Tues 25 Jan

Damn, it's cold when you get up at 3:35 am and the heat is still on night levels in the house. The bedroom is down to 53° and the rest of the house is at 55°. Hopefully the cold will stimulate us to think of all the last-minute things that need to be done. I've added my fully-charged iPad this morning, and the Kindle yesterday. I have a phone charger in the bag and will add my Fitbit charger as soon as I finish using it this morning. I set my contact case and new solution on the bathroom counter so I don't forget to put my contact in and add new solution before putting the case in my suitcase. Food: 4:30 am Chocolate croissant, 105 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 24 Jan

Last day to prep and check before leaving early tomorrow for Hawai'i! Getting excited! Food: 7:55 am Chocolate pecan snail, 106 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 23 Jan

Packers lost the playoff game at the very end on a blocked punt returned for the tying touchdown followed by a drive sufficient to merit the 49ers a field goal. I'm really not too sorry as I'm ready to put football aside for another year, and now I don't have to waste time on my vacation watching the next playoff game. Food: 8:15 am Apricot danish, 106 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 22 Jan

Not quite so cold this morning, only 18°, so the walk to the Farmer's Market shouldn't be too cold. I think I'll still choose to wear the flannel-lined pants over my leggings. Wasn't too cold a walk at all, and David was ready with pastries for hungry bellies. Bought enough for breakfasts through Tuesday and some plain croissants to take along to the airport in Madison to top off an early breakfast before the long flights. Food: 9:25 am Lemon cream bismarck, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 21 Jan

Last full pre-vacation work week ends today. so there's the weekend and Monday, and then off we go! Need to start double-checking my packing and adding any other things I think of. Maybe I'll do the hula DVD today. Food: 7:55 am Chocolate croissant, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 20 Jan

Not walking with Kathy this morning. Temps are below zero with wind chill advisories of -20° to -30°, so we opted out. I will stay in and do Pilates instead. Food: 7:50 am Cheese danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 19 Jan

Time is flying by again, will be time to leave on vacation in no time. Only loose ends to tie up before I go, maybe a pedicure on Saturday when it warms up a little again since I forgot to go yesterday when it was the warmest. If I don't get there, I suppose I could break down and paint my own toenails. Food: 7:55 am Apricot danish, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 18 Jan

One more week til Hawai'i! Still doesn't quite seem real. I have been staying home from the gym and doing Pilates every other day, with today being the third installment. Trying to keep healthy. Might go get a pedicure today so my feet look presentable. Food: 7:55 am Chocolate eclair, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 17 Jan

MLK day today so the kids aren't back in schools again anyway. Haven't really heard if they'll be back tomorrow; Fr. Steve said there may not be enough bus drivers to bring the kids back to the buildings. What next? Food: 8:00 am Chocolate eclair, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 16 Jan

Good to be having David's pastries again for breakfast. Feels more normalizing. A little nervous about cantoring this morning as much of the music is unfamiliar. Probably out of Mary's old "St. Stan's" repertoire. Guess I can't complain too much since the Christmas music was heavily from the Newman rep. Food: 7:55 am Cherry danish, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 15 Jan

Cold walk to the Farmer's Market this morning, but worth it because David was there, and he even had eclairs and lemon bismarcks. Met Karin walking Marley on the way back. Food: 9:10 am Lemon bismarck, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 14 Jan

Second alarm on my Fitbit didn't go off and I fell back to sleep so I got out of bed about 15 min later than usual. Food: 8:10 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 13 Jan

Got mostly packed already yesterday; it was strange to go through the warm-weather clothing again. I'll make a few adjustments before we leave, but it's nice to have a head start. Food: 7:55 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 12 Jan

Fun evening with Michael and Taylor last night to celebrate (belatedly) Taylor's birthday. At her suggestion, we grilled out Impossible burgers with fixings, made potato packets with onions, mushrooms, and red peppers, and chopped salad. They took their chocolate Costco cupcakes home because they were too full. They came a little early to use the hot tub to ease Taylor's sore shoulder. They really enjoyed our cranberry prosecco as well. Food: 8:00 am Costco cinnamon butter loaf, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 11 Jan

