Hello everyone! I am sorry I haven't been here. I have been feeling run down and tired and didn't want to come in here just to say I'm tired!

Tillie ooooh the hyacinths starting to peek through the soil!

CM great job on coming up with a challenge that can work with your patterns! I think for March I will do a focus on me. It's going to involve focusing on the things that are upsetting me and finding ways to eliminate or adapt to the upsets. I think I will be able to tackle my debt. I have put a few things in motion and will have a better idea around March 10 th. That in turn will help me to make some decisions about my house that are worrying me, etc. I am also seeing nutritionist on the 6th, as a birthday gift to myself. So I'm going to do a challenge that will help me find greater peace.

I am now cleaning the cat box at mom's once a week. That is goi f much better for her. I told her today that I'm going to have my cleaners scrub her bathroom the week after next. I cannot have cleaners this week because I have my nutritionist Wednesday AM then I have to get my license renewed, and it's no longer an easy process. Then Thursday mom and I are going to the Musuem. So I'll put off the cleaners by one week.

I have sorted my clothes for spring. I know what I need to buy and I know what size to get. I've identified exactly what I'm getting and where I am getting it from. So I'm pretty excited to have a plan.

BF and I are celebrating my birthday tomorrow night. We have a friend in from Kuwait and she will join us for dinner. We are not telling her that it's my birthday. I don't want her to be shopping for me although I suspect she will already have a gift for us.

I am taking kitty to the vet on Monday for a well-kitty visit. So I'm working on ticking off some of those items that I have to do so I can relax.

Work is going better. I am still walking in each day and walking home most nights, unless BF picks me up. He did pick me up one day this week because it was so terribly windy and when I was walking a disgusting piece of garbage, which had been swirling around, flew into my face and bounced off my nose. Disgusting.

We had another going woman disappear from a downtown bar and she has been found dead. We had lost a woman in January and she was found, being held hostage by a psychopath. It is so dangerous and I'm so upset. None of them are doing anything that I haven't done. It is so unnerving and so upsetting.

SubC how are the goats?

I'm sorry I've been away. I guess we will help me focus and I'll feel better. Cm I am rooting for your bed!!! I want you to have a nice bed to relax on!!!

Good Morning

Very cold with falling snow.
Some of the snow flakes are very big and fat.
Two and a half inches wide!

Today I plan to do a little food prep then clean the kitchen, again.
Then I will scoop litter boxes, sweep and vacuum the carpet.

I asked the cats if they wanted to go outside and play and they all just went back to bed.

Did all the stuff I do on the first of any month because it's easier to remember to do them if I always do them on the first of the month.
Cleaned the filters on the space heaters.
Watered my cactus, Saguaro.
Cleaned the inside of the washing machine.
Turned the calendar page.

Today is a very mean and nasty person's B-Day.
I am ignoring him because he ALWAYS keeps yelling at me about everything.
The phone rings and it's for him, he yells at me.
Stupid things like that.
I do not appreciate being yelled at, not by anybody.

GREAT! idea for a challenge CriticalMass :D

Just don't get bogged down into trying for too many points daily and if you miss days due to "LIFE" getting in the way
don't let it get you down, just start again from where you are.

And avoid momentarily! ;D

Tillie - so amazing that you would mention challenges right when I just thought of one! :)

You see, I shy away from challenges with deadlines because deadlines and I have never hit it off. When I try a challenge that is within a specific time, I usually fail to meet the DEADline and feel bad. But today I have this one that can be open-ended.

Here it is: In the work I've been doing lately I have gotten rid of lots of small items. It can be something as small as a receipt or a note with a link I wanted to enter into the computer, a thing to not forget, etc. The small items scatter and make big clumps of clutter.

So here's the challenge in a nutshell: Instead of saying I'll do a timeframe's worth of work, I'm going to try to do a set number of pieces each day. Each receipt or note, for example, would be worth 1 point, and when I get to 50 or 100 points I've accomplished my goal. If I want to I can count out a batch of items. In my case, similar items that require similar amounts of time and thought, or go in the same place, etc. would be most efficient than a random batch.

Those of us who want to do this can say they'll do it for the month; I'm just going to say I'll start and try to do it each day.

I know what you mean about the Walmartization of America. I can remember when it was just a store and there were others its same size - KMart, Woolco, Target (which wasn't so huge then), and some local ones. Shopping was more interesting - though whether that's always a good thing or not... but still, what WM and Target and other "big box" stores have done to retail and to rural America is not good.

The same goes for supermarkets - there used to a variety of mid-sized stores; now there are just the few big 'uns. It gets boring and so standardized. The same stuff is trucked in. The bakery doesn't bake on site. Etc.

Glad you have some handy places to get what you need though.

Sigh.

Tatoulia, SubC, Motown, Day1, and everybody else we miss and hope to hear from again soon - have a good day.

Avoid "Momentarily"! :D Especially on beds!

Good Morning Everybody

Hi Subclinical

Clink!"

Thanks for the drive by.
Hope you are busy with lots of good stuff. ;)

Hi CriticalMass
I visualize you sitting there with all your dolls living a little girl's dream.
When you were a little girl I bet you always wanted to have so many Barbie's. ;D
Hope you reclaim your bed soon.
Beds are dangerous places to put things momentarily.

