I've gotten a lot of rest today

broken up by terrible bouts of coughing. I tried to do some simple things like rearrange the TV table in the living room, and it got hard to breathe through the mucous (yeah, isn't that lovely) and I had to sit down. So today I'll just rest. I've got the Bastille station (although, really, it's played a lot more Mumford and Sons in the last hour than anything else) on Pandora on right now. I may watch something later, but really, I think I'll read. I still need to finish The Paper Magician and I have five days left on the loan. I am really enjoying it, it's just I only now have a good light (I put an LED bulb in) over by the couch, and if I read in bed, I tend to fall asleep. :) I think my doctor would definitely say it's time to rest today, and I can work at other things as I feel better.

So here's my week ahead:

1. Tonight. Read. Listen to music. Relax. Pick up A from his job at 1 am and deliver him to his house. Give my (now bimonthly) libation, as I'm doing so at dark of the moon and at times I have my period. This one is the latter. It sucks to be on your period and sick, let me tell you.
2. Sunday: Request my benefits check. Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Maybe do laundry over at YKWIA's. I need to, as I didn't last week. If not, I may do it over here at the complex, as I have detergent and softener here. It's just a matter of getting quarters from somewhere on a Sunday. A lot of places get a bit stingy on that front. If I'm feeling up to it, I should work on the bedroom while I'm at it and do a bit of excavation of most of the horizontal surfaces. The bath and kitchen are in good shape; I just need to do a few dishes and touch up the bathroom. The bedroom is the worst room in the apartment. Light a candle for my mother.
3. Monday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Send back the extra computer, as they got the return labels to me. They're crediting me $15 with Amazon for my trouble. I need to work on the apartment, especially straightening up in the dining room, living room, and anything else in the bedroom. Try to rearrange the plants in front of the living room window so they won't get crushed if they try to open the windows--they open fine, but I always have to move a plant or two, with the orchids blooming, and the freesia bulb pots are on the sills. If I move things around, and they open them, as I think they're required to check, then I can minimise any damage. The African violets in the bedroom are never a problem, as they're pretty low to the pot.
4. Tuesday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. My eligibility review with the unemployment office, a class related to that, my pulmonary rehab, and of course the walk-through/inspection is that day. Go through my life insurance portability and AFLAC paperwork and send them in.
5. Wednesday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Do some more de-cluttering and de-hoarding. I've got two boxes of books ready to go from the entertainment centre that is between the living area and dining room; I need to finish the rest, find a room for the books I'll keep, break down the centre, take it to the Dumpster area, and then move one of the other two shelving units over so that the one is back to back with the other and the space between the two areas is more open. Right now, the space has the centre on one side (going towards the hall), with two shelving units back to back with it, dividing it completely. I want to change that. I also need to take a friend in for a blood draw.
6. Thursday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Pulmonary rehab, and I may be taking a friend to an event. I can't remember if he said he wasn't going after all, or if he's checking on it. It's where a mah-jong group takes over a local restaurant and plays for about four hours. :) He's been playing at the library and learning the game. It sounds very complicated.
7. Friday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Take a friend for a shot. Work on the game notes.
8. Saturday: Check for jobs to apply for, and apply if I fit the requirements. Take a another friend to work at an ungodly hour (for a Saturday) for the first of two jobs, then pick him up at 1 am that night.

That was close

Yesterday I bought a graduation card for one of my cousins, and I was going to send it to her tomorrow. I was going through my mail basket, which was mostly junk, looking for her address and also was trying to find a bill to go with one in collections that was a medical bill I hadn't seen before. I went through the whole basket, kept maybe eight pieces of mail, including a $20 settlement check from some class action suit against a credit card insurance company, the envelope her graduation announcement (which is hanging on the bulletin board behind my desk at work), and lo, the original bill, which got lost in the shuffle, where something wasn't ever turned in to the right insurance company. So that was helpful. Then I went and put everything in the recycling bin that I didn't need to keep, and was about to go on my way, when I realised the card and envelope were gone. I'd scooped them up with everything else. So, I had to go through the whole bin looking for a blue envelope and card. Thanks goodness they weren't white, as they'd have blended in with all that mail.

