Being busy and spending money

 In large measure, it's just as well that I didn't end up traveling for Thanksgiving. I felt well enough on Thanksgiving day, Friday, and Saturday to get some things done around the house.

I finally got the three of the big bins out of the living room and took the two glassed end tables to the Mission store. I love how it has opened up the living room to something more normal. I still have two bins in there to decide on and one of the bins removed from the living room is sitting on a kitchen table because it needs to be repacked. I've ordered bubble wrap for that purpose.

I also had enough time to do shop online for a twin bed and mattress. Mom had invited me to help spend some money. I'll spend some on home maintenance/improvement but I also need to make my home more livable until I move and to allow for more storage space for boxed items.

I also attacked another box of books and got rid of all of them that were large because my hands can't deal with large books anymore.

Finally, I brushed dogs, clipped their nails, swept the kitchen, got rid of the roach bait (this was the year of the roach in my house for some reason) and vacuumed the living room (which I find so much more taxing than sweeping a floor). I discovered that Ginger has a nasty wound on her neck. I put triple antibiotic ointment on it but may have to take her to the vet. It appeared to have proud flesh developing around it. I wonder if it's related to the fight with Zippy and whether it's the spot where her large wart was. It was a large crusty wart that grew quickly then stagnated. I hadn't noticed it in a while. Lordy.

Today, Sunday, I crashed. I was really dragging and didn't get up (except for feeding animals) until late afternoon.

November Catch Up

Had my hair cut short. Mom was the only one who had anything to say about it even though I informed the whole family and included pictures. She was positive. Amy eventually responded but only regarding other topics.

Zippy lit into Ginger and appears to have drown blood in at least one place on her neck, possibly two. I didn't initially find those spots but a day or so later I felt places that seemed like dried blood in her fur. I suspect Zippy jumped out the doggy door and hit Ginger in a way that hurt her and so she objected and then Zippy went insane. It took both me and Boo to break it up. Even the next day, Zippy was doing a dominance dance around Ginger but came away when I called her. I waited another day or two and then they appeared to be fine. This incident had me looking into behavioral euthanasia. I think on one offense it's not fair but I could see doing it in the future. Ginger is a really inoffensive dog so attacking her with the intensity that Zippy did, which absolutely requires defense from Ginger, highlights that she's just not right. It underscores that I can't take her up to parents unless Lucy is out of the picture. Even then I question it. If Zippy starts something with one of the big dogs, which she will undoubtedly try at some point, it could trigger a fight between the two big dogs, which would be bad. So that's what I'm looking at: if I move in with a remaining parent, I will need to put Zippy down or have a way to keep her separate.

Leah is not willing to drive up to take care of animals. Only if she can stay overnight does it make sense to her. I'm not surprised and can't blame her, but it's even more house-cleaning for me in preparation to go and she has had bladder problems in which she has wet her bed, so I don't think that's the best idea. I then made other calls to vet staff and etc and no suggestions. I'll need to create a poster to put up in some vet offices or advertise in the paper or on facebook, which means creating an application because I'm not going to accept just anyone coming into my home. I asked a neighbor who had been out walking his dog but he wasn't able to talk well, which made me question if he would be able to understand instructions. I realized that my pets are more complicated than they used to be and that one of the medications is a pain-killer that an unscrupulous pet-sitter might want to steal. So it's all more complicated than I'd hoped it would be. I'm continuing to make some calls but I have little faith in word of mouth at this point. 

It has also made me realize what an obstacle house cleaning is for me in terms of getting out of the house, so I need to also search for a regular house cleaner. Once I get a regular house cleaner and a regular pet sitter/helper, I may be able to visit parents more often.

Mother has gotten her dividend check and wants me to help her spend it by doing home repairs to get my house ready for sale. I'll do some but she doesn't understand how much stuff costs or how little in return I'll get out of the expense. I may see if she's willing to have it spent on making me more comfortable, like getting a twin bed and comfortable chair/recliner or daybed.

House and shadow pics from the past couple of days: