I have tried to write myself into this post several times from several directions, and I’m not getting anywhere. So I’m just jumping right into bullet points. Fair warning: I think I have achieved a new level of unhinged disconnected randomness today. Welcome to my brain.
- The week ahead marks the end of April and the beginning of May. That is bonkers. The end-of-year mayhem is well underway and I still haven’t figured out Carla’s summer camp situation. The only thing that is giving me solace about that is that many of her friends’ parents are still trying to figure out summer camp, too. You know what else I haven’t figured out at all? Carla’s birthday situation. Zero progress since I last fretted about both summer camp and her birthday at the end of March. ZERO. Same story with our summer travel plans. My husband has checked out some books from the library about our destinations, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten. I NEED SOMEONE TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS AROUND HERE AND I NEED IT TO NOT BE ME.
- Do you ever dream about other bloggers? I have had dreams recently about TWO of my favorite bloggers, and I wonder WHAT they are trying to tell me. The dreams, not the bloggers. Presumably the bloggers are not trying to speak to me through dreams. (Okay, I am interrupting this bullet point because I am having the strongest sense of déjà vu, as though I have written this exact thing before. Have I? If so, I’m sorry! I feel unable to come up with blog topics lately, but if I’m so uninspired I’m repeating myself verbatim, well, that’s a new low.) In my most recent dream, the blogger was MISSING, and that was quite upsetting. Like, she’d just disappeared from her home and no one was able to contact her. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
- I have a Big Cleaning and Organization Project ahead of me. As usual, I have handled my feelings of dread about this project by pretending that buying the exact right combination of organizational tools and items will effect an immediate and permanent personality and behavior change. Like if maybe adding a second and third laundry bin will prevent laundry from ending up on the floor. Lack of accessible bins is definitely the problem. The rational part of my brain understands that I am being ridiculous. But there is also a little hopeful part that thinks, maybe having additional homes for very specific things WILL help.
- Our house suffered some storm damage recently. Nothing emergent, although it does seem like we will need a new roof and siding good times woo hoo yay. After the storm, our neighborhood was immediately suffused with people from contracting companies trying to get our business. One afternoon the doorbell rang so frequently I was sure there was a LINE outside my house, with contractors taking turns handing out their business cards like bizarre-o trick-or-treaters. My husband got a referral for a contractor that a colleague had used previously, and I called him, and he came over right away and walked me through the damage and the process of working with the insurance company to start the repair/replacement process. But then, after talking with my husband and parents and some friends whose home were similarly affected, I reached out to another contractor to come give his assessment. Both contractors were very nice and knowledgeable and patient. Both have local companies. Both came with recommendations. But the second guy has so much more experience. Like… decades, while the first guy has only been in this business for two years. My husband and I are leaning toward the second guy, but I feel TERRIBLE. I mean, I was the one who reached out to the first guy! He was so helpful! And now I have to tell him we’re going with someone else? Maybe the first guy would be the better option – presumably he’s new and hungry and eager to prove himself and develop a customer base. But the second guy is well established and has the capacity and the experience to handle our project. ARGH.
- Have you seen This Is a Gardening Show? My family started watching it after we could not decide on a family movie, and it is DARLING. I admit that I am not the biggest Zach Galifianakis fan; his humor is hit or miss with me. But this show has bite-size episodes about some sliver of agrarian life, and I love it. I have already learned so much! Like, you can’t grow apples from seeds! And you should never water tomatoes from the top! Also, there is this kid in one of the episodes who is either highly imaginative or an expert at messing with people. I want him to have his own series.
- The other show I am watching lately could not be more different from TIAGS, in tone or content. It’s Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen and it’s gory and horrifying and I love it. I do have to follow each episode with a palate cleanser, though. Usually an episode of Rooster if it’s not too late, or something benign and soothing like House Hunters. Sitting in smug judgment of strangers who are willing to obliterate their housing budgets for things I deem pointless never gets old.
- What do you do with hair sloughage in the shower? Yes, this is a revolting topic but I feel like it’s one we all deal with so I’m Going There. Some people rinse any stray hairs off of their fingers onto the floor while they shower, then, after drying, collect the whole disgusting clump with a tissue which they throw in the trash. Some people choose instead to drape strands of hair onto the wall of the shower, where they adhere, sometimes forever. Either option makes me strongly consider pursuing a life of baldness. I am considering making this purchase for the members of my family who fall into the wall décor camp. (I am not buying a tub shroom; I can hardly even think about a tub shroom without gagging.)
