Still sick

I can't remember the last time I felt this bad for this long. If I thought there was anything a doctor could do, I would go, but I think this is just a prolonged cold. Today Nora is with her cousins, so I am trying to take it easy, but there is still stuff to do, like laundry. The 'rents will be back late tonight and will pick Nora up tomorrow. Then I rest.

Meanwhile, I am spending money left and right. I decided to go ahead and get a second spinning wheel, oh, and while I was at it, a lazy kate and, hmmm, how about that used drum carder? That was just the "inside" stuff - I also ordered plants and seeds for the garden. If my plans fail, I am turning the yard back into lawn.

I finished Silence of the Grave, started the latest Bosch novel from Michael Connelly, Two Kinds of Truth.

Sicko

From out of the blue, a virus has struck me down. I so rarely get sick beyond a case of the sniffles that I'm not sure what to make of this. The worst part is the throat pain when I cough anything up. To top it off, I had a lousy night's sleep, so besides feeling fatigued from being sick, I'm just plain tired.

• Since I am picking up my granddaughter from school on Friday, I had to reschedule my haircut to today, at 8:15. That meant setting my alarm clock. The dogs are becoming accustomed to every day bringing a new "schedule". I didn't walk them at all today, as besides being sick and tired, I worry about slipping on the icy streets.
• After the haircut, I ran a few errands, including a stop at Simply Sock Yarn Co's brick and mortar store. Now I have enough yarn to finish the baby blanket, plus some "sky blue" fingering for a new pair of socks. Some of my older pairs are wearing out.
• I tried to nap but the dogs were being bad, the robo calls have started in again (the computers must take the xmas season off), the mail carrier delivered my mail and a book from Amazon to my door, etc.
• I managed to get the dogs in for their nail trims, but decided to bag the spinning guild meeting tonight, even though there would be extruded rose bush to spin.
• My spinning wheel is not very portable, so I am contemplating getting a second one that folds. It's a sizable investment but if I am going to spin-ins and guild meetings and workshops, it would be very handy.
• Watched more Call the Midwife.

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.

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.

Still brrr

I guess much of the northern part of the country is stuck with sub-freezing temps for a while. I'll have to get used to it. At least we don't have five feet of snow.

Today:

• Dog walking/step counting: Actually took the dogs on two walks today, abbreviated individual dog walks in the morning, together in the afternoon. While P was at Meier's, he picked up a couple of water buffalo horn chew "toys" for them. They are cheaper than elk antler but I don't think they will last long. No one has urped them up... so far.
• Dog training: More indoor work. When P came over, "place" was a medium FAIL.
• House cleaning: I started carpet cleaning with the remnants. Unfortunately, I dropped the canister so now it has a big, leaky crack in it. I hope I can fix it with Gorilla Glue. Sometimes I think it would be easier to replace the carpets instead of clean them.
• Fiber: Achieved my daily row count on the baby blanket. Started a new weaving swatch: 4x1 twill in two shades of gray.
• Eating: Almost all the pot roast is gone. That is one dish I think it is impossible to ruin. Down to my last Harry and David pear.
• Entertainment: Finished season one of Happy Valley.

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.