Ps I still have over$ 300 in massage gift cards. Will cover 3 hour long massages and probably a reflexology appt or two. I will book something for next weekend. They won't have any left for this weekend and they generally have a waiting list a mile long.

Cm! Glad to get caught up with you! And did we miss your birthday? I'm glad the bunnies got you a Barbie. I haven't done any cleanup here beyond papers so I haven't yet used the "would I buy it today" method to get rid of anything yet. Im thinking another pass at my books would be helpful. I know people say they like to hold a book but I adapted to the kindle early on and I do love it so.

CM I hope you can make it soon to your storage. I know you'll feel better once you start working on it.

I am so terrible about clothes. My pjs are my sloppy clothes. I don't my own any real casual clothes. Never have. It seems like a lot of work. But I have mix and match pieces like a lovely blazer that I can wear over a dress, with a skirt, or over jeans. So that's the way I make it work.

Tillie you got so much accomplished today! Yay you! And did you buy 17 items? Terrific. I can picture your new bathrobe! What color is it?

I washed up a bathrobe that I was going to give to the cleaners but I've decided to keep it for my mom's friend's visit this summer. I'm not really up for it but I will send her the plane fare. Then after she's gone I can wash it up for the cleaning ladies.

I'm got home from work and Tigger was sound asleep on my bed. We were both surprised he could climb up my bed! He's back at the store now. Project over so he probably won't have to come here again. And I'm not sure he'll be with us much longer. Great cat.

I'm doing a quick load of laundry. I can't tell if my nasty neighbor has gone away for the weekend. I hope so but I saw his car on my way home. It's vastly more comfortable here without him

My paycheck today had my raise in it but the loan starts to come out on the 15th. I'm a bit concerned since I don't get paid again for two weeks. I may contact my 401k people to make sure everything's being done correctly. It is supposed to come out of my check directly.

Well my little angel is looking for some love. So I'll talk to you all later. Oh! Tillie, I made a delicious lemon asparagus pasta. So delicious. I made it yesterday and just reheated the leftovers. I don't have a microwave so I added a little water to the sauce pan and truly so yummy. So simple. Butter, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, pasta, asparagus. Instead of salting it I grated some Parmesan over it. Yummy.

Good Afternoon Everyone
Just going on 3:00pm here.

Hi CriticalMass
WTG! for eating healthy and drinking lots of sugarless water & tea!
Bet you lose lots of unwanted weight but you will be healthier overall anyways.

Wearing the old comfortable familiar clothes is basically what I do too.
But the good enough to go to town in clothes eventually become the old comfortable familiar clothes I just wear around the house.
Subclinical does this too with her pants/jeans.
Wears them to school until they are demoted to wear at home pants.

So, wear the nice stuff and if it gets ratty or stained, demote it to home wear.

I hope your Lenten fast from recreational shopping has given you new & better insights into what you need vs what you want.
I think what you really want is more available cash for other things like necessities/emergencies.

Yeah, Steven goes to the thrift shops several times a week so anything I donate is there on the shelves when he goes there. :(
But I don't live all that far from (Rachel) area 51 and I do have a candle that has
"BEAM ME UP SCOTTY" printed on it...

Is there a website for "Dolls For Appalachia"?
Maybe email and ask them if fashion dolls are accepted, perhaps in modest dress.

Happy the handyman is recuperating and hope he feels all better soon.

It would be nice for both of you when your phone friend is well enough for the two of you to get together in person and have a good chat.


Well, I went into town this morning.
Left here at 9:00am and returned at 12:20pm.
Went to Dollar Tree, bought 17 needed items.
Went to town hall and dropped off that tax form.
Went to the thrift shop and bought a lovely, new never worn before bathrobe with a dragon embroidered on the back for 2.50 and a box of 36 taper candles for 2.00, assorted pretty colors.
Went to the water depot and filled two bottles with 3 gallons each.
Went to WallyWorld and this time I got TWO pineapples.
Got lots of other produce too.
Can't wait for the farmers to start selling their fruit & veggie crops around here.
Neighbor friends used to plant a large garden and I would water when they went away for a while and I always had fresh homegrown veggies.
Also bought a big pack of TP and some ant bait traps.

At library on fast computer so maybe can catch up a bit now.

It's been wacky weather here - up in the 80s earlier in the week, windy, and now chilly, possible precipitation tomorrow and one of the days next week. The system moving in made me groggy and with the beginnings of a migraine which thankfully I was able to nip in the bud.

My diet's better - I've just been eating light and simple. Some of those pounds were water and are gone. I want to make more of a concerted effort to get back down to that low mark from a few months after my 2016 surgery, then go lower. Really do it this time, not just talk. I'm like you, Tillie, I drink a lot of water or unsweetened weak tea, and part of my reasoning is to dilute salt and calories and fill up.

Haven't really gotten going on the storage unit yet, though I did buy some of the clear boxes to replace opaque ones with. I need to go there and get my spring purse, if I still have one. This year I'm probably going to purge some ratty shoes and maybe summer tops.

I have this weird hangup about wearing old clothes, being afraid I'll spill something or sweat on the regular, presentable in public stuff. I think it may be partly a sensory thing - from childhood I've often felt uncomfortable in clothing, and now that I don't have to work outside the home I just get more inclined to be casual and wear old familiar things for years, to the point of ridiculously sloppy.

And socks - so many I've kept because newer ones are often hot, bothersome synthetic and my old ones are good old cotton. It's all about the items being too old to give away but not technically worn out.

As regards general shopping: My Lenten fast from recreational shopping has gone rather well - not 100% perfection but not bad. It has made me think if I keep it up I may have more cash - ya think? I like that "Would I buy X item today in the store?" Good tip! I shall use it during future decluttering.

