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COLD Day

Got my new sweats. I'm not sure why they delivered it at 9:30 at night, but okay.

The third blanket kept me toasty warm.

Woke up at 7 AM. I was wondering what to do about the dogs and the dangerous wind chill, but both Gracie and Bella peed inside. I’ll let them out in the afternoon. It’s currently-5F/-21C with a wind chill of-11/-23C.

Oliver wants food now! Fed us all.

I’m feeling dubious about Dial-A-Carol later tonight. I guess that I’ll brush off the cars later and go from there.

Gracie was barking at the cats. I told her to shut up. Now she and Bella are wrestling on the bed. Gracie just scratched near my eye. I yelled.

Had a nice nap. The sun is shining on my chair in the kitchen, so it’s warm. I have a dog (Bella) partially in my lap, a cat (Oliver) in my face, and another dog (Gracie) looking at the cat. I’m trying to explain to Oliver that I fed him this morning, and he’s not going to eat right now. He is not convinced.

Now they’re having a severe weather advisory going all day. I’m going to change my Dial-A-Carol signup. I don’t want to go out tonight. I removed my signup for tonight. I didn’t see a time to sign up for later. I’m going to brush off my car tomorrow.

I want to let the dogs out, but I’m worried about my Amazon order arriving while they’re out. Maybe I should stand out with them, but it’s cold. I’ll go put my boots on. Maybe I should start brushing off the car while I’m out with them. Or not. I’d rather stay on my porch. I stayed just inside the door, and tried to bring them back inside in about 15 minutes. Bella came in, but Gracie did not. I waited a few more minutes inside, and then Gracie was on the porch saying that it’s cold outside (Me: No, really?) and came in. Whew.

I’m thawing a little, and then I’ll take my shower. I’ll wear my new sweats because I’m not going out.

I bought a blue topaz ring that says “Fuck it and begin again” on the inside. A good sentiment.

The cold bathroom is COLD. I felt like an icicle before I got the hot water on. Now I’m cozy in sweats and wool socks. I’m making soup to make my insides as warm as my outsides.

Oliver: maybe if I get in Mom’s face, she’ll feed me early. Dream on, cat.

Oh crap. My Christmas cards are now arriving on Tuesday. They’re going to be late.

Had my soup. I got dizzy when I took it out of the microwave and spilled some of it. The dogs were happy about that. I think that I’m going to lie down for a little while.

Had a nice nap. The dogs came in on the first try. Cold out there, isn’t it. Fed us all. I need to go measure the laptop and order a sleeve for it while I’m thinking of it (done and ordered).

Oh crap. The laptop that I was going to take with me on the trip is not turning on. I’ll have to take the “new” laptop. The sleeve that I just ordered will fit it though. Heck. I’m wondering if I should order another small travel laptop. I saw one for $265 that would get here on time. What to do. Okay, I got it. I travel enough that it’s worth it. I need to get rid of the old one.

It's a nice night for some tea (steeping). I think that I'll go to bed early because I want to get up early and brush the snow off of the cars.

Social butterflies that we are

Pickleball strikes again. We're fairly reclusive. Dana has her few friends, women of a certain age, she goes out with for meals once a month or so. I've got my three networking friends I have lunch with nearly every month. And that's about it. No chummy neighbors, no meets downtown for coffee or, heaven forbid, at our house. We do have a couple or three leftovers from the company that we see now and again but it is never really much more than a lunch two or three times a year.

So going out for an evening with a couple is VERY rare, almost unheard of. But, pickleball. One of the many really nice women in the group we play with three times a week asked if maybe we wanted to get together for dinner one night. I think she was actually trying to get her husband out and social much like Dana tries to do with me but regardless she is a very sweet and positive person and I thought it would be fun. And it was.

We went to a place in downtown Georgetown (GT is very festive this time of year):

We ended up having to wait for over an hour for a table but it was really lovely weather and we sat outside and talked. Turned out we are all in tune and the whole thing was really fun. One of those kismet kind of things. They are a generation behind us having kids in college and us having, nearly, grandkids in college but it was more like talking to contemporaries (who have a bit more energy than we do).

