#3047 weekend wrap-up

swallowtail butterfly on a pansy at RBGA

We have had typical Utah spring weather this week. The high temperature was in the low 90s the first half of the week, then it got windy and the temperatures dropped about 20 degrees in the last half of the week. We had the AC on through Wednesday, and I turned the heater back on today.  

I did take Stella back to the vet on Thursday. The ear infection in her left ear was back, so the vet cleaned it out again and prescribed some ear drops. I have been giving those to her daily and she is doing a lot better, back to her regular playful self. She's been expensive this week!

T and I have been watching the NBA Playoffs. We are now down to four teams left. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Knicks will play the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the in the Western Conference Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder will play the San Antonio Spurs. I guess I'd like to see the Thunder and the Knicks in the Finals, but I'll be on vacation during the Finals so I won't be following along too closely.

These next two weeks will be all about final trip preparations. I've got euros, have scheduled the mail to be held, and signed up for the international plan for our phones. I've bought a couple of new clothing items. I've been breaking in my new sneakers. This week I'll make sure all the clothes I'm planning to take can be mixed and matched for maximum 'fits. Mostly what I need to do is make some notes about places to see and things to try in each of our stops. I'll be seeing so many places I haven't been before! I am tremendously excited about the whole trip.

I've got a few things coming up this week:

On Monday, I'm going to meet my friend and former co-worker Wendy for lunch. Mac is going to the groomer on Monday afternoon. She is molting a lot, so she'll get a bath a a furminator treatment. The furminator is a de-shedding tool, and she really needs it.

On Wednesday, I'll go to the annual concert volunteer orientation at RBGA. It's a mandatory meeting for concert volunteers. We learn about active shooter protocol and hear from police and security. After that, my friend Liz and I will grab a bite and have a chat.

On Thursday, I'll be back at RBGA for a training about roses. Once a month, garden staff do a lunch-time training on various things around the garden. I've only been to a couple of these trainings since I've been a volunteer, and I always learn something cool. Also on Thursday, it is the return of #Ekpesbookclub. We are reading Theo of Golden. I started it today, and I'm already liking it very much.

Sunday is MT's birthday. It's a big one that ends in a 5! That day we will also get to check in online for our cruise.

I will record blooms on one of the days, maybe Friday, and gathering up art supplies to take with me on The Trip. There will probably be a couple little things I'll need to buy, but mostly I'm good, I think. 

Have a great week! xoxo

#3046 three things: dog edition

Stella, Harley, and Mac

Time to check in with Stella, Harley, and Mac in this week's three things: dog edition.

1. Stella. On Sunday I took Stella to the emergency vet as I wrote in the last post. She was there from 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM. She had to be sedated so the vet could remove foxtails from her feet and clean her ears as both of them were infected. It wasn't a foxtail infection, just dirty ears that went really bad. The next day, Monday, Stella went to the groomer. She was just there for two hours and she looks really cute. Yesterday, Tuesday, she was still feeling a little low. She didn't want to be outside and didn't play with her toys at all. This morning she was a little more perky and frisky, although she would just catch the frisbee twice and then come inside. Right now, she isn't feeling well and is curled in a tight little ball on the couch next to T, who I think might actually be her favorite human. She is shivering a little and panting. She has eaten, but she wouldn't take her pain medication tonight. I'll see how she is doing tomorrow. If she's still acting like she is right now, we'll go back to the vet.

2. Harley had a vet appointment last week for some shots, which she didn't get. I think I wrote all this already. Harley is actually doing well. This might jinx it for me, but she hasn't woken me up in the middle of the night for nearly a week to go outside and she hasn't had any accidents in the house, either. Mostly, she needs a bath. Maybe I'll give her one this weekend. (Did I say that last week, too?)

3. Mac is doing very well. She loves to sit outside in the morning sun and watch the traffic go by. In the afternoon, she finds a shady spot and keeps watch. Mac is very intrigued by squirrels and turns to stone when she spots one in the neighborhood when we are out for our morning walk. When I say she turns to stone, I mean the dog cannot be moved. It's like she is frozen in place, only moving her eyes when the squirrel moves. When I put my hand on her to try to snap her out of her squirrel trance, she doesn't even acknowledge me. We have stood in place for many minutes watching the squirrel watch us. Harley could care less about the squirrel and just looks at me as if wondering why we are not walking. I guess it is a good thing that we don't see squirrels every day in the neighborhood. They might see us, but as long as Mac doesn't see them, we are fine. 

Enjoy the rest of the week!

#3045 not much going on, but also a lot

You know, I've had kind of a weird week. Last Sunday, I took a long nap during the daytime hours, then I stayed up until 2 AM (re)watching the first season of Ted Lasso with my son who has never seen the show. I don't know if I can tell you the last time I stayed up until 2 AM on purpose. I felt like I was behind on my sleep all week.

