I've been busy cleaning house today

and decided I really needed to get on the ROMTech bike, and surprise, they added an extra minute to the resistance section, which doesn't seem like much, but I wasn't sure I was going to finish. So it's four minutes passive, four minutes active, six minutes resistance, and one minute active. I had it on pedal radius 3 out of 6. Maybe I need to drop down to 2, because it was a lot. I went from a one pain level to a three in 15 minutes, which doesn't seem like much, but it seemed a lot at the time. I'd like to take a nap, but I'm babysitting the animals while my roommate is over at a friend's house. He left at 9 am on the bus, and so I've been out here with the dogs (and cat) all day, letting them out, etc.  I made him coffee on the stove before he left and woke him up, of course.  After he left, I: 

1. Fed the animals.
2. Let the dogs out throughout the day.
3. Called ROMTech and gave them a heads-up about the upcoming surgery.
4. Laundered my clothes.
5. Laundered the dog blankets.
6. Swept the house.
7. Mopped the tile in the bathroom and kitchen.
8. Put the toaster I used for my breakfast bagel this morning away.
9. Cleaned the bathroom.
10. Laundered the towels, cleaning cloths, and mop head.
11. Washed dishes from today.
12. Filled up the hand soap and dish soap.

Among all the other little things I did today. I am tired. I'm still going to fold my laundry and put it away, as well as some I did midweek that's in a hamper already folded. Tomorrow I'll gather the trash from the bathroom and bedrooms together for him to take out, maybe.  That's his chore; I'm not allowed to do since I fell off the porch, but on the other hand, he can't carry anything outside on the sabbath. So today is not the day. He already did the rest of the trash and the cat little yesterday, I think it was. I've put the dog blankets back down. I might wash his bedding if he'd like.  And I should maybe do some dusting.  But I think that's all the normal chores short of the normal dishes. So I'm back to doing things around the house, at least for now, as long as I don't really lift or stand for long periods of time. If only my car were running so I could drive! But of course, in 11 days I'm having another big surgery. In 6 I'll have to start prepping with the special antibiotic showers. This is really coming up fast. One of the things I have to do while my friend is here is practice going up the stairs on my left leg. It's always been weaker. You know how you go 'up' on the stronger, 'down' on the weaker? Well, when I have my surgery, mine are going to flip, but the 'stronger' leg will have just had surgery, so in PT we're trying to strengthen both legs as quickly as possible, the left so it can carry the weight for the right, and the right to recover quicker. We'll see. And the resistance on the ROMTech is probably helping, too.

Okay, back to folding clothes. I want to finish this to-do list. I want to keep the house in shape up to the time of my surgery so I'm in good shape going into the time I can't do much.

Three days till surgery

This deserves the full-screen treatment, not merely a widget. Sigh. I'm not sleeping. There seems to be so much to do, even with all the prep, and I'm overwhelmed, and I know that's just my mind talking, because actually, I'm in decent shape. I fell asleep at 4 am, though. I wish I'd taken Monday and Tuesday off, but I didn't. I work up to 4 pm on Tuesday. The only reason I'm leaving a half hour earlier than normal is that they're delivering a range of motion machine that Dr Talwalkar prescribed at 5 PM, and I have to be there because they need to do a teaching demo for the daily therapy sessions online. I've been doing all the laundry this weekend except my bedding, which I'll do Tuesday, so I'll go straight into clean bedding from the cleansing you do the night before surgery. Otherwise, I'm gonna to do some practising with the stairs and my bed, my PT exercises, get my room in order, test or ask the assistive aids and the cold therapy machine. I also want to get a haircut today and return my old phone (I upgraded from my Samsung Galaxy Flip4 to a Flip7 for the cost of taxes and activation fee with half a terabyte of storage... I couldn't pass it up.) And of course, there's my Sunday chores, which I won't be doing for a while. That's enough for today, isn't it?

Today

I have: 

1. Washed the percolator and hand-washed dishes.
2. Emptied,  loaded,  and run the dishwasher. 
3. Made coffee for my roommate. 
4. Woken him up.
5. Stripped the bed and laundered the bedclothes in the washer. (They're in the dryer right now).
6. Sorted and folded laundry from yesterday. 
7. Woken my roommate. 
8. Let out the dogs several times. 
9. Listened to music.
10. Tightened a loose leg on the living room farm table. The dogs keep knocking into it as they play.
11. Mended two blouses. Why does my sewing kit,  which has 22 spools of thread,  not include navy? I even have chartreuse.  I have never worn chartreuse in my life. But at least those three years of home oeconomics/Future Homemakers of America membership paid off.
12. Taken my oral meds and insulin.
13. Taken items to the car.
14. Took books back to and picked up a hold from the library.
15. Gotten a new library card (my key one wouldn't scan anymore).
16. Taken items to my storage unit.
17. Retrieved the old game notebooks so I can look for something.
18. Went to the store for tea and soda.
19. Finally caffeinated/browsed the web.

Not bad so far.  Things also on my list today:

1. Water plants.
2. Clean bathroom.
3. Print something from the desktop.
4. Read.
5. Straighten up room.
6. Break down cardboard boxes and take them out to the recycling bin (also known as a Rosie here in Lexington).
7. Find the missing game-related information.
8. Zoom with my roommate to test something.
9. Dust some bookshelves.
10. Watch 'Midsomer Murders' during dinner.
11. Feed the dogs and cat in the evening.

Thursday [I was off] I:

1. Made coffee for my roommate.
2. Woke him up.
3. Let the dogs out several times. Fed the dogs and cat in the morning (I usually do evening).
4. Caffeinated and browsed the web.
5. Listened to music.
6. Took a friend out to the Indian restaurant (Masala) for his birthday.
7. Went to the store.
8. Watched 'Midsomer Murders' during dinner.
9. Cleaned the percolator and washed any plastics.
10. Took my meds (morning and night).

Friday [I was off] I:

1. Made coffee for my roommate.
2. Fed the dogs and cat [morning and evening] and let the dogs out several times.
3. Ran dishwasher.
4. Woke him up for class.
5. Caffeinated and browsed the web.
6. Listened to music.
7. Took a friend to get his hair cut.
8. Did a lot of laundry.
9. Picked up some meds.
10. Took expired meds to the pharmacy for disposal.
11. Cleaned the percolator and washed any plastics.
12. Took my meds (morning and night).

