Wednesday

This time the animal keeping me away was Ace. I was woken up by the sound of purring in my ear, apparently, for  hours. I kept waking up and finding him on my pillow but with most of him on my chest, staring at me, purring.

Now, this is great, and he hasn't done this in a long time and I'm glad he has forgiven me for whatever I did wrong, and he does hold a grudge and I really have missed him a lot... but gee whiz.

But I should sleep better tonight because I didn't take a nap! No naps for me! I kept myself awake after work! And I took the dog for a walk! Yay!!!!!! I literally didn't do anything else, but at least I did the big things. I did make dinner and take the dog for a walk!

Its a good thing I don't have a long list of things I need to get done or anything.

Tuesday

First genuinely warm day of the spring and a perfect day to walk the dog after work and I come home and fall asleep on the chair. By the time I finally get up dinner is late and its gotten too far along in the timeline to walk the dog. Not okay. Its days like this that makes my fitbit very disappointed with me, I can feel it sighing mechanically and shaking its little sensors. Tough shit weirdo one of us is a biped one of us has a battery, you don't move unless I do and I didn't move today. Deal with it.

I make my dinner, I fix the dogs and I clean the cat boxes.  Super I got things done!

I did finally change clothes and then I did pretend there was some chance in hell that I might still make it outside.  The self delusion is real, I should have just been completely honest with myself  about my plans and my level of motivation for the evening and  put on pajamas and been warm because while the outside may have finally warmed up the inside is still cold and now so am I- and now I'm going to have to change clothes again for no reason and that feels like a waste of time and effort when I could have just cut out the middle outfit all together.

I did hear it rain a little earlier so I felt all self righteous about not going out after all., but then I never checked to see if it was actually rain and not just stuff from the tree falling , so I decided to go faith alone that I was right and my post-work nap was not ill timed and wrong. I was tired damn it! The dog was restless and kept getting up and moving and normally he's a pretty good sleeper but he would not stay in one place for more than a couple of hours, it was driving me crazy. I don't know how I kept myself from face planting on my desk all day but it sure caught up with me the first time I stopped moving. I sure hope he used his time wisely today and caught up on his sleep.

He kept thinking he wanted to be under the covers and then he would be under the coves and would get, I guess, too warm, so he would  leave and then he would want to get back under the covers which would require waking me up to help him. Over and over and over. So much fun.

It is possible for him to do this without waking me up, I know it is because I know he  does this and he doesn't wake me up to show me how clever he is everytime. I know this because sometimes we go to sleep and he is on top of the blanket in place A and we wake up and he's under the blanket in place D and I have no memory of him getting there. He can do it and he chooses not to.

Dog ownership is not for the faint hearted.

Hoppy Easter!

Its the Easter Doggy!

Thursday

One of my co-workers was so together with the sisterhood yesterday. She poked her head in my door, looked at me and said "You look Tired".

How do you respond to that? I was like "I feel fine". Because I did, its kind of hard to tell how I "look" in my office because I don't use the overhead fluorescent light and instead just use a floor lamp. My office is not well lit.

And so who was she to tell me that I "look tired", it was also 3:45 in the afternoon, who does not "look tired" at a quarter to four? And its not at all being a good member of the sisterhood at all. We're supposed to empower each other, not tell each other we "look tired". SHe could have said "You look like you have been working really hard today" or "Doing a great job today, Diana!", or  "Wow! You are tearing it up Diana! Good work!"

But no, she went with "You look tired".  Whatever. And I was fine, it was last in the afternoon and I did want to go home I was looking down a staff meeting so my day was not over yet. Normally, I go home at 4pm - not so much that day. Sucked being me.

But. That was so excuse to tell me I "looked tired". Because we all know  what that means and it is not a compliment - It does not say "Gee, your skin looks great today! Totally glowing!", "Are you useing a new make up? You look fantastic!", "I love that top on you, the color is great on you!". There are a lot of things you can say to someone that does not tell them they look like death warmed over.  Because that is what we all want to hear, it doesn't matter where in the day we are.

What if I had been totally feeling myself right then? What if I had just just got back from the bathroom where I had just been admiring myself in the mirror? What if I had just finished a whole pile of work and was feeling very professionally  accomplished and good about myself and she comes in a tells me that I "look tired" . That would be crushing.

Its a good thing I had only just finished a pile of work and was feeling professionally accomplished.  Good thing to know I also "looked tired".

Wednesday

Yesterday I drove up to the house after work and I thought "Wow, the yard looks really nice", which is weird because lately when I've driven up to the house I've thought "Wow, I really need to mow the yard, I think I'll do it after I walk the dog". And then I come back from walking the dog and I say "Wow, the yard doesn't look all that bad, I think it can wait until the weekend", and then the weekend rolls around and it rains.

But yesterday the yard magically got mowed without me. How often do the yard work fairies actually come out and actually do the yard work you aren't going to do? I mean, for real? The yard work fairies mowed my yard! I hope and pray for them all summer and lo and behold they appeared in the spring! When I didn't hope of pray or even need them. Those yard work fairies!

