My Friday Thus Far

It has been one of those days where it doesn’t pay to get out of bed. Woke up with a chink in my neck and shoulder which means I can’t turn my head left and it hurts to turn it too far right as well. Took Baxter to Arlington Park and got into an argument with a middle-aged man who was angry that I let Baxter go for a swim in the pond. His thought was that dogs should only swim in doggie swimming pools with chlorinated, clear water.

I told him dogs have been swimming in ponds, rivers and lakes since the dawn of time and that, basically, he should mind his own business. He wouldn’t though - kept following us around arguing. He said the water was too dirty, it was too deep, and that it was borderline dog abuse to let Baxter swim in it.

I ended up telling him, very coldly, that in his world dogs might be prima donnas but in the “real” world dogs were dogs and if he got his head out of his ass once and awhile, he might see the “real” world. He left in a huff. It ruined the walk though so I was agitated.

We drove down to the pet store to get some calming medicine for Baxter for his car trip. He still isn’t doing so good with traveling so this stuff is suppose to help him sleep through a lot of it and not get motion sickness. I hope it works.

On our way home I thought we’d stop at McDonald’s - which I rarely do - for some lunch because it was getting so late. As the lady handed me my drink, she squeezed it and the soda went everywhere - down my arm, in my
lap, on the console of my car and down onto the rug.

Now I’m all sticky and will have to take another shower. I had to clean out my car, shampoo the rug, etc…such a pain in the ass. That is the fourth time I’ve had that happen with a McDonald’s cup so won’t be going there anymore to get drinks to go. The lady apologized profusely and blamed the cup because it is paper instead of plastic…which I agree is the problem with the damn thing. Give me plastic any day - I know it isn’t as environmentally friendly but I reuse them a lot and it saves my car and myself from a soda shower.

So now I am finally getting a chance to sit down to eat my McDonald’s and try to figure out how I’m going to get everything done that needs done now that the day is half over.

I did stop and get my iron pills so that is good. I had to sit and wait for those too because, though they called to tell me they were ready, they couldn’t find them once I got there. They finally did but it took a bit.

Gave Baxter a bath so he would be nice and clean for company tomorrow. He gets one at least once a month and usually twice. He does so good until it is time to dry off - then he likes to run all over the place shaking water everywhere. Still, he looks good and it kills any tics or fleas that may have jumped on him while he was outside. I use Hertz flea stuff on him but think it doesn’t work all that well.

Man, I don’t want to do anything - guess I need to go get Tylenol so my shoulder and neck will feel better so maybe I’ll have some energy.

This place has several hours worth of work to be done on it so I guess I should get busy. I am anxious for my sister and nephew to get here tomorrow.

Did I mention one of my coworkers bought a condo up in Iowa? Not Iowa City but still in Iowa? Her and her husband plan to move there in the next few years. Talk about a small world.

Cold Front

We have a “cold front” going on right now - temperatures are actually down to a freezing 63 degrees…burrr! LOL

In a week’s time, I will be saying “burrr” for real. What a joy that will be. I’m not looking forward to it.

Baxter and I just went out for our evening walk. It was a quick one due to the rain. There is a nice breeze going as well - wish it would storm, not just rain. Iowa has some great thunderstorms though so am looking forward to that.

Still have quite a bit to do here but don’t think I will shampoo the carpets as originally planned. I wanted to do it even though I was locking up the condo for the next several months but now I think what is the point really? I won’t be here to enjoy all my hard earned work. I doubt it would get rid of the urine and pooh smells from the animals - the carpet will have to be replaced for those smells to go completely away.

Should I decide not to sell the place, for whatever reason, that will be one of the things I will do - come down and replace the carpets. If I keep it, I figure I’ll come down once a year to get it aired out and cleaned - plus do some work on the place. Then if my son comes down once a year at a different time, he can do the same thing so it will get remodeled slowly over time.

Who knows, maybe I’ll become rich while I’m at it so I can spend winters here. Really wouldn’t be that difficult if I minimized the rest of my bills - I could work at Target down here and make enough to pay the bills here.

Well, one can dream anyway - right?

Happiness Is Making Progress

Have been making some progress so far on what all I’ve got to take to Goodwill. I’m taking that load now and will then take some boxes over to UPS to mail. Things are slowly coming together.

Have a lot of stuff that is just going to the dumpster to take out yet as well.

I’m having a little bit of a hard time not being down over all that is left to be done - but if I keep plugging away at it then it will be alright. The little room is pretty much done as is the bathroom and hallway. The master bedroom still needs a lot of work as does the living room and kitchen but I have plenty of time to get them done I think.