The small town I live near used to have many lovely Mom & Pop shops.
WallyWorld moved in and drove them all out of business.
We used to have 3 grocery stores, now just WallyWorld and Safeway.
The Safeway is nasty, dirty, dark and dingy with expensive rotting produce and smells of old rotting fish so I don't shop there.
Doesn't take me long to get into town and I take a lovely tranquil scenic back roads route to get there.
To get to Reno or Carson City it's 150 mile round trip so I very rarely go there.
Fortunately there is a Naval Air Station (Top Gun) near by here and the people transferring out donate lots of new and fancy things to the thrift shops so I can have nice things without traveling far.


Bright & sunny clear blue skies this morning with a slight chance of rain later.
This latest storm sure did a number all over the west.
Snow & rain with avalanches & flooding.
Plus everywhere has been so bone chilling cold.
Spring is right around the corner.
Soon things will be green and growing and baby animals will pop up everywhere.

Since this is the last day of February does anybody have anything special they want to challenge on in March?

Hi.❤️ And clinks.

So, MUCH right now. Good stuff too. And tired - just e-mailed my boss and misspelled "thank you".

Know that i'm reading and glad you are here, every day.

Hi everyone - lots going on, that's good! Glad for the goats esp. the little guy. And yay for all the things everyone's finding to donate and the space being reclaimed.

It got cold again here - really cold. Going to the non-climate controlled storage unit is on hold until this cold snap ends. It's supposed to stay frigid for several more days. Including this weekend when the quilt Bingo is scheduled! Plus Saturday and Sunday have precipitation forecast. If that isn't just the "icing" on the cake. Once in a great while we miss those forecasts - join me in crossing fingers?

I've gotten some of the Barbie boxes out to the van. The boxes are those small flat Amazon boxes about the size of a student dictionary. There was an empty tub in the van into which they fit. Momentarily.

Did I tell you the joke behind "Momentarily"? It was when I was moving from the storage unit across town to this closer one. When I couldn't decide what to do with something, I would tell whatever friend was helping me: "I'm just going to set it over here momentarily" so that I could work on something I could decide what to do with more quickly. Then I noticed how many times I was saying that word, and it became a running joke. My roommate was one of the helpers, so "Momentarily" lives on when we are doing organization projects around here. LOL!

Of course "Momentarily" can be a dangerous concept for folks like us. The badger growls and hisses at me when I say it.

Unfortunately, going to the non-climate controlled storage unit to offload anything is not something I want to do until this cold snap ends.

The Barbie boxes I put in the tub are labeled as to whether the dolls are ready to sell or need TLC first. I've already decided not to sell dolls after this. I can break even I'll just do clothes which take less room. If I can't break even, I'll give the dolls away for shipping cost.

Several thrift stores here have closed in the last few years, and they were the ones most likely to have fixer-upper Barbies. Perhaps that's a good thing, eh? Less temptation.

But it's also been fun going through the dolls, identifying them online, etc. I need to put my regular collection back in their plastic boxes so they get off my bed. Then deal with some books and things still on the bed. This is taking awhile, which I rather suspected it would, but is moving in the right direction.

I can't wait to get the bed completely back to being a BED. The first night it is, I'll feel like I'm at the Ritz!

Tillie - I read that article about Route 50. Wowzers. I would have an agoraphobia meltdown there. I'm one of those people who just doesn't take well to vast empty places. I knew there were places in Nevada like that, and I'm sure other states may have long stretches of road even if towns can't be seen. Our Kansas Turnpike goes nonstop through the Flint Hills but there are cows and more other vehicles on the highway. How far do you have to drive to get to Walmart?

Hurry up, Spring!

Good Afternoon Anybody

Left the house about 9:00am this morning.
Went and visited people at the food bank thrift store.
Got change and went to the water depot and filled up 4 bottles with water.
Then I went to WallyWorld and walked around looking at stuff.
On a shelf in an isle way out of the way I discovered they had 18oz. Better Homes & Gardens scented candles for only 1.50 each.
I love burning a scented jar candle!.
Bought myself 2 spicy cinnamon stick and 2 fresh cut Frasier jar candles.
Don't care for the overly sweet food scented ones.
Got kitty litter and cat snax.
Then I wandered around and got all the food items listed on my list.
Looked at all the donuts, cakes & cookies and did NOT buy any.
Did buy a package of 8 Russell Stover's chocolate covered marshmallow eggs.
Put them away till later.
Came home after 1:00pm and got everything all put away.

Did notice in the outside garden department they have the bags of compost/steer manure mixture.
Will have to make a special trip to get some of that.
Someday when I am not already all tired out from running around.

HAPPY DANICING that the babies are all doing well (((HUG)))

WAY TO GO! for tackling that terribly frustrating and depressing fiber clean up.

So many things on your mind you don't have any space available to remember things.
You need to spend some quality time doing pottery.
That would help center you.;)

Yay for a clean kitchen!

I am losing and forgetting things. I know it's brain chemistry but it's also frustrating.

Today I trimmed a pot. I also spent a lot of time cleaning up in the studio. I have a lot of raw fiber stored out there, and I needed to move it, and at some point - because the studio is indoor/outdoor space, moths got into it - which I noticed when I suddenly realized the bags were falling apart and there were cocoons all over the outside of everything. Which was overwhelming and depressing (the animals the fiber came from are now dead or sold) and I couldn't face it.

