Clicked Off

Inspirational song: I Want to Break Free (Queen)

A few days into trying to pull back and reduce my stress and I have noticed a cool side benefit. In the last two days I have reduced my screen time significantly, by hours per day. 

Athena got out and over the chain link gate into the side yard. Harvey alerted us to her absence. When I rescued her, she walked right up to Beinn and touched noses with him. Just now we were all cuddling on the bed, and she stretched a paw out to him. This is amazing. No, I missed the picture.

Keepin' It Easy

Inspirational song: Movin' On Up (The Jeffersons)

Today was better than yesterday. No massive headache, but my tummy was still delicate. I am glad I'm not pushing myself to do too much or write too much right now. Housemate 2 and I went to Walmart before game night, and that was all the activity I could handle. I had to invest in all new cat food dishes, made of a very durable plastic (lexan, maybe, or melamine?). Between Harvey and us humans, we broke nearly all of the ceramic saucers we had been using. She bought a new cat tower for the living room. Spoiled cats.

Second Day

Inspirational song: This Is the Day (The The)

As with yesterday, I am still taking it very easy. I still went to Rotary and for a long, slow stroll through Target after. But by the time I got home, I couldn't deny my little headache was a full-blown migraine. I've been in bed ever since. Day 2 of coasting is in the books.

Pull Back

Inspirational song: Cold As Ice (Foreigner)

I cannot begin to express how desperately I need a break. I am so burned out lately. I'll probably keep tapping out a short statement each night to keep current, but I need to back up a little and regroup. I am mentally exhausted. When there's real news, I'll write it. For the time being, though, I need to go easy and regrow a few brain cells.

AYFKM

Inspirational song: Taxman (The Beatles)

This is not a sunshine and rainbows sort of day. We sat down with TurboTax today, which is always, always a rough time. I had hoped we could handle everything online, but even after a couple of hours of misery and bickering, I still had to print out forms to send in the 1096. I hate how hard it is to figure this stuff out. But it's done, at least for the federal taxes. I went out and mailed the 1096 to the IRS, dropping it in the box outside the main post office, so they will be postmarked well before the deadline. The state stuff can wait until we are recovered from today's nastiness.

I made beans and cornbread for dinner. Even that was fighting me. By the time I sat down to eat, the beans were only barely tender, and I discovered that my cornbread hadn't fully cooked in the center. But I was tired and hungry, so I went with it. I had barely begun, when I reached for the can of Izze I had pulled out if the fridge, and started to open it. It sprayed everywhere, while I sputtered and cursed. This is the second apple flavored one from that case that has done this to me. Did someone drop the case of them and I didn't know? They sat in the garage since summer. Do they ferment? I can't even guess.

So now I'm typing on a sticky phone, my yoga pants are still wet even after toweling off, and everything smells like apple, but not in a good way. I'm just going to call this whole day a loss and try to forget it ever happened.

Moun'ns

Inspirational song: Runaway (Del Shannon)

We are just a few weeks shy of owning my Hyundai for two years, and it still has fewer than 13000 miles on it. I don't drive all that much or that far, on a regular basis. Most of my trips are local and on full electric, as charged by my solar-paneled house. But I would venture a guess that the bulk of the miles on that car were racked up going to the airport in Denver or up to mess around in Rocky Mountain National Park.

On that note, we didn't feel like staying home today. We tossed the kids in the back of the car, and drove up to the Park, with the intention of walking around Bear Lake. As we drove up, we noticed how much the wind picked up. Our plans scaled down and down further as we drove up. By the time we reached the parking lot, Valerie had a bad tummyache, the wind was cold, the ground was icy, and a walk just didn't seem all that cool anymore. We used the trailhead potties and went back to Estes Park, so we could hit Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory as always. Maybe we can try it again in another month.

