Well, I didn't do particularly well in the sleep department last night. The rain came in later than expected and I was up with the fire too long.when my alarm went off this morning, I was dreaming that my parents came to visit (panned in a few weeks) and told me they were having trouble and thinking about splitting up. The chances of my parents splitting up are slightly lower than the chances of Tillie coming home from town to discover that Steven hired a hauling company and all of the junk is gone, so I don't know where that came from.

I have been trying to meditate on balance, but am stuck. I get as far as noticing that my life is out of balance, but then I start focusing on specifics and spinning my wheels. I want the answer to be "find more energy and more time in each day" but I'm afraid it's "let things go."

It's hard, because this is the season of growing and building in the natural world, but my life is structured so that it is also a season of endings and letting go. - maybe that is where I need to look for the balance. I wonder if it would be easier to be a teacher in the Southern Hemisphere - where harvest and rest come at the end of the school year and all of the new beginnings coincide?

It also needs to be a season of letting go because if I don't finish most of these big projects before school starts in the fall, I will be hopelessly overwhelmed by my new schedule.

Tatoulia, have a good day at work!

I have class this morning, a lunch and lecture at the library, a classroom to restore to order, and plans to swim. You may not hear from me again until tomorrow!

Hi Subclinical
Hope you are sleeping peacefully with only sweet dreams. (((HUG)))
My brain is tired and scrambled too. ;)

You can see almost all the animals from the road.
Lots of brown cows with some white on them.
And the traffic moves very slowly with a lot of cattle haulers on the road.

A rancher's cows are grouped together into pens
"auction lots".
The meat packers bid on the different lots.
Not at all a fun thing to watch.
Not at all like cow judging at the county fair.
Makes me wish I didn't like hamburger so much.

The cows are born & raised out on the open range.
Cowboys round them up, inoculate them, brand them and castrate "cut" the boys when they are young and set them free again.
Periodically through out the year, cattle are rounded up and sent off to auction.
Sometimes one will escape the auction and try to escape by running through town.

I have been to a round up, branding & "cutting".
It's fascinating watching the horses work.
They know exactly how to maneuver the calf and when the cowboys lasso it's legs, the horses know to back up pulling the rope tight to keep the calf off it's feet while the cowboy wrangles it.

These horses are Mustang, born wild, captured and trained.

Hi Tatoulia
Yes, the Goats are so cute and when I saw that tiny Burro today I seriously wanted it! :D

Happy you had a lovely dinner with your friend and still made it to the lecture.

SubC sometimes I'm tired and sad too. Keep your chin up, my friend. You are doing hard work.

Sorry about the rat, SubC. Sorry you have to deal with it.

Oh I bet the goats and the tiny burro are so cute. Tillie. Sugar. I love the expression Sugar. I generally call people dearheart. As in, goodnight dearheart.

Well dinner with friend was absolutely lovely. We have worked together for ten years and have always planned to have a meal. It was tasty. So tasty. And, when we were done, I saw the time, and I quickly ran to Symphony Hall and was able to make most of the lecture tonight. BF had said he'd leave me the ticket if his friend didn't go. So full night all around.

I didn't get Pile It license at first!!!! CM you are so clever.

Goodnight, dearhearts. Full day tmr and I have to be there at 9 so Ive got to wash up and go to bed.

I thought maybe you stopped in to see the animals.

Also, I just realized I said solstice instead of equinox - because normally I have a fire on solstice and plant things on the equinox. But nothing got planted today. Which I guess is ok, because things got planted yesterday.

Mostly, I feel tired. And sad. But that might just be tired.

Hi Subclinical

BIG (((HUG))) for your find today.
But at least it died fat & happy, probably of natural causes too.

WAY TO GO! for all the cleaning & straightening you did!
Sounds like you have a really good spot for the bonfire.
Hope the burning was very cleansing and cathartic for you.

LOL, I didn't go to the cattle auction.
But it is very large and right in the middle of town so you really can't avoid it and all the lovely smells.
The goats and tiny burro are in a grassy field down the road from the auction yard.

When I was young I was taught how to hunt deer and all that.
But I don't want to kill anything unless it were the last option for survival.
Even then I would allow the animal to live and let me starve.

Wow Tatoulia, nice job on the dresses! And on stopping the emails. Just remember, you can still go to their website when you actually need something, you just don't need them bossing you around. You ar in charge in this relationship!

CM, good job on the clear out and the not shopping. Dh is always trying to revoke my pile it license! I would be stressed about clearing out for the bug man, but I am proud of you guys for taking the opportunity to get rid of things.

Tillie Sugar, did you gave fun at the auction? I think it would be too hard for me. I don't like to think about them eating the poor goats. :(.

My studio looks a lot better and my animal barn looks a lot better. The bonfire is mostly burned down, so we are just keeping an eye on it. (The field is very soggy and the pond curves around about a third of the circle on the downwind side. We let the grass burn a little at a time around it to make a fire break while we are feeding it.) the next part is kind of awful, so you can be done reading now if you want to.

Icky part
I finally got to the pile of scrap wood in the corner of my animal barn. I set aside a few things to save but a lot could just go. It was saved long ago and there are better pieces in the shop now. However, few things will discourage you from storing scrap wood in your barn like getting into the middle of the pile and finding a dead rat. I did not finish the job because the chickens were all over in my space eating the corn and feed it had stored up. Thankfully, they didn't try to eat the rat. But that is a bad job for later!

Happy Spring Everybody!

Hi Tatoulia
Fingers crossed the back project goes quick & quiet.

Yeah, it is easier weathering storms when our whole world has more calm in it.

OH, dresses...
For me deleting dresses is the absolute hardest thing to do.
Good luck and WAY TO GO!!!

YEA!!! for deleting the store emails!!!
Keep thee from temptation.