But today I did. I threw out two small bags that were really awful. I shopped vac'd and wiped down the outsides of the bins, and then I opened a bin expecting to see cocoons everywhere. But it turned out most of what was in the bins is ok! There are still some bags I haven't delt with, they may be salvageable, but the whole situation is a lot better.

I wanted to throw pots too, but I ran out of time.

Then I went to school and forgot stuff I meant to take, went to the pool and realized I forgot my earplugs (had to swim with my head out of the water because I can't get water in my ears, so did 1,000m breaststroke instead of a longer freestyle), went to the grocery store and forgot to buy stuff (but I have to go back anyway because I got home and realized that they charged me for the same bananas three times.)

My house is getting messy again, I have three loads of laundry to put away, and I just realized I may have washed a check.

But the baby goats are all doing great! Even the little one.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Did a bunch of miscellaneous little tasks today.
Kitchen is all clean, again.
Cats have been having canned food breakfast & breakfast & breakfast.
Thinking tomorrow I should grocery shop since I haven't been in a while.
Some pears would be nice.
I'll work on getting my head into it.

Hi Subclinical
Still holding the baby goats close to my heart (((HUG)))

Sorry for the loss of a wonderful teacher, human being.

WAY TO GO! for bagging up the jumper.
I always set the harder things aside and think about letting them go for a little while.
Very, very rarely do I ever change my mind and I then never regret my decisions.

Be kind and gentle and understanding with yourself while you grieve.
(((HUGS)))

Brave Tatoulia to fight the wind!

That is nice about your dress. I think if you just remind the cleaners now and then to let you know if they don't want the stuff you are fine. They did tell you they were passing some along.

Could you have the cleaners come when you are with your mom? I know you do her dishes sometimes - what is happening with them? I realize the cleaners don't normally do dishes, but I wonder if they would be willing to come in and do her dishes and her sink/counter now and then?

Even dusting and a thorough floor cleaning once a month could make a big difference.

It was very sunny here today, but too cold to be outside long. I cleaned up a bag of stuff that was next to the garage steps. Things are looking pretty good out there.

The thing that surprised me the most about tumbleweeds was how big they get.

The little white goat is doing ok.

I have had a hard day today though - one of the teachers at our local high school died yesterday. He taught all three of my kids and was amazing and wonderful, and far too young. He had been ill, but I didn't know.

I did work in the studio today - but cleaning up, I couldn't find the energy to be creative.

And I finally put the jumper in the goodwill bin - I had to live with the idea for a while first.

Yeah, tumbleweeds are real.
Some are 6 feet tall and 6 feet wide and ALL of them are full of pickers that stab you.
So painful to try getting rid of.

Sorry you were attacked by disgusting garbage tumbleweeds.

OK, so maybe the new cleaner is intimidated by your Mom's refusal for things getting cleaned.
I can see that happening.

Just give whatever you want to the cleaning fairies.
I'm sure what they can't wear they will be so happy to gift to someone they know. ;D

We've had terrible winds here today too, Tillie. It was a gritty walk in: eyes, mouth, shoes. My face was dotted with dust when I got in. Lunch time, undaunted, I walked a distance to get my salad. I brought a canvas bag with me to put my salad in it. Then there was all this garbage swirling around and a piece glanced off my nose. So filthy. I immediately scrubbed my nose when I got to office. So filthy. BF picked me up at the office tonight. It is cold and so gusty.

I wonder if, when it comes down to it, if it's the combination of the new cleaner and mom's reluctance that results in her place being less than cleaned. Her former lady would fight her a bit and keep on cleaning. So I question if they are combining to see a dirtier apt. I'll get my ladies up there and see what we can get done.

I found another blouse to donate. Worn very few times. I know these things won't fit them. I hope they don't mind taking them for another person. It's hard to know what to do. I don't want to make them take my stuff but on the other hand they are hard working immigrants and they may know other people. I've asked them in the past and I'm pretty sure they want everything.

I have been planning my spring clothes and I'm excited. I think I have one dress that I could have altered and wear again.

I don't think I'll get my garbage out tonight. The bags will be tumbleweeds.

I'm sorry the tumbleweeds are stirring up your allergies and the dear cats's sensitivities. Tillie I may have said this before but I keep forgetting that tumbleweeds are real!

Hoping Day 1, CM, Anony, Motown, Tess, SubC, LR, Joan, Diane, Dianne and who am I missing? Stop by.

The wind has been picking up all day.
Started out as a breeze and now it's really raging.
So much dust in the air, visibility is greatly reduced.
Worst part is all the darn tumble weeds (Russian thistles) blowing onto the property.

This is making the cats miserable with watery eyes and I keep sneezing and coughing.

If the wind was not raging it would have been a lovely and warm day to play outside.

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
WAY TO GO! cleaning off the dresser!
My dresser used to be in the diningroom area until I made him give me the tiny room for myself.
FANTASTIC! your home looks better now than it did on Friday! :D

Hi Tatoulia
Hopefully that "new" cleaner there won't be around much longer since they don't seem to really want to do the job.
Have a wonderful walk home today. :D

Sunny & bright and will warm up today.

Yay dresser! Yay laundry and dishwasher! Great work, SubC! Sorry to hear about the little one. I'm glad that the other four are gaining strength!

