god or dodge city

Happy New Year! I had a lovely last day of 2022, mostly because I won a game of Ticket to Ride. I'm hoping this is not the best thing that happens to me in the coming year, but it was pretty good.

The rest of my day was uneventful....I made breakfast for [censored] and myself, cleaned the kitchen, and spent some time this afternoon putting away a whole bunch of small appliances while watching/listening to the Iowa State game (which went v well). [Censored] and I had dinner at the parents' house, which is where my ticket to ride victory happened. And I spent the last hour putting a masque on my face and then journaling, which is my preferred way to see out the old year and embrace the new.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

i'm telling lies to keep myself from hurting those around you

I've had a fairly nice and productive couple of days - today was a redo of part of the Christmas we were supposed to have last week, since Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, and Sammie came down for the day. To feed this crew, I had volunteered to roast a pork butt....but due to my remodel + other activities, that meant roasting it overnight. I set up my probe thermometer on the counter and then set up a camera to look at the thermometer so that I could check it from my bedroom, but I still got up repeatedly throughout the night to check the camera (and, a couple of times, come downstairs to adjust the temps). The pork butt turned out pretty perfect, if I do say so myself, but I'm tired as a result of all my interrupted sleep.

However, it was worth it, since lunch (pulled pork + baked potato bar + a salad I like to make with greens/cranberries/pecans/apples/goat cheese) was delicious. We hung out most of the day, and it was a really delightful interlude in the midst of all of my remodeling.

After they headed back to the city, I caught a ride home with [censored], who then installed my kitchen sink (which is a huge win). I mostly spent the evening taking care of a bunch of small tasks that have been piling up in my inbox - I'm trying to start 2023 with a clean(er) slate, so I'm working my way through myriad tings that I've been ignoring.

And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

monkey spend money

I made a lightning trip to Des Moines today, which was nice - i needed some alone time after the Christmas festivities, and I also needed to pick up tile, so it was a win-win. I got the tile I needed for the downstairs bathroom, and I had a quick and tasty sushi lunch before coming home.

I made it back in time to talk to Alyssa and admire Randy's tile backsplash installation, which is going to be amazing. Eventually, we picked up Mexican takeout, ate supper with the parents, and then suffered through [censored] winning ticket to ride again. Six skunks were involved in that, but I'll spare you the details.

And now I really must sleep - goodnight!

east to the west the event horizon

My remodel continues...I'm glad it's going well, because it's incredibly distracting even though it's mostly been as smooth as it can be. I had to get up even earlier than usual today because my countertops were getting delivered sometime around eight a.m. (midwest hours are stupid) and I needed to move my car and move stuff in the garage to facilitate that. It's still completely frigid outside even though it's better than it was, so some early morning car moving / snow shoveling was not really ideal, but it all worked out.

Happily, Randy got the main countertop installed, for the most part, today, and it looks fantastic. This required a bunch of help from [censored], who continues to be far more useful to this project than I am (my contribution is mostly in design/financing/choosing fixtures that are complicated to install). But the countertop is going to be great, especially when the contrasting white backsplash is in, and I expect that I'll have a sink by the weekend (just in time to tear out [censored]'s bathroom). And [censored] figured out how to knock out the right holes in the sink to install some accessories, so that's all great as well.

At some point, Randy took his usual lunch break, so [censored] and I ran out to the parents' house and stole some of their leftovers for lunch. Then I spent the afternoon continuing to monitor project progress while researching other things (like shower heads and vanity lights). Someday I can stop making design decisions with my most awake/focused hours, but it is not this day.

For dinner, we went back to the parents' house and ate the last of the leftover ham balls, along with some fresh new scalloped potatoes. We also saw three skunks, one of which has the opposite coloring of a usual skunk and also a gaping head wound, which is interesting but also something I would have preferred not to see.

And now, I really need to sleep so I can do a million things tomorrow - goodnight!

i fell through corridors of broken floors

I'm beyond exhausted, but today went fairly smoothly. I had thought my contractor was taking today off, but he was bored and decided to work - luckily he texted at 7:45 and I heard it in time to get out of bed before he got here. Then I did a bunch of stuff around the house, showered, ate a sandwich, and went with [censored] to our sister's house for a Christmas hangout.

Her whole family was there, including a bunch of kids and two dogs (one of whom was a smaller version of the other one). My parents were also there, and so we hung out for a couple of hours and talked about various tings. It was a nice afternoon, and I'm glad we were able to get together despite the cold (and the fact that scheduling with that group is hard due to all the various family commitments).

