This is going to be the strangest reflection upon a year ever.  Life continues to fly.  I guess given the landscape of 2020, that is kind of a good thing, but it does mean some of the most precious time with my little one has also flown by.

As always let's look at the wishes I had for 2020:
- I have gotten to know my new relatives better, but not as I would have liked.  It's kind of hard given the past year. I can't use that as an excuse though, I need to get better at getting on the telephone.  Let's put that on my wishes for this year, since it doesn't look like much will change.
- I wanted to get back on top of loosing weight.  Let's call that the most epic fail ever.  I'm up, and not by a couple of pounds this year.  Again, I can't give myself a pass with the pandemic, I have no one to blame but myself.
- Doing things with Avery was limited since many things were closed.  We did do soccer, but we didn't start swim lessons or other things that I probably would have otherwise done.  We did still go to Idlewild one day too.
- House progress - from my list there is a new freezer and dishwasher and I got the interior painted, which is huge, even though it wasn't on my list last year.
- Am I better person?  I dunno, I'd like to think so.  I've made progress on some things that are important, but could do better.
- I'm glad I didn't comment again on making more friends here.  Heaven knows that has been impossible this year.

Notes from 2020:
- Avery is not a very picky eater, I consider that a pretty huge win.  She is well spoken and clear, she's smart and funny, and she is totally potty trained -- even in undies over night!
- Another year with a single cruise.  There should have been a second one, but ya know.  The saddest part of this is that who knows when I can look forward to another one.  We didn't get to Aunt Jackie's either, but fortunately she did come here -- with my niecey poo! -- and we got to spend time with Susanne.
- Work is crazy busy.  There is opportunity for overtime pay too though, so that helps in some other ways.  I'm still struggling to use vacation time -- mostly because I can't leave, so when I schedule off I tend to still get sucked in because there is so much that needs to be done.
- Danika is no longer with us.  It happened pretty early in the pandemic and as sad as is makes me to say it, it was a bit of a relief.  I think she had a good life with me.  Avery still remembers her and mentions her.  She was a good girl and she deserves to be in heaven with her Meme.
- Safyre is well, thank goodness.  I did find someone who was skilled enough to trim her nails properly!  So she is probably more comfortable.  I feel bad for her at this point with Avery; Avery has taken to following her around the house with her trucks.  Saffy remains very patient and takes the turn the other cheek attitude, she's a good girl.

So my wishes for 2021:
- Normal.  I want normal back.  I want to go do things and experience things with my daughter.  I want to walk around the zoo without a mask, I want to cruise, I want to fly to see Aunt Jackie, I want to go see our older family members in Altoona.

- I could leave it at that, but I won't.  What can I control?  I can control me.  That means it's time to fix the weight thing (again).  Me being a chonk sure doesn't help ensure I could weather COVID if (when) it happens.  I need to be here and be well for my sweet girl.

- Here at the house, I don't know what I want to tackle anything other than beating down the mortgage.  I refinanced it to reduce the payments and timeline earlier this year.  I want to get even further ahead.  I have always tried to pay ahead and put into retirement, but listening to more and more Dave Ramsey I am thinking I need to kick it up even more.  It's time to curb bs spending.

- I also want to keep working on more bible reading (or listening as it has been this year on my bible app).  I will get the whole way through on the year long plan that I am midway through.  I have also been playing through the rosary each day (since late October) in preparation for the election.

- I'm considering a shift in churches, but I guess first things need to open back up again.

- Most of all, I want to see a bunch of politicians get voted out.  I want God to shine His light into the darkness, expose the corruption, and open a bunch of eyes and ears so the attempts by the media to convince people otherwise would be as though they had been muted.

I should have mentioned that I impulse made a batch of peanut butter fudge - thanks Alton.  It was the fastest and easiest thing ever.  It was pretty decent!  Notice my use of past tense.  My favorite egg and I have pounded through it... I even caught Avery sneaking a piece.  Mental note - she can reach pretty far.

Christmas was pretty quiet.  We mixed up a french toast casserole on Christmas eve so we were ready to go in the morning.  Since our company bowed out we had leftovers.  Surprisingly we slept in a bit and then opening gifts took a little while, but Avery helped get everyone's attended to, including Saffy's.

Since my favorite egg neglected to bring the cut of meat he wanted to make I instead made a turkey breast that I had bought and various sides.  It wasn't the big to do that Thanksgiving was, but it was definitely larger than a Sunday meal (Mom always did a bigger/nicer meal for Sunday).

I had boiled down the carcass, getting the last of the meat off, so today I made a turkey rice soup that turned out pretty nice. I also got motivated digging in the freezer and started a batch of pasta sauce.  I didn't want to make a grocery run, so it will be light on onion.  I also pulled a bunch of frozen ground beef which I am cooking up in non-meatball form to add to the sauce.  I dunno why frozen meat tends to bother me so much.  I smell it, and it just doesn't smell like fresh.  It doesn't smell bad, but it leaves me leery.  Getting those things addressed made space in the freezer at least to restock it with said sauce.  I didn't even use all of the tomatoes I had in there - that tells you how productive the plants were this year!  I probably should have put a pack or two of the hamburger meat back in the freezer too.  Maybe the last ones need to finish defrosting in the fridge and become taco meat instead.

Needing to work with a kid here at home at least I'll have some food ready, coupled with leftovers, to get through the week.

Current status:  Trying to get some time in while the kid is on the couch distracted with her favorite videos.  I worked 9 hours yesterday to cover some time.

Daycare is closed for two weeks.  It started with a parent that didn't dropoff/pickup.  They were going to press on since they weren't coming in the building.  Then a teacher in another upstairs classroom tested positive.  That triggered the shutdown.  Today a message came that a second teacher tested positive - this one in my kiddos room.

I have a bad feeling they're not opening back up in 2 weeks.

Saddest thing about it for me is that I just emailed to cancel our 'reservations' for Christmas Eve service at church.

I remain very fortunate with regard to COVID.  I still only have 2 "one-degree" friends that have had it to my knowledge.  I still share the concern and even mourn with a fair share of people.  I just learned that a "friend" from Starbucks just lost both of his parents within 5 days.  I can't even imagine.

Hundred Acres Manor is a haunted house near here, in Bethel Park. They didn't open this year or I would have also taken Niecey Poo there. They did however put together a pretty nice drive through light display, which they dubbed Elfburgh. On Saturday morning I made our reservations after seeing it was booking up and we were there last evening.

On the drive up we went along the route that took us past a resident who has put on a Christmas Vacation themed display for several years. I was driving so I didn't get the best view. I am sure I'll go back some other time now that I know where it is and how easy it is to find.

We also kicked off our cookie making. Gotta have some ready to leave for Santa after all. Saturday I made smores cookie balls from a mix that turned our pretty yummy and I mixed up the batter for pizzelles and put it to rest in the fridge over night. Sunday afternoon was spent making pizzelles. I would like to make a batch of peanut butter cookies and of course some chocolate chip. We'll see what next weekend brings.  We're getting tightened back up in lockdown, so I doubt I'll be out running.  It's time to shift back to curbside.

Most of the gifts are wrapped; I am still waiting on maybe 2 to arrive. We gave Santa a roll of paper with dinosaurs on it to wrap Avery's presents. I hope I gave him enough paper.

I ended up going to Medwell to get my steroids. I'm glad I did, the swelling has reduced a good deal and quickly, but I'm still hurting. I have already made a few motions that were too much by accident and left myself writhing.

I went first thing (8am) on Friday. You pull up and there are signs saying you should call before you go in. Ok. So I called. and called. and called. It either said the number wasn't available or gave you the canned options saying no one was available. I could see the employees inside. Around attempt number 70 there are now 3 other cars pulled in also dialing and redialing on their cell phones. I finally got a person who asked a few questions and told me to come in to register.

When I was waiting inside I got to listen to them taking other calls.  People trying to get COVID tests.  Their daily slots for such testing is limited and was full up, so call back tomorrow at 8am.  Well that explains why I couldn't get through.

It took an hour and a half, so I barely got out of there an home for a call I needed to accommodate, but I did get what I needed.  $12 for the steroids, prb several hundred for the visit (what I see processing right now is $120 for the xrays and $240 for the outpatient visit) which could have been avoided if my PCP had not told me to just keep suffering.  THIS is why I wanted to wait until January for all of that, since I haven't paid out my deductible for the year yet.  I would have expected MRI to see soft tissue, but ok.  Now I have a picture that depicts a bit of arthritis and some calcification that is consistent with bicipital tendonitis.

