News

Saturday

Saturday I was feeling a little under the weather, so when IL7 wanted to spend time in his room in the dark, I was happy to relax.

Sunday

Sunday, IL7, Aaron, and I went to Olive Garden with Liz and her nephew L11. The boys played Minecraft afterwards. Then IL7 had  swim lessons. I played Minecraft with him, then we relaxed till bedtime.

Monday

Monday I got up early and made apple crisp. Then I picked up D16 for a virtual appointment, but we had to reschedule due to some technological problem. So now my appointment-free Thursday is ruined.

I took Dad to the gym, where I sat in the sauna, then went on the treadmill. Then I had a virtual appointment. In the late afternoon, I took D16 to another appointment.

When I got home, IL7 rushed out and wanted to go “relax” in his room in the dark. I had been going to cook dinner, but felt like I was going to faint (tunnel vision), so I sat in there and finished my book.

Tuesday

Tuesday, I picked a new insurance for Dad. The prices skyrocketed. Thank you Mr Trump. It went up by hundreds of dollars a month. But, I must say, the process of choosing one was straightforward to me, as all I had to do was plug in the his med list and doctors.

Later in the day, Dad started screaming in pain due to his sciatica. I gave him a muscle relaxant, but he was in a lot of pain and wanted 911 called. By the time he got to the hospital, he had no pain, so they sent him home after 3 hours.

In the evening, Dad took us to Outback Steakhouse.

Wednesday

Wednesday was relaxing and productive at the same time. I started by writing a letter. I was supposed to take Dad to the gym, but he was feeling unwell. But I had reserved my free birthday red light treatment, so I went anyway. The red light treatment relaxed me, but it did not magically heal my hip.

Then I took IL7 to an appointment, after which, IL7 programmed on my computer and I wrote another letter. I cooked some pork chops, then IL7 wanted to sit in his room in the dark, so I got some reading in.

Thursday

Thursday didn’t go as well as Wednesday. I started by going to urgent care. On Monday, I experienced weird tunnel vision that wouldn’t go away even when I was lying down. On Wednesday night, my heart started pounding, and I could hear my pulse in my ears. Each symptom I would ignore on its own, but with two weird symptoms, I called the nurse line. They suggested urgent care, who gave a neurological assessment and told me to come back in a week if symptoms continued, sooner if I got new symptoms or they worsened. Three hours down the drain.

Then, I took D16 to an appointment that I understood existed (a reschedule of the missed Monday appointment). This appointment apparently didn’t exist – an example of human error on both our faults. Then, there was an accident on the way home that slowed us down.

In the evening, IL7 had a Cub Scout award ceremony, but the church smelled like gas, so we evacuated and held the ceremony outside, in the dark, with no microphone. 

IL7 wanted to relax in his room with the lights off again, so I got a little downtime to relax, and Thursday is my sleep-early night, so I got extra sleep. So that was better.

Friday

Friday I went to the orthopedic doctor to ask for a referral for physical therapy for my hip. I was diagnosed with bursitis, which I remembered was an issue years ago, too.

I took Dad to the gym, where I worked out on the treadmill. I worked on IL7’s Halloween costume, and then cooked dinner. The end of the evening was spent in his room in the dark.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker
• Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem
• Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
• 1776, by David McCullough

Reading to IL7

• Ghosts Don’t Ride Bikes, Do They? by Andres Miedoso
• How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell
• Mermaid You Look by Andres Miedoso
• A I Told You So, by Andres Miedoso

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Super Jump Between Worlds by Thomas Flintham
• Beast Mode Unleashed, by Andres Miedoso

Media Completed

In this sequel to The Keeper of Night, Wren struggles to find a way to save Japan from the Reapers while also learning how to love. A good follow-up to the first book, which was standalone, but completed in this book, anyway. I don’t see how a third would further the story, so hopefully they don’t go there.

Eddie is in a mountain resort, in a snowstorm, exploring the death of a mysterious stranger while dealing with his dysfunctional family. This was very funny, and I hope to read the rest in the series. I hadn’t originally intended to, but I really liked this.

