flaked out.

Some nasty thunderstorms heading our way. It’s raining now.

Gathered some recycling and cleaned a little. Set up the two lanterns. Gave Zara her ear meds. She was so stoned that I thought that she was dead at first. Sent some emails. But I think that I’m going to take another nap because I can.

Played around with Motion, but I'm not sure what I think of it.

Gracie keeps trying to play with Oliver or at least, she’s saying “let’s play” in dog language.

Went down a bit of a rabbit hole finding out that my travel clothes presser is dual voltage.

I’ve decided that instead of buying cereal bowls, I’m going to replace my stoneware. Me being me, I fell in love with a very expensive set. Need to think about it. A lot of the stoneware is on sale though, so I need to think fast. I think that I convinced myself to get a cheaper set. Go me.

Brought some of my groceries in. I want to bring in a couple of Amazon boxes and go to sleep.

Tired Day

Jul. 12th, 2025 09:35 pm
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Cool. Now the forecasters are saying no rain this weekend. Ack! Now it’s rain after 8 AM. Well, if it’s dry, I’ll go out and weed and plant; if it’s wet, I’ll work on the house.

I had to explain to Gracie that Lily doesn’t want to play with dogs, especially one that is barking at her.

I bought a solar charger for my phone. Now I’m kind of hoping that we will have a power failure with all this prep.

I wound up staying up late. The dogs got me up at 9 AM.

I wonder if Gracie has some corgi in her. She does the sploot thing with her back legs.

I mixed Zara’s appetite enhancer with a Churu. That got her attention. Good. Lily was highly interested in the Churu, so I should give her one later.

I bought some quote magnets, although some of the ones that I wanted were sold out. It’s funny because a while back, I wanted to create t-shirts with quotes, but magnets are better.

Fed us all and took my meds. Now it’s nap time. Everyone is in the bedroom except for Zara.

Shit. Zara didn’t finish the Churu, but she ate part of it. I’ll try her on some food.

Ate lunch. Hmm, I really want to take another nap, but then I won’t get outside to work on the yard. Maybe I’ll shower and see how I feel. No, I am going to take a nap. Saturday is napping day. Overslept my nap by an hour.

Showered. Started laundry (I need clean pajamas before I go to sleep!) I’m still feeling tired, so I think that I’ll go to sleep after I eat dinner. The laundry might not be done, but I could sleep in my clothes.

I had a dog food can out for when their dishes are done soaking. Bella grabbed it. I had to chase her into the bedroom and get it out from under the bed, where she “hid” it.

Looked at some stuff at Target’s sale, but they wanted me to go pick them up. No. Not worth the drive to me.

The clothes are in the dryer now, so I just need to stay up for a half-hour to grab my clean pajamas. I should check on Zara and treat her ears.

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Ugh. Feeling arthritis-y. Need to go to sleep.

Got up at 6:30 AM. Bella did her business quickly, so I decided to go back to sleep for an hour and shower at lunch. I overslept work an hour. Suckage.

Today is Friday, right? This week has been a blur.

I found a propane heater in case the power goes out in winter, but I need to think about how much money I want to spend on something that might never happen. (I could use it for camping though. Speaking of camping, I have the down sleeping bag for if the power goes out, but that won't help the critters.) On the other hand, this area has a danger of ice storms because we’re far enough south that snow can turn to freezing rain. And hmm, the food supplies would help being snowed in.

Fed everyone and took Bella and Gracie outside. It’s hot out (90F/32C). I think that I need to stop feeding Gracie kibble because it seems to give her loose stools. I'd have to feed her another can of wet food. Showered and put on shorts and a t-shirt and sandals.

Hmm. I should order some tubs in which to keep emergency supplies, but I should wait until I get them to see what size I need.

Medium doesn't allow you to make money off of AI-generated text, so I need to rewrite the blog entries. In that case, I might have to wait until retirement. We'll see. I am so busy right now. Maybe I could work on some in my hotel room at night during my trip. Or at the airport.

I have a strong urge to go back to Hawaii, to Maui, but it won't happen anytime soon. Plus, I want to wait until Lahaina is rebuilt. I wonder how long that will take. Maybe I should check out Molokai? That would be a nice sleepy place for "R&R". You have to take a commuter airline from Oahu or Maui to Molokai. I found a flight that I like. Hmm, should I go to Molokai next year? It would have to be a short trip because I will be taking a lot of time for my European trip in the fall. I was going to go see my dad though. Hum. I have three weeks of vacation and two personal holidays right now. I'll take two weeks in Italy and a day or two in January at the end of my cruise. I need to figure out how much time I'll take for the European trip (how many extra days I want to stay in Paris and Istanbul). I have airfare that I need to use up before mid-June. (Too bad that I already booked the flights for the cruise. But part of it was from the flight that I didn't take earlier this year after the full cruise.)

Oh. I forgot to mention that I bought a second travel vest the other day because I wear mine all the time for the pockets. They're very useful. I have a burgundy one and the new one is black.

Hmm. Do I want to go work downstairs now? It's 93F/34C and kind of miserable upstairs. Luckily, I'm not doing anything that requires two monitors.

Oh no. David Gergen died. I liked him on CNN. He was a presidential advisor that became a political commentator.

Bella is so jealous. If Oliver or Gracie jumps on my lap, Bella jumps on my lap (well, as much of her that will fit), chases them off, and kisses me. "I am YOUR DOG! And don't forget it!"

Zara didn’t eat most of her food (which is concerning), so I gave her food to Oliver and Lily. First Bella jumped up with her paws on the counter. I made her get down. Then Gracie jumped up. I made her get down. Then they both jumped up in unison, and I cracked up. I told them that they were dorks. I got Oliver and Lily to sort of share by moving the dish around so that Lily could get some food.

I ordered some dog DNA tests for Bella and Gracie. The results should be interesting.

One of the things that I need to do this weekend is find the chicken wire so that I can plug the gaps in the fence and let Gracie run around. She’s small enough that she could get out, and I don’t trust her to come back like Bella does.

I’ve added seeing the giant rubber duck that [personal profile] one_raido wrote about to my bucket list. Waukegan this year would be doable except that I’ll be in Italy. Sorry not sorry. I’ll have to bookmark its Web site. They should bring it to Chicago (if they haven’t already).

I started going through Amazon boxes. My emergency supplies are starting to arrive. Some will also work for camping, such as wipes to use in lieu of a shower. I got my weather radio and have set it up for alerts in my bedroom.

Note to self: go through my travel chargers this weekend and order anything that I need. Also check on my travel adapters and transfer them to my medium suitcase. I have my travel pillow and sleep mask, but I ordered a second sleep mask in case I lose one on the plane like I did on my last trip to Italy. Pack my swimsuits (or do I want to go swimming before I leave?)

Oh good. I’m yawning. I want to get to bed early so that I can get out early to do some weeding and planting.

Shit. Zara isn't eating at all. I'm really worried. The vet gave me some appetite enhancers, but I was going to crush the pills and mix them in her food. I wonder if she would take one mixed with a Churu. I also ordered some pill pockets, but I remember in the past that she would eat the pill pocket and spit out the pill. I'll call the vet on Monday if I can't get her to eat.

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ChatGPT came up with an excellent blog post about decluttering as a spiritual practice, but I wasn't logged in and lost it. I tried several times but it didn't come up with anything as good. I modified the prompt, and it came up with something that I like. I just need to edit it slightly.

Woke up at 6:30 AM. Bella did her business quickly, so I’m going to take a nap.

I don’t think that I can do dog training today; I need to go pick up my plants. In addition, my foot hurts. I’m a mess. I ordered a bunch of dog training books instead. Yeah, I'm overwhelmed at work too. Cannot cope.

I forgot to take out the garbage last night.

I was trying to nap at lunch, but Gracie started barking. It was close to the time that I needed to get up, so I gave up. Sigh. Gracie is a loudmouth.

Had a vet appointment for Zara. She was hiding in the closet, and the door went off the track, so I thought that I wouldn't be able to get her out, but I got it open. Her mouth healed well from the dental work. She still has an ear infection. They gave me some gabapentin to calm her down before I treat her ears. We made an appointment on Friday for Gracie because she's having diarrhea, but they gave me some probiotics to try first.

Oh! I need to pick up the plants tomorrow! I could have gone to the dog training in that case, but I'm still swamped and stressed out, so no. PetSmart has training at more convenient times for me, but their next class starts right before I leave for Italy. I found a place with Saturday classes with a session that will start in the beginning of September. That will work.

I read a Quora article about a doctor who wouldn't give a guy drugs, and he took a horrific revenge on her pet (I won't say more so that you won't have the awful images that are now in my mind) and I feel like crying.

Bella is teasing Gracie. She seems to know that Gracie is on a leash, and Bella runs around, stopping just out of Gracie’s reach. Gracie gets mad and barks. I think that Bella is finding Gracie a little annoying.

Article in the BBC: “US lawmakers write to Canada to complain their wildfire smoke is spoiling summer.” Oy. Like it was a plan.

Fed us all. Got the recycling out. I need to scoop litter boxes, but I need to cool off first, so I thought that I'd post. I also need to check my work computer to see if I got messages about the stuff that I'm working on.

Printed out bank statements to analyze. Bella got into some of the highlighters (I swear that she has a radar for stuff that she'd like to chew), so I ordered more. It's supposed to rain this weekend, so that will give me time to work on them.

At Home Day

Jul. 6th, 2025 10:27 pm
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I was debating whether to weed this morning—I really want a nap—when it started raining. Well, that settles that. Bella and Gracie were chewing a branch that the tree people left.

I really like Bella and Gracie’s new personalized collars with my phone number on them. I think that I want to get some for Oliver and Lily too. (Zara will never get out. Well, maybe I’ll try one for her too, but she probably will resist it.)

There’s a cat (Oliver) in my face. Someone wants to eat.

Serendipity. I got a mail-order form for a “Comfort Tower Pro” that heats and cools. I’ll put it upstairs.

I think that I’ll stay home today and get the package ready to send tomorrow. My Walmart order hasn’t arrived yet. And I need to empty the storage shed. The dogs are barking at nothing in particular.

Got my groceries in. Crud, my donuts fell down and the dogs helped themselves to two of them.

They are saying thunderstorms later in the afternoon, but I have stuff to do inside.

Ate lunch. Gracie: "Why won’t you give me your food?" Me: "Because it’s my food. I get to eat too." Gracie: "Oh."

The Washington Post suggested taking your bank statements and some highlighters to see where your money is going. That’s easy. I’ll try that. Ordered highlighters.

