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The Day in Spikedluv (Wednesday, Oct 22)

I had a chiropractic appointment this morning. He said that icing my back anytime I do anything that might cause issues is a good idea, so I see more icing in my future. Because I did so much shopping yesterday I was able to make this a no-shopping day.

I took mom to her appointment, did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a couple walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, paid some bills online, and scooped kitty litter. I grilled steak for Pip’s supper.

I took another nap, watched some HGTV programs, and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie.

Temps started out at 48.9(F) and reached 60.1. It rained in the morning, then the sun came out, then the clouds moved back in. It didn’t seem to me that it had rained very long/hard, but Pip said we got half an inch.

Mom Update:

Mom was doing well. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Tuesday, Oct 21)

I had a pedicure this morning. Today’s color is an even orangier-red than last time’s. I was worried about sitting so long, but it wasn’t bad, until I had to lift my leg. Thank goodness my sister took mom today because I’m not sure I could’ve done both. (The problem with driving a vehicle is that you can’t shift to get comfortable. You are forced to sit in the same position with pressure on the spots you don’t want pressure.)

While I was downtown I hit: the Dollar Tree (birthday cards – Ireland is going to be 16 this month!!), Walmart (to return and pick out more clothes for mom – she’s lost so much weight that her clothes just hang on her, so I’m trying to find the right size in everything from shirts to pants to undies), Price Chopper, and the Pharmacy.

I did a load of laundry (new uniform shirts for Pip, so I had to remove the outer packaging, remove the inner cardboard, rip off the tape strip everyone uses these days, cut off the cardboard tag because why just have the one, and unbutton ten shirts *head desk* There’s a reason I put this task off for months), hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter.

I also made up the base for chili (basically browned the ground beef with peppers and onions and a little pepper and garlic powder) for one day later this week. I grilled tiny lamb chop thingies for Pip’s supper.

I took a nap, had an apple with caramel dip for my afternoon snack, and watched some HGTV programs. Thankfully pain is still a little bit less than yesterday. It's getting better each day, but is still very uncomfortable when I sit.

Temps started out at 45.3(F) and reached 64.4. There was sun most of the day, which was nice, but it was not super warm.

Mom Update:

I did not visit mom today, but I spoke to her on the phone. ( more back here )

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TV Talk: 9-1-1, Matlock & Tracker

9-1-1: Good ep! ( spoilers )

Matlock: Have seen the first two eps and they were both good, though you probably can already guess my caveat. ( spoilers )

Tracker: Good ep! ( spoilers )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Monday, Oct 20)

I had another chiropractic appointment this morning. Apparently I misunderstood; the pinch isn’t in the sacrum, it’s in the lower lumbar region. Which is one of the spots in my back that started hurting as the pain in my buttock/leg lessened. The chiropractor said that is expected, as the pain will eventually be felt where the actual pinch is, rather than where it radiates to. Almost forgot to mention that the pain is less again today, in part, I'm sure, because of the adjustment.

I hit Walmart and CVS (for mom’s prescriptions) while I was downtown. I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered.

I watched the current ep of Tracker and some HGTV programs.

Temps started out at 58.8(F) and reached 61.3. It rained most of the night and was supposed rain most of the day, as well, but it was more off and on than steady. We’d have periods of rain, then the sun would come out, then more rain, then sun . . . It was also quite windy. (Pip told me that the pot one of the mums was in had blown into the field. I was like o_O how could that happen? Apparently the plant was blown over, and the pot blown right off it! Who knew that could happen?)

Mom Update:

Mom was doing well today. ( more back here )

AWS outage

DW is seeing some issues due to today's Amazon outage. For right now it looks like the site is loading, but it may be slow. Some of our processes like notifications and journal search don't appear to be running and can't be started due to rate limiting or capacity issues. DW could go down later if Amazon isn't able to improve things soon, but our services should return to normal when Amazon has cleared up the outage.

Edit: all services are running as of 16:12 CDT, but there is definitely still a backlog of notifications to get through.

Edit 2: and at 18:20 CDT everything's been running normally for about the last hour.

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Monday [Fandom] Madness! The Hallmark Mystery Movies Edition

After not paying any attention to Hallmark/Hallmark Mystery, I have been posting about them a lot lately. AND this weekend I watched two shows/movies that I’d like to share with you.

1. Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Buried at C is the second movie in the Haunted Harmony Mysteries. In the first movie Murder in G Major, Gethsemane moves to Ireland where she meets the ghost of a musical composer and helps to solve not only his murder, but the murder of his wife. (This is not a spoiler, it’s right there in the description of the movie and she meets the ghost rather quickly.)