After that, [censored] and I were both wiped out, but we decided to drive to Des Moines to pick up a shower pan that had to get picked up by tomorrow. This was definitely not on the way home, but luckily we got up there and were able to fit it into [censored]'s truck. We also picked up a couple of other remodel tings, then drove home (with a stop at Taco John's on the way). And then I dragged my trash bin through the snow and cold to set it out for tomorrow's pickup, which was about as much exertion as I had energy left for.

And now, I really need to sleep - goodnight!

keep me up until the body disagrees

Merry Christmas! I had a really lovely holiday, even if I did have to set my alarm for 7:15 to avoid keeping the family waiting for too long. We spent the morning engaged in our usual long, leisurely opening of gifts, which was really nice - I was happy with the gifts I gave and delighted with the gifts I received, so it all came together well. Among the gifts were several cookbooks, which I will put to good use, and a smart garden to grow herbs / veggies indoors, which I'm v. excited about. I also got the usual assortment of pen/ink, cookware, and other gifts, and the unusual addition of a rubber-band gun that's a replica of a James Bond handgun. So all in all, I'm excited to use all of it!

After we finished gifts, my mom made a delicious breakfast casserole and some muffins, which went very well with the equally delicious ambrosia that my dad made last night. Then we relaxed (and I snuck in a nap and a shower) before playing two games of Ticket to Ride. I can't remember who won, but I guess I had a good time. (jk, [censored] won both games, which was good for [censored] and annoying for everyone else)

After that, we hung out for awhile and had a v. tasty prime rib for dinner - it was far superior to the prime rib we usually get at the restaurant we occasionally go to for prime rib. Then, [censored] and I came back into town, and I took care of various tings until now.

And now, after a wonderful holiday (marred only by the fact that most of it was canceled), it's time for bed - goodnight!

you listen to coltrane, derail your own train

Merry Christmas Eve! I had an excellent day, mostly because I won the first game of Ticket to Ride that we played in a couple of years. After that, nothing can go wrong.

The rest of the day was good too - I got some stuff done around the house this morning, did some quick kettlebell swings, and ate a sandwich for lunch. I also made chocolate chip chewies in the construction zone that is my kitchen, and they were pretty perfect.

Eventually, [censored] and I loaded a bunch of stuff into his truck, braced the still-very-cold weather, and came out to the parents' house. When we got here, I used my mom's grinder to grind some ham, and then I mixed up a batch of ham balls. We were able to play Ticket to Ride while they were baking (did I mention I won?), and then dinner was easy because my mom had already made layered lettuce, deviled eggs, and apricot salad, and I'd made twice baked potatoes. It was all yummy, and was a good test run of what we would have had for the full family Christmas if it hadn't been canceled.

After dinner, Dad made ambrosia, [censored] and I cleaned our respective rooms (although [censored] helped me with vacuuming and with moving my mattress/box spring), and then we finished wrapping presents. And now I must sleep - goodnight!

i can bring the vibe down from ten to zero

I had a pretty lazy first half of the day, despite the fact that [censored] was diligently working on house projects - I tried to explain to [censored] that I'm managerial and that salaried positions like that usually have this week off, but that excuse didn't go over so well. However, I did make excellent scrambled eggs and hashbrowns, which should have earned me some points.

While most of our Christmas festivities were canceled due to inclement weather (translation: it's fucking miserably, dangerously cold), we're still getting together with the parents this weekend (they live a mile away, which is doable). So, I spent the afternoon cooking in preparation for our weekend activities. This mostly meant making twice baked potatoes for tomorrow - I made a v. large batch so I can freeze some for later eating, and I'm excited to have a stockpile in my freezer.

I also made chicken tacos for dinner tonight, which I took out to their house in the instant pot and finished cooking there. My mom made beef taco meat, and we had a taco spread for dinner tonight - it was all pretty tasty, and worth nearly freezing my skin off on the walk from the truck to the house. I still have a lot to do before Christmas (namely, wrapping + making ham balls), but it should all be good.

And now, I should consider going to sleep so that I can get a million tings done tomorrow - goodnight!

dude don't take it personal

I think I'm as ready as I can be for the winter apocalypse bearing down on us - I have food, charged phone battery packs, and a strong desire to hermit for a couple of days. Luckily, if all that fails, I have [censored], who has some ideas for snow removal.

Overall, the day was pretty calm, although it started ridiculously - [censored] turned off the water valve to the old fridge and it immediately leaked, which was not in the plans. Then my new fridge showed up, and the easiest way to describe the delivery guys is that they reminded me of the Home Alone burglars.

I would tell you more, but I'm falling asleep holding my phone to write this, and I really need to go to bed - goodnight!

i skip stones and wonder how long till i'm discovered?

I'm preparing to hunker down for the next few days - we're headed into a winter storm warning with -40 wind chills, which is putting a serious damper on Christmas. In fact, Christmas appears to be mostly canceled - I was prepping for Aunt B and Uncle B to stay with me, and we were going to make all sorts of food for them + Kathy and Drewbaby (and Drewbaby's girlfriend), but as of right now it looks like travel is going to be too treacherous. After canceling several covid Christmases, this is unfortunate, but hopefully we can get together some other time soon.

Despite that, I still needed to get a whole bunch of stuff in preparation - mostly house stuff (i.e. backsplash tile, undermount lights, etc), and also a couple of final presents + some groceries. So, I took advantage of the relatively balmy weather (14 degrees!) to dash up to Des Moines and run a bunch of errands. I was on a flat-out pace to get to everything and still get home before dark, but I successfully accomplished all of my missions (tile store, Container Store, mall, Lowes, Home Depot, Whole Foods, Hy-Vee, premium gas for my fancy car that I can't get in my town). So, I can still cook the pared-down holiday menu + feed me and [censored] the next couple of days, as long as we don't lose power.

When I got home, I unloaded all the stuff so that it wouldn't freeze immediately, and then I ate some leftover chili and took care of some house tings. Eventually, [censored] showed up, and so we talked for a bit. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

could have got so high

The weather here is about to turn truly frightful, which is putting some kinks in my holiday planning. Today was almost warm by comparison (reader: it was not warm), but the end of the week may see wind chills of -35 to -50. That's absurd and I begin to remember why I moved away at the turn of the last century (lol to that dramatic-but-accurate phrasing).

sssanyway, I had a decent day - Randy came this morning to finish putting in cabinet pulls, and then I had the rest of the day to myself. I was a little lazy, but I did do a workout with Alyssa that was excellent. I also did some more cleaning/organizing, made chili, and journaled a lot, so all in all it was a good day.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

searching for signs of life, but there's nobody home

Happy birthday to my mom! And also happy birthday to Chandlord! A momentous day indeed!

Beyond the birthdays, I have little to report - I got up this morning and made eggs and hashbrowns on my new stove, and I was quite happy with how it performed. Then, [censored] and I watched some SNL while eating, which is a nice Sunday tradition (even if this season is still real rough).

After that, we moved mattresses and box springs around between here and my parents' house - I'll spare you the details, but we were swapping newer / older models and putting older models in the rolloff dumpster that I now have at my house. It was only fourteen degrees when we did this, but that's about the warmest it will be this week, so we decided to do it anyway.

[censored] then spent the afternoon cleaning up the garage, and I should have helped...but my trash is [censored]'s treasure, so I stayed out of the way. Instead, I washed a bunch of dishes (in the bathroom, which is not efficient), cleaned out my fridge/freezer, did some Christmas shopping, and put the shelves in most of my upper cabinets. I'm really eager to get my kitchen organized, although I can't really do that until the countertops are in and the rest of the handles/pulls are installed. But so far it's coming together, and I can't wait for the end result.

Eventually, [censored] and I ate some leftover spaghetti before [censored] headed for [censored]. Then I watched another YouTube video about my StrengthsFinder writing strengths before adjourning to my room and taking care of some tings. And now I'm going to journal and go to bed - goodnight!

last night i had an awful dream

Yesterday and today were both pretty good - it's still all house stuff all the time, while also trying to get ready for Christmas. Happily, my stove is in...but the counters aren't, so there's still no sink or dishwasher or place to prep food. That didn't stop me from testing the stove last night by making one of my go-to pasta recipes - the stove is a delight, and I can't wait to be able to actually cook.

Today I should have gotten a lot more done, but I got a lot of sleep instead. I did do a bit of stuff around the house, and I also went shopping at a couple of little boutiques in town. And I stopped at my parents' house to pick up the dishes I ran through their dishwasher + discuss the Christmas menu (and steal some of my dad's peanut brittle).

When I got home, I spent some time in the basement with [censored], inspecting a pit full of water and centipedes (but no rats, which was a glass-half-full observation that only Mae me more unhappy because I hadn't considered that as a possibility). This would have all been more of a minor curiosity if it weren't in my basement, but we'll see what we discover next down there.

