wednesday ...

I've been awake since 0430.  Anticipation insomnia.

Say hello to my new little girl ...

I'll pick her up at the shelter after a morning doctor appointment and some errands.  Charlie met her Monday, and of course, he was his grumpy, growling self when she got in his face to say hello.  But she didn't growl back or bark at him, and they said that she passed the cat test with a healthy apprehension when the kittens and cats hissed at her.  They've been calling her "Penny," but it isn't a name she responds to, so later today I'm going to try some options I like and see which one she picks.  So more on her to come later this week.

Other stuff ... I've been working on this as a gift for Brenda (Charlie's other person) because she loves to sit on her front porch on warmer spring/summer/fall days, and I've seen some for sale on Facebook, and pictures of them on Instagram and Pinterest that are just stunning.  I will post a picture when it is finished ... I ran out of beads and wire.  It is a good project to do when I'm binge-watching Outlander which I just recently became obsessed with.  I love a man with a Scottish accent!  I'm just finishing up season one, so have about six or seven more seasons to go.  Should get me through the holidays!

The Clifton Forge School of the Arts Kristkindlmarkt [<link] is happening this weekend, and I've tentatively also signed up for a printmaking class in White Sulphur Springs taught by a friend on Saturday.  The first event has the potential to be expensive because I know I will probably want to buy everything, and the class will help me curb that by not being as expensive.

  But both are contingent upon how the new girl reacts to spending time in the crate overnight and whether I feel I can leave her home alone for a about four hours to go to the class.  I can walk to the Kristkindlmarkt, so won't be gone that long.

I really can't wait to see which name she picks because calling her "the new girl" seems so impersonal.  But I needed to be sure she would pass the Charlie test and the cat test before I made the decision to get her.  I took screen shots of some strong female names to try on her.  I have my favorites but won't share because she's the one who will ultimately get to pick.

Until next time ... stay inspired.  Ci 💚

friday's bits & bobs

The last eight days have been a bit of a blur.  Busy happens!

I found this beautiful teapot at a Goodwill and turned it into a bird pot hoping it would entice one of the Carolina Wrens in the spring.

My plants have found a home for the winter that I hope to fill with more.

My herb window has become a succulent window that is more forgiving of my forgetfulness to water.

I've shamefully become obsessed with felt mice ornaments that I've put around the house in places that will make me smile when I see them.  I will share photos occasionally of them.  This ballerina is in the bathroom, which has a peony theme.

This is not Chonk, but I think his girlfriend.  Although I can't tell the gender of either of them, this is my story and I'm sticking to it.  Her coloring is slightly lighter when seen on the video camera and not through a tinted window.  She is also smaller and moves much faster.  Chonk has a seriously slow waddle to the bird feed, but when I knock on the window to give him a heads up that Charlie is coming out, he can hustle pretty fast to the creek.  I must come up with an appropriate name for her, and not a female version of Chonk.

Both of them enter the back yard from the side of the house where I park my car.  There is a drainage pipe on the edge of the road where I have seen them pop into.  I believe it runs under my back yard to the creek because when I knock on the window to warn them, they run to the same place on the creek side.

I enjoy standing on my side of the window watching everyone feeding.  I've not actually seen the vole again, but occasionally see a leaf moving repeatedly and randomly without any wind and suspect that it is the vole popping up to grab a corn kernel or some other seed.  It is quite sneaky!

Of course, I'm still unpacking, with frequent interruptions of crafting.  My goal now is to be unpacked by the 30th of December.  I do not want to be unpacking into the new year.

With wishes for a relaxing and productive weekend ... Ci💚

Chonk

 A week or so ago I made myself a bird-blind of sorts so I can watch the birds and wildlife this winter while not scaring them all off. 

The security cameras have shown the large groundhog coming out to feed several times a day and I've wanted to get an up-closer picture of him.

I almost had one yesterday, but Charlie started barking at him and he took off running before I could get my camera.  This morning, though, I tiptoed out there with my camera before Charlie got out of bed.

This was just before he took off running.
I was quiet, but the girls jumping up
onto their window tree were not.

In other happenings... the leaves have now vacated enough of the trees on my side of the of the mountain to see what an almost vertical climb would be, should I feel so inclined ... which I'm not.