News

Saturday

Saturday, started with me going to visit Dad in the hospital. Then IL7, Aaron, and I went to the orchard to pick a peck of apples. We also played in the corn pit and the hamster wheels. It was a lot of fun. We were tired when we got back, so we rested, then I went to visit Dad, with IL7 in tow. Aaron went to D16’s high school play.

Sunday

Sunday, I got Dad out of the hospital in the morning. (yay!) I went to D16’s high school play, which was good. Aaron took IL7 to swim lessons, picked up M14 from his mom’s, and made chili for dinner.

Monday

Monday Aaron and I took M14 to the spine specialist, who said not to worry about his scoliosis. I spent some time mid-day to rest. I took D16 to an appointment that turned out not to exist. When we got home from wasting our time, Dad took us all to Red Lobster. Then IL7 and I watched Minecraft.

Tuesday

Tuesday, I started by taking Dad to his PCP. Then I took the little pink car to the mechanic. The brakes were apparently in crisis, and the mechanic didn’t seem to think we ought to have been driving it. Ooops. So I left it there, and told Aaron he’d probably have to walk IL7 to school in the morning. In the evening, my friend Liz came over and she, Aaron, and I chatted for a couple hours.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I took Dad to get his new hearing aids, then we went to Perkins for breakfast. Later, I took IL7 to an appointment. On my way home, I was so tired, I missed my exit and added a half hour to my drive. I took a nap when we got home.

Thursday

Thursday, I took D16 to an appointment in the morning. I cooked some chicken patties for IL7 and some pork chops for M14. I took Dad and IL7 to the gym. IL7 enjoyed that. He was on the treadmill, practically running, for 15 minutes. We sat in the sauna for 10 minutes. And he “lifted weights” for about 20 minutes.

After the gym, IL7, D16, and I watched Toy Story 4. That ended right before D&D. It was a pretty boring session, but I got lots of multitasking in while sitting in the dark with IL7 in his room and playing D&D. (Double multi-tasking, as I was “hanging out” with IL7, as he put it.)

Friday

Friday, I took Dad to the gym, where he wobbled through a workout. I played Minecraft with IL7. After that, I took Dad to see an oncologist. We decided to get him a PET scan to see if his spot is cancer. Then my cousin Mary called to say “hi,” and I wrote a letter.

Reading to myself

• Brothers Karamozov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• The Passage by Justin Cronin
• Mr Ballen podcast
• Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker
• Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• Ancient Greece: From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times by Thomas R Martin
• Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Reading to IL7

• Beast Mode Unleashed by Andres Miedoso
• Double Creature Feature by Andres Miedoso

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Super Jump Between Worlds by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

In this Russian classic, three (maybe four) brothers are stuck in the middle of a trial about the murder of their father. It is an excellent character exploration. I loved it as a teen, and I loved it this time.

News

Saturday

Saturday I made Aaron some chickpea chicken curry and relaxed with IL7 in his room.

Sunday

Sunday, I made some chicken noodle soup for Aaron’s lunches, and went to IL7’s swim lessons with Aaron. In the evening, everyone went to Olive Garden for dinner.

Monday

Monday, I had a training at work – dealing with combative clients. I also ran an errand that had been hanging over me for two weeks. D16 went to crew. M14 went to his card game with his friends, then to a soccer game. Aaron and I played Minecraft with IL7.

Tuesday

Tuesday, I completed more tasks that were hanging over me for weeks. I took D16 to an appointment and Dad to the gym. I watched Toy Story 2 with the kids. D16 went to crew.

Wednesday

Wednesday was stressful. At 1 am, Aaron sent Dad to the hospital with chest pain. The hospital called me at 6am to ask if I was going to come get him, and I said I couldn’t until 10. So he sat there for hours, until an ambulance was available to take him home. 

