Hey Karl,
Great wedding cake idea!... And since I plan to have so many people at the wedding reception, I might also have a cake that's shaped like a fire truck too. The cake that's shaped like the burning building could be a chocolate flavored cake; and the cake that's shaped like the fire truck could be a vanilla flavored cake. :)

In a chat with my brother, he asks if I've considered getting a motor home. I wonder what the costs would be like (up front and also gas/maintenance).

A beautiful day here today. Washed some plastic place mats and hung on line. Want to use them to wrap sweaters around to stop the wrinkling, hope it works. Worked with boss today, had so much fun, she is the best. took a shower, washed hair and curled it, yep, I am a bubble head today, actually looks good.
Put RV antifreeze in sinks and toilet and shower in RV, hopefully to prevent frozen pipes. Enjoyed messing around in RV, didn't use this summer due to dehoarding, really felt good being in there, and realize I will keep it another year, and get some use before I sell it.
Spread some pine needles over ground in back yar. No rain all week, sunny, so boosts my spirits. Sure enjoyed chat last night

LOL :D

Bride and groom figures atop a cake shaped like a burning building?

Hi everyone. :)

Thanks diane. :)

Hi Karl,
That's so cool! Its so sweet that you thought of me and the guys. I've always liked firefighters; but I didn't really become a full fledged "firefighter groupie" (that's what my ex-boyfriend calls me.) until I was 18 years old, when I ran off with a bunch of firefighters. I think it's awesome that the firefighters were invited to the block party. When I get married I actually want to have a "firefighter themed" wedding. So there will be a crazy amount of firefighters invited to my wedding; like hundreds and hundreds of firefighters. I want to get married in Central Park, in New York City; and then I want to have the wedding reception at "Barclays Center" in Brooklyn. And I want there to be a motorcade of at least 20 fire trucks driving from the wedding ceremony to the wedding reception with all of the guests from the wedding ceremony riding inside the fire trucks. The actual wedding will be smaller than the reception; only friends and family are invited to the wedding ceremony. But anyone and everyone is invited to the reception. :)

My games event went well enough, but ended earlier than I'd expected -- I guess most people have to work even though tomorrow's a minor holiday.

Let's see how much cleaning I can get done in what remains of the day...

The fire fighters were there by invitation, as a surprise to the kids; they showed off their fire engine and equipment, gave out sticker-badges, and one 10yo girl got to dress up in full gear and got her picture taken. Isn't that more or less how MayMay got started? :-)

I'm in the chat room early, in case anyone wants to show up; I might be able to chat for a bit even when it hits the top of the hour, but I'll have to leave when my guests start to show up.

One other important thing to do is to
never neglect a mess.
When you see you have a mess like spilled something or pet accident
clean it up
right now.
This helps keep us from falling into squalor. ;)

The basic minimun daily maintenance is
dishes,
laundry and
trash out

Washing dishes daily or getting them into the dish washer helps keep the kitchen under control.
Getting dirty clothes into the hamper, washing clothes as soon as you have enough to do a full load, getting washed laundry put away where it belongs helps keep from ending up with a huge mountain of laundry to deal with.
Gathering up all the trash and getting it out of the house is very very important to help keep your home less cluttered, healthier and smelling better.

Keeping up with these tasks daily helps to keep things from getting too far out of control.

Diane :D
My chrysanthemums are a gift from a friend and she would notice them missing.
The desert is filled with the sage brush and even without the bushes on my property the other bushes would still make me wheeze any way.
Fortunately, I don't need to spend much time outside this time of the year and the windows are closed most of the time now.
Funny thing is that Scooter (the kitten) has allergies too to outdoor things and whenever I allow him out in the yard he suffers all night long with sneezing and runny eyes. LOL :D

Hey Karl
I want more details about that visit from the fire department.
Please.[/i ;D

Ok, enough of this relaxing business, had to elevate leg after doing the pile of clothes this morning. Now will clear of the top of dryer and put those things away. Have to bring more fire wood in, not easy with sore knee. Love it toasty warm in here so it is worth bringing wood in. My highlight of the day is 5pm chat.

MayMay, we had a friendly visit from the local firefighters at the start of the party, and I thought of you and your group.

thanks Tillie and Maymay, so great hearing from This morning I went through a pile of clothes at end of bed, actually made some real progress, think it helped to post on here yesterday and feel more connected to support for this hoarding ordeal. Tillie you have had to deal with so many allergies, can he just cut those things down or do you enjoy seeing them. Maymay, your hair sounds adorable.
Sun just peaked out for a minute, boosts my spirits to see it.
Tillie I have done dishes, laundry and taken garbage out but what was the other thing you said to do for maintenance?
Craft room has room to walk now as does the big bedroom. Still need to scrape paint off outside of window, caulk it and put up plastic, before I think of sleeping in there, so nice to use that bathroom and soon will be able to sleep in there if I choose. I put a big cube thing on desk and have been putting things in there where I can find them. Once I am done working, I want to focus on getting those rooms done so can start crafting in there so don't drag stuff out here and mess this area up. Good to have other dog go home, sure appreciate the income though. So weird to wake up with hope today, feels great, thanks to all of you for sharing your journey. We are blessed to have each other.