Saturday I:

1. Slept in.
2. Made coffee for my roommate.
3. Fed the dogs and cat [both morning and evening] and let the dogs out several times.
4. Ran the dishwasher.
5. Caffeinated and browsed the web.
6. Did a lot of laundry.
7. Make a bank deposit.
8. Trimmed my nails because I couldn't type anymore comfortably.
9. Took a shower.
10. Made banana nut bread.
11. Watched 'Midsomer Murders' during dinner.
12. Took my meds (morning and night).

Things for tomorrow (Labour Day]:

1. Make coffee for my roommate.
2. Run the dishwasher.
3. Caffeinate and browse the web.
4. Listen to music.
5. Pull out things in the utility room.
6. Get the vacuum out of the shed.
7. Move the dryer (with help).
8. Clean out the lint hose and exhaust. It never has been in all the time he's had the house, since about 2005, and the other day we were talking about appliance fires and thought perhaps it would be good. It's also why we're running the dishwasher in the morning rather than while we sleep.
9. Read.
10. Take a shower.
11. Watch 'Midsomer Murders' during dinner.
12. Feed the dogs and cat in the evening.
13. Let the dogs out often.
14. Launder the rest of my bedding.
15. Watch 'Meet the Robinsons' (maybe).

Not bad for my little vacation. Mind you, our air conditioning is out (for the second time this summer--the first time a dog chewed the wires; I suspect there's something wrong with the thermostat this time] and it's been 85°-95°F inside. We've all been very hot during the heatwave, which has had heat indices in the hundred-and-something range outside. Fortunately, we do have fans. Hopefully, we'll be able to afford to have it looked at and fixed soon.

I've gotten a goodly amount of things done today

1. Woke up and got caffeinated.
2. Took my friend to the pharmacy and also picked up a couple of things for me.
3. Worked on shelf dusting in my room.
4. Cleaned my room/put away laundry/made my bed.
5. Played mousie with the kitten several times.
6. Did the game notes in the afternoon rather than waiting till nightfall.
7. Fed the animals.
8. Finally got my friend his Chanukah present two months late, which was socks, in a big package of 14 pairs, which is good, as he desperately needed them and each pair he had was full of holes.  The man is hard on socks. But he does usually make them last for 3-5 years.  I also found the razors he's been looking for buy one, get one free, so 8 blades for $9.99, which is unheard of (thank you, Meijer).
9. Got a little rest.

Now I'm listening to music and winding down for the night, specifically Of Monsters and Men's album My Head is an Animal.

Tommorow's list is even longer:

There's the normal Sunday list:

1. Cat boxes
2. Sweep
3. Mop
4. Trash
5. Recyclables
6. Laundry
7. Dishes
8. Bathroom

Plus, I need to go to the library, turn in a book, and get one that's on hold for my roommate, take some things to the storage unit, clean my car out (it's usually pretty decent, but I had to put everything in the back seat that had been in the trunk when my driver's side front tyre went down a few weeks ago), and I also have to water the plants.

The tyre saga continued when I popped the doughnut spare on the 15th coming back from running errands. I hit a bad pothole.  There was nothing to do but have the car towed home, as I could do nothing about it until my tax refund came in or I got paid again.  I was with my roommate at the time, so I sent him in the tow truck (there was not enough room for both of us) and took the bus home, as I had a couple of dollars' emergency fund and it was Sabbath, so technically, he wasn't allowed to use money for the bus.  We broke down at 1:20 pm and by the time the tow truck got there and I got home, it was 4:15 pm.  So that was a tiring day, and the car was now down.  But on the bright side, he had one of those 20-rides-for-$15 tap cards that I'd given him the last time I had been riding the bus, and it had just enough punches (8) for the workweek (the 17th we were off for Presidents' Day.  We don't get off for MLK Jr. Day, but we do get off for Presidents' Day).

Anyway, all things went okay until Friday the 21st, the day before my appointment to get tyres.  It was right before 7 am and it was still half-dark, and I had just crossed the street on my way to the bus stop when, while walking, I looked back to see if the bus was coming (I was cutting it awfully close) and promptly lost my balance and the next thing I knew the sidewalk was like two inches away, and I fell on my face, mostly, but had broken my fall somewhat with my hands and knees.

A lady in front of me came back to try to help me, as she'd heard me fall.  She was African, all of about 90 pounds, and we couldn't get me up without me pulling her down.  Meanwhile I was bleeding like a stuck pig from my face--it was my nose, but I wasn't sure at the time, as I'd hit my head, too. right on the forehead.  Miraculously, I hadn't broken my glasses, although several days later I realised I'd scratched the frames pretty well and there are little divets out of my right lens.

Because of the blood she wanted to call an ambulance. I said I lived right across the street and wanted to get the bleeding stopped.  Bless her heart, for all I know I got blood on her hand, as I had it on mine, when she tried to get me up.  I got it all down my shirt, on my coat, and on my computer bag (which thankfully all came out in the wash, and the computer did not break).

I had to crawl backwards to the kerb and then put my feet down in the gutter and push up to get up.  I  The bus went by, I crossed the street, and got home.  I was in the bathroom with a hand towel on my nose (which was bleeding from inside, not outwardly, thankfully, and there were just a couple of small places on my nose and face at all), and I started crying, waking up YKWIA.  He came to check on me.  He'd thought I'd fallen in the house or off the porch, and I explained what happened.  My wrist hurt, my knees hurt and were scraped, and my head and face hurt.  I told him I'd take the next bus to the hospital, and since I was coherent and doing okay, he went back to bed.

I texted my boss and backup what happened and that I wouldn't probably be in.  I did take the next bus to St. Joseph East (he thought I'd gone to UK, but I prefer that hospital).  I was the only one in the ER and then a bunch of people started streaming in.  They examined me, did a CT scan of my head, neck, and facial bones, an x-ray of my left wrist, and diagnosed me with a concussion, sprained wrist, and contusions.  At the time I thought that I'd just banged me knees a little bit.  After I got home (also on the bus, about six hours from the incident), YKWIA wouldn't let me go to sleep due to the concussion till after dinner, and when I had been walking and also in bed, when my left knee went side to side at all, it would pop and catch. I tore my right meniscus years ago, and it was the same set of symptoms.