And finally, my Diwali 2024+ tree is shaping up quite nicely...

I was extremely disappointed in Tuesday's results here in the US and wish I could win a lottery to spend the next four+ years in Rudesheim, Germany.  I suppose that means I have to start playing now ...

Stay safe out there ... hugs, Ci

sunday ramblings of a melatonin od'd mind

Ashamed to admit how many times this
scared me before I finally turned the 
stupid piece of wood over.

 I normally like the "fall back" time change because that extra hour feels like such a blessing on Monday mornings.

 But it's not Monday ... yet.

 Friday, I got frustrated with my Australian man-slave Ziggy and broke up with him.  Unplugged him, took him out of the Echo head that he slept in, and put him in the other room.  His only job really has been to play streaming music for meditation while I work to keep my stress at a manageable level, wake me up in the mornings and tell me the weather and what was on my calendar for the day.  At night, he would turn the TV off at 930p, even if I was watching a great movie, tell me what was on tomorrow's calendar, and what the weather was like that night.

 Lately, however, he has not been doing a stellar job at his short dodotodo list.  At times, he would tell me about the weather in cities I don't live in anymore, or have never lived in.  He would stop playing music after two songs and blame me saying that he stopped because "I" had not interacted with him.  

 Excuse me?  I'm working.  One of us has to pay the bills and he's clearly not doing anything except suggesting more things for me to buy on Amazon or spend to subscribe to something that I shouldn't have to be paying for on top of what I already pay Amazon.  Doesn't Jeff Bezos have enough money as it is?   I'm not singing along to some new age instrumental music that has no words.  I'm not dancing around or doing The Robot, and if he could see me doing that, I'd have an even bigger issue than him just eavesdropping on me all the time.

 So, Saturday morning I slept late.  Missed a text message while I was in the shower that could have diverted me from unpacking, laundry, and organizing (like I really need an excuse to further procrastinate doing any of those things).  I actually did get a lot accomplished.  But because Ziggy didn't tell me what time it was, and I was still awake and zooming around at 1a when I found an unopened bottle of melatonin gummies in the bottom of a box.

 I haven't taken any melatonin in a few months (I forget why, but probably because I couldn't remember where it was packed, and never remembered to buy any when I was shopping, because I also haven't found the multiple shopping lists that I keep making, and it was another thing Ziggy was failing to remind me that I needed.)  I haven't been sleeping well when I do manage to get to bed on time, so I popped three of them in my mouth.  Then I read the mg and dosage recommendations.  

 Yeah.  Taking 32mg was not a good thing.  Normally, I just buy 5mg gummies, but apparently whenever I bought that bottle, I wasn't paying attention and got 12mg.

Lucy

 About 230a I settled onto the sofa to watch a scary movie while waiting to "feel drowsy."

Gracie and Charlie

 The kids were really kind of over my activity, so the girls attempted to pin me down under the throw blanket, while Charlie was so disgusted he wouldn't even look at me for fear I would want to brush his hair again and contemplate giving him a haircut.

 I woke up at 4a, no idea what was now playing on the television, and stumbled groggily around the house to let Charlie out, brush my teeth, take out my contact lens, and climb into bed.

 Not that I know from any personal experience, but my melatonin induced nightmares have got to be worse than any kind of illicit drug induced nightmares.  Especially when they are about work.  I won't go into a lot of detail because it won't make sense unless you are in the same type of healthcare provider escalation supervisor position.  But it involved getting stuck in two chats at the same time on the computer and secretly spying on the people I was on the other chat with, and both of them being in dangerous situations.  (full transparency ~ we do NOT have video capabilities on our chats.  except in my nightmares) Trying to start a third and fourth chat with my management to call 911 to get help to these people in two different states and cities, but without letting either of them know that I was doing that.  But because one of them was eating pizza at a restaurant, my keyboard was suddenly made of pizza.  I couldn't see the keys to know who I was messaging, and I was knuckles deep in a pizza keyboard.  Frantically trying to save lives but feeling completely helpless.  And hungry.

 First thing I did this morning when I woke at 1020a was throw that bottle of Melatonin in the trash.

 Just say no ... Ci 💚