I was so lazy most of yesterday…had the day off and really needed it, apparently. I didn’t sleep in, but I basically didn’t do anything of use the entire day until I had to leave for dinner at Camilla’s with her and Debbie. So it was a day full of leisure: reading, playing iPad games, working on a crossword puzzle AND a jigsaw puzzle, watching the birds, having breakfast and lunch. I stayed in my pajamas until well into the afternoon. I thought about working in the morning but I managed to restrain myself. 🙂
Today, I made up for it. Woke up just after 7 with only one other wakeup in the night, to bright sunshine. Got a pile of house stuff and cleaning done, printed out IRS forms for US taxes, printed out Karin’s ballet, stripped the bed, started laundry, went to the grocery store, and filled the bird feeders. After writing this post, my only plans for the rest of the afternoon are to watch an episode of Outlander and to write a monthly letter, but first have to decide who to write to! Anders and Karin are on their way home today, and I’ll be picking Anders up in Lund sometime around 5:30 pm. Tonight is Melodifestivalen and catching up with Bäst i Test. It’s nice having a 3-day weekend again to really relax and recharge in.
Anders sent me a text message wishing me a happy Valentine’s Day. I sent both Martin and Karin a swish for 500 kronor and a card. And I bought some coffee beans, chocolate, a postcard, and some “Valentine’s” biskvi (raspberry? strawberry?) for us to have tonight. I was thinking about whether to make something for dinner but since he’ll have been traveling all day, I’m not sure what he would prefer, and I wasn’t super motivated either.
Sarah called me earlier this week to warn me about something she had heard in relation to the nerve pain medicine I am taking (and which she had also just gotten a prescription for). Apparently recent studies have shown a marked link between Gabapentin and dementia or, at least, mild cognitive decline. AUGH. Nothing is certain and more studies and tests are needed but the percentage is high enough to be worrisome. I am sending a message today to my doctor (whoever that may now be, and DAMN IT WHY DID DR UNNI HAVE TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW) that I want to discuss alternatives. I hope there ARE alternatives, because neuropathy is no fun either, but I certainly don’t want to end up with Alzheimers or any form of dementia that could have been avoided. FML I’ve been taking it since December 2024 and none of my doctors have raised any flag at all about it.
Tomorrow I’m signed up to go to an AIC jewelry swap. There are only 5 people signed up and they are all board members (and 1 is a maybe), which is disappointing in the sense that it would be nice if some more of the 155 members besides board members would come to some of the events and activities we spend so much time organizing. I spent a couple of hours on Wednesday going through my various jewelry boxes and ended up with quite a large pile of stuff to get rid of. Mostly necklaces that I never wear, many of which were choker-style and too small. Some pendants, a few bracelets, and one ring. I called and FaceTimed with Karin and showed her the pile and she picked out a handful of things she wanted. Then I made the “mistake” of calling Sarah and Danely to see if they wanted anything (since I can bring it with me in March) and they nearly completely wiped me out. I ended up with only a small handful of things to take with me tomorrow, and most of it is really cruddy costume stuff…feel like it’s not even worth going, but since there are so few signed up, I don’t want to bail at the last minute.
Had a bit of a crisis this past week with the furnace as well. Wednesday night, in the middle of the night, when I got up to go to the bathroom, I got to the tiled floor in front of the bathroom door and thought, “oooh, the tiles are quite cold” but I was half asleep and went back to bed without really thinking about it. They were still cold in the morning but there was hot water and I just showered and headed off to work as per usual. But when I got home Wednesday after work, the house was FREEZING. (okay not really, but close enough). I checked the thermostat which showed it was 0C outside and only 18C inside. Usually it’s around 21-22C. By 6 pm I was REALLY cold. I called Anders in Italy and we Facetimed the furnace display which wasn’t much help. The hot water showed above 40C, but the furnace itself doesn’t show the indoor temperature. The power light was fading in and out, and there was a notificaton about a software update. But then Anders had me check the fuses, and sure enough, all 3 of the ones that steer the furnace had blown. I flipped those switches back on, and we ran the software update which rebooted the furnace.
The house sits on a concrete slab, though, and if the heat is off long enough, which it was, it takes a really long time to warm up again. There was no change when I went to bed at 10 pm and no change in the morning either, though I had hot water to shower. I called Anders again as we had discussed whether or not he would need to call the furnace company to send someone to the house, but in the meantime he had found a setting on the app he has and had raised the indoor temperature slightly. So I headed off to work. Sadly, it was ALSO cold in the office, but I was all by myself in the open landscape, as everyone else was working from home in anticipation of leaving early for our annual kickoff in the evening. I didn’t get home until nearly 10 pm, but was very glad that when I did, the house was finally warmed back up. Yay!
Eek! It’s almost 3 pm now, so I’m signing off and heading for the sofa for a bit. I’m actually feeling quite tired, so I could maybe even have a nap!
Mood: relaxed
Music: Flora Sage—No feeling is final