Then, we went out for dinner for my mom's birthday, which was great. And now, I need to sleep so I can do a million things tomorrow - goodnight!

golden teeth, crooked track

I spent the day doing more stuff around the house, but really I spent the day listening to several videos from the Vegas conference and then going down a rabbit hole with other videos from one of the conference speakers. The speaker is a certified Clifton Strengths coach (formerly StrengthFinder) and has built a community of writing coaches...and she has made a bunch of 45-60min videos discussing each of the 34 Clifton strengths in detail from the perspective of how those strengths impact / influence a writer's craft and career.

I took the test way back in the day, and I've come back to the results a few times - mostly because literally all of my top five strengths are in the 'strategic thinking' bucket and I don't have any 'execution' strengths in my top ten, which is probably part of why I don't get things done and would rather just read / talk / brainstorm / daydream all day. The videos were surprisingly super helpful, though - obviously there are a lot of writing benefits to being able to generate a lot of unique ideas and then game out what would happen along a million different paths if an idea came to fruition (my top two strengths are Ideation and Strategy). And my third strength, Context, is a lot about knowing everything about the past to predict the future + people's future behavior, which is spot-on and also ties into why I need to know so much about characters' backstories before I can really write them.

So, I only watched the videos for my top three strengths, but I think I'll go through my top ten and see what they have to say. All in all, it was a v. worthwhile exercise, and I'm looking forward to digging into it some more.

Beyond that, I have v. little to note - construction continued, and Randy is making excellent progress. It was 29 degrees and windy, and is the warmest that it will be in the next ten days, which is unwelcome. I went to my parents' house with a tub full of dirty dishes to run through their dishwasher (partially because I'm lazy, partially because I wanted to disinfect from [censored]'s covid) and chatted with them for awhile. And I decorated my Christmas tree, which sparks a lot of joy - maybe I'll leave it up until February since I put it up so late, but we'll see.

And now I must sleep - goodnight!

i am the traveler, third class

Editor's note: after a letter to the editor (aka a verbal comment from [censored]), I must print a correction to my earlier entry referencing David Letterman's interview of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Mr. Letterman did not "fly to Kiev"; instead, he flew to Poland and took an overnight train to Kiev, which featured in the early part of the show. We regret this error and apologize to all who were offended by this remark (and also apologize for missing the opportunity to play "Train Across Ukraine").

I had a pretty nice day, all in all - it helped that the sun was finally out for a brief, glorious period, which instantly lifted my mood. I spent some time organizing / cleaning my bathroom, and I also added more clothes to my closets. My mom also stopped by to inspect the progress in the kitchen - she missed a lot of updates since [censored] had covid and so we were avoiding our parents, but the bulk of the cabinets are placed now, so it looks pretty great.

At some point, I ran a couple of errands and then said farewell to [censored]. And then, I went to my secret society's Christmas party - we did it in the back of the local pizza place, and my mom and I split a couple of gluten free pizzas (which was gluttonous on my part, but also intentional since I wanted leftovers to eat tomorrow). We had a nice time playing a variety of Christmas-themed games, and I got some cute Christmas decorations in our gift exchange.

And now, I should sleep so that I can continue to enjoy the remodel noises tomorrow - goodnight!

all of the people i've ghosted stand there in the room

I had a pretty good day, all in all - I didn't get as much done as I intended to, but it wasn't a bad effort. My kitchen remodel continues to move forward at a decent clip, but it also continues to be somewhat distracting. And I had to have a ham sandwich for lunch, but this is not really a hardship, since secretly I would eat a ham (or bologna, or tuna) sandwich basically any day of the week.

My main activity today was crashing the Garden Club - and by that, I mean that my mom invited me to go with the other Garden Club ladies to a wreath-making activity at a local Christmas tree farm. I'm not a member of said Garden Club, but there is an 80% overlap between Garden Club and the other group I'm in with my mom, so I know everyone there (and obviously also know the 20% who don't overlap). The Christmas tree farm was super cute - they had a nice gift shop in a former one-room schoolhouse that they had moved to the site, and their 'barn' was set up to make wreaths in. They'd preformed the wreaths, but we were able to decorate it however we wanted - and I'm quite happy with how mine turned out (even if I needed help making an appropriate ribbon/bow).

