Good Morning Anybody

Was laying in bed thinking about maybe starting some Spring garden chores.
Got up and opened the drapes to discover everything covered in snow.
Oh well...

Have no plans for today except cat stuff and vacuuming up the ceiling off the carpet floor in my little room, again.

If he gets out of the house I want to sort through all my dresses.
Make sure they are ready for wearing when/if the weather warms up.
I know of one of them that I want to do a little hand sewing on.

Also been thinking about how I want to re-do my room.
Maybe paint it a different color?
Maybe put up embossed decorative ceiling tiles on the ceiling to hide all the imperfections that will be visible after I repair it?
Wouldn't cost much because the room is basically only 8ft by 8ft.

Hi Tatoulia

We cross posted again. ;D

A Boston jewelry exhibit sounds fascinating!
I'm sure she will get a lot of pleasure out of the book.

YEA! for steak and a veggie tart.

Sounds like you had a good day.

Enjoy your nap with Cutie snuggles.

Good Afternoon Everybody

Hi CriticalMass
YEA! for scrolling past Barbies!

Chipping away at small do-able areas is a very good way to start the bed declutter.
Boy Kitty will have to deal with it and find other ways to amuse himself.
But you need a clear clean comfortable place to rest and sleep.

WAY TO GO! sorting fabric during Star Trek time!

Having fewer crazy dreams seems almost worth sleeping in two shifts.


Well, he finally moved the truck and I was able to get to town.
Got food and all the fixins for my corned beef & cabbage concoction.

Put 6 bags of manure/compost on the cart.
Got to the checkout and paid.
Was having a heck of a time trying to push that heavy cart out the door so a nice young man (employee) came to my rescue.
He pushed the cart to my car and loaded all 6 bags into the trunk.

I need more than 6 bags but that was a lot more than I can physically manage.
I showed Steven the bags that I unloaded and stacked by the garden cart.
Asked him to please fetch me the other 6 to 10 I need and he said he would do it tomorrow.
Showed him the receipt and told him we have to hurry before they are all sold out because for some reason this year they cost 75 cents each instead of the usual 2.50!

Then he told me the insurance adjuster is giving us 3000.00 to 5000.00 to have the roof fixed, cost depending on the work needed.
He is a private roofing contractor out of Reno and I guess he personally doesn't think a hoard is any reason to cancel our insurance like all the other insurance agents have done in the past.
HAPPY DANCE!!!

Steven said he is researching which roofer to hire.

Hey hey! Thanks for all the lovely birthday wishes! Slept well last night then went to the Museum of Fine Art with mom. She couldn't see the Boston Jewelry was exhibit so I described each piece and I bought her the book, which has large, full-color pictures. Our lunch was truly delicious. She had steak and I had a delicious vegetable tart. It was so very tasty.

Now I'm home and ready for a nap. It's probably nearly 7 which is late for a nap. But nap I shall.

Cm I trust your judgment on not re-fluffing the clutter til you can deal with it. Tillie I hope you got out today, as planned. SubC I'm curious about your schedule!

Someone tiny is really cute next to me.

Hi again

Slept in later than I intended. That happens some days since I have changed my getting up time to 5:45 to feed the rabbits and cats their kibble so my roommate can be less rushed and stressed getting to work. She does the greens for the bunnies and pets them.

Meanwhile I've either gotten on my tablet or gone back to sleep. Being as I'm a night owl, it's kind of a split shift with the sleep, which is why it sometimes overshoots in the morning. The pattern is no worse than it was before though, overall. And sometimes the new schedule makes for fewer crazy dreams. I'll take what I can get. It may be interesting when we set the clocks forward this weekend - but that's the spring break week so I'll have a little wiggle room.

SubC, the Catholic Lenten practice is abstinence from meat on Fridays for age 14 and up, and fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday for ages 18-59. It's said that you eat one regular meal and two smaller meals that don't add up to the regular meal. But that's for each person to discern; I don't usually eat huge "regular" meals and I don't think it's expected to be overly scrupulous so I just eyeball the two smaller ones.

So, if your student was doing the fasting - and some people may decide on their own to be even more strict than the guidelines - that may have been why he fainted. A teenage boy's metabolism, maybe too much activity, maybe a condition such as hypoglycemia, who knows. Persons who are pregnant, nursing, diabetic, have to eat to take medicine, have any health concerns that make fasting not a good idea for them, are exempt and can choose a different penitential practice such as extra prayers or something. Even those who have strenuous physical jobs can do that.

Well, as far as my general life goes, I'm thinking about how best to use the afternoon. I got some more fabric sorted while watching Star Trek last night. I need to do computer and other paperwork but my brain is fuzzy. I may go to the library to do some of it. But no stopping at stores! I'm serious about this. I won't even go down the non-food merchandise aisle at the grocery, I scrolled past Barbie doll ads on my Facebook sidebar! Etc. So far so good.

I do want to resume the reclamation of the bed from clutter, but it may be too close to the whirlwind of spring break to get started now. If I fluff the compacted clutter out then fail to get it dealt with, I could easily make a worse mess. I may find ways to chip at small manageable areas of it. Boy kitty is going to be unhappy when the clutter pile is no more. I discovered he's been using it to climb around on at night and get up on top of the chest of drawers or stare at the frog.

Living La Vida Loca, in my unique way... 😂

Good Morning Everybody
"CLINK!"

Hi Subclinical
Fingers crossed that the schedule is all you hope for. ;)

Upsetting the boy fainted AND broke his wrist.
Hope it was nothing but one of those things
that happens, will not happen again & that the wrist heals fast & properly.

Good luck with all your Nanny goats and the milk yield this season.
Have all the expected babies been born by now?


Sunny warm day here today with rain/snow mix later this evening.
I want/need to go into town but he has the car blocked in again with the truck.
I'll get dressed and ready anyways and maybe by noon he will move the truck and I can leave.
It's just 9:00am here now.
Have a big pile of stuff to drop off at the thrift shop and want some fresh produce too.
Also need to pick up compost/manure mix before it's all sold out.

Perhaps kitty just wanted a birthday snuggle.

CM, I do not fully understand the giving up for lent thing, but it definitely sounds like your universe is aligning. I know that your religious observances are central to your life (that I understand), so I hope that this will be a great way to help you focus and draw strength!

Another vote for brownies here! Brownie a la mode is one of my favorites! - one more week until I have fresh milk and can make ice cream!

I keep hitting refresh, but the schedule is not up yet! I think it will either be 7:00 or 9:30. My English classes are for sure, and on college has already sent out letters recommending my class to some if her students next year. She sent me a copy of the letter, but she didn't tell me who the students were!

One bad thing happened yesterday at school - one of my boys fainted during fencing class and broke his wrist. CM, Do people fast on Ash Wednesday? I am concerned about the fainting.

HAPPY
BIRTHDAY

TATOULIA!



That coat sounds adorable :)
WTG! for the weight loss and new size.
So wonderful that you have that nutritionist guiding you.

Brownies are good, really, really good, YUM
No way would I ever vow to give up chocolate.

Tillie the spring coat is absolutely adorable. I'm excited. Nice fabric and good styling on me. Navy with white polka dots. Fantastic in every way. I didn't buy just to buy today, either. I tried on many things, many of which were acceptable but nothing that was helping me build a wardrobe. The jeans were like a gift. They had the petite sizes and straight legs and I generally can't buy jeans alone or ever since I have a massive meltdown each and every time. The woman who buys my jeans with me is going to feel left out. Or majorly relieved. She was going to take me jean shopping for Christmas but I wanted to be down another size (which I am as of today) and then I had found two pair that she and I had purchased a long time ago that fit

I have a big bag for the cleaners next week. They were here today doing neighbor's house but I needed to be free today.

Did I mention that I wasn't prepared to make the almond cake since I hadn't set out two sticks of butter to soften? So I made brownies. Bf is bringing me vanilla ice cream. I won't be bothering to frost the brownies. I'll have one brownie ala mode tonight then slice the brownies and take to work on Friday. BF gave up chocolate for lent.

Hi Tatoulia

I'm sure the restaurant will have some sort of beef steak, even if it's chicken fried. LOL ;D

WAY TO GO!!!
for the license renewal!!!
Of course the photo is terrible. Why should you be so special as to get a glamour shot for your license.
Nobody else does.

Thank you for thinking of me when having that shrimp Po'boy.
Great! one in & one out on the jeans.
You are lucky to find a nice pair that fit right.
Maybe soon you will get to wear the new Spring coat.

Miss Kitty probably just wanted to snuggle and since you were on the bed she joined you there.
She may have enjoyed it enough that she will now snuggle in the bed at times.

The weather has been dreadful all day.
Dark, cold, raining and the wind was terrible.
Just been doing some of this & that around here.
But didn't do any housework except cat related tasks.

Joan I am so glad to read your posts and to learn more about your work. Like SubC, I'm glad to know that you are sitting with us.

CM! That's a great goal/challenge in recreational shopping. I like it. SubC I'm eager to hear about your pottery class as well as what your teaching schedule will look like! That was a thoughtful gift from your mil.

Tillie, I had a good day today. Saw my nutritionist who helped me on some issues, then she recommended that I go to the AAA center to renew my license and it took only a few minutes. The picture is dreadful.

Then I did some shopping and bought myself a pair of nice jeans that will allow me to get rid of one of the two pair I have right now. I also bought myself an adorable spring coat and a pretty t-shirt dress for my mom. A really good day. I cane back and spent a short time with BF then picked up a grilled shrimp po'boy (i pretended you were here, Tillie), then kitty and I read til we napped. Kitty even came into bed with me and snuggled, which isn't like her. At first I thought she was being sweet to be but then I worried if she's feeling okay. Then I fell asleep. She's snuggling with me now on the couch, which is more of our thing.

Thank goodness for the dry climate, Tillie. I'm just waking up and thinking about baking an almond cake.

thank you all for the lovely birthday wishes. I sure know how to stretch my birthday into multiple days! Will be at museum with mom tmr. Then hopefully the museum restaurant will have steak because I know she's craving beef.

Hi CriticalMass
Wonderful to hear from you! :D

Sounds like "Devine Intervention" that your decision to curb recreational shopping and the radio program mentioning it too.
Like it is exactly the right thing for you at the exact right time.

My best wishes go out to your roommate for being your non-shopping conscience.

Thank you (((HUG)))
I'm not too worried about mold since we don't usually have moisture here in the desert.
Things tend to dry out rather quickly and mold needs moisture to really bloom.
My dream would be one of those tiny homes set up here on the property with a tall thick lilac hedge all around.
But I would insist that the tiny house had regular plumbing and be hooked up to the septic system.
The cats and I would be so happy there. :D

What fun!
Baby sitting all those bunnies!
Lots of general daily cleaning but all the bunnies to visit with. :D

Sorry you worry about things we can't control, like Winter storms.
But what we can do is everything to prepare to work around them.
Mostly by making contingency plans. (((HUG)))

A blessed Ash Wednesday to all who observe it. Mine really has been. I'd been in a stew last week over the winter storm predicted to coincide with Quilt Bingo. I was doing better by the weekend - I tend to worry more far out then accept things as they are so close that I don't really have a choice (like I did anyway - lots of things are out of my control).

Anyway, I'd been brainstorming ideas for Lent, and you'll never guess what came to me: I'm going to give up "recreational shopping," both real life and online. I've enlisted my roommate as my accountability person. We may have to go get things for the bunny club for instance, and in those instances we will go together to the dangerous crafty places. If necessary, she will bring a cattle prod. Hopefully not necessary, LOL!

I was on my way downtown to the cathedral for noon Mass, and I listen to the Catholic radio. The show was on things people had done for Lent in the past that were helpful. A woman from my own state called in to tell about herself and some other moms giving up recreational shopping! Even the same wording! I do not believe that it was coincidence that that came on the radio during that time of driving.

Joan, good to hear from you. Very wise to deploy your resources in the most needed and effective way. Pop in when you can and we're always thinking good thoughts about you. And yes, it's difficult to deal with hoarding on so many aspects. For me at first, once I committed to it, finances and vehicle issues threw up roadblocks. Those are more resolved but I still have to keep my motivation up, hone the decision making skills, learn not to acquire extra things, etc.

Tatoulia, hope your birthday was good. Glad you didn't let the discouragement keep you down.

SubC, I feel ya on the "When does it end?" angst. I can only reiterate keep plugging along. Coming here and having a thing to share helps. Today I've been going through a box of scraps of fabric and cutting them into squares for future quilts - and finding scraps that really are too small to keep. Mind you, the squares are practically postage stamps: 1-1/2" that will sew into 1" finished size.

Tillie, I wish I could win the lottery for all of us and have you a brand new house built across the road and Steven could keep the old one! I'd have them make a privacy fence to block the sight of his hoard. I'm wondering about the roof leak in your room and hoping you stay safe from mold. If nothing else maybe get some of those buckets of moisture absorber from Lowe's or Home Depot.

I'm going to be hopping for the bunny club this month. Next week the mother and daughter who run the shelter in their home will travel out of state to take the husband/father's ashes to where he grew up. So club members are taking turns doing bunny care for close to two dozen rabbits. So it may be hit or miss for me posting here. But I'll be thinking about everyone.

about 12:50PM.

Thanks to all for the replies.

I do not believe this forum is "harmful". I believe it is helpful, mostly on the emotional levels. That is why I participate from time to time. However, I do not believe it is curative. I believe it helps one to live with hoarding. It does not enable one to stop hoarding altogether.

I had a feeling someone would bring up CBT. CBT may appear to help, but it is my steadfast opinion that it does not. The problem in the system that creates the hoarding symptom is much bigger than the hoarding itself. Once the problem is addressed, all aspects of life do change.

The goal of non-hoarders is to get hoarders to behave like non-hoarders. This is both an inadequate definition of the problem to provide any real relief to hard-core hoarders, and an inappropriate goal to set.

I know we disagree on this. I reiterate that the resources to undertake the kind of work I am talking about simply are not available at present. I essentially had to create most of the resources I needed as I went along my path. The system clean-up and restructuring involved is nontrivial. It takes years at a minimum, working 24/7. Since no-one else that I know of has even investigated this option to treat hoarding, I am at a distinct disadvange in describing it.

Lastly, for those of you "mystics" out there, the problem for the majority of hard-core, lifelong hoarders is not in "the brain", the emotions, the physical, etc. It is in the higher self. This directly contradicts ALL of the spiritual teachings that I know of on this planet, which all assume that the higher self is intact. That is where the phrase, "We're all human" comes from. Because we all have a human form does not mean that we all have an intact higher self embodying that form, nor that every human, living form has a higher self AT ALL.

I wish all of you the best.

1:06PM. 1:10PM.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Good luck with the new schedule!
Hope it is everything you wanted and not too hectic.

Have a BLAST at that pottery class.
Hope they will teach you lots of new techniques.

Hi Joan
Good to hear from you.

There is a proven method that works to help people with hoarding tendencies.
It's called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

That is basically what we are doing here on the message board.
As the person slowly works to declutter we address the emotions involved.
We take our time to think about all our feelings, good and bad.
We do not push anyone to go farther than they are mentally & emotionally ready to.
We pay close attention to how we are doing physically.
Are we tired, sick, injured? If so that becomes a priority and the person is urged to rest until better.

As we slowly work together here people become aware of their mind set.
Since they want a change to come about in their homes, work towards that goal at their own pace.
We do hard challenges for no shopping/buying except for food & essentials that help people see where their acquiring weaknesses are.

Here it's all about the person, not the stuff.
When we help each other with the mind set, reframing our thinking about the possessions,
the decluttering, cleaning and organizing happens more naturally.

It's hard work and takes time doing this all on their own.
But this is the way they want it.
They do not want other people coming in.
They want to do it themselves.

Slowly doing the evaluating, decision making and decluttering is how they learn about themselves and gives them the tools to make the lasting changes they want.

If they are finding something that is giving them great stress we encourage them to stop and move on to something easier for the time being and come back to the difficult tasks at a later date.
Like Tatoulia and her "closet" ;)


So anyways,
it really does get easier in time.
But it is all at the person's own time frame, when they are ready and not a moment sooner.

I highly recommend reading "Buried In Treasures".
It is based on using CBT. :)

Hi Joan!

Thank you for responding to me! it is good to know that you are still "sitting" with us even if we rarely get to hear your voice.

This forum is the extent of my "therapy" so I expect it is unlikely to be harmful. I definitely feel like I am working on me more than the stuff.

