By 1 PM

1. Studied Duolingo
2. Went through bed cubbies
3. Went through library books
4. Charged earbuds
5. Charged continuous glucose monitor receiver
6. Charged razor
7. Set up SAD light for seasonal depression
8. Got rid of honey, oil, and moss*
9. Cleaned out the bags from the utility room
10. Consolidated bills/opened all the envelopes
11. Took midday insulin
12. Ate lunch

By 3 PM:

1. Took the books to the library
2. Got more soda
3. Took reusable bags to the car
4. Took my religious items to the car to go to storage
5. Threw away items on the refrigerator, got rid of the soda bottles, threw away moss*

Still need to:

1. Fold laundry and put it away
2. Help my friend write out his bills
3. Take a shower tonight
4. Eat dinner
5. Take evening meds
6. Change my CPAP mask, etc. 

*It's orchid potting moss. I have two packages. One was still unopened. The other, when I re-potted fifteen orchids years ago because the kitten was digging out and playing with the fir bark, had engendered fungous gnats and I just wanted to make sure it was gone so I wouldn't confuse the two. There may be eggs, and I took awhile to get rid of it, but it's gone now.

That is a lot in eight hours, and I've only paused to eat and take my meds. I haven't doomscrolled. Just the blog posts. So...I'm going to nap now.  In fact, I'll put that on my list.

1. Take nap.

By 11 AM I had:

1. Run the dishwasher
2. Washed one big load of laundry and put it in the dryer
3. Listened to music
4. Eaten breakfast
5. Organised my crafting supplies (mainly beads and watercolour materials)
6. Organised my home gym items (handheld weights, ankle weights, balls, bands--small stuff I use for PT and exercise sometimes)
7. Charged my earbuds
8. Charged my glucose monitor receiver
9. Tweaked the pumpkin diorama
10. Blogged
11. Go through a shelf next to the power station I charged the other day
12. Cleaned out the drawers of both nightstands
13. Let the dogs out and fed the animals
14. Organised the herb cabinet I keep dishes and my own non-refrigerated foods in
15. Taken all of my morning medications

Still on my list:

1. Organise the bed cubbies (there are two in the footboard)(
2. Study Duolingo
3. Go through the library books
4. Start re-reading Jim Butcher's Storm Front
5. Help my friend write out his bills
6. Take a shower (tonight)

Whew! I am really thinking of lying down for a bit. :)

Feeling better after 10 days of Covid leave

Tomorrow I get to go back to work. I'm feeling much better. I was lucky to 1) have something more like bad flu than full-blown, concerning illness and 2) no one else I knew got it from me [I'd played the game with friends the day I started getting feeling bad, sharing snacks, etc., so it was a concern, and also, of course, I live with someone. Four years of pandemic and I never had it, and then bam. I did get vaccinated (my 7th shot overall), but unfortunately, I got sick before the full protection came through (it takes a bit). It may have mitigated it somewhat, though. And my roommate had his back in early September, so that helped. At this point, I just have the same runny nose I've had with allergies over the last five months.

Two observances...except when I was the sickest (including the night I slept 14 hours), I woke up by 6:30-7:00 AM every morning (when I should be for work). This was at first frustrating, because hey, I'm off, I'm sick, I'm supposed to sleep in. But it's because I've been going to bed at 10-11 PM and not my normal midnight AM. So there's a change to try to implement. The other is my room is the absolute cleanest it has been in years. I was bored and I cleaned. I am only neat at work. My desk has to be in order. I feel better when my living space is, but I struggle because I was messy even as a kid, and it was the main battle I had with my parents in an otherwise 'good girl' childhood. Behold! [I do need to take the little air conditioner to storage (and get my cold-weather clothes), but that's for this weekend. And of course, the pumpkin diorama is sitting on the cedar chest for the next 24 hours. I'll take it in tomorrow. I really should find a different spot for my medicine cart (it also has lotions, toiletries, etc.) because it's right in the window and that's not good for medications (although they are in sunlight-blocking bottles, the bamboo has to go somewhere in the light. And of course, it's all about the plants, right? Maybe I need one of those little tower tables. :)

Thought it might be good to do one or two of these since it's been awhile

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book II, V.

For not observing the state of another man's soul, scarce was ever any man known to be unhappy. Tell whosoever they be that intend not, and guide not by reason and discretion the motions of their own souls, they must of necessity be unhappy.

This one, I think, calls for the individual to focus on their own soul, conscience, thoughts, life, rather than observing (and judging) that of others, because of course, we can't really know another person's throughts and feelings.  It would be better to master one's own self than try to master that of others, or try to assign motivations to others when we don't have all the data.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book II, VI.

These things thou must always have in mind: What is the nature of the universe, and what is mine—in particular: This unto that what relation it hath: what kind of part, of what kind of universe it is: And that there is nobody that can hinder thee, but that thou mayest always both do and speak those things which are agreeable to that nature, whereof thou art a part.

The connexion between us as humans and the greater natural world is not adversarial or separate.  We are a part of the universe around us, and as such we should try to learn as much about it all as possible, while recognising that our interactions with it are in our control, and only those.  We cannot control the rest of creation, but rather our own actions within it.

So we're doing a pumpkin decorating contest at work

I decorated the pumpkin itself, but it was supposed to be part of a diorama. Because of getting sick, I thought I'd miss it, so I kept the pumpkin to put on my desk when I can go back to work but recycled the cardboard I was going to use and threw away the little bit I'd done, including arms for the pumpkin and a stand for it.