I've set up a landing area near the door for the basket, a small bin underneath for recyclables that can be transferred later, and then on the other side of the door is a postal box with slots for bills according to the day of the month. So that'll help. These weren't that old or anything, all withing a month or a month and a half, but I should have gone through them before this.

That's my main project here for the day. I went over to YKWIA's and helped him go through his bills and take care of things, then we watched a movie from the 70s called The Fury, which is based on a book he'd read years ago and is re-reading now. He wanted to do something fun, and gave me the choice of what we could do, and quite frankly I couldn't think about much to do. I'm afraid I'm more of a supportive fun person when it comes to more than just me. :) After that I came home, watered the outside plants. and planned on working on the house. But I ate and spent some time reading the news, and I got sleepy, so I laid down for awhile with the sun streaming through the window. Then I got up and at least worked on the mail area. It's getting dark now, and my desire to put things in order is fading, but I've gotten a lot accomplished this weekend, after all, both at my friend's house and my apartment. I got so much laundry done that it's corralled at the moment, and I can work on the rest of the house this week--the bedroom especially. I may still turn on the lights, some music, and the fan and work in there tonight. But I'm not going to hold myself to that--tomorrow will work. Instead, I may go put on Netflix and watch something or listen to Pandora, and read. I haven't been reading much again lately.

But first I need to go over the finances and see if I can get some wine tonight or tomorrow for my libation, as it's that monthly time again. I may write later, but if not, good night. Hope you had a good weekend--it was sunny and less humid here today, with a nice breeze, and I mostly kept out of the sun today. :)

It is late…

And I should be in bed, as it’s almost 1 am. But I just got in and it always takes me a bit of time to unwind. I’ve been spending some time with friends tonight, and trying to troubleshoot some issues YKWIA is having with my desktop over at his house. I also got the model number of his computer to try to match a decent power supply, as I think that is the problem he was encountering. If we can get his back up and running, that would be great, as he hates Windows 10 and Office 2013 (I’m eligible for Office 2016 for $9.95 through work, actually, but I’ll wait until I can properly download them.)

Last night I got some disturbing news and came home and just curled up in bed, thinking about the implications. I couldn’t really write; I just felt sad and helpless, and needed some time to come to grips with it. I won’t go into its cause; I feel a little better today because the shock of it has worn off a bit.

Today I went in early to work and had a performance appraisal, which went really well. Come March, I’m getting a 3% raise. Yay! I will have to go through an appraisal for the second part of my job there, as well, but I expect it will be the same.

One of my co-workers I was going to sub for in scheduling went on leave early, but they think they can handle things unless it gets super busy, in which case they might need me a day or so here and there. Since I have a stack of books waist-high to catalogue, on top of my regular duties, I’m fine with that. I’ve been putting off processing them until I had more time in the library. I’m doing well with the charge entry and reconciliation, but tomorrow I really want to give some extra attention to the referrals part of my job, as there is a report that is run on Mondays, and that gives me a couple of days to really get the queue down to just a few. Given the lateness of the hour, though, I think I’m going to just go ahead and shoot for my normal arrival time for work tomorrow. I need to still return that equipment to Time Warner Cable, but if all else fails, I can do that Saturday.

Today after work I went over to see my State Farm agent and discussed insurance with them. We'd already put in for a low mileage discount and the roadside assistance (replacing the AAA I had). My odometer was different than in my memory; I just passed 55,000 miles on my way there, but it still means that in three years I've only put on 20,000 miles, so I qualify. They like to meet their customers, and when I first got the car and signed up with them three years ago, we kept having scheduling issues, and I never came in. Because I wasn't sure if there was a physical inspection, I went ahead and finally cleaned out the car. After that I stopped by the store for about $10 worth of groceries, and then headed to my friends’ house. We watched some episodes of ‘Castle’ together, and then YKWIA and I watched ‘Lucifer’—which I really liked. I find it refreshing to watch someone who has absolutely no inhibitions or filter. YKWIA is a lot like that—very honest and blunt. I appreciate that in a person, and wish I could be better at it than I am. I helped him put away some things in his library and then worked on the computer. After that, I helped take care of some things to do with the dogs and made him tea. We also watched a few clips from 'Galavant'. I would like to watch Season 1 if we can find it somewhere. But I finally left, and when I started the car, I realised I had a thin glaze of ice on the car, and had to clean off the windshield, but the back looked clear until I went to back out. But by that time I was already moving, using the other mirrors, and just put on the rear defrost and hoped for the best. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to melt.