After we were finished, we came home, and my mom and I had to crawl out of Lee Ann's trunk to escape the car due to too much greenery being loaded into the car between us and the normal exit. And now, I should go to bed (or at least start winding down) - goodnight!

i can only stand apart and sympathize

I should have gone to bed an hour ago, but I am doing some bedtime procrastination since the rest of my day didn't go completely according to plan. I had intended to write this morning, but Randy is moving faster than we thought he would with the kitchen, which means I had to make some decisions and order some tings for the bathroom. This maybe wouldn't have been so time-sensitive, but shipping around the holidays is turning into a problem, and Randy apparently doesn't intend to take off any time around Christmas except, perhaps, the 26th. So, we have to be ready for him to keep going - which is great for my medium/long-term happiness, and stressful for my short-term desire to get things done.

Beyond that, though, he hung my pendant lights, which are either too large (according to Randy/[censored]'s dubious looks) or just right (according to me and Pinterest). And he finished installing all the can lights, which are thankfully not too much, and also placed several cabinets + insured I had outlets where I needed them. The kitchen is starting to come together, and I'm delighted by it - there are still elements that could make or break things (like the uppers, or the countertop, or the flooring), but things are really looking good right now.

The rest of my day was uneventful - I got some groceries, ate leftover burrito bowls with [censored], talked to Alyssa, and spent some afternoon time theoretically trying to write. I also tried a new orange chicken recipe in the instant pot - I probably wouldn't make it again without major modifications, but it wasn't bad. However, it was outshone by the frozen egg rolls that I crisped up in my air fryer - I only had one (and should have had zero bc gluten), but they were delish. And it's a good reminder to add the air fryer to my construction-kitchen repertoire.

After supper, I had a long-overdue call with Terry and Lauren (aka Subz) - I've mostly ignored all my friends for the past few months as I've moved / settled / tried to figure out what I want my life to look like, so our chat was very nice and I'm glad we got a chance to catch up.

And finally, [censored] and I watched David Letterman's interview of Volodymyr Zelenskyy - Letterman flew to Kiev a few weeks ago and interviewed Zelenskyy in a Metro station 250ft below ground, and also filmed some footage around the city. It was pretty moving, in no small part because I recognized some of the places they were, and still feel a deep connection to Ukraine even though my memories are filtered through almost thirty years of another life lived separate from that strange and surreal year that I spent there. I do not think Ukraine would have made it if Zelenskyy hadn't stood up the way that he did in those first few days / weeks - the Russians expected him to flee with a planeload of cash the way most other leaders would, and instead he rallied the nation in a wholly unique and unexpected way. So, the interview was worth watching, even if it made me sad for what's happening now and how hard the winter will be.

And now, I really must sleep - goodnight!

the tick tock of the clock is painful

I had a decent weekend - the main point is that I somehow still am testing negative for covid, despite having Patient Zero (aka [censored]) in my house for the past five days (and for the weekend before that). This is good news, of course, since I don't really want to get covid - but I'm still paranoid that I'm going to succumb. If I do, at least I'll be through it by Christmas. We shall see, we shall see.

The other big event of the weekend was, of course, Lorena's funeral. Due to the fact that [censored] had covid and I was afraid I might be a carrier (and that the funeral itself would be a superspreader event for every respiratory disease in the county), I sadly didn't attend - but luckily [censored] and I were able to watch the livestream. The livestream didn't work initially, but her grandson ended up streaming it on Facebook, so we saw most of it. It was a really lovely tribute for an incredible woman who lived an incredible life, and while I wish I had spent more time with her this fall, I'm grateful for all the memories I have of her over the years.

The rest of the weekend was pretty uninteresting - I had intended to watch a livestream from my favorite Dutch theatre troupe (long story), but they canceled at the last minute because an actor was injured, so I hope they're okay. Beyond that, I continued to try to cook in the midst of construction, and I also did some more organizing in my office. I realize it may be unclear why I still have anything left to organize - but between going through boxes that I haven't opened in half a decade, along with getting a bunch of bookshelves delivered last week so that I wouldn't have to triple-stack my books, I've enjoyed getting my office properly set up. I'm hoping to have all of my remaining (upstairs) boxes unpacked before my Christmas guests arrive, but we'll see whether covid and construction cooperate. And I really want to write more this week than I have been, so organizing may take a backburner.

I ended tonight with a friendship renewal call, and it's always fun to catch up with that crew. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

buy for me the rain, my darling

I had an okay day - I'm still testing negative for covid, but I'm not convinced that I'm out of the woods. I think that means I should drink an emergen-c and go to bed at ten, when what I want to do is drink half a bottle of zinfandel and watch the Harry and Meghan documentary. Being an adult is hard.