Before we could finish prepping to go up to the mountains, Mr S-P looked out the back window and asked, "where are the dogs?" We found that he didn't properly latch the gate, and as the wind started to blow, it literally released the hounds. We were in a panic. So when I said earlier that we threw the kids in the car, I sort of meant it. I said I'd go north in my car with the kids, looking for Beinn and Saoirse, and he said he'd crawl through the alleys in his car. He made the right call, because they were still at the other end of our alley, around the bend out of sight, but not into the busy street that borders our neighborhood. I swear that gate has caused me more dog stress than I needed in a lifetime. Those goofy dogs just acted like nothing happened, too. If I didn't already dye my hair, I probably would have had visibly more gray hair after this afternoon.

Cheap Date

Inspirational song: Car Wash (Rose Royce)

I am so easily amused. Holy cow. I needed to move my car out of the driveway, so the Mr could back the farm truck up to the garage and load up some heavy stuff from there. I wanted to be out and about a while, in the hopes I could just park back in my regular spot when I returned. I wandered through King Soopers, walking the entire store for just milk, soap, and blueberries. Then on the way home, I detoured through one of my absolute favorite diversions. I went to the drive-thru car wash. I can't tell you why it is so awesome, but I swear, every time those big cloth brushes slap my car, it is as good as getting a massage. It calms me and I can feel my shoulders relax. Better than a fine wine. I am a cheap date, aren't I? 

Housemate #2 and I wanted to watch the next movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Last week we watched the first one on Prime video, but this week it's telling me I can't watch more without subscribing to Max or renting from Amazon. Um, no. Not playing that game. We bought those discs years ago, and I'm not paying again for something I already own. I just have to figure out where it got put. I know it's here somewhere.

In a pinch, we switched to the other middle earth trilogy. She has never seen the Hobbit, and we bought the blu-ray set years ago, and never opened the second two. Not a good investment if we never got around to watching them. These are extended versions, so it is going to take some time to do it, but we have begun.

Big Beinn

Inspirational song: In the Jailhouse Now (Soggy Bottom Boys)

It has been more than twenty-five years since we last adopted a dog who had done time in the pen. Calvin and Susie were from a shelter in North Carolina, and we got them sometime in the late 90s. Our other dogs came to us in more spontaneous ways, sort of falling in our laps when we needed them. While we found Beinn in that same magical way, he had a long journey to reach us, including doing several long months in lockup. He maintained his beautiful, soft temperament through all his tribulations, but I have found one way that living in a cage affected him. It rained all day, so dogs spent a lot of time in the garage to dry their muddy peets. I brought the big floofy dogs in for cuddles mid-day. When Big Beinn looked longingly out the back door, I said nah, it's wet out there. You don't want to go in the mud again. Turns out yes, he did. He held out as long as he could, but then he went into the room where the cat boxes are, and I heard this tinkling sound... I guess when you've been locked up, you just do what needs doing, rather than learning how to make your requests clear to the doorkeeper.

He is still such a good boy, minor accident aside. He sat perfectly still for a brushing, except for a little startle when I brushed the base of his tail. Saoirse hasn't mastered that skill yet. She wiggles a lot more during grooming, and flops on the side I'm trying to work. 

I haven't gotten the nerve to take them out for a walk, but it's tempting to see how he does. I don't walk well, but I bet he does. I wonder how he would do on a car ride. Suppose he likes French fries? I could run him past a magic window and let him sample some. I might even have another human ride shotgun, so they could feed him a cheeseburger.

Chaos Rock

Inspirational song: Cheesecake (Louis Armstrong)

One more successful game night in the books. I didn't think it could have been more outrageous than last session (where we had a hilarious improv latrine scene), but we might have done it. Everyone was up for launching chaos grenades. My addition was almost exactly that--my character enchanted a rock with a six-second burst of sound that mimicked a dragon flying over, shrieking and spraying a breath weapon. I threw this rock next to a skirmish where one of our party had been fomenting his own chaos, and had just been uncovered as an imposter. I kind of set off panic in the whole camp that we had infiltrated, but to be fair, the spells that created dense fog and a brief bonfire (not to mention last session's aforementioned latrine scene) didn't exactly go unnoticed either. The whole night was loud and silly, and I think the group had a good time.

