March 17 through 19

[chochiyo_sama]

Thursday, March 17

 Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

I spent hours today catching up with my DW entries.  Literally.  Hours.  It feels good to be caught up.

Now if only I can be disciplined enough to keep up.

Today I got the package from my on-line doll collector friend Tamie.  It contained an 18” doll (not an American Girl) that no one wanted and two bags of random clothing and accessories.  Tamie had a home business/shop where she sewed and sold doll clothing.  Between the Covid epidemic and the high cost of everything, she is unable to maintain her shop and needs to get a job.  She is getting rid of all her display dolls and other items, including this inexpensive but cute 18” doll that she called Hayley.  I didn’t really want or need Hayley, but Tamie was worried that someone would buy it for a couple of bucks just to “get creative” with it and turn it into a hideous “haunted doll” and sell it for a huge profit to some gullible idiot who will believe that the doll is possessed by some evil spirit and will spent the rest of its “life roaming through the house, cackling insanely.  The picture of the doll kept popping up on my feed, and it kept looking out of the screen at me sadly, projecting the message “PLEASE don’t let someone make me ugly and evil looking.  Please save me and let me be a pretty little girl forever…or at least until YOU die and I am sent somewhere else.”

Obviously, I cannot resist a plea like that.  So I made arrangements with Tamie to get the doll basically for the cost of shipping and she threw in the two bags of unsold clothing and other accessories that no one else wanted to buy. 

The box of vitamins and treats I ordered from Target also arrived today.  I bought a couple bags of cookies and some Easter candy. I ordered Fish Oil, biotin, and vitamin C.  Enough for three months. 

I saw my first robin of the spring today.  She/he was in my crab apple tree eating the tiny, shriveled up crab apples.  About 30 seconds later, I saw my second robin of the spring in a slightly higher branch, also eating crab apples.  I knew I would be seeing robins soon as most of my former students have been posting about seeing robins in the Rochester area. 

It was an absolutely glorious spring day.  It was so nice outside that I opened the door to the deck and just let the fresh air come in from the second I was dressed and up until it got too dark and creepy to leave it open any longer. 

The fresh air gave me the strength to drag a bag of garbage to the outside bin and to fold the last load of laundry and drag the basket into the bedroom.  I hope this beautiful spring weather continues.  We could still get a howling blizzard, but the more time passes, the less likely it is.

I decided against ordering groceries today.  I didn’t really NEED anything that I cannot live without for another week.  They did have ribeye steaks on the sale bill—those are my favorites, but I don’t need them.  Maybe they will still have some next week.

 

Friday, March 18

I took a long, hot shower this morning, hoping it would sooth my sore shoulder and even sorer hand.  Then I tidied up the bedroom a bit and hauled a couple bags of recycling to the outside bin AND a horrifically heavy bag of garbage from the kitchen to the garbage bin.  I cleaned the litter boxes and dragged the scoopings out to the garbage bin too.  The Schwan’s man came and delivered a few things.  I kept the container of chicken/wild rice soup out and made it for my supper.  While it was cooking, I washed a huge sink full of dirty dishes. 

Getting that bag of kitchen garbage into the bin was literally painful.  But I was able to do it.

In the afternoon, I discovered that the Zeffirelli version of Romeo and Juliet was on TCM, so I watched that.  I used to see it four times a year (9^th grade English—4 sections).  I had not seen it since I taught at Triton which was probably close to 15 years ago.  Watching it sure brought back a lot of memories of teaching the play and then watching the movie with my students.  I really focused on it and found it very touching.  I was surprised that it affected me so deeply that I cried.  It always gets me when little Juliet discovers that Romeo’s lips are still warm when she kisses him. 

I always showed the kids West Side Story after that.  Then I had them choose characters from each m each show and write a comparison paper.  Obviously, most chose Tony/Romeo, Maria/Juliet, but they also could choose Mercutio/Bernardo, Nurse/Anita, Friar Laurance/Pop, Tybalt/Riff.  I gave them study guide to fill out while watching the movies and allowed them to gather data and of course, we discussed how to write a five paragraph comparison/contrast paper.  They had to have at least three items with supporting evidence, one for each of the body paragraphs, along with an introductory paragraph and a concluding paragraph. 

I really worked hard on my 9^th grade English class.  I taught them a lot of good skills.  I miss teaching sometimes.  But I do not miss spending every second of every waking moment of my life working on my teaching.

 

Saturday, March 19

I finally unboxed the wooden wardrobe that Tamie had sent me from her shop.  I got it almost a week ago, but it was so tightly wrapped that I couldn’t get it open without my box cutter which had vanished.  I found the box cutter and got it open.  I also got several duplicated boxes of cat supplies from Chewy.com.  I opened all of them, unboxed the Sheba pods, and carried them into the bedroom.  I dragged the boxes of cat litter into the breezeway.  I broke down several smaller cardboard boxes and stuffed them into a bigger box. 

Lily is still considering a move to that senior living center where her friends live in Rochester, and she wants me to keep the boxes.  I, however, am sick of all these boxes littering my living room.  So, I am going to see if I can find someone willing to load up these boxes and take them to Lily’s house and unload them into her garage. I have the key to her house, and I want them out of my house. 