Tomorrow after work is physical therapy. I’m looking forward to it. Where we’ve had our sessions interrupted, I’ve been in quite a bit of pain if I stand for much time at all. I know things would be better if I could walk more, but it hurts to. My goal is to get to a point where my spine and hip flexors allow me to exercise. But it’s bad to do when you’re in acute pain, so I haven’t been. It’s very frustrating. I feel like I’m losing some of my mobility from it. Just walking from the library to the cafeteria, or doing things in the kitchen for about 15 minutes without sitting, is hurting. It’s mostly the lower back; my neck and thoracic spine are also stiff and hurting though, and improve with the manipulation my therapist is doing, plus exercises to strengthen the muscles. I’m hoping, if I just keep working at it, that it will help me be able to do what I used to.

I guess I can officially say I'm in perimenopause. I'm six (almost seven) days late on my period, with no chance of pregnancy, per my calendar log on my phone. The last period I had, right before new year's, lasted the normal time, but then I kept spotting for days afterwards, just a bit. So maybe that's why. But I've never been this far off before, maybe just a day or two at a time here and there. I guess I should start giving my libations at Dark of the Moon rather than with my periods, going forward from here. Still, it's weird.

Okay, I’m starting to really get sleepy. I suppose I should sign off here for the night. My lids are heavy and my legs are hurting a bit, so they need to be propped up and I need to stretch out on the bed. Good night.

After work

I went to the library and checked out a book I had on hold for a friend, and while I was there I picked up some new books for myself: How Google Works by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg, Encyclopedia of Witch Craft by Judika Illes, Wonders of the Solar System by Brian Cox, and a delightful book I’ve been reading since I got home, Good Manners for Nice People Who Sometimes Say F*ck by Amy Alkon. So I’ve been reading with the radio playing in the background, and I’ve gotten all comfy. I went through the mail, which contains a $4.78 reimbursement cheque from my flexible spending company, my AAA renewal (I’m not sure that’s going to be feasible before it expires at the end of the month) and the final Time Warner Cable bill.

YKWIA just called asking about some bagels he thought I’d left there, and I explained about the book on witchcraft and that when I randomly opened a page, the first entry I saw was on ‘Charmed’, which is his favourite TV show. I think that made him happy.

There’s a lot I should be doing tonight. Dishes, taking out some cardboard boxes, finally doing the stuff for the fish tanks, that sort of thing, plus the trash and recyclables. Right now I have an annoying headache, so I’m going to take some ibuprofen and relax for a bit before trying to do anything. That usually winds up with me falling asleep far too early. I’m going to try to not do that—but I’m not promising anything. I had thought to stop by the house and take the laptop over to the library, blogging from there, but decided to just settle in at home and use my phone hotspot anyway.

I also need to give a libation tonight to the Goddess, and although I do not have wine, I have some nice honey. Yesterday when I started my period (I give the libation when I menstruate), I also managed to restore the backup of the Android application that keeps my cycle calendar, so that made me happy. I think that was the last thing that hadn’t been set correctly since I had to get the phone factory reset when I locked myself out of it with the fingerprint scanner. :)

Okay, I’m going to take that ibuprofen. If I don’t blog anymore tonight, I hope you have a good night.

Drat

I thought I was firmly ensconced in my home for the night. Alas, I need wine for a libation tonight. I'll go after trick-or-treating and before 'Grimm'. Drat. Drat. Drat. Have I mentioned how cold and windy it is out tonight? I really need to take the trash out, too, and thought to put that off till tomorrow morning.