Hi Subclinical
Great you had some solid sleep.
Making decisions is physically and mentally draining especially when things trigger painful responses.
WAY TO GO!!! for all you two did!
Enjoy your bonfire. :D


Hi CriticalMass
So happy you had a good sleep without nightmares.

WAY TO GO! for laundry and making room for the bug man even though it made a mess.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE "Pile-It" license! :D


This morning a rogue daffodil bloomed in my garden.

Had my Solstice bonfire the other day when I was working in the yard since the rain storm was predicted for today.

Went into town and filled my water bottles at The Water Depot.
It's coin operated and I took advantage of that to declutter a whole bunch of nickels I had in a jar for a long time.
Got food for me & the cats and I bought myself some Easter candy since the stupid rabbit doesn't ever visit me.

I am used to waitresses & sales people & other random friendly strangers calling me Darlin, Sweetie, Honey, Hun, etc.
But today was the first time a gentleman ever called me Sugar.
The stockyards are all filled up and busy with cattle auctioning off so there are a lot more Cowboys in town today.

The field beside the butcher shop is starting to fill up with goats again and today I noticed a tiny Burro in with all the goats.
Hope nobody is planning on eating that.

Cm! Great work getting rid of those pipes! And I'm glad you slept peacefully. I'm sorry you missed quilting. I'm happy, though, that your body rested up and you are feeling so cheerful! Thank you so much for the support.

I just did something really hard. I unsubscribed from emails from my stores. It hurt. It hurt a lot. Bye Talbots. Bye Lord & Taylor. You know why we are doing this. It pains me too.

Happy Spring!

I slept till 10:30 this morning! 😮 At first thought it said 9:30 so was going to fire up the afterburners and go late to quilting. They're used to me showing up whenever. But then I got a good look at the time. Oopsie! Change of plans to doing stuff around here. Thankfully no nightmares this morning, so woke feeling rested and positive. Very thankful for that.

Did laundry, just one load for today. My room is needing attention again along with other catching up. You see, last week in addition to the bunny care, we also had to move things around for the termite inspector, aka Bug Man.

Since the crawlspace hatch Bug Man needed to access is in roommate's office, she had to move office stuff into her bedroom and sleep in the living room that night. And I had to move some of my projects from the sofa. Sadly, it was just pile wherever in my room. Hoping one day to revoke my "Pile-It's License" for good!

We also had to clear a path in the garage for Bug Man, and in the process got rid of several big unneeded items and stuff like pipes. Put it by the curb and it was gone so fast! Took a large box of donations to the thrift store on Saturday too. While there, I resisted buying two 80s era Barbies. I'm not as into that period of Barbies, and if I bought them to resell, I'd have to store them. Let someone else enjoy them.

Tatoulia, you certainly have been awesomeness personified this past year. Someone will like the dresses. I'm so rooting for you on the no-spending and the debt elimination plan. If temptation tries to lead you down the primrose path, think of me. I would love to be able to nuke my debt by such a plan and am so far from being able to it isn't funny. On a disability income and with my reserve eaten by that old van, I don't know if it'll ever be possible. So resist in honor of old CM cheering from the sidelines! 😉 You got this!

SubC I get it about the mental energy for decision making and creativity coming from the same wellspring. During these last few days of fatigue I couldn't decide my way out of a paper bag, and I had no creative mojo to speak of either. Yesterday despite the nightmares I did begin to see a return of creativity. So that I keep the Lenten resolution not to go recreational shopping, on Tuesdays when I have quilting at the church in the morning and holy hour in the afternoon with a three hour gap, I took the sketches for a new quilt and worked on them. Made some progress.

Tillie, glad you heard from the neighbor. And that you're enjoying some gardening but not overdoing it. We have sunny days today and tomorrow then storms coming Friday and rain through Monday at least. It's good to have indoor and outdoor projects. And kitties. 🐈🐈🐈

SubC you and your husband are doing great work! I am so happy for you. Yes the decision making is overwhelming and exhausting. I'm glad you had such a nice lunch. You are doing so well. I am so proud of you and pleased for you.

I went up to visit BF. It's beautiful out. On the way home, I stopped by dry cleaners and the skirt I wanted to wear tomorrow ( a re-claimed skirt) wasn't ready and I said okay I'll come back on Saturday. Getting my home organized has helped me weather the storms easier. It that this was a storm. I am also so relaxed without sibling. Such a gift to just be me and not berated and abused. A co-worker whom I see rarely was in the office yesterday and he told me early that he could stay late, so we worked together late last night. It was good and cathartic. I told him about brother. Co worker is a nice man, not intense or deep, just smart and funny and nice. So we talked about that and other things. I often stay late when he comes in since it's company while we work.

I just went into my closet and gathered five dressy-dresses to give to cleaners. All sizes. 8-14. Even the ones that fit or willl fit aren't anything I'll wear again. They are pretty and most only worn once or twice. One in particular (size 8) I remember wearing at a party with BF and we looked so cute together. Even when I get to that size, I don't think I'll wear it again.

I am going to go back to my work now. Just wanted to check in. SubC you are my inspiration. And Tillie, you are my rock.

Hi all!

So funny, I always scroll down to my last post and start reading up in order, so I was getting ready to say something about the salads, but I am glad to see that is all sorted out.

Tatoulia, I am sorry you are in a fish bowl again. How tall is your building?

That is a fantastic debt reduction plan! Much better to pay interest to yourself! And taking it right out of your check before you see it removes all the temptation and lets you really see what your usable income is. I bet you will feel rich in four years - like me with no car payment!

Now if I could just feel like going to another store for boots....

Tillie, let us know what you get up to in town!