Mom's cleaning person is part of her assisted living package. The previous one loved my mother and would do everything and anything for her, including cat box and other stuff. I don't expect this guy to do the cat box but it seems like he walks the vacuum in, does her toilet and shower, mops the bathroom floor, then leaves. He doesn't vacuum the whole area and doesn't seem to sort of look around. I will have to convince mom to let me send the ladies up for a couple of hours. I think if she'd let me clean and declutter a little more I could convince her.

I could probably have them do her bathroom and she'd be comfortable with that. Again, baby steps.

I'm heading into the office today. Going to be very windy this afternoon. I'm looking forward to my walk.

Sorry about your mom's new cleaning person Tatoulia. Can she change to yours?

You got a lot of exercise today!

I cleaned off the top of the dresser next to the garage door. There is not actually supposed to BE a dresser next to the garage door, but one step at a time.

I only did that because I told you I would and I do not have time to feed the badger!

One of the little white babies doesn't seem to be getting any stronger, but the other 4 baby goats are doing great.

I ran my dish washer twice today and washed and dried two loads of laundry. I'll put them away tomorrow. My house isn't great, but it looks better than it did on Friday.

What a lovely picture you painted, SubC, guitar strumming, fire roaring, planning to cook together! Lovely!

I had a cup of coffee with BF then I went to mom's and changed kitty's box, emptied mom's bathroom garbage, decluttered her sink, walked to store to get her new toothpaste and tooth brush, then went back to her house. I also broke down some boxes and took them out. I wanted to scrub her sink (I do not think her new cleaning person does much of anything) but ultimately felt tired after walking to and from grocery store so that will have to wait.

Kitty has already fallen asleep next to me. I'll have to cook dinner soon. I'm hungry.

Hello Day 1, and welcomehere too! I think we cross posted.

How is the desk excavation proceeding?

Tillie, thanks for the understanding, and the support on accepting better instead of failing at perfect.

Tatoulia, nice job on the bag. I haven't done my garage thing yet, but I will.

I have the laundry going and I just need to catch up on dishes and tidy the addition room a bit. Dh is home today and he is playing the guitar and later we are going to cook together. :)

It's sunny, but we have the fire going because it is cold.

Hello Day 1 and a warm welcome! So grateful you found us!

Tillie I didn't see your post, either. Well good morning to everyone! Let's do this!!!

Keep going strong, SubC! You are doing great!

I have a bag with two purses, one tote bag and one pair of worn only once shoes (not exaggerating) and they are in a bag for my cleaning lady. The two purses are Coach and in very good condition and the tote is Calvin Klein, also in fairly decent condition. So that's my bag. I'm happy and I'm pleased with it. I'll have to wait til cleaners are here again. I have to cancel March 6 since I'm taking the day off to go to the nutritionist and get my licensed renewed. Til then, the bag is in the closet and waiting for my ladies.

I may give her another dress or two. I'm just not going to wear them again and they've reached a point where even if I did decide to wear something big, I wouldn't wear either of these. One of the dresses was worn exactly twice. Two days in a row?I bought it for a fancy dinner in my honor for my volunteer work and one of the attendees was going to be in my office the next day, and he was from far away so he had taken a hotel room for the night. He'd warned me that he'd be in the same clothes for our meeting. so someone told me to wear the same dress the next day and to send around photos. So we did. I wore my fancy dress (on a casual Friday, no less) to the office the next day. It really cracked me up. Of course I couldn't believe how fat I was so I didn't enjoy the photos but it was great fun. I know the dress won't fit my cleaning ladies but perhaps they could pass it on. Ok so I think I can fill two bags today.

Ok off to have a coffee with BF then see mom.

Good Morning Everybody
Still not 12:00 noon here yet.

Hello Day 1
Welcome :)
Good luck tackling that desk today.
WAY TO GO! getting that one box of Winter wear donated!

Hi Tatoulia
It is actually less expensive to buy quality items over "fast fashion" when buying new from a real store.
The clothes are better constructed with better quality fabrics.

Hi Subclinical
So true, good enough really is good enough when there are other pressing things to attend to.
Buying from thrift shops like both of us do
when we see something our style, color, size and price (basically free) it is difficult to not end up with an overflowing closet.


I noticed a few days ago A&E has posted a few full length episodes of "HOARDERS" on Youtube.

Lol, Tatoulia, not "hundreds" but definitely over 100.

Skirts, sweaters, blouses, robes, sweatshirts, pants, vests, jackets, dresses, flannel shirts, many different lengths of sleeve and hem, and about four different sizes. This is why I can't walk into my walk in closet.

Our goodwill used to have 99 cent sweater day on a regular basis, and I am certain there was a point when I had over 100 sweaters.

The stall is not "clean", it is "clean enough". And so it is no longer the most important thing I need to do today, and I am learning that that is when you stop and move on to something else, so that eventually you get down to a level where (some - for now) things stop getting overwhelming.

Watching horders on A&E again. I will admit I'm glad I am not on the far end but I can easily see the slippery slope I live in. I pulled every coat I and hubby own to sort as most have not been worn in years. Did three piles; donate, sale, and keep. After a week nothing was sold so I put in donate pile. Yes all the coats never actually made it out of the house. So the sort happened again by hubby and I swear 1/2 the donate coats became keep.

They then moved up to the spare bedroom. It has been a month and I finally rehung up the coats. One box of coats and one box of hats, scarfs, mittens went to our local shelter. Small step but it was a reduction.

