Furnaces

It's been at least 20 years since I've had any kind of back pain so the fact that I can hardly stand up straight is making me grumpy. Actually, it's stressing me out because I do not want to go to the doctor for this. Past experiences have been expensive and useless. I haven't had a chance to baby it. Last night was the last of the Christmas parties and today was a hair appointment. Because Tylenol...

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Unbreakable

It took forever to get dressed this morning. I discovered I do not own anything that's very warm, and my options for layering are not exactly stylish. Normally it wouldn't matter since the longest I ever have to be outside is the 15 or 20 minutes it takes to walk Little White Dog, but when the temperature is -4, a bit more is required. I should go shopping. (No, I shouldn't.) I met my friend Ryan...

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Binge

Last night when I got home I was too tired to write, almost too tired to undress for bed. Today was recovery day. After sleeping in, I stumbled to the couch, watched a couple of episodes of Suits, and went back to bed to nap for a few more hours. I’ve been useless all day. I want a Harvey Spector. It’s the value he puts on loyalty. I’d take that over love, money or whatever else people use as the...

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Holidays go on

Joy packaged in a furry bundle. Christmas with the extended family was today, and the little guy in the picture made my day. His tail never stops wagging as he runs around exploring, chasing kids and looking for cuddles. He was pretty much the only thing that was going to make me feel better today. Not sure why but this morning I was hit hard by sadness. Christmas -- and all family oriented...

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One down, two to go

What a day. This begins a three-day marathon. I really, truly cannot wait until the evening of the 25th. The good news is I finished shopping this morning. I even found a little sofa table for my brother that he may not like but that I liked so much I bought one for myself. I'd been looking for one. Who knew Menards would have everything. I even found a toy for the beloved little white dog's stocking....

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Gettin' fussy

Let this year be a lesson to me. Leaving Christmas shopping until the last minute is INSANE. By 7 a.m. I was on the way to the grocery store. I hadn't made a list; instead, I Googled various recipes or recalled ingredients as best I could. In the morning I'll check to see if I have everything I need. In the dairy aisle I came upon a man who was peering at the cheeses. As I grabbed a couple of blocks...

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Dinner party

I’m on vacation until January 2. Can I get an exclamation point? ! In a way vacation won’t truly begin until the evening of the 25th because between now and then I have to make Christmas happen. Shopping, baking, cooking, etc. All of that will have to wait until tomorrow because it’s a cold, icy mess out there tonight. After dinner with Eve, Susannah, their husbands and assorted others, I came home. Yes,...

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Establishing terms

I’m good friends with two people at work -- Eve and Susannah. Our tradition is to celebrate one another’s birthdays by going out to lunch. My birthday is coming and we’ve been trying to set a date. As it turns out, this year Eve can’t go at noon because she has to run home to let Izzy out. Normally Paul would do it for her but he’s working out of town this week. We held a group IM session to figure...

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Dusting plumbing

My "vacation" with a three-month-old puppy and a 60-inch television ended last night. Now it's back to my regular life: Behind on Christmas shopping, no plan for holiday meals, likely no time for baking, and a pile of laundry that will not do itself no matter how many times I try to bewitch it. After work I went to Mica's. Her mom is hoping to visit at the end of the week, which means Mica has gone...

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Paved with music

All of a sudden I began thinking of a song I hadn’t heard -- or thought of -- in ages. I couldn’t come up with any part of the lyric or singer, so I sent a text to Mica.“Remember that song we swooned over until we found out it was about Jesus? What was it?”There’s nothing wrong with music that praises Jesus, and this song is particularly beautiful. It’s just that I fell in love with it as a song being...

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The doorbell rang once

Izzy and I had a much better day. She was a wild thing this morning until she knocked my glass of water off the table while I was in the bathroom. After that, she settled down. I'd like to think she learned a lesson like the one the Brady kids learned when they played football in the house. She entertained herself while I was glued to my iPad and Amazon. I have no idea what to give my brother for...