I am exhausted. I went to bed early, but had nightmares about flooding (most likely feeling overwhelmed combined with dh showing me pictures yesterday of where we used to live near the Mississippi.) finally feel into a better sleep after dh came to bed several hours later. Slept ten hours in all!

I got off to a nice gentle start this morning, but dh took the day off to work in the studio again and asked me to come out after chores and breakfast.

Two hours and two teary beakdowns later, we had a bigger pile for goodwill, a full trash can, and the back of the pickup filled with scrap to go to the recycling yard (including the dead water heater that has been in the garage for ages.)

But now dh has gone off to unload the scrap and drop a tool off at our friend's house (friend is borrowing the tool) and I was going to work on clay (I am almost out of time to do wet work for the spring show) but I think the well from which decision making and cleaning out draws is the same well I use for creative energy, and it is empty. I spent 45 minutes puttering around straightening up before I realized I was getting nowhere and came in to see if lunch would help. Lunch is a big bowl of Brussels sprouts and almonds and a glass of juice, so maybe. It hasn't had time to soak in yet.

When dh comes home we are going to have a big solstice bonfire and burn a bunch of wood scrap and brush. :)

Thanks for the understanding on the salads, Tillie and for remembering them! Oh I'm so glad your former neighbor called! I am so grateful for that! It was very sad when they left. I used to love hearing about you and dear Marty heading over there to check on things.

They have started the back project. Thank goodness I have the drapes and my Roman shade to keep them from peeking in. Kitty's doing okay so far. They are putting up the scaffolding. I'm a bit concerned they will set ofc the wondow alarms and will have to think about how to handle. The project is expected to last a week, so that's a relief.

I'm going to get dressed soon and go visit BF. I also need to pick up my dry cleaning.

I am excited about the debt reduction and must pull the spending into control. Real control. Just like my eating. And my hoarding. I'm pulling it into control and my life is easier. I just keep reminding myself of the ease and grace of my life today compared with a few years back. Or even one year ago. This time last year, I had a dirty house and the furniture was laid out wrong and I still had sibling and I was downtrodden. And fat. With high blood pressure abs high cholesterol. Look what we've done!

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Tatoulia
I really like the way you have arranged paying off your debt.
You borrowed from your future self and will be paying yourself the interest on the loan.
Fantastic!

I had calculated your work day salads into your regular grocery costs since you explained how nutritious they are and in sticking to your weight loss plans.

I honestly believe you will be successful in keeping spending under control now that you are getting your home all sorted out.
These things go hand in hand.
Out of control excess items in the home and out of control spending for the items. (((hug)))


Just drinking my tea and soon I will get ready and go into town.
Clear skies this morning but windy.
Rain is supposed to start up about noonish.

Yesterday my former neighbor friend called and we had a wonderful & long conversation.
I sure do miss them.

8:50am better get going.............

SubC! Tulips poking up! Lovely! Good work on your classroom!

The debt situation is this: everything will be paid off Monday. It's all set up. The issue is sometimes there's a residual bill for some interest. Those will be paid immediately. All credit card debt will be gone. I borrowed from my 401k at a low interest rate and the interest is paid to myself. I borrowed exactly what I needed for my credit card debt, even though I was eligible to take much more. The payments come out of my paychecks automatically. The length of the loan is 4 years, even though I had the option to make it a longer payback period. The interest on my discover card is absolutely sickening and even when I pay 500+ a month, I get no where on making a dent in the balance. I will close that account in a year or so, after my credit score has recovered.

Tillie your tips are absolutely spot on. Esp the reminder that only get mom what she asks for. So no surprise dresses or other clothing. The one thing I will modify is that the three days I go to office, I will buy my nutritious and delicious salads. They are 10 and yummy and fresh. And they serve as my main meal for the day. There is protein and salad and fruits and nuts. I do now stock pineapple juice and cranberry juice and seltzer in my office (they gave me my own cabinet) so I can enjoy a beverage without paying an exorbitant single serving price.

Tonight I do have dinner plans and I have dinner plans next week. I think tonight the person is on an expense account and might be paying for my meal. In any event, I have cash for the meal and I will have cash for next week.

I can do this. I will continue to strengthen my thoughts and feelings about money. I was always the one with bank accounts and savings accounts, etc. in fact, when I bought my apt I had the down payment already in my bank account without even realizing it. The mortgage guy kept saying, see, the balance is the right there. I never paid attn.

Thank you all so much. Decluttering my debt and my worries.

HI Subclinical
You posted while I was composing!

WOW! WAY TO GO!!! for getting a great start on organizing the classroom!!!

I sure do understand not doing more in the garden until you have more time for it.
Most properly stored seeds only lose about 10% for every season they go unplanted, so you should have plenty of sprouts come up.

How WONDERFUL to have Tulips coming up!
Sure sign Spring is here.

Best idea to ask around pottery class to gift someone with some of the molds.
That could really help someone who doesn't have many to choose from.

Using containers and having specific stations for storing them is a great way to help keep it organized and also for easily finding exactly what you are looking for.

Yes I do have gloves and wore them as much as I could.
But my hands get too hot in even thin cotton gloves, so I took them off.
Been using Vaseline Intensive Care lotion and it's working very well.

Good Evening Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
"Nuns & Buns" I love it! :D
Really hoping you can start getting to the storage unit.
Spring is not yet too hot like Summer is.

Please work on getting more restful sleep without any bad dreams.
It's impossible to try functioning when exhausted.

Enjoy you time with your 96 year old friend. :)


Hi Tatoulia
Alright...

NO SPENDING for the next 30 days.
This challenge is subject to being extended as needed.

This includes brown bagging it, no Starbucks, no girl's night out, no restaurant meals unless as a guest, absolutely no deviating from the grocery shopping list, etc...

NO IMPULSE BUYING!
You MUST wait three or more weeks before purchasing anything that is not food or toilet paper, etc...