It's super cold

We didn't get much snow today, and at first we thought there was just the first round of a dusting, although a second round came in just for the evening commute, and I'm not sure how much has fallen since then. But a cold front went through, too, and so now it's 15 degrees Fahrenheit and it's likely to dip down to 10 or less. It's very windy, as well--the wind has been howling outside my window, so the wind chill is near zero. Funny, I used to not notice the wind much from inside, but since they had to replace my windows a couple of years ago (they had cracked for some reason), I've lost some of the weatherproofing or something. It's a little chilly near it, and of course, my computer is just a couple of feet away. I actually closed the curtains tonight (they usually stay open, with just sheers in front of the glass) to help protect the plants in front of the window.

I've done a few things around the house tonight, but I did curl up in a blanket at one point and got toasty, and I'm afraid I fell asleep for a couple of hours. I didn't realise how tired I was. Now I'm going to try to read for awhile. At some point tonight I need to give my monthly libation, despite the cold. :) Okay, I'm heading back to the Kindle and the warm bed, maybe with some cocoa. Good night.

So tired

I just got in a little after 10 pm and I'm very, very tired, and I'm paying for getting up so terribly early this morning to do the laundry. Also, my back has been bad all day. The clothes can stay on the couch until tomorrow, I'm afraid, and even then I'll have to fold them sitting down. Any standing has hurt today. Also, I have to get up early again tomorrow, as I have a meeting right as I normally go in to work at 8:30 am, and I need to print out some sheets for it and grab some breakfast before I do that. On the one hand, one of my tasks is going away. On the other hand, I'm going to be reconciling some things and need some training on how to read the sheets I'll be getting.

So, the phone is on its dock, the tablet is charging, my contacts are out and I'm in shorts and a tank top and I'm all comfy, although to be truly comfy I'll need to stretch out and rest my back. I still need to give an offering to the Goddess tonight, but I didn't manage to stop by the Liquor Barn, which closes at ten of all things. So I have no wine, very little olive oil, and some honey. It looks like that last is my best bet. I'm usually a little better about it than this. At least the house is clean, though. :) That makes it nicer, as part of the point is to purify and rededicate myself and my home to Her.

So, that and taking my insulin are the only other things to do before I turn in for the night. At least it's Wednesday; just two more days and there's a long holiday weekend. Yay! The only plans I have for now are for Saturday, when friends and I plan to go to Masala, the Indian restaurant. I think we'll be playing the game on Sunday, too--Brenda didn't think there would be anything preventing it. Okay, it's time to stretch my back out for a bit and relax. Have a good night.

I have spent a lot of the last 48 hours in doctor's appointments

Yesterday I went to the endocrinologist. She wants me to lose 30 lbs. I weigh more than I ever have, at 305 lbs, but some of that is water weight due to insulin's tendency to kind of swell you up, she said. She put me on two medications, one of which I had never heard of. It's only been on the market since March of 2013. Both tend to help with losing weight. One makes you more sensitive to insulin, and the other helps clear the glucose out of your blood and kidneys. Ideally, as I lose weight, I should be able to dial back on the insulin. Wish me luck.

Today I was at our family doctor with a friend for three and a half hours. The plan had been to get to work about noon and work a half day. I got there at 2:15. But I managed to do everything I needed to in a small amount of time, even though it was a bit hectic for awhile. Then I went to the pharmacy and got my medication (they had ordered them yesterday, as they weren't in their inventory) and over to my friends' house for a bit. We were both tired from the day at the doctor. So I went home a little before dark. Then I texted with another friend for awhile, and got up on the bed with the idea of lying there for only half an hour or so and then getting up and watching something on DVD or Netflix. Turns out I went straight to sleep, and woke up just now, at about 2:30 am. I finally gave my libation (it's a bit late) and ate a little cheese.

Tomorrow there's getting my rent, the farmer's market, the grocery, and a run to Lowe's, plus watching the last two episodes of season 2 of 'H2O: Just Add Water'. Also there are game notes to do. And I've asked to do laundry at my friends' house. It will be easier on my back than doing it here. And I need to finish assignment three for that PubMed class. So tomorrow will be fairly busy. This whole week has been extremely busy; I've gotten a lot accomplished, at least.

