#Journal of a slightly tired, but very happy, Dutch AuDHD Pixy  (Friday, 24/04/2026).

Another broken night on the couch. Ugh, wish I had more funds, so I could replace that couch for one more comfortable to sleep on. 😇 Koa went out two times during the night, and he did his things well. But after that, getting back to the crate to sleep some more, that’s not what he likes to do. When he’s up and done his business, it’s time to play around. We cuddled, and I tried to engage with him a bit, before I put him back to the crate. The first time, he was a bit more annoyed with me, and it took a while before he allowed himself to lay down and sleep some more. The second time, I had tried to engage a bit more before putting him back, which seemed to help, as his protest was less long.

I woke up again, a bit later than I expected. Koa was still in dreamland, so I prepared everything for his brekkie, I got dressed, and I took my meds, and I got my laptop to reply to some sweet messages from lovely friends. When Koa woke up, we went out, he did his things all well, and we got back again. I prepped his food, and he loved it so much. I try to test him when he’s eating, to see how he reacts when I get close to the food. But he just wags his little tail off, and he gives my fingers a little nibble, before he gets back to business. No anger about me being near his food, so that’s a good thing.

After he had his food, he relaxed a bit with his toys. When he was getting a bit too wild, as he’d just eaten, I crated him, which he didn’t like at all. I talked to him, while she slowly settled down. I wrote my journal toot, and I tried to catch up with the new pics and vids that I’d taken from my little furball. When I was done with the things I wanted to do, Koa woke up a bit, so we headed out again. They had emptied the green bin, so I took him along to pick it up, which was a tad scary. I carried him a bit, and when we were at the area he knew, I let him walk near the bin back home. Which he did rather well! It’s just the new areas that are still a bit scary to him.

He is getting more mischievous now, so I guess it means he is slowly settling in. When he was sleeping again, I did the laundry, and then I started the washing machine. I also had to vacuum, which he wasn’t too pleased with. But, when I got it near his crate, he was less loud than at the start, and he was very interested in what I was doing. When I was done with all the chores, Koa and I headed out again.

Back home, I offered him his first very short lesson of sitting on command. I remembered the trick they taught us, when I had the puppy school with Chance. And, as it worked for Arwen before, it also seemed to work for Koa as well. Just 5 tries, and then back to relaxing and playing.

The rest of the day, we switched between some play time, some mischief here and there, and sometimes to be crated and to relax. Joke offered me to borrow a smaller crate, that would fit in my bedroom, so I could sleep on my bed during the night. Which sounded very welcome. It took some efforts to connect to mum, but when I finally got a hold of her, she agreed to pick the crate up after dinner and bring it to us.

All went well, and around 20:30, Koa and I headed out for the last walk. We had some play time in the garden, and then a scary thing happened… He had to go into a different crate, in a new place, and that was weird… So, there was some protest for a while (sorry neighbors 🫣). After a while, I could get to sleep. We woke up 2 hours later, and headed out for a wee. I played a bit with Koa, massaged him some, and to my surprise, he went to the crate and… Didn’t protest! He woke up twice more to be let out, of course these times were met with some protests…

When I woke up again, it was even later than I had thought! It was 6:45… Koa was waking up as well, so I quickly got dressed, and we headed out to start our next day together. But, according to my watch, even with the breaks here and there, I did manage to get about 8 hours of sleep! All thanks to Joke’s crate, and to Koa for allowing me some sleep in the end. 😉

Thanks to all for your kindness and support during my "journey through daily life"  I really appreciate it 💜 as it helps me to keep going on bad/harder days! 

 💜 🍀 🐾

#PixysJourney
#WeirdFolks
#ActuallyAuDHD
#KoaKoolani

#Journal of a tired, sore, but very happy Dutch AuDHD Pixy  (Thursday, 23/04/2026).

Our first night together was a broken one, but that was to be expected. I didn’t mind the waking up to care for Koa, and to chat with him until he finally gave in to sleep some more. But the couch… That’s not a good place to sleep, especially when you are already sore from painful muscles. Still, it won’t last forever, and I knew this was part of the whole “getting a puppy deal”, so all the aches and exhaustion will all be worth it 💯in the end! This is the start of our journey together, and what we can build together now, will hopefully be a solid foundation for the rest of our journey together.

I took Koa to the grassy field twice, and he did his business like a big boy. First time, he just peed, second time, he did it all. When I got up again, around 5:30, I prepared everything for when he’d wake up. We went outside, and I carried him under my arm, while we set the very heavy green bin to the curb. (I hope it’s not too heavy, so it can be properly emptied). Koa walked back from the curb, which was a partially new path for him, so loads of new impressions.

