Three dimensional...

I went to bed after watching the Norwegian thriller that was on last night, but I was unable to go to sleep. I laid in bed for a while staring at the ceiling, trying to get comfortable and in the right frame of mind to doze off, but I was unsuccessful. I felt every wrinkle and fold in the sheets. 

After an hour and a half I gave up and got up and put my bathrobe on and decided to stay up for a while and try to go to sleep again later. I think I have to be more tired than I am now. Apparently I'm not yawning enough and the sleep medication is not working. After I've had this coffee, I'll drink a glass of warm milk. 

I didn't realize that the thriller I was going to watch last night was Norwegian, it didn't say anything about it in the on line TV guide. I just noticed that the language was different than Swedish because I had a harder time understanding it. Somewhere along the line I found out it was taking place in Bergen on the west coast of Norway. 

It was a good thriller and it was still a recognizable language, but I really had to pay attention. I don't think I can learn more than one Scandinavian language at the time. I hope the next one is Swedish again like the one the night before was. Of course, a British one would be good too. There'd be no trouble understanding it. But thank goodness for subtitles. 

It's still in the middle of the night, but I count this as being Monday already. The weekend is over and I'm sorry about that. I could use another day off. I've got one more load of laundry to do, although I did one yesterday, though it's not dry yet. It's taking up space on the drying rack in the bathroom. 

I changed the bed, but that didn't help me fall asleep. I always look forward to going to sleep between clean sheets, but this time the trick didn't work. 

I think I have stress about tomorrow because I don't want it to be Monday. It's not my favorite day of the week. You could say that it's my least favorite day because I hardly have any privacy and the day seems so long. I do get a clean apartment, but that's the most that can be said about the day. 

I'm sure lots of people don't enjoy their Mondays. After all, it's the first day after the weekend and time to get back to work. It must be hard on everyone. I'd be curious to know how many grumpy people there are first thing Monday morning. Or are you all ready and roaring to go? 

I'm starting to yawn and that's a good sign. I'll be able to go to bed shortly. I just need to be tired enough to look forward to it. 

I hope you're all having a good night. 

Ciao,

Nora

...and other tales of comfort.

I just took the dog for a walk in the cool evening air. It had rained briefly in the afternoon and the sky was overcast. There was even a little bit of a breeze and I needed a cardigan over my skimpy clothes. At least the dog was not uncomfortable because of the heat like he was yesterday. Right now it's only 66F, so it's not very warm. I think it's just right. 

After I took a nap this afternoon, I had a small bowl of chocolate pudding because I craved chocolate. I usually do when I wake up, although sometimes a small package of crackers will do. I eat plain crackers, but lately I've been craving salty, cheesy ones. I think I will have the Exfactor get me a box of those and I will see how much I like them. 

I don't want to like them too much and eat them all at once. If I do that, I don't want them in the cupboards and I won't get them again. I make a box of crackers last a whole week and I want the cheesy ones to last that long too. The Exfactor is doing the groceries tomorrow. I'll keep you up to date on the cheesy crackers. 

I make the chocolate pudding last a long time and never run out. I only eat one bowl a day, but I thoroughly enjoy that bowl. The pudding is cold and smooth and satisfying and I eat just enough of it. My gastric band can handle that amount. It's a real treat and it has to stay that way. 

That's why I'm not really going to get any ice cream. I know I would eat the ice cream all at once until it was all gone because I'm crazy about it. It's not such a good idea to have something like that in the freezer. That's why it's so good to have the chocolate pudding instead. I'm much more sensible about it. 

Ice cream would go straight to my hips and I don't need it there. That doesn't mean that I will not go to the best ice salon in town this summer because I know I will. I will have a large ice cream sundae with real whipped cream on top. That will be my special treat. I can't wait to go. I'll ask the Exfactor to go with me.

