Don't pull a muscle napping; always stretch first

I got back to my place yesterday and the cats seem to have forgiven me by now. Yesterday, while I was cleaning and doing laundry and unpacking things, Loquito was following me everywhere expressing his disapproval ("mreer! Mreeeeeer!") whereas today he has attached himself to my leg like a lamprey, afraid I will leave again, and even Timido is sleeping on the couch near me rather than hiding under it or the bed. They seem to be used to me being back ---- I had someone checking in on them once a day and now they are super-skittish and not used to a person being in the apt all the time, which is a little frustrating.

I am also easing myself back into work and the new year as gradually as possible. So far, I've made some to do lists (which include making late new year's resolutions and, possibly, a Theme) and thought about possibly planning some things, like getting back to exercising. And just like how you don't want to sabotage your new exercising plans by overdoing it too much on the first day, I've been careful with my first-day-back foray into dissertating and bookended a couple hours of history reading with warm-up and cool-down naps on either side. If I were truly shameless I would say that I couldn't work at all tomorrow because the brain muscles need a day off to recover, but I think that may be too outrageous even for me.

I also had big plans for cleaning everything and tossing out old junk --- that's something you do with a new year, right? --- but today was one of those cloudy days where I just can't get moving and even getting the mail seems like too much effort. To top it all off for weirdness, I had an MLA-interview anxiety dream last night. Never mind that MLA is over. And that I didn't have interviews. I guess my brain just wanted to get in on all the fun. Oh joy.

But on the other hand, it's so nice to be back in my own place and I bought a big pile of lovely healthy groceries and am pleased to be back to cooking highly involved and healthy things rather than eating Microwaved Meals With More Meat in Them Than a Week's Recommended Servings at my parents' house. My mom has always had the motto (she hates cooking) that she doesn't want to cook something that takes longer than it does for people to eat it, and with new injunctions for her on lowering sodium and cholesterol, plus the fact that she's smoked her whole adult life, plus plus the fact that I think you just lose all sense of taste when you get old, like the diminishing of one's sense of hearing or smell, and it all adds up to a bit of an ordeal. It's also class based; we've started having arguments over my becoming too snooty to eat her cooking when the rest of the family loves it. But did you know you can ruin green beans fresh out of the garden? Rinse, dump in water, boil at least twenty minutes or until they almost fall apart into a mush, drain, and shake liberally with powdered butter substitute (ButterBuds). Don't spread the butter powder around or rub it in. Sigh. Don't even get me started on the temperature of the house and my dad, whose world of care and awareness has dwindled to long conversations about how hot or cold the house is compared to the frigid 60-degree weather outside.

Hm, maybe I'll try a second rep of that history reading before another round of napping. Or maybe I'll watch one of my Christmas presents, which was this.