This also includes anything your Mother has not specifically requested or urgently needs.

Figure out a bare bones budget for your food & etc. needs and stick to it.
Live like you have absolutely NO access to any other funds/credit.


OK, How's that? ;D


Moved rather slowly today but the place is more acceptable now.
Laundry is all caught up and put away.
Kitchen is all clean, again.
Cats & I spent a little time enjoying the outside.

Rain clouds are starting to move in.
Plan to go into town tomorrow.
Have my shopping list all made up and my empty water bottles in the car to fill up.
Not planning to do any more yardwork until next week, need the time to rest up.

So Tatoulia, on Monday your cards will be (basically) paid off, but you will have a single loan payment? Is that right?

I know you can do this!

CM, I too love "nuns and buns" and I am also not surprised you are feeling discombobulated. I hope you get your nap!

Tillie, I am glad you got such lovely weather, but take care of your poor hands! Do you have gloves? Lotion?

I finished starting my indoor seeds before I went in to school today. I am just planting "things I have leftover" this year, so some may not come up. It is ok. I can't justify spending more money on the garden until I get what I have under control.

Did I tell you about the huge batch of tulip bulbs I got for mother's day Last year? I still have a bunch to plant if Spring ever really arrives, but the ones I did get planted in the fall are making little green leaf cups in the soil.

My classroom is not a lot better - I mostly did the "pull things apart" part of cleaning up. And my car is full of things I brought home. Some are to wash and return, but some are not.

I am trying to use the "container concept" from "a slob comes clean" for my classroom, specifically "this" is the slip casting corner, and all the slip casting molds, materials, and equipment must go on these shelves. Any molds that do not fit will have to leave.

But then, I don't want to throw the molds away, because they are still good. And some if them I like, but won't use with my class. And *I* have the same problem my classroom has. I think I will ask around my pottery class to see if anyone is interested.

Thursday I have to go back and put my room back together. (It's actually not bad, but I moved big furniture, so the stuff from the furniture is on tables. Plus I washed some things and left them out on tables to dry. And I stopped mid- sort on the molds and some are still on the floor.)

Ok, tomorrow is another day, but today is over because I am tired.

Wow, Tillie! 70F! SubC you are doing great! Do not doubt yourself! CM how sweet you spent time with your elderly friend. I'm not surprised you are a bit discombobulated! Big interruption of your routine last week! It took me quite a bit of time to recover from friend's visit so i understand completely! I do hope you can get to storage soon. I think it's been a while and you'll be looking at it with fresh eyes! Love the nuns and buns event!

I have scheduled the payments for my credit cards for Monday. I'll probably still get a final bill at some point but they are set up and ready to go. I will feel great relief. I need to put the visa away. I can't have it with me. I've proven that.

I'm home after a long day at office.

Tillie I'm going to need a spending diet starting now. I shall challenge myself to no spending for 30 days. This is crucial that I do this. This is very important.

I appreciate everyone's support. I need to simplify my life, as Tillie said. You each have gotten me through so much. How lucky am I? Immeasurably lucky.

I'm going to take the visa out of my wallet. I will carry my am ex only and it has a tiny, 300 limit, that I pay off each month. They reduced me from 4500 a long time ago and I'm on their side. Meanwhile my already disgustingly high discover card just raised my limit another 3 or 4 thousand. I don't have the card and will never access that again. I haven't charged in it in so long, and I'm paying huge interest that won't go away.

If Am Ex wants to raise above 300, I will decline.

I need this mental exercise and thank you SubC for suggesting I poke around the internet for some strength. Very good suggestion.

Hi again,

Would you believe I'm still winding down from the discombobulation that was last week? I went to the library a couple times to download research information for my writing on the oh-so-much-faster computers there.

Yesterday I stayed with my 96-year-old friend because her companion didn't work out. Wouldn't be surprised if I get asked for tomorrow, but maybe not. I'll be there evenings next week too; that's been planned for awhile.

Friday of this week the bunny group takes rabbits to visit retired sisters at the convent care wing - Nuns and Buns! 😁

That leaves Thursday as the only day in which I don't have to be anywhere - so far. Things can always change. Depending on the weather, I'd like to go start purging and organizing the storage unit, and/or get to the gym. Laundry needs doing too. Maybe laundry tomorrow afternoon.

I could use a nap too. Yesterday I was so sleepy I was blanking out. And two mornings in a row I've had awful nightmares. It's hard to find balance in this crazy life. Still adjusting to the time change since last week was cram packed. And sometimes it can take me a couple weeks even under better conditions.

Gradually I'll be back in a more complete sense of the word.

Good Morning Everybody
"Clink!"

Hi Tatoulia
We are all happy to follow along with your journey to declutter your finances.
Financial clutter/squalor are a big part of getting decluttered, organized and straightened out too.
It's not all about the "stuff", the overabundance of too many things cluttering up homes.
It's also about the neglect of everything else.
Emotional, physical, financial and all sorts of other types of "clutter" in our lives.
(((hug)))

Hi Subclinical
You have been working so hard to get things all sorted out that I have no doubt in my mind that someday you will be all caught up and be able to sleep in without thinking about a list of To-Dos and be able to do whatever you feel like doing.

Unfortunately, we will always have those daily/weekly little maintenance tasks to get out of the way.
Like rinsing and stacking dishes in dish washers.


Have the clothesline all filled with assorted laundry this morning.
Yesterday it got up to 70 degrees!!!
Today will be warm too but a rain storm is predicted to move in tonight and last off & on through the weekend.

I have seriously neglected doing any kind of housework since I have been outside doing yardwork.
Today I need to clean the kitchen and really need to sweep & vacuum.
Other things need doing too but those are the priorities to get done and I am sore & stiff and my hands are shredded painful disasters.
;p

Tatoulia, I don't know about anyone else, but for me, reading about how other people are working on making good spending/saving decisions helps me remember to look at mine and make choices in line with my values.