It's been 18 years since I did a full, gung-ho, Thanksgiving at my house.  It's crazy that it has been that long, but I just realized it as I pulled things together today.  I got it all done.  It wasn't phenomenal, but it was pretty tasty.  I am pretty pleased with myself.  Since I had to also entertain a kid and ensure she didn't pull out every toy while I cooked this was no small feat.

There was turkey breast and ham, mashed and sweet potatoes, cooked carrots, a broccoli casserole, salad, stuffing, rolls, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce, gravy, and desserts (our guest brought apple pie to go along w/ the no bakes).

It is a bit dreary out today, but the temps are nice -- so, at Avery's prompting, we took a walk after dinner, which made us feel less guilty about the subsequent pie.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

I am sure you are back wondering if I was successful with my plan for today.  I was able to make the run to the grocery store immediately after dropping Avery off at school.  Getting that done at 8am set the pace for me.  I came home and started messing with Christmas decorations -- so I got the wreaths up on the exterior of the windows!

I had a 10am chiro appointment, turns out that was my only self care for the day since I could get in during my window for a pedi.  After the chiro appointment I spoke with a recruiter. I periodically get emails and usually there is too much anxiety over a change to consider it.  Right now I'm so exhausted that I decided it wouldn't hurt to give her a few minutes of my day to see what she had to discuss.  It's a position in Pittsburgh, which is of very little interest to me.  Let's be honest -- any type of commute is going to make me frown after been able to work remotely for the past nearly 4 years.

After all of that I got the cranberry sauce and no bakes checked off too.  I then made a run to Aldi, because they had an item that I wanted to snag for a Christmas gift.

I picked Avery up and headed to the mall because Santa was supposed to be there.  I got her all dressed up in the back of the car and re-did her ponytails only to walk in and not find Santa there.  I am not too happy about having driven 25 minutes in one direction for that specific purpose to not find him.  They've advertised that he's there.  When I looked earlier in the week on the website there were openings -- although this year I was just going to walk up instead of scheduling because there was rarely much of a line in years past.  I even called the mall today and their office phone line indicated he would be there.

Of course, this is the same office that was supposed to be open until 5 today but was black when I went up to ask them for the actual schedule.  Their facebook page indicates he is there too, the latest post says they encourage reservations whereas an older one said they were required.  *sigh*  I just want to make sure we don't miss out on this little bit of normalcy.  This year has stunk.  My kid is at the perfect age to really enjoy this.  Please don't ruin it for us all.

The regular Thanksgiving get together we typically attend was cancelled a few weeks back.  Another one of my favorite egg's aunts volunteered to host, but let's be honest, it probably isn't the best idea to have 20-ish people together.  I will be cooking.  I've made a few bigger meals like this, but it's been a while.  I'm not going all out, but there is plenty to do.

I got a jump start tonight.  The carrots and sweet potatoes are peeled and cut up in their cooking vessels.  The mashing potatoes are washed (ready to peel).  But more importantly I made my list of what I am going to make, gathered the materials I will need from my stockpiles, and made my list of items I need to grab from the store tomorrow.  Don't worry -- I pulled the turkey breast to defrost on Sunday.

I am supposed to be off tomorrow.  Maybe the abundance of things I need to do will be enough to keep me from spending too much time working.  My goal for tomorrow is to make the cranberry sauce and a batch of no bakes, hit the grocery store, maybe get in for a pedi, and to pick up Avery from daycare early.  Oh -- and I have to clean a bit too, because we invited Avery's EGP over for Tgiving dinner.

Because I wasn't sore enough...  I got motivated yesterday.  It was time to work towards addressing the mess in the basement.

As part of the process I put all of the Halloween decorations together, which will help future me.  I also brought a good bit of Christmas stuff upstairs to queue up.

I tossed two of the dog crates that I have had for over 20 years.  I mean, I guess if I get another dog someday they could have been used, but the doors were rusted and bent (thanks to Danika) and looking rough.  I have pressure washed them in the past and bought replacement doors, but seriously, they can go.  I still have one extra large one if need be for Saffy.  That one could use a new door too.

Long story short it looks way larger than it did before.  I need another day when I feel like tossing things to really make some progress.  I also have space to accommodate two more sets of shelves.  Part of the problem is that the plastic bins are just a wee bit too big to go on most of the shelves.  What I would really like, although they're kinda expensive for what they are, are ceiling mounted storage racks.  One of those in the garage and one in the basement would rock.  I know me though too - if I got one I'd be afraid to hang it for fear I wouldn't get it up right.

Hair Despair

Remember my first appointment to get my hair done after all of the COVID stuff started?  Back then they emailed that someone in there tested positive shortly after my visit; they had not contacted me directly as being someone that was in close proximity.  Well, this time I got a call.  I was there on Tuesday afternoon and my stylist tested positive on Wednesday.  So yay for that.  At least I look good.  There were masks and all precautions.  I'm not worried, at least not any more than I am every day, because I think we're all going to get it eventually.  Don't get me wrong, I am not loving it.

Dog

Saf's nails have been clicking and clacking on the floor for a super long time.  Attempts to get them trimmed for years has failed - she won't let the vet office or the kennel do more than 2 or 3 at a time.

I am happy to report that I spotted another mobile groomer coming into the community earlier this week. I called and left a message hoping they could squeeze Saf in.  She called me back and swung by.  I was able to get in the van to help keep Saf stable and well praised.  Praise God all nails are trimmed!  She has to be more comfortable.  It is crazy how much better this makes me feel.

Shoulder

I have been dealing with pain in my shoulder area for months now.  I continue to go to the chiropractor and for monthly massages.  I really thought it was a knot like I had years ago and we'd get it addressed.  I thought it was from carrying a 35#+ kid more often than I should, so I backed off on that.  Unfortunately, I'm still struggling.  They are pretty sure it is bicipital tendonitis so my options are to stop sitting with my arms up on a desk/keyboard all day or... not.  Well the first isn't really an option.  Heck I've been doing closer to 45-50 hours as a week trying to get everything done and often working part of the weekend, so if anything I'm forced to do the exact opposite.

The chiro suggested contacting my PCP yesterday to see if they would consider any other treatment, in specific perhaps steroid to reduce the swelling.  Their response was to continue physical therapy -- as in chiro.

All I know is I am about done with this.  There is always a discomfort there - and if I move the wrong way it feels like a muscle instantly knots up producing a fair amount of shooting pain.  It effects my sleep.  It hurts to put on deodorant, it hurts to shave my armpit, I'm trying to relearn how to wipe myself with my other arm to avoid the pain that happens there, I can't easily take a shirt off... and worst of all I can't scoop my kid up.

I am pretty sure I mentioned getting an Instant Pot for Mother's day (at my request).  This past weekend I pulled it out to cook a brisket.  I do love brisket from bbq joints, but I've never managed to make one that was tender despite long/slow cooking attempts.  Success!  It was delish.  It still takes quite some time to make -- and would have probably been better had I put it to sit with the dry rub the day before.

Trying to make something new inspired me.  I had to hunt down something different to make with it and found a recipe to make my own creamed corn.  It was a good way to use a bag of frozen corn cut from fresh ears and turned out pretty decent.  I also pulled a couple of bananas from the freezer and pulled together a batch of my choco-cream-cheese-banana bread.  It was a tasty Sunday.

It has been a week since the election.  In true 2020 style... it remains up in the air and not looking like there is an end in sight.

I don't think we'll ever know who legitimately won the election, but I am pretty confident there were lots of improprieties.  I still believe firmly that Donald Trump is who we need in office for another 4 years and I am fearful of what the Biden, wait, let's call it like it is, what the Harris presidency would entail.  All I can do right now is pray that the truth comes forward.  I am praying for our nation hard.

I know some of my friends disagree with me. I still call you friends, I hope you feel the same.

Holy moly what happened to October? Either way I am glad that we are almost to the point where the robo calls, text messages, and incessant political ads will come to a halt.  Let the news of cities on fire begin, right?

Halloween was nice - the weather was way better than last year and Avery had a blast.  Avery had her dinosaur costume for the school parade, which narrowly avoided the rain since it was outside this year.  For the neighborhood she rocked a Zero the dog costume we pulled together at the 11th hour - after my sister finished crocheting the most awesome zero hat for her.

