Back To Real Life

Nothing like after the holidays, is there? Too much leftovers in the fridge, you keep finding stray decorations and pine needles when you thought you got it all, constant distraction because you know another day off is looming and you can't wait. David took down the Christmas tree (AKA The Tinder Tree) yesterday,  ugh - PILES of pine needles all over! I'm still amazed it was not down to branches and limbs. The front porch remains to be stripped of it's holiday gear but other than that, it's over. Work was one big distraction, a lot of people have taken days off so it was very quiet, I had to squeeze it into two days but just had no motivation. It feels like everything is suspended until after the new year. And during all the holidays we're playing House Shuffle, the house in WV finally sold and we are proud to say we are no longer Mortgage Holders, what a relief not to have money tied up in a house so far away. We are slated to close the foreclosure out here after the beginning of the year so that is still in progress - and then this house needs finished.......

I took Bob for her follow up appointment yesterday, once again hauling that small dog cage because she refuses to get in a cat carrier. It's not heavy, but it is bulky and our vet you have to go up a flight of stairs for the small animal clinic. Bob behaved, the fur on her tummy is coming back and we are to continue to rub lotion on her belly - oh joy. She got her vaccinations this time around, last visit she had a fever and infection so they put them off, but all in all it was an easy and quick visit. Then we headed out to Pier 39 in Astoria to meet up with Kim and Steve for a quick lunch out. The sea lions are still not in, they show up around January or February following the smelt migration. From what I understand the fishermen don't like them because, well, they eat all the smelt. But I like them! So after we got home not much went on, David has some sort of upper respiratory illness which also gave him laryngitis and sometimes when he speaks only the dogs can hear him.

Since he's not feeling well he's been reading alot - still stuck on the Spenser detective series, thank goodness for Overdrive. I started using Overdrive a couple of months ago, it's an app for your local libraries. If you have a library card you can download it and sign in - the audiobooks and ebooks work just like library books. You borrow them for 14 to 21 days, then either you can return it when you're done (which they encourage since there's a waiting list for the popular books) or it returns itself. The downside is if you're not done you have to borrow it again and of course the best sellers can have a wait time of up to 8 weeks.  But if I see something either David or I want to read I just put it on hold and read something else until it's ready.  And it gives you access to ALL the libraries in your area so most of the time the wait is only a week or less. I use the audiobooks in the car since I drive a lot still, it's really a lot of fun. I do still buy some books but I buy a lot less since we've been using the Overdrive - it's pretty easy to use and I love anything that saves me money. That's about all for now, the grocery store calls as we have a ton of cooked ham but not much else.