Tatoulia - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I am glad you got your license and a hug from your bank dad. He sounds sweet.

I have a full day today - teaching and some errands I hope to fit in. Then tomorrow I start a new pottery class I am taking (my mil paid for it fir me fir Christmas) and our schedule for next year comes out! I am like a kid before Christmas - I know what I asked for, and I think I will get it, but....

Joan!!!!! Wonderful to hear from you!!!! You are never far from my mind. Keep doing what you are doing-I believe in you!!

SubC, I heard your question and I have to reply.

I respect everyone's opinion on this forum. I am acquainted with how difficult a hoarder's life is. I know that we all want to support each other in our endeavors.

My answer to your question "is it just going to be hard forever?" may not be an answer that you like. The answer is that it depends both on you and on how much you can access that is helpful within your own circles, how much really useful stuff is actually out there. Right now, in my opinion, there is nothing or next to nothing.

ALL that is done in ALL efforts to address hoarding difficulties is really to address the hoard, not to correct the hoarding behavior. Correcting the hoarding behavior requires making modifications to your own system so that your system no longer hoards. Period. This is not addressed primarily because hoarding is not properly understood by non-hoarders. As a result, the modes of therapy, etc., used to assist hoarders, are at best inadequate and at worst harmful.

In order to correct your own system you must go in a completely different direction that that taken by mainstream culture. You must focus on yourself, not the hoard. The kind of assistance that is mandatory to overcome hoarding is not available at all, in a practical sense. This concerns me greatly, but especially as I am still working on my own recovery, there is nothing I can do about that for the present.

It will be just as hard as it is now, unless you can correct your system.

I cannot post here often. I need all of my resources to continue on my path towards eliminating my own hoarding through the rebuilding of my system. It is my hope that at some future point there will be more insight brought to the treatment of hoarding. I am looking forward to watching the new season of Hoarders, which I believe begins tonight.

My best to all - Tillie, Tat, SubC, Anony, CM, and anyone else I've forgotten at the moment.

The cats have been behaving very well in my bed but sometimes things do happen, usually just when someone is sick.
So extras do come in handy when accidents happen.
I remember when you donated the bedding to the fire victims.

That is so sweet about the bank guy.

So scary that those men slipped and fell!

OK, you found your birth certificate but forgot your wallet. LOL :D

Good luck getting the license renewed and have fun with the nutritionist!

Last time I renewed my license I tried to do it online but couldn't because they wanted me to take their eye test and get a new photo.
Fortunately they didn't want any ID other than my current driver's license so I can not get access to some places like Federal courts that require more back ground info on the ID.

Very sad state of affairs, Tillie. You are so dear.

Funny that you mentioned about towels and sheets. I now have two sets of sheets and four bath towels, four or six hand towels, and multiple wash cloths. I used to have a lot more til you all helped me pull it together. I have two bath towels for my house guest and I have one set of sheets for the fold out. That's all I need. When she comes this summer, I'll have to buy more pillows and comforter for her. I donated mine to fire victims last year. I have no place to store them and I'm comfortable with buying a pretty twin sized comforter (the size of my fold-out) then immediately donating. Ditto the pillows.

I have to keep more sheets at mom's because there are frequent accidents. I think she has four sets and a few weeks ago they were all pressed into duty. Ditto her two duvet covers. The poor thing. I don't know if it was her or her cat because they each pointed a paw at the other one.

I walked to and from work today, all very slowly due to terribly slippery sidewalks. I saw two different men fall on my way in.

Yes I found my birth certificate! I'd already decided I wouldn't get upset no matter what. I have five watches in there. At some point I'll get rid of them.

The old guy at the vault remembered me and even my box number and even what I keep in my second box (mom's sterling). And he told me how proud he is of me and other things and for a minute, I had a dad. I was surprised how much he remembered about me. He was the one who told me to put my sister on my boxes. I put a girlfriend on the boxes and sent her my cards probably ten years ago. I didn't tell him at the time that it wasn't my sister.

So it was a good experience today. I had a nice, kind, happy, healthy dad. And I hugged him for too long.

This is not a slam on my own father. He's been gone so long and was sick and blind and non verbal for many, many years before he died.

Tomorrow is a big day! My nutritionist and then getting my license together. Followed by maybe some shopping. Or baking. I couldn't shop tonight because it turns out I forgot my wallet today. So the deli said I can pay them on Friday.

Good Evening Everybody

Been cloudy & raining all day but the wind isn't blowing and it's not too terribly cold.

Got my hair washed, finally.
He totally monopolizes the bathroom.

Did some tidying up and washed all my clothing.
It's hanging inside on the rack & hangers.

The falling ceiling in my room has been very motivating for me to thin out all my possessions in there.
Also, if the roof gets fixed??? I will need to repair, plaster & paint.
So I have removed some things from the walls and do not plan to rehang them.
If the roof does not get fixed everything in there will get ruined so it doesn't really matter anyway.

I knew you would ;)

Got it!

Good Morning Everyone
Another dark drizzly day here.

Hi Subclinical
Maybe DD2 will want the ring.
If you do give it to her don't tarnish it with your memories/knowledge of your grandfather.
Just tell her all you know about your Grandmother. :)

So happy you burned the bouquet.
Such a satisfying end to a bad memory. (((hug)))


The cats and I are all smart enough to stand clear and just admire the carnage from afar.
I have no idea if the insurance agent came by and what may have been said.
He does not talk to me and whenever I ask him any questions he just yells at me about things that are stupid and illogical nonsense.

I always wish someone would report the condition of the property to any agency that would take action.
Unfortunately, here no such agency exists or I would call them myself.

