Dentist, hair and chiropractor appointments early in the week, busy days at work, a blood drive donation, and an excellent concert one night kept me hustling and on the road a lot. I also got a new phone which has caused another layer of complications.
Unfortunately, I had some sleepless nights too.
Around here we value sleep as a means for overall wellness and it just wasn’t coming. In addition to the tired, I have felt dehydrated and off balance.
This is not a great combination.
So I had a chat with Scout last night. As I carried him to bed, I explained how badly I needed to get some rest. Could he please play quietly if he woke up before me?
Would you believe I didn’t hear a peep out of that little cat for fourteen hours? Long story short, I slept till after noon today – something so rare I can’t recall the last time it happened.
And I’m still kind of tired.
So around here today, I’m thinking it’s going to be a hot shower and fresh pjs kind of day. I am going to light a fall scented candle (because if I don’t go outside it can be any season I want) and curl up with books (maybe even something with illustrations) and pretend that feeling rested and reading is my only job.
Have a great Saturday, friends! At least what’s left of it!
He’s such a serious little guy, especially where Chewy orders are concerned. This box should have been recycled by now but he jumps in every time I think about taking it outside.
So we live with a box in the middle of the floor and he’s happy as a clam because he gets to keep a random box.
WordPress has begun giving me a rundown of my own posts from this day in history and it has been a real hoot to look back through the vault. Not everything has held up as some of it doesn’t really matter anymore but some of it is stuff I would still recommend.
Here are a few stories from this day that I thought you might enjoy revisiting.
Hillbilly Hot Dog is a West Virginia landmark and practically an institution at this point. It’s one I’ve those places you have to see to believe. Click here to read about it.
Speaking of institutions, the Wright Brothers are an institution unto themselves. We can argue all we want about whether aviation began in Ohio or North Carolina (it was Ohio, by the way) but Orville Wright chose to preserve his legacy and his brother’s in Dayton. THIS is a cool place to visit.
On the bookstore front, Hudson, Ohio has a delightful local bookstore called The Learned Owl. Hudson is a neat town too so plan to stay for a few hours. Read about the Learned Owl here.
I did some philosophizing about having something to look forward to on this day last year. It still applies.
PS – today’s feature image exists solely to show off my house panther. He already knows he’s handsome but I’ll be sure to let him know the internet agrees.
This is the face of an extremely upset little boy. We made an unplanned trip to the vet yesterday because Scout was relapsing from bladder issues he had last month.
The folks at his vet’s office are extremely kind and he seems to like them ok. At least he behaves like a little prince when he’s there. Notice the dagger eyes I get when they leave the room?
For the next two weeks, every morning and every evening he has to take a liquid medication as well as two pills.
And then for another week, he will take just one pill per day.
That’s 35 pills and 28 syringes of medicine I have to get into him.
He recently had to take a different liquid medicine and we perfected that process without any blood shed or lost claws. But pills are next level insanity when dealing with a cat.
He ran when he saw me coming last night and I honestly didn’t blame him. They provided this little plastic thing to shoot pills into his throat but it was not made for the small mouth of a cat and was truly awful for him.
After a couple of failed attempts with that tool, I surrendered and found better success with just prying open his mouth and tossing them down his throat.
Poor guy.
He also has to transition onto some special food, can no longer have treats, and isn’t allowed any people food at all. I am pescatarian but lean toward vegetarian. It looks like I’ll need to transition myself to full on vegetarian at home because he is a persistently persuasive little son-of-a-gun when there’s a piece of salmon involved.
Last night I ate a tuna sandwich on the porch. He could smell it on me when I went back in and I felt like a criminal.
He is no longer shooting daggers from his eyes but is very confused about why I’m such a crappy mom right now.
I’m not sure if it’s for me or for him but …. Send help!
Greetings, friends. I just wanted to pop in and say I’m still around even if I haven’t been present here for some time. My days are currently more mentally taxing than normal and the thought of writing even one more paragraph feels like too much most of the time.
This is a season and not a permanent way of life even though it does feel like it will never end.
My No Spend Challenge kept me mostly at home, resting, reading and turning inward this winter. That’s officially done now but I unofficially haven’t changed much. It’s an act of self preservation at this point but Adventure Season will start in about six weeks and I’m looking forward to it. There are several day trips I would like to take, some new-to-me bookstores and diners and maybe some longer adventures too.
Life will eventually return to normal and I’ll get back on some kind of writing schedule here too. I actually have a ton of travel stories to tell you from last fall but simply haven’t had the mental energy to do it.
Last November I announced that I wanted to hike as much as possible this winter. I had big plans for hitting the local trails.
And then reality set in.
The weekends were too harsh for hiking with frigid temperatures, icy trails and hazardous road conditions that kept us away. Then the snow melted into mud and ice. And then the wind moved in, making it unsafe to be under trees where a falling limb could land on your head at anytime. And then the rain came, ushering in a period of flooding.
Such is life in Ohio.
I did get to walk the Moonville Rail Trail a few weekends ago and then made it to a nearby trail at Old Man’s Cave in the Hocking Hills yesterday.
Fresh air and a good stretch of the legs will change your outlook on life.
The wind is back today but it’s about 65 degrees right now so I turned off the heat and opened a few windows to air out the house.
Sunday is always a reset day for me. Laundry, a little food preps and some small chores help to make the week go more smoothly. Some rest, reading and lots of hydration will help me feel like facing it.
I like habit and routine to keep me honest. I like adventure days for keeping me happy and fulfilled. I also believe in listening to my body and mind and in giving them what they need especially when in a season of challenges.
Through it all Scout has remained my steadfast companion and perhaps the only one in my life with no demands other than dinner and no judgement of me except when dinner is late.
We all need someone like that in our lives!
Go forth and adventure when you can. Dream of better days when you can’t and remember that rest is importantly to feeling well enough to face your day.
I’ll be here taking it easy and gearing up for better days!