One of my most frustrating struggles right now is having to move things to get to other things. Both at home and in the storage unit.

Tillie, are you close enough to Area 51 that we could send a communique' to aliens to beam up Steven's stuff and drop it off in that big black hole we've been seeing photos of in the news? I feel so bad for you that he knows where to go fetch the stuff back if you do manage to get it gone!

I understand about phone phobia! Answering the phone was the most difficult thing for me way back when I was first working. I would forget what someone said (eventually I taught myself to write things down, which helped). But I'm still a person who prefers any other method of communication to talking on the phone.

This one girlfriend of mine is a compulsive talker, and by herself and with health problems. Lately I'd been dodging her calls because I know the average one will bring my day to a grinding halt for two hours, and my neck will hurt and my brains will be scrambled by the end of it. I like her and we have things in common, so I don't mean to imply I'm not interested (except when she goes off on a tanget of politics, but I can distract her and change the subject).

We were meeting now and then a few months ago (she has clutter issues so doesn't want people in her place). That went so much better and I think it was more satisfying for her as well to be able to see me while we talked. But she's been ill again, and right now is in the hospital. Hopefully when she gets out and recuperated, and I get a little caught up, we can resume the visits.

What else... Tillie, I get you about the dolls. They're hard to resist, then sometimes we have buyer's remorse. There is a place on Facebook I've found - Dolls for Appalachia - where one can send baby and child dolls to impoverished children (I don't know about fashion dolls). I have at least one American Girl type that I'm hoping to send.

After Lent I will be allowed to look at Barbies again, but I'm going to be very restrained. My bunnies got me an 18" doll for my birthday. She will model clothing that I will make for sale.

Our handyman had to have a stent put in, so he is still recuperating. Roommate talked to him when she was needing a recommendation for a tire place.

It's kind of a strange spring overall with the changeable weather and it seems even more difficult to manage my time and schedule, and energy and motivation. I've had some times of being really down in the dumps, but I'm doing okay now, and hoping this indicates an upswing.

Good Evening Everybody

Hi Tatoulia
The bombing was a huge emotional blow to everyone.
I had the tv on for no reason and the news broadcasts started.
I watched and cried then to not be alone I went over to the neighbor friend's.
Their tv was off and I told them and they turned it on and were devastated.
An anniversary for you and the people of Boston is an especially emotionally trying time. ((((HUGS))))


Billy Joel? LOL ;D
My big boy liked wind up music box music.

What a shame you are still not feeling well.
Can you afford a massage?
It would be for beneficial medical reasons, not just for fun.

A lecture on watches, sounds interesting.
That's what I enjoy best about Youtube, all the interesting documentaries, Ted talks, history and so many other fascinating in depth videos.

WTG! for litter boxes, garbage and laundry!


BADGER, BADGER, BADGER!!!
Remember last time how nice and fresh the rug was to help motivate the badger.

It kinda sorta lightly rained today, really just a misting.
I did some beading and made French toast and washed my hair.
Watched a new series on Netflix. "Black Summer".
It's about zombies and people trying to survive them and other bad people.

That is pretty lousy to take a box from a cat, Tillie. My cat's Twitter persona would be making a citizen's arrest about now.

Tigger was a bit agitated today, so I finally put on some Billy Joel (don't ask) for him and he calmed down and went to sleep. Now he's back with BF for the night, will return in the AM. At 21, he's not very flexible or ready for change. He also growled and hissed at my cat but she was fine. She didn't engage. I was happy to have him stay the night but BF thought it would be best to just bring him early tmr. I'll go clean his litter box and kitty's so they will each have fresh in the AM.

I'm getting garbage up and done right now. I got a few loads of laundry done.

I've been suffering with bad belly and headache ever since I did my taxes.

Tonight BF and I went to a lecture on watches and we learned so much about the Omega watch that went into space with the astronauts.

Tillie I'm worried we will have rainy weather for the marathon, which is Monday. Last year was cold and rainy (if I remember correctly) and was the first year in a long time that I missed it. The other two times was when I had my appendix out in the 1990s and then the year of the bombing. I'd taken kitty to get and was heading over when my phone wouldn't work and I started seeing lines and lines and lines of every emergency vehicle whizzing past my mother's and toward the marathon. I ran to BFs but at that point I was sobbing because I knew something had happened.

Ok sorry to ramble. Tillie, you are the greatest. I need to shampoo bedroom rug this weekend. CUE THE BADGER.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Sounds like a very nice evening out you three had.
Enjoy Tigger!
So nice he has a familiar loving person to board with. (((hug)))

Still windy here and very dark & cloudy.
Might rain. Rain would wash all the blowing dust out of the air.
Thinking about going into town tomorrow.
Hardware store to buy the adhesive for the ceiling tiles.
City hall to turn in a paper that keeps my property taxes locked in to this low rate.
We get a lower rate if our property is owner occupied all year rather than a rental or seasonal home.
I could just mail the form in but that means finding an envelope and stamp, walking it in is easier and not out of the way. LOL

Steven took Scooter's new big box, plans to put "stuff" in it.
Poor Scooter.

Oh dear, you really need to get the roof repaired! I'm excited about your ceiling project!!!

Well Tigger comes tomorrow!

Went to hear David Sederis tonight at Symphony Hall. Mom seemed to get tired about halfway through. We took her in a wheelchair. I went early with her and BF got her home.

Now kitty is looking for attn. I will wash my face, put on my pjs and get some kitty lovins.

Well the wind died down enough that I was able to water the flowers, lilac bushes and grass.