I will admit having two pack rats living together makes for a very full house. We both have some organizational skills. We really need to keep up with what we have organized.

Basically it's a start. Today I'm going through the desk that you can't even reach due to the pile on it and in front of it.

Hello ladies and yes it's afternoon and I'm just waking up!

I did get up early to feed kitty then went back to bed.

WTG on laundry, Tillie! I will be forever envious of your clothes line! Congratulations on the new goats and the new class, SubC. It is amazing how getting rid of a payment feels like a raise. I didn't feel that so much with my mortgage due to the awful credit card debt. Now I wonder how I ever actually paid my mortgage!

I cannot believe you have hundreds of items of clothes, SubC! Evening counting socks, I cant get there! I've never had a lot of clothes. I just pair them differently for work with scarves or jewelry or shoes. I am examining what I will need going forward for the spring. I will need a new navy skirt unless I decide to get a new navy dress instead. I have to plan it out in my mind so I'm not haphazardly buying things. Esp since I've decided to return to my roots and buy expensive pieces going forward.

I have been getting rid of my stuff as soon as it no longer fits me. I have one belt that is a good belt but it now hangs funny. So I'll have to bid it a fond farewell. I have no reason to keep it. I do have a beautiful silk damask skirt that fits me now and I cannot wait to wear it in the spring. I received an unexpected Christmas check and I spent it all on one good white blouse. It will look very nice with the skirt.

Ok I'll have to look alive soon. Rainy day. Lots of water building up due to snow here and there.

I am taking a break from cleaning out stalls. The temperature is dropping from 47 to 20 today and it is very windy. I'm trying to work as long as I can stand it because it looks like this will be the best day for a while.

I don't think I need a dress yet since there are still literally over a hundred items of clothing in my closet. I know I can wear the one size dress, so if I keep pulling other things out and making decisions, I won't end up in an emergency.

A few weeks ago I pulled out an old bathing suit and tried it on. I was feeling doubtful, so I called my mom on FaceTime and modeled it. She said it was fine for swimming laps (it ended up not being because the cut of the top scooped water and it felt odd and created drag). Then she asked "do you remember when we used to sit on the beach and watch people walk by?" And I said "yes. And I don't want to be them. That's why I called you."

I might want to be the crazy old lady in the rainbow socks though, but no make up. - i'm kind of looking forward to being old enough to dress like a ten year old and not care. Never a seventeen year old again, but a ten year old - yes.

Good Morning

Hi Subclinical
So wonderful the car is all paid off! :D
WTG! Easter Bonnet for such a beautiful baby girl!
Keep looking in the thrift shop for a new fancy dress but don't wait too long before giving up and finding one in a real store.

Something I have noticed through the years...
Clothes that used to look good on me start to look "off" even though they still fit just fine.
My body and coloring subtly change so I have to try new styles and colors to keep from looking garish.
We have all seen her, that sweet little old lady wearing the too bright red lipstick that cashes with her hot pink dress that looks atrocious with her sandals and rainbow striped socks.
I do not want to be her. ;D

At 9:00am I will hang out the wash.
So happy the hamper is empty.

Tillie, way to go on your laundry!

Tatoulia, it sounds like you are doing a great job on your clothes!

Dh and I went out last night. i was running late and tried to grab my black dress pants so I wouldn't have to shave my legs they are either lost in my closet or gone. I made a worse mess of the closet, but I think they are gone - I have a vague memory of deciding there was some negative thing about them (probably being fat) and that I only wore them to go out with dh and that dh prefers me in skirts anyway....

But since my weight is down, I grabbed a jumper I knew had been too small. It is still too small. That made me sad. Lately my weight has been going up and down the same two or three pounds, but it is a new two or three pounds. And I am getting into better shape so that things only hurt because they are sore because I exercised them a lot, and I am actually starting to like my body. I really thought I could wear the jumper. I remember deciding to keep it because it wasn't "that much" too small - it must have been a long time ago.

Now I am thinking about getting rid of it. It's very pretty, and soft, and I like it, but it made me feel bad about being a shape I have actually been feeling good about. And I think I am more attached to how I would look if I could wear the jumper than I am to the jumper itself. And I have a lot of clothes.

I ended up wearing a skirt that is also soft and pretty and comfortable, but almost doesn't fit - because it falls so low on my hips now I need to be careful what I wear under it. But I looked good, and I felt good, and if I get rid of the jumper and lose so much weight I am reduced to wearing the same shapeless one-size fits all dress every time I go somewhere nice (I have one) I will probably be able to buy myself something nice that looks good on me - even if I have to give up and buy it in a real store, because my car is paid off!

And also my boss stopped me and talked to me in the hall on Thursday about my schedule for next year. She wants me to do a new class, and I have been very busy throwing the skeleton together for her so she can get it listed on the new schedule. She also told me what she had picked out of my list of submitted classes, and it looks like I will have an additional 5 hours a week next year! If that works out, I will feel rich! It will be like a 30% raise. On top of the 20% "raise" I got from keeping my car payment!

Anyway, the reason I was running late was because Easter Bonnet (my other goat) had her babies. Another boy, and a GIRL this time. And - as rarely, rarely happens, the girl is the flashy pretty one with lots of colors and spots!

That is weird when all the people are not around places they usually are. ;D
WTG! for routine maintenance.
Good luck filling the bag.
Happy the dreams are not stressful.

