Happy New Year. Or not....

I just woke up. The coupons I'm using to order the digital photo albums expire at 10pm Central Time. There are thousands of them expiring, so the traffic will be heavy. I'm not ready; I still need to make one recipe.

I needed the sleep. I'm in a much better mood. But I'm going to miss the New Year's Eve party tonight.

So I'm sitting in front of my patio door, at my temporary work table. I have my laptop, a cold drink, my 11" fiber optic Christmas tree. I have Handel on the stereo, with Mannheim Steamroller loaded behind it.

What do I do with two bags of Doritos?

1492

No, not that 1492.

I filled my gas tank Thursday night for $14.92. 10.51 gallons @ $1.419/gallon

The last time I bought gasoline I paid $2.99 per gallon; the total was more than $30.

I really intended that to be the last time I bought gasoline this year. It was Halloween night. I usually try to buy gasoline once a month, whether I need it or not, but I was going to be out of town for most of November. I thought that would allow me to stretch the tank to two months.

It wasn't to be. Although...I still had a couple of gallons left. I could have tried....

Maybe I paid a higher price than I realized for those trips to Sky Harbor to use their free wi-fi.

I don't think we're in Kansas. Or New York.

I was supposed to be in New York today. Instead, I'm in Arizona. Bummer!

I've joked in the past about being able to prepare for a trip, or take the trip, but not both. This time it was true.

By the time I finished the laundry and running around, I crashed. I hadn't started packing when I should already have been at the airport. I could have still done it, but I questioned the wisdom. If I couldn't manage to put four days worth of clothes in a suitcase, what was I doing starting a 12 hour trip? (I do laundry at my sister's, and I left several important pieces there last time, some on purpose, some not.)

I started folding clothes, called my sister on the speakerphone and asked if she was okay with postponing the trip for a week. I'm really disappointed. Really! I'm also discouraged.

And, honestly? Today has been my worst day since my diagnosis. I'm tired, and weary, and concerned about the project my sister and I are pursuing. If I had been planning to get sicker, faster, I would have spent more energy putting the apartment back together. Of course, if I'd been able to do that, I wouldn't have needed to postpone the trip.

As it is, the only parts of my apartment that are fully functional are my bed, my bathroom and my computer corner. The stereo/DVD/TV are all the way I want them, but the recliner is on the verge of giving up. I can't keep one of the bolts in, so the seat is no longer level.

On the bright side? I'm making progress using my digital scrapping tools. And Fresh & Easy opened just four blocks from me. They have lovely, fresh food, both ready-to-use produce and prepared meals. Their hummus tastes better than mine and uses no olive oil or salt.

Things would look much better if I could just get enough sleep!

I see fireworks....

My sister bought me a new camera for my birthday; it was waiting for me when I returned home last night.

This camera has more built-in program settings than I have ever seen on a camera, including one for fireworks. Of course, I had to try it.

The results would have been better if I had arrived more than one minute before the show started. I took my tripod, but forgot that I need to attach an adapter to the camera. I had the adapter in the car, but no time to attach it, once I realized I had a problem, so I had to shoot holding the camera.

Even so, I'm pleased!