Thanks, YNWA. I really do love the winter, but maybe it’s the weather. I have struggled a lot with my friends/family all seemingly moving forward with their lives and I just feel stuck. And everything is getting so expensive, I think I will need to make a career/job change soon and don’t know where to begin.

Chisum is thankfully pretty healthy, but he’s had some ear infections so I have to clean his ears 1-2 times a week. He’s so good for it, but hates it, and will lower his head and slink away when he knows it’s time or even if I say the words “ears” or “clean”. He also knows I keep the bottle in my medicine cabinet, so even if I reach in there for something else he slinks away and hides and it’s so disheartening. He also had a couple of indoor accidents (out of character for him, but I think his own anxiety is raised) and I’ve gotten frustrated over that and then I feel guilty for being frustrated because I know I should do better to help him be successful. So just lots of icky feelings.

Judging gardens sounds fun. Everyone around me I think would get pretty low scores. But when I walk around my neighborhood, I do like to look at the colors of houses and curb appeal, trying to get my own ideas. Unfortunately there are a lot of students where I live, so many boring apartments and homes that need a lot of love. But there are some really pretty gems too.