He arrived home at the same time as myself. EMS told me he had pneumonia. I was skeptical, because he just got a CT scan on Thursday, and it showed what they think is cancer – but no pneumonia. But I became a believer as the day progressed, and Dad couldn’t stand up. He tried, but called me for help. I had to lower him to the floor, because I couldn’t get him to stand, and I couldn’t get him back in the bed (too tall). Aaron helped me hoist him back into bed.

I was productive though. I did some housework and got the battery replaced in Dad’s watch. And I played appointment Tetris, as I needed to schedule a follow-up PCP appointment for Dad as well as reschedule the appointment that he was supposed to go to today.

Thursday

Thursday Dad was unable to stand or walk, but we had a wheelchair stored in the garage from when Mom needed one. So we got that out, and were able to move him to his chair, bed, and bathroom pretty well. So it was a successful day. He did seem to feel better towards the end of the day, as he was able to manage a wobbly standing position.

Aaron had taken the day off work, and I had carefully not scheduled any appointments, and we went to our favorite Mongolian grill for lunch. Afterwards, I felt bad leaving Dad alone, since he couldn’t walk, but he was fine.

IL7 had a roadside cleanup for Cub Scouts. Aaron took him. I’d been going to go, but I thought I should stay for Dad. Then Aaron went to D16’s parent-teacher conferences. I skipped M14’s to stay home with Dad, but he was fine with that.

I played Minecraft with IL7.

Friday

Friday didn’t go as planned. First, I thought IL7 didn’t have school, and he did. So he was late. I took him to an appointment, then dropped him off.

The doctor called me back about Dad’s pneumonia getting worse (he’s been in a wheelchair), and told me to take him to the ER to be admitted. But when I told Dad that, he got up and ran (wobbled) away. But then later that day, he tried to walk to his room, and I had to lower him to the floor, because he couldn’t make it. So I called 911.

So he was admitted to the hospital. I returned home around 8 and played Minecraft with IL7 and then watched Toy Story 3 with IL7 and D16, since I had promised I would.

D16 had opening night of her high school play, Clue.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker
• Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine
• The Passage by Justin Cronin
• Mr Ballen podcast

Reading to IL7

• AI Told You So by Andres Miedoso
• How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell
• The Witch Get Witchier by Andres Miedoso

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Super Jump Between Worlds by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

I found these lectures very interesting, though I don’t think I read the description before I bought it, since I expected apocalypse stories that did not involve only The Book of Revelations. I feel that a lot of people would find his opinions annoying or even offensive, especially dispensationalists. It covered a lot of contemporary historical context, which a lot of people don’t care about when the interpret Revelations, but was interesting to a critical thinker.

News

Saturday

Saturday, D16, IL7, and I went to a llama farm. We fed them treats, and walked, brushed, and pet them. The rest of the day was relaxed.

Sunday

Sunday I was still feeling tired from the cold, and IL7 had a low grade fever again. I made baked beans for Aaron’s lunches this week and took D16 for flu and COVID shots. Aaron, IL7, and I played Minecraft. I played for about an hour, Aaron and IL7 for 3 hours. Aaron tried to mow the overgrown lawn that hadn’t been taken care of for over a month (because of several factors, including a non-working lawn mower). That did not go well. We decided to leave it for the rest of the season and start over in spring. Other than that, we relaxed. IL7 skipped swim lessons because I had a new-found respect for this awful cold (last week I ignored the fever except for not sending him to school – he’s not supposed to go, and he knows it).

Monday

Monday was busy. I had to make up for all the stuff I put off while I was sick. Well, not all of it – catching up will drag out all week. I took Dad to the audiologist and to the gym. I played Minecraft with IL7. I took D16 to an appointment. And I gave a mock interview using the STAR format with my friend Liz.

Tuesday

Tuesday I took Dad to see his GP as a followup of his ER visit. I made a bunch of calls, ran some errands and cooked dinner.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I started out taking M14 to an appointment, but the provider was sick (I had missed the text). We rescheduled for Thursday. Then I took IL7 to an appointment. 

I made some pork chops, played Scribblebots with IL7, and hung out in his room. 