I am all showered and sitting in my bed.
Doing laundry now to have it all ready to hang out tomorrow morning.

The cleaning dreams are fine-neither scary nor super fun. I just like to see my character doing normal clean up things!

Tillie fun to read about your road. My area of the city felt lonely today for some reason. I'd walked down to a store to try on clothes and figure out my size. Everything's going according to plan. I didn't buy anything and mercifully, the salespeople didn't approach me. It was great. I then picked up some small provisions for mom, dropped them off then came home. BF is working all weekend so I hung out with him for a while. Now I've been dancing a lot around the house.

I only did routine maintenance here today and now I'm showered and ready to tuck into bed. Oh! So walking home from mom's, my street was eerily quiet. I have to pass two restaurants and three little cafes and a Dunkin' Donuts and other shops and my street was unusually quiet. There was only one other pedestrian and she looked like she wasn't from around here because she was stopping and looking around frequently. Very odd.

When I went out later to visit BF, everything was back to the usual bustle.

I need to fill my goodwill bag tomorrow. Goodnight, dear friends.

Knowing your history with the road makes it not so lonely for me. (((HUG)))

Good Morning Everyone

Hi Subclinical
Congratulations for the safe deliveries!
My fingers are crossed that the white boys make it.
There are various degrees of albinism with different degrees of physical abnormalities in all of them.
Cleaning up the messes we make does count.
WAY TO GO! for that and for moving the chalk near the board. ;D

Hi Tatoulia
Have you enjoyed your cleaning and organizing dreams?
What I enjoyed in Detroit was running errands for my Granma to all the smaller shops and delis that were within walking distance to the house, up on the main roads.
All the different people, places, sights and smells.

Had not been able to wash laundry for a long time due to all the snow and freezing temps.
Today it will be up into the 40s with no snow till after nightfall so I have the line filled with sheets, pillow cases and kitchen linens.
Tomorrow it should get up to 50 degrees so I will wash and hang out all the bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths tomorrow.
I keep up with washing my clothing and just dry it on hangers or the rack inside.
It was really hard hanging out the wash today because Jack (you're not my cat) kept rubbing all over my legs and feet.

I spent most of my teen years on or near the east end of that highway. It passes a block from the house my grandparents lived in, and deadends not far from the marina Dad and I pulled out of many early mornings.

It was the gateway to the world - the lifeline that ran across the bridge away from the small town I couldn't wait to leave.

A close friend and I were going to drive his chevy nova the whole length once I graduated. Then he got married. So, that didn't happen.

Now I live farther west, about twenty minutes north of it

This is where I live.
Whenever I go into town this is the road I have to travel.
This is the road I have to take to get anywhere else in the world.

HWY50

Congratulations on the goats, SubC. I'm sorry about the possible loss of the white boys. You have been busy!

Getting the chalk to the chalkboard is a good start! Lately I've been dreaming about organizing and cleaning. In last night's dream, for example, there were a lot of people in a bed and breakfast and I was helping with the cooking and I was cleaning up as I went along.

I have stripped my bed and I'm doing laundry. What a relief to have Saturday's to myself and not being a slave to my sibling. He too has been showing up in my dreams.

Beautiful sunny day. Once laundry is done I will go for a walk, including stopping by grocery store. I was overcharged for something. Then while I'm there I can do a bit more of my shopping. I'm always limited by what I can carry. It's been my way of life for decades. If I take car to grocery store, then I need to have BF drive me home with the heavy stuff. I like living this way. As we all know, I don't have tons of room and this sort of self-limiting works well for me and the hoarding tendencies.

The not spending has been a good thing for me. Buying necessities only has helped me drastically cut down on expenses. And it's helped to hone my thoughts re what I will need for clothing in the spring as my weight continues to reduce. Since the weight loss has started, I've been buying fewer fewer but more expensive things. I'm dressing more the way I used to before the weight. I few classic items that can be swapped in and out and last forever. I feel and look more like myself. When the weight was piling on I was buying things that fit and made me invisible.

Well kitty has stopped by for some attention. I will do that then put clean sheets on my bed.

Tillie,

How are you today?

The first batch of baby goats arrived last night! They are very cute, but unfortunately they are all boys. Baby #2 got stuck and needed little assist, but so far they all seem ok. I'm not getting attached though, because two of them are white, and my experience with this momma is that when she has white boys, they just die for no apparent reason in the first couple of weeks. I think there is some recessive genetic thing going on. The third one has spots.

Tatoulia, good luck on your goodwill bag this weekend! So far all I have done in my garage is clean up a mess I made this week, so i'm not sure it counts, and move the chalk to the studio barn because that is where the chalk board is. I will try to do better today. And look forward to hearing about your progress.

We don't want CM releasing the badger!

Tillie I struggle with suicidal ideation frequently. I've struggled with it most of my life. It has gotten better now that I'm not being berated by sibling but it's always around the corner. I fight it.

Whenever I go to the dr and there's a form to fill out asking me if I have felt like harming myself in the last 7 or thirty days-well sometimes I just look at my dr and say, I don't know how to answer this.

I want you to be happy and I want you to be safe. But for now, I'll settle on safe. I have called the hotlines myself and I have done other things. Some days I'm safer than others but ultimately I have a cat who needs me and I hang my hat on that. So although I'm in no imminent danger, and have not ever gone so far as to make a plan, (and in fact I'll ask that you all forget that I told you this), I have battled depression for many, many years.