I got my new loofahs, which I put in the shower. A program to wipe files off my old computer plus some transfer software. And I got the purse in which the tablet fits.

Went to order markers for delivery from Walgreens, but they are "age-restricted items," so I need to be available to receive them. Now they’re saying thunderstorms after 6 PM, so I need to get outside.

Well, I made it to 5 PM. I was dripping sweat, and I figured that the dogs (who were outside with me) were hot too, so we came in. Gracie liked being staked out on a long leash. I got some weeding done in front and almost emptied out the storage shed. (There are a few bags of leaves that I need to take out in the morning. Everything else, including my bicycles and the lawn mower, are out and in the basement.) And the markers arrived.

I’m looking at day lilies for the patch at the corner. I’m going to move some of my orange day lilies and add some additional ones for a day lily patch. But I should deal with the plants that I have first.

The Week keeps on trying to get my mom to resubscribe. I like The Week, so I subscribed on a discount magazines site.

I really want a nap, but I need to feed the beasts first. Here comes the storm. Fed us all. Nap time. Gracie loves having her belly rubbed. Had a nice nap. There was an alert about a severe thunderstorm, but I went back to sleep.

Me: “Bella, leave your brother (Oliver) alone." Bella: “But I like bothering him.” Sigh.

Hmm. Now I’m wondering if I should get up a half-hour early and get the package together to send tomorrow. I’m having stomach cramps and want to go back to sleep.

I'm still having issues with Semagic. It won't let me post to multiple journals.

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Well, this was a quick walk. Bella wanted to play but Gracie didn’t, so she decided to come inside.

Turned the dryer on but forgot it was on the dewrinkle setting, so I’m going to take my shower at lunch after the clothes are dry. Napped a little.

Bella and Gracie swapped food again. Clearly the other one is getting the better food.

Napped over lunch. I had to remove Gracie because she and Bella were squabbling over the lamb toy. (Bella is more restful to sleep with.)

We were let out of work early for the holiday weekend. Popped into the shower.

My therapist wants me to ask my psychiatrist about my feeling lethargic. And she wants me to talk to my primary physician about a CPAP. (I had gotten one, but that was right when my mom died, and I couldn't deal with it.) We also talked about my going to the Unitarian Church, and she said that I just needed to ask a few questions and let people talk. We commiserated about the time of the church service though--10:30 on Sunday. My therapist said that she isn't dressed before noon, and I agreed with that statement. She also said to look for evening events held by the church.

I fell down a rabbit hole trying to find out when I created my Gmail account. I finally found the answer through trial and error.

Fed us all. Bella was trying to "forget" that she’s not supposed to eat the cats’ food. I told her that nothing had changed even though we now have Gracie.

Hmm. I’m wondering if I should get a “dog backpack” so that Bella could carry her own food when we camp.

Dozed lightly. The dogs are crashed out.

I’m thinking that I should get ready for bed and go to sleep early. I want to get outside to weed in the morning. Do I want to go to the fireworks show in Champaign tomorrow? Parking will be a bitch. No, I should stay home with the dogs and cats because they won't like the noise.

Got my ReMarkable tablet set up and planner pages loaded. I think that it will be a help.

Bella knocked into my laptop and the track ball went who-knows-where. I went into Zara's room to grab the trackball there. She seems to be feeling much better, is staying visible, and was loving me up. Good to see.

I should feed the beasts and go to sleep.

Sandals

Jun. 29th, 2025 08:19 pm
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I evicted Bella and Gracie from the bedroom because they wanted to wrestle and I wanted to go to sleep.

Woke up a little before 7 AM. The puppy was missing her collar, so I put the slip-knot leash on her. We have a problem in that the puppy wants to go in before Bella has done her business, and Bella comes in. I found Gracie’s collar, and it is intact. I think that I’ll order an extra one just in case. I also ordered personalized collars for Gracie and Bella. Crud. The collar is sold out at PetSmart, so I ordered one from Chewy along with puppy food to get free shipping.

Bella is barking more. Protecting the puppy?

Cats: we’re hungry! (Fed them.) Bella ate Gracie’s food. Gracie ate Bella’s food. At least, everyone is fed. Nap time. Bella and Gracie are wrestling, and Oliver is looking at them in total alarm.

Hell. Someone (Gracie?) chewed off the charger for my Apple Watch. I bought a bunch of chargers for same-day delivery.

I shut Bella out because she and Gracie were wrestling. The puppy let me sleep. She’s crashed out.

Took Bella and Gracie out. Wow, it’s a hot day. The heat index is 93F/34C. Should we stay in? I really need to weed and plant things though. Hmm, they’re saying possible thunderstorms. Maybe we will stay in. I have plenty to do inside. Anyway, it’s lunchtime. I need to drink water. I’m falling behind on that.

Got a cat food can away from Bella. Oliver knocked them over, and I must have missed one picking them up.

Now they’re saying no storms, so I need to water the plants at the very least.

Treated Zara’s ears. She hissed at me.

The clock got chewed up too. Sigh.

Oliver is out cold. He is breathing though, so I guess that he’s okay. Bella and Gracie are wrestling though and making noise.

I’m going to take another short nap. It’s been an eventful weekend. Gracie is crashed out on the dog bed.

Oh! The clock is working! The outlet was turned off. I ordered another one, but I think that I’ll keep it as a backup. Alarm clocks are important.