Didn't want to water the Ash trees yet since they are being slow to wake up.
Their leaf buds are small and still tightly closed.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Hope the train delay wasn't too long.
Supposed to be some bad weather in a lot of areas this week which is a very bad time for animals, people and plants.

It's cold here again but not a deep freeze and the winds are raging here still.
If they will settle down a little I will get out and water my flowers.
That wind dehydrates everything.

Twinkles doesn't play in boxes.
All my three babies that I just lost always enjoyed a new box.
My sweet boy had one special box all to himself that I kept a blanket in and he would always sleep in it.
When he died I burned his box because I never wanted it to be filled with anything else, ever.
He was so cute in his box.

The ceiling tiles are made of Styrofoam.
They are very thin and white, meant to be painted by me.
They are square about 19 1/2 inches.
They have a simple embossed design of ivy leaves.
Once I get them painted and installed they will look very nice and hide a lot of ceiling imperfections.
You can even place them over "Popcorn" ceilings.
The company is "A La Maison Ceilings".

You simply measure out their placement and glue them in place.
I have half a leftover can of the pretty green paint I painted the livingroom/dining area with that I an toying with painting them with.

But first, the roof must be repaired and he is really dragging his feet on hiring a contractor.
Wish he would allow me to choose a company.

He over complicates things that aren't really all that complicated in the first place.
If I were to hire someone he would find fault with every single little thing and torture me to death with all my failings.
He even does that if I choose a restaurant.

Didn't wash any dishes yesterday so I will do that today.
May water outside if the wind allows.
Must do the usual every day cat related tasks.
But I will not dust.
That wind keeps blowing huge dust storms around so dusting is pointless.
That is "life In The Desert". ;p

Yay for new tiles! And the box got scooter!!! What do the tiles look like?

I made the mistake of taking train into work. We've been stopped for about ten minutes. At least I got my makeup on while stuck.

My cat has never been a box cat....until the last two weeks. She'll sit in it but not sleep. I'm saving it for tigger's visit and then may let it go. We'll see if the kitty still wants it after tiggers been here.

YEA!!!
My decorative ceiling tiles have arrived!

And they sent Scooter a big bonus box too. ;)

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
Very happy you all had a nice visit.
Wishing your Dad all the best on Friday.

WTG! for your Mom!
Steven inherited his grandfather's Nat Geos dating back to the mid 1940s and also the continuing subscription.
Some years back he finally let them ALL go.
A boy scout really wanted them and I said we need to ask your mother's permission first and she said OK.

YEA! for continuing to get things done & ready for the sale!

Gun powder, one large can.
I keep it there because I know where it is instead of lost somewhere out in the hoard.
But I did find someone to give some other highly flammable products to, so those are gone, snuck them away behind his back.


Hi Tatoulia
Have a great day at work :D


The wind is really raging this morning.
Glad I don't have any outside things needing done.
Plus it's cold too.
Yesterday was so nice, warm and calm.

My future plans for this Summer are to continue removing things from the pump house.
I will open ALL those cans of paint of his and any that are dried up I will toss.
I will test ALL those spray paints and any that do not work I will toss.
Yesterday I removed 7 tubes of assorted caulk that were dried up, useless.

But today I will cook and clean up the kitchen and do some beading and relax.
My ceiling tiles will be delivered sometime today.
But the roof still needs to be fixed.

Good morning!!! SubC!!!!! Tillie!!!!!!

SubC what a great visit you had! Great work that your mom is doing! Giving up goodwill and thinking about letting the magazines go! If there is a senior center or assisted living near her, they may wish to have them. Some do not accept magazines for fear of having bedbugs. Paper is easily recycled! I too am worried about your dad and will say a prayer for him. And your mother. And you.


Tillie! Thank you for your kind words and inspiration. Well I'm late for work but plot twist: this time I haven't yet showered. I showered last night but I need to go back in because my hairs a wreck.

Wow,

You guys gave been so busy!

Tatoulia, great progress with your mom!

Tillie, gunpowder? How much gunpowder? I am concerned about that being stored in your space. (But more concerned about how it would be stored out of your hands....

I had a really good visit with my parents. Both my girls and my son in law made appearances.

I am concerned about my dad. He is going into the hospital for a heart procedure on Friday. Also, his vision has deteriorated to the point where he has accepted that he will have to give up his drivers license at the next renewal. He only drives on slow back roads during the day. But he is still an amazing cook, and I gained two pounds.

My mom has given up shopping at goodwill for lent. We talked a little about how that feels for her. She is thinking about getting rid of all the old National Geographic magazines. I don't know if she will do it.

I made some more progress toward the sale while they were here too. I have another firing to do this morning.

Last week my school had a book sale and each of the teachers got a free book. So I am up one children's book.

OH! That is soooooo cute!
I didn't know Miss Kitty was a celebrity with a huge following.
She's so modest about her fame.

So happy your Mom seemed happy and well rested after all she let you do. (((hug)))

Yeah, I get it.
Gathering up stuff for a life you don't lead.
Glad you dumped the jerk. WTG! ;D
I think I have the essence of the "real" you and she is such a pleasure to know.

I often think "Know Thyself"
and "to thy own self be true".

Also enjoy Thoreau, "simplify".

Twitter is another form of social media. It used to be limited to 140 characters but now it's 280. My cat has been an active twitter member for a few years. She says stupid stuff. She tweets under a boy cat's name because I don't want people st work to figure out it's us. She says stupid stuff and posts pictures of herself and she sees herself as a lion not a cat and she's super supportive of everyone and pretends to own a zoo. So if an animal goes missing or if there's a story about a zebra, she pretends it is hers. Again pretty stupid stuff but it amuses me no end. And somehow she's gotten a fairly large following in England. So there's that. I just thought it would be a good way, if you used twitter, for me to send you some photos of my life. I'll still figure something out.