Good morning everybody :)

Hi Diane :D
So sorry the leg is still hurting. :(
WAY TO GO! though for keeping up with daily maintenance and not shopping on top of working out of the house!
When experiencing emotional or physical pain it is very difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
(((hugs)))

Hi Karl :)
Happy you enjoyed the block party! :D
When it comes to parties, I have always thought "the more the merrier" ;D

Hi MayMay :D

Sunday morning, I am moving slow.
Been looking at stuff on the interwebs.
As a child I always enjoyed reading the Sunday funnies out of the news paper in the morning.
How things have changed. ;)
Cats have been fed already.
My chrysanthemums are blooming and so is the desert sage that grows all around here in the desert.
I am very allergic to both those things. LOL ;D
Sorta cloudy & overcast here today but I still plan to wash some of his laundry even though that always ticks him off. (?)
He did nothing yesterday and probably plans to do the same today.
Hope to "see" you all tonight in chat. ;)

Hey Karl,
I'm glad you had fun at the block party. :)

Hi everyone. :)

Thanks Dianne,
I have short hair. I always go to a hair salon whenever I get my hair dyed. They always do a really good job; and they always use permanent hair dye because it always looks the best.

Thanks Tillie! :)

Hi diane,
I'm so sorry to hear about your leg. I hope it feels better and heals soon. WAY TO GO today! :)

The block party was fun. More people than I'd expected. When I finally left, I let them know that I was available for bargain math tutoring if any of the kids could use help. I wish I'd found an earlier opportunity to say it.

Looks like I might have 11 guests tomorrow, not just 6. This will be a new test of my hosting capacity.

I have really missed this group. I worked this week and all went well. My knee did not go so well. Been using cane at home and keeping off it as much as possible. The pain was really bad on long work days, getting up and down, in and out of car, carrying supplies. Actually felt nauseous from pain. Only 2 more weeks of work then can really heal the rest of the way. The bone bruise is less painful now, just the soft tissue is what is causing the pain now. Enough whining. I got all dishes done. Ate healthy soup daily. Took care of the other dog all week, he left today, freedom. Too many cloudy days this week, boohoo. Did laundry, today washed all pee blankets again. Good to read how all of you are doing. My progress is just not shopping, and doing maintenance this week. In 2 weeks will start clearing out again. Today I have hope again, didn't post all week because pain made me feel hopeless, like I would never have energy again, we all know bad things pass, just when in it, I forget it will end.

Good morning :)

Hi Karl :)
WTG! on getting some things accomplished.

Hi MayMay :)
YEA! for outrageous hair color. ;)

Hi Dianne :)
WAY TO GO!!!!! for that great shower!!! :D
I know how it is putting up with things not working right for so long that we just forget how much easier/nicer life can be.
With our septic system pooling up in the yard for so many years I got used to short quick showers only 3 times a week and only washing dishes on days I didn't shower to try to keep the water use to a bare minimum.
Took me a long time to get back in the habit of showering & dish washing whenever it was needed.
Plus it is so wonderful having a toilet that actually really flushes and I can flush it all day long. :)
Fortunately, my washing machine has it's own grey water line so I could wash laundry at any old time.

My To-Dos for today?
Depends on what I can get my hoarder to do.
But first I need to feed the cats & do other things for them.

TTYL :)

Hey Dianne,
Yeah I decided to have my hair dyed bright red with black highlights. I love it! :)

I moved some old computer equipment out of the study and into the garage -- I'm not sure if it's going to end up as trash or if it still has some use. I also made it through a pile of papers. And I fixed the flat tire on my bicycle, from Tuesday's errands, so at least I have transportation again. I still don't know what I should do about the housing situation.

YEA! Dianne :D
WAY TO GO!!!

Good morning...
I've been up for an hour & a half and the sun has still not come up yet.
Wish the cats would let me sleep longer some days. :(

Have no plans except the usual daily stuff.
Will probably be useless and napping all afternoon anyway.

Planning to dig through the deep freezer and make a menu plan with whatever I have in there.

T.G.I.F. ;D

Hi everybody. :)

Tomorrow I am getting my hair dyed. I'm still trying to decide what color I want to have it dyed though. I'm thinking about either having it dyed red with black highlights, or green with red highlights. I'm so excited. :)

Right now I'm getting ready to take a shower and go to bed. I have been listening to "BIG TIME RUSH" for the past hour. Whenever I listen to "BIG TIME RUSH", I always get really hot and sweaty because I always end up singing and dancing around to all of their songs. It's like exercise. LOL. ;)

I didn't start another cleaning session last night since it was late -- but then I stayed up even later just doing stuff on the computer. Meh.