In a little while, I'm going to change the sheets on my bed and make it a real treat to go to sleep tonight. I'll put on the sheets that were dried outside on the clothesline. They smell heavenly. I've been looking forward to it, but kept putting it off for one reason or another. I'm very determined now. 

I will wash the dirty sheets right away and hang those outside to dry tomorrow. Hopefully there will be no rain and if there is, then that's just too bad. Things are bound to dry sooner or later. Today's shower was only a little one and the clothesline is protected by a lot of trees. I will hope for the best. 

I hope you're all having a good evening and a good start to the week. 

Ciao,

Nora

Up and about...

I didn't sleep quite as late as I had wanted to, but I slept until the early morning anyway and that's not half bad. When I woke up it was raining buckets and Tyke refused to go out back, even though he needed to. He decided to wait until later. It's still not stopped raining yet and I've been up for an hour.

It's very cozy here by the desk lamp and I feel great and ready to start the day. I slept well and feel quite refreshed. I've made a good pot of coffee, so nothing can go wrong with my morning. Well, not much anyway. I can think of some things, but I won't go there. The most important thing is that it's a brand new day with brand new possibilities, and that it's Friday again, the end of the week, which is always a welcome time. I haven't encountered a Friday yet that I don't like. At least not in this stage of my life, but I think I've always liked Fridays, as I've always looked forward to the weekends, especially when my kids were young. I liked it when they were home from school and we could do things.

I slept well in my newly made up bed and it was a pleasure to sleep under clean sheets. I've got to wash the ones I took off immediately so I will have clean ones right way. It's the pillow cases that I most need, having four pillows on my bed. That's strictly for comfort. I like nothing better than having a thick, soft place to put my head. There's nothing better to go to sleep on.

Gandhi and Tyke both try to lie down by my pillows at night. They jockey for position and I have to chase Tyke to the lower end of the bed. There's definitely not enough space for both of them, no matter how hard they try. Gandhi can be there. She's such a little delicate cat that there's room for her, but Tyke plants his big butt in my face and it's not pleasant. He thinks he has to be wherever Gandhi is. He thinks he's as small as she is and that he can go in the same places. He towers above her quite a bit. He's 30 pounds worth of dog, so he may be little, but he's still a force to be reckoned with.

I've got to jump in the shower in a while and find something nice to wear. No doubt I will succeed in doing that. I do have enough clothes to choose from. There's no shortage of them. I have to throw some clothes to wash in with the sheets. I do like clean clothes to wear. There will be no hanging the laundry outside to dry. It is going to rain all weekend. I'm going to try a different washing powder when I'm done with this one. This one works well, but I want to find one that smells even better. Or maybe I'm used to the way this one smells and I need a different one. I think I will just buy whatever washing powder is on sale, that way I can try them all. I'm an opportunistic consumer. I'm not loyal to my brand, except for my tobacco.

My personal helper is coming today and so is the domestic help. I have to get the apartment in shape ahead of time. I will have lots of time to do that. I have to clean up the kitchen and take out the trash. I forgot to buy new trash bags yesterday. I was at the tobacco shop where they sell them, but I forgot all about them. I will have to use some other plastic bag until I get some. The present bag is full and it is my last one. I usually don't forget things like that, but I was in a hurry yesterday, because I was going between rain showers. As it was, it started to rain on the way home and I made it inside just in time.

I haven't noticed any adverse effects from decreasing the antidepressants, but maybe it's too early to tell. Possibly more time needs to pass before I notice any difference. The stuff does stay in your system for quite a while, after all. I think I have a bit more energy, but that may all be in my head, in other words, I merely think I do and it's a suggestion. I think I'm supposed to stay at this dose for a month and then, if everything is well, lower the dose some more until I'm down to a reasonable amount and not the mega dose I was taking. It's fine with me, as long as I do well.

I'm going to take a shower now and get dressed. I do want to get the show on the road and it has stopped raining. Maybe I can take Tyke for a walk. It would be nice if I could. We both need some outside air. It's 18C out, so not that cold.