I didn't get much done today due to being distracted by my remodel, but the remodel is moving forward apace - Randy moved some more plumbing this morning, and then set a few cabinets this afternoon, and also put in some of the can lights. I'm pretty excited about how I think this is all going to look, and I'm also anxious to see it all come together and hoping that I didn't make any design mistakes. We shall see, we shall see.

Today was also Lorena's visitation, which I would have definitely gone to under normal circumstances (even though I'm sure it was v. packed + the superspreader event of the season). Since I am still negative for covid but also not convinced I'm not a carrier, I didn't really feel like I should go stand in line and potentially expose others while also potentially bringing flu or RSV back to [censored]. However, this being a small town and all, I decided to just call the funeral home and see if they were letting anyone in early to see Lorena. They told me I could come a little after 1pm, so I went - and I'm glad I got to see her, even if she didn't look right because I have never, ever seen her when she wasn't either laughing or completely engaged with whoever she was with. Losing her is really sad for the town, and for her family and friends, and for me. Unfortunately, [censored] wasn't able to go due to his continued 'rona, but the funeral is livestreamed, so at least there's that.

Tonight, I felt like doing nothing, so [censored] and I watched 'A Million Ways to Die in the West' and ate leftover burrito bowls. And now, I am going to go to bed and hope I continue feeling okay tomorrow - goodnight!

you can't be bothered with those just for the night boys

So, [censored] has granted permission to disclose that [censored] is the one who exposed me to covid, by having covid and sharing a house with me. This has made for a strange couple of days - [censored] came home Tuesday feeling unwell, and eventually took a covid test, which was positive. The layout of my house + the ongoing construction makes actual quarantining from each other pretty much impossible, so I'm hoping my existing immunity carries me through. So far, I've tested negative every day, but it's unclear whether that will last.

Of course, I texted our contractor (Randy) to let him know about [censored]'s illness, but he decided to keep working anyway. But, since it's a small town and Randy isn't under any HIPAA restrictions (or any contract at all, actually), the guys at the lumber yard already knew [censored] was sick when I went in there yesterday. So, this may mean I won't get to go to Lorena's funeral...but it looks like it will be livestreamed, so at least there's that.

sssanyway, I spent the day being distracted by remodel stuff, which seems to be how I'm spending most of my days. Randy's making quick progress, though - he painted today, and then his cousin came to help bring in all the lower cabinets so that he can start setting them. Unfortunately, this meant the plumbing around the sink has to get rearranged, which [censored] had committed to doing - and so [censored] rallied from his deathbed to do it, which I felt quite bad about. Luckily, it got done, but hopefully [censored] is able to rest the rest of the week.

After that, [censored] and I ate leftovers from last night's cooking, and then I came upstairs and finished the book I started the other night (SWEEP IN PEACE, which is the third book in this cute/fun Innkeeper series that I am enjoying). And now, I'm going to take the unusual step of going to bed at 10:30 in an attempt to continue staving off the 'rona - goodnight!

let's all move to madrid

I did more today than I intended, which is perhaps a good thing. I got up in time to make tea and take care of some stuff before Randy came to start working on my kitchen. I also got a delivery from my beloved Room and Board - I got some new bookshelves for my office + shelves to fit in the weird alcoves in my bedroom, and they look great (although they're still empty because I didn't have time to fill them up today).

I had a long chat with Katie to discuss funeral plans for Lorena (tl;dr I might not go because I've been exposed to covid, which meant Katie didn't want to stay with me if she came back)...and of course, we discussed a lot of other ridiculous tings as well. After that, [censored] and I had lunch (leftovers), and I ran a couple of errands to stock up on supplies. And I talked to Alyssa, who was in fine form.

After that, I messed around for a bit, and then I made two full entrees - a beef stew and the usual chicken burrito bowls. I perhaps spent more energy than I should have cooking, but it means that [censored] and I have food for a couple of days, and that seemed like a worthy endeavor. Both turned out quite well, if I do say so myself, even if they took more time than usual to make and clean up from due to the lack of a kitchen. [censored] and I also watched a video of the time our great-uncle Fred was on a game show back in the sixties, which [censored] didn't remember hearing about but which we were able to find thanks to the miracles of YouTube.

