days_unfolding

I woke up with my alarm at 6 AM. Threw myself together and went to my physical therapy appointment. It went well. The guy really worked me, but he was nice.

I called AAA at noon. It took them over an hour to get here. Then I drove the car to the dealership service department. They seem to be on the ball and know what the problem is. And it’s going to cost less than I had feared.

Singing went well, but she sent me the original of an aria (with a very high note) rather than the one for low voices. She’s sending me another version.

I want to feed the critters and myself, and just go to bed. I’m tired.

Sent a payment for the extra day in Istanbul to the travel agent.

Got up at 6:30 AM. It’s raining, ugh.

Day 2 of the All-Staff Meeting went well. The team that I’m on had a good discussion about creating training classes.

The only thing is that I’m really tired. (I had to resort to coffee part-way through because I was sleepy. To my surprise, I kind of liked it. I do have my mom’s coffee maker. I should pick up some light roast.) I have time to mow for a while, but I’m tired and the cats want to be fed. I ate some dinner; the local grocery store had some chicken tenders with honey-mustard sauce, and it was really good. Anyway, I’m not going to mow tonight. I think that I’ll do some washing and packing. And get to bed early.

Oh, I asked my boss if I could take Friday off so that I could drop the cats and dogs off on Friday instead, and she said yes. I need to call the boarding places tomorrow to make my arrangements.

Oh crap. Thunderstorms on Friday. So much for yard work. I need to get up a little early tomorrow so that I can leave work early to mow.

I’m too tired to get the recycling out. I’m going to put pills in my “pill planner” for the trip because that doesn’t require much energy (done). And I need to find the charger organizer (not found–ordered a new one) and the laptop (done). Oh, and submit a grocery order (done).

I keep getting catalogs for world cruises. Like I’d have the time and money for that, plus I have furry dependents.

Blue Cross Blue Shield sent me a letter telling me how to get information about Medicare. I turn 64 this year (hard to believe), so it’s time to start learning about it. I think that there is a “dummies” book about it too (ordered).

Everyone’s fed. I think that I should start wending my way to bed.

Wow, I’m tired. I have the impulse to skip the electronics drop off, but the next one is in the fall. I could put the electronics in the basement. Yeah, I think that I’m going back to bed. I hope that the CPAP will help with my energy levels.

Oliver is complaining because I haven’t fed him yet. I explained to him that he’s not starving, but he is not convinced. Fed the cats. Lily wanted breakfast in bed, her bed being my laundry basket.

The CPAP had been delivered when I left. Yay. I don’t know if I’ll get it set up tonight though. I’ll look for instructions and read them.

Got my pedicure done. The tech chewed me out a little for waiting so long to do so. I got home when I realized that I needed distilled water for the CPAP. Back out I went. Went to the local grocery store and picked up some food for dinner and the distilled water. They had only one kind of distilled water. I waited a few minutes so that the donuts that I was getting would be half-off.

Had dinner. I still have a half of a sandwich left. Fed the fur kids.

I want to get to bed soon because I want to practice music and do some packing before my volunteer work tomorrow.

Woke up at 7:20 AM? Oliver isn’t eating his breakfast. Has he decided that he doesn’t like chicken? He eats the rest of his meals. I’m not too worried because he’s young and relentlessly healthy. Well, relentlessly rambunctious, anyway.

So freaking tired. I closed my eyes leaning on the filing cabinet in Zara’s room. I showered in the morning, so I can have a lunchtime nap. Still silence from the CPAP people, so I need to call.

Overslept my nap. I’m not feeling up to phone calls. I just want to work quietly. I’m doing a tedious task for work, but I volunteered to do it. The government issued an edict that all public-facing Web sites, applications, and the like at colleges and universities will become accessible. The original deadline was last month, but the government extended it for one year because no one was making the deadline. We have a Web page that contains an archive of webinars that we gave for years now. We posted the slides for each webinar in PDF format, which is the devil as far as accessibility is concerned. So I’m replacing the 60-odd PDF files with the original PowerPoint files. Someone will have to caption all the recordings of the webinars, who probably will be me. Oh well, job security. But the upload feature for the files keeps flaking out.

Checked on the dogs, and Gracie was sitting on top of the dirt for the raised beds.

Bella is always so happy when I go outside and see them.

It keeps threatening rain. Probably no lawn mowing tonight. Maybe I’ll take a nap. It started raining, and I went to let the dogs in, but it isn’t raining hard enough for them to want to come in. Okay.

Oliver attended my nap after work, but he was good and let me sleep. Had a good nap. Fed us all.