Just in case you become someone you are not. Wow!

Boy is that ever resonating. I don't expect you to remember this but when I was getting rid of books, some of the ones I got rid of were ones that I bought because I thought they'd make me into someone I wasn't or would make potential suitors find me more worldly than I am. And so I tossed the Robert Mapplethorpe and other books into the donation pile. Things id gotten in my 20s when I'd dumped a longish term BF (4 years) and wanted to attract men who'd find me mysterious and well-rounded. And I used words like "lover" instead of BF. Oh my goodness. (Ps I only mentioned dumped because I really did dump him. Generally I was the dumpee in life, so I need this one).

Now I'm perfectly fine announcing that Mac n cheese is best eaten with a spoon and wearing pjs is a delightful part of my day.

Goodnight, my dear hearts. Tillie you and I knew he'd go through the stuff. How I hoped we'd be wrong. I'm glad you can enjoy your lighter living. I'm working on mine and mom seemed well rested and happy today. I'll stay on it with her.

Hi Tatoulia

WTG! Miss Kitty!
You are doing a fantastic job!!!

I honestly don't even know what twitter is or where to look for it.
I think it may be a phone app???
I don't have a phone because I have always really hated telephones and have a phobia about talking on them.

Sorry you got that headache but very glad your taxes are done.
Having the credit cards paid off will start to sink in soon as your new reality. :D

I like your new mantra!
If you saw it today in a store would you buy it?
Very good way to think about things as you evaluate and declutter.

Well, Steven returned from thrift shopping and I pointed out the heap of discards I want to send to the dump.
He has been sorting through it and it looks like he is keeping almost every single scrap.

I can't sneak off and donate things because he will and has gone and bought stuff back.
I can donate dishes and my clothes because he doesn't buy that kind of stuff.
So frustrating when nothing much can ever leave this property.

Anyways, I am so very pleased with how neat and simplified all my outdoor stuff is now.
Only what I want to use and need and nothing for Justin Case I become someone who I am not.

CAT not car. You'd think by now that autocorrect would understand it's all about the cats.

Tillie are you on Twitter? My cat is.

Well I'm getting a boost from my car, too, Tillie. I just did my taxes and I have a massive MASSIVE headache. Probably from clenching my jaw. And I sat on the couch to just ponder it all and kitty appeared out of nowhere and snuggled up in a ball next to me. I can feel the blood going back to a normal pressure.

I ran up to pharmacy this afternoon and on way I dropped by mom's with milk and paper towels. Her apt looked really nice and I told her so. I told her that not having her shoes on the floor has made a big difference. I didn't stay, just popped in for a moment.

I need to do the garbage now. After I was done with work, the spirit moved me and I did my taxes. I'm glad they are done. I owe a lot. I was expecting to owe a lot. But I have the money to pay and that's a good feeling. I'm still stressed but it's not like I have to call the BF for some $$. It's over and I'm glad. I will transfer the $$ into my ckecming account. And I'm no longer spinning my wheels paying on never-ending credit card debt. So it will all be fine.

I shall gather up the garbage, clean the kitty's box and see if a relaxation tape can help me. That and a big glass of water. But first, I'll spend some time with the little angel.

We had a big year, Tillie. And we are doing it. I'm going to start to look at some things in my house and ask, if I saw it in a store TODAY, would I buy it?

That ought to knock the wind out of my sails but so be it. We are in this together. We are looking to feel lighter in a lot of ways.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
Good plans you have made for Tigger.
Thursday he will do just fine, I know he will.

Good luck with all your running around plans.
So nice you have that lovely dining table area to use while the men work outside!


Well, 1:30pm.
I spent this lovely morning outside cleaning out, straightening and organizing the pump house.
It's where I keep all my gardening stuff and painting stuff, screen repair and all my little maintenance/household supplies.
Have a HUGE pile of crap that I want to send to the dump but Steven will go through it all and probably keep everything.
Most of the stuff is unneeded, unnecessary, unwanted stuff he drug home and gave to me.
I just stuck it in the pump house out of my way in the house.
He will be angry that I do not want that crap but I am at a point where I do not care.

A lot of the pump house is still occupied with his stuff.
Two whole long shelves of spray paint, another long shelf of small cans of assorted paint and one entire corned stacked high with gallon paint cans.
And a can of gun powder...

Anyways, I feel very good about what I accomplished today.
Scooter & Twinkles helped me a lot.

I used that "Swedish decluttering" method and was honest about what I really will ever do or need.
Also tossed "Justin Case" out of there. >;/

Pineapple sounds lovely, Tillie. Ooh for the warm weather! It is rainy and raw. I went to grocery store and got what I needed. I will take mom's things to her at the end of the day. I need to go to pharmacy to pick up my medications. I'll pass by mom's on the way.

Going to be rainy and in the 40s again tmr. I'm pretty good with it. The house is never and cool. Kitty is sleeping next to me and I've been working from my dining table since the workers are working around the window is front of my desk. Too noisy.

Tigger the old cat will be comfy in my bedroom. I'll pull the sheer curtains back with the drapes so he doesn't pull the sheers down while trying to get on the windowsill. I'll make him a box with a blanket to sleep in the bedroom. My cat will just do her thing. There won't be any fur flying. Friday they'll be alone but Thursday we will be so cute as a little trio.

I'll wait on the cleaners. I'd rather just wait a week and take a walk when they get here. You identified it, Tillie, it's about my worry. I trust them

Ok back to work.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical

Hi CriticalMass

Hi Hi Hi you all

Hi Tatoulia
Yes, I was very surprised Granma let the shoes go after keeping them for so many years.
They were ALL the cutest shoes I had ever seen!
Best thing was, was that she was very happy she did it.

Your Mom did FANTASTIC yesterday!
Yes, if she asks for something done then do it but don't suggest it yourself.
We don't want her to have any negative feelings about all her hard decision making yesterday.

Rainy and cool sounds like good walking weather.
Good luck getting groceries along with the exercise.

Don't push yourself beyond your comfort zone on letting them clean when you are not home.
When you are truly ready you will know you are ready.


Supposed to be another sunny and warm day 70+ degrees.
But supposed to get cold, possibly rainy & windy the rest of the week.

Only plan I have for today is to carve up my pineapple and eat it.
But will probably think of a lot more things to do too.

Good morning!

Tillie, I bet those shoes were beautiful! And all on her own, Gramma decided to savor one last look and then consign. Truly amazing. And so sweet.

I think I am ready for the cleaners to be here alone to some degree. If I were to run out while they are here, for example. But it's my excessive worrying, esp with the construction, that makes me more comfortable to wait one more bit before having them in alone. So I'm almost there. Just not there, there. I'll ponder it a bit more tonight then make my decision.

Mom was great yesterday. So great. I won't push her today as that won't be productive at all. I need to take her lead today.

It's rainy and cool and I'm going to stay true to the idea to run to grocery store. I need the exercise and the groceries. I have a conference call in the afternoon.

Tillie my dear, anything on the agenda today? It is trash night for me, which is always a satisfying feeling.

That makes so much good sense to put the shoes she wears in the shoe bag and store the unused ones out of the way.

Yes! Make it easier on yourself to arrange/store things in a way that makes them easy to get out & put away.

WOW! she didn't want any of that closet floor stuff!
Amazing, truly amazing.
And she let go of a skirt and let you clean up in the kitchen & fridge.

It is fascinating how when just closets & cupboards are sorted out the home feels lighter.
Even though we can't see it, the rooms have a different feel to them.

I like going grocery shopping best at times when most people aren't there.
Dinnertime the store is usually empty.


My Granma had a large cupboard filled with shoe boxes.
When I was Spring cleaning her home for her I asked what was in those shoe boxes.
She said shoes.
They were all filled with absolutely beautiful very expensive shoes that she used to wear, all had heals over 2 inches high and were size five.
She hadn't been able to wear them for decades but kept them because they were expensive and beautiful and her's, bought back in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s.
Next time I visited she opened that cupboard to show me all those shoes were gone.
She had taken them to a consignment shop and sold them all.
Granma didn't hoard stuff but she loved her shoes.
My saying how sad it was to have them and not be able to wear them was what finally helped her make up her mind to let them go.
She had offered them to me but I never wear heals over 2 inches high and I wear size 7 1/2.
__________________________________
You get Tigger again?
YEA! Tigger.
Yeah, put him away from the noise so he can take his naps undisturbed.

Mom actually let sheets go too, WOW!

You know the cleaners, you know your own comfort levels.
You also know you worry excessively at times.
But you know you are changing in many ways.
Are you ready?

WTG! For laundry and jeans that no longer stay up!

I just put my jeans in the washer together with the T-shirt I wore today and the fleece I wore. I was thinking of taking some of mom's laundry to the fluff and fold service but I'll see what her laundry people do this week. I'll get her dry cleaning from her tmr. She had soiled a set of sheets and she was waiting to wash them when she said, I have a lot of sheets, should I just throw those out? Don't need to ask me twice!

All of my jeans are dirty now. None of them fit. Too big. I have a new pair that is down a size but I'm not going to wash and wear them just yet.

I have a big bag of my clothes for the cleaners. I'm not sure they will come this week as I am going to office on Wednesday and on Thursday I'll have Tigger here. He is 21 and probably can't take too much upheaval. He will be here Thursday and Friday. I'm pretty excited. I'll have him set up in the bedroom in case the construction out back jars him.

I am flirting with the idea of leaving them keys and having them come in while I'm at work on Wednesday. . They can get my keys at the BF's office.

Thank you!!! Mom was so great today. And here's something I forgot to mention: when I got back home, I looked at my serene bedroom and felt so wonderful about our hard work here.

I had taken many pairs of shoes out of her shoe bag on her closet door. She refuses to let me get rid of them. All beautiful leather shoes from Nordstrom's. I know why she is hanging on to them and I understand. But I put them in a bag that I put on the floor of her closet and I put the shoes she wears in the bag instead. I told her so she doesn't need to trip over her own shoes. Tillie the second you told me that we shouldn't have to move stuff to get to what we need: it's been an eye opener for me. So I decided that there is no reason for her shoes to be on the floor when we could move away some of her unused shoes.

While I was in the closet, I picked up a few things off the floor and it turned out that she wanted exactly zero of what I picked up!

At one point she pointed to a skirt and said she just wasn't going to wear it any more. She's worn it a lot so. I said, beautiful. And she said, oh, did you want the skirt? I clarified: beautiful, you're willing to let it go.

I fell asleep while reading and just woke up. I had wanted to get a walk in tonight but such is life.

I did nothing for myself or my house today. I'll hopefully get some QT time in with the washer tomorrow. I have a bit of a headache so I'm having a large glass of water.

So Tillie, you are adjusting to the new garden-that is terrific. Adjusting to the smaller number of cats is sad. I hadn't thought about the food impact of going from five (when I first met you) to two, maybe three if you count Jack.

