Family of Three

 I have about a quarter of my annual 2 week October vacation left and I'm going to do my best to make the best of it. It literally is one of the best things I do for myself and I strongly encourage everyone who is able to do the same. This year was particularly special because I chose to use my consecutive weeks to be home with Xander and a new kitten as they (me, too) adjusted to our new life. I'm not big on change so this was a very big deal. Much like Xander, I didn't spend much time looking around the shelter before choosing kitten Jay. She was a shy (not anymore), soft gray little girl with extra toes on all 4 paws. Simone and I spent a few minutes with her in the back room before I quickly decided to fill out and application. 2 calls to my references, a home visit, and 7 days later, I was bringing her home. Last week, I was on light duty as far as tasks go so I could focus on the babies. She didn't waste much time losing her shyness and is super snuggly and playful. I set her up in my spare bathroom and after a few days, spent only nights in there so Xander could get a break and be able to free feed his crunchies. Now that both microchip feeders are programmed (Xander still needs some work), Quinn has been free at night...although I had to shut her out of my bedroom last night for making too much noise lol. In addition to Quinn, we also brought her eye funk home which she conveniently gave to her big brother. The past few days, his eyes have been very swollen, crusty and weepy. He went to the vet this morning just to have it checked out even though he looked better. Quinn's vet said it was most likely viral and would run its course without treatment but I came home with antibiotic ointment for my old man. I doubt I'll be able to give it to him as prescribed but I'll do my best with an increasingly intolerant cat. Speaking of intolerance, he was a little hissy, growly, and swipy at first but he's been such a good boy. He would have been a lot better years ago but I just was not ready to change the dynamic. He basically just ignores her now but I'm really hopeful that with more time, they will love each other. I wasn't very productive the first few days but I still was able to accomplish a few things. Dishes, laundry, light cleaning, a walk, and food shopping. Last Tuesday, I did some meal prep and went for a walk. Last Wednesday, I took Quinn to her vet for a meet and greet and then spent the rest of the afternoon at Dayna and Cory's house becaaaauuuuussseeee their little bundle of joy came 5 weeks early. Yes, Lydia Jane Dickerson arrived 9.29 instead of 11.06. She is an absolute perfect lil peanut and doing well at home now. I brought them some food stuffs and hung out for a couple hours. I can't wait to see her again! Last Thursday, I did my yearly work bag clean out and had a visit from my mom. She had the week off to get some stuff done before her house reno starts and was in the area for an errand. Friday, I had a visit from Sarg, who was home for a week visit from CA. She was here most of the afternoon and it was nice to see her. Saturday, I went to Barre and spent the rest of the day doing stuffies. Between Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I grocery shopped, meal prepped, did laundry, cleaned my window fan, put away my AC, and spent a chunk of time trying to use itunes match and subscribing to apple music in order to figure out how to get all of my music from my phone to my computer. After a lot of googling and talking to various people, it's been determined not possible because the music on my phone has come from many different sources over the past 20 years or so. Shit. Hopefully, my library continues to transfer from phone to phone like it always has. Itunes sucks now. Anyways. Tuesday, I had an appointment in Newbury, made my way home through Newport. Yesterday, I cleaned my bathroom and went for a walk. After Xander's vet appointment this morning, I had high hopes of finally cleaning my garage but that didn't happen because it was overcast, rainy, and colder than my weather app led me to believe. Instead, I made cookies, cleaned up my spare bathroom and took a nice long bubble bath...it had been a while since I shaved my legs.

I last left off mid September and life has been a little busy. That Friday, I got into another political spar with Susan. She is a triggered Trumpeteer and I've come to the conclusion that in order for us to have any semblence of a relationship, we must not talk about a lot of things; not just politics. Our dynamic has changed quite a bit and I've grown quite disappointed in her. Like Denise said, willful ignorance. I know now why I've never sent her the full ACLED study...because I know she would never read it and if she did, it would not be in a thoughtful, open manner. How sad to ignore your own advice and to be unable to see beyond your own bias. That Saturday, I did stuffies. Sunday, I ran errands, meal prepped, took a walk and a bubble bath. Monday, I did the dishes and went on my first bike of the year out to Canaan (using the new downtown tunnel) and back.

The following Saturday was Dayna's baby shower. It was at Kristy's house and she did a phenomenal job. Everything was perfect down to the very last detail...I'd feel like the luckiest girl in the world if anyone ever does anything remotely similar for me some day. The only thing that wasn't perfect was the fact that several extended family members were there when Dayna had specifically asked for them not to be there. It caused some drama and I could see both sides but ultimately, Dayna's wishes should have been respected because the day was for and about her. Despite all that, everyone behaved themselves for the most part. I rode home with Sheila and enjoyed a pretty lazy rest of the weekend. Sunday, I did stuffies, ran errands and meal prepped. Monday, I did a pile of dishes and placed a big Amazon order.

The following weekend (weekend before my vaca), I took Friday off to go to Burlington for a small graveside service for Granny. Ross, Christine, and Leah had flown in late Wednesday and Pete had flown in late Thursday. He almost had to cancel due to severe back pain but he was able to travel after an injection. Pete organized and conducted a wonderful service and invited me to partake by reading her obituary aloud. Afterwards, we headed to a restaurant for lunch. Saturday, I went to Barre then there was a family gathering at Heather's (which also happened to be my mom's birthday). That's the day I picked out Quinn. That's also the day I discovered (not shocking) that my older brother "disagrees" with homosexuality. Going in to the weekend, I knew that something was going to piss me off and the family delivered! Luckily, I had already given myself a pep talk so I remained cool with the intent to deal with it at a later date. I didn't want to ruin another birthday. I unfriended Ross after I made a passive/aggressive FB post about how homophobes are assholes (thank you, Morgan Freeman). I made the mistake of talking about it to Jeff and he was a complete prick to me. He didn't care for me pointing out his hypocrisy and he made that clear by telling me I couldn't manipulate him because of his high IQ. Yeah, he said that. Yuck, done. Also done with Heather. They both are blocked and it's very unlikely I will ever talk to them again unless I absolutely have to. As far as Ross is concerned, he reached out to apologize and we will have a relationship but the damage is done. I just can't do it anymore. I elected to stay home Sunday even though I was invited to another family dinner. In my defense, my lady parts were angry but if I had really wanted to, I could have loaded up on drugs and sucked it up. I did some laundry instead. Monday, I did some stuffies, made an HOA deposit and went for a walk.

Quinn is adorable but Xander hasn't purred much in the last week and a half. He's right here but I feel like I miss him. I think I just miss when it was just the two of us and I hope he returns to that Xander...after his eyes are normal. 

I found another crowd pleasing Pandora station...instrumental dub.

I feel like I've spent a lot of money this year which makes me feel like I need to again start putting more effort into getting rid of shit.

Quinn just knocked over a full-length mirror and it shattered.

Donald Trump needs to die

Let's just hope the rest of this vacation is productive.