Have a nice day and enjoy whatever kind of weather you have.

Ciao,
Nora

To bed, to bed...

I'm supposed to be in bed already. As a matter of fact, I was there until a little while ago after I had already taken my sleep medication, but then I decided that I was still wide awake and I got up again. Apparently, it wasn't cozy enough in bed, although I can hear the sound of the rain and I have clean sheets.

I think I was just not really ready to go to sleep and the animals were distracting me too much with their shenanigans. They kept climbing on top of me making it impossible for me to read my book properly. Tyke was especially breathing down my neck. He does have a way of making his presence known.

All afternoon and evening we have been playing with the tennis ball. That means I have to try and get it away from him and toss it through the apartment without breaking anything and he chases it and comes back to me holding it tantalizingly close to my hands, but just without reach. I have to trick him into letting it go so I can toss it away again.

He never tires of this game and has finally figured out that he has to drop the ball if he wants to get my attention so I will pick it up and throw it. He barks at me to alert me to it. Sometimes the ball disappears underneath the sofa and I have to use the African walking stick to get it out from underneath.

It's been raining nonstop all day. It hasn't let up once. Sometimes it rains a little more and sometimes a little less, but it always rains. It's supposed to rain all night until tomorrow morning and then some. We may get a break later in the day. It's very cozy inside, but I have been unable to walk Tyke. He has been out back for little periods of time and I hope it's been enough to take the pressure off, but he's not begging to go outside. He's been watching the rain steadily fall from the heavens and he doesn't like to get wet.

Besides playing with Tyke, I've been watching sports on television. I've had my share of sports now as I've watched them all afternoon and evening. I even watched football and I watched games I didn't care about. I also watched the European Championships Swimming and that was mildly interesting as we did win some medals, but no gold. Just bronze and silver ones. There was also athletics on and that interested me more having been the mother of the Californian State Champion. I do like athletics having done it myself also when I was young and I'd like to come back as an athlete again in my next life. One without exercise induced asthma which I suffered from.

I also laid on the sofa and watched the rain fall down and felt lucky that I was inside. When it rains, though, I feel very sheltered inside and I don't feel at all depressed or anything. That's probably because I don't have to go out in it. That would change my attitude quite a bit, I'm sure. I would be awful to have to ride my bike in it and I don't have rain gear. My sister had to go to work and had to ride her bike through it and got soaked, but she was very cheerful about it. I would have been a grump most likely.

All the time that I'm typing this, I'm still playing with Tyke and the ball. He can't get enough of it, but I'm going to bed now. It's time to read my book and get comfortable under the duvet. I'm going to make myself a glass of warm milk to help me sleep.

Have a good night.

Ciao,

Nora

Clueless in the Netherlands...

Just when I assert that I sleep so well during the night and that I don't feel the need to get up and sit behind the computer in the middle of the night, I do and I have no clue as to why that happens. I do know that when I woke up, I was wide awake and had no sleepy bone left in my body. I had no wish to go back to bed once I had let Tyke out back for a piddle. I simply had no desire to sleep anymore.

It's kind of a shame, because I was just starting to develop a good sleeping habit that seemed to agree with me well. I was up all day without a nap and asleep soundly at night until a decent enough time in the morning. It was all of very short duration, but it showed promise of a regular life.

At least there's one thing I can count on and that is that my day and night rhythm never stays the same for a large period of time, but is always in fluctuation. I suppose that is the nature of the beast and I will have to be flexible and adapt. There's no need to get in an uproar about it, but just go along with the program as much as I can and sleep when my body and mind dictate it. If I fight it and get upset about it I will just turn it into a problem which it doesn't have to be.

I probably didn't have enough things to do yesterday for the amount of energy I had. I did try to fill up my time with useful things, but ran out of chores to do and the interest to do them. I even went around the apartment and looked for clothing and other items to make up a load of laundry that I could do and when I had that together, also stripped my bed so I would have another load to do.

