Floater's diary

[Llama]

Food is warmth for dogs, too!

TIL I'm a dog

 

[Floater]

TIL I'm a dog

And TIL that I'm an anomaly that breaks the laws of physics and needs to be sent to CERN to be studied. I stepped on the scale and I have gained 1 kg. OK granted I had had a cup of coffee before that, and it's possible that the sore foot/ankle is causing me to retain some water, but it was still a bit annoying. HOWEVER, I got dressed for the gym and picked a pair of gym pants that I haven't worn a lot (so they are still really tight), and I could slip in them without any issues. So let's just agree that it's either gains or water weight and not worry about it too much. (The smoked salmon is also quite salty, so it could contribute to this!)

Breakfast: broccoli, chickpea and pasta, 125g of smoked salmon.

 

[Floater]

Took my meds after breakfast and was still feeling a bit peckish, so I decided to have another cup of coffee, a spoonful of pumpkin seeds, and an apple. Red Delicious apples are in season now and they are my second favorite cultivar, right after Pink Lady :3

 

[Llama]

I like my Kronprinz, Boskoop, and Cox Orange: low in allergens and nicely crunchy if stored right. Too bad about the scale but the pants should mean it's ok. Did you get around to taking measurements?

 

[Floater]

Too bad about the scale but the pants should mean it's ok. Did you get around to taking measurements?

I mulled it over and decided that measurements are too dysphoria-inducing. The scale isn't perfect, but as long as I keep working out 6 days a week and eat a balanced diet, it will have to do for now.

Gym was great. Having my porridge now. Had some super dysphoric moments, but I've developed a mantra "give it time, work out, see what HRT and mastectomy does, and when the parents kick the bucket you can get that mini abdominoplasty if the flap won't firm up" (I know I sound like a horrible son, but my parents were way worse).

What is it with cis guys and not following rules and instructions? It's always cis guys who never wipe the equipment, swim on the aqua jogger's lane, and are annoying in general.

 

[Llama]

I've developed a mantra "give it time, work out, see what HRT and mastectomy does, and when the parents kick the bucket you can get that mini abdominoplasty if the flap won't firm up"

Sounds like a great way to get through the rough bits. Ad astra per aspera!

What is it with cis guys and not following rules and instructions? It's always cis guys who never wipe the equipment, swim on the aqua jogger's lane, and are annoying in general.

I meet plennnty of annoying women as well but wiping down equipment specifically may make some fragile men feel like they look like they worry about getting sick (the horror!) or care about cleanliness (the humanity!).

 

[Floater]

Okay the evening turned out to be jam-packed! After working out, I rushed home to take Nera for a walk, decided to clean up before eating, well it turned out that there were schedule issues with the assistance folks so my worker for today turned up earlier than expected; we took Nera along on a drive to return the outdoor pants and get my hair drier from the post, and then drove back home and he helped keep Nera calm while I clipped her hind leg nails. Front legs will be manicured later, she can only handle so much at a time...

After he left, I decided to give Nera a bath as well - she has been needing one for a while, it always helps with her winter dandruff and the shedding. So: I shampooed, rinsed, conditioned, and thoroughly rinsed again a 28-kg dog who gently but persistently kept snailing her way towards the door despite me being there in the shower with her and blocking her escape with my body to my best ability (She's a good girl, just not a fan of baths.)

So, now I have a wet dog under my bed. I did my best to towel dry her but anyone who has ever towel-dried a dog knows it's easier said than done I, even tried to use the blow-drier I just bought, but she seems comfortable and snores peacefully despite the wet fur. Tomorrow we'll make a trip to the lake Kuusijärvi! I'm sure she´ll feel more comfortable there with her freshly washed, fluffy, well insulating coat. I love her so much.

But yeah, I haven't eaten anything since my locker room porridge. Mash and soy mince sauce are just about done, reheated them in the oven. So, so tired. I still need to hang laundry to dry...