Mom was great today. I got rid of some expired food, too. And cleaned out her fridge. Maybe I'll bake her a treat tmr, although I did bring her cinnamon raisin bread today.

I'm home tmr. I may sneak out lunch time to the grocery store. That is not like me. But I think I will. Get the things I would've picked up tonight. Like milk for mom.

I know I was at grocery store with BF last night but I was focused on getting food for me do I can make some lemon asparagus pasta and less worried about mom's stuff. And I forgot paper towels. Plus I've always shopped on a rotating basis so even when I have a ride and someone to carry them up the stairs, I still like to keep it relatively simple.

Tillie I did two hours at mom's and when I left I said, it may not look any different, mom, but the apartment feels lighter. And she agreed. I'll see if I can do an hour tmr night and keep it moving.

WAY TO GO!!!! Tatoulia's Mom!!!!

And WAY TO GO!!! Tatoulia!!!

I'm pretty sure the items you made your own judgment calls on were really truly things that are best gone and nothing important at all.
Happy that one thing was "chipped".
Yes, no sense in keeping anything broken beyond repair. ;p

What wonderful news that she didn't want anything on those two bathroom shelves!
Think being away from home in an uncluttered environment was like a breath of fresh air for her. :D

Yes, we must always consider what's best for the Kitties even though we are willing to take dangerous risks for ourselves.
Keep that handy little tool up your sleeve for future use in moldy or unhealthy items. LOL

YEA! for being back in those PJs!
Enjoy your relaxing evening, you earned it.


1:25pm.
Laundry is dry but I will wait till 2:00pm to bring it in and fold it.
Been doing a little rearranging of things in my closet & drawers in my room.
Very happy with the results.

Have been struggling with changing my habits at the stores.
I must remind myself not to look for cute vintage baby/doll quilts at the thrift shop.
Must remind myself that I don't always need to pick up kitty litter, cat cereal, cat food cans or cat snacks at the grocery store because I am not running low as fast as I used to.

And I need to relax and accept that my garden no longer takes much work/time to keep up and I don't need to purchase as much fertilizer and other gardening things as I used to need.
It's nice to think about having less work and more time to play and enjoy the garden.

The rest of the outside property is NOT my job. ;p

I brought my speaker to mom's and streamed music and danced and worked. She was back in her room and the large fans were gone. I did her dishes and got two big black garbage bags of stuff out and two fairly large sized other garbage out too. She was happy and good about all of it.

She had gone downstairs for breakfast (she never, ever does that) and she had eggs Benedict so I think that had put her in a good mood. I convinced her to go down to lunch so I could work away. She agreed to the one box of magazines and she agreed on the 2005 calendar. I told her they would mold and hurt the kitty. BLESS YOU TILLIE.

While she was at lunch I did stuff that we are not supposed to do. I tossed and/or put in donation bag stuff I didn't have permission to do. I'm good with it. I'm being candid because I know that it was wrong and yet I feel pretty solid about it. I don't know if she'll notice or not notice. The one thing I do think she will eventually notice, I've decided to tell her it was chipped. Just to end it.

I worked on dishes and bathroom and with mom's help I cleared off TWO shelves in her bathroom completely. She didn't want even one thing I showed her. Can you imagine my good fortune?

She was in great spirits and was upset about two things I moved but she was great in a 100 ways and I was great in a 100 ways and they kept sending the cleaner up to get the trash from the apartment to take to the dumpster.

I cleaned kitty's box and came home here to shower and wash my hair. Now I'm wearing recently washed pjs that haven't fit me in probably seven years. I'm feeling good.

Will make lunch and then read. I have a tiny cat next to me, sound asleep.

Good Morning Everyone
"Clink!"

Hi Tatoulia
Good luck with your plans for today.

I think that wearing pajamas as day wear is an "in" fashionable thing these days.

YEA! for sleeping with the window open.
Still dips too low over night here for that yet.
But soon, very soon.


The clothesline is all hung with linens.
Have clothes hung in my room on hangers and the drying rack.
There will be a whole lot of folding & putting away today.
Other than that my dance card is free. :)

Thank you, Tillie! I do hope that mom can show some resilience. I'm going to be very kind and very careful as she may not have slept well.

I'm heading over in a bit with a t-shirt and pajama shorts to change into. I don't own any real shorts so pajama shorts it is! They are fairly long so they won't be offensive. I may bring my rubber gloves. She has the disposable ones but I save those for kitty and other types of tasks.

I'm enjoying my coffee right now. What a beautiful day we are having. It was great sleeping with the window open.

Hang some laundry for me!!

Hi Tatoulia
You and the others here have no idea how much you all do for me and mean to me.
(((HUGS)))
I was so lost, helpless and lonely floating aimlessly in a vast emptiness.
But now we are all together in a safe harbor.

I am all washed & shampooed and have clean sheets & pillow cases.
And yes, so easy to find interesting movies, too many actually. ;)

I would consider it a great success if your Mom would just let go of any wet magazines.
I suppose your Mom is looking at being in the other place as sort of a vacation away from home.
It's always good to have a change of scenery every once in a while.
Maybe the unclutteredness of the place will help her let go of wet magazines.

WTG! for a successful escape from Macy's!
Fresh Spring asparagus, how wonderful.

I am so relieved that you no longer have all that stress in your life.
You deserved to be treated so much better than that and now you are treating yourself as you should.
Enjoying your life!

Tomorrow I will hang out laundry.
Other than that I have no plans or pressing chores to do.

Thank you for helping me with mom, Tillie. She has nicer furniture than her "hotel room" but it looks really cute and I'd love to be able to get her to agree to a smaller table and fewer things. If we could even dump the magazines I'd be happy. Even some of them. Or her unused calendar from 2005. But I won't fight or struggle with her. She needs my kindness now more than ever.