So we ended up being there until about 10 and didn't get home until 10:30. Turns out we live less than 2 miles from them. And we have a ton of other things in common. It was an interesting evening and really weird to be with people and not end up feeling exhausted. And, of course, I see Amy at pickleball two or three times a week and we end up playing together and talking between games so the relationship will have a natural pace and we'll end up hanging out with them again, I'm sure. Weird.

Meanwhile we are having winter today. Down below freezing by tonight. By Thursday it will be back to above 75 degrees, sunny, and time for shorts again.

Today is a good nap day, I think.

Sunday

Picture 6 cat treats sprinkled on the carpet and two cats sniffing and then going to to their naps. That's zero star review of the approved cat treats. Julio ate one yesterday. Biggie did, too. This morning, Biggie did his usual begging for treats so I sprinkled the 6 out on the carpet. He sniffed at them and then gave me the stink eye and wandered off.

He peed a little - a very little this morning but then hopped out of the litter box and spent five minutes actively playing with Julio. He sure does not seem in pain or even uncomfortable. Just annoyed about the treat situation.

Nothing much going on today at least that I know of. I plan to go for a swim after I finish this. And then watch my usual Sunday morning TV and maybe some puzzling.

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Another Snow Day

Canceled a bunch of subscriptions on PayPal. I think that all I have left is Netflix, which I want to keep. Oh, and I should resubscribe to Hulu.

I checked into my cruise, but the boarding documents won't be available for a few days. I also bought the Have It All package, which includes WiFi, drinks, and one specialty dining meal.

Bought a ring that looks like hugging arms, and it'll have "Mom" engraved on the inside.

Now I really need to go to bed. I have a boatload (so to speak) of stuff to get done this weekend.

Gracie is trying to play dog play with me on the bed, and I told her to go play with Bella. That’s why I have two dogs. Now she’s snoozing with her head on my leg.

Woke up a little before 6 AM. I explained to the dogs that the cats get fed first. They don’t think that’s fair. Fed us all. My stomach hurts. I’m going back to bed. The dogs are wrestling on the bed and not leaving me any room. The snow has started.

Woke up a little before 11 AM. I’m feeling cold. It’s 15F/-10C out. So yeah, cold. I’ll take a shower in a few minutes. After lunch.

BuddhaStoneShop had a bracelet that I liked for only the shipping cost, so I got it. They also had a ring in the shape of a cat for shipping cost, so I got that too. And a Tree of Life bracelet. And a Yin-Yang necklace. They’re probably getting money from part of the shipping cost, but still, it’s cheap.

Oliver was warming my lap and purring.

I’m IBSing. But I’m staying home today so I guess that it’s okay.

Ate lunch.

Finished the book on James I. I just ordered a book on Charles I to continue my investigation into the Stuarts.

Oliver is knocking stuff down and being annoying.

The Precip app says 3.3 inches of snow so far, to make a total of 6.5. It’s like living in a snow globe. I saw a map on Facebook with the words “Stay home” over our band of snow. Will do.

I think that I’ll have one more nap. Slept for about an hour. I’m feeling cold and trying to warm up before my shower. It seems like the dogs and cats are sleeping. At least, they aren’t in the kitchen.

Opened packages while I and my clothes were warming up. I got the file folder wall holders for sheet music. I need to dig out my drill.

Hmm. UNICEF Market has a lot of rings that I like.

The dogs are barking at who-knows-what.

I think that I’ll have some soup.

Final snow total: 5.7, for a total of 8.4. Now we’re into the cold part of the weekend (currently 0F/-18C). I'm going to pull out another blanket and go to sleep. I hope that Gracie won't chew holes in the blanket. Oh, and I need to set the faucets to dripping.