And now, I really need to get some sleep - goodnight!

take a seat near the imitator

I had a pretty good day, although I'm trying to stave off what may be a cold or may be something else, and so I tried to be as relaxed as possible. I made myself a big pot of tea and spent most of the morning curled up on the chaise in my bedroom, drinking tea and brainstorming my book. I was testing out a technique I learned in a writing video I watched last night, and it was an interesting way to approach my plotting problem.

At some point, I had lunch (leftover chicken and wild rice soup), did some more writing, and took a nap. Then, I put on makeup and jewelry (an unusual step for me on most Tuesdays these days!) and had a call with my former big boss (not the original big boss - the VP who I worked for for several years in my last role). She'd emailed me a few days ago asking how I was doing, and I was delighted to hear from her, so we set up time to chat. And no, I'm not going back to my former employer for a fourth time - but she was v. encouraging (unsolicitedly) of me thinking about getting into some advisory or consulting work. It was an interesting convo and gave me some things to think about, even if my focus through the end of the year is remodeling my house and getting deeper into my book.

After that, I did some house stuff, ate dinner (leftover sweet and sour pork), and journaled. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

all my dreams pass before my eyes a curiosity

Today didn't start out at planned - [censored] called to tell me that our neighbor Lorena had passed away overnight. She's an institution here and one of my favorite people, and I had told her a week ago that I would stop by sometime soon - which made this pretty shocking and sad, since now "soon" is too late. She was in her eighties and had been frail, so it's not entirely unexpected....but she's also been heavily involved in the town and around my entire life. She and her husband own the land across the road from my parents, which stretches into town, and her house is only a couple hundred yards from mine - so I could see it from my office today and think of her.

So, I was a bit discombobulated this morning, but I still got up in time for my kitchen remodel work to being again. I spent most of the day in my office, getting some tings done and journaling and moving things around. At some point, I took a walk to pay my water bill - I feel like I need to take a walk when it's over forty degrees, which is was today.

Later, I made dinner (sweet and sour pork in the instant pot, which tasted great but didn't need to be cooked in an instant pot if I had a real stove, since stir frying it would have been faster) and watched/listened to three of the videos from my Vegas conference. The sessions were recorded and are slowly coming online, so I made a list of what I want to catch up on. I got some good tidbits out of what I watched tonight, so I'll try to make my way through more of them this week.

And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

silent night

Thanks to [censored], I was able to cook today, which made tings a million times better. I made eggs for breakfast, with onions and mushrooms and andouille sausage, which we ate while watching SNL. Then, [censored] hooked up a utility sink in the kitchen and built a platform to support it with, which means I can do dishes in the kitchen and not have to try washing a skillet in a bathroom sink. This was a game changer, since it made me more willing to try using the instant pot.

So, while that was happening, I spent most of the afternoon putting all my clothes and some of my shoes into my newly finished closets. Then I got groceries and made chicken and wild rice soup. It was delish and easy enough to make on a folding table, and the temporary sink made cleanup easy. Hopefully I can keep it until we start putting cabinets back on, but we'll see.

Eventually, [censored] left, and I spent the rest of the evening reading a book. And now, I desperately need to sleep - goodnight!

see they can trigger me but they never figure me out

I successfully got more than eight hours of sleep last night, which put a dent in my sleep deficit and made today feel much better than the last few days. I'm still short on sleep, and I definitely should have gone to bed an hour ago - but hopefully I can recover a bit more sleep tonight.

After I woke up, I made some coffee, and then watched [censored] peel up the vinyl from my kitchen floor for future use in a [censored]. The vinyl was laid over the top of what was probably the house's original linoleum, and neither choice was great - the vinyl was very dark and oppressive in the already-dark kitchen, while the linoleum was a harvest gold color with a leaf pattern in some of the squares, which feels like autumn all year round. But the vinyl was still in good shape and had only been glued down at the edges of the room, so [censored] was able to cut it and roll it up without much issue.

I spent various parts of the morning / afternoon organizing my office, which is still a work in progress - I'm getting close to the point where I can consider hanging art, but I'm not quite there yet. Also, [censored] was an excellent buddy and installed the closet organizers in my bedroom today - I'd painted the closets right before Thanksgiving, but [censored] offered to install the organizers since [censored] has done this before and also has the right tools/hardware to speed up the process. I'm pretty excited that they're in, since my clothes have been disorganized since I moved in (and one closet rod collapsed under the weight of them). So, tomorrow's project is likely my bedroom.