Thursday

Thursday, I picked up M14 for a virtual appointment. I took Dad to get a CT scan, and then to the gym. I then took D16 to an appointment. Afterwards, I played D&D with Aaron and some friends.

Friday

Friday, I took IL7 to an appointment and Dad to the gym. D16 went to crew for the high school play. Dad took IL7, Aaron, and me out to Outback Steakhouse.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Mr Ballen podcast
• Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem
• Essays of Montaigne
• Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker
• The Passage by Justin Cronin

Reading to IL7

• AI Told You So by Andres Miedoso
• Eye of the Thunder Dragon, by Tracey West

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Super Jump Between Worlds by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

In this sequel to The Killing Moon, the great world-building continues with some new and some old characters. This book’s unique setting and magic rules make it a good read for lovers of fantasy.

News

Saturday

Saturday I played D&D with my new campaign. It was a good time. I did some housework. Dad took us out to Outback Steakhouse. Then Aaron and I let IL7 DM his own campaign. He is very creative, but it’s mainly us watching him play with his LEGO.

Sunday

Sunday, D16, IL7, my friend Liz, her nephew, and I went to Olive Garden. Then Liz’s nephew and IL7 played Minecraft at home for a quite a while. 

IL7 had swim lessons, then Aaron and I started a puzzle with D16. Afterwards, IL7 wanted to provide an opportunity for me to relax, so he invited me to hang out in his room in the dark for the rest of the evening.

Monday

Monday, IL7 was home sick, but I needed to renew my driver’s license. So at 7:30, I left him sleeping (Aaron was downstairs working), and drove to driver’s licensing station. Success! Got back before he woke. 

Dad needed to go to the gym, so I dropped him off and picked him up. And I also had a video appointment with a provider. I played Minecraft with IL7, and we relaxed in his room a bit. D16 went to crew for the high school play and M14 played cards with his friends.

Tuesday

Tuesday, I took IL7 to an appointment. Then my friend Liz came over and we all watched Doctor Who.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I was pretty sick. Luckily, an appointment was cancelled, so I only had to get Dad to the gym and back. I slept a few hours.

The plumber came and replaced our broken garbage disposal, which was under warranty. A couple came and picked up the last two kittens – now we’re out of foster kittens.

Dad took us to Red Lobster for dinner.

Thursday

Thursday was a mess. I still had a cold, so I stuffed my pockets full of toilet paper, then took Dad to the PCP for his followup after the “TIA” last week. He was fine when we walked in. I sat there reading a book, and finally the nurse came out and called him. But he was sitting there unresponsive. I shook him. The nurse shook him. I suggested 911. The nurse called out the doctor. The doctor took his blood pressure. It was crazy low. Finally Dad woke up. This all took at least 5 minutes, and I don’t know how long he was like that before I noticed. He went to the hospital by ambulance. After all day in the ER, they determined that he didn’t have a stroke, a UTI, a heart attack, or pneumonia. They decided the incident last week probably wasn’t a TIA.  They sent him home and will mail a heart monitor soon. The last time he had one of those, he tore it off after a few days and sort of threw it (it landed on the bed, and they got a little data). 

After the ER, I logged into the D&D game by phone, but didn’t full-on play. I just made suggestions for my character and they rolled for me. I was too tired for full-on playing.

Aaron and IL7 were at Cub Scouts when I returned home.

Friday

I had cleared out my appointments on Friday because I thought Dad was going to be in the hospital. That was for the best, because I was miserably sick. Rather stupidly, I kept going – I made bacon, took IL7 and D16 to the movie Forgotten Island, and watched IL6 program in Scratch. In the evening, my headache was mostly gone, but I didn’t feel comfortable reading lest the headache come back. But Aaron washed the dishes for the third day in a row, which was nice. 

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker
• Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• Mr Ballen podcast
• Systematic Theology: Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, by Wayne Grudem
• Shadowed Sun, by N K Jemisin

Reading to IL7

• How to be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell
• Mega Mole Girl Digs Deep by Thomas Flintham
• AI Told You So, by Andres Miedoso
• The Eye of the Thunder Dragon, by Tracey West

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Super Jump Between Worlds by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

In this second book of How to Train Your Dragon series, the Hairy Hooligans rush into a dangerous treasure hunt. Just as cute as the first book.