I had no issues whatsoever at Macy's! I made my return and then sat in furniture while waiting for BF. Then we did some grocery shopping. The asparagus looked tasty so I bought some lemons and a hunk of Parmesan cheese and I'll make a spring pasta dish tmr.

I hope mom and kitty are okay tonight. I know they are more resilient than I think.

All I could think today was, thank goodness I'm not dealing with a daily, escalated crisis with the brother. I mentioned that to mom and to BF tonight. Mom knew exactly what I meant. Oh! The plumbers who were helping mom today said to her, I can't believe how nice you are being about all of this. My mother is a kind soul.

BF didn't really comment on what I said about brother but then again, he's a man of few words.

I have clean sheets! I have to do the dishes then settle in for the night. I managed to do one load of laundry done mid-day. Towels.

Tillie can you believe how long we have been friends? I'm afraid I take more than I give. I'm hope you have bathed and washed your hair and have found a good movie to watch!

Hi Tatoulia

What a shame about Mom's place.
Hoping it turns into a blessing.

Make sure to emphasize that wet paper and cloth items will get mildew and breathing it in is so very bad for her and her cat.
Make then both sickly and lethargic.

Really hoping she is ready to live in a beautifully furnished uncluttered home.

How much fun stoop sitting sounds!
Nice neighbors, dogs and a baby too.

Be strong at Macy's (((hug)))

I'm so glad your family is here, SubC!

Tillie it is beautiful here today. Unfortunately there was a leak at mom's and she has some flooding in her apt. They put her in a very nicely furnished apt for tonight and maybe a second night. It is so cutely furnished. It gave me a chance to open the subject of getting her place together. I see that scores of her magazines are wet and I'm wondering if she'll let me get rid of them. I didn't mention that but I did say that if she lets me clean her place I'll buy her furniture like the furnished room. She said she's ready to clear her place. We shall see. I have gone up a few times today, including to bring a new litter box to cat and to feed her. I also brought mom a coffee and a water and a pound cake slice and sat with her.

BF needs to go to Macy's and I have a return so I'm waiting for him. My neighbors next door were stoop sitting with their dogs and baby and I hung out with them twice today. They are great fun and really nice. First time I've seen the baby.

Good Afternoon

Cloudy overcast, cold with brisk very cold breezes.

Went outside and spread fertilizer all over everything then watered it in well.

The cats came outside with me at first but very quickly went back inside.
Too cold and no sunbeams.

I've been eating and resting for a while.
Soon I will take a shower & wash my hair.
Then I will wash all the clothing I was wearing.

Yardwork is all caught up for now.
Feels good to have that done. ;D

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny with a possible high of 70 degrees!
Maybe tomorrow I'll wear a dress.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
WTG! beating the sugar monkey!!!

Hope you get out and walk around in all your beautiful sunshine.

Subclinical has her parents visiting right now.
Last time they came they all had a lovely visit.

If I drank any more water than I always drink I will probably die from water toxicity. LOL
My issues are musculoskeletal.
Old untreated spinal injuries and osteoarthritis.

Cold with high hazy clouds here today.
Bad night tossing and turning but finally fell asleep and my headache is absent this morning. YEA!
Have no idea yet what I'll do today but it's just now 9:08am.
Plenty of time yet in the day.

Hello hello

Tillie please make sure you are drinking enough water, although I suspect the headache could be musculoskeletal in nature, in which case the water won't help as much.

Cm I know fast food seems so reliable and satisfying when you are stressed. It tastes exactly how you imagine that it will taste, and it can help restore order when things seem chaotic and unfamiliar. See if you can't take Tillie's suggestion and have a portion of string cheese and a few berries with a tall glass of water. I bet you could soon see that the combination is just as comforting so emotionally you will feel better. And feeling more physically well will be a huge bonus!

Right now I'm limiting my sweets to baked goods and I haven't been baking so I'm doing pretty well. The further I get away from it, the better I feel.

Beautiful sunshine today. I wanted to do some laundry but someone's in there and I don't feel like competing.

I walked a lot yesterday and need to get out and walk some more.

SubC hope you are doing well. I kind of now forget what you are doing but I do remember you have a lot going on.

Hi CriticalMass

WOW! 7 nails?
Did she drive through a construction area?

That fast food stuff has lots of sugar, salt and fat.
It's "comfort" food, satisfies us emotionally.
But that 5 pounds could be all the excess salt water weight.

Try going in a grocery store and grabbing some fruit and veggies to have on hand when you get hungry but no time to cook.
String cheese is good with fruit too.

Good to hear the handyman decorated his place.
Hope he is feeling better.


My headache came back strong about noonish so I took a little nap.
It didn't help much.
The computer hurts my eyes.
Wish I wasn't so decrepit.

Today a little better - at least the day is going at a manageable pace. I'm not having big ambitions since the time is broken up.

I'll pick roommate up and take her to allergy shot doctor @ 4:00. Tomorrow we'll take her tire to be fixed or if it can't be to get another one. It had 7 nails in it!

I'll do bits and pieces of stuff or catch up on reading with the remainder of the weekend. And we have a bunny group meeting Sunday afternoon. After which I believe a nap sounds good - or maybe I'll take one tomorrow. That might be better.

I thought I was losing weight and discovered a 5-lb. gain. *#^@#&!! Eating lightly hoping it will go back down quickly. When I have to run around I had been grabbing fast food. And being a sensory picky eater is one of those things that can go either way. Some people can hardly eat a thing and they're underweight. Others, like me, can gain weight because nothing sounds good EXCEPT the heavy, starchy, fatty, salty, and/or sweet stuff. I keep portions down the best I can but apparently I still overdid it.

