January thaw?

The bitter cold weather is done for a while, so now it will be dirty snow iced with freezing rain.

• I signed up for notifications from the local school system and received one today around 5AM, as school was delayed by two hours.
• The temps and wind speed were predicted to be even all day, so I took the dogs for a walk this morning.
• But first, I did a half hour of yin stretches. Pleasantly surprised I was not as stiff as I feared, but now my hips hurt.
• Since school was not cancelled, Feldenkrais class was not cancelled either. It was my idea to have this class in the daytime and I worried we would not have enough, but all four of us were there - me, my SO, a work friend, and my neighbor across the street. We all had different reasons for being there, but all experienced something new and interesting.
• Then off to Menard's as they are having their 11% rebate sale right now. I had a list, found almost everything on it. Unfortunately, the humidifier filter I brought home is the wrong size, necessitating a return.
• I managed to knit the required rows on the baby blanket. Only 4 more 4-row repeats to go before the final border. I could be done this week!
• More Call the Midwife.
• I listen to audio books from LibraVox.org as a sleep aid and have fallen in love with David Clarke's reading voice. I've been trying to listen to The Three Muskateers and David Copperfield, but am not enjoying the readers.

What is the world coming to?!?

I ordered navy insulated curtains from Plow and Hearth. When I opened the package today, it contained a red xmas-themed table runner. WTH? When online procurement fails, I fear the end of the world. Fingers crossed on my order from The Company Store. Nonetheless, I ordered a book from Amazon.

• Prepped Nora's bedroom for her impending 10-day stay. I'm a little anxious about being solely responsible for her for so long, but apparently I am the only grandparent, not to mention relative, who is capable of doing this even though two of the other grandparents are ten years younger.
• Knitting: usual quota on the baby blanket, plus worked on the face mask.
• Since the weather is more tolerable in the afternoon, that is when I have been walking the dogs. But it throws off my entire day.
• Reading: Sunday Journal Gazette, January 1 New Yorker. I think I am giving up on Future Home of the Living God. Started Jar City. I don't know Icelandic, but the translation seems off to me.
• Paid one bill for the association (I'm the treasurer), but it took two checks as I totally ruined one. It's 2018.
• I had left the candy canes on the Norfolk pine houseplant, figuring my granddaughter and I could eat them bit by bit. But Beau, the Feline Destroyer of all Things Nice, decided to finally mess with them. Now they are in a cupboard.
• The Meyer lemon plant is simply bursting with blossoms! What a wonderful smell, especially in winter.
• More Call the Midwife.

Red (again)

Last night I barely made it to 9:30 before abandoning efforts to stay awake, that's how tired I was. And even though I overate "supper", I skipped my usual bedtime snack of Cheerios and a banana, so I think I was not completely over the top calorie-wise. I was able to foist the kalpudding off on my daughter and her family, so that is at least out of the house.

• Laundry day. Vacuuming day. Clean my gross bathroom day. And de-cobweb the bedroom day.
• My vacuum cleaner needs to be serviced. It's making funny noises but only after I turn it off. Amusing anecdote: Once upon a time I took my vacuum cleaner to the vac shop to be serviced. The vac guy asked me when I had last had it serviced. Blank look from me. Big sigh from him. When I went to pick it up, I could not find the claim ticket. Vac guy asked me what kind of vacuum cleaner it was. Blue? Another big sigh from him. "Canister or upright?" Oh! Upright! At least I knew the answer to that one.
• The weather was more amenable today by noon, around 13 degrees and no wind to speak of. So the dogs took me on a decent walk for a change. Later this week the temps are supposed to be in the 40's, with rain. Not sure which is worse.
• While my SO was working, he managed to get in 20 minutes or so of yoga each day. After he retired (about 12 years ago), that discipline fell by the wayside except for when we attended senior yoga classes together. Now he is getting back into his old routine. I'm trying to figure out a way to do the same, maybe rotate short yoga sessions with shoulder exercises or something. I have the daily walking pretty much down, but my upper body is ridiculously weak. Not that I'm actually doing anything about it today besides thinking about it.
• Knitting: the usual baby blanket quota. I was going to purchase another skein of yarn today, but decided to put that off until next Tuesday when I'll be out-and-about for other reasons.
• Spinning: I have been resisting the temptation to purchase an antique-looking spinning wheel from Rekindle. I have no room for it plus it needs work and I don't need to get into the spinning wheel flipping business. HOWEVER, I am giving serious consideration to purchasing a traveling wheel, one that folds up and is portable. Mine does not fold up and is awkward to transport.
• Back to reading Future Home of the Living God. Not sure if I am going to finish it - it's just not grabbing me.
• Tonight my SO and I went to see an excellent, excellent production of "Red", which is about Mark Rothko near the end of his career. Almost everything I know about art I learned from or through my SO.