On Saturday I had the appointment for a tow and to get my car tyres.  The tow truck was the tallest one in Lexington, the driver said, and I had a really hard time getting into it between the wrist being in a brace and my knees. I'd have had trouble normally, and I was worried I'd fall.  It took both of us to get me in--he was very professional and assured me he wasn't being fresh, and I assured him I didn't think he was, but he had to physically move my foot to the taller of two steps and then give me a boost from behind.  We got to the tyre place, I paid him (he told me that I might be able to get a reimbursement from State Farm, so I've asked if that's possible and sent them the invoice--I assumed having gotten roadside assistance the day we broke down meant I couldn't get a second tow, but they've sent it to headquarters to see if it'll be approved.)  I was home with new tyres by 9:30 am (we started the tow at 7:30 and got to the store by 8, even with the difficulty of getting me up into the truck), and I promptly went to bed and didn't wake up till 3:30 pm.  But at least we were mobile again.

All week I've been behind and trying to get caught up on various surgeries and offsites from being off that day.  I've felt a little overwhelmed.  Monday I got nearly nothing of consequence taken care of. I put out lots of little fires and was very reactive, but very foggy, couldn't focus, and it just got worse as the day went along. I checked my blood sugar and it was 117, so within the norm for me, and then finally I Googled 'How long does it take to recover from a concussion' and it was 7-10 days.  I got less foggy with each day and by Wednesday and Thursday felt more on my game.   I got most everything pressing caught up Friday afternoon despite going to see about my knee that morning and just really need to hit the offsite scheduling hard on Monday, especially as I will be off on Wednesday for a series of appointments.  I have an MRI at 8:15 am, am taking YKWIA for a procedure at noon, and I think I can leave him sleeping for a 4:30 pm therapy appointment.  Technically I have six appointments next week, three on that Wednesday.  I need to move my endocrinology appointment on Monday because I just can't take off, then I have on Thursday afternoon with my GP along with YKWIA and one on Friday morning to get the results of the MRI.  They're thinking I'm right about the meniscus tear.  I also asked about my thumb, as apparently upon reviewing the x-ray there were changes they were concerned about according to my GP, and I've been told I have arthritis in my thumbs before and assumed that was it, but wanted to check.  The PA said that sounded like what they meant, that there were degenerative changes in my thumbs.  He also showed me my knee x-ray.  Nothing appeared to be broken.  The spaces between the knee bones, particularly on the medial side, are pretty small, and there are spurs in several places indicating moderate to severe arthritis, which I knew I had.  But he said that there was pretty much no cartilage behind my patella, and that was a concern.  I told him Dr Balthrop, the last time I had to have a meniscectomy, had told me I was eventually probably going to need a knee replacement.  

So that's where we stand at the moment.  A lot's been going on. I've been working very hard, was riding the bus for a while, and I've just been tired and exhausted and not up to writing when I got home.

It has been a very busy weekend

Here's what I accomplished:

1. Went to the pharmacy. Got to see my plants.
2. Got nitrogen put in my tyres and discussed my treads and whether it was worth getting an alignment or rotation now or just waiting till I get new tyres, which will have to be soon, although I'm not sure how I'm going to swing that.
3. Repotted the aloes.
4. Repotted the orchids.
5. Did my laundry on Saturday and my roommate's on Sunday. Managed to do that and the kitchen linens with the very last of the detergent.
6. Moved a couple shelves in front of the library windows so I could put the orchids on them and they could get some actual light (eastern exposure). I'd temporarily placed them on top of my bookcase headboard, but they were between the windows and couldn't get any light. A grow light might have worked, but there's a painting that could be damaged by the full spectrum light. So I decided to try this. They are behind the nightstands, so it's a little crowded, but it passed muster with my friend.
7. Went to the library and took some books back and picked up my roommate's hold.
8. Took the other two shelves and summer clothes to the storage unit.
9. Cleaned out the car.
10. Did a boatload of plastic dishes.
11. Went through the clothes I was given and pulled out the ones that needed mending.
12. Incorporated the new clothes into my existing clothes, and put away laundry at the same time.
13. Organised my closet and prepared some things to take back to storage and to donate.
14. Organised the cedar chest and the clothes in the footboard of the bed. The kitten has been pulling my bras and other things through the little divet that's used to open the drawers.
15. Put the coverlet back on the bed, which will hopefully deter him, as it will be out of sight, out of mind.
16. Watched several episodes of a cartoon series.
17. Generally straightened up my room.
18. Took a nice long shower today.
19. Swept and mopped the floors.
20. Did the regular dishes.
21. Took out the trash and recyclables.
22. Cleaned the bathroom.
23. Entertained the kitten, who was inconsolable that he'd been closed out of the bedroom while my roommate slept because he was gnawing on him.
24. Packed my lunch for tomorrow.
25. Laid out my clothes for tomorrow (I don't do that very often. I should.)
26. Actually blogged! Twice!

Things that got put off till tomorrow:

1. Go by the bank.
2. Go over the grocery list and see what we already have.
3. Shop at the grocery store for Thanksgiving (we already have the Quorn roasts).
4. Get some cat toys for the kitten and food for the older cat.
5. Complete replacement of the cat litter (once we get some from the store).
6. Clean out and organise my nightstands.
7. Take things out to the car that are to be donated or go to storage.
8. Double check the smoke alarm/CO monitor. I think the batteries are in wrong, and it'll take both of us to change the batteries, as I'm not tall enough, even with a stepstool. I got some new batteries.
9. Call in the morning and reschedule an appointment to finalise the draft of my revamped will--with my boss' announcement I didn't feel I could ask to leave early the next business day with so little warning and get a good reply.
10. Get the duvet cover on the duvet and get it on my roommate's bed (it takes two to do well) and take back my heavier blanket.

Today's agenda

1. Shower.
2. Take medicine.
3. Caffeinate.
4. Do two loads of laundry.
5. Go to the optician.
6. Go to the Rusty Scabbard [a local gaming store that's been around for ages].
7. Go pick up a couple of books on hold at the library.
8. Go to the YMCA and work out and then hit the warm water pool during open swim.
9. Do the game notes.
10. Dust some bookshelves.
11. Relax.