I had to take two dogs to the vet this week. I took Harley to her regular vet on Wednesday to get some vaccinations, although I think there was a mistake and she got all her shots already, but I'll double check that. It doesn't matter though because she didn't get vaxxed anyway. Harley is a bit underweight, and the vet is concerned that she might be sickly and she told me she doesn't vaccinate sick dogs. I was actually pleased because Harley has gained three pounds since I took her to the emergency vet in February. She has been having diarrhea fairly often, though, and that's the concern. She eats very well and is hungry all the time. I am monitoring the situation and giving her a pro-biotic supplement, and she is doing better. In the meantime, I'll recheck my records on those vaccinations we went in for.

Stella had to go to the emergency vet today. Yesterday afternoon, I noticed she was being very quiet and not moving around much. Her nose was dry and she was panting rapidly. She shook her head a lot, and when I tried to look at her ear, she yipped really loudly. She didn't eat her kibbles last night or this morning, although she took a few from my hand. (Harley happily ate them for her.) I noticed that Stella seemed to be stepping very gingerly, and she didn't want to play frisbee. Something was definitely wrong. The vet examined her and told me that her little paws have foxtail weeds in between the pads, so Stella needed to be sedated, her paws shaved, and the foxtails extracted. Poor baby. 'Tis the season for foxtails. At the vet's office on Wednesday, there was a woman picking up her dog who had foxtail removed from his feet, too. It's easy to get the weeds out of Harley and Mac's fur and feet because their fur is so different from Stella's. Now it is 5:45 PM and Stella is still at the vet. We went there at 11:30 this morning. I called a couple of hours ago, and was told that an emergency came in, so Stella's treatment was delayed. The guy said she was resting in the kennel and that she's okay, but I'm getting anxious for her. More to come...

Speaking of our back yard/weed patch, we are having some work done on it. One of our tenants, Sandino, has a crew of guys who do work on yards. They dug up part of the yard and prepped it for sod. They also replaced the pavers that we put down 20 years ago or so. They are also working on the sprinkler system. They are doing a good job, and it will be nice. We have a big backyard, and every inch of it needs some love.

T and I have been going to the movies on Friday afternoons the past couple of weeks. We have seen Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2. It's a nice way to spend a couple of hours, in a cool, dark theater, having some popcorn and watching a movie with my son. Yesterday I watched the movie Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix. I loved it. I wept. It was one of those stories where you kind of know what's going to happen, but you get caught up in the acting - Sally Field! - and the way the story unfolds. So good. I still want to read the book.

One more thing: on Thursday before I recorded blooms at RBGA, I stopped for breakfast at All Purpose Bakehouse.  I'd stopped there a couple of times for to go items, but I wanted to sit there for a bit. It was nice. The place was pretty crowded. I sat up at a counter by the window and read while I enjoyed a cappuccino and a pain suisse. 

breakfast at APB

The pain suisse is made of croissant dough and filled with a light vanilla custard and chocolate. It is really delicious and really rich. I think next time I'll just have a regular croissant. The baker does a wonderful job on the croissants. They are crispy and flaky outside, tender and buttery inside. Perfect for dipping into the foamy cappuccino.

Looking forward:

We are now at 20 days until The Trip. This week I'm planning to do some Trip Admin, like ordering euros, scheduling the mail to be held, and arranging for international phone plans. I'll probably also take a closer look at the EES stuff and the State Department's STEP program.

On the Dixon front, I need to follow up with the bank to make sure they got the paperwork I sent to claim the funds in the account there. I also want to make the arrangements with the cemetery and the funeral home to inter the ashes of my aunt and uncle in the family plot. I've already started that process, and I want to get all the arrangements made. 

Stella is going to the groomer tomorrow, at least that's the plan. I am going to the dentist on Wednesday for a cleaning. I'll record blooms at RBGA on Thursday, probably, and I've got my regular docent shift on Sunday.

Stella update! The vet just called. They are done with her feet. The vet didn't see anything in her ear, but did see a lot of black icky stuff, so she might have an ear infection. They are testing that now. I'll be going to get her in 30 to 40 minutes. 

That gets you all caught up on my activities. Have a great week!

#3044 three things: currently I am...

I'm trying something a little different with three things this week. I found a cool list on Pinterest called "Currently I'm" and there are 29 things on the list. I haphazardly chose three, so let's see how it goes.

1. Currently I'm smelling the pine and eucalyptus lotion I just put on my hands. Lizzie gave me the lotion for Christmas a couple of years ago after I told her how much I love those two scents together. It reminds me of a wonderful afternoon I spent on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay. I hope I never forget the smell of the air there: the soil, the evergreens, the eucalyptus, and the salt air combined in such a fresh, wonderful fragrance. This lotion isn't exactly like the scent of Angel Island, but it'll do. Plus it makes my dry hands feel wonderfully moisturized.