Gethsemane is played by Tamera Mowry-Housley and the ghost Eamon is played by Risteard Cooper. The friendship that forms between the two of them is wonderful. In the second movie, Gethsemane and Eamon team up to solve another murder, and her brother appears, so we get to learn more about her background. The only thing I don't care for is the love triangle. At this point Gethsemane denies that there's any 'love', just friendship, but it's obvious that the two men in question are competing. (Yes, I do have a favorite in this competition.)

I enjoyed both of these movies and would recommend them. Obviously, since I’m making this post. o_O

2. Mistletoe Murders stars Sarah Drew (as Emily Lane) and Peter Mooney (as Detective Sam Wilner). The six episode first season aired on Hallmark+, but is currently airing on Hallmark Mystery before season two (which will also air on Hallmark Mystery). The first two eps of season one aired on Friday and I just watched them last night. I enjoyed them quite a lot. I especially like Emily as she is very competent and has a secret past (which has not been fully explained, but it appears that she has all the tools she needs to help solve murders). I like the growing relationship between Emily and Sam, but I especially like the relationships between Sam and his daughter Violet, and between Emily and her friend June. Oh, and between Emily and her two cats. *g*

I hope the rest of season one, and then season two, live up to these first two eps.

Have you seen either of these? If so, what did you think? If not, have I made them sound interesting enough to try?

(I should add that I watched these movies/shows without needing the emotional support of my phone.)

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The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, Oct 19)

I slept in this morning. Pip was up at 5:30 because he was coughing like crazy (he’s had a cough for a while now), but I figured I’d wait until the alarm went off at 6. Just before 6 his buddy called to cancel weight lifting because he thinks he might have the flu, so I turned off the alarm and stayed in bed until almost 7:30!

I did three loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, changed kitty litter, and shaved. I also hit Stewart's on the way home from mom's and grilled chicken legs for Pip’s supper.

I watched some HGTV programs and a Hallmark Mystery show.

Temps started out at 41.9(F) and reached 75.2. Another unexpectedly lovely day.

Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, Oct 18)

I hit Price Chopper, the Bakery, and Agway while I was downtown. Again, I got breakfast at the Bakery. I actually had to remove my coat, scarf, and even my sweatshirt when I walked into the bakery. What a difference from the current temp at McD’s, where I have to leave all of that stuff on.

The pain from the sciatica is slightly better than it was yesterday, but as I mentioned then, the constancy of even slight pain sucks donkey balls. You’d think it would be a relief to know it’s ~less, but not so much.

I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a couple walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. I finished up the spaghetti sauce and that’s what we had for supper.

I watched the current ep of Matlock (with mom), some HGTV programs, and a Hallmark Mystery movie.

Temps started out at 45.1(F) (we were expecting 35!) and reached 66.9. There was sun in the morning, but it clouded up in the afternoon. It was an unexpectedly nice day.

Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, Oct 17)

I took mom’s car to Pip’s garage to have two new tires put on. I also spent a lot of time napping. So tired. As with yesterday (Thursday), I woke with little pain, but the longer I walked on the leg, then sat on it, the pain returned. It’s ~less painful than yesterday, but still very uncomfortable because it is constant.

One thing I noticed tonight and last night was that, when I lay down in bed (and sometimes when I’m sitting in bed at night) the pain radiates from the middle of my buttock over to my tail bone. Years ago (over 27 years) I fell coming down the stairs in the apartment where we lived and landed right on my tail bone. That sucker hurt ~forever. With the radiating pain, it almost feels like I’ve fallen all over again. Definitely not pleasant.

I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a walk with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. AND I started on a spaghetti sauce for tomorrow’s supper.

I watched 9-1-1 and some HGTV programs.

Temps started out at 31.1(F) and reached 57.2. There was sun, which made it ~appear nice out. Seriously, this is the time of year when you can’t believe what you see.

Mom Update:

Mom seemed to be doing okay today. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Thursday, Oct 16)

I had another chiropractic appointment this morning. I had a nice few minutes when I woke up, because there was less pain. (It wasn’t gone by any means, but it radiated down my leg less. Unfortunately, that meant it felt sharper right in the middle of my butt cheek.) The good feelings about this went away when I had to sit in the car, because putting any kind of pressure on it made it hurt more. I did ice it again before leaving the house.

The chiropractor touched the same spots as yesterday, and only two of them hurt now, so the icing has helped the inflamation go down. He said those were the two areas he had to adjust, and told me he believed that’s where the pinch happened. He thinks I did something to screw up the sacrum, but I can’t think of a single thing. You’d think it would have to be something major, but maybe it doesn’t have to be, given that the whole area is a bit screwed up already. I’m scheduled to see him again three times next week (he’s not open on Friday, sadly, so a whole three days without another adjustment).

I iced again when I got home, then put together an escalloped potatoes and ham dish for supper, and then took a short nap. I delivered the checks I wrote out for my aunt and had my annual eye appointment. I had to have my eyes dilated, which is never fun. I thought I’d be getting new lenses (there have been itty bitty changes each year and I’ve had these glasses since 2021 already), but it turns out she thought we could put it off again another year. So that was good news. The bad news is that I now have a cataract. Nothing to be worried about ~yet, but something to keep an eye on.