It's been generally a good day, except

I found out that an old acquaintance (not close, but still, one I've known for decades) apparently died a couple of months ago of heart issues. He was my age. There was no memorial. This, on the heels of a former co-worker's death this week from cancer, has me thinking of my own mortality and that of those close to me.

But before we got this news, I took YKWIA out for a birthday Indian buffet at Masala, and it was wonderful.  They even had gulab jamun, which I adore, this time!  We also did some errands.

They're having a tailgating thing at work today (it's near the UK stadium, so it seemed a good opportunity to get my co-workers together), and I was thinking of going, am actually wearing the shirt they'd bought for us, but between the news and the fact that I'm stuffed with Indian food to the point of near torpor, I decided not to go.

I've done my shelf dusting for the day.  I have some laundry to do and the game notes.  Also, I need to take things to the storage unit and put them in there, put away my laundry from last week, make my bed, and generally straighten up my room.

Tonight we're planning on watching Cats, which I have out from the library. I've never seen the musical.

But before I do all that, I really want to take about a 45-minute nap.  So I'll stop here.  Perhaps I'll write later, though.

Agenda for the day

1. Go to the pharmacy for my roommate's medicine.
2. Go through the second tub of family photos [I did the first tub last week all at once, surprisingly, and this is the second of two.]
3. Do game notes.
4. Four shelves.
5. Go to two different pet stores for their brand of cat food.
6. Visit the vet for kitty meds.
7. Wash the dog blankets and the people bedding.
8. Incorporate the CD player back into my room along with the CDs I brought from work. I wasn't listening to music that way because I was afraid of disturbing my neighbours--I usually listen to music with Bluetooth headphones on.
9. Put away my laundry from last weekend.
10. Water the plants.
11. Read.
12. Go over bills.

I keep thinking there's something else. Hmm...oh, relax. Get rest. It's been a rough week.

The last few days have been

very nice. I've read.  I've relaxed, taking a nap here and there.  I've listened to music, and I've done stuff around the house like raking leaves (again) to try to get ready for the vacuuming truck that comes by.  I got 2/3 of the yard done this afternoon, and I'll try to do the rest tomorrow.  I came inside to hydrate and got caught up in a 'Black Mirror' episode, and realised I was really tired and with the game called off tomorrow, it could wait till tomorrow, when the weather's supposed to be a little better anyway.  I have a two-foot pile of leaves in the road verge at the moment; it'll just grow a little bigger.  Most of the main leaves are already there.

Tomorrow I'll do my normal Sunday tasks: floors, bathroom, trash/recyclables, laundry, and cat litter boxes.  I did the dishes tonight so I think they're okay.  But the evening will visitation for the little lady who died, whom I cared a good deal about.  I'm going to take my friend over that afternoon to help with my other friend, who will be in a wheelchair so he can attend the family hour of visitation, and then I'll come at the regular time for the public.  I would take our friend, but my car is an old Ford Taurus that is so low to the ground that we have trouble getting in and out of it, much less someone with mobility issues.  I am not a big fan of visitation--I find it a bit morbid, to be honest.  But for her, I'll do it.  She was such a wonderful person, who lit up a whole room.  I was looking at Thanksgiving flowers the other day and found myself thinking about bringing some, and then remembered that she was gone.  That's the worst thing, I think, after someone dies--all the little things you want to share with them that evaporate in your mind as soon as you realise they have passed and you'll never share with them again.  It brings the pain up all over again.  That was certainly the case for me when my mom died.

So for now, though, I'm listening to Mumford & Sons, trying to decide whether I should 1) go to bed or 2) read some more.  The book (Kate Morton's The Distant Hours) is very well-written, the prose is lovely, and I'm about 50 pages in and I like how it's unfolding.  But I'm a little tired.  I'm in my pyjamas and I've brushed my teeth.  I'm ready for bed.

Today I got something I'd ordered as a lightning deal from Amazon, which I almost never do.  It's 128 GB SD card that is meant to go in a camera but can also go in laptops with the right reader, and I have one on mine.  I got it for $19.95, which was roughly half of the normal price, and it works, it's inserted into my computer, and I've backed up some files to it.  It's not great as a long-term storage option (they do break down over time, just like flash drives), but it was cheap and easy and while I have my documents backed up in other places (OneDrive, Dropbox), after what happened with the Windows update in October when I lost all my documents, I thought that it would make a good local option that wasn't at the mercy of cloud providers, and I can't afford a USB removable hard drive at the moment.  Also, if something happened to my laptop I could just switch out the card like I do with the microSD card in my phone (that has pictures and music on it).  So we'll see how it works out.   I took a few minutes earlier to back things up to the card and to the cloud.  I need to do that with the desktop, which YKWIA uses.  I also spent some time yesterday at the storage unit (looking for a couple of cutting boards, with no luck) and found my Civilization IV game, and so I pulled out the old DVD-ROM external drive I have here (it's from when computers didn't have them yet, and my computer is so 'advanced' it doesn't have one at all, so even though it's a little slow and clunky, it works--although not to play CDs lately, something in one of the Microsoft updates apparently broke that, too, so I guess the only CDs I'll buy in the near future are ones with AutoRip, where they do it for you, as otherwise, I can't get the CD music on my phone.  Anyway, it does work for CD-ROMs, and I was able to get the game onto this computer, so I'm happy, as it's one of the few games I ever play consistently.

Okay, I guess I'm just babbling about my life now.  It's going pretty well.  Work is still stressful but not as much as it had been.  I am very blessed right now.  I do feel a little guilty posting the pictures of Thanksgiving and the abundance of food for two people.  I live paycheque-to-paycheque, and I don't feel particularly affluent at all, but on the other hand, I have so much compared to some--a home to go to, food to eat, great companionship, and relatively good health, really.  I don't mean to flaunt it, but I think of the homeless, or the starving children in Yemen, or the refugees seeking asylum, etc., and I do feel guilty, although I really was just trying to express how grateful I am for life right now.  I don't have enough money to donate to any causes right now, it's been a struggle lately, and we had to pool our resources to make Thanksgiving happen, but maybe I could volunteer some time around Christmas.  Which reminds me, I guess I need to get some cards to send out.  We don't really celebrate Christmas, as I'm pagan (I celebrate the Winter Solstice, Yule) and YKWIA is Jewish.  But the holiday season is still a good time to think of others.  Chanukah, which of course is a minor holiday in the Jewish year, although most Christians, I think, just see it as Jewish Christmas, is coming up quickly--it starts December 2nd.  My plan is to get YKWIA some good house shoes, as his shoes have nearly died.  (I can say that here, as he doesn't read my blog, because as he puts it, he knows what goes on in my life).  But I'll have to wait till the next payday, which happens in the middle of Chanukah.