Still kind of tired

Lousy night's sleep after a busy, busy day with my granddaughter. Maybe she is too stimulating? Actually, being around almost anybody is too stimulating sometimes for an introvert like me.

• Warm enough to take the dogs for medium length walks this morning. It's their paws I worry about. I do have booties I can try using with them; I just anticipate failure. 
• Instead of wearing my merino/cotton long johns, I layered with leggings and a long-sleeved tee shirt. Mistake!
• My SO and I resorted to mall walking to get more steps in. I wish there were an equivalent for dog walking, some place under cover and above freezing.
• I learned something new today: people in Oregon and New Jersey don't know how to pump their own gas. I'm sure my dad was not happy when self-serve pumps came into being. In fact, I wonder if he ever did pump his own gas, as I think there were still a few places near him with outside attendants.
• No knitting, no spinning, no weaving.
• Indulged in overeating tonight: pizza, chips, Snickers bar. I blame a combination of being tired, plus fighting the overwhelming urge to hibernate.
• Finished Hardcore Twenty-Four. 

Grandma is tired

The cold winter weather continues but it reached a balmy 16 degrees this afternoon. Some snow sprinkles but nothing to get excited about. I used to fret about getting enough snow to cross country ski, but it's been so long, I've basically given up on that activity.

• Slept in a bit this morning, so I was well rested for what came next.
• My granddaughter spent most of the day here. The challenging thing is to limit her time on the Nook tablet. Fortunately, many of the games she wants to download don't fit. Also, there are other things to do, like her KiwiCo crate of the month, Biggie Beads artwork, make a "screaming balloon" (something she learned at Science Central), eat mac and cheese, drink hot chocolate with whipped cream and sprinkles (I don't spoil her much), etc.
• The Nook was a handy distraction for when I wanted to cook. For some stupid reason, I decided to make both a corned beef and cabbage soup I saw on FB AND a Swedish kalpudding from the NYTimes. Neither were impressive. Two servings of meat in one day is WAY over my limit.
• The dogs and I did squeeze in a short walk after Nora left. Better-than-nothing category.
• I also knit the daily quota on the baby blanket.
• More Hardcore Twenty-Four. As funny as it is, it is not keeping me awake. OMG, am I tired!

Brave the cold - NOT

• I got all bundled up this morning, but I just could not bring myself to venture outside. Fortunately, the dogs were still tired from yesterday.
• Beau has been a butt lately and Finn has been grumpy about not being able to go outside and roam. Chicken-or-the-egg cat fights going on periodically through the days. Even if Finn is only looking at Beau, Beau screams bloody murder.

Beau is hiding behind the toilet

• Got a little behind in knitting the baby blanket, but I'm caught up now.
• Since I was able to buy more yarn yesterday at JoAnn, I finished weaving the whatever that is on the 24" loom. Still not sure what it will be. I don't like the fringe, so I will probably hem it.
• Felt anxious about group dog training. Took Clio. She settled down pretty quickly, probably because she was tired. Only three other dogs in class, which helped. One was a cross between a Saint Barnard and a poodle - non-shedding and gorgeous! A 7-month old Great Dane was being worked separate from our class - HUGE already!
• It just occurred to me I should have asked the Saint Barnard-poodle's owner if I could have some clippings. The dog's fur had a nice curl to it. And she said it mats, so it may make good yarn.
• Took the "rug" and my woven swatches to weavers guild, for show and tell. We did paper weaving as well, to try out designs. 

