grey @essentiallygrey@weirder.earth

a lot of tv shows film out in the desert i am from. make sense, it’s close to LA. but now i just get homesick every time i'm watching a random show and suddenly there’s the vast expanse of creosote bushes, familiar scraggly hills, purple mountains in background. brings up all the feels

it’s about to get properly cold after tomorrow, so i’m digging out the thick socks and electric blankets to freshen up in the wash after sitting in storage all year.

we also need to double check that all the storm windows are closed tight. this house still has most of its original windows so those are necessary.

how the chocolate ended up in a load of towels can remain a mystery. solving it won’t really help.

sometimes a piece of chocolate finds its way into a load of laundry, making a big mess of your towels. in times like this, it’s ok to just set that aside to figure out later.

got novavax and flu shot yesterday. 🔪

t has been telling me how novavax doesn’t have symptoms like other covid vaccines. i have told him to never underestimate my over reactive immune system haha.

so yeah im laid out sick, and t is totally symptom free. typical. i will say that it is not nearly as bad as previous vaccine experiences. but still not good. fingers crossed i wont need more than a week to recover this time though.

which also means the anniversary of my father-in-law’s death is just around the corner.

my spouse, MIL, FIL, and I all got covid from the same incident. but he did not survive it.

as of yesterday, i’ve been sick for three years.

ugh. somehow i ran out of the paint for the floor and bought more of the same color for finishing under the sink and the last touch ups after moving furniture in. but the new batch is a shade darker than what i already painted. so now all my touch ups are really obvious. it doesn’t really matter i guess but im annoyed. paint colors are mixed by computers now, this shouldn’t have happened.

i’m tempted to try to make it look less obvious. idk. it’s always gotta be something right?

my sister-in-law moves in tomorrow. we are also hosting my brother-in-law until monday or tuesday, he’s helping her move.

got a bit of touch up painting left in the basement, need to do at least one load of laundry, and dishes, and sweep the floors. and shower and make a grocery order.

i’m so exhausted though. i guess i’ll do my best with this to-do list and probably won’t actually get it all done.

in an ideal world i would’ve been ready last week and had time to rest up for all these changes. but it’s not ideal so i’m just doing my best. and once everything is ready, i’ll probably melt into a PEM puddle for an unknown amount of time.

i am pleased to report after compulsively checking under the sink many times since last night: no more leaks!!

just a few smaller projects left. but there shouldn’t be any more surprises. my uncle is going to see if he can figure out why the vintage electric stove isn’t working, but if he can’t to get it to work i have a back up plan in mind. i’m not counting on it working. but it would be nice if it did.

the biggest thing now i think is just catching up on cooking and laundry. i plan to not do a single thing next week. so i’m getting ready for that.

ok, fingers crossed the problem was fixed. my uncle thinks he knows what went wrong. but i won’t be able to test it until later tonight. still no water until then.

really really hoping that does the trick omg.

cuddling with my injured doggo on the couch now. not doing anything the rest of the day.

i have gotten so close to finally having the basement apartment finished. i’m so tired. but the kitchen sink has been leaky all along. my uncle tried to fix it over the weekend, but now it is even worse. i had to turn off the waterline to the whole house otherwise an enormous amount of hot water shoots out of a hole in the wall.

whoever did the original plumbing did a horrible job and i think the entire thing needs to be replaced. i just want it to be done. i am so tired.

on top of all this, my dog has injured himself and needs extra care and attention. T is extremely busy at work. and my sister -in-law is supposed to be moving in sometime soon.

y’all, i need a month of sleep and nothing going wrong. but that’s not going to happen.

took my dog over to the neighbor’s yard to play with his puppy. it was pretty cute.

my dog is definitely feeling his age though. a couple years ago it would’ve been non stop zoomies.

now he has to lay down for awhile in between short zoomies bursts.

the egg is a vase, not a case lol
or maybe a dish? idk. but not a case.

had an extremely successful outing to pick up a used chest freezer (that was actually clean too!) and thrift store run.

got curtains for both windows, drinking glasses (x4), and mugs (x4), for the basement apartment: less than $4 all together.

a huge arched mirror with a gorgeous wood frame, several yards of a few different lovely fabrics (i want to start sewing garments soon), metal embroidery hoops, a purple flannel shirt, a soft throw blanket.

and a weird but beautiful porcelain egg case (?) with cracked open top and three feet, plus gold accents and painted roses.

And t found some stuff too!

total thrift store haul was $31. what!?

and so excited for the freezer, i can really get stocked up on easy freezer meals now that i have more room. and it’s soup season mmm

my uncle and i got the basement apartment’s bathroom painted yesterday. that’s a huge relief. i think another 2 solid work days in there will get almost all of it done.

something i love about my uncle, now retired, is that he has a hard boundary of not answering texts or seeing people until after noon. and then taps out at about 4 hours.

so when i say 2 solid work days, i mean 4 hour sessions.

that is still too much for me and i will need days to recover, but it’s not as bad as it could be. he rolls the walls and ceilings and for the most part, i sit on the floor and do the cutting in. it’s a good system.

had to be in my feelings about it this for a bit. but i know it will be ok.

the last few years have been really tough and it’s understandable that i want to feel more settled than i currently am, but the truth is i’m more settled than i have been in years! (ever?)

maybe that’s part of why it feels so hard. i’m so close. and yet, not quite there yet.

i am going to get through these tasks. and i am going to sick again. and then again after that. this is my reality.

nothing has changed since this morning but i am not paralyzed by overwhelm like i was earlier.

the only way through is through, this too shall pass, and all that