Other things accomplished today include: did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a walk with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, filled the gas tank, and scooped kitty litter. When I got home from all my errands, I iced again and took another nap. A long one; I just got up to put the escalloped potatoes in the oven and went back for more nap time. I don’t know if I’m so tired because my body is healing, or because I’m dealing with the chronic pain of it all. Or both.

Temps started out at 37.6(F) and reached 54.1. Despite the temp being above freezing when we woke up, it must’ve been much cooler overnight because there was frost on the towels Pip put over the mums.

Mom Update:

Mom seemed to be doing okay today. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Wednesday, Oct 15)

I had a chiropractic appointment this morning. It was an exam plus the adjustment, which was fortuitous timing, because he could get a better look at what’s going on with my darned nerve. He did have to do some adjustment in the sacrum area. After the adjustment he said he was going to touch me to see if it was tender; he touched about a dozen spots, only two of which were not tender. He said there’s a lot of inflammation in that area and to ice it.

No one had ever told me about the inflamation before, or suggested I ice the area. I spent much of the day alternating between icing, napping, and doing a chore. We scheduled another appointment for tomorrow morning, and I expect I’ll be seeing him more often until this is cleared up.

I hit the Pharmacy while I was downtown. I hand-washed dishes, went for a couple walks with Pip and the dogs, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals and cut up some of it for said meals, scooped kitty litter, wrote out checks for my aunt, paid a bill over the phone, and showered. I grilled steak for Pip’s supper.

Temps started out at 52.5(F) and reached 56.1. I don’t love the days where the temperature barely fluctuates from morning low to afternoon high.

Mom Update:

I did not go visit mom, but I talked to her on the phone a couple of times and she sounded good. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Tuesday, Oct 14)

Coyotes visited again last night. Pip said that Ti was still half asleep when he gave them a warning howl.

I woke up in the middle of the night (unrelated to coyotes) and started thinking about things like mom’s radiation treatments (we still don’t have any idea when they’ll be) and other things that kept me awake for awhile.

Today was a no-shopping day. I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, went for a walk with the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, placed an online order, and scooped kitty litter.

In breaking news, the ‘muscle pull’ ~is apparently a sciatica flare up. *head desk* Why, body, why?!!

I read more in Winging It with You, watched an HGTV program, and attended Ireland’s soccer game.

Temps started out at 48.6(F) and reached 54.5. It was still raining when we I left the house in the morning, which made me wonder whether the soccer game would be canceled (I don’t know how wet the field has to be for it to be ‘too’ wet).

Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Monday, Oct 13)

I hit Walmart while I was downtown, and Stewart’s on the way home. I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, swept the kitchen, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, clipped Pip’s hair, and scooped kitty litter. You didn’t miss it, there were zero walks. Rainy and cold and damp, so I just didn’t wanna.

We went to Texas Roadhouse with friends for supper. (I had noticed previously that their rolls were about half the normal size, and now their house salad, which I normally rave about, was skimpy and the chicken tenders serving was about half what I got before. Hmm.) I also read a little bit more of Winging It and watched an HGTV program.

In less fun news, I seem to have pulled a muscle; the upper hamstring just below my buttock. I have no idea how or when I did it, but it started aching while I was sitting on the bed with Midnight on my lap before bed. It does not feel good today. And I’m hoping it’s a muscle pull and NOT my sciatica acting up again.

Midnight story: A while after we got home I was looking for Midnight. He’d eaten some soft food, but I hadn't seen him in a while. I didn’t see him in his cage (a dog cage where we keep his food, water and litter box away from the dogs), in his bed, or in two of his favorite spots. I asked Pip and he was like, oh, he’ll show up. Then I was like, wait, did you close him in the closet (when he hung up the jacket he wore out)? Oh no, couldn’t have, never saw the cat. Guess where the cat was? Yep, inside the closet. Busy cleaning himself and seemed as if he had no care about being closed in, thankfully. *g*

Temps started out at 48.4(F) and was still only 48.9 at 3pm. It had gone up a teensy bit more to 49.6 by the time we got home (6:30pm). A whole degree! It rained all day, some light, some quite heavy. We got the half inch they predicted.

Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )

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Monday [Fandom] Madness! The Murder, She Wrote Movie Edition

When I heard about this movie I wasn’t sure whether I’d care for it, but the more I hear, the more interested I become. Caveat: these aren’t ‘official’ channels, so I have no idea if all of the information is correct, but if it is, it could be very exciting.