- MOVING ON TO A FAR LESS REPULSIVE (BUT FAR HAIRIER) TOPIC: The cat continues to be magnificent. He is in a phase of being completely inscrutable. He is usually the strong but silent type, so when he meows, I react immediately. But… I don’t know what he wants. He has been extra playful lately, so I got him some new toys for his beloved fishing pole. He seems to like the dragonflies just fine, but he adores the grasshopper. Or wants very much to eat it, sometimes the difference is difficult to discern. He has also been sitting in new places. Like, instead of sitting solely in his window perch, he has been lounging on my office chair more and more lately. Does that… mean something? And he’s been sleeping with me very inconsistently. Some nights, he’s snuggled up against my legs like normal, and other nights he never visits at all. What does that MEAN? What are you trying to TELL ME?
- It feels like 98% of this post is a rehash of things I have already talked about before. So why not discuss my forearm? Looks like I first mentioned it here on the ol’ blog back in mid-March, by which point it had been bothering me for a few months. It continues to bother me. It hurts when I do the dumbest things. The other day I was grinding pepper with a pepper grinder, which sent pain shooting down my wrist into my elbow. The affected arm wasn’t even the one that was twisting the pepper grinder! It was the stabilizing arm! Lifting a bowl out of a cupboard is a no-go. Holding grocery bags is a joke. I have fully given up on weight training which makes me feel like my muscles are getting soggy. I finally went to the doctor who diagnosed tennis elbow (I have never once played tennis) and is throwing all the things at it since it’s been bugging me for so long: steroid, NSAID topical gel, physical therapy. I even got a nice shiny referral to ortho if the other methods don’t work. My dad noted that tennis elbow is similar to plantar fasciitis, in that the only really treatment is time. BLARGH. I do not want to hear that. I want to treat it and have it GO AWAY.
- I have been a terrible non-participant in Elisabeth’s latest round of the CBWC. Our weather has been so up and down – one day, it’s 78F/25.5C and sunny, the next it’s 40F/4.4C and pouring, the next we have hail and impenetrable fog – and it feels like I am either in the car or at Sports Events, although that’s probably not true. Well, falling off the walking wagon is a personal failing that is correctable and I have not corrected it. When I have made it outside, usually thanks to my writing partner or my parents, I find myself overwhelmed by the beauty of the world around me. If only I could remember in the moment that being in nature and moving my body make everything better.
- When I was at Home Goods ogling the organizational merch, I came across these pieces of art that I thought would be PERFECT for my kid’s room. The cheetah in the bathrobe is, I think, hilarious. (Carla’s response was, “What in the AI is that?”)
Carla makes me laugh. That sounds like something Ella would say.
The meme about the lady from 1920 made me laugh out loud. I thought about making lunch the other day, but the idea of even air frying something felt like too much work. Then I thought of my grandmother, who made two pies a day, along with three meals for her farmer husband and his farmhands.
I do dream about bloggers! I may, perhaps, have dreamt (dreamed?) about you at some point, I don’t remember. It makes me feel weird and kind of stalkerish to dream about people that I have not met IRL. I have sometimes fantasized about deserting my home/job/family, and tried to figure out where I would go so I could not be found, so if I were that missing person in your dream, it just means I didn’t want to deal with figuring out what the hell was for dinner one more time.
At first I thought you were saying that you needed an ENTIRE new roof and ENTIRE new siding, and yet you were so calm about it, I almost passed out. We just had all of our siding replaced and that job is NO JOKE.
I’m going to check out that not gardening show. I went to the nursery yesterday and bought some herbs and flowers and it made me SO HAPPY.
I’m sorry about your tennis elbow. My husband had that once, and also, no tennis. He had a device that he used as PT, which was sort of a foam (soft plastic?) stick that he twisted back and forth. I wonder if your PT will have you do something similar. I suggest that you use this ailment to get out of planning/shopping/cooking until it is completely healed. Which, you know, could be a while.
I hear you on hoping a product (new laundry bin or whatever) will help me become more organized. So far nope, though I am really happy about the shelving we purchased for our storage space a couple of weeks ago. MUCH better than throwing things in there willy nilly and slamming the door shut.
Oh Lenny, what do you want? He’s such a beautiful mystery.
House repair is a situation where you follow your head, not your heart. As a former construction wife, every builder is used to not getting jobs for various reasons, usually because they were underbid. Your arm sounds painful and annoying in what it restricts you from doing. I hope it doesn’t take too long to improve!
Cats and their inscrutability. Our beloved vet frequently uses “because: cats” as part of her explanation for things. For example, “Well, cats can get pancreatitis because they’ve eaten something they shouldn’t, or because of a parasite or disease—but most often it’s because: cats.”