In real life, the yard work faires did not mow my yard. The Lawn Mower guy mowed my lawn without asking and then I had to pay him for essentially trespassing on my property and mowing my lawn without permission. What if I didn't want him to? What if I had been planning on doing it myself? What if I had a contract with someone else to do mow the lawn? I mean, there are a lot of what ifs in the play here. The man took a pretty big gamble here. I could have just taken it as a gift, like free address stickers in the mail, I didn't ask for it, yet, he did it anyway. I owe nothing for the service provided.

But I paid him and now my lawn looks very nice. He wanted to mow the back and I told him No. I have the back and besides, it looks okayish for the time being. He can mind his own business for now. I'm half surprised he didn't go back there just for yucks. Or he did, decided it was too yucky and turned around, I wouldn't blame him. I could pick up the dog shit but it feels like I just did that  and its so not that much fun, I prefer to wait for it to turn to fertilizer - sadly, that takes a while and in the mean time it is a hazard. I don't spend much time back there after dark - but why would I spend much time back there after dark? Its dark! I don't think Rocket likes the dark anyway, he's weird that way.

New curtains! Aren't they swell? The only problem is, my fireplace is the wrong white. I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture but in real life you can tell. That might have to be the next project after painting out the hot pink with a new gray on the back walls of the built in book cases. And spraying the little picture frames gray. Or black or red. It depends.

March For Our Lives, Raleigh - March 24, 2018

Saturday I went to the March For Our Lives in Raleigh, it was great! The organizers put the tally at 13,000 - which is really awesome!, and considering there was another march in Durham and another in Fayetteville, really impressive that we got those kind of numbers.

I took pictures, not very many because the crowd was really big and the signs were not, um, really interesting and they were for the most part really serious in nature, mostly because of the theme "Please Stop Killing Us" of the march - it really didn't lend itself to the more zany creative expressions that the other marches had. Thus fewer fun signs to get.

Also, it was really crowded and hard to get around and it was cold. But this is what I did get. And, also I noticed other people were much more zealous about going around and getting photos of signs than I was and those photos are everywhere, search  for "March For Our Lives Photos".  My photos are primarily of the march itself.

Friday Cats Blogging

TGIF

I'm so excited!

 In Gun Control orange too! I should have gotten it in M and not L, but sometimes the sizes of stuff you get online can be so wonky, I didn't want to end up with a tiny top I couldn't wear, this way, I can absolutely wear it and I can through it at least once, into the dryer.

I'm hoping that I'm not the only one who shows up.

Hello, Wednesday!

Okay, so todays reason that there is no real post is that I had to pick up the dog at daycare, again, and so I didn't come straight home and then I had to inspect the plumbers handiwork - First Rate! As far as I can tell, I don't know from plumbing work, really, as long as I am not wading in water I think its first rate work. I am not a good judge of such work. Ask me which author write which play and I am your girl. I did very well on a Buzzfeed quiz on that the other day, I only missed one and that was a very contemporary playwright that I doubt anyone outside grad students in feminist theory had ever heard about and I bet they haven't seen her damn plays either. Ask me about Miss Firecracker, I can identify who wrote that damn it, Beth Somebody.

Anyway. Because the dog spent two consecutive days in daycare, he is in a coma, he does not need a walk and would have refused if I had offered. It is also newly re-cold and I didn't really want to go out anyway. So instead we curled up in front of the TV and watched down my DVR. Much better, much warmer end to the day.

Later, I caught up with my plumber and paid him, about a third of what I thought I was going to pay him! A really good end to the day.

Tuesday

I had a great weekend. I started Friday night with a concert by the NC Symphony Orchestra playing Irish music, accompanied by a  tenor, and Irish Dancers, actual adults! I've seen lots of kids in parades from schools but never adults here, and even better they weren't bedecked with the bouncy curly wigs they make the kids wear, they were very good too but I wouldn't recognise good verses not good Irish dancing, there was also a- sounded-good-on-paper-wasn't-a-good-idea-in-reality-should not-have-made-it-pass-rehearsal-dramatic-reading-segments.

It was great though, I only paid $15, and got sixth row seats. Thief. Stole that seat.

Saturday I went to the tail end of the parade, it was fun and then it rained, walked back to the car, went home, took a nap. Lovely.

Sunday I went shopping for replacement paint for the bookcases in the living room, a lovely dark gray  "Aviatrix" by Sherwin WIlliams, that will great with the new curtains and will go on the back of the cases, the TV stand and the doors of the table next to the chair as well as the pulls on it. I just have to actually do all of that.

I almost went with white as the backing color but the curtains themselves  are white and I thought that a contrasting color would be better. It will look nice when I finally do do it.