The spending ties into the hoarding significantly, because I need to remember not to buy things for Justin just because they are a good deal. In the long term, I end up spending less and being happier if I simply plan for my needs enough to buy most things once I do need them or when I know I will soon need them, and look for a good price on what I really want then - like the sheets.

I am getting a slow start today because yesterday was kind of exhausting and my brain is reminding me "we are on BREAK!"

Someday maybe I will be caught up and under control enough that "break" means a week when I actually sleep in a little and just do whatever I feel like doing with no list or schedule.

WTG EVERYONE! You too, Scooter, for getting some solid play time in! And let's not forget dh! He was a huge help!

Tillie I bet the shower and clean sheets felt wonderful! Esp after all that good physically demanding work.

SubC I am so impressed with how hard you worked and I am grateful you had the loving and helpful support of dh. You had a big day! And I'm so proud of you.

I'm thinking the same thing about the car situation and I appreciate your input. Bf and I are also going around and around with it. He did say that if I get a new car, I can't let the whole world drive it and I even mentioned that I couldn't see even letting my overseas people take it. So we are working on it. I hope to come to the decision where I don't have a car anymore.

Meanwhile I'm going to need to do some strong mental work on my debt. I need to get back into savings mode. I need to mentally put the brakes on spending as well as physically putting the breaks on. I used to be a very good saver, even while in school, and I need to get back to that point. Mentally. I'll try not to burden everyone here but I might need to talk about it more than I have been. If I don't make the mental change, then paying off my debt is all for naught. I know I can do this since until about 10 years ago, I always had enough $.

Again everyone Great Work!

Hi Subclinical

BIG (((HUG))) and WTG! for putting the sentimental item in the trash.

You and DH did FANTASTIC! today!
So much done and donated and you found a light fixture you both like.

WTG! for washing the floor too today.

Happy the first milking well fine.


Got the clothesline grass all raked out.
Showered and washed my hair.
Feels so good to be all clean again and tonight I get to sleep on clean linens.

Today Scooter played for hours with a dove feather.

Well, the milking went fine this morning.

I am very grateful for my dishwasher. Especially when I have stainless steel pails to clean for milking!

Tatoulia, I too was thinking about you renting a car. I wondered how much you pay for insurance and maintenance, plus the cost of buying a new car, and if it might not be cheaper just to rent when needed. Particularly when your bf drives you sometimes.

Dh took most of the day off today (he worked from home from 6 to 9:30) and we worked in the studio barn together. He helped me make a really hard decision (I put a sentimental thing in the trash, and I cried) and we made a good sized pile of no longer needed outdoor toys for goodwill and filled half a trash can.

I cleared enough of the studio floor to be worth getting the mop out, so it looks much better!

Later we took down the old, huge, no longer used microwave from the old kitchen wall and took that and our old range to the habitat restore. While we were out, we found a light fixture we both liked and dh replaced the bare bulb in our entryway.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Good luck with the milking projects!
Wishing you lots of fine cheeses and sweet ice cream. :D

Oohh, blackberry
they love taking over and are so very painful and abstinent to remove.
Best wishes on that task.

Happy you had an enjoyable weekend.
Time to relax and visit with friends.
Getting outdoors and hiking is wonderful for mind, body and spirit.

Your sheet planning sounds very sound to me.
WAY TO GO! with your dish washing!


JD told me was skipping his graduation ceremony one day when we met up at the fence.
I told him he should go not for himself but for his Mom and Grandmother.
That old ladies truly enjoy these kinds of things.
So he did go and came back all smiles telling me how right I was!
He was so happy that he made his Mom and Grandmother that happy and proud. ;D

Hi Tatoulia
Going carless in a city is very doable.
And if you find a need for a car you can always rent one for a day.
Then later rethink how it is working out for you.

YEA!!! for laundry and good luck at the Dr.
Hi there Kitty. :D

You and Subclinical are so lucky to have dish washers.
Nice places to get the dishes out of sight.
My tiny kitchen looks messy with just a few dishes beside the sink waiting to be washed.


Today I will rake that bit of grass under the clothesline.
Shouldn't take more than half an hour.
Have Band-Aids ready for the open blisters on my hands.
The cats come out with me and enjoy the sunshine and fresh catnip.
Yesterday Scooter had a beetle to play with.
Only other plan I have for today is to shower & wash my hair.
Tomorrow I will hang out laundry on the newly strung clothesline.

Three loads of laundry done and put away, except for the things I've hung in the bathroom to dry. Working hard and going to need to shower soon for dr appt.

Cat just climbed in laptop so let the hilarity ensue!

Tillie! How wonderful that your garden is at a good, manageable and enjoyable size! Your planning and hard work are paying off! I hope your helper kitties were out there!

SubC, I think your sheet plan is sound. Good number of sheets. I bet that is sad to see the students graduate, SubC and Tillie. Transitions are hard.

I drove my car to grocery store yesterday and I'll drive it to dr this afternoon. I'd prefer to walk one way to or from dr but appt is in middle of the day and I can't take that much time today. It's sunny and cold.

I realized as I got in my car yesterday that I did use it over my birthday. I'm thinking even further ahead and trying to decide if I should just go without a car for a while and decide if I want a new one. I think it would be a good idea to just live car free again and see where that takes me. I don't know. I just know that I don't want the car I have anymore.

I didn't do what I'd said I'd do this weekend and I'm okay with it.

Tillie, I am glad you have your right-sized garden so you can enjoy it!

Last year I went to graduation, and it was ok. I got a little teary, but generally had a good time and celebrated with the kids. Then I got in my car, started driving home, and realized that I might literally never see those kids again. I cried all the way home.