Realized that I didn’t take my meds. Got up, and the puppy followed me. Bella came into the bedroom while we were gone. Bella is letting the puppy chew on her. I told Gracie that she’s perfect, and she covered my face with puppy kisses.

Oh fuck. I forgot to book a singing lesson for today.

Oliver is on my lap. It’s good to spend time with my little boy.

Opened up some boxes and found my new sandals to try on. Also, the new bathmat looks good.

I like the Orthofeet water-friendly sandals, but not so much the slip-ons. So they go back. I saved the box just in case. The swimsuit from the Vermont Country Store looks good, so it's going to Sardinia with me along with the sandals.

Bella and Gracie are playing tug-of-war with a Lean Cuisine box.

Fed the critters and took Bella and Gracie out. Gracie barks at passersby a lot.

I’m wondering what to do now. I think that I’ll sweep the front hall. Someone, probably Bella, has shredded toilet paper there. Hmm, I need to get up early to return the shoes. They cost $200, so you better believe that I'll return it if I don't love it. So I need to go to bed soon.

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Oliver's been helping me sweep the bathroom floor. Yeah, he's a big help. Not.

Got up at 5 AM. I stepped in dog poop outside. Terrific. Washed the bathroom floor with Bella, Oliver, and Lily "helping".

It’s definitely cooler today.

Got the puppy paraphernalia in and the back seat of the Honda set up for the puppy (place to click her into a seatbelt and a waterproof covering for the back seat). The critters are curious about the goings on.

I need to treat Zara’s ears in a minute. Zara was hiding in the hope that I wouldn’t squirt stuff in her ears. Sorry, Zara.

Lily is bonking me. Oops. I forgot to feed them. I'll do so after my meeting.

Okay, I found a refrigerator that would work for me. But it's $2500!

It's a very quiet day at work. A lot of people are out of the office.

I have a meeting set up with one garage person and left a message at another place. Left a message with the lawyers. The lawyer got back to me and he's sending me some documents. (He was very confused by my last name :)) He sent me the documents.

The second garage guy came out. It was a little bit of a hard sell, but it sounded like he knew what he was talking about. He’ll give me a quote on Monday.

Fed us all. Washed my face before putting makeup on. My skin is looking really good.

I’m sitting here waiting for the storm to pass.

Oliver really likes the puppy bed that I bought. I’ll have to get one for him and one for Lily.

I’m in Normal now waiting for the puppy to arrive.

Back home with Gracie. Bella was checking her out and already tried to play with her. I think that she’s a hit! Oliver is a little dubious. Lily is nowhere to be found. Gracie inhaled her food.

gracie.jpg

I think that it’s bedtime soon. I’m tired. I need to order a proper collar for Gracie. I just have a leash with a slip knot. I need to order more puppy food too.

I’m planning to get up in the middle of the night to take Gracie (and Bella) out.

Lily is staring at Gracie.

Busy Day

Jun. 26th, 2025 08:37 pm
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Woke up at 6:30 AM. Gave Zara her ear med. It’s kind of shocking to see a cooperative Zara, or at least a stoic one.

I was wondering if I’d drink more water if I had a refrigerator with a water spigot, but I can’t get everything. I’ll just drink what comes out of the tap. I’m watching for sales on refrigerators though. I wonder if there's a way to set something to automatically watch prices? I tried Google Shopping and found an open box refrigerator for a really good price. If it fits my kitchen and is still there tonight, I'll get it. Oh wait, they're in Missouri. I signed up for Discount Appliances' mailing list. It looks like Lowe's, Home Depot, and Best Buy have the best prices though.

The critters can trash the large bathroom in no time flat. Even when I get on a cleaning schedule, I need to clean it on the off weeks. Cat litter everywhere!

Bella and Oliver are attending my shower. I asked Bella if she was going to be a good girl and not chew the bath mat. Oliver is literally on my back.

The transport tomorrow is on for the puppy!

I got an answer on the sheet colors, so I'll order it (done). I read an article that highly recommended the sheets and comforter, but I don't know if it was sponsored. They give a 7-day free trial before charging your card.

I finally understood something that was confusing me at work. The person with whom I was working is brilliant and assumes that everyone can follow his logic. But now I get it. Next week, starting on the 2nd, it'll be really busy with our "annual statistics". (Our fiscal year starts on July 1.)

I have the dog and cat dishes soaking, but I want to finish what I'm working on. Fed us all and watered the outside plants.

Hmm. I’m wondering if I should go to bed early and get up early to clean the bathroom. But it’s still early. I think that I’ll take my nighttime meds and start cleaning, go to bed after my meds kick in, and get up early to finish and bring in puppy stuff. I just realized that I need to wash rags before cleaning the floor, so I’ll need to stay up for an hour. Gave Zara her ear medicine.

Scrubbed the sink, toilet, and tub. I'm going to wait a minute and post before sweeping the floor.

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I took Bella out on a leash. No possums though. Now I’m cooling off for a moment, and then I’ll give Zara her pain med. It wasn’t too hard to give her the pain med. She wasn’t thrilled, but she’s a lot easier to handle than when she was younger. (I gather that it tastes funny.)

I didn't make it to the store, but I did log on by 8:00 AM because I have the training session with Bella at 5 PM. I'll go to the store at lunchtime.

I kicked Bella out of the bathroom because she was chewing on the bath mat, leaving Oliver in with me. That was good; he got some lap time. I thought that Lily was going to be the cuddle bug, but it's Oliver. Usually Bella gets jealous. (I had to remove him from the shower stall though.)

