So I’m hanging out around the Casa today, which is a lot more appealing now that it’s my choice to do so rather than what’s forced on me by the weather.

My normal hanging out duds are sweatpants, enormous Red Sox t shirt, sock monkey sweater and fuzzy socks, today’s of which are from my birthday trio of socks sent to me by my nieces Lydia and Emma, my nephew, Jacob and my former sister in law and dear friend, Ellen. They have stars on and are comfy.

My sock monkey sweater is not actually made of sock monkeys. It’s a wool cardigan sweater that Fathead gave me a few years ago, and it’s grey with cream at the wrists and down the front, like the color scheme of a sock monkey.

I love this fucking sweater. I practically live in this fucking sweater. It’s my favorite.

I am finally starting to bounce back from missing two dialysis sessions last week (goddamned weather) but it’s probably a good idea for me to just chill the fuck out. I have a dialysis run tomorrow morning, and then again on Friday, by which time I should be back in my usual form.

You should look the fuck out for that.

I just got back from an amazing birthday supper with friends at my favorite Chinese restaurant. It was jam packed because it’s the beginning of the Chinese New Year, and also because everyone in Seattle is desperate to leave their homes after being locked in for a week.

The Unbearable Hotness Of Robert was there, and Sizzle, Mr Darcy, Adam and Kevin. The food was amazing, and Sizzle brought cupcakes, and then the whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday, which made me blush. Shut up, I totally did.

And Hotness and Sizzle took lots of pictures.

And Hotness made me a card that referenced singing hobos, air conditioners, and alleys, and it made me laugh out loud, and even now is making me snicker.

This past year was a challenging one and I could never have gotten through it if not for my friends and family. And it’s evenings like this that remind me of how lucky I am, and how grateful I am to be where I am, in my life and in general.

44, people. I am totally going to rock this year.

Today I got a new bread machine, and it is very shiny, and I love it. It requires me to use dry milk solids, but I have no idea what that means, so some grocery shopping may be in order. That’s cool, because I haven’t really left the house in a week, and even though I am really not in danger of running out of food, I am tired of many of my current options. And I want to make the bread.

It has many buttons and settings and blinkiness. Pretty cool. I am enamored.

It was for my birthday, and it came wrapped in a huge sack, and then Avitable made some comments about me appreciating the sack, and really, what kind of birthday would it be without Adam making sack references to me? No kind of birthday at all, I’ll have you know.

Adam’s birthday is on the 26th. He is angry right now, but I’m pretty sure that won’t last.

I shall be doing dialysis on my actual birthday, because my ride was a no show today, and I had to miss my run. This is just a hazard of the weather, which should be getting better, but I don’t know, I have kind of lost faith with the whole “predict the weather” shit.

Anyway, locked inside for a week equals clean house, clean Tracy and if it had gone on much longer I may very well have resorted to bathing the cats, a task not for the faint of heart nor the easily bled, if only for the diversion it would have provided, life threatening though it may have been.

So, it’s day 4 of winter weather in Seattle. Today it turned from snow to freezing rain, which you might think would be an improvement, but apparently science says otherwise and is busy knocking down trees , crushing random atv riders, and blocking up all the electricity.

Science is occasionally a prick.

The whole city is covered in ice, like a shiny, treacherous snow globe. Also, it’s fucking cold, and I am wearing my fuzzy socks and my sock monkey sweater. The goddamned cats are huddled in the bedroom.

The apartment management has been absent all week, which mean the building is starting to look a little ratty, and for some reason the hallway in front of my door smells like cat pee.

I don’t like that.

Since I braved the weather yesterday to go to dialysis, I shall hunker down today, maybe cook some beef stroganoff, and definitely take a nap. I got no particular place to go.

If I knew how to make this blog go black, I would. The legislation being considered by the House and Congress is not good legislation, with far too many opportunities for abuse. Write or call your representatives and let them know that it is unacceptable.