In the morning I went to the drugstore and bought a very good shampoo for light blond hair and some hairspray and dog treats and two candy bars. I also stopped by the tobacco shop for the pack of tobacco that I had already paid for and that they still owed me. Those were my outings for the day, besides walking the dog. I tried to think of other reasons to go out, but they all cost money and I didn't want to waste it.

One of the first things I did was wash my hair with the new shampoo and it gave my hair a nice sheen. It brightened it up a lot and I'm glad I got it. There's no need to color your hair when you have a shampoo like that that enlivens it. Of course, your hair has to be the right color to start with, otherwise it doesn't work.

Tyke was happy with his treats. He figured I had brought something home for him and practically dove into the shopping bag when I carried it in. He was so excited, but then I usually do have something for him when I came home with a bag of shopping. He's not the least bit spoiled and even Gandhi thinks there's always something for her there. I had to disappoint her, though, and gave her fresh kibbles and milk instead.

I opened up my mail and was pleased to see that I have an appointment for an intake for the creative classes on Wednesday, so that was arranged rather quickly. I thought I would have had to wait longer than that. There's movement in the right direction. All I have to do is keep my resolve and not chicken out.

I puttered around the apartment doing odd jobs. They all added up to something. Tyke had destroyed the book I was reading and little pieces of it were lying all over the bedroom floor. What is that I said about him no longer being a puppy? It was a fun job cleaning it up and I will be unable to finish the book as portions of it are missing.

I try not to be devastated about this and picked out another thriller to read last night. Kathy Reichs' Devil Bones. It's going to be a good book, that much I know already. The main character of the book is a forensic anthropologist and that very much interests me. She's also a 55 year old woman. That's even better. A role model for me.

I applied my open and approachable policy yesterday when I was at the store. I tried to remember not to have any walls up when I talked to people and was friendly to the cashier. I smiled and made small talk. It doesn't come easy, but I try it anyway.What you get in return is friendliness. I have to practice this a lot until it becomes second nature. I have to walk around in public with a different attitude. I was the same way at the tobacco shop, but it was easier because I come there a lot. Still, there's room for improvement.

I realized I have a defensive attitude when I go out there. I shut myself up and I'm not as friendly as I can be. I create a distance between myself and other people. I'm not engaged. I have to stop that and become involved and acknowledge their presence better in their interactions with me. I'm not a gray shadow who can just come in under the radar without making a ripple. I am a presence too and I have to let myself be known and show my true colors.

Well, I have my work cut out from me. In the meantime I practice living in gray areas with little highs and lows. I have no wish to bounce from one extreme to the other and don't let any sort of high or low set the tone for the rest of the day. Everything is temporary and for the moment to which it applies. A mood in the morning doesn't determine the rest of the day. I'm not held hostage by it and none of the moods need to get out of hand.

I'm going to do the dishes in a moment and clean up the kitchen. I think I will then go back to bed for a while and sleep some more. First I will have some breakfast and watch the news on TV. I will tell you about the horrible government we are going to have the next time.

Have a good day.

Ciao,

Nora

Not quite...

I'm trying to decide if it's okay to be not quite happy today. I've thought about it since I got up this morning, when I first tried to deny very bravely that there was anything wrong. I wanted to be upbeat and thought I could talk myself into it, but it was like rolling a stone uphill. Do I let go of the stone and watch it roll down hill? Yes, I think I will do that and stop wasting the effort of holding on to it.

Instead of letting that get me down, I got up and did my chores. I figured that was better to do than sitting around and moping about it. Once I've decided I'm in a not quite happy mood, I'm not going to get all miserable about that. I'll just let it be. It is like having a minor summer cold. It's only somewhat disconcerting.

I have some chores left to do and I'm in the mood to do them too. I'm actively looking for things to do. I want to prevent myself from hanging around with time on my hands. I've just folded a load of laundry and hung up another load to dry. I've put away some clothes that I'd worn this week and put some in the laundry, which will mean that soon I will have another load to wash.