I finished We Burned So Bright. It was hard because a lot of it was depressing, especially after the fizzy gay hockey player books. But it’s good. And hard.

Another iris is blooming.


I think that the dogs have gone to bed already. They were outside for over 12 hours!

Woke up around 4:30 AM. The dogs and cats were wondering why I was up so early. Took an Uber and met my colleague at 6:30 AM.

My colleague drove us up to the Chicago area (Elmhurst). The event went well, and no one was upset about the lunch choices that I chose.

I’m so freaking exhausted. I have a singing lesson at 7, but then I’ll be working towards going to bed. Singing went well. I left a couple of pages out scanning a song though. I need to scan it for next time.

Oliver and Lily: ”Good, you’re home. Feed us!” Fed us all. Gracie isn’t eating her food. Anyway, now I’ll post and get ready for bed.

Oh drat. I need to scan music for my singing lesson tomorrow. Almost forgot. (Done.)

I need dry cat food, but need to check if I have a bag by the front door before ordering. Nope, so I need to order (done). Ugh, I found the bag after I ordered. So I'll have dry cat food for a while.

Woke up at 8:30 AM. Took Gracie out on a leash, and it went well. Bella is refusing to come in, but I'll go out and get her in a half-hour. More good news: the Amazon packages were by the side gate and still there. Bella came in docilely at around 9:40.

Got the food portion of my groceries in. I'll get the soda later.

Oliver shut down my work computer while I was in a meeting. Luckily, it was with my boss, who also has cats and was cool with it.

Showered with attendance by Gracie (part of the time) and Lily. Lily had to investigate what I was doing in the shower (from the top of the shower stall).

Tomorrow it's predicted to snow lightly. It should be a good day to do stuff around here. I want to wash warm pajamas so that I'll be cozy. Also, I received a scrubber wand for cleaning.

Got the second Birdie and Louie box. I'm still working on a box of the old food, and Lily is still picking at the old food because she wants the new food. Who will crack first? Lily had got me feeling guilty because she’ll lick every last scrap from the B&L can. Oliver, on the other hand, will eat anything. Hmm, maybe I could feed Lily the B&L and Oliver the old food if I can find enough cat food covers.

I installed Gas Buddy on my phone. Apparently there is a gas station that is 20 cents cheaper than the other ones. But I drive so seldom that a tank of gas lasts me a long time.

Can't stop yawning. At least, I can sleep in tomorrow. Well, if Gracie will let me.

I sent my dad an article about how it looks like the Great Recession of 2008, and he said that it isn't because the cost of oil will go down when the war is over. He said that 2008 happened because of a mismatch between incomes and housing prices.

Hmm. I read an article about the therapeutic effects of knitting on anxiety, etc. There’s a local knitting class coming up in April, but it’s at the same time as the yoga class.

I ordered leaf bags from Home Depot. I want to get out on Sunday and do some cleanup.

My singing lesson went well. We got through a new song and went back through an old one.

I’m looking at emergency supplies based on what susandennis has. Though I’m trying to decide whether to get a charging station with a solar charger. We tend to not have long outages. But I need my phone charged!

I subscribed to International Living because I want to read their book about Europe. If I could find a cheap place to live in Europe, I don’t have much to keep me here (except the house).

Gracie doesn’t want to come in. Sigh. I told Bella that I’ll feed her after Gracie comes in.

I’m tired, and I thought that I wanted to go to bed early, but I hand-washed my warm pajamas and they will take a while to dry. So I’ll probably watch Harry Potter #3, my favorite of the movies. But I’ll post first.

I’m trying to figure out where to hide my foam roller because I think that Gracie would love to tear it apart.

Oh! My pajamas are dry, so no Harry Potter. I'll just post and get ready for 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’m buying more “Good Energy” and “Clean Eating” cookbooks. I need to build up a set of recipes to make. And I need to work HARD on the kitchen this weekend.

I forgot to mention that I ordered herbs for my Aerogarden yesterday. I'll have fresh herbs with which to cook!

Woke up a little after 7 AM. Lily had a bottle cap with which she was playing. Gracie took her sweet time coming inside. Bella stole her donut. Got my weary butt into the shower.

I was coughing up a storm while I was eating granola. Don't know why. I’m still congested and cranky about it.

Gracie wants to see what Bella is barking at.

I asked the electricians if they would take an electronic check, but no. They said that it was okay if I mailed one, but my peel-and-stick envelopes are not sticking, so I included some in a Walmart order. I'll mail it tomorrow.

I'm having a "cat on computer" crisis. Yesterday, they shut down my work computer three times!