We took a break around six to have a traditional roast at my parents' house (if it can be considered traditional to have roast on Saturday night instead of Sunday afternoon). Then, the four of us saw the light decorations out at the fairgrounds - as has happened for the past few years, various groups and businesses and individuals decorated a bunch of displays out at the fairgrounds, and there were also Christmas trees decorated inside one of the buildings. There were some really great displays - some favorites includes a Pioneer seed dealer with a light-up display showing corn (in the form of yellow lights) coming out of a combine; an auto body shop with a car that had hit some light-up deer; one of the local church's take on a Nativity scene painted on boards; the school arts classes' painted snowman display; and a tree made by the Language Arts classes at school that was made of books, which included some of the American lit textbooks that [censored] and I had in high school. All in all it was pretty lovely, so I'm glad we went.

Then [censored] and I came home and finished my second closet, and then I came upstairs and had a glass of wine and wrote for awhile (and discovered some tings that I need to ponder, which is what happens with this book). And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

now everyone report to the dance floor

I'm so beyond exhausted, as evidenced by the fact that I was in my pajamas with my contacts out by 7:30. It's probably partially too much people time in the last couple of weeks - Vegas rolling straight into Thanksgiving and then a remodel was a lot. But it's also just straight-up lack of sleep causing me to feel like I'm a shambling zombie.

Today, I absolutely had to run a quick errand to Des Moines to pick up tile samples, swap out a stove cord for another cord, and get some stuff for my office closet project. I also went to Costco, mostly to get wine and popcorn (the fact that I live off those things when I have no functioning might also explain why I'm a shambling zombie). But my trip was v smooth and as fast as I could make it, so I was home by four.

When I got here, I unloaded my car, and then [censored] and I agreed to an early dinner out to beat the rush. We went to the Mexican place, which was as tasty as usual - I wasn't super hungry, but I'll be happy to have the leftovers tomorrow.

When we got home, I should have done house stuff...but [censored] grew up with me and also shared a tiny apartment in Ukraine for a year, and so when [censored] says I should get some sleep before I get mean, it's probably accurate. So I came upstairs and alternated between journaling/phone scrolling/dozing until now. And now, I shall go to sleep and hopefully get ten hours - but my contractor is coming to do some stuff in the morning, which means I can't be quite as lazy as I want to be. Goodnight!

at the same place where the girl sells her nights to a god of ocean tides

Apparently, going to bed after midnight (my natural rhythm) and getting up at seven to be ready for the contractor (definitely not my natural rhythm) is a combination that is yielding increasingly bad results. I am very tired and my fitbit says this is the least amount of sleep I've gotten in a week since before I quit my job...and yet it's after eleven and I'm still sitting on my couch with my contacts in, pretending that I don't need to go to bed immediately.

sssanyway, things are going well with the remodel - or at least it looks like progress is being made. I think it's quite likely I'll have a fully functional kitchen by Christmas, although I don't know what shape my bathroom will be in for the night(s) when I host a bunch of sleepover family guests. That's a problem for Future Sara (and Future Sara's guests).

Today, I mostly stayed out of the way of the construction - now that the lights are all placed, there aren't a lot of urgent decisions (other than some minor ones that I'll do this weekend). While progress was happening downstairs, I spent the morning upstairs, taking care of some tasks and then continuing to organize my office. I should have, perhaps, done this a couple of months ago - but instead I painted my bedroom and my garage, and painting over a thousand square feet of interior space, even with [censored]'s help, was enough labor to keep me from doing other tings.

As part of the office setup, I went through four or five boxes of stuff that I haven't really gone through in the last several moves - they were all packed when I left San Francisco (which was six years ago in December, which feels impossible), and they were perhaps packed when I moved to Chandlord's studio in 2015. It turned out that I could throw away some tings, and better organize other tings, which was a nice development. My office is still a mess because I couldn't finish today, but the end is in sight.

At some point, I had lunch (a ham sandwich) with [censored], and I also had a chat/meeting with some writers friends. Then I ran out to my parents' house to avail myself of their oven, which I used to bake some cookies for a charity bake sale tomorrow. And then, I had thought about trying to cook using my instant pot, but instead, [censored] and I went out for dinner. We were going to get Mexican or try the other main restaurant in town, but we didn't really want to do either - so we somehow talked ourselves into driving to Chariton and having dinner at the restaurant that is part of their old hotel. I hadn't been there in forever, since before it changed hands - and I thought it was really pretty good. We had excellent cheese curds to start, and my steak was v. tasty. And it was certainly better than trying to wash an instant pot in a bathtub, so I'll take it.

And now, I really need to go to sleep at least thirty minutes earlier than I have been - goodnight!