Musings on a Small Life

My work week has felt like one of the longest in recent memory. Nothing to do with politics in any part of the world, just too many opportunities for awareness that my values (work and non) and the values of half the people I now work with definitely are not in alignment. I feel out of sync, like the proverbial round peg trying to fit into a square hole. Or vice versa. I am far too old for this bullsh*t and far too young to retire.  I suspect that the time change is playing havoc with the way I feel this week as well. It's dark so early now and that's thrown me off a bit. It feels like I should be heading home when it's only 3 PM, and it's fully dark shortly after I do get to the house. But as I was walking home today, I kept looking up at the sky and clouds, feeling how amazing this world still is, knowing that the earth and sky will remain long after we're gone, long after all our human concerns have dissolved into the wind. It's a reminder ...

First, let me just say that no country, be it the U.S. or any other, ever will be great, let alone "great again," when those in charge, and those who voted for them, live from a place of hate, bigotry, racism, misogyny, homophobia, and extreme narcissism. I can understand the sense of disenfranchisement among the low and middle class, but I simply cannot understand this at all. Now, as for the "she's at it again" subject, that would be me with the flat-pack furniture once more. It was a Hemnes shoe bench from Ikea, delivered yesterday. Pretty easy to assemble, not many pieces, just a bit tricky to get the second "arm" to fit solidly/properly into the rails. Took a bit of fussing on my part, but then it all came together. It's a bit large for my tiny entryway, and now my hallway looks "off", but oh, it was convenient this morning, getting ready for work and having a place to toss my purse, etc., and sit to put on my sne...

Where's my extra hour of sleep? Someone must have it, and I want it back. Because turning the clocks back only meant that someone, whose name begins with "N" and ends with "i", started meowing at full volume at 3 AM Sunday morning, instead of 4 AM. I woke at 2:45 AM today, all on my own. I want my extra hour of sleep. Not related to the time change, look what I came home to on Saturday, after errands: Thank you, Derry. (I'm almost certain it was the little sh*t fink, because I had to stop him from scratching at the ottoman earlier in the morning before I left.) It took less than 48 hours to ruin it. I really ought to know better by now.  Hmm, maybe he knew I'd been "cheating" on him while in PetValu, stocking up on litter and food. I didn't get her name; she's up for adoption.   Owen, one of the two store cats, sitting on my stack of litter. I hope your week is starting out well. BTW, if you ha...

It feels like forever since I posted, though of course that's not true. Thanks for the comments on the squirrels; they are cute cat-tormentors. :-) I'm feeling much better after last week's root canal appointment. Had some issues with one (of two) of the antibiotics prescribed, so stopped that after 5 days and have been fine since. (Be very wary of Clindamycin, especially if you take stomach acid-reducing meds as I do.) I also got the results of the ultrasound I'd had a week ago: While I do have gallstones (knew that going in), there's no indication of inflammation or a blockage, no abdominal pain associated with gallbladder problems. Reading between the lines of what the resident-du-jour said, all this difficulty probably is a middle-aged, fat lady/person issue. Possibly GERD, though I seldom have actual acid reflux. (A lot of other gastric issues, though.) He was stumped by the left side/chest discomfort (an ECG and blood work mid-October were fine). ...

I'll bet your first thought is Nicki and Derry, but nope, not this time. Snapped last weekend               Peace . P.S. Halloween seemed quiet and uneventful and over by 8 PM. I checked my fence early this morning, with a flashlight, didn't see anything amiss, thank goodness!

Happy Halloween to all who celebrate it!  Most of you know I don't bother with Halloween, for various reasons, so the boys and I will be hunkered down in the dark this evening. I'm half-expecting the former neighbour boy, who is 12 now, to come up and do some damage to the fence since they still live so close by. The girl wouldn't, but yeah, the boy would, with friends. (Anyone remember the graffiti back in spring 2014 ?) I'll find out tomorrow. So for those of you who do enjoy All Hallows Eve, here are a couple of pics I snapped last Friday afternoon, heading downtown to an appointment. It's of one of the lovely, old bed & breakfasts in the area.   Isn't that great?  Peace . (P.S. I'm on the mend from the root canal, other than the typical side effects from antibiotics. [Yes, I'm eating probiotic yogurt two or three times a day.] Friday was the first night I actually slept half-decently all week, and Saturday I was feeling m...

Here are the two cats I encountered on Sunday: Beebo and Chopper. (I have no idea the correctly spelling of "Beebo," that's just what it sounded like.) Beebo sunning himself. His "mom" was at the water's edge combing through stones, not paying any attention to me standing there taking pics, or to the couple sitting on a nearby bench. Apparently "Beebo" goes for walks like this all the time, and also makes the rounds, visiting. (There are a number of high-rise condos in this area, overlooking the Lake.)         "Beebo" kept a close eye on his human and didn't stray far. She didn't talk to him, just kept doing her thing. And this is Chopper, out for a walk with his mom.       He'd had a lion cut for the first time this past summer, which perked him up in all the heat. His "mom" said he'd been mostly hiding away under the bed, not at all energetic, until she had him shaved. Anyway, he...

[Thanks for the good thoughts, they're much appreciated. I have taken a couple of Tylenol 3s, but am finding the only thing that helps even somewhat is extra-strength Ibuprofen. I'm certainly popping lots of those! If I'm not significantly improved by Monday, I'll call the endodontist's office for an appointment--he's off tomorrow anyway.] Putting aside all the post-root canal pain and misery, here are some pics from Sunday's walk by the Lake. It was sunny but blustery, as you can see! (Click to better view the pics. I just had the little Nikon p&s with me, though, not my Fuji.) The fall colours are lovely this year!   Hard to see, but there are ducks in the waves.       I took a lot of pics of the water spray!                   I'll do another post soon with the two cats I met along the way. I just don't feel like writing much today. (I hear the collective sigh of relief. Ha...