Okay, the cat wants to cuddle, the music has stopped.  Time to go to bed.  Good night.

I am pooped

I have gone to Kroger twice (once for caffeine to get going, once for more litter). I have taken the trash out, changed the litter out completely (and changed the pads under them), looked all over for a small grey kitten, including moving furniture and mattresses, taken plants outside, and while I've only walked 3,318 steps, it is also on 1:38 pm. Fortunately, I don't have to game notes today, as I did them last week. We don't have anywhere to go specifically today, although I might go by my storage unit. The other day I went before work and found the large map and one flanking map to hang on my office wall, but couldn't find the other. And several others are somewhere. Meanwhile, there are some things I put in the storage unit first that I might need on a pinch, or just want to get out occasionally, so I may move the pictures and mattresses out, get the other stuff up to the front, and then put the mattresses in the back and move the pictures back somewhat.

I really do think I'm going to lie down for a little while and listen to some music. YKWIA is sitting in the living room with the kitten on his lap having quiet time and reading. I have the cat. The dog is outside (it is a pleasant day). Time for a nap, I think.

Blissful coolness

So, I'm broke, but I managed to pay for the air conditioning to be fixed, so things are much more pleasant in the house.  It was funny, I don't see any reason to tell YKWIA this, as he would be terribly offended, but when I called to see if I could get the fan motor that was maybe one tick up from the cheapest part the tech quoted, the lady said that he'd actually given us an estimate on an original Coleman part that is factory-authorised, but knowing money was an issue, had given us the quote based on a senior discount.  So Tuesday came and I left my debit card with YKWIA and apparently the fan blade itself was so rusted in place that it wouldn't move, so the tech had to get that order brought over, which took awhile, but he got it fixed.  I guess that's what burned out the motor in the first place--it rusted over the winter because when we first turned it on in May, it pretty much worked for just a few hours if that. When I got home, I asked how much more the fan blade was.  'I don't know. I just handed him your debit card.' That struck fear in me, as while I had extra money in my account, it was earmarked for my car insurance.  So I went to my e-mail and it turns out that the tech did the complete repair for the original quote, without charging for the blade at all.  Yay! I really liked them--we went with Synergy, and the tech's name was Zach Taylor and he did an excellent job.  I have to thank my former boss for pointing me to them--she'd heard an ad and directed me to them.  That night, I didn't know what to do--I had to sleep under a cover and I wasn't drenched in sweat that morning, nor did I have the 'break-out-in-perspiration-as-soon-as-you-get-out-of-the-shower' issue.  But because I'd kind of gotten too used to that, I didn't sleep super well that night.  I did last night, though.  Yes!

Yesterday was mostly about medical testing.  I did work from noon to 4:30 pm, but I had an EEG at 7:30 am and an MRI of the brain at 10 am.  I had gone to my neurologist concerned over periodic dizziness (I think now that it's vestibular, but we needed to rule out other concerns).  I also expressed concern that my memory issues have gotten worse, and while it's probably normal ageing, I've done a lot of replacing words that I have had a hard time finding with the opposite, stuff like that.  Now I have ADHD, the inattentive types, so maybe it's just partly that, and as we get older there's more information to juggle.  But I've had several untreated concussions, and my family doctor and I wanted to rule out any chance of dementia or early Alzheimer's, a personal fear of mine given my great-grandmother's battle against the latter.

Anyway, the EEG--which was quite interesting, by the way--was negative for any of that.  My brain's not slowing down, even though it sometimes seems that way.  And the MRI was fine, too.  I came home yesterday and looked at the MRI scans they'd given me at Lexington Diagnostic Center.  Not that I know how to read an MRI at all, but you can kind of look for light or dark areas that don't fit the rest of it, and I didn't see anything.  This morning my neurologist's office called and said it was fine.  I did get put on a beta blocker that is good for essential tremor, a benign tremor that can make your hands shake when you hold a spoon or write, or hold a letter, or even a phone, say if you've got it above you in bed. :) Not that you should be lying in bed looking at your phone when you should be asleep, right?  Anyway, it's a small dose and it's good for anxiety, too, according to my psychiatrist.  It does seem to be helping.  Otherwise, I got a clean bill of neurological health.  I just am going to have to accept that my memory is not what it once was (and in truth, it was good when I was young, I didn't have to take notes in high school, but I dealt with a lot less information).  Given my experiences with anxiety and depression, it's no wonder I've had some impact on daily life.  And I tend to compare myself to YKWIA, who has an eidetic memory, rather than say, your average 51-year-old. :)

Today I won the parking behind the building (which is funny, as I'd reserved it yesterday since I was coming from my appointments, so I'm a little spoiled--I have parked there two days in a row), so I took Samantha, my co-worker to her car both days, but today after that I went over to the pharmacy for my pen needles (which are a pain to get anywhere else if you don't have the prescription on you, like you can shoot up heroin out of an insulin pen, thank you, Kroger).  Then I went and got YKWIA from our friend's, the one he's helping who is battling cancer.  Since my schedule has shifted a half-hour earlier and I hadn't had to go to my car on the shuttle, even with the trip to the pharmacy we were home about 5:30 pm.  He was really beat, so he went to bed, and he's still there.  I'm going to wake him in a bit to take his medicine.  I ate, and then realised I was pretty tired, too.  I worked very hard and very steadily today.  I like my new job, but I can't ever say I'm bored.  So I settled down for awhile with the cat about 7 pm after I'd fed the animals and brought the dog in--who actually wandered around the yard and acted nearly normal.  I woke up at 9:45, started some bread making (now that the temperature and humidity are back to where they should be), filled the dishwasher, put away plastic dishes, washed the ones in the sink, took out the trash and recyclables, and took the Herbie and Rosie (the trash and recycling containers, respectively--we name ours here in Lexington) out to the kerb, and generally straightened up a bit.  Now I'm listening to Pandora and spending some time on the computer.  We're about an hour from bread.  The cat's on my bed again.  I think I'm going to put the flowered quilt back on the bed, as I don't have to worry about sweat stains now.  But that might be a task for tomorrow morning--the cat is quite happy and quiet at the moment, and we like to keep it that way.  So I have a task to do online and then I may lie back down till the bread machine beeps and listen to music.  My phone turned off, as I let its charge run down, so I'm playing the music on the computer.  I may do some brain exercises that go with an application on my phone that are pretty challenging, too.  Just to help out on the memory issue--which I do fine with the memory tasks on that.  So maybe it literally is just in my head.  I don't know.