I am having tennis elbow (sans any relationship with tennis) after having plantar fascitis (which finally did indeed go away) TOO. I mentioned it to a friend and said I didn’t know why I was suddenly having all these new issues and she said “Because: periminopause.”
I do dream about bloggers! I once dreamed I was visiting Sundry in a beautiful sunlit house full of plants. I think I most often dream I am over at the other blogger’s house, and we are hanging out, and then sometimes it turns into a dream where I am taking care of the blogger’s baby or housesitting or something. Generally the dream is not as fraught as it would be if I were actually meeting another blogger in real life; generally the feeling is that we are just real-life friends hanging out.
Well, this was a delightfully random post! Where to start.
Lol Margaret. I have been thinking about olden days laundry for weeks now. What a time to be alive.
Ugh ugh ugh on the hail. I do NOT miss the hailstorms we used to have. One year the hail was so bad it broke the side mirrors on my neighbour’s car.
Is Rooster good? We haven’t had a show to watch together in a while. It’s more because I’m lazy and Rob likes to watch sports, but theoretically I wouldn’t mind a new show.
Please tell me you bought that cheetah in a robe.
Summer camp is my least favorite activity to book. Thankfully, we only need to figure out August because July is Italy for a month. I booked a week of cheerleading/tumbling camp for my daughter and my son is on the waitlist for our local rec center.
Thankfully, I am off in the summer so it’s not as pressing as other families. Some of my friends who work full time book camp in February then hire an additional sitter to fill the holes (camp from 9 to 3, then sitter from 3 to 5:30). It’s rough and most importantly, it’s infuriatingly expensive. A trip to Europe for a month or two is actually CHEAPER.
About to text you, because as usual we are in miserable lockstep on several things. Why are our lives so easy and yet so HAAAAAARD? That contractor thing would DEMOLISH ME, like no sleeping no eating AGONIZING. I have a stupid package-mailing issue that is ruining my life even though my husband has basically solved it simply by not being neurotic and insane.
I have not known where we are in April for all of April. I look up the date when I have to be somewhere that’s not work – for work I only need to know the day of the week. Other than that, it’s anyone’s guess. Are we at the beginning? The end? Is April already gone? Who can say?
The laundry meme made me laugh out loud for real.
I’ve had tennis elbow (also sans tennis playing), my doctor also called it mother’s elbow (which sounds fair and more relateable). As I recall, time, rest and some kind of support arm band thing (I can’t remember if it was worn above or below the elbow) were the things that finally fixed it for me.
Hair in the shower. Ick. This REALLY grosses my husband out for some reason; which fair. We have the drain catcher thing (not a shroom), so I just collect the hair with tissue after showering and toss it.
I came back to tell you that I have grown an apple tree from an apple seed. I’m watching This is a Gardening Show as we speak, and I’m not sure I love his humor, but the show is charming! Anyway, I used to feed my apple cores to my dog when I was a kid. (Too many apple cores can be toxic, do not try this at home.) She pooped the seeds out, and I did not clean it up, and it rooted into a tree. They were crab apple sized, just like the show said, and they tasted like Gravenstein apples, which are a big deal around here (though not my favorite.)
I enjoy randomosity posts! I’m so happy you got a diagnosis for your arm, and hopefully it’ll be feeling better soon. I guess I’ve never thought of shower hair as gross – it’s just part of the deal! If I were cleaning up after strangers, then yes, it’s gross. But it’s just me and my husband, and I don’t find it gross. I just use a tissue or paper towel and clean it up. I have thought about bloggers, but I don’t think I’ve ever dreamt about one. Now watch – I’ll have a dream about a blogger tonight!
I thought it was only my slob of a daughter who wiped gobs of her (purple) hair on the wall of the shower. The worst part is, she’s the only one who uses that shower so sometimes I don’t even look at it for a week and then GAAAAHHHH! That cat hair catcher is in my amazon cart right now.
Yes- Muffin will go several nights in a row sleeping in the bed with me, and then she’ll suddenly sleep… elsewhere? Cats are so weird.
Good luck with the summer plans- I remember those days, they were hard. This summer is very straightforward for us- our only trip is to Indiana for the wedding. My daughter will be working, and- this is controversial but I’m insisting on it- learning to drive. A lot more simple than the old days!
Congrats on getting a head start on Mayhem lol. I resemble the sitting and doing nothing because I have too many things to do meme.
What I’m hearing is that you have two good options for contractors. That’s a blessing! Go with your gut. If these guys are good, neither is hurting for work.
Ugh hair sloughage. One of the ways that Doggo has made me a better person is that she will eat hair if I leave it in the drain, so guess what mundane household chore I am 100% on top of. She is also the reason why my cool blogger’s walking streak is 100%.