Today I plan to do some light tidying up, the usual cat tasks and wash my hair.
Need to do some laundry but have to wait for drier days.
This is why having a minimal amount of sheets, pillow cases, towels & wash cloths wouldn't work for me.
I need all of them while I wait for dry sunny days to hang out the wash in Winter.

Tatoulia, I missed your pst right before mine.

What a nice dinner! And tiny cat sounds like a perfect birthday present.

Mr. kitty was a birthday present for my son. He was turning 16 and all he wanted was a kitten. So I got him one. But then, he went away to college, and lived in tiny apartments, and his gf, now wife, had a dog... so Mr. kitty still lives here. But he is always just as happy as I am when his boy comes home.

And I agree that your bf is lucky to have you and I am also glad that you are getting such nice compliments.

Sometimes when you are cleaning out, you have to put things in the trash. We did when we cleaned d❤️Ds house. But thank you for not telling me what they were. I shall just imagine that everything was broken beyond repair and made of nonrecyclable material. ;)

Tillie, I hope the cats have the sense to stay away from the carport! Did the insurance person ever come? I worry about someone being called on you.

I gave my paternal grandmother's wedding ring. She died, and my grandfather remarried quickly and gave all of her jewelry to his new wife "M". (There wasn't a lot, she wasn't into jewelry and had already given her engagement ring to her youngest son for his wife) M was a sweet and gracious lady and when she found the ring, she gave it to my mother to pass on to me - the oldest girl. I loved my grandmother, but my grandfather was a piece of work. And I don't know what to do with the ring. I asked my mother if she thought they were happy, and she said "I think so. Mostly." It fits me and I don't have a gold band, but I can't wear it. My grandmother wasn't much of a thing person, so what I have from her is that ring, some charms on a bracelet (the charms were divided but I got the bracelet too) her childhood dollhouse made by her father that was passed to me when I was very little, some teacups, a hand mirror, a little statue, and a tiny china doll. My mother says maybe my dd2 will want it. (My dd1 wears my maternal grandmother's engagement ring - her actual engagement ring came out of a bubblegum machine - long story.)

OTOH, I used to have a fancy dried arrangement I made from the bouquet I carried in d❤️D's Wedding. It was beautiful. But he hit her. And one day I just took it out in the yard and set it on fire.

Thank you for telling me it gets easier. I will hope.

WAY TO GO! Tatoulia
for ALL that decluttering you did!
YEA! that giant dust collector is gone too!

Sometimes it's best to just get rid of stuff in the fastest way possible.
We all have amnesty to just get rid of it, whatever it is.

Good luck getting to the bank tomorrow where all your missing documents are.

I have been seriously contemplating selling my Granma's Bulova wrist watch.
It's white gold with 8 diamonds.
The face is too tiny for me to read without my glasses on plus I never wear a watch.


There was a very scary loud noise here today.
Scared all the cats.
That carport roof broke apart in the center and is now solidly resting on the hoard underneath it.
The end bits are still hanging in there putting stress on the support beams.

Wind, rain and snow couldn't bring it down but heavy fog did the trick. ;D

I agree whole-heartedly! SubC needs new boots. I do not. I probably wouldn't have even noticed the leaking if I hadn't been walking through the vast puddles and wet snow from a decent snow storm followed by 42F!

SubC it does become easier! It really and truly does. It just becomes easier.

Tillie, I quite like the Swedish Death Cleaning SDC. It has opened up my eyes. The giant vase I have been keeping all these years to celebrate my graduation from grad school actually held bad memories for me that I'd never acknowledged. So glad to have that dust collector gone. SubC I threw out scads of stuff this weekend. I know you would've been able to salvage more but I couldn't at the moment. I just needed to clear out and do it. And that's okay. I just needed to do it and get it done. I won't tell you what was thrown out. It's garbage now. I felt I was in a death match of me or it. I needed to win this one.

I have to remember to go to my safe depot box tmr to pick up my birth certificate (look how confident I'm being). I truly hope it's in there. I may also take out a watch and sell it. I like the watches BF has purchased for me and I can sell one or two of the others from a different time and place. I have the boxes and the extra links. I also have a very old gold watch that had belonged to some elderly relative. It's pretty and so maybe I'll bring it here so I can look at it. I had it appraised probably 35 years ago and the guy wanted to buy it from me, which is unethical. Now I'm sure it's not worn very much due to changing sensibilities. I'm sure it's good and it has a delicate ribbon for a band and I can't remember if it had diamonds on it. Time will tell.

SubC it gets easier. My life is unbelievably easier. I started here and it has gotten easier and easier and easier. I don't struggle too much on getting rid of stuff. Sometimes I do. But mainly I do not. And If I start struggling, I just go onto something else. There's plenty to look at.

Tatoulia just needs to keep her feet dry as she walks along city sidewalks.
You muck around in the mud and shovel out stalls.
Totally different circumstances.
You definitely NEED new boots. :)

Sweetie,
it will get easier, I promise.
Changing our thought processes and changing the way we have always done things takes time.
You have come a long way already.
For instance, you have decided not to keep vast stores of school related items for Justin Case.
You will simply ask other teachers and the students parents to bring you the needed items as you need them.

When you start to feel overwhelmed with making decisions you need to take a break.
Decision fatigue is a form of burn out and you just need a rest. (((HUG)))

WAY TO GO! doing some pottering and clean up!
Sorry there was more discouraging fiber.
You have had so much on your plate with the building addition, work, farm work, decluttering & organizing and family.
Understandable the fiber was not a priority at the time.