News

Saturday

Saturday, IL7 and I made a strawberry shortcake for Aaron. Well, IL7 decided it was for the birthday of one of his stuffies, but it was really for Aaron. Aaron spent the morning taking the carpet off the stairs, since it was a tripping hazard.

Then, IL7 wanted to sit in his room in the dark, so we did that for 6 hours, so I got some reading done and put away his laundry. At the end of the day, we watched the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. 

Sunday

Sunday, IL7 had swim lessons. He got his head wet, but did dunk. We ordered pizza for dinner – that was nice. We tried family D&D, but M14 and D16 were apathetic, so we stopped. I’m going to try to recruit my friend Liz and her nephew L11 (who is good friends with IL7, despite the age difference). L11 has expressed an interest in D&D, but IL7 and he together would take a lot of patience.

Monday

Monday was long. I took IL7 to an appointment. I was on my way to the gym with Dad, when we decided he probably had a TIA, and, instead, we drove to the ER. After 9 hours in the ER, we got the diagnosis of “it was likely a TIA.” Dad wanted to stop by Perkins on the way home. I was unable to go to work – no time.

Aaron stepped up and picked IL7 up at school and brought D16 to her appointment. He also stopped by the hospital to bring me food and a charger.

Tuesday

Wednesday I took Dad to the gym and then took IL7 to an appointment. I also got IL7 a haircut. 

Wednesday

Thursday, I took M14 to an appointment and then stopped by the local licensing center to get a new driver’s license. Only they don’t do driver’s licenses there. I drove to the neighboring city, where they have a DVM, but it was “temporarily closed.” I gave up for now. I ran some other errands. I went to an event at D16’s school. It’s a pretty cool school. Lots of fun opportunities. I played Minecraft with IL7 and Aaron.

Thursday

Thursday, I took M14 to an appointment and then stopped by the local licensing center to get a new driver’s license. Only they don’t do driver’s icenses there. I drove to the neighboring city, where they have a DVM, but it was “temporarily closed.” I gave up for now. I ran some other errands. I went to an event at D16’s school. It’s a pretty cool school. Lots of fun opportunities.

Friday

Friday I met a nice couple who wanted to adopt two of the foster kittens. They will take them on Wednesday.

I took IL7 to an appointment. I took Dad on an errand, then to the gym. The evening was low-key.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Systematic Theology: Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem
• Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West by Tom Holland
• The Passage, by Justin Cronin
• Essays of Montaigne
• Empress of Time, by Kylie Lee Baker

Reading to IL7

• How to be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell
• Super King Viking Land by Thomas Flintham
• Super Cheat Codes and Secret  Modes by Thomas Flintham
• The Haunted House Next Door by Andres Miedoso
• AI Told You So by Andres Miedoso

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Super Jump Between Worlds by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

Persian Fire is an excellently-written overview of the Persian empire up until they invaded Greece. Holland’s writing was engaging and informative. Definitely recommended for someone interested in the topic.

News

Saturday

Saturday was fun, mostly. It started with me getting up at 5am and driving home to water the lawn and take care of Dad for the morning (mostly Dad, I could skip the lawn). I got back to the campsite at 8:30, and Aaron and IL7 slept till 9:30.

After sitting around for a bit, we went to the playground for a while, then out to Subway/McDonald’s for lunch (to make us solidly mini-glamping). We went to the beach, sat around some more, and played flashlight tag when it was dark.

Sunday

Sunday was much like Saturday. I drove home really quickly at 5am. We went to the playground and beach mid-day. Had a fire in the evening. Played flashlight tag after sundown. It was a little cooler than Saturday.

Monday

On Labor Day, we broke camp at about 10:30 and headed home. I kept myself busy the rest of the day getting this-and-that done. Aaron tried mowing the lawn, but the mower wouldn’t start. I played Roblox with D16 and IL7. Dad took Aaron, IL7, and me out to Red Lobster.

