Musings of a marginally sane feline-appreciating female.

And today is gonna be long and I have a sinking feeling I’ll be logging on over the weekend! We’ll see what the day brings – maybe it will all be fine. If the thing I’m working on goes well today, I should be in the clear – let’s all keep our fingers crossed!

The LilyMonster has had A Week. She was kinda quiet on Monday, Tuesday was definitely not feeling good. Got an appointment with the vet and I told my brother I was running her up – “Oh…she barfed in the basement last night” – OK, things make a little more sense. She got a good once over and shot of anti-emetic and she wasn’t thrilled about that, but boy, that little shot did the trick and just reset her tummy and now she’s back on top of the world. Vet asked if she’d had any hairballs recently and OHHH – yup, Sunday middle of the night, she tried to hork one up and afterwards she was snuggled on me and burping a lot and yep, that probably set everything off.

But she’s back on her game, despite me bugging her all day yesterday checking on her. Though she did like the special snacks being hand delivered to her all over the house. And I did order her a case of her “ocean fish” flavored wet food cause she’s giving the chicken flavor some side-eye, which is understandable – “I ate that and felt like shit!” She’s eating her dry food and special snacks, so she is eating, which is the important thing, and her new food arrives today. (Chewy’s turnaround is amazing.)

You have a great day and here’s a Lily!

Yesterday inertia just won the day and my errands didn’t happen. I didn’t even get my jeans on, LMAO. But sometimes we need a full on down day, and I got it.

But, this morning, I got up, threw on my jeans, picked up the coffee, hit the gas station and filled up the car and got it washed, and got over to the garden center and got what I needed there, and it’s all done, yay! And I’ve gotten a bunch of to-do’s off the list for the day!

I did pop into the market to see if they had little bags of potting soil – they didn’t, but at the entrance with all the St. Patrick’s Day snacks, they had Guinness chocolate stout cake. Usually it’s just green cupcakes and whatnot. And yes, I bought it.

And at the garden center, I’d say I showed some restraint, but not really. Got the new pot for the Calathea, they did have small bags of potting soil (probably have always had them and it just never registered) and…three more plants. A green & white nerve plant, a rabbit’s foot fern, and a pepperomia varietal. And for the repotting, I am feeling very smart right now – I got a shower curtain liner to use as a tarp when I was doing the drywall patching and carefully folded it up and stored it in the basement when I was done. Now I can just put it on the kitchen floor and do my repotting there! (It’s sunny out, but not really warm enough to be pleasant just yet.)

Here are the new additions!

Lily is having a leisurely morning. Last night she had a hairball, and a bit of a grumbly tummy after that* and slept in this morning. She has decided to join me, and I gave her a licky stick for breakfast just to make sure she ate something and that was enough to convince her that eating was fine and I can hear her crunching away in the kitchen now. We also had a good brushing session and she enjoyed that and now she’s watching the leaves blow around the backyard – and I am feeling better for it. She turns 14 this year and has kidney issues I can’t help but worry whenever she acts a little different.

And I just looked over and she was inside the mini greenhouse. Why? Who knows.

And because I have a terrible habit on the weekends of starting these posts and then standing up and doing things and forgetting this is still in progress, it’s now about 3:30 PM. But, I’ve gotten a bunch done around the house and all that is left on the to-do list some yoga and getting the plants into new pots.

You have a great afternoon.

* Still not sure if she got up and barfed somewhere – if she did, hopefully I’ll see it before I step in it.

WE HAVE SUN!!! And should have sun for the next week!! Lily is very happy, I am very happy, LET’S ALL BE HAPPY ABOUT THE SUN!

And when I went to the market this morning, I remembered the thing we needed that wasn’t on the list! Eggs! Goddamn, they’re $6.50 a dozen! Mind you, they’re free range organic*, so they always cost more, but damn. At what point do we stop blaming avian flu and talk about price gouging?

I’ve got a pretty chill weekend on tap, which is just what I need – lots of little to-do’s and some errands, but nothing dreadful, and tonight it’s BIRTHDAY OUTBACK STEAK AND BAKED POTATOES AND POTATO SOUP AND SOMETHING ELSE I HAVEN’T DECIDED ON YET! (My birthday was Wednesday and mid-week birthdays kinda suck.)

The errands I need to run are easy – gas up the car and run it through the carwash, and hit up the garden center. My calathea really needs a bigger pot (I’ve kept it alive long enough for it to need a bigger pot!!!) and I want to see if they have any green & white nerve plants – mine didn’t survive getting moved at Christmas, and I replaced it with a green/red one and I like it, but I really want another white one. And maybe a rabbit’s foot fern. Oh, and I think I need some more potting soil, too – but IIRC, they only have really large bags, but I think the floral department at the market has small ones, so maybe I need to do a quick run into the market, too.