If I can get to where I cook some things I know I will eat that are reasonably healthy, and freeze portions, that'll help. It never feels like I have the time, but I'll try to look for opportunities and think creatively. Time management in general has never been my strong suit.

Well, not too much else for now.

Oh - I did go by our handyman's house and he has decorated his yard for Easter - he loves to decorate for holidays. Hoping this is a sign he is feeling more energetic and maybe we'll hear from him. Or not feel guilty or inappropriate for initiating contact. Maybe we'll get that sun porch yet...

Tribbles... LOL

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
I like frogs & toads!
They seem so simple but are a very major part of our ecosystems.

Have a wonderful visit with your family (((hug)))

The tree varieties are very nice ones in your area.


Hi Tatoulia
YEA! for just relaxing in the evening!
I gave up watching the news because it was causing me grief & anxiety.
Now I just pick and choose which news articles I care to read about online.
You are much more braver than me.
Have a GREAT day at work today. TGIF


Muscle aches & headache are greatly reduced this morning.
Think I will be taking another day off from any hard labor.
Will spend most of my time today monitoring pissant colonies and watching stuff on Roku.
I like to do crafts and other sitting down types of projects while watching tv.
Apricot blossoms are falling off the tree making it look like it's been snowing.

The Star Trek references are beyond my skill set so I boned in on the great work of Mr Kitty!

Sorry about the panics and upheaval. I started to feel your panic, SubC, if you can believe it.

I walked home and gave myself a pass. Just watched the national news and then relaxed all night.

Tillie, I know you are taking good care of yourself but please do not do anything physical today. SubC, you are doing great! CM again Star Trek is difficult for me but I hope all is well on the ship.

Off to get ready for work.

It's a variety of native trees - no ashes because we have borders also.

Spruce, fir, cypress, redbud,dogwood,river birch, sycamore, and some nut trees. We already have willow, sassafrass, and a ton of maple and oak.

Mr kitty is a good worker.

The pool and the tree pick up were open at the same time an hour apart...

We're doing toads and frogs today. I'm cheating and opening with an overview, then making the high school kids do 20-30 minutes of research and then present. I have a homework assignment to give them, which they can start on if the discussion doesn't fill the rest of class.

I've got an origami frog for the younger kids and we can have hopping contests. I'll use my opening plus anything interesting the high school kids give me.

Hoping to have time to vacuum before I go, but que sera...

If you don't hear from me, i'm Hanging out with my family.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Tribbles! :D

So sorry about that upsetting text (((HUG)))
Very relieved her sister handled the situation.

They have done scientific studies that show petting an animal really does help lower blood pressure and relieve anxiety.
WTG! Mr. Kitty, keep up the great work!

Happy to know your parents will be fed when they visit.

What kind of trees did you get?
Hope they are hardy & disease resistant varieties.
Here, they gave me the Ash that always get boring beetles unless I treat them.

So glad you didn't skip your class but wish you had 25 hours today so you could swim too.

Good luck winging it in school tomorrow.
Bet nobody will be disappointed with the lesson.

CM, do not open any hatches (or cupboards, or closets) I have a sudden image of you buried in tribbles.

Bad energy all around today. I discovered you can have ptsd from someone else's childhood. My youngest sent me a text today that included the words "I am not ok." But also that she was talking to her sister. I was in a meeting. Crickets. 15 minutes after the meeting when I was in a space alone and realized that the nervousness and shortness of breath were progressing to visible tremors and chest pain, I called her sister. Who told me I did not need to get in my car and drive two hours to my other child, that she would be fine. I did finally hear from a much calmer youngest Dd a few minutes ago.

I went to class. I skipped swimming. I have my trees and food for my parents. I am not ready for school tomorrow and my body says I REALLY need to swim, but that can't happen. I need to find something else to do to get back in balance.

Mr. kitty has suggested cat petting.

Hi Tatoulia
The only problem I have noticed with Roku
is that there is really too much free stuff to watch with it. ;D
And every month there is always new stuff added to it.


Earlier I made a mistake...
hoarding buried alive is on Pluto, not Popcorn.

Whenever he is inside the house I like to play back to back episodes of HOARDERS hoping he will get a clue and maybe some motivation.

Still all stiff & sore with a headache.
But I have been doing fun relaxing stuff.

The pissants have woken up today and are starting to emerge from the ground.
I have been out placing ant bait where ever I see them.
They are moving very slowly, still sleepy, but the ant bait will kill the queen and all of them in every nest before they have a chance to cause me too much grief.

CriticalMass
Just crawl into a stasis chamber and set it to wake you when there is a habitable planet for you to play on.
(((hug)))

I'll take the badger for now, CM. I'm sorry for the monkey wrenches. I'm so sorry.

Tillie I cut the cable cord in 2012 and bought a Roku. Fantastic product. Then I went to mom's and did the same thing. Then to brother's. Then gave one to sis and BF for Christmas that year. Extraordinary. Never looked back.

I'm still at work and I will write more later.

Chin up, CM. We will take care of you.

Still struggling

Fragmented thoughts

Roommate has a flat tire, and helping her deal with it will mean tomorrow is disrupted as well as Saturday.

Right now I am beyond even giving a badger's hind end about the stupid clutter. It's my overall sanity I'm concerned with. I shall be able to maintain it, I think, but it's kind of like those scenarios like in Star Trek where the ship needs to shut down all nonessential functions and divert every bit of available power to shields and basic life support.

And hope to make it to the nearest Starbase for repairs and maintenance. CM out.