Cabin fever

• Decided that I needed to get out of the house and run some errands. Not wanting to lock the dogs in their crates after no morning walks, I took them to doggy daycare. 
• But first, my SO called. He had texted me earlier about a dead car battery but his daughter stopped by and gave him a jump. Unfortunately, every time he turned off the car, it would not restart, like in the parking lot of the post office downtown. So after dropping the dogs off, I jumped him (TWICE) while following him around in search of a battery. Then he graciously took me out to lunch. He helps me so often that I am grateful to be able to return the favor. 
• Then my errands: the food co-op, Target, Fresh Thyme, home to drop off the food; library, Kroger, JoAnn, then pick up the dogs. 
• I have boarded the dogs at the doggy daycare place before. While they had fun and exercise, they seemed rather relieved not to be left overnight. And properly exhausted.

• Watched two more episodes of Call the Midwife. Started reading Hardcore Twenty-Four, the latest Janet Evanovich. The Stephanie Plum books are a quick read no matter the number of pages because there is so little printing on each page.

Plain old Saturday

Even though I am retired, Saturday still feels like Saturday.

• Morning routine: Temps and wind chill tolerable. The neighbor with the snow blower who usually helps me clear the driveway is distracted from his neighborly duties by his new girl friend, so I had to shovel snow after breakfast.
• Saturday routine: laundry, vacuuming.
• Weaving: blogged about the last swatch, now that it is blocked and all.
• Entertainment: Ordered tickets for Red, which is being staged by the First Presbyterian Theater. We've seen it before, in another local venue. Should be interesting to contrast and compare. Also, two more episodes of Happy Valley are under my belt.
• Pets: Beau climbed to the top of a free-standing cabinet. I could hear him knocking things about but could not figure out where he was. Look up, ya idiot!
• House: While contemplating my old, old "colonial blue" insulating bedroom curtains, which I bought when Indiana took leave of its senses and joined the DST madness and I needed something to block the daylight at 10pm (I'm not still upset, really I'm not), I remembered I had purchased a pair of the same style curtains but in "navy". They were for another bedroom but were never hung. I'm just glad they never made it to the Goodwill bag. I ordered another pair for my other bedroom window, from Plow and Hearth.

More winter advisory weather

This is getting a bit boring for me. You?

• Dog-walking/step-counting: Took the dogs on individual walks, medium length. More snow fell yesterday, enough to hide the ice beneath. Almost fell once. Despite walking nearly every aisle at Costco, my step count is coming up short.
• Dog training: Clio seems totally confused today about all commands. Watson gets it.
• Fiber: The usual 8 rows on the baby blanket. By my estimate, I have 20 more pattern repeats to do, plus the border. That will take 10-14 days. This project is beginning to feel interminable. I finished up swatch #4, so I am free from that self-imposed task.
• Eating: The pot roast is gone. The pears are gone. There were no 5-oz packages of greens at the Co-op today, so I bought baby spinach, which means I also bought mushrooms and feta cheese so I can make omelets.
• Entertainment: Finished In the Watershed and returned it to the library. More Happy Valley - I'm addicted. Could not figure out why one of the second season characters looks so familiar - he was Mr. Molesley on Downton Abbey.
• Health: Not feeling 100% today. Because of the inoculations? The result is a total lack of patience. If I ever get a serious illness, I will be a whiny bitch on wheels, not the sweet old lady who puts up a brave front. 
• Weather: After all my complaining about mild winters, I am now really tired of having to bundle up me and the dogs in order to go for a walk. The neighbor who usually blows my driveway is distracted by a new girl friend, so I've had to shovel. Not that I mind shoveling a little snow - it's part of my exercise routine - it's the long underwear that chafes (figuratively speaking).
• Shopping: I have been contemplating my spendthrift ways. Need a moratorium from Amazon.