My sister and niece were in for nearly two weeks, so I was running at about 50% for work.  During that timeframe our other sister also came out.  My house was full and busy!  I didn't get enough of a mental break though, so I am sitting here wiped out at the moment.  I prb doesn't help that I committed myself to a fast today.  The headache is real - despite allowing myself my allotment of caffeine this morning.

It's official.  Royal Caribbean has cancelled my cruise.  I knew it was coming.  I want it to -- so I didn't have to feel like I was missing it if we decided to not sail.

It has been a while since I commented on the shows I am trying to get through.  I am managing quite well without DirecTV.  Dare I say I don't even miss it?  I am still slowly making my way through all of the episodes of House and the Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Amazon Prime.  I periodically get to watch another episode of Dead Like Me on Amazon Prime too. I can't watch that one downstairs because the TV there isn't compatible with IMDB something something which allows it to interrupt the show to play commercials (lemme tell you how annoying that is).

I hadn't turned on Netflix in a while, but when I did I spotted Ratched, so I am slowly getting through those episodes too.  I have to say I'm losing interest in their content as a whole.  Not just due to some of their more recent bad decisions -- but lately it seems like there is a theme to everything I see there that feels a little to agenda-y.  I was surprised to find the opposite when I watched "Social Dilemma" on Netflix.  It was enough to push me over the edge; facebook messenger app is now gone from my phone.  Actually, I was just going to turn notifications off, but it wouldn't let me, so I deleted.  Mostly I have been watching Youtube videos, or at least listening to them whilest I work or start falling asleep.

It took nearly 2 months, but at last today a notary is coming to the house for me to sign the papers to finish my refinance on the mortgage.

Finance wise it is a very odd time.

As we get to the end of each year I dial back how much is going into my retirement as I near the yearly max; that leaves me some 'extra' cash, so the battle is do I put more towards the mortgage or use that to refill the coffers after laying out cash for the interior painting (which I continue to be very happy with by the way).

I may not have mentioned this before, but there was also an unprecedented situation with work which -- long story short -- resulted in them requesting our efforts which would earn some overtime.  It's a situation where I admit I feel obligated to help, I want to see it succeed, but it sure doesn't hurt to get a few extra bucks.  That of course means a bit of a challenge getting that extra time in, especially if we go back into a lockdown that closes schools/daycares.  I am not putting in much time yet on that, but hopefully that little bit extra can help make progress on something too.

Being an adult is weird. I am actually excited for tomorrow night's debate. I plan on making popcorn. This is going to be better than anything on my watch later lists on youtube or Netflix by far.

I think of things after I post... what can I say.  Perhaps exacerbated from moving so many things around for the painters, but present for the past month and a half -- I continue to have issues w/ my right arm/shoulder.  I went for another massage yesterday and we're not finding any knots that could loose me of the pain.  She however did indicate that my bursa is enflamed and swollen.  Even before this appointment I was to the point with this ongoing discomfort that I intend to get it further assessed after the new year.  In the meantime, suggestions welcome.

Time for an update!  On the first day the painters did get through everything upstairs (except two of the smaller closets, which I was using to get things out of the way while they worked there.  They also got started on several areas downstairs.  As they worked I emptied the pantry and readied the rest of their path forward.  From there they finished the rest of the house on Sunday while I worked upstairs going through my clothes and purged rather than putting everything back into my closet (5 bags are in the basement to go).

My current state is a little like a tornado went through.  I promised myself that I wouldn't just put everything away again without making some decisions, so the mess may remain for a little while.  I did get the office put back together quickly (as was necessary), and reconfigured it to an L shape rather than a U shape.  This also allowed me to pull the one table away from the windows so I can access them more readily.

The Halloween decorations that were previously up are back in place, but lots of other things on the wall need to be re-applied.

This past weekend Avery and I went to see my sister in Lock Haven!  We had a lovely long weekend.  I truly needed a bit of a break.  Unfortunately, that means I made no progress on clean up over the weekend.  But I guess w/ limited activities outside of the home and the high likelihood of additional lockdowns I suspect I'll have ample time in the next month or two to get it all in order.

This Saturday the painter comes!  He expects to get everything upstairs as well as the dining room and potentially the entry hall complete -- two coats -- on that single day.  This is awesome, but where on earth am I putting everything upstairs to "clear a path" for him?  I know things can move to the middle of the room, but eesh.  I am hoping to use this opportunity to tidy up the odds and ends that have accumulated in the spare bedroom and the workout room.  I already got the old queen size bedrails down to the basement (finally).

I also peeled the vinyl lettering off of the dining room wall and pulled down the family photos, which were all on command strips.  The double-sided sticky style command strips all brought some paint/wall down with them whereas the newer ones that have two pieces that velcro together came down beautifully without damage.

I did tell him the original color I selected.  It isn't going to be too dark, I'm going to love it.  All is well, right?

Crazy as it is even in my own mind ... after probably 27 years, I went to confession -- and for the first time ever, willingly. There has been a lot on my mind and heart. The fact is, if I keep getting reminded of it with a sense of urgency (particularly since it isn't something that I'd question the 'benefit' vs 'negative aspects' of), I know I had best obey. I have another item on my mind that I need to address and that is with regard to getting a few things blessed. Of course, it is an odd ask that I could see a Catholic church rejecting since I am not a member of their community and they do not know my intentions.

Regardless, I went, I am happy I did.

This is Halloween, this is Halloween!  It will NOT be cancelled.  If they try, we riot.  Oh wait... I guess it's too late for that to be shocking.

It is official.  It has begun.  Last night after I picked Avery up we went on a shopping run.  I needed some more bottled water, so I had a need to go to Big Lots, but I made the haul on a Thursday because I know they're getting their Halloween goodies in.  We hit Big Lots, and Target, and Hobby Lobby, and Home Depot!

I started following a YouTuber who posts all about her trips around shopping for Halloween decor.  She does some of the most beautiful setups and has a lovely gothy style.  I blame her for putting me in the mindset.  Avery on the other hand can totally blame me.  She didn't want to wear the shirt I had pulled out for her this morning and I told her to get something else out.  In response she grabbed her sequined ghostie shirt.

Since we're both geared up we pulled things out from the basement this evening and started planning/plotting.  I also discovered the bag of cut outs I made her last year (a pumpkin, a ghost, and a frankenstein moster head with various cut out eyes, mouths, etc to configure), so we spent some time this evening playing with those as well.

Aside and totally off topic:  When you get a notice that a package will be arriving soon and have no idea what it could be.  Then you click in to see who it is from and think "geez, I forgot I even ordered that" because it's been so long since you did so that you forgot about it.  I'm talking to you Tupperware.  You charged my card on July 25, it's September.  SHAMEFUL that you have the nerve to charge shipping.  You could have walked it here by now.

After several rounds of getting paint samples and putting blotches all over the house I have finally selected my colors.  On the bottom (below the chair rail) of the walls in the dining room I am going with Grasslands.  The rest of the walls throughout the house will be Bauhaus Buff ... or at least I am pretty sure.  I really liked the tone/color of China Doll but on the wall I felt it was too dark to do throughout.

Man it's been a process.  For the record, Sherwin Williams will tell you that you can get a color a percentage lighter.  They do not however calculate the % in the manner demonstrated here (which makes sense to me).  I had created a nice photoshop image to compare the original china doll to various %-ages lighter and thought I was set.  But when I got a sample that %-age lighter it looked identical to the regular color.

There were beige/creams that were too pinky, too gray, too peachy, too light/boring.  I am officially the goldilocks of beige.  Yay me.

 I no sooner hit post and I realized I should comment about the food trucks coming to our community!  We don't have the perfect spaces for them like other communities do, so the first time resulted in the cops coming and indicating that they'd need to have a permit.  This time someone volunteered their driveway, so problem solved.

The first truck was the Emporio meatball truck which was really good - the crack sauce was yummy as were the mac and cheese and the fries.  Tonight we had a wood fired white pizza that was also delightful.  It's nice to be able to take a stroll down through the community to the cul-de-sac.  It also means getting to see and talk to some of the neighbors.

As we walked today one of Avery's classmates' mother drove by and stopped to introduce herself.  I had no idea they were on the other side of the community!

Speaking of classmates we also had a playdate here last weekend w/ Avery's best bud.  Who would have thought I'd have one much less two screaming near-three year olds running circles in my house and I'd love every minute of it?

Why am I posting... I have no idea.  I have nothing to say, really.  The days and weeks are going by so fast.  Everything seems so repetitive -- but good.