Tuesday

Tuesday was busy. D16 had a procedure in the morning. Following that, Aaron, D16, and I went to Perkins. In the afternoon, I ran a bunch of errands, then took Dad back to urgent care for the boil. They gave him an antibiotic that I’ll have to give him 4 times a day. Ugh. 

In the evening, my friend Liz came over and we all watched Doctor Who.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I took Dad to his last PT appointment. (Now will be the work of convincing him to continue the exercises.) I ran an errand, then went to the gym with Dad. I sat in the sauna, then went on the treadmill. 

When we got home, I made 6 phone calls, watered the lawn, boiled a dozen eggs, and cooked 3 pork chops – all in a little over an hour. I picked up the kittens after their surgery. I played Roblox with IL7. Then, I helped IL7 draw a cat on the computer.

Thursday

Thursday, I took Dad to see his vascular doctor, who told us to stay the course. Then I chugged two 2L bottles of soda (minus a little that Aaron took) for IL7’s Cub Scout meeting. He built a bottle rocket.

Friday

Friday I took IL7 to an appointment and played Minecraft with him. Dad treated us to Outback Steakhouse. 

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Brothers Karamozov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan
• Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West by Tom Holland
• Fifth Elephant, by Terry Pratchett
• Mr Ballen podcast
• Systematic Theology:  An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, by Wayne Grudem
• Apocalypse Great Courses, by Craig R Koester
• Essays of Montaigne

Reading to IL7

• Minecraft: Stories from the Overworld, by Mojang
• Treasure of the Gold Dragon, by Tracey West

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Super Jump Between Worlds, by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

Vimes is sent off with Lady Sibyl to be an ambassador. Angua runs away from Carrot. Several Igors are involved. Funny and fun.

News

Saturday

Saturday Aaron, IL7, D16, and I went to the apple orchard, but the Upick wasn’t open until Labor Day, so we went back home. Aaron and I took IL7 to the McDonald’s PlayPlace, instead. In the evening, Dad took us to Olive Garden.

Sunday

Sunday, I made chicken stew for Aaron’s lunches over the coming week. We did our grocery shopping, and I took IL7 to swim lessons, where he dunked 3 times!

Monday

Monday I ran some errands, worked out while Dad was with his personal trainer, took D16 to an appointment, and watched How to Train Your Dragon (animated) with IL7.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning started with a trip to the urgent care for Dad. He had a very painful boil that they gave him antibiotics for. He cancelled his gym appointment because the boil was so painful, so I spent some extra time relaxing. It’s hard to hold a book in one hand and blindly pet 3 kittens with the other, but I managed. After dinner (meatloaf), I took M14 to get an X-ray.

Wednesday

Tuesday, I took D16 to an appointment in the morning. In the afternoon, Dad wanted to go back to urgent care because he was in so much pain. In the evening, I helped IL7 with his show-and-tell bag – he was supposed to put in 5 special-to-him things to share about. I asked him which cat he wanted a picture of – he wanted them all. So I put in pictures of all 8 cats, plus the two that have passed. He wanted a picture of me. His stat block for one of his D&D monsters. One of his favorite crafts, which is named Coffee. And a picture from his favorite YouTuber. 

Thursday

Thursday I got a bit of cross-stitch done. That was nice. I took the kittens to the rescue for getting fixed. Then I spent 3 hours taking D16 to an appointment I was told she needed, but that she didn’t need. Three hours of my life I’ll never get back.

Friday

Friday after work I took IL7 to an appointment. Then I cooked some jambalaya for Aaron’s lunches and pork chops for M14’s dinners. In the late afternoon, I took IL7 to the library. Then we went camping with Aaron. We had a fire and then played flashlight tag.

