Helenka, Queen of Outer Space

Neither is 5:11, after tossing and turning. Sigh. It's no wonder I'm exhausted at the end of the day. At least I devoted most of my day to doing nothing. Well, okay, I did watch last night's The Blacklist which was compelling, though a little confusing. Took my time getting ready in the afternoon. My minivan was scheduled to pick me up at 3:50, but the driver was early. Fine by me. Had a fabulous chat until we arrived at my destination. There were already a whole bunch of women at the centre, but - with my visual problems - I only recognized one. Both my sibs (RS and Jan) were there.

We finally moved from the lobby to the screening room on the second floor and I was thrilled to see an old-fashioned roll-down screen set up. Even better than the flat-screen TV RS had mentioned. Because of the length of the film ("The Theory of Everything"), the organizers started the film while we were being served supper (chicken pot pie, salad, juice, fresh fruit salad). Unfortunately, the sound wasn't working, so one of the staff procured speakers from his own computer and then we were able to hear more. Luckily, he restarted the movie, so we weren't totally left in the dark. Well, unfortunately, I was from time to time. So I guess I'll have to rewatch the movie. Still, it was an exceptional portrayal of a brilliant man's often unconventional life (including the Penthouse magazine).

When it was over, we had a bit of a discussion about various aspects of the film and how Hawking's disability was handled by various people including the university. Then we got handouts about the next movie night dates ... and info on pain management clinics. I just might attend those, as they'll be held in a warmer month. It's the pain that prevented me from falling back asleep in the morning, and SO destructive to my equilibrium.

My ride was supposed to be at 8:20, but the bus came early. However, the driver did have to go north for another pickup, so I got a bit of a whirly-go-round ride before getting home. As SuM was still out, it was an adventure creeping into a mostly dark and empty house. Even the cats were hiding. I decided to watch tonight's Glee and was pleased by the musical numbers, especially in the competition. But, seriously, Sue as Snape is ridiculous. Anyway, time for me to warm up, take my pills and get some therapeutic sleep. Hey, body. Didja hear what I just said?????

... it does bring tears and contemplation. And, later, laughter. Yes, I was shocked to wake up from a much-needed nap at 5:55 p.m. to turn to the news channel and find out that one of my iconic actors, Leonard Nimoy, was gone from our plane of existence. Later in the evening, I found and shared some terrific posts on FB, including the one that was a video compilation of some of the quirkiest and funniest scenes from TOS. And that's when I couldn't stop laughing. Unfortunately, I'd donated almost all of my ST vids before my 2013 move, so all I have left is the animated series (at least his voice is used) and "All Our Yesterdays" with Mariette Hartley. Which means I'll be able to see one of his rare smiles whenever I want to.

For the rest of my day, I woke up around 9 (which felt early because I'd stayed up and rewatched the outrageous epi of this week's Castle). I booked my ride to the movie theatre for next Friday (got the ride), even though I hadn't yet heard back from my sis. But she did e-mail me, so everything's cool. Even if the theatre isn't showing "The Theory of Everything", there are lots of terrific movies we can see. Then I watched this week's The Blacklist (with some great psychological insights from Liz) and Ascension (which still rubs me the wrong way, but there are only a few more epis to go). After my urgently needed nap (because of all that TV watching), I rewatched this week's Murdoch Mysteries, demonstrating that I really need to watch TV when I'm fully conscious - I'd missed way too many salient points. My final TV of the day was this week's Glee. Apart from the uplifting moments and messages, we're left with a revisit by Psycho-Sue. That's one character I won't be missing when the show ends.

Tonight I'm enjoying my Christmas deccies for the last time, as I'll be taking them down tomorrow morning. Was madly hunting down one of my Christmas gifties (a gift certificate), but found it in an envelope in my purse. No, don't ask when the last time I cleaned it was! Well, it was Christmas Eve. ::giggles::

So, how did I spend my day? Huddling in bed, watching TV and dozing off at inappropriate times. Sigh. Watched last night's The Blacklist. And, once again, my blindness made it impossible for me to understand what was going on in the night. Uh ... okay, crazy religious cult ('cuz, really, Lot and his daughters as an instructive scripture), and I think sons being abandoned, but they're not all dead. ::iz confuzzled:: Also rewatched this week's Murdoch Mysteries.

In the evening, I watched Gleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Is that enough eeeeeee? Well, even though the show isn't finished yet, we have endgame. Pretty transformation of a barn. I'll have to rewatch for that and for all the mothers.