Three years ago today, I realized that there was something seriously wrong with me.  I was so sick and weak; I had fever and chills and such an agonizing pain in my right side.  I knew that the following day I would have to go to the doctor.  Well, I was so very sick in the middle of the night that I sent a group text to my siblings asking if anyone would be willing to take me to the ER in the morning. 

My sister Joni contacted me almost immediately despite the fact that it was about three o’clock in the morning. They said they were coming down immediately, and I about killed myself taking a shower as I had been too sick to care about whether I was dirty or not before.  But I didn’t want to go to the hospital dirty.  I thought they’d give me muscle relaxants and pain pills.  Instead, they told me I was septic, my blood sugar was insanely high, and my appendix had burst.  They sent me to Rochester by ambulance.  And then I was in the hospital for months. 

I am thankful I didn’t realize at the time how close to death I actually was.  I was one fucked up puppy.

I am still not 100% after three years, but I am SO MUCH BETTER than I was.  I am thankful for that.

I am hoping I can still get better yet. 

I am slowly getting my house under control.  I am so tired of living in chaos. 

I finally finished, for the most part, my kitchen.  Tomorrow I will begin working on my living room.  Actually, I have already started on the living room as the card board I broke down was in the living room. 

That’s as much as I can do for today.  On the phone with my mother.

  

Comments

[the_godiva]

I also bought some Easter Candy from Sees. I don't think it will last until Easter but I am enjoying it.

I got a doll like that once from a work colleague. She won it or something and it wasn't her thing. It was an adult doll and made of wax. She said since I sew maybe I could make a dress for it. Always intended to but it is still up in the sewing room closet. I should get it down, sew a dress and then sell it. It might be worth something now if it isn't melted.

I did order groceries today as things on my list were selling out. I'm hoping since I ordered and paid for them I will at least get what is on my list. The Boraxo can wait as I am not out of it yet but I am disappointed the Cheetos are sold out. Also no bread sticks, Chef Boyardee spaghetti, Take and Bake baguettes, Le Petit Ecolier cookies, dark or light, and a few other things. It will all come on Tuesday between noon and 2pm, same as the time slot of the U.S. mail.

I've been using the paper bags they deliver in to sort my mail. I emptied one tote and found that calendar I was looking for. I looked in that tote twice and didn't find it. So now I'll bring it over to my Mom's house on Good Friday. Decided to go early for Easter. My driving test is the Tuesday after Easter. Why I have to wait so fucking long I don't know but it pisses me off. My Mother could die any day.

I ended up not dragging the trash out to the front so locked the gate for nothing. I have to go out and unlock it now because I am now getting deliveries tomorrow from amazon and UPS that were not supposed to come until Tuesday or later.

That Zeffirelli version is still the superior one. It came out when I was in high school and everyone went mad for it. I so wanted hair like Olivia Hussey but mine was too curly. Straightening and ironing still didn't give me that silky straight hair.

Shouldn't that be Mercutio/Riff and Tybalt/Bernardo? Riff was Romeo's Friend and Bernardo would have been in place of Juliet's Cousin.

By all means have those boxes unloaded into Lily's garage. Then when she decides they are right there to help her pack the keepers and the sellers. The tossers can go right into the trash. I imagine most of the sellers will eventually be donated to charity. If you help, hopefully you can finally get your Great Grandfather's chair and maybe a few other things. You so deserve them for all of the help you have given her over the decades.

I didn't do much today. I did bring in the sheet from the line. The other is still drying in the dryer. I really must pull the dryer out and see if I turned the gas off and turn it back on.

I brought more paper bags into the bedroom to sort old mail but didn't do it. Instead I spent most of the evening watching the Iditarod Banquet and the awards. I followed the race this year and even played on the Fantasy Mushing website, even though I didn't know any of the mushers. I had one scratch so didn't do that well. I should have followed my initial instincts and then I would have had a #1 and #7 placer. Instead I went sentimental. But one of my picks did get the Leonard Seppala Humanitarian Award given by the vets for best care of his dogs. Dan Kaduce started with 14 dogs and ended with 14 dogs. The only musher to never drop a dog. And they were all in excellent health at the end.

The #7 guy that I dropped for Dan won the most improved and also picked the winning key to start up some sort of off road 4x4 thing they use in Alaska so good for him.

[chochiyo_sama]

I think you are right. It should be Mercutio/Riff as they were both hot-heads who ran their mouths when they should have kept them shut. They both brought their fates onto themselves. Tybalt and Bernardo were both less mouthy but more lethal. Bernardo could have been paired with Paris as well, since they were both the rejected suitors for the ladies.

One of my former students is moving and posted on Facebook, looking for boxes. I messaged him telling him that I had tons of good, sturdy boxes that would be perfect for moving. I have been saving them for Lily, but she will dither about moving to that Senior Living facility for years before actually doing it.

Paul is willing to drive to Ellendale and pick them up, and I would be delighted to be rid of them. And I am really glad to have them used rather than just throw away.

[the_godiva]

I think Chino would be Paris. Wasn't he the wimp Bernardo tried to set Maria up with? As an acceptable boyfriend?

Nice you got rid of the boxes and get to catch up with a former student.