Friends

Barney Frank died. Not surprising because he was in hospice, but still, sad. The New York Times and the Washington Post had great obituaries for him.

Woke up with my alarm at 7 AM. I’m tired, so I think that I’ll skip my shower at lunchtime and nap instead. I have a meeting in the afternoon for which I need to be on camera, so I’ll throw some clothes on and slap on some makeup.

Got everything set to drop the fur faces off for boarding tomorrow.

Overslept my lunchtime nap. I’m still tired, but I really need to mow today.

I’m washing clothes for my trip.

Mowed the lawn by the sidewalks. At least people on the sidewalks won’t have to deal with overgrown plants. I’m tired.

I really want to get to bed early and get up early.

Oh, what a day. I overslept an hour and a half, but made it to my meeting. Then, I was going to go to our volunteer work, but my shoulder and neck started bugging me (maybe from carrying the laptop?) So I went home to work. Then I had an IBS flareup. Sheesh.

We each did the Clifton Strengths assessment. We found it interesting that five out of seven of us in User Services had relator, someone who likes to work in a friendly environment, in the top five. Makes sense though because we work closely with our libraries.

The ground is still wet and I’m feeling achy and tired, so no mowing today. I need to book my hotel in Chicago and the bus (done). The Hilton is booked up, so I’m staying at the Hyatt near O'Hare. (They have an airport shuttle.) I’ll have to hussle a little on the way out because my flight is at 1 PM, but on the way back, the bus is at 3:30, so I can take my time. Maybe I can ask for a late checkout because my flight back gets in at 10 PM. I wonder if they have a Domino’s near there so that I could order a pizza when I get in. Or I could buy food on the flight from Denver to Chicago.

Oliver and Lily are attending my nap. Oliver is under the blanket and Lily is batting at him. Napped and woke up just before my alarm.

Fed us all. I looked for the White Elephant gift from last December at work, but couldn’t find it. I’ll ask the recipient for his address to have it sent to him.

I need to wash off the mud that Bella got on my jeans and go to bed. Damn, it’s humid in here.

I’m looking for a TV for my bedroom. It looks like Best Buy has the best prices. I found one that I really like but need to wait until after my trip.

Gracie woke me up at 8 AM. Ate and put my clothes in the dryer. Now, apparently, it’s dog wrestling time.

Threw myself together and left for volunteering. It went okay. Stopped at the store and now I’m home. I’m going to drink some water and then mow.

My mower is flaking out. It will start for about a minute, die, and then refuse to start again for a while. It doesn’t seem to be the batteries. I need to find out where I can get it serviced. Meanwhile, I need to get someone to mow the lawn. I need to wait until I get paid again though.

One of my neighbors said that I was trying to cut too low while the grass was high. He adjusted my mower. Bella ran out when I opened the gate. She ran up and down the street, thank goodness. She stays pretty close, while Gracie will take off for Timbuktu.

I got some of my herbs and planted them: thyme, rosemary, and oregano. I don’t know what happened to the basil. I need to check on it. (It hasn’t been shipped yet.) I also got the tomatoes, so I need to get the raised bed for them set up. Luckily, I should have time for yard work after my all-staff meetings. The raspberries are going gangbusters.

It’s supposed to storm tomorrow, so no mowing. It would be a good day to get the CPAP set up. I also need to do laundry for my meetings (started).

I watched the first episode of Amadeus. It’s good.

Overslept this morning. Gracie was trying to get me up, but I pulled the covers over my head.

Good. My CPAP is supposed to arrive tomorrow.

The little shit Oliver tried to get outside. I closed the door quickly.

Well, heck. I had an appointment with my psychiatrist online, but I wasn’t able to see her or hear her. I left the meeting intending to come back in, but then the software said that the meeting is over. My psychiatrist wound up calling me. I described myself as feeling blah, not badly depressed, just blah. We talked about the fact that I sometimes forget to take the morning pills, and we discussed some possible solutions. I need to get a pill box. Sigh (ordered).

My singing lesson went well. I said that I wanted to do the "Habanera" from Carmen, and she was thrilled. She said that if I practiced it, it would improve my voice and also be fun. I was reminded of another one (“Dido’s Lament,” “When I am laid in earth” by Purcell). It’s not as fun but is beautiful.

Fed the fur kids. Piled up the items for electronics recycling tomorrow.

I watched the next episode of Amadeus. Now I need to go to sleep because I need to get up early for the electronics recycling.

Overslept. I’ll take my shower at lunchtime.

Oliver and Lily are playing Pounce! Lily is determined to get Oliver. Oliver is trying to teach Gracie not to bug him. I wish him luck.

Man, I don’t know. I was going to mow tonight, but I might take a nap instead. I’ve got the new mower batteries charging though.

