Category Archives: sleepless in Vancouver

First of all, I did an advanced google-search to find the post with my previous notebook update and AI gave me this:

On the website “pamrentz.com”, the word “notebook” appears in several posts, most notably in a post titled “Notebooks” from July 26, 2013. This post discusses the author’s collection of notebooks, starting from 1978, and how she uses them. The author describes how she has notebooks stashed all over her room and that they are not all full. She also mentions using them for journaling and for jotting down ideas. One post also mentions keeping a small notebook by her bed for late-night ideas or reminders. She describes using a notebook to write down favorite URLs and passwords, a practice she finds amusing in hindsight. A more recent post in June 2023 mentions seeing someone writing in a notebook in a parking garage.

I feel so famous!

Here’s to the 2013 post.

In 2021, I did a post about finally buying a new notebook to replace the pictured.

Except. I found that I’d missed a bunch of pages in the middle of the green notebook. So I kept using it and I just swapped it out in April. And also changed the date to 2025. If it takes 10 years to finish that notebook, I will be in my 70s when I’m done.

Amazing.

This tomato plant out front keeps getting taller and taller.

“Knock that off and start making tomatoes,” I told it. (politely)

It’s going to get serious just about the time the season ends.

Remember The Case of the Missing Bandana? I saw a bandana in the backyard and figured some pet had lost it. By the time I went out to grab it – it was gone.

Look what turned up — the angry raccoon must be back. It’s now the case of the shredded bandana. We need a wildlife cam outside so watch what these guys get up to.

No great news to report. I’m in an unfortunate nap cycle.

I had kind-of a tough week and took Thursday off. I had a glorious nap on Thursday afternoon and then was up in the middle of the night necessitating a glorious nap on Friday afternoon and so on. Last night we were both up at the same time. I read for about an hour and then made little pointed comments until Bob finally turned off his light too. He was asleep about 3 minutes later.

I settled in for a quickie nap this afternoon but a spider scuttled across the bed so I got up. Maybe tonight I’ll do better.

The tulips and daffodils are nearing the end. I include this because you can tell I planted these at the very end when I was tired of planting bulbs and I made these trenches in between dahlias which were still around when I put the bulbs in last fall.

A few weeks ago I heard a faint beep at regular intervals. I have ridiculously good hearing which is amazing for the amount of time I spent listening to loud heavy metal music.

I asked Bob if he could hear it and once I pointed it out he could hear it to.

We figured it had to be one of the smoke detectors in the basement.

Can you spot the bee?

Since it was the basement of course we forgot about it until one night Bob was up in the middle of the night fretting about something and he heard the beep.

Once he heard the beep he couldn’t not hear the beep and he stomped downstairs to deal with it.

Except he couldn’t find it. He checked all the various detectors we have down there and I recently upgraded and replaced everything so I was surprised we were having a battery issue to begin with.

The beep continued.

He searched everywhere. He started opening boxes and checking in drawers.

He finally found it on a shelf in this weird, dusty, spider-filled alcove behind the fireplace. He was not amused.

Urgh. 3:30am – we’re never going to be friends.

I use a clock radio as an alarm. I had the radio set to one of those popular music of the last several decades stations but in November it went to all Christmas music so I switched it. Right now it’s on a station that sounds like contemporary music but I never recognize a single song. And true, I’m not super up-to-date on the current hits but I’m not oblivious. This is like a radio portal to music that exists somewhere else.

After an amazingly long streak of problem free sleep, the insomnia monster is back. At first I was waking up between 3 and 5, which wasn’t too bad. And I’d drift so it was like an early morning nap. But every night this week I’ve woken up at 12:30 and then drifted. This is not optimal.

I already failed the bringing the lunch to work thing on the 2nd day. I went out to lunch with a friend. That lunch made leftovers so today is leftovers supplemented with stuff from home.

I loved having hot soup in a thermos except it was kind of a rush in the morning to get it ready. I don’t think this exercise has inspired me to bring my lunch more often.

Snap is the word I invented to mean opposite of a nap. It’s when you’re awake in the middle of the night.

I have had a 2+ hour snap almost every night for over 3 weeks. Urgh. Why does my body do this?