Cheetahs in bathrobes FTW! If Carla doesn’t want it, I hope that you got it for yourself!
I am sorry about your arm. That sounds very painful and inconvenient. I hope one of the things the doctor throws at it works.
I don’t think I ever find myself with hair in my hands, but it is in the drain at the end of the shower. I just pick it up with bare hands. And I swear I’m the only person who does it, so I am always picking up everyone else’s hair, too.
I hope your arm is back to business sooner rather than later. At least you know what you’re dealing with. Ah, the cat (gorgeous). I recently read a book about what cats can teach us about fighting fascism and I realized how intimately that author knew cats — how they operated in every detail! Lizzie is much the same, although she will never hesitate to tell me it’s time to eat — which may be immediately after she just finished eating. As for laundry and the to-do list, I’m right with you there! There are so many things we’d RATHER do! Good luck with it!
The forearm pain sounds awful! I hate maladies that time heals best. Who has time for that? Ha.
For the shower question, I’m the only person in our house with long hair. I have a hair screen that I put over the drain in our shower. I also put hair on the wall. But I always clean all of that hair up before I leave the bathroom even though I’m practically the only person who uses the shower (Phil showers at the gym at work). The whole shedding thing is so gross!
Phil jokingly commented on how he couldn’t believe it’s May on Friday. It was said in jest because he finds those comments about the passage of time to be sort of ridiculous. I don’t share his opinion and am amazed by the passage of time. I’m not sad that it’s almost May because it means we are further away from potential snow storms and closer to summer! Our May is not too bad so far but our kids are quite young. They do start t-ball/baseball this month but Will is going to miss about half of his t-ball sessions since it conflicts with swimming lessons which are higher priority. Paul will have activities 4 nights/week for about 2 weeks, and then he’ll down shift to 3 nights/week until mid-June. But he had that kind of schedule last fall and it worked ok!
What in the AI is that? LOL!
I had tennis elbow, twice a few years ago. It is so painful! I finally got a steroid shot. It went away completely. Then six-seven 🤣 months later it came back. I started using one of those strap things that goes around the offending area and the pain went away and never returned. I also, have never played tennis.
I’ve had many dreams about bloggers! It’s usually so fun to meet them in my sleep.
Good luck on the repairs!
That hair catcher is kinda genius! I confess to draping mine across the built-in soap holder that we don’t use, until it dries and I can grab it easier to toss. I have however changed shampoos and the new stuff seems to have slowed down the shedding a bit! 😀
Just adding This is a Gardening Show to my Netflix list, yay!
Re: the forearm … I managed to give myself a real lovely case of DeQuervene’s (?sp) in my wrist 5 years ago. The orthopedic was able to diagnose it immediately from one movement tested and then laughed because “it’s usually new mothers who get this”. (Rude). After weeks with a splint to let the tendons calm, it finally mostly recovered. I think once you trigger it, you’re more prone to it – because mine will definitely flare up from time to time – but rest and time really do help. Eventually, just not in the moment. I found if I wrapped my freezing cold left hand around the screaming in protest right wrist, it helps in the moment.
Seriously though, WHAT in the AI is that? I confess that I put the hairs on the wall and then cup my hands together to get enough water to throw at the wall to make them slide down. I clean out the drain with my fingers and then wash my hands. However, as a single person, (a) I can do what I want, and (b) I still have to deal with it myself, so I have to behave or else! I’ve never heard of a tub shroom!
I have dreamt of bloggers before. It’s always entertaining. I, too, can’t believe it’s almost May – but that might be because it’s in the 50’s here and May 1 is tomorrow? Curly preparing for a very chilly prom. Ugh. The cheetah in the bathrobe is hilarious and I love Carla’s response. I’ve seen snippets of that gardening show and maybe we’ll give that a watch – always looking for something appropriate to watch with the youngest fam members. Our roof was just replaced due to storm damage. Such a great money saving thing. Good luck with the choice of contractors. It is hard to say no to someone, but I would prob go with the experienced person.
I have dreamed of bloggers before! Once, I dreamed about a blogger dying and how her husband put up a post about it. I woke up SO SAD and immediately had to check to make sure it wasn’t real.
I do the whole “pasting” method with my hair, but some still gets down the drain. That’s when I call maintenance and tell them I’m very sorry but I need them to unclog my tub drain. It’s the grossest task ughhhh.
Eloise and Lila do the same thing when it comes to sleeping with me (or not)! Lila usually hops on and off throughout the night, but Eloise will either sleep with me the whole night OR she will decide some other spot in the apartment is better than sleeping with me. THE AUDACITY.