Okay, I think I'm going to go to back to bed. Have a good night.

Just got home

and there are two women in my hallway with laptops sitting on the floor. I am presuming their apartment doesn't have electric for some reason. They didn't seem to be in any distress or anything, so I went on in to my apartment.

Tonight I spent time with a friend, watching videos and then helping make a squash and zucchini casserole that was very good. I did manage to catch up on my class assignments earlier, and I sent in the book review and copyright form (on time!), but I forgot to ask about doing the regular laundry at my friends' house. The hand-washables were still pretty wet this morning, although they're better now. My bra was still pretty damp, and the shirt slightly so, although it was the only one I washed that was not too bad when I got dressed this morning. :)

I am very tired and still hurting, so I am going to take some ibuprofen and put my feet up for awhile. The libation will have to wait until those people have gone back inside, I think. I still have to take the recyclables and trash out; that will be on tomorrow morning's agenda as well, and I need to stop by the store and get a birthday card for my mom (hers is Saturday). Tomorrow afternoon I see my endocrinologist, so I need to remember to get my folder with my lab results and put it near my purse. Every day this week has been busy, busy, busy, and while I'm getting a lot accomplished, I'm ready for a breather, although that may take awhile. Friday I'm taking a friend to an appointment in the morning and working a half-day in the afternoon. Saturday I need to finish the notes in case we play the game on Sunday, although it's somewhat doubtful, as one of the players has been camping for a week and will be getting back on Saturday and may need to recuperate a bit. We'll see. But for now, I'm heading to bed. Have a good night.

I have a busy evening ahead of me

Things I really should do:

1. Water the plants, inside the house and in the window boxes
2. Wash laundry, both hand-washables and machine ones
3. Straighten up the house
4. Take out the trash and recyclables
5. Write a book review that is due Thursday for a book I haven't read yet
6. Catch up on a PubMed searching class I'm taking
7. Give my monthly libation to Hekate

Things I'd like to do:

1. Listen to some new music I have
2. Watch the 'Big Bang Theory' on DVD

So I'm going to start by reading through the (thankfully brief) book while listening to Of Monsters and Men's My Head is an Animal. Then I'll start on the laundry and clean for a bit, this time to Imagine Dragons' Night Visions. Then I'll sit down and work on the computer for the class and review. I'll celebrate by watching an episode or two of 'The Big Bang Theory' if I get all that accomplished. Then I'll do the libation before bed. That's the plan, anyway. But first, I'm going to take some ibuprofen because my back is hurting still, and it's gone from hurting just when I stand to doing so even when sitting, which doesn't bode well for my plans.

So tired I'm actually blogging from bed

I should be doing some laundry, but instead I have my feet up, am sitting in front of a fan, and am listening to Natalie Merchant. I was really tired last night when I got home from the vow renewal, so I didn't do any blogging. It went off really well. I got to meet the couple's friends and family, it was lovely, and it was kind of nice to dress up and go out. I got several compliments on my dress, but alas, no pictures (Brandon did try, but my camera is a little tricky and my phone was turned off so nothing would interrupt the service, and I didn't think to put it back on.) But any sort of social situation with lots of people I don't know is always very hard for me. I don't mingle well, for one. I usually latch onto the one person I know, which I couldn't do much there because of course, he was one of the principals in the whole thing. It was a very nice mix of all sorts of people, though, and I did enjoy myself. I stayed through the meal, cake, and toast, but didn't really do any dancing. I'm really no good at it. I got home a little after 10 and then filled a friend who missed it in on things. Then I went straight to bed. I so should not have stayed up the night before with the computer.

Now the happy couple are on a road trip as a getaway (the kids are with family). I took a friend to an appointment this afternoon and then we had dinner together. Then I headed on home about sunset, stopping at the liquor store for some wine for my monthly libation and the bank so I could get some cash for the farmer's market tomorrow. There was an ATM at the store, but I was NOT going to pay $3.25 to some no name ATM for taking my own money out of the bank, when I could just drive down the street and get it for free. In the bus days, of course, I'd have probably done it. On my way back to the house, I was in the right-hand lane of a double left turning lane on Man O'War when someone turning left from Richmond Road turned into MY side of the median, into the empty extreme left lane next to me. They then realised their mistake and tried to go over the median, scraping the underside of their car pretty badly. It was a stupid mistake, but I could see it happening given the lower visibility at dusk. But I'm glad they didn't wind up in my lane. At least everyone was okay, although I doubt their car will be.