Cat Attitude

According to the vet, Biggie should be writhing in pain, not eating, not peeing. Biggie, shockingly, is not following the script. I think he's basically miffed about the lack of Temptations. But, he's also not wild about the new food. He'll eat it but he's kind of like 'where's the good stuff, woman??!!' And he's not writing, just crawling all over me so I'll get up and get him some treats.

I broke my rule and volunteered to go to Safeway and get Joan some bananas. It is the very last time. I am not doing that any more. But my mouth did not get the memo so I went and got the bananas because I told her I would. The last time.

I figured out the wifi repeater issue and my signal is really strong and I think I know how to keep it that way.

Oh and Fitbit told me I'd been over doing it and should consider a rest day - hahahaha Oh Fitbit, your algorithm is not made for old fat people but it's sweet that you try.

Now for an evening of TV and knitting.

i smile when i feel like crying

The high temp in International Falls, MN today is -3. Th wind chill factor is -37 degrees. Unless you are there, be grateful to be where you are.

Saturday

Volleyball this morning. There were a lot of people and I play on the edge so balls don't get to me frequently which is fine. Today, I spent all of my non-ball time doing various water aerobics. It was great. I did a lot of in place high knee kick marching and twisting and stretching. Made the whole thing more fun.

Elbow coffee was a small crowd. John and Hazel are getting older very quickly. They keep getting locked out of their apartment - forgetting or losing keys. Bonny took them down on Wednesday and they got two new keys. Yesterday morning, when I got back from the pool they were in the hallway waiting for security to let them in because they had forgotten their keys. Today they missed elbow coffee because they had a conference call - their credit union, their son and them. Because they say, the credit union keeps scamming them. The good news is that they are here and not out there on their own.

Biggie does NOT like the new treats. Not one bit. But they both like both the wet food and the dry.

I have a dead wifi spot in my bedroom and I have a wifi extender. I can see that the extender is improving the signal very much but I can't convince my phone to use the extended signal. This will be my project this aft.

Bonny's out of vodka so 'you want to make a Costco run on Monday?' Sure, says I. I'm very low on coffee.

And that's about it for the hot news here. We are, today, a dry day between rains. Still really grateful to live on a hill.

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Vocational Awe

Gracie got manic a little before 7 AM, so I got up. The roads are not plowed yet. The dogs are bounding through the snow.

I should check into my cruise. I need to do that tonight.

Got the dogs in without a hassle. But someone knocked down the cat food, and Bella has a can. Sigh.

I'm cozy in my sweats. Got my makeup on because there's a meeting with the new grandboss this morning, only to find that my primary colleague is out and I need to host a conflicting meeting. Oh well.

No nap today. I have a meeting at 11 and one at 1, so not enough time for a nap. (I worry about oversleeping.) Oh! My 11:00 got moved! I dozed a little but started coughing. Gracie was resting in the crook of my legs and wasn't happy when I got up.

I'm reading some documents linked from my meeting about "vocational awe," the idea that librarianship is not just a job, but a "calling". Apparently librarianship was originally associated with churches. There is a strong belief that librarians will do whatever is needed no matter what. And that's not fair.

Ordered some new-to-me hats, scarves, and gloves from Poshmark. Cozy is the theme right now.

There was someone standing in front of my mailbox. I went outside to see what was going on, but the guy had left by then. That makes me a little nervous.

I'm exchanging emails with the vet at which I'm boarding the cats. They said that they got them in. Good.

Petalura had a cotton top with stars on it that I like, but it’s $100. As it turns out, it’s out of stock. I did ask them to email me when it’s back in stock, but still, that’s one way to keep me from spending money. (Very pretty top though.)

I definitely have a pop singer’s type of voice. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was a lot easier than my choir songs, even if Mariah Carey’s notes jump all over the place. I seem to have had a breakthrough with high notes too. Cool!

Fed the beasts. I’m making myself some Greek soup (eaten).