Despite the fact that I had cleaned the Senseo machine with a bottle of vinegar, it has started to leak again and I discovered a big puddle of coffee underneath it that was starting to spread over the kitchen counter. I'll have to run another bottle of vinegar through it to see if I can fix the problem. I cleaned up that mess, but I think the Senseo machine has seen its best days. I'll have to look into replacing it.

I've changed my bed and look forward tonight to clean smelling sheets. It will be a pleasure as always. Tyke "helped" me change the bed. He does that by jumping on it every time my back is turned to get another pillow case or when I'm right in the middle of putting on the bottom sheet and then I can´t get the fitted corners around the mattress. He probably thinks that we´re playing some sort of game.

I have to sweep the floors and clean the insides of the living room windows. Then I have to clean up turds from the patio. There are a few laying there. It´s always my favorite job. I handle them with great care and respect.

Gandhi brought home a dead mouse this morning. She was planning on devouring it in the corner of the living room. I noticed it on time, because Tyke walked over there and watched her with a great deal of curiosity. I chased her outside and, luckily, she didn´t come back with it later. I don´t want to have to clean up a half devoured mouse. I never know what to do with them anyway and end up throwing them in the green bin, although I don´t think I´m supposed to.

Off I go to do the rest of my chores. It will be an afternoon well spent.

Have a good Sunday.

Ciao,
Nora

Two cups of coffee...

I was so exhausted yesterday evening. I sat here behind the computer and almost toppled over from tiredness. I tried to resist it, but ended up going to bed before it was 7 o'clock, I think. It was early, anyway. I had clean sheets on my bed, so it was wonderful to get in it, and I fell asleep almost instantly.

I left the bedroom door open, because I've found out that Tyke pretty much stays there anyway for most of the night and doesn't get into trouble in the rest of the apartment. He's right beside the bed when I wake up. That's good, because I prefer sleeping with the door open. I don't like to be in a room with the door closed.

I've got a bit of claustrophobia that I've learned to live with really well and I do see the need for closed doors. I mean, there are circumstances under which a door needs to be closed, but all the doors in the apartment are open and I even go to the bathroom with the door open so all the animals can go with me.

I woke up very early in the morning and had a glass of milk first for the thirst, but then realized that I really did need that cup of coffee to function well and get the last bit of sleep out of my mind. It did its job and I soon performed up to par, so a cup of coffee does have its uses. Then I took a long time deciding if I was going to have a second cup and finally decided that I would, but this will be my last one, because I'm more than fully awake now.

I remembered to get on the scale this morning and I have lost 3.5 kg since I have been on the new medication. So. if I want to get to the weight that's supposed to be perfect for me and my age, and that is reasonable, I have to lose 14 kg. I think that will happen automatically without me worrying about it. I'm not making any effort now and I'm not obsessed by it. I will remember to get on the scale every now and then and keep track of how I'm doing. I'm not going hungry, but have lost my appetite for food and am easily satisfied. The Nutella is taking care of my craving for something sweet to eat and it's nutritious too.

Drinking fruit juice makes me sad. I've had that suspicion for a while, but now I am sure of it. It seems like a strange theory, but it's true and I'm not going to drink it anymore, because I had clear proof of it yesterday. I drank a glass of it after I hadn't had it for a few days and was sad for a few hours afterwards. I didn't know how to undo it, but wait it out. It finally passed after I had something to eat and took my medicines. People can have an intolerance for food, but I wonder if that can also affect them emotionally. I have a feeling it can. I think wine makes me sad too.