 

[Llama]

Oh wow, that IS a full day! Enjoy your lake outing; will you be walking along it or getting on the water?

 

[Cate]

That is a full-on day! I probably shouldn't mention how I bath Archie He's only 6 kg. Towelling him dry is very difficult though. Have fun at the Lake

 

[Floater]

Oh wow, that IS a full day! Enjoy your lake outing; will you be walking along it or getting on the water?

The lake is not covered in solid ice yet, if at all (the freezing over takes time and the low temps haven't even lasted a week), so we'll just walk along the shore. It's great stimulus and entertainment for Nera still to have a car drive there and to sniff and run around in an unusual location!

 

[Floater]

I probably shouldn't mention how I bath Archie He's only 6 kg

There's a Finnish saying: "There are many ways to get it done, said a crone while wiping the table with a cat". Doesn't translate very well, but there are as many ways to bathe a dog as there are dogs, so no worried And thanks! I hope we'll have a great time at the lake

 

[Cate]

There's a Finnish saying: "There are many ways to get it done, said a crone while wiping the table with a cat".

That is hilarious! I don't wipe the table with Archie. You really have made me laugh now. When we were having our house built I ordered two matching cafe double sinks- one for the kitchen & one for the laundry. The builder thought I was crazy, but we have always loved having them both & the laundry double always means you can soak stuff in one side & still have the other free & when I bathe a dog I have a wash side & a rinse side. I love it. I am going to hate leaving this place one day.

 

[Floater]

@Cate that sounds super convenient!

 

[Floater]

You know what guys... I think I'll buy cheese tomorrow. Not a lot. Just enough so I can stuff my two leftover pita breads with cheese. For some reason that's what I'm really craving. Anyway: hung my laundry to dry, will take Nera out to pee soon, and try to sleep. Too tired to pay the bills in the early morning hours, I think I'll just sleep instead. It won't matter anyway. Nice that my anxiety is low enough to leave it for tomorrow

 

[Llama]

I hope you'll have solid sleep and wake up ready to take on the world.

 

[Floater]

I hope you'll have solid sleep and wake up ready to take on the world.

One out of two came true! I ended up staying past midnight and paying some of my bills anyway, and then started to brush Nera (taking breaks to play with her), and the hair just kept coming off and off and eventually when I had a small mountain of loose dog hair on the floor I just gave up She has a layered coat, and the oils in her skin have apparently kept the clumps of loose hair stuck to the undercoat, and now that the oils have been stripped by washing her, just petting her normally makes the hair come off. It's EVERYWHERE

But: I'm in a very good mood and about to have breakfast (rice and soy mince sauce) and then it's time for the Kuusijärvi trip :3

 

[Llama]

Sounds like Nera's grooming was overdue!

 

[Floater]

Sounds like Nera's grooming was overdue!

Dog nerd moment incoming...!

I only shampoo and condition her twice a year on purpose. The oils in a dog's skin make the fur water repellent and protect the skin from drying out. As dogs don't sweat (except from their paws), their fur doesn't get dirty from the inside out like human hair. Also, a dog's skin and fur are a microbiome metropol, and they form a delicate balance that keeps the skin healthy and intact. Overwashing disturbs this and can lead to sores and infections; a typical example is between the toes cracking in wet weather, as the goodie bacteria are flushed away and yeast takes over.

Nera's two-layered coat is as close to wolf fur as domestic dogs can get. There's downy fluff underneath (this is the stuff that comes off in clumps) and long, hard hair covering the fluff (this is the shiny, water and wind repellent layer. In some dog breeds, like pomeranians spaniels etc, the fur has been bred to mostly consist of the soft fluff - they get matted easily if they aren't brushed daily. Pitbulls, dobermanns and other sleek-looking fellas on the other hand only have the cover layer, hence need clothes in the winter for not having insulation. But with dogs like Nera, with "natural" fur coats, grooming isn't necessitated by the dog's health, just by human sensibilities of cleanliness. So I shampoo and condition her in the spring before the tic collar goes on, and in the autumn/winter when the frost comes and the tic collar comes off.