I am leaving a few things in the condo because my son said he’d like to fly down sometime for a visit. If I had the money, I would fly them down for a week and stay at their apt getting settled in. But I don’t. They can hopefully fly down in the late summer and maybe finish getting the condo ready to sell. My son thinks I’ll change my mind about selling it by then so will have to see.

I’ve decided to keep my outside chairs - going to bring them in. That way if someone does want to stay for a week they can sit outside. Overall, the place is coming together.

Baxter seems to be getting concerned over the amount of stuff that keeps going out of the condo - he barks every time I take something to the curb.

Exhausting Work

I do feel like I accomplished a lot today…just not as much as I had hoped to. What amazes me is how tired I am - I don’t understand it. I haven’t felt this bone weary tired in weeks.

The house is as clean as it is going to get tonight. I have to take the trash to the dumpster yet - probably have to make three trips to get it all over there. I wanted to get the patio cleaned but with the rain the patio was all wet so couldn’t vacuum it. Then I used my last vacuum bag up so have to go to Sears to get more - I would think someone would sell a generic brand but I’ve tried several and none of them fit right.

Did I mention how tired I am?

My boxes are all used up so I need to get more or cut back on what I’m sending. Man, I hate this whole moving thing. I hate the idea of moving to Iowa and staying with someone, then having to move again to my own place once I start getting paid from the University, then I’ll have to move again once I buy a house. I’ll probably have to rent storage space when I get up there rather then try to find someone’s house to store this stuff. I need to see about getting a post office box - wonder how much they cost? Are they cheaper in WL or are they the same as IC? Sis, if you read this, can you check WL to find out how much small and a medium boxes rent for there? Would like to have one before I leave so I can forward my mail from here.

I need to take Baxter out for his evening walk but I’m too tired to move right now. I think I’ll catch a half hour nap and then take him out. Why am I so tired??? We did walk our two miles this morning and it was pretty warm and humid out - maybe it zapped me more then I think? Can barely keep my eyes open - I’d worry about carbon monoxide poisoning if I had anything that ran off natural gas…being this tired just doesn’t feel normal. Good thing I’m taking tomorrow off from doing any work.

My list so far

Well, got the wrong kind of drip pans for my stove. Now I have to go back to Walmart to exchange them for the right ones. I’m disappointed because I had the right ones in my hands along with the wrong ones when I was interrupted. When I was done glaring at the man who interrupted me, I threw the wrong one in the cart. Why was I glaring at the man?

I am standing in the isle facing the rack when this weird man comes right up behind me. I can feel his breath on the back of my neck that is how close he is to me. He whispered near my ear “You are so sexy” - omg! I almost hit him, seriously! Had my fists clinched and everything but instead took a step away from him - glared at him and called him a freak. LOL. It really freaked me out though. I suppose I should have told someone because I bet he was doing it to all the women he found alone in isles. God, he was so creepy! I just wanted out of Walmart after that and am reluctant to want to go back. {sigh}

I got, with a lot of difficulty, the towel bar and matching toilet holder up. I have to say, the carpenters who put the originals up did a real shitty job. There were three holes on each side of both bars yet screws and anchors only in one hole each. It’s like they didn’t have a ruler to measure the distance so just kept guessing. Now that I have the new ones up, hopefully they’ll stay, I’m wondering if I should caulk around them? I know I would if they were actually in the tub area but they aren’t. Guess I won’t - the other ones weren’t caulked.

So I have six items done on my list for today - have five more to do. Then I have to do some general cleaning downstairs as my brother is stopping by tomorrow. We won’t stay here at the house but I imagine he’ll come in so want it to look decent. Sure wish this couch was out of here. The guys are over at Dan’s and could/would do it for me now BUT it is raining. Go figure.

I used my drill for the new holes for the towel bar - guess what stupid me did right after taking the drill up from the screw? Yep, I touched the hot end with my thumb so now I have a nice blister. The second I did it I started cussing at myself because I did the same thing last time and my thumb hurt for days. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I enjoy doing home repairs but get frustrated when I make stupid mistakes. Ugh.

I have to replace an electrical outlet here in a bit - I don’t have a tester to make sure the power is off but the breaker is labeled in the panel so hopefully whoever did the labeling did it correctly.

Baxter is in hiding. I think he is afraid of getting in the way. Plus the noise of the drill bothered him - he sat up there watching me until the drill came out.

Guess I best get back to it. Hope everyone is having a good day!