A bit of progress...

All the corners are caulked (five of them) and most of the gazillion trowel marks are filled and sanded.  I have twice worked on the six cracks in the walls.  I would like to do one more layer before starting priming.  I also sanded each wall from top to bottom to make them as smooth as possible.  I, however, am not much interested in perfection or even close to perfection.  If they look okay without my glasses, I shall be content! 

I am not sure how long the caulk will take to dry/cure.  I had hoped to prime the walls tonight, but I believe I shall not be able to do so until the morrow.  I am a bit unsettled with all the parlor furniture in the kitchen.

I was given a suggestion for my nightmares and night terrors:  when I awake, I am to write down a simple sketch of the dream and then re-write the ending to one that is positive.  When I first heard the idea, I thought it sounded a bit hokey, but I committed to trying it out.  Tuesday night, I had a humdinger of a dream and awoke screaming.  I scrawled the dream down and then rewrote the ending.  I did manage to fall asleep afterward and did not have any more bad dreams.  Last night I had several, but while I had the thought to write them down after the last one, I fell back asleep holding the pen before doing so.  Perhaps this method might actually help....

Someone had wanted the last of the moving boxes, but though she made arrangements to come by five different times, she never showed up.  So, this afternoon, I broken them all down and put them into my new large multi-stream recycling bin.  This brought a bit of closure for me...no more reminders of the move...why I had to do so.

With the sewage pipe repaired, it has been three weeks now that I have accomplished something significant each week.  It has been three weeks that I have eaten at least twice each day.  It has been three weeks that I have been awake more than I have been asleep.

If only...if only...I could make more progress with training my puppydog.  He has learned:  outside, inside, and time for bed.  He allows me to bath him and cut his nails--the latter was a battle of wills but his nails grow so much I have had to cut them each week.  I only have to pick up the squirt bottle to get him to cease and desist an unwanted activity.  If I leave him in the kitchen when I need to go out, he does not freak out in the manner as he did being in the crate and he does not make a mess on the floor, even when I have been gone as long as six hours.  And he has learned that if I put him on the bed while I take a bath or get ready for bed, he need not fret for I will return...no more howling as I shower. 

However, I am still primarily a failure when it comes to potty training.  If...and only if...I am faithful to remember to take him outside each hour and a half or so, he will not winkle in the house.  But he is still terrified of the back yard and does not care to do his main business outside at all.  In the mornings he does and a few times after dinner, but mostly though we will hang out there for a half-hour or more, he will not act until we are back inside.  SIGH.

Perhaps it is no longer one step forward and ten steps backward.  Perhaps it is more like three steps forward and two backward.  I cannot be sure....


I am Yours, Lord.  Save me!