 

[Floater]

Lake Kuusijärvi trip was a huge success. Lovely weather, -9 C but the wind was very mild so the temp was overall very tolerable. Nera was exited to get to ride the car and to sniff around the lake area! There were a bunch of ice swimmers around the pier (left of the photo, as it's not polite to photograph folks in swimsuits) where there has been an area hacked free of the yet thin ice for them to splash around. I want to try that out one day. People say that it's like taking a drug when you take the plunge.

After the lake trip, on the way home, the assitance person told me that there's a natural oak forest right here in Vantaa, my home town. (He knows the story of the "witch" I met at the psych hospital, who told me that oak is "my" tree .) So obviously my next 2-hr appointment to get my ass out of the house will be spent in that forest. I can't wait! And I'll take pics to share here too.

After we dropped Nera home, he gave me a lift to the city center where I had my haircut appointment. I'm now rocking a proper man bun with two shaved sides and I love it. The hairdresser was really into my stupid idea of bleaching my hair as white as it can get and dyeing a black stripe in the middle, she said she loves to work with dye jobs and is accustomed to doing wacky stuff. I like her energy. I also love the idea of spending the summer 2022 looking like a Norwegian fjord horse. Gotta start saving up for that

After the hairdressed, I went to the pharmacy to get Nera's eye meds, and to a paper store to buy a new calendar. I found the perfect calendar - the cover is some smooth material, like the Moleskine brand, and the paper is thick and smooth and lovely. Each spread is a week (which I prefer to day per side), and it's a paperback - I hate the spiral spine thingies. The cover is a rich orange color, so I bought an orange gel rolltip pen to go with it. All this for under 20 euros :3

My next stop was the Asian grocery, they were still out of udon noodles but I got somen noodles, Korean bean paste, white miso, and mushroom soy sauce. I then went grocery shopping and got gravlax AKA salt-cured salmon, arugula, and non-alcoholic white glühwein or "glögi" as it's called here, and then got a mini bottle of vodka from the liquor store because I'm a naughty boy. I'm currently having a lovely mug of spiked glögi, and dinner will be chickpea pasta salad with arugula and gravlax.

Tomorrow I'll go aqua jogging again <3

Feeling very happy. And feeling like my life is really building up to something. All the friends I've made... All the respect and kindness I get from other people... I think it's all because I finally respect myself and have started to work _for_ myself, not against myself. When I feel free and genuine, I can properly pay attention to others. And they feel it, and respond with the same sentiment.

 

[Llama]

That looks gorgeous! I´d love to try ice swimming one day. Are they in dry suits?

After the lake trip, on the way home, the assitance person told me that there's a natural oak forest right here in Vantaa, my home town. (He knows the story of the "witch" I met at the psych hospital, who told me that oak is "my" tree .) So obviously my next 2-hr appointment to get my ass out of the house will be spent in that forest. I can't wait! And I'll take pics to share here too.

Awesome! How wonderful that (some of) your assistance folks are on your wavelength and think along with you. Looking forward to those pictures.

I found the perfect calendar - the cover is some smooth material, like the Moleskine brand, and the paper is thick and smooth and lovely. Each spread is a week (which I prefer to day per side), and it's a paperback - I hate the spiral spine thingies. The cover is a rich orange color, so I bought an orange gel rolltip pen to go with it.

Quality notebooks and calendars are such a joy to have! I like the idea of getting a matching pen just for journaling.

Feeling very happy. And feeling like my life is really building up to something. All the friends I've made... All the respect and kindness I get from other people... I think it's all because I finally respect myself and have started to work _for_ myself, not against myself.

That. Is. The. Best. You´re putting in a lot of hard work and it´s great to see it pay off.