I made the cheesecake I never got around to yesterday. I have long since given up relying on a recipe for these. I mostly just wing it until it looks and tastes like I think it should. Today's had a GF graham cracker crust, about half of one of those bricks of cream cheese you get from Costco, and enough eggs, sugar, and lemon to make it taste good. I should have taken a photo while it was plated up on a gold footed cake stand, with a freshly-made (homegrown) raspberry sauce on it. But once it was ready, we tucked into it with gusto. This was birthday cake number two for Mr S-P, as today was his actual birthday. Cake was as good as the company and gameplay, so I hope that means a successful birthday.

Because work schedules have changed, my daughter has dropped out of the game group, but they still came over briefly to wish grandpa a happy birthday. Val was coached to run up to him and give him birthday wishes, but once she walked in the house she forgot the plan. She joined me in the kitchen and kind of stared into space while taking off her jacket. Then as I was continuing to cook, I felt Dmitri come up and give me a hug from behind. He is really learning how to work a room. Both of them were quite charming and entertaining while they were here. They left before the game really started.

I failed to have any usable photos of my own, but look at how cute this boy looks with his bubble machine.

I'm Melting

Inspirational song: Jump (Van Halen)

We are having a slight disagreement in terms over what constitutes "hot." I am roasting, and pushing cats off my lap, while the Mr is saying he is still cold from wearing shorts outside after sundown. The thermostat downstairs in the TV room also powers the radiator in the upstairs living room (who wired that one?) and because our couch-surfer popped it up a tad, temps in here are hovering around 69 degrees. That's warm for indoors during February, right? Am I being unreasonable for thinking fondly of opening the window tonight so I can sleep? 

I just spent two hours in a zoom training, half an hour longer than it was scheduled. It was covering stuff I was trained on two years ago, and two years before that, and two years before that too. This time around I didn't bother to have pen and paper for notes. I am familiar with the process and I know the script and the mathematical formulae are all there in the packets. I can run this meeting with my eyes closed. I might have that opportunity. I don't picture a big turnout for caucus this year, when the highest office we will be selecting will be the CU regent at-large candidate (well, delegates to go on to assembly from here). There is a non-zero chance I could be the only one to turn out, to apportion our two delegates. If that is the case, we would only use one, and I wouldn't be able to get out of going to assembly later. (I'd prefer to give that opportunity to someone else.) Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe my precinct really cares about who runs the university system, or whatever it is that the regents actually do, other than jack up the school colors for a decade, like they did in the 70s. ("Sky blue at 10,000 feet." Sheesh.)

I was supposed to bake a cheesecake this afternoon, but I was so tired by the time I got home from Costco, where I restocked on eggs for said cheesecake. By the time this training was over, not only was my body mostly tired, my brains were melting out of my ears. I'll bake tomorrow. And all the other things I need to do before game night. 

Oh, and look at this sexy car that was parked at Costco. I love a maroon ride.

Don't Dream It, Be It

Inspirational song: Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)

Been having a lot of fun with dreams and coincidences lately. A couple of days ago, I dreamt that we were on a trip to Italy when the Kitten Distribution System caught up with me, and a little brown kitten decided she was coming home with us. (In the dream, I was trying to get her out of the street, for fear of traffic. I first said "come here," but my dream brain said no, speak to her in Italian so she understands, and all I could come up with was "ecco, ecco!") A few hours later my mother sent me a link on messenger to a story about some really cute rare brown kittens. The thumbnail picture was exactly the same as the one I had dreamt of.

This evening, housemate number one said they dreamed that we bought a farm, and some cool but dangerous geological events were happening (they described some kind of geothermal ejections that would splatter all over the place, attracting curious townsfolk). They described a house with a lake on it, and some other details, and I laughed and said, what, like the farm I lust after, that is up for sale for six and a half million? Apparently I had yet to show them the listing on realtor, and when I pulled it up, they said yeah, that was very much like the dream place. We then talked about how one could afford such a property, and failing being born wealthy or earning a million and a half a year in a job, my remaining hope is winning the lottery. I believe it was my dad who compared the chances of winning it to being struck by lightning while simultaneously being eaten by a shark, so as yet it remains but a dream.

I have some seriously cute animals telling me it is almost bedtime, so maybe if I go now, I can dream about something else unlikely but really, really fun.