It has been crazy hot, but it is starting to get pretty chilly overnight, which is rather refreshing.  It's like a final warning to the plants, so my tomatoes are going insane right now.  I will definitely have the supplies for a big batch of sauce at the end of the season.  It's kind of a shame, because my tomatoes are incredibly tasty this year.  Avery loves them too and she eats the cherry tomatoes by the hand full every night.

The green beans, kale, and swiss chard remains productive much to my dismay.  The watermelons on the other hand remain small and don't seem to be changing.

I also have a critter with a penchant for my tomatoes.  I don't know what it is for sure, but I suspect a raccoon or the like given the way the partially eaten tomatoes are gnawed at.  I've lost a couple of romas and one big orange-yellow one at a minimum.

Yesterday I was open to suggestion... glad more people didn't knock on my door trying to sell things.

I signed on with a pest company that knocked on my door. I have wanted to get preventative care in this regard for a while, but I hated the thought of someone coming in and spraying chemicals all through the house. Their approach is using sprays enviromentally safe materials to deter ants, spiders, and the like from entering your home -- so they're spraying on the outside. They also treated along the property perimeter to deter ticks.

Then later in the day I got an email from my mortgage company noting significantly lower rates than what I currently have -- so I called to see how much I could save over the life of the loan. I ended up refinancing (I love how easy Quicken Loans/Rocket Mortgage makes this stuff). I dropped from the 15 year loan to a 10 year (cutting what a year and a half or so off of what was left) -- not that it matters since I do my best to pay ahead and shorten it even more. The rate went from 3.99% to 2.75%. Recoup time is a year and 2 months and I would save $9000 on interest (if I left it go the full 10 years).

I just realized that my last several posts were all crammed into one paragraph when viewed, despite inserting line breaks.  Yay new blogger (dys)functionality.

I am posting to acknowledge the grace I have been receiving this summer, unbeknownst to me until today. Remember that I am the person that still thanks God for my usable garage when I am coming home in rain or snow. I am also grateful for AC, which I had in Jtown too, but still... to quote Dogma there is "no pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater... than central air."

 

Cut to the chase, right? Well the HVAC company that comes to service my system in the fall and spring is woefully behind due to COVID, hence they just came today for their 'spring' AC service. Turned out I needed a new capacitor, well, I would -- very -- very soon. He even said he was surprised with the readings that the fan is actually starting up. I think he was being sincere. I saw the readings when he connected the old and new capacitors up.

 

If that thing continuing to run with our crazy hot summer and not giving me even a glimmer of trouble isn't grace I don't know what is. I'm $120 poorer, but, very grateful that I won't have a service call, I was still covered by the service plan even though it was technically expired, and I have been spared from a couple of sweltering nights with a near 3-yr old in the hotest bedroom in the house.

I don't make lasagna very often, I find stuffed shells way more convenient and favorable. But, tonight I used up the two half boxes of lasagna noodles that were here -- along with a ton of fresh veggies (zucchini from my favorite egg's mom), all of the onions from our pot out back (which didn't grow very big and were starting to turn to mush), and wads of fresh swiss chard, parsley, basil, and chives. Avery helped me put it together - we're really enjoying having her toddler tower. It turned out ok. I never manage to avoid all of the excess moisture when trying to integrate veggies into something like this. I was hoping that would help the lower lasagna noodles (they were no boil) to soften and cook fully (not quite).

The strawberries are starting to get color as are many of the smaller tomatoes and one roma. We've had a handful of sweet 100s over the past week, usually one or two a day - that's one for Avery and maybe one for me.

I ate my first cherry tomato from the tomato plant last night. It was a little bit bitter, but I'm hoping they'll be sweeter as we go. They had better be - I have quite a few tomato plants and there's going to be a ton of tomatoes here soon.

The unfair thing is that my basil has been trying to flower for weeks now and I don't have the tomatoes to go with it. the moz is sitting patiently in the fridge waiting.

Strawberries and watermelons are starting to form. Some lettuce is up higher than others. The bugs have eaten most of the kale -- thank goodness.

I am slowly getting some routine medical and personal care checked off while things are open. At last I got my mammo scheduled (why on earth they kept this closed as long as they did I will never understand). The only place left to schedule for me is the dermatologist for a routine skin check. Avery already has her dentist appointment rescheduled for August and I need to get her in for her 3 year visit, we'll see if things remain open for those.

Last week I got myself scheduled for a long overdue massage as my shoulder and right arm were starting to be a factor again. The one massage place I have used here just moved into the same building as my chiro! As such, I called and luckily got an appointment to get adjusted right before the massage time. The best part? I still had a gift certificate I purchased last year in a package for the massage and a "free adjustment" card for my birthday.

I also stopped to grab a few more paint cards. It is way too difficult to select the one to paint 90% of the interior. But I did email one of the local businesses that gave me an estimate to get on their schedule, so I guess I have a few weeks to make a final selection.

I got a really great view of the pileated woodpecker yesterday (with my binoculars).  He is so loud!

I'm officially angry when I think "new normal".  Before I just didn't like it.  Regardless, I still refuse to accept the way things are at present to be the way they will remain indefinitely.

This morning we got up and got ready.  We were already at Starbucks (which, by the way was closed this past weekend for a deep clean because someone wasn't feeling well) *rolls eyes*, when I got a text message saying daycare was closed today and tomorrow.  The reason?  Someone's (not sure if it is student or teacher) family member MAY HAVE come into contact with someone with covid.  They're waiting for a test result.  If it comes back positive does that mean I don't have daycare for 2 weeks?  Regardless of how it comes back is this going to happen again in 2 weeks?

This just isn't viable long term.  People have to work.  People have to have child care.  Do I want my child at risk, no, so what do we do?

Since June 1 there are only 16 new confirmed cases in this county (out of 206,865 people) and one of ya'll just HAD to be around one of those people.  *gah!*

I think we're all going to get exposed at some point.  Yes, I have fear of what that exposure means (will one of us get very ill from it or even die?) so I'm not exactly eager for it to happen (I'm not throwing a chicken pox party), but it's coming for us, so in that way I want to just get it over with.  I so wish the sick we had back in February could have been attributed to it so I could say we were past it.

My car got inspected today (it was technically due in May, but they granted us an extension).  While I needed to get the car inspection done this month they hadn't opened their waiting room or started providing their shuttle service yet.  Since I forced  my Favorite Egg out of bed super early (for him) this morning to drive me there and to bring me back later I took him to one of his favorite spots - Bob Evans.  It was pretty weird to dine out somewhere (not takeout) after how many months.

In other news I spur of the moment decided to order a Dyson Pet vacuum.  I say spur of the moment, but honestly I have needed a vacuum for years now, even after buying the Miele that I currently use on the main floor (since I am not a fan of it).  The lesser vacuum that is upstairs smells like it is a risk of fire when it is running and has more spots taped up on the cord than is reasonable.  The Miele will likely go upstairs and the junk one will tend to the basement.

On Sunday morning I was inspired and we headed to Mingo Park for some family time.  We had a picnic, walked a few miles, threw rocks into the creek, checked out the bugs and tiny fish, and visited the spots where I had maternity photos taken.  It was a good day.

Here I am midway through the first week of Avery's return to daycare and I'm fighting off sadness. The days feel longer than they were with her here.  I miss her.  I want a sweet little hug.

Today we can add wild turkey to the list of birds out back!  I know turkeys are pretty common occurrences in PA, but I never spotted them in Jtown.  Here I encountered a rafter wandering the streets when I was house hunting and I periodically encounter a female crossing the one street I drive down to go to the grocery store.  gobble gobble.

Today feels like the last day of a vacation.  That's ridiculous of course since my life will slow down a little bit moving forward.  No more scrounging for hours on the weekend and getting a straight 8 starting on Monday.  It's going to be insanely hard to drop that little nugget off simply because I'll miss her, but there is also some fear mingled in there.

It rained here off and on today, so we only got a short window outside in the evening.  This morning I decided to leave the house, with the kiddo in tow.  I'm not trying to be haphazard, but I needed to take her somewhere else and get my feet wet before I take her on Monday.  We went into Target and Big Lots, which were pretty slow, thank goodness.  Kiddo didn't fight me too much on wearing her mask either.  Good news - I scored some of my brand of TP!  After three months of Amazon not being able to ship it when it was supposed to come I am below my standards for comfort in backup rolls.

Did I really not mention my bird house on here in the past few weeks?  If so, sorry for the duplication.