Oh, on Tuesday I called my sister back, and I told her about the clutter issue ("But as long as you pay your rent, why should the landlords care??"), and the notice of termination. When I mentioned that moving elsewhere was not out of the question, she told me that she knew of some recent job openings with her employer. It doesn't sound like a particularly good match for my skill set, though.

So, back to today. I slept until almost 4pm. I have a pending "how are things" question from the friend who's been following my situation; I'm not sure how to answer, yet. I've got today and tomorrow free, so I should try to get more cleaning sessions in. Saturday there's a block party; I could finally meet my neighbors. Sunday I'm hosting an event at my place (expecting 6 guests).

Good morning :)
Today is clearer skies and warmer.
The sun never came out yesterday and we had an almost constant drizzle of rain.
Cats have been fed.
I am brewing my chai masala and reading the interwebs.
On the TV I'm watching the new episodes of Hoarding Buried Alive that have been added to Netflix.
Soon I will get dressed, scoop litter boxes, freshen cat water, make my bed, brush & braid my hair and wash my face & brush my teeth.
Just a little tidying up around here and then I can play.
Have to sweep the front porch. It is totally buried in fallen leaves. :)
Have a bunch of Granny Smith apples and am trying to decide if I will make pie, cobbler or my famous peanutbutter apple crisp. ;D

Hi Roxie :)

Sometimes I read pleas for help and I am at a total loss as to what to suggest.:(
Wish I always knew what to say to help people. :(
Then I hope that you or the other posters will respond to them with your own personal knowledge and experience.
So many of them are between a rock and a hard place with impossible restrictions on time, resources and people to assist them. :(

(((hugs)))

WTG! Karl for doing something.
Nice that the shoes were where you expected them to be ;)

I spent another 15m taking care of some miscellaneous stuff, including the last of the papers scattered on one area of the floor.

Good morning :)

Rainy overcast day.
No real plans. Maybe I will cook something.

Hi Dianne :)

Hi MayMay :)

Hi Karl :)
Tuesday chat is for hoarders & messies only so I don't qualify and Fridays I am busy preparing for the weekend and forget to watch the clock.

Hi Roxie :)
Happy you got that tooth taken care of.

A big WAY TO GO! for everybody getting even the smallest task accomplished! :D

How come nobody shows up for the Tuesday or Friday chats anymore?

As I noted earlier, I was busy over the weekend. Monday I didn't get any cleaning done, though I don't really have an excuse for it. Today I'm going to make sure I get at least one session done before bed; I'll start now (and have ice cream waiting for when I'm done).

Hey Dianne,
I'm enjoying living with my boyfriend; and so is Matt, Cory, and Snuggles. They love having a backyard that they can run around and play in. The transition from living with my friends, to living with my boyfriend has been pretty easy; because even when I was still sharing an apartment with my friends, I would stay at my boyfriend's house a lot. :)

Good morning :D

Feeling alive today!
Cats had their breakfast and I am doing laundry.
When it warms up a bit I will get out and water some things.
Have some dishes to wash today too.
Got the house cleaning under control yesterday.
Was nice when a neighbor dropped by to sit in here and visit in a pine scented house. ;D
Nice to read all your posts and know how you all are doing.
This is a good place to speak your mind and let out all your feelings.

Yes, I'm depressed. And one of the things that's fueling it is that my anti-depressant, despite being out of patent for several months, still has no generic version on the market -- so it's costing me $250/month for the damned pills.

I have family that I'm sure would take me in, but not within 1000 miles of here. A friend who does know of my situation has considered it, and decided not to offer, since she's convinced that I would avoid taking action to get my own place again.

Hey Tillie,
Sorry I accidentally forgot to mention you in my last post. I hope you feel stronger soon. :)

Hi everybody! :D

Nothing to exciting has happened lately. Just working and hanging out with the guys. :)

Hi Dianne,
I feel the same way about the government shutdown.

Hi Roxie,
I think it's so cool that you decided to write a letter to those politicians. :)

Good Monday morning everybody. :)
I just woke up. Not because I wanted to it was the cats decision that I should be up.
Feeling very weak and tired today but otherwise OK.
Was hoping to clean the bathroom, wash the floors and vacuum.
Need to shower and wash my hair. Maybe I will feel stronger after I do that.
Drinking tea right now to try to get this brain fog to lift.
Hope you all have some positive experiences today. :)

I was out all day Saturday and Sunday. Had some fun, but nothing accomplished at home. My sister phoned while I was out; I haven't had a chance to call her back. So far none of my family is aware of my looming homelessness.