I'm thinking that I'm not going to feel up to going to the DMV tomorrow. I'll set a goal to have the Kia jump-started this weekend and will go next week. Oh, I need to mail the check! Hmm. Have it jump-started tomorrow? Saturday?

Slapped some makeup on because I have an on-camera meeting this afternoon plus therapy. Nap time. Sigh. Dog wrestling on the bed. They finally settled down. I wasn’t able to fall asleep though. Gracie is using me as a heated pillow and I hate to move. I'm up but have a strong impulse to go to sleep. Early night tonight I think.

Uh-oh. The tingling is starting up in my thumb again.

Therapy was okay. I didn't have a lot to talk about. She asked if I was feeling more settled now that things were being accomplished (we were talking about the electricity in the garage), and I said "No." I need to declutter first.

Hmm. If I want to use weight-loss drugs (and I’m not sure that I do), I should use them before getting Medicare. I’ve heard that Medicare doesn’t cover them.

Fed us all. The dogs came in as soon as I opened the door, which left me wondering what the catch was.

I’m tired. I’m going to bed soon.

I had my appointment with the sleep doctor this morning. I was worried if I'd be able to get the car out, but I did. It wound up being a long meeting with the sleep doctor with lots of questions, but she ordered me a CPAP. She said that it would take a week or two to come in, which is a lot faster than the last time. She thought that it was really cool that I'm a librarian, and she also thought my cruise in December sounded cool!

Hmm. I was reading bill_schubert's entry about the medical journal, and that got me wondering if I should keep one. I'm accumulating doctors (psychiatrist at another hospital, primary care, now this sleep doctor, plus possibly more due to my bad knee and tingly hand). Oh, the joys of getting older.

I took Bella to the vet this afternoon. (Luckily, most of my colleagues have pets and many also are getting older, so they're cool about it). She dealt with the exam and shots all right. What freaked her out? Getting her nails clipped. Okay. They finally got it done with a lot of squealing from her. The visit cost a small fortune, but they ran blood work on her to have a baseline if she ever gets sick. Bella doesn't understand why I can't pet her while driving. She loved having my undivided attention at the vet. The vet commented that they're seeing a lot of me (and I have an appointment for Oliver and Lily on Thursday).

I received my Land's End packages. That was fast. Oh cool! One of them is the coat.

I'm trying to decide whether to take a beginning crocheting class in January. It would be interesting, but I don't have a lot of time to crochet.

I'm getting a lot of Facebook ads for jewelry because I clicked on one. I found some beaded bracelets that aren't too expensive and look nice. I'm thinking this one and this one.

I’m thinking that it’s too cold (16F) and snowy out to get the garbage out. (It’s supposed to warm up tomorrow. It’s even so cold that the dogs didn’t want to stay out long.) I don’t have much. I’m trying to think of low-energy stuff to do because I’m tired. I want to go through the mail. Then what? I had planned to get my clothes out of the bathroom, but that will require standing. Maybe I could grab a bunch and fold it on the kitchen table.

Dog squabble. I’m not sure what that was about.

Fed us all. I’m beat. I think that I’ll go to bed soon.

Crap! My glasses (and they were my driving glasses) must have fallen out of my pocket and they're gone. I just ordered two more pairs. Did I say crap?

Yay. The boarding place can take Zara and Lily. It looks like I'll really be able to take this trip!

I'm tired. I had my usual late night after choir.

I talked to my psychiatrist's office, and she doesn't think that the dizzy spells are due to the meds. She urged me to follow up with my primary care physician. Okay, the earliest that I can see my primary is in January.

Left a message with the garage guy about the fact that the garage door doesn't latch.

Hmm. Someone on the BFF app in Springfield sounds promising, but that’s a hour and a half from here. I don’t think that I want to decide now. I have too much going on.

One of my prescriptions is out of stock. I sent the pharmacy a message telling them that I’m going out of town. We’ll see what happens. They called and said that it should be in before I leave.

I’m feeling really tired but have stuff to do. I’m having to tell myself that something is better than nothing, even if I don’t get everything done. At least we’re all fed now. No, I really, really want to go to bed soon after I take the dogs out. It occurred to me that I can leave the garbage cans out when I leave--one of my neighbors leaves his at the end of his driveway all the time--so I can still get garbage picked up next week. I need to submit a grocery order, but I'll do that when I get up. Need sleep stat!

I remembered that I need to stop my mail, so I did that online. And then I did submit a grocery order at Walmart. I also ordered a seasickness band on Amazon. Though my queasiness sometimes aboard cruise ships is because it feels like an earthquake (in my mind). It's a little unpleasant but not too bad. (Obviously I think so or I wouldn't keep taking cruises!)