I had Carolina Chickadees in the bird house out back.  My first indication was seeing the parents come and go - at first I thought they were building the nest, but they had snuck in there and already had babies by the time I noticed them.  I watched them coming and going very methodically with little green inchworm looking things in their mouths.  Each time they would land on the fence and look around a bit before going into the house.

I had noticed earlier this week that I wasn't spotting them coming and going, so I stepped closer and didn't hear babies, but I didn't want to disrupt the house just yet.  Yesterday I saw a bluebird (!) checking out the box.  He popped his head in a few times.  This told me it was definitely time to clean up after the previous tenant and get it ready to rent back out.  So last night I popped it open and cleaned out the mossy built nesting inside.

Our robin nest under the deck has three babies that are getting big.  The mom isn't too thrilled with us hanging out under the deck most every nice day, but she's getting used to us enough that she is still coming and going in our presence.

Being outside has me really noticing the birds and critters - which I have always loved, but never indulged in watching much.  I know I have binoculars somewhere, where are they?!  I did pull out my camera and all this does is make me wish I had a better lens with more zoom again.

This also makes me want to hunt through birding sites to try and find one that helps you figure out what you're seeing and track what you've spotted.  We have lots of cardinals and blue jays, there are finches with red on them (house finch?) and yellow birds.  I want to get to know them more!

Finally a day that is 100% off work.  I was caught up earlier last week so I took Saturday off too.  Sure I had to get 5 hours in yesterday (Sunday) but the light is at the end of the tunnel.  We are slated for daycare to open back up next week, well I should say slated to attend when daycare opens next week.  I can always change course if I see evidence that makes me nervous, but we're almost to that point and that alone gives me some strength.

On the other hand, I really like seeing Avery so many more hours of each and every day.  It's not going to be easy to take her and drop her off - not that it ever was.

Also, being friends with some of the teachers on FB I see that one had to go to the ER w/ a family member and another drove to NY to sight see.  I mean, I know I can't control their lives and for each bullet like that making me nervous there are prb 10 more that I don't hear about.

There seems to be a lot of people going away still.  I wish I had the confidence and the knowledge of where to go that I could drive and stay somewhere for a week - somewhere that I can put my toes in sand.

The days continue to blend together.  We have had small glimmers of nice weather, but now we're getting frost warnings and mayhap some snow tonight.  I just want a nice weekend, one nice enough to go outside using panties.  I mean for Avery.  She is actually asking for panties.  I want to make this happen.  Having her home is a great time to try and get her fully potty trained, but at the same time trying to work and keep my head above water with other things makes it super hard to give her the complete focus that is necessary to be successful.

Here's to hoping that our state leadership (I am biting my tongue hard right now to cut to the chase and not interject colorful words or opinions on a specific individual) decides to put the rest of the counties, including mine, on the yellow list for next Friday.  People are going to start losing their shiz soon.

The more I watch and read the more I think many many many of us already had it and the numbers are all bullcrap.  On one hand I believe the longer we stay here the more susceptible we are to other things on the other hand, yes, for the sake of my child I'm afraid to say screw it and go about  my life as I would today had she not been here.

Today I decided to go out and get my own groceries.  This is something I haven't done in a while.  I could have gotten a curbside order w/ Giant Eagle fairly soon, but I wanted to get out.  I'm itching to shop.  I headed to Aldi.  I prefer my fruit and veggies from there both for the price and quality.  Their meat fridge was pretty bare.  I'm not much for sausage or ground turkey, so I left there without meat and had to also go to Giant Eagle to get those supplies.  That worked out well as they still had most everything - except pork (other than ribs, which I had wanted).  They also had a good deal on corn and the saltine crackers I wanted (which Aldi doesn't carry).  The fridge is full for another week plus.

One good thing I can say about curbside and the bare shelves is that I've tried a few things that I would not have other wise bought had they not been provided as a replacement item.  Tonight for dinner we had Hormel smoked pork chops.  They come fully cooked - so I did a quick peek to see how people normally prepare them.  A quick browning in a skillet w/ olive oil and seasoning followed by about 20 minutes in the oven at 350.  They were quite tasty and had more of a bacony flavor than chops would have and were super tender.  I'd totally buy these again.

Similarly in the past Avery's yogurt was replaced once and she loved what we received, so it is now another viable option (at a better price) for us.  At times the replacements are questionable - like giving me asparagus when the brussels sprouts were gone.  Ok, thanks for the stinky pee.  Don't get me wrong, I eat asparagus, I just don't see how someone thought "I'm going to to make this replacement."

The weather has been great.  We had some rain in the past few days, but it dried up nicely and we had lots of sun and perfect temps, so there was lots of outside time.  Since I got my hours today early in the day I was able to enjoy part of that day with a fruity beverage in hand - I needed that too.

I had a release to get out last week.  There was a few hiccups so I racked up hours a bit earlier in the week.  It was enough that my Friday didn't require evening hours and my Saturday was off.  I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am that I didn't have to work on Saturday.

While it went back to a chilly rain on Saturday night - and lasted all through today - Saturday was perfect.  I even ended up getting a little bit of sun on my feet.  Avery and I spent a good chunk of time out back earlier in the day and out front later in the day.  There was lots of swinging, sliding, and cuddling, we had a great day.  It did my heart good. Maybe it was getting fresh air, but I think it had something to do with legit bonding time away from my phone and the TV.  I see the value in it, and I want to make it happen more and more - even after the virus is long gone.  I'm tired of running around during my non-work hours and rushing to get things done.  Sitting around and doing nothing but watching her have fun was worth a million bucks.

Another first for me... I actually paid for content!  I joined the "Mug Club" (Steven Crowder) today.  Admittedly the quarantine promotion code saving me $30 did it, but I have been enjoying the free extra videos they've had available through April.

and with that... the Kia is paid off. Yay for extra funds to now route to the mortgage!

Last night I managed to get a good vacuuming downstairs too!  It felt good.  How sad is that?  I've itched to have the time others do right now to do a full purge of their closets etc, but hours are simply not on my side.

I had a couple of conference calls today that required only of me to listen other than one small comment or two.  As such I took the opportunity to snap and get some quarantine cleaning and organizing done while I tuned in!  Finally the pantry has liner on the rest of the shelves (I previously only did the top one).  Even the floor in there was scrubbed.  Everything in there is reorganized and duplicate items went downstairs.  But I didn't just pile it down there... tonight after Avery went to bed, since I had already planned to skip out on my extra evening hour of work, I went down and got things in order on the food shelves down there!  I feel so good to have achieved something here.

My reward is a nice creamy toasted almond mixed drink

Now I'm really itching.  I want more bins for under my bed so I can move my sweatshirts and clear some space in my closet.  I want to get those shelves lined too.

Aside:  remember the new dishwasher?  I couldn't figure out what the heck the "issue" was with it - the dishes are always still dripping wet, even when I run it at night and set it to night dry.  I finally pulled out the manual and thought "derp" what... how?  there isn't a heating element and it relies on circulating the hot air from the hot water to dry the dishes.  How on EARTH does that work?  Well, it doesn't.  When the hot hell did this become a thing?  Ugh. So now I have to have somewhere to put many of these dishes so they can finish drying after they're washed.

Happy Easter world.  This year definitely was not like any other. We stayed home, no shock there.  I admit, it was refreshing to have a holiday that didn't involve a rush to get something made and get out the door only to return home wiped out.

I did start cooking shortly after we got up, and had a brownie for breakfast - a lovely treat for Avery and I from my sister. The ham went on, which I was lucky enough to get in a last minute curbside pickup, then I started to make the broccoli-mushroom casserole.  I had to modify that recipe since I didn't have everything, but it turned out okay.  I previously cooked beets and made pickled eggs. There was a can of cranberries and a caesar salad, and finally rolls "fresh" from a tube.

After I put the ham bone on to simmer me some ham broth for the freezer.  Later in the day Avery and I made some pillsbury sugar cookies with the easter bunny on them and for a late dinner some potato skins.  It was a good day for food, for sure.  Yesterday I made haluski with some extra to freeze.  Either way I have plenty of food to eat off of without cooking more meals that will save me some time this week

We did watch a church service and had time to go for a walk and play outside.  The weather waffled back and forth between the sun and overcast, but no rain fell.  I did stay offline from work for the day although I have plenty that I need to do there.  It will wait for me, guaranteed.