Hi Tatoulia
That dinner and dessert last night sounds delicious
but I still would have grabbed myself a burger. LOL ;)
So wonderful your friend let you know how pretty you are and how lucky your BF is to have you in his life. (((HUG)))

You look so good because you are losing the weight in a healthy way, not fad dieting but a healthy lifestyle change.


OK, the Swedish cleaning is a great mindset for me to have to make the decisions on things that are no longer important to me to have around.
This method is for anybody, not just old people.

It has helped me with some rings & things that I had/have that I do not wear or even like because they were given to me by people I do not like.
We are told we must keep these things but when I see them they just remind me of bad times.
Now, somebody else looking at these things and not knowing they are NOT special to me may think they are and have qualms about tossing/selling/donating them.


It's just a good way to deeply evaluate things and get out that which I felt obligated to keep but do not want without having any feelings of guilt that I am tossing my muther's first wedding ring set. ;)

I don't care how late in the year it is. I got paid on Friday, and as soon as I get a chance i'm buying boots that don't leak.

Tillie, I understand the Swedish death cleaning thing, but I do not like it. I wish it was called something else. I object to death on principle and I have had enough of it this month!

I went out for hay today. It has been a bad hay year here and my neighbor was down to the last of it. The price was up to $5 a bale, so when I got there I told him I only wanted ten, because that was how much cash I had (I usually get 12). He said "i've got 13 left. You'll take it all and owe me." Now I just have to hope the grass starts growing!

I also worked in the studio again. I threw nine more pots and wedged a little and cleaned up a little. I found more fiber, which was discouraging. Two bags - I decided to rebag one for salvage and throw the other out.

It never gets easier. It gets better, but not easier. Is there going to be some point where I have made so many decisions that my house is normal and it won't be hard to throw out broken pens, or is it just going to be hard forever?

I wanted a burger. But I had a beautiful filet mignon last night with asparagus and sliced potatoes. Followed by an oblong plate with a scoop of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice creams. And across the top of the plate, in chocolate, they'd written Happy Birthday. So I had to remind myself of that.

I'm going to bake myself an almond cake for my birthday. Then Slice it up and distribute. Although BF sometimes gets me a cake and we eat it at his office. That's generally a great deal of fun. So we shall see. He's working all day and evening on my special day. He sometimes gets a neighbor to pick up my cake. We shall see. Yes I'm better today. I still feel the pressure and weight of too much stuff. But I feel stronger today.

I love my birthday. And my tiny cat was my birthday gift 14 years ago.
Oh! Last night our visitor, when I was walking her back to her room, said nice things about my relationship with BF and how lucky he is. Generally I have to eat a lot of, do you know how lucky you are? So that was nice. By the best part was the weight loss abs looking 10 years younger. Pretty nice.

Ok I've continued to work tonight. Garbage out. Cat box clean. I've figured out what to wear tmr since I don't want to be late. I mean, I'll still be late but not crazy late.

I remember my grandmother's phone stand. And it had a small metal personal phone book on it, where you'd move the lever to get to the Letter of the person's last name. Oh there's a memory.

I love wheatback pennies. Tiny little works of art.

Yeah, it's so late in the season, best to just wait until next Winter to get new boots.

I would have bought myself a burger too.
Don't know how you are strong enough to resist.

I've been continuing on with my
"Swedish Death Cleaning".
Yesterday I went through my jewelry again and today I did coins.
I have an old cast iron bank that looks like a house where I put coins.
I separated out the Indian head and wheat back pennies, the silver dimes, quarters and fifty cent pieces, buffalo nickels and Barber quarters, etc. from the current "spendable" coins.
Have a lot of very old Canadian coins that are from my Grandma and a lot of assorted other foreign coins from all over the world.

Now I have a sandwich size baggie full of current U.S. coins to spend. About 60.00 worth.

That stuff is HEAVY!

Also have three small pieces of furniture that I am ready to let go of.
A small antique wood plant stand "podium", a tiny wood antique corner wall shelf and an ancient short wooden telephone stand.
The kind that you put the phone on the top and had shelves underneath for the tiny phone book and some paper & pencil for taking messages.
There would be a chair next to it so you could sit while you were on the phone.

Oh the poetry in your writing, Tillie. I get a clear picture of the apricot tree and it's expected visitors.

I went to pharmacy to pick up a prescription then I went to a burger place to get mom a burger. She's been craving beef. I know she wants me to go to grocery store but instead I got her a freshly made two-patty burger. I'll tahe her for a steak dinner on Thursday, the special day.

It is warm and the snow is melting. I just found out that my snow boots for jeans, the low ones, are leaking. They were new last year or the year before. I won't replace them til next year. I'll be wearing my tall boots tomorrow.

Okay I haven't eaten and after the torture of being in the burger place for mom, I'm going to need to figure out my lunch.

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical
YEA! for starting out the week with a clean kitchen!
WTG! DH ;D
Great puttering around you did during your lazy weekend.
Best of all is you took it easy, you needed easy.
Good challenge to not rebury the guest room these next four weeks.


Hi Tatoulia
How beautiful to have everything all covered in fresh white snow.
I'm waiting for your birthday to wish you a
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Whenever that is. ;)
So nice the clinics are all closed so nobody has to travel out in the snow today.


