Kittykatt, I can imagine that the start of spring is a crazy busy time for gardeners!
trissie, I just heard Vaclev Havel quoted by my Prime Minister. I was listening to his speech at Davos. Funny you mentioning him again so soon. He clearly had lots to say worth listening to!
That sounds like a fun outing, and woo hoo to the clean enough house and DH!
I can't put all of the blame on Germane. I seem to be moving quite slowly today.
Oh, helia, it is so frustrating to lose a long post, after you have put your time into writing it.
It's wise of you and your DH to travel with your own wifi. Safer in so many ways.
That does add an extra step, when they don't pick up the recycling from you, L.Ann.
Harriet, I'm glad that my not-morning-person persona is not showing itself too obviously.
The prospect of treat food motivates me when I'm shopping. Good plan!
I see what you mean about the alarm testing, Bama. My guess is that they have to do redundant tests because they stopped testing them every month.
Poor Germane is having digestive issues today. Which is no doubt connected to her not eating what she is supposed to, but of course the loss of appetite has its own underlying cause. I have an appointment set for her with the vet next week, so we'll be looking into her heart and lungs as well as her appetite.
Sometimes winging it is the sanest thing to do.
Enjoy your walk, kitkat. (I hope that the freezing rain has stopped and the ground is dry.)
kitkat, I am happy for you (and admiring) that you can crochet on the diagonal and not end up with strange shapes. You are right, it is a mood-booster.
helia, I remember having to memorize The Highwayman in elementary school. All that I remember of it now is "The highway man came riding, riding, riding" and nothing else.
On the other hand, at one point in my working life, I decided to put my time at the bus stop to use by starting to memorize The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which I enjoyed more. Obviously, I didn't make it to the end.
How nice to be able to sit outside at a cafe, helia. I'm glad that your trip is going well.
That is ideal when everyone can agree on the level of spiciness L.Ann.
A restart is the best approach when the day is failing to launch, Bama.
Up next: go back to filling the breadmaker.
Friday
Cleaned up after dog X 2
Put dog in the sink and spot-cleaned her
Put on a pot of coffee
Tried multiple times to get Alexa to play the radio
Power-cycled Alexa
Checked internet: both modems down
Checked for outages: neither ISP reports and outage
Powercycled both modems
Tested internet: working now
Tested Alexa: still not working
Powercycled Alexa
Watered plants
Swept
Washed floor
Dog came out and started peeing off of the end of her pee pads. Tried to lift the corners to keep the pee on the pee pads but could not get there fast enough
Washed floor
Replaced tissue box on desk
Cut down tissue boxes for recycling
Looked up recipe for breadmaker
Started measuring the water for the breadmaker. Lost my temper with a tiny fly that didn’t belong in my kitchen. Put the water in the breadmaker. Waited for the bubbles to burst, because one of them looked suspicious. Sure enough, it was the fly.
Dumped the water, rinsed out breakmaker liner and paddle, remeasured the water.
Friday is a popular day. Can I just give my Friday to somebody else and just not have it?
Got shortening and salt into the breadmaker
Went to the bathroom. Got my hair brushed
Came out to gather clothes for shower: cannot reach my clothes. Germane has used her pee pad, as she should.
Mini grooming session for dog
Treat for dog: found a piece of carrot on the floor, so gave her fish instead of pork and broth.
Cleaned up after dog: not just now, there is a dog on the pee pad again
Started gathering clothes for shower: got tshirt, tried to hang tshirt on hook on bathroom door, picked tshirt back up off the floor
Cleaned up after dog: nope she’s back on the pee pad
Spotted dog squatting on the traction mat
Carried her over to pee pads, stubbed my toe and scared the living daylights out of her
Treat for dog
Cleaned up after dog
Petting session
Treats for dog
Showered/washed hair
Wiped down bathtub
Started getting strange pains. Sat down to CUOP while I waited for them to pass.
Got Germane a treat.
Jumped up because I thought that I heard Germane upchucking. It was just her licking her bowl around the floor. She has a great appetite today, even if she is studiously avoiding her dog food.
I'm going to work on my quiet time next, do a little payroll, and then spend some time writing. I did update attendance. One student was absent all week -- and I wanted to confirm that. 
good morning 
Weigh
Bible 
, Jude