And yet I also seem to have a case of ass glued to couch, LOL. And I’m vaguely hungry.

So, I’m gonna have some string cheese, put on some leaving the house pants, and get those errands done and off the to-do list. But, that also requires moving – bit of a challenge there, LOL.

You have a great day and I hope you find cheap eggs.

* I don’t know when I became the free range organic brown egg lady, but here we are.

And I got off work on time, woohoo!! And I found a weird problem right at the end of the day and I sent it to my developer and IM’d her and told her to just pretend she doesn’t see the email until Monday.

Cause if I am sending you something at 4 on a Friday – it’s just because I couldn’t have sent it sooner, and I don’t want to wait until Monday morning cause I’ll forget. I really don’t expect you to actually think on a Friday at 4PM.

So, all in all, a pretty good Friday after an ass kicker of a week.

But I could have Lily’s problems and whew, they are rough for a very spoiled kitty.

Since the Great Clear Out, all the upstairs rooms are open and Lily has been told she can go in as long as she behaves, aka, doesn’t get stuck somewhere. (It has happened.) She discovered that the two rooms at the far end of the hall get mid-morning sunbeams.

Problem is, since this discovery, we’ve had maybe 2 sunny days in the last two weeks. The number of times she has led me to that end of the hall to the open doors as if to say, “WHERE IS THE SUN, THIS IS BULLSHIT, BRING IT BACK!” well, it’s been a lot. And as someone who very much needs the sun as well, same LilyMonster, same.

But at least we’ll have some sun next week. Followed by snow next weekend… Ack.

Refi closing is done. If you compare the signatures from the first page to the last, they absolutely do not match, LOL.

We spent more time on the road getting there and back than we did actually signing anything, but it’s all good, cause it’s done.

And I said I’d be back to the office around 11, and I still have a few minutes to just unspool myself after having to drive on the freaking beltway. Cause someone hasn’t done that in a very, very long time.

But, yay, it’s all done!

So, work emergency came in at 4PM yesterday.

I figured out the culprit.

I figured out how to fix it. The client may or may not like the fix. I’m waiting on my dev to see if there are any better options.

I am quite certain there Will Be Meetings.

Guess who needs to disappear for two hours mid-morning to close on her refinance?

It’s gonna be fun!

I let myself get out of my daily yoga habit while I was doing the great clear out and hoooboy, letting that go was DUMB.

But I’m back at it and damn, it feels good.

Clears my head, which I am pretty much always in need of, because I have to focus on not falling over.

It’s very forgiving. So many poses can be modified to what you can do. Can’t twist your upper torso 45º? Try 20º! Or just vaguely gaze in that direction. You can do the pose but can’t hold it for 30 seconds? Go for 20. Or 10. Or just 5.

I feel like I’ve done something when I finish, but not to the point of wanting to vomit due to over-exertion.

And it’s relaxing, which I also am perpetually in need of, especially today since I now have to go work more. Glad I got a couple sessions in.

Seriously, it seems like we’ve gotten maybe 3 hours of sunshine in the past month. I CANNOT TAKE THIS MUCH LONGER. It says we’ll have afternoon sun today, but we’ll see – it feels like even days predicted to be sunny still end up being overcast AF. And given that I am solar powered, THIS IS A PROBLEM.

We have our first post-refinance indoor project* – the ceiling fan in my room started making unpleasant noises yesterday… It’s at least 20 years old, so it doesn’t owe us anything to be sure, and at least it’s a relatively easy project. (And I’ve wanted to replace it for a while.) I hustled myself over to the Hunter fan site, picked one out, found it cheaper on Amazon, and now it’s just a matter of ordering and installing – and worst case scenario, I can bring in my beloved folks from FH Furr to help out, since they’ve added electrical stuff to their repertoire. (But I think I can do this one on my own?)

My current one is all white and I hate it – found this one, it’s light enough that I don’t think it will look weird in the room, but it’s not all freaking white. Amazon reviews say it’s very easy to install, YAY!

The Amazon gift cards from cashing in my change jars will be going to good use! At least it’s slightly more interesting than cleaning supplies, LOL. (And we have gone through so. many. cleaning. supplies. in the last month.)

I’ve also found a neat little cleaning hack for my brain – I now have cleaning supplies on both levels of the house. Having a second set of rags/sprays/whatnot already upstairs makes it a lot easier to clean stuff on the fly – like, the bathroom sink for example – if I see it’s getting gunky before it’s “planned” cleaning and boom, done! Cause everything is steps away instead of stairs away.

