Learning to use electric appliances between the hours of 9pm & 9am has taken a little bit of planning, but the .06 cent difference in the rate (& more than that at the summer rate) is motivating since I have the EV now. Charger arrived, waiting for electrician to respond & get me on the calendar.

Made it through the 1st subzero night since I sealed up a lot of the holes/crumbling mortar in the basement (which then channels the cold air to the living space floor). So far water is still running. Bathroom vanity & bathroom corner is still very cold so I'm leaving the cabinet door open-MN Winter

2nd heated kitty shelter is out for delivery right now!! So excited!! Going to take a break and set it up right away when it gets here. MK was the only kitty to use the shelter during the day, but I haven't seen him the day for a while now. Hoping they each use one tonight or soon

I absolutely do not trust the FBI, given it's lead by Trump's regime. We'll have to see, though.

Finally set up a new checking account because it turns out that online banking is just too hard in small town US. Of course I messed up & accidentally paid my mortgage out of the old account. First overdraw in my whole life, oops! MK was a no-show overnight. Not surprised. Hope he had a warm place

🤦‍♀️ The guy is actively murdering human beings. He's not going to "do the right thing" & resign. I respect Mr. Lieu. I do NOT respect his media team (or his social media skills, if he's posting this). How many times do we need to tell them that the days of the handshake are gone, over, dead??

Had a hard time sleeping last night so was checking the weather. Was supposed to get down to 12 or something, but only got down to 28. So weird when it drops during the DAY, instead. Already down to 9F, headed to -12F. Definitely need to drip the water & open cabinet doors tonight. Fingers crossed!

It's a clear night & temps are already dropping rapidly. Put out a bowl of kibble on the top step for MK, 1 under a table below the mailbox & 1 in between the 2 shelters. I put some raw cat food treats just inside the temp shelter (which is lined with 2" rigid foam insulation). It's not warm, tho

MK only showing up very early morning now. He ate for a while & hung out at the edge of he porch briefly. At least LBK doesn’t dive out after him. I’m really hopeful that means 2 bowls & 2 shelters will be fine. Other black cat is willing to show during the day for food

How many times does this shit need to be litigated? These cases should be immediately dismissed at this point & control of the distribution of funds should go to Congress bringmethenews.com/minnesota-ne...

"After a few hours of sleep and zero signs of injury (other than maybe a hangover and poor life choices)..." 🤣

Things I'm buying these days (& waiting to arrive): -hardwired EV charger to be installed by electrician -roof rake w/a curved neck -snowblower -2nd heated feral cat shelter Lotsa moola!

Swapped out winter cycling jacket for a blanket this morning. Also putting out a bowl of very small (very $$) kibble for LBK who does seem to have mouth issues. There's just not a feasible way for me to get a heated food bowl out there for wet. 2nd shelter hopefully 2morrow but -12° overnight 2night

I've reached the point that when an account follows me & I see zippo posts/replies, I don't even bother seeing if it's a new account or confirm the profile pic isn't stolen. It's not that hard to comment/post BEFORE you follow, so safe to assume they're bad actors in some way, shape or form

I just love that he’s all cozy in there. Gonna turn it up to high tomorrow because we get down to the double digit negatives overnight. He’s here & he’s safe and there’s always food and not frozen water

Check out your 2025 Bluesky Harvest from @anisota.net! anisota.net/harvest/

TN-7 doesn't seem to be trending. Bummer. It's such an important race

Little Black Kitty (LBK) has arrived at the shelter. He’s been coming more often again. So cute when he wakes up and stretches his way out the door. Hoping 2nd shelter arrives soon

Not that I need to point it out, but he's full of shit. I've met quite a few kind, caring people from the Somali community. Their culture is different from ours & we're not familiar w/it but they're just like us; some POS like Trump but also kind, compassionate people like Walz

Somne financial things necessary because of Trump: -went on time of day for electricity -primarily only buy food/household stuff on sale -withdrew from 403B to pay off debts other than mortgage -hope to refinance in Jan to get out of ARM because of US instability What have you guys changed/done?

"Of course, the Black Friday sales results don’t reveal a key piece of information: who is doing all that shopping"

Kinda love the reference to a house of cards (dominos) the designer seems to have slipped in.

I see MK less and less often. He and black kitty got into a verbal disagreement the other day then he disappeared for a day. Black kitty has been even more timid but did go in the shelter for about 3 hours overnight last night. Low was 5 degrees or so. 2 shelters on the porch may be tricky

@rozvox.bsky.social inspired mint hot chocolate with a big spoonful of homemade whipped cream topping

Whew! 2 hours raking the roof, using the electric shovel & shoveling by hand. Talked to neighbor & I'm really going to need to get a small snowblower & keep it under a tarp (no place to store it). & need to find a creative way to rake the roof-fully extended rake didn't reach. I'm too short!!