This starts the first week that doesn't appear to be easier to get my 40 in.  It's okay, I have to use some vacation time before July or I'd lose it, but I still hate burning vacation.  Stop complaining.  I'm just grateful that there is a check every two weeks, many aren't so lucky as of late.

I just queried for the payoff amount on my vehicle and set up the last payment through my bank.  Kind of anticlimactic given that we have nowhere to drive to these days.  I had drug the payment out further than I initially wanted to simply because the rate was so low and it made sense to put more towards the mortgage instead.  Either way there will be some extra slush fund for now.  I'd like to put it towards the mortgage as well, but for now - maybe just add to the greater slush fund, just in case.

This weekend was the first one I felt like I did something 'extra'.  You know, the stuff most normal people would achieve given the circumstances, but I can't easily do when doing the whole job thing and Mom thing - at least not without loosing sleep.

I gave myself Saturday off since I had my hours in for last week.  It was what I needed to get a little bit of oomph today.  My accomplishments today, in addition to getting some work time in, includes making some deviled eggs, going through Avery's clothes to pull stuff that is too small and to prepare new clothes that should fit now and into the warmer weather, vacuuming upstairs, two loads of laundry (they're even away), a nice palm sunday meal with slow cooker pork roast, mashed potatoes, and corn casserole.  That's no where near enough, but I feel good about it - so yay me.

Tonight I've lost most of the evening trying to checkout on Giant Eagle to get my next food order lined up.  I snagged a slot right after 8 but wasn't able to get it to check out, so at 9:30 (yep I tried for the full hour and a half) I lost my slot.  Looping back around I grabbed another slot - surely one someone else lost due to a similar issue - and I've been trying to check out since. It gets to the point where it validates my credit card and then it sits, spinning.  In about 20 minutes I'll lose this slot too.  How long do I keep trying?

I admit, I really want the ham that is in that cart.  I know I don't need ham for next Sunday to be Easter, but I sure want that little salty slice of normalcy.

It's weird here without Dani.  Getting to bed is faster, there is less cleaning up messes, but that too has a sadness to it.  Saffy is definitely down.  She hasn't eaten much.  We've been cuddling in bed for a little while each night - just like the old days.  I need it as much as she does.

Danika Nicole, Dani, Nik-Nic, Neener, Banany...
She was born on August 14, 2005, but I didn't bring her home until just before her 2nd birthday - at that time, named Rosetta.  She was at PAWS in State College, having just given birth to her second litter of puppies.  Apparently, she was seized from her first owner along with a male.  When he came to pay the fine and get the male a period of time later he said they could keep her, that he "never liked her anyhow" (this guy is clearly a jerk and an idiot, but I digress).  When she came home with me you could still feel every bone in her back and she had some food issues (some aggression with other dogs and counter surfing) along with a delicate tummy (this she never fully got past).  I can't blame her for the food issues, she knew what it was like to be hungry.

While many assumed she was named for the NASCAR driver *sigh* the truth is, she was named after the sarcastic vampire Danica Talos in the Blade III movie.  (Yes, I was loving that movie at the time, hence the Tiburon which was also purchased within the same period was named after another vampire in the film.)

She proved herself to be a sweet sweet girl immediately.  Every day for a long time when I came home from work she would cry and lean into my legs in the back yard looking up at me - just so happy I came home.  I think this is yet another testament to how poor her first life was.

My dark red and white blue eyed baby had a tail pretty much slung straight back except when she started to act like a propeller - that tail would spin in circles.  It was a mighty fluffy tail with a bit of white at the end, which coupled with her red/white coloring reminded me a little of a fox.

I didn't have her long before some teeth began to crack and break off.  I'm pretty sure she messed them up pretty good trying to escape whatever enclosure she was in in her first life.  My belief stems from the fact that Dani could bust out of any crate.  I don't know how she had the strength, but she'd bend the doors or bars inward and eventually get out of anything I tried to contain her in at any point in time.  She was tough - which made it hard to see her getting weak as she grew older.

She and Vixen didn't get along well, so her arrival began the separation mitigation years including a self made "wall" in the middle of the basement to give them both a little bit of private space.  It was always a challenge, but I worked hard to keep them both happy and out of one another's hair.  To be fair, she tried to get Vixen to play when she first came home, but Vix wasn't having it.  Now Safyre on the other hand... I wasn't sure who was "the problem" in the Dani/Vixen relationship for a long time.  When I saw Saffy on the Huntingdon Humane Society's listings I took Dani with me to meet her.  After a brief introduction at the gate they were in the play area together and getting along perfectly.  Danika was thrilled to have someone to play with.  Saffy came home and so began their sisterhood.

Through the years...

• She never did a great job of not making a mess if she needed to go.  But things definitely got worse as she got older to a near daily occurrence.  I guess it happens to most of us.  On one hand I'm lucky that it was her poo she had a harder time holding instead of urine.
• Her wants were simple.  Dani was content to lay by your feet in front of the couch and on the rare occasion when she would be on the bed, there too she would remain by my feet except when called up for a cuddle.  Her cuddles were more like a hug as she'd thump down on her side on you and press in for some love.
• Her first toy when she came home that was brand new and didn't smell of anyone other than HER was a stuffed sheep.  She fell in love with sheep.  There were lambchop stuffed animals that she would gross up with slobber from squeak-squeak-squeaking incessantly.  One Christmas, Aunt Jackie had sent two toys w/o names on them.  Saffy opened the sheep first and Dani stood there looking incredibly sad as she watched Saf play with the toy.  She refused to open the other gift!  After some prompting, Saffy gave up the sheep and opened the other toy.  When Dani was handed the sheep she was overjoyed and started squeaking away.
• On the weekend in the summer she liked to go out back and lay in the sun.  When the shade would creep in she would move to the next position to keep sunning herself.
• Counter surfing was broken pretty fast and after Saffy came, food aggression too was proven to be gone.  They could stand side by side eating with maybe a grumble if someone tried to bogart, but that was about it.
• She loved her treats.  Every morning as we got up and every night as we went to bed she would stand in front of the dresser staring at me demanding a treat from the bag she knew was sitting up there.
• She was darn near toothless towards the end, but it didn't stop her from eating regular food (or from pulling at crate doors when I was still using them).
• Other than being relatively toothless and having a delicate belly, Dani was pretty healthy throughout her life.  There for a while I thought she was developing tremendous arthritis as standing took forever and looked labored.  A bit of thyroid medication and she perked right back up in no time. We had been off the medication for quite some time without further issues beyond old age slowing her down and making her struggle to get up.

Before I relocated and began working from home things got harder.  The fighting against the crate which I had been forced to use to avoid needing to clean daily (which was a nightmare when you're trying to sell a house) started to become a bloody/face marred mess.  Then she began to defecate in the crate too, which while well formed was always a little soft thanks to those ongoing stomach issues.  We're talking within a couple of hours, not a full day, so running home at lunch often meant needing to clean a second time each day instead of avoiding a mess.

Since we moved I've noted a distinct decline.  She seems to have lost a good bit of hearing and she seems a little out of it/senile.  Dani remains friendly and delicate though.  She's also been a good dog with regard to having a human baby sister around the house.  The only risk there is that Dani isn't too attentive of where she steps, often resulting in her kicking toys and stomping on things - fortunately, not the wee one.

My vet has said it numerous times:  it is very rare that they pass on their own of "old age".  Eventually it becomes simply too much for one reason or another (too much on them with a problem they're suffering or too much on the owner).  This has been on my mind for quite some time and with the things going on in our world (coronavirus) the worries of the timing loom even larger.  I've been trying to do things for her to make her happy and show her the love that I have forgotten to offer as the busyness of life has gotten in the way.

Lately she's struggled more to get her feet back under her to get up, but usually after a bit of banging around on the french doors or a gentle nudge from my hand or foot as she struggled to stand she managed.  On the 31st around dinner time she had another bout struggling to get up.  I tried to help her and she wasn't quite holding her balance well.  I got her comfortable and encouraged her to relax a bit, figuring that she just tired herself out and would feel better soon (this has happened before).

Come bedtime she still couldn't stand, even with my help, to go to the bathroom.  I got her comfortable on the first floor with towels and an old dog bed - far from the carpet just in case she pottied - and hoped to see her feeling better in the morning.

