>It’s a gray, rainy day here. I do like rain. I may have mentioned that before. LOL Still waiting for the A/C guy to come and change the filter. It’s been a week today since he started, and usually he gets to me the first or second day. So everything has been out of the closet just waiting, cause that’s where he needs to get to change the filter. I finally got the laundry done yesterday. It’s been sitting in the washer since Friday, but fortunately, no water ever got into the washer so the clothes weren’t wet. Never buy a German washing machine. The two newer ones are Frigidare, and so far they work just fine. But that’s the second time my clothes have gotten trapped in the old washer. Note to self: remind homemakers NOT to use middle washer.

Slept on the couch again last night. I’ve realized I don’t really like sleeping in the bedroom. Not sure why. The living room is much nicer to wake up in. I guess I could try decorating the bedroom ala the living room, but I’m way too tired to do that. I’ve been tired for several days, and every afternoon the stiffness and pain levels go way up. Not sure why that is, either. Not sure of much, am I? LOL Oh, well.

>Yesterday. My friend Tess called me in the morning to see if I was up for going to the park with her to walk the dog. Was I!!! LOL Mostly I sat and watched birds and people while she and the dog walked, but I did get to hold the leash while we walked back to the car. Misty (the dog) sniffed everything. I mean everything. She is the cutest dog that ever was. We took Misty home, then went out to lunch. Was going to call my friend Beth to see if she wanted to get together with us Thursday, but we decided to see if she wanted visitors and went to her house for a bit. Played with her granddaughter, who thinks I am very funny. Off to the liquor store for some Mayflower Porter, the best beer I’ve ever had. It’s from a micro-brewery in Plymouth, MA. Stop and Shop for a few groceries, back here to play Big Kahuna and then she went home. It was a fun day. I did a lot, but didn’t get over-tired and wasn’t really too much in pain later. It was a good day.

>Turns out, after talking to DD who gave her to me, that I’ve had Gertrude for eight years. She was invisible for so long, it doesn’t seem like I’ve had her that length of time. She was greatly overshadowed by Simon. He’s been gone a year next month, so she is slowly, snail-slow, getting her mojo on. She’s a sweetie, and she talks to me. We have conversations, but she is the only one who knows what we’re saying. LOL

>
My friends came over and put together the futon frame, then John and I watched ‘Twilight’ which he brought with him, also the ‘making of’ DVD. He had given me the book to read and I liked it, so he wanted me to see the movie, which I also liked. I would never have read or watched this cause it looked lame in the ads, but I did enjoy both. I couldn’t help thinking ‘I want to drink your blood’ all through the reading and the watching, but that didn’t spoil it for me. Beth played Mahjong Quest the whole time. We ordered pizza and salad, they had brought beer and wine, and we had a really nice evening. John is fun to watch movies with. We kept pausing and rewinding to discuss this or that happening in the film. It was pretty funny, and fun.

To cap it off, as I was sitting here a few minutes ago, Gertrude the Invisible Cat jumped up on the desk and sat down between me and the keyboard. A lifetime first for her. The girl is coming out of her shell. It’s about time. In cat years, she is 61, almost as old as I am. I was quite surprised, but really glad she finally feels comfortable enough with me to do that. I’ve only had her for five or maybe six years, I forget. *smile*

>I had some good days and some not-so-good, but I’ve got the living room pretty much the way I want it, and my friends are coming this afternoon to put together the futon and then I can finish up in the bedroom. I cleaned out and rearranged all my dresser drawers yesterday, I organized my cubbies and shelves by the pc, I put away all the laundry. My friend came over last evening to have pizza and chat and play pc games. She commented on how good it’s looking. I feel like for the first time since I moved in here, I don’t have to be embarrassed or ashamed about the state of things. It never looked or felt like a real home before. It’s the couch that made the difference. The loveseat I had before just looked like another piece of Salvation Army decor, even though it wasn’t from there. *smile* It’s a beautiful, overcast but bright day. Windows all open. It’s all good.

>Having trouble getting started today. After several nights of great sleep on the new couch, I jinxed myself yesterday by talking about it, and could not get to sleep last night. I finally got about three hours worth, I think. So here I sit, waiting for something to kick in.

It was 90 yesterday. 90 degrees farenheit. Went to bed with windows wide open, wind blowing in, lovely. Woke up frozen. Frost tonight says the weather. I love New England.

I finally got the living room sorted out. Looks like a real living room now. Very nice. I even got some of the bedroom in better shape. The rest of the futon is due tomorrow, so I’m soon to be back sleeping in the bedroom.

I’m still to tired to think. Later

>I’ve been having problems replying to a comment on the blog, and it seems I had to revert to the original template for that feature to work. Too bad. I like the templates from here: http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/, but the last one seems to mess things up. Oh, well.