Thank you both (((HUGS)))
We have thick fog this morning.
My kitchen needs some attention, I've been ignoring it.
I've been pretty much ignoring all external things and keeping myself safely wrapped up in my mind, not thinking about external things.
I have been finding happiness with the cats inside here with me and the ones who visit in the yard.
The apricot tree is covered with fat little buds getting all ready for Spring when it will burst out all in flowers and the tiny little green and yellow finches will come in huge flocks to pick all the flowers off so we don't get many apricots.
LOL

Woke up to a winter wonderland! The wet type of snow that sticks to all the trees! So pretty. And...the kitty doctor called to say that the clinic is closed today! So no dr for the little one! Then mom called to say that her clinic is closed, and she's happy because she didn't want to go either.

I'm still feeling well after our dinner last night. When I got home I texted the cleaning fairies to have them come next week (I'll be at nutritionist on Wednesday then hopefully at RMV to get my license. And she wrote back to say, but I wanted to give you the biggest hug on your birthday. Really great.

I'm running a load of laundry and working. Looking forward to a focused day


Keep up the good work, SubC. Oh how I would love a guest bedroom! Thank you for supporting me. I was really disgusted with myself yesterday. I'll go to safety deposit box tmr. After I find the keys to box, of course.

Tillie, find a dry spot to curl up with your cats! I am so unhappy about your roof. :(

Tatoulia, i'm Glad you got past your panic. That is no fun all. But please do not beat yourself up when you are fighting depression. I hear you say you have to "pull yourself away from your depression." And want you to remember that that is like saying "I just have to get over this broken leg and go for a walk." You wouldn't feel bad about yourself because your leg was still healing, right? You just do what you can until it gets better.

I had a very lazy weekend, but dh cleaned the kitchen again, so I am in a good starting place today. I have my own personal cleaning fairy. :)

I did putter around a bit yesterday and put a few small things in the trash can or goodwill bin. And I ran the dishwasher and did two loads of laundry.

This morning I have more laundry to do. And I need to remake the guest bed. My parents are coming to visit in 4 weeks, so I will try very hard not to rebury it!

Oh I wish I could get your roof fixed for you. I worry so. See if the kitties have room for you.

WAY TO GO! working on things! :D
Good luck tomorrow with the taxes.

The only money I made in 2018 was when I cashed in my savings bonds.
Don't think it is enough to even bother filling out the forms for.

A&E keeps posting more episodes of HOARDERS on Youtube every few days.

The rain we had washed away all the snow and made big puddles.
Then it started snowing again.
I have buckets placed in my room and the hallway to catch all the water. :(

Twinkles and Scooter are snuggled up together in a cat quilt on the couch.
So cute.

Thank you Tillie. Thank you for taking good care of me. Thank you all for taking good care of me.

I'm streaming pandora and kitty is being terribly cute. I am a work in progress but I feel much relieved. I'll keep working on things here tonight. I'll play Let's Do My Taxes tmr. I think I'll owe and that's fine too.

We cross posted ;D

YEA!!! for happier news and emotions.

WAY TO GO!!! for all the bagged donations and trash!

Bet the birth certificate is with the passport in the safety deposit box.
Sounds logical.

Tatoulia
I am so very,very proud of you.
You have been facing all the things you have been neglecting for years in your life.
You have worked so very, very hard changing your mind set about buying, discarding and eating.
You are an inspiration to everyone here.
You show us that no matter how hard something is
we CAN do this.

So please quit beating up our dear friend.
Show her kindness, forgiveness and understanding.
(((HUGS)))

Miss Kitty,
Show Tatoulia how much we all appreciate and love her. ;)

Ok I'm better now. I showered then went to dinner. Our friend is looking very well. It's been three years since she's been here. We had a wonderful time together and she is free on Saturday so I'm going to move my massage appt then spend the day on Saturday palling around with her! So happy.

Once we got our if the car, and BF was parking it, she said, you look 10 years younger and you've lost so much weight.

I'm so excited. And energized!

I didn't get mom's grocery shopping done today. I hope she can forgive me.

I have two garbage bags ready to take out tomorrow night. I have taken two extra jars of buttons and put them in the donate pile. I have a bag to donate and then the bags with things for my cleaners to decide on.

So energized. I'm sorry about my meltdown earlier. I am going to have to pull myself away from my depression long enough to get things done. I've been letting the important things slip. Hopefully on Tuesday I'll find my birth certificate in my safe deposit box.

I'm running the dishwasher (is loaded it earlier in the day) I'm going to change into pjs and then scrub the kitchen counters.

Arrggghhh.

I went to start the process of renewing my license on line. It's a big scene now. I grabbed my SS card and then I had to find my birth certificate, which I keep in the junk drawer in my kitchen. The junk drawer is terrible in a hundred ways because after I changed out my stove, the drawer now only opens a few inches. So I started to dig around and I found an old fortune cookie fortune. It says, now is the time to finish up old tasks. So I made a bag for donations and a bag for trash. Shocking how much is in there. I made a button bag so all the little envelopes with buttons can be put on there and donated. No birth certificate. But I'm thoroughly grossed out by the drawer. I cannot believe how much was in there. Pens. Pens pens. Binder clips. Broken jewelry. Broken jewelry is bagged together. Maybe someone at goodwill can use the beads. Some are very nice from Italy.

I checked my desk and I checked my important papers place and I checked my safe. The last place will be my safe deposit box so I have the hassle of that to deal with. I didn't find my passports either so I'm pretty sure they are all together. I just can't believe they aren't in my safe. In fact, I was a little surprised to see that nothing is in my safe. I may have to go thru the hassle to check in there again. I'm so grossed out by the dirt and the safe is in my scary closet that I tried to clean out years ago with Tillie and LR. I was able to take something out of there and put in garbage bag. So now I have two garbage bags of pretty disgusting stuff. SubC look away. I threw out all the pens. I cannot figure out if they work or not.

Oh I am so upset. I'm upset with myself which makes it worse.