I saw a Facebook ad for becoming an LGBTQ+ coach. I don’t think that I’m together enough to do that, but it’s a nice goal.

unintended benefits

At Old Lady Bingo yesterday a woman walks past our table. She nods and says hello to Stephanie, a sassy old broad sitting across from me. She does not respond. The woman takes another step and issues another hello. Nothing from Stephanie. As the woman is past the table, Stephanie waves her hand dismissively. "Damn, dude. That was rude" says I. Without missing a beat or looking up at me she says "Nobody disturbs me during bingo!"

Living here is truly a different world.

Issaquah made the NZ news!

I just got a link about our floods that actually does mention Issaquah from my friend Scott in New Zealand. He was quite amazed as am I.

I did pop into the vet and, turns out, they do carry the smaller bags of kibble and they had plenty and they had treats which are not Temptations but Biggie won't turn 'em down. Chewy is really dragging its feet over this order which is very non-Chewy like. But, I have enough for the weekend and I'll just go back on Monday and pick up some cans if I need to. The vet is very quick and easy to get to with very easy parking.

Timber Ridge does this Christmas Gala thing every year which is lovely if that's your cuppa. They open up all the dining rooms and spread out with all kinds of food and drink and it's a big party. If all you want is dinner, you are kind of SOL. I went the first year with a bunch of people and it was fine. Last year I just wanted food and it was a PIA. So this year, I'm just pretending all the dining opportunities are closed. My freezer is packed to the gills and I will not starve.

I noticed this morning that the inside of my car is disgustingly filthy. Well, not quite that bad but still it needs some love. I thought to myself I should be sure and get it cleaned up before my brother comes in a month. Then I thought hmmmmm I could put this on his Todo list!! hahaha nah. We have a very excellent strong vacuum system just around the corner from my parking space. I just need to roll it over there and do the deed. It's a very small car - so a very small job.

Now it is 1 pm and I have not even watched Jeopardy yet. I hate to get behind schedule!

Famously wet

Timber Ridge - the place where I live - is in a small kind of bedroom community of Seattle called Issaquah. Issaquah has a population of about 40,000. It's been raining here in the Pacific Northwest. A lot. But, Timber Ridge is on a hill. And, yesterday, I went to the vet's and back and only saw large puddles.

But, last night, I was watching the national news on ABC when all of a sudden they were showing a national news guy standing in water reporting that Issaquah Creek (which runs through the town) had overflowed its banks and folks downtown had been asked to evacuate! Then I saw several photos of places very nearby that I know well that had replaced their parking lots with deep rushing water.

So wild to be so close and so surprised. I do feel isolated here in the cult but I thought that was my imagination. Turns out, nope.

Thinking back yesterday, the vet did ask me if I had had trouble getting there and I just kind of brushed it off as weird. Sorry, Dr. Vet.

So now I'm high and dry as usual but also way grateful.

Biggie seems fine. Normal. Yesterday morning when I got up, I gave him gabapentin which the vet techs really appreciate as he is not very fond of stuff they do to him. Usually, it just makes him a giant stuffy after about 2 hours and he stays that way for the rest of the day. Yesterday, he never really settled down. He was staggering when he walked so I know he had it in his system but he was feisty as ever and the tech did report he was not happy with their working on him. Last night all he wanted was to sit on my lap which is not handy or usual but fine. This morning he seems back to usual. And is still peeing just fine. And eating fine and now waiting for his morning Temptations. Sorry, buddy.

Chewy is being a little slow to fill the order for his new food and it's beginning to piss me off. They need approval from the vet which they got yesterday. And I uploaded again this morning. And still the order says 'pending approval'. Even if they ship it today and it arrives this weekend, it will still be Monday or Tuesday before it gets up here. Maybe I'll go back to the vets and buy some there to tide over. The problem is they only sell 7 lb bags of the kibble. I don't want to store that much. Plus I have 4 pounds being delivered from Chewy. Ok. am in chat with Chewy now...