One of my favorite kids has already told me that he is skipping graduation and not coming to class the last week (which is after graduation) and never coming back to visit. He already has a job, and sometimes he doesn't bother to come to class "It's ok if you flunk me, I just have to pass English."

Thank you for the reminder about the classroom last year - I had forgotten I did that, and it makes the job feel less daunting the room is a mess, but I haven't added much this year, so a lot of the work should be organizing rather than removing.

Tatoulia, that is wonderful about your sink!

I am doing better with dishes, but they are still a challenge. Everybody thinks I am crazy for not moving my dishwasher into my new kitchen, but I love having it in the "scullery." It is so nice to be able to scoop up all the dirty dishes and whisk them away and have my new kitchen be nice and clean in minutes! I did run the dishwasher last night. I am trying to run it every night. I start back up milking today, so it will be even more important.

Yesterday I ran a load of dishes and a load of laundry. I ordered more sheets because the ones I bought are on even better sale now and dh said to just get enough to replace all the old sheets. I plan to purge down to one set on each bed, two extra sets (that fit any of three beds), and the one set of flannel that we almost never use but is sometimes nice to have. That is probably more than we need, but the two extra sets allow me to turn over guest beds quickly if I need to. It has happened, and I don't want to be trying to fit in washing a bunch of sheets on top of regular laundry and keeping up with the house during a busy work week because I have different guests leaving Monday and coming in the next Friday.

Yesterday I worked on clearing blackberry canes that have overtaken my ornamental/fruit garden area. I just let it go last year. I can see a difference, but I am definitely feeling pressure to make as much progress as possible before they leaf out. I am seeing little green buds....

Dh and I spent most of the day going on a hike and out to dinner with really good friends (the husband refers to our kids as "my nieces and nephew") we met when their youngest and our youngest were a few months old.

So far I have not done any of the extra stuff I planned to catch up on over break, but maybe today.

I have been thinking about my worries about getting my little garden/yard oasis all cleaned up and ready for Spring...

I have done a lot of work to make it a more minimal more easily maintained area, and it is now.
But my brain keeps/kept thinking it was still more than I could handle.

The areas that I still need to clean up and work on are very do-able!
The areas that I am no longer tending are no longer a concern.

I am so happy I did this because I can still have a nice garden area and won't be getting depressed because I physically can't handle all the work.

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi Subclinical
WAY TO GO! for all you did yesterday!

Good luck with the classroom decluttering.
Last year you had a good sense of accomplishment doing that.


"Ida Wanna" sounds like the kind of friend who comes in handy at times but can cause a lot of trouble for me in the long run. ;D

Last couple of high school graduation ceremonies I attended made me cry because I had known the kids for so long and didn't feel I was ready to let go just yet.


Hi Tatoulia
Happy you have been having fun! :D
WAY TO GO! for what you have done and especially for having a clear sink for over a whole year now!!!

Very nice you are making tentative plans for the future after you are finished getting finances all squared away.


Slept in this morning till 9:00am!
Then the cats & I went back outside.
Raked the grass and got it all clear & clean and thatched.
Raked under these Cedars in front of the house and all down along side the North side of the house.
Got all the leaves, thatch, branches, seed pods and other clutter all up & carted off to the side yard.
I am exhausted and sore and have blisters and splinters.

After getting the little flower bed area all clean & tidy & all ready for Spring yesterday the rest of the yard looked so terrible.
But now I no longer feel like there is too much more to do and that I will never finish and am falling behind.

My plan for tomorrow is to rake the patch of grass I grow under my clothes line.
It's not much and I like it because if I drop any laundry the grass keeps it from getting dirty.

It's 3:45pm now.
I will eat soon and just rest the rest of the night. ;)

Sheets changed. Did some paper shredding. Going to see mom and get her more groceries. I'm walking so can do in drips and drabs.

I haven't used my car in three weeks. Maybe I'll drive to dr tmr.

SubC! How sweet about your relationship with your students! Nine weeks does sound awfully quick. Tell Ida I say hello! She and Justin Case have played a big part in my life.

Last night, after our super fun evening, I had the option to put the dishes into the dishwasher. It took me one minute. And today I woke up to an empty sink. It was a good feeling. I've enjoyed an empty sink for at least a year now.

I haven't worked on my coffee table yet. I haven't even changed my sheets. I will do so now. I'm feeling no regrets, I did a lot yesterday, including catching up on my sleep.

Tillie what's on tap for today? Thanks for the encouragement to see that elderly friend of mine. She's a shut-in and it turns out the drive is over 7 hours. But I have a plan. So if I can get things squared away and get new car, etc, then maybe I can make it happen in the fall. Likely will be in a year. If I'm successful in getting debt gone and starting to boost my savings, I'll do it. She and I correspond by mail only. We do not talk on the phone because I am not taking on any new patients, so to speak.

Beautiful sunny and cold day here.

Hi all!

Yesterday I cleaned up the new room and worked a little in the studio and went out to a concert with dh.

I also finally put the new sheets on the bed. Dh says I chose well.

The studio work was mostly moving stuff around. I did trim a few pots, and I found one mold that can go in the trash and two that can go to school. I'm not sure the go to school ones help, because I need to declutter and organize my classroom too. I'm going in on Tuesday (we are on break)

Tillie, I was laughing a little when you couldn't think of a reason to not clean your kitchen. I can almost always think of one, but when I can't, I just enlist my friend Ida. As in "Ida Wanna". She is very sympathetic.

I have a big long list of things to finish during break (even though I am going in on two days) so we will see how that goes. I am freaking out a little that there are only 9 more weeks of school after break! Some of these kids are graduating! I'm not done with them yet!