Right now, I'm working away diligently at my fic. I did something scathingly brilliant this morning. Moved the preamble/exposition away from the opening of the story. And, once again, appreciated having the time to mull things over before falling asleep. I like to make productive use of otherwise wasted time. Anyway, I think I need to pack it in, because I don't know how early SuM will be leaving tomorrow. TTFN.

Today had it all, apparently.

Though I woke up early enough, I still managed to dawdle and fritter away from ost the morning. Went back-and-forth with church-John via texting and finally settled on having him arrive around 2:00 p.m. for a late lunch. That gave me time to vacuum and dust. And have a long shower using up almost the last drops of Euphoria. Then I vacuumed the bathroom and, while drying off, started putting food out. Luckily, the bottle of red was a screw top. I decided to set out the three cheeses, three types of crackers, raw almonds, grape tomatoes, a ripe pear, rosemary ham and Montréal smoked beef, and I think that was it. The cheeses were Monterey Jack (which we basically ignored); Oka (the first time I had it and enjoyed on a graham cracker); and finally the second cheese from Québec, namely bleu bénédictin which c-John also adored.

But I seem to be jumping ahead of myself. C-J showed up at 2:02. I hadn't heard his text so had to rush to get to the door. I also managed to retrieve the box of mince tarts from SuM's freezer. And then I welcomed him into my holiday space. Oh, look. Diva decided to come and plop herself on the couch, between the two of us. Unfortunately, while trying to make room on the coffee table (where we were going to eat) for another tray, I tipped it and all the crackers and almonds fell out onto the carpet. Sigh. C-J bent over to retrieve them and we went ahead and ate them. I still will have to vacuum again tomorrow, as there are crumbs and possibly loose almonds. Sigh. In any case, upsetting the tray also made Diva jump up and run away. Bye-bye, hon.

The red wine in the enormous ballon glasses was delightful. Even though I had one large glass and then a smaller second one, I'm still fully in charge of my faculties. But, then, I think eating the bleu cheese did a lot to soak up the alcohol. And, speaking of alcohol, c-J brought me another prezzie. It was a (don't moan) chocolate, sea-salt, caramel liqueur. I know, it sounds dreamy. I can't wait to have it with fresh juicy raspberries. I have a feeling that Brian will enjoy it as well.

We really had such a lovely time. I so enjoy having people over and, with my mostly private space, can do it as often as I want (and can afford the food). C-J mentioned that, right now, his place is like playing Tetris. He has to do X first before he can move on to Y and Z. Because he'd like to invite me over as well. Yay! As we listened to the nature music channel, we talked about all sorts of things. Unfortunately, there was sad news, too. Our friend Joy who used to accompany him every Sunday for years died a week ago (Tuesday, February 3). She'd been in her early 90s and had not been in good health for some time. It turned out that c-J had visited her on Sunday (as he'd been driving out to Oakville a couple times a week), and knew that the end was near. Joy had been a very no-nonsense, pragmatic woman (who'd had a wild life when younger; also 4 husbands!) and didn't want any type of memorial service; she also donated her body to McMaster University. I'm sad that she's gone, but c-J and I are both thankful that she's no longer trapped in a body and mind that had betrayed her.

C-J finally left around 5. As we were both too full to even get to the mince tarts, he asked me to bring them on Sunday so we can eat them in our pews BEFORE church. He said he'd even bring me a drink, so I requested hot chocolate. Yup, only at our church can we have such a fun time!

I watched TV after he left, with the company of both cats who'd snuck in while I was seeing him out. SuM finally came to retrieve them after 7; after all, they should know what side their bread is buttered on ... or whose hand pours the kibble! Tonight's Glee made me 50 shades of nostalgic as the musical theme was Burt Bacharach. Now all I want is The Carpenters in CD format. Hmmm. Must investigate.

Right now, my spine is screaming at me, informing me (as if I didn't know) that I'd done way too much today and should go to bed. At least I can rest up tomorrow for my next partay on Sunday evening. Even with the pain, I still have a huge smile on my face. I needed this. Indeed!

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Yup, that's my really, really, REALLY clean hair. Considering how much it hurts my fingers to wash my hair thoroughly, that was a very looooooong shampoo. And, then, there was STILL no service. So, after sending a questioning e-mail to Brian (because there were connections available, but I didn't know whether the Bell one was properly tagged), I decided to watch epi 04x22 of Glee on my computer. The lifeless TV was still on in the background. Funny thing was that, when Rachel was going through Central Park, I was wondering how I'd never heard the noises so clearly before. Duh, blondie. You just got your TV connection back and that's what you were hearing. Oh, joy. Almost back to normal. Except for the fact I was having trouble with Firefox, so decided to restart the computer. Um ... where are my missing tabs? Sigh. I'm going to have to go on a scavenger hunt. Later.