My plans for tomorrow:

1. Stop by the Bluegrass Farmer's Market
2. Turn in some library books, pay my fines (I lost track of the time this past month a bit)
3. Sign and turn in my lease
4. Help a friend out with a project
5. Do laundry
6. Work on the game notes (although I think the game will not be on, as it's Father's Day Sunday and Brenda will probably be doing something with her family)

If I can accomplish all that, I shall be happy. If I can also watch some videos that I'm behind on, I'll be doubly so. Okay, my back is hurting from sitting up in the bed. Good night.

It was so muggy last night that I broke down and turned on the air conditioning

and as a result, slept really well, despite getting about 5 hours of sleep. It was very nice to wake up in a clean and fairly organised house. I made the bed, took a shower, got dressed, and now I'm munching on herb bread for breakfast, which is yummy. I was out of parsley flakes, so I used the mystery herbal mix instead entirely. I gave some of the bread as an offering along with some mead last night. Granted, I usually use red wine, but I had it on hand, wasn't probably going to drink it (I won't drive if I've had one drink--I don't handle wine well, and there's always a chance of an emergency coming up, so now that I'm driving again, I'm even less likely to drink), and didn't think She'd mind, as I gave her the whole bottle.

Okay, I'm going to eyeball the house and see if I missed anything, and then head on over to the game master's house. I'll be a little early, but since there's prep and a grocery run to do, plus I'm assuming he wants to come see, a little extra time won't be amiss.

Oh, thank goodness

I got the notes done, managed to make it over to the game master's house on time, played the Call of Cthulhu game, and then got home with two hours left in the day and a project that had to be finished by today, and I managed to complete it with all of 45 minutes to spare. So today's been a pretty decent day.

Mind you, the one thing I didn't get done at all was getting the house at least halfway in order. That will have to be done tomorrow, as I have trash and recyclables to go out, can barely walk or sit anywhere, and generally have proven that Oscar Madison and not Felix Unger lives in my apartment. I have no appointments this week as of now, no set schedule beyond my normal work schedule. I really don't need to prepare for Easter, as I don't celebrate it. We're playing next week anyway, as the one person in the game who is at least nominally Christian is not really impacted by Easter since her son's a teenager now. So I will have to transcribe the game notes, and this time I'm hoping to do so without waiting till the last minute. (Obviously there are times I do procrastinate. Not always, but more often than I'd like to admit.)

A few things I would like to get done this week if at all possible:

• Take trash and recyclables out
• Straighten up living room
• Clean kitchen
• Watch episodes of 'Grimm' (I have a DVD coming from Netflix tomorrow) and 'Downton Abbey'
• Do some reading
• Do the game notes
• Give my monthly libation
• Begin the second phase of the project I worked on tonight

Surely that's not asking the impossible. I just need to make time for things. Plus spend time with friends and do my work. Those are very important as well. Okay, having finished what I sat down to do, I'm going to call it a night and head to bed; it's almost 11:30 pm, and I'm still having issues waking up in time after the time change. Hope you had a great weekend; have a good night.

More than a little tired tonight

which is no wonder, given my caffeine-induced insomnia last night that was spent installing 34 updates to Windows and a host of other computer maintenance. Despite the lack of sleep, I got up early enough to take out the trash and recyclables and get to work on time, which is amazing as I slept through my alarm and woke up on my own about 7:15 (I need to be at work at 8:30). After work I ran some errands and then brought some food to a friend who was feeling under the weather. I visited for awhile and then did a little more with the computer, but now I'm heading to bed at least for a couple of hours, then I plan to get up and give my monthly libation to Hekate. (That was one of the errands, getting wine for the libation.) I use pinot noir. I also got some mead for me. It's one of the few things that are alcoholic I drink. Tomorrow I have a an appointment with the ophthalmologist. I only see him every six months and wasn't using my phone calendar last time, so I totally forget now that we're in the new year. I'm glad they do those reminder phone calls. Anyway, I'm going to try to go in a little early to work to make up some of my lost time. But for now, I'm gong to take it easy and try and get some rest. Good night, in case that's all the writing I do tonight. :)