I think it's because I feel so good now most of the time, that I notice it very quickly if I don't and can find the cause and effect quickly too. I think a lot of times emotions are nothing more than the chemical reactions that take place in your body and mind. Shortages and overdoses happen and your feelings are a result of that. Why else do we have alcoholic beverages and foods that are pleasurable and nicotine and drugs? We have pleasure centers in our brains with chemicals that make us feel good. If you have a shortage there, you're not going to feel so good and you'll eat a chocolate bar to feel better, or have a drink, or sniff cocaine or any number of things. In my case, some of those things make me feel bad. They have an adverse effect.

This morning, very early, I heard all the birds sing as they woke up. I could hear them clearly, because all the windows are open at the top and that really does make a difference. It's a shame that their chirping doesn't last longer, because it's so cheerful and I would love to live in a wood and hear all the birds wake up. I can't identify any bird by sound, except the mockingbird, and he doesn't live in this country. We used to have one in our front garden in Costa Mesa and I always liked listening to him.

I've taken my medicines a while ago and high time it was too, though I may be reacting to that second cup of coffee. Maybe I shouldn't have had it, not being used to so much caffeine now. It makes you jittery. It's much better to just stick to the one cup. These are lessons you learn as you go along. You realize what sort of junk you put in your body and how unnecessary that is. More is not better. If one cup works well, than two cups don't work better.

It's cloudy and 12C outside. It's only going to be 13C today, not as nice as yesterday, but still in the double digits. We must remain optimistic and I have the windows open and the heater turned off after all. Oh, I just looked at the 10 day forecast and it doesn't look very good at all. I will be closing the windows again and turning on the heater. Darn, that's a shame. March is not very willing. We'll have to wait until April for the good weather.

I'm going to take Tyke for a walk. He doesn't know that yet and is sound asleep here by my feet. He's already had his breakfast and is now digesting it.

Have a great day!

Ciao,
Nora

A lot of work...

When I'm talking about a lot of work, I don't mean me. I mean you people who will have to read several posts to be completely updated on what I have been doing this night, and since the night is not over yet, god only knows if there is going to be another post for you to read.

I said that I was going to make my bed first when I left you last and that is what I did. I picked a neat stack of fresh smelling sheets out o f the closet and made the bed ever so quickly. It was done before you could say "Geronimo." They smelled so good, because I had dried them out on the line in the July sunshine and they felt nice and crisp. If I ever do get to bed, it will be a pleasure to lie down in it.

Then I gathered all my dishes and glasses that were spread a round the apartment and rinsed them under hot water and did the dishes in hot soapy water until they were sparkling clean. I dried the silverware, but left the rest to dry in the rack and will put them away first thing tomorrow morning, which it almost is, come to think of it.

The ceiling light in the kitchen had not been working for months and I finally got a new bulb out of the closet and with the help of my stepladder, changed the light bulb and behold, I could see the dirt!

Well, really, I am exaggerating. I could see a lot better where I had to sweep the floor and I did that first and in the process of doing that, I nearly knocked over the water bowl for the cats and sloshed water all over the floor, which then actually made it easier to sweep up the dog heir, because it clumped together better. So I wondered if it would be better to always sweep the floors with a wet broom and now that I think about it some more, I think I may be right and I'm going to try that out some time.

Then I dusted the surfaces in the living room with a damp cloth and wiped away the cat hair that they leave all over the place, because they sit wherever they like and nothing is sacred. If you use a dry cloth it doesn't work. The hair just escapes to other places. I emptied the ashtrays and put numerous little items back in their place. Doesn't everybody leave their nail clippers and sunglasses and pliers laying around? And don't you all have a special odd place to keep those things?

I swept the living room floor and you would be surprised by the amount of hair and grit that was there. All that stuff goes into your carpet. I was sorry that I couldn't vacuum, because the chairs needed a good cleaning and doing it with a brush isn't going to cut it this time. Can you believe that I said I was sorry that I couldn't vacuum? Really! It's unbelievable!

I swept the hallway and had to move several items around and the swept the spare bedroom, which is really the junk room, so I'll call it that and it seemed that Jesker's hair had gathered here into snowdrifts that kept escaping from my broom. That's why I think a wet broom will work better. It will make the hair all nice and clumpy and stick to the broom better.