Never Enough

Inspirational song: Miss Me Blind (Culture Club)

As of this week, our babysitting schedule has changed on a more permanent basis. We expect to have Sundays off now. One might think this would have us either getting stuff done around the house, or just flat-out taking a lazy Sunday to enjoy the silence. One would be wrong. 

I got a message this morning asking whether I wanted to go shopping with the kids, and naturally I said yes. We did a few laps of Walmart, and then found a spectacularly average Mexican restaurant we hadn't visited before. I dropped the kids off and came home. An hour or two later, I received a photo proving that grandpa had stopped in to see them on his way home from a study group. I can imagine a lot of our lazy Sundays will follow the pattern laid down today. We get worn out by babysitting, but don't let us miss hanging out with the kids!

Twelve Hours Later

Inspirational song: Freewill (Rush)

Eagle-eyed regular readers might have caught this: yes, indeed, I skipped writing Friday night. I was 100% incapable of stringing together enough words even to post a placeholder. Yesterday's babysitting was solo for the first five hours (nearly), and it left me so tired and sore, that by six pm I had given in and taken the stronger version of muscle relaxant I keep for just such emergencies. It took over an hour for it to work to relax my cramped body, but once it did, I was gone quickly. I slept for about three hours where I sat, and then as the lights on timers went out, I woke just enough to drag myself to the bedroom. I did not bother to brush my teeth or change out of the casual, stretchy clothes I had on. I was glad I managed to choke down the four small pills I take at bedtime. I woke briefly several times through the rest of the night, as I tend to on any other night, but I wasn't ready to move until somewhere between seven and eight. I needed all twelve hours of sleep, and I couldn't have passed on it to save my life.

Today may end much the same way. We have been planning for over a week to tackle the first round of garage cleanup. Our housemate was all ready to move on it, completely unprepared for just how monumental a task it is. She thought we could clear out one whole car bay today. Oh, sweet summer child. No. It is way harder than that. We got through the back section that leads to the back door, which was mostly tubs of carpets from Pakistan and Christmas decorations, plus the junk on top of and just beside the beer fridge. I worked on a few items right next to the door, and got very frustrated by how many times I was overruled when I announced items were trash. Still, progress was made. And now I'm tired and sore again, plus my tummy is upset.

Here are a handful of the photos that were supposed to be available for last night and today. I don't really have time to analyze them much, so I hope there is no personally identifying information visible.

Into the Pack

Inspirational song: Boney Fingers (Hoyt Axton)

As a close observer of Saoirse's behavior and well-being, I am quickly coming to the conclusion that she is happier now that she is reunited with her biological father. She still shows an occasional flash of protectiveness if he comes up on me or a cat too quickly, but otherwise she is thrilled to be in his presence. He seems to be completely decompressed now too. He holds his ears up and forward like he is happy and curious, and he bounces and prances freely. He is still a determined cuddler. I don't expect that to change. And I am amazed that the cats don't even notice him. They act like Saoirse just split in two, and they are totally chill. We are all so fortunate.

I was pretty down most of the day, after spending four hours under brutal fluorescent lights last night. UV exposure is awful for me. I felt like I was in the sun all day. I perked up at sundown, which just reinforced my theory. How is it I've never embraced the whole vampire vibe? You'd think I would have started dressing in all Edwardian clothes, and worn heavy black lipstick by now. But nope. I'm still just as light-hearted and dorky as always.

Did I put in a photo of the pretty philodendron splendid that I am trying to train up a mosspole? I feel like I skipped it, but I'm too lazy to go back and verify. If it is a repeat, just move on.

Familiar Surroundings

Inspirational song: Cuts You Up (Peter Murphy)

Good thing I got my botox touch up this morning. I ended up sitting under fluorescent lights for hours this evening, and it would have really been miserable if that set off a full migraine. Seeing my neurologist today was fun, as usual, if one doesn't count the 30-odd needle sticks into my face, scalp, and neck. He's always cheerful and friendly. For the first time that I can remember, he got me good with one of the needles. I told him the blood smear in my hairline just made me look like a badass.