Reading to myself

• Brothers Karamozov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Shadow Rising, by Robert Jordan
• Mr Ballen podcast
• Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West, by Tom Holland
• The Killing Moon, by N K Jemisin
• Apocalypse Great Courses, by Craig R Koester
• Fifth Elephant, by Terry Pratchett

Reading to IL7

• The Sleepwalking Snowman, by Andres Miedoso
• How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell
• Battle of the Supper Rabbit Boys, by Thomas Flintham
• Dragons are the Worst, by Alex Willan

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Jump Between Worlds, by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

In this lovely, humorous book that is nothing like the movies (better, as far as I’m concerned), Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III tries to train his dragon Toothless without yelling at him. He also wants to prove himself to become full-fledged member of the Hairy Holligans. Fun, cute, perfect to read to IL7.

Jemisin creates a world of necromantic magic, complete with war, platonic love, and back-stabbing. Very good world building. Stands alone, despite being the first in a duology.

News

Saturday

Saturday was busy. I did have time to write a letter as alone time. Otherwise I was social all day. I played my first session of my new D&D campaign. One of the players was my friend, Liz. The DM and I decided to surprise her, so I popped in right when my character was introduced. Liz handled the surprise quite calmly, lol. 

After that, I watched a strange horror movie about a refugee couple that moved to England and got stuck in a haunted house – but they couldn’t change houses due to the rules of their probation. 

After that, I played Roblox with IL7 over Discord, so we could hear each other. When I finished with that, Dad had already gone to bed, even though he hadn’t done his stretches, and I hadn’t gotten the sheet and mattress pad back on after washing them. I had to wake him to take his meds, and I made his bed. 

Then I read to IL7 over video call.

Sunday

Sunday, I kept myself busy. I had to prepare the house for the new cats (inside) and for painting (outside). In the late afternoon, I went to pick up our 3 foster kittens: Cinnamon (ginger), Thing 1 (tuxedo), and Thing 2 (tuxedo). I went to pick up my family at the airport, then we went to Perkins, where IL7 and I ate a crayon, much to the consternation of the rest of the family.

Monday

Monday was busy, as Mondays sometimes are. It started with an appointment for IL7. I then took Dad to the gym. I worked out on the treadmill. He decided to switch his workouts from 30 minutes, three times a week, to 60 minutes, three times a week. I don’t think he can handle it. Neither does his personal trainer. But we let him do what he wanted to do.

Then I had a virtual appointment with one of IL7’s providers, and we discussed IL7’s improvements. Yay! Lastly, I took D16 to an appointment.

After I cooked dinner (spaghetti), our new cat’s foster mom delivered him. Unfortunately, he’s very scared and hissing, so we left him alone as much as possible. I am confident he is really sweet generally from the meetup at his foster home. His new name is Rasputin. Pronounced like the song, because that’s funny.

D16 has decided that the tuxedo kittens will be named Thing 1 and Thing 2, since they are nearly identical. Now we need to figure out which one is which.

Tuesday

Tuesday wasn’t the best day in some places, but I got through in a reasonable mood. First, I was stood up on a video appointment. Then I had to go to Walmart, which I hate. I took M14 to an appointment. In the evening, my friend Liz came over, and Dad took us all out to Red Lobster. When I got to work, there was no water.

Wednesday

Wednesday, I took Dad to the gym and to a hearing aid appointment.

I sat with Rasputin, and he actually asked for cuddles! D16 sat in there with him for a while, and he sniffed her. He also sniffed IL7. When I took IL7 in to see the kittens, Cinnamon didn’t hide like he usually does, so that was nice. Thing 1 and Thing 2  are generally out, so that wasn’t a big deal.

I played Animal Hospital Anomaly with IL7 as a reward for something, and D16 became interested and started a game of her own. She wants to play with us next time we play.

M14 went to his freshman orientation with Aaron, and decided he didn’t like his English teacher because she was too bubbly and will assign him a writing notebook. I told him every class will get a writing notebook. He argued about it. Suck it up, buttercup. You’re in high school. It has more work than middle school. I feel no sympathy.

Thursday

Thursday, I ran a few errands, took M14 to the orthodontist again, and took IL7 to his school’s open house to meet his teacher. She seemed nice. Aaron took D16 to her open house, too.