Hazel stopped by last night. She had somehow gotten her tablet into safe mode. Easy fix. She plays solitaire on it a lot. It's one of the few things left that she can see enough to do. Then she asked me if I'd come help John with his computer. I used to do this quite a bit BUT then their son took over and I was happy to relinquish. I do not know where son is now but Hazel said they had gotten scammed by BECU and gotten it all fixed but then it happened again yesterday. The way she was saying it did not make sense but that's Hazel for you. I told her that no, I would not be able to help. I learned my lesson with Myrna's computer and Myrna's son. She assured me that this was different. But, touching someone's banking on a computer leads to nothing good. I told her to contact Brandon or Michael (our two IT guys) and they would help him. She was ok with that and I was so relieved.

Someone (son?, Timber Ridge?) tried to talk Hazel to moving into Assisted Living. John is still living in the nursing wing. She refused. But she really needs it. She keeps locking herself out of her apartment - multiple times a day. Now they apparently are having banking issues.

While I have sympathy, their problems are not mine to fix. And my trying will only make things worse. I learned my lesson the hard way. But, at least I learned it.

Ok Chewy was able to remove the 4 lb bag from my order so I'll go to the vet's today and buy some there.

But, after I swim. My leg does not hurt today so I need to get back to walking. Walking to the pool counts.

Entry tags:

Let It Snow?

Woke up at 7:45 AM.

Read about the flooding in Washington state. I hope that

man_of_snows is okay.

Gracie doesn’t want to come in. Sigh. Now Bella ran back out.

My grandboss was cool about the fact that I won't make it to her place tonight.

Finally got the dogs in. I ordered more donuts--for the dogs. My life is getting terminally weird :)

Well that sucks. One of our member libraries laid people off right before Christmas. And it's a Catholic school too!

Why am I tired again? I got a ton of sleep last night! (It's dark and gloomy again though.)

Nap time for Gracie. The futon in the guest bedroom is now hers. (It's next to my home office, so she can also keep an eye on what I'm doing.) This house is secretly run by dogs, much to the cats' chagrin.

I took myself off of Dial-A-Carol for Saturday because snow. I'm not sure what to do about Sunday. It'll be really cold, but I do have a warm coat. And it's big so I can layer a sweater. Nylons under my pants? Do I have long underwear? Need to check. I think so.

I'm seeing ads on Facebook for thermal pants and leggings, and none of them are for petites. Sigh. Found some on Amazon. Got some in navy blue to go with the "Snow Day" sweater. I should wear the sweater on Saturday!

I have a taste for a steak and mashed potatoes (and a vegetable. Brussels sprouts?) Maybe order them tomorrow? I hate to make someone go out in the snow tonight. I'd have to get three or four steaks, but I could freeze the rest. I'll get extra mashed potatoes (instant) and veggies so that I can have a steak when the spirit moves me. That makes me think of my mom because she liked to make steak.

Bella is tired too. We’re the Sleepy Family. And yes, it’s very gray out. Had a nice nap with the dogs snuggled up to me.

Got my groceries, including the all-important dog bribe of donuts.

Need to wash my cardigan. The jeans, black-and-white striped top, and cardigan are a nice "I want to look decent but not fancy" outfit.

Got my wool socks. They would be good for the cold on Sunday.

My mom's trust contacted me about the final distribution of the funds. Hello, I don't want a check coming when I'm out of town. It'll be a big check. God, I hate those people. Their communication skills are abysmal.

I saw Chanel Coco body oil. I love the scent of Coco, and checked the price. $136. No. Anyone know where I could get cheaper body oil? I’ll check Amazon. I found one much cheaper with a rose, jasmine, and sandalwood scent. That sounds lovely. They also had a sandalwood and vanilla one that I also ordered. I love that combination.

Got the dogs back in. The snow is coming down at a good clip.

I clipped a recipe for lentil meatloaf that I want to try. You can make it ahead of time too and freeze it. I’m in the mood for cooking. Which means that I need to clean the kitchen.

I want to find the music for “All I Want for Christmas Is You” because that’s a common request for Dial-A-Carol. I’ll send it to my singing teacher for my lesson tomorrow (done).

