stepping out

The countdown is on! Just 6 more sleeps until ROME! Getting more excited every day! We watched the Stanley Tucci ‘Searching For Italyˋ episode about Rome the other night - I've got a list of foods to try, including tripe! June and Anthony suggested we book one of the restaurants from the episode so we are going to Bistro 64 which has a Michelin star. I am beyond excited about this!!! I think we'll do the 8 course tasting menu! This might actually be what I am most excited about 😆 

Today is sunny but cold - there was a dusting of snow on the ground when we got up, but it quickly melted with the strong sun, although it did linger into the afternoon on the shaded front deck. Yesterday we had more flurries with a bit of sun in the afternoon, a perfect day for a trip into the city to visit Mom and Dad. Mom and I made a trip to Dollarama so I could pick up a few things for our trip… including a handful of chocolate bars for the flights. The big challenge will be to not eat them all between now and then! I had to re-buy them twice on our last trip as I'd eaten the whole lot..! Yesterday I did buy one extra to eat in the car on my way home and have set the others ‘out of bounds’ 😉 

I'm starting to get adjusted to the new treadmill - do you ever name inanimate objects? I don't usually but feel that this beast needs a name… any ideas? It took me ages to come up with ‘villetta’ for the trailer but it seems to fit. Anyway, it's working better - I changed a few things so the screen casting is working better and didn't glitch at all today. Yesterday I scrubbed the walking surface with some warm soap and water which took care of most of the slipperiness - it no longer feels like a skating rink. I've figured that if I don't sign out at the end I don't have to worry about password, but of course if Carm and I are both using it the password will still be a thing. The pause/resume is working better than I thought. As usual, it took me a bit to adapt… my brain is old and stubborn but it eventually adjusts!

It's been a few days of struggling with tech… Saturday I unearthed my old fitbit that I stopped wearing several years ago because it was too depressing as I hardly moved at all back then - a day with 2 or 3 thousand steps was the norm. But now! I thought it would be fun to have in Italy where we'll be walking like crazy. I charged it up, reinstalled the software onto my phone, then through trial and error got the two connected. They didn't sync the first day but it all worked well yesterday. I'll have to figure out how to change the time zone…  I'm not sure what it tracks when I'm on the treadmill, but today at noon, I'm at 11,400 steps after 1 ½ hours of walking, a few weights, and just general putzing around. It seems like way too many steps but maybe not. (by 9:30 16,500ish!)

Some of my putzing was playing around with our suitcases. All of Carm's stuff fits in his carry-on, including a pair of sandals (but not the extra pair of runners). I can get ¾ of my clothes, plus my giant sandals into my carryon, which leaves not much for the big suitcase! We aren't quite yet at carry-on only people, but we've really paired down for this trip. The suitcase fits a few big pairs of shoes (my Hoka's are gigantic and of course a size 9 men's shoe is not exactly a ballet slipper). And then there's my plastic bin with all the odds and ends: cold meds, aspirin, wine opener, anti-nausea, a deck of cards, and goodness knows what else. It easily fits in the suitcase and keeps everything organized. It takes up more room than throwing everything loose - does that even make sense? I guess it's like having a jar of rocks and adding sand. Whereas both couldn't fit if you put the sand in first. Weird!

Chapter 56 Cato and Bailey Are Sultans of Swing

It had been a quiet morning as Laura and Carm went away. Cato and Bailey could hear the dogs barking sometimes but it was generally quiet. When they finally came home Cato wondered if there would be toast and of course there was! The parrots had barely finished eating when Laura brought out all the travel carriers - they all wondered what was going on and were all happy when Carm moved them from their cages into the carriers.

They were surprised when the people started taking stuff out of their cages and then Carm took all 3 cages outside! They wondered if they'd be going outside as well, but it wasn't to be. Cato thought it seemed like ages, but then the cages were back. Once back in their cages, Cato realized that their cages had been washed! Everything was still damp, but it made Bailey want to have a bath. He started splashing in his water bowl and finished before Laura could bring a dish that was like a pool. Bailey was happy though. Cato thought it was a good idea so splashed around a bit too.

When they were finished splashing around they all danced to the music. They weren't sure what a Sultan was, but they thought being a sultan of swing would be a good thing.

https://youtu.be/0fAQhSRLQnM?si=5rM9XohVRxs7XTTW (Sultans of Swing Dire Straits)

Awesome!

“a great visit with Mom and Dad”

“Kirsten and Nissa dropped by too”

“some warmer days (not today though!)”

“reservations at a Michelin Star restaurant”

“tonights ‘throw it all together supper’ with white kidney beans, cherry tomatoes, peppers, butternut squash, mushrooms, tons of garlic, capers, and of course basil!”

“the tofu that went with supper”