and 52 begins

My birthday was okay, I guess. Not the best one ever but not the worst one.

I did get some nice things - my mom ordered a dark flower-print knit dress from Vermont Country Store and also a denim skirt to replace the one that is nearly worn out. (I still have to wash them before wearing; I don't like wearing clothes that haven't been pre-washed, I worry about allergic reactions to the sizing in them. And then there was that one episode of "House, MD"....)

And Katie, all the books came! She sent me a bunch of books from the Betsy-Tacy series, which I'd heard of but never read, but they do hit a sweet spot with me - YA fiction but slightly older so it's probably got more complex sentence structure and there's also the interesting "historical" idea of it. And I am assuming nothing "terrible" happens in the books so they are probably what I need right now, once I finish "The Professor's House" (nothing seems so terrible in there. I mean, yes, Tom Outland died, but that happened before the setting of the book, and it's so broadly telegraphed from early on that it's not a *shock*)

And yes, I think what I need now is "quiet" entertainment, where nothing terrible happens. I once said I liked comedies-of-manners and the like because it's nice to imagine a world where the worst thing that happens might be that you pick up the wrong fork at a fancy dinner or that you confuse the rich  lady speaking to you with an actual duchess.

I also got a new Eeyore watch:

There was no gift note in the box, so I don't know if this is my brother and his family's gift to me (it could be; it was from my Amazon wishlist) or if someone else arranged to have it sent.

I have had a thing about Eeyore watches for....well, 20 years now I guess. I bought one when I first moved down here because the plain boring watch I had broke, and someone made a comment along the lines of  "should you really, as an adult woman teaching college, wear a watch with a cartoon character on it?" and I admit that bugged me more than it should but considering that I got tenure and a professorship while wearing it, it didn't hurt my image as a "professional." When that watch broke (the second hand detached inside the bezel), I replaced it with another one, whose bezel shattered, and then another one (which I still have, and will swap out with this one). And now this one. I like it because it's a little fancier and also the band is a better size for my smallish wrists (the other one I have also has a link band, and I had to have a jeweler remove several of the links because it was way too big. It's still a little too big...)

I hope either my current watches last well (it was hard to get the back off the older one last time to change the battery) or they continue to make them in the future because I always want to wear Eeyore watches now.

(the bracelet with the pink beads is my Medic Alert bracelet, warning of my allergy to sulfa antibiotics - a pharmacist advised me to get it because he said sometimes in emergency situations those were the first ones used, and if I wasn't able to *tell* the medical provider of my allergy, it could be bad)

I did a little knitting on the current socks last night. I was too worn out from the day to work, so I have to try to finish the prep for next week's biostats today. I also have my tax appointment this afternoon but a weird little thing happened - at one point I had thought in passing "Maybe I better find the paperwork he did for me earlier, which had the previous year's tax forms in it, just for the record" and then I promptly forgot it. Went to my guest room/storage room last night to grab another loo roll and spotted a bag sitting there, and realized "oh hey, that's the old forms." So I don't know but I guess it was Providence. I'm hoping the meeting isn't long, that I can just do a drop-and-run of the stuff and come back to discuss on a later day.

(I should also see if I can quickly lay my hands on LAST year's taxes, which Jackson-Hewett did. I *think* my CPA has access to all my stuff via the IRS, at least, I signed a form granting him access to look at my "account," whatever it may have in it)

Tomorrow, I am going to Whitesboro. Will be using the $20 "loyalty card" at the yarn shop. I don't have any projects in mind but I suspect I can find something I want, or maybe they will have a book or patterns that I want. (Or maybe I get some dk weight yarn, if they have it - I ran across a fingerless mitt pattern in my Ravelry library that called for it and I'd have started them as an invigilating project if I had had the right yarn). I might also go to Ulta - I think my $10 off "birthday coupon" will still be good through tomorrow - and maybe to the Target as a stock-up run (sigh. I think I maybe need to lay in a fresh supply of loo roll, someone I follow on Twitter reported that in her area - Hawaii, but still - people have apparently panic-bought and stores are low on it). Or maybe if I can get things in gear early and get down as soon as Target opens (but before the Whitesboro shop will be) I go there FIRST and avoid the end-of-the-month crowds. 

I did order more of the tins of smoked trout I eat regularly from Amazon (to save having to hope the Wal-mart has it. And yeah, it seems kind of an odd thing for a "downmarket" store to carry but apparently it's a Keto-friendly thing? Though the way I eat it (rye bread, spread with cream cheese, topped with the trout) really isn't). I got a dozen cans, the sell-by date is in 2023 so I am good there (I have been warned some Amazon grocery sellers sell nearly or even actually expired things). The butter cookie tins I ordered did not fare so well: one was badly bashed up and a whole section of the cookies were smashed but it's not worth complaining to the seller about. I won't be able to use the tin for storage, though, given how damaged it is. Are they aluminum? Do they recycle? I have only ever re-used them to store things like buttons...)