Yeah, they’re saying a -28F/-33C wind chill at 7 AM on Sunday. Hmm, that’s when the dogs go out. I don’t want “pupsicles”.

I want to get into bed early and read. I'm still reading the bio of James I of the UK.

Phoning it in

I've had right much pain in my right hand mostly when I play pickleball and it usually goes away in a day or so, but sometimes it is extremely painful. And it is always a little bit painful. So I made an appointment with the hand doctor long time ago and it finally came up today. Turns out he's a pickleball player too so he understands. My thought was that I just had arthritis and there wasn't much I could do about it. But he is tracked down to what he thinks it might be more likely which is the ulnar nerve in my elbow. So he gave me a shot. If the shot works then we've identified what the issue is and if not we've also identified what the issue is. So my right hand and my right arm from my oboe down is almost useless. I'm dictating this on my phone because I tried to type it in my right end. Fingers just do not operate correctly.

The doctor was a great one and we had good conversation and among other things he said oh you have a little bit of arthritis. But turns out I don't have all that much. Interesting.

Other things going on. I got it in email from Jennifer Alex's, new wife and she asked if we wanted to have the two granddaughters, Lillian and Laurana(AKA Juliette) to come out to Texas to visit us in April. So they're going to come out and we got a few things in order to make that happen. Dana has what will be their bedroom completely full of Dana stuff as in in the floor is completely covered and there is no way to walk into the room. So she has a ton of work to do before we can get a bed to go in there. And then we need to find a suitable bed. They're only going to be here for 3 days I guess four nights so it's not a huge commitment but it should be really fun.

Laurana is going to college next year. Not sure where she's going. We've actually never had too much of a relationship with him because neither of us talk on the phone. Either Dana or I don't much on the phone and it's pretty hard to establish any kind of relationship by texting. So this is a real opportunity to create a relationship with both of them. And it's very nice of Jennifer to think of doing that. But there's lots of things to think about. We do not normally do things like that. We are so sedentary and set in our ways but it should be interesting and it is after all only 3 days.

Other than that, things are fairly quiet here. Beaux is entirely well and Toby is nearly well. They have both been sick for nearly 2 months now. Coughing and sneezing and trying to clear their post nasal drip out. It's actually been fairly dramatic but I think they are both nearly over all of it and back to just being normal dogs. It's very nice. Beaux is just as perky as he could be. It's hilarious. And we have a great time going on walks. He loves his walks.

Dana is doing fairly well and I have not yet killed her cardiologist. There is still potential for that. He still thinks he should be running the world and it would be easy if it was just me, but of course Dana wants to let him do more than I think he should be doing so if I get overly involved, I'm really being too controlling. The whole thing is just very difficult. He wants to run all kinds of tests and put her on drugs and I think less is better. But I can't direct it. I have to form a coalition and that does not appear to be happening very well so I just have to stand by and pick up the pieces later on. That part is more than a little frustrating, but at least at the moment she's doing well.

Bladder Rocks

Yep, that's Biggie's Latest Adventure. The vet did an ultra sound and you can see one big one. She was surprised that Biggie didn't have any symptoms. It should be painful but while he considered it an indignity and annoyance to go the vet, he's not showing any signs of pain. But taking him off the medicine and back on to Very Expensive Prescription Food turned out to be the best option. We go back in 4 weeks and do another ultra sound. Unless he shows distress or can't pee and then we go back immediately. And, even if all goes smoothly for 4 weeks, if the rock is still there, probably surgery. Again.

Both Biggie and Julio like the expensive food, very much. so there's that. Do not tell Biggie, tho. but Temptations are a thing of the past. As are lickables. I bagged up the food and treats. I'll take them to the cat food bank.

The vet gave me some food samples. And I stashed some cans away when I switched them last year. So I've got enough on hand til the Chewy order gets here. I hope. All I've got now is canned stuff. No kibble, no treats but, hopefully, the Chewy order will be here soon.