Rasputin purred for me Monday. Thing 2 got stuck in the ceiling twice.

Friday

Friday, I took IL7 to an appointment, then took Dad and IL7 to the gym. IL7 worked out, then sat in the sauna. That was about 45 minutes total. For the next 30 minutes, we played Roblox. I wanted to use up some of the time that he has earned for good behavior.

Aaron and I tried out Dominos pizza for the first time, since we had an unlimited coupon for buy-one-get-one-free. The pizza was reasonable-tasting. Worth the $20 discount, anyway.

Then I played Animal Hospital Anomaly with D16 and IL7. Followed by reading to IL7 to midnight. (We actually read till 12:15 because I wanted to find a stopping point in my book.)

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

• Brothers Karamozov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Killer Moon, by N K Jemisin
• Shadow Rising, by Robert Jordan
• Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, by Wayne Grudem
• Persian Fire The First World Empire and the Battle for the West, by Tom Holland
• Historical Jesus Great Courses, by Bart D Ehrman
• Mr Ballen podcast

Reading to IL7

• How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell
• Who Wants I Scream, by Andres Miedoso
• The Vampire Ate My Homework, by Andres Miedoso

IL7 reading

• Super Rabbit Boy’s Jump Between Worlds, by Thomas Flintham

Media Completed

In this set of lectures Bart D Ehrman discusses criteria they use to decide whether information about Jesus is likely to be historically accurate. It covers a variety of topics and is quite fascinating.

News

Saturday

Saturday morning, I dropped Aaron and the kids off at the airport to fly to visit Aaron’s family in Oregon. I am staying home with Dad. I got some reading, housework, and cross-stitch done. Dad and I went out to eat, then watched the first two episodes of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I played some Roblox with IL7 (over Discord), and read to him.

Sunday

Sunday, I got a lot done. I weeded at least 2 bin-fulls (I need to fill it up again on Wednesday ), grocery shopped, made sausage stew for Aaron’s lunches, read, wrote a letter, watched 3 episodes of Percy Jackson with Dad, and played Roblox with IL7. Then I read to him till midnight.

Monday

Monday, I ran a few errands, worked out while waiting for Dad at the gym, played Roblox with IL7, and watched 3 episodes of Percy Jackson with Dad.

Tuesday

Tuesday was fun. I went to lunch with my friend Liz, then we went to Barnes and Noble. I escaped with only a present for D16. Aaron and the kids were at the beach in Oregon, so I didn’t play Roblox with IL7. I went to dinner with Dad, then we watched some Percy Jackson.

Wednesday

Wednesday I had a video visit with a friend in the morning.  Dad cancelled the gym, so I spent some extra time writing. I played Roblox with IL7 and watched 3 episodes of Percy Jackson with Dad.

Thursday

Thursday, I took Dad to physical therapy. Looks like we only need one more appointment. Yay! I watched Percy Jackson with Dad, played Roblox with IL7, and wrote a letter. D&D was cancelled, so I relaxed before work. 

Friday

Friday, Dad and I went grocery shopping and to the gym.  We went to Olive Garden for dinner, then watched the last three episodes of Percy Jackson Season 2. I read to IL7, but only made it to 11:40pm before needing to sleep.

Reading to myself

• Time Thief, by Terry Pratchett
• Brothers Karamozov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West, by Tom Holland
• Ghost Garden: Inside the Lives of Schizophrenia’s Feared and Forgotten
• Historical Jesus Great Courses, by Bart D Ehrman
• The Shadow Rising, by Robert Jordan

Reading to IL7

• Catwings by Ursula K Le Guin
• How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell
• Zombie Family Reunion, by Zack Zombie

Media Completed

This mainly tells the story of one woman with schizophrenia and how her family coped. It also has several short blurbs about other people the author knows. It was interesting to hear this view on mental health, and I agreed with a lot – but not all – of what Doherty said.

When the Auditors try to stop time, Susan must team up with a unique time-twisting individual to save the world. This one is my favorite Terry Pratchett so far.