Last night, when it was time to power down and turn my brain off, part-time housemate and I went downstairs to watch Fellowship of the Ring on the big TV. The way I was sitting, on the walkway side of the couch, with my feet up, was awkward in relation to how she had her laptop and desktop computers set up around her. To do anything in the room, she had to climb over things. Did I move my feet? No. Do I regret that? I did once she had a nasty fall and I was convinced it was because I was in the way. The floor down there is basically bamboo planks over concrete. Not a lot of cushion. And she twisted a lot of important bits on her way down.

She was still hurting pretty badly this afternoon, and she asked me to drive her to the ER to get x-rayed. We went to the hospital just before 5, and we left after 9. It's the second time in about a month I had to hang out there for hours on end. This time was slightly harder for the fact that there was a kid who sounded like they were not much older than Valerie, who howled in agony on two separate occasions. It sounded like emotional as well as physical pain. My poor grandma heart couldn't stand it. They also had two major trauma cases come in, so it was a busy night. We understood, even if it did feel like forever for us to get out of there. At least darling Dice was a perfect service dog, and behaved like a champ.

Our friend was told she had no broken bones, and was given a boot and instructions to elevate and ice. She has my loaner cane as well. If she's not seeing significant improvement in a week, then it will be orthopedist time. Let's hope for quick healing.

Heartstrings

Inspirational song: Eric the Half-a-Bee (Monty Python)

I knew it could have been dangerous, walking into a northern Colorado Rotary meeting, wearing a Kansas City Chiefs t-shirt. There had to be too many Broncos fans, born and raised on a rivalry with the Chiefs. But to my good fortune, I was not run out of town on a rail. In fact, there were a few folks who smiled or gave me a nudge with their elbows, saying some version of "it was a great game." In a twist on something my daughter said to me earlier today, this was my first public outing since the Superbowl. I had to wear that shirt. I don't make the rules.

After the meeting, I picked up my daughter and the babies, and we drove up to see whether we could spend the rest of my gift card to Gulleys plant nursery. I knew I shouldn't have passed up so many of the cool plugs that were there a few weeks ago. I could have had a teeny tiny anthurium waroqueanum for 5 bucks. But no, I had to limit myself that day. The houseplants that were fully stocked that day had been wiped out, in all sizes. The fancy stuff in the front room was mostly there, but the rows and rows of things in the big room were gone.

I told Valerie that I intended to put the rhipsalis that grew in her little bumblebee planter into a bigger pot, so it would grow better. I asked her to pick out something different from the plugs, and of course that little boogerhead went straight back to the exact same kind of rhipsalis and pointed at it. No, Val, I want to get something different in the bee. We went all the way down the row, and I pointed out all the cool things, and she wouldn't choose. So I grabbed tiny philodendron prince of orange and ficus shivereana plugs and said I'd figure it out later. Everyone else wandered around so long that I ended up in the gated section, picking out a variegated string of hearts, which is what ended up going in the bee. Honestly, that was the best call. Once it gets some length on it, it will look extraordinary.

I got all the plants potted up, plus putting a few propagations in soil, once I got home. The only thing still waiting for attention was the philodendron splendid I got on clearance. That will need extra work to get it going on a mosspole, but once it's rehabbed, it will be...well...splendid.

Sunny Disposition

Inspirational song: Easy (Commodores)

Integration is going surprisingly well. The other dogs and cats are occasionally foul-mouthed, but that never lasts long, and big Beinn doesn't react at all. If he does anything when someone else acts up for a second or two, he walks over to me and leans against me, waiting for pets, which he receives in abundance. He is the sweetest boy you can imagine. He deserves all the love, and thank goodness we found him and can provide it.

From what I understand, he spent a very long time at the humane society after the first rehoming. He was surrendered early on, and it took months for a foster to take him in, to get him out of a cage. The fact that he has maintained such a sweet, quiet demeanor after all he has been through is a miracle. 

I can always tell when my botox is wearing out. As the sun sets during those weeks, the afternoon light puts a coppery taste in my mouth, and I can feel the threat of a migraine. I took today very easy, knowing that I get a new round of botox for migraine on Wednesday. By game night, I should be back in full control of my brain pain. Until then, I'll let a rotating cast of cats and dogs comfort me, in quiet companionship.