Up briefly

Tonight was my night to leave a libation to Hekate, and I didn't want to put it off any longer (I have a three-day window during my menses; this was the second night). I feel better than I did when I got home, although obviously I plan on sleeping more if possible. I checked the news, just glancing through it, and saw the results of the Superbowl, but didn't really care on that front. I don't understand the hype, but then, I'm not a football fan.

Today's Cthulhu game was about righting all the things that went wrong last game, including removing curses and healing horrible injuries. I feel much better about where we are now. Last time one character (mine) was blinded [well, her eyes were red and filled with blood, and she cried tears of blood, which was even worse than simple blindness], another was shot in the head, and a child was kidnapped and something magical was done to her that had to be undone. There were no tentacled monsters, but there were evil people who burst into flame and incinerated when hit with the power of the Elder Sign. Brenda and I lost focus during the last game and things could have gone much worse in terms of the clean-up this game. And for once, the dice seemed kind to us. Last week I think the only roll Brenda made of any note was the one in which one of her characters, under the influence of an evil ichor, shot another.

I know for someone not familiar with roleplaying games, or our brand of horror/science fiction, this probably sounds weird. But it is generally fun--much more fun than sitting around a TV watching a bunch of men in tight pants run after a pointy ball. :)

Today was also heavily about roleplaying. I rolled my dice exactly once throughout the game. Almost everything was actually the result of acting, if you will, than the roll of the dice. That's a lot different from games like Dungeons and Dragons that are more about action and killing things than building characters and relationships.

Okay, back to bed I go. Hope your week goes well.

I had physical therapy today

and that went really well. The therapist doesn't think it will take as many visits as usual for this sort of injury because I'm already walking in my shoe and the cane's really just for balance and I've even dispensed with that in the house and library. (I have a one-room library.) :) That's good, as it's $40 each time I go, and I don't want to use all my flexible spending money early in the year. He mainly is going to work on flexibility of the foot and ankle and strengthening the muscles in my leg, hip, and back that got used to not working as well. But I can already tell a difference in those from last week. When I walked around the hospital last week my back hurt really badly, but this week I have to walk pretty far for that to happen. So I am healing. At his suggestion I got some oil that has Vitamin E in it and will use that on the scar and manipulate it to maintain flexibility. He also said to ice it when I come in from work if needed to keep the swelling down but try to stay in the shoe for now rather than using the boot, unless I have a really bad day of it. I'm supposed to go twice a week for now.

My mom came up with the title of the car this afternoon and I got some decent car insurance, following some advice from someone who deals with insurance all the time. I'll go transfer the title first thing tomorrow. Then the plan is to see about getting it inspected this weekend for a safety check and get new windshield wiper blades. I won't be surprised if I need new tyres; they're original to the car. Also, the brakes are squeaking a bit when applied and I'm not sure if that's an early sign of wear or normal. So I want to find out. I also need to get it washed and vacuumed out. I may do that tomorrow. Also this weekend I'd like to get my eyes checked so I can get contacts again. I've been wearing my glasses throughout my recovery but I really prefer contacts.

I gave a friend a ride from work through some back roads between Nicholasville Road and Tates Creek and took him by Kroger for a bus pass, then got home a little after 6. I put my foot up and listened to some music for awhile, then fell asleep. I woke up at 10:30 and realised that I needed to go by Rite Aid for some things, including wine for my monthly libation, which I am finally able to resume. (Liquor Barn had already closed at 10 pm.) I may wait until tomorrow night, however, as the house needs some sprucing up. I need to do dishes and take out the trash and recyclables. I'll try to do that tomorrow evening.