2. Currently I'm trying to wrap up my aunt's estate. I've learned that having a will and a trust is not enough. There are affidavits to be signed, beneficiaries need to have been named, and sometimes attorneys need to be involved. I have been waiting for a document from the attorney who prepared the will and the trust to send me an affidavit so I can close out the bank account in Dixon. I've left him messages and emails, but haven't heard back. I will keep trying. You have to be persistent to get what you want!

3. Currently I'm hoping for the discipline to finish up my 2025 travel journal before I begin my next vacation. I'm almost done with the 2025 travel journal, but I have a few pages to go. I am actually on the last day of the trip when we went to the Van Gogh Museum. I have so many photos and postcards and stuff from the museum that I want to do a two-page spread on it. I'm excited to do it, but time seems to get away from me. How did I get anything fun done when I was working full time?

~~~~~~

Well...that was pretty fun! Quick and easy. If you're interested, here is the list from Pinterest.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

#3043 the week in review plus April art

I can buy myself flowers

 Hello!

It wasn't a terribly busy week, but I felt kinda tired every day. I think with the weather being so warm then cold then warm then wet, my body hasn't adjusted to anything. I've been staying up later than usual because T and I have been watching the NBA Playoffs. There are 16 teams playing, so every day there are at least two and sometimes four games a day. Usually two or three games during the week and four games on both Saturday and Sunday. It's a lot of basketball, and I enjoy watching with my son. 

I went to Red Butte Garden and Arboretum (RBGA) twice this week. I recorded blooms on Tuesday. I am sorry to say the wisteria did not do well with the snow. SAD.

15 April

21 April

On Friday I volunteered at the Arbor Day festivities. It was one of the first times I have been able to volunteer during a weekday for an event. It was a beautiful day, and there were hundreds of people who came to the Garden that day. It was a free entry day, for one thing. The Garden gave away 500 little red bud trees - I was sad I didn't get one! There were tables from organizations like the West Jordan Conservancy District, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Sierra Club, and others. They were giving away information and stickers. RBGA had some interactive stuff for kids and adults, like the game I was helping with. It was a Plinko game where we learned the four things tree roots need to grow: space, water, oxygen, and soil. Watching the little orange disc plink down the board was hypnotic for me and the kids. I did a lot of squats in those four hours as I plucked the plinko discs off the board for the next player. We always had someone playing the games. It was actually pretty fun, and I had a good time, even though I was dang tired at the end. That's a lot of smiling, chatting, and being "on" for an introvert like me. 

Yesterday I had the urge to wander around Barnes and Noble. MT came with me and we just looked around. MT got a book, and I picked up a sketchbook that will be my travel journal for the June trip. It is bigger than I usually get, but I like to put lots of things in my travel journal like postcards, maps, business cards, pieces of wrappers or parts of bags, photos, and of course sketches and words. Since I'll be out in the world for about three weeks seeing lots of new things, I decided the bigger size book was a good option. Not only is it big in size, it has a lot of pages, too. It is not watercolor paper or even multi-media paper, but if I want to paint, I can glue two or three pages together and it will be okay.

On a sad note, Mom's sweet doggo Lulu crossed the Rainbow Bridge this week. I noticed that she was quite a bit less peppy in March than when I saw her in December. Lulu was Mama's companion for 14 years. She was a smol girl, but she took up a lot of room in Mom and Lizzie's hearts, and I know they are missing their furry friend. 

RIP Lulu

It's the last Sunday of the month, so let's have art show and tell time :)

Here are a few little things I did on my own:

These pieces were all responses to prompts from Jill Badonsky.

"Pretty Funky Chicken"

"Gaudy Gecko"

"Bubblebees"

"The Power"

"Come Fly Away"

I like the chicken. The gecko I drew upside down with a single line, then got a little carried away with the painting. (It happens.) The Bubblebees were a combination of two prompts from a big list. The peace sign made of words was an exercise in letters, and the last one was a "sky" prompt. 

~~~~~~~~~

Looking forward to:

* Final follow up with Dr. Holt about my wrist on Tuesday. It won't ever be like it was, but I think it's about as good as it can be.

* Training at RBGA about the app they are using this year. It's called Bloomberg Connects, if you are interested. I tested it last year, and it's informative. The idea of folks wandering through the Garden with their nose in the app makes me squeamish, so I hope one of the things we talk about is encouraging use of the app as a tool, but not a guide, if that makes sense.

* I will also record blooms sometime during the week, maybe Tuesday after the doctor appointment?

* Friday is May 1 and the official countdown to vacation will begin!

Have a great week! Stay safe. Be kind. Have fun.