I love you dear Tillie. If there's anything I can do to help, I will do it.

Oh Tillie,

If you are feeling suicidal, please, please reach out for help. At the very least there are hotlines, and I am sure there are people who know you in real life who would want to help you. I feel very useless from here. But you are important to us. And we want you in a place with safe and solid walls and a roof and healthy food and working utilities!

Cm, it is good to hear from you again so soon! Our weather has been just as crazy!

Good job on your shirts and shredding!

I used to want a Victorian house too! My great grandparents lived in one and I loved it. When we were moving the last time, I wanted to look at them, but Dh said no way, it was too much maintenance. Then I started picking a bunch of houses to look at and he said "I don't get this, a bunch of these are nothing like what you wanted." And I told him. "You told me I can never have the house I wanted, in that case, anything with adequate space and functioning basics is acceptable, so now I'm just looking for land.

And that's how it went. In my dd1's words "when I was 8, my parents bought a tear down. And when I was 9, we moved in without having torn it down." (We did pretty much gut it. Some of the "basics" were less than "functioning." - for 4 months we camped in the barn.) I think the victorian would have been less work.

Tatoulia, I have a wide selection of hoarding talents. Besides the crafty things, there are books, sentimental items, potentially useful things like tools, storage containers, kitchen gadgets (one is good, two is better, someday my kids might want one, theirs might break...) figurines, pottery, cats, elephants, bedding, toys...

I never collected glassware to an excessive degree probably because I break it.

I took the rabbit to school today and she was a big hit.

Still no baby goats.

Good Afternoon Everyone

Hi CriticalMass
WAY TO GO! for all the clothing sorting out and putting away!
Sure is a lot of wet & wild weather all over North America this month.
YEA! for fixing your tablet. ;D


Maybe some of you remember me telling how the roof leaked and the ceiling started coming down in my little room?
My little room where I keep all my personal things, clothes, doll house...
Remember how Steven got up on the roof and pounded around for a few minutes with a hammer?
Well, I did not fix the ceiling because I knew in my heart he did not fix the leaky roof and I did not want to waste my time.
I was right, the roof has been leaking terribly for weeks now and the ceiling in my little room is falling in so much worse now.
This has made me dangerously suicidal.
Steven thinks yelling at me takes care of the matter.
Today he informed me that tomorrow or Monday a man would be by to evaluate the roof AND the carport roof for the insurance company.
I asked him why he would do that because we lost two home owners insurance company policies due to his HOARD already.
So he yelled at me some more.

Anyways, I guess we will lose our insurance again.
Plus I am sure the insurance will NOT pay to fix the roof let alone that POS carport roof.

But it's all my fault because I am an unreasonable B$#%H.

Oops, silly Captcha made me double post!

As long as I'm posting again,

The BADGER says HI!

LOL!

At library computer which is so much faster than my 9-year-old laptop... though it's always such a decision to go out vs. stay home - so many things to accomplish either way. I had to return a book, though. So I guess the home stuff will take slightly longer - see below.

Made some progress throughout this week, anyway. Got my laundry put away, no small feat. In the process I decided to let go of some of those ancient shirts. Some of them will no doubt simply be recycled for rags. If I were living in my own place I'd cut them up myself but as it is better to just get them gone.

I was able to fit my current shirts into the drawer!

However. In order to get to the closet I had to pile bags of Barbie crafting (like fabric for clothes to sew, patterns, thrift store dolls needing spiffing up, etc.) on my bed. That's my new project. I want to go through all that doll stuff and put some away in the storage unit. For that, I need decent weather. Next week's forecast is for sunny but chilly, which will work marginally, but before that...

This is our tonight and Saturday, just copy pasted from the TV station website. I hope those high temperatures are for real, which would mean the snow wouldn't stick around - yet there was also something said about 6-9" accumulation and I couldn't tell if that meant for here. Could sum it up in one word - CRAZY!

WICHITA AREA FORECAST:

Today: Cloudy; occasional drizzle. Wind: SE 5-15. High: 45.

Tonight: Drizzle to areas of rain late. Wind: SE/S 5-15. Low: 40.

Tomorrow: Windy. Rain changing to blowing sleet/snow around sunset. Wind: S/W 25-35; gusty. High: 53.

Tomorrow night: Sleet/snow ends quickly, trace amounts then decreasing clouds. Wind: SE 5-15. Low: 23.

Sun: High: 44 Mostly sunny to partly cloudy.

I just hope it really settles down after that.

Today I got the last of the shredding done and out before the trash pickup! There'll be more as I tackle other paper projects, but for now I'm "caught up."

I replaced my charging port on my Samsung tablet - the part finally came yesterday on the slow boat from China. I'd been having all manner of trouble with the old one - the cord was all wobbly and wouldn't charge properly. I'm rough on the tablet and the cords - klutziness, dropping them too much. I've been really working on being more mindful about how I hold it and where I set it down, though. Nevertheless, that port was toast. It was really pretty easy replacing it with instructions from online.

Last night we actually walked the dog, and also did some rearranging and deep cleaning of the rabbit area. I'm gimpy in my hips and legs today, but glad to be moving more.

SubC - there's definitely a circular relationship between sleep and weight management. One must get enough sleep to lose, and losing facilitates better sleep. I think it has helped my apnea for sure.