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi Tatoulia
Whatever you do I'm wishing you a continuation of your lovely day. :)

YEA! for fetching and doing for your Mom & Kitty!

So, you don't like all the crazy drunk partying on St. Pattie's day.
LOL ;D


Opened the door and let all the cats go out.
I did a whole bunch in my little garden oasis today.
Even spread one bag of manure/compost mix.
Swept off the front porch and walkway.
Very happy with the results of my hard labor.
So much more to do out there.
Still need to rake the lilac hedge well and rake the grass.
Need to rake and clean up here & there.
And so on and so on...

I also lit the burn barrel.
The new clothesline has been strung and tightened!

All the cats came inside long before I finished outside to take their naps.

Hello, hello!

Having a wonderful day. Slept well and slept in. It's beautiful out: 45F and sunny. I opened my bedroom window (still open) to air out the room. Also opened a window in the back fir the kitty. So lovely. I did my relaxation/diet tapes and then did some grocery shopping for mom and me. Mom is our if foffee. I picked up some freshly baked Irish soda bread and some good Irish butter for her. I just dropped off her things and I changed the cat box while I was there. I'm having a very nice day.

BF and I have plans tonight but I'm not a big fan of being out during St P Day. I'm leaving it up to him at this point. Our plans are going to be super fun but I'm good with moving them by a week.

So now I'm going to read for a bit. So lovely and cool here. BF just stopped by for a minute to drop off some shoes I ordered and I gave him 1/2 a loaf of Irish Soda Bread. I could hear in his voice that he just wants to lay down for a bit. So we shall see what we end up doing.

Good Morning Anybody

Sitting here drinking my tea while I wait for it to warm up enough to go outside.

Have a plan of attack in my head of what I want to accomplish in the garden area.
Have everything I need to do this available on hand.
Want to rake out all the mess the wind has blown into the flower bed.
Work on finishing the wells around the Honeysuckle and my Lavender.
There are some nice terracotta bricks that I want to use for this task that I already laid out near the plants.

That's enough for one day! :D

Good Evening

Hi Subclinical
I am very happy you are just relaxing by the fire with DH and a glass of wine. :)

20# of chicken feed!
Well, I bet they are happy.
So relieved that you didn't get any worse weather than you got.

So wonderful that you can bring baby goats to school.
When my son was very little, only knew that babies were inside the Mommies but nothing about how they got in or come out, we were at the county fair where a Nanny goat was about to give birth.
I allowed him to watch, answering all his questions about what the Mommy was going through.
He was upset that she cried in pain but when he saw how happy she was when she saw her baby, he understood what I had been trying to tell him.
Then she cried again and I had to explain it was alright, she had another baby inside her.
This was the absolute best and most positive way for my son to learn this fact of life.


Hi Tatoulia
Yes, I never get tired of line dried sheets & pillow cases.

When I got out my new clothes line rope from the pantry I immediately wrote on my shopping list to buy another one.
I always keep a new one on hand, Justin Case.

Happy you had lovely weather and enjoyed a long walk home.

Finished cooking and was trying to find an excuse not to clean the kitchen.
Couldn't think of any reason not to clean the kitchen so the kitchen is clean.

Oh I love that little boy, SubC. What a sweet pea. Cm I am so impressed with all of your work with the bunies and chinchilla! Tillie what I would give for a set of white percale sheets, hung dry on the line.

We had beautiful mild weather today. It rained on and off but honestly it's so lovely out. I walked the long way home.

Tillie I bet you and the kitties will have a great time outside tmr! Glad you have a new clothesline at the ready!

Love you all.

Tillie,

That does sound lovely!

Cold and windy here, but no more rain. We got some hail and high winds - there were two trees down across my road, but the farm was fine. Worst thing was the water coming up in the barn, and the lid blew off the feed bin and the chickens ate about 20# of feed.

The goats were a huge hit at school today, but the poor little things were so tired when we got home! Me too. I'm just spending the evening by the fire with dh and a glass of wine. I'll be productive tomorrow.

Tatoulia, that is great progress with the mental shift!

CM, do you have more time with the bunnies, or are you done? I think that would be fun for a short time, but not for a long time.

Like it was fun to have goats running free in my classroom. One goat chewed (gently) on a little boy's chin, and he said "I bet we have the only classroom with face eating goats in the whole world!"

It's been the most beautiful day today.
Not a single cloud in the sky and no wind.
Not too hot and not too cold.
Just right.

Had the corned beef cooking on the stove and ALL the cats were begging to go outside.
So I opened the door for them.
Couldn't really do any yardwork since I had to keep an eye on the stove but we all had a really nice time.

Laundry dried nicely and is all folded & put away.
Broke the clothes line, it was old anyway.
Fortunately I have on hand a fresh new rope to put up.
Will do that tomorrow.

Promised the cats that tomorrow we will all go back outside and I will work on the garden with them.

Good Morning Everybody!

Hi Subclinical

How wonderful about your English class!
You and all the children will have fun and learn so much together.

Baby goats going to school!
Does anything get more fun than that?! :D

My fingers have been crossed that you don't get any of that dangerous weather or flooding on the news.
Hoping the high waters there go down soon. (((HUG)))

Hi CriticalMass
I am very happy that you have cats and bunnies in your life to love and love you back.
A friend of mine and his librarian wife used to take in/rescue unwanted Ferrets to live out their lives with them.
Sometimes there were more than twenty ferrets living in their home.
He said it was exhausting but not a heavy burden because it was a labor of love.
I believe it's the same for the Mother & Daughter with the bunnies and one Chinchilla.

I just love watching Chinchillas take their little dust baths. :D

Hi Tatoulia
So wonderful that you have had a change in your thoughts and emotions about needing to have on hand whatever someone may need someday.
That's a really big step. (((HUG)))

You have been taking your time evaluating things and making good keep/toss/donate decisions, always keeping in mind the bigger picture, the vision of how you want your home to be.