The water reminder does seem to be working. It's reminding me on an interval, and I'm drinking.

CNN Wirecutter recommended some sheets and a comforter for cooler sleep. Given that Bella doesn't like ceiling fans, it sounds like a good idea. I'm not clear on what their colors are (maybe it's the screen on my laptop), so I emailed them my question. I suppose that I could get white sheets and a gray-striped duvet cover.

I found an attorney's office that does both estate planning and real estate law. (I'll have to transfer the house to the trust.) Note to self: Tummelson Bryan & Knox. And they're nearby!

1% raises this year from the university due to "fiscal uncertainty". Thanks a lot, Trump.

I'm eyeing Monarch Money for a financial dashboard. It supports multiple accounts and types of accounts, and costs $100 a year. This is roughly the same thing for which Mom's trust wanted to charge me $100 a month. (I said no and a few other pointed things because Mom had just died, and I had other things on my mind.)

Bella thinks that the hot dogs smell good. She was a very good girl at the training session. She didn’t stress pee and stayed calm even with all the dogs in the ring. She mastered sit and down, but did the worst job of the group at walking on a leash. Personally, I think that it was a victory even being there. I tried some of what we learned at home, and it flew out of Bella’s head. We’ll work on it.

Watered the outside plants. Fed us all. Now I need to get the recycling out (done), but I want to corral Oliver and Lily so they don’t go down in the basement. Oh, and I need to give Zara her pain meds and ear infection meds (done). She’s eating well.

I'm looking for someone to clean out the area of weeds by the storage shed/garage to be. I'm also looking for someone to pressure wash the tiny patio because I'm not going to get a new one this year.

I’m turning on the ceiling fan in the kitchen even though Bella doesn’t like it because it’s so humid in here. One more day of heat wave.

I'm beat.

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There was a young possum running across the yard, and Bella grabbed it. Apparently they die of fright when she picks them up. Bella wanted to bring it inside, but I said, “No”. And Bella didn’t get a chance to pee.

Zara was suspicious when I went in her room. I had to open the closet and pull her out, but I got her in the carrier.

I’m hungry, but I’m going to have a fasting blood test done after I drop Zara off for her dental appointment. (I had to get up early anyway….) Dropping her off took longer than I expected, given that I got there right when they opened. Got gas for the car and got my blood test done.

Tired, tired, tired.

I did find one white crabapple tree for sale, but it has to wait until the garage is built. Almost everything in the yard needs to wait until the garage is built.

It's feeling hot upstairs already, so I need to bring the laptop downstairs for the afternoon.

There are some abnormal results on my blood test and urine test. Some of it was dehydration, so I'm trying to remember to drink water (which I don't like). Hmm, I wonder if there's a way to get my Apple Watch to remind me to drink. I installed a reminder app on my phone, and it also installed it on my watch. I'm concerned about a reading that said that my platelets were small. My mother had multiple myeloma. But my platelet count was okay. The statin seems to be working; my cholesterol was within normal ranges.

Zara came through her dental procedure well, with a lot of extractions. I'll pick her up at 5:30. Picked her up with two pages of post-op instructions. She was glad to see me but got grumpy when the vet tech showed me how to give her the pain meds and ear meds. (She also has an ear infection.) The bill was almost exactly what I guessed. It was a lot but not shocking.

The plus side of getting up early is being able to feel accomplished before I even start work. But it’s 7:30 and I’m collapsing. I was going to go to the store to get hot dogs and string cheese to cut up as rewards for Bella (the training class is tomorrow night), but I just can’t. I’m going to go to bed early and get up early. The grocery store opens at 6 AM.

Got the garbage out. I still need to swap out Zara’s litter box for a clean one.

I’m resisting going upstairs to post because it’s as hot as hell today. I should bring my laptop downstairs or set up the new one. But not tonight.

The water reminder seems to be a bust. I need something that is as aggressive as my meds reminder to remind me to do it now.

Still Hot

Jun. 22nd, 2025 09:07 pm
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Well, I went to bed, only to feel a cat jump on the bed. Oliver had been hiding. Then Bella jumped on the bed. I turned the light on and removed Oliver.

Woke up at 7:30 AM. Bella is watching Squirrel TV. Aww. Lily grabbed my hand and rubbed her head against it.

My back hurts. Fed us all. Now I’m going to lie down for a little while.

Had my singing lesson. It went well. I’m working on the song “Silver Springs” by Fleetwood Mac and it’s hard. She thought that it would help me with jumps in sight reading because the song jumps around.

It occurred to me that I haven’t gotten the new web cam for piano, so I need to check on it. Also, my mom’s computer is running Windows 10, so I need to update it. I found the web cam, but I’m missing an Amazon box or bag with the leashes from yesterday. Okay, found them based on the picture that they took. We’re good. Bella is playing with the boxes and packing paper.

Had lunch. I’m going to take a nap because I didn’t have a full one this morning. Couldn’t sleep. It’s actually a little cold in here. I need to turn down the a/c.

It’s going to be an expensive week for me. Monday, the tree guy is coming. Tuesday is Zara’s dental appointment. I’ll have to get up early both days too.

I bought a bunch of compression bags for my Italy trip because I’ll need to get 12 days of clothes in my medium suitcase. I will hand-wash clothes, but still….