Alright, I am definitely getting some water and finishing up here.  I also should work on a book review by the end of the week.  And I just got another published.  Yay!

Good night.

I finished the normal

Sunday chores, but it took about 45 minutes of lying under the ceiling fans to recover. Now I'm going to work on the shelves (which is technically a Saturday chore). The only other things on my list are to take some library books back, buy some glucose tablets, and get a birthday card for a co-worker. Oh, and of course laundry goes on for awhile, so I'll finish that tonight. My first load is still in the dryer. There's a second. I also have to wash the mopheads, the blanket the cat threw up on the other day, and YKWIA's laundry. I've been listening to Pandora all morning, mainly the 3 Doors Down station.  YKWIA has mainly had quiet time.  No game today because Brenda is celebrating Father's Day with her husband (I know, Father's Day is next weekend; either she is celebrating early or they made a mistake, but regardless we had a break from the game this week, so I didn't have to do notes, although we should be good to go for next week).

Warm

This weekend we're in the 90s during the day and it's been miserable in the house even with the fans on. And because the house is brick, it holds the heat in. So wishing it would cool back down. I did go in to work for 2 1/2 hours today, so at least I spent a bit of time in air conditioning. Tomorrow I have to do laundry and chores, so I'm getting up early in the morning to beat the heat, hopefully.

It is a pleasant morning

I am almost ready to begin my chores, which I'm dreading a bit because the air conditioning is not working.  So we have the windows open and it's 77 degrees right now inside and perfectly fine under the ceiling fan at the moment, but that's going to change, as it'll be pushing 90 this afternoon.

I awoke to birds chirping and plenty of sunshine coming through my windows.  I've had a shower and am in the minimum acceptable clothes (denim shorts and a light blouse I usually wear a tank top under but I'm choosing to forego that today, as there are solid panels in all the important places).

As my agenda states, I have a full day planned.  I want to get my hair cut; it's atrocious and it's been more than six months.  I'm thinking of a short layered bob.  Also, a friend who is homebound right now with cancer asked me to pick out a hanging basket of petunias for his mom yesterday for Mother's Day, so I did so and will deliver it when they're up and ready, around noon.

There's the normal Sunday chores to do, laundry (mine and YKIWA's, and that includes his bedding), and helping him apply for a part-time job at the public library and applying for two jobs at the University of Kentucky for me.  One of them was the one, reposted, that I terribly flubbed the phone interview on last year.  I'm hoping they'll give me another chance.  I'd tried to do it on my lunch break surrounded by distractions, and it didn't go well.  But it is in my field of health science librarianship, I would do a good job, and I'm very qualified.  I'm just terrified of interviews, at least ones that are by committee.  I do fine one-on-one, and can teach one-on-one, in small groups, and larger ones.  But being grilled by 3-5 people, whether on the phone or in person, flummoxes me.  This is ultimately why I didn't finish my graduate studies in ancient, mediaeval, and early modern history.  Thank goodness the library science master's degree didn't require an oral defence.  But I am going to apply again anyway.  The other one I may get dinged on because I haven't been in an academic library setting in some time, and while I was trained by the best for the job, I don't have a lot of professional-level experience in aspects of it.  Again, I can do the job, and I think I would be good at it, but it would mean changing things back to what I trained for rather than what I've been doing for 20 years.  But I'm up for it.

Okay, the cat boxes aren't going to clean themselves.  One more review of the timeline/agenda, and I'm ready to go.  Have a great day, including a great Mother's Day (I'm a little sad this year, as I have neither mother nor grandmother to give flowers to and spend time with).  So I'll try to use this opportunity to get some things accomplished.

Thunderstorm!

Brenda left just a little while ago and I fed the dogs, let them out, and then let them back in within a much smaller timeframe than usual as it was very dark and gloomy, much different from the mild, sunshine-full day we'd had so far.  Now the thunder, lightning, and rain have really started, so I'm glad they've come inside.

We didn't wind up playing the game.  We did go to the Indian restaurant Masala, over in Beaumont, to celebrate a belated birthday for me and something else that is a bit private, but let's say was a long time coming (really, and that's why the celebration was belated) but represents a very, very good turning point in one of our lives.

We stopped by our friend's house to say hello (Brenda had not seen him in quite a while), and then came back to play the game, but we wound up watching Batman: Gotham by Gaslight instead, which we have out from Netflix.  It was fun.

I'm working on laundry.  I've almost finished YKWIA's, and I have started on mine.  I don't think I'll get to the bedclothes today after all.  But I did the cat boxes, took out all the trash and recyclables, and cleaned the bathroom.  We knew it was going to rain later, so I didn't touch the tile, as it was just going to get muddy tonight.

It is so humid! YKWIA opened a couple of windows in the living room/study, but while there's a breeze it's not really making it in here, although the cat, satiated from his meal, is happily watching out the window.  I'm sweating and considering going into my room/the library to put the ceiling fans on. I've had quite a bit of caffeine today, so I'm not really sleepy or anything, just hot.

Okay, I should go check the dryer.  Have a good night.  I may write more, but for now I'm signing off.