Going to go finish with the drawer then shower. I am so upset. So mad at myself for being a giant slob and letting things fester and treating my home like a garbage can and letting my depression go unchecked and my eating as some sort of solution and buying and saving stuff as some sort of solution and treating my body like a garbage can and using drawers and closets as some sort of garbage can and I'm just so upset.

Kitty is next to me and I'll spend some time with her.

Good Morning Everybody
"CLINK!"

Hi CriticalMass
How nice that your quilt was so well received by the people seeing them all displayed together! :D
A bakery made cake is a fine cake.
Not everybody can easily whip up a pretty and tasty cake at the drop of a hat.
WAY TO GO!!!
You did GREAT clearing the chair and making it cat comfy.
Plus you managed to get some unneeded thigs out of the home too! :D

Hi Subclinical
What a nice house guest you had.
And you were easily able to give him a warm dry bed to sleep in.
WAY TO GO!!! :D
You seem to be managing your time and priorities very well even with everything going on there in your very busy life. (((hug)))

Hi Tatoulia
I get my eye exams and glasses from WallyWorld.
The optometrist there is very nice and everything is very affordable and well made.
WAY TO GO! for tidying up and keeping up with maintenance!
Sorry about that monkey wrench. :(
Hope you find your motivation to do things on your To-Do list.
Find something quick and easy to start with to help give you motivation.

Overcast rainy cold wet day here today.
Sitting here in my bed with kitties all around while I drink my tea and play on the computer.

Wow! Great posts! Cm that's great that you reclaimed some space and that kitty has a new spot! How sweet about your quilt! Great work! Also, I would award you some points for getting rid of the old tv and clearing off the chair!

SubC I adore your houseguest too!

Well a monkey wrench has been put into our plans....we had long-standing dinner reservations and I had added the visitor. Is today we find out she's on a schedule and needs to be back by 8. I'm disappointed but have changed out reservations. BF had suggested telling her that we had long-standing plans to celebrate my birthday and had changed it to include her but I think I'm more comfortable this way. I was so looking forward to our meal at the other place. Such is life.

I have so much to do. I hope I start doing it. Any of it.

I have been reading.

Happy birthday time to Tatoulia, and cool on the recognition for the quilt CM!

The goats are fine.

I got swamped at work - boss asked me for another class design on very short notice, there was another loss, my youngest is dating and has been needing to spend a lot of time using me for emotional support (the dating is going very well, but the dd has severe anxiety), and my husband's best friend since elementary school came to visit.

I haven't seen this guy in person for 26 years. (Dh has caught up with him a few times) he was in our wedding. I adore him.

He gave us 48 hours notice (what he had) that he would be in town. I taught a day and a half of that notice, I did not give up my swimming, I wrote one of the class descriptions, and I was still able to clear off the guest bed, take care of some dishes, and welcome him to stay in my home. I wish things had been better, but I gave him a tour of the whole place, a little embarrassed, but not ashamed.

It helps that he is one of the least judgmental people I have ever known. When dh offered him a whiskey and I said "you may have to wash a glass." His response was "it's whiskey. by definition the glass is clean."

Hi,

We're just waiting to see what the winter storm will amount to here. The projected negative wind chills sound worse than the snow.

Went over to the church this morning to take a cake (storebought again - just not ready to stress over baking under the circumstances). The quilts are hung in preparation for Bingo. One of the experienced quilters gave me a squeeze and said "You did a good job," which was sweet. And one of the girls from the family I sewed the Barbie clothes for said if she won the Blackout Bingo and got to pick a quilt she'd pick mine - and I was standing there so I couldn't resist telling her I made it, LOL!

Yesterday I got some things out of the house - a small TV I don't need, computer batteries to recycle, and misc.

With this and other things I needed to do, I didn't get round to starting my challenge thing but I'm still satisfied with what I did get done. The TV had been in the rocking chair by the front door, so that chair is free of stuff now. I got a synthetic sheepskin kitty mat and put it on the seat, and it didn't take girl kitty long to discover the new cozy place! It'll help because boy kitty often claims the cat tree near that chair. So girl now has a place to claim - and they are relaxed near each other, which is progress.

Decluttering is great - finding a wonderful use for the reclaimed space is nothing short of awesome.

I watched a movie on Netflix and I just unloaded the dishwasher. Going to go to bed soon.

I need to do some things around the house in the AM.

Thank you, Tillie. I am rethinking things. We were so carefree when we were young. Now I'm a pile of worries. I was a worrier as a child but then teen and early 20s, felt invincible.

I am excited about the new month. Are you going to do a challenge? I'm excited about CMs challenge because she's trying s new way to make it work! And that is exciting.

I'm going to read for a while. I have clean sheets on the bed and I did wash one load of laundry. All dried and put away. Dishwasher needs to be emptied; I ran it this AM. We had snow this AM with more expected tmr night.

I need to get an eye appt and buy new glasses. I've been putting it off due to the cost. But if I'm able to work on my debt as I plan to, I'll be able to weather the cost of new glasses.

Hi Tatoulia

Happy to hear from you. :)

That is a really GREAT project to work on.
Having peace of mind is more important than most people realize.
Eliminating what we can and finding good solutions for the rest of life's troubles.

Of course I have always worried about you living in a large city.
Things were not so dangerous as they are now.
One of the best ways to keep safe is to have a responsible buddy with you on walks and evenings out.
Another good thing to do is act confident and look anybody straight in the eye, should you feel they are "off" in some way.

Good luck Miss Kitty with your Vet visit.
I know it's scary but it's good for you. (((HUG)))