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Getting used to one another

I'm late getting this written And now the period key isn't working Perfect OK then, bullets Izzy woke in the night needing to go outside After coming back in she began fussing in her crate and I ignored her because I thought she wanted to play rather than sleep She got sick and threw up, but I didn't realize that right away Finally, I did and then began a lot of worrying and uncertainty about...

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Learning the ropes

I'm like a 1970s teenager--excited about landing a babysitting gig at a house with cable television. I gave cable up a few years ago when I was about to be laid off, and I haven't gone back. I subscribe to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Acorn and Sling (temporarily). The only thing I miss is access to baseball (Sling allowed me to watch the postseason) and TCM. My plan for my weekend here is to binge...

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It's temporary

Eve and Paul leave tomorrow to visit their daughter out of state. I’m going to stay at their house to take care of their three-month-old puppy, Izzy. Eve asked me to come by for dinner tonight so Izzy could reacquaint herself with me before I suddenly show up in her world tomorrow. I stopped at home after work to change into unsnaggable clothes, then went over. Eve answered the door with, “Thank...

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Mountains

Part of my job is helping others communicate. Sometimes it's editing what they've written, and sometimes it's writing for them. Because I've worked for the organization for a very long time, I know a lot of personalities and have learned to anticipate reactions and identify sensitivities. When I write or edit for someone, I offer more than words and catch errors that go beyond grammar. I explain my...

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On and on

It was a very long and unsatisfying day. I’m extraordinarily grumpy about everything. My work is at a standstill until people get back to me, and no one seems to be answering email. I spent the afternoon working up a graphic for a website, but I can’t find a concept I like. One of the paper towel dispensers in the bathroom jammed. On and on. For a little while this afternoon I listened to a book...

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Flu

I've been dealing with the flu since Thursday. Finally out of bed and able to take care of a few necessities, like laundry so I can show up to work tomorrow wearing something other than stretchy pants and a Badass Brooklyn Dog Rescue t-shirt. Back to binging "Suit...

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Wait, wha?

Last night I went to bed a little after 10:00 and woke up at 12:30. Up until 5:00 when I fell asleep for the last hour before the alarm. I knew I wouldn’t sleep well last night but I thought I would do better than that. The budget reduction announcement today was that no cuts will be made at this time. Complete stunner. Thanks to two hours of sleep, my cognitive ability was mighty low. I reread...

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Witness

The team in charge of the holiday party at work has added a twist. Gift bags filled by anonymous givers are showing up on doorknobs. It's called "sock me," I think. Once you receive one, you have 48 hours to fill the gift bag for someone else. One was left for me this morning so after work I went shopping. I plan to give one to the woman whose office is next to mine. I was headed home when I witnessed...

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Enthusiasm and energy

I was away from my office for about a half hour this morning. When I returned I found that my boss’ administrative assistant had stuck a Post-It to my chair with a note saying my boss needed to meet with me right away. A layoff announcement is expected this week, and I wondered if this impromptu and seemingly urgent meeting request had something to do with that. It didn’t. He had forgotten to tell...

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A pony of course

I had enough time to clean the interior of my car, run it through the car wash and add a couple of pounds of air to the tires before hitting the road to go to a birthday party. My cousin's granddaughter (easier than getting into the many-times removed from me cousin thing) turned six earlier in the week. I knew she was into Hatchimals and was feeling pretty good about my present until I walked...

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Recipe for discarding cookbooks

Mrs. Kenneth Schumacher broadly interpreted  the invitation to share a favorite recipe. It's strange how giddy I feel when I sleep past 5 a.m. these days. More often than not I wake between 2:30 and 4:00 and never get back to sleep. This morning it felt like quite a win to see the clock read 5:30 when I opened my eyes for the first time. I grabbed the iPad that I keep on the corner...

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Christmastime calm

Every morning when I wake up, whether with the alarm at 5:52 or some random time in the 4:00 hour, like this morning, the first thing I do is create a mental to-do list for work. When I'm lucky I'll get to my office a little bit early, before anyone else is at work. When that happens, I start on the to-do list and may get a solid start on the first item before the interruptions begin. It's rare...

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