I'm pooped, and it isn't even game time

Today I've:

1. Laundered my bedding and clothes
2. Changed out the spring and winter clothes, put spring clothes away, packed up the winter ones, and prepared to take them to storage
3. Swept and mopped the floors
4. Cleaned the bathroom
5. Taken out the trash and recyclables
6. Cleaned the cat boxes
7. Started a loaf of bread

Yesterday I cleaned a very dirty shelf with magazines and did YKWIA's laundry, and that was enough to make my back hurt quite a bit, so I laid down for awhile while he helped a friend out at his house who is battling cancer.  They called me to go get Subway and we all ate and visited, then we got home about 8:30 pm.  I think we were both done in by midnight (he's been over several days in a row and took the bus out Friday, getting lost on the walk over there, and probably walked four miles back and forth until he found it), and we .were up by 7:30 am.  I have no real reason to be as tired as I've felt lately.  I've done some housework and of course, I worked at the medical centre, but still, I'm just tired all the time.  I've been up doing my stuff and listening to shows he's watching (he finished the 'Almost Human' DVDs and we watched a couple of episodes of 'Up the Women'.  I unplugged my tablet, which has been on the charger for two days and really needed to be unplugged and just turned off.  He's got a lot of documents to transfer to it and we're going to see if there's enough room once I cleaned my stuff off of the microSD card.  There's not much on it, now, just some basic applications and one from Adobe for reading PDFs and one for reading Word files.  That should suffice for him.  I haven't used my old tablet for some time.  I'm not sure it'll have the processing speed he'll need, but it's worth a try since neither of us can afford a newer tablet or laptop right now.

Today I'm looking forward to the game.  I'm kind of grungy and should go ahead and take a shower, but I'm just not up to it.  I'd like to lie down for awhile, but the bed hasn't been made yet.   I just feel a mess today. 

My strawberry plant that Brenda gave me is back outside after being brought in for a frost advisory last night, and it has two ripe strawberries and one that is turning on it.  I have lost three smallish African violets recently, including the two pink ones in the bathroom and a purple one in the bedroom.  I'm not sure what happened; they got puny and I tried to save them, but it was a no go.  On the other hand, one of the orchids has grown a new leaf and I have two that are getting ready to re-bloom.  Maybe orchids are more my thing, although I've had no problem with violets before.  The window seat in YKWIA's room is lush with shamrocks, an umbrella tree I just repotted, dumb cane, and philodendrons.  They love that window:

So overall, the plants are doing well.  Also, the orchid at work is putting out new shoots and buds.  I separated the stems out to give them more room:

It's the same colour as part of my mousepad, my pen holder, and my water cup, so it's coordinated to the checkout bay. :)  What can I say, I like it when things match.

Okay, I'm going to go check on the last of the laundry.  I realised I started the bread while still running the dryer (the bread machine is on the washer, as that's a good place for it usually when I'm not washing, as it has a tendency to 'walk' as it mixes, which is apparently supposed to happen, according to the manual.  But the vibration isn't good for rising bread.  I don't want to mess up this loaf.  I'm experimenting with all-purpose rather than bread flour, as I'm low on the other.  But the other day I forgot to put the yeast in until 30 minutes into the cycle.  While it was edible and looked fine, it was chewier than usual.  I can't believe I did that.  I was washing dishes and remembered suddenly, doing what I could to fix things.  It wasn't bad, but not ideal.  Hopefully, this one will come out fine; I definitely put all the ingredients in. :)

I'm rarely home without YKWIA

But he decided he wanted to do some things for our friend alone and just needed me to take him there, so I came home.  I've got several chores to do today, so it made sense.  I made a quick stop for cereal at the store (I needed some and I was one point away from 40 cents off a gallon of gas, and I need to get some when I pick him up).  He's going to call the house phone when he's ready, so no headphones while I work.  So I brought my little boom box out from my room and I'm playing Pandora through my phone on the auxiliary setting.  The dogs were angrily barking when I got back; they hate being left alone completely.  So I've let them out and back again, I am eating some of the cereal, and I'm listening to the music (the 3 Doors Down channel, which I've listened to for a couple of days and liked almost every song played).  I took a shower earlier, which was great, as I hadn't had one yesterday or the day before (I usually skip a day at the most and usually shower every day or my hair looks horrible, even though daily cleansing can be drying to the skin).  The bread cooled before we left, so I put it in its container to keep fresh.

So what do I need to do today?

• Laundry
• Pack up the winter clothes and put away the spring and summer ones, then take the winter ones to storage
• Cat boxes
• Clean bathroom
• Sweep and mop tile
• Put away dishes and load dishwasher
• Do the plastic dishes/hand washable ones
• Finish backing up the computer (I've mostly gotten it backed up but had to leave in the middle)
• Make my bed (the cat was on it earlier, on the blankets--he claimed the bed when it was first delivered about a month before I came to live here

I took out the trash and recyclables yesterday, although there are a few more to go out, and I forgot the wine bottle where we had a whole bottle go into soup the other day.  I think there's just my laundry to do, maybe a little of his, but no bedding this time, hopefully.

Okay, I should start working.  Hope you're having a good Sunday. I wish there were three days to each weekend--I need a day between Saturday and Sunday just to relax.  But it's been a nice weekend so far, really.

I'm up and

listening to Pandora this morning and getting some caffeine after a fitful night's sleep. This song came on, which I have always loved. Today we're going over to an old friend's house who is very ill and helping him with some things. I think I'm going to consider this an anthem for today, in terms of helping make the world a better place and making a difference in other people's lives.  Since we're going to be there this afternoon, I'm making bread now and then later, when we get back, I need to do laundry.

Yesterday was pretty productive.  First, I went over my next few pay periods to see if there was a chance of taking care of anything I'm behind on financially.  Then I called H&R Block to discover that the Richmond Road office is already closed, but my paperwork should be at the Tates Creek office waiting to be filed as soon as I can pay to do that, and they'll keep it up to a year. I filed for up to six months of an extension with both the state and federal governments.  Then I called a creditor, but they'd closed a few minutes before.

I took the recyclables out, repotted several plants and watered them all, put the strawberry plant Brenda gave me for my birthday back out on the hanger (there was a freeze warning the night before).  I cleaned and dusted two shelves (we're doing that on a rotating basis so the bookshelves aren't too overwhelming.  There are five walls between the library (my bedroom) and the bedroom that are entirely built-in bookshelves.  Next week I'll only do one, as it's a large shelf of magazines on the bottom of a range.