I so want you to travel the 5+ hours to visit your friend.
She sounds like a real jewel.



The laundry is all out on the line and I am all caught up with it!
Plan for today is to cook a big pot of corned beef, potatoes, carrots & cabbage.

Just a quick wave from the bunny house as I pause for a short breather between shifts of bunnies. 🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇 24 of them, and one chinchilla 🐭 - it's been a wild but fun ride this week. My roommate and I ended up doing morning and evening shifts as one of the two evening gals had to bail on account of asthma. But in the evenings we still had the other lady so three humans on that shift. Which is good because the evenings have more to do.

Tillie, how you feel about cats is how I am about rabbits! I would of course have some of each if I had my own house. Right now getting to enjoy roommate's cats is a bonus.

Much more to tell and I will want to catch up on y'all's goings-on. This afternoon I may want a nap! Don't know how the mother and daughter do this every day and have lives too. We desperately need a shelter building, funds, and volunteers to maintain it.

Baby goat day! Baby goat day!!

Congratulations on the great response to your English class!!!!

Let's reclaim our houses this weekend! I'll start with my coffee table.

OK here's something that I've been thinking about: when kitty received a gift of a new bed, I didn't know what to do with the old bed, so I washed it and wrapped it and put it in my closet. We had discussed that here. When I gave it to cleaning fairie, I didn't think, oh thank goodness I kept it. Instead, I thought, I have a nice clean pet bed for her. So if I'd donated it back in January, I would not have thought, oh I knew I should've kept it.

I've been very lucky that so far, five years in, I haven't had regrets for letting things go. I know I'm lucky. It still can be hard, but I've been comfortable with my choices. It's like something snapped in my brain. I dont need to buy/store/keep things so I can be all things to all people. This change has helped me so much.

It is sweet that the boots made you think of me. ;)

Need to be quick.

Yard is flooded, standing water in barn. But warm.

Baby goats to school today.

Stopped by dd's house with sil last night and got a bunch of clay and glazes and a few tools that came from dh's uncle (Dd has picked out what she wants)

I have been humbled and blessed by the responses of parents to my English class this week, and It looks like it will fill with kids I am very fond of. I hope I can live up to their trust!

My challenge for the weekend will be reclaiming my house. New sheets are still in the dryer.

The boots likely wouldn't be work boots. I didn't look at them. They were likely citified. I have a hard time when buying boots because I want tall snow boots. Want my legs warm and safe soles and waterproof, etc and they can be hard to find. I was lucky this year when I found a decent pair. The short ones, which have started leaking, will be easy to replace next year. I also have rain shoes. I die of heat in rain boots.

Tillie thank you for the insight on the coffee table. I have two piles of stuff on the table. It has one drawer, in which I keep all of my house plans, drawings, paint chips, etc.

I am tired. My sugar consumption tends to be pretty gross. I'm working on it. Need to continue to improve my nutrition.

I had confided to someone elderly about my brother and today I recess very lively birthday card from her and she offered wonderful support. I don't remember exactly what I had written to her but I did say that I hoped God would forgive me and her letter was so loving and supportive. If I get a new car in the Fall I will drive to see her. I think it's a 5+ hour drive. I did it once before, so many years ago.

Hi Tatoulia

Does Macy's carry the kind of boots you need to do farm work?
When I worked as security in a Macy's years ago
all the stuff looked to citified and fancy.
But it was a fun store to be in. :D

OK!
The coffee table project...
What do you do with your coffee table?
I use mine for almost everything every day so I need to keep clearing it off between
tasks/projects.

I keep an incense burner and a scented candle on it most all the time.
I stick post-it notes on it to help me remember important daily things but as soon as I do "whatever" the post-it gets tossed.

It has a shelf underneath.
I keep a box of tissues there.
Also, since I sleep on the fold out couch I have a pretty antique bowl there to hold what I would keep on a nightstand.
My eyeglasses live there when I am not wearing them so I don't have to hunt for them.

Best to start by removing everything.
Then put there what you like to keep on it.
As you bring other projects to the coffee table make it a point to clear them all off before you go to bed or leave the house.


I really should do a sugar challenge.
The only way I know to stop my sugar craving is to eat something sweet.

Tillie my mother, an asthmatic, lived with a cat. It's the only thing that makes life palatable. I understand completely!

Just getting in. I had a work related event after hours then BD met me at Macy's and we spent some of my gift card.

My salad today was so delicious.

Thank goodness we get paid tmr.

SubC you would not believe how many boots they had at Macy's.

Okay I'm going to work on busting my sugar cravings now.

I need a weekend challenge. Help me! I'm thinking I never quite get the coffee table where I want it. Meaning I never get everything off of it.

Good Afternoon Everybody
Almost 2:30pm here.

A bit cool outside but the perfect weather for doing some yardwork with a jacket on.
I went out front and raked out the tree wells.
Then I applied the tree food to the evergreens.
Also treated the Ash trees with their "feed & protect" so they don't die from boring beetles & caterpillars.

Raking out the leaves raised dust and allergens and set off my allergic asthma.
Fortunately, coming back inside & washing up has helped a lot.
Several years ago I discovered I am allergic to evergreens now, of all things!
As long as I live with cats they just make me itchy and make my nose run a bit but after only 3 months in a totally cat free environment they give me severe asthma attacks. ;P
The Veterinarian asked me once why do I live with cats?
My answer...
life without a cat, I may as well be dead.
They make life worth living.

Hi Tatoulia

Just now saw you posted.

How cute! A Ferret enjoying the cat bed too!

I suppose the only thing that could make your tasty salads even better is having them for free.
YEA!!! :D