Why in the heck did I not remember to get some grated parmesan when I went to the store to get the grated cheddar??

Also today I have a pain in the leg. It's in the middle of the thigh of my left leg. The right leg is usually the one that hurts. And this is a very weird pain plus a fair amount of weakness. The chairs at the vets are all really low to the ground and I was not sure I'd ever be able to get out of them once I sat down. It feels like if someone were to massage my thigh really hard, it would fix it. Hopefully it will fix itself today. I can at least walk around the halls here safely as they all have nice railings.

I was downstairs yesterday before the festivities but they had already lined up all the chairs. It was a weird sight.

It looked very different and couple of hours later. It was really fun to watch the parade. The employees dressed up either in costume or in really nice non-work clothes and they merrily high 5'd the old people. And, according to accounts, had a marvelous time. Very fun.

The Timber Ridge dog park is like a dog pond today but the rain has kind of stopped a little. All around us there are massive floods. The interstate is closed just north of here due to a giant mudslide. We're breaking water records all around.

I need to get a load of laundry started.

Current Mood: bundled up
Current Music: Dave Pike - Pike's Groove

Entry tags:

something I am grateful for today

A beautiful sunny morning after too long without.

Entry tags:

Skipped the Concert

Rain alert? Accuweather says a snow shower in the morning. A third site said a wintry mix. I hope that there isn’t ice in the morning.

Tuesday Night Wrestling (dogs) on the bed.

Overslept and woke up a little before 7 AM. I’ll take the fecal samples at lunchtime.

Hmm. I want to take a nap, but it’s early to get the dogs to come in. Got them in, but I had a piece of donut out for Gracie, and Bella snatched it. I then gave Gracie a donut hole, and Bella tried to snatch that too.

Hmm. A long time ago, I wanted to do indexing work (creating indexes for books or documents) freelance. Maybe I should do that when I retire. I've had indexing experience but want to get certified.

And now we have cat wrestling (Oliver and Lily).

There will be a high of 4F/-16C on Sunday. Yikes! It'll be a good weekend to stay home and snuggle in sweats. Speaking of weather, it's gray and gloomy and I want to go back to sleep. But I can't.

Dropped off the fecal samples at the vet. Go me. (Go cats!) The fecal tests came back negative, and they emailed the place where I want to board them with the results.

I'm sooooo tired. I'm thinking of skipping the Symphony holiday concert tonight and napping. It's dark, cold, and yucky. (Most of the snow has melted though. Just in time to get more tomorrow.) Ugh, I fell asleep during a meeting.

Maybe I bought too much over Black Friday/Cyber Week. I'm getting a package from Land's End, and I was wondering, what the heck is that? (Oh yeah, the second pair of sweats.)

I perked up a little at 5 PM as per usual, but I’m still tired and don’t feel like going out. I still think that a nap is in order.

I was sitting on the toilet and Bella was knocking my hand with her snout because she wanted to be petted. (After all, I was just sitting there….) I told her that she was being ruuuuuuuuude. She goes nuts over long vowels and started licking my face. I have a weird dog ;) That reminded me of when I was a kid and my dad used to imitate an air-raid siren to freak the dog out.

I should do a load of laundry. I have the gathering at my grandboss’ house tomorrow night.

Napped and slept until almost 1 AM after a dream in which I got back together with Erik. That ship has long since sailed. They’re saying up to four inches of snow tomorrow night, which makes me uncertain if I can get to my grandboss’ house.

Fed us all. I think that I’ll sleep in and take my shower at lunchtime.

I need to start a load of laundry before I go back to sleep.

ugh

Nooooooooo !!!!!!!!!

Time to eat

I stopped tracking my eating for a bit since I was still losing weight. But today it is kind of the reverse. I need to level off the weight trajectory. I'm down to 193.6 which is still maybe 15 pounds before I'm intending to stop but the rate, which should be maybe half a pound a week, has been more like half a pound every other day. So I'm going to track my food for a few days and be sure I'm getting enough.