Glad you could confide in the work friend and not feel shame. Most of my friends are borderline if not true hoarders. I think it's just way more commonplace than we all would've thought say, twenty years ago. If it weren't, there wouldn't have been such an explosion of shows and books about hoarders and decluttering.

Tatoulia, I am more of a blue jeans gal and with no home of my own haven't kept as many things like dishes anymore. But I had to photograph one of the old shirts for sentimental reasons! Haha!

I used to dream of a big Victorian house to live in with period furniture and all sorts of vintage things - and an amazing husband and several lovely children, pets, plants... It even had an aviary! That dream has morphed into my current one of a bright white studio/residence, very clean lines, minimalist except for pops of color here and there. How we change in unexpected ways as we journey through life.

Onward and upward! Sport water bottle clinks!

At library computer which is so much faster than my 9-year-old laptop... though it's always such a decision to go out vs. stay home - so many things to accomplish either way. I had to return a book, though. So I guess the home stuff will take slightly longer - see below.

Made some progress throughout this week, anyway. Got my laundry put away, no small feat. In the process I decided to let go of some of those ancient shirts. Some of them will no doubt simply be recycled for rags. If I were living in my own place I'd cut them up myself but as it is better to just get them gone.

I was able to fit my current shirts into the drawer!

However. In order to get to the closet I had to pile bags of Barbie crafting (like fabric for clothes to sew, patterns, thrift store dolls needing spiffing up, etc.) on my bed. That's my new project. I want to go through all that doll stuff and put some away in the storage unit. For that, I need decent weather. Next week's forecast is for sunny but chilly, which will work marginally, but before that...

This is our tonight and Saturday, just copy pasted from the TV station website. I hope those high temperatures are for real, which would mean the snow wouldn't stick around - yet there was also something said about 6-9" accumulation and I couldn't tell if that meant for here. Could sum it up in one word - CRAZY!

WICHITA AREA FORECAST:

Today: Cloudy; occasional drizzle. Wind: SE 5-15. High: 45.

Tonight: Drizzle to areas of rain late. Wind: SE/S 5-15. Low: 40.

Tomorrow: Windy. Rain changing to blowing sleet/snow around sunset. Wind: S/W 25-35; gusty. High: 53.

Tomorrow night: Sleet/snow ends quickly, trace amounts then decreasing clouds. Wind: SE 5-15. Low: 23.

Sun: High: 44 Mostly sunny to partly cloudy.

I just hope it really settles down after that.

Today I got the last of the shredding done and out before the trash pickup! There'll be more as I tackle other paper projects, but for now I'm "caught up."

I replaced my charging port on my Samsung tablet - the part finally came yesterday on the slow boat from China. I'd been having all manner of trouble with the old one - the cord was all wobbly and wouldn't charge properly. I'm rough on the tablet and the cords - klutziness, dropping them too much. I've been really working on being more mindful about how I hold it and where I set it down, though. Nevertheless, that port was toast. It was really pretty easy replacing it with instructions from online.

Last night we actually walked the dog, and also did some rearranging and deep cleaning of the rabbit area. I'm gimpy in my hips and legs today, but glad to be moving more.

SubC - there's definitely a circular relationship between sleep and weight management. One must get enough sleep to lose, and losing facilitates better sleep. I think it has helped my apnea for sure.

Glad you could confide in the work friend and not feel shame. Most of my friends are borderline if not true hoarders. I think it's just way more commonplace than we all would've thought say, twenty years ago. If it weren't, there wouldn't have been such an explosion of shows and books about hoarders and decluttering.

Tatoulia, I am more of a blue jeans gal and with no home of my own haven't kept as many things like dishes anymore. But I had to photograph one of the old shirts for sentimental reasons! Haha!

I used to dream of a big Victorian house to live in with period furniture and all sorts of vintage things - and an amazing husband and several lovely children, pets, plants... It even had an aviary! That dream has morphed into my current one of a bright white studio/residence, very clean lines, minimalist except for pops of color here and there. How we change in unexpected ways as we journey through life.

Onward and upward! Sport water bottle clinks!

Hey there Tillie! I had an English muffin with strawberry jam. And KerryGold unsalted butter. Delicious!

I have to really concentrate this weekend. I want to do a good job for myself

Good Morning

Hi Tatoulia
Good luck with your weekend plans!
Fill that bag and shred those papers. ;)
Hope you found something nice to eat last night.

Clear sunny skies this morning but only 16 degrees.
Been snowing off & on most every day.

Good morning!

I'm looking forward to walking to work! It's great to see the sun at the end of the day. I'm going to try to leave work st a decent hour tonight. There's so much work to be done. Large amount. I'm actually thinking of going in on Monday. There's going to be a kickoff for a big project and I'd rather be in the room to read the temperature than to be at home on a conference call.

Plans for this weekend: fill a bag. Also I have a pile of papers. They need to be filed or shredded. I still have BFs shredder. So, I'll fill a bag and I'll take five minute bursts to deal with The Pile.

Coffee clinks!

Hello Tillie! I am excited about filling a bag for goodwill this weekend. I can't wait to feel lighter.

It is nearly nine and I haven't had dinner. I was so hungry when I got home but now I'm beyond hungry. Maybe I'll toast an English muffin and look forward to tomorrow's lunch. Today for lunch I had the second chicken pie my cleaners brought me so delicious. They are so good to me.