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lizvogelThis polar vortex or arctic invasion or whatever it is needs to Go Away.
I am not dealing well with this overenthusiastic advent of winter. Partly it's because we still have the stray cat in the (unheated, uninsulated, drafty) garage, and spending a couple hours a day out there with him is more up-close-and-personal with this sort of temperature than I would otherwise choose to be. (And then there's the executive overhead of constantly trying to find ways to make it less-cold for him.) Partly it's just that it's cold, and dark, and gray when it's not dark, and it's getting to me.
I am pleased, however, that shedding the time-demands of first the condo and then NaNo is making my days feel much less constrained and overloaded and, well, constantly behind schedule. I'm still not getting as much done as I would like and probably need to (yes, convention, I do remember you exist), but it's nice to be able to go spend half an hour with the stray cat and have it turn into an hour and that's okay. And to take care of minor little tasks like typing up the hastily-scribbled notes on the plumber's advice for maintaining the water heater properly, which have been sitting by the computer for two months now. (On a cardboard box, because that's what was to hand when he told me this stuff.)
I really must get on with both being con chair and doing Xmas cards (as my mom is no longer around to be the point of contact with the Christmas-card-extended family). But I'm enjoying not feeling Constantly! Late! All! The! Time!, and having the things I am getting done feeling like accomplishments and not derailments.
I am not dealing well with this overenthusiastic advent of winter. Partly it's because we still have the stray cat in the (unheated, uninsulated, drafty) garage, and spending a couple hours a day out there with him is more up-close-and-personal with this sort of temperature than I would otherwise choose to be. (And then there's the executive overhead of constantly trying to find ways to make it less-cold for him.) Partly it's just that it's cold, and dark, and gray when it's not dark, and it's getting to me.
I am pleased, however, that shedding the time-demands of first the condo and then NaNo is making my days feel much less constrained and overloaded and, well, constantly behind schedule. I'm still not getting as much done as I would like and probably need to (yes, convention, I do remember you exist), but it's nice to be able to go spend half an hour with the stray cat and have it turn into an hour and that's okay. And to take care of minor little tasks like typing up the hastily-scribbled notes on the plumber's advice for maintaining the water heater properly, which have been sitting by the computer for two months now. (On a cardboard box, because that's what was to hand when he told me this stuff.)
I really must get on with both being con chair and doing Xmas cards (as my mom is no longer around to be the point of contact with the Christmas-card-extended family). But I'm enjoying not feeling Constantly! Late! All! The! Time!, and having the things I am getting done feeling like accomplishments and not derailments.
Thoughts
Date: 2024-Dec-05, Thursday 06:21 am (UTC)1) Self-heating cat mats do not require electricity and conserve the cat's own heat in a small den.
2) Electric cat mats need to be plugged in, but may prove more useful in lower temperatures.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2024-Dec-05, Thursday 05:10 pm (UTC)-electric heating pad, in a small box covered with several insulative layers, set up off the floor and sheltered from the worst of the drafts
-heated water bowl
-a largish section of carpet for his play area, plus carpet squares under food & water bowls, and in front of the south-facing glass door so he doesn't have to sit on the cold concrete to eat or drink or bask in the sun on the rare occasions we get some
-plastic sheeting stapled across the main garage door, and I'm plugging up other draft sources as I find them
-an electric space heater going full blast 24/7, which is kind of a joke in a space that big, but it's another oasis of warmth if he needs it
It actually wasn't terrible in there last night. Cold, sure, there's no way around that, but vastly better than I anticipated. He's doing okay. But we still feel bad, because he's such a sweet cat and deserves better.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2024-Dec-05, Thursday 07:11 pm (UTC)