Anyway, I finally got that done and had heaps of dirt and hair all over the place, which I removed with the hand broom and the dustpan. That's always a very satisfying job and I always wish for more heaps, because I like brushing them into the dustpan. I did see that I needed to mop the floors and that there were some areas that I needed to scrub, so that will be my next job. It will be fun and satisfying. I can't wait. I also can't believe I said that. What's wrong with me?

Next I drank a tall glass of juice and made a package of cigarettes. I used to get tobacco in cans and always had problems with tobacco that was either too moist or too dry. Since I switched to strong tobacco, I get it in a heavy paper pack and the tobacco is always just right all the way down to the bottom of the pack, so you see that the old fashioned way of packaging sometimes is the best. I love to hold my paper pack of tobacco. I like the printing on the label and the name of it. It is called "Look Out." It is a brand that has been around forever. It's a manly tobacco in a manly pack.

I took all my medication, including my sleeping pill and we'll see if it is going to work. Either way I have to take it, otherwise I'll get withdrawal symptoms. I can't just not take t, even though that's what I want to do. I'd like to just stay up and not bother going to bed and do some more chores now that I'm in the proper frame of mind. I could mop the floors and I still have to hang up the laundry and I could wash windows when it gets light, even though it is Sunday, but who can be bothered?


I just cleaned up a whole bunch of my clothes that I had laying in the bathroom, things that I had worn this week and had discarded and not put away where they belonged and now seemed like a good time to put them away properly before I hung up the laundry to dry. So now the laundry is on the drying rack smelling of delicious clean detergent, but I did notice that I need to clean the mirror and cosmetics shelf as its is rather dusty and could use a good shine and I should mop that floor too. I've got my work cut out for me.I did manage to pair up one single sock with its companion, leaving no sock single. At least none that matter. I knew it would show up sooner or later in one of the following washes.It was just temporarily misplaced and not in another universe or another dimension.

I do have to organize my closet a little bit better, I do have some sort of system now, but it's getting kind of messy and although I can find things, I like it neater than it is now with the stacks a little better organized. maybe I should start a list of things to do and work my way down it and neatly check off what's been done. That ought to give me some satisfaction. Right, first things first, make a list, however brief and concise and give it many admiring glances through out the day.

This is not at all in conflict with my doing things in chores of threes of course, I can still do that, Some of the chores may be a little bit bigger, but if I have the energy, than more power to me. I just have to take advantage of this energetic me that's surfaced and get her to do as many things as possible in whatever time we've got.

It's too bad that I don't have an Ikea flat pack to put together right now, because I do need a bigger closet and I have the wherewithal to stick one together in a few hours, but I'll have to price them first and see what they cost, probably an arm and a leg. I also want to look for a new area rug, because the one I have was very cheap and is starting to show its cheapness and I want some more color instead of the drab browns. I'll have to check the Ikea website in a while to see what's available. Oh, aren't I just full of big plans.

Somebody said I'm back in the saddle again and I guess they weren't joking. I'm like the Pony Express going at full speed. I've got me a pinto that won't quit. Sheer will power is keeping me going and lots of very focused energy.

In a minute, I am going to make me a bucket of suds and get my sponge mop and tackle the floors, It will be a pleasure to do them. I have boundless energy and I think that with a break now and then, I can do the whole apartment.It will be like in the olden days, when housewives got up with the chickens and did their chores before their husbands and children awakened.I will be a babushka and wear a scarf around my head and boots over my long johns and be forever at work cleaning and scrubbing because cleanliness is next to godliness and I'll have a crucifix above my living room door. Of course, I'll need some chickens to get up with.

Okay, I'm off to do my next chores, I'm sure I'll keep you updated on my coming housewifely acts and the sheer excitement of them, so get ready for the next installment.

Ciao...