I am also seriously considering getting a couple Roombas. The newer models claim “you don’t have to pick up beforehand, it works around things” and since we have gotten so much cleared out – it could actually work here. Though I have my nice Dyson, if I could have the Roomba running on it’s own a couple times a week – that would really be helpful – and lord knows I need all the help I can get. Just gotta figure out where I’d put the base stations.

In non-house stuff today – I’m gonna make popcorn!! I know, you’re thinking, “OK, good, I guess?” But hear me out – my nice little Cuisinart popcorn popper lost the top piece and I have no idea where it got off to, but I discovered they sell replacement parts! That arrived this week, and I also decided I wanted to try out some hulless popcorn** and that is coming today. So, I’m gonna have some popcorn while baseball is on this afternoon. :-D

But before any of that can happen, it’s time to knock out the daily stuff – but I’ve got my comfy pants on and a podcast at the ready, so LET’S DO THIS!

You have a great Sunday!

* Well, there are lots of projects on the list, but this is one that is very easy, not expensive, and theoretically shouldn’t require professional assistance.
** I know there is technically no such thing as hulless popcorn, but this supposedly pops with minimal hulls, which will be nice if it means I have a few less popcorn shells stuck in my teeth.

High of 81º two days ago and it’s supposed to start snowing here in an hour. Blizzard warning in San Diego. Snow over the Hollywood sign. Totally normal, nothing to see here, planet isn’t dying or anything like that.

On a less doom and gloom note, yesterday I had the first freaking normal day in a month. Got out of work ON TIME. Had an awesome nap with Lily. Only had regular stuff to get done around the house. I did absolutely nothing with my extra time and loved every second of it and felt zero guilt over it. Amazing.

One great benefit of the big clear out is all the change I found all over the place. Took one container in today and cashed it for an Amazon card, came home, and promptly ordered something before I remembering that I had the damn gift card in my wallet, LOL. That quick dissolve sugar could have been “free”, dammit!

My very exciting no-more-massive-clear-out day is gonna be awesome. First, not leaving the house, cause, snow. Regular stuff around the house, some laundry, and mopping. Make a pot of tea. (Part of the clear out was cleaning my teapots, so I’m back on a tea kick. True Honey Lemon Ginger is money.) Take a nap with the LilyMonster. Listen to the Padres game.

And on that note, it’s time to change into comfy pants, fire up a podcast, and get things done so I can enjoy an afternoon of nothing.

You have a great day!

So, seems that whoever put together the release schedule didn’t take into account that we had a 3 1/2 day week this week – both the US & the Philippines. Guess who put 32 hours on the books in 3 days? Yup. And this after my boss said yesterday, “if you don’t have anything urgent, take the afternoon off, it’s a gorgeous day!” SOB.

But, working late the past two days means I get my damn half day Friday today! And I am not going in early!

The appraisal got done, came in higher than I expected, yay, and refinance closes Tuesday – but I have to go to the damn title company to do it. FML. Told my boss and he was “been there, done that, take your time.” I’m salty cause the mortgage broker said the title folks would come to me, the title folks were “can you come to the office?” and I said if that was the only option, yes, and they said, “Great!!”

Then the tax assessment came in for the house for 2023 this week as well – up 6% (after going up 12% last year) – um, no. I happen to have a professional appraisal in hand that was just done THIS WEEK and guess who is gonna appeal that number? If I can get the county to agree, then the appraisal paid for itself, plus another $400 over the course of the year. (I know the county is thinking “inflation is easing, interest rates are going down, etc” – but I am not playing this year.)

And another reason I’d say the county assessment is ridiculous – it’s higher than Zillow. It is NEVER higher than Zillow, ever. And everyone on Nextdoor is losing their shit, so I know it’s not just me.

Oh, but something great? It’s been three days since the appraisal and THE HOUSE HASN’T FALLEN APART! I know you’re thinking, “only three days” – but trust me, THIS IS AWESOME, LOL. Especially considering that the past two days I’ve only gotten the barest of minimums done thanks to work.

Even Lily is wiped out from all the excitement this week – cleaning and clearing, a person wandering around on Tuesday, late work, spare rooms open for her to explore – she slept in this morning and I just door-dashed her breakfast to her upstairs – and she is happily chowing down.

But – half day Friday today and I am NOT staying late. Gonna work, hit the grocery store, get all my various and sundry to-do’s done around the house, and then chill TF out. I won’t know what to do with my time now that we’re done with the CLEAR OUT ALL THE THINGS process. Read? Stitch? Nap? Draw? Write? I CAN DO ANYTHING!

But before all that, work beckons. But, I only have one thing to knock out today, and anyone who asks me to stay later will be gently told, “No, I was here until 10PM last night, so, no.”

You have a wonderful Friday!