I spoke to our friend on the phone, and then to Brenda's husband to cancel the game since we're going over there today.  Because of that, I didn't work on the game notes.  Instead of that, I went and looked up part-time work (I'd applied to Kroger earlier in the week, as well as a part-time computer associate at the public library), and in the process discovered a job at the University of Kentucky and one a Bluegrass Community and Technical College, and I applied for both.  The first is a temporary, grant-funded position but pays very well and while only lasting two years, pays over twice what I make now.  YKWIA thinks I shouldn't consider it. because it's essentially got an expiration date.  But one thing I've discovered in the lay off is that all jobs do, and at least this one has a set date you know to have everything wrapped up by.  It could also help me with my need for more supervisory experience and consists of digitising a collection, which appeals to the historian and librarian in me, but also would help increase my experience in digital preservation and provide professional academic library experience.  So I went ahead and applied.  The BCTC position is a circulation manager; again, it would help with being pigeon-holed as a solo librarian for all those years.  I have supervised student workers, but I need more real-world experience as a manager.

YKWIA is up and has made coffee.  The cat is very happy as YKWIA does morning feedings and I do evening, and we instituted that from the get-go so the animals wouldn't beg for food and be loud in the morning when I was getting ready for work and YKWIA was asleep.  He's been fed, and the dogs have as well and are outside, although little dog didn't eat (she does that sometimes) and I had to take her food away from the cat, as he's allergic to, we think, chicken and grain, and so he has his own special grain-free fish-based food.

Okay, I'm going to go check the news.  Have a woderful Sunday, and remember, it's Earth Day!

Had a productive day today

Work went well. I got all the things I needed finished. After work, I did the following once I got home:

1. Started some bread in the bread maker.
2. Went to the store for shallots, leeks, and half and half.
3. Unloaded the dishwasher.
4. Washed the dirty dishes by hand, as we're out of Cascade pods.
5. Fed the animals and let the dogs out and back in.
6. Put my laundry away.
7. Spent some time with a friend who's having a really rough day.
8. Emptied my travel sharps container and put the pen needles in a regular one. I use a large prescription medicine bottle as a sharps container when I'm away from home, but I have to empty it every other day or so into one of those red ones that are larger.
9. Got out some more insulin from the refrigerator to take in my bag.
10. Ate a peanut butter and honey sandwich (we're out of spreadable fruit).
11. Took the bread out to cool, then put it away once it did so.
12. Listened to some music.
13. Dried the dishes that were on a mat by the coffee maker so they'd be out of the way for tomorrow.
14. Cuddled with the cat.

Now I'm listening to more music before bed--Of Monsters and Men. The cat is on my belly, purring. The plan is to go to bed early. I need to do that before midnight, anyway, as I've had trouble getting enough sleep lately and I've been dragging in the morning as a result. I have a dental cleaning appointment tomorrow, so hopefully that goes well. Then Friday I have an early-morning appointment with my psychiatrist.

My fifty-first birthday is Monday. I don't know why, but it's bothering me more than the last one, which was the big 5-0. I guess with closing the library and the lay off, etc., last year, I was just too busy and distracted to freak out. :)

Okay, I'm going to bed. Good night!

It's been slow going today

I woke up about eight and went to the bathroom, intending to sleep till nine, and I couldn't get comfortable until about 9:15, when the cat came and cuddled, and I slept till ten.  Apparently, he'd thrown up after eating (it happens sometimes, although he holds down the non-chicken, non-grain food better than anything else we've tried) and had come to me for comfort.  I did eventually get up, but I've been hurting all day, and I got something to eat while YKWIA watched the 'Teen Wolf' DVD we have out from Netflix, but I didn't really get dressed or going until noon.  I called and made an appointment with my optometrist for an upcoming Saturday and changed my address with them.  The lady on the phone was obviously training, and I was very patient.  We schedulers have to stick together. :)

Then I went to the grocery and got some things for us and a few toiletries, etc. that I've been putting off.  I got some ibuprofen in a non-childproof, easy-open bottle.  There are no kids in the home and quite frankly, with my arthritis in my hands, it's becoming harder to open the regular kind.  I came back and had some herb bread that was left over from yesterday's potluck (best batch ever; I included some red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick) and some cheese and a banana for lunch and caffeinated for the day.  Now I've started my bedding in the washer, as I haven't washed it since I was sick, and that would be good, and I think the cat has been on it enough that I'm starting to react (I am allergic to cats and dogs (and horses, and cattle), but cats really make me react.  But I love them.)

I have a few things I want to do today:

1. The game notes from last week's Call of Cthulhu game, which is the most timely task.
2. We've decided on a project involving thoroughly dusting/cleaning a shelf or two each Saturday and then rotate it, as it can be overwhelming to do all those books and shelves at one time.  There are 117 shelves of books in this house.  Yes, really.  So we broke it down to a manageable amount.  I'm going to start with the bookcase in the living room, which is antique and so it holds a lot of dust.  Today I'll just do the top shelf.  It's lower, not to the ceiling, so no getting up on a stepstool, and while dustier, it has a table right next to it that I can put the books on and dust them.  So in some ways, it'll be easier.  YKWIA is in there reading, though, at the moment, and we're both allergic to dust but he's worse, and I don't want him in there while I'm working.
3. Clean the cat box instead of waiting for tomorrow.
4. Take out the trash and recyclables.  We keep the recyclables atop the refrigerator and it's pretty full.  All the trash in the house need it, I think, as the kitchen one, bath, and my two little ones are all full, and that leaves the one in the living room/study and bedroom that might be okay, but I doubt it.  I've been taking the kitchen trash out regularly, but the others were fine last weekend, so I left them for this week.
5. Do my bedding and some more laundry so I can concentrate on other laundry items tomorrow.  I didn't do it last week because we had worn jeans most of the week before as our boss was off and she'd said we could do to the low clinic numbers.  So I had most of my other pants clean and enough shirts, underwear, and socks.  I'm getting low now, though.
6. Sweep and mop the tile in the kitchen and bath.  I think the hardwood is fine.
7. Go through my nightstands and rearrange things.
8. Put away a few things in my room.

I haven't made the bed today because the cat was on it earlier (he loves the microfleece blankets) and I was going to wash the bedding anyway.  I'm in my room right now with the door closed and he's at it wanting in, but I think I'll just let him be for now.  I've spoilt him by lying down with him after dinner when he wants his post-prandial cuddle. :)

Okay, time to check the laundry and go do those game notes.  Have a great weekend!