#3042 weekend wrap-up

spring snow

It has been a quiet and relaxing weekend at my house. The photo above was taken on Thursday afternoon after a quick but fairly generous snow storm. It is said that April 16 is the average last day of snow for the season in SLC, which would be fine with me. We had a really dry winter, so any water helps. I'd be fine if the water coming from the sky isn't white, though.

Friday was clear, cool, and sunny. MT went for a hike then left for Pocatello. He is painting the outside of the new property, and he'll be back tomorrow afternoon. I decided to go see a movie because why not? I went to see You, Me, and Tuscany. It was exactly the eye and mind candy I needed. The people and the setting were pretty, the premise is a little sketchy about how the woman gets to Tuscany and the shenanigans involved, but it's total chick-lit-rom-com shenanigans. Along with popcorn and a soda, it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

T and I have spent the weekend watching the NBA playoffs. I don't really have a favorite team in the playoffs overall. The Utah Jazz are not in the playoffs. They were terrible this year and actually got in trouble for "tanking" - losing on purpose to try to get a higher lottery pick. Disgraceful. This is not the Jazz front office of old, and Larry Miller is probably turning over in his grave. I am a long-time Jazz fan and I could barely stand to watch the team play this year. Sad.

Yesterday I swapped out my winter clothes for my summer clothes. While I was at it, I culled the wardrobe, but truly, I still have a boatload of clothes, way more than I need or wear, especially now that I am not working. (Although, if I'm being honest, I usually wore the same few things all the time.) I have a dream of putting together a smaller capsule-type wardrobe, but I'm afraid (or something) of getting rid of too much and of keeping too much. I know I'm being ridiculous, and all I really have to do is remember the vast amount of clothing and stuff that came out of the house in Dixon to encourage me to purge my own clothing and stuff, but it seems to be much harder to do that to my own things. <<sigh>>

Let's see what's on the agenda for next week. The 22nd is Earth Day, and the 24th is Arbor Day. Friday the 24th, I've got a volunteer assignment at The Garden because they are having Arbor Day festivities. I haven't been able to do daytime assignments in the past, so I'm happy to be able to do this! It's supposed to be a nice day on Friday, too. I'll also go up on Tuesday to record blooms. The 23rd is World Book Day, which doesn't really mean anything special to me because every day is Book Day in my world.  

Time to sign off here to do some art. I read a lot today and took a little nap, so I didn't do the art I was planning to do earlier. Have a great week!
 

#3041 three things: technology, tax day, and insurance

3 things

Today was a big day of adulting.

 1. Technology. Today MT and I signed mortgage papers on the new rental property in Pocatello. We bought the property using a hard money loan, which is a high interest loan for a short amount of time. The hard money loan term was six months, and the balloon payment with principle and interest was due on May 15, so we were happy to get that loan paid with plenty of time to spare. Since the property is in Idaho and we didn't really want to drive to Pocatello for an hour's worth of meeting time with the title company, we were able to do a virtual signing with a notary. We got all the closing documents yesterday and had plenty of time to review them. This morning, we logged into the mortgage company's secure signing site, uploaded our identification, and requested a notary. In less than 30 seconds, Kyle from Minnesota came on the screen and walked us through all the signing, just as if he was sitting right at our table with us. It actually took longer for me to figure out how to connect with the notary than it took for the notary to come online with us. Immediately after signing, we were able to download the entire signed loan file, and had confirmation from the title company, our mortgage broker, and the new mortgage holder that everything was done. Pretty cool. 

2. Tax day. Today is the last day for Americans to send their federal and state income taxes. We had a very large tax bill this year due to the fact that we sold a house and were unable to find a property to invest in to avoid the taxes on the sale of the house. (The government has a short window for re-investing.) Fortunately, we'd set aside money for the taxes, but it was still pretty stressful to write a check that big.  Ugh. Painful.

3. Insurance. When I broke my wrist in January, I had to have out-patient surgery to repair it. Unfortunately, the expensive insurance I have did not cover out-patient, so I had to get a very expensive supplemental policy to offset the cost of the surgery. The weird part is that I was never billed for the supplemental policy - until yesterday, when the insurance company hit me with three months of the premiums, nearly $2,500. Gulp. Good thing I had money in the account because I was unprepared for the situation. (My bad; I knew it had to be coming.)

I called the insurance company this morning to cancel the supplemental. The woman I spoke to said she only saw one claim on it in January and did I want or need those two additional months? I said no, so she said she would submit a refund request for me for the February and March premiums, and if it was approved, I'd be getting a check in about three weeks. Wouldn't that be great?! She also confirmed that she'd cancelled the supplemental policy, so I won't be getting any more charges for that.  I'm bummed at myself for not being more on top of this situation, like setting the premium aside and calling to cancel the policy earlier, so if the refund works out, I'll be breathing a big sigh of relief. 

It's been a day! I think I'll drink a glass of water, relax my mind by drawing a quick doodle, and go to bed.

Enjoy the rest of the week!