From what I’ve read (and can only hope is true) Jamie Lee Curtis is doing this remake as a tribute to Angela Lansbury and they’re bringing back some familiar faces (in different roles), including Tom Selleck (as Seth Hazlett), George Clooney (originally listed as her publisher, but then as the sheriff, which would make sense if the movie takes place in Cabot Cove), Len Cariou (formerly played Michael Hagarty), Michael Horton (formerly played nephew Grady) and Debbie Zipp (formerly played Grady’s wife Donna).

It sounds like it could be a very fun movie, with lots of Easter eggs for fans.

I've gotten all of my info about this movie reboot from: Jamie Lee Curtis Honors Angela Lansbury's Legacy with an Exciting "Murder, She Wrote" Remake & Hollywood Flashback Club on Facebook.

Have you heard anything different? What are your thoughts about the movie and/or the casting?

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The Day in Spikedluv (Sunday, 12)

I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, baked chicken for the dog’s meals and also cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, changed kitty litter, and showered.

I watched some HGTV programs and a Hallmark movie. (The new Lacey Chabert movie, Haul Out the Halloween. With my usual caveat for Hallmark movies, it was really good. Her movies usually are. A lot of humor, which I like.)

Temps started out at 48.4(F) (technically, it was 50.0 when I got up, but over the course of 45 min it just kept dropping point by point) and reached 59.4 (that I saw). It was a very cool day, especially since there wasn’t much sun. It’s supposed to start raining overnight and rain on and off all day tomorrow. Yay.

Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay. ( more back here )

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TV Talk: 9-1-1 | TV News: Matlock

TV Talk:

9-1-1: Good ep back! ( spoilers )

9-1-1: Nashville: I watched about half of the first ep and noped out. Already too copy-cat AND soap-opera-y for me.

TV Talk:

Matlock: There was some shocking casting news and an interview with showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman (both links go to tvline.com) ahead of the premiere. (Remember, the season premiers tonight, on a special night, then airs the second ep on the regular night of Thursday.)

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The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, Oct 11)

I hit Price Chopper and the Bakery while I was downtown and got in a walk around the park. Once again I skipped McD’s and had breakfast at the Bakery.

I hand-washed dishes, did a load in the dishwasher, went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. I made a chicken–stuffing casserole for supper. (Pip wasn't sure about it, lol. He was like, "It smells good, but . . . Have I had this before?")

I got my second

fandomgiftbasket fic posted! I’m going to see what I can do for a third. (There are still a lot of empty baskets if you have the time and energy to check them out.) I also watched some HGTV programs.

Temps started out at 45.5(F) and reached 65.4. There was sun, but it was another fall day, with a chill in the air and a slight breeze that made it feel cooler than the temps would indicate.

Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, Oct 10)

I managed to (almost) make this a no-shopping day (of course, Pip needed me to pick up something for him, and when he wants something he needs it immediately *eye roll*). I got in a walk around the park (even though it was freezing cold (literally, lol); I had on a hoodie, and two jackets with hoods up and earmuffs on).

I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, washed out the microwave (we used a microwave bacon thingy and it makes a huge mess), went for several walks with Pip and the dogs, made bacon and eggs for supper, and scooped kitty litter.

I typed in ~1,100 words to finish the first draft of my second fic for

fandomgiftbasket!! I also managed to get it re-read and typed in those edits. Just need to get it posted. I also watched the season premiere of 9-1-1.

Temps started out at 27.7(F) and reached 63.1. The sun was great, but the air was chilly and there was a cool breeze. Definitely needed to wear a sweatshirt even later in the afternoon.

I had to take Ti out again during the night (12:30pm) and there was already frost on the ground. There was also a skunk on the deck drinking out of the water dish. The nerve! I shooed him away, then gave him a few minutes (while I went potty, since I was up), then put Ti on a leash just in case. I froze my bippy off out there, but Ti did his thing and we didn’t have any skunk encounters. That would’ve been a wake-up call I didn’t need.

Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )

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The Day in Spikedluv (Thursday, Oct 9)

This was a no-shopping day. For some reason, after two warm days, it was freezing again at McD’s. Because I was already cold I decided against going for a walk around the park while it was still in the 30s. *shiver*

I did three loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, went for a couple of walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered.

I wrote ~2,100 words on another fic for

fandomgiftbasket!! This morning I had the germ of an idea based off of one of the recipients ‘likes’ list and it took off! I was able to type the first 1,400 words directly onto the computer, but handwrote the last bit. Once I get those words typed in, I just need to write the final line(s) and it’s done! (AKA, ready for a read-through.)

Temps started out at 37.4(F) and reached 53.8. We did get a frost overnight; when I took the towels off the mums (Pip had covered them just in case) this morning they were quite stiff. It’s forecasted to be 28 overnight, so we’re going to need those towels again. We did get sun today, which was lovely, but don’t let it fool you! It was still cold and breezy out.

Mom Update:

Mom was doing okay today. ( more back here )