Gracie put her paws on my lap, looked soulfully into my eyes–and burped. All right then.

Gracie got her shot at the vet. They wound up charging me less for the appointment because the vet didn’t need to see her.

My therapist is out sick, and we have an off-site meeting at the time for which she wanted to reschedule. I might not see her before my trip.

I talked to more people who think Bella and Gracie are adorable.

I wasn’t able to sleep, but I am dizzy. Lily really wants food NOW!

Apparently my CPAP is being shipped to me. The provider just created a label. I hope that it’ll get here before I leave.

Fed the cats and dogs. And then myself. Watched a Mentour Pilot episode about the Southwest Airlines flight that lost a fan blade and did some research afterwards.

I have clothes in the dryer because I have a video appointment with my psychiatrist tomorrow. Need something to wear.

Interesting. I read a BBC article that said the type of breathing that we do in singing can help your mood and stress response. I know that singing makes me feel good. Maybe that’s why.

I have a really strong impulse to start watching Amadeus now, but I should get good sleep and get things done.

I canceled my Road Scholar trip to Costa Rica in the fall because I’m taking the Orient Express tour (with a different company) instead. Someone on the wait list will be happy.

The dogs are totally flaked out. I had problems falling asleep, so I got up to have some oatmeal. Bella got up with me because she is My Dog.

Woke up several times during the night but got up with my alarm. I wasn’t moving fast enough for Gracie though and she pawed me. Oliver jumped on my back with claws outstretched. Ow. A quiet morning at home.

Got my groceries in and dogs out.

Today is meeting day at work. I was wondering how I could be so tired after sleeping all day yesterday, but meetings put me to sleep. I can barely keep my eyes open. I think that I’m going to bail after my last meeting.

The co-pay for my CPAP was only $44 and change. That’s a bit of good news.

Water did help my sleepiness a little but I still bailed out of work.

Oliver was already on my, er, “their” bed. He looks like a little angel. Appearances can be deceiving:) Slept until a little after 7 PM.

Fed us all. Logged into work for a little while. I need to get to bed early because I have physical therapy in the morning.

I ordered some summer pajamas for my trip. It’s kind of cute: purple with stars on it. I need to check on my electric razor too.

Gracie woke me up at 7:30 AM. The dogs are wrestling. Napped. Wow, my stomach is upset. I’ll eat and see how I feel. I texted in sick and am going to lie down. Oliver is burrowing and Lily is pouncing on him. A quiet day at home.

My stomach still hurts. Not sure what to do. I need to mow. Ate dinner and it seems to be helping a little.

My dad said that he hasn’t been feeling well because he’s not sleeping well. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go visit him. Found my travel razor. Napped.

Oliver was cuddling with me for both naps. Aww. Woke up at 7:30 PM. The cats want to be fed. Fed them, and Oliver didn’t finish his food. Got the dogs in and fed them. I’m not going to make it to the local grocery store because I need to take a shower. I’ll go to Meijer. Hmm, now I’m thinking of going to sleep and getting up early.

I said Good night to the cats “And don’t knock anything down “. Oliver: “That sounds like a challenge.” The dogs are so tired.

Woke up 7:20ish. It’s been a busy morning. Overslept my nap. Contacted the vet for Gracie’s shot. Signed the forms for my CPAP (and did a “facial scan”). Checked on the dogs because it’s raining, but they don’t want to come in. Okay. Bella left muddy paw prints on my shirt 🙂 Oliver is being a little shit and is picking on Lily. Sigh.

Got a place to board the cats at the end of the month. I’ll call the dog place tomorrow morning.

It’s after work, and the cats want to be fed Right Meow! Lily is fussing over me. I didn’t have time to eat dinner before my singing lesson. Threw myself together.

The singing lesson went well. I told her that choir was over for the summer, and she said, “Oh good. We can practice solo pieces.” She asked me if I had a song to work on, and I said that the Joni Mitchell song “River” had popped into my mind. She liked the range of notes on it. I wound up inwardly cursing Joni Mitchell for her range. We got through it, but I need to practice it.

Everyone is inside and fed, but I need to give them their evening snack.

I’m adding to my reading of somewhat depressing books by reading Roger Rosenblatt’s book about caring for his grandkids after the death of his daughter, Making Toast. I’m a Roger Rosenblatt fan. I loved his essays for Time magazine. I had my favorite of his essays, ”Thanksgiving Inventory” on my door at IBM. (You can search Time's archive for it if you want, but I can't link to it. Well worth it though.) But the chapters in his book are long, so I decided to put it aside and post. I want to get up at a decent hour to do yard work.

So I need to give the pets their crunchies and head towards bed.