Just saw something I've never seen in 20 years here-a semi truck hauling a load of snow. I didn't know they do that!! I thought they just push it into piles. Gotta go out & do shove #3 soon. Did I mention I have an electric snow shovel? It helps, but just for stuff like the driveway IYKYK

Very soon I'm going to find out if I accidentally redirected cold air into an area that has plumbing with all the mortar repairs & temporary patches I did this year. Apparently you really need degrees in hydrology & aerodynamics (or have family members with that training) in order to own a house 🤣

Whew! 2nd shovel & the snow was a lot deeper. That was a workout! Might try for a walk tomorrow & get pics. It's a perfectly beautiful snowfall

Did a round of shoveling (electric shovel works on this type of snow!) but slipped even in studded boots. Did a grocery/Petsmart run & people were sliding turning so opted out of a walk. Will do some more shoveling (still lots of manual shoveling). It’s pretty & the Bolt did great!

They were caught off guard. They're building the means to remove dependence on the US entirely. Thanks, Trump. (I don't have a subscription, guys. Just info from other sources indicating that's the direction the world is moving)

I really think she has a leetle beet of Main Coon in her fluffy genes. She’s my pretty girl (but quite the effective hunter in the catio at the previous house)

Decided not to protest today. Our first real snowfall & I have the new (to me) car with all season vs snow tires. It's beautiful so I hope I can fit in some snow pants for a walk. Going to get a shoveling workout in, too (everyone else has large snowblowers here just for their city track houses!)

Doing his best to, it seems

Finally-got a minor cat bite tonight. The only other bandaides wouldn’t stick. I’m just gonna leave these (was my own fault for picking up a cat I thought was friendly to remove him from an area he snuck into. He was not, in fact, friendly)

3 more Furball cuties. The tabby was so close to falling off the table. That’s a huge heating pad under there. Cat heaven

This is Kevin. His quality of life is poor now so soon they’ll let him go. I’ll miss him. He’s a kitchen kitty (gets to basically live in the kitchen on towels and in cat houses)

Furball is near a nature preserve so at dusk there are often deer in the road nearby

This is my friend Stewart. He’s not adoptable & I’d been told he’s a bit of Jekyll Hyde, but he’s never been that way with me. Definitely doesn’t get along with other cats. He hangs in the storage room so I made him a cozy space (put a blanket over it too) & bought him some Churros. He gets lonely 💔

Sorting pics to upload from Furball Friday. In the meantime…this guy

Think I found the reason very cold air comes into the corner cabinets in spite of prior efforts. Pics didn't turn out, but there's a large area missing mortar under the kitchen that allows the air in the gap between the inside & outside stone foundation walls to flow up the kitchen wall. I found

Settled on this smaller one since I don't think they'll hang out together, but they are willing to be relatively close to each other (so I can put both on the porch) www.chewy.com/furventi-wea...

Introspective & moody today. Have a follow up on spinal degeneration issues. I keep having complications w/surgeries & my quality of life declines after them. Not willing to do elective unless it means I'll be paralyzed or could die. Aging life in the US in 2025 for a messed up person like me means

Didn't expect MK this morning, but he's here. Poor guy keeps getting diarrhea. If it's anything like a human maybe he doesn't show up because his belly is so uncomfortable & he just curls up & waits it out? He's in the heated house now. Decided to give up lights this year & get another heated house

Woke up and checked the cam and saw this. Wish I could fit two houses but the 1 outlet already has 3 things attached. It’s 19 degrees right now ☹️

Yay! It’s 25 degrees right now. I’ve got it on the middle heat setting & the window door gapped open a bit. Hope he stays a while. MK also showed up so I gave him his Thanksgiving canned dinner

This is the one that meowed at me when I went out & stuck around for canned food the other day. Other guy only comes at night. This one seems to have a mouth issue & to me his walk looks a little off. He got 2 cans today for Thanksgiving. Hope he goes in the shelter again tonight.

With digestive/pain issues after eating since the Feb/March surgeries, I didn't really plan anything this year for Thanksgiving. But I DID pick up TJ's frozen mashed potatoes on my last TJ run & have the Target gluten free (NOT thin crust) pizza. Plus gluten free pumpkin pie 😁 Odd but peaceful 🙂

I honestly feel really sad for this guy & his mom. I was politically stupid in my 20's & basically did research that supported my bias before voting. He's doing the only job he can get to w/out a car & $8/hr is a freaking joke to try to live on. We failed him www.reddit.com/r/LeopardsAt...

Confirmed it’s two black cats! For the longest time I thought it was one very hungry cat. 1st use of shelter. May be last since he couldn’t figure out the round window is a door 😒 And happy Thanksgiving

A few moves I checked out townhouse listings-association fees were lower than condos & easier than a house to retire in. Couldn't afford one but typical association fees were $250-$285. Just looked & holy cow! Most now $400-$450 for ones that aren't run down & in ok areas. Imagining condo fees now 😳