I'm still playing pickleball and have about as much energy as I've had in the past (but I do move better, not being quite so heavy) so I'm not too worried. And there are really no other issues to be concerned about so I'm not going to spend too much time on it. But I seldom eat an entire dinner. We build up leftovers that don't get eaten much during the day either. Just not too much desire to eat. What the drugs are supposed to do.

Regardless, I'm getting to my goal briskly.

Meanwhile, I saw that Robert Plant and his latest entity will be in Austin in March. Checked the tickets and found that after parking and consumables it would end up costing over $700 for the concert.

When I lived in New York city I saw groups like Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention and Steppenwolf for $10 per concert.

I really like and respect Robert Plant but I've been investing Dana's social security money each month and the future cost of that concert works out to be about $2500 in our ten year time line.

Or I could just watch it on YouTube the next day.

Sigh.

Legs and back

My legs and my back are very whiny these days. There are three things causing this. 1. I'm old. 2. I'm fat. and 3. I'm lazy. The first one is absolutely not fixable. The second one is fixable but the sacrifice is not worth the fix to me. I'm not at all interested in changing the way I eat or what I eat.

But, there's a slim chance I could make inroads on the third one. Godknows I have the resources right here at my finger tips. My swimming laps is not really worth that much. I don't use my legs much at all and I don't swim fast enough or tight enough to even move the needle on the cardio scale. It's better than sitting on the couch but only marginally. I need to walk and stretch and walk and stretch. There are miles of weather controlled, flat walking trails literally outside my door. There is an entire gym of fancy equipment a short walk away.

Yesterday, I conscientiously walked away more than usual. I made extra trips downstairs to the lobby area and went the long way round on a few of them. I clocked maybe a third more steps than usual. Today the plan is to spend 30 minutes in the gym. 15 on the elliptical and 15 on one of the bikes (which are more chairs with pedals). I'm convinced I have the motivation to do this today. Tomorrow it may be gone but today, I'm going to do it.

This afternoon is the employee Christmas party. As is the Timber Ridge tradition, the employees gather in the back dining room by department groups. The residents line up on either side of the hallway between that dining room and the large meeting room. Then the employees parade through the cheering residents. It sounds cheesy and it is but also a big crowd pleaser with employees and with residents. Of course the employees get the afternoon off, a big party with music and dancing, a box of homemade Christmas cookies and... a cash bonus. So they are looking forward to it the most.

I woke up at 2 and had a bit of a problem getting back to sleep but then did and slept right through to 7 which is way late for me so now it's 9 and I have yet to even get out of my PJs. So I'm going to do that now!

Entry tags:

Social Gathering

I overslept, but the cats didn’t provide a fecal sample anyway. Are they pooping somewhere else?

Last night, I ordered someone else on

holiday_wishes some gnocchi that was on her Amazon wishlist. I love gnocchi. I told her to enjoy.

A song from the concert is playing in my head.

I'm not going to be able to get the Kia jump-started on Thursday because my grandboss is having an Open House. Wednesday is the Symphony concert. Friday is my singing lesson. This weekend, it's cold. So I guess next week (unless I get it done tonight).

Had my lunch with the local AARP women's group. The people were nice and easy to talk to. I had to leave early because of a meeting however. They're having these lunches monthly. I'm so sleepy after lunch. Went to take a "short" nap and overslept. I'll need to log on again tonight.

Fed the beasts. And yay, got a fecal sample from Oliver and Lily. I just need to get a fresh one from Zara.

Crap. Walmart was out of donuts, and I need them to get Gracie in. Can I DoorDash some? Yes, I did.

Crud. I was about to take the garbage out, when I realized that the area by the side gate isn’t shoveled. Hmm. I also keep having dizzy spells, so I threw the bags of garbage by the back door and called it good. I'll deal with it tomorrow.

I have a load of laundry going. Because I need to get up early to drop the fecal samples off at the vet, I'm going to go to bed as soon as it's done.