Come morning there she was in the same place.  Another try outside was unsuccessful and she couldn't keep balanced at all.  I knew I had to make some calls.  For the rest of the day I kept her comfortable and when I saw or heard her attempting to get up (she'd groan) I would go get her to chill out again.  Our appointment was at 3:20, I've marked the post date/time of this blog entry to the approximate time she left us.  I then drove her to the crematory, thank God they are still open and providing services despite the coronavirus.  She will be back home in a few weeks to join Satin and Vixen, and me, here in the computer room.

Despite her rough start as a young dog Danika still lived much longer than Satin did and she had what can be considered a pretty long life, which says something.  I hope she was happy with her second life.  As I say goodbye to her, I hope that she gets to meet Satin, who was gone before she arrived.  I hope she and Vixen get along better.  I know Mom will meet her upon arrival, as I think Dani was her favorite.  Saffy, I am sure, will be missing her best buddy and I pray too that she adjusts to Danika's absence.  I pray to see you at rainbow bridge Dani.  You were a good girl.  I love you and I'm sorry.

8/14/2005 - 4/1/2020

Sadly as of now, Dani is still not able to stand or move about on her own.  Even with me holding her she isn't able to stand to go to the bathroom.  She's basically going where she is laying.  She's been napping, but periodically I hear her struggling (trying to get up) so I go out and try to get her to calm back down.  We have an appointment for later this afternoon to say goodbye.  Poor girl.

Say a prayer for Dani.  Right at dinner time she started struggling to get up/move between rooms.  This has happened, I won't say frequently, but I've often seen her struggle to stand up - banging into the French doors to get leverage, etc.  I tried to get her to just chill but she kept trying and tuckered herself out tonight.

As she finally decided to just stay still, probably because she couldn't fight more this came some whines/moans and heavy breathing.  I tried carrying her outside and she couldn't stand much less pee even with my support.

I have her set up with a bed out in the kitchen near the water in case she does manage to regain enough strength overnight to move and wants some water.  I've been dreading needing to decide for her, but especially now in the midst of all of this.  Ugh.

Wednesday (tomorrow) would be two weeks since I left the house in the car.  I've done my first round of 14 days.  I think this morning I'm going to pull the car out and Avery and I will go for a ride.  I certainly do not want the battery to die, so there is purpose there.  I'm not sure where we'll drive to.  I know I'm going to stay off the highways.  I can't tell you how often the thought goes through my head to be extra careful cutting something or when Avery is running that the last thing we need is something that warrants a trip to the hospital or medexpress.

I did get another grocery slot, this one for pickup from a local Aldi.  So I want to make sure the car is running before that pickup day!  Of course, Aldi uses instacart and they're striking at the moment (along with Amazon) so... yeah, this too adds to my anxiety because it makes me think about what happens when all of those workers start getting sick.  I'm going to have to cut out grocery shopping.  It would be hard to go without milk and fresh fruit, but I do have some frozen of each.  I've started looking around for a dairy around here that still has milkmen, but no success yet.  I'm hoping to hear back from one that is north of me.

I've seen pictures of long lines at banks and food banks lately.  That stuff all scares me even more, but yet I'm compelled to watch the news a couple of times a day just to check in.

This week I have one full day of support (tomorrow), so I got on top of things today getting 2 1/2 hours of work in this morning, another 2 1/2 hours while she napped, and 1 hour as she went down for bed.  That still means I need to average around 5 hours a day for T-S during her sleep schedule.  Can't complain yet.  I'll save that for next week when rough actually kicks in.  I know at some point I need to start eating into vacation time, but until I can see the light at the end of our tunnel I really don't want to.

The more news I watch the more I think that I will be trying to manage things as is well to July.  I guess I need to come at this from the right perspective here... if I and my family remain well and I remain employed -- and this is my biggest complaint I am still blessed beyond measure.  Remind me of that regularly, please.

My favorite egg brought daffodils and hyacinths cut from his yard.  My downstairs smells delightful and the bright yellow is soothing.  Trees are starting to bud.  At least we can keep walking the neighborhood.  Now if only the rain and crazy winds would chill out.

Yesterday before 4  my phone went off with a Tornado Warning.  It looked pretty clear but within a few minutes the dark was looming, so I rounded up the dogs and Avery and we headed to the basement.  From there I could hear the hail pelting the windows.  There isn't really a great place to 'hide' here.  Maybe the half bath on the main floor is an option too, but it would be mighty hard to get the dogs in there with us.  Fortunately, things passed us by.  The hail a few miles away in Cecil was the size of the palm of an adult's hand.  Here from what I saw they were smaller.  Thank goodness I haven't filled my garage to the brim (like so many neighbors) and my car gets to stay hidden away - have I thanked God for that usable garage lately?  Time to do that again.

Finally my cough has subsided to the point I am willing to say I am over it.  I did go to my ENT appointment, he went up through my nose and looked around, stating that my larynx was ticked off.  His diagnosis/belief is acid reflux that would normally not cause me issue until you get sick and then it keeps things a bit displeased.  He did prescribe me something, but I couldn't get it fully filled, so I haven't taken any of it.  My cough was already diminishing at that point anyhow.

While I was there I overheard the person who took my information (you know, before the doctor comes into the room with you) freaking out in the hall and I'm pretty darn sure it was about me given that I had just detailed my past month and a half to her.  Of course, the office hadn't really taken much in the way of precautions that I saw, so... what do you expect honey?

With regard to the hunger games, I managed to get a delivery slot for Giant Eagle this coming Saturday.  Hopefully they'll have at least half of the things I tried to order - or at least more milk and fruit for Avery.  Time will tell I suppose.  I would have done curbside, but those appointments were non-existent.  Good news is the first delivery fee is waived!

We seem to be getting one day of rain followed by a day with blue skies and sunshine.  I'm extra grateful for those bright days so we can spend a little time outside.

Today is officially the first day of working two full time jobs.  Hence Avery doesn't want to nap.  She's been upstairs wailing since 1pm, which was really fun while I was on a client call until nearly 2.  Sorry kid, you gotta nap.

Stiiiiiill coughing.  I feel like it's not as bad, but the moment I think that I end up in a major fit.  My second use of the netipot didn't produce as much, so I thought I was clearing up, but still I'm coughing, so...

I do have an ENT appointment on Wednesday, providing it doesn't get cancelled.  Of course, I'll have Avery with me at that point because her daycare is closing starting on Wednesday.

Let's focus on what has changed since my last post.  I had to travel to Maryland for work last week, yeah, that's just what I wanted to do in the midst of the apocalypse.  Fortunately, I was able to back it off to a single day from the original three days.  It did however mean that I left shortly after 3am and got back at 10pm.  It was a long ass day, but it did buy me most of Friday off while Avery was at school.  That allowed me to do a little bit of time to hunt and gather.

I feel like I have enough to be okay.  Granted, if for some reason I couldn't replenish I won't be eating meals that I'd fully embrace on a normal day, but I have food.  My bigger concern is having fresh fruit and milk for Avery.  I did order another bag of dog food from Amazon that already arrived, so I have enough to cover them for a while longer.

All of this hinges on our supply chain keeps on truckin.  Is anyone else waffling between a sense of calm/rational thoughts and a burning desire to overbuy?

I admit, I've also been taking other steps, like locking down the house tighter and making sure other things are in order and ready to protect us. I can't help but think we're just one long power outage away from someone losing their mind.

On a lighter note, I can't help but think though the lessons learned from my faithful watching of The Walking Dead.  I wonder if I'll end up with a Governor or Rick.

Still hacking and coughing.  It's dry, it's persistent, and it comes on in fits.  I've tugged a muscle up under my arm pit as a result even.  Last week I did call my primary care physician.  After all, MedExpress told me to follow up with them and since I had only had 2 days without coughing after finishing the medications I was prescribed there before it kicked back up... it felt like the right thing to do.

They pressed me to use the flonase (as most every office seems to do).  I swear to you, that stuff, even when not taken at night gives me a sore/burning throat.  Telling me to take it to combat post nasal drip (which is what they want to blame this winter's sore throats and now this cough on) is a bit crazy to me.  They also gave me prednisone after noting that the steroid pack I was given at MedExpress was "crap".  I have one pill left and nothing has changed.

I'll tell you this, being out in public people do look at you a bit cross eyed with this whole COVID19 thing going on when you start coughing violently.  It comes on most often after I come up a flight of stairs or after heading through a parking lot in the cold air... but it also comes on when I'm just sitting here or periodically throughout the night.