I fixed his food, and after he’d finished, I got him to his crate for some sleep. He wasn’t too interested, but after some complaining, he did give in and had a wonderful snooze. While he was snoozing, I unpacked all the puppy food and snacks, and I put them all in the “doggy cupboard”. When he got up again, I took him to the grassy field again, and I tried to film his adventure, while trying to keep out all the bits from his mouth. When we got back, I gave him his first hard snack, and he wasn’t too sure about it. So, of course, I tried to film him while he was playing and snacking on it. Sometimes he was even making silly noises while trying to snack on his new chewy.

I tried to reply to emails from sweet friends, I tried to share videos and pictures of the little dudes adventures, and in between all that, I went out with him, and I tried to play and cuddle with him as much as he would allow. The afternoon meal, I added some meat to, and he attacked it with all his might. He loved it! As the can needs to be finished with about 3 days, he will get some meat with his next meals now. He loves it a lot, and I don’t want to throw the meat away when it’s been opened too long.

My neighbor came to help with with the “cutting” of Koa’s pointy end of his tail. Joke had forgotten to give him the proper “beaver tail ending”, so she had asked me to do so. But I didn’t want to do that alone, too afraid I would hurt him by being clumsy on my own. So my neighbor came to help for a bit, and she got some cuddles in with Koa as well. She’s the one that will doggy-sit him next Tuesday, so that I can visit the (well needed) physio… 😊

We spent the rest of the day with trying to relax a bit, when Koa needed his naps. With going out, either to the garden or to the grassy field, so he could do his business. And with cuddles and play time when he was well rested, and had an empty bladder. Around 20:30, we were both getting more tired, well, OK, I was getting very tired, so we prepared everything for bed time. A last walk, a bit of cuddling, and I switched out the wet mattress for a bath floor mat. I didn’t have another little mattress for him, and I didn’t want him to be on a wet one for the night. So, I hung the one out to dry, and he got the mat for the night. He was a bit confused, but I guess he noticed that it was dry and soft, so after some protests of being locked up again, he dozed off.

We fell asleep around 21, and Koa slept for quite a while, before he wanted out for a pee. It was about 0:30. He did his thing quickly, but then he wasn't too interested in getting back to sleep. So, after about 35-40 minutes, he finally gave in, and dozed off, and I followed his example. He woke up again around 5, and it was a repeat of the previous waking. After he finally dozed off again, I got a bit more sleep as well. In the end, according to my watch, I got almost 7 hours of sleep, when I got up to start my day at 6. Of course, Koa was still snoozing sound, so I could prepare everything for him, for when he’d wake up to start his day.

Thanks to all for your kindness and support during my "journey through daily life"  I really appreciate it 💜 as it helps me to keep going on bad/harder days! 

 💜 🍀 🐾

#PixysJourney
#WeirdFolks
#ActuallyAuDHD

#Journal of a slightly sore and a tiny bit more anxious Dutch AuDHD Pixy  (Tuesday, 21/04/2026).

Unfortunately, I had another broken night. I woke up several times, due to pain, due to very weird dreams, due to my mind just being too wired… When I got up, I got about 6 hours of sleep in total. It wasn’t much, but it was as good as it was going to get. I got to the scale, had my usual grumble, and I got dressed. After I’d taken my meds, and packed my bag, I got ready to head to Skoosh. Together we skedaddled to the gym, where we arrived safe and sound.

I checked my social media bits, while I enjoyed my protein shake. I got to the recumbent bike, and followed it with a short walk on the treadmill. After a nice massage in the chair, I got ready to head back home again.

Skoosh and I got back alright, and I washed up, and got to the couch. I worked on my journal toot, I wrote a bit for my blog, and I played a bit with some more ideas that I had for animated images featuring Koa. My mind was all over the place, and after some time, I headed upstairs, where I rode the bike for half an hour.

I relaxed on the couch, watched some telly, and then I made some food. I went out for a little walk around the block, and I tried to prepare some more bits for the coming of Koa. I tried to rest some more, as my mind was so busy, and my left shoulder was still so painful. When it was time, I got ready to head to Cuijk. And, I remembered to go via the highway this time, so that was a plus.

I waited for some time, and then my PT did his best to loosen up my very painful muscles. He worked hard, and it hurt a lot. But, it did feel a bit less tense when he was done. Still not perfect, and not painless, but there was a bit less pain, so that was a win.