>Well, it turns out people with fibro should not attempt to sleep on a futon mattress on the floor. Ouch! So I transferred my not-so-little self to the new sofa. After unsuccessfully arranging myself and pillows and blankets one way, got up and tried a different way. Relative success, although I did wake up with my neck in an awkward position. I’ll feel that later. Oh, and did I mention that the entire night Gertrude was talking to me? “Meow?” in your ear all night is not conducive to sleep, either. I did finally zonk out, only to wake up right before the 8 o’clock horn blasts from the firehouse to the sound of Gertrude making strange noises in her sleep. I think she has bad dreams, poor baby. Then the cell went off. Since it was across the room and I was tired, I opted not to get up and turn off the alarm. Turns out the cell alarm beeps every five minutes for half an hour. So then I gave up and got up. Tonight should be interesting.

>is lovely, but it arrived with one pull-up shelf on the arm broken, no directions, and most of the hardware missing. So putting it together is on hold, but the old bed is GONE HOORAY and I will be sleeping on the futon on the floor til the bits and pieces arrive. My friends spent the entire day clearing out the bedroom and the packing for the futon and the sofa, and rearranging my computer/office setup. Then we went to dinner. A good day over all. I have really, really good friends.

>So today my new futon frame arrived. Just the frame, I have a mattress. My friends are still coming tomorrow, so they will put it together for me. I just have to figure out how to get rid of the bed. I am on a roll decluttering in the bedroom. It’s actually fun. Might as well get all this done while the fibro allows. It’s a beautiful day, too, so that’s even better.

>
It came. My new couch. My friend was here and we put it together ourselves. It was easy. I still need my other friends to come Thursday to take away the two huge boxes and lay the area rug, if it’s not too done in by Gertrude’s little claws. I heard from both DDs and played pc games with my friend before she left to cook dinner for her DH. It was a very good birthday.

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I love that word. I had a good one. Saturday, that is. I was invited to a friend’s for a birthday dinner. First we spent the afternoon in the yard as they cleaned out the flower beds and such. I helped plant some tulips from a pot of them that was going past it’s prime. It spattered rain here and there, birds sung, breeze blew, dirt smelled wonderful, grass was spongy. Then we played a computer game, had my favorite dinner ever, steak on the grill cooked by John, had a lovely chat, played another game, and home. It was a lovely, lovely day.

Today is my actual birthday, and my present from me to me is the couch that is scheduled to be delivered today. It’s from my favorite store, Overstock.com. I’ve got the living room all ready for it, and my friends offered to come over Thursday and put it together if need be. It comes in three boxes so it will fit through doors. I am excited. I haven’t had a sofa in ten or eleven years. I will be able to lie down in the living room and watch tv instead of having to go into the bedroom when I am too fatigued to sit up. Yay, and hooray.

Gertrude doesn’t know what to think. The living room doesn’t look at all like she’s used to it looking, and the bedroom is overrun with clutter at the moment. She’s very, very cautious when she comes out from under the bed where she lives. Poor girl. She’ll get over it, without shredding the couch, I hope.

>I had a good night thanks to the atavan, and an even better day. Walking is still difficult, but I had some energy and actually got some things done. Cleared a space on the cart for the microwave and found places for the groceries that were on it. Cleaned up the kitchen. Moved the table over (with help) and cleared up the clutter, Moved the hall table to the bedroom so when the couch I ordered from Overstock comes, they can get it in here. It comes in three boxes so it will fit through the door, but it still need the room in the hallway. Can’t wait for it to get here. Then today, having another bout of fiscal irresponsibility, I ordered a futon frame for the bedroom. I have a futon mattress on my bed, but my bed is o.l.d. and not very comfortable and takes up too much room in the small bedroom. So it is going and the futon is coming in. I will have room for my ellipse and maybe my desk, too. I am determined to declutter this disaster and am doing what I can, when I can. Later tonight, walking will again be ‘interesting’ I think, but it was worth it.

My homemaker came today and did a great job cleaning, and carried out all the detritus from decluttering without complaint. She is a good homemaker. A good day all around. And LOST tonight.

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Gertrude and I observed Earth Hour last night. We played ‘bird’ for about 40 minutes, then sat quietly til the hour was up. It’s never truly dark in here since I live directly across from a convenience store, but it was peaceful and she enjoyed the game. She likes to play, that cat. She’s much more out-going now that Simon is gone, but still reacts badly to almost anything unusual. Under the bed she goes. Poor baby.

I was up late again, after sleeping yesterday, so didn’t get up til 3:30 today. I would so like to be ‘normal’ and sleep at night. It only ever lasts for a day or two in a row, then my inner clock goes haywire again.

It’s very gray and a bit foggy today, but still not too cold. It’s only in the low forties now, at 7pm. Green things are popping up here and there, too. Spring is sprung. I won’t bore you with the rest of that little ditty. *smile*

>The links aren’t even clickable. Why is that?