I'm not the type to be crazy paranoid, but I have to admit that knowing my first symptoms were a sudden fever and cough (while we were away on vacation) followed by this persistent cough has me very curious.  Avery still has a bit of a lingering cough too.  I'm almost starting to wonder if I should take her to the pediatrician to see if we can work on my diagnosis through her.

FYI in 2 days this will be a month of this crud.

I am finally doing some cleaning.  I am finally feeling like I have enough energy to care to clean.  So much more should be done right now, but at least I can say everything is vacuumed (have I mentioned lately that I'm disappointed with the Miele's ability to pick up dog fur?) upstairs and down, the other flooring is hand scrubbed, the toilet bowls are all tended to, laundry is caught up (and away).  Even the glass on the french doors got cleaned today and some of the grime that I've been noticing on the basement side of the door to the basement stairs has been scrubbed.

Progress.

Cleaning also should take care of some germs, which is, of course, on the forefront of minds as of late.  I've heightened my caution a bit.  I know we should do this regardless of the state of illnesses going around so maybe it will become a more stringent habit, but as of last night if you walk in my house the first thing you need to do is wash your hands.  It's a good strategy for Avery coming home from school, returning from the grocery store, and even when my Favorite Egg arrives from his workplace.

I think I also need to ask about the practices at school with regard to disinfecting toys and hand washing as they change diapers etc.  It seems like a good time to ask what the practices are and perhaps nudge them to take a look at said practices to improve them.

Last night after Avery came home I stripped her down and did her load of laundry (including school blankets, coat, and hat).  Part of that was inspired by hearing that two classmates went home early with a fever.

Too bad now that I get to sit down for a minute it is likely that Avery will be up from her nap soon - because I sure wish I could close my eyes for a minute.

Sinuses and ears feel better, that is probably a result of the antibiotics.  Still coughing.  My chest hurts.  I'm wondering when the steroids will do their thing.

I've been trying to go to bed shortly after Avery does to help fight this off.  I'm still waking up with a desire to roll over.  It's been a week and 2 days now, surely it has to be coming to an end soon, right?  I've not been doing much around the house as a result, I haven't even put everything away from the trip.

In other news I finally bit the bullet and ordered a new upright freezer (to replace the 23 year old one).  I also went ahead and had them order me a new dishwasher.  The one that is here works, but not great.  I wanted the silverware back on the door, but he swayed me into getting one that has a third tray on top for the silverware instead.  Fingers crossed that I like it.  It is an LG, which matches the other kitchen appliances, if nothing else.

My previous post must have taunted mother nature, because she decided to try and hose us up pretty good.  On the 7th we actually had enough snow for Avery to go outside and get her first sled ride in.  It wasn't a crazy amount of snow it was actually rather pleasant.  Maybe I was just in a good mood - because we were supposed to fly out later that day to New Orleans for a cruise!

I say supposed to because our aircraft didn't come in from Denver and the cancelled the first flight after 1pm.  Begin the scramble - no other way to flight out of the burgh in the right direction that day.  Nothing super early the next day to get us there at an appropriate/safe time either, so we needed to drive to Cleveland.  *sigh*  We got a rental car since our flights back were into Pittsburgh and set off at dinner time.  After going through a few scary AF snow squalls we arrived and got to our hotel (oh yeah, couldn't get a refund on the NOLA hotel that we were supposed to have been at) and were in bed by about 1am.  5am on the shuttle to the airport and we were off.

After we had settled on this arrangement we received word that the ship, Majesty of the Seas was going to be coming in late on Saturday, that we shouldn't arrive at the port until 3pm-6pm instead of our typical noon.  We had some time to shop after dropping out bags and enjoyed beignets at Cafe du Monde before heading to wait in an obscene line.  They weren't ready for us until closer to 5pm.

We had a slow start, but spirits remained up, we're ready for fun.  I went down with a cough, fever, and sore body on Monday.  That lasted two days.  I felt a little better on Thursday but the cough has stuck around and it's way worse at night.  My favorite egg went down two days after me with the same and noted how horrible he felt - I guess I must have done a good job suffering silently or he just didn't hear me.

Flight back my ears gave me hell and then the sinus pressure set it.  Today I feel a bit dizzy and less hopeful than I was on Thursday.  I went to the med clinic tonight.  I now have prescriptions for antibiotics and steroids - or at least I will tomorrow, the dang pharmacy closed 20 minutes before I got over there.  *wah*

All sick aside the trip was still good.  We had a great time and Avery loved being with her cousins.  Our stops, in reverse order... Cococay is beautiful and I can't slam the major overhaul even though it means what it used to be is no more.  We spent time on South beach  and then went to the kids splash zone and the swim up pool bar.

Nassau was also nice.  As a first, we took a taxi to a beach - Cabbage beach.  It is supposedly their nicest beach.  It was pleasant enough, but how do you compare it when you then go to Cococay?  Too many pushy vendors for me to say I loved Cabbage beach.

Key West was nice, but it was a bit of a short day, so we didn't have much time after the walk to the Southernmost point and a stop for a bite to eat.

Majesty of the Seas was in surprisingly good condition.  These way older ships are a bit wonky in layout and design, but once I re-familiarized myself with where I was going we were good to go. The kid's play space was a good size.  The room was a matchbox and she still has the clingy shower curtains instead of the plastic doors.  It was remarkably clean and I didn't notice a ton of things needing fixed.  The food was good.  The service was excellent.

The amount of sleep I got due to being sick and earnestly sleeping when Avery did actually had me feeling the most rested I've felt in months.  Too bad I'm losing it a bit now w/ the stuffy and restless sleep.

The heat has been turned OFF at my house for the past 24 hours, on February 3.  I just had to take a moment and celebrate that this was a possibility.  I'm loving this "winter".  I should have gone for a walk yesterday while the sun was shining and it was nearly 60.

It seems to be hard to post on this blog as much.  Many of my posts get routed to the other blog because, well, Avery is the center of most everything right now.  This post is hitting both.  Late Wednesday Avery's daycare texted indicating a need to get the kids ASAP - they had a sewage/plumbing issue.  It also kept them closed on Thursday and Friday as they made repairs and cleaned up.

I'm grateful that work is pretty darn flexible.  I'm also super grateful that our release was into smoke testing on Tuesday and I was just wrapping up the details of the release to test on Wednesday when that text came in.  *whew*

I hate to "waste" vacation time, so I tried to work a little before Avery got up each day and when she napped.  I also worked through today's nap. My days typically start at 6:30pm and finish at 8:30pm and admittedly I've allowed her to stay up a little later since they weren't 'school nights', but man those two days really have me tired.  I could have truly used her nap time to get one myself, but it wasn't in the cards.

The dogs had their yearly trip to the vet yesterday for shots.  While we were there we did a little blood work and picked up some heartworm preventative (can you hear the price tag climbing).

Saffy's bloodwork was due to the ticks that came back anaplasmosis positive.  She looked well, so no worries there.

Dani's bloodwork was to look at overall health since she's definitely starting to have some issues.  There was some signs of changes in her liver, but her kidneys are doing well. We left with some light medication to try and help her with pain/arthritis type issues - but I haven't gotten to start giving them to her yet. These pills are tiny... and I'm supposed to give her a 1/4 of one each day.  I guess I need to find a pill cutter that will work for these to give it a go.

I tried to get them both to potty before we went in.  No success for Dani.  But while we were sitting in the waiting area (she was lying on the floor) she pooped.  *sigh*  I think she didn't want to go there in their yard and then just couldn't hold it.  It really demonstrates her issues lately.

On a completely different note I've downloaded the Zero app.  It is for fasting.  I'm going to try and be more mindful of how large of a window in which I eat each day.  The 13 hour fast is pretty easy to achieve although I had to wait another 15 minutes before I made my coffee (yes, coffee even breaks a fast).

I ruined Saffy and Dani's year yesterday by giving them baths.  It's been quite a while since they've gotten one, other than an adhoc outside spray down due to them getting muddy or having an accident while in a crate - and even when they did get their last one it was probably with the mobile groomers and not at my hand.

I was pretty surprised at all the dirtier the water was, but it sure loosened fur.  My house will be a nightmare here in a few days when it really starts to come out.  Fortunately, when the plumber was here I learned how to open the drain on Avery's tub as to get glops of fur out of there.  Dani wasn't too difficult to keep in place for her bath as she's gotten much weaker.  It was sure stressful for her, as she grunted and struggled weakly with me while I tried to get her to lay calmly.  She even pooped mid-bath *sigh*.

That said the house has the lovely wet dog odor, but there are worse things.