With service re-established, I was pleased to see that I won Final Jeopardy (again). But the clue was so simple, how could I not?

Anyway, I really should have some soup or something, because I'm not thrilled with the cold outside. And, then, find something new to read. Yay.

Good thing, because I'm just about ready to go around the bend in a bad way. Woke up early, intending to take advantage of my "window of opportunity". Wrote a lovely e-mail to Brent in a word doc, then tried to copy and paste it to my e-mail in Firefox. Nope. Wouldn't do it. Mind you, I'd used key commands which seem to be totally unfamiliar to my old girl, so tried right mouse. Oh, look. That doesn't work either. When a computer doesn't accept something as simple as C&P, all one can do is ... siiiiiiiiigh.

Luckily, Brian was there to offer instant healing, saying he'd received my new baby and was able to bring it over tomorrow early afternoon. See me jumping up and down and screaming (silently, as I didn't want to scare the cats). Oh, yes, yes, yesssssss, please. It'll be such a joy to be able to use a computer without logging out a dozen times a day.

With the upheaval (and my failure to e-mail Brent with praise), I didn't feel like corresponding with anyone ... and I have a list.

In other non-news, my feeling cold is back with a vengeance. We've got zig-zagging temps that aren't helping. Dozed on and off in the afternoon. Had my soup but didn't even feel like wine. Obviously, I'm still discombobulated. Watched my games shows in the evening and then a disorienting Glee which seemed to jump all over the place. Because ... what? And ... WHAT??? Didn't think much of the mashups: not as successful as those in previous years. Also, so there are only 4 people in the Glee Club? Oh, I know. Who am I to insist on common sense.

Well, I'm going back to reading - finish a story first, then get back to my Windows manual. It's going to be a scary-exciting day tomorrow. Wheeee ... and whoops!

I existed. All day yesterday. But teh internets did not. For the second day in a row, my connection cut out around midnight. Normally, it would reestablish itself after a restart. But not yesterday. When SuM came over to borrow my drill (and just WHERE did my wrench disappear to?), I casually mentioned it to her (as she rarely uses her laptop); she checked it and said, "Huh. The red light is on." So off she went to do battle with the help desk where she anticipated she'd be on the line for a while as the person at the other end would lead her in a script until something was determined. She told me the conclusion was that the problem was at this end. So I managed to amuse myself by watching TV. Lots of cartoons and reno shows. Along with Diva whom I could pet to my heart's content. But-but-but.

Amazingly enough, I heard a couple of pings from the computer (actually, it was from my wee wi-fi connector as my speakers were off). I didn't want to interrupt my TV viewing, so didn't check it out until the show was over. Imagine my delight to see the network password prompt. YES, I can do that. And, lo and behold, I was ON again. This was around 10-ish. I played on my computer until I lost connectivity again, this time around 2:30. Wah. It was gone and refused to come back. [Yeah, I know. Anthropomorphic much?] Back to TV. Anyway, SuM told me she'd switched her modem off and back on. So a decent temporary fix, but it's good to know that a technician is coming over today (Saturday).

I'd even hoped to be able to do a wee post by phone. Ha! As if my phone would let me get that far. Also, it was simply too difficult to try to type anything on the screen as my fingers were extra fumbly.

So what did I do in the evening (besides more TV)? I watched ONE S3 epi of Glee (chosen at random). Then I decided to try to sort my pictures stored on Liblikas. It's no wonder she's got a tummy ache. I named new folders and moved many pictures in, but I have loads and loads of pictures that are in date-named folders (going all the way back to when I got my digital camera as a retirement gift in 2006). That's going to be a lot of viewing - and deleting. Sigh. But at least I've started. At least I've renamed my usual desktop piccies (of MY lake, indicating what kind of swans and/or sailboats are shown).

Had only the briefest exchange of texts with Brian. Didn't feel like sharing the latest agggggrrrrrravating news. So, while I know that Brian's due to show up around 1 in the afternoon, I have NO idea when the tech will show up. Just my luck if it's in the middle of my parteeeee!

Anyway, I should think about brekkie. And curling my hair. And-and-and ... making the place more presentable. Because ... imminent yays will soon be had. And that's a wonderful thing to antici--------PATE!