And then late Sunday night, I was finishing up some laundry in the basement and I heard a drip, drip drip . Should be no drip, drip, dripping in the basement! I looked up and tried to figure out where it was coming from, couldn't immediately tell, so in my bathrobe, I went outside, outside was not drip, drip, dripping.

Tried to figure out what was above the drip, drip, dripping. 


The Kitchen sink.

I pulled out the accumulated clutter of 16 years to discover that there was a matching drip, drip, drip at this end as well. But it wasn't nearly as steady a drip, drip, drip that was ending up in the basement, so whatever I was seeing was clearly not the real leak. I tried, in vain, as it turned out, to turn off the water, and it continued to drip, drip, drip. I put a bowl under it, because that was going to help, and went to bed.

By morning the drip, drip, dripping had stopped on its own.  I called my plumber. He tried to make it restart, he could not, but he did suggest replumbing the kitchen sink to solve the problem and replacing the rotten wood in the bottom of the cabinet.

 Blech.

Friday Cats Blogging

TGIF

Strong wind is not nearly as off putting if it is warmer when it is strongly blowing you about. It was warmer today, so it wasn't as sad as it has been.

Cold is sad. I remember being happy about the cooler weather back when I was tired of being hot - Clearly, I was out of my mind at the time, heat does cause brain damage - because right now I would be very happy if I could be warm. Warm would be very nice. It isn't even warm at work! I mean, I can deal with been less than entirely toasty at home because I am cheap as all hell and I can, have and will  warm myself by my  bank balance, the the damn state of NC could shake some pennies loose and turn the heat on! The building is old and drafty and I am sure a heat and A/C nightmare but that is what those facility guys get paid for and if they didn't live for that bullshit they wouldn't still be working at Dix and the ancient drafty buildings there on.

I would like not to casually wear outerwear as just wear wear, I am tired of wearing my coat like all the time, I would like to take it off sometimes. Layers are a bummer. And I bitched and complained all summer about how hot it was and how tired I was sweating and how much I was looking forward to be cold again! What an idiot! Cold sucks! cold is the enemy! Cold is sneaky and evil. I know that hot is also evil and it gets into a space and takes over and in a few months I will be tired of sweating again, because I am an idiot - But to just be warm again would be nice, to be outside on purpose and it not be unpleasant would be a treat.

As it is, I'm going to have to find something to wear to Easter that is warm. I wonder if I can find some pink, flowered corduroy dress made for an adult and find it in two weeks? I've looked online and most corduroy dresses are jumpers and not pink. And not cute. Corduroy does not lend itself to attractive clothing design in the least, it seems to lend itself to work-a-day jumpers and utilitarian skirts and clothing that looks best in browns. Corduroy does not come in frivolous colors or fun patterns  for adults.

It had better get warmer by Easter, I do not want to wear earth tones to Easter Mass.

Grumble.

Sorry. No entry today. I walked the dog in the cold in the morning,  and then went into a cold office, then I came home and I walked the dog in the cold and wind in the afternoon and then in the evening I took him out to pee in the cold. I just decided I was tired of being cold and decided that what I really wanted to do was not be cold.

So I stayed on my chair under a  warm blanket and warmer dog and cleared off my DVR. If you aren't watched  LA to Vegas, you should be.

Cold.

Today was an errand day. I ran errands at lunch and after work! But now, I have meds and cat food, so thats good, I ran out of cat food just about all the way and I really needed more cat food on Monday but MOnday I had to make a wild goose chase in the opposite direction to Sam's for the one med refill I actually did need but they wouldn't give me - they had three others they were more than happy to give me, that I didn't need, and didn't want. I love going there and getting nothing but greasy pizza for my trouble.

But today I went after work and skipped the pizza step and  I got all four refills! and at lunch I got new cat food and after I got home I had my first long walk of the season with the dog. And it wasn't raining or snowing! It was too cold and kind of windier than I would like and I should have been wearing a hat - but it was okay. I had time before we left to change clothes and get dinner started enough that all I had to do was throw it in the oven and turn on the stove when I came home.

In a week or so, I'll be able to prepare, make and eat dinner before our walk . Today I probably could have, but I am in the habit of coming home and just leaving. It takes a while every season to get out of the habit.

What I am really looking forward to getting out of the habit of is being cold and flipping through my wardrobe of coats Is it really, really cold? and while its that cold, is it dry or is it wet, I have two choices here. Is it just cold? is it cold and windy? Is it raining? Is it cold and raining? Is it just raining? Is it merely cold? Is it just cool? Is it windy? This sounds more fun than it is and I don't really live in a cold climate!

And lets not even get into my vast collection of  various degrees and varieties of gloves and mittens and hats and hat things and scarfs and ear coverings and whole face protection. They don't all offer any real protection but some are very cute. The less cute they are the more protection they offer, its a double edge sword. You can be cute or you can be warm. If you are successfully cute and warm you are under the age of seven or you aren't afraid of looking like a seven year old.

What I do look like is the Michelin man . But its okay, because no one ever said the Michelin man looked cold.