YKWIA called me around 11 pm and woke me up

So I'm actually doing four loads of laundry right now, since I'm not mega-sleepy and I figure I'll be finished by about 1 am. It was probably easier than staying in bed and getting up at 5 am to do it. I am looking forward to clean clothes, as I was getting down to things that did not belong in 90 degree heat or colours I don't normally wear.

It's technically my night to go out and give a libation, but I have no wine and very little oil or honey. I'm afraid my period came a bit early and so I wan't prepared. I do still have the mead; it might suffice. Red wine is better, but honey wine might work.

I need to call the pharmacy tomorrow and check to see if they can get me more of my Novolog; I'm on my last pen. This time the doctor put in a prescription for two boxes rather than one, so I shouldn't be in danger of running out after this.

You may notice a few somewhat extraneous things are missing from the sidebar. YKWIA complained about the load time for the blog, so I'm trying to pare things down a bit. I need to go through the links on the blogroll; some are no doubt broken.

I think I'll check the news and see what's going on in the world. If I don't write again tonight, have a wonderful night.

Once again

I fell asleep at a ridiculously early hour (5:30), only to wake up 7 hours later, and it is the middle of the night. I really thought that I could nap for about an hour because it was so early, and I've been able to do that of late. But no, I was out for the count, missed Supernatural and Grimm again, and generally feel a bit groggy.

So you're asking yourself, why bother to get up? Okay, you're probably not, but I'll tell you anyway. It's time for my monthly libation, but I'd like to get my kitchen nice and clean before I go out and give it, as She considers purification to be very important. I usually try to have a decently clean house and take a shower before going out. The kitchen isn't horrible, but I do have to wash some dishes, wipe down the counters, and take out the trash. I meant to do that this evening, but, well, we see how that went.

Okay, I'd better get going. Have a good weekend.

Whew!

Well, I've got the laundry and part of the living room done. I had just enough dryer sheets to do five loads, then trekked back with the giant hamper on my shoulder and the gym bag hanging from the other. I wish there were a laundry room in my building, but we don't have a basement or anything. I think I need a week off to really accomplish everything, but I'll try to work a little each morning evening and see if that will work. I did finally find that greeting card set I was going to send a sympathy card from, the one I pulled the living room apart in the first place looking for. It was on top of some books where I'd checked before, but couldn't see because it was right under the shelf and there's an overhang. Ugh.

It's been 7 hours and I'm not particularly hungry (I had a footlong tuna sandwich at Subway. Probably should have gone with the 6" but the footlong is cheaper and I knew I'd probably work it off in activity.) I'll probably wait an hour and have some cheese and crackers, something light.

I think I'll read a little, listen to some music, and wind down a bit. I may try to do dishes later tonight. I don't know. But I definitely need to gather the trash from the kitchen and bath and take the recyclables out by tomorrow morning. There's not much trash, I recycle so much, but there's some fruit leavings in the trash and those dratted fruit flies are still trying to plague me. I can't seem to get rid of all of them.

Later tonight I need to go out and give my monthly libation. Fortunately I still have some wine, a merlot instead of burgundy, but it will serve. Plus I put honey and some lavender flowers in it. :)

Okay, I'll probably post something later tonight but for right now I want to be away from the computer, not be cleaning, and just do something fun.

Hope you're having a good Valentine's Day. I haven't celebrated in years, but practically everyone else seems to be. Do something sweet for your sweetie.

So I rarely drink

but I had some Camelot mead on hand and decided it would make a good libation tonight, as it is honey wine and honey is one of the things I sacrifice regularly. Burgundy is my normal libation of choice, but I don't have any and haven't managed to get any the last couple of days. So, I put some of the mead in the offering cup with some lavender petals and poured that out on the ground. Before I put the mead in the refrigerator--always do that: mead attracts insects because it is so sweet, I poured a very small amount in a cup and sampled it myself. It's very good--not horribly sweet, but you can tell it's made from honey. The small amount was 1) because I don't want to affect my blood sugar much, 2) I usually don't care for alcohol and was just trying this and 3) it doesn't take much to affect me. I once got fairly drunk on a half glass of white wine with dinner. So, it's best for me to drink in moderation.