Am I tired of this yet?

Today:

• Lousy night's sleep. I kept waking up because my shoulders hurt from yesterday's injections.
• I did not walk the dogs in the morning, as the temp was -6 (NEGATIVE 6) and the wind chill factor unacceptable. I can bundle up in layers and put jackets on the dogs, but it is still a bit much to expect out of them.
• More knitting on the baby blanket.
• Dusted my bedroom. Later found the cat had upset a glass of water on the nightstand. At least I assume it was Beau the Feline Destroyer of all Things Nice. Since I had a handwoven cotton runner on the nightstand, most of the damage was contained. At least he did not knock over the lamp. I hate broken glass in my bed.
• Since it was so cold out, I worked on the dogs inside: come, sit, place, heel (off leash). In the afternoon, when it had warmed up to 10 with little wind, I took them both out together. They did good. My new boots did good, too.
• Finishing up In the Watershed, as it is due back at the library and I can't renew it because of holds. One more chapter to go. This is a small, thoughtfully written book by a local fellow, about a local river, the Maumee.
• Finished weaving the checks swatch. Even blocked it. Next one is twill, so I researched how to do that on the swatch maker.
• Leafed through some seed catalogs and updated my yardening spreadsheet a bit.
• My tablet is back from being repaired. They wiped it, so nothing is installed anymore. Also the SD card is missing. While the tablet has been on vacation, I have been using my laptop, which I think I like better than the tablet. At least it has a real keyboard.
• Watched two more episodes of Happy Valley. Gritty.

Brrrr!

Dear sister-I-never-had:

• This morning it was 2 degrees out but little wind. To walk the dogs or not walk the dogs? The walks are actually for me, but the dogs are the motivators. Decided not to. The dogs were confused.
• A first: my Welcome to Medicare exam. This was not with my GP but at the Welcome Clinic. A nursing assistant did the BP, temp, pulse, etc. A social worker made sure I wasn't sitting on a couch in my pjs all day, watching TV and getting depressed. An LPN did the actual exam. I declined a mammogram, got a script for a dexa scan, received a flu shot and a pneumonia shot, got a script for a massage for my shoulders, and got a referral for a new gyno, as mine retired. All in all, a successful and pleasant experience. And I didn't have to take off my clothes.
• After having to return the LL Bean boots, I decided to try to find some locally. First, went to Roberts Shoes but the women's boots were more for fashion than walking in snow. Then corralled P into coming with me to the mall. I tried on a half dozen pairs at one store, all of them men's sizes as they didn't have any women's in my size, but while they fit in the toe, my heel kept slipping around. Felt bad for the young guy schlepping boxes but I said pass. P talked me into looking in Shoe Encore and lo and behold, there was a pair of Timberlands in a women's 11 AND they fit!!! And they were on sale!!!
• Our mall experience included once around the whole place, then we bopped over to Panera for lunch. We were going to stop at Best Buy so P could show me a keyboard for my tablet (which is still at Samsung being repaired) but the line of cars just to get into the shopping center was too long. We'll go another day. I did stop at Pet Supplies Plus for kitty litter, though. Did NOT stop at JoAnn even though their coupons are burning a hole through my purse.
• More knitting on the baby blanket. I'm almost 2/3 done, but I think I will need another ball of yarn.
• More weaving on the swatch. The design is checks. Still having trouble with the selvages.
• Put away some of the xmas decorations.
• Started watching Happy Valley.

Merry Monday!

Dear diary:

• This is a rare white xmas. I was afraid the new guy who plows our addition thought he had the day off, but he finally showed up. (This is my concern because I am the treasurer of the HOA and I hired him. If anyone complains, they will become the new treasurer.)
• Besides snow, it is really cold out. Abbreviated dog walks - Clio actually sat down a block and a half from the house and refused to go further. It is supposed to get even colder this week. I finished shoveling the driveway.
• Pot roast for xmas dinner, the easiest homemade meal ever. My son and his new girl friend stopped by and helped eat it. P's pumpkin pie (his secret ingredient is eggnog in place of condensed milk) lasted through two meals.
• Like little kids, the dogs were overly excited about the holiday. Clio even piddled when my son arrived, then later out-and-out peed on the dining room carpet. WTH?
• I am peopled out, ready to hibernate and have some alone time.
• Also: xmas is over, folks. Time to return to our regularly scheduled program, including two more repeats on the baby blanket and the start of a weaving swatch.

Winter weather advisory

Dear diary (you need a more interesting name):

• I slept in a bit this morning even though there were THINGS TO DO
• Finn was out all night. I hate it when he does that in winter, but the temps were near 30 and he has a straw-filled dog house to hunker down in. At least he was waiting by the patio door this morning, but oddly voiceless. Usually he talks to me when he comes in. Silent treatment?
• Quick run to the grocery store: chuck roast for tomorrow (it's easy to cook) and a few sundries. 8am is a good time to go, at least on a Sunday.
• The new paper carrier missed me for the second Sunday in a row. I think she is putting my paper in my neighbor's box (who I think no longer subscribes) but I didn't want to presume.
• More cleaning - the ground is frozen enough to make mopping the kitchen floor worthwhile -  plus washed the dog bedding because it STINKS. My life is very dog-centric these days.
• The Lagom book is not bound very well, as the pages are starting to fall out even though it is brand new. I dread returning it to the library because I will feel guilty about the damage even though it is NOT my fault. BYW, I did not read-read it but skimmed through.
• My daughter and family came bearing Mexican food from the nearby Cebolla's. Not cooking was a great gift! Gave me time to shovel snow before they arrived.
• I love listening to seven-year-old Nora explain things. She has really made leaps and bounds in her vocabulary and her comprehension and her ability to explain things. 
• Peace to all!

Definitely a stay-at-home day

Dear diary:

• A regular night's sleep - ahh!
• Regular morning routine. It looked slick out because of crap falling from the sky, but it was ok.
• More cleaning - the house looks kinda nice (for a change). Also laundry. When I was working, I got into the habit of doing all the laundry on the weekend; that way everyone had clean clothes for the week. When I retired, I tried to break that habit, to no avail.
• Knit more on the baby blanket.
• Homemade soup and a homemade Egg McMuffin for lunch, salad and popcorn for supper.
• Wrapped presents. I occasionally donate money to NWF. They send me calendars and wrapping paper and lots of requests for more money. Does any of my donation actually help wildlife?
• Winter weather advisory for tomorrow, from 10am to 10pm. I need to go to the grocery store. Maybe around 7am? Before the dogs get up?
• Finished season 3 of Last Tango in Halifax. Started reading Lagom.

Stay-at-home day - almost

Dear diary:

• Last night I did not sleep well, which is unusual. I use audio books as a sleep aid, but even that did not help. I blame the chocolate I ate at the spin-in.
• I followed my usual morning routine, except is sounded like one of the dogs threw up A LOT in the crate. My water bill is going up from washing dog bedding. However, this time it was all noise with no results. 
• Even though I did not want to leave the house, I ran a couple of errands, one to deposit a rather large withdrawal from an IRA account. I didn't want that check laying around the house where it could get pitched with the wrapping paper. I also dropped off the LL Bean boots for return. I let the dogs ride along, so they get used to riding in the car when there is no fun activity in the offing.
• Some cleaning happened, too! I vacuumed up cobwebs and other detritus usually missed with the regular vacuuming, concentrating on the living and dining rooms. I also dusted.
• Pasta and homemade marinara sauce for lunch, a loaded baked potato for supper. Now I feel loaded.
• I knit two more pattern repeats on the baby blanket. I'm itching to do some weaving, though. And spinning. And dyeing. And wool scouring. And even sewing. What happens is I get caught up in all those lovely activities, letting things like housework, errands, etc. slide. 
• More Last Tango in Halifax. I'm into season three.