When I got back home, I took my meds and I relaxed for a bit. Then, we had a nice walk with the big black 🖤 fluff. I got back home, and prepared for bed. It didn’t take long to fall asleep, but after that, I woke up several times, and I had the weirdest dreams. So, when I woke up again around 22:30, I just had to get up and start my long “day”. I got about 6 hours of sleep again, so I knew I was in for a treat. Wednesday is/was going to be a very busy day, and... Koa! 🐾 🥰 🤩

Thanks to all for your kindness and support during my "journey through daily life"  I really appreciate it 💜 as it helps me to keep going on bad/harder days!  

 💜 🍀 🐾

#PixysJourney
#WeirdFolks
#ActuallyAuDHD

@actuallyadhd @autistics I saw a NYT story about autistics working in professional kitchens. It occurred to me to ask folks in /r/kitchenconfidential for their experiences with autistics in kitchens—not for me but for the community here and on autistic subreddits.

I think you'll be pleased by the response. In a nutshell: a LOT of folks in professional kitchens are autistic, AuDHD, or ADHD. I imagine that they're L1 or 2.

https://www.reddit.com/r/KitchenConfidential/s/rUwpUJBSsJ

#actuallyautistic #actuallyaudhd #actuallyadhd

I wrote "Happy First Contact Day" to my in-laws. It was in jest. They're Catholic. They know about as little about Star Trek as someone with the vaguest notion of pop culture can.

You see, I tend to send them humor that they don't understand. At first, that wasn't by design. Now, it's humor that I know they won't understand.

Today, I suddenly realized that, now, it's an unconsciously sardonic, passive aggresive, and even perhaps cruel habit of mine.

I often feel like an alien, among my in-laws; their interests and topics of conversation and day to day lives have been foreign to me for over a decade.

Sometimes, it even feels like they try to evoke that feeling in me. Yet that's almost certainly my own dysfunctional adaptive reading of them; they can be challenging people but are generally kind.

When I send them humor, where their initial reaction is ❓❓❓then, for once, maybe they feel like the aliens. Maybe, in a way, they can feel a little of what it's like to be me. Otherwise, they don't ever seem to understand.

When that all hit me, a few minutes ago, the day just became too real.

#actuallyautistic #actuallyaudhd #sad

https://youtube.com/shorts/j1SgQq4tQNY?si=ENKK31ZL9zvxBqsK

Never heard the term #otrovert before, but... Yeah, I am #ActuallyAuDHD and I'm very much an otrovert.

#Journal of a Dutch AuDHD Pixy  (Saturday, 28/03/2026).

I didn’t have a too bad night, I even felt a tiny bit rested when I woke up. The scale was still grumpy with me, for not doing any better… I was (am) grumpy with myself for thinking I want to do better, but for failing in all ways to actually do things better… I got dressed, took my meds, packed my bag, and I got to Skoosh so we could skedaddle to the gym.

I checked on some social bits and bops while I was enjoying my protein shake. Then, I got to the recumbent bike. And, again, after some time, my leg started to act up again. Defeated, I headed to the massage chair, hoping that it would help me relax a bit. I switched my shoes after that, and got to Skoosh, to reverse the previous process. 😉

I headed to the couch, relaxed for a few minutes, and then got to the treadmill. I walked for 15 minutes, 1,15km, and then I washed up, and got back to the couch again. I grabbed my laptop, and started writing my journal toot. I worked on my blog a bit as well. After that, I had some food. Then, I hobbled upstairs, and I rode the bike for a short while.

I found some wrapping paper, and I packed the two little gifts I got for a good friend of mine, who had their birthday earlier this week. Then, I got my Kobo, and I finished reading the book “Jupiter’s Bones”, by Faye Kellerman. I started the new book, and read some more. Then, I switched to watching some telly, until it was late enough to start the washing machine. I hung the bits out to dry, and I read a bit in the doggy book that Joke had given to me.

When the weather was getting a bit better, I went outside for a short walk. I still just can’t really enjoy a walk on my own… 😞 I got back, and watched some more telly. Then, I read for a while. The neighbor texted that there would be no walkies, so after a little while, I got ready to head to bed.

It didn’t take me too long to doze off. I woke up once for the loo, and when I woke up again, my body told me it was time to start moving again. According to my watch, I got about 7¾ hours of sleep in, so not too bad at all. I got up, and I started my “day”. Which would be a little bit shorter, as our clocks were changing to DST during this night.

Thanks to all for your kindness and support during my "journey through daily life"  I really appreciate it 💜 as it helps me to keep going on bad/harder days! 

 💜 🍀 🐾

#PixysJourney
#WeirdFolks
#ActuallyAuDHD

Image is one I made for an upcoming of post, it does not reflect my activities of the day. 😇
Image was generated with AI, edited with Pixlr.