Homebody

There are times when being a homebody is the perfect thing to do.  When I prefer to stay at home, it doesn't necessarily indicate that I am unadventurous or anti-social.  I just enjoy the warmth and simple pleasures of being at home.  It gives me a chance to relax and rejuvenate.  At times I feel a bit guilty for not going to the gym, doing yard work, walking the dog for a long while, or taking advantage of riding my horse.

Saturday 1/12 - I had tossed and turned all night and woke aching all over.  And again my abdomen hurt.  I was not sure if I had just overdone it with nearly three hours of clearing trail the day before, or if whatever was ailing me had finally gotten the best of me.  So I was a homebody all day - never got out of my PJs or left the house other than two short dog walks.



It was a dark, rainy day, and rather cold, but the ducks at the corn seemed happy.  The gloomy weather didn't help my energy level any.

I did accomplish one thing, I stowed the Christmas bins and bags in the bunkroom, which was a little like working a puzzle.  Oh, and I did start the 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.

Monita was wanting to help, but kept running off with the pieces and chewing on them so I had to keep getting up to retrieve pieces and shoo her away.  

 




Stevie, on the other hand, just sat and watched me flip pieces or gazed out the window.  You can see the deck is wet from rain.

I finally finished flipping all the pieces at 4:30, when this photo was taken.  Notice how dark it looked outside. 

I had also taken a two hour nap, spent plenty of time here at my desk, and watched out windows while on my computer or at the puzzle table.  

In the evening, I sat by the fire and read, and then watched TV with Joe.  We finished the last two episodes of season one of Jack Ryan.  

Sunday 1/13 - was basically a repeat of Saturday.  Although the PM cold and Flu medicine I had taken enabled me to sleep better and wake felling improved, but still not great.

Monita, my nemesis above my desk, always watching, waiting, and planning an attack.


It was good napping weather, and while Monita slept, I could work on the puzzle in peace.

I did some chores - watered plants, cleaned litter box, took out the trash, and washed a load of laundry; so felt somewhat productive.

I spent several hours at the puzzle table.  In these two photos, Monita was trying to get on the table.  The only way she can get on it is from a chair.  So she would get on the chair behind me and try to climb over my shoulder.









I would put her back on the floor.  In the second photo, she was getting so frustrated, she actually nipped me in the neck - the little devil.

When I dumped Monita back on the floor and was verbally reprimanding her, Maggie got worried, and came over to see if everything was ok.

Joe left for his card game mid-day.  I did take Maggie on a longer afternoon walk.  My body was still feeling achy even though I had taken DayQuil.  Going up hill especially bothered my right leg, and I thought my calf and quads were going to go into a muscle spasm.





This is the progress I had made on the puzzle for the day.  I had sorted side pieces by shape because they were all the same color, which helped me find the correct piece.

Reading and TV time by the fire ended my day.

Monday 1/14 - The rain and gloom persisted, accompanied by fog.  Not only are the seeds in this feeder protected from precipitation, but so are the squirrels and birds while they dine.

I could literally touch my bird visitors from my desk if the window wasn't between us.


I stayed for the stretch part at the end of Ballroom Aerobics, but then left the gym without doing weights.  I still was not up for it.  I did shop at Food City on the way home.






The gloomy weather continued and I was actually thinking the snow that four of my siblings were getting, would have been nice.  I diverted from blogging, Facebook and e-mails - to the Lawson Advent Calendar games.







Monita, who sits on this bean bag in the corner at my feet, is often watching the birds come and go.

The majority of this day continued with the homebody theme.  I worked at the puzzle for a few hours getting two more corners completed.





The daylight hours ended with a 30 minute walk and a trip back to the gym for the one hour stretch class.

Joe and I later watched the three hour movie Meet Joe Black.  It was cute and kind of funny.

Tuesday 1/15 - The overnight snow flurries left the roof tops white, like in a Christmas card, however most of the ground was too warm to allow the snow to cover it.  The mulch in my beds and leaves in the woods had a dusting.

This was the second day that Monita had a very messy. watery throw-up, but this time, there was a three inch long round worm in it. Ugh.  How does she get these things?  She never goes out.  Stevie has been licking a lot and Mointa scratching, so maybe I have a little flea outbreak.  (Fleas carry round worms.)


I was going to go to the barn with Jan after Bible Study, but as we were leaving the church, I decided it was still too cold.  So Home I came.  Back in my PJs and a cup of hot chocolate from Joe's new Keurig, and I was feeling comfy.  Then I went back to puzzle working.  This shows my progress for the day.  I had spent too much time on it but did accomplish a lot.