Yesterday Bob wasn't able to work because his scheduled clients were still sick, so we got a lot accomplished, including a totally unexpected scheduling of a week's vacation in Hawai'i in two weeks. We also got the tree defrocked, taken down, and all the decorations put up in the attic, and we got the shopping at Aldi done to get ready for Michael and Taylor coming today to celebrate her belated birthday. Food: 7:55 am Costco cinnamon roll, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 10 Jan

Brrr! Very cold! Wind chills even on our weather station are at -22°, probably worse at bigger measuring facilities. Not really interested in going out to the gym today, so I'll try to stay in and defrock the Christmas tree. I didn't have the energy or motivation to do it yesterday after the dismal Packer game. Might try to fit in a Pilates mat if the schedule suggests it. Food: 7:50 am Morning bun, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 9 Jan

Nice treat to have a Clasen's morning bun for breakfast today. We picked up a couple since David didn't make an appearance at the Market yesterday. Very nice day trip to Madison yesterday even if we didn't get to see Laura; her mini-meet ran longer and was more tiring than she had anticipated so we just left her gifts in her kitchen in care of the cats. We had a really lovely brunch at Sardine. I just needed to brave the Co-Vid risk and have a nice meal out. I had crab/lardon/shrimp cakes with two eggs and salad and Bob had the baked creamed eggs. All staff (and customers entering and leaving) were well-masked and tables were well-distanced so we felt as safe as possible in the circumstances. We had good shopping at TJs and Costco and decent traveling weather as well. Food: 7:55 am Morning bun, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 8 Jan

I was saddened yesterday to check out the Art House B&B website and found a message that they are not taking reservations at this time, signed Jay, Ennis, and Blue. No mention of Rose. Sigh. Chilly walk to the Farmer's Market, but not too bad. Unfortunately, David wasn't there, but we did get needed eggs. Food: 9:30 am Costco cinnamon roll, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Fri 7 Jan

Seem to have figured out how to get my Fitbit app to sync again. Hopefully this fix did the trick. Below zero this morning; glad I decided to cancel my gym classes. I have laundry to do today and a hair appointment this afternoon, so two classes seemed an excessive use of time and I was really stiff yesterday so I couldn't face too much athleticism. Food: 7:55 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Thurs 6 Jan

Taylor's birthday; we'll celebrate next Tuesday with dinner here. Going out walking in the 6° temps with Kathy this morning. Need to bundle up well. Food: 7:55 am Farmshed cinnamon roll, 103 g blackberries, coffee

Wed 5 Jan

Little bit of snow down and very light but steady snow continuing. Only a couple of inches at this point. I'm battling with a small case of "don' wanna's" regarding the gym today. Still somewhat undecided. Food: 7:45 am Costco cinnamon roll, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Tues 4 Jan

A little warmer today, with snow in the forecast tonight. Planning to go to Yogalates this morning as Robin is subbing as the instructor. It will be weird to go to the gym on Tuesday again. Food: 7:50 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Mon 3 Jan

Temp down to zero this morning - brrrr! We are so fortunate to have central heating and gas fireplaces and hot running water and plentiful warm clothing. We complain about the cold, but it's not much more than an inconvenience with all the ways we have of keeping warm. Even a hot tub and sauna available! I pray that those who don't have access to all the warm options find ways to keep themselves warm enough and safe from the cold. I hope there are enough shelters and I'm grateful that organizations like Bootstrap can help those who don't get benefits to help keep them safe. Food: 7:55 am Costco cinnamon roll, 101 g blackberries, coffee

Sun 2 Jan

And onward to the most boring part of the year, few holidays and winter in full swing. It used to be depressing to go back to work after the holidays, knowing that breaks now would be few and far between. And this year (again), no winter vacation to warm climes to look forward to. With the rapid spread of the new Co-vid variant, we may have more lockdown ahead. Food: 7:55 am Costco cinnamon roll, 102 g blackberries, coffee

Sat 1 Jan 2022

Stayed up til about 11:40 last night because I wasn't too tired and was enjoying playing my Match 3D game and reading. Didn't care that I didn't stay up til midnight as I wouldn't have done anything special if I had. Was able to sleep an extra hour this morning, so I was still in bed just over 8 hours. No place to go and nothing special to do today. No Farmer's Market because of the holiday. Food: 8:45 am Costco butter cinnamon loaf, 104 g blackberries, coffee