Started cleaning. I told Bella her new name was MessMaker. (She pulled a paper napkin off of the table and was shredding it.) Ow. One of my arthritic toes is complaining. It occurred to me to go upstairs to order a white bath mat while the acetaminophen kicked in. Fuuuuuck, it's hot upstairs. It's like a sauna. I bought the mat though and a swimsuit that was on clearance. There was something else that I wanted, but I don't remember what. Oh, I think that it was to transfer money. I can do that down here.

I was wondering where the toilet bowl brush was when Bella trotted by with it in her mouth. It took a bit of a struggle to get it away from her.

Fed us all. Watered the outside plants. My back hurts.

The large bathroom is clean except for scrubbing the floor. I’ll post, pay a bill (done), get ready for bed, start laundry, and scrub the floor so that it can dry overnight. Then I’ll go to bed. Oh, and submit a grocery order (done).

Puppy!!

Jun. 9th, 2025 07:24 pm
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I found a puppy that I like at the place at which I adopted Bella. She's going to be around Bella's size and she's cute. I'm going to sleep on whether to contact them. I wouldn't be able to pick her up next week though.laken.jpg

Oliver is eating Zara’s leftover food. The vet told me to feed Zara as much food as she wants because she has been losing weight, but that means that I feed her more food than she wants.

I bought a lockable fireproof safe that takes file folders plus a laptop because mine keeps running out of space. (I got a 2 TB hard drive. That should keep me for a while.)

Bella is taking the stuff that I’m throwing out and is squirreling it away.

I woke up at 5 AM. I decided that I wanted to go back to sleep for a while but put clothes in the dryer first. Overslept my nap. Soaked a litter box.

The dentist will glue the tooth back on at 4 PM today. Excellent.

I emailed the shelter about the puppy. Either I’ll get her or I won’t. Lily is sleeping in the window.

My Bee Balm is blooming! And the rest of them have buds.
bee_balm.jpg

I’m getting the puppy!!!! They said that they could transport her the following week. I'll pick her up in Bloomington.

I tried to nap at lunch, but I was too excited about the puppy. Bella, on the other hand, is a "five more minutes" kind of gal.

My permanent bridge came in! Things are looking up. The dentist wants me to come in a little earlier, and they'll put it on. I’ve nicknamed the dentist “Dr. Payne” because he keeps doing stuff that hurts (to be fair, my teeth are very sensitive), but it looks great.

Hmm. Feeling dizzy. Must drink water. I get dizzy learning back in dentist's chairs.

Hmm. There's a cruise line that guarantees that you will see the Aurora Borealis during their cruise, or you will get a second cruise for free. I would like to see that. Ooh, I want their astronomy voyage.

I need to get to bed early because the tree guy is coming at 8:30 AM tomorrow.

Hmm, I'm missing a bra that I ordered a few weeks ago. I can live without it, but I wanted to take it with me on my business trip. Anyway, I need to do some maintenance on my "paper trading" account, do some dishes and tidying, and get to bed so that I'll get up really early.

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Out with Bella. My shade plants are growing like crazy. My herbs are doing well too. And a couple of the tickseed plants have tiny blossoms!

Cats: About time that you came back in and fed us. Ack! Oliver ran into Zara’s room again. I finally got him out by going into the room and waiting for him to make a tactical error. He went into the bedroom but left of his own volition. Lily is in here. That’s okay; she’ll leave me alone. Nap time!

Hmm, the shelter from where I adopted Bella has a husky who likes cats and other dogs (and humans—he’s like Velcro), but he’s BIG. I was looking for a dog that’s a comparable size to Bella. I’m weakening on getting a puppy. Would Bella get along better with a puppy? But the next transport is the Friday that I’m flying back from the conference, so that won’t work. I found a four-month-old puppy that caught my eye.

I kind of want a path with pavers and solar lamps, but that would cost $$$.

Aargh. Bella got into my cleaning rags and is ripping them apart.

Napped. Apparently Oliver was in here, but he snuggled up next to me.

Worked on the kitchen. Filled out the order form for the Symphony. However, my envelopes aren’t sticking well, so I ordered more from Amazon.

Showered. I’m trying to glue the tooth back. I can’t get the glue to work. I’ll need to call the dentist tomorrow and see if they can squeeze me in to reglue it.

I've been working on the kitchen, but have a headache, so I went upstairs to try to contact a housekeeper (I found someone who also does pet sitting and organizing! I hope that she's interested!) and post. I'm wondering if I should go to sleep early, but I should make more progress on the kitchen. Bella is not happy that I'm cleaning off the floor. I think that I'll take my nighttime meds and work while I'm waiting for them to kick in.

ExpandPlants )

New Car?

Jun. 7th, 2025 09:21 pm
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Lily smacked Oliver. Cranky cats.

I was feeling very sleepy but drank some water, which helped. I need to get to bed. Ordered some ear wax removal drops and a bike helmet.

According to my dad’s system, now is a good time to buy stocks. I’ll “paper trade” some tomorrow.

Good. The tree people got back to me and they can come by on Tuesday morning “to assess my situation.”

I was eyeing a Lincoln plug-in hybrid car yesterday, but need to compare prices with other ones. The price was less than I expected. I wouldn’t want to buy a car until after I get the garage built. The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid is more expensive. The Toyota RAV4 plug-in is comparable, so it’s all about which car that I like best. Also Consumer Reports, which says to get the RAV4. It doesn't have a report for the Lincoln though. Actually, I really like the Mazda CX-90 PHEV, but it's more expensive. (Consumer Reports says no on it though.) Actually, the CX-70 is more my size. Most dealers do not carry plug-in hybrids, so how can I test drive them?