Joe and I watched the first four (30 min) episodes of the new Amazon series 'Homecoming,' with Julia Roberts.  Its plot was somewhat creepy, but mesmerizing.


Wednesday 1/16 - I woke thinking I needed to get a life so that each day of these posts didn't sound exactly the same.  However, the weather and my body just haven't been cooperative.

I went to Ballroom aerobics and then made myself do weights.  I went slow and easy, and as I progressed I began to feel more energetic.  I had protein for lunch and then Joe helped me apply Revolution, Flea and worm prevention, on both cats.


I had time to work at the puzzle for an hour, finding the more I get done, the faster it goes because there are less pieces to chose from.  Then I met Jan at the barn.  We were disappointed that the sun never did come out as predicted, but were committed to riding.  It was in the low 40s and there was little wind, so it wasn't too cold.  We rode in the big bean field and then took part of the Holly trail, just down half of the first hill to the landing by the 14th tee box.  The hill was quite slippery.

Once returned to the barn, we rode out around the gardens.  The wind had kicked up and soon we were both kind of cold.  Amiga had a couple of moments of misbehavior, but otherwise did well.

Joe was at poker, so once I took a long hot shower and had dinner, I worked at the puzzle the rest of the evening.  I made a ton of progress.  This homebody is definitely a puzzle addict.



Thursday 1/17 - The cats and dog looking for a mouse toy during the pre-dawn hours while I did a Bible study at the dinner table.  I had an 8:00 dentist appointment which completely wrecked the tranquility of my morning.  Not only did I have to be dressed and out the door by 7:30, I was feeling very anxious.

The dentist had not been near as treacherous and torturous as expected and I was on the road for home at 10:30, with my temporary crown but no feeling on that side of my mouth.  The old crown was cracked and when the dentist was loosening the glue, it broke in half, so was definitely in need of replacing.



The rain had returned on my way into town, so once back, I went into homebody mode.  Finishing up the puzzle went fast because the spot for almost every piece could be found fairly easily.

Even though my throat, jaw and sinuses were feeling wonky from the dental work, I was feeling more energetic, so went to the gym for three hours.  I did a strength building class, with some walking and rowing before and after and then the hour stretch class.

Here is a look out the rain streaked window with the gray skies all around.  I had corn beef and veggies ready in the crock pot, cooked some cabbage and made gravy, and then Joe and I enjoyed the 'Irish' meal.  In the process of doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen, I discovered a leak under the sink.  There is never a time when our homes don't need some kind of attention.  Ugh.  It was just the faucet, but will need a plumber to fix it.  

Eventually, Joe and I were able to relax and watch the next three episodes of  'Homecoming.'

Friday 1/18 - This is the new nightlight that Shirley gave me, I was trying out before sunrise.  It changes colors (8 of them) each time it is turned off and on, or can be put in the mode to continually change between all eight colors.  It is very interesting, especially seen reflected in the window and glass desk top.


I really like it, but the main two drawbacks are that it has to sit on a flat surface and be plugged into my computer or cell phone charger.



The thick fog was dense enough, it was like walking through misty clouds, and it persisted well into the morning.  I wasn't going anywhere very fast and just enjoyed sitting at my computer, doing various activities.
At one point a herd of nine deer were in the back.  They did a lot of moving about and I could not get them all in one photo.
In the last photo there are eight of them.

After having enough computerizing, and since my puzzle was done, I decided to finish with the decorating.  All the shelves in the living room had been sitting empty since I put all the Christmas stuff away.

The shelves got dusted as did everything that went back on them.  I was still trying to decided where to put Shirley's gift, which I had tried on the mantel and shelves.  

I also had this three piece serving set from Therese (Patty's antique collector friend from Iowa) that I couldn't find a good spot for.
It was a mild 40 degrees, but remained gloomy and damp all day and going outside really wasn't appealing.

I noticed another (or the same) herd of deer, eleven of them this time, come down from the 17th green into the woods.  They never crossed the creek, but got drinks and played in the water for awhile.

I did go to the gym for an aerobic workout, followed by the stretch class.  Directly after, I was showered, dressed, and ready for dinner out.

Joe and I went to the Grinderhouse, a homey feeling, artsy restaurant in Crossville.  They have chalkboards with drawings that they change quarterly along with lots of other artwork on display and for sale.  They host musicians out of Nashville on Friday nights.  We really enjoyed the original music of singer songwriter Gerald Smith.

I love my house and the pets that reside here.  The new Sunroom has become a created space I never want to leave.  Being a homebody can feel so good.

Sometimes it is hard to get motivated to go anywhere, but once I have my barn boots, gym shoes, hiking boots, dancing shoes, or even work boots on, I am usually glad I made the effort.