One of my co-workers on the committee told me to bring my pumpkin on Thursday when I go back as they'd saved me a spot. So, I pulled the cardboard out of the recycling bin (fortunately before the rain) and spent a dreary day assembling the Headquarters from Inside Out 2.

Here's the final product. I'm not an artist or anything, so it's certainly not perfect, but it basically meets the vision I had in mind and was fun to do.  I need to do something creative more often. Oh, and note there's an LED tealight under the 'idea' light bulb receptacle on the console. I thought that was a nice touch.

I also tried on my Halloween costume and it will go well. It's Sadness from Inside Out 2 as well. I have an oversized white turtleneck sweater (with lined side pockets!), I'll wear it with jeggings and my dress shoes (hers are ballerina pumps, mine are Mary Janes, but oh, well). I have blue tights and gloves, a blue Sadness wig, and blue makeup (I haven't tried that yet). I got some setting spray to keep the blue on, let's hope that works, as the sweater is rather nice and I don't want it stained. I'll be sure to take pictures of the whole thing.

So beautiful and poignant

I came across this poem while listening to a Yom Kippur service coming from the computer in the living room as it was being live-streamed (the house is rather small, so it's easy to hear, even in my room, which is why I usually listen to my headphones if my friend is on Zoom with friends or classes). It was read before the names of those who had passed over the last year. It's lovely. It is by Rabbi Sylvan Kamen and Rabbi Jack Reimer:

We Remember Them

In the rising of the sun and in its going down,
We remember them.
In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
We remember them.
In the opening of the buds and in the rebirth of spring,
We remember them.

In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer,
We remember them.
In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of the autumn,
We remember them.

In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
We remember them.

When we are lost and sick at heart,
We remember them.
When we have decisions that are difficult to make,
We remember them.

When we have achievements that are based on theirs,
We remember them.
So long as we live, they too shall live,
For they are now a part of us,

As we remember them.

Also, can I just take a moment to mention that the 23rd Psalm is absolutely wonderful when sung in the original Hebrew? English does not serve it justice.

I went from being busy and not putting my health above things like work

 to sick. Yes, I've been off work from having COVID-19, and I still test positive, so no work for me until next Thursday. If I'd have tested negative today I could have gone back on Monday (with a mask). So I'm a little tired tonight still (I slept 14 hours the night before last), have a scratching, sore throat, have been coughing and blowing my nose a lot) and have been really achy. Before the rest of the symptoms, I was run down and having trouble staying awake through dinner. It's better, but I'm still symptomatic. I think maybe I need to step away from work for just a bit--it's been super busy and I have definitely felt tired. It's annoying though--four years of doing so much to not get it and succeeding through a pandemic.  On the other hand, it's now endemic, so I guess it was bound to happen eventually.  

Anyway, I've been sick and not doing anything big, just little things around the house. Tomorrow I'm going to try to do more here rather than just posting on Facebook. Really. I shared some stuff there mainly so I could go back and do it here. Unfortunately, because of being ill, I totally forgot the geomagnetic storm-producing auras in Kentucky last night, so I didn't get to see them or take a picture to post. It's one of two things on my bucket list and I missed my chance in May, too. :( Hopefully, the sun will do some more ejecting masses from sunspots to light up the sky again (without taking out anything vital).

In the meantime, tonight is Yom Kippur, so I'm staying in my room out of the way of my friend, who is watching his synagogue's livestream of the Kol Nidre service. I've actually been on my own today, just me and the animals (mostly the dogs), and it was rather nice. When you live with someone, it's hard to really be alone, especially if they turn the TV up to 90 because they don't hear well. I can hear everything out there in my room. But I think I'm going to put on my earbuds and listen to some music and just relax.

Plans today

1. Wake up at 8:30 AM
2. Fill up toilet paper
3. Run dishwasher
4. Make coffee
5. Call UK Chandler pharmacy to refill meds
6. Eat breakfast
7. Listen to music
8. Take oral meds
9. Take insulin
10. Take weekly injectable
11. Check e-mail
12. Caffeinate/check Facebook
13. Wake roommate up at 10 AM [he didn't actually get up till after noon
14. Pick up meds from Corner pharmacy before noon, including folic acid
15. Pay bill at credit union by 1 PM
16. Withdraw rent money and deposit it into account by 1 PM
17. Withdraw rest of food money
18. Give blood at 12:10 PM
19. Order materials for pumpkin-decorating contest for work
20. Pick up meds from Chandler pharmacy
21. Repot bamboo
22. Make bed
23. Fold and put laundry away
24. Straighten room
25. Transcribe notes from last game
26. Watch ‘Agatha All Along’ 

Well, that's all but two. Not bad at all. 🙂

So disturbing

This breaks my heart. And they're right. We should be doing more.

Taliban begins enforcing new draconian laws, and Afghan women despair: Afghan religious police wield new power to enforce a ban on women raising their voices in public and looking at men other than their husbands or relatives

Some Afghan women blame the outside world for their vanishing freedoms. “The silence of the world over the last three years will go down as a dark chapter in history,” said Meena, echoing a widespread sentiment in the country that global attention has moved on from Afghanistan.

Many of the women she speaks to say they have unsuccessfully applied for scholarships abroad, she said, and are running out of options.

“The Taliban will keep using religion as a weapon against women,” she said. “To them, seeing the hair of a girl is a sin, but starving your country is not.”

Congratulating myself

Because of my anxiety and also having bipolar II (mainly depression,  but also sometimes hypomania, I use an app called Daylio on my phone to track my moods every day. I have kept that mood diary for exactly eight years today.