Placed a grocery order to get Munchie Bones, lots of cat food, and some food for me.

Came in with Bella after an hour. She tried to grab my donut. Bad Bella! Urgh. I brought food into Zara’s room and noticed that she needed water. I went to get her water dish and Oliver busted in. Zara hissed and hid. I went to get Oliver out, and Bella ate Zara’s food. Sigh. What a zoo. I’ve got it sorted now.

I’m leaning more towards “Freckles” for a dog companion. If she’s still available after I get back from my business trip, I’ll look into her. Unless I go for “Rita”, but I don’t know if they will adopt across state lines. She looks like a real sweetie though. I saw the most adorable puppy at the place where I adopted Bella, but I don’t want a puppy. She sure is cute though. Look at that face!

I almost forgot to feed Bella with the brouhaha about Zara’s food. I filled her dish and sat on the stairs to the upstairs. I felt cat feet on my head and knew who it was (Oliver) without looking.

Napped. When I got up, I had Bella with her paws on my chest, licking my face, and Oliver on my back shoulders. Got my groceries in. Ate lunch and read The Washington Post. Started opening packages. Found the “good” dental glue. I’m having a dizzy spell, so I’m sitting down and chilling carbonated water in the freezer. I need to clear a spot for the air conditioner, and then I’ll be done. Got the air conditioner in. (My next step will be to get someone to install the air conditioner.)

I started doing my “things that I need for my business trip” shopping.

I’m being poked with a Munchie Bone :) Finished my water.

Ugh, I don’t feel like going out. I should take my shower and fix my tooth though. I certainly have a lot of stuff to do here. Glued the tooth back in and it's setting. It came out when I took my partial out. I guess that I didn't let it set enough.

Took a shower. Bella was pulling stuff out of the garbage and strewing them on the floor. I told her that she was creating a dog mess. I need a trash can with a cover (ordered). I just remembered that I need to sign Bella up for obedience training.

It’s raining. Bella is noping out. I love my raincoat. I never use umbrellas anymore.

Do I want to subscribe to the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra? Most of their upcoming concerts sound interesting. They have a "pick 4" deal that I'm going to get. No online sales though; you need to send the order form in or call.

I can’t stop yawning. I need to make it an early night.

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Overslept a little. A branch of my tree cracked and is in the neighbor’s yard. I need to call a tree guy. I’ll get him to take down the tree at the same time. Bella grabbed one of my strawberry plants and trashed it. Sigh. Bella tried to get my donut. She’s full of it today.

It’s supposed to storm today.

I need to figure out a way to get my tooth in for my meeting with the bank.

At least the tasks that we’re doing today at work are quick and easy. It’s raining out, and neither Bella nor I was thrilled, so I convinced her to come in early.

I read somewhere that dogs wag to the right for something they like and left if they’re nervous. Bella looks at me and wags to the right. I guess that’s good. Speaking of dogs, the one that I was interested in got adopted. The shelter asked me if there were other dogs that they had that interested me. I saw one that’s a “maybe”. He’s shy and Bella’s shy, so maybe they’d be in sync.

I gingerly got my tooth in. It just has to hold on through my meeting with the bank. Which reminds me that I need to list questions for them (done).

More weird stuff going on at work (technical stuff, not people stuff).

Talked to the vet. Zara's kidneys are stable, and they think that she'd do okay under anesthesia. We made a dental appointment for the week after I get back from my business trip. (I don't want her to be alone, even with a pet sitter, after recent surgery.) So that's settled.

I talked to a rep from Midlands State Bank about the will and trust. They can be the executor of the will and successor trustee and also can manage my money if I become incapacitated. They are a national bank and have a lot of trust and investment assets, but are small enough "to provide good customer service". I'm going to send them the drafts that I have of my will and trust documents for them to look at. Success, I think! I liked them and what they had to say.

I really want to take a nap. After I feed the critters. And myself.

The rain is coming down in sheets. Bella noped out. I stayed on the porch with her a while in case she needed to dash out and poop. It was kind of nice being on the porch in the rain. Bella went out a little later and walked around in the rain.

Took a nap. Slept until 12:30 AM. I’m gathering the recycling and my back hurts. Got the recycling in the bin. I need to get up really early to roll the bin and take the boxes to the street, but I’ll probably go back to sleep for a while afterwards. Fed us all. My tooth popped back out.

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Bella heard something and woke up and barked and growled. I got up and turned on the porch light but didn’t see anyone. The car looks okay.

Woke up at 5 AM. Took Bella out and lay down for a half-hour afterward.

My Italian lesson went well. My teacher said that my brain was working well today. I need to work on pronunciation. Maybe I could read News in Slow Italian and play the audio to check my pronunciation. Am I still subscribed to News in Slow Italian? An article I read about improving foreign language pronunciation said that it’s a good idea. I think that there also was an app that taught foreign languages using songs. That should help too. I downloaded an app called LingoClip. You listen to music and fill in the missing words in the lyrics. I found another site that will play a foreign language song and give you the lyrics in the language and a translation.

I think that I might want to add a small bequest to my Italian teacher in my will. I’ll have to see if there’s an issue with sending money overseas.

They were right about it being really windy today. Something (dust?) was making me sneeze. The sunflowers have been knocked over, but I left them on the ground until the wind dies down.

Great. I overslept my nap and was late to a meeting, I'm having problems with a database, and a crown came out already. I ordered some dental glue from Walgreens because the one that I'm getting from Amazon won't get here until tomorrow.) I just want to scream. This week sucks so far. Okay, a colleague probably figured out the problems with my database. (I'm testing it. It worked.) The glue has been delivered, but I'm going to wait until post-dinner to reglue it.

I still haven’t heard from the vet about Zara. I just said that I wanted to reschedule the appointment for tomorrow, but they are closed now. It’s 7 PM, and they’ve been closed for an hour, so I don’t think that I’ll hear from them tonight.

Fed us all and watered the plants in the garden. Listened to a song in Italian. Got the garbage out. Zara is hiding in the closet. I don’t know if she’s trying to keep cool. I should turn the ceiling fan on for her. Man, I’m boiling hot. Need to sit and cool off. Listened to another (depressing) song in Italian. In English we would call that a torch song.

Got my tooth back on without glue. It then came off. Now I put it on with glue. My tooth is screaming. I turned the ceiling fan on while I sat in the kitchen (I shut Bella in the bedroom because she wouldn’t stop bothering Oliver) and Oliver took off like a bat out of hell out of here. Apparently he’s scared of it as well as Bella. The tooth came out again. I'll wait until I get the better glue from Amazon. Bella is doing well in time-out.

I need to go upstairs and do some more work, although I need to get up on time because I have a 9:00 meeting tomorrow. All's well that ends well with work. My mini-project was successful, and now I'm back on track. So I'll get to bed.

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Got up a little after 6:30 AM. Took Bella out, but I decided that I wanted to go back to sleep for a while. Whoa, Bella had a hard fall off of the bed, but she seems to be okay.

I got into a wrangle with the software that we use for expense reports, and I wanted to cry. I hate expense reports. Note to self: stop traveling for work.

I think that I need a NokBox (Next of Kin box) so that I can include the will and trust documents in it. I bought a fireproof one. I also got a book on Swedish Death Cleaning for Americans on Kindle Unlimited. I also got The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly.

I was able to get Zara in the carrier this time. She’s not happy, but that’s to be expected.

Aargh. I got Zara in the car, and then realized that I forgot my phone. I decided to go in the front door because it was easier—and Bella dashed out. She refused to come in, not even for a Munchie Bone, so I had to leave her in the yard. I’m stressing over her. Zara, on the other hand, is being surprisingly good at the vet. They told me to feed her a little more food, which she'll like. They want me to bring Zara in for a dental appointment, which we made, but they need to check the bloodwork first. Bella was waiting for me when we got back and went inside without protest.

Man, I'm tired. And there's more expense report fun and games. Sigh.

Fed us all. I’m feeling like just going to bed and not gathering the trash to take out, but it’s a little early (7:15 PM) to go to bed. I need to just do it. I got the trash from the wastebaskets and was working on scooping the cat boxes when my back started to hurt. I decided to post and rest my back.

Y-M-C-A

May. 22nd, 2025 10:46 pm
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Woke up at 6:30 AM. I was out with Bella when I realized that I hadn’t put my clothes in the dryer. Came in and did so, but it’ll take a while, so I’ll have to take my shower at lunchtime. Decided to go back to sleep for a half hour. It's a rainy, dreary day.

The recycling people didn't take my boxes, probably because it was raining. They left a mess, so I'll need to go out and drag the boxes back into the yard. Bah.

Forgot to mention that I bought a book on Medicare that I need to read. And my trust books.

I've got a paper trading account set up on Schwab, although they don't make it easy to find. I'll start following my dad's system next week.

I had an appointment to take Zara to the vet. When I went in her room, Oliver tried to come in and then Oliver and Bella were fighting outside the door. That freaked Zara out, and she retreated to the closet whenever I went near her. I called the vet, and have a new appointment for next Tuesday. Next time, I'll corral Oliver, Lily, and Bella before I try to get Zara.

I read an article in the BBC about the health benefits of saunas, including reducing the severity of tension headaches, which I get a lot. I’m looking for a sauna in the area but am having no luck. The big gym at the university has one, but I just read a comment about how they don’t keep the gym clean, which doesn’t make me want to go there. The YMCA has one. Maybe when my required membership at the university gym is up, I’ll try there. The membership at the uni gym was a minimum of four months, so it should be over soon if not already. I guess that my next step is to check the date and visit the YMCA to see if I want to switch there. Oh! It has a lap pool! And they have swim lessons! And a "gentle yoga" class! And an indoor walking track! And "learn to play pickleball" in the fall! Okay, I want to join the YMCA (joined). I need to cancel my uni gym membership.

I'm thinking of looking for a part-time job at one of the local public libraries when I retire. It would be fun and bring in a little money.

I've been bouncing back and forth from my work area upstairs to the kitchen. I'm processing videos at work, so I set one off for processing, went downstairs and worked on the kitchen, came back up to process videos, etc. I did get some cleaning done on the kitchen. The boxes are flattened.

Cleaned up the boxes outside. I have a video processing. If it's done after I post, I'll move it to the next step. Otherwise, I'll finish up tomorrow. Okay, I got the second video uploaded. I don't have the energy to start video 3. I'll work on it tomorrow.

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