Sunday morning

 Slept late again today, after 8.  The sleep is fine but I wish it ended earlier.  Get up, note that the carpet cleaner smell is still WAY too strong, let dog out, make coffee, give dog a pill (cosequin) that she spits out, put away dishes that dried overnight, watch dog dramatically eat the pill, check if the peppers have sprouted (nope), rifle through seeds to remind myself what I'm growing for the group (beans and cucumbers), reset the air filter red light (just set them up again, realizing that pollen may be bothering me), check my to-do list.  Last night I started a new book, Darkenbloom, and quickly realized i have no interest in it, so it will get returned to the library this morning as well as The Dream Hotel, and I started a new book last night (Place of Tides).  I've noticed lately that the texture of the book matters to me - is it too heavy or awkward to hold in my hands?  What's the font like?  Does this mean that I would actually be willing to now accept an ereader?  I tried them at least twice and never really liked them.  No, the hard plastic of it was what bothered me, and that probably hasn't changed.  I just don't like plastic when avoidable.  Also, Darkenbloom had way too many characters and its main topic is not one that I care about - how Europeans facilitated the Nazis.  Yes, I know this, I know it well.  So much of the history I learned was European, as though it centers the world.  It does not.  I enjoy now reading of different perspectives.  And the Place of Tides also takes place in Europe, but it's about a woman practicing an age-old tradition of collecting eiderdown, told by a man who struggles with modernization.  I also struggle with modernization and want to be more thoughtful in what I accept and reject. 

Like, smart appliances.  Why?  I have zero interest in them, but they're what was available to buy. My dishwasher, washer and dryer.  My fridge is definitely not and I dont think my stove is.  The dishwasher I love and will accept this (it's a Bosch), but the stacking washer and dryer are not so great - the dryer doesn't really dry things fully.  Can't wait for it to warm up and stop raining so I can hang clothes outside to dry.  And to open up my house - I really need to remember next time to use less cleaning solution than the carpet cleaner calls for, and to go over it all again with just water.  Yuck.  I hate this toxic smell. 

Facing down 9 am, and I will finish my coffee, then jumpstart the truck (no, I still have not gotten a new battery), harness and load up the dog, swing through the library book return, then out to walk the dog, then stop at the store for celery and mushrooms to make stuffed squash.  I got a lot of chores done yesterday so not a lot to do today, just a deep clean of the bathroom and probably the laundry room (though just sweeping may be fine).  I found a recipe for a vegan raspberry-apple-oat dessert that I may make and freeze in portions to eat with yogurt.  There are still a lot of apples in my fridge that I harvested in the fall, and I've had to toss some that turned.  It calls for 1/2 cup maple syrup for 12 servings, and while I don't mind putting a Tablespoon or so in, that's too much for me because the sweetness should come from the fruit, but I'll need something moist to bind it ... maybe applesauce?  Maybe I'll soak dried plums and blend them with the oats?  Yes, I like that idea.  And I think I'll add pecans or almonds to the oat topping.  

Almost every plant is budding now and it's fun to watch.  My oaks are still holding dead brown leaves so I want to note when they change for future reference because it seems like forever and honestly I may want to wait to put my house on the market in the future for when the yard is blooming and not all died back.  The milkweed at the end of my curbstrip is not nearly aggressive enough and it dies back; I may replace it with asters, which are so prolific.  I need something aggressive there to stand up to the neighbors' weeds and which I can neglect because it's the farthest point of my yard.  It used to be open and easier to access but I fenced in a big side yard, and frankly I have zero regrets about that.  Some people gave me a hard time for taking down a tree that was there (which was diseased, so no regrets) and fencing the yard, but it was a great use of $7,000 or whatever it cost.  I garden it intensively, have a raspberry and blueberry patch and various trees, and do compost experiments and have space to stash woodchip mulch, and the dog loves roaming it, and I've been seeing so many birds eating something.  It's a large space which could have been like a neighborhood gathering spot (though wasn't), but I took it for myself because frankly, it is mine.  If it weren't for the dog, I wouldn't have felt the need to fence it in, but it's all good.  I spend a lot of money for the dog.  A LOT.  

I like this article on a person's move to a walkable town.  it is so important to me, though bikable is the name of the game for me now. 

Speaking of walking, time to drive the dog out the road to walk.  The things I do for her.  We're in such a perfect location for walks, but because of who she is, she'll never get to do them here.  Sigh.  It is what it is.  Time to roll.  

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Scale says I'm down 1.2 pounds.  We'll see if that's just a popping around a plateau or actually progress downwards.