The Goat

Inspirational song: Climb Every Mountain (Sound of Music)

We are still in the getting-to-know-you phase with our large new gentleman. He doesn't know whether he can trust us yet. We haven't tested how well he can be trusted with our kitties. We are moving slowly. However, a few things had to be sped up a bit.

It was sunny but cold when we fed the crew breakfast. The boys ate outside, where Murray always has his meals, and Saoirse was inside for hers. Then I let her out to run around with them. I kept peeking outside to see how they were getting along. New dog jumped over the picket fence into the raised garden bed side like the fence didn't even exist, back and forth a couple times. Then one time I looked out and didn't see him. Like at all. We dashed out and looked all around the back yard, and he just wasn't there. I went out front and had to chip ice off my car windshield before driving around to look for him. Mr S-P went the back way, to look in the alley. I had barely made it out of the driveway when he called to say he was in our neighbors yard, the one I rent out. We thought this meant he can vault our six foot privacy fence. No, more basic than that. We have some sawhorses and stacked flagstone against that fence, hoping to keep Saoirse from barking at neighbor dog Beau (it doesn't work). New dog just climbs up the stack, stands on the boards on the saw horses, and he hopped over the one time. I'm starting to see why the fosters were so desperate to get him adopted out, and said he needs a farm. Good thing we have a mountain.

And that led to the next urgent task--boy needed a collar and tag with our phone number on it. That meant we had to settle on a name right away. We wanted to get a Gaelic name for him, and this morning's excitement had us googling Gaelic words for things like "climber." It occurred to me to look up "mountain." It's spelled "beinn," and the anglicized pronunciation is just "ben." Think the tallest mountain in Scotland, Ben Nevis, or Beinn Nibheis. So there we have it. Beinn. The mountain.

When Saoirse was young, and being naughty, I started referring to her as a name from a well-known SNL skit, a celebrity jeopardy episode with Norm MacDonald as Burt Reynolds. He changed his name on his monitor to read "Turd Ferguson," because it was funny. I called my puppy that so often, her official government name became Saoirse Louise Ferguson. Her bio-father has proved he has the same amount of naughty in him, so he is Beinn Appa Ferguson.

Who's Your Daddy

Inspirational song: Time of the Season (Zombies)

It's a funny old world.

Earlier this week, my daughter was just scrolling through Facebook, and came across a post in a local moms group. It was a photo of the dog someone had been fostering for two months, and the post said they urgently needed to find him a forever home. The dog looked almost exactly like Saoirse. So my daughter took a screenshot and sent it to our group chat, saying, "I thought this was your dog." It only took a glance for me to recognize who he was. 

The ranch where we got Saoirse is no more. I don't know the whole story, but before I jumped off Twitter like a rat from a sinking ship, I knew there had been some problems. The alpacas are now at the owner's parent's acreage here near where I live (and where the owner grew up), and she now lives about half an hour away from here. I noticed that when she posted pictures of the dogs anymore, she only put up ones of Saoirse's mother and sister. When I reached out and told her who I thought I'd seen, she said she had rehomed most of them a long time ago when the ranch was on the way to dissolving, but no one had said they had given them up from there. It had been well over a year since she had seen them, so she wasn't sure from the one picture whether it was one of hers.

It hurt seeing this boy in need, but I wasn't in the position to make the call on him. Mr S-P would be the one paying for dog food and vet bills, and he was grumpy when I insisted on taking puppy Saoirse. But my girl has grown into a most excellent adult, and he has warmed to her. He surprised me by saying, "set up a meeting." I said that I would leave all decisions up to him and wouldn't push.

Today was the meeting, at a snowy, empty dog park. When he walked up, I was certain. This dog is Saoirse's father Appa. I looked right in his eyes, and he got a hitch in his step like he recognized me too. He and I had hit it off so well the other two times we met. This time we had Saoirse, Murray, and guest dog Dice to meet with him, and he was a champ. So calm, so sweet. 

So I put it back to Mr S-P. We all agree Murray needs more companionship. He doesn't get to come into the house nearly often enough, and he is so lonely and depressed. Appa will act as a bridge, while Saoirse continues her service dog training. We haven't tried him out with cats yet, but he has a long history of being chill with the felines.

There is disagreement in the ranks of whether we would keep the name Appa. I want him to have a Gaelic name like Saoirse, but we haven't settled on one yet. He's not due for a rabies booster until the end of the month, so we can brainstorm until then.

There is much more to his story, but this is already a long post. I will have time for more later. Also, he outweighs Saoirse by about 20 pounds. I told everyone she is a dainty puppy. Now I have proof.

Abstract Thought

Inspirational song: Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy) (Jim Croce)

So we are back in the sidewalk chalk on the front door phase. Valerie was really into it for a while, and then she went months not doing it at all. I had it contained to just that one spot, so I didn't have to constantly go around the house, cleaning the bottom three feet of everything. Now that it's back again, Dmitri is participating too, and for all that his language is rapidly advancing, he doesn't understand "just the front door" yet. He has coated two rooms in chalk. Good thing it washes off easy.

The cool part about them drawing again is that she showed us that she has moved into abstract thought. She is able to draw a figure and call it a person. With zero prompting from us, she drew a person, and when grandpa asked her who it was, she said "me." 

Our little man shows off new words all the time. He is currently a huge fan of Mario and Luigi, and he tells us about it. He also has transitioned into making engine noises when he plays with toy cars. I don't remember him ever doing that before. How do they keep growing so fast?

Rack 'em and Stack 'em

Inspirational song: It Can Happen (Yes)

Some of the worst blockages have been shaken loose, and I feel mentally unstuck for the first time in ages. I'm pretty sure most of the credit goes to the force of nature who is couch-surfing at my house during the school weeks. It also helps that she is the first one to jump in and help with day to day tasks, so that I'm literally not stuck doing the basics first and never gaining traction. I turn around and dishes are already done or the recycling is taken out, and I can move on to the harder stuff that I've put off because getting to the starting line takes too long.

Today's miracle advancement was finally taking the metal shelves out of my trunk and assembling them in place on the porch. Housemate and I had started on some basic porch cleanup earlier in the week, so today I had access to the spot where the shelves were to go. I positioned them so that I could tuck away large, unsightly storage bins, yard work tools, fertilizers, and all of my terracotta collection when not in use. I finished ripping out the dead foliage from terracotta containers, but the old soil can't go into the city compost bin. I still have to dump it in specific places in the yard, so that will take more time and energy, yet to be allocated. Then I can properly rinse and store pots on the shelves.

It's so nice not having to start at zero every single time I set out to accomplish things. Yes, the house is crowded, with two extra adult humans, and an extra dog and cat. Despite that, it feels cleaner and more spacious in here, and less mentally draining. For all it may resemble living in a college dormitory or sorority house, it functions a lot more efficiently than one. 

Sparkle

Inspirational song: Elvis Is Everywhere (Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper)

My primary function for today was to prepare for game night. We needed everyone present for a multitude of reasons, some in-game, some extracurricular. I got the house sufficiently tidy, and found time for a nap. But most of all, I made cake. A very large cake. I had purchased an enormous round cake pan a few years back, in which we swirled chocolate and vanilla cake mixes, for the birthday of one of our most outlandish players. This time I used two funfetti mixes (GF, of course), and vanilla funfetti frosting with rainbow unicorn sprinkles. I got some sparkler candles for an extra touch.

There are two February birthdays in our group, next week and the week after, but we celebrated now, so that everyone would show for an important session in the game. Even with the most ginormous cake, I worried slightly that it wouldn't be enough. We only had a little left. I wish I could have recorded the squeal that Valerie let out when we told her it was time to light the sparklers. And of course, for the best shot I could have wished for, of Dmitri reaching out towards the cake and lit candles, my phone refused to take the picture. Between me and his dad, we got several other good ones, but I will always regret the one that got away.

Our guest dog went in for a dental cleaning this morning. When they got back, this black Belgian malinois had to be carried from the truck straight to the couch. Poor Dice /DEE-say/. She was loopy for hours from the anesthesia. She stayed tucked under a blanket on the couch most of the day. I had to record the cuteness to share.