But, first of all, WTF was my body doing by waking me up around 6 i/o the alarm set for 9? It's a mystery. For a change, the doggie spent some time in the morning with me. She's okay, but she's just not a cat. Anyway, what's with the caption? Well, after I watched my piggy cartoons in the morning, I left the TV on the children's educational channel. Imagine my ears perking up when I heard "5 interesting facts about Tunisia" (perhaps I've paraphrased it). So why am I so fascinated by Tunisia? Well, in 1978, I had an investment maturing and I intended to reward myself with a trip to - where else but - Tunisia. I'd known about the country even before "Star Wars" had been filmed and wanted to go there more than anywhere. I would have been traveling on a small tour bus and the few of us (I believe 14) would have stayed in cheap hotels (perhaps even Luke's childhood home which is/was a real hotel) or camping out at oases. We would have visited every major city/region in Tunisia (which has a magnificently rich tapestry of history). Then why didn't I? Well, I was strongly persuaded not to go (you can guess by whom, right?), so instead I bought a fur coat. Where's that fur coat? Oh, at the back of the closet, needing a remodel job. Anyway, it's interesting to see how a mere random mention can produce a flood of memories.

The Diva-cat visited in the afternoon and watched TV with me. Jeopardy was a runaway romp for the other historic winner (Brad...?). Then I watched the season enders for both Glee and N.C.I.S. The former confused me as they're all splitting up for the summer. Uh ... and would that HAVE to happen? Well, it's a good thing that I had the more empathy-releasing show to end my evening. But, then again, that's the difference between production teams and creators.

Oh, dear. I'm yawning now. I really need to catch up on my sleep. Universe, please restrain my body from doing something stupid in the morning. Kthxbai.

First of all, the visiting dogs (and humans) are gone. Yay. It's not fun having way too barky dogs around (and confusing for ye blinde olde ladye when she doesn't know who's in the same or even next room).

I got my meals delivered in a timely manner and didn't hesitate to check out the desserts. Yum - and in cute reusable containers, too.

So what's this about dogs? Let's do cats first. One of the benefits of having satellite tv is that I can watch news whenever. I was especially interested in TO's news today because of our disappearing fraud of a mayor. There are MISSING posters floating around the city. So, yeah, he's still in the news. But the hour was redeemed when there was a piece on not one but two cat cafes opening up in TO (sorry, can't get into the T-dot designation) soon, one not far from where I grew up (and is now tres trendy). Each cafe's residents are being supplied from different rescue agencies. And, now, even though I have two fluffballs on the premises, I want to go there!

And what about the dogs? Well, there was this wonderful episode of Glee tonight, written by an unknown (right, as if!) by the name of Chris Colfer! He managed to tie the two story lines together by the end. And I loved seeing him ... uh ... soar in the role. [I don't think I've spoilered anyone, have I?]

In other tv news, I quite enjoyed Wheel of Fortune simply because the winner was just so shriekingly enthusiastic. It's not just about winning, but about personality. And she sure had it. OTOH, everyone won a few grand (even the woman who seemed to have her personality dialed on low). OTOH, N.C.I.S. was a bit confusing, though lying in bed probably didn't help either. Sigh.

And in dorky news, whatever I did yesterday seems to have FIXED the inaccurate widget problem - you know, the one where I was connected, but the symbol showed I wasn't. Now it's showing the expanding signal waves. Yay-yay-yay!

Well, it's about time! I had a good sleep which was a great start. I didn't have to wait too long for my food to be delivered. Excellent! I found cookies (actually two different kinds) in my pantry that I'd forgotten I'd ordered. Duh.

And I finally cooked my chicken thighs. But, first, I had to browse for "microwave oven-fried chicken recipes". I chose the second one and ended up with well-cooked crispy chicken despite the fact that I hadn't pulled off the extra fat underneath (you know, that disgusting trend not to trim it so that you end up paying for something you have to remove yourself) but, to my surprise, found that there wasn't any liquified fat, so it must have sizzled out of existence during the 18 minute cooking time. Or soaked into the thick paper plate. Whatever the reason, I was a happy camper. I accompanied what I ate with giant stuffed green olives and put the leftovers in the fridge.

I ended up having a nap from about 4 until 6:15 and woke up two minutes before the alarm. No dreams this time. In the evening, I had my usual game shows, then watched this week's epi of Glee. But was disappointed that N.C.I.S. was an old repeat. Uh ... Bell peeps, how about copying how other providers inform their customers, by indicating a first-run episode with (N)? Then I'd know if it was going to be a rerun. ::sighs:: Oh, well.

On the other sighing front, I placed my meal delivery order this afternoon. I think the woman who should have visited me but stood me up twice took my order. I chose not to say anything this time, but I probably will call again by the end of the week. Because, seriously, this visit NEEDS to happen if I'm to apply for my